Branch woke up that morning to hear an insanely loud chorus of Trolls somewhere out in the village. They were singing his least favorite song, which was tied with every other song in existence. This one was about sunshine, lollipops and other sickeningly sweet things. The Trolls have been louder and happier than usual lately. Branch decided to see what all the fuss was about. So, he got out of bed, put on some clothes, climbed out of his bunker, and headed straight for the village.
As soon as he made it into Troll Village, Branch crossed paths with Satin and Chenille, who were singing an electric-pop tune.
One night is all it takes
We become one to make it right
One night to save the day
We'll show them all...
The twins stopped the minute they saw the familiar, grey Troll. His signature scowl glued to his face.
“Morning, girls," he greeted harshly.
“Good morning, Branch!" Chenille replied with a sweet voice.
“Why the sour face, Branchie?" Satin asked.
“Fiddlesticks, I hate that nickname," Branch muttered before answering. “If you guys are gonna sing, could you at least sing quiet enough to the point where I can't hear you? Or the Bergens for that matter!"
“We would if we could," Satin said.
“But we can't, so we shan't," Chenille finished.
Branch was getting impatient. “Why not?"
“We're rehearsing for the biggest party ever tomorrow!" they answered in sync.
“The what?" Branch asked. If there really was going to be another party, wouldn't Poppy say something to him?
“Poppy's throwing a huge party tomorrow," Satin explained.
“To celebrate freedom from the Bergens!" Chenille added. “She's even going to bring the baby princess!"
“Interesting," Branch muttered, his teeth tightly clenched. Flower was almost six months old now, which is still too young for her mother's parties!
“What's wrong?" Satin asked.
“I need to speak with Poppy," Branch replied. “Where can I find her?"
“Probably at her house," Satin answered.
“Are you going to yell at her again?" Chenille asked angrily.
“I'll try not to," Branch replied. “But since when have I ever yelled at her?"
“A little over a year ago," Satin answered.
“When she invited you to a slumber party," Chenille added. “Of course, she didn't come till morning. She said you made her cry and went straight home."
Not bad for a fake alibi, Branch thought. “I can assure you two I did not yell at her."
“What else could you have done?" Satin asked.
“That is none of your business," Branch replied, and head straight for Poppy's house without another word. Satin and Chenille glanced at each other.
“Do you think he could be...?" Chenille began, but was interrupted by her sister.
“No, he can't be!" she replied. “Although, he is a cutie."
“I... guess so."
🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻🔺🔻
Isn't she lovely
Isn't she wonderful
Isn't she precious
Right outside her door, Branch could hear Poppy singing softly. He couldn't deny it, her voice was amazing, but he heard it too loudly too often.
“Sleep tight, my little angel," Poppy muttered. Flower must've been taking a nap. Branch gently knocked on the door and waited for his former lover to come out.
Poppy had just put Flower down for her nap when she heard someone knock on the door. She didn't hesitate to answer and found Branch right outside.
“What are you doing here?" she asked. “You never visit except to watch Flower."
“Funny you brought her up, because I wanted to talk to you about her," Branch replied. “A couple of your friends told me you're throwing a party tomorrow, and you were planning on taking her."
Poppy was beginning to feel nervous. “Well, it's just our twentieth anniversary of freedom from the Bergens, it's not that big of a deal."
“They said it's supposed to be the biggest party ever," Branch pointed out angrily.
“Well... yeah," Poppy said in defeat. “But Flower is my daughter, she deserves to be a part of this!"
“She also deserves to live," Branch argued quietly. He didn't want to wake up his baby girl. “We also agreed that I would watch her whenever you threw one of your stupid parties, but now you're just being irresponsible."
“They're not stupid, and I'm not irresponsible!" Poppy shrieked. Suddenly, she heard Flower crying. She covered her mouth shut realizing what she had done. Branch glared at Poppy and said coldly “Are you?"
Poppy watched as Branch headed for Flower's room. After waking her own daughter from a nap, she wondered if he was right.
Branch reached inside of Flower's crib and pulled the sobbing baby close to his chest.
“It's okay, Flower," he said softly. “Mommy's just ignoring Daddy's warnings about the big, bad Bergens 'cause she's full of the same stuff your diaper probably is."
Poppy watched from outside the bedroom door as Branch calmed the baby down. She could tell that Flower liked him more than her, for whatever reason.
“You know I just want to protect you, right?" Branch asked his daughter, who was beginning to fall back to sleep. “I'll always be here to protect you because I love you more than life itself."
“Wu-boo," Flower muttered sleepily. Poppy and Branch realized that it was her first attempt at speech. Branch looked up and saw Poppy looking away sadly.
“You should probably just keep her," she muttered. “Maybe I just wasn't meant to have children."
Branch sighed and said “Poppy, I told you I wanted to help. I wouldn't even dream of taking her from you. Because if I did... I wouldn't be helping would I?"
Poppy remained silent, but the look on her face said many words. Branch gently placed Flower back in her crib and approached Poppy.
“I'll pick her up tomorrow," he confirmed, and headed for the door.
“Branch?" Poppy called out, causing him to freeze in his tracks.
“I can't imagine a better father than you."
“And I, a better mother."
Unless I change my mind, the next chapter should be the last one. And maybe I'll write an epilogue. I just need some time to think.
In the video above, if you look close enough at the part where Branch is in his robe.... you'll see he's not wearing anything underneath. 😂
Later, snowflakes! ❄❄❄