It was the biggest night in The Troll Tree, when Brozone, a band beloved by all the pop trolls, would be playing their very first live concert to all their adoring fans. That is different from where our story begins, though. Our story starts backstage, where a female troll stands off to the side, watching as the band prepares to make their first debut in front of a massive crowd.
Her white skin made her stand out in the somewhat dark room, as none of her kind had ever had such a color. Her emerald eyes watched as John-Dory, the leader of the band and the eldest brother, debated on what song the band would start with first and finish with last. As she followed him with her eyes, they eventually landed on Floyd, who was staring at her with a soft, adoring look before he walked over to her and wrapped a light blue arm around her waist to pull her close.
She'd shyly duck her head down, the light from the stage that leaked through the gaps of the leaves that worked as the door for the backstage, catching the light on the glittery freckles adorning her cheeks, which were now a red hue from her blushing. Floyd gently cups her chin and moves her head up to look at him, smiling down at her before leaning in to steal a gentle kiss from her as he's done many times before. While he distracted her, he would tenderly move his arm up to cup the back of her braided hair, which shone like gold whenever rays of light hit the soft strands.
Before she knew it, the kiss was over, leaving her wishing they could stay together in their little world for a moment longer. But she knew it wasn't possible; Floyd was part of something bigger than just her and him. He'd kiss her brow, whispering a soft promise that after their show, he'd go to her pod so they could spend the rest of the night alone, just the two of them. She'd smile bashfully up at him, her eyes radiating happiness before their peaceful moment was shattered when they both could hear John-Dory barking orders at Spruce and Clay. She watched with a soft sigh as Floyd left her side to calm John-Dory.
She turned her gaze to look at Baby Branch, frowning when she saw how nervous he looked before she approached him and kneeled next to him. "Are you ok, B?" she'd ask the baby of the group as she settled a hand on his back in a supportive gesture. She could hear John-Dory getting agitated further behind her in the background but was not paying attention to what was being said behind them until Floyd was beside her, giving her an appreciative smile before turning his attention to his baby brother. "Hey Branch, how you feeling?" Floyd asked from his spot next to her. "I feel like I'm going to barf and pass out and…" Branch starts to say. "Pee your pants?" Floyd finishes for him with an understanding look on his face. "How'd you know?" Branch asked, shocked that his big brother seemed to know exactly how he felt then.
"Ah, you got the preshow jitters. Completely normal everyone gets 'em." He assures his baby brother, "You know what I do when I get 'em?" He asks as Branch darts his gaze over to the pale troll beside his brother before looking back at Floyd. "Barf, pass out and pee your pants?" He asks. Floyd chuckles and says, "I remember I'm with my brothers and Harmony and that when we come together, there is nothing we can't do." He tells Branch with a smile. "But no one has hit the perfect family harmony before. Is it true it can shatter diamonds?" Branch asks with his eyes sparkling in excitement. "Yea, it's that powerful," Floyd says just as they are interrupted by John-Dory.
Once it became clear they were about to go on stage, Harmony would stand back up and press a quick kiss against each boy's cheeks, lingering on Floyd's momentarily before stepping back with a smile. "Go get 'em, boys!" She'd cheer. "I'll see you after the show, Floyd," She'd remind him as she watched the troop of brothers make their way on stage. She never liked the huge crowds or the loud noise that came with them, so she made her way out of the backstage through one of the doors used by the crew to escape the crowd's roaring and make her way to her pod.
Unfortunately, she was unaware that her life would be shattered after that night.
She waited for hours for Floyd to show up, getting more and more worried when he never did until she eventually convinced herself that he must be busy signing fan's autographs and readies herself for bed, her mind racing as she finally crawled into bed and forced herself to sleep.
As soon as the sun filtered through her window, she'd force herself out of bed and prepare for the day. Throwing on her favorite blue dress that reminded her of Floyd, as well as putting in the white pearl earring that once belonged to her grandmother, she'd paused as her hand touched the delicate earring, remembering the black mate she had gifted to Floyd. Hence, he had something to remember her when he went on tour. Shaking her head, she forces herself to leave her pod and go to Rosiepuff's pod, hoping to catch Floyd.
It wasn't until she arrived and made her way into the pod as usual that she realized how quiet it was. Too quiet."Floyd? Clay? Spruce? John-Dory? Anyone home?" She'd call out before she'd stop in her tracks when she'd see Grandma Rosiepuff holding a bawling Branch. "Branch, what's wrong?!" She'd cry out! She dropped her bag of notebooks to kneel beside them while she shot a panicked look at Branch's Grandma Rosie. "Harmony dear, I'm afraid Floyd won't be coming home anytime soon," She says, sending Harmony a pity-filled look.
"W-what do you mean not coming home? What about Branch?! They'd never go on a tour without him!" She'd protest, angry at the thought that his brothers would do that to him. "They aren't going on tour, my dear… They split up last night." Harmony froze, her heart stuttering as if afraid of what would be said next. "S-split up?" She'd whimper as she felt like the room was shrinking down on her from all around.
"It seems their concert didn't go very well, so they all went their separate ways… According to Branch, Floyd even left last night." She says sadly. Watching as the younger troll began breaking down before her. "Songbird-" "Don't! Just… Don't," Harmony begs her, her eyes filled with tears as she pulls Branch into her arms. His weight was a familiar and much-needed anchor to keep her from floating away as the news that the one she's only ever loved left her without so much as a goodbye filled her with so much sorrow, but it also filled her with so much anger as well. 'How could he! After everything we've been through together! After I gave him my heart and soul!' She'd seeth to herself. Despite all that anger, she still held a faint hope that this was all a sick joke, that he would pop out and yell 'surprise!' or something. But as the day wore on, it became clear… He was never coming back. While she wanted nothing more to do than crawl into bed and never come out again, she knew she had to be there for Branch. If his brothers would abandon him, she'd do everything she could to stay by his side.