Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 48

That night, Poppy sat on the ground in front of the fire, shivering fiercely, the cold night air blowing over her, as Barb and Branch slept nice and warm under their leaf blankets.

     The fire was slowly dying, so she took some more sticks, throwing them into the flames, not that it helped much... she was still way too cold... if she didn't get something warm on soon... she would surly freeze to death...

     Slowly, she turned her head to look at Branch, checking to see if he was awake yet.

     She sighed, seeing him still sleeping on the ground. He hadn't moved once since they got there. He hadn't even rolled over, or changed positions. Poppy was very worried about him. Would he ever wake up?

     "Branch?" she said softly, hoping he would hear her and wake up, but he didn't. He just lay there completely motionless, breathing slowly.

She stood, slowly walking over to sit next to him.

"Branch?" she said again, a little louder this time, but he still didn't react.

She sighed, gently stroking his cheek, as she gazed down at him sadly.

"Please, Branch..." she whispered, lowering her head in sadness, as her ears drooped a bit. "Please wake up..."
"He won't wake up," a sudden voice said from behind her.

Poppy flinched at the sound, jumping slightly, as she spun around, gasping at who she saw.

"Chief Tula," she said angrily, standing up to block Branch, as she glared at the Enchanted Forest troll leader.

"He needs to get to my tent," Chief Tula said calmly. "Only I can wake him up."
"I don't trust you," Poppy said, narrowing her eyes at the Chief. "And that's saying something, cuz I trust everyone!"

Tula shrugged turning away, as she folded her hands behind her back.

"Then he will die," she said casually, beginning to walk away.

"Wait..." Poppy said, stepping forewords a bit. Chief Tula stopped, smirking as she glanced back at the queen of pop. "What are you talking about?" Poppy continued. "You said he was just sleeping."

"And he is," Tula confirmed, turning around to face the pop troll. "Sleep root powder. That is what I used. My tribe uses it to put trolls to sleep, when they are in need of urgent medical attention. It helps them ignore the pain that they are in. The trouble is... the only way to wake someone up from the sleep root powder, is with rise and shine leaves."

"Ok..." Poppy said slowly, still suspicious about this troll standing in front of her. "Then give me the leaves."

Chief Tula shook her head, stepping a little closer to Poppy, who stepped back, still blocking her from Branch.

"They're in my tent," she said. "That's why I need to get him there. And I need to do it before the sun rises."
"Why? What happens at sunrise?" Poppy questioned suspiciously.
"He dies..."

Poppy's eyes widened, as she gasped, turning to look down at Branch, who still lay on the ground, sleeping peacefully behind her.

"D... dies?" she muttered softly, almost breaking down into tears.

Tula nodded, glancing over at Branch.

"It's inevitable..." the Chief said casually. "Unless... you let me take him..."

     Poppy glared at her for a moment, and then slowly turned back to Branch, gently stroking his cheek.

     "Please..." Tula said softly, taking another step forwards. "Let me save him."

Poppy looked at her again, and then back at Branch, not knowing what to do.

"How do I know you're not lying?" she asked, still blocking Branch from Tula, as she looked back at her once again.

"Are you really willing to take that chance?" Tula asked, smirking as she crossed her arms.

Poppy looked at Branch one last time, and then at Barb, who was sleeping on the ground a few feet away.

     What was she going to do? She didn't trust Tula... but what if she was telling the truth? She couldn't just let Branch die...

"We're going too," she finally said firmly, turning back to Tula. "I won't leave Branch."

Chief Tula looked at her for a moment, seeming annoyed by the suggestion, but then finally nodded, growling softly in anger.

Poppy looked at Barb again, slowly walking over to wake her up, but quickly stopped, turning back to Branch. By going to wake up Barb... she was leaving him completely vulnerable...

     Finally, she looked up at Tula for a moment, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"Don't... touch him," she warned, glaring at the Enchanted Forest troll leader.

Tula took a respectful step back, to show she wasn't going to harm Branch, as she kept her eyes locked on Poppy.

     Poppy growled softly, still not wanting to leave Branch's side.

     "You're wasting time..." Tula suddenly spoke. "The sun will be rising any minute now..."

     The queen of pop glared at her for a moment longer, and then down at Branch, seeing that his breathing had slowed down dramatically in only the past few minutes.

Finally, Poppy turned back to Barb, kneeling down next to her, as she shook her gently.

"Barb... come on, Barb. Wake up," she said softly, but the queen of rock didn't awake from her slumber.

     Poppy looked back at Branch, seeing his colors begin to fade.

     Her eyes widened in horror at the sight, quickly turning back to Barb.

     "Wake up!" she shouted, suddenly slapping Barb across the face.

     "AHHH!" Barb shouted in shock, as she jumped up out of her sleep, looking around in fear and confusion. "Ow," she muttered softly, slowly reaching up to rub her cheek. "Did... did you just... slap me?"
"I did," Poppy said confidently.

Barb smiled at the queen of pop's words, chuckling softly.

"Rock on," she praised.