I was talking to John about how he was so proud of us coming together as a family with Clay nudging him along with Bruce making plans to make his way back home,
That was the case until we all heard heavy ragged breathing and turned around to see branch,
"Branch baby bro-" I cut myself off as I saw merlot painted all over him, his eyes were wide as tears soaked his entire face, all of our eyes flew wide at his blood soaked appearance,
"Branch what happened?" John was the first one to step up and take Branch only for his crying to become a new. My and Clay locked eyes confused about what was happening,
"I- I tried to help them but I froze!" What? What did he mean by try to help. Who did he try to help? Bruce shaking as he asked,
"Help who Branch? you gotta talk to us?" Bruce held his right hand as he grimaced at the gooey blood covering his palms as he tried to soothe Branch. My mind suddenly flashed to the note that Veneer left me, and suddenly my legs feel weak as I knelt down in front of him,
"Branch, Where's Veneer and poppy?" The note said that they were all together, but only Branch came back. He completely froze at hearing their names as his body betrayed him by violently shaking staring at the ground refusing to meet my gaze.
I shook him to get the haunted look off his face as our ragtag family gathered around him growing concerned at the droplets of red that covered his hands and clothes, my eyes watering as he continued to stare at the ground his eyes leaking a river of never ending tears.
"Velvet's got them both." Clay dropped the pile of sticks he was holding along with our other brothers looking at each other trying to piece together.
"What do you mean Velvet' got the both of them!" Viva's voice broke the silence as she spoke up her eyes wet as darker pink streaks settled on her cheeks. The previous king struggling to walk with his cane, his eyes glossed as he hugged Branch from behind getting him to calm down a enough to talk.
"We were by the river and everything was going well and-" I put our foreheads together as I tried to soothe him ignoring the strong sickening scent of copper that clung onto him like a second skin.
"Branch breathe, slowly and calmly tell us what happened." I tried to contain my own rage of my husband being taken as to not frighten Branch by making him feel as if it was his fault but I could feel my heart thumping as it cooked alive in the flames of my anger.
"Veneer and Poppy were painting their nails by the river as I was hunting glitter fish for the celebration tonight, then suddenly some Rageon showed up and took them both saying that Velvet needed more trolls for the rage dome show." I remember the rage dome show, it was the crowning event where Mount Rageous's artists receive the lifer award.
I remember Veneer crying back when he was a Rageon about how Velvet wasn't going to have enough of my essence for it. It's one of Mount Rageous's most prestigious awards, only given to the best artists.
Velvet was now going to torture both Veneer and Poppy with the same hell that I've been through to feed her gluttonous desires for stardom. Once she had that award her face would be plastered across their hall of fame and moved into a different place,
Glitz City, the place where all the top mount Rageon's go once they've received their lifer awards, Veneer's only mentioned it once after my initial kidnapping,
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I was still stuck in the bottle the over fragrance glass that reeked of roses made my head pound in a throbbing headache.
Suddenly the sound of the door opened and Velvet entered pulling Veneer into the room both unaware of my presence,
"You seriously want to go back to the dark place where we had nothing!" Her over exaggerated cry made my ears ring as I slowly tried to message my temples in hope for some relief only for Veneer to snark back,
"Girl we grew up in the suburbs our parents were dentists." He rolled his eyes at her and her immediately coming back with,
"We were nobodies and our parents were losers who'd rather rip out teeth then spend time with us. So really Veneer you want to go back to that!?"
"C'mon Vel they did their best, they weren't the most attentive but they still gave us some time-"
"Only because I gave them hell and guess what that's why I was the favorite instead of their crybaby bitch." Oh when I get out of this glass I'll destroy her but right now I could only sit and listen to this disgusting display of trying to convince her brother to keep going along with her schemes.
"Really Vel?! Is Glitz city really worth killing someone over?!" He stood his ground only for his 'sister' to snarl in his face watching him back up, but she was quicker grabbing him by the hair and throwing him onto the floor, but not before she placed herself on his back effectively pinning him to the floor as her body draped over his.
Her mouth was next to his ear as her dead tone of voice coldly whispered,
"You are nothing to me or without me, I don't have to keep you around you know, you should be grateful that I'm even offering to bring you to Glitz city with me. Kay, so you're going to shut your mouth and watch me work got it!?" She ended her gut wrenching speech with her hand gripping in his hair tugging at it until he cried out some form of agreement.
Once she completely got off of him at hearing his verbal reply she strolled out of the room leaving her brother on the chilled glittery floor of their studio.
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My recall of Glitz city was interrupted by my brother explaining exactly what was happening.
"Veneer tried so hard to get us both away, but Poppy went after him getting herself caught too. However I honestly didn't think that both Poppy and Veneer had it in them to mess her up." He smiled with pride at the part where Poppy was able to twist her wires a little bit.
"Mess her up how?" Bruce spoke with awe in his tone and said what we were all thinking especially with me just as curious about how Veneer tried to fight off his kidnapper. We've never heard of Trolls fighting back, usually we just let ourselves get eaten but who knows judging from Branch's prideful small smile, we probably adapted and changed.
"Veneer ripped her nail off with his teeth and plunged his tail blade into her hand but Poppy tore her tendon open with her blades and almost seemed to inject something in her if that liquid noise was anything to go by." I could understand where branch was coming from as my heart twinged with thankfulness at him going feral and fighting back but he was now trapped with Velvet looming over him.
"We have to go after them!" Viva tied her lobed leaf cape around her shoulders as she moved through the small makeshift crowd with the small troll known as Tiny Diamond shouted,
"Yeah we gotta save Aunt poppy and Uncle Veneer! I got my learners permit." The small troll tugged on Branch's vest showing him a miniature ID.
"Adulty McManface? Really?"
"What are you a narc?" Tiny glittery black eyes squinted into Branch's baby blues at the interrogation.
"If you all choose to go after them at least you don't have to worry about the Rageon who took them if what you said about what Poppy did was true." The older king stepped out and strolled over to his older daughter.
"What do you mean we don't have to worry about who kidnapped them?!" I curled my lip in a mock snarl as King Peppy tried to stop my brothers from interfering with my fury at the fact I had my future husband taken from me,
"Well me, Viva and Poppy are Royal Trolls, which means we have an advantage." Me and Branch looked at each other before letting the king explain,
"You see we Royals have venom, it's a cocktail of neurotoxins, procoagulants, and myotoxins and depending on how long Poppy was able to hold on for, the more venom was injected." I never knew that, I suppose that's probably one of the many things that distinguish the Royals and non royals as a society.
"It was for at at least a minute and at most two minutes before that- monster snatched her up" I watched my brother's thick tears dribble down his face in sorrow and I tried to blink away mine only to have the king let out a sigh of relief,
"Good if Poppy was able to hang on for a minute that means she injected enough to kill whoever took them. And trust me it will not be a pleasant death they'll die in absolute agony." Well that certainly handled one of the perpetrators in our fiancé's capture but what do we do about the main perpetrator?
Viva, Bruce, John and Clay looked at each other in a silent agreement before they all ran to John's beloved armadillo and one by one they all entered in the vehicle.
"What about us!" Branch called out to them only for Viva to stop him,
"Branch they're my siblings and Floyd you've already been through that once so you don't deserve to go back." Branch opened his mouth to protest again only for me to grip his shoulder and squeezed gesturing to him that I have an idea.
"You're right Viva, me and Branch will stay behind thank you again for going after them." She sighed with happiness at my acceptance and closed the doors behind her and let john take off.
As the bus flew out of sight, Branch was suddenly on me as he snarled in my face.
"What were you thinking?!" His bloodshot baby blue eyes stared into my raspberry colored ones as I pushed him back and I spoke up,
"We're going to Mount Rageous, but we need a plan, they're just going to go in blind and probably end up the same way as Poppy and Veneer, so we need strategy-" the older previous king walked up to us and handed Branch a sugar cube. Puzzled by his gesture the king decided to explain himself,
"If anyone can save them it's you two, I trust you with my prized Vulterpillar." I watched as the older ex king tapped his cane on the ground three times before a sleek creature made itself known to me and my little brother.
It looked similar to Caterbus but it's form was much more smaller and slimmer in appearance with purple being it's primary color.
"King peppy we possibly couldn't-"
"Please Branch you're my son in law, I trust you and your brother's judgement." He let out a sigh at the older previous kings words and took the sugar cube.
"Plus I'd like to meet my son in one piece please." My eyes grew glassy at the king blatantly accepting Veneer as his son, along with Poppy and Viva who welcomed him just as happily with open arms.
Veneer deserved to be with us, his true family again.
"C'mon Branch let's bro." I opened the doors of the mini Caterbus creature once Branch fed the sugar cube to the gentle giant.
"You're not mad at me?" I sighed and took Branch's hand as I reassured him,
"No Branch, I'm not angry at you because you froze, freezing is a perfectly normal response to distress. Who I'm angry at Velvet, she's going to use Poppy and Veneer for her own sick greed for fame." He accepted my answer with a nod of his head and a small murmur of affirmation at my words.
"Now let's get our partner's back."