Shadgirl2: We've got another chapter for you!

Midna: Yep! And some rummy to play!

Shadgirl2: I know there are several ways to play rummy, but the rules used here are the ones I was taught.

Midna: Eh, it's all basically the same kind of thing anyway.

Shadgirl2: Either way, it's time for some Broppy bonding!

Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls.

Poppy stared at the cards in her hand again and sweat. She looked about as lost as when Branch had taught her to play chess. It was amusing and kind of cute, really, how easily she got lost when trying to play these games he preferred.

Branch smirked a bit. "Having trouble? Again?" he teased.

"Uh...what was that thing about colors and matches again? I am so lost right now," she said, looking up from her hand.

Rummy was, clearly, not Poppy's game. Granted, this was her first time playing, so she might get better as she learned the rules.

"You can play cards that are either the same number or from the same suit in sequential order," Branch answered patiently. "But you have to draw first, Poppy."

"So...not two diamonds and two hearts, correct?" she asked as she took a card from the stock.

"Correct. They have to be all diamonds or all hearts."

"Oh. Okay, then... Let's see..." She discarded the king of clubs, which drew Branch's attention to the discard pile.

"Uh...it's your turn now, right?" Poppy asked uncertainly.

"Yep," Branch answered. He took the king of clubs off the discard pile, saying, "And I'll be taking that, thanks." He then played 4 kings on the table and then added a run of three spades cards—6, 7, and 8. This only left 4 cards in his hand.

Poppy gaped, stunned, and slapped her cards face-down on the table under her hands. "You're kidding! You had that many matches in your hand already!? How?"

"You have to pay attention, that's how," he teased lightly.

Poppy stared at him for another moment before giving a humph. She crossed her arms, pouting, and Branch discarded a card from his hand as the game continued. Getting the cards he needed for a final match so he could empty his hand turned out to be difficult for Branch, but he had an advantage over his opponent—he knew how to play. When Poppy melded a jack of clubs, queen of clubs, and king of clubs, Branch looked at his hand, knowing that he could use that. He had the matching 9 and 10 in his hand at the moment, but he'd have 4 cards after drawing. The last card currently in his hand, the jack of hearts, couldn't be played on anything, so he'd have to wait until he drew something that could.

A bit later in the game, Poppy melded three 3s. After discarding, this left her with four cards in her hand as well. On his turn, when Branch drew, he knew he had this won. He added the 9 and 10 of clubs to Poppy's earlier run—which made her ask how he could do that, prompting a short reminder on the rules of the game. Then he played a fourth 3 onto her set of 3s. Now there was only one card in his hand, and he still had to discard to end his turn.

Poppy gaped at him as he held onto that single card.

Branch smirked and set it in the discard pile, saying, "And, since I don't have any cards left, that's the end of that round. I win."

"Oh, come on!" Poppy protested. "That's not even—" She cut herself off, looking down at the cards in her hand with frustration.

"Now, whatever you have left, add their point values together, and we'll see what your score is."

"Arrrgh. Alright, fine. Here," she said, tossing her cards down in annoyance.

10 of spades, queen of hearts, four of spades, and queen of diamonds were all that remained for her. "Hmm... Two queens, which are 10 each, a 10, and a 4. So that's 34 points so far," Branch calculated for her.

Poppy gave a start, eyes widening. "What!? 34!? B-but that's—"

They were only going until someone reached 100, both to keep the games from going too long and to keep it simple for the new player. For a single round, Poppy could hardly believe how many points she'd just earned. This game wouldn't last long if she wasn't careful.

"Relax, you're not even halfway there yet," Branch said as he gathered up the deck and started shuffling.

Poppy was quiet another moment before saying, "Yeah, okay. Then deal 'em, Branch. I'm ready for you this time!"

"And I win that hand, too," Branch said after a bit.

In a single turn, he'd created three melds—four queens, three 8s, and the 2, 3, and 4 of hearts. Then, to end his turn, he discarded the last card he had.

Poppy stared for a second, wondering how he'd pulled that off. "Okay. This game makes no sense at all." She tossed down her remaining cards—2 kings and a jack. She'd thought she was winning, then Branch went and pulled a trick like that.

Branch looked at her cards and said, "That would normally be 30 points. However, unfortunately for you, I played my entire hand at once, so it's doubled. That puts you at 94 points."

"What!?" Poppy exclaimed as her eyes bugged out, horror-struck. "But that means I'm only six points from losing! No fair!"

"Better make sure you win the next round, then, huh?" Branch teased with a smirk as he shuffled the cards again.

Poppy stared at him, horror-struck, for another moment. If him playing his whole hand at once meant she earned double the points, this game has just gotten a lot more intense. And she'd thought chess was stressful. "...Oh, it's on now, mister! Just you wait! Hmph!" She crossed her arms, waiting for him to deal the cards. She looked determined—she didn't plan on losing to him this easily.

Branch dealt the cards, and they started another round. This time, tired of earning a lot of points at the end of each round, Poppy tried to keep the cards in her hand down to small numbers. Sadly, given how close she was to 100, this didn't help her much. She had a couple of 2s and a 3 in her hand as Branch discarded his last card.

"And I win," he said. "Not bad for a beginner."

Poppy sat there quietly for a moment, absorbing her latest loss. Then she threw her head back, slamming her eyes shut in frustration. "Aarrhh! You've gotta be kidding me! This game's more ridiculous than playing chess was! Aaah!" She let her head flop onto the table, which she pounded with a fist.

Branch laughed a bit, amused at her outburst. "It's not that bad once you get the hang of it."

"It's not that bad once you—" Poppy mimicked, tilting her head up to look at him in annoyance. She cut herself off, lifting her head, and said, "Well, we'll see about that, Mr. Know-it-all! Go ahead and deal 'em! But this time, I'm betting the rest of my candy on it!" She pulled out the bag of candy she'd left with him when her friends had come and taken her home, slamming it on the table.

She was slightly surprised that there was still a small handful left after she'd been gone for four days. Apparently, Branch was rationing it. Given that he couldn't get any more for himself, she supposed that made sense. She made a mental note to bring him more treats from time to time, maybe even some fluffleberry cake. Now that she knew Creek was secretly taking care of Branch at night, she thought she understood Creek's supposed love of that horrible cake. He never ate more than one piece around other trolls, and his face puckered and eyes watered when he ate that. She used to think it was just some weird thing Creek did in an attempt to gain spiritual enlightenment, but this discovery of hers made much more sense.

Now if she could just figure out why Branch liked that awful cake, the world could make sense again. Still, she put all of that aside and looked at her opponent with determination.

Branch raised an eyebrow. He'd left that bag in the closet, where Creek wouldn't see it. He hadn't seen Poppy open the closet at any point. "When did you—?" He cut himself off, shaking his head with a smile. "Never mind."

It wasn't like it mattered, really. It wasn't the first weird thing Poppy had ever done, so he just let it slide. Rather than worry about when she got the candy out of the closet, he shuffled and dealt the cards for another game of rummy.

Betting anything on a game of rummy wasn't Poppy's brightest idea. She managed to lose that game as well by melding absolutely nothing.

"Wow," Branch said, amazed that she'd done so much worse after giving herself a reason to try harder. "Well, since you didn't meld anything, you gain 100 points automatically."

"What!? But that means that—" She eyed the bag of candy, unhappy with this outcome.

They were still only going to 100 points. If she was already there, then this game was over in a single round.

"That candy's mine," Branch said with a smirk, taking the bag off the table.

"Okay, there is no way that's actually a thing! So fess up!" She put her hands on her hips, looking at him suspiciously. "You've gotta be making this up as you go so you can make a fool out of me and tease me for it, correct?" Poppy said, crossing her arms with a look of annoyance once again. Muttering, she added, "You get a kick out of that, so—"

All of these rules gave Branch a huge advantage, and that last one had only come up after she'd bet the last of his candy on the outcome. She couldn't see how these rules could possibly be real.

Branch couldn't make out the rest of that, but she kept on grumbling. She was such a sore loser, but her reactions were pretty amusing. If he seemed to be enjoying teasing her for losing, it was her own fault. She should learn to lose more graciously.

"Sorry, Poppy, that's how the game goes," he said, still smirking at her childish attitude.

"Yeah. Sure, it is," Poppy grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Alright, fine! Have it your way. I'm still gonna pay you back for it, though." She snatched the cards to shuffle them.

"Uh, Poppy? Winner deals," Branch pointed out. It was a rule she'd agreed to at the start of this game—whoever won any given hand would deal the next one. Apparently, she was so annoyed she wasn't thinking about that.

Poppy gave a start and stopped her feverish shuffling, her eyes widening. "I-I knew that! I was just making sure you remembered!" she said, blushing slightly, as she handed him the cards.

Branch smirked as he took the cards from her. "Of course, you were," he said. Then he finished shuffling and dealt for another game.

In total, Poppy lost four games to Branch that day. The last one was close, though—she nearly won. It might have gone better for her if she hadn't kept discarding everything Branch was trying to collect. As the game came to an end, she stared at the two aces and the one jack in her hand, stunned speechless.

"...How...?" she marveled after a bit.

Branch shrugged and answered, "You didn't pay a lot of attention to what I was collecting and kept discarding everything I needed."

"...Okay. I give! This game's too much for me," she said, letting her head fall to the table again. This game, like chess, had given her a serious headache.

Branch laughed. "Yeah, I figured. Maybe we should try something easier next time."

Poppy got up, an amused smile on her face. "Ha! As if you own anything easy! Those kinds of things would be way too dull for your oversized head, after all," she said, making her way to the window.

"Maybe, but you can play Go Fish or Old Maid with a standard deck of cards, Poppy," he pointed out.

Poppy stopped, thinking of that. He wasn't wrong. "...Uh..." She sweat, feeling awkward now.

Branch smirked and teased, "Or are those also too complicated for you?"

Poppy whirled around to face him, looking annoyed again. "Oh, ha ha. Funny."

Branch didn't answer. He just smiled at her and crossed his arms, seemingly satisfied.

Poppy checked the time then, and her eyes widened. She'd been here longer than she had planned. "Oh, my hair! Is it really that late!? I've gotta get back before anyone notices!" she said, hopping onto the windowsill. She looked back at Branch with a smile and waved, saying, "Bye, Branch! See you when I see you! Oh! And think about the things I said today, too!" She hopped out before he had a chance to answer, boarded her bug, and took off, but she didn't get far before another thought crossed her mind and made her turn back around. Hovering outside the window, she said, "Oh, wait! I just got a super cool idea! Seeing as my feet are still recovering and I really should be resting them more, why don't we try sending letters to each other via zip beetle instead!? That way, we can keep in touch with each other, and I can continue to help out, even when I'm not here! What do you say?"

"What if Creek found them? Or your dad?" Branch asked, approaching the window. Not that I'd care if he found what I was sending you. It'd make him ask questions, that's for sure.

Branch still couldn't help but worry that this wasn't going to work. After all, Creek had tried everything. What could Poppy possibly come up with that would have any better results?

Poppy threw her head back in exasperation. That couldn't be going anywhere good. "Oh, come on, no! Don't you dare start thinking like that! I know where that's going, and I'm begging you, Branch!" She clasped her hands together, a pleading look in her eyes. If she left him alone to think about it, he'd come up with his own plan to save everyone else and doom himself. Desperate, she begged, "Don't decide that sending a letter to my dad is okay! We don't even know if this'll work out yet, and I've worked way too hard on this so far! So please don't let my efforts be in vain before we can see how it all turns out!" Relaxing her stance, she looked at him with calm sincerity as she continued, "I promise I'll tell my dad everything once this is all said and done and before the deadline, too, okay?" Satisfied that she'd done her best to talk him out of dooming himself, she added, "And, as for the rest of it, what's the big deal?" She smiled confidently, throwing her arms out at her sides. "All we gotta do is find a place to hide the messages and only send them when we know the coast is clear, and we're good to go!"

Poppy had never broken a promise before, and Branch knew it. Creek had said she still insisted on keeping every promise she ever made. Her reliability in that area is the only reason Branch considered what she said. As long as she took care of the situation with Chef before she was married to Creek, there wasn't really any harm in letting her try to make him happy, he supposed, even if it wasn't likely she'd succeed. She did still seem to feel more confident in her abilities than Creek ever had, so it was worth trying, at any rate.

"...Okay. Guess we can try it."

"Sweet!" Poppy said, beaming. "Looking forward to it! See ya around, then!" She turned her bug to leave, waving happily, and added, "Bye, Branch! Take care! And don't go breaking your end of the deal, either! I'm counting on you, mister, so don't let me down!" Before he had a chance to answer, she was gone.

Branch stood there by the window for a bit, still processing everything that had just happened. He'd just had an incredible day with Princess Poppy, the troll who annoyed him so much as a kid. Even better, she'd shown him unconditional love and acceptance and helped him see himself in a better light. Sure, she was a bit of a sore loser at card games, but she did it in such a goofy and playful way that it was actually kind of endearing.

I think I'm starting to see what Creek likes so much about her. She's showing me acceptance and doesn't care what I've done. She cares about me anyway, and she even helped me realize a few things about myself. He never thought he'd actually enjoy spending time with his naive ex-fiance. "If she keeps visiting, this place isn't so bad."

Unseen by Branch, the pink mist encircled his head and started manipulating his thoughts, forcing several memories to the surface. Things that Peppy had said started running through his head, prompted by the mysterious mist.

"So why not spend some time getting to know my daughter? She's the happiest troll in the village."

"Let her help you. Who knows? You may find out she's the best thing that's ever happened to you and you just didn't know it."

Branch just stared vacantly out the window for a bit, pondering those words. Then he rolled his eyes, turning away from the window. "Darn it, King Peppy, do you always have to be right?"

The mist pulled up another memory to answer that, a time when Branch had asked to be freed from his engagement to Poppy: "I'm sorry, son. I can't do that. Because, though you may not understand it now, you'll thank me for this one day. All you've gotta do is try."

Branch sighed. "That's a yes. Hate it when he answers me. Just because I want to get to know her now doesn't mean we should've gotten married! We don't have enough in common for that!"

"You'll thank me one day," echoed Peppy in his head, courtesy of the mist. "Thank me one day... Thank me one day..."

Branch stood there, staring at the floor for a moment, emotions welling up inside of him. If he was being honest, Poppy's care for him and the fact that she'd actually come back made him feel...good. Her kindness and worry for him were genuine, even though she would have every right to hate him, given how he'd treated her when they were young. Just the thought of her actually made him feel a little less miserable. Peppy may have been right about letting her help him. But...

"...She's in love with Creek," he said firmly. "And he feels the same, even if there is a problem with that right now. As soon as she figures out how to deal with Chef, that won't be an issue anymore."

In response to those words, the mist retreated, drifting out the window into the afternoon sky, and Branch went to prepare whatever Creek had brought him for dinner.

On the flight back to Troll Village, Poppy was greatly relieved that her plan had worked. Branch's mood had been much better that day than it had previously. It was a relief to think that he was getting better at all.

"Oh, thank Trollness that song actually worked! I think Branch is finally getting over his 'dreams of death' and is just about ready to move on! The only problem being, I have no clue where to go from here! Better ask King Gristle! He knows a ton about misery, so hopefully, he'll have some advice about getting someone out of it!"

As she made her way home, taking care not to be seen by anyone, she decided she'd need to speak to the bergen king soon. Given that he was a friend of hers, that wouldn't be as suspicious as if she kept sneaking off to talk to a psychiatrist.

Poppy decided to set her letter-writing plan into action immediately. On Sunday, the very day after she'd played rummy with Branch, she sent her first letter, deciding that it would be best if she only send them during the day. For one, she'd be asleep at night, and there was also the chance it would arrive when Creek was visiting if she sent it at night.

The first letter read:

Dear Branch,

Hey, Branch! How's it going? Say, I just thought up some great ideas for you to try for forgiving Creek! So you say he was tortured for years and is now way too afraid to stand up for himself? Well, have you ever stopped to wonder about just how bad that really was? Try putting yourself in Creek's shoes. Feel what he felt. Experience what he did. Then, just maybe, you'll understand him better and forgive!

Oh, and you can forgive yourself better, too, by telling yourself every day how much you like yourself. Try starting off every day by bragging about everything good about yourself. Like how you're so loyal to all the other trolls. Or how brave, strong, and protective you are at times. I know that can seem like a negative with you overdoing it all the time, but I'm sure by now you're smart enough to know when to act and when not to, correct? So be sure to tell yourself about how much you've grown over the years, too.

I'm looking forward to a good report soon, so don't let me down!

Anyway, thought you should know that I'm writing this from the safety of my own bed and haven't left it once! So you don't have to worry about sending a letter to Biggie to come get me and bring me in. I don't need you right now, Dr. Branch, so don't worry about it! I can be good when I need to be!

Anyway, have a great day thinking positive! Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Your friend,

Poppy

Smidge was there when Poppy wrote the letter, and she looked over it, surprised. "...Wow, Poppy. You're really going to send him tips through the mail?"

"Well, why not? If it helps, it helps, right?" she replied with a confident smile as she handed the letter to a zip beetle. "But keep this under wraps, okay? We don't want anyone finding out who's getting these from me."

Smidge lit up, looking determined all of a sudden. "Got it! I'll be sure to take all the blame and stay away for a week or two until you come up with a better excuse!"

"Uuuhh... Yeah...you do that..." Poppy said, a bit stunned at her friend's sudden declaration. I guess.

Given that she did have friends in Bergen Town, Poppy didn't think anyone would find her sending letters suspicious. She did it all the time, after all. But, apparently, Smidge didn't see it that way. Was there an issue she was missing here?

"I gotta go! I can't receive your letters to me if I'm not home to get 'em!" Smidge said before she ran out, leaving Poppy wondering how that was going to work out.

She thought about it for a bit before saying, "Okay! Better make sure those bugs stop by Smidge's place on their way here from now on! This is so weird." She sighed, thinking of the awkwardness that would cause.

Before, she just would have to say she was writing to Bridget or King Gristle if anyone questioned her. Given that she often did that, nobody should have cared. Now, however, she'd need to come up with a way to sneak the letters to Smidge and then Branch without anyone seeing anything strange. It was a good thing that zip beetles were so good at things like that. Besides, since Smidge lived on the edge of the village, it would be easier for them to smuggle her letters out of town after stopping there. Given that Smidge was on the south side, though, they'd then have to loop around to head for the tower near Bergen Town. And it would get a little lonely without her best friend around, but at least the others would still come to visit.

She would also now need to find a way to convey the importance of keeping this a secret to the zip beetles, so she made a mental note to schedule an emergency meeting with them tonight. She planned to explain to them that they needed to deliver all of her letters for Branch to Smidge first, and then take them to their true destination. Knowing they'd be very confused, she also figured she'd tell them why.

Putting that ridiculousness aside for now, Poppy pulled out some scrapbooking supplies to pass the time as she waited for Branch's reply.

The first letter reached the tower while Branch was washing dishes after lunch. The zip beetle flew through the window and held out its letter to him. He finished the dishes before reading it.

"Well, at least she's actually taking care of herself now," he said. Then he looked back over it. "...Loyal, brave, strong, and protective, huh? And she says those are good things about me..."

It was weird hearing someone say something positive about him. He'd generally given people no reason to compliment him since his family had died, and Poppy should have been one of the last trolls with anything good to say about him. The things she'd called him left him with a warm feeling in his chest that he couldn't quite explain.

He spent a few seconds trying to figure out what exactly he was feeling before saying, "Guess I should write back."

It had been a long time since he'd interacted with anybody besides Creek, and writing letters was entirely new to him, but he gave it his best shot. When he finished, he set it aside for now. It wasn't a good idea to send it during the day—Creek might be there when she got it, and that wouldn't go over well. With his letter ready to go at a safer time, Branch turned his attention to the matter of hiding these letters.

He could have simply burned them, and Creek would never know. But, given what Poppy had said in this first letter, Branch was reluctant to destroy it. So, instead, he used some of his firewood to build a small box, placed the letter inside, and hid it under his bed. He made sure that the blankets reached all the way to the floor so Creek wouldn't see it at all.

That night, before Creek arrived, Branch called for a zip beetle, pleasantly surprised when one actually answered him. With that, his first letter to Poppy—or, for that matter, any troll—was on its way. She'd have it by morning, and Creek would never know.

When Poppy woke up on Monday morning, she found a letter sitting beside her on her bed. She opened it and read:

Good to know you're staying off your feet, but it would be kind of ridiculous for Biggie to bring you all the way out here when you have a qualified doctor right there in Troll Village. Somehow I think you'd be better off in their care than mine. I'll give your suggestions a try. At this point, anything's worth a shot.

It was short, there was no salutation, and he hadn't even bothered to sign it, but he'd written back to her, regardless. Poppy'd take that as a win. She giggled a bit at what she read. "Oh, ha ha. That's real funny, Branch. 'It would be kind of ridiculous for Biggie to bring you all the way out here when you have a qualified doctor right there in Troll Village.' No duh, genius! Of course, it would!"

Wanting to give Branch some time to use the advice she'd given him, Poppy put the letter in a small box that she usually reserved only for her scrapbook diary. Since no troll would ever look at another troll's diary, she figured they'd be safe in there. She decided to wait a couple of days before writing to Branch again since she didn't want to overwhelm him with advice.

On Tuesday, after a few more days of resting her feet, Poppy went to Bergen Town to see Gristle and his new girlfriend (who still appeared to be the scullery maid). However, that didn't turn out to be very helpful. All Gristle could think of was mood music, just like her, so she set the Snack Pack the task of finding a song that lined up with Branch's next type of moodiness.

On Wednesday, Poppy wrote her next letter to Branch. Satin and Chenille came running into her pod while she was working on it, though, both highly excited.

"Poppy, Poppy!" they cried in sync.

"Nova Swift wants us to do a fashion show!" Chenille exclaimed. "Nova Swift!"

Poppy's face lit up with excitement. She knew how big of a deal that would be for her friends. "Oh, my hair! That's so cool, you guys! Congrats!"

Satin let out an excited squeal. "I can't believe it! Nova Swift actually asked us personally! But we need a model, Poppy! Will you do it?"

They looked desperate, like they really, really needed her to say yes. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible if they were planning on having this fashion show any time in the next couple of weeks. "Er...I'm not so sure that's the best idea, you guys. I promised my doctor here—" she rolled her eyes and held up the letter, mildly annoyed, "—I wouldn't overdo it again, and I never break my promises."

The twins looked a bit dejected but perked up pretty quickly.

"We don't have to do it right away!" Satin said.

"That's right! We can wait until you're doing better," Chenille agreed.

"Aw, that's alright, girls, "Poppy answered with a confident smile, going back to writing her letter. "I think I know someone you can use! Just give me one second...and...done!" She looked up, excited, before whistling for a zip beetle, and one came quickly. She handed it the letter, saying, "Take this to Smidge, then Branch! You remember what we discussed, right?" She winked at it.

Luckily for Poppy, her emergency meeting with the zip beetles the other day had successfully convinced them this was an important secret to keep, so the bug chirped excitedly and took off with the letter. The story Poppy had the Snack Pack—minus Creek and Smidge—spread was that Smidge had reached the bizarre conclusion that she needed to intercept some of Poppy's letters to Bergen Town from her own home. Biggie had been quite confused during his visit the day before when she'd asked him to relay this weird tale to the rest of the Snack Pack. Still, since Smidge was known to do these things from time to time, nobody seemed to think anything of it, which left Poppy actually happy that her friends had figured out about Branch. It would have been nearly impossible to do this on her own. They weren't just helping her find the songs she couldn't look for, but they made it easy to come up with excuses for otherwise bizarre things.

"Alright! Now that that's done, have you tried asking Sapphire?" Poppy asked, turning her undivided attention on the twins. "Now there's a girl who knows how to kick it on a runway. Am I right?" She gave a confident grin, pleased with this choice.

Chenille put a hand to her chin, considering. "I suppose we could..."

"I think Sapphire would be a good model," Satin agreed, thinking of how charming and graceful Sapphire could be.

"Oh, I know she would," Poppy said confidently. "You guys should totally ask her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind!"

"Thanks, Poppy!" the twins said, smiling wide.

"We'll do that!" Chenille added, and the two of them ran out, presumably to find Sapphire.

"W-H-hey!" Poppy stammered, reaching after them. "Wait a—" She sighed in defeat. They were already gone. "Oh, well. Guess I'll ask them later. I mean, finding a song that's less depressing than 'Moments' can't be too hard to do. Can it?"

So, since she was still bedridden, she got out her scrapbook and got to work.

Branch's sleep schedule wasn't exactly normal, which made sense since he did have a nightly visitor. Since Creek rarely arrived earlier than 2 in the morning, Branch usually tried to sleep during the night before Creek arrived. That way, he burned fewer resources and didn't need to ask Creek to help him restock as often. Some nights, however, he struggled to get to sleep. His brief time with Creek tended to help him calm down on those nights, which meant he slept the morning away instead.

The day the second letter from Poppy arrived happened to be one of the latter, hence why he was just now making breakfast and still half asleep while Troll Village was already up and active. Seeing a zip beetle dart through his window, however, woke him up quickly. He took the letter and read over it while his breakfast finished cooking.

Dear Branch,

Hey! How's it going? I am so glad you're actually going along with this! Guess you really have changed, after all! You used to tell me "I don't do happy" all day long when we were little. Glad to see you've decided to try! Just let me know if you need help with anything, and I'll see what I can do!

Oh, and speaking of, Creek and I are still engaged, in case you were wondering. I'm not going to turn him away just because he has flaws. And you shouldn't, either, as his friend, Branch. Friends don't linger on the bad in each other all day. They take the good with the bad but focus more on the good inside instead! So you should try doing the same because, like it or not, there is still good in him, despite what he's done in the past!

Branch stopped there and stared at the letter for a bit. He wasn't entirely sure why, but her announcement that she was still engaged to Creek stung, for some reason. He tried to put it down to irritation that she still couldn't see the danger, but even he admitted that Chef was the only danger in their relationship, and Poppy had promised she'd deal with that, regardless.

He couldn't be developing feelings for her. Could he?

Besides, it'd look sort of suspicious if I suddenly decided not to get married to the man of my dreams! We can't have that happen since it'd both confuse Chef and make everyone wonder what's up. That could only end in disaster, so the engagement's still on indefinitely. Hope to see you there!

So, anyway, with that in mind, I'm having a little trouble choosing a good venue for the occasion. Got any good ideas? I just can't make up my mind! There are so many super cool and romantic places here that it's just too hard to decide!

And there was that pang in his chest again. What was wrong with him? She was just asking for some advice from a friend. It wasn't anything he should be getting worked up about, especially since he'd decided to forgive Creek himself. Granted, he was going to be taking precautions with his friend if he ever managed to escape from this place, like not going anywhere with him alone.

"...She's still planning on—Well, I mean, yeah, why wouldn't she? She loves him, so it makes sense. But does she have to ask me to help plan it? I don't care what she does with her wedding!" He shook his head and kept reading.

Oh, and, in case you're wondering, Biggie, Cooper, and the others are doing just fine. Satin and Chenille have a fashion show for the village trend-setter, Nova Swift, soon. Do you know her? I'll be sure to fill you in on how that goes when it's over.

And I'm still not getting out of bed much. My feet aren't hurting anymore, though, so your medical advice is working, "doctor." See you when I see you! And hopefully not with a first-aid kit in hand this time! I can take care of myself, you know, so stop worrying so much. It's not like I'm a little kid, you know.

Have a great day looking at the good in everyone!

Your friend,

Poppy

"Guess it's good that everyone's doing okay, though. And Poppy's still taking it easy, like she should."

Branch decided to set aside his concerns over those feelings for now. It hardly mattered, really, so he set the letter aside and ate his breakfast before writing up a response, which he sent out around sunset.

Poppy woke up bright and early on Thursday morning to find the twins both excited and uncomfortable in her pod, although they appeared to be trying to cover that up. In addition, a letter rested on her bed, having arrived in the night.

"Good morning, Poppy," Satin said.

"Too early?" Chenille asked somewhat sheepishly.

Poppy yawned, stretching, and answered, "No. Not at all. What's up?" She smiled sleepily at them.

"Well, our fashion show went off without a hitch!" Chenille said happily.

"Sapphire really was the perfect model for our clothes! You were right! She even had an amazing smair!"

Poppy's face lit up with sheer joy. She was so glad everything had worked out for them. They'd only dreamed of impressing Nova Swift for what felt like forever. "Hey, that's great! Congratulations! You two totally deserved it, too. Ya know, seeing as you're the best fashion designers in town." Proud of her friends, she gave a sly smile.

"Thank you, Poppy!" Satin said happily. "But we couldn't have done it without your help."

Poppy laughed, touched. "Aw...you guys..."

Glancing at the letter on the bed, Chenille then said, "And it looks like you have mail."

"Oh, sweet! Let's see what he has to say this time. Hope he's using my advice!" Poppy said excitedly as she snatched up Branch's letter.

It read:

Things are going okay, I guess. Obviously the "I don't do happy" thing changed, considering being happy's the only way I'll get out of here. If you think you can help me with that, I'll take whatever advice you've got. As far as your wedding venue goes, I don't have any ideas. That's up to you two. It's not like I was worried about romance when I was 10 and living there, so I don't think I'd be much help. Can't say I know who Nova Swift is, but I'm guessing the twins are excited about their show, given that they are fashionistas. At least, that's what Creek always said about them. Hope that goes well for them. Glad you're getting better, too. Hope to hear from you again soon.

Branch

Still no salutation, but he'd put his name on it, at least, and it was a little longer than before. He'd responded to most of what she'd written in her own letter...and he was showing concern for her friends, even though he didn't know them personally.

"Aw...Branch. That's sweet," Poppy said, smiling gently at the unusual amount of care in this response.

As a child, Branch had never shown concern for someone he didn't know unless they were in danger or something. Poppy wondered when he had gotten so kind. He seemed to be getting friendlier as time went on.

Smiling brightly, she turned to the twins and said, "Hey, guys. Guess what Branch just said about your show? He hoped it turned out good for you. Isn't that so much nicer than he used to be?" She held the letter out to them so they could see.

Satin shrugged and said, "We wouldn't know, Poppy."

Chenille glanced at the letter and said, "We never knew Branch before." Then, smiling, she looked at Poppy and added, "But you can tell him it went perfectly."

"Thanks! I will!" Poppy said before pulling out a pen and paper and eagerly starting on her next letter. Writing to Branch again reminded her that she still needed to know if they'd found her next song yet, so she started, "Oh, by the way, girls. You wouldn't—"

Suddenly DJ ran in, looking frantic. "Poppy! I need your help real bad!" Seeing the twins, she momentarily forgot her urgent business and smiled at them. "Oh. Hey, ya guys. Great work last night. Can ya believe the whole stage fell in there at the end, though? Guess the dude who made it wasn't all that good, huh?"

"DJ!" the twins whined.

"We agreed never to speak of that!" Chenille snapped.

"That's right! Despite that little setback, Nova Swift still loved the show, and nobody was hurt," Satin said, hands on her hips.

"Exactly. So there's no reason to bring it up and risk worrying anyone."

Poppy just sat there, staring. The twins had conveniently forgotten to mention that little detail. No wonder they looked so uncomfortable when she woke up.

DJ blinked, eyes widening slightly in that way they usually did when she acted absentmindedly. "Oh...rriiight..." she said, looking every bit as though she'd forgotten they didn't want to talk about that. "My bad." She turned her attention back to Poppy, looking frantic again, and said, "But, anyway, Poppy! It's my show!" She held her head, eyes wide, and bent her knees slightly. "I need ya to save it from Master Control! He's been winnin' every rap battle for a long time now, and now nobody wants to compete! I've only asked every rap-lover I know about, and they all said my show's not worth going to anymore! Meaning, if this keeps up, then no one will come out anymore!" Cupping her hands in front of her in desperation, she begged, "Please, Poppy! I've had this show since I was little! Ya've just gotta help me out! I need Big Poppy, and fast!"

Poppy cringed uncomfortably at the suggestion. "Ooh... Uh, I'm sorry, DJ, but I hung up the mic ages ago! After that last time..." She trailed off as she flashed back to the time she'd been involved in a rap battle, shuddering. "One sec."

She whipped out a scrapbook and quickly created a pleasant image. When she was finished, the book popped up a happy, smiling sun with bright pink and blue flowers (also smiling) below it and three rainbows over the flowers. The book said, "Everything's going to be okay!" and then shot off glitter fireworks.

Poppy sighed in relief. "Ah...much better."

The twins looked at her with concern. Stressbooking wasn't usually a good sign.

"Poppy?" Satin asked.

"Look, the thing is, the last time I entered one of those, I...accidentally insulted someone!" Poppy panicked, slapping her hands to her cheeks in horror. It has to be the most shameful event of her life.

The twins' and DJ's eyes widened, and they gasped as they covered their mouths.

"Oh, Poppy!" Chenille said, sympathetic.

"So...yeah. I am not doing that again." She waved her arms through the air in front of her as she closed her eyes and shook her head, emphasizing, "Ever." Then she opened her eyes wide, beaming with confidence, as an idea dawned on her. "But don't worry! I can help you find someone to take my place, if it helps."

"I guess so," DJ said, looking down uncertainly.

Poppy slipped on her medically-required slippers and hopped out of bed, saying, "I'm positive. We just need to host some auditions, and we'll have our new rap star located in no time! Come on!" She started heading out, leaving her letter unfinished for now.

"Hey, Poppy! Wait up!" DJ called, hurrying after her.

Satin and Chenille looked at each other, concerned, then headed out as well. They knew Poppy shouldn't be on her feet too much just yet, so they decided to help her out with this.

The twins and DJ spread the word about the auditions so Poppy didn't have to run all over town. However, as Poppy sat on her mushroom chair and listened to the potential candidates, one thing quickly became clear: none of these trolls could do it. Cooper even managed to mistake it for a present-wrapping audition.

When she overheard Biggie reciting poetry for Mr. Dinkles, she thought she'd found her troll. But, according to him, she freaked him out by emphasizing the pressure involved in winning this battle, so Mr. Dinkles told her she'd need to do it herself. He knew what had happened, courtesy of Cooper, and said she needed to forgive herself. It was good advice, sure.

But how would that keep her from doing it again?

On Friday afternoon, she lay in bed, fretting over the upcoming rap battle. It was supposed to be on Saturday, but she didn't know what to do, so she had spent the whole day stressbooking.

"Oh, what do I do, what do I do?" she worried as she lay on her belly, scrapping out an image of DJ at a funeral for her show.

In this depressing scrapbook page, DJ was dressed in black and crying, with a tombstone in front of her that read, "Here lies the Rap Battle that Poppy selfishly couldn't save." In the background was Master Control, crying and holding his ears in shame. A word bubble coming off him read, "If you can't rap something nice, don't rap at all." DJ had a word bubble that read, "Why couldn't you just compliment him instead? You let me down big time! How could you!?"

Poppy stared at her latest monstrosity as the reality of the situation sank in. "...Well, I know what I can't do! Do that again!" She put her hands on her head frantically for what was likely the 100th time that day and continued, "I might mess up again and—Arrahhh!" She slammed her eyes shut, unable to finish that thought. "No!" She started shaking her head, eyes closed, at the agony of it all. "It's just too horrible to think about!"

Since scrapbooking wasn't helping her calm down, she put the book down and looked around, hoping to land on some inspiration for a better solution. The auditions had failed miserably, and time was running short.

That was when she saw her unfinished letter to Branch, poking out from under her bed. She'd never gotten around to finishing it the day before, being too distracted with DJ's problem.

Suddenly she was extremely glad she'd asked everyone to give her some alone time while she tried to figure out what to do for DJ. If Creek had walked in and found that letter, it would have been a disaster. Poppy made a mental note to be much more careful in the future. The last thing anyone needed was for Creek to find out and run to Chef, after all. "Dear Branch" was written at the top, making it blatantly obvious who it was for.

And, with that, she was thinking of that stupid fairy tale again. Leaving that letter lying about was as dumb as Rapunzel asking Gothel why she was heavier than the prince. And she'd thought accidentally sending her friends in search of Branch had been bad.

Well, that train of thought had gotten her mind off her dilemma for a few minutes, at least. But it did nothing to solve her current problem. Unless... She looked at the letter for a moment, considering her options. "Hmm... I wonder... He is a genius, after all, so maybe he'd know what to do." She shrugged and reached down to retrieve her secret letter. Briefly, she thought that leaving it out this whole time was really dumb. Branch's name was right there on top, for crying out loud. "What have I got to lose?"

So, with no other options left to her, she finished up her letter for Branch, hoping he'd respond quickly. He'd gotten back to her the next day in all other instances, so she should have his answer by morning.

At sunset, Poppy's latest letter arrived while Branch was eating his dinner. The zip beetle flew in and sat on his table, mindful to stay out of his food. Branch looked at it and raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, these things arrive at any time."

He took the letter and read:

Dear Branch,

Hello, there, ya goofball! Thanks for the helpful advice on my wedding plans. I am so glad to hear you don't care what happens. You know, I told you that Creek isn't all bad and to think about the good in him, right?

Will you ever learn? You can't become happy drowning in misery from your past like that. So straighten up, mister, and do as I told you. You claimed you were going to anyway, didn't you?

And speaking of taking someone's advice, can I get up now? It's so boring being stuck at home all day. In fact, it's so bad, I had to find fun new ways to entertain myself to help pass the time! Like flipping all my puzzle pieces over and not looking at any unless I thought they might match up! I'd even tear the entire thing apart if I guessed wrong once! Or taking a deck of playing cards and playing blind solitaire, where I could only look at two cards at once. And, if I got it wrong one time, I'd lose and have to start over.

See, I found that doing stuff where you need to think super hard in order to win makes the day fly by in seconds. Maybe you should try it to help you keep from thinking negatively, too. It's hard to think about much of anything if you're too busy trying not to lose a game like that. Trust me. I know.

Anyway, I've got a huge problem I need your help with! See, there's this rap battle thingy DJ Suki hosts every weekend, and she wants, or rather needs, me to enter! But the thing is, the last time I did that, I accidentally called someone's ears big! It was super rude and made the guy cry, even! So I vowed to never do that again, no matter what! But it doesn't seem like anyone else can beat this one guy but me! I don't know what to do, Branch! You wouldn't have any helpful advice, would you?

Oh, and the twins' show went over great! Nova Swift loved it. She's the village trend-setter and the most looked up to and revered troll in the entire village, if that gives you a better perspective on just how awesome it is getting her approval. It's every troll's dream to have that, after all. But the stage did cave in on them at the end. Luckily no one was hurt, though, so it's all good!

But I really do need some advice. And, preferably, before tomorrow night, if you could? That's not too much to ask now, is it?

Your friend,

Poppy

That sounded urgent, but Branch didn't have time to answer right now. It was late enough that Creek could show up at any time. While he usually didn't show up this early, it wasn't unheard of, and writing back to Poppy right now would be disastrous if Creek caught him. With that in mind, he placed the letter in the box with the others and hid it under his bed.

"That sounds like she could use some real help, so I'll hold off on answering until I know Creek's not going to walk in on me."

Poppy woke with a start early Saturday morning. "Did I get anything!?" She looked around frantically and saw a letter at the foot of her bed. "Oh, thank hairballs! Here's hoping this helps!" Anxiously, she snatched the letter and read:

Glad the twins' show went well and nobody was hurt. Didn't exactly expect the stage to cave in, but I guess that's what happens when amateurs build one.

Just so we're clear, not knowing where you should hold your wedding doesn't mean I'm mad at Creek. It just means I don't have advice for you there. Where I do have some is on this rap battle thing.

You know that you took it too far before, so just keep that in mind and try to do better this time. Don't let yourself get so caught up in it that you end up saying something you'll regret. Given that it's not in your nature to say anything hurtful, that shouldn't be too hard for you. I know you can do this, Poppy. Just trust yourself.

Your friend,

Branch

If she hadn't been so stressed about the rap battle, she might have considered the fact that Branch's letters seemed to be evolving over time. The first was short and hesitant, with no signature or anything. The second was a bit longer, and he'd included his name. Now he'd even gone so far as to call himself her friend.

As it was, she read the part about the rap battle over and over again, eyes wide. She couldn't believe what she was reading. "...Branch...that's so..." She smiled, hugging the letter to her chest.

It was sweet. He'd not only said she didn't hurt others intentionally, but he'd also said he believed in her. The guy who had no faith in anything said he believed in her. When had he gotten so charming, anyway?

"He's right. I can do this," she said, touched, as a confident smile graced her lips. "And that had to be one of the nicest things he's ever said about me. He's totally different than he was before, that's for sure."

Now confident that she could do this, she hopped out of bed to shower and prepare for the upcoming rap battle. Branch's kind words of encouragement kept her confidence and mood up all day. It was the first time she'd ever heard him say she could do something right instead of looking like a fool. At least, the first that she could remember.

With those words and a little help from Biggie, Poppy won easily and didn't offend anyone. She was so excited that she couldn't wait to write Branch and tell him about the whole thing. She also decided she should thank Biggie for his help the next time she saw him. Before she could send her latest letter, however, Creek came, wanting to discuss their wedding plans and hang with his Sunshine. Because of this, Poppy forgot about the letter for several days as she shoved it into her diary box and told Creek it was just part of her diary. (An answer that worked like a charm; he didn't ask any further questions about it.)

It was Tuesday again by the time she finally remembered she hadn't responded, so she made some changes to it and sent it.

It was around noon when Branch got Poppy's letter. He'd been waiting for several days, concerned about how the rap battle went down, so he opened it eagerly when the zip beetle delivered it.

Dear Branch,

Thank you so much for that super kind and helpful advice! I didn't know you could be so sweet. Your advice worked perfectly, too. Thanks to that, I not only beat Master Control—he's the guy DJ needed help with—but I got my rap groove back, too! You're the best, Branch! Thanks!

So, anyway, Creek and I have been discussing our wedding plans, and I'm thinking of having lilacs for the bridesmaids' bouquets! Wouldn't those just look fabulous with Creek's coloring?

I also think you should know what Smidge did this past weekend. She accidentally signed both Guy and Biggie up for a wrestling match with the bergen pro wrestlers, Skullcrusher and Death's Door this weekend. They're on their way to Bergen Town with her today to straighten that whole thing out.

Hopefully, they can get out of that one, too, because I know they're not strong enough for it. Biggie's so worried, he was hyperventilating this morning, too! So I'll be sure to keep an eye on the situation and will be stepping in if things get anymore out of hand, too.

I'll keep you posted on everything that happens. But don't worry. I think they'll be okay. Bergens can be very understanding, as far as us trolls are concerned.

Also, don't forget to tell me how my advice is working for you! I ain't heard much of nothing about it, and we've been over this already. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on.

Thanks again! Hope to see you soon!

Your friend,

Poppy

P.S. - Sorry it took so long. I was so busy with wedding preparations, I didn't have time to write! I'll try to do better in the future, though. I promise.

Branch read that last line over several times, feeling unmistakably jealous as he did. She hadn't written to him earlier because she was busy with Creek. It made sense since Creek was her fiance, but that thought only made Branch feel more jealous.

"Okay, at this point, I might as well admit it, at least to myself... Apparently, I've got a crush on Poppy. B-but it's probably just a passing thing! It's probably just because she's trying so hard to help me. I'll get over it. It's not like it would ever work out, even if she wasn't engaged!" He looked over the letter again, frowning a bit. "...Besides, she's engaged to the guy who's supposed to be my best friend. It wouldn't be right, even if she did change her mind. Which she's not going to do because who would ever fall in love with a guy like me!?"

Her previous letter came to mind, where she'd called him protective and loyal and other things about him she thought were good.

He shook his head. "That was just to boost my confidence! Just because there are things she likes about me doesn't mean she'd ever love me!" He closed his eyes and said, "Creek's more her type, anyway. They've got more in common than she and I do."

Putting that depressing thought aside for now, Branch wrote up a response quickly. Of course, he couldn't send it until later, but it was ready to go, regardless.

Now, if he could just get his heart to stop breaking over a girl he'd willingly given up, he'd be golden.