Trolls and the Sleeping Curse (rewrite)

Chapter 11

     "Poppy!" Branch screamed, as he quickly flung his hair down to grab her. It wrapped around her waist, catching her safely, but her weight pulled the blue troll over the edge of the cliff along with her. "AHHHHH!"

     Quickly, he grabbed onto the rope, stopping their decent, as his heart pounded in his chest.

     "B... B... Branch..." Poppy whimpered, looking down at the ground far below her, her eyes widening in terror.

     "Don't worry, Poppy!" Branch yelled down to her, holding onto her tightly with his hair. "I got you!"

     Slowly and carefully, Branch began climbing back up the rope, dragging Poppy behind him.

     He was almost at the top of the mountain again, when the rope suddenly moved slightly.

     Branch looked up, his eyes widening in horror, as he saw the spike loosing its grip on the mountain.

     "Oh-great," he muttered silently, before looking back down at Poppy, who had no idea the rope was about to fall. She was still looking down at the ground in fear. He couldn't let her down... he had to save her...

     Carefully, Branch climbed a little higher, trying to get Poppy to safety as quickly as possible, but that only made the spike come out of the ground more.

     He stopped climbing again, looking up at the summit as he tried to come up with a plan that would save them both.

     "B... Branch? What's going... on?" Poppy asked, looking up at him, as he clung tightly to the rope, doing his best to stay as still as possible. "Why did you stop?"
"Uh..." Branch said, looking down at her. He could see the fear in her eyes, and didn't want to worry her any farther. "N... nothing's wrong," he finally told her. "Everything will be fine."
"What do you mean will be?"

     He looked back up at the top of the mountain, the spike sliding down just a little bit more, as he tightened his grip on the rope. It couldn't hold on to the mountain much longer. It was going to give way any moment.

     Taking a deep, calming breath, Branch came up with a plan. A risky plan... but a plan...

     "P... Poppy..." he said, not even looking down at her, his voice shaking quite a bit. "If... if this doesn't work... you'll need to get that stone by yourself..."

     She looked up at him, her eyes widening in shock.

     "If what doesn't work?" she questioned, her voice cracking a bit.
"It doesn't matter..." he told her, shaking his head slightly. "Just get the stone, and destroy it. Save yourself..."
"What are you talking about, Branch!?"

     He looked down at her, giving her a slight smile, as he gazed into her beautiful eyes.

     "No matter what happens..." he said softly. "I will always love you..."

     "Branch... don't even think about i..." But before she could finish her sentence, Branch flicked up his hair, flinging Poppy up towards the ledge, as the spike broke free from the mountain, Branch's eyes widening in fear.

     "AHHHHH!" Poppy screamed, as she flew through the air, finally landing in a soft pile of snow at the top of the mountain. "Branch... Branch!?"

     She looked back at the edge, seeing the spike just barley clinging on to a small rock.

     "I... I'm ok, Pop... Poppy!" he yelled up to her, as she ran to the edge, looking down at him, as he clung onto the rope for dear life. "Exactly how I planed it..." he chuckled softly, smiling up at her innocently, as his teeth chattered in fear. "P... p... please grab the... the rope..."