Okay, so this chapter was supposed to be published last night, but I got lazy and didn't. I was expecting to be out of the house yesterday, so it really should have been published earlier than that. Anyway, I decided to make this from Branch's POV, just to give a little insight on his character. That being said, please enjoy!
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Branch didn't know when, exactly, he had fallen for the gray princess.
At first, the only reason he had made an effort despite her reclusive nature was his promise to his grandmother. He had figured that if she didn't want to join them in singing or dancing, why make her? Nevertheless, he had been true to his word, keeping an eye on the troll throughout her life. His grandmother had often been to her pod to check up on her as a trolling, so it wasn't like he had a choice in seeing her or not.
Poppy wasn't like other trolls. She wasn't loud, she didn't go to parties. She didn't even like trolls touching her, let alone hugging her. The princess was different from every troll he had ever met.
Yet, she wasn't unpleasant to be around. She almost never lost her patience with their antics or shut down their parties, even though everyone knew she didn't like them. Despite the notion that all gray trolls were supposed to be sad, miserable creatures, Poppy truly did do her best to be nice to everyone. Including those who ridiculed her.
Branch scowled at the thought; you'd think that folks ought to treat their princess - gray or not - with more respect. No one ever insulted her directly to her face, but that didn't mean that it never happened. Even his own friends let snide comments about her slide every now and then, to which he'd lightly scold them.
There was no way to pinpoint the exact moment he had fallen for her. But the memory of when he had realized he was in love with her was permanently implanted in his mind.
Like a small boat,
On the ocean
Sending big waves,
Into motion
Branch froze, dropping the sticks in his hands. They clattered loudly as they fell to the ground, but he couldn't care less. He had been gathering wood for the big bonfire that was taking place that night when his large ears had picked up on the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. It wasn't like any sound he had come across before; soft in every sense of the word.
As if under a spell, Branch started moving to where the singing was coming from. It was like he had no control over his actions as he trekked through the forest. In his head, he tried to match the voice with a face as it sounded slightly familiar. He came up with nothing, however, and shrugged it off, continuing to follow the sound.
Dear god, it was as if a goddess decided to bless the Earth with the presence of her voice. In the back of his mind, he wondered if this was the voice of a siren, luring him to his death. He'd read about them in his mythology books and knew they used their voices to their incredibly wonderful voices to draw in sailors, only for said sailors to shipwreck.
He had thought that they were nothing but a myth at the time, but some beings thought that about trolls, so you never know. Besides, that was the only explanation to what was happening now.
Yet, he found that he didn't care.
Branch finally made it to the clearing where he assumed the singing was coming from and couldn't believe his eyes. There, gray palette and all, was Princess Poppy, singing her little heart out.
Like how a single word,
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match,
But I can make an explosion
He felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her. Her hair was down as it sometimes was, framing her delicate face. The sunset surrounded her figure in a golden silhouette, making her appearance match her goddess-like voice. Her eyes - the only part of her that hadn't turned gray - were sparkling with, dare he say it, enjoyment.
And all those things I didn't say,
Wrecking balls inside my brain
I will scream them loud tonight,
Can you hear my voice this time?
Branch found it hard to function properly at the breathtaking sight. Where had she been hiding that voice for the last fifteen years? There was no doubt in his mind; she sang the best out of the entire village. So why not show it off?
Then he realized they were outside the village limits. That meant she had come to this spot to be alone. Obviously, she didn't want to sing in front of people or she'd do it in the village where everyone could hear her.
Suddenly feeling guilty, Branch backed away from the oblivious princess, slipping into the shadows, unnoticed. He felt the heat rush to his cheeks, as he recalled how absolutely stunning she had looked. He retreated back to the village, trying, and failing, to get the princess out of his head.
"Branch!"
He blinked, looking at the gray troll who was now a few steps ahead of him. "Hmm?" he asked. She looked annoyed about something, so he figured that she had been trying to get his attention for a while.
Poppy sighed. "I was trying to ask you if we're going the right way," she reiterated, gesturing to the path ahead of her.
Branch raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" he questioned in disbelief. All that research she did about the Bergens, and she didn't know where their town was located?
She huffed in irritation and he found it utterly adorable. "I was a baby when we escaped, remember?" she reminded him. "I'm only going off what I remember from my books... which I forgot to pack. You were, what, five? "
"Four," he corrected her, biting his lip to hold back a snicker. He was almost ashamed to admit it, but he was enjoying getting a rise out of her. She tried to be perfect in front of her people (as much as she could be in their eyes), but everyone had to let their emotions out sometime.
Poppy glared slightly at him. "Either way," she began through slightly clenched teeth. "you're memory's bound to be better than mine."
This time, Branch couldn't hold back his amused laughter. She was such a harmless-looking troll that when she tried to seem menacing, it resembled a small bug baring its teeth ferociously, even though it obviously couldn't so anything. It was cute in its own endearing way. "It looks right, Princess," he finally answered. He examined the terrain. "Yeah... this is ringing a bell."
She nodded in satisfaction. "Good," she accepted before she continued to stalk ahead of him. He pursed his lips before following her.
There was a tense silence between them as they walked, Poppy barely sparing him a glance and he unable to tear his eyes away from her. He could see how anxious she was getting and figured that she wanted to make it to Bergen Town as quick as possible. After about an hour into their endeavor, Poppy grimaced and pulled out a hair tie, tying up her long, light gray locks.
Branch couldn't stop himself from asking, "Why'd you do that?"
She shrugged, finally looking over at him. "Sometimes, my hair won't stay up without me making it," she told him. "I don't know why, but it does. And I don't really have the energy to keep it up all day. So, when it gets hot like this, I tie it up to keep it out of my face. Besides, it's a lot cooler that way."
He took this moment to take in her attire. Unlike her usual dully-colored dresses, she was wearing a pair of white shorts and a matching midriff tank top. She wore no shoes, as trolls usually didn't, and her backpack was slung over her shoulders. He himself had opted for his usual pair of brown shorts, but decided to wear an actual shirt instead of one of his vests.
"I like it," Branch told her after what had to be around thirty seconds.
Poppy blushed slightly, but managed to keep her face straight. "Thank you," she said stiffly before turning back to the path in front of her.
He sighed; this was going to be a long journey.
OoOoOo
They had been walking for around two and a half more hours when Branch suggested, "We should make camp here."
Poppy stopped and spun around to face him. "Shouldn't we keep going?" she protested, fidgeting slightly. "I mean, it's not dark yet. We should keep moving until it is, yeah? The sooner we get to Bergen Town, the sooner we can rescue everybody and make it home safely."
He frowned at her. "If we wait until it's dark to set up camp, we won't be able to see what we're doing," he pointed out. He studied her weary face. "Besides, I think we could both use a break."
She looked like she wanted to argue further, but seemed to think better of it. "Alright then," she relented. "I'll, uh, set up the sleeping bags and food while you gather some firewood, yeah?"
Branch nodded. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, shrugging off his backpack and holding it out to her. Poppy took it and set off to do her task. He watched her for a few seconds before doing his as well. He gathered all of the dry twigs he could find in the surrounding area for about fifteen minutes before making his way back to where he had left her.
When he got there, Poppy had set both of their sleeping bags up and had rationed their trail mix (she had insisted upon it, saying that it would never go bad and that it contained a good amount of protein) separately in front of their respective spots. She glanced up at him. "Oh, you're back," she acknowledged, eying his firewood. "That should do."
Branch sighed in mock relief. "Good, for a second there, I thought Her Majesty wouldn't approve of my gathering skills," he teased.
She lightly shoved him, but he saw the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. "Just get started on the fire," she ordered him.
Branch laughed at her, but did as she said. Unfortunately, starting a fire wasn't as easy as it appeared. He rubbed two sticks together as hard as he could, yet no fire came of it. He could see the sparks and felt the sticks getting hot, but nothing happened. After a straight minute of him doing so, he finally gave up, falling backwards in exhaustion. "Am I done yet?" he complained.
Poppy laughed a little bell-like laugh and crouched down next to him. "Yup," she answered, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I'll take care if the rest." Leaning forward, she gently blew on the sticks, causing fire to suddenly emerge.
He stared at her, bewildered. "How did you-?"
She simply shrugged. "You forgot oxygen."
Branch mentally smacked his forehead. Duh! That was Camping 101! How could he have forgotten? He logically deduced that it has something to do with Poppy. The princess had an affect on him like no other.
Poppy crawled into her sleeping bag, having already ate her ration of trail mix. "I'm gonna get some sleep," she announced. "You should do the same. We're leaving early tomorrow."
He definitely wasn't looking forward to that, being a bit of a night owl. From his hair, Branch pulled out a ukulele. "I don't suppose the princess would mind a private concert?"
She looked at him, at first incredulously, but a smirk crept onto her lips. "The princess allows it," she accepted with an air of playful formality. He grinned and began to strum, singing softly.
Let's gather around the campfire,
And sing our campfire song
Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song
Poppy snickered at him. "Really?"
It was his turn to shrug. "Hey, the princess allowed it." She shook her head in exasperation, but didn't stop him.
And if you don't think that we can sing it,
Faster than your wrong
But it'll help if you just sing along...
Branch faltered, ceasing in his strumming. "I don't have the energy to sing the entire thing," he admitted. "It really takes a lot out of you, you know?" She hummed in understanding. He added hopefully, "But you can sing something if you want."
Poppy turned to look at him so fast that he was surprised she didn't get whiplash. "Me?" she asked, clearly astonished. "Sing?"
"Why not?"
She seemed to think about this before looking down. "I'd rather not..."
He had a feeling she would say that, but it had been worth the try. She would open up when she was ready. "That's fine," he assured her. "We should probably get to sleep anyway, yeah?"
Poppy nodded, seemingly relieved, before snuggling into her sleeping bag. "Goodnight, Branch," she said, looking straight at him.
Branch smiled, his heart fluttering in his chest. "Goodnight, Poppy."
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This. Chapter. Is. Crap. And you call can quote me on that. It feels so choppy and rushed that I'm literally cringing. *sigh* This is what I get for switching perspectives. I guess Poppy comes naturally for me because I'm an introvert myself. It's a lot easier to understand a gray Poppy. A colorful Branch? Not so much. Anyway, please review and I'll see you next time, my friends.
