Willow, age seven

At seven, Willow was tired of waiting for her brother to make the ten-story waterslide he had talked about when they were younger. So while he was out foraging, she started digging what she thought would eventually be the waterslide. Unfortunately, she found she wasn't as good of a mechanic as her brother was and ended up flooding the first floor of their bunker. When her brother returned to the bunker a few hours later, it was to a muddy Willow desperately trying to plug up a hole so the water would stop entering the bunker.

"What happened?" Branch asked, panicked. "What did you do?"

"I was trying to make the waterslide!" Willow cried, her voice stressed. "But I didn't realize how much pressure there would be." She fell into the mud around her. "I didn't even get the chance to start installing the pipes."

Branch sighed and pulled his sister out of the mud. "Let me take care of this. Go take a shower and get started on dinner."

"But I should help," Willow insisted. "I made this mess. I can help clean it."

"Oh, you're definitely cleaning this up," Branch nodded. "But later. I'm going to get the hole plugged up and we'll have dinner. When everything is dry, you can get it cleaned and taken care of." Willow sighed and nodded before going down to the living area the two had made. By the time she had showered and had dinner ready, Branch was getting out of the shower himself. "Alright. The hole is blocked off. I think it's safe to say the waterslide is not happening." Willow nodded sadly and started picking at the pasta she made for dinner. Branch sighed and sat down to dinner. "I'm sorry, sis. But it's just not practical. We live underground. There was no way a waterslide was going to work down here."

Willow sighed. "I guess so. I was just looking forward to it." The two ate their dinner in silence before Willow stood up. "The floor should be dry enough. I'm going to go clean up the mess I made."

Branch nodded. "I'll do the dishes." As Willow was about to go up to the first floor, he turned around to face her. "And Willow?" She looked back at him. "Don't touch my tools anymore." Willow never messed with his tools again. He kept them under lock and key when he wasn't in the house. He didn't trust that she would leave them alone. Whenever he had to fix something, she would take that time to learn how to bake and preserve different foods so she could be helpful.

Branch was secretly grateful for it as he was never very good when it came to baking and it kept her occupied when they were both in the bunker.

Willow, age nine

Thanks to their rescuing the princess, Willow and Poppy became good friends. They spent a lot of time together. Poppy introduced her to her group of friends, the Snack Pack. Branch was content to let her spend time with her new group of friends as it kept her safe, and he could spend more time focusing on the bunker and gathering supplies in case anything went wrong.

Willow made fast friends with the Snack Pack and spent much of her time with them. It was through the Snack Pack she was able to learn how to sew, knit, and cook. While she was friends with the Snack Pack, she still didn't go to any of the parties Poppy kept inviting her and Branch to. "Sorry, Poppy," She'd smile sheepishly. "Branch and I are a package deal. If he doesn't want to go, I'm not going."

Willow was a welcome member of the Snack Pack for over four years when she met Creek. He was a strange troll, and Willow wasn't sure she cared for him too much.

One day, while Willow was spending time with the Snack Pack, Branch had gone into the woods to gather more berries to preserve. When he made it back to the bunker, he could hear Poppy running up to him. "Branch!" She called. "You need to come to the village quickly."

Branch sighed and set his berry basket down. "Poppy, if this is some elaborate plan to get me to a party, it's not going to work. You know I don't go to the village."

"But you have to!" Poppy insisted. "It's Willow."

Branch picked his head up and started running to the village. As he was running, he could hear a shrill scream. The closer he got, the louder the screams became. When he finally made it to the clearing the Snack Pack was playing in, he could see the cause of the screaming. He raised his eyes and looked at Poppy. "You have got to be kidding me."

In the clearing, was nine-year-old Willow latched onto a screaming Creek's back with her hands yanking on his hair. The Snack Pack were running behind them trying to get her off of him.

"So what happened?" Branch asked. He looked unamused as Creek continued to cry.

"I don't know," Poppy shrugged, nervous. "We were playing tag and Willow said she was a little tired so she was going to sit this game out. Creek decided to sit beside her and they were talking about something. Next thing we know, she screaming and attacking him." She looked at Branch. "Can you stop her?"

"Willow, stop. Don't attack Creek," Branch deadpanned as he watched his sister continue yanking on Creek's hair. Like his sister, he didn't care for the young troll either.

Poppy groaned. "That is not helping." She looked at the Snack Pack as they desperately tried to get Willow. "Can you please go get her? She's starting to hurt Creek."

Branch scoffed. "Fine." He walked over to Creek and grabbed Willow. "Let go of him, Willow."

"Not until he apologizes," Willow snarled, yanking on the boy's hair harder.

"Willow," Branch warned, his grip on his sister's arm tightening. "Let. Him. Go."

Willow growled and released Creek's hair and got off of him. "Fine." She glared at Creek as the Snack Pack surrounded him. "But you better stay away from me and my brother." She sighed and looked at Poppy. "Sorry, Poppy. I don't think I'll be able to hang out when you have Creek over to play anymore."

Though disappointed, Poppy nodded. "I get it." She didn't. "If you ever change your mind, you're more than welcome to find us."

Willow nodded and followed her brother back to the bunker. The duo walked in silence until Branch looked over at his sister. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

Willow frowned. "Branch? Is there something wrong with us?"

Branch looked at her confused. "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with us."

"We don't live in the village with everyone, we live in a bunker underground," Willow insisted. "We don't go to any parties and everybody in the village avoids us unless I'm with Poppy and her friends. What's wrong with us?"

Branch growled, annoyed. "What did Creek tell you? There is nothing wrong with you."

"He called you sick," Willow admitted, crossing her arms. "He said I shouldn't live with you because I'll catch your greyness." She snorted. "Greyness isn't even contagious."

"And that's why you were pulling his hair?" Branch asked, annoyed. "You can't go beating up trolls just because they say something you don't like."

Willow shook her head furiously. "Nobody insults my brother," she insisted.

Branch sighed and opened up the bunker door. Willow grabbed the basket of berries and followed him to the elevator. The duo was silent during their dinner prep and cooking. As they ate, Branch looked up at his sister sitting across from him. "Hey," she looked up at his voice. "Thank you, for standing up for me." He sighed and put his plate in the sink. "It probably isn't a good idea to go beating up trolls just because they say something about me, but I appreciate it all the same." He looked back at her. "But seriously, no more beating up Creek."

Willow snorted. "No promises." She smiled at the smirk Branch made. "But I'll try to be nicer."

Willow still spent time with the Snack Pack, though would leave as soon as Creek made his appearance. She refused to spend time around him as she knew it would make everything more stressful for her friend Poppy.

Willow, age 15

Willow grew to love baking. It was her way to express her creativity when she was stuck in the bunker. Sure, she had her friends in the Snack Pack who loved to sing. And she would sing to them when they were around. But singing stressed her brother out, and she did her best to avoid it when he was around. So she put all of her effort into baking.

At fifteen years old, Willow was proud to say she had gotten good at her craft. She had tasked herself with making a special treat for her friend Poppy's birthday party. She told the young princess that while she couldn't go to her fourteenth birthday party, she would bake her a treat to take and share with the rest of her friends.

While she was working on a treat for her friend Poppy's birthday, her brother Branch was looking especially down. With the dessert in the freezer, so she could put it together when it cooled, Willow turned to face her brother and crossed her arms. "Alright, what's got you in a mood today?"

"I'm not in a mood," Branch slumped deeper into the kitchen chair.

Willow snorted and blew her hair out of her face. She had it fixed to where it was pulled to the side and over one ear. She had told her brother she was trying it down for a little while to see if she liked it. "Right. And that's why you've been glaring a hole into the table for the past fifteen minutes."

Branch sighed and pointed to the calendar. "It's been over twelve years since we left the tree. I would have figured somebody would have shown up by now."

Willow nodded. "Right. The brothers." She pulled out the dessert she was working on and started to build. "I'm sorry they never came. I know you miss them." She looked at him concerned. "Are you going to be okay, while I bring this dessert to Poppy?"

"Yeah," Branch nodded and looked at the dessert she was working on. "What are you building, anyway?"

Willow grinned. "It's a real working carnival." She pointed out the different rides. "The hard part was getting all the pieces on the carousel and Ferris wheel to move independently of each other. And the cookie wheels on the roller coaster to turn without falling off."

Branch smirked. "And this from the girl who tried to flood our house with a waterslide."

"Yeah well, it's not like I can try that again, can I?" Willow grinned. "Mr. 'Don't touch my tools.'" She stood up with her dessert. It took both of her hands to pick it up. "Can you help me get it out of the bunker? It's bigger than I thought it would be."

Branch nodded and followed his sister to the elevator he finally got installed. Once they were both at the top, he pushed the door up and let her out before giving her the dessert. "I'll be here until you get back so we can go down together."

Willow nodded and headed towards the village where Poppy was setting up her party. The birthday girl grinned when she saw her friend walking up. "Willow!" She ran up and grabbed the dessert before setting it on a table. "Thank you so much for coming! And thank you for the carnival dessert. Are those tiny cream puffs?" She asked pointing to the top of the carousel.

Willow nodded and grinned. "Yeah. I hope you all enjoy it." She hugged her friend. "I'm sorry I can't stay for the actual party. My brother is waiting for me."

Poppy nodded and gave her friend an encouraging smile. "Don't worry. One day I'll get you both to agree to come to a party." She looked back at the party preparations. "I should get back. I'll see you later?"

Willow nodded and waved as her friend left to go back to her party. "Oh, Poppy!" She shouted. When her friend turned around. "I almost forgot. Branch says 'Happy Birthday!'"

Poppy grinned and waved. "Tell him I said Thank you!"

Willow walked back to the bunker and found Branch waiting for her. "What took you so long?" Branch asked. "I thought you were just dropping off the dessert."

"I had to give her our birthday wishes," Willow said as they went down the elevator. "Calm down."

"Well as long as that was it," Branch nodded as they went into the kitchen to get started on dinner. "Wait a minute," he paused. "What do you mean 'our'?"

Willow, age 20

Willow liked to consider herself a relatively careful person. She had to be when her brother often forgot to take care of himself. If she got hurt, who would be around to make sure he ate and took care of himself?

So it was especially annoying when she twisted her ankle learning a new dance with Cooper. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea for her to copy a dance move the quadruped had done. She didn't have enough legs. Now she was stuck in bed, with her brother checking in on her every few minutes to make sure she didn't move.

After the tenth time, she groaned in annoyance. "Branch I'm fine! I didn't even break anything. Dr. Moonbloom said I just need to keep my weight off it for a few days so the swelling can go down."

"Well I'm not taking any chances," Branch insisted, bringing in a couple of sandwiches for her dinner. "You'll stay in bed for the next few days so you don't make it worse."

Willow grumbled and took one of the sandwiches. "Can you at least tell my friends I'm okay?" She asked, looking at him concerned. "I'm sure Cooper and the others are worried about me."

Branch looked like he was about to argue when she started giving him a wounded puppy look. He groaned. "Seriously? You're twenty years old. That look should not work." He started walking out of the room. "Fine. I'll go talk to your friends for you. Just stay in bed."

Branch left the bunker and found the Snack Pack where they usually hang out. He let them know Willow was doing okay and would be coming out in a few days.

The group was relieved and sent Branch away with well-wishes and get-well gifts for his younger sister. When he was finally able to get down into the bunker, he dropped off the gifts and went to check on his sister.

She was napping in her bed where he left her, so he grabbed the covers and pulled them up around her.

Willow woke up a little. "Did you talk to them already?" She asked sleepily.

Branch nodded. "Yeah. They were pretty happy to hear you're alright." He snorted. "They sent you a bunch of presents you'll have to look at tomorrow."

Willow grinned. "That was nice of them. I'll have to thank them later." She curled up into a ball on her bed. "Thank you for doing that. I know you don't like my friends very much." When it looked like he was about to protest, she snorted. "I know you don't like me leaving the bunker to hang out with them. But I appreciate you making an effort anyway."

He sighed as she fell back asleep. "I'll tolerate anybody for you, sis." He kissed her forehead and walked out of her bedroom. "Goodnight."

This one is a lot longer as I had more I wanted to get out before the movie starts in the next chapter. But this was Willow as she grew up and there are a lot of things that happened. I hope you all enjoyed it. The movie starts in the next chapter and that may take a little longer as I'm going to have to go back to work as well. See you next time.