Trolls Fanfiction: Blue Poppy

Chapter 8

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀<  ❈Branch's POV❈ >

The next few days flew by like a breeze. Peppy's funeral was held a week later, and the entire time, Poppy looked lost in her own little world of suffering. She'd hardly spoken during the memorial. Could only muster a few words before turning away and hiding her face from the crowd.

Branch was beyond concerned for the Troll Queen. She was usually so bouncy and fun, but now she behaved like a thunderstorm. Gloomy, depressing. It had been two weeks now since the former King passed. The village was starting to lift just slightly. They'd all grieved for their lost friend, but no one was as miserable as Poppy. That thought felt irregular to Branch. Poppy had been known as the happiest and most positive Troll in the entire Troll Tree. Now she was the saddest. Just as Branch had been before.

The blue male was sitting in his house at his desk, staring blankly down at his hands. He felt afraid. He didn't want Poppy to be like he had. She was Queen, after all. Branch slumped his head down, letting out a long, loud sigh of hopelessness.

After several minutes of just sitting there, he rose to his feet, stretching his tensed limbs and yawning just slightly. He walked towards the exit of his house and left. The village was bustling with life as usual. Trolls laughing in group conversations, kids playing, just the usual. But Branch paid no attention to anyone.

He was focused on an untouched part of the village. It was rare that a Troll would come over here and thought it would be a better place for him to think. He lifted himself up on a stone, resting the tip of his elbow on his thigh and cupping his strong jaw in his palm. His other free hand skimmed over the smooth, hard surface of the rock. He just didn't know what to do. Sitting in his house all day made him even more stressed. He needed to feel the fresh spring air around him.

It was a cloudy day, and he caught a faint whiff of rain in the air. But he didn't mind it. If the sun had been out, he would've become even more upset. The gloominess overhead suited his mood. And Poppy's mood.

The handsome blue Troll was so lost in his thoughts, his mind in a whirlwind of confusion.

But suddenly, the sound of rustling in the undergrowth set alarm scoring through him. He leaped to his feet, glancing around frantically. His heart was starting to bang wildly against his chest.

"Who's there?" Branch called, making his tone as hard and threatening as possible. A month ago, he would've been completely prepared. With weapons and traps tucked carefully in his bag. But ever since he'd become happy again, he wasn't as cautious. Sure, he was still aware of the world's dangers. But he just didn't freak out as much.

"Show your face, bitch!" Branch yelled louder. Now he was actually fed up. He clenched his fists tightly together and gritted his teeth.

"Calm yourself, mate," came a sweet, happy British accent.

Branch froze, his muscles stiffening and his eyes unblinking. Was this real? Was this actually happening? No. No, it couldn't be. The blue Troll backed up just slightly, tumbling off the rock and hitting the ground. He let out an "Oof!" of pain, and quickly leaped to his feet again. He ignored the aching in his knees from where he had fallen. Suddenly, Branch's worries were revealed as true. A face popped from the bushes. A face he wished he would never lay eyes on again.

His skin was a warm purple color. His arms and legs, his entire body actually, was quite slender and well-muscled. He moved in elegant, neat strides. His hair was green at the top, but morphed into a soft light blue color. His eyes were a dark shade of violet, wearing nothing but a pair of yellow yoga pants. A large orange nose made him look quite stupid, despite his calm, friendly appearance. His eyes sparkled like the stars at night. Branch began to understand why Poppy had once loved this jerk. His features were almost hypnotizing.

The calm Troll moved over to Branch, his feet soundless against the earth as he took each step. "I haven't seen you in a while," he commented, looking Branch up and down. "Happy now, aye?"

Branch clenched his fist once again. The urge to punch the idiot right in the face and wipe that cute expression off was so tempting. But he held himself back from doing so. "Creek," the blue Troll spat out the other male's name. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Fortunately, I'm not," the self-absorbed Troll cooed. "But I just wanted to say how sorry I am, Branch. Really. I've done some...horrible things." He sighed, glancing down at his chubby feet with a regretful expression.

Branch couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. He narrowed his ice-blue orbs suspiciously as he gazed at Creek. I better make him leave before Poppy sees him, he thought.

He sighed. "Well, it's been delightful seeing you again, Creek," he said in the most sarcastic expression ever, that even the biggest idiot in the world would be smart enough to hear it, "but I really think you should be going. The village wouldn't be too thrilled to see you."

Creek blinked in surprise. "That's why I'm here, mate," he replied. "To apologize. To fix my relationship with my people. To fix everything I ruined with Poppy."

Branch snorted in both disgust and laughter. "Poppy doesn't want you!" he retorted. "She's said it a million times. I'm sorry, you stupid flower child, but I have taken your precious Queen!" A bolt of satisfaction erupted through him at his last words.

"You and Poppy, a couple?" Creek broke out into a bout of laughter. He tumbled onto his back, gripping his stomach with his gentle hands. His snickering led to tears of amusement streaming down his cheeks. By the time he was done, he sounded quite out of breath and little rivulets of sweat dripped from his hairline. "In your dreams, Branch." He walked past the blue Troll, and patted his shoulder as he walked towards the village.

Branch raced after him, but the purple male had disappeared among the underbrush. "I'll break his throat if he gets anywhere near Poppy!" he growled under his breath.

"MY FRIENDS! I HAVE RETURNED!"

Creek's voice boomed through the large clearing and the chatter of voices and laughter died down.

"Creek?"

"Where did he come from?"

"I thought he died!"

"Traitor!"

The sounds of his fellow Trolls sounded in Branch's ears. He slipped from the greenery and saw Creek standing delicately on a small mushroom. Everyone in the village was staring at him with disbelieving gazes. A few even looked like they wanted to strangle him.

Branch grinned triumphantly as frustration and annoyance flashed through Creek's eyes. He clearly thought there'd have been a celebration for his return.

Typical Creek, Branch thought, rolling his eyes.

Branch snuck past the awestruck crowd of Trolls towards Poppy's house. He needed to see her. He needed to get her away from Creek's greedy hands.

He was nearing her house, not paying attention to the few Trolls who flashed questioning gazes in his direction as he passed them. He bustled through the door.

But to Branch's horror, Poppy was curled up on her side in the middle of the floor. Even worse, the beautiful rosy color that had once filled her body was now gray...

You have reached the end, my child. I'm sorry if this was a cliffhanger. Was it, though? I don't know. It somewhat was, I guess.

Anyways, time for this chapter's question: What was your motivation to watch Trolls the first time? Mine was the fact that Ricky Dillon and Glozell Green (two YouTubers I love) announced small parts they played in the movie. Ricky played that orange troll at the beginning who helped pass Poppy up to Peppy, and Glozell played Branch's grandma. But anyways, that was my first motivation. Tell me yours! And don't forget to vote!