Hello everyone!

Finally! Here is the next chapter for you all! I'm so glad I was able to get it done before Christmas, I wish I was able to finish it sooner but it is a busy season! I got distracted with other stuff, and writing this chapter was tough but I think it turned out well!

As of Boxing Day, I will have more time to write as it's going into the slow seasons for retail. It will be easier to find time to write in January and February! Hopefully the next chapter will be out towards the end of January depending on how the month goes!

Thanks very much to WildKat25 for helping me with this chapter!

I hope you like this chapter! Thank you so much for sticking with this story so far!

Walking in silence was very unusual for Poppy. She glanced over at Branch as they made their way towards the village. She could see in his eyes he was thinking about what will happen, a small frown on his lips as his mind wondered. She looked down at the little trolling in his arms. Rose hasn't let go of Branch since they woke up. She smiled softly as she took a hold of Branchs hand as they walked. She saw him glance over at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as they got into town. They made their way to the royal pod, seeing the light was already on. Poppy glanced in to see Queen Barb and King Quincy waiting at the table. "You two are early."

"Good morning Queen Poppy." Quincy greeted as he saw them walk in. "Hello Branch, Rose."

"Hey." Branch replied as he walked in. "I'm surprised that you're here early, Barb."

"Good thing I got here early, King Quincy told me what happened with the parent's. This is going to be one interesting meeting." She said as she relaxed into her chair.

Branch placed Rose on the table as he sat next to Quincy. "So Delta is the only one who doesn't know?"

"Doesn't know what?" A voice came from the door. Clampers jumped onto the table. "Rose! You are here." Clampers grinned as she trotted over to her.

"Good morning Clampers. Is Delta Dawn behind you?" Poppy smiled at her,

"Yeah, Aunt Delta will be here soon!" She sat down infront of Branch.

Delta soon appeared at the entrance. "I've told you before Clampers, you shouldn't run off too far ahead." She cycled as Clamlers gave her a grin in response.

"Glad you arrived early Delta Dawn." King Quincy smiled at her.

"Pardon my rudeness, but why are you here King Quincy?" She asked, saying a seat next to him.

"There was an event yesterday that I had witnessed." Quincy explained. "Ray and Elise cornered Branch and were yelling awful things at him. I am here to make sure everyone tells the truth."

Delta stared at him in disbelief. "Well, I see where the kids got it from. That is terrible."

"This is going to be one hell of a meeting." Barb said as she watched Delta sit next to Quincy.

Everyone went silent as they heard the door open, watching Ray and Elise walked in. Elise carried Jay in her arms, stopping at the entrance. Poppy stood up and gave them a smile. "Good afternoon. I'm glad you are able to join us. Is Eva here too?" Poppy saw Eva peek out of her mother's hair. "Good, and what about Jack? He is coming right?"

"Yes, he is right behind us." Ray said as he looked back. An older troll made his way into the entrance, the sound of his cane hitting the floor as he walked echoed through the pod. Jack looked at Ray before around at the leaders as his eyes stopped at Branch and Rose.

Jack grumbled as he made his way to an empty seat across the table from Quincy. "Let's get this over with. What are we even here for?" He breathed out, using his cane for support as he sat down.

"There was an incident with the kids. We will talk it over to figure out how we can all learn from what happened." Poppy informed him, seeing Ray and Eva sitting across from her and Branch. "I want us all to be on the same page, so I want the kids to each tell us what happened and we will go from there."

"Kids will be kids." Jack muttered, causing the others to look at him.

Poppy frowned slightly before looking back at the kids. "Jay, Eva, can you please go first and tell us what happened yesterday."

Jay spoke first. "We went to the park to play. We saw Rose and Branch, so we watched from the bushes. When he left, we went and talked to Rose."

"And what happened when you talked to Rose?" Poppy asked, trying to get Jay to talk more.

"We were mean." Eva looked down. "We said bad things, and Jay tried to take her book." Poppy quickly got a glimpse of Elise as a look of shock appeared on her face.

"I saw that part!" Clampers said, looking at Jay. "Aunt Delta and I saw Jay and Eva with Rose. I couldn't hear what they said but I saw Jay rip paper out of Roses binder and throw it on the ground. Rose looked mad and held it for him to read, but he tried to take it from her. Rose tried to get it back but the strap broke and she fell to the ground." Clampers frowned. "I ran over as fast as I could."

Eva nodded. "Jay said we will catch greyness, then Clampers came and stopped us from leaving."

"Eva!" Jay whispered to her, trying to get her to stop as he glanced at his grandfather. Poppy saw Elise face change from a shocked expression to a disappointed look.

"Jay." Elise looked down at her son, causing his ears to lower slightly. "Tell us what you said to Rose." She said sternly.

Jay was silent for a minute. "I said grey isn't a colour. She shouldn't be near our park, she ruins everyone's day by being out." Jay crossed his arms as he finished.

Rose's ears lowered as she sank into Branchs arms, wanting to hide. She could hear Clampers growling at Jay's words. "Why do you think that?" Rose heard Poppy ask after a moment. Rose looked up at Poppy to see her face was serious, but her ears were lower then before.

Jay stared at Poppy, taking a moment before he spoke. "Well…She's different. And my grandpa said grey trolls can't be trusted."

"Jack said that, did he?" Poppy looked over at Jack who stared out the window. "Jay, Eva. Do you two know why Rose lost her colour?" Poppy saw both the kids shake their head slowly. Poppy glanced over at Rose, seeing her lower her head as she held onto Branchs fingers tightly. "Rose lost her mom and dad. They were in that house that was destroyed by a creature. Rose is grey because she is very sad and scared." The kids looked down, not saying anything. Poppy looked at Rose, seeing Branch wipe a tear away from Roses cheek. "Jay, Eva." She said quietly, causing them to look at her. "How would you feel if something happened to your parents?" She saw their ears lower and a frown appear on their face. "That feeling is what's happening to Rose. That's why Rose is grey. It's not something she can control. Everything in her world is changing, and change like this is scary."

Eva looked down, rubbing her arm nervously. "I didn't know…" she glanced at her brother who stared down at the table.

"But now you do know. Now you can think more carefully before you act. Now you can think a bit more before judging someone on their appearance." Poppy gave them a soft smile, seeing Jay still staring at the ground. "Do you both understand?" Poppy saw Eva nod in response, but Jay stood still. "Jay. Do you understand what I said?"

"Yes Queen Poppy." Jay muttered as he looked up at her.

"Good. Now come here." She held her arms towards them. Eva rushed into her open arms as Jay slowly walked over to her. Poppy gave them a reassuring hug. "I want you two to think about what happened, and what we talked about today. I don't want this happening again. I also want you two to apologize sincerely to Rose." She saw Eva open her mouth, but spoke before Eva could talk. "I don't want you to apologize now, because it would be me telling you to say sorry and it wouldn't be as sincere. Take a day or two to think about why you are apologizing, then apologize when you truly mean it. Okay?" She gave them another smile as they nodded. "Good. Now, We have other things to talk about, but the kids don't need to be here for this." Poppy told the others as Eva and Jay went back to their parents.

Quincy looked at Poppy. "Essence is at the tree base having a picnic with our sons. I'm sure they would be happy to watch the kids."

Poppy grinned. "That's perfect. We will take a quick break and will meet back here in about ten minute." She stood up along with Quincy and Delta. Branch followed as they made their way out of the pod, glancing back to see Barb relaxing in her seat.

As they made their way to the base of the tree they could hear Cooper laughing, his brothers soon after. "What is so funny?" Quincy interrupted, causing the funk royals to look at him.

"Mom was telling us about your three left feet." Darnell teased.

King Quincy let out a heartfelt laugh. "I'm sure everyone is getting tired of that story Dear."

"It's a good story!" Cooper laughed.

"What story?" Poppy asked as she walked over.

Essence smile grew wider. "Oh, I haven't told you yet? Well…" she stopped when she heard a soft cry come from behind them. She looked over to see Rose shaking her head as Branch tried to put her on the ground.

"Rose, you need to stay here for a little bit." Branch said, trying to place her on the ground. Rose lifted her feet up so she couldn't touch the ground. She whimpered as she held onto his hands tightly.

"Right. Queen Essence, Would you be able to watch the little ones as we finish the meeting?" Poppy asked, looking over at her.

Essence nodded. "I would love to watch them. Bring her over here Branch, on the blanket."

Branch nodded as he started to walk over to them. He placed his bag next to the blanket and tried to put Rose down. Rose whimpered as Branch tried to pull away. "Rose, you have to stay here. I'll just be up the tree. It won't take long." He assured her, but her grip on his hand tightened. "Clampers is here…" He started as he looked up to see Clampers tail in the air as she dug through his bag.

Clampers stopped at her name, lifting her head out of the bag. "I smell cupcakes in here."

"Are you hungry Rose? We have quite a bit of food left over." Essence smiled down at her.

Rose looked over at her, her ears lowering as she tried to keep her grip on Branchs hand. Clampers walked in front of her, holding out a cupcake. "Here Rose, we can eat while we wait." She grinned.

Rose looked at the cupcake, but snapped her head towards Branch when she realized his hand had slipped from her grasp. She whimpered as she watched Branch stand up, her lip quivering. "We will be back soon, Rose. I promise." Poppy said as she placed her hand on Branchs shoulder, taking a step back.

Delta and Quincy made their way up the tree, Poppy and Branch lagging behind. As they got out of sight they could hear Roses cries. "The sooner this is over, the sooner we can get back to her." Branch muttered to himself.

Poppy looked at him, placing her hand on his. "It shouldn't be long." She assured him, grabbing his hand. She gently tugged his arm forward. "Come on, we're falling behind." She gave him a smile as she pulled him up the tree towards the pod.

As they returned, Jack let out an annoyed grunt. "Finally. Can we go? I'm going to be late for a game."

"We still have some very important things to discuss." Poppy said as she sat down in her seat. She glanced over at Branch as he sat down, seeing his eat twitch as he heard Rose's cries.

Poppy looked over at Elise. "Where did the kids go?" She asked.

"I sent them home." She replied.

"Good. As the kids said what happened, you looked shocked. I'm guessing Jay and Eva didn't tell you everything about what happened yesterday?"

Elise slowly shook her head. "No. They didn't. Jay told us that Branch and Rose made them look bad in front of you. He said that Rose pushed Eva, and that they did nothing. I didn't hear the full story until now."

Poppy opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted. "Those kids did nothing wrong. Jay did not push her. She would not have fallen if it wasn't for that poorly built thing she carries around. " Jack spoke, his eyes narrowing at Branch.

"Rose falling is not the reason." Poppy spoke sternly, causing Jack to glance at her. "A child is observant. They watch, listen, and copy things that they see others do or say. Their behaviour would have been something they saw, or they heard someone saying bad stuff about Rose. I was told Jay was there when you yelled at Branch. That is going to teach him that yelling is going to solve his problems. That's going to encourage him that he can get away with bullying Rose, or any other kids if he wants to."

Poppy was silent for a minute, waiting to see if the others would speak. She noticed Ray was avoiding eye contact, his actions mimicking Jays from earlier. "I want to get to the bottom of why Jay thinks that grey trolls shouldn't be near the park." Poppy turned to Ray. "Ray. I know you didn't have a good relationship with Branch. Why is that?"

Ray looked at Poppy, then at Branch. He was about to speak when Jack spoke up. "Why are you targeting my son? Everyone knows why he was not welcome in the village." Jack narrowed his eyes at Branch. "He ruined everything! We could not have a single peaceful day with this cursed trolls around! He-"

Delta stomped her foot, causing everyone to flinch. "Enough! She did not ask you." Delta said sternly, getting a glare in return from the old troll.

"I don't have to listen to you. You are not the Queen." Deltas eyes narrowed, about to stand up when she heard Poppy stand up first.

"Jack! You do not speak to a leader, or any troll like that! Delta Dawn is an amazing leader, and you will not disrespect her!" Poppy's voice rose as she spoke. "We will move onto your behaviour then. It was clear to see that Jay was scared of you, or your reaction to what happened. I believe you are the one filling those children's heads with lies about grey trolls."

"I have done no such thing! I tell my grandchildren the truth about those abominations!" Jack pointed to Branch, glaring at him.

"Jack!" Elise said sternly, getting a vulgar look in return.

Poppys hands turned to fists. "Are you calling your Queen an abomination? Are you calling your family an abomination? We have all been grey. You were grey. Twice!"

"That does not count! It was barely ten minutes!" Jack argued back.

"It doesn't work like that Jack, it doesn't matter how long someone was grey for! We were all grey! It doesn't matter for how long. Branch never had the support of the community, he never had a chance to be accepted by other trolls until much later. Rose has gone through something very traumatic. She needs to know that she has the support of the community to become happy and colourful again! She does not need your negative comments in the background saying she's an abomination! Why would you even think that?!" Poppy questioned. She saw Jack slowly sit down, looking away from her. She knew she hit a sour spot. "Tell me why you hate grey trolls so much. There has to be a reason behind all of this." She looked over at Ray and Elise, noticing Ray looking away from her as well. "Ray. What happened." She said sternly.

Ray glanced at his father, seeing him giving a warning look. When he looked up at Poppy, he froze. He never saw the Queen this upset before. Seeing her like that scared him. "My mother was grey." Ray blurted out. "Grey trolls ruin everything." Ray quickly shut his mouth when he felt something hook his arm. He looked over to see a cane around his arm.

"Ray. Shut up." Jack warned, his eyes borrowing into Ray.

"Jack! Let Ray go." Poppy warned back. She couldn't believe what she just saw. Poppy stared at Jack, watching as he slowly moved his cane to the other side of him. "Tell me what happened. Now."

Jack stared at Poppy, seeing emotions he has never seen in the Queen before. He stared silent for a minute before he leaned over the table. "The Bergen's rarely took children, but they took my daughter. Ray was still in the early stages when they took her, and my wife took it terribly. She turned grey. She sat in bed all day and did nothing." Jack's hands turned into fists as he spoke. "She ruined everything! She led the Bergen's to our pod and she almost killed Ray! Grey trolls are nothing but weak, selfish, cruel creatures that don't deserve to be here! None of you know how hard it was to live back then!"

Everyone was silent as they listened. Poppy looked at Ray, seeing his ears lower as his father talked. "Jack." She said after he finished. "I know it was hard back then. I've heard enough stories to understand the struggle of what it was like."

"No. You don't." Jack interrupted, standing up from his seat abruptly. "You do not understand what happened back then. The moment a troll is grey for more than a day, they do not deserve to be here! They brainwash others! He brainwashed you into telling everyone to let him in the village! No one in the village wants them here! They only tolerate him because you said we had to!" Jack spoke angrily.

"Jack, why don't you sit back down and we can take a minute to calm down?" King Quincy spoke up, seeing the fury in the older troll rising.

"No! I can not calm down! I've had enough of this! Are we good to go now?" He glared at Branch.

"No Jack, you can not go! You are taking your anger out on Branch when he has done nothing to you! I will not have you yelling at someone when they do not deserve it." Poppys spoke up. She saw Branchs ears lower, frowning more at the situation that had unfolded.

"He does deserve it! Just because he got his colours back, doesn't mean he isn't the same price of filth he was when was grey! That child will grow up to be nothing but a-"

"Just shut up already!" An annoyed voice broke Jacks rant.

Jacks eyes narrowed on Branch. "What did you-"

"You heard what I said." Branch looked up at the older trolls. He stood up, his hands turning to fists as he spoke. "All you have done is insult me for the last twenty minute, but I don't care about that. What I'm mad about is that you have called a toddler, that you do not even know, that she is an abomination! Just because she looks different? That's insane! You can call me whatever names you want, but I will not let you call that innocent child anything other than her name!" Branch took a second to breath, his eyes not leaving Jacks. "It's clear to see no matter what anyone says, you will not listen. It is also clear that you are taking your anger out on other trolls who do not deserve it." Branch remained calm as he saw Jack's hands turn to tight fists. "You are angry, bitter, and afraid. I felt like that when I was grey."

"Did you just call me grey?!" Jack's voice boomed, his knuckles turning white as he tightened his fists.

"No. I wasn't, but maybe I should. You may not be grey on the outside, but it's easy to see you're scared you might turn grey." Branch said, but froze when he saw Jack raise his cane in the air. Branch tightly closed his eyes when he saw the cane starting to rush down towards him, waiting for the impact of the cane. Branch felt something around his torso, but no pain. He heard the loud sound of wood breaking, slowly opening his eyes. He looked down to see Poppys arms around him, leaning him away from the table. He looked around to see King Quincy leaning over the table in front of him, with Barb standing on the table in front of Jack. He looked over to see Ray and Elises shocked face, as well as Jack's boiling expression as he looked at the broken cane under Deltas hooves. "...what…" Branch muttered.

Barb stood over Jack, staring down at him. "You really think that hitting Branch in front of us is a good move? You're lucky I was told to leave my guitar outside." Barb hissed out, causing Jack to take a step back.

Poppy slowly moved back to her seat, looking at Branch worriedly. Branch gently placed a hand on hers, giving her a small smile before looking back at Jack. "He has you all brainwashed!" Jack's voice cut through the heavy atmosphere.

"No. He has not. Branch has done nothing to deserve what you were about to do." King Quincy's voice boomed over Jacks.

Jack looked over at Poppy. "Queen Poppy.-" He started but stopped when Poppy gave him a cautionary look.

"Do not call me Queen." She stated. "I will not have someone in my village who will hit another just because they said something they don't like. I can not have someone who will hurt another troll! All we wanted to do was talk things over, and you have resorted to violence when it was not needed. You have shown me today that you are not willing to try and overcome what has happened in the past."

Jack stared at her. "What are you getting at?" He questioned.

"You have not listened to what we have been trying to talk about during this meeting. You were going to threaten you son. You were about to hit a fellow troll, if it wasn't for us getting in the way, you would have hit my second in command! Because of all this, I can not have you in the village." Poppy heard a couple gasps, but ignored them. "I was trying to give you a chance to redeem yourself, but I can not trust you in the village if you are going to hit trolls who are trying to talk to you about serious matters."

"This is ridiculous! I am not leaving my family here! This is my home!" Jack yelled.

"You will come with me." Delta stood up, causing the others to look at her. "You will come live in lonesome flats. All of the country trolls still there will not put up with any of this behaviour. It's the best place for you now. I am leaving in two days, and will be there for a week. Growly Pete will keep an eye on you after that."

Poppy looked at Delta shocked, then gave her an assuring smile. "For now, Jack should go to the fungeon so we can discuss it further." King Quincy spoke up, getting a nod in agreement from the others.

"What?! This is insane! He was attacking me!" Jack said, but stopped when Delta and Barb grabbed his arms. Jack quickly went quiet when he saw Barbs ruthless grin.

"You're lucky Delta spoke up first. I can already imagine the fun we could have had." She whispered to him as they went to the door. "You're lucky Delta." She teased.

As they left, Poppy looked over at Branch. "Are you okay Branch?" She asked quietly, feeling his hand shaking.

He nodded. "I'll be okay...I don't really know what happened, but I'm fine." He felt her arms tightly around him. "Thank you Poppy." He said as he hugged her back.