14 Years Later
Branch woke up with a groan of frustration, his thick black hair a complete mess as he rubbed his crystal blue eyes...
Today... a day that was supposed to be special... was the day he had been dreading for the past year of his life... the past 10 years of his life actually...
Begrudgingly... it was the gray troll's birthday... a day princess Poppy would always try to make all about him...
She always threw a massive party for the special occasion, inviting the village grump even though he would reject her most wanted request every... single... year...
But still... the party went on... making the loudest sounds of singing, dancing, and... bleh... hugging... ever created... Branch was sure the young princess would lead the Bergens right to the not so hidden village one of these days... and he certainly wasn't going to be around when those monsters showed up to eat them all...
'Bang! Bang! Bang!'
Branch's ears drooped slightly at the eminently irritating sound, slowly sitting up in bed as he flung his feet over the side of his mattress...
"Great..." he muttered softly with a quiet sigh. "And my torturous day has officially begun..."
—————
"Branch! Branch! Branch!" a beautiful pink troll named Poppy called out as she pounded loudly on the rock outside the village grump's underground home. "Come on, Branch! I know you're in there!"
With a silent click, the hatch leading to the survival bunker popped open, revealing a rather infuriated Branch...
"What do you want, princess Poppy..." he groaned, Poppy giggling softly as she rushed over to him.
"Happy Birthday, Branch!" she shouted out excitedly, slapping a party hat onto his head and a noise maker into his mouth.
"Ugh..." Branch groaned, spitting out the noise maker immediately as he crossed his arms in irritation... "Yeah... yeah... it's just another day Poppy... nothing special..."
"You're special, Branch!" Poppy exclaimed. "And you deserve a special party on your special day to remind you of that!"
"I don't do parties..." he mumbled bluntly, beginning to walk away to start his daily scavenging. But Poppy wasn't giving up that easily, quickly chasing after him...
"Come on, Branch!" she yelled out in over hyped excitement. "It's your birthday!"
"Technically, Poppy..." he began, still walking with an unamused look on his face. "My birthday isn't until 10:00pm..."
"Whatever..." Poppy groaned, annoyed by his constant attitude. "The point is..." She quickly got in front of him, cutting off his route so he couldn't walk any farther. "You need to have some fun, Branch! Just please... think about it?"
She held out an invitation to him, hoping with all her heart he would take it...
With a sigh, the village grump took the folded up piece of paper, looking at it sadly...
He really did want to go... he wanted to have fun... he wanted to be happy... he... he wanted to be with Poppy...
But... he couldn't... and he couldn't let anyone... anyone... know how he actually felt about the young princess...
Regaining his grumpy facade, Branch glared back up at Poppy, taring up the invitation she had worked so hard to create for him right in front of her...
Poppy's smile dropped, revealing a few sad tears in her eyes...
"I'm not going..." he muttered softly, throwing the torn up card to the ground. "Now stop bothering me..."
"But... but Branch..." she started in a soft whimper. "I just want you to be happy..."
Happy... he froze at the sound of that word... the word that would never... ever... ever describe him... he didn't deserve to be happy... not after what he had done...
Fighting back his tears, Branch glared at the young princess, seeming angrier than ever before...
"I just want to be left alone! I deserve to be alone!" he yelled out in pure rage, causing Poppy to jump back slightly at the sound of his tone... "Why can't your tiny brain understand that!?"
He regretted his words instantly... especially when seeing the pure sorrow they had caused Poppy... but he couldn't take them back... and he certainly couldn't let her know he felt bad about what he had just so bluntly shouted out...
So instead... he kept his glare, turning to stomp away without another word...
Tears sparkling in her eyes, Poppy quickly turned, taking off running back towards the village, wanting to hide her sorrowful sobs from the gray troll who was always so mean to her...
Once he was sure Poppy was out of sight, the gray troll turned, stealthily heading back to the spot where the two of them once stood, beginning to carefully pick up the invitation he had destroyed, making sure not to leave even a single piece behind...
"I'm sorry, Poppy..." he whispered softly to himself before beginning to walk back to his home...