SO. Uh, this came out faster than I expected. I'm starting to discover I'll do anything to not pay attention in class.
OoOoOo
Poppy's body hurt as she dragged herself out of bed.
Well, obviously it hurt! It wasn't like Creek had taken the time to be gentle while manhandling her out of the village and to Hole N' Fun. And that was before- Her train of thought halted once she caught view of herself in her mirror, her heart leaping right into her throat. She stared at her reflection with horror; aside from the purple bruise on her cheek, her shoulders had angry, red finger-sized marks on them and that was only what she could see with her nightgown on.
Holy seeds on a sunflower, she looked awful!
Poppy frowned, gingerly touching the prints on her shoulders. She hadn't noticed those last night. She flinched, only just realizing the pressure she was putting on them.
She was almost afraid to check what was under her nightgown. She took hold of the hem, ready to pull it over her head. But her hand shook; she really didn't want to, not in front of her mirror.
Poppy perked up, however, when she remembered that the doctor had told her to apply the ointment after taking a shower. That was bound to make her feel better; who didn't feel great after a nice hot shower! She rushed to her bathroom, quickly jumping into the warm water.
...That proved to be a mistake. The water immediately irritated all of her bruises. Poppy yelped, moving away from the showerhead. Okay, she should have thought that out better. She slowly reached out, turning the heat down a little before returning to her place under the water.
Poppy winced, but the lowered heat was a lot more forgiving. She could stand to be under it for more than half a second, at least. It wasn't as relaxing as a hot, steamy shower, but oh well! It would have to do.
She diligently began to scrub herself down, grateful that she could bathe again. It felt like she'd been sitting in her own filth for days; Creek and Daisy hadn't even had the decency to hose her down. Her grip on her loofa tightened as she thought about the two of them. How they had hurt her, hurt Branch. She-
Her ears twitched and it was then she realized how quiet the bathroom was.
Poppy blinked; why was it so quiet? What was missing? And then she realized; she wasn't singing. She always sang when she was in the shower, it was practically a daily ritual. It was just something she did automatically.
Huh.
Awkwardly, she began to softly hum the first tune that came to her mind. It was nothing compared to the full-blown private concerts she gave her shampoo bottle on a daily, but it was something, right?
If you knock, knock me over
Knock, knock me over
I will get back up again
When she finished, Poppy wrapped a towel around her body and returned to her bedroom. She reached for the ointment she had stuck in her drawer and slathered it all over her body. If Branch was there, he would have berated her about not reading the directions. She rolled her eyes at the thought; she knew how to put on ointment! Besides, she just wanted to get it over with.
The less time she had to look at her bruises, the better.
OoOoOo
Usually, Poppy loved going to the village. She liked to stop and talk with everyone, checking in on how people were doing, and helping with anything her subjects needed.
But today, Poppy just felt uncomfortable. As she walked through the village, it seemed like every eye was on her. Yet, no one even tried to approach her, not even her friends. They all kept their distance, scrutinizing her from afar but making no effort to even talk to her. She didn't like it. She wasn't any different than she was a few days ago! Why was everyone acting so weird?
Was this how everyone used to treat Branch? Was this how I treated him?
"Poppy!"
She sighed in relief when she heard her older sister voice. At least someone was happy to see her. "Hi, Viva!" she greeted half a second before her sister scooped her up into a tight hug. She held back a hiss of pain; she would never stop Viva- or anyone- from hugging her! She loved hugs!
Viva set her down and immediately began to check her over. "How're your bruises?" she asked. "Do they hurt? Did you put enough ointment on? Oh Muses, dd you eat breakfast? You're probably starving-!"
Poppy giggled. "Viva," she complained lightly. "You don't have to fuss, I'm fine!" But secretly, she liked when her sister babied her. She knew part of the reason Viva did it was to cope with not being in her life for twenty years. Also, it just made her feel so loved! It was nice to be fussed over.
Poppy must have been six or seven when it happened. She was playing outside her father's pod with Cooper and Biggie, only to trip over a twig hidden in the dirt and fall face-first into a sizable rock. She didn't even register the pain until the two boys had started crying at the sight of her blood. And it had been a lot of blood.
She would remember the crimson liquid staining her favorite dress for years after the fact.
Of course, Peppy came rushing out. He tried his best to calm down the two sobbing boys before turning to his daughter. His eyes were kind, but his mouth was set in a firm line. "Poppy," he said consolingly. "What happened, my little flower?"
Poppy continued to wail, pointing to the bleeding area above her eyebrow.
The king tutted, taking her hand. "Come along, dear," he ushered, pulling her into the house. Peppy sat her on the table, cleaning her cut of all the blood and dirt. He then placed a Band-Aid over it. "There. See? No reason to cry."
Poppy had calmed down during the process, but sniffled. "Hurts, Daddy," she whined.
"I know, Poppet," her father cooed kindly. He didn't hug her, but he did smooth some hair out of her face. "But you have to be careful. You really scared Cooper and Biggie."
That made Poppy even sadder knowing that she had upset her friends. "Didn't mean to."
"Of course you didn't, my dear," consoled Peppy. "But you have to remember that you're the princess. If your friends see you panic, what do you think they'll do? You must try to keep calm when things like this happen. A smile always makes everything better. Okay?" To her young mind, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. It was just how she felt. But her dad was the king, and he was almost always right.
So Poppy nodded. "Okay, Daddy," she agreed, wiping away her tears.
Poppy shook away the memory, wondering why it was on her mind now. "So, got any plans for today, sis?" she asked.
Viva grinned at her. "Well, I was hoping that I could spend it with my super adorable and super cute baby sister," she answered.
Poppy laughed. "Of course!" she agreed easily. She was always happy to spend time her sister. And she would do anything to take her mind off how oddly the village was acting towards her. "Ooh, we can go to my favorite cafe for breakfast! Have I told you about it?"
"Only about a gazillion times! Tell me more!"
And so, Poppy did. She and Viva talked all the way to the cafe, and then continued when they got their food. She was happy spending the morning with her sister. Even with her body aching with every step. Even with her skin itching under everyone's gaze.
It was fine, everything was fine.
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Me writing Snuffed: King Peppy's not perfect but he does love his daughters
Me writing Ruination: Y'know what? FUCK PEPPY
If you think about it, King Peppy has indirectly caused a problem in every movie. He didn't raise Poppy to be cautious about the Bergens. He didn't tell Poppy (THE LITERAL QUEEN) about other types of trolls. He didn't tell Poppy about Viva. And I know that stuff wasn't planned originally and Peppy's kind of the scapegoat. Well guess what? I don't care. This fandom doesn't have enough Peppy bashing.