"If a star fell each time I thought of you, the sky would be empty..."

Branch stepped from his room, yawning and stretching away the fatigue dragging down at his tired limbs. His grandma was already awake, staring out the window of their pod with a rather troubled expression on her face.

The young blue Troll tilted his head to one side in curiosity and slowly approached the old purple female. "Grandma?" he muttered. He grabbed her hand, staring up at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

His grandmother jumped as she realized he was now there beside her, a smile spreading across her face. But Branch could tell it was forced.

"It's all okay, Branchie," his grandma muttered, ruffling her fingers through his soft dark blue hair. "Don't worry."

"Grandma, no. You're sad. What's wrong?" he asked again, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her into a gentle hug.

The purple Troll sighed, rubbing her hand against the windowsill and lowering her blue-green gaze sadly. "Oh, Branch, I didn't wanna bring this up but..." Her voice trailed away hesitantly.

"But what?" the young boy demanded, eager to know what was troubling his grandmother so he could perhaps find a way to cheer her up. He hated seeing her sad. It just made him guilty because she usually didn't tell him what was wrong.

"In two days...it'll be..." She shut her eyes, tensing her arms and clenching her teeth as she prepared to get the rest of the sentence out. "...it'll be Trollstice."

Branch felt his heart come to a halt in his chest. Trollstice? No! he thought, tears building up in his eyes. He still remembered the dreadfulness of his parents being dragged away, completely out of his reach and killed by the Bergens. But he did not remember every detail. Like said earlier, his brain had blocked out most of the memory. It had just been too traumatizing for someone as young as him to lose his mother and father in such a violent, sickening way.

"W-we have to hide then, Grandma!" Branch wailed, hugging himself tighter against her. "Please! I don't want the Bergens to find you!" The tears streamed down at his face, his breath coming in harsh wheezes, and his sides heaving.

"Branch, calm down," his grandma muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not going anywhere. The Bergens have no interest in eating an old Troll like me. My muscles are weak and not as firm as they once were. They'll want a younger, stronger Troll. I'm not saying that's really a good thing, but at least I won't be leaving you." She lifted his face closer to hers, giving him a gentle kiss on the nose. "Why don't you go outside for now and try to forget about Trollstice?"

"No, Grandma! We need to make preparations. These Trolls shouldn't have to suffer. We've put up with it for too long..." Branch sighed, looking down at his feet. Why hadn't King Peppy tried to leave? Didn't he hate Trollstice? His daughter, the Princess, was in danger! And if she died, Peppy would have no Troll to take his place. He had no wife. At least, not anymore. She had died from some weird sickness a few weeks after Poppy's birth and the King had no desire to find a lover like that again.

"Branch, please calm down," his grandma muttered. "We can't do anything about Trollstice. The Bergens are constantly watching our tree, making sure we don't escape. We'd never make it."

Branch backed away. "Whatever. I'll go outside, like you asked, if that's really what you want..." The bright blue Troll ran towards the door of their pod, bustling outside into the sunniness of the morning.

He ignored all the kids outside who played pretty much every single day, laughing and chasing each other around. He knew none of them would want him in their games for today. He'd already screwed up yesterday and he was sure they were still mad.

"Excuse me! Coming through!" huffed the deep voice of a male Troll.

Branch turned around, seeing a bright green male with purple hair walking in his direction with shovels clamped against his chest.

The little boy tilted his head in confusion. "What are those for?" he asked the adult Troll.

The green-skinned male halted, staring down at him. "This Trollstice, we're leaving. Peppy wants us to dig a tunnel through the tree roots." Without waiting for Branch's response, the green Troll ran off towards the trunk of Troll Tree.

For the first time since he'd stepped outside, Branch noticed many Trolls were climbing up the trunk with shovels and other digging tools in their hands. A few others were down below, sawing wood and using hair-like fabrics to attach to them.

One of the Trolls finished her work and lifted up the wood statue, where he saw it was shaped just like a Troll. She then took her fluffy material and attached it to the head of the wooden Troll figure. "If we make enough of these, it'll be harder for the Bergens to know we're gone!" she said happily.

Branch realized what was going on now. Everyone was constructing, digging, and running around the village as they got to work.

Peppy was standing on his mushroom with Poppy held in his arms as usual. Approval lit his orange eyes as he watched every Troll.

Branch caught himself staring deeply at Poppy again. The little girl Troll had a toy held in her small pink hands, playing with it, a smile plastered on her cute little face. She had no worries, no knowledge that it was almost Trollstice.

The little Troll envied her. He wished he could be that relaxed and carefree right now. But knowing that his grandmother's life was in grave danger, he wouldn't sleep until he knew she was protected.

Can we really do all this in just two days? Branch wondered. But, of course, Trolls were full of tricks and surprises so there was a big possibility.

As Branch was still staring at Poppy, he suddenly caught the King's eye in the process. He immediately felt embarrassed. He wanted to turn away from Peppy's eyes but he felt it'd be disrespectful to do so.

The King was watching him curiously, propping the Princess up better in his grasp.

Branch nodded once and turned in the other direction. His embarrassment had fought with him, telling him he had to flee. I'd rather be scolded for showing disrespect to the King than him thinking I liked his daughter. Oh, if he finds out he's gonna think I'm such a creep! I'm ten years old and Poppy is two! That's creepy!

But, nonetheless, the little boy could not let go of the strengthening crush he was developing. He doubted it would ever work. Poppy would probably prefer a Troll boy closer to her age when she started getting involved with love.

Branch's grandma had stepped out from their pod, watching him.

Dang it! She probably saw all that! he thought.

He approached the old purple Troll, staring up at her. "They're preparing to leave Troll Tree!" he announced. "Look!" He pointed towards the top of the tree where Trolls were digging down into the trunk to reach the roots and create a functioning escape tunnel. "Grandma, we have to get our stuff! Come on!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, his heart pattering wildly with excitement. He let the awkward moment of staring at Peppy melt from his brain and be replaced with the awareness that they were leaving this dangerous home.

"Slow down, silly! My old bones aren't gonna be able to keep up with you." She chuckled softly. There was a bright, happy, relieved expression held on her visage as she stared down at her grandson. "This is amazing news. It's as if your words told a prophecy." She rubbed his cheek with her hand. "Are you a fortune teller, Branch?"

The bright blue-skinned boy giggled and shook his head. "I wish!" he exclaimed. "Oh, finally! We're gonna get out of here and life will be all cupcakes and rainbows and happiness like it used to always be!"

Oh, Branch child, you have no idea what's about to happen 😔