Poppy ran through the grove, the young girl crying hard as she tried to get as far away from her father as possible...

     She had to get away... she never wanted to see him again...

     He had lied to her... and that was just unforgivable...

Finally, feeling she had gone far enough, and was now at an appropriate distance away from the lying traitor, Poppy stopped at a small pond, the pink troll dropping down to her knees as she looked at her reflection in the crystal blue water below her...

"If you search for tenderness... it isn't hard to find... you can have the love you need to live. But if you look for truthfulness... you might just as well be blind... it always seems to be so hard to give..." Poppy sang sadly as she looked at her reflection, the young queen's tears rippling the water in the pond that sat in front of her. "Honesty is such a lonely word... everyone is so untrue... honesty is hardly ever heard. And mostly what I need from you..."

—————

Off in the forest, Branch walked worriedly through the grove, the little blue troll searching for the love of his life, the poor boy feeling awful for what he had done to her...

     Searching frantically for his girlfriend, a small sound suddenly traveled to his slightly twitching ears, causing the young boy to freeze in place for just a moment to listen closely to his surroundings...

     Singing... he heard singing...

But not just any singing... the little blue troll would know that voice anywhere... It was Poppy...

Slowly, Branch began to walk towards the sound, the little pop troll finally spotting the one he cared so much about sitting at a small but beautiful pond...

"Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue..." Poppy continued to sing softly, Branch able to hear the heartbreak in the young queen's shaky words. "Honesty is hardly ever heard. And mostly what I need from you..."

The survivalist stopped walking, looking sadly at the love of his life as she sang, a strong ache throbbing painfully in his heart...

     He needed to apologize... he just couldn't stand seeing the troll he cared so much about so upset... so sad... so... broken...

"Uh... Po... Poppy?" Branch finally muttered softly, the little troll slowly approaching his girlfriend, trying his best not to startle her...

At the sound of the all too familiar voice, Poppy turned to face the troll who the words had come from, the young queen smiling slightly when she saw her boyfriend coming up behind her...

"Hey, Branch," she said softly before turning back to the pond, the queen of pop wiping the tears from her eyes to try and hide her overwhelming sorrow...

"I... I'm sorry," Branch apologized in a saddened tone, slowly sitting down beside the pink troll he loved so much. "For lying... I... I really am..." She looked up to her best friend at the sound of his words, Branch softly continuing his apology... "I should have just told you the truth in the first place... but... but I... I just..." He sighed, looking away sadly before once again beginning to continue. "I just couldn't stand seeing you sad... I'm sorry..."

     "I know, Branch," Poppy assured, gently raising her boyfriend's chin so that he was looking her in the eye. "It's ok... I don't blame you. At all... you were just trying to help..." With a sigh, Poppy looked back out at the lake, watching as a family of ducks swam by... "It's my dad I'm mad at..."

Gazing sadly at the queen of pop, Branch sighed before looking down at his reflection in the crystal clear water of the lake in front of him...

"May... maybe... your dad lied... for the same reason I lied..." he said softly before looking back up at the young queen once more...

     Confused, Poppy looked over at Branch, skeptical of what he was saying...

     "How does telling me my mom is dead help me, Branch?" she asked him in a firm tone, waiting impatiently for a response...

—————

As the two trolls talked, Peppy walked through the grove a few feet away from them, the old king searching frantically for his daughter...

     He was so worried about her... and it was his fault she ran off in the first place... Now she was out there in the forest all alone and completely heartbroken... because of him...

"I... I don't know..." the old orange troll suddenly heard from somewhere off in the distance. "I don't know why you're dad did what he did..."

"Branch?" Peppy whispered quietly in a questioning tone, the former king instantly recognizing the voice of his daughter's boyfriend...

Quickly, the old man hid behind a tree so he wouldn't be seen, the orange troll peeking out from behind it to see Poppy and Branch sitting together at a pond...

"He lied to me, Branch..." Poppy said softly, Peppy secretly listening to every word that was spoken between the couple. "My entire life... he's lied to me for my entire life..."

"I know..." Branch sighed softly, once again lowering his head as the young boy's ears drooped down in sorrow. "It's not right what he did to you..."

Peppy glared angrily at Branch, hearing the words that came from the little pop troll's mouth as an extremely offensive insult... How dare he talk about him that way!? Behind his back no-less!

The old king was about to rush over to the young boy, when Branch suddenly spoke again, causing Peppy to quickly freeze in place...

"But..." the survivalist continued softly, looking back to Poppy once again. "Neither is what I did..."

Poppy looked up at him again, tears sparkling in her eyes, the young queen not quite understanding what her boyfriend was telling her...

"I lied to you too, Poppy..." Branch explained, the young boy's regret being heard clearly in his shaky voice as he looked away from her once more in shame. "I lied..."

"But you had good intentions," Poppy replied, putting a comforting hand on the little blue troll's shoulder. "And maybe he did too..." Branch said, looking back up at her. "I don't know why he lied to you... but I do know he loves you, Poppy. Just like I love you. And I also know you love him..."

The pink troll smiled at her boyfriend's comforting words, and then leaned over, the young queen placing a gentle but loving kiss on Branch's cheek...

"And I love you too, Branch..." the queen of pop whispered, holding both her boyfriend's hands in her gentle grasp. "No matter what..."

Branch smiled, the former village grump leaning over to hug his girlfriend tightly in his arms...

"You need to talk to him..." he whispered into the young queen's ear as he hugged her close to himself. "I know he has a reason for what he did..."

Poppy nodded at the suggestion before slowly pulling away from the hug to look into her boyfriend's beautiful blue eyes...

"Ok..." she agreed softly. "I'll go find my dad..."
"There's no need..." they both suddenly heard in a somewhat angered sounding tone. "I'm right here..."

Branch flinched at the familiar sounding voice, the paranoid troll quickly jumping up to his feet in complete panic...

"K... King Peppy..." he stuttered, the young boy beginning to fiddled nervously with his fingers as he looked up at the threat in fear. "I... I was just... leaving..."

     Quickly, Branch tried to run off, but Peppy stopped him, the former king placing a firm hand on the little troll's shoulder...

     "Branch... wait..." the old troll said, Branch slowly turning back to face him...

     "Y... yes, King... P... Peppy?" the little blue troll muttered nervously, gulping in pure terror as he looked up the the all powerful troll in front of him... "I heard what you said, Branch," Peppy stated firmly, his eyes narrowed at the young boy he held helplessly in his grasp. "You... you did?"

     Peppy nodded, and Branch gulped yet again as his ears drooped down in pure and utter dread...

     "Are... are you gonna... kill me now?" Branch asked in a soft whimper, his voice shaking violently in fear...

Just then... the old king's expression softened, turning into a slight grin...

"No, Branch..." Peppy chuckled softly, finally taking his hand off the young troll's shoulder. "I'm gonna thank you..."

     Branch straightened up, the young boy relaxing a bit at those kind yet oddly strange words...

     "You... you are?" he asked in pure confusion...

     Peppy nodded again, smiling down at the little blue troll before him...

     "I want to thank you for always being there for my daughter..." he explained. "And though you may make a few mistakes... you are still a good troll, Branch. A troll... that I would be proud to call my son..."

     Branch smiled slightly at Peppy, suddenly feeling much better...

     "Thank's King Peppy..." the little pop troll thanked, smiling up at what would someday hopefully be his father-in-law...

     "Now... if you don't mind, my boy..." Peppy started, petting Branch softly on the shoulder. "I need to have a little talk with my daughter..."

     Branch nodded respectfully at the old king's request, and then turned, the young boy beginning to walk away after steeling one last quick glance at his girlfriend...

     Once Branch was out of sight, Peppy slowly turned his gaze to Poppy, the young girl looking up at him with sad tear filled eyes as she waited for him to speak...

     "Poppy... I... I need to apologize to you," he finally stated, the old man sitting down beside his beautiful daughter. "I am so sorry for lying about you're mother... but I really was only trying to protect you..."
"Protect me from what, dad?" Poppy asked, wiping her tears away as she looked up at her father expectantly.

"The truth..." Peppy sighed, looking away from the young queen in sorrow... "The hard... soul crushing truth..." He paused, sighing softly before finally turning back to his daughter, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. "But if you really want to know..." he continued. "I'll tell you everything..."

     The queen of pop nodded, looking at her father sadly.

     "Please, dad..." she begged. "Tell me what happened to mom. What really happened to mom..."

     With a slight nod... Peppy finally began to tell his story... the true story of that fateful night all those many years ago...

"It was Trollstice..." the old king began softly, turning away from his little girl once more. "The Bergens had just taken so many of us... I was with your mother, but in all the chaos..." He paused, his ears drooping down in despair as he sighed. "There were just so many trolls running around. So many screams... screams of fear... screams of sadness... screams of... pain..."

     He looked back up at his daughter with sad eyes, Poppy staring right back at him, the young girl waiting for her father to continue...

"Your mother and I... we got separated..." the former king finally sighed. "After the Bergens had finally left... everyone was out calling for their loved ones... searching frantically for those who had been lost in the attack... and... unfortunately... so was I... It broke my heart... but like so many others... Pansy was gone..."

     Poppy looked away in despair, taking a deep breath before finally asking the question that was currently taking over her mind....

     "So..." she started, sadly looking back to her father. "What... what happened?"

     "I thought the Bergens had gotten her..." Peppy explained with yet another sigh. "But that night... after I tucked you in for bed... I found something..."

     Poppy looked at him intently, her eyes wide as tears flowed down her cheeks, the young queen wondering what her father was going to say next... What had he found?

     "It was a note..." Peppy informed. "A note from your mother that said she was leaving us..."

The queen of pop couldn't believe her ears as she stared right at her father in pure despair...

"Now that I knew she was still alive..." the old king continued with a sigh. "I searched everywhere for her... but I just couldn't find your mother anywhere. She had somehow escaped Bergen Town, leaving us behind..."

     "So... she just... left?" Poppy asked, Peppy nodding in reply as he looked away sadly.

     "When we escaped Bergen Town a year later... I continued to look for her. There was only one place left to look that hadn't already been searched thoroughly... here..." the old orange troll explained. "I drew a map that lead to this area, and planned to come search for her... but... before I actually left... I looked at you... you were sleeping peacefully in your little crib... and I knew... I knew that if I left... you'd be alone..." Again... he looked up at Poppy, the former king looking his daughter right in the eyes. "I couldn't leave you, Poppy..." he continued, taking the young girl's hands gently in his own. "I just couldn't... but your mom... she could... It was then that I realized... I had to stop searching... It was what was best for the both of us... you and me... And I told you she was eaten by a Bergen... so that you wouldn't know the truth..."
"That... she left me?" Poppy asked, looking at her father in despair.

He nodded, lowering his head in shame...

     "I knew it would break your heart... so I lied... I lied to protect you, Poppy," he muttered. "I didn't want you thinking it was your fault she left..."
"W... was it?" the young pink troll asked, Peppy immediately looking up at his daughter in shock...

     "No," he assured, shaking his head in denial. "Goodness no. It had nothing to do with you, Poppy... I promise you that..."
"Then... why did she leave?" the queen of pop asked.
"I don't know... that's something you'd have to ask her..."

     Poppy looked away from her father, and then closed her eyes sadly. Her mother left her...