Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 49

Poppy walked, carrying Branch, towards Chief Tula's tent in the Enchanted Forest Village, Tula leading the way, and Barb following behind.

     "Why are we trusting this lady?" Barb whispered to Poppy, scowling up at Chief Tula. "I don't trust her, Barb. But..." She sighed, looking down at Branch sadly. "It's the only chance we have to save Branch," she finished.

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     Finally, they arrived at the tent, walking inside the spacious area, lots of herbs and medicines scattered neatly around the room.

     "Put him on the table," Chief Tula ordered, gesturing towards a large table in the center of the tent.

     Poppy nodded, gently placing Branch on the table, as she looked down at him with tears in her eyes.

     "You're gonna be ok, Branch," she whispered, gently combing her fingers through his hair. "Just hang in there... you're gonna be ok..."

     Tula looked at the queen of pop for a moment, surprised at how kind and caring she was being with Branch, the sun slowly beginning to rise outside, the light gently shining into the tent.

     Chief Tula gasped, turning towards the window.

     "We don't have much time..." she muttered, quickly heading over to grab some rise and shine leaves off of a counter, placing them into a bowl, and smashing them up afterwards. "Now I just need to add a half cup of snail slime, a teaspoon of healing herb, a quarter cup cave fungus, and just a pinch of cinnamon."

     She mixed all the ingredients together in the bowl, and then walked over to Branch. The sun was just starting to peak over the tree tops outside, as Tula sighed, looking down at Branch, his breathing becoming slower and slower by the second.

     "I hope this works..." she muttered softly, slowly pouring the concoction into the blue troll's mouth.

     "Bleh! Gross! What the heck was that!?" Branch yelled, coughing as he immediately woke up, trying to rub the taste of the medicine off of his tongue.

     "Branch!" Poppy yelled joyfully, jumping into him to hug him tight. "You're ok!"
"That was disgusting!" he yelled out. "What the heck..." He paused, as he looked up, his eyes widening in terror, as he saw Tula standing right beside him. "AHHH!" he screamed in shock, jumping back, and accidentally falling off of the table.

     Quickly, he got back up to his feet, blocking Tula from Poppy.

     "Don't touch her!" he yelled defensively, trying to protect the troll he cared about more than anything else in the world.

     "No, Branch," Poppy whispered, gently pulling him aside. "She just saved you."
"Yeah..." Barb added sarcastically, crossing her arms, as she rolled her eyes. "After she almost killed him..."

     "I assure you I was not trying to kill him. Only help," Tula said calmly. "I would never kill one of my own." She looked over at Branch with a slight smile, waiting for him to react.

     "Yeah... well... I'm still not gonna let you hurt Poppy, and..." he paused, raising an eyebrow as what she had just said registered in his brain. "Wait... one of your own?"

     She nodded, smiling slightly.

     "You are an Enchanted Forest troll, Branch," Chief Tula explained gently.
"What? No. I'm... Im a pop troll..." Branch said, looking back at Poppy for a moment, before turning his attention back to Tula.

     "You heard the call didn't you?" Tula asked, crossing her hands behind her back.
"Well... yeah, but..." Branch started, Tula quickly interrupting.
"And you are connected with Aqua?"
"You mean the water? That's just..."
"And look at your ears, Branch. They aren't like the other Troll Village troll's."

     Branch felt his ear, and then looked at Poppy again.

     "The only thing about you that resembles a Troll Village troll is your hair. That's why I was so confused the first time I met you," Tula informed.

     He backed up a bit, still protecting Poppy, not trusting the Enchanted Forest troll leader.

     "No. It... it can't be true," he said softly. "You're lying!"
"And why would I lie about something like this?" Tula asked firmly.
"Because you're evil!" Branch snapped. "And you want to get rid of us! Just like you tried to get rid of us, when you attacked us all those years ago! When you attacked us just yesterday!"
"We only attacked..." Tula started, speaking in a firm voice. "Because they attacked first..."

     Branch, Poppy, and Barb all looked at her, their eyes widening in shock.

     "What are you talking about?" Branch asked, slowly lowering his arms, as he looked at Chief Tula suspiciously.

     "Come with me. I will show you what really happened," Tula said, beginning to walk out of the tent, as the three Troll Village trolls looked at each other in confusion.

     Finally, Barb shrugged, beginning to walk forwards.

     "I'm curious," she shrugged, following Chief Tula out of the tent.

     Branch and Poppy watched her go, and then looked at each other one last time, finally deciding to follow. They needed to know the truth...