A month after the wedding, the Trolls of Pop Village were busy preparing for another big event. Not a loud one, much to their disappointment, but it was rather important. Lavender was busy, as well, for it was a full moon and she had to write to Queen Cyan on how Poppy and Branch's marriage was doing.

"Hey, Branch!" Lavender said to her big brother. "On a scale of one to five, how would you rate being married to Poppy?"

"What kind of question is that?" he asked.

"Well, I gotta know if I'm gonna report to Mom," she replied. "I promised her I would write about you guys every full moon."

"Branch!" Poppy called out.

"Look, Lavender, I gotta get ready for the tutors' arrival," he explained. "You just go pick petals off Sparklepuffs."

"That would be flower abuse!" Lavender pointed out as he left.

"How does this look, Branch?" Val asked as she and Holly hung up a light-up sign that read "WELCOME FRIENDS!"

"Ostentatious," Branch replied as Poppy walked up to them.

"Nice work, girls!" she called out.

"Thank you, sugar!" Holly said, climbing down the ladder.

"Uh, Poppy," Branch said to his wife, "I know we want to make the tutors and their families feel welcome, but we don't need to make a big deal about it. In fact, most of them would prefer we didn't."

"Nonsense!" Poppy insisted. "We're gonna make them feel right at home! Cooper, is the table set?"

"Yeah, I even made name cards!" Cooper replied. "Sycalily, Waterberry, Logan Jo, Gingercinth, Hyamore and Karmen!"

Branch looked at the list of names and said, "That can't be right."

"Hey, Biggie, why don't you make the name cards?" Poppy suggested.

"Of course!" Biggie answered. "This will be the perfect chance for Mr. Dinkles to show off his calligraphy skills!"

"Good for him," Branch said before quietly asking Poppy, "Who's Mr. Dinkles?"

"Biggie's pet. He's a worm!"

"Mmm-hmm. And how is a worm supposed to-" Before Branch could finish his sentence, Mr. Dinkles slammed his face into some ink and rubbed it against some paper, revealing the name of one of the guests. "Okay. Never mind."

"I think someone's coming, yo!" Synth said excitedly.

"Places, everybody!" Poppy ordered. As everyone got in place, a large creature approached them with its mouth wide open and once someone stepped outside...

"Welcome to Pop Troll Village!" everyone shouted with enthusiasm. Flowers shot out glitter and confetti and balloons were dropped from the trees. Holly and Synth dropped the banner and Val smashed her guitar, released purple and white smoke.

"I know you said I'm always welcome here, but I never expected all this," said one of the guests. Once the smoke cleared, everyone saw...

"Barb?!" Poppy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to give you and Branch a one-month-aversary present," she answered, her friends Carol and Riff beside her.

"Aw, thank you!" Poppy said sweetly, taking the gift. "But why would you come all the way here when you could just mail it?"

"Well, uh..."

"Snake!" shouted a Pop Troll named Moxie Dewdrop. "Run for your lives! There's a snake attacking the daycare!"

In a state of panic, everyone began running around except Branch, Barb, Holly, and Val.

"You know," Branch said, "depending on the type of snake, it may not be that big of a deal."

"Uh, guys?" Val interrupted. "Where's Poppy?"

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The moment Poppy heard about the attack, she ran straight to the daycare. Once she got there, she saw a green and brown snake with a gold and dusty-rose diamond pattern down its spine, piercing red eyes and two tiny horns above each eye. It was staring hungrily at a group of babies and toddlers, but standing in between them was their babysitter, Gia Grooves, ready to give her life for them.

Desperate to save them, Poppy lassoed the snake with her hair and tried to pull it away with all of her strength. Unfortunately, the snake was much bigger than her and dragged her through the dirt without stopping. Eventually, Poppy got tired and let go and the snake took this as an advantage.

As Poppy struggled to get on her feet, the snake slithered closer to her and prepared to kill, purplish liquid dripping from its fangs, but just before it could strike, a seed-like ball rolled in and released a cloud of yellow smoke. The snake entered a sneezing fit and two thick vines were tied around its horns, keeping it from moving its head. Then, a Troll Poppy had never seen before jumped down from a tree branch and used a sword to stab the snake in the back of the neck, killing it instantly. Despite not knowing them, Poppy then recognized the Trolls who saved her life.

It was the tutors!

"Has anyone been bit?!" one of them shouted. The rest of the Trolls just looked at one another. "Take that as a no. Good thing, too. One drop of this bad boy's venom and even a full grown Cuddlepup would be dead in a couple of hours."

"How would you know?" Creek asked. "We've only had them around recently."

"First of all, I've studied zoology," the Troll named Ginger Jo explained. "Second, we have to learn about our enemies as quick as possible. Third, the reason you've only had them around recently was because they're not from around here. They're an invasive species introduced by careless Bergens who couldn't feed them. They're the only enemy that we have to kill so we can protect the rest of the ecosystem. Fortunately, it's almost winter, so they'll be asleep for three months along with most of our other enemies."

"What's a Bergen?" asked DJ Suki.

"They're these really big creatures," she answered. "They don't eat Trolls, but they think they own everything and when they don't want something anymore, they just throw it out."

"And the avarice never ends!" another Troll shouted.

"Not now, Loganberry!" a girl named Waterlily groaned as he went on about golf clubs and diamonds.

"Are you okay, buttercup?" a Troll with messy green hair asked Poppy, helping her up.

"Karma, we've talked about this," an older Troll said sternly. "Let this child test her own strength."

"Hey, I'm not a child!" Poppy said angrily.

"Then you should know better than to play with a horned diamond snake."

"I wasn't playing with it, I was trying to make it go away!" she argued.

"Don't talk back to me!" he said sternly. "I'm the Captain of Ornery Grove's defense system, I have more authority than you and you will treat me with respect!"

Does this Troll not know a princess when he sees her? Creek thought. No matter. One of these days, I'll get her back and-

"Popsqueak!" Val shouted, running to her alongside Branch, Barb and Holly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, what happened?" Holly asked.

"This guy called me a child, that's what!" Poppy answered.

"You're certainly acting like one," he pointed out before turning to Branch. "Sire, are you going to let this subordinate talk to me this way?"

Branch groaned in frustration. "Poppy, this is Captain Hyacinth. Captain, this is my wife."

"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry about him," Branch whispered to Poppy, who remained silent. "Yes. She is the princess of the northern Pop Trolls. Ergo, she has the same amount of power as myself and my sister so I advise you listen to what she has to say. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Hyacinth replied. "However, I can't help but wonder why a Troll of your intellect would marry this half-wit of a princess."

"Hey, you can't say stuff like that about Poppy!" Barb snarled, trying to grab him while Holly and Val held her back.

"Keep it together, sugar!" Holly said.

"And another thing, what is their kind doing here?"

"Our kind?" Val asked, slightly loosening her grip. "We're Poppy's best friends."

"I wasn't asking you," Hyacinth pointed out.

"It's true, they are," Branch replied. "I don't know how, but they are."

"Captain, there's a Techno Troll staring at my sister's brooch," Ginger Jo interrupted. "Should we be worried?"

"Yo, that thing shines like a glow stick!" Synth said to a nervous Poem. "I could stare at it for hours!"

"No, they're harmless," he replied. "They have really tiny brains. But just in case, I'll shoo him away."

Before Hyacinth left, Branch suddenly said, "Oh, and Captain... I can't help but wonder why my family puts up with a rotten crabapple such as yourself."

"Oh, snap!" Val shouted.

"You just got owned, man!" Barb called out.

Hyacinth groaned and walked away in defeat. Branch turned his head to face Poppy.

"I'm sorry about him," he said. "I think the only reason he's captain is because he saved my father's life when he was a kid and... What's the matter?"

"Nothing, it's just... I thought this would be different," Poppy answered. "I wanted these Trolls to be our friends, but they still don't trust us."

"Well, sugar," Holly said, "sometimes earning one person's trust can take a bit more time than another's."

"Yeah, remember when you first arrived in Volcano Rock City?" Val asked. "I thought you were a wad of bubblegum that came to life!"

"I knew I shouldn't have lent you those Spine Tinglers books," Barb recalled. The others laughed.

"See, Popsqueak?" Val said. "It's not always easy, but what matters is that you take that first step so others can follow."

"Thanks, guys," Poppy replied. "Well, since the welcoming party is ruined, I might as well go clean up."

"We'll take care of that," Holly said. "You and Branch just go tell everyone else the tutors' arrived."

Once the other girls were gone, Poppy said to Branch, "Thank you for earlier."

"Well, I told you I was going to make this work," he reminded her.

"You know what would help?" Poppy asked. Branch shook his head. "Ice cream."

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That evening, as Lavender carried a bouquet of lilies, she noticed a dead horned diamond snake outside the village. She then saw someone approaching its mouth, still oozing out venom. It was a Pop Troll with a light purple complexion, a bit more pink than hers, blue and green hair and he wore yellow slacks and rubber gloves. In his hands were a vial and a small soup ladle.

"I hope I never have to do it..." he said, using the spoon to scoop up the venom and pour it into the vial. "But I must get Poppy back one way or another... so I can finally prove that he was wrong about me."

Sorry that this took so long, but I've been really stressed out lately and I feel like the weight of the world is pushing down on me. I'll write the next chapter as soon as I can, though.

Until next time. 🌈