Chapter eleven:
It took Poppy just over a month to master meditating, it took her this long because it really wasn't in the princess's nature to sit still for long. By that time the year anniversary of Branch entering into his enchanted sleep was looming large on the horizon, right along with her birthday. The pink troll had been determined that she would learn to meditated for longer periods of time so that she could try talking to him on that day. Poppy had already told her friends that she would be with the grey troll on the morning of her birthday and that she would celebrate her birthday with them in the afternoon. The members of the snack pack had understood Poppy's desire to try to make contact with the King on that particular day and none of them had anything to say against their friend making such an attempt. So, it was that on the morning of the day of the anniversary of the grey troll falling into his sleep, Poppy was sitting alone in the lotus position before Branch facing towards were he lay, unlike Creek who usually meditated with his back to his soul brother in case he needed to defend the King. The princess reached her thoughts out towards Branch, suddenly she felt a warmth round her and the voice of the grey troll came into her own thoughts. "Who are you?"
"Branch it's Poppy."
"Poppy?" He questioned with clear surprise.
"Yes, I asked Creek to teach me to meditate for a longer space of time in the hopes that my bond to you as the one you protect would be enough to allow me to be able to talk to you and it looks like it is."
"I didn't know that was possible. It feels good to talk to you again, I'm sorry I haven't been able to come into your dreams…I was going to try again soon. Did you want to talk to me about anything in particular?"
"Yes, I do have something important which I want to talk to you about. Now that I know how to cure your curses, I would like your permission to be able to have it recorded so that the information doesn't become lost over time."
"You have my permission."
"Thank you my King."
"Poppy you are my friend, you do not need to use my title."
Poppy smiled slightly to herself glad to know that Branch didn't want her using his title. "It feels a little strange to just be talking to you without being able to see you, but at least I get to talk to you now. Creek said you've been truly in love with me for six years is that true?"
"Yes, it's true."
"Will that effect your ability to wake up?" Poppy asked him with concern.
There was silence for a few moments and just when the princess was beginning to think that she had wither lost her connection to Branch or he wasn't going to answer her the answer to her question came at last. "Yes, it will…I am truly in love with you, so it is going to mean that accepting another troll in your place within my heart is going to be difficult for me, but not impossible. Still that troll would have to be constant in their love of me and their love would have to equal the true love I gave to save you."
"I see…It sounds really complicated."
"Most magic that involves true love is complicated…It is a very rare thing after all, but it works miracles as you have seen yourself."
"Yes I did get to see it work a miracle…I hope I will get to see true love work another one sometime soon?"
"Oh, what miracle did you have in mind?" Branch asked curiosity clear in his voice as he asked the question.
"If I'm honest it's more like miracles…I'd like to see you awake again and I'd like to see your true colours…I know both of these things can only happen when true love is given to you but still…"
"Thank you for wishing for that to happen to me Poppy."
The princess could hear the gratefulness in his voice and felt herself smiling again. "I know that someday true love is going to find you Branch and then you will be free of both of the spells that bind you. I've been here quite a while I should go."
"Thank you for giving me hope Poppy and for coming to visit I hope you will visit again soon."
"I will come to talk to you again soon." The pink troll promised before she brought the meditation to an end. Poppy sat in silence for a few moments, before she stood up and looked down at the sleeping form of the great King.
As she looked at him that pain came back, Poppy lifted her left hand, she touched it to the spot on her chest over her heart and realisation started to set in on the princess at last. This pain she realized was always associated to Branch, it was worse when she thought about the fact he might never wake up or be woken by a troll who was not herself. Slowly Poppy's mouth opened but no words came out, the princess closed her mouth again as her thoughts somersaulted over themselves, it wasn't possible was it? She couldn't be in love with Branch…Could she? The answer to those questions when it came was a simple yes, it had Poppy reeling and her pink eyes widening. The princess didn't know when it had happened exactly or how but the pink troll knew without a doubt that she loved Branch, she had for loved him possibly even longer than he had loved her. But was it true love? Even as this question entered her mind it was squashed by the memory of dancing with him at her party and of that small half smile which had always made her heart flutter.
Poppy put her head into her hands, she let out a groan and the princess wondered how could she have been so stupid or so blind to her own feelings for the grey troll. Slowly the pink troll let her hands drop from her face, she looked at Branch again and then placed her right hand onto his two. Poppy took a deep breath she felt so nervous and this feeling just confirmed to the princess that she loved Branch. The pink troll let the breath out, then she started to sing, she sung to him of her love for him, of how beautiful she was sure his true colours would be and as she sung Poppy's pink eyes went wide as the grey troll began to glow blue again. This time the blue light unlike last time didn't fade from Branch, instead sky blue light raced along his body obliterating the grey colour of his skin, then sapphire blue washed up through his hair which grew longer and when the colour reached the top of the King's hair blue sparkles left the hair filling the air around the princess.
As Poppy looked down at her hand on his now glowing blue ones and the pink troll realized that she was now glowing pink just as she had been when Branch had saved her all that time ago. Slowly the princess smiled to herself, he was such wonderful shades of blue, it was so unusual to see a troll with these colourings and they confirmed Creek had been right, one of Branch's ancestors had been royal as this particular colouring was known as royal blue. "Blue…Your royal blue…Oh Branch, you are so handsome. I love you…I truly do love you Branch." As she spoke these words, Poppy placed her left hand back to the spot on her chest were the Branch had pushed the blue flame into her heart and this time when she drew it away a pink flame was sitting in her hand. "The fire of true love always burns the brightest…Now I know what my mother was trying to tell me…" As she spoke Poppy carefully lowered the flame towards the chest of the sleeping King and then pressed it into his chest over his heart. "Please wake up." She said to him softly.
A few moments passed and just when Poppy was beginning to think it had not worked Branch let out a small noise. She watched with wonder in her eyes as the two tendrils around his wrists retracted and when they were completely gone the pink troll took one of his hands into hers, she lifted it to her lips and kissed the back of it. "That's it Branch, I love you please wake up." Slowly the tendril at the King's waist released him, the grey troll let out another waking noise and as he did this the princess watched with joy as the fingers of the hand she was holding closed slowly round her own. A few moments later the tendrils at the ankles of the King retreated back into the tree leaving only the one at his neck.
Gradually Branch's blue eyes opened, they focused on Poppy standing beside him and he frowned slightly with confusion. "Poppy?"
"Yes, my true love I am here. I love you I truly do Branch." As she spoke these words to the still glowing blue troll his eyes widened and the tendril at his neck let him go.
Poppy moved her left hand from where it had remained laid against his chest to cup his cheek and stroke it gently. "I love you Branch."
"I love you Poppy." As the blue troll confessed this his blue eyes were full of the love he held for the princess and in that moment Poppy realised that had been what she had seen in his eyes the day when Branch had helped the troll tree to grow.
The princess smiled widely at him, to her those were the sweetest words that she had ever heard and she wanted to hear him say them again. "Say that again."
Branch smiled up at her and Poppy wanted to melt under the warmth of his first full smile. "I love you Poppy."
The pink troll reluctantly moved her hands away from Branch and took a step back from him in order to allow him to get up. Slowly the great King of the trolls rose from where he had been resting for so long, once he was on his feet Branch smoothly sheathed his sword and then stretched. Suddenly realising for the first time that he was glowing blue the King looked down at himself and gave a start of surprise. Poppy watched with amusement dancing in her eyes as he held up a now blue hand and looked at it for a few moments with shock. "I'm blue again…" He said with awe in his voice before looking at Poppy as the light started to fade from them both.
"Yes…Royal blue to be precise my King." As she spoke to him the princess sunk down into the lowest and most formal of curtsies before the great King and moved her eyes to look respectfully at the floor instead of Branch.
"Poppy I told you before you don't need to use my title." Despite his words Poppy staid were she was. Branch let out a growl of aggravation, he walked the short distance to Poppy, the blue troll held out a hand where he knew despite her lowered gaze she could see it. The princess took the hand, the blue King helped her to stand up, Branch glared down at the other troll and said to her. "Don't do that again."
"But I don't have a choice, you are the great King." The blue troll let out another growl, that noise had they eyes of the princess widening and the next thing Poppy knew she was being kissed fiercely. The pink troll let out a small whimper, she had never been kissed like this before and Poppy knew that he could over power her with ease yet Branch wasn't. The princess closed her eyes, she put her arms round Branch, Poppy took hold of his shirt gripping it tightly before she started to return his kiss. The King cradled the back of Poppy's head with his left hand and ran the fingers of his right into the pink hair of the princess causing her to shiver with delight.
When Branch broke the kiss Poppy let out a groan of disappointment, her eyes opened to find the great King watching her closely with a burning gaze. "You are not going to go around using my title, or calling me your majesty and you are most certainly not curtsying to me every time we meet. You are my true love and the princess of this tree!"
"But the laws state only your family members or adopted family members such as Creek have no need to show you the respect you title demands."
Branch let out another growl. "Poppy stop it now and before you ask, yes that is a royal command."
"Yes your majesty." The pink troll said with a cheeky smile for the other troll.
The blue King shook his head at the princess as he released her from his hold and said to her. "Honestly Poppy…What am I going to do with you?"
"Oh, I have an idea." Poppy said softly, taking one of his hands into hers and looking up at him.
"Really care to share?" He asked her curiously.
"Well you could kiss me again and then tell the whole troll tree that we are getting married."
The King raised both eyebrows at Poppy. "Are you trying to tell me what you would like me to propose marriage to you?"
"Yes I am. I am not about to let some other troll marry you. You my true love are completely off limits to any troll but me." The princess said with complete sincerity.
"I'll think about asking you to marry me at some point." Branch said with laughter dancing in his eyes.
Poppy couldn't help but grin at him as the blue troll teased her for the first time. "You'll only think about it?"
"Well I have only been awake a short while and maybe after I have been awake for a while you might decide that you don't want to be married to me."
"That is not going to happen. You are mine my true love." As she spoke Poppy put her fingers between his and started to pull the King along with her as she set off into the troll tree.
When the other trolls noticed the two trolls walking along, they instantly moved aside for them, and bowed or curtsied to the great King as went passed them. The blue troll tried not to blush, he wasn't use to all this attention or all of the other trolls treating him so respectfully. Poppy tried not to laugh at how clearly uncomfortable Branch was with all of this, she knew that the chosen great King hadn't been brought up with all the rigmarole of royal life so it was understandable that he would be uncomfortable with his new situation and station in life. The other trolls had started to follow the two trolls through the troll tree and by the time the great King and the princess reached the main area before the troll tree the whole tree was waiting there for them.
Smiling Creek stepped forward, he bowed to Branch. "Branch great King of the trolls." As soon as the purple troll said these words all of the gathered trolls bowed or curtsied towards the blue troll.
Branch took a deep breath, Poppy slowly took her hand out of his, she gave the blue troll a nod and said to him softly. "You can do this Branch I know you can. The troll tree wouldn't have chosen you if you couldn't and I am more than willing to help and guide you learn to rule in any way I can."
The great King gave her a small nod, he stepped forward, Branch looked round at all of the trolls standing before him and then addressed them for the first time as their great King. "I take my place today as the great King of the trolls and I promise that I shall rule you all with wisdom and justice. With the assistance of princess Poppy and my soul brother Creek I shall strive to make sure that no harm comes to any of you, that all of you are as happy as it is possible to be and that we are always prepared for anything that may come be it good or bad." The trolls cheered, Branch smiled round at them, then at Poppy and Creek who now stood each side of him. "Now I think we should do something we are good at PARTY!"
The trolls cheered again, soon music was blaring, the trolls were dancing and singing, Branch was dancing with Poppy, Creek and the other members of the snack pack and they were all glad to see the now blue troll clearly enjoying himself properly for the first time in a long time. When a slow started to play Branch smiled mischievously as he pushed Creek towards Suki, the purple troll turned a glare onto his soul brother who just smiled at him. The spiritual troll took a deep breath, he then walked over to were Suki was standing and held a hand out to the orange haired troll. "Will you dance with me?"
"I'd like that." The DJ said with a smile, she took Creek's hand and let his guide her out onto the dancefloor.
Poppy mean while had taken hold of Branch's hands and the two of them were out on the dancefloor dancing the waltz together. The princess lay her head against the chest of the blue troll's chest and Branch smiled down at the troll in his arms. "I love you." He said to her softly.
The pink troll looked up at him and smiled gently. "And I love you."
As the party wound down, Poppy found Branch and Creek together and couldn't help but over hear their conversation. "I hope you won't mind me staying in the spare room of your pod for the night Creek." Branch said to the other troll.
"Of cause not, after all you don't have your own pod yet." The purple troll said to the King with a smile.
The blue King sighed deeply and then said. "I'll have to look for one of my own soon…I don't want to overstay my welcome."
"You could always move into mine." The princess said as she joined the other two trolls.
Branch looked at the pink troll. "Poppy we are not a married couple so that is not going to happen."
Poppy gave the blue troll a cheeky smile. "I didn't know you could be so old fashioned."
The King refused to rise to her bait, instead he just rolled his eyes at Poppy and then walked away from her with his brother at his side to get some sleep. The princess watched him going grinning to herself, she was so very glad that Branch was awake, free of being grey and that he was her true love. Poppy made her way through the tree to her own pod so that she could get her own sleep for the night. As she settled down for the night the princess wondered what it was going to be like when she heard Branch sing, Poppy hoped he would sing soon. The pink troll had to admit that not knowing what Branch's singing voice sounded like was driving her crazy with curiosity.