It was well below freezing, Branch was sure. However, he was willing to weather the storm to finish his surprise for Poppy. After working with Lavender and Karma for half the night, he finally made it home to find Poppy shivering despite being underneath all the fuzzy blankets. Branch got under the covers and placed a hand on her face to see if she was alright, but at that moment, she sighed in relief and smiled. Branch wasn't sure what made her stop, but he was glad she did anyway.

The following morning, Poppy went to go meet with the girls for pancakes when she noticed Lavender writing on a giant flower petal. She decided to take a detour and see what was up.

“Hey, Lavender, whatcha doing?" Poppy asked.

“Oh, hi, Poppy!" Lavender greeted. “I'm writing an invitation for Barb to come to the Solstice Ball this weekend. It's a holiday the Trolls of Ornery Grove have celebrated for twelve generations."

“A new holiday?!" Poppy gasped. “That's so exciting! And Barb is gonna love the invitation! She gets so nervous trying to tell you how she feels, so this will be the perfect surprise! But wait. Branch and I agreed not to throw big parties until we've learned to defend ourselves."

“Actually, bringing the Solstice Ball here was Branch's idea," Lavender revealed. Poppy's eyes widened. “I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

“Wait, he came up with it?" Poppy said in disbelief. “Why would he... I thought he hated parties."

“He wanted to surprise you," Lavender answered. “I wasn't supposed to tell you that either."

Poppy left before Lavender could say anything else to her sister-in-law. So, she just shrugged and went back to her invitation.

“Wait, Branch is really doing all that for you?"

“Yeah!" Poppy said to Val. “I can't believe it either!"

“He must be startin' to like you for reals!" Holly swooned. “It's a perfect story. Marrying a stranger to help both of your kingdoms and ultimately forming a deep, unspoken bond filled with unconditional love!"

“Yeah, that would be nice," Poppy agreed. “But I highly doubt things will go that far."

Holly and Val noticed their friend's face falling and looked at each other with concern.

“What's the matter, Popsqueak?" Val asked. “I thought you would like it if Branch did stuff like this."

“I do!" Poppy insisted. “It's just... Can you guys keep a secret?"

“Cross our hair, sugar," Holly promised, weaving her big hairdo into Val's pigtails.

Poppy took a deep breath and pulled a ring out of her hair. “The day I broke up with Creek... he proposed to me. And right before the wedding, he gave me this and I haven't found it in me to get rid of it."

“Okay, then I will," Val volunteered, snatching the ring and preparing to throw it.

“Val, wait!" Poppy pleaded as she grabbed her wrist. “I don't want to get rid of it! I mean, I do... Actually I don't, but..."

“You still love him," Holly said in understanding. “We get it, Poppy. Sometimes, lettin' go isn't that easy. Especially when you do it for the sake of your kingdom."

“I know, but I still feel selfish," Poppy admitted, taking the ring back from Val. “Every day since I married Branch, I think about what my life would be like if I was actually married to Creek. Would be just like when we were dating or would there be something more? Because being married to Branch barely feels like dating and I still feel like something is missing."

“Well, what have you done with Branch that barely feels like dating?" Val asked.

“Well," Poppy said, “we've gone on a couple picnics, had dinner at Chez Dante, I got him to watch 50 First Hugs, and on some really cold nights... we've cuddled."

“Cuddled?!" Holly squealed. “Poppy, girl, that's more than just barely! That's a relationship!"

“It is?" Val asked. Holly glared at her. “Come on, Holly. They haven't even consummated their marriage yet. Have you?"

“Um, no, we haven't," Poppy answered in embarrassment.

“First of all, boundaries, Val," Holly said sternly. “Second, what does that have to do with anything?"

“Well," Val said, “if I was married, even if I was forced to, I'd take him on the wedding night in the honeymoon suite. Maybe let one of my bridesmaids get thrown in the mix."

Poppy and Holly stared at Val with concern and decided to just go to Satin and Chenille's.

💍💗💐🍾🥂🌹💍💗💐🍾🥂🌹

That weekend, the night of the ball arrived. Many of the Trolls were dressed in their best and ready to celebrate. Poppy, meanwhile, was making her best attempt to seem oblivious for Branch, but she had trouble hiding her excitement.

“Good evening, Poppy," Branch greeted his as he stepped inside the pod.

“Hi, Branch," Poppy replied, holding two mugs of hot chocolate. “How was your day?"

“It was alright," he answered. “You?"

“Can't complain. So, what did you do today? Anything special? Anything fun? Anything that requires a lot of planning and focusing on even the smallest of details?"

“Lavender told you about the ball, didn't she?" Branch guessed. Poppy nodded. “That's the last time I ask her for help."

“What about the dangers of the forest?" Poppy asked.

“Well, most of those dangers will be asleep for the rest of the winter," Branch pointed out. “Besides, it's in an indoor celebration and we found a place big enough for everyone to come."

“That sounds great!" Poppy said.

“I thought you'd like it," Branch replied, checking his watch. “Holy hair, the ball's in fifteen minutes. We better get ready."

“You mean, you're coming, too?"

“I'll spend the night wishing I was dead," Branch admitted, “but yes. I'll be right beside you."

“Carol, be honest," Barb said. “Do I look like I rock?"

“Girl, you always look like you rock," Carol replied. “Just tell Princess Lavender how you feel. I'm sure if you did, she'll tell you she feels the same way. You held back long enough, man."

“You're right," Barb agreed, grabbing a bouquet of mitten-settas. “I'm just gonna do it. I'm gonna go in there, march straight to Lavender, look her straight in the eye, lay it on the line and... I can't do this!"

Carol slapped the Queen of Rock in the face and shouted, “Snap out of it! You're going in there and that's an order!"

“Yes, ma'am," Barb whimpered and headed inside.

“I hope they got a cheese spread in there," Carol sighed.

“Oh, hello, Barb," Branch greeted as she hung up her coat. “What brings you here?"

“Your sister invited me," she replied. “Where is she anyway? I got– I gotta tell her something."

“Oh, every year, she likes to make a grand entrance," Branch answered. “It's like she thinks she'll get a prize."

“Excuse me, Prince Branch?" said a young woman named Waterlily. “I was wondering if you could tell me where the concessions were."

Branch huffed before replying. “They're in the back."

“Friend of yours?" Barb asked as Waterlily left.

“She was my teenage sweetheart," Branch admitted. “I almost let her in my bunker, but she ended up letting in herself and her healing instructor. And that's when I started using a passcode."

“Ah, she liked older men."

“Older women," Branch corrected and went to join the party. He noticed Poppy talking to Synth, R, and B and couldn't help but stare. She just looked so elegant in her green and white dress adorned with faux fur and pine needles.

“She's beautiful!" Holly Darlin' gasped.

“She sure is," Branch agreed, unaware that she was really talking about his sister. The young princess made her way down a curved staircase in a red gown that looked like a giant rose. Barb's eyes widened as she approached her.

“Hey, you made it!" Lavender said happily.

“Yeah, I guess I did," Barb replied, her brow drowning in sweat. “Say, Lavender... I was wondering if... Maybe if no one's asked you..."

Lavender blinked innocently as Barb took a deep breath.

“Look. I really like you and can't stop thinking about you and I just wanted to get that over with."

“Oh, okay," Lavender replied as Barb began to walk away. “Wait! Don't you want to dance with me?"

“Wait, you want– you want me to dance with you?" Barb asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, but only if you want to," Lavender answered. “If you say no, I'll understand."

Barb smiled at Lavender, took her hand and they walked to the dancefloor together. Val could only watch with a tear in her eye as they began to dance.

“It's cool," she whimpered.

For the sake of finishing this before the end of the holiday, I've decided to split this chapter in half.

Until next time. 💘