Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 4

"Branch!?" Poppy called out, as she walked through the forest in search of her new friend. "Branch!?"

     "Ok... it's ok..." she suddenly heard in a gentle voice.

She looked towards the sound, seeing the little grey troll kneeling on the ground, looking sadly at a flower, which had fallen over, the stem bent and broken.

There was another flower next to it, crying sadly, as it looked down at the fallen flower.

"My grandma is hurt!" it wailed.
"Ow! I've fallen, and I can't get up!" the older flower cried out.
"It's ok. I'm here to help," Branch said softly, trying to comfort both of the two flowers.

He took a stick out of his pile, poking it into the ground next to the older flower.

Gently, he pushed the flower, so it was standing upright, tying a string around it and the stick.

Once he was finished, he smiled slightly, backing away, as he clapped the dirt off of his hands, proud of his work.

"Grandma!" the young flower shouted with joy, leaning over to hug his grandmother.

"Thank you, young man. You are very kind," the older flower said to Branch.

His smile faded, as a tear came to his eye, thinking about his own grandma. He remembered her saying that same thing to him, whenever he helped her around the house. Baking... cleaning... organizing... no matter what the task was, he would always be right there to help his grandma.

Finally, he smiled again, looking back at the two flowers.

"No problem," he said. "I'm just happy I could help."

     The older flower kissed her grandson, the two of them hugging each other, as Branch watched sadly. He was happy he had helped them, but at the same time... he just couldn't get what had happened to his grandma out of his mind. Why couldn't he of helped her then... why couldn't he of saved her... it was all his fault...

     He sighed, his ears drooping slightly, as he slowly turned around.

"Hi, Branch!" Poppy suddenly yelled, standing right there in front of him.
"AHHH!" Branch screamed, jumping to face Poppy.

     His eyes widened, when he realized it was her. Had she seen what he had been doing?

     "Uh... Poppy..." he said softly, rubbing his arm nervously, as he looked away from her. "What... uh... what are you doing here?" He scooted over, trying to block the flowers from her view.

"I was looking for you," she informed.

     Branch raised an eyebrow, looking at her in confusion.

     "Me?" he asked. "Why?"
"I wanted to invite you to the Enchanted Forest tomorrow," she answered. "My dad is taking me, and he said I could invite my friends."

His ears perked up at the word 'friends'.

"Friends?" he repeated softly. No... she couldn't of meant that. She just made a mistake... right?

     "So then..." he said, fiddling nervously with his fingers. "Why are you inviting me?"
"Dugh... cuz your my friend, silly," Poppy laughed, playfully punching his arm.

He looked at her, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Me?" he asked, a small smile forming on his face. He couldn't believe it! She actually wanted to be his friend!?

Quickly, he snapped out of it, his smile fading, as he shook his head, backing away from the young Princess.

"N... no... we... we can't be friends," he said sadly, afraid of getting too close to her.

He didn't want his heart broken again if anything ever happened to her, like what had happened to his grandma. He couldn't go through that pain again. He just couldn't...

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow in confusion at his words.

"But... but why not?" she asked, not understanding. No one's ever said they couldn't be friends with her before... did she do something wrong?

     He lowered his head, closing his eyes sadly, as he sighed deeply.

"We..." He took another deep breath, a single tear falling from his eye. "I can't... I just can't... I'm sorry."
"But, Branch..." Poppy started. "I want to help you. I can help you be happy again. You can get your colors back, and we can be best friends!" she said cheerfully, smiling.

"N... no. I... I can't," he said, looking away from her sadly, as he rubbed his arm.
"Come on, Branch," she begged. "I just wanna..."
"I said no!" he suddenly yelled, causing the young princess to flinch.

She backed up slightly, looking at him in shock.

"I don't want to be friends with you!" he yelled, struggling to hold back his tears. "I don't want to be friends with anyone! I'm alone! And I will always be alone!"

Quickly, he turned, running away with his pile of sticks.

"Branch! Wait!" she yelled after him, but he didn't stop. He just kept on running.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled at her, as he disappeared into the forest.

She lowered her head sadly, her ears drooping a bit.

Soon though... her sadness turned into anger.

"Fine!" she shouted off into the distance, even though she could no longer see Branch anywhere. "Your not a troll! You're a heartless jerk!"

She lowered her head again, something suddenly catching her eye.

Slowly, she raised her head, looking over at the flower Branch had saved. She and her grandson were hugging each other, happy to be together again.

A small smile came to Poppy's face, as she looked off in the direction Branch had gone.

He wasn't heartless... someone who was heartless wouldn't help save a family. He was just misunderstood, and Poppy could see the good in him. She knew he had happiness inside of him, and she wasn't going to give up, until she helped him find it.

Her smile grew, as she turned around, skipping away, as she hummed happily to herself.