Long ago, the Pop Music Trolls were divided into two separate tribes on opposite sides of the river. For two centuries, the Trolls of the north lived happily and in harmony, even making friends with Trolls who liked different types of music. The Tro...
It was well below freezing, Branch was sure. However, he was willing to weather the storm to finish his surprise for Poppy. After working with Lavender and Karma for half the night, he finally made it home to find Poppy shivering despite being underneath all the fuzzy blankets. Branch got under the covers and placed a hand on her face to see if she was alright, but at that moment, she sighed in relief and smiled. Branch wasn't sure what made her stop, but he was glad she did anyway.
The following morning, Poppy went to go meet with the girls for pancakes when she noticed Lavender writing on a giant flower petal. She decided to take a detour and see what was up.
“Hey, Lavender, whatcha doing?" Poppy asked.
“Oh, hi, Poppy!" Lavender greeted. “I'm writing an invitation for Barb to come to the Solstice Ball this weekend. It's a holiday the Trolls of Ornery Grove have celebrated for twelve generations."
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“A new holiday?!" Poppy gasped. “That's so exciting! And Barb is gonna love the invitation! She gets so nervous trying to tell you how she feels, so this will be the perfect surprise! But wait. Branch and I agreed not to throw big parties until we've learned to defend ourselves."
“Actually, bringing the Solstice Ball here was Branch's idea," Lavender revealed. Poppy's eyes widened. “I wasn't supposed to tell you that."
“Wait, he came up with it?" Poppy said in disbelief. “Why would he... I thought he hated parties."
“He wanted to surprise you," Lavender answered. “I wasn't supposed to tell you that either."
Poppy left before Lavender could say anything else to her sister-in-law. So, she just shrugged and went back to her invitation.
“Wait, Branch is really doing all that for you?"
“Yeah!" Poppy said to Val. “I can't believe it either!"
“He must be startin' to like you for reals!" Holly swooned. “It's a perfect story. Marrying a stranger to help both of your kingdoms and ultimately forming a deep, unspoken bond filled with unconditional love!"
“Yeah, that would be nice," Poppy agreed. “But I highly doubt things will go that far."
Holly and Val noticed their friend's face falling and looked at each other with concern.
“What's the matter, Popsqueak?" Val asked. “I thought you would like it if Branch did stuff like this."
“I do!" Poppy insisted. “It's just... Can you guys keep a secret?"
“Cross our hair, sugar," Holly promised, weaving her big hairdo into Val's pigtails.
Poppy took a deep breath and pulled a ring out of her hair. “The day I broke up with Creek... he proposed to me. And right before the wedding, he gave me this and I haven't found it in me to get rid of it."
