Trolls World Tour: Forever My Queen

Ch. 24: Play for me

"She screamed so loudly into that gorge that she caused a landslide. She got in a lot of trouble for that. But, what she didn't know was that landslide unclogged an underground spring, which in turn created the winding river that is down there today. Queen Poppy and her friends would've died yesterday if it weren't for that river."

"That is true," I heard Poppy say. Delta gave her a side-eyed glance as she continued.

"I just wanted to say...thank you, Roxy...thank you..." She sniffled and stepped back as Trollzart floated forward.

"I never got to officially meet her," he started. "When they were in Symphonyville, she disappeared for a few minutes, but she showed up after a while. A few hours after they had left, I heard reports of a missing violin from one of my orchestra members. I immediately suspected that she had stolen it, and was about to fly all the way over here to get it back when that very same day, that troll told me that he didn't need it anymore. Turns out, violin wasn't the instrument he was meant to play. It was the penny whistle! So, I let her keep it. It was the least I could do."

"I only just met her a few hours ago..." Poppy said. "She told me her story, and, like a good queen and friend should, I listened. I was surprised to find that, after all she had been through, no matter what knocked her down, she got right back up. I just wish I would've gotten to know her a little better..."

An eerie silence followed Poppy's short speech. Once I was able to calm myself down enough, I started to speak.

"I wouldn't have met her if it weren't for her curiosity," I choked out in between small sobs. "She sank all the way down to Techno Reef just so she could listen to our music and experience it live. However, when she needed to float back up to the surface to breathe, she couldn't. It was like she was stuck. I didn't even know she was there, yet for some strange reason I could hear her calling out for help without even opening her mouth. So, like anyone else should do when someone's life is in danger, I saved her...and we became good friends. Then, my father had the docks built on the beach so that if she was to ever come back, she could still hear our music without having to risk her life." I sniffled and wiped my nose with my arm.

"I didn't get to see her again until ten years later, on my coronation day. I had swam up to the surface to get away from all the festivities for a few minutes when she showed up. She looked so...sad and angry...she scrubbed all of that heavy black makeup off her face and threw her earrings into the ocean..." I chuckled slightly. "Then, she accidentally kicked me in the face. She felt terrible about that."

I looked down at her heart again. "She was so scared...and injured...and she felt so helpless...I hated seeing her cry..."

Trollex gently draped his arm across my shoulders and gave me a side hug. "Well...at least she can be at peace now, right?" he said, trying to make me feel better. He didn't understand that only made me feel worse. I shook my head.

"I promised her..." I mumbled.

"What?" Trollex asked me with a confused look on his face.

"I promised her...that as long as I was by her side...I would never let anything hurt her..."

"Dad..."

"I've failed her..." I whimpered. Trollex placed his hand on my cheek and turned my head so that I was now looking him straight in the eyes.

"Can you tell me who she was?" he asked. "I feel like...she was very close to me...but I can't remember why..."

"Trollex..." I said as I tried to wipe the tears off my face. "What exactly do you remember about your mother?" Trollex looked startled.