The Vampire Queen stood on one of the balconies where all her subjects could see her as she spoke loudly so everyone could hear her. The amount of seriousness written within her body language and words put everyone listening on edge,especially Poppy. His world felt like it was about to crumble and fall apart as he stood in the crowd outside of the castle.

Why?

He had just remembered a very important detail about his life that he kept on forgetting lately.

And what was this detail? He is a Vampire Hunter and is only here in Vampdom to spy on the Vampire Queen that had stolen his heart! He was in love with his enemy and his whole mission was to help make it easier to get rid of her! Plus now that very Queen has already caught on the fact that The Strings are up to something. She knew and yet at the same time she knew nothing about how far and narrow the whole situation was. Poppy is screwed!

Was this wasn't the first time Poppy had to remind himself or had this realization over his situation? No but,this time it truly hit him like a pile of bricks. There is no escape and the results he was orginally working are no laughing matter. The moral conundrum Poppy has been experiencing was still going strong. He couldn't just decide to switch sides or contuine with what he was doing. The consequences coming his way only seemed to have the same results. Poppy was going to lose the people he loved in one way or another.

If Poppy chooses Branch over the Strings and his mother? He would lose his Mom,his home and his friends. The most important trolls in his life would be disappointed and probably hate him for being a traitor. Nobody likes a traitor,even him,but now he might become one in their eyes. That thought was disheartening. Plus he would had to keep the lies he told going or else the  awful truth will break both Branch and their relationship. A relationship that started off with lies but, the rest was built with the pure honesty Poppy was able to tell without problem. Their relationship still was partly a lie no matter how you slice it.

If Poppy chooses The Strings and his mother over Branch? That had it's own trail of destruction. He could litterally lose Branch to death by the hands of his fellow hunters. Even if they decided to just make her powerless, the bond between Poppy and Branch would be burning like a bridge until there was nothing but,ash and tears. The kind of love Poppy always wanted to have in his romantic relationships could be gone forever. She will probably hate him for the longest time and never trust him again, and he knew that he would deserved it for the hurt he caused.

Then there was Vampdom. They are just like the trolls,except with supernatrual powers and different culture. Not all of them were horrible monsters like Poppy was taught. They had families, they cared about their community, had made and provided alternatives for their blood lust so nobody would get hurt and most rarely even leave Vampdom. There were people in Vampdom who had more than once showed Poppy kindness and treated him like he was truly one of them. They were proof that Vampires could be good people and can work with others in harmony. What most of the vampires simply wanted was to live without the worry of being hunted and killed for what they are. Their lives should not be taken away just cause other vampires had acted on their bad intentions.

There was no winning. No matter what choice Poppy would make,somebody was going to get hurt. Something bad and possibly deadly was going to happen and the painful consequences are unavoidable. Poppy was Vampdom's problem and nobody knew it yet. The sweat of guilt and fear of getting caught was active but,went unnoticed. His fearful heart felt as if it was racing. The deep waters Poppy was standing in could easily sink him like a boat.

" I won't stop any of you if you choose to adventure out into the forest but, I advise against it. We still don't know what the hunters are planning and if you still want to do so knowing the risks then I have to keep all of you accounted for. Nobody can leave unless my guards at the gates are aware of it so they can wait for your return and nobody is allowed to go near or in the Troll Village until further notice. We can't risk losing more vampires than we already have... ", Branch announces seriously and concerned.

The crowd hadn't spoken a single word. It was true that the hunters have been downsizing the amount of vampires in Vampdom with thier attacks. If it wasn't for the last few years' increase of turned vampires the population wouldn't have remained in the area of stability to contuine running without issue. Of course Vampdom still had it's problems but,the increasing of downsizing their population done by the hunters would only cause more.

" Your safety will always be one of my top priorities... The new safety measurements will be put in place as soon as possible. Please don't take my words with a gain of salt. Keep yourselves and your families within Vampdom's walls and don't let your gaurd down when your in the forest... Your lives are more important than a midnight walk and fresh blood...  ", Branch says finishing her speech.

After that last note,Branch dismissed the crowd hoping that they will take her warnings to heart. She watches silently and anxiously as they all were slowly escorted off the castle grounds. Was she making the right call over the situation? The Queen didn't fully know for sure but,she did hope and believe that the new measurements would help. Rosiepuff puts an reassuring hand on her shoulder while her eyes remained fixed on her people. He gently squeezed it to get her attention but,Branch wasn't ready to take her eyes off her people.

" I know that your scared but, everything will be alright. You dealt with situations like this before and you never failed when it came to handling the mess after things gone wrong. ", Rosiepuff says comfortingly.

" I hope that your right... ",Branch replies softly and calmly.

One of her hands nervously started to fidget with the tips of her bangs. It used to be an old habit of hers that she managed ro stop but, during stressful times it always came back for a moment. Rosiepuff noticed how her finger was wraping and curling her hair. He sighs to himself then moved the strand of hair she was playing with out of her face. That one action finally got the Queen to look at her grandfather.

Meanwhile right outside the castle gates,Poppy stopped and turned around to have a final look up at the balcony Branch stood on. He could see her walking back into her castle following her Grandfather. In within seconds they were both gone. The Royal guards were too busy helping everyone leave to notice what Poppy was doing.

The pink man let's out guilty sigh to himself before building the strength within him to walk back to the library as if everything was normal. Poppy wasn't the only one trying to remain calm or trying to help themselves to be able to carry on with work but,nobody was going forget their Queen's announcement either. The intense and contuining silence among the Vampires said it all for them.

Even supernatural and powerful beings could be scared of what was less powerful than them but, was still a dangerous threat despite that fact.