Unconditional: A Broppy Story

Part XVI

Warning: This chapter contains violence and mentions abuse.

"There's no one in the river," Synth said, the water flowing above his head as he raised his arms up. "In case you didn't know, I've got water powers."

"I can see that," Hyacinth replied as Synth returned the rushing water to the riverbed. "But why don't you just go into the water?"

"It doesn't take a genius to know that Rapid River's current will wash away anything that swims or falls into it," Synth answered. "Unless you're Mollusk, he almost lost a fin."

"Fair enough," said Hyacinth. Suddenly, they heard someone softly crying. The two Trolls followed the sound of the cries and found Branch on his knees by the river, staring into his backpack where his first wedding picture with Poppy was tucked away.

"Dubstep?" Synth said quietly. Branch looked up at them briefly before facing the gravel on the riverbank.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I'm just so tired of being in pain. I never asked to be a prince. I never asked to lose my father and grandma. I never asked to marry the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful girl in the world."

"Well," said Synth, "wouldn't you have proposed to her before-"

Hyacinth covered Synth's mouth before he could finish and sat down next to the prince.

"Fate can be very cruel to many of us, my prince," he said calmly. "We just end up learning that the hard way, like I did."

"You?" Branch asked.

"I was much younger then," Hyacinth explained. "Younger and much more foolish. Back then, only one thing mattered to me... marrying Zara Oleander. Her parents didn't approve, of course. They thought I wasn't serious enough, too unreliable. So, we decided to elope and snuck outside of the town walls with just our closest friends. It was the best day of my life... and the worst."

"How so?" Synth wondered.

"The wedding itself was just perfect," Hyacinth said, "It was the reception where it happened. A diamond snake crashed our party, we all forgot to bring our weapons, so we all ran for our lives. All except one. Zara's friend Rosiepuff's only daughter, she was only three and didn't know better. Zara ran back to save her, but couldn't save herself. I went from husband to widower in less than a day."

"Your wife died saving my mother?" Branch said in disbelief. "She never told me that."

"She was too little to remember," Hyacinth replied. "And I was too guilt-ridden to talk about it to anyone. Your grandmother tried to her best to console me, but I couldn't deny it. My Zara was dead because of me. After that, I built my own walls around my heart. But I never stopped caring. When your mother married the king, I was asked to be Captain and I accepted because I knew it was what Zara would want. I vowed to protect the queen and put my life on the line for her if need be, as well as you and your sister."

Synth raised an eyebrow. "So you were mean to Poppy because..."

"She reminded me too much of my younger self," Hyacinth admitted. "To this day, I still hate that part of me. And I'm sorry for taking it out on her. Princess Poppy is a good Troll and I underestimated her selflessness."

"She's too good for someone like me," Branch muttered. "She's better off with that Creek guy, he's never hurt anyone."

"Uh, funny you should mention," Synth said nervously. "Creek was actually trying to wreck your marriage since day one so he can be King of Pop Village and we need to find Poppy before he can do anything to her."

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!"

💍💗💐🍾🥂🌹💍💗💐🍾🥂🌹

Deep in the forest, a turtle, a baby Caterbus and a flat-faced bug-eyed creature were having a tea party when they saw a sobbing pink-haired Troll running past them. They decided to to see where she was going and followed her to a clearing where a green-haired Troll wearing yellow pants was sitting crosslegged on a yoga mat.

"Creek?" Poppy cried, wiping her nose with her wrist. He got up and turned around to see her crying.

"Oh, Poppy..." he sighed, opening up his arms as Poppy ran into them. "I really did try to warn you. I tried to warn you about him."

"I know, and you were right," she sniveled. "You were right about everything."

"Don't fret, my dear," Creek said in a gentle voice. "At least now you know and you can let him out of your life so things can go back to the way they were."

"But how?" Poppy sighed. "I'm still married to him, as much as I hate that. I can't just make him leave. And our alliance with Ornery Grove... what will become of that?"

"It won't be easy," Creek admitted, "but we'll all get by."

Poppy nodded. "You know the worst part? A part of me still believes that he loves me."

"Don't worry about that," Creek said. "Just keep thinking of how he betrayed you for those three girls and you'll get over those feelings before you know it."

"But Creek, it's just too- Wait, what three girls?"

Creek's eyes widened. "Uh... You know, the three Pop Trolls he cheated on you with. Isn't that why you're here, because you saw them?"

"I saw Branch kissing Holly," Poppy replied. "What are you talking about?"

Creek didn't know how to answer, so he decided to change the subject. "Why did you put my father's name on that rock? Do you have any idea what he did to me and my mother? I watched him beat her every night, broke both my own legs just for spilling juice on a rug. I was glad that bird snatched him and you all just mourned for him. My mother took her life because she thought he was more important than me. He never deserved to be mourned for or remembered. He made me feel like I could never be anything. By marrying you and ruling over those fools, I knew I would be proving him wrong."

Poppy couldn't believe it. Everything she had with Creek, every moment they spent together... it was all a lie?!

"It was you!" she gasped. "You made my dad cancel the foam parade! You told Hyacinth why I married Branch! You tried to get three Trolls to seduce my husband!"

"So, now you figure it out," Creek said with a sneer. "I knew King Peppy would forget I told him, given his condition, and you would begin to distrust that grey, cantankerous weirdo. And it was obvious that so-called captain had just as low of an opinion of you as I did, so planting suspicion in his mind was easy enough. And I had not heard from Pearl, Saffron, or Aria since I sent them out to pursue Branch. I assumed they succeeded, but at the same time, I failed to see why you hadn't left him yet. Who knew that pony friend of yours would be the one to break the ice? Now, you can finally be with me, the Troll who did absolutely nothing wrong to you, and we can rule Pop Village as King and Queen. Just as it should be."

"Creek," Poppy said angrily, "I broke up with you to save my kingdom with hope that we could stay friends. Now, you're nothing."

Finally through with Creek and his lies, Poppy turned around and began to head off when a familiar diamond ring fell out of her hair. She picked it up and turned around.

"I believe this is-" Poppy was suddenly cut off by Creek lunging at her and she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down to find a knife pierced into her abdomen. Blood dripped from the wound as well as a purple liquid from the knife.

"I am not nothing!" Creek snarled, abruptly ripping the knife out of her body. Her blood running cold, Poppy fell to her knees and clutched her stomach. "Send my regards to your precious little Sundance."

The three critters ran off to look for help as Poppy lied on her side and shivered, tears falling from her eyes. She did the only thing she could do.

I'd... catch a grenade... for you

Throw my hand... on a blade for you

I'd jump.. in front of a train... for you

You know I'd... do anything for you

I would... go through... all of this pain

Take a bullet straight... through my brain

I would... die... for you, baby

I thought you'd... do the same...

Please don't hate me.