Hello my troll fans!!
Today. One year ago today I uploaded the first chapter of this story to this site! I'm so ecstatic about how this story has turned out so far! I've been thinking of this story for years, and I'm so happy to have it out for you all to read! There are so many more adventures for Branch, Poppy, Rose, and others to go on!
Big thanks to WildKat25 for helping with this story!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and all future chapters to come! Thank you all so much for your support with this story!
Rose peeked out of Branchs hair to get a better view of where they were. She let out a yawn as she noticed they were by the main tree where Poppy's pod was. Poppy looked up at Rose when she heard her yawn. "Come here Rose." Poppy said as she reached for her, taking her out of Branchs hair. "It was a rough night last night, I know. Once we get to Queen Essences place you can take a nap there. First we have to go to my dad's pod and get him." She explained, before gently placed her finger on Roses nose. Poppy giggled when Rose grabbed her hand and placed it on her head. "What are you doing, silly?" She smiled down at the little troll as they walked up to Peppys pod. Poppy sat Rose in Branchs arms and knocked on the door. "Dad, we're here." She called.
"Come in." A faint reply came. Poppy opened the door and walked in to see her father finishing off a cup of coffee. Peppy looked up and smiled at them. "Hello dear." He said happily as he walked over to Poppy and gave her a hug, getting a tight hug in return. He took a step back to greeted Branch and Rose. "Hello Branch. And good morning Rose." He smiled when Rose shyly waved at him.
"Good morning. Are you ready to go?" Branch asked.
Peppy nodded and stood up slowly. "Yes. Let's head out." He headed out the door with the others following behind.
As they walked towards the funk royals shuttle, Branch could feel Roses hand tighten around his arm. He looked down at her. "It will be okay Rose. Remember what I said yesterday, Queen Essence will have some fun games to play. Today will be fun." He assured her, gently rubbing her arm to comfort her. He felt her relax a bit as they made their way to the home.
As they got to shuttle they noticed them outside with Delta and Clampers in a little sunroom. "Hello!" Poppy greeted as they got close. She saw them turn and Clampers ran out to greet them.
"Hello Miss Poppy! Mr Peppy, Branch!" She grinned up at them before turning to Rose. "Come on Rose, let's go play! Miss Essence brought out a bunch of stuff for us to play with!" She said excitedly as she ran back to the door.
Rose kicked her feet gently as Branch put her down. She quickly walked to the door and peeked inside, looking around to see a pile of toys in the center of the room. "Come on in Rose." Essence voice came, causing her to hide a bit. "It's okay. You can come in."
Rose felt a hand on her back. She looked up to see Branch and Poppy behind her. "Go on in." Branch said. Rose looked back inside and slowly walked in and made her way to the toys. She looked up to see Clampers looking through the toys. Rose knelt down and picked up a beetle toy the size of her hand. She noticed the wheel underneath and gave it a bit of turn till she heard a click. She rolled the toy on the ground till she heard the click again and let it go. To her surprise it zoomed off. Her eyes widened when it zoomed off under the couch, startling her. She quickly crawled over to the couch and knelt down to see where it went.
Essence giggled as she watched Clampers go to the couch as well to check out the toy. She looked up at Branch and Poppy. "All these toys were some of Darnells favorites." She said. "It's nice to have little ones around again."
"It looks like they will have fun." Poppy smiled. "Thank you for watching them."
"It's my pleasure. I have many games we can play." Essence smiled down at the two kids.
Rose looked up at them and quickly walked back to Branch. She wrapped her arm around his leg, a small frown on her face as she stared up at him. Branch knelt down to her. "We will be back in a couple of hours. I promise." He whispered softly to her. He saw Rose reach her hand up towards him and picked her up into a hug. Branch held her for a minute before placing her on his leg. Roses frown stayed on her face as she looked up at Poppy and reached her hand towards her.
Poppy gave her a smile and knelt down next to Branch. "Is that a frown I see?" She said playfully as she picked Rose up. She stood Rose on her knees as she bounced a bit. "What happens if we turn it upside down?" She turned Rose around and laid her down so her head was on her lap and her feet dangling in the air. She looked down at Rose to see a small smile on her face. Poppy gasped playfully as she tickled Rose gently. "I still see what appears to be a frown! I thought it was supposed to be upside down, what happened? Oh well, I better stand you back up." She stood Rose up, seeing Rose had covered her mouth with her hand. "What are you doing, silly? Are you hiding something from me?" She gently poked Roses nose and moved her hand. She gasped dramatically when she saw Roses smile. "Is that what I think it is? It is! A pretty little smile." She cooed as she hugged Rose. She felt Rose hug her tightly, nuzzling into her cheek. "You keep smiling, okay? I wanna see that beautiful smile when we come back." She whispered to her softly as she rubbed her back. She set Rose on the ground and stood up along with Branch. "We will see you soon."
Rose stared up at them, her smile gone as she took a step backwards. She looked over at Clampers when she heard a toy making noise and walked over.
~
As they walked to the fun dungeon, Branch saw all the other leaders talking outside the door. He looked around to see if anyone was missing. "Are we just waiting for Ray and Elise?" He asked.
"They just went inside." Trollzart replied as he flew over to them.
"We should get inside as well." Quincy stated. The others nodded in agreement and headed inside.
Poppy walked in to see Jack, Ray, and Elise sitting at a table in the fungeon. They all walked over to the table in silence.
"Well. Good morning everyone. I didn't expect to see everyone come today." Jack said before looking at Peppy. "And you sir, I really didn't expect to see you here."
Poppy stared at him, her face expressionless. "Jack. From everything that has happened yesterday, and what I have gathered from your actions in the past, we are here to talk about the punishment that I have chosen for you. You have shown that you are unable to live here in Pop village." She started but was cut off.
"Punishment? For what? I spoke my opinion yesterday, that is all." Jack frowned, narrowing his eyes.
"You tried to hit Branch! I have heard about what happened the other day, and what you have done in the past. I am very disappointed, and ashamed to have heard what you have done." Peppy spoke in a disgruntled voice.
"What I have done? All I have done is put the grey trolls in their place. They do not deserve to be near us." Jack spat out. "They brainwashed everyone! He brainwashed everyone!"
"Where have you heard such nonsense?" Peppy frowned. "You're wife was-"
"Do not speak of her!" Jack shouted, slamming his hand on the table. His action shocking King Trollex and Trollzart.
Peppy narrowed his eyes at Jack before looking at Ray. "From the sound of it, Jack never told you the truth about what happened to Anne." He said, ignoring the dirty look Jack was giving him. "You're mother turned grey, that is true. She had lost a child a day before Trollstic. Your father refused to move to a different pod after the incident, he said you and Anne will stay in the pod. Anne listened to him and you two stayed in the pod all day after that."
"I didn't-" Jack started.
"Do not interrupt me!" Peppys voice boomed, causing Jack to immediately shut his mouth. "Your mother spent her last day trying to keep you safe, Ray. She spent hours digging a hole in the wall behind the bed, big enough for you to fit so the Bergen's didn't find you. Your mother did everything she could to protect you, even though she was grey." Peppy finished, turning his gaze back at Jack. "Everything your father had told you about grey trolls are lies."
Ray stared at Peppy, before turning to Jack. "Dad, is that true?" He asked quietly.
"No. It's not." Jack said sternly.
"Jack." Peppy warned, standing up. "You are a coward. I have heard of the terrible things you have done to Branch when he was a young child. I also heard of things you have done to Ray. I don't know how I didn't hear of it when I was king, but you should consider yourself lucky I didn't hear about all of this before. Things would have been very different. You would have been exiled for child abuse." He seethed.
Poppy looked at her dad and gently placed her hand on his. "Okay dad." She said softly, causing Peppy to sit back down. She looked over at Jack. "You have attacked grey trolls, both physically and verbally." She started.
"I have done no such thing." He argued back. "I have done what I needed to to keep grey trolls from harming others! Though my efforts have been in vain."
"Your efforts have done nothing but harm trolls who have done nothing to you. You have no respect for other trolls Jackie." Barb said, her annoyed tone coming through.
Jack looked at her. "Why should I have respect for tribes who left us to die! No one tried to save us! And do not call me that!"
"They didn't know what was going on. The tribes separated because of our ancestors, how could they have known our pain? I'm sure they had their own problems we didn't know of." Branch explained, seeing Jack getting annoyed the more he talked.
"Shut your mouth! We did not deserve that pain from someone else's mistake!" He growled. He heard a laugh and quickly looked over at Barb. "Why are you laughing?!"
"You! You're such a hypocrite, I can't help it!" She stopped laughing as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You blame grey trolls for your pain, when it was your mistake. Your actions speak louder than words." Barb growled slightly.
Jack growled back as he looked over at Branch. "He caused so much pain for all of us! He is a coward! He yelled lies and set traps that almost killed other trolls!"
"From what I understand the traps were used to protect everyone from the Bergen's." Quincy cut in. "He was protecting his village, that's because you didn't want him. I think it's genius that a child thought of traps to help his village. I also believe he was also trying to keep trolls like you from hurting him."
"He set the traps because he is a coward! You want a coward as a king!" He screamed in frustration as he looked over at Poppy. "You want to make a grey troll king! You felt sorry for a grey thing and now he has brainwashed everyone into letting him be king!"
Branch stared at Jack confused, a sudden tightness in his chest as he looked over at Poppy to see her distraught expression. He never gave it much thought but hearing Jack's words made his mind race. He was quickly snapped back when he heard Peppys voice.
"Branch would make an amazing king!" He said loudly. "You know nothing about Branch, yet you judge him like you know everything about him! Branch is the only troll to accept every music without a second thought! He's quick thinking and does whatever he can to protect his fellow trolls! You should consider yourself lucky to have him as king. Branch would make a better king than I ever was." Peppy said sternly and unfeigned.
Branch stared at Peppy in shock. He felt a hand on his, looking down to see his hand shaking slightly under Poppys. He felt her gently squeeze her hand, glancing back up at her.
Jack stared at Peppy in shock. "You actually believe that? That's outrageous! He has been hiding in a hole for years, he knows nothing!" He looked back at Poppy. "You are going to make a big mistake Queen Poppy. It's bad enough you need the other leaders here for help with your competence!"
"What the hell did you just say?!" Two voices boomed. The echo of their hands slamming against the table caused everyone to jump. Branch and Barb were now standing as their eyes were glued on Jack.
"You can say whatever you want about me, but you will not insult Queen Poppys ability to lead!" Branch fumed, glaring at Jack.
"You have done nothing but insult Branch, now you insult your Queen!? Without them, you would have been eaten by now! You are a disgrace to your tribe! You have shown nothing but disrespect to all of us!" Barb yelled. "You are lucky to have her as you're queen."
Branch and Barb remained standing as the room fell silent. Poppy slowly stood up, causing Branch and Barb to immediately sit back down. Poppy saw Jack's mouth open but she held her hand up, silencing him. "I have had enough of this Jack. I had secretly hoped what happened yesterday was some terrible fluke, but I was wrong to hope that. Today you have truly confirmed who you are to not only me, but all of the fellow leaders. You are a troll that I can not trust. You are violent towards grey trolls, and I am genuinely scared you are going to hurt a baby troll. I can not have that in my village! I will not put any of my people in danger." She saw Jack getting more frustrated as she talked. "You may think that I am an inadequate leader, but you are just scared of what your punishment is. I also know you do not appreciate the other trolls that have moved into this village. Your punishment is my decision, and you will abide by them. You are no longer allowed in this village. Tomorrow morning you will go with Delta Dawn to Lonesome Flats."
"What?!" Jack yelled.
"You will live in Lonesome Flats. You will listen to whatever Delta and Growly Pete tell you to do, no exceptions! You will stay there and not return to this village." Poppy finished, staring down at Jack.
"What do you mean?! What about my family?!" Jack stood up as he yelled.
"Your family will stay here, but you can have supervised visits. You may not have hurt them yet, but I do not trust you near any child." Poppy looked over at Ray and Elise. "We will talk more, please meet me in the royal pod." She said as she turned around. The other leaders along with Branch and Peppy stood up and followed her out. Once the door closed behind them Poppy let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. She felt two hands on her shoulder, looking up to see Branch and Peppys hands on her shoulders.
"I know that was hard, but it needed to be done." Peppy encouraged. "He refuses to listen, and he is a danger to Rose."
Poppy let out a shaky sigh. "I never thought I'd have to kick someone out of the village. I know I have to make tough decisions but never thought I'd ban someone from my village." She said softly.
"You made the right decision today Queen Poppy." Quincy said as he walked in front of her. "It's hard being king or queen. Other trolls don't realize how hard it is, but in the end you know it will be better in the long run. You are keeping your people safe, even if it's from one of their own."
Poppy looked around and saw the other leaders nodding in agreement. Trollex flew next to Quincy.
"It's harder when you're new. You've never really had all this pressure on you like this. I know it's hard, but it will get easier. You also have us to help support you." He grinned at her.
"Lex here is right." Barb spoke up. "It's hard, but you have us."
Poppy smiled at them. "Thanks everyone. It means a lot. Thank you all for being here today as well, it means a lot."
"Ya don't have to thank us Queen Poppy, we all wanted to be here." Delta smiled at her.
Poppys smile widened. "Well, now I just want to talk to Ray and Elise about what will happen next. You all don't have to come for this one."
"Are you sure Queen Poppy?" Quincy asked, seeing her nod in response. "Alright, if you say so. I will go update Essence on what happened."
Poppy looked over at Branch. "Do you want to go get Rose and meet me here after? It shouldn't take long."
Branch nodded. "Sure, I'll go get her."
"I think I'll go with ya. Clampers needs to pack her stuff for the trip." Delta added. "I will see ya all when I get back if I don't see y'all before I leave." She said before turning around and started heading towards Quincy's home.
"We better catch up to her." Quincy chuckled, looking down at Branch before following Delta with Branch not far behind.
Poppy, Barb, and Peppy started talking towards the royal pod before Barb spoke up. "So have you talked to him yet? From his reaction earlier he was surprised at the mention of him being King."
Poppy stopped in her tracks, letting out a sigh of defeat. "No, I haven't. I was never able to find the right time. Before we were just so busy I didn't want to make things awkward. Before Rose came into the picture, things were just starting to get more comfortable. We were learning what we were comfortable with, and taking small steps. I didn't want to scare him off. I have no idea how Branch would react to being king, or if he would even be okay with the idea. He is a really good leader and he is always helping me. I don't think he realizes, or knows any of the old rules of royals." Poppy took a few deep breaths, not realizing how fast she was talking.
"You're anxious." Barb said, causing Poppy to look at her. "Dude. Branch is like, already helping you with half the things you do for the village. He may not realize it, but he is good for the job. I'm sure he will be awkward about it at first, but he will come around to it."
"I agree with Queen Barb." Peppy spoke up. "Branch will be cautious at first, that is how he is. After what Jack said today he will doubt himself and his capability of being King. He may need time to understand what is being asked of him as well. You are the one who knows him best, you know if he will be a good leader or not." Peppy smiled at her.
"Any troll that is willing to jump in front of another troll like he did has a good heart. If he truly doesn't want to lead, you're fine leading by yourself too. Branch is a good troll in my books." Barb said as she started walking again.
Poppy giggled shyly. "He really is the best." She grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~
Branch walked quietly behind Quincy and Delta, staring at the ground. He didn't notice they stopped and bumped into King Quincy. "I'm sorry."
"Branch, are you okay? I don't think I've seen you this way before." Quincy replied.
"You're so disoriented. You're never disoriented." Delta added.
"I'm just thinking, didn't realize you stopped."
"It's about what Jack said, isn't it?" Delta asked. "About you being a bad king."
Branch froze. "...I didn't even think about it before, other than our short talk the other day. I don't even know the rules or anything about that stuff." He admitted.
"Every tribe is different." Quincy spoke, holding up his hands to show Branch his rings. "Each of my rings resembles things I've been through. One for becoming king, one from my family, and one for my family. I plan on getting this ring split in two for my sons." He lifted his other hand. "These are my accomplishments for my leadership. One for helping my people when they needed it, and another for knowing when I needed help." He looked up at Branch. "Being a leader is hard, today proved it for Queen Poppy. Today was hard, but you stuck with her through it all."
"I was voted by my town." Delta added. "I didn't grow up to be a leader, but was chosen for my spirit and my desire to help my town. We don't have many things in Lonesome Flats, but I made sure my people were happy and healthy. At one point I got so overwhelmed, I almost quit. My family had an accident and I started taking care of Clampers, but my people helped me and it was a growing experience. I learned to lead, and help take care of Clampers."
Branch stared at them in awe as he listened. "I have never heard your stories before." He looked down. "I just don't think I'd be a good leader. Poppy would do better without me there."
"Poppy is an amazing Queen, and she is an even better queen when you're around to ground her. You two already make an amazing team." Delta smiled at him.
"We make a good team, but I'm not a people person. I don't get along with everyone, and there are still lots of trolls who don't like me. I wouldn't make a good king."
"You doubt your abilities, Branch. You would be great, You have a lot of natural leading abilities." Quincy added. "Poppy hasn't chosen her decision for her king lightly. She would have chosen someone she loves. I think you two will complete each other."
Branch looked down, blushing slightly. "Thanks...I guess I'll have to think about it and talk to Poppy about it." He admitted as they started walking again. As they walked towards Quincy's home they could hear Essence's voice getting louder. They turned the corner to see Essence and Clampers dancing outside the sunroom. Branch looked around, not seeing Rose with them.
Essence stopped when she saw them coming. "Look who's here." She knelt down, revealing grey hair on her back. Rose quickly sat up as her eyes landed on Branch. Rose's face lit up as she scrambled off Essence and ran to Branch. Rose jumped into his open arms when she got close enough, wrapping herself tightly around him.
Branch chuckled as he held her close. "I missed you too." He whispered. He was surprised when she started squirming in his arms. He placed her on the ground as she kept a grip on his hand. She pulled him towards the Essence and the sunroom.
Essence giggled at the sight of Rose pulling a hunched over Branch. "Rose dear, do you want to go collect your things?" Essence smiled when Rose nodded and let go of Branch to go into the sunroom. "She was a lot more interactive today. Her and Clampers played with the toys and listened to a few stories. She ate a bit of lunch, but not much." Essence told him. "She also refuses to dance. She just sat on my back when Clampers wanted to show us some dance moves.I thought it was a bit weird, so I wanted to let you know."
Branch looked up at her. "She hasn't really danced since I've had her, only really nodded her head or tapped her feet. I'm hoping once her cast is off she will be more willing to do more things." Branch explained, seeing Essence nod. "But I'm glad she played more today." He smiled.
"I am too. If you ever need someone to look after her, I will gladly be willing to take her for the day." She offered as she saw Rose come back out with a few of her things. "Don't forget your beetle toy." She laughed when Rose dropped her stuff and ran back into the room to get the beetle. "She has been playing with that toy all day."
Branch smiled at her. "Thank you Queen Essence." He looked down when he felt a head leaning against his leg. He looked down to see Rose was hugging his leg as she held her new toy Essence gave her towards him. "Did Queen Essence give you that toy?" He asked, seeing her nod excitedly. "Did you thank her?"
Rose looked up at Essence and opened her book to the words 'thank you'. Essence smiled down at her. "You are very welcome Rose." She said before feeling a small hug on her leg. She looked down at her feet to see Rose quickly running back to Branch.
Branch picked up a now shy Rose. He chuckled when she quickly went into his hair. "We will see you later." He said before walking back to the royal pod. As they walked he looked up at his hair. "Queen Essence told me you didn't want to dance today. Are you okay?" He waited but didn't get a response. "Maybe once you get your cast off Saturday, we can go see Tresillo and the girls. I'm sure they would love to show you some dance moves, if you're okay with that." He felt her move in his hair, but he wasn't sure what it meant. "Think about it, okay? You're getting the cast off in a few days, that is going to be exciting!" He looked up at the royal pod ahead. He felt her fall asleep in his hair as the beetle toy fell from his hair.
He gently knelt down to pick it up and turned over the toy, noticing the wind up mechanism. "Oh, so you need force applied in the opposite direction to go forward. Clever. This seems to get all the legs moving and the toy to go forward. I wonder if she would want more of these kinds of toys?" He sat down near the royal pod as he waited for the meeting to end, thinking as he could hear Rose breathing softly in sleep. He thought for a moment, a spider. The perfect toy to chase the beetle, but he would make a nice softer friendly spider for Rose to play with. Poppy would be able to make a much cuter looking spider so it doesn't scare Rose. "She will probably add a bunch of glitter and fluff on it." He chuckled to himself. "This toy will be more detailed than the beetle, but I think you'll like it," sighed Branch as he enjoyed the thought of Rose excited and waited quietly for Poppy.