Trolls: Back to the Past (rewrite)

Chapter 5

Knowing he couldn't just leave the young child on his own, Peppy brought Branch back to his pod, deciding that he would be the one to take care of this recently orphaned boy...

Of course... Branch didn't want to go... he wanted to just stay in his small hole forever... never to see the light of day again... after all... he deserved to be alone... he deserved to be miserable... the young child still felt guilty about what he had done... it was his fault... his grandma was dead... because of him...

But Peppy wasn't taking 'no' for an answer, insisting that Branch come home with him...

The young child knew he couldn't say no... his grandma had always told him that if the king ever asked you to do something... you do it... no questions asked...

     Even though his grandma was gone, and he would never see her again... the little troll still didn't want to disappoint her... so he went with Peppy, the young boy doing as he was told...

Peppy smiled slightly as the little gray troll slowly emerged from the dark and damp hole dug out from underneath the base of the Troll Tree, the old king reaching out a friendly hand to the young boy...

His eyes glossed over with tears, Branch stared at the hand outstretched to him for a long moment before finally reaching up to grab it, the two troll's hands immediately intertwining in a comforting feeling of not being alone...

"Come along, my boy..." Peppy instructed in a soft tone, smiling down at the young trolling in order to help him feel safe. "Let's get you inside. It's getting chilly..."

Branch nodded, the young boy having to admit he was feeling rather cold, his shirtless overalls not giving much protection from the elements of nature...

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Once inside, Branch looked around the royal pod that he had actually been inside of many times before...

It seemed so much different then it had only a few days prior... When the young child was here with his grandma... the home seemed so happy... so full of life... but now... it just seemed dark and lonely...

Branch sighed at the empty sensation in his chest, his heart feeling like a black hole of sorrow as the little troll lowered his head, the young boy shutting his eyes gently in despair...

"You can sleep on the couch tonight..." Peppy informed in a soft tone as he looked down at the saddened child. "We'll figure out a more permanent place for you in the morning..."

     Branch looked up at King Peppy for just a moment before then walking slowly to the couch, laying down with his back to the older troll...

Peppy sighed as he watched the little trolling fading into a state of pure uncontrollable sorrow, feeling bad about the situation Branch had unfortunately found himself in...

He had lost his wife, but Branch... Branch had lost his Grandma... his only family... and he was jus so young... The old king couldn't even imagine what the little trolling was going through right now...

"Well..." Peppy finally sighed softly. "Good night, Branch..."

Silence...

The old king somewhat expected the little troll to reply... but he certainly didn't blame him for staying silent... after all... the extremely young child was going through such heartbreak that most adult trolls didn't even have to suffer through... he felt alone... the only gray troll in a village of colorful happy beings... no one was suffering as badly as Branch was right now...