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I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter! I don't own trolls.
"You will, Branch"
Branch stared at her, his mouth open. "I'm sorry? Who?" He asked again, not sure if he heard her right.
"You will Branch." Queen Essence repeated as she stood up, walking over to him. "You are the one troll she is very comfortable with. You also are the only one who understands what she's going through. You yelled at us to make sure she is heard, so you care about her. We both knew the moment we saw you with her. When we went with Doctor Moon we signed papers so we could pay for all her bills, but we did not sign anything about fostering her. We knew you would be a better troll for that, and Doctor Moon agreed." Queen Essence smiled at him.
Branch shook his head. "N-no, I can't. I'm a terrible choice. Kids never like me. She needs a family, I can't do that. She will learn to be comfortable with other trolls." What Branch didn't see was Rose frowning when she heard him.
"Nonsense." King Quincy spoke. "You make her feel safe. You are the perfect troll to look after her."
"I'm not! I'm a terrible troll. I'm called the village grump for a reason." Branch said, before he felt Poppy's arm drop from around him, causing him to look at her.
Poppy looked at him, a small frown on her lips. "Stop putting yourself down, Branch! Even I knew you were the best option when I saw how you treated her. You sympathize with her, you understand what she needs the most. She needs you, And I think you need her too." She started to smile at him. "You're the perfect troll for this. You have grown so much, and everyone knows that. You have become the most caring troll I know." She took his hand in hers, grinning more when she saw his cheeks darken at her compliment.
"You've overcome something so many trolls will truly never understand. You are the strongest trolls out there." Delta spoke up, causing Branch to look at her again. "And Clampers loves to hang out with you, so you can't say kids don't like you."
"They're right. Even I have to admit, you're one of the bravest trolls I've seen." Barb spoke up, shocking Branch. "I don't think any troll I know would jump to protect anyone like you did." She smirked.
"And I'd do it again if I needed too." He said, puffing up proudly.
Poppy gently hit his chest in a teasing manner. "No you will not! You will not risk yourself for me again." She told him, frowning slightly.
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving you." He smiled at her. "You know I can't live without you." He whispered softly to her, seeing her blush.
"If we're all complimenting Branch, you're the most hardworking troll. You're always ready to help, no matter what it is. You never give up, your determination and passion makes you perfect for this." King Trollex spoke, grinning at Branch.
"You really don't have to." Branch said, blushing slightly at everyone's comments about him.
"We do have to Branch. You may not see it, but we all do. We see the potential you have. You would make a great parent, as well as an amazing leader." King Quincy smiled at him.
"Parent? Leader?" Branch muttered under his breath, looking down at the table. He was about to speak when Poppy interrupted, changing the subject.
"You should give it a chance, Branch. We all believe you will be a good guardian for her." Poppy smiled at him.
Branch was silent for a moment, before looking at Rose. "What do you say kid?" He asked her.
Rose looked at him, a frown on her lips as she started writing. She slowly slid him the notebook, not looking at him. 'You don't want me.'
Branch looked at the notebook and stopped when he read it. He looked at her and slowly knelt down so they were face to face. "Hey kid, that's not true." He whispered. "It's not that I don't want you, I just never looked after anyone before." He let out a small nervous chuckle. "I'm nervous about it." He quietly admitted to her, seeing her finally look at him. "I don't know what to do, I don't know how to prepare for it. But I'm willing to give it a try, if you will?" He asked her, smiling and offered her his hand.
Rose looked at his hand, then back at his face. She stood up slowly, and took a few steps towards him. Branch raised his hand towards her, smiling as he thought she was going to take his hand. Suddenly Rose jumped into Branch's hair.
Branch froze in place, shocked at her actions. "Umm Branch? Are you okay?" Poppy said after a moment.
"I never had anyone in my hair." He said, still not moving.
Delta burst out laughing when she heard him. "Ya better get used to it bud. Trollings feel safe when they're in someone's hair, she will probably want to stay there while you're out in the village."
Clampers peeked out of Delta hair. "It's super soft and warm too!" She grinned before going back in.
Poppy grinned, taking his arm and helping him stand up. Branch was about to speak, but Poppy spoke first. "She isn't going to fall, don't worry." She told him, knowing what he was going to ask. "If you need any help, let me know. I'll do my best to help." She grinned at him, seeing him nod slowly, glancing at his hair.
"Now that that is settled, why don't we finish this meeting so we can address the other trolls with what's happening?" King Quincy smiled, as the others nodded.
Branch took a step back, about to go back to where he was before but was stopped by Poppy. "You're staying right here." She smiled at him, keeping a hold of his hand. "You and Rose can help us. You said Rose had an idea right?" She smiled, and glanced up at his hair to see Rose peeking through his hair. Poppy moved aside and pointed to her chair. "Take a seat Branch." She told him. Branch was about to protest but he saw the look on her face and he knew she wouldn't take no for an answer. He sighed in defeat and sat down. Poppy grinned in victory when he sat down, moving in front of him and sat on his lap happily.
"Really Poppy?" He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, hearing her giggle. He subconsciously wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"Yes really! You're very comfy." She cuddled into him, kissing his cheek quickly before she turned her attention to his hair. "Rose, do you mind coming out so we can ask you some questions?" She asked, seeing Rose looking at her. Branch sat still, feeling Rose part his hair slightly. Poppy reached up and took her out of his his and placed her on the table.
"Rose, we are sorry we never asked you how you felt about all of this." Queen Essence looked at Rose. "Branch said you had an idea that may help us, we would love to hear it."
Rose glanced at Branch, who nodded his head. Rose took out her notebook and handed it to him. Branch opened it and Rose showed him a couple of pages. "The main thing she is worried about is the other trollings. She doesn't want them to stop playing with her. She is nervous that if she goes to a park or somewhere to play, that the other kids will pick on her or ignore her because of what happened." Branch explained, seeing Rose nod.
"How do we help with that?" Trollzart asked.
Rose turned her to a different page in the book, pointing to a page. "She wants them to not be scared of her and not run away." He read the couple of words on the page to form the sentences. "She wants them to understand this isn't her fault, and if they have any questions to ask her instead of leaving her out of the games or bullying her." As he read he started getting slightly anxious.
"The kids wouldn't do that, would they?" Barb asked.
"They did with me, but back then the others didn't understand what happened and instead of talking to me they avoided me." Branch said, seeing Rose frown at his words. "But things are different now. All the kids get along with each other, so if someone talks to the children and explains what happened and why she looks different, they may understand and want to ask questions." Branch said.
"Well, why don't we ask Clampers since she's here?" Delta took her niece out from her hair and placed her on the table. "You somewhat know what happens and what's going on, do you have any questions?" She asked.
Clampers looked at her aunt then at Rose and waved slightly. Branch looked at the two children, seeing how small Rose was so Clampers surprised him a bit. He knew she was small, but Rose was a little more than half the size of her. "Why would trolls not accept her? And why doesn't she talk?"
Rose took a moment to write some stuff down. Branch read what she wrote and took a moment to figure out the words. "She doesn't feel comfortable speaking, but she can write down what she wants to say. So you can still talk to her normally, it just takes a moment for her to write it down." He explained. "Some trolls don't understand what happened, and don't understand how she feels. It's different so it scares them, that leads to them not accepting her." He said, seeing Rose look down sadly. "Clampers, if another kid told you that you shouldn't play with a grey troll but you saw Rose playing by herself, would you go invite her to play? Even if it meant the other trolls won't play with you either?" Branch asked her.
Clampers looked at him for a minute. "What would we play?" She asked.
"Um, I don't know. Whatever you two choose." He shrugged. "The point is, would you go play with her, even if it meant others wouldn't play with you?"
Clampers looked at Rose. "It depends on what we play. I'm really good at tag!" She grinned.
Branch chuckled. "Yeah, I know that first hand. Thank you for your answer Clampers." He said, before looking at the others. "My main concern is if one kid starts spreading rumors that aren't true, others will believe it and not want to play with her. If someone addresses the children first and helps them understand, then it will probably help a lot of trolls as well as Rose." Branch said, seeing Rose perk up slightly, nodding as she crawled closer to him. She reached her hand towards his, seeing him move his hand towards her she grabbed it and placed it on her head in content.
"Thank you Branch, and thank you Rose." Delta smiles at them as Clampers went back into her hair. "That is a good start. Getting the kids involved and making sure they understand helps Rose, but also helps troll if this happens to anyone else." She said, looking at the others. "The next story time that the children have should be dedicated to helping the children understand, and if they have any questions they will be able to get answers. If you're okay with that Queen Poppy."
Poppy nodded. "Yes, that sounds perfect! They will have a safe space to ask any question they want." She smiled, and gently squeezed Branch's hand as she felt him relax.
Trollzart started writing the plan down. "Beautiful! What next? Figuring out what to tell everyone?" He asked, as all eyes went to Branch.
Branch felt all eyes on him, and glanced down at Roses notebook. "Is there anything you think that will help?" He asked her quietly, seeing her skim the book as well, but not think of much. "For telling the other trolls, I don't think there is much that can be planned. I honestly don't know how the trolls will react. A lot has changed, they're accepting the differences in each other. I think there will be a few that won't understand what Rose is feeling, or why she doesn't talk." He said, seeing King Quincy speak.
"We will have to see how that plays out then." He looked at Branch. "Would you feel comfortable coming up with us and answering questions any trolls have?" He asked.
Branch thought for a moment, and looked at Rose who stared at the notebook. "I'd rather not, not today." He looked at Quincy. "I can do it another day, if that's okay? I think it's best to get Rose settled before anything else." He spoke, seeing Rose look up at him when she heard her name. "But if it does help, maybe you could ask them to write down any questions they have and I can look through them in the mean times?"
Quincy nodded. "Yes, that is a good idea." He smiled, before looking at the others. "I believe we have anything set then." He looked around seeing everyone agree. All the leaders stood up and started going to the door. Poppy moved aside so Branch could stand up as Queen Essence walked over to him.
"We will get everything ready. If you need anything or need any help Branch, just let us know." Queen Essence smiled at him.
"Actually, what do I need?" He asked her, seeing her raise an eyebrow. "What do I need for Rose? I don't have anything for kids." He asked timidly.
She smiled at him. "Well, she will need clothes, since all she has right now are robes from the emergency pod. I know you have food, but maybe ask her what she likes to eat and get creative with that. Kids are hard, but will be worth it." She looked at Rose, who was slowly standing up, trying to get a handle on standing up with one hand. "Just stay relaxed, you will do well. You do also have to sign some papers and have her care sheet for her cast. I told Doctor Moon to come here after we're done so you can sign them." She smiled at him.
He smiled slightly. "Thank you Queen Essence." He bowed slightly.
"Oh you don't need to be so formal Branch." She smiled, before started following the other leaders.
Poppy looked at Branch. "Are you going to wait here until it's over, or are you going back home?" She asked him.
"Well, I apparently have to go sign stuff. I may see if Biggie will show me where that pod with Roses stuff is so I can get her some clothes." He looked at Rose. Rose saw him look at her and she reached for him with her arm. He gently picked her up and she rested her head on his shoulder, gripping his vest.
"You should see Satin and Chenille for clothes for her! They love making clothes for Tiny Diamond but he never wears them, they will love to make her clothes!" She grinned.
He thought for a moment. "I guess I could see if they aren't busy." He said, before he heard his name and turned around to see Doctor Moon at the end of the balcony. "I guess I have to sign the foster papers." He said, almost surprising himself with his words. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this." He muttered to himself but Poppy heard.
She smiled at him and placed a hand on his free shoulder. "You are perfect for this Branch, you are the one troll I trust the most to look after her." She grinned when she saw him smile at her words. "I will be with you every step of the way to, if you want." She blushed slightly as she looked at him, smiling shyly.
Branch looked at her, before he kissed her softly. He smiled against her lips before pulling back slightly. "Thank you Poppy. I will definitely take you up on that offer." He smirked at her, causing her to blush more. He chuckled as he blushed as well. He kissed her cheek. "I love you Poppy."
Poppy couldn't help but grin more, blushing as she spoke. "I love you more." She kissed his nose.
He smirked at her. "That isn't possible." He said before he heard Barb making puking sounds. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"You two are too sweet I'm going to get a cavity. I don't know how that kid will handle you two." She said, before lookin an arm around Poppy's. "Come on Popsqueak, you're late! See ya later boy toy." She raised her hand to wave as she dragged Poppy off the balcony.
Poppy protested, frowning before she let she rock troll drag her. "Bye Branch! And it is possible!" She called out to him.
"No it's not!" He called back, chuckled as she heard her 'yes it is' in the distance. "What did I do to deserve her." He said to himself, before he turned around and jumped slightly when he saw Doctor Moon. "Oh, um, I'm sorry. I forgot you were there." His face darkened.
Doctor Moon smiled. "You both will be great parents." She said, giggling when she saw Branch's face darken even more. "I'm glad it's you who is signing these papers. So, let's get started." She sat down.
Branch looked at Rose, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Branch smiled softly as Her, before he looked at Doctor Moon and nodded. "Yes. Let's sign those papers." He spoke with confidence in his voice.
