'Stars shining bright above you…'

Hair, no. That song did NOT cross his mind while Poppy was sleeping next to the fire, at a safe distance from him.

Just like the first time they had an adventure together.

Well, Branch was sure he was going delirious. All the stress he went through that day and still having to face an injured Poppy with a mood that bordered on upset made him wonder if he had seen all the layers of his girlfriend. And if he had somehow caused it.

Of course, he had. She had left without saying goodbye in the first place.

And he had found out about the Bergen through someone else, which seemed to escalate things a bit. Oh yeah… and she knew she was wrong.

He almost missed the annoying cupcakes and rainbows' mood. Almost.

The relationship problems were an uncomfortable pain in his mind. His survivalist instinct spoke louder and shushed the panicking heart whenever it tried to distract him from watching out for the feared predator.

Branch brought the leaf up to his chin, suddenly feeling cold.

He remembered being in a Bergen's mouth for two seconds. King Gristle was now his friend, but it didn't make the memory less gross. If there was one thing Branch didn't want, it was to be in that position again.

And the fear - that until the day before was considered a mere product of his paranoid mind - felt very real.

He had seen the smoke from Barnard's chimney. It was close to Trollstopia, but it was closer to where he and Poppy had set camp for the night.

"Can't sleep?" His girlfriend asked. She had turned on her sleep and the movement made her side hurt. She woke up and saw him staring blankly at the sky, lost in thoughts.

"I'm just watching out for us. Go back to sleep. We'll start walking the moment the sun rises." Branch warned her, which was a mistake because Poppy tensed and he figured he was too dry in his response. The survivalist and the boyfriend conflicted.

Poppy pursed her lips and turned on her back once again.

Fudge. He wasn't the most pleasant troll in the world, was he?

"I wanted to spare you."

"Excuse me?"

"Earlier I said I wanted to spare the grumpiness, but I wanted to spare you." Poppy didn't look at him. Branch watched the corner of her eyes shimmering. She didn't want to spare herself from his grumpy mood. She wanted to keep him from worrying about something she thought she could handle herself.

Could he blame her?

"It's okay."

"It's not okay." Poppy suddenly sat up. Her hand immediately went to her side, but she didn't make a sound, even though Branch knew she had hurt herself with the sudden move. "You see me as a bratty child, don't you?"

"What? No!" Branch replied in a low voice and immediately raised his hands doing his best to motion for her to keep hers low as well.

It didn't seem to work.

"That's why we never make progress. You're the older and wiser troll who chaperones the reckless girl who isn't prepared for a mature relationship!"

"Poppy, please! Keep your voice down." Branch hissed at her.

"Oh, dear." A pleasant voice interrupted the couple. Poppy's eyes widened and Branch froze in realization. "Did I just walk into a couple fighting?"

"RUN!" Poppy screamed, but she couldn't run herself. Branch was barely on his feet when she was captured by a green hand. He reached for her with his hair but ended up being squeezed between greasy fingers as well.

Freaking out over a puzzle piece. Nearly losing his mind at the possibility of not being a good boyfriend. All the things that made him worry lately were meaningless when it came to the fact that he and the girl he loved would be eaten by a Bergen!

They were carelessly thrown inside a cage. Poppy rolled over, holding her side, having the air knocked out of her with the pain. Branch hurried to her while Barnald put two heavy books on the top of the cage, making sure they wouldn't escape.

"Now…" Barnald sat down on a chair and crossed his ankles. "What was the boring fight that woke me up in the middle of the night?"

"What?" Branch was completely puzzled.

"Well, I'm a Bergen, but I'm curious. It looks like you need some relationship counseling?"

Oh… what?

"I'm sorry, Barnald. It may not be the right time." Poppy was still breathless, but the gentleness in her voice was a strong indication that she indeed knew that Bergen.

It made his blood boil.

"I have a great talent for couples counseling." Barnald insisted, "I've read enough novels to say if you're down the right path. For example, from what I've heard so far, you think your boyfriend doesn't treat you as an equal."

They had to break free.

"Do you think so?" Poppy sniffed.

"Adding a thing or two you accidentally slipped in your extremely long letters, I say he thinks himself too smart and must work on damage control around you."

They had to break free immediately! If they didn't end up being eaten, they would end up breaking up!

"Do you think she feels loved - I'm sorry, it's Branch, isn't it?" Barnald asked and Branch, well, he could was too flabbergasted to answer, so he just nodded. "Well, the answer is no."

"Poppy," Branch tried to hold her hand, but it seemed she was paying attention to Barnald more than she should.

"I'm afraid," the queen said.

"Oh, that's an element we should look into." Barnald nodded, a bit too excited for a Bergen. Branch didn't miss that he opened a cookbook filled with trollstice traditional recipes. "Fear is never good for a relationship."

"I feel…" Poppy didn't look at him.

"Poppy!" Branch hissed. Did she really want to open up for a Bergen?! For Hair's sake!

"Well, I'm scared about the reason you hold back." Poppy crossed her arms in front of her chest and scoffed.

"Oh, my…" Barnald didn't have the time to play therapist. He didn't even have to dig in. It was too much for Branch. The stress, the absurdity of discussing their relationship in front of a Bergen before they were served as breakfast, and on top of it all, the weight of not knowing if she had dated someone before!

"Did you attend the Mating Festival?" it came out before he could stop himself. He spilled the beans right there.

It was killing him. He didn't have the time to reason it out. The same night he finds out that there was a mating festival he also hears of Poppy's accident. As usual, he only had time to panic and raise the hypothesis, but before he could find comfort in demystifying the absurdity of his thinking, he had to put it on hold, which cursed him into swallowing and regurgitating made-up images of scandalous group mating!

"What?" His question obviously wasn't what she was expecting.

He was going beyond crazy. He couldn't be retroactively jealous. He couldn't confront her past because she was with him now and nothing that had happened before they were together should matter! Or so, it was supposed to be… in a relationship where he wasn't the toxic partner.

Thanks, Barnald. A great therapist indeed.

"I didn't." Poppy quietly whispered.

There was a knock on the door.

The three of them held their breaths for a moment.

Barnald never got any visitors as far as they knew.

"Well…" the oddly nice Bergen stood up to answer the door. "I'll get this and while I'm at it, why don't you ask her how she feels, Branch?"

"Poppy," Branch hurried to her side. She looked exhausted. Physically and emotionally. She was still holding her side. "We need to distract him to escape."

"I'm not sure I can run." Her voice sounded weak.

"I'll carry you if I have to!"

"I had no idea you've been crowned, King Gristle," Barnald said at the door, making both Poppy and Branch turn to pay attention to what was going on.

"Well, you've been away for a long time." Gristle stood there, hands on his hips with Biggie on his shoulder. "I'm not sure you've heard of all the changes we've made."

"Biggie!" Poppy screamed. "We're here!"

Branch on the other hand felt like a plug had been pulled. The muddy waters of worry about imminent death were flowing away down the metaphorical drain.

So close to death once again and they were saved. He was alive and well. Poppy was saved and she was going to have proper medical attention.

Barnald was Gristle's problem now. It was going to be dealt with in the most diplomatic way possible to keep the peace between Bergens and the trolls.

Branch watched when Poppy hugged her friends and they expressed their worries and complimented him for keeping her safe.

Yeah… safe… with bruises, a possible broken rib, and aching hearts.

He had a lot of mending to do.