This was the first time all year that the fields were in bloom. Thanks to Poppy, Branch and the help of the troll kingdom, the crops grew tall and full, providing the lost trolls with more food than they could have ever wished for.
Knowing Poppy, she wanted to give the Lost Trolls a surprise and she had several bushes of beautiful flowers planted as a gift. The bright colors stood out especially in the evening sun.

As Aria flew around with Orchid carrying her by her back, she caught up with a certain troll who was a very good friend of her's.

"Hey Dusk!" Aria called to the troll as she flew towards him. Dusk had dark blue skin with pale purple hair and wore a deep teal tunic and purple pants. Just like Aria, his guardian was part of the ocean family, a sea turtle named Night.

"Hi Aria! What an evening, huh?" Dusk exclaimed. Him and Aria had been best friends since they were kids, they had known each other for as long as they could remember. "Night and I were going to the coast to relax, do you want to join us?" Aria nodded as she followed him to the coast.

Down at the coast, Aria was showing and teaching Dusk some tricks that she had been practicing with Echo. Such as jumping off Echo's nose as she leaped into the air, both of them diving back in the water together.
Since they first showed Dusk that trick, he was eager to learn how to do it. His attempts however, weren't nearly as successful.

"Just remember not to jump too early, otherwise you'll end up landing on top of him." Aria advised. Night was in the form of an orca, just like Echo. The guardian leapt high into the air with Dusk on his nose, and Dusk jumped off but freaked out half way through and ended up splatting on the surface of the water, causing Aria and Echo to wince. Dusk broke through the water surface with his arms out-stretched.

"That hurt a lot!" Dusk exclaimed. "But it was better than last time!" He swam back to shore and let Aria demonstrate, jumping the exact same trick and finishing perfectly. She surfaced and swam back to shore, giving him a smug look. "Okay, now you're just showing off." Dusk chuckled as Aria joined him on the shore.

"You'll get there." Aria assured as she lay down in the sand.

"I know I will, I just need more practice." Dusk said happily. "And considering I've only been doing this for about two or three weeks, I'm getting pretty go-" Dusk was cut off when the two trolls heard a rustling coming from the bushes.

"You heard that, right?" Aria asked nervously. Dusk nodded as he gulped. The two of them stood up with their guardians in front of them, protecting the trolls.
Two larger figures burst from the bushes with swords in their hands. They didn't look like anything that Aria or Dusk had ever seen. They had dull indigo skin with royal blue hair and wore scratched-up metal armor. They were a head taller than an average troll and had thin, folded ears.

"You two are coming with us!" One of the figures said, but Aria and Dusk stood their ground.

"Under who's authority?" Aria asked sternly.

"Zora, leader of the elves." The other figure said. They both grabbed the trolls and kept their arms behind their backs, leading them back to their own village.

"Keep your ghosts where I can see them. Don't even think about using them against us!" One elf said, about to reach out to touch Echo who was floating alongside Aria. Echo noticed and started snarling at the elf.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you." Aria warned. "She bites. And she doesn't take well to unwelcome visitors." The elf retreated his hand and proceeded to take the trolls to the village. When they got there, all the other Lost Trolls were being brought into the village square. Elves were standing all around the outskirts to prevent anyone from leaving.

One elf stood in the center of the village, on top of the rim of the fountain. She had indigo skin with long dark hair that flew down her shoulders. She wore metal armor around her torso and brown leggings with heavy boots, not to mention the large scars across her eye which brought out a piercing stare that could make even the toughest troll shudder.

"What a joy it is to finally see you pathetic little trolls." The elf sneered. "I am Zora. Where is your leader?"
Tala stood forward from among the crowd, standing before Zora with several guards following behind.

"I am Tala." The chieftain spoke. "Leader of the Lost Trolls. What brings who here?" Zora jumped down from her position on the fountain and started to circle Tala, looking at her up and down.

"Well isn't this something?" Zora said. "After generations, the leaders of two of the greatest tribes around standing before each other." Tala tilted her head, confused. "Since your selfish ancestors kept the goddess's power for yourselves, leaving my tribe excluded and powerless." Tala looked surprised, disgusted about what Zora had said.

"The power of our guardians was a gift from the goddesses to our oldest ancestor." Tala argued. "It wasn't something we could just give away to anybody! Especially after what your tribe did to us."

"When my greatest ancestors calmly asked for the secrets for the power, you refused! Your magic makes you trolls feel too entitled." Zora argued back. "Now I'm here to finish my family's work and take it away for ourselves!" Zora returned to her position on top of the fountain and turned to the whole tribe. "Here's how it's going to work. You are going to surrender the source of the power to me and not a single hair on your heads will be harmed." One of Tala's guards, Oak stood before Zora with his panther guardian snarling.

"And what makes you think we're going to do that?" Oak barked. Zora looked at two elves by her side and nodded to them. The two elves charged at Tala, restraining her hands behind her back before bringing her to Zora.

"The longer you keep the secret, the longer you'll all be held trapped here in your village." Zora threatened. "Don't think we won't find out if you escape." The Lost Trolls started muttering to each other, panicked about what was happening. Zora then turned to Tala. "Do you feel like making it easier and surrender right away?"

"Never!" Tala said through gritted teeth.

"You'll break eventually." Zora warned. She turned to face the tribe again. "And if any of you even attempt to rebel against me..." Zora started as she shoved Tala to the ground. "...You can say goodbye to your chieftain."

Aria balled up her fists, furious that Zora was harming her chieftain. She was about to step forward to confront her but Dusk put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head and begging her not to get involved.

***

Poppy and Barb sat on the outskirts of Pop Village, talking.

"Don't you think Branch has been acting kind of weird lately?" Poppy asked the rock queen. "I visited him at his bunker this morning and he completely freaked out!"

"He's Branch, he's always acting weird." Barb replied. "I mean look at him over there!" She pointed to Branch who was in the center of the village, talking to Prince D and minding his own business.

"Barb, he's just standing." Poppy was confused.

"Terrible posture though." Barb said. Poppy just shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Our anniversary is coming up on Friday." Poppy explained. "And Branch hasn't said a word about it." She sighed.

"Maybe he wants to surprise you on the day." Barb suggested. Poppy thought about it for a moment. Maybe Barb was right, maybe Poppy didn't need to worry about anything.

"Thanks Barb." Poppy smiled at the rock queen.

"Anytime Popcorn!" Barb punched her in the arm, causing her to wince slightly.

As for Branch, he was talking to Prince D and King Trollex about his plans for the anniversary. He showed them the drawings and scribbles he had made to illustrate it.

"D, you have fireworks, right?" Branch asked the funk prince.

"Sure do, man!" Prince D said excitedly. "Cooper and I both share a love for fireworks and blowing stuff up!" Trollex on the other hand, looked doubtful.

"Branch, are you sure you're not going overboard with this?" He asked. "Your anniversary is only in a few days."

"I need to show Poppy how much she means to me!" Branch stated. "Trust me, it'll all be worth it!" Prince D and King Trollex looked at each other then back at Branch who was knelt down, spreading his plans out on the ground. "So I was thinking we set it up just outside Pop Village, close enough to see but far enough to keep it a secret from Poppy until the night."

"When do you need the fireworks?" Prince D asked.

"As soon as possible!" Branch replied.

"I can get them to the set-up site tonight!" D exclaimed.

"Perfect!" Branch said, giving a thumbs up.

***

Aria sat on the roof of her tree hut, her eyes fixed on the village square. She was so angry about the elves taking over the tribe. She felt so powerless, like she couldn't do anything to help.
She saw elves guarding the outskirts of the village and some of them watching within the trees. They weren't letting anyone in or out of the Paradise Isles.

"Aria?" Ash said from behind her. "What are you doing out here?"

"Ash, we have to do something." Aria stated. "Who knows what could happen if our guardians' power ended up in the wrong hands?"

"Look I know you're angry, but you heard what that Zora person said." Ash sighed. "If any of us try to stop her she'll kill Tala."
Aria hated to admit it, but Ash was right. If they were going to get rid of Zora, they had to be smart about this. Her face lifted as she got an idea.

"That's it!" Aria said. "I have to get out of the Paradise Isles." Aria whispered. Ash went wide-eyed. "I need to get out of here and find help."

"How? Zora isn't letting anyone out of the Isles." Ash argued.

"Then I'm just gonna have to get kicked out." Aria stated. She said that phrase with such confidence, but deep down she was nervous about it. She would have to be really careful.

"Be careful Sis." Ash begged. "We can't let Tala come to any harm."