Into the Forest

She was breathing.

In his lowest expectations, the fact that the queen was breathing was enough to keep him from going insane. Branch focused on how the air went in and out of her body with slow, almost imperceptible chest movements. She was also cold. He perceived her body temperature when he picked her up from the riverbank.

He laid her on a leaf and got enough wood to start a fire. He had to keep her warm and breathing.

He chose a hidden spot next to tree roots and hoped the smoke wouldn't be seen in the distance. After all, if the Bergen was out there for years, he must have highly developed survival skills and certainly knew how to hunt trolls.

The best plan so far was to keep Poppy breathing. Stay where they were until she woke up or until their friends found them. She'd need a proper rescue plan. They would need immobilization tools, then carefully transport her to Trollstopia where she would get medical attention from Dr. Moonbloom.

It was going to be okay as long as she kept breathing.

Poppy gave a small groan, taking Branch's attention to her. The tips of her fingers moved and she gritted her teeth as if in pain. It broke his heart.

The survivalist put a small bucket on the fire and filled it with water to heat it. He had brought dehydrated vegetables for soup. Poppy whimpered this time and he hurried to her side, holding her hand up to show he was there.

Relief washed over him like a waterfall, taking away all the bad omens he had unconsciously counted. His queen opened her eyes, lazily and was confused at first, but slowly, her magenta irises found him. He felt her sighing. It was like he could hear her thoughts of gladness to see him there beside her.

"I've got you." He reassured her.

Her tongue timidly moved, licking her dry lips to try to talk.

"How…?" Her voice was raspy and dry. Branch immediately knew she had a sore throat.

"Val and Holly fetched me." He gently stroked her cheek, noticing that they felt like the last time he touched them.

The cloudy thoughts seemed to dissipate, and Poppy tried to sit up. Eyes fixed on the fire, with Branch's hand on her back, the pink girl noticed that it was already nighttime.

"Are you hungry?" He stood up, quickly moving to the fire to see that the water was already boiling. He quickly poured the wrapped vegetables into the water. "Pretty sure it will be ready in a few minutes."

"I'm… not hungry." Poppy couldn't even think about hunger when she was feeling so dirty.

She wasn't ready to see Branch in there. Not that she wasn't thankful, but the confused girl could only recollect the feverish makeout she engaged with him, only to have her wishes denied when she was dying to have more. And how the getawaycation was so perfectly fitting to adjust her thoughts…

… and to reveal that she had been unfair by keeping a secret from him.

Maybe she needed more time to deal with the situation.

"Ok." Branch stood up, taking a deep breath. "How is your head?"

"Throbbing." She brattily replied.

"I'll go get some water." The canteen was empty. He had used everything for the soup.

"Ouch," Poppy suddenly cried out, in the middle of an attempt to stand up. She held her ribs and sat back down.

"Shh…" Branch rushed to her side, looking around nervously. He put a hand over her mouth and looked around, quietly, listening for any sign that they were being overheard.

And then he tensed because Poppy tensed as well.

Branch removed the hand from her mouth and stepped away.

She knew.

He knew she knew he knew.

He just couldn't keep his paranoia low profile, could he?

It was like their first adventure together. Branch was worried they would be spotted. Both were next to the fire and ready to sleep on big leaves. At least, this time she didn't look like she was in the mood to sing.

"I was going to tell you." She looked away, embarrassed.

"It wasn't smart keeping it to yourself, Poppy." Branch wanted to sound supportive and understanding, but he was edgy and he noticed his words came out wrong when she stood up, wincing in pain, but not stopping anyway.

"I was getting to know him…" She was abruptly cut by Branch's hysterical shriek.

"Know him! You should have told Gristle! Trollstopia is in immediate danger and you're toying with our safety with your…"

"... endless positivity?" Poppy finished bitterly for him.

She didn't wait for him to reply. The queen walked past him toward the river.

"Are you mad at me?" Branch managed to ask a second before his brain went blank. Poppy grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it up. She unclasped her bra and stepped out of her panties, completely ignoring the fact that he was standing right there. He knew he should look away. "Hair, Poppy!"

She ignored him and plunged into the river. The water was cold, but she didn't mind, or so she chose to ignore it because she furiously started scrubbing the mud from her legs and clothes.

"Are we fighting?" He insisted, "are we fighting over something of unprecedented magnitude that you kept from me?"

She was breathing. Angrily. She was also naked and apparently not minding it.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could solve the problem on my own." Her words made no sense to him. The most sensible choice she had to make as queen was to protect her people. It meant alerting everyone, getting them into his bunker while they arranged a meeting with King Gristle, hopefully, with Bridget's supervision so they would make sure there were no delays. "And I would spare the grumpiness."

So, the real reason behind her reckless choice was to avoid a bad mood?

Branch bit his tongue and watched her before he could say something he would regret. When he was angry, he learned to back down and observe what was going on before riding the blind flames of a discussion and ruining things. He had to go through this rationally, not emotionally.

Poppy had finished washing her hair and her dress. She wiped her eyes stubbornly avoiding looking her boyfriend in the face. Then she hesitated a bit but swam back to the riverbank.

Branch blushed and turned his back to her, giving her all the privacy she needed to get decent. He had no idea how she would get dressed in soaked clothes, but he also didn't want to question her.

She winced again and Branch involuntarily glimpsed at her. It was a mere look to make sure she was fine, but he found her struggling to put the dress on and when she raised her arms to slip it over her head he saw the source of her troubles. Poppy had a massive bruise on her side, covering her left ribs entirely.

She had fallen on her side, he realized. She could have internal bleeding.

He returned his eyes to the fire and stirred the soup. Why was he confronting her when she was hurt? Yes, he was angry and yes, he was edgy with the possibility of being found by a Bergen, but still, his girlfriend was hurt, and from what he could see it wasn't just a minor thing.

He felt her approaching, but she chose to sit across from him. The queen was dressed in her soaked dress and her hair was dripping all over her back. She was going to take a long time to dry. Gladly, it was a warm spring night.

"I'm sorry." She spoke again. This time, the anger was gone.

"I understand." Branch replied, giving up on the fight, after all, he did give her very real motives not to tell him.

"I will get it right." Poppy sniffed again. "When we get back I'll go straight to Gristle."

She hated being wrong. She despised not being able to solve things with hugs and songs. It was one big step for her.

"When we get back you'll go straight to Dr. Moonbloom." Branch corrected. "You need to get your side checked."

Her eyes fluttered up. Branch blushed at the coy look she gave him.

"So, you looked."

"I… I-I…" he couldn't deny it could he? She would think of him as a pervert, for sure! It was another thing to add to the perverted evidence she had piled so far. How many was it? Sniffing her underwear, poking her in her sleep, walking in on her while she showered?

"It's fine." Poppy half smiled. Pleased with herself.

There was a sad vibe, Branch noticed. The same one he remembered on the day they got caught under the rain and she left him on the Fabyrinth. Rejected.

Branch made her feel rejected.

He felt a sudden urge to stand up, cross the fire and crush his lips down on hers. To show her how much she made him crazy and mindless by desiring her! To trail his hands all over her body and make her understand even if his words failed him.

But she was hurt.

He had to wait. All his hands were going to do that night was pour her some soup.

"Dinner is ready."