Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 4

     "Ow! Frosting!" Branch screamed out in pure agonizing pain as Peppy worked on  cleaning his wound...

     He looked to the old king with a small frown, a look of disappointment on his face...

     "S... sorry..." the young troll apologized, regretting his bad language.

     "It's quite alright, my boy..." Peppy chuckled. "I've heard worse. Like my daughter this morning for example..."

     Branch's heart sank at the old troll's words, his ears drooping slightly at the mention of Poppy...

     "It... it was because of me..." he muttered softly, lowering his head in shame. "Wasn't it..."

     "Yep..." Peppy said, gently wiping more cream onto Branch's burn, the gray troll gasping softly in pain as he fought hard to not pull his hand away from the healing efforts of the old king. "You really upset her..."

     "I know..." Branch sighed, doing his best to avoid eye contact. "I'm such a jerk..."

     "No you are not, Branch," Peppy stated firmly, looking up at the young boy with a stern glare. "You're just going through a tough time is all... it's not your fault..."

     Branch sighed, still not looking up at the old king...

     Peppy had always been like a father to Branch... ever since his grandma...

     The gray troll sighed, shutting his eyes gently in despair at the horrible thought...

     The old troll was the only one who actually cared about him in his time of need. He even took in the little five year old, raising him as one of his own...

     "So..." Peppy finally said, changing the subject after a few long moments of pure and utter silence. "When are you finally gonna tell Poppy?"

     "Never..." Branch muttered softly. "It... it's just to painful to talk about... no one can know..."

     "Not that, Branch..." Peppy smirked, giving the gray troll a smug look. "I'm talking about the fact that you love her..."

     Branch gasped in shock, finally looking back up at the old king who just smirked smugly at him...

     "I told you, Branch..." the orange troll chuckled, greatly pleased with himself. "I know things..."

     "It doesn't matter..." Branch finally sighed, lowing his head once more. "She'd never love someone like me anyways..."

     "Don't be too sure about that, my boy," Peppy assured, finishing up the work on Branch's hand. "You'll never know... if you don't try..."

     Branch couldn't help but smile lightly as the old king placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He really was one of his closest friends...

     "Thank's king Peppy..." he muttered softly, wrapping his hand back up before rising from his seat.

     "No problem, my boy," Peppy said, walking Branch to the door. "And by the way... happy birthday..."