I should warn you, this chapter ends with part of the opening scene. It doesn't include the flashback, though (because, y'know, none of my OCs were part of Branch's childhood). You wanna see that, go see the movie. Enjoy!

The day of the royal wedding finally arrived. Every Troll in Pop Village rushed to Bergen Town to help prepare for the biggest event of... well, the week (Trolls always have some big event going on).

Early that morning, Poppy, Willow, Synth, Biggie, Cooper, Prince D., Satin and Chenille were busy getting dressed in an old dressing pod that hadn't been used since the Pop Trolls escaped from Bergen Town nearly twenty years prior.

"Hey, Willow! We got matching hats!" Cooper laughed, showing off his top hat. Of course, Cooper's was decorated with glitter and colorful buttons while Willow's was made of holographic fabric and had a purple organza hatband.

"That's nice, Coop," Willow replied as she tied her rainbow hair into a low bun. "So, how's your new life in Vibe City?"

"Oh, I'm lovin' it!" Cooper whooped. "You guys should come roller skating sometime!"

"That sounds like fun, Cooper!" Biggie said. "And you must be especially happy to be reunited with Prince D. and your parents."

"Yeah," said Prince D., "until we finally found each other, I felt as though something has always been missing. Turns out, it was my long-lost brother the whole time!"

"That's so sweet, you guys!" Poppy cooed. "I would love it if I had my own sister I didn't know existed."

"Pops, your dad may be hiding a lot of stuff from us," Willow reminded her, "but I highly doubt a secret sibling is one of them."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Poppy sighed sadly. "But it would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"As a Troll with fourteen little brothers and sisters, I don't think you're missing much."

"And as a little sister myself, I can guarantee it's not always easy," a voice suddenly said. Everyone turned their heads to find a fiery ginger wearing a red and black dress right outside the door.

"Ash!" Willow said cheerfully as she ran up to hug her girlfriend. "You made it!"

"Yeah, I managed to clear my schedule," Ash explained, kissing Willow's cheek. "But I'll only have enough time for one dance. Barb can be a piece of work, but I still love her."

"I was just talking about how fantastic it would be to have what you and Barb have," Poppy said.

"Maybe in a couple years, you and Branch can give Flower her own little brother or sister," Ash suggested, making Poppy blush wildly. "Wait, where is Branch?"

"He went to show Flower his childhood home," Satin answered. "He's seemed kinda down about returning to Bergen Town lately."

"Well, can you blame him?" Chenille asked her conjoined twin. "He's lost so much here. His grandmother... um... umm... Well, he lost his grandmother."

"Willow, perhaps you can touch him to make him happy again?" Biggie suggested. His pet worm, Mr. Dinkles, let out a questioning mew. Biggie gasped. "Mr. Dinkles, I meant with her powers! Not that sort of vulgarity!"

"I can't mess with my friends' feelings all willy nilly!" Willow said in protest.

"What about that time you made me fall in love with my hand?" Synth asked.

"Well, that was different," Willow laughed. "That was hilarious."

"I guess it's back to one of us touching him the other way," Synth said. "Maybe we should draw straws."

"No one ever meant that, Synth," Chenille groaned.

💚🩵💜🩵💛🩵🩷🩵💙🩵

"Daddy, why is there so many pwants gwowing in here?" Flower asked as she wandered around Branch's childhood home.

"Well, sprout," Branch explained, "no one's been in here since the Trolls escaped Bergen Town, back when Mommy was your size."

"Mommy was my size?!" Flower asked in bewilderment.

"Well, sure," Branch insisted. "Everyone's been a baby at least once in their lives."

"Even you, Daddy?"

"Well, it's been a long time, but yes," Branch confirmed. Flower, then, noticed the art of an old record cover and noticed how one of the five Trolls looked an awful lot like...

"Daddy, is this you?" Flower asked curiously. Branch turned around to find her pointing at a familiar, blue-haired Troll at the bottom left corner of the record cover.

"Well, uh..." he stammered. "Maybe?"

"And who are these other Twolls?"

Branch sighed. "They're nobody," he insisted. "Just your, uh... ex-uncles."

Flower blinked in confusion. "How are theys my ex-uncles?"

"Because they're no longer here," Branch answered.

"Did they gets eaten by Bergens, too?" Flower asked sadly.

"No," Branch confirmed. "They just... left."

"Will they ever comes back?"

Branch scoffed and took the record from her. "If they would, they would have come back years ago."

"Well, can we at least wisten to these wecords?" Flower asked. "I wants to gets to knows them, even if it's just they's voices. Pwease, Daddy?"

"Oh, I can't say no to you, can I?" Branch laughed. He turned on a record player, pulled the record out from its cover, put it down on the player, and put the needle on so it would play a catchy tune.

"Sick beats!" Flower said, bouncing herself up and down on her toes.

"You like that, don't you?" Branch laughed. Flower nodded.

"Well, there, she goes!" multiple voices sang together.

"So, which one's which?" Flower asked curiously.

One the floor, let's do this, no more talkin'!

"Well, that was Spruce just now," Branch began hesitantly.

"Hi, Uncle Spwuce!" Flower greeted sweetly.

Did anybody notice?

The energy just shifted when we dropped in

Ooh, let it drop in

Branch felt a tear fall across his cheek. "Floyd."

"His voice is pwetty," Flower said sweetly.

"Yeah. It is."

I don't flex, but I might

Groove about to take flight

"Clay," Branch said. Flower giggled.

Cuz the night is young, and the music's on

And we got love on sight

"And that's John Dory," Branch confirmed. "He was our big brother... and the leader."

"Well, you're a weader to me, Daddy," Flower insisted. "Both you and Mommy."

"Thanks, sprout," Branch replied, then looked at the artwork again. How he wished he could be with them at least one last time.

At that moment, Poppy stepped inside, wearing a colorful gown with a skirt that resembled a pink cloud. She smiled at the sight of her daughter dancing around in her sparkly yellow dress, but quickly noticed Branch looking away with his head down.

Concerned for her boyfriend's emotional well-being, she cleared her throat to get his attention. "Branch?"

"What?" Branch blinked in surprise, then turned to find Poppy waving to him at the door. He quickly lifted the needle off the record and put the cover down. "Oh. Hey!"

"Are you alright?" she asked as he grinned at her. "You're smiling and crying at the same time. It kinda looks like it's hurting your face."

"It does hurt my face," Branch admitted, rubbing his cheeks. "I guess I'm just missing my, um... grandma. Flower and I were just listening to some of her old records."

"Daddy, why's you lying?" Flower whispered.

"It's complicated, sprout," Branch replied quietly as he slipped the record back into its cover. Poppy looked over his shoulder to see who the artist was.

"BroZone?!" she exclaimed, taking it from Branch. "No way! I love BroZone!"

"Really?!" Branch exclaimed, his face lighting up. "I mean... really?"

"I didn't know you liked them, too."

"I don't!" Branch insisted. "I'm actually hate-listening. It's a new thing. My grandma had very questionable taste. I mean, just look at how she decorated this place! I'm sorry, but there are some things that just shouldn't be macrame'd. Am I right?"

"I don't get it," Flower said. Poppy just looked around the old pod and then at Branch with a look of concern.

"Uh... it kinda seems like there's something you're not telling me."

"What? Pfft, don't be silly. No!" Branch insisted. Poppy wasn't buying it.

"Hey," she said gently. "I need you to be real with me. It seems like more than a macrame issue. If you're having feelings... you can talk about them with me."

"Okay," Branch sighed. "You're right."

Poppy gave Branch an eager look that said, "You can talk to me. Please, talk to me." But what was there to tell her? That he was a member of BroZone and he missed his brothers, even though they all left him and never bothered coming back?

"If he won't tell you, Mommy, then I will," Flower insisted. "Daddy used to has-"

"Oh, hey! Look at the time!" Branch interrupted his daughter. "We're gonna be late to the royal wedding! Let's go get married!"

"Branch!" Poppy exclaimed as he pulled her away by the hand. He turned to face her.

"What?" he asked, before realizing his goof. "I-I mean, let's get Bridget and Gristle married."

"Yeah," Poppy agreed, laughing nervously. "'Cause it would be weird if we got married."

"Yeah, so weird," Branch agreed with a blush.

"The weirdest," Poppy added. "It's, like, weird that we're still talking about how weird it was. Like, fifteen seconds later."

"Uh, guys?" Willow interrupted, after having eavesdropped on their conversation. "Not that this isn't totally awkward, but we gotta bounce."

"Yeah, Willow's right," Branch said. "We should go."

"Totally," Poppy agreed, tapping her nose. With that settled, Branch picked up Flower, tucked her into his hair, and the two young parents stepped out of the pod to hurry along to the Royal Wedding of King Gristle and Bridget.

Well, that's that. It'll be a while before I continue this, but I hope you guys stay tuned for what's to come.

I'll see you next time. 🌈