The trip back to Pop Village felt longer than the trip to Ornery Grove. Or, at least, for Poppy and Branch. While Lavender, Barb, Holly and Val chatted away, Poppy and Branch just sat next to each other in awkward silence.

“Say something!" Cyan whispered to her son. She had been sitting on the other side of the bus with a guard by her side. Branch rolled his eyes and faced his fiancée.

“So... What's wrong with your leg?" he asked, pointing to the bandages. Cyan smacked herself in the forehead.

“Um... I cut myself on a rock," Poppy answered quietly. “It doesn't hurt anymore."

“That's the frostroot-figgleleaf mixture working!" Lavender said. “I took a healing class last month."

“Nice," Val replied, fist-bumping her.

“So, Branch... is there a reason why you don't sing?" Poppy wondered. “Because when we got to Ornery Grove, there were Trolls singing. It was a weird song, but they were singing. Why don't you?"

“That's none of your concern."

“Oh," Lavender blurted out, “when he was a kid, he had a pretty strong bond with our grandma and one day, he was singing the most mesmerizing song, he didn't notice the giant bird swooping down or grandma trying to—"

“Thank you, Lavender!" Branch said angrily.

“You're welcome, Branch!" Lavender replied with a grin.

“That's rough, man," Barb said.

“I'm sorry, Branch," Poppy admitted. “I shouldn't have asked."

“Well, you did."

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By the time they made it to Pop Village and got off the Caterbus, Poppy and the others noticed that many Trolls from different tribes were busy preparing for the wedding. Val noticed Branch gently touching his hair, as if he feeling for something tucked away in it.

“Poppy, thank goodness you're back!" shouted DJ Suki, a Pop Troll with thick orange hair and a gem for a belly button. “Some of the Trolls can't decide what type of music we should play during the reception!"

“I think we should play dubstep!" a Techno Troll named Synth said to an orchestra of Classical Trolls.

“What it should be is a formal symphony," argued lead composer Dante Crescendo.

“Guys, why don't we compromise and just hire Bad Hair Day?" a Hard Rock Troll named Demo suggested.

“Living in harmony, you say?" Branch said to Poppy sarcastically. Cyan scowled at him.

“Hi, everyone!" Poppy announced, trying to keep a smile on her face. The rest of the Trolls looked at her. “I missed you all during my trip to Ornery Grove, but I'm happy to tell you we now have new friends joining our community. First, I would like for you all to meet my fiancé, Prince Branch, and his mother and sister."

“Hi, new friends!" Lavender said cheerfully as Cyan gracefully waved. Branch just crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

“Poppy, your fiancé looks weird," Cooper pointed out.

“In a few weeks, some more Trolls from the south will be joining us to teach self defense to the Trolls of Pop Village," Poppy continued. “We hope that one day, our two kingdoms will be whole once again."

“Poppy, may I?" Cyan asked softly. Poppy nodded and Cyan took the stage with her guard by her side. “I am Cyan, queen of the southern Pop kingdom. I understand if some of you are feeling skeptic about this upcoming marriage between my son and Princess Poppy, but let me reassure you Branch is a resilient, intelligent young man and he will make a fine leader alongside the princess."

“Forget leadership, we just want him to be good to Poppy!" Smidge shouted. “She had to break up with her true love to marry this guy!"

“Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Branch asked, feeling offended.

“Please, don't," Cyan said in a quiet voice. “We apologize for this sacrifice, but we only want what's best for both of our kingdoms. If my son and your king's daughter can learn to love, perhaps we can all learn to trust one another and be whole once again. And perhaps you could teach us how to be better around the Trolls for the other tribes."

“Well, we do like making new friends," a Funk Troll named Rhythm pointed out. “Okay. We'll give this a shot."

“Not a literal shot, right?" Lavender asked. “We don't want our brains fried."

“No, we would never do that!" insisted Rhythm's sister Blues.

“You better not," Branch said, reaching into his hair, “or we're gonna... Wait, where are my nunchucks? And my wrist rocket? And my crossbow?! They're all gone!"

“Gee, I wonder where they went," Val said with a smirk. Branch growled and jumped at her... only for Val to step aside so he would land in a mud puddle. “Missed me! missed me! Now Barb gets to kiss me! Well, only if she's interested. Wouldn't that be something?"

“What now?" Barb asked, not listening to Val.

“Hey, Synth?" Poppy called. “Why don't you take Branch to the hot springs so he can get cleaned up?"

“Sure thing, Poppy!" Synth replied, helping Branch up. “Bro, you are gonna feel so refreshed when we're through with you!"

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That night, Poppy and Barb helped Lavender unpack all of her things, which were mostly flowers, and got her settled into her new home.

“Wow," Barb said. “You really know how to make a room look bigger on the inside."

“Thank you!" Lavender replied, and unpacked the last flower, a blue and pink lily. “Now, this one is really something special."

“Wow!" Poppy gasped. “How did you grow something like that?!"

“I didn't, this was from my dad," Lavender explained. “When I was nine, he and the Captain of the Guard went on a swag stag hunt and promised he would find a rare flower for my garden. Three weeks later, the captain came back with the flower... but not my dad. During the trip home, there was a storm and it caused a mudslide. Mom didn't want to believe it and sent some Trolls back to find him. They found his body crushed by a fallen tree."

“Oh, Lavender," Poppy said sadly. “We're so sorry."

“When I look at this flower, it makes me feel loved," Lavender said as she stared at it. “Here you go, Poppy. A little wedding present."

“Oh, Lavender, I can't take this," Poppy denied. “This flower was from your dad."

“And we're about to be sisters," Lavender pointed out. “That makes us family. Besides, I think Branch needs it more than me. He doesn't know what true love feels like."

Although hesitant, Poppy took the lily from Lavender's hands and safely stored it into her hair.

“Well, we better get you home, Popsqueak," Barb said. “You got a big day tomorrow."

“Yeah, I do," Poppy replied nervously. “I'm marrying a Troll who has a heart of stone."

“Hey! That's my brother you're talking about," Lavender said before adding, “but yeah, he's got a heart of stone."

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