⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀< ❈Poppy's POV❈ >
Poppy felt pain coursing through her body as she slowly lifted her head, her vision blurry and refusing to focus again for several heartbeats. But, finally, when it did clear up, she was surprised to find herself in her and Branch's pod that had been taken over by Creek. Oh, then that means that wasn't a dream...
She remembered she had been walking through the bushes just to refresh her mind and calm herself. She had been quite stressed over the past few days despite seeming so positive and bubbly as usual. She wanted to look strong for her Trolls because a scared Queen would terrify everyone.
"Well, you're finally awake!" said a slightly cheery voice.
She glanced around and felt her breath catch in her throat as her eyes landed on Creek. He was staring down at her with a smug grin on his face.
The Queen felt anger fill her, boiling her blood, and she tried to strike out at the purple Troll. But a pulling sensation on her legs brought her back down and she collapsed, yelping in surprise as the ground came to meet her body. She shook herself, glancing backwards and seeing her ankles gripped by chains, tying her to the wall.
"You really think I wouldn't secure you down?" Creek asked, snickering.
Poppy glared up at him. "Why, Creek? Just why?" she asked, shaking her head in disgust. "You know, I really had thought you were different. But you can't exactly blame me for not wanting you. I'm sure you would've felt hurt if I had let you get eaten just so I could live. But I'm not selfish like that, not like you. So, tell me, why are you doing this?"
The meditator sighed. "Oh, Poppy. Trying to turn this into some motivational life lesson? It's not working." He turned and began examining himself in a nearby mirror, ruffling his fingers through his turquoise and green-tipped hair. "I won't lie, though."
The pink Troll lifted her head a bit more, watching him with her heart heavy in her chest. "What?"
Creek walked back over to her. "I was very much in love with you. I sold you out just so you didn't have to die with a conscious full of horrible, dreadful thoughts. I did it—"
"Oh, don't start with all that nonsense. That makes no sense!" The Queen's voice raised in fury as she cut him off. "We'd still be dying with horrifying thoughts. We'd be thinking about how we failed. I'd be thinking about how I failed as the Princess of Troll Village. How do you not see that?"
The purple-skinned male shrugged. "Whatever you say, Pops," he giggled.
"Don't call me that," she snarled.
"Well, I'm about to launch my first attack on your Trolls," Creek announced as if she had never spoken. "They're taking too long to my liking. You have like, what? Twenty-five Trolls? I have about fifty on my side. You're all going to die. And this kingdom will be rightfully mine."
"You must have bees in your brain if you truly believe that, Creek!" Poppy retorted. Even as she spoke with confidence, she felt her heart hammering away with fear. This is my fault. Why did I fall in love with Creek back then? If I hadn't, then maybe he would've never gotten an interest in being King. She inwardly sighed. But then again, if I hadn't fallen in love with him, I doubt I would've ever fallen in love with Branch either. As soon as she thought of her husband, an image of him burned in her mind. She knew he'd probably already discovered her absence.
Creek shrugged. "Don't believe me?" he asked. "Well, just watch then. That sick excuse for a King you're married to will he gone, and so will your precious daughter. Iris was very useless, let me tell you. So I'm doing you a huge favor." Before Poppy could reply, he left the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving her by herself.
No! she thought furiously. I won't let you touch either one of them! She glanced towards her chained-down legs, a fresh wave of anger filling her and giving her strength. She began tugging at the metal, her muscles burning with effort, and her breath halting.
It seemed to take a lifetime before, finally, with one final pull, she heard a snapping noise and tumbled across the floor from the force of the break. One of the chains grazed across her skin, making her squeak in pain, but she brushed it aside. She quickly slid the metal from her legs and scrambled up to her feet, gasping and panting like crazy. There! she thought triumphantly. She had escaped!
She looked over to the window, running over and clicking it open. The coolness of the approaching-fall air whipped her in the face and she shivered before hopping out, her feet landing in the soft grass. Before she could take many steps, the sound of pained and panicked shrieking came from close by.
Uh-oh! She felt her stomach churn with fear and make her feel a little nauseous. But she had to run. She recognized the screams. He's hurting them!
Every mother instinct inside of her seemed to kick on at that moment. She usually was not over-protective of Iris and let her have all her fun, but right now, things were changing inside of her. If you think you're going to succeed at hurting my baby, you're dead wrong, Creek! She broke into a run with her eyes fixed on nothing but the path ahead of her. Thankfully, she did not have too far to go.
As the Queen approached the line of bushes everyone had been hiding behind, she saw what was going on more clearly. Creek and his Trolls were tackling, stabbing, and just completely injuring everyone.
She looked around frantically for Branch or Iris but could not spot either one of them.
Sickening, pain-filled screams crowded the Queen's hearing as she ran around looking for her family. She halted sharply as she saw Cooper struggling to fight off two Trolls on his own. They both held a knife each, their gazes dark.
"No! Cooper!" Poppy ran towards her friend and stepped in front of him, glaring at the two Trolls. "Stop!" she shrieked. "What are you doing? I'm your Queen and I demand you back down right now!"
The first Troll, a green female with yellow hair, looked at her companion who was a pale purple male with darker hair and shrugged. "Why would we listen to a liar?" she inquired.
Poppy forced herself to stay back. She wanted to knock them to the ground and scream because she was so frustrated, but thankfully she was able to stay calm. "Creek is just going to kill you. I know you've been messed up by him and I'm here to heal you. Come with me if you'd like to stay alive."
Cooper stepped closer to Poppy, his gaze determined, as he joined her. "She's right. We all can tell Creek only cares for himself."
The male Troll lowered his gaze. "H-how do we know this isn't a trick?" he asked.
Poppy felt dismayed, her heart sinking. She knew this Troll's name. Of course she did! She knew everyone's name. "Lake, listen to me. Name one time when I ever wanted to hurt you. The time with the Bergens was different. I was a naive little Princess who was dancing on a rainbow. I know there are hardships now. This kingdom belonged to my father, and his father, and all the way back. Creek is going to screw up that bloodline we had going through here."
Lake blinked at her. "Poppy...we don't—"
"We'll come with you," the green Troll blurted out. "You're right. Creek isn't as great as we thought. We're sorry for following him."
Poppy sighed in relief. "It's fine. Let's just get out of here before someone catches us."
Cooper looked a little suspicious as he stared at the two Trolls, but did not protest. He just shrugged and followed them off into the undergrowth.
Poppy turned to the green-skinned Troll, remembering her name was Vine. "Have you seen Branch or Iris?" she asked.
She shook her head. "No, sorry."
Before Poppy could reply, a shadow fell across their path, and a big one too. The Queen lifted her gaze, her heart pounding, scared of meeting some kind of danger. But to her shock and relief, it was nothing she could ever be horrified at seeing.
It was Bridget, and right in her hands were Branch and Iris.
Hey, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while :(
There's just stuff going on so I may be slow updating my books for the next month. I get out of school for the summer on May 22nd but I'll still be slightly inactive even after that. My activity should raise back up by the start of June. I promise everything's okay, though 😊
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for chapter 36!