Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Trolls franchise, I just own Melody.
A mystic melody.
Poppy's mind had become a lot more clear after her talk with Branch and the two had come to the decision that they would go on this trip to find a cure for their daughter, Melody's, ailment.
The queen of the pop trolls felt as if a seed of hope had been planted within her heart.
While it was a mere seed now, it would grow into a sprout and eventually spread throughout her soul. She actually felt reminded of the night when the Bergen, Chef, had taken her friends and she had to save them.
True, circumstances were different and she was a lot less experienced then but she didn't let that sway her.
After a few minutes of holding one another, the king and queen of pop exited the bunker and went over to their pod to get themselves composed and to gather their thoughts before trying again at figuring out their next move. Poppy had entered the main bedroom and she didn't say anything as she grabbed a cape from a hanger and proceeded to secure it around her neck with a pin.
She needed to keep herself calm and collected.
After putting her cape on, she grabbed her travel satchel, turned on her feet and left the room and found Branch dawdling in the hallway.
She went up to her husband, leaned forwards and kissed him. Branch was a bit caught off guard by the sudden kiss but was more than happy to accept it anyway as he just closed his eyes and kissed her back. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close to him, and just basked in the love and affection he was receiving.
It didn't take long until their lips finally parted.
The two pop trolls shared a moment of lengthy silence as they pondered on what to say to one another.
The trolls
Poppy had her satchel in her possession.
Branch noticed.
"Wait a sec, Poppy?" He spoke up. He was worried about the implications as the last time Poppy had done this she was far from in the right state of mind to properly go anywhere and he felt a big ball of worry gather in his mind when he watched her adjust her cape.
Poppy quickly noticed and she quelled her husband's concerns.
"Don't worry, Branch, we're not going on any big trip yet. I'm just going to Bergen town to see whether or not if they have any ideas on how to treat a Moonstalker poisoning."
Branch nodded but also decided to make a swift suggestion.
"But what about the other trolls? Maybe they should be asked first?"
Poppy froze and stopped what she was doing.
Upon considering it, maybe it was a better idea to simply listen to the other troll tribes rather than running off without thinking everything through first. Make no mistake, she still planned on going to Bergen town and hopefully getting answers over there but she decided that she might as well ask the other trolls as they might have some more advanced medical knowledge than the pop trolls do.
What could be the harm in asking?
Poppy brushed passed Branch, barely acknowledging him and leaving him momentarily bewildered as she decided that it was time to go out and explain herself to the other trolls that were (rightfully) expecting an explanation for her strange attitude. She breathed to clear her mind and keep herself calm and collected as she exited the pod via the petals flattening enough to make a door. She was instantly met with a large cluster of concerned yet curious trolls of every music genre.
They were all crowded outside the royal family pod and, before she could even register it, she had a multitude of questions thrown at her from several different trolls.
"Queen Poppy!"
"Is Princess Melody alright?"
"What're we gonna do to help her?"
"Will she be okay?"
"Please let her be alright!"
"Queen Poppy, are you leaving?"
Poppy frowned softly as she avoided looking into every single pair of eyes for a minute while she tried to shake off the discomforting fear clinging to her. Nevertheless she put on her best optimistic smile and tried to rid herself of that sadness that was persistent in clinging tightly to her; she didn't know how to address all of this to the other trolls but she did know that it was something that had to be done. She spoke loudly, letting her voice ring throughout the entire area as the trolls fell into silence whilst they listened to their queen.
"...Melody isn't doing so good right now. She got bitten by a Moon stalker and is suffering from its poisonous affects and now we're going to go on a quest to search for the cure."
Barb spoke up from the huge crowd.
"Aw, Popstar...that's, like, totally gnarly to the max..." She shook her head with sympathy.
Poppy gave an appreciative nod her fellow queen's way before she looked back at the rest of the trolls standing before her, each and every single one of them looking worried. Poppy felt her heart break a bit when she saw the expressions of fright on their faces and they only fuelled her determination to get that cure, whatever it was.
Queen Essence smiled warmly at Poppy as she stepped up.
"Well, dear...I'm sure I speak for everyone here that we shall help however we can."
The queen of funk's words were met with swift murmurs of agreement from the rest of the trolls.
Poppy watched with building relief for a few moments before she glanced at the llama-like troll queen. She was happy to have the elder queen's support, it made her happier than she could ever hope to describe, but she also wanted to ask if she happened to know any remedies as an older and wiser matriarch.
Queen Essence gave an oh-so soft smile as she knew what Poppy wanted to ask her. At this moment of vulnerability she needed some support and she knew that it was a motherly sort of support that she needed; they might have both been queens but, in her eyes right now, this pop troll was in dire need of some affection. She shuffled herself next to Poppy and proceeded to wrap a foreleg around her and hold her close to her fluffy (albeit stuck with little strips of tinsel) chest.
Poppy's heart troubled melted at the sentiment and she felt her eyes moisten with fresh tears.
She blinked them back.
She was done with crying, she needed to be strong not only for herself but for her subjects, for her friends, for Branch and (most of all) for Melody. She couldn't keep crying and not only was it because of the fact that she couldn't risk getting dehydrated but she needed to boost morale right now.
"Q-Queen Essence?" She started, nervously. "Do you know any cures that could save my little girl?"
"Well, there is something that y'all can try." Queen Essence said thoughtfully.
King Quincy stepped forwards alongside Prince D and Cooper. Without speaking another word, the purple funk king whirled his head to stare at one of his twin sons and nodded at Prince Darnell. The older funk troll prince twin nodded back to his father and, with that, Prince D produced a book from behind his back and dropped it to the ground with a heavy "thump" in front of everyone present.
The impact the book made to the ground caused the book to open up and flip to the very middle where it showed that the book was marked by a small fold in one of the corners of one of the pages. Silence reigned over the lot of them (with the exception of a few confused murmurs every now and then) as they approached the book and all peered in to read the words from the pages.
Prince D proceeded to elaborate.
"I think what Mama and Pops are referring to, Queen Poppy, is of a special ancient troll artefact."
Queen Essence cut in.
"It's a lil' something called the Mystic melody. It's a song said to heal the most powerful ailments of troll kind."
Poppy beamed. "That sounds like exactly what we need! Where do we find it!?"
King Quincy lowered his head in disappointment. "I'm afraid that it's only a myth, a folk story. However, it is said that the Mystic melody was created in the lost Kingdom of song."
Branch, who had finally emerged from within the pod, blinked at the mention.
He was suddenly hit by a feeling that made him feel like his whole body was wrapped up in a thick coat of snow and ice. The Kingdom of song. He couldn't explain it but his blood felt red hot at the name, his fingers suddenly got pins and needles, his palms got sweaty, his knees quaked, his hair tingled, and his facial expression hardened. He felt this bizarre instinct snap itself to life inside of him when his ears latched on to the name...however, he focused when he heard the word that preceded the title of this new place.
Lost.
That sounded quite peculiar.
Quite peculiar, indeed...
King Trollex decided to speak up and put in his two cents.
"I heard it was the place where our ancestors originally lived before the whole...debacle...that went on with the strings."
Queen Barb visibly cringed when that was mentioned and looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her up there and then. Her ears were down and her ruby red eyes were overflowing with a mixture of guilt and upset that this topic was even brought up. The matriarch of the Rock trolls clearly felt bad for what she had done.
Everybody noticed this and it was decided that the topic needed to be redirected.
Branch stood next to his wife, wrapping a supportive arm around her but looking quite dubious. He decided to question this while raising a dubious brow, but the skeptic edge in his voice could hardly be helped.
"So what do we do? Sing this song and our daughter will be healed?"
Nobody answered and Branch decided to bring up another question.
"Besides do any of you know where to find this lost kingdom?"
Once again, silence reigned over the group of Pop (and various other genre) trolls and they pondered on the question that had just been asked; it was a legit question, how could they find an ancient song that probably didn't even exist that's in a kingdom that probably didn't even exist? How could they even begin searching?
Poppy had an idea on who to ask, though.
"I'll go and see Bridgette and Gristle in Bergen town and see if they might know anything."
Everyone unanimously agreed that that would be the best course of action.
Then Poppy and Branch needed to sort out something else.
"Everyone." Poppy said while facing everyone in the pop troll village.
Every single pop troll stopped whatever they were doing and looked at their queen.
A rather uncomfortable silence followed as Poppy tried to think of the words she wanted to say as she wasn't used to being so serious —she'd normally leave all the bad stuff that had to be said by Branch but she knew that she had to address her subjects about the underlying fear that had managed to sink its teeth into the usual joviality of Pop troll village.
"I...I know I had announced that I alone would be leaving to find the cure for Melody's illness but I am ashamed to admit that I made that vow out of pain, heartache and recklessness. Normally I would be inclined to ask for Branch to stay here but he needs to come along —so we need you to look after yourselves for awhile."
"But what about former king Peppy?" Asked DJ Suki, confused. "Why can't he lead us?"
Poppy's expression fell as flat as a ducks foot.
"I don't really think I can leave my dad in charge of you guys right now as he needs to stay with Mel." Poppy sighed and spoke candidly to the other trolls, Branch would have been proud of her under different circumstances, her voice was deft and everyone seemed to hang on her every single word.
"Everyone. We feel that you would all be a lot safer if you went down into the survival bunker, we can't risk anymore trolls getting hurt by outside predators; a Moonstalker attack is the worst thing we can have right now."
Branch added as he gently furled a reassuring arm around his wife in an attempt to make her feel better.
"We have no idea how that Moonstalker got passed my traps but Poppy and I know that we can't risk any other injuries or —heaven for bid— casualties. I have a lot of supplies in my survival bunker that can keep you guys fed and watered for several weeks but I recommend rationing it to spare yourselves a bit longer. There are also a lot of blankets and there should be plenty of space to house all of you."
"B-But! What about the tribes and their leaders?" A younger funk troll piped up.
Branch and Poppy froze momentarily and looked at one another. They hadn't thought about the other kinds of trolls there were; they couldn't risk them getting hurt but they also didn't feel it was right confining them to Pop village —especially not the leaders as they needed to get back to their homes and tend to their own villagers.
King Quincy spoke up as he moved forwards.
"We can get on the kingdom of Funk, house them in Vibe city for a few days, and help the other trolls and their leaders get home that way, droppin' 'em off one by one as we go...but should take a coupla' days."
King Trollex spoke up.
"But what about us? Techno trolls can't be outta water for too long because it dries us up and makes it so we can't function or move, not to mention it affects our mood and I don't wanna have you deal with a bunch of dry and crabby fishes outta water..."
Poppy contemplated this.
It was a good point, in the bunker the only place with water would be the bathroom but there was no way that it would sustain all the techno trolls here in Pop village. She didn't want literal fish out of water to suffer in her home, not when she wanted nothing but the best.
Thankfully, Tollzart had an solution for this.
"Fear not. Some of my cherubs can fly to the river and grab as much water as we can and bring it back, hopefully enough for the techno trolls here to be hydrated enough to avoid getting irritable,"
King Trollex seemed satisfied with that suggestion and nodded.
Then Delta Dawn accompanied by Clampers both stepped forwards and nodded, the two country trolls both wore expressions of determination and smiled confidently. They even clopped their hooves on the ground in emphasis.
"We'll give y'all a ride to Bergen town; given the lil' missy's condition, ah' reckon we getcha there lickety-split." Said Delta, pawing the ground with a front left hoove.
Poppy and Branch glanced at each other and smiled. They felt so blessed to have such good friends to help them in their time of need, it made their hearts swell with happiness. While they both knew that they were in for a rough road ahead, they were comforted with their friends willingness to help them. They reached over and grabbed their hands, linking them together and gripping tightly to each other's clasps.
Branch smirked and Poppy smiled as they held hands before Poppy snapped her head in the direction over to the Snack pack.
"Can you guys come with us? We might need all the help we can get."
"You bet, Poppy!" Cried Guy Diamond, his auto tune voice raising a few octaves.
"Me too!" Added Tiny Diamond (who was waist height standing next to his father).
Biggie snuggled Mr Dinkles close to him and nodded in support.
Satin and Chenile both gave thumbs up. "Yes!"
Smidge only nodded and smiled.
"I'll go too!" Cooper announced while earning looks of concern from Queen Essence, King Quincy and a smile from Prince D.
All of the trolls (and leaders) cheered loudly in hopeful triumph as it appeared that their spirits had been revitalised and were putting all their faith inside of Poppy, Branch and the Snack pack. They were hopeful that they would be triumphant in their quest of not only finding the Lost Kingdom of Song but also finding the Mystic Melody that could save the small princesses life.
Branch smiled as he announced loudly. "Alright. Get your affairs in order, everybody, because we'll leave first thing in the morning."
After making their speech, Branch and Poppy went back to the medical pod to bid farewell to their daughter for the time being until they returned. They felt fearful about her health but knew that she was strong enough to hang in there, she had to be...
The King and Queen were both positioned next to their child's bedside, their eyes soft.
They didn't want to leave their daughter's side, especially not when she was so sick, but they knew that they needed to go out there and find that "Mystic Melody" cure; while they were told about the fact that the lost Kingdom of song was naught but a myth, they refused to believe that and had become determined to find it. If this was the one chance to cure their daughter then they would both latch on to it and refuse to let it go until it was definitive that this song didn't exist.
Poppy knelt at the bedside, reaching forwards and rubbing her child's forehead.
She gingerly brushed aside the violet fringe that stuck to the sleeping trolling's forehead and swept it out of her face to hopefully avoid said fridge getting in her closed eyes. She had to take in a shaky breath to maintain her own composure and to avoid bursting into tears; she felt her eyes harden.
"We're gonna go and get you that cure to make you well again, sweetheart. I promise that we won't fail you..."
Branch's heart broke but he tried to swallow the pain causing his throat to tighten. He blew deeply through his nostrils, calming his emotions, and he steeled himself as he leaned forwards and planted an oh-so gentle kiss on the small troll's small sweaty forehead where her bangs were just a few moments earlier.
She looked so tiny.
It was unsettling...
"We'll be right back. Hold on for us, ok?" He spoke in a hushed undertone of a voice.
Mel didn't quite reply but she did stir faintly, as though subconsciously conceding; her face tightened considerably but totally relaxed after a few moments and she gave a whimper/moan beneath her breath as her chest continued to rise and fall with each wheezing breath. Admittedly, she looked quite peaceful in-spite of the illness that ravaged her small body to its core and seeing her in such a way only served to strengthen her parents determination to go out there and find a cure for her.
"Poppy."
Poppy and Branch both turned to see that Peppy was stood in the doorway before he came back into the room and looked at them both with a solemn expression.
Poppy looked back at her father and a faint smile twitched on her lips as her eyes hardened with determination; she had faith that she and Branch could go and find that Mystic melody —sure, the other troll leaders had said how it was no more than a myth, but that wasn't going to snuff their flames of hope.
Peppy walked over slowly and raised his hand to cup Poppy's cheek in his hand, cradling her face in the palm.
Surprisingly Poppy made no effort to jerk away, if anything she just leaned into her father's touch.
"Are you sure you have to go on this trip?" He asked with worry.
"Yes, dad, I'm sure. 'No troll left behind' remember?"
Peppy chuckled softly. He couldn't argue with her there, his daughter had a good point; she loved to throw in that old motto he used to go by when he was a lot younger and, to him, that same motto was the very foundation of the principle he used to rule by. He ruled the other pop trolls with that same phrase especially to lift their hopes when they had been through hard times when they were locked up like caged birds by the Bergens.
He stepped closer to his only daughter slowly and he lovingly pressed his forehead against hers.
He closed his eyes as he soaked in the warmth of Poppy's forehead touching his own, not knowing that Poppy was doing the very same thing. They both just let the atmosphere speak for itself as they both just basked in one another's company and, admittedly, they never wanted to part. Sadly that was never going to happen as Poppy needed to make her departure.
"Take care of yourself, Poppy..." Peppy murmured softly.
"Thanks, daddy, I will." Poppy murmured in response.
The father and daughter pair parted from one another and smiled sincerely at one another.
Peppy said little else as he hobbled over to his only granddaughter's bedside and proceeded to sink into a small stool that was perched right next to the cot the small trolling was laying in. His eyes never left either his daughter nor his son-in-law as he sat but he did make sure to give them his most encouraging smile (which was partially concealed by his frizzy pink and gray moustache) and gave them a single nod to assure them that he'd guard Melody with every fibre of his being.
He refused to let his granddaughter go the same way his late wife did.
Branch and Poppy each gave a smile of thanks and left the room to begin getting their affairs in order before beginning their big adventure.
A/N: Hi, everyone. I'm sorry for taking awhile to update. Here's a more uplifting chapter and we get some info for the cure for the Mystic Melody and, in the next chapter, we'll go to Bergen town.
What will Poppy learn while she (and the others) are there?
You guys are awesome.
-Chloemcg
