Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 52

     Branch stared at the fire wide eyed, in disbelief.

     "Is... is that... me?" he asked softly, pointing to the fire figure of him as a baby.

Chief Tula nodded, as she looked over at him.

     "It is," she said, nodding slightly. "You are a water spirit troll, Branch. The only water spirit troll left in the world... that is why you and Aqua have bonded. It is also why when Aqua got hurt... you felt the pain."

Branch looked over, seeing Aqua in the pond shaped like a dolphin, jumping in and out of the water. Or... at least what little water there was left...

     Slowly, he stood, heading over to the pond to see Aqua, who spotted him approaching, swimming over happy to see he was ok.

     Aqua quickly tuned into a dog, running over to Branch, so it could sit down next to him, leaning it's body into his leg, as it gazed up at him lovingly.

     He looked down at Aqua for a moment, and then slowly turned his gaze to look up at the pond. He remembered when he had been there as a kid... that pond had been so deep... but now... it was basically just a puddle...

     "The water..." he said softly, turning back to Tula. "It's going away because of the dam, right?"

Tula nodded, looking over at the little blue troll, from where she sat at the fire pit.

"And when the water is gone..." Branch started.
"Aqua goes with it," Tula finished softly.
"All because of us..." Branch sighed, lowering his head, as his ears drooped down in sadness.

He sat down on the ground, Aqua immediately jumping into his lap, so it could lick his face, full of joy that he was safe.

"I'm gonna save you," he whispered to Aqua, as he pet it's head gently. "I promise..."

—————

     Later that day, Branch stood looking up at the dam, as the sun shone brightly up in the sky, heating up the air dramatically.

     "Hmmm... how do I get rid of this thing?" he asked himself in a whisper, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. It was so hot...

     Aqua swam through the river, transforming into a dog, before running up next to Branch panting heavily in excitement, as it's tail wagged like crazy, water splattering everywhere.

     It nudged Branch with it's wet nose, but the blue troll was so focused on getting rid of the dam, he didn't realize Aqua was even there.

     Aqua barked, trying to get Branch's attention, and he finally looked down at it, smiling slightly.

     "Hey, Aqua," he greeted, as he bent down, petting the water's head. "I'm just trying to think of a way to save you," he informed, scratching behind it's ear.

     "Branch!?" a shout suddenly called out from somewhere off in the distance. "Branch!? Where are you!?" Of course, he recognized the voice. He would know that angelic sound anywhere. It was Poppy.

     "I'm over here, Poppy," Branch called out, standing back up, as he turned towards the shout.

    Aqua trotted over to the young queen, running around her feet a few times, before finally leading her back to Branch.

     "Thank you, Aqua," Poppy thanked, smiling as she pet its head. Then she looked up at Branch, her smile fading a bit. "Tula told me the story," she said. "About you... and... the water."

     Branch nodded, sighing softly, as he looked away from her.

     "Yeah... I'm just out here trying to think of a way to get rid of this dumb dam," he said, looking back at the massive wall blocking off the water ways. "If it doesn't come down... Aqua will die."
"Yeah... and... so will you," Poppy said softly, lowering her head in sadness.

     He looked at her as she spoke those words, seeing the tears in her beautiful pink eyes.

     "Poppy..." he whispered comfortingly, hugging her tight. "I'll be fine. It's Aqua I'm worried about..." He sighed, tightening his grasp on Poppy just a bit. "But... I'll find a way to save her. I'm gonna protect Aqua no matter what." He pulled away slightly from the hug, looking at her beautiful face, as he smiled lovingly at her. "Just like I always protect you..."

     She smiled slightly, and then hugged him back, with a quiet chuckle.

     "I know you will, Branch," she said softly, gently stroking his back. "I believe in you."
"You don't need to worry about me, Poppy. I'll never leave you..." he whispered into her ear. "Because I love... ugh!" he suddenly winced in pain, as he fell to his knees, grasping tightly at his stomach.

     Poppy's eyes widened, as she looked down at him in fear.

     "Branch!" she yelled out, pure terror flooding her voice, as she dropped down to her knees beside him, gently placing her hand on his back, trying to help him back up.

     "A... Aqua..." he struggled to say through gritted teeth, as he clutched his stomach, holding his eyes shut tightly. "Som... somethings... wrong... with... A... Aqua..."

     Poppy looked up towards the dam, seeing Aqua laying in what used to be the river, but was now just a long dried out ditch, no other water around the water dog at all.

     Aqua was laying on it's side, whimpering as the hot sun beamed down, drying it up along with the rest of the water.

     "Come on, Branch. I have to get you to Tula," Poppy said, her voice shaking with concern, as she tried to help him up to his feet. "She'll be able to help you."

     "N... no," Branch refused, his breathing getting heavy, as the sharp pain shot through him like a knife. "I... I... have to... save... Aqua..."

     He tried to get up, but fell right back down onto his side, struggling to breath, as Aqua yelped out in pain.

     "Now, Branch," Poppy demanded, tears flowing from her eyes. "You need to get to Tula now."

     She lifted him off of the ground, carrying him towards the Enchanted Forest village, as fast as she could.

     "Aqua..." Branch gasped softly, watching the water dog laid out on the ground, feeling just as much pain as he was. "No..."