Confronting Inner Demons

Traps and Realizations

Disclaimer: I don't own Trolls.
'Thoughts'
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(With King Peppy)

King Peppy had worked late into the night. Now he had an announcement to make. He just knew that it wouldn't go over well with most of the others. By the end of the day he was going to have a headache.

"Sire?" It was Krinkle, the troll he had summoned.

"Yes?" He looked at the troll.

"Every troll is present, except Branch." He said.

"Good." He nodded.

"Should I get Branch?" He asked, wondering why the troll failed to show. 'He always shows when the king holds these meetings. Why didn't he?'

"No. It's best if he isn't here for this." He said with a sigh. 'I love my trolls but they can be downright awful whenever Branch is concerned.

"Alright." He said. 'It must be about Branch.' It made him wonder even more.

"I'll be out soon." Peppy told Krinkle.

"Yes sire." He bowed and left.

Peppy stood with a sigh. He seemed to be sighing a lot these past few days. He quickly checked his appearance before he exited his pod. He went to the area he was holding the meeting and stood proudly in front of him. They all looked back at him. Only a few knew what the meeting was about so they were the only ones not wondering.

"Good morning." He greeted his tribe with a smile.

"Good morning king Peppy/dad." They greeted him back.

"The other day a troll was almost eaten." That statement made many gasp. "A spider known as the silent creeper entered the meadow where Creek was meditating. Branch-"

The crowd erupted into chaos. Many believed that there was no spider and that Branch had attempted to harm their precious Creek. Some believed that Creek saved the town freak. Creek and Poppy quickly went to the mushroom Peppy stood on. Once they were next to the king, Creek managed to get them all to shut up.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled.

That made them gape at the usually calm troll. Not even with Branch had the troll ever lost his temper. It would be the first time they had ever heard Creek yell. It left them speechless.

"There you go king Peppy." The purple troll said.

"Oh, um, thank you." He said as he gave the troll a concerned look.

"You're welcome." He said.

"As I was saying. Branch had gone to the meadow to check on some traps. He does it every morning. He was also planning on setting up some new ones." He said and was once more interrupted.

"Traps? For what? Bergins?" A troll near the front sneered.

"Some yes. Others were set for predators that would like to eat us trolls." He said as he glared at the troll.

"Only bergins want to eat us." Another snorted.

"Not true. I was almost eaten by a spider." Creek snapped.

"That was Branch trying to harm you." The troll said.

"SILENCE!" King Peppy yelled.

He glared at the trolls before him. No matter what Branch did for the tribe they seemed to always be against him. It irritated the elderly troll. Not this time. He wasn't going to allow it to continue. He let it go in the past because he didn't want to lose any more members of his tribe but enough was enough. He took a deep breath.