Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Trolls franchise, I just own Melody.

A mystic melody.


Branch and Poppy ran as fast as they could with looks of pure panic on their faces.

After Mel had basically dropped to the floor at the party, everything spiralled into a frenzy as Poppy and Branch had grabbed their only daughter in midst of the chaos and rushed her straight to Dr Plimsy and Dr Moonbloom's clinic. All the while, their hearts were in their throats and their bodies were vibrating from the massive adrenaline rush that coursed through their bodies. Poppy was so focused on getting Melody to the infirmary that she didn't even have time to have a proper reaction to everything.

In the meantime, Branch had practically shoved Mel into his deep cobalt blue mane without thinking and, while he carried the unconscious Mel in his hair, he grabbed Poppy's hand and squeezed it tight.

This was one of his worst nightmares fully-realised —he couldn't get the thought of his out of his mind as he was suddenly assaulted by the traumatic experience he had endured when his grandmother was eaten right in front of him —it was as if he was six years old all over again. If only he'd listened to his gut and brought Melody in to see Dr Plum sooner...then this wouldn't be happening!

He tried to ignore the intense flashbacks as well as the tears forming in his eyes and just focus on what was going on right now. He had lost a lot of things in his life; his parents, his grandmother, his home...but he downright refused to let his daughter be the next thing he'd lose.

"This isn't going to be like losing Granny," He thought to himself desperately. "I won't let it happen again!"

The hospital pod was a pod that hung from a singular tree branch that was surrounded by lots of vines and foliage.

When it was in their sights, the couple clambered up the vines and ivy to get heave themselves into the entrance and hardly wasted anymore time as the two leaders of the pop trolls both burst into the infirmary and were swiftly greeted by the scent of overpowering antiseptic and medicinal herbs.

It was a disconcerting scent which it made Poppy's spine crawl and Branch's stomach twist with discomfort. They were both very familiar with hospitals as they had to be kept in once or twice in their lives. Branch didn't go in much at all as he just learned medical care by himself so was able to treat his own wounds when he got hurt.

They had never felt so alone and fearful in a hospital setting before.

Nevertheless, they shook off the feelings and went to locate either Dr Plum or Dr Moonbloom —the two were cousins so it wasn't an unusual sight to see the two of them partner up together in order to treat their patients. It took only a minute of hastening down and scouring the hallways until Dr Plum was found. She was sat in her office looking over a bunch of files on her small wooden desk until her ear perked up after hearing her name being desperately called.

Dr Plum raised her head and snapped her gaze straight over to both Branch and Poppy and her face was overcome with shock.

"Oh! Your highnesses! What can I-" Her words died in her throat as her surprised look gave way to worry. She stood from her desk chair and made her way towards the breathless king and queen of pop.

The couple looked as though they'd ran a full marathon from how much they were panting.

They panted so hard as they both tried to suck the oxygen back into their lungs as they both stood hunched over with terrified expressions, they both wanted to just tell her but they couldn't while they were trying so hard to refill their lungs with the oxygen needed to keep them going and trying hard not to pass out right on the spot.

"Queen Poppy, King Branch," Dr Plum came forwards with pure concern on her face. "What is the matter?"

Poppy couldn't say anything as she was still breathless but she reached into Branch's hair and plucked Melody right out and cradled her in her arms like she would a baby. Melody was still and limp as she lay in her mother's arms without a single sign of life with the exception of her shallow breathing. The young trolling coughed and heaved in shallow but wheezy breaths as she tried to keep her eyes open. She was staring blankly up at the ceiling that loomed right above her.

Mel had tried to curl up into a tight ball, to keep herself warm and protected from the cold invading her small body, that rattled the world around her.

She looked so weak and tired.

Poppy just couldn't keep the tears out of her magenta eyes.

Dr Plum immediately looked alarmed upon seeing the state of the princess. She rushed up to the couple, placed the back of her hand on the trolling's head and her eyes went so wide that they looked like they could easily have popped out of their sockets. The purple medical troll with lime green hair and bandages stuck to said hair felt her heart leap high into her throat in alarm.

"Oh goodness! MOONBLOOM!" She bellowed while beckoning and ushering the couple into a spare room of the infirmary.

Branch and Poppy followed Dr Plum closely, making sure to be close behind her as the doctor called out for her wayward cousin.

Moonbloom had previously been preoccupied with stacking shelves of herbal remedies but stopped when she saw something was the matter. She hadn't heard her cousin yell for her in such a manner unless it was a severe case so she knew she had to investigate. The purple troll with the navy blue hair had immediately began to follow Dr Plum and Poppy and Branch hot-footed, trying to see what the matter was.

Eventually the two doctors, Branch, Poppy and the unconscious but sick little princess had arrived in a small bedroom that was clearly meant for treating trolls with dire cases of ailments.

"Set her down here." Plimsy ordered gently as she gestured to a small infirmary cot.

Poppy hardly hesitated in doing just that as she stepped forwards and lay her little trolling down on the designated bed. She had to back away within a millisecond of putting Mel down as the two doctors crowded around her and hurried to try and get their small patient stable.

Melody coughed and sputtered, her chubby little glittery cheeks decorated with serious blush lines. Her eyes were closed and the sound of her breaths was painful to listen to —the horrid wheezing that came from her little lungs sounded like it made her ribcage rattle and shake due to mere pressure and severity.

The King and queen sat on either side of her, both watched over their sick little princess with the purest worry etched all over their faces.

They couldn't believe that this was happening, they didn't want to believe that this was happening to their precious little girl; Melody seemed to be her normal self before she suddenly collapsed at the party. Now she looked so listless and so stricken and sick.

The sight was gut-wrenching.

Dr Plum glanced over to the two upset parents with a look of calmness but her voice carried this undertone of well-disguised urgency.

"Tell us what happened."

Branch proceeded to do just that.

"Mel and the other trollings went off to play before Poppy's story time but they were attacked by a Moonstalker and it picked up Melody an-an-and her arm got cut by one of its fangs but she kept reassuring us that she was okay and felt fine and she really wanted to go to her birthday and-"

Dr Plum raised her hand, silencing Branch from his paranoia-fuelled rant, and gave an earnest nod of her head.

"Thank you, king Branch. I think I can work out the rest of what happened."

Poppy gripped her husband's hand in hopes to soothe his anxiety (but also to try and extinguish her own) and she looked up at the pair of physician trolls. She was trying to seem well held together but her emotions as a mother was shining through —probably more than she had meant to— and it was just as gut wrenching as the poor trolling whose care the duo were now in charge of in such a state.

What felt like eternity went by as the two trolls sat in silence, trying to process everything that was going on.

Everything was pounding, or it felt like it was.

Everything around them was rushing by in a blur as an intense silence had settled into the current atmosphere, making everything seem that much more like some horrific nightmare. Branch and Poppy just held on tight to one another as they tried to give one another comfort through everything that was transpiring, their grip around one another even tightening but it felt awkward when Branch and Poppy's capes got tangled.

It took awhile but Moondrop and Plum Plimsy both let out small sighs of relief as they sauntered over to speak to Branch and Poppy. The formers clasps on each other loosened considerably when they saw the two doctor trolls approaching.

"Your highnesses," Dr. Moonbloom addressed the Royal couple as she entered the bedroom, she came in with a grim and sorrowful expression on her face. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but..." She swallowed to prepare herself for the news she was about to deliver unto them.

"...I am afraid that the princess is not going to make it."

Branch and Poppy felt their hearts both freeze in their chest simultaneously.

They didn't just hear that.

They immediately clutched on to one another while wearing the most panicked expressions ever, they didn't have the energy to cry out in terror or even cry because they were equally so riddled with shock and disbelief. Nevertheless, their mouthes opened up and they accidentally let in a sharp yet electrifying intake of breath.

"Moony!" Plum silenced her Dr Moondrop with a harsh withering scowl and then turned back to face Branch and Poppy and amended her cousin's statement. She wore her most reassuring expression even if it appeared slightly more somber than what the blue and pink troll couple would have preferred at the moment.

"We are doing everything we can, your highnesses, we promise. Princess Melody is very unwell but we won't give up on her..."

Branch decided to speak up.

"Is there any cure for a Moonstalker poisoning?" He asked imploringly.

Dr Plum and Moondrop glanced at one another with both unease and anxiety before looking back to Branch and Poppy.

"W-Well, as medicine develops more and more everyday, we get more ideas and ways on how to treat several ailments such as Polka-dotted spring fever or Trollpox or even how to heal broken bo-"

Dr Moondrop was abruptly cut off from her tangent by Branch who suddenly sounded more demanding.

"That doesn't answer my question! Is there any cure for our daughter's sickness?"

Dr Plum sighed.

"I'm sorry, King Branch...we don't have any cures yet."

That answer felt like a sword being stuffed through his chest and his angry face crumpled. He hardly even noticed as Poppy placed a supportive hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, he did appreciate it though.

Poppy was silent for a moment, letting those words hang in the air for a terse few seconds, until she hung her head.

"...Can we see her?"

Dr Plum and Dr Moonbloom nodded in unison as they stepped back and allowed the parents to see their precious girl. Nevertheless, the pair of doctor trolls continued tending to Mel but made sure to let her parents sit on either side of her and let them interact with her. Branch and Poppy held each of their little one's hands and tried their best to let her know that they were there for her.

The little periwinkle blue troll's sleeping face screwed up and her tiny fingers clenched tight to the edges of her blankets. Tiny whimpers started to squeak from her throat and small tears started to fall down her chubby glittery cheeks, her tiny body started to shudder but not from her terrifying fever but from fear instead.

Poppy's heart ached as she watched the sight with pained eyes.

"Oh, my poor baby..." She crooned sympathetically while she gripped to Mel's tiny hand. "...I think she's having a nightmare, Branch!"

Branch could see that, indeed, his daughter was having a nightmare. The child's periwinkle blue skin was soaked and damp with sweat and she whimpered loudly as she squirmed wildly in her unconscious state, her tears grew more fierce as they rolled ceaselessly down each of her cheeks.

Poppy tried to keep her voice from quivering but to no avail.

"It's okay, Mel...Stay with us, sweetheart, mummy and daddy are right here with you!" She said, hoping to smooth the fear and anxiety from her voice, looking helplessly to Branch.

He didn't know what to do as he was just as helpless.

As Melody's eyes were closed plus the fact he didn't think he could get on top of her without that interfering with the doctors trying to help her and he worried he'd crush her if he tried, Branch knew he couldn't rely on his usual method of calming creatures/trolls so he knew that he had to use a different method of calming his young yet very sick trolling.

He felt his heart breaking at the sight.

He moved towards her in a hurried fashion, reached forwards and started to slowly stroke her hair while he moved his mouth to be near her ear and he started to murmur soothing words to her.

"Shh, Shh, Shh, Shh...calm down, it's okay..."

Melody's writhing started to slow down a bit after hearing her father's soothing words in her ear. Her loud whimpers started to soften in volume and her blazing fever started to die off just a little bit. Tears still rolled down her cheeks, though, and Branch shushed her comfortingly as he wiped away her streaks of tears with his thumb.

"Shhhh, its going to be alright."

Mel's whimpering dwindled and she seemed to calm down, her thrashing stopped, her wheezing breaths stopped. She coughed weakly but it didn't precede any choking sounds this time, her face relaxed and her breathing slowed considerably. She looked a bit more at peace than before. The small trolling's crying seemed to quiet down, the volume eventually becoming silent save for her sickened wheezing breathing.

Branch and Poppy to feel their hearts lighten as they felt quite panicked before and now, upon seeing their daughter less frantic..but still sick made them feel horrid.

How could this have happened?

How could this have happened to their daughter?

How could this have happened to their precious little Melody?

As Branch and Poppy let the doctors do their thing, they watched with sadness and confusion; what could they do?

Poppy abruptly rose out of her seat, her eyes glued to the ground, her ears were unnaturally droopy and she had this air brewing around her that seemed dark and strange. Her posture was hunched but tense at the same time and her eyes were slightly narrowed as she started to stomp out of the room with her back so firm that it almost caused a hunch to form at the back of the queen's neck.

Branch barely had enough time to react as he jumped out of his seat and was about to follow her.

"P-Poppy? Where are you going?"

Poppy stopped dead at the threshold of the doorway but didn't turn around to face her husband, only turning her face a bit so he couldn't see much of her facial expression.

"I'm...I'm j-just gonna head out to tell the other trolls what happened...I'll...I'll be back."

Branch didn't like that tone in her voice.

Poppy had never sounded so serious before in her life before now; there was this foreboding darkness interlacing her words and it sounded severe. Branch couldn't recall if she had ever sounded like that in her life...maybe she sounded like that back when they were about to be eaten by the Bergens but it made Branch feel so uneasy.

Either way, Poppy didn't give Branch enough time to ponder on it further as she just stormed out of the room.

The royal blue pop troll's facial expression stiffened considerably while his icy blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. He had a feeling that Poppy was going to do something reckless and he was sure that she was battling some sort of guilt and knew that he had to talk to her —Poppy didn't get upset often (this was a given) but on the rare occasions that she did get upset, Branch knew that the responsibility to talk her down from doing something stupid fell on his shoulders.

His eyebrows knitted together and his ears drooped even more than usual.

He needed to talk to her.


A/N: Hi, everyone. Here's the newest chapter and it seems that things have become a bit sour and Branch might need to have a chat with Poppy. What will happen next? When will this adventure truly begin?

Stay tuned and find out for the next chapter.

You guys are awesome!

-Chloemcg