Chapter Three: Harvest Moon: Part 1
Years ago, on the night of the Harvest Moon, a mysterious Troll paid Pop Village a visit and delivered gifts to everyone, becoming known only as…the Giver. Every Harvest Moon since has been the same, leaving presents under the veil of night. Which everyone loves…
"…but it drives me completely insane!" Poppy ranted to all the Trolls gathered.
Branch rolled his eyes as his wife continued to give the same I'm-gonna-find-out-who-the-Giver-is-and-thank-them-so-hard speech. Yeah, she had to keep up the façade that she still had no idea who it was to protect his rep, consort or not, but still. This was the first time she gave this heated speech in front of visiting dignitaries, and they seemed a bit startled by the Pop Queen's vehement behavior.
"Dude, does she do this every year?" whispered Prince D.
Branch shrugged, "Pretty much; at least one Troll that I know of learned to sleep with their eyes open through it."
"Really?"
Branch nodded in the direction of DJ Suki demonstrating her trick to Trollex.
"However," Poppy unexpectedly announced, "today I will be meeting with the Queens from the other Genre Tribes, so Smidge will be in charge of finding the Giver this year."
She paused dramatically as she held up an elaborate thank-you card.
"So this is your last chance, Giver! Come forward and take your thank-you like a Pop Troll!"
An uncomfortable silence followed as the Trolls exchanged uncertain glances. No one fessed up.
Poppy feigned a sigh of disappointment. After dismissing the Trolls, she handed the card to Smidge.
"I guess you'll be doing this the hard way. Again. Sorry I won't be able to help this year."
Smidge waved her off. "Don't worry about it; I know how important this meeting is." She hesitated, "But if the meeting is about the new foreign exchange program, then how come you're having it in Bergentown and not here?"
Poppy blanched as her mind spun for an answer.
"Uh…well…Queen Bridget wants to meet the other Genre Queens. And besides, if the Queens spend some time among the Bergens, they might feel more comfortable with sending kids to Pop Village with it being so close to Bergentown."
Smidge was stone-faced for the longest second of Poppy's life.
"That makes sense," Smidge finally said with a smile. "See ya later, Poppy."
Poppy discreetly exhaled in relief as Smidge waved and walked away. As much as she hated lying to the Snack Pack, she knew keeping secrets wasn't one of their strong points, especially this kind of secret.
She was about to jump down from the mushroom stage when she noticed Queen Taheya talking to King Peppy at the back of the crowd, quirking an eyebrow when Peppy said something that caused the two of them to erupt in laughter.
Huh, interesting.
"You okay?"
Poppy turned to see Branch had climbed up on the mushroom.
"Uh huh, just noticing my dad and Queen Taheya."
Branch followed her gaze.
"Oh," he answered slowly. He hadn't seen the former Pop King smile like that since Poppy's mother was still alive.
"Poppy, are you…okay with it? If they end up together?" Branch asked.
Poppy thought about it for a moment. "It's kinda weird, but you know how I am; I think everyone deserves to be happy. And if Dad and Taheya can make each other happy, then they have my blessing. I just hope Naima and Khyriyya feel the same way."
Branch nodded at the mention of Taheya's daughters, then he straightened.
"That reminds me, you should be leaving for Bergentown in a few minutes."
Poppy jumped. "Oh, my hair, thanks for reminding me!"
She hopped down from the mushroom and grabbed her backpack with Branch hot on her heels.
"Poppy, are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"
Poppy stopped and hid her panic behind a reassuring grin; she was becoming quite the actress.
"I'm sure. I got all the notes you made for me, and we'll just hang out and talk about girly stuff afterwards."
She stepped closer to her husband to give him a peck on his cheek and whisper in his ear, "You should have your hands full with keeping Smidge off your trail anyway, Giver."
Branch blushed as Poppy stepped back with a wicked smirk.
"Okay, you have a point there."
Poppy smiled lovingly as she slid her arms around Branch's neck and pulled him in for a deep kiss, oblivious to the excited squealing and wolffish whistles that it drew from surrounding Trolls.
Poppy slowly separated her lips from Branch's and nuzzled her nose against his.
"I love you, Branch," she murmured, "I'll see you tonight."
"I love you, too, Poppy," Branch softly replied, "I can't wait to give you your gift."
Poppy bit her lip in an effort to contain her excitement. And I can't wait to give you yours, oh husband of mine.
"Hey!" Barb called from behind them. "You two lovebirds need to wrap it up; we got a bus to catch!"
With a last quick kiss goodbye, Poppy leaped onto the bus and sat with the five Raqs Sharqi princesses: Naima, Soheir, Azza, Khyriyya, and Dina.
"We brought your costume," Azza said, holding up a black garment bag.
"Keep that down!" Poppy hissed as she frantically shoved the bag down and glanced out the window, praying that Branch didn't see it.
Thankfully, one of the younger Pop Trolls had grabbed Branch's hand and was pulling him away from the bus. He glanced up and gave Poppy a wave before being yanked away.
"Phew!" Poppy exclaimed as she slumped into her seat. "He's gone."
Azza handed Poppy the garment bag; she took it eagerly, but felt her arms drop at the weight of it. Was it supposed to be this heavy?
"Well," Soheir giggled, "let's see it!"
Poppy was just about to unzip the bag when the bus jolted forward, Cloud Guy at the wheel.
"Um, I'm actually gonna wait until we get there."
Poppy settled back into her seat with the garment bag draped across her lap. She wanted to see her costume so badly, but with Cloud Guy driving the bus, she didn't want to risk it getting ruined if he drove them into another Worm Hole.