Hello!
This chapter is longer than the others, so even more to read! I hope you like it! I don't own trolls, but Rose is my OC.
'Will I always be grey?'
Branch and Poppy stared at the paper that was held by the trolling. Branch looked at her, seeing the sad expression on her face. "No." He answered after a moment, "You won't always be grey. I know right now it's hard, it's hard to see past it. It may take a couple weeks or months, but you won't be grey forever." He slowly moved his hand and placed it on top of her head. "Being grey doesn't change who you are." He told her. Rose looked up at him, holding her bear tightly. "You are not alone Rose." He smiled at her.
Poppy smiled at Branch's words. "Branch is right Rose. You aren't alone. You have us, and I'm sure there are others out there who will love to be your friend!" She smiled down at the trolling who looked back at her. Rose placed her bear down and reached up and held one of Branch's fingers before nodding.
"If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask okay?" Branch told her before his ear twitched, hearing a set of footprints coming their way. Biggie soon peered around the corner.
"Biggie! Mr Dinkles!" Poppy smiled when she saw them. "What are you two doing here?" Poppy asked. Rose looked at the big troll and the worm, squeezing Branches hand tightly. Branch whispered softly to Rose to keep her calm as Biggie started speaking.
"We came to check on you. Everything is cleared out like you asked Branch. We got quite a few things that weren't damaged. We found a spare pod to put it all in for safe keeping." Biggie said, seeing Rose holding Branch's hand.
"Thank you Biggie." Branch replied, smiling before looking at Poppy. "If you two don't mind, I have to get up for a few minutes." He said, seeing them look at him. "I have to go." He said, feeling Roses grip on his finger tighten. "I have to use the bathroom Kid, you don't want to come." He kissed Poppys cheek before she stood up, Rose still in her arms. "I'll be right back." He stood up and went to biggie.
They both walked to the lobby, where Branch saw the leaders stand up immediately when they saw him. Branch looked around to see the snack pack was there as well. "Branch! How is Rose? Is she okay?" Queen Essence asked worriedly.
"Oh, yes. She is fine. She took a small nap, and is now awake. Sorry we never informed you earlier." He said. "She got overwhelmed with a lot of trolls she doesn't know. I am going to go back if a couple of you wanted to join me, I'll just be a few minutes." He said, before Biggie stopped in.
"Have you eaten yet, Branch? It's lunch time now, do you want me to get you some food?" He asked. As if on que, Branch's stomach growled.
His face darker slightly in embarrassment. "Actually Biggie, that would be great. I'm sure Poppy hasn't eaten, or eaten much either if you could get something for her as well." Branch smiled at him.
"Great! I baked a fresh batch of cupcakes this morning! I'll bring them over for everyone, I'll be right back!" Biggie said excitedly, before running to his pod.
Branch went to do his business and arrived back in the lobby a few minutes later. He looked around at all the trolls. "Since she doesn't really know anyone here, only a couple of you can come see her at a time. Who is going in first?" Branch asked, seeing King Quincy and Queen Essence stand up.
"Since we may be taking her in, we all agreed we will see her first." King Quincy stated, causing Branch to nod.
"I'm here!" Biggie's voice came. Everyone looked at the door to see Biggie holding a large basket full of cupcakes. He handed everyone a cupcake, but gave three to Branch.
Branch smiled at him. "Thank you Biggie, I'm sure they will love these. You all don't have to wait here either if you don't want to, I'm sure Poppy will come find you all later."
"We want to be here." Satin said, causing Branch to look at her. "We want to be here for Rose."
"and for you and Poppy." Chenille finished, both of them smiling at him.
"Yeah! We want to wait." Cooper grinned, causing Branch to smile at the group knowing they were there.
"Thanks guys." He said, before feeling Fuzzbert against his leg. He looked down, and saw Smidge joining in in the hug.
"Oh! Group hugs!" Cooper said as the others hugged Branch as well.
"What?! Group hug?!" Poppy's voice came, causing the others to laugh.
"Okay guys, careful. You're going to ruin Biggies cupcakes." Branch said, squirming out of the hug after a few minutes. "Poppy will be out for that hug I'm sure, but I'll see you later." He smiled at them before he looked at the funk royals. "Before you go in, I'm going to let Rose know. If you don't mind waiting a couple of minutes outside the door?" Branch said, leading them to Rose's room.
"We understand. Thank you Branch." Queen Essence smiled at him. "If you don't mind me asking Branch, the way you handle Rose…Do you have experience with grey trolls?" She asked, looking at Branch.
Branch glanced at her, before looking forward. "You could say that, yeah. It's not the first time the pop trolls have had a grey troll." He said, before he looked at them. "Has anyone told you about the past of pop trolls? With the Bergen's?" He asked, seeing them nod their head. "Well, there were some back then." He said, before stopping. "I'll be right back." He said, before turning the corner.
"There was a group hug?! I missed it!" Poppy said immediately when she saw Branch, before her eyes widened at the cupcakes in his hands. "Oh, those look like Biggies cupcakes!" She grinned.
"Nothing gets past you." Branch chuckled, handing her one and placing one down for Rose as well who was now sitting on the bed. "Biggie quickly ran to his pod and got them for everyone."
Poppy happily bit into her cupcake. "Biggie makes the best cupcakes!" She grinned.
Branch smiled, before looking at Rose. "Rose, do you have any family, or friends of the family that might be able to look after you?" Branch asked her, seeing her ears drop and shake her head. "Well, Queen Essence and King Quincy said they will look after you. They are here as well. They would like to meet you. Is it okay if they come in?" He asked, seeing her clamp up a bit. "You should give them a chance, get to know them."
Rose looked down, unsure. Poppy looked at her before speaking. "They're very nice, I'm sure you will love them once you get to know them." She smiled, icing on her face.
Rose still didn't move, but soon felt something on her back. She looked up to see both Poppy and Branch had their hands on her back. "You should give them a chance." Branch spoke, causing Rose to glance at him. "It's a big change, and may be scary and hard. You should give them a chance, you may grow to like them." He smiled slightly at her, seeing her slowly nod. "Poppy and I will go-" he started but was interrupted by Rose shaking her head rapidly. "Or not, okay. We will stay here. You will answer their questions though, right? Get to know them?" He asked as Rose nodded her head. "Good." He smiled, seeing Poppy watching them. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." Poppy smiled, standing up to kissing his cheek quickly. She laughed when she pulled back, seeing icing on his cheek. Branch frowned slightly, rubbing the icing on his cheek before he pointed to her face. "That came from me, huh?" She grinned, before feeling Branch's lips on her cheek. She shivered slightly when she felt him quickly lick some icing off her cheek. Her cheeks turned bright pink. "Branch! Rose is watching!" She whispered to him, before seeing Rose had started eating her cupcake.
"No she's not." He smirked, before he turned and walked to the door. "Come in." He said, before going back to Poppy's side, who was still blushing madly.
They both walked in, seeing Rose eating the cupcake. "Hello Rose." Queen Essence smiled at her, lowering her head to see Rose, who froze when she saw the funk queen. Rose slowly placed her cupcake down and stumbled to Branch and poppy. "You don't have to be scared dear." She said, seeing Rose glance at her. "We wanted to come say hi. How are you feeling?" Rose lifted her shoulders, before nodding slightly.
Branch handed Rose the notebook. "She doesn't talk, she prefers to write." Branch said, before he started eating his cupcake.
~~~
After twenty minutes, Rose slowly opened up to them a bit. She sat in the bed, drawing as the adults talked. Doctor Moon soon came in. "You're looking better Rose." She smiled, as Rose slowly nodded. "Are you in any pain?" She asked, as Rose slowly nodded and pointed to her cast and lifted her other arm where the IV was ripped out. Doctor moon checked both her arms. "The pain meds are wearing out, as I thought. I'm going to give you some stuff to help with the pain okay? As I said earlier, it will be a couple of weeks for this cast to come off. Your other arm should be fine in a day or two, just be careful okay?" She smiled as Rose nodded and placed her bear on her cast. "I'd say you're good to go. You have gotten much better in the last few hours." She smiled, before looking at Branch then to the royals. "Who will be taking care of her? There is a list of stuff we will need to go over."
"We will." Quincy spoke, as Essence nodded in agreement.
"Alright. There is some paperwork as well, if you two don't mind coming with me." Doctor moon said, before going to the lobby.
"We will gather her stuff while you're finishing that." Poppy smile at them.
"Thank you Poppy." Essence smiled back, before going with her husband to the lobby.
Poppy stood up from the chair, and looked at Rose. "You get to leave this room Rose, that's great!" Poppy grinned. Rose nodded, before standing up and walking to Branch.
Branch looked down at her. "What?" He asked, before he saw Rose reaching towards him. He blinked, before picking her up. "You just want to be held?" He asked, as she nodded. Branch lifted her up and she resting her head on his shoulder.
Poppy smiled at them. "Come on, I have everything of hers here." She said, holding Roses bear and clothes.
Branch nodded, before looking at Rose. "Last time I was there, there were quite a few trolls. You're not going to run, are you?" He asked the trolling who slowly shook her head. "Good. Then we can go see them." He said, before going to the door and let Poppy wall ahead of him a bit.
Rose gripped onto Branch's vest tightly, seeing some trolls at the end of the hallway. Poppy saw her friends and grinned, walking quicker to them. "You all are here! Biggie, thanks for the cupcake!" She hugged him, causing the others to join in for the group hug. "Finally! A group hug I'm not missing!" She laughed, causing the others to laugh. When she pulled away from them, she turned to the other leaders. "Did King Quincy and Queen essence walk by?" She asked as Prince D nodded.
"They went into the room behind you to talk to the doctor." He answered, before looking at Rose. "So this is Rose. Hey, I'm Prince D, I'mKing Quincy and Queen Essenes son." He took a step towards Branch and Rose, but stopped when he heard Rose whimper slightly.
"No one is going to hurt you kid. Wave hi." Branch said, trying to put her on the ground but she wouldn't let go of his vest. "I know you're scared, but look around. Do any of these trolls look scary?" He whispered to her. Rose slowly looked around, shaking her head. "Now, how about you wave hi?" He said. She slowly let go of his vest and waved to Prince D, who smiled back at her. "Good job. I know it's scary, and it's okay to be scared. It's also good to do your best to try to overcome what's scaring you." He whispered so only she could hear. "You think you can be brave and say hi to everyone?" He asked, seeing her nod again.
Rose stood against Branch's legs, and waved at everyone. Everyone waved back, as the doctor returned along with King Quincy and Queen Essence. "You're ready to go Rose." Doctor Moon smiled at Rose. "Just be careful, okay?" She handed Rose a lollipop, who took it and stared at it. "Would you like help opening to?" Rose nodded, and held it above her head to Branch. Branch looked at the lollipop and took the wrapping off for her, placing it back in her hand as she immediately started licking it.
"We didn't finish the meeting from earlier, are we going to finish it first?" King Trollex spoke, looking at the other leaders.
"We should figure out what we're going to do, if there are any protocols." King Quincy looked at his wife. "Do you want to go home and show Rose around, or I can go and you go to the meeting?" He asked her.
Before Essence could reply, Poppy spoke. "Actually, wouldn't it be better if she came along? If it's about her, she should be there." Poppy looked at them, as she got a confused look from them.
"She is a child Poppy, and after what happened I'm sure she would want to relax." King Quincy said, looking at Rose who was focused on her lollipop.
"She still deserves a say. She may be a child, but she deserves to know what's happening and to have a say in what she wants to happen." Poppy said, seeing Queen Essence nod.
"I agree with you Queen Poppy. She deserves to know and understand what we are doing and why." She walked over to Rose and Branch. "Branch, do you mind putting her on my back?" Branch nodded and did as told. He lifted Rose up, who looked at him confused before she looked at Essence. When Branch placed her on Essences back, Rose out her lollipop in her mouth and quickly grabbed Branch's fingers before he would move away. "Rose dear, you have to let go of Branch now." She told the trolling who frowned in return.
Branch looked at Rose, confused and tried to pull his fingers away gently. "You gotta let go kid." He said, but Rose whines loudly. Her whine surprised Branch, causing him to try to get out of her grasp again but with no avail. Rose shook her head rapidly as tears came to her eyes, her fingers tightly around Branch's hand.
Essence looked from Rose to Branch. "You can take her off Branch." She whispered to Branch who nodded and did as told. Once Branch held Rose she relaxed in his arms, sniffling as she sucked in her lollipop. "Looks like you're joining us Branch." She smiled, before going to the door with her husband. Branch looked at her confused, before he looked at Rose who was gripping onto his vest tightly.
Poppy walked over to Branch and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go." She smiled at him. He looked at her, still slightly confused but followed her anyways.
All the leaders along with Rose and Branch made it to a Private balcony so they could finish their meeting. "We first need to discuss how we will tell anyone and what we will say. A lot of the trolls may not know what happened." King Trollex started.
"We should start with what the beast was, and how it made its way into the village and how we will prevent it from happening again." Trollzart spoke next.
"What about celebrating the life of the two we lost? We need to think of that as well." Delta said.
"We also have to talk about Rose to everyone as well. They need to understand why she lost her colours and how they can help her." Poppy spoke.
Branch stood off to the side with Rose. He watched the leaders give ideas, and disagree on what should and shouldn't happen. He looked down at Rose who wasn't paying attention to them. "Hey Rose. He spoke quietly to her. "If you have to say something to all the trolls, what would you say?" He asked her. She looked up at him confused. "Some trolls out there may not understand what happened, or why you are a different colour. What would you want them to know? What would you say to them to help them understand?" He asked her. Rose looked at him, before she started writing in the notebook.
Branch looked back up at the others, listening to them again. "We agree we need to talk about all of these, but we need to make sure they know it's still safe here. We need to address that this won't happen again. We also have to tell everyone about what happened to the child."King Quincy spoke up.
"Why do we need to mention that to everyone? Wouldn't it be better to leave it as a small group? I heard a lot of trolls still worried about being attacked again, then address it when trolls ask." Trollzart asked.
"There are already rumours out there about her. It will be better to get it out in the open now." Queen Essence replied.
"But how would they react? What if there are trolls who don't accept her?" Delta questioned.
Branch looked down at Rose who was now listening to the leaders. Her ears dropped when she heard Delta. "Hey. Who cares about a few trolls? You have all these trolls who want what's best for you." He thought for a moment. "Write down how you feel Rose. Trolls may not accept thing they can't understand. If you write down what you feel, they will understand better." He said, and Rose nodded.
~~~
An hour passed. An hour passed of the leaders trying to figure things out, but it only led to arguing. Branch's face hardened in frustration. None of them have asked or even looked at Rose to see what she thought about everything. Branch stood up and placed Rose on a chair in the corner of the balcony. "Stay here, and cover your ears." He said, placing a pair of headphones over her ears. "I'll be right back." He smiled at her before he went to the leaders.
They were all so engrossed in their conversation they didn't see Branch join the table. Their voices were much louder than his. Branch tried to speak but was drowned out but the others. He growled slightly in distraction, his hands becoming fists.
Suddenly there was a loud bang. The table shook violently.
"ENOUGH! Just shut up!"
