Branch decided that whenever he had to go into the village he would have to go alone so none of the other trolls recognized him. "But why can't I go with you?" Roselyn asked following him closely as he gathered his things he would need to make the trek to the village.

"It's safer this way," he tried to explain but the little girl gave him a sad look and replied, "I don't want you to leave me."

"I know," he sighed lowering his head, "but I don't want anything to happen to you. I would never forgive myself if anything ever did."

Roselyn wiped away a single tear that fell from her left eye before rushing up to her big brother and throwing her arms around his waist "I love you," she whispered burying her head in his side.

Branch very slowly returned the hug to the little troll "I love you, too," he replied giving her a gentle squeeze. "Now," he said clearing his throat "I'll be right back."

"Okay," the little girl sighed as she reluctantly released her big brother.

The older troll gave her a reassuring smile "I'll be alright."

Roselyn watched and waved until Branch was out of sight then she quickly went into hiding until he returned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the village, Branch quickly got as much supplies and food as he could carry by himself, he was in a hurry because he did not want to be discovered by the group of trolls that always showed up. Once he had everything he needed he started to head back home but the sound of voice grabbed his attention.

"Just ignore it," he tried to tell himself, but curiosity got the better of him and he very quietly made his way over to where he heard the voices. As he got closer he recognized who the voices belonged to, it was the very group of trolls that enjoyed he had been trying to avoid.

"The next time I see that Grey Freak, I 'm really going to let him have it." The tall troll sneered "I mean who does he think he is? Just waltzing into our village anytime he wants to and taking our food?"

"Maybe we should just let Queen Abilene deal with him," the second tallest troll pointed out.

"Why let her have all the fun?" the tallest one smirked balling his hand into fists.

"Because it's the law," the shortest troll piped up.

"Laws are made to be broken," the tallest one replied as punched the air "just like his ugly mug.

"Yeah, you're right," the short troll agreed

Branch figured now was the best time to get out of there and he slowly began backing away. SNAP! A small twig broke under his foot, the grey troll felt his fear take over.

"What was that?" one of the trolls asked.

"Well what are you waiting for? Go check it out." The tall leader said nodding his head in the direction the noise had come from. Branch stayed low as he hurried away from the trolls and the village. He knew it was best not to stop even if he was almost out of breath, a familiar large rock came into view. Branch quickly darted under in and into a new secret tunnel he had built for his and Roselyn's safety.

"BRANCH!" the little girl exclaimed the moment he came into view.

"Hey," he panted as he laid down the bags of supplies and food.

After taking a moment to catch his breath he started preparing a hazelnut broth for soup "Can I help?" Roselyn asked watching his every move.

Branch smiled slightly before giving her the most important job of stirring the soup as he added the ingredients. "It already smells so yummy!" Roselyn sang as she skipped happily around with her troll doll "Did you learn how to make it?"

"That's because it is yummy." Branch replied adding the last of the ingredients to the soup "I use to watch my grandma make it all the time." As the soup was cooking the two trolls decided they would go collect water for drinking, they grabbed the two pales and headed to the watering hole. Branch allowed Roselyn to fill both buckets while he carried them back and by the time they returned the broth was just about finished. Roselyn watched as Branch grabbed their two bowls and served the broth into hers before carefully handed it to her.

"Thank you," she said smiling slowly taking the bowl. The two trolls sat down and enjoyed the soup together. "So yummy!" Roselyn exclaimed before taking another big sip of her broth.

"Thanks," Branch replied "I knew you would like it."

"Do you think Poppy will visit us soon?" Roselyn asked looking down her bowl of broth.

"I don't know," Branch sighed "I'm sure she will."

"Or do you think she forgot about us?"

"No," the older troll replied, "she's the princess and she is very busy."

"Yeah," the little girl sighed sadly "you're probably right."

Branch gave her a small smile "Poppy will visit us when she can."

Satisfied with his answer Roselyn spent the rest of the night painting pictures with the new art supplies that Branch had picked up for from the village earlier. Branch was right about the reason Poppy not coming to visit, she had been extremely busy but she did manage to sneak out a couple days later.

"But why do you hate grey trolls?" Poppy found herself asking one afternoon as she sat down for her daily tea and cupcakes that Lady Abilene always insisted on having.

Poppy watched as her stepmother's face changed the moment she heard the words grey trolls in the same sentence "Because they are a no-good disgusting excuse for a troll!" she snapped squeezing the handle of her teacup.

"How do you know!" Poppy found herself snapping back "Have you ever really gotten to know one?"

"Yes, I have," Lady Abilene frowning "and you want to know what happened? They took everything away that was important to me. One of vile creatures is responsible for the death your mother."

Poppy let out a small gasp as she took a couple steps backwards "What…how?"

Lady Abilene straightened out her face before answering her questioned "They are all monsters deep down inside their black hearts and your mother found out the hard way that she should never have turned her back on one."

The young princess stood in silence for a few minutes, not knowing what to say or to believe. "Don't you worry my dear," Abilene said calmly placing her right hand onto Poppy's shoulder "our kingdom is safe and grey troll free."

"What if it's not?" Poppy asked lowering her head "What if there is one that is still around?"

Lady Abilene's eyes narrowed and replied harshly "Then it will get what it deserves."

Poppy opened her mouth and started to say "What if I kn…" but before she could finish a couple of the royal guards came rushing towards Lady Abilene stating that they had an emergency she had to attend to as soon as possible. The young troll watched as her stepmother quickly walked away leaving her all alone. She felt this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, if those guards hadn't shown up when they did was really going to tell her stepmother about Branch and where he was? Poppy shook the awful thought out of her head as hurried to the kitchen where she quickly grabbed as many things she could and stuffed them into her bag.

Once outside the heat from the scorching summer heat hit her like a ton of bricks and within seconds she was sweating. But she was determined to deliver the food bag and as far away from the palace as possible. When the familiar rock came into view she smiled and took a deep breath before marching right on over.

"Hello!" she called from just right outside.

A few seconds later a happy little pink troll appeared as she rushed over to the princess and threw her arms around Poppy's waist. Poppy smiled and hugged the young troll back.

"You're all sticky," the little girl giggled as she backed away

"I know," Poppy replied, "It's really hot out today."

"Branch said he was going to take me to a secret wading pool," Roselyn whispered down low, "he said no one knows about it but him."

"Oh really?" Poppy asked raising her eyebrow

"Yes really," Branch spoke up "my mother use to take me there all the time when I was younger."

"Do you want to come with us?" Roselyn asked giving Poppy her signature puppy dog eyes.

"Well…" Poppy started to say, "I don't know."

"You're more than welcome to come along," Branch said giving her a tiny smile.

"Please!" the little girl begged taking Poppy by the hand.

"She won't stop until you say yes," Branch said.

"Fine," Poppy replied "I'll go. Besides I could use an adventure after spending all that time cooped up in the palace."

"YAY!" Roselyn cheered.

"Oh, before I forget," she said walking over to where Branch was standing to hand the bag of goodies "here."

As Branch reached for the bag she noticed this arms were covered in finger sized bruises and a large mark on the side of face which she had thought was shadow but was another bruise. It looked so painful… "What happened?" she asked feeling a great sadness come over her.

"It doesn't matter," he whispered carefully taking the bag from her and slowly turning away "it's my fault."

Poppy waited with Roselyn while Branch put the bag in the bunker. "Now remember you must be very quiet on our way there," Branch reminded the young troll who smiled and nodded "because if we get caught it could be really bad."

"Why are you always doing something illegal?" Poppy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's only illegal because of me," Branch replied sadly

Poppy knew what he meant, and it made her feel bad. Together the three trolls set off towards Branch's secret wading pool, it was a far walk and it did not take long before Roselyn started to complain about her feet starting to hurt.

Branch stopped and sighed before allowing his adopted little sister to hitch a ride on his back. Poppy watched how the two trolls interacted with each other and it was nothing like how Lady Abilene described how any grey troll acted. Then the thought entered her head, what exactly does Lady Abilene do with grey trolls?

"Hey!" Branch hissed pulling Poppy out of her deep thoughts "Are you at least going to try and keep up?"

Poppy blinked when she realized she was falling behind "Sorry," she said rushing to keep up."

"How much longer before get there?" Poppy asked feeling a bit annoyed how long it was taking to get where they wanted to go.

"We're almost there," Branch replied

"You said that an hour ago," Roselyn mumbled before nuzzling her face into the back of his neck.

"Hey," Branch said playfully "no complaints out of you missy, unless you want to walk."

"I'm good," Roselyn replied.

"Probably doesn't even remember the way," Poppy mumbled under her breath as she followed closely behind when suddenly Branch stopped in front of her and walked right into him "Sorry," she said looking up to see why he had stopped, a large stone wall covered from top to bottom with thick vines stood before them.

"I think you led us to a dead end," Poppy remarked rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

The grey troll carefully set Roselyn down and turned back to the princess "Things are not always as they seem on the outside," he said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Poppy replied placing her hands on her hips.

Branch rolled his eyes and pulled back a couple of vines to reveal small opening "Okay Rosie," he said smiling "you are walking from here."

"Okay," the little girl replied as she took a few steps inside.

"After you," he said looking back at Poppy and holding out his hand for her to take.

Poppy felt a blush go across her face from being embarrassed and she mumbled something under her breath as she walked past the grey troll refusing his hand. They walked through a short tunnel before reaching their destination. The moment Poppy stepped out of the darkness she could not believe her eyes; it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen in her life. A secret oasis filled with many kinds of flowers but the thing that grabbed her attention was the waterfall that sat right in the middle of it all. The pool that sat below was not very deep near the edges and Roselyn wasted no time before she ran over to so she could splash around in the cool water.

"It's so beautiful," Poppy said in amazement as she stepped onto the soft grass looking around.

"My dad use to take my mother here all the time when they were younger and then she showed me," Branch told her as he took a seat on the soft ground and leaned back against a rock to relax.

"What was your family like?" Poppy found herself asking as she too took a seat next to him.

Branch looked over at her "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?" she asked, "It's good to talk about things."

"Not always," he replied.

"Was your whole family grey?"

Branch gave her a weird look "My family was just as bright and colorful as any other troll in the village."

"So, what happened with you then?" she asked not paying attention how her questions were affecting him.

"I don't remember," Branch lied as he closed his eyes remembering the day, he turned grey. He did not remember the exact words were said but he did remember the way he was yanked right out of his mother's arms then when his grandma tried to comfort him she too was ripped away from him. "MOM!...GRANDMA!" he cried out as his bright blue color slowly drained away. That's the moment the other trolls started to treat him differently, yelling at him, calling him names and shoving him as hard as they could. He felt his heart beating a mile a minute as he tried to get away. He ran until he hit something solid which turned out to be a troll not much older than him. At first Branch thought that he was in trouble, but the troll just stepped aside and let him pass.

"Maybe your family probably abandoned you when they saw that you were never going to get your colors," Poppy said pulling Branch out of his deep thought. "I mean no offense, they probably just ashamed to have an imperfect troll like you."

"Yeah maybe," he replied trying to hide the hurt in his voice from those hurtful words.

"No troll wants to have a grey troll around." she replied in a very uncaring tone.

"OKAY STOP!" he snapped quickly getting to his feet not understanding why she was even saying such hurtful things.

"But it's the truth isn't?" she asked naively finally looking at him in the face to see just how upset he was becoming.

"THAT'S NOT EVEN WHAT HAPPENED!" he snapped standing up and turning away from her.

Poppy did not know what was making her say such awful things but once she started she just could not stop herself, perhaps it was her stepmother's opinions rubbing off onto her "Why are you starting to lose your temper?" she asked "Just like my stepmother said grey trolls do. She says grey trolls are uncappable of caring for anyone other than themselves or have any feelings."

"If I didn't care about others then why I'm caring for Rosie then?" Branch asked still trying to hide how hurt she was making him feel, wishing she would stop being like every other troll that enjoyed hurting him.

"Well Lady Abilene says that a grey troll will pretend to care for others but deep down they are just trying to make the them just as ugly as they are." Poppy replied not even noticing his hurt expression on his face.

"I thought you were my friend?" he asked as his voice cracked.

"Well I am more of Roselyn's friend then I am yours." She replied nonchalantly

Branch said nothing as he tried to hold back some tears that were stinging his eyes. "You understand, don't you?" she asked, "I am only asking this because my stepmother says that grey trolls are not that smart."

"I understand," Branch replied letting a single tear fall from his eye "that you think if me like everyone else does. That I am nothing more than an ugly grey troll that has no feelings and if Roselyn was not with me you would let them know where I lived. But let me ask you something?"

"What's that?" she asked

"Do you even know what your stepmother does to trolls she doesn't like?" he asked

"Well no, not really," Poppy shrugged "but you're the only kind of troll she doesn't like."

"My family were not grey when she took them away!" he snapped causing her to jump slightly.

"She wouldn't just take them away!" Poppy snapped back as she finally got to her feet and stood face to face with Branch "She's not heartless like you!"

"I'm not the one who's heartless," Branch mumbled

"What's that supposed to mean?" Poppy huffed

"Oh, I think you know what it means," Branch retorted "you are her stepdaughter after all."

The next words Poppy said were a very powerful blow and one she wished she never had said them….."I Hope you get what's coming to you, the sooner the better!"

"I have never done anything to you," Branch whispered "or anyone else. Can you please stop."

"What you don't like the truth, do you?" she said wishing she would just stop saying such hurtful things.

"Roselyn!" Branch called "I think we should start heading home."

On the way home the two older trolls walked in silence and little Roselyn did not understand why, she tried her best to get them to speak but it was no use. She also noticed that her big brother looked like he really upset and the only way she knew how to cheer him up was to grab hold of his hand with hers. Like earlier her feet got tired and Branch carried her the rest of the way, only this time she fell asleep holding onto his shoulders.

"Why don't you just do what's best for her and let her go live with a real troll family?" Poppy asked but Branch just ignored her. "How are you going to feel when you damage her as much as you are?"

Branch thought about it but if he did let Roselyn go then he would be all alone again and he liked having her around, she had become his family and family sticks together no matter what. By the time, they arrived home Branch carefully placed Rosie on her makeshift bed and covered her up before going back outside only to find Poppy was still there waiting for his return.

"I'm sorry for being who I am," he said softly without even looking her in the eyes.

Poppy did not know what to say, she was afraid that if she opened her mouth she was going to say more hurtful things and deep down she was truly sorry saying all those things to him to begin with.

"I have to go," she mumbled before quickly rushing back towards her palace. "What's wrong with me?" she asked herself as she entered her room and throwing herself across her bed "Why did I say all those mean things, when I did not even mean any of them?"