Branch fearlessly led Peppy down into his underground survival bunker, knowing he could completely trust the old king to help keep Poppy safe. He was her father, and deserved to know the truth. Well... maybe not the whole truth... but definitely the truth about where his daughter was...
"Ok... so... don't be mad..." Branch said to the old troll beside him once they reached the bottom floor of the bunker, suddenly slightly afraid of what his reaction would be. "But... I kinda... sorta... lied to you up there..."
"So... you don't know where Poppy is?" Peppy asked sadly, lowering his head in despair as his ears drooped at the news.
"No, no, no. I do know where she is," Branch quickly corrected looking at the former king in fear. "That's not the thing I lied to you about..."
Peppy looked back up at the little blue troll, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"You see..." Branch started, nervously rubbing the back of his head as he looked away from his girlfriend's father, fearing the old man would be angry at him for lying. "I told you she wasn't here... but... but she is..."
"Why would you lie about that?" Peppy questioned, his voice sounding a bit sterner than usual...
"Because..." the light blue troll continued nervously. "I didn't know if it was safe up there. Anyone could've been listening..."
Peppy cocked his head slightly at Branch's words, looking at him in complete confusion.
"Are you ok, my boy?" he finally asked, concerned about the young troll standing in front of him. "You seem more paranoid than usual..." "I'm fine," Branch assured, beginning to walk farther into his bunker. "Let me just go find Poppy... and then we'll explain everything. I'll be right back."
With that, the little blue troll walked off to find Poppy, leaving Peppy behind to wonder what the hair was going on...
—————
"Poppy!?" Branch called out, searching all around for his girlfriend. "Poppy!? Where are you!?"
Suddenly, the young queen poked her head out from a small secret room, looking nervously at her best friend as if asking for permission to come out of hiding.
"It's ok," he assured with a slight smile to let her know nothing bad was going to happen to her. "We're safe... You can come out now."
"Who was it?" Poppy questioned out of curiosity, slowly walking over to Branch.
He smiled, grabbing her hand as he gently began to lead her forewords.
"Come see for yourself," he said softly, knowing she would be happy to see this particular visitor.
—————
Finally, the two trolls reached the living room, Poppy gasping in shock once she saw who was there...
"Dad!" she yelled out, her voice filled with pure joy. "Poppy!" Peppy yelled out in reply, seeming even more excited than the young queen.
Quickly, without even a moment of hesitation, they both took off running towards each other, their eyes sparkling with tears of joy as they held out their arms for a hug...
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