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Chapter Text

Viva did not remember everything from when she was little. There were so, so many details that blissfully swept past her mind. The earliest days in her memory were filled with so much singing and laughter, her parents doing their best to prevent her from ever feeling just what kind of danger the trolls were living with right outside there tree. The depth of this danger was so deep, so foreboding, it would have been too much for her to process back then, too much for her to fully understand.

But her fondest memories from back then were always of her mother.

Queen Valeria.

She was just like Viva, her skin a vibrant pink and her hair a beautiful gold.

Her Father King Peppy called her “the most beautiful troll in the whole world” and also “the most brave and courageous troll he ever met”.

So of course, Viva wanted to be just like her mother.

So understandably, Viva had to follow her mother around anywhere and everywhere. Valeria was always on the move so she would be too. Peppy would watch the both of them with pride as they did their morning patrols while he held meetings with the elders over some of the most tedious of things.

And life was perfect.

And it became even more so on the day she met him.

Valeria had let her run around the Troll Tree on her own for once, her footsteps pitter pattering along the branches as she breezed past different trolls. There were so many different networks of pods, their styles reflecting the natures of the different trolls and families living there. One branch in particular, small but sturdy, housed very few pods. But one in particular always caught her attention.

The cozy pod that was full of brothers.

“They’re singing again!” She cheered to herself, already picking up on the sound of a Harmony weaving through the air. She had never talked to any of the trolls from this pod personally, but she knew they were part of a amastic group called BroZone. Their music was simply the best! And she always found herself coming by to listen in on their practices. Viva hid behind one of the small twigs poking out from the branch, humming along with the tunes as she heard them.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“BroZone’s back alright!”

Cheering erupted, and Viva was brought back to reality as the sounds of a practice coming to an end reached her ears. The music had been so wonderful, so nice, between it and the warm sunshine she almost fell asleep. Straightening up, she resolved it was probably time to get going soon. Viva spun around, intent on heading back the way she had came, when a voice stopped her.

“Hello there! Who might you be?”

“Ah!”

Viva startled, almost slipping off the branch. The world tilted around her, leaves, the sky and tree branches flashing through her vision. A hand reached out -soft and blue- grabbing her. It pulled her back onto her feet, another hand reaching out to make sure she was steady.

“Hey! Easy there! Hold on, it’ll be okay.”

Viva’s chest heaved, the brief sensation of falling taking a longer than she would like to leave her. The world continued on around her, the sun continuing to shine and trolls in other branches continuing on with their conversations and cheer, all of them blissfully aware of her near fall from the tree. From this height it would have likely been the death of her.

It was only once her heart began to calm she was able to take in who was standing in front of her, his arms still on her shoulders. They were giving her a comforting squeeze, an attempt at ground her. The troll that belonged to them looked to be close to her in age. He was light cyan blue, his hair a sunshine yellow. His eyes were wide with worry -for her she belatedly realized- and his lips were drawn into a frown.

“It’ll be okay uh . . . sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Viva,” she said.

The boy took in her words, nodding. “Okay, Viva then. You’ll be okay.”

Her body relaxed a little. “I think I am now. Thanks.”

The boy’s expression relaxed, his blue eyes softening with relief. “Oh that’s wonderful. Glad you’re feeling better.”

Viva looked at him, the boy who still had his hands on her shoulders. He was wearing a yellow vest, its puffy material a little big on him. The pants he wore were a pristine white, matching the yellow and white striped wristbands he had on. There was something about him that felt unique, special from other trolls and worth being drawn towards. The warmth of his hands on her bare skin felt oh so personal, different from the hugs she received from her parents or friends. Just who was this troll?

“Just who are you?” She questioned, her pink gaze meeting his blue one.

The boy stepped back a bit, his hands returning to his sides as if remembering they did not need to stay on her shoulders for so long. He tugged on his wristbands, snapping them against his skin before answering.

“I’m Clay. I-it’s nice to meet you.” Clay introduced with a bow. “I’ve never met a princess before. Y-you are the princess right?”

Viva took in Clay’s nervous energy, and his manners. It was sweet, carefully precise in his own way. She liked it instantly, even though she barely knew him.

“Yep! I’m the princess! And you’re from BroZone right?” She asked.

“Yeah, I am. It’s a lot of fun, singing with my bros.” Clay explained, his expression softening again, like the mention of his brothers made him happy.

“I bet! I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling.”

Viva figured if she did have one it would be a sister. She would look similar to her and Mom. They would like all the same things and some trolls would consider them twins because of how alike they acted. At least, that was how she imagined it.

“Really? Well I hope you get to have one someday. A pretty troll like you deserves to have a sibling.” Clay murmured.

Viva paused, processing his words. “You think I’m pretty?”

Was it just her or was the air getting hotter?

Perhaps Clay felt it too if the reddening of his face was anything to go by. “Uh haha. Hahaha. I uh, I gotta go. Good luck with life!”

“Good luck to you too.”

With that, Clay ran back to his pod, leaving Viva behind. She watched him retreat, mystified.

“Well, life just got a lot more interesting.”

Chapter Text

Ever since Viva had met Clay, things had been different. For starters, she always tried to find time to see him each week. Which was not easy considering how busy she was with her Princess duties and how busy Clay was in BroZone. But somehow the two worked out an arrangement -no matter how haphazard- and they found it was relatively easy to stick with.

Viva hummed to herself, swinging her legs with all her excess energy. To which she had a vast abundance. The little tiara headband she wore was a mix of pinks, greens and blue, something her Dad said was to help it stand out from her curly golden hair. She loved how pretty it was, and Clay seemed to as well. It was always what he said he was looking at when she caught him staring for too long at her. Like, why else would he do that?

“He’s running a little late. Wonder what the hold up is?” She mused.

A few candy beads were sat out in front of her. She was in the BroZone practice hollow, the space filled with memorabilia for the popular boyband. The rugs that lined patches of the floor were blue, a similar cyan to the boyband brothers. Posters hung along the walls. The vast majority had John Dory and Spruce on them. They were the two founders of the band. Clay appeared the second most, followed by Floyd. Their puffy vests of teal, purple, yellow and pink hung on a rack in the corner, off to the side from the several instruments taking up most of the practice room space. Most curious was the blue vest on the rack. It came in two sizes, big and small, and she wondered who the small one was for.

Perhaps Clay and his brothers had gotten a pet?

Speaking of Clay, the sound of footsteps entered her ears. Viva swung her head around to see Clay making his way over. With it not being a practice day his yellow hair was a bit wild, frizzing out a little. And the faintest hint of lime green was starting to show again. Clay, being a little bit older than her, was starting to shift hue. It was something mostly male trolls did. Sometimes females did as well, but it was usually just males. It could be reflected in their skin tone or hair color, and for Clay it seemed like his hair color. To her understanding, he would always dye the roots back to the yellow the fans were used to before big performances. It had something to do with ‘keeping his image the same’ or something along those lines. Clay liked his hair to match his yellow vest so it seemed fine by her, even if she liked the lime coloring even more.

Not that she could tell him that.

It would probably hurt his feelings.

“Clay! You’re here!”

She didn’t tack on the finally. Being in a boyband, Clay had to deal with a lot of stuff that popped up at random. Such was probably the case now.

“Viva girl! Sorry I’m late. I uh, I got roped into some stuff.” Clay admitted sheepishly.

Aaaaaand she was right.

“What kind of stuff?” She asked, patting the space beside her for him to sit. The chairs BroZone had set up in the practice room were nice and comfy, perfect for taking a load off.

Clay shifted nervously, rubbing his hands together. “Hahaha well, that’s the thing. I-“

Viva jolted as something emerged from Clay’s vivid hair. It was a cyan blue face much like Clay’s own, complete with a little pink nose and big blue eyes. The hair atop the little trolling’s head was sapphire blue, and the toothy smile the little guy wore screamed cute and adorable.

“Hi Princess Viva!” The little guy all but shouted.

“Woah! Hello there little guy! Clay, who is this?” She asked, accepting the small hand the tiny troll extended to her and shaking it.

Clay chuckled, a look of exasperation crossing his face. “This is my little brother Branch. And he knows he’s not supposed to shout at people.” His scolding tone lacked any real heat.

Branch giggled from his spot in Clay’s hair. His big eyes were focused on Viva. “Nice to meet you!”

“Awww it’s nice to meet you too! Is this what you were talking about Clay?” She asked, watching the little troll shift around in Clay’s hair like it was his personal play place. Branch was running his little hands up and down the yellow strands, playing with them a little and twisting some around his fingers with delight.

And that was pretty normal for baby trolls to do.

She had just never seen it up close.

She instantly decided she loved it.

Branch looked so happy just being up there.

Clay sighed, gingerly plucking Branch from his hair and holding him carefully in his arms. “Yeah, all my other bros have things going on so Grandma put me in charge of watching Branch today.”

Viva nodded, taking that in. “I thought you only had one little brother.”

Clay hummed a little, allowing Branch to play with one of the wristbands he always wore. Branch’s eyes were zoned in on the yellow and white stripes in deep concentration. He looked a little older than a year old, and soooo cute.

“I guess you probably assumed that cause I haven’t mentioned Branch before and because of BroZone.”

“Yeah I did.” She agreed. “There’s only four members of BroZone.”

The posters did not have this smallest brother in them, the sapphire haired troll absent from them. Branch looked up at her then, reaching into his hair for something. The object he pulled out was a pair of white glasses with blue lens. Branch put them on, no longer focused on the wristband Clay wore as he wiggled around in excitement.

“Not anymore! I’m in BroZone too!” He declared.

“You are?” She looked to Clay for confirmation. The little troll in front of her could not be more than two years old -if that. He seemed to be closer to one and a half.

“Yep! Tell her Clay!” Branch looked up at his big brother, patting his lanky arm.

Clay nodded. “He’s been in the band for the past couple months now. It’s going to be officially announced with our new album next week. We’ve been doing a lot of practice and promotional stuff too that’ll have Branch in it.”

“As Bitty B!” Branch chimed in.

“Bitty B?” She inquired.

Clay filled in the details for her. “It’ll be his stage name. We came up with it for him. Branch is still little, so we decided not to have his name all over the place yet. It’ll let him keep his sense of privacy once he starts going to school and stuff.”

“Ah makes sense.” She nodded.

Viva was well aware how much the spotlight could affect your livelihood. As the future queen, eyes were always on her, for better or worse. Boyband members like Clay, and Branch now, would have similar problems, having to deal with public attention. Clay, like John Dory, Spruce, and Floyd was a well-known public figure amidst the trolls of the Troll Tree because of his status as a member of BroZone. The idea that the older brothers were trying to protect Branch from prying eyes was sweet, albeit a little sad that things were so crazy such protections were needed.

“Clay Clay! Can we practice some today? I wanna show Princess Viva my singing!” Branch proclaimed, wiggling around in his big brother’s arms.

Clay chuckled, looking to Viva. “We’ll have to see what the Princess thinks. You are crashing my hangout with her little dude.”

“Please Princess Viva PLEASE!” Branch begged, giving her the most pleading look. It was so cute and so adorable, his blue eyes wide and reflective of the soft lights in the room, making them sparkle.

It was impossible to resist.

“Sure! But only if I get to sing with you boys.” She stuck out a hand for Branch to shake.

His tiny hands immediately reached out to shake her vigorously, his expression sparkling with delight.

“Deal!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Viva had a skip in her step as she bounded back into her family’s pod. The mudroom at the entrance was a short walk before she reached the door leading to the living room. Viva pulled off her cape and hung it on the rack before peeking her head inside. There was something to be said about getting to watch her amazing parents unfiltered in their shared home.

The interior of it was kept neat and pristine thanks to the efforts of her mother. All the little trinkets her family collected over the years -from snow globes to photos to knitted figurines- were all safely stored and on display. King Peppy was bustling about in the open designed kitchen connected to the living room, the smell of stew wafting in the air. Meanwhile Queen Valeria was poised on her favorite armchair. It was a plush magenta, the footrest popped out so she could rest her feet while looking over documents.

“Peps, we’re going to need to hold another fundraiser for the Morrison’s hospital. It got damaged in the last Trollstice again.” Valeria announced, the glasses -her readers- she had poised on the bridge of her nose wiry copper.

King Peppy gave an absentminded nod. “Those Bergens, always targeting the hospital pod. Were all the trolls evacuated in time?”

“Yes dear. They got the warning from the watch patrol in time.” Valeria murmured, flipping through another scroll of news.

King Peppy continued with adding chopped vegetables to the stew. “Better than last time then. The watch patrol is being even more careful after all the losses the last few years.”

“Yes, but the Bergens I’m sure will start getting wise again soon. The watch patrol always has to take so many risks.” Valeria sighed. “I wish there was a safer way to protect trollkind.”

Protecting trollkind, always a subject of conversation with her parents. Each year, so many trolls were taken from the tree due to the dreaded Bergens. Even Clay’s parents -former members of the watch patrol- were among the casualties. And despite her parents’ best efforts, there was only so much they could do against the giant species who loved to eat trolls, proclaiming them as their only source of happiness.

“Mom! Dad! I’m hooooome!” Viva pushed open the door, revealing herself fully.

“Hello sweetheart!” Peppy cheerfully called from the kitchen.

“There’s my girl,” Valeria set down her documents and gave her a sunny smile. “How was your day?”

Viva twirled around a few times before plopping on the armrest of the chair her mother was sitting in. Valeria never minded her daughter’s antics, just shifted to make space for her to sit.

“It was amazing! Clay’s super fun! And today I got to meet his little brother!” She explained.

“Oh, how was Floyd? That’s his name right? I only know from the BroZone posters and things in your room.” Valeria gently carded a hand through Viva’s hair, taking out the small leaves which managed to hide themselves in the golden yellow strands.

“It wasn’t Floyd. Clay has another little brother -a baby brother- named Branch! He’s so cute and so sweet! We played with him for a few hours!” Viva explained.

“Sounds like you had fun.” Valeria murmured.

“I did. But I wanted to ask something Mama.” Viva began.

Valeria turned her gaze to focus of Viva a little bit more, setting down her pen. “Go ahead dear.”

“Well, it’s just, Clay has all these siblings. And the ones I’ve met are super amazing so I was wondering if I could have my own sibling someday! Like a little baby sibling! I’d take super good care of them! And I’d be the best big sister ever!” Viva promised, hoping her Mom knew how sincere she was.

Valeria chuckled. “I don’t doubt that Viva. But having another child takes time-“

“I know! I can be patient! I don’t know how it works but I really REALLY want one! It could be a boy or a girl -even though I’d really LOVE a sister- but I’ll love either one the same!” Viva interjected.

She could imagine it, having a sibling. They would be so so sooooo cute! And they could be best friends with Branch too! And she could tell her baby sibling all her secrets, they could play games together, sing together, dance together, everything! It would be another thing for her to bond with Clay over too! Another perfect excuse to hang out with the troll that was high up on the list for being her favorite person.

“Viva dear, you didn’t let your mother finish.” King Peppy joined in the conversation, walking out of the kitchen to stand close by. The apron he wore was tied around his snuggly, an oven mitt on one of his hands.

“Oh right! Sorry Mom.” She apologized.

Valeria chuckled a little. “It’s okay dear. I know how excited you can get. As for having a sibling, we were planning to wait until a little bit later, but I suppose we can tell you now, if it’s alright with your Daddy.”

Viva looked to her Dad curiously. “What’s she talking about Daddy?”

Peppy pulled off the oven mitt he was wearing, setting it down on the couch. “It’s been enough time so we should be in the clear now. Viva, I’m going to show you something very important. But you aren’t allowed to touch it yet. It’s very fragile.”

“What’s very fragile —oh.”

King Peppy had reached into his hair, pulling something out. It turned out to be a vibrant pink egg. Magenta hair similar to King Peppy’s own sprouted out at the top of it, and tiny zigzags of blue and green stripes decorated the little egg.

“Oh my gosh! Is that what I think it is?” Viva hoped it was.

King Peppy nodded. “Yes. In this egg is your baby sibling.”

Chapter Text

Viva swung back into the pod with a gleeful shout, her golden hair wild. “I’M BACK!”

“Good morning dear, how was your morning round?” Valeria asked, standing by the herbal plants in their home. The water pail in her hands was sprinkling out just the right amount of nourishment to help them thrive. The petals glistened on a few of the tiny flowers.

“It went good.” Viva made a beeline, right towards the nest. It was set up in a nest of blankets, pillows and heating pads. In the moments where Queen Valeria and King Peppy needed a break from incubating the egg in their hair, this was where it would be. And she was well aware her Mom always liked letting the egg get a little bit of sunlight in the mornings. Viva placed her hand on the egg. “How’s the baby doing?”

Valeria smiled fondly, setting her pail down as she finished with the watering. “I think the little one is doing just wonderfully. But I’ll let you be the judge. Just put your ear up to the egg, you’ll see.”

Viva did so. She closed her eyes, listening to the tiny troll inside.

“Snrk. Snrk.”

“Oh my gosh! Is the baby-“

“Snoring? Yes. And it’s one of the most adorable noises I’ve ever heard.” Valeria walked over, placing a hand on Viva’s shoulder, and the other on the egg.

“When do you think the baby will hatch?” Viva asked. “I wanna meet ‘em sooooo bad!”

“I know dear. Your father and the doctors think it’ll be in a few more days.” Valeria told her. “We’ll just have to wait until then.”

“Okay! But we’re gonna throw a HUGE party when they get here!” Viva swore, all bright smiles and happiness.

Viva was about to get the gift she wanted most in life, and she could not be happier.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And so Mom and Dad say I can’t carry around the egg yet because I’m too young still, but I said I totally could manage it!” Viva explained in between licks.

Clay, sitting on one of the small mushroom stools at their favorite ice cream store shot her an amused look. “Can’t say I blame ‘em. You are pretty young, plus you’re always on the move. You wouldn’t be used to carrying something so heavy in your hair.”

“Well that’s why I would get used to it of course!” Viva gnawed on the waffle cone, savoring the sweet chocolatey taste from the ice cream mixing into it. “You can’t tell me your parents didn’t let you do it at some point, especially for Branch.”

At that Clay shifted in his seat, his head bowing. His thumbs pressed together. It was the gesture he made when he was thinking something over. She wondered why he was doing it now, but soon got her answer.

“Viva, my parents weren’t really around for Branch’s egg’s incubation, not the majority of it. And the part they were here for, well, we didn’t know about him,” Clay explained quietly.

“Oh.” She knew Clay’s parents were gone, he told her about how they had been taken away by the Bergens. It was an all too familiar story told by too many trolls in the tree who had lost someone to those horrible monsters. But the when they had died, that she had been unaware of. “I’m sorry Clay. That must have been hard on all of you.”

The blue troll smiled a little then, his expression softening as the tension faded from him. “Losing Mom and Dad was hard, but finding Branch’s egg, having him hatch . . . it brought us all back again.”

“How do you mean?” She asked. The ice cream she had been eating was no longer interesting, not when her best friend was telling a story of such great importance.

Clay’s gaze was distant as he recounted the memories. “When Mom and Dad were taken it was a few months before Branch hatched from his egg. We were all sad, all grieving. John Dory, Grandma and on rare occasions Spruce incubated Branch’s egg, but usually John Dory had it. He didn’t want anything happening to Branch. Floyd and I were so lost in our grief that it wasn’t until we started feeling little tapping inside the egg we grew interested in it. And when Branch hatched . . . it was magical. We finally had a reason to be happy then: a baby troll who had endless love for us and knew no grief. He became a reason to move forward, to sing again.”

His words reminded her of BroZone’s break.

It had happened after a Trollstice, and the brothers had refused to publicly say much about what happened.

Hearing Clay’s personal explanation made so much sense.

“That’s beautiful Clay. Thank you for telling me.” Viva told him sincerely, placing her hand atop his on the table. She missed the way the tips of his ears turned pink, focused on the now shy smile he was giving her.

She loved Clay’s tiny trolling brother a lot already, but hearing about his impact on Clay and his family had her seeing him in even more of a positive light.

“I’m happy to. You’re someone I trust. And for the record, I’m sure when your baby sibling does hatch, they’ll bring just as much happiness into your life.” Clay placed his other hand atop hers gently, the two sharing a quiet moment at the outdoor table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Viva was running, her feet slapping against the bark of the Troll Tree. A booming cackle filled the air, the sound making every trolls’ blood run cold. Blood pounding in her ears, she weaved around tiny branches, dove through small sprigs of leafs. But there was no true escape from the noise, or the horrors that accompanied it.

Bergens.

The Bergens were here.

“Run! Everyone run!” Viva shouted over the din of panic. Trolls were screaming, babies crying, and others whimpering in terror. She shoved a few trolls towards pods. Any pod would do. As they taught young trolls in school, there was a better chance of survival -a whopping 70% more- if a troll was hiding in a pod.

Because the Bergens for all their brute strength and monstrous qualities, were far from an active bunch. They would go for trolls easier to reach and get to. At least, that was the case most of the time.

“Viva, get back inside,” King Peppy was there now, grabbing at her arm.

She yanked it from him, even as her instincts were screaming at her internally to do as he said. As the King of the Pop Trolls, Peppy’s orders were not to be ignored.

Yet she couldn’t listen.

Not right now.

“No! I can’t! I don’t know where Mom is!” Viva cried out, running off before her father could grab her again.

“Viva no!” Peppy yelled, but whatever else he shouted after her was lost to the commotion of screaming trolls.

Viva barely avoided a grisly hand snatching her as she rushed to the other side of the tree. It was the one place she had not been to yet during this whole mess. There were far more Bergens here -she count ten different pairs of hands with gnarled fingernails and bumpy skin- their voices louder as well as gruffer than trolls’.

“Mom! Momma!” Viva called out, ignoring her fear, the thrumming anxiety in her chest.

Trolls pushed past her in waves. Viva latched her hair around a branch to steady herself, stomach twisting as at last she found the troll she was looking for.

Queen Valeria was sending other trolls to safety, her golden hair lashing out at Bergen hands with a surprising amount of force. But the grisly hands that were accompanied by even more ghastly faces were getting closer. They would be on her soon. She needed to flee like everyone else.

“Mom run!” She yelled.

Valeria’s ears perked up at the sound of Viva’s cries. Her mother tilted her head, just slightly to spot her daughter. Her eyes widened in shock, or perhaps horror.

“Viva! You shouldn’t be here!” Valeria grunted, her hair snapping out at another Bergen hand with high speed. The monster snarled, its attempt to grab a mother and her baby thwarted as the they escaped further up the branch, brushing past Viva.

“I had to come! I had to find you! We need to hide!”

But her words didn’t seem to have the effect she wanted them to have on Valeria. Her mother’s eyes widened, like something had occurred to her then, something horrible. They swept around at the Bergens who were closing in once again. There was no way she would be able to keep fending them off, not with how persistent they were being.

“Viva! I love you so much! Your father too! So I need you to do something for me!” Valeria called out.

“Anything Mom!” She replied.

And then Queen Valeria did something neither of them expected.

She reached into her hair and swiftly pulled an object out. The object was round, pink, and small. Viva recognized it instantly.

The egg.

Her baby sibling’s egg.

“Viva catch!” The egg was thrown, a perfect spiral. Viva reached out, catching the egg. She held it close to her chest, her body trembling.

“Got it.”

“Viva! Take Poppy and run!” Valeria yelled.

“But Mom-“

“No buts! Get out of here!” Valeria yelled. The seriousness of her tone shook Viva to her core. It was mixed with a desperation and fear, not for herself, but for her daughter and unborn child. An unborn baby Valeria had named Poppy.

And then her feet were moving. Vision blurred but feet knowing the trail by heart, Viva ran. Her heart beat rapidly, dipping and weaving through the outstretched hands, gnarled hands with nails sharp as claws reaching for her.

It felt like a lifetime when she reached her family’s pod. She collapsed against the wall, holding the egg tightly. Curled up with it, in a space which went mercifully ignored by the raging cries -from both Bergens and Trolls alike- Viva trembled, crying. This was far from her first Trollstice, and yet this one felt infinitely worse than all the others.

And when morning came the next day, she understood why.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Viva! Viva! Thank goodness you’re here!”

Hands were shaking her by the shoulders. Viva groaned, neck aching. The night before she had stayed against the wall in the back of the living room, the egg tucked securely in her hold. That night, cramped and tucked tightly to herself, left in its wake aches in her limbs like she rarely felt, the kind that came from sleeping wrong.

“Ngggh, what happened?” Her eyes fluttered opened to find her father on his knees before her. His hair was wild, eyes frantic as he checked her over.

“Trollstice,” her Dad’s voice was quiet, pained. “Trollstice happened.”

She sat up, alertness flooding her. “I can’t believe I forgot.” In her haze of sleepiness, the reason for sleeping like she had slipped her mind as well. But when it returned so did the memories.

The screams.

The terror.

“Mom! Where’s Mom?!” The second her memory clicked back so did her face. Mom had given her the egg -Poppy’s egg- and told her to run. She looked around now, gaze searching. Surely Valeria was with Peppy? But despite this certainty, the Queen was nowhere to be found. She looked to her father for answers. “Dad! Where’s Mom?”

King Peppy’s eyes filled with sadness then. “Viva.” The way he said her name, so quietly, had something inside her twisting.

Viva’s eyes were growing wet, dread filling her.

“Dad, where’s Mom?”

“Viva she . . . she didn’t make it.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Numbness traveled like ice through her veins. Viva’s fingertips were numb against the egg, heart hammering so fast inside her chest.

“N-no . . . No! That can’t be right! She can’t be gone Dad!” Viva cried out.

Peppy’s face twisted as the expression he wore deepened. She distantly recognized it for what it was: grief. “I’m so sorry sweetheart. So terribly sorry.”

“No! NO! Not-not Mom! Not her!” Sobs began spilling out of her. Her body trembled, and then arms were enveloping her then, pulling her and the egg close. Peppy’s continual spew of apologies came out in slow, despairing breaths, the family -smaller now- sad and heartbroken over the loss of someone they held so dear.

So heartbroken, that at first, both of the them missed it. Missed the sound.

The small crick crack of the egg sitting between them.

A tiny pink hand poking its way into life.