-O-
Picturebook Romance
A Trolls fanfic
By Dreamsinger
Chapter Three
Branch's Tale
Branch cleared his throat and held his own scrapbook up so she could see it. "Once there was a gray troll who believed that life was just a struggle for survival. He believed that the other trolls, who spent their days laughing while they worked and working to have fun, had their priorities all wrong."
The first page had a frowning gray troll carrying a basket full of nuts and berries, glaring at a village of trolls who were laughing and playing.
"He felt as if he could never relax, because the moment he did, something terrible would happen to him, or to someone he cared about." The page showed the gray troll miserably sitting curled up into a ball, a thought balloon over his head showing a tiny blue trolling futilely reaching for a terrified lavender female troll who was in the clutch of a giant fist, being pulled up into the sky.
"In fact, he tried not to care about anyone at all, living as though his heart lay behind a golden door without a key."
Poppy smiled softly as the poet she so loved began to emerge, although Branch didn't seem to realize it.
"His fellow trolls desired not to be in his company, nor he in theirs, although in truth there were times when solitude weighed heavily upon him." Here the scene was of a crowd of trolls all holding hands, with their backs to the gray troll as he stood outside their circle, looking hurt.
"And yet there was one who seemed to hold the gray troll in some regard." The page showed a happy, pretty pink troll with a leafy crown upon her head who was leading a line of dancing, singing trolls. "The princess of the trolls sought in all earnestness to bring her wayward subject back into the fold, despite his sour nature and perpetual rejection of hand-crafted entreaties to share his company..."
There was a montage of the smiling pink troll speaking or singing cheerfully to the gray troll or offering him a personalized invitation, and then looking unhappy as he either accepted the invitation and then made polite excuses, turned his back and walked away, or threw her invitation into the air over his shoulder. The last picture was the worst of all, when she'd so outraged him that he'd snapped and literally stomped on the elaborately-constructed collection of paper, springs and glitter, shocking everyone.
But then Branch turned the page and continued softly, "…Entreaties which, unbeknownst to the princess, the gray troll treasured greatly; often admiring them in the privacy of his subterranean stronghold."
Poppy recognized his bunker, which had two wall nooks with their curtains drawn back to display a collection of tiny invitations; cute little miniatures of invitations that she herself had made. The invitation he'd crushed under his foot was sitting open on the table nearby, perfectly reconstructed.
"Aww, Branch…" She put a hand on her chest. "You kept them?"
He nodded bashfully, and Poppy felt a sentimental smile spread over her face.
"Then one day the princess came to him and asked for his help, and yielding to his instincts, he turned her away. Regret came swiftly, but the words had been spoken." The page showed the gray troll with arms crossed and his back turned, a miserable look on his face as a despondent pink troll walked away from him. "Yet mere minutes passed before the gray troll followed. Perhaps he might have lingered, naysaying any forward progress, if not for a sudden invasion of irksome refugees that he was unable in good faith to refuse."
Here Branch raised an eyebrow at Poppy, who smirked a little, but then her face softened as he went on, "But in the end, he knew that he would never let her face the dangers of the forest all on her own."
The next page had a montage of the princess getting into all kinds of mischief, with the gray troll shadowing her protectively but not interfering as she managed to make her own way forward. "He followed the sound of her brave (and catchy) ballads for hours as his grudging admiration for her indomitable spirit grew, but still he hoped she would see the futility of her mission and turn back."
"I didn't know you were following me," Poppy commented, looking impressed. "I mean, I figured you would show up eventually, but not that you were watching me the whole time."
"Until the time came when the princess ran afoul of a nest of giant evil spiders and the gray troll leaped to her defense, driving the beasts away and then reviving the princess, who looked to be near death, with creatures of lightning." The page showed a tiny gray troll snapping a long stream of black hair in the face of a gigantic furry spider with huge teeth as he bravely defended what looked like a ball of white yarn. The magenta hair sprouting from one end gave mute evidence of her helpless, unconscious state.
The next picture was of the pink princess being jolted by a pair of sparkbugs held in the hands of a worried-looking gray troll.
"Really? So I was that close to being…" She swallowed. "Thank you, Branch."
He nodded. "If I'd been just a few seconds later…" He looked grim. "I still have nightmares about that."
"Sorry," she said remorsefully, and repeated earnestly, "Thank you for coming after me."
His blue eyes were sincere as he replied, "Thank you for making me. When I think about how different life would be right now, for those of us who might have managed to survive…without you…"
He closed his eyes as a shudder passed through him, and Poppy's heart leaped into her throat at the intensely anguished look on his face, his care lines deeply furrowed. No troll should ever, ever look so sad. She reached out and patted his arm. At her touch he opened his eyes and she gave him a comforting smile. The corners of his mouth turned up a little, and the lines around his eyes smoothed.
After a moment Branch continued, "The longer he traveled with the princess, the more his respect for her grew. Her fortitude and unwavering resolve, no matter how hopeless the outcome, inspired him. She did not accept that nothing could be done; always she looked for some way to bring about good fortune. As he followed her lead, the gray troll slowly came to share her confidence; to believe that he had been wrong to decide at the outset that there was nothing to be done to prevent tragedy from befalling them, their fellows…and yes, even their enemy. He learned to believe in her, and in himself."
Another montage showed the princess and the gray troll fearlessly leaping from a chandelier down toward a young female bergen pushing a cart with a small cloth-covered cage on it, then that same cage with its door open and their friends escaping, and finally, a pair of happy, roller-skating bergens, one with two familiar-looking trolls poking their heads out of a rainbow-colored wig.
Branch paused, looking up at her and admitting quietly, "Also, when the gray troll finally trusted her with the dark secret that he'd carried around his whole life, she didn't blame him, the way he blamed himself. Instead she gave him the love, support and forgiveness he'd needed so badly, making him feel like he could finally, maybe, forgive himself, and move on with a lighter heart."
"Oh, Branch." Poppy moved to sit beside him on the rug and put her arms around him, scrapbook and all. He leaned his head against hers as they shared a quiet moment of appreciation for each other.
When he finally lifted his head and she let him go, she didn't move from his side, so he set the scrapbook on his lap so they could both see it and turned the page.
"Yet even the princess was not immune to despair. In her darkest hour, when everyone she cared for was in peril because of her, her courage failed her and she sank into a dismal, colorless fog of guilt and hopelessness. It shook the gray troll to his very core. Here was his beautiful, bold princess, her head bowed under the weight of the very selfsame emotions that had troubled him all his life – yes, he understood her all too well. He could not bear it, to see her become…like him. Someone who spurned the affection of others as a way to punish himself."
Poppy looked at the small gray image of herself, who was covering her bracelet and turning her face away in shame from the open arms of the gently smiling male troll who hadn't offered to hug anyone in far too many years. She tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat, her eyes stinging. Oh, Branch…
"Yet seeing his own soul reflected in her finally made the gray troll fully aware of the change within himself. No longer did he believe that ever there was a time to abandon all hope. His princess had taught him to see the bright side of any dilemma, even as she had learned from him - to his shame - to see the dark side. But still he believed in her - in truth, all unawares of just how much he had come to believe in her - until she no longer believed in herself. There had to be something he could do, something he could say, but no words would come."
"And then he knew. A way to lift her spirits. Something to which she always responded; the perfect way to get through to her. And so, after twenty long years, the gray troll sang. He sang words of cheer, words of fidelity, words of his unwavering faith in her. He pledged that he would always be there for her, should she ever need him."
Poppy trembled as a rush of love went through her. Of all trolls, the one who should have been the first to give up had instead become the source of strength she and the other trolls had desperately needed. Her heartbeat quickened as she remembered his sensitive, tender voice, his gentle hands and the openly adoring look in his eyes as he brought her back from the terrible grayness.
On the page, the young male troll knelt at the feet of his princess, whose feet and legs had begun to turn pink again. "The princess smiled at him, as her colors and her spirit returned to her. And then it was that the gray troll could finally confess that he loved her with all his heart, and he hoped that she might share that feeling. Then she touched his hand and looked into his eyes, and the last of the darkness lifted from his heart. And his colors returned to him."
He turned the page and Poppy caught a glimpse the two of them gazing soulfully into each other's eyes, the palms of their hands pressing against one another's as a band of bright aqua-blue light spread slowly up the gray troll's arm toward his heart. She looked up into his counterpart's brilliant blue eyes, unable to stop herself from reaching out to put her hand lovingly on his cheek.
Branch seemed equally unable to tear his gaze away from her, murmuring without looking at the scrapbook, "She had found the key to the golden door after all." He reached up to press her palm against his cheek, then pulled it away from his face so he could wrap his large warm hand around hers.
"And he knew from that point on that he would stay by her side forevermore."
"Oh, Branch," she whispered. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Poppy. And I always will."
Eyes locked, the young queen felt something she now recognized as passion rising within her. She remembered her dream, and how his skin had felt beneath her hands earlier, and realized how much she wanted to kiss him right now. How can I encourage him?
Then she had an idea. "You won."
He looked puzzled. "Won? Won what?"
She shrugged, trying to act casual despite her pounding heart. "The scrapbooking contest," she said nonchalantly. "Yours wins the romantic category, hands down."
"Oh. I thought you meant I'd won your heart."
She gave him a wry smile. "That, too."
"Wait a minute, since when we were having a competition?" he asked as he let go of her hand so that he could close his scrapbook and set it on the table.
"I just decided now," she said carelessly, avoiding his gaze so he couldn't see the heat in her eyes.
He rolled his eyes. "Poppy, you can't just decide afterward."
"I'm the queen; I can do what I want. Besides, don't you want to hear what the prize is?"
"There's a prize?"
She nodded, leaning ever so close to whisper in his ear. "A kiss from the queen of the trolls."
Branch turned to look at her, his expression going from surprise to a shy smile, one corner of his mouth turning up. He began to lean toward her and her breath caught. She lifted her chin, her eyes going half-lidded.
Then he hesitated, a serious look coming into his eyes, and he turned his face away. "Thanks. I, uh, maybe just not right now."
She felt her expression crumple. "You don't want to kiss me?"
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, it's not that!" he reassured her hastily, waving his hands rapidly in the air between them. "It's just that…" He looked to the side, his face softening into a sheepish smile. "I'd always pictured our first kiss somewhere a little more…romantic."
"Branch!" Delight overwhelmed her disappointment. "You imagined us kissing?"
Blushing lavender, he nodded.
Suddenly she was burning with curiosity. "Where?"
He stared at her, then slid his gaze to the side. "It's a secret."
Half astonished, half confused, she wondered why he was being so distant again when he suddenly flicked his eyes toward her and then away again.
Wait a minute…
"You're being coy, aren't you?" She could feel a silly grin spread over her face.
The aquamarine troll gave her a brief look of surprise, then looked away again. He smiled playfully and peeked at her from the corners of his eyes. "Mayybe."
She bounced to her feet, beaming gleefully. "Ooo, you are so adorable!" she gushed.
He ducked his head a little, his embarrassed grin so overwhelmingly cute it was all she could do to keep from grabbing him and kissing him right then and there.
"Okay, then tomorrow-"
"Tomorrow's the Beadfest," he reminded her.
"Oh, right. Then the day after tomorrow-"
"I have cleanup duty."
"No, you don't." She gave him a puzzled look. "It's Gia's team this week."
"Right, and Gia has her baby, who might find a stray bead and-"
"Braanch…" she groaned as she dropped her head to one side and gave him a look of exasperation. Why do you always have to be like this? "Some things in life are more important than keeping things neat and tidy!"
He stood up and looked her in the eye, his quiet resolve calming her impatience and gaining her respect before he even spoke.
"Poppy, every year I follow along after the cleaning team and I always find a couple dozen beads, under bushes and mushrooms, caught in tree bark, furniture, pod walls, even in trolls' hair. They get everywhere. I started doing it eight years ago after I heard that a trolling almost choked to death on a leftover bead."
"I remember that." Subdued, she added, "That was the year that Dad organized the entire village into dedicated cleanup teams, to help prevent things like that from happening again."
He gave her a smug look. "I know."
"Wait a minute…" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Dad said he got the plan from 'a concerned citizen who wanted to remain anonymous'. I remember because seriously, who does that? It drove me crazy, trying to figure it out. That was you?"
"Yes." He shrugged, obviously trying to look nonchalant. "I figured it was a good idea to have as many eyes as possible on the lookout."
She read his face and smirked. "And it was a good way to get things cleaned up as fast and as thoroughly as possible, right? I've seen that plan. It's incredibly detailed; eleven teams of twenty adult trolls each, with each team being on alternating duty for five weeks each year. They're even listed by name and organized so that there's a good mix of younger and older trolls in case there are tasks that need strength or agility."
She shook her head, half admiring, half amused. "I should have realized it was you." Her voice held a rich, deep note of fondness for the former recluse.
His pleased smile made her remember her resolve to encourage him, especially when his efforts involved the rest of troll society. "Anyway, that's really sweet and caring of you, Branch. Thank you." She opened her arms and wrapped them around him, enjoying how he warmly returned the hug.
Her voice grew a little husky. "All these years, you've been misunderstood and unappreciated, when all you were trying to do was keep everyone safe. You're so wonderful, Branch."
He cleared his throat. "Thanks. But I know I'm not always the easiest troll to get along with. I don't think like the other trolls, and I probably never will. I – I get nervous sometimes. And sometimes I let my temper get away from me. But it makes me really happy to know that you love me anyway, even though I'm still not sure how you can be seriously interested in someone so different from you."
"Oh, Branch." She gave him an affectionate squeeze and then leaned back, sliding her hands down his arms to clasp his hands tenderly, not wanting to let him go.
"I'm not exactly mellow myself," she pointed out. "You've said it before; sometimes I can get so caught up in one of my 'crazy, elaborate plans' that I don't see when I've gone too far. I guess I don't like to admit when I'm wrong. And because I'm queen, the other trolls usually just go along with whatever I say, even when they have misgivings or feel as if they're not being treated fairly. I never realized there could be such a thing as too much harmony."
She paused for a moment to think about that, then noticed his smirk, and grinned. "But now I have you to be my sounding board; to help me see things from a different perspective. Don't you see? We balance each other, Branch."
"Poppy, you never listen to me," he said wryly.
She plonked her hands on her hips. "Okay, that's not true. I've implemented some of your safety procedures, haven't I? And I listened when you protested at band practice because I was hogging the spotlight."
"Actually, it was more like I was afraid of getting squashed by a giant cowbell. And I had to howl at the top of my lungs to get you to listen."
She pointed a finger at him. "But you did speak up. And you did get my attention. You made me hear your distress. And when you did, you made me realize that the others probably felt the same way, but they didn't want to be discordant and-"
"Oh, save me. Puns, now?" Branch said in mock-dourness, rolling his eyes.
Caught off guard, Poppy let out a peal of laughter. Happiness bubbled up inside as he joined her in merriment, and her heart soared at his new playfulness.
"It's true that in some ways we're very different from each other, but I think that just means that we have a lot we can learn from each other." She placed a hand over her heart, her tone softer now. "But in the ways that matter most, we're the same, Branch. We both care a lot about making life better, for each other and for all the rest of the village. Both of us are willing to do whatever it takes to keep us all safe and happy, and that's what's important."
Her face grew solemn. "Branch, did you ever wonder why I never had a boyfriend before now?"
"Boyfriend." For a moment he seemed distracted. "I'm your boyfriend. And that makes you my girlfriend…" He shook his head slightly. "Ahem, well, wasn't there someone you were interested in…a long, long time ago?"
"There are drawbacks to being the queen, especially when it comes to my closest relationships," Poppy explained with uncharacteristic solemnity. "You know how they say no one ever really knows how you'll react in a crisis; when your character is tested under extreme circumstances? Branch, when we were challenged, both of us chose a path that led to the good of everyone, not like…someone who chose one that only benefitted himself."
"Oh, you mean like he whose name I will never speak again if I can help it."
She raised an eyebrow at his stubbornness, but let it go for now. "Right. Although it may not be fair to judge Creek so harshly." She looked away, her brow furrowing in a troubled frown.
When she finally spoke, Branch had to lean close to hear her. "I sometimes wonder what I might have done if I'd been the one in Gristle's mouth. Maybe I'd have made the same choice he did."
"Never." He shook his head vehemently. "Poppy, you'd give your life for any one of us. You're the bravest, most selfless troll in the entire village. If anyone was likely to let fear turn him traitor, it'd be me." He looked ashamed, turning away from her with his shoulders slumped. "When I was being pulled into that bergen's mouth, I was terrified. If you hadn't pushed me out of the way, I'd have been eaten right then."
Poppy put a hand on his arm, protesting, "But Branch, don't you see; you're the bravest of all of us."
He took a step backward. "Wait, what?"
Her magenta eyes shone with sincerity as she held his gaze. "You've spent your entire life terrified of the bergens, but when you actually had to face them, you didn't freeze up. You didn't panic. You were cool and rational and able to think on your feet and you always had my back when I needed you. You're brave precisely because you don't let fear stop you from doing what needs to be done. And I know that I can always count on you."
She gave him an earnest smile. "You should know that I find that fact extremely attractive."
"Poppy," he murmured, his sky blue eyes shimmering with emotion.
Please don't look at me like that. It makes me want to-
"Are you sure you want to wait to kiss me?" she blurted out.
The aquamarine troll hesitated long enough for her to hope, but then answered softly, "It's really tempting, Poppy, but – Listen, how about we spend the entire day together, the day after cleanup day? It'll be worth the wait, I promise."
"Okay. I promise, too. It's a date." She smiled, then sighed, resigning herself to be patient. "I trust you."
AUTHOR'SNOTE:
The "giant cowbell" reference comes from a Trolls short on Youtube called Trolla-palooza, where Branch is part of a music band and Poppy gets too carried away with a playing a giant cowbell.
