Hello again. Thanks for the reviews and Trolls is the property of Dreamworks. Enjoy and no flames or rude language please.
Chapter #4 Weird Dreams and A Mystery
Poppy sighed as she climbed into bed. It was a long day. Her family returned to the Troll Tree Kingdom, she was giving a tour of her new home in the Southern Lands after a talk with her new in-law about her first night and she just met the resident mystic whom she's unsure if she should trust or not. This was her second day of her new life, her opinion about Cybil might change over time. Pulling the covers to her head, Poppy turned away from the window. The sun was setting but the light felt blinding for some reason. Is there something wrong with her?
Poppy laid there waiting for sleep to take over. Hopefully, she can spent time with Branch or other members of his family so she can get to know them better. She also want to return to her upbeat self again which was hard for some reason. She's been too tense to try to sing and dance like she used to and she was missing it. Poppy jumped when she felt something heavy beside her. She turned over to see it was Branch.
"It's just me." Branch said.
Poppy sighed. "Used to sleeping alone."
"You'll get use to sleeping with me every night."
Poppy nodded. She's married now she has to get used to sleeping with another. Branch pulled her closer to him. Poppy tried to fight but her husband stroke her hair and nuzzled her forehead.
"Last night was normal, Poppy." He said. "Let's not let it stop us from being together, ok?"
Poppy looked at Branch before she nodded again. It was one awkward night. There won't another right? After the sun disappeared and was replaced with darkness, Poppy thought Branch's eyes were red with slits for pupils. She did a double take and saw they were blue. Was she seeing things?
"What?" Branch asked.
"Nothing." Poppy said.
"Let's try and sleep."
Branch kissed Poppy before resting his head on the pillow. Poppy snuggled into her husband's embrace while trying to shake off what she thought she just saw or if she saw anything in the first place. Did his eyes changed or did she imagined it?
Two nights before the full moon
Poppy's Dream
Poppy woke up hearing a strange sound. She was on the cold stone floor somewhere in the castle. Was she sleepwalking now? Poppy stood up and rubbed her arms trying to warm up. It's spring but the night was cold like it still winter. That's how it was sometimes. A sound echoed through the hall. It was similar to a mouse or a bat. Poppy shook her head. She was not fond of rodents. Poppy looked up to see a bat hanging upside down from a wall sconce. It looked at her before it spread it's wings and flew away. Poppy followed it. She didn't why but she felt that the bat would lead her to something or someone. She followed the bat to the rooms underneath the castle until it flew into Branch's workshop. Why would the bat go in there? Did it see a bug to eat? The bats that live in the area eat insects. Poppy carefully walked into the room. It was neat and tidy with a broken table waiting to be repaired. Probably one of the pieces of furniture Branch was to fix in the morning. Poppy turned to leave when the door closed and locked.
"No!" Poppy panicked as she tried to open the door.
"Where are you going, Poppy?"
The princess stopped when she heard a familiar voice.
"Branch?" She said. "Are you in here?"
"Yes." Branch answered. "Where are you going? Are you cold?"
"I was trying to get back to bed…"
Poppy stopped when something or someone pulled her into a hug. The room was in semi darkness so she couldn't make out who at first. The presence felt familiar. It was Branch. Poppy returned the embrace. It felt different though. Like Branch was wearing a fur coat. Was he cold too? Poppy looked and gasped. Looking down at her was a shadow with glowing red eyes with slitted pupils. She was about scream when 'Branch' covered her mouth with a clawed furry hand.
"Please, Poppy." 'Branch' said desperately. "Don't be afraid. It's me."
He leaned in and whispered in Poppy's ear.
"Don't leave me, please."
Then Poppy felt his grip become tighter.
"Don't leave me."
Dream end
Poppy woke up when pain shot up her back. She was in bed and it was still night out. Poppy gasped when she felt something tighten around her torso. She remembered Branch was sleeping next to her. Same cerulean skin, azure blue hair and light blue nightgown. Nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact his face was twisted in fear and tears rolled down his cheeks. He pulled Poppy close to him again.
"Please, don't leave me." He said quietly.
He kissed Poppy on the lips. He was having a nightmare. Forgetting about the dream she had, Poppy hugged Branch and whispered reassuring words like 'I'm here' and 'I'll never leave you' into his ear. He calmed down and smiled while loosing the grip around her a little. It must've been a real bad dream for him to say that. What was he dreaming about? Being too tired to figure it out, Poppy went back to sleep in Branch's arms.
Poppy woke up when sun bled through the curtains which were partly closed. The light hit her on the head which felt blinding so she backed away. What was that? She thought as she got out of bed. Branch must up already because he wasn't sleeping next to her. What was he dreaming that made him behave that way? His words echoed in her mind as she pulled out a blue dress made of warm material due to the cold weather from the armoire and went into the bathroom. Once she finished brushing her teeth, styling her hair and getting dressed, Poppy made her way to the dining room for breakfast. Humming to herself as she went. If she knew Branch a little more she could understand what happened last night better. She stopped walking when she saw someone descend from the stairs next to the hall near the throne room.
It was Clay. He was dressed in green pants with a matching green sweater while holding a stack of papers to his chest. He must have been working late because he had dark circles under his eyes. He turned when he noticed he wasn't alone.
"Good morning, Poppy." He greeted.
Poppy stopped humming.
"Good morning."
"Nice voice." Clay added. "I haven't heard singing or humming in this place in years."
"You guys don't sing?" Poppy asked surprisingly. Singing and dancing is a troll's way of life. It was a shock to hear there wasn't any music in a castle full of trolls.
"Not all the time like back at the Troll Tree." Clay answered. "Just don't sing or hum at night. It'll attract unwanted attention."
"The creatures in the forest?"
Clay nodded. "And in case the Bergens and/or Party Crashers decide to come and look for us. Branch's and John Dory's words not mine."
Poppy frowned. Branch and the king are that worried? They're in the middle of no where and the war is far northwest from where they are. Why would they come here?
"What do you have that's worth stealing?" Poppy asked remembering when Grandma Rosiepuff forbad her from entering a room below the castle.
Clay swallowed. "A family treasure that's been in our care for 400 years."
"Like?"
"Not allow to say."
"Grandma Rosiepuff?"
Clay nodded stopped walking and turned to Poppy.
"Listen. I know you have a lot of questions but there are some secrets about us and this castle you're not ready for."
He held up a hand to stop Poppy from talking.
"I mean it, Poppy."
Clay placed a hand on Poppy's shoulder while staring at her seriously.
"Please, don't ask any questions about us unless Branch is ready to talk about it. It's his place not mine or anyone else's. Promise me, Poppy?"
The princess puffed out her cheeks in frustration. She hated being kept in the dark. Her father being the keeper of secrets was bad enough. She sighed in resignation.
"Alright, I won't pry."
"Thank you."
The two trolls continued walking in silence.
At the dining hall, Poppy noticed Branch wasn't there. Did he eat already? After breakfast, Poppy went to find Branch. But when she tried to her in-laws pulled her away from it. She spent time with John Dory, who told her stories about camping with his father when he was a child and how he secretly rather camp all the time instead of being king. Being the eldest, he was forced to take over the throne after the death of previous king and queen.
Poppy then spent the rest of the morning with Floyd, who's sensitive and didn't talk much, helping with keeping the library in good shape and even saw some of his poems he was working on he hoped to have published one day.
After that, Spruce and Brandi dragged her to the kitchen to help with lunch. They loved cooking and talked a lot about their children, the restaurant they own near the maritimes southeast and how they met. It was an interesting get together.
Poppy haven't seen Branch or even Grandma Rosiepuff at lunch and she was getting worried.
"Branch is fine." Clay reassured her. "When he has a nightmare or an anxiety attack, he and Grandma work on a puzzle together."
Poppy raise an eyebrow.
"It calms him down." Clay explained.
"I see." Poppy said. "Would it work if I join in?"
"It should." Spruce said overhearing the conversation. "You two are married. You should do things together."
"I agree." John Dory said. "Go to him after lunch. They should be in the game room on the third floor."
Poppy thank her in-laws, finished eating and left. Once she was out of earshot, Clay asked.
"Think Branch will tell her today?"
Spruce, Floyd, Brandi and John Dory shook their heads.
"I doubt it." John Dory said. "We'll have to do something if he doesn't tell her before the full moon."
The royal family nodded in agreement.
"I can't tell her." Branch said as he placed a puzzle piece into place.
Grandma Rosiepuff was getting frustrated. She tried all morning to convince her youngest grandson that he should tell his wife about the family curse without success and she was at her wit's end. He told her about the nightmare he had last night and he wasn't sure if Poppy's voice reassuring him was real or not. Branch went through three large puzzles and he still haven't calm down. He was aware of the full moon rising this week but he still hasn't gotten his talisman and doesn't know how to explain that the princess married into a cursed bloodline and she will be a victim of it in a few days or even weeks. She not showing signs yet but it will happen.
"My peach fuzz, when I had to tell your grandfather about the curse I was nervous too." Grandma Rosiepuff said as she rubbed Branch's shoulders.
"He didn't believe me until I transformed."
"Was he scared?" Branch asked.
Grandma Rosiepuff shook her head.
"No, he said I was the mermaid from his dreams."
Branch rolled his eyes. His grandfather grew up near the maritimes in the southwest where mermaids were often seen luring ships to their doom as the legends say. He heard him mention wanting to see a mermaid one day. Some people have weird ideas.
"He was happy?" Branch asked.
"Yes, he was." Grandma Rosiepuff said while smiling at the memory.
Meanwhile, Poppy arrived at the game room. She was about to open the door when she heard her husband and in-law talking. She pressed her ear to the door. She knows it's wrong to eavesdrop but she wasn't getting anywhere just by talking. Maybe she can some answers this way.
"You and Spruce were lucky to have spouses who don't care about being married into a cursed bloodline." Branch said as he finished the puzzle before him.
"I don't know if Poppy would. She's worried if she's allowed to sing and dance again. She wants to feel upbeat like she did in the past but this won't help her with that."
"I know but you have to tell her."
There was a pause.
"When do I get my talisman?"
"Cybil said it'll be done tomorrow. She just finished Floyd's."
Branch groaned.
"You can wait more one day."
"I'd rather tell when I have the talisman in my possession."
"You'll tell her then?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Poppy took a few steps back. Branch's family is cursed? Is that what Clay meant by she wasn't ready for all the castle's secrets? What cause the curse and why? Quietly, she walked away from the game room. She didn't want to talk to Branch or anyone else right now. Poppy went up to her room and sat at the desk stocked with scrapbooking supplies. It's been a few months since she last scrapbooked but she hasn't forgotten how to. Pulling out what she need, she started creating a scrapbook entitled A Family Mystery starting with the wedding and ending with current events which was a cliffhanger.
"Maybe I should make this into a series." She said as she left the pages on the desk so the glue would dry.
Poppy's has done a lot of scrapbook series in the past but this one is different. It talks about a mystery about a cursed bloodline and she's married into it. Why didn't Branch tell her in the first place. But then how can he tell her? Hey Poppy welcome to your new life in the Southern Lands by the way you're married into a cursed family. She turned away from the desk and look out the window to see the sun slowly travel across the sky. It was late afternoon. She hadn't seen Branch all day and she missed him.
"I'll go find Branch." Poppy said as she got up and left.
"I want to know more about this family secret."
