Song Defies Color

A/N: Whew! I finally finished this pretty late last night. I've been working on this for about a week, but I had to attend a wedding yesterday. But it was a wonderful occasion. I had a good time.

Anyway, let's get on with Chapter 3. Roll it!

Chapter 3

A Party on the Lake

It was quiet for a few long minutes when Branch thought he heard something. His ears instinctively twitched at the faint sound, and he slightly stirred from sleep. He eventually opened his eyes and slowly sat up from his spot under the mushroom. He carefully moved his ears around to try and pinpoint the sound, if he would hear it again.

Just then, he did hear it. It sounded….melodic. Curious, Branch stood up and slowly walked away from the mushroom and headed over in that direction. The further he walked, the louder the melodic sound got. But the more he thought about it, the more he thought that it sounded familiar. Like he had heard it somewhere before.

Suddenly, he found a little ball of blue light floating in the air. Branch cautiously approached it, wisps of light seeming to come alive as he came closer, little flames pulsating on the top with the downbeats of the mysterious melody. Ignoring all caution and let curiosity take full control, Branch slowly reached out to touch it.

Right before his fingertips touched it, the ball of light seemed to grow brighter until it became a full flash of light, wind and force blowing out from it. Branch quickly shut his eyes and covered them with his hands for further protection as he braced himself.

When the light vanished, Branch suddenly found himself among big mushroom buildings all scattered among the vicinity of the biggest and oldest tree in the forest, with colorful pods dangling from the many thick branches. It was the village.

For a split second, Branch thought about making a run for it before anyone saw him. But it was too late. Trolls were walking about their daily lives around the plaza, not even noticing him. The gray Troll raised a confused brow, wondering why they were acting like they haven't seen him yet. He reached his hand out to try and grab someone's arm, but his hand went right through it. It was then that he realized that he was like a ghost.

Still, he couldn't help but be in awe as he looked around the village. The melody that he heard before was getting louder and louder, but Branch still couldn't put his finger on why it sounded so familiar. Just then, he heard a voice.

"Hey, Mom!" He turned over to the side and saw a pretty Troll with teal blue skin, familiar mint green hair, and warm violet eyes. She wore a rosy pink tank top with dark green capri, along with a red hairband with a green bead on the side. Something about that Troll seemed faintly familiar.

"Esme!" Just then, Branch saw a really familiar Troll that made his heart nearly stop. She was getting on in years, and she had purple skin, mint green hair like the younger female, and green eyes. She wore a cream dress and a magenta shawl over her shoulders. It was his grandmother.

But that couldn't be. She's dead. Branch thought to himself. That was when he realized that maybe, he was in a dream formed from some of his most suppressed memories. Also, that Troll that was with her, that had to be his mother, Esmeralda.

"Where are those two boys of yours?" Rosiepuff asked her daughter.

"Oh, they're around here somewhere." Esme answered.

"Looking for us?" A male voice suddenly asked. The two women looked over to the side and saw a male Troll with lime green skin, cobalt blue hair and ocean blue eyes. He wore a warm brown vest and pants. Branch's eyes widened. That had to be his father, Rowan.

Esme just giggled and sauntered her way up to her husband. "Where did you and Branch go off to this time?" She asked, giving him a quick hug.

"We both thought that we wanted to bring you two lovely ladies these." Rowan parted his hair and reached into it. He then pulled out a beautiful two-year-old trolling with the teal skin of his mother and the blue hair and eyes of his father. Branch immediately recognized those colors. Those were his, before his grandmother passed away and he was taken into the "care" of Guffin.

Little Branch had two beautiful red roses in his tiny hands, and he giggled melodically as he held them out to his mother and grandmother. Both Esme and Rosiepuff lightly chuckled at the baby's gifts and carefully took one rose from him.

"Oh, aren't you sweet, my little angel?" Rosiepuff cooed at the young trolling, making him giggle again. Branch watched the interaction between his toddler self and his grandmother.

"Yes." Esme agreed, nuzzling her nose with her son's, which also made him laugh. "Just like his daddy." She then looked up at Rowan, who just chuckled.

"And his mother." He added, leaning his forehead against his wife's.

Branch almost felt tears beginning to jump into his eyes. That was back when things were happy in their family, before they slowly began to take a turn for the worse.

Just then, there were three little dings, as a blue, pink and green flower appeared on their respective Hug Time bracelets. As the family came together for a group hug, the glows from their bracelets got brighter and brighter until Branch couldn't see them anymore and had to shield his eyes again to avoid being blinded, and the hauntingly familiar music finally reached its climax and then it ended on an epic note.

The gray Troll suddenly woke up with a start, gasping a little bit. But his sudden awakening startled Glitz, Archer and Cloud Guy, and the teenage Party Crasher accidentally punched the cloud in the face.

"OW!" Cloud Guy exclaimed.

Archer slightly winced at his little mistake. "Sorry." He said. And then, he realized something. "Hey, aren't you a cloud?"

"Oh, so you've noticed?" Cloud Guy asked him, crossing his arms.

"Sorry about that, guys." Branch said, shaking his head.

"Another nightmare?" Archer questioned him. Often, the gray Troll would have pretty bad nightmares about not just his grandmother's death, but also his parents', even if Branch doesn't remember them very well. They had left on a scouting trip when he was about three years old, and they never came back.

The gray Troll shook his head. "Not exactly." He said. What was it about that song that was so familiar? He could've sworn that he had heard it somewhere before. "I guess it was just some old memories." He continued.

Both Archer and Cloud Guy shared a puzzled glance between each other, wondering what exactly did Branch mean by that. Glitz came over to his friend and then nestled himself in Branch's hair to give him some comfort. The gray Troll lightly grinned at the little glowbug trying to cheer him up.

Just then, Branch felt a little breeze go through the clearing. There was something about it that seemed….mystical in a way, almost ethereal. He lightly rubbed his arms to give them some warmth as he stood up under the mushroom, but then, he thought he heard something in the distance. Call him crazy, but there was something familiar about the voice.

"Grandma?" He whispered.

Listen with your heart;
You will understand.

Branch was confused as to why he was hearing his grandmother's voice again, but then he closed his eyes and listened carefully. Having grown up with a deep appreciation for nature despite his somewhat paranoia, he was very much in tune with the sounds of the forest.

Let it break upon you
Like a wave upon the sand.

Just then, one of Branch's ears twitched up, hearing something over in the distance. It sounded almost….lively?

"What do you suppose….?" He wondered aloud as he headed off into the direction the sound came from, Glitz flying out of his hair from the sudden movement.

"Branch!" Archer called out, and he, Glitz and Cloud Guy quickly followed him. "Wait up!"

Listen with your heart;
You will understand.

Branch followed the energetic noise down the familiar path that he walked on in his dream, only this time, when he had reached the end of it, he had came to the giant lake in the forest, which was only a couple of miles away from the village. By now, the sun had already setted beneath the horizon, turning the sky a dark blue color with the moon shining above, and hundreds of stars twinkling above.

But what caught Branch's attention was the large boat floating in the center of the lake. There were lots of lights flickering from it and fireworks of all colors shooting into the sky, briefly lighting up the entire area of the lake. An awestruck grin appeared on Branch's face when he saw the boat. It had to be quite a celebration.

By then, his friends had caught up with him. "Hey there, dark and speedy." Cloud Guy said. "Would you mind if you slow down next time?" The three of them then saw the boat and the fireworks. "Whoa! Looks like quite a party over there."

"Any idea on what they're celebrating?" Branch asked Archer.

The Party Crasher shook his head. "Not that I recall." He said. "Plus there's too many holidays and birthdays to keep count of."

Branch knew that it was most likely a bad idea to try and get closer to the boat without being spotted, but his curiosity was starting to eat away at him. He just had to get a better look. Plus, this might be the closest he can ever get to the Trolls in the village. He just had to take that chance.

With a look of resolve, Branch started to sprint down towards the damp shores of the lake. "Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Archer exclaimed as he, Glitz and Cloud Guy quickly followed the gray Troll. "You can't just swim over there and not expect to be seen! Plus, you'll be too tired to keep yourself afloat when you reach there."

Branch lightly scoffed as he glanced over at his friend. "Who said anything about swimming over there?" He asked rhetorically.

He turned back towards the lake, put two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. Both Archer and Cloud Guy winced at the shrill sound, and then frantically looked all around them and out towards the lake, hoping and praying that no one on shore or on the boat heard him.

When Branch removed his fingers, there was a large ripple in the water ahead of them, a few miles away from the boat. Just then, a magnificent creature appeared from the surface of the water. A small lump of the lake water somewhat solidified and gained a horse-like appearance; Troll-sized, of course. It neighed happily when it saw Branch and it nuzzled him, making him laugh. Branch petted it, feeling the now solid, wet skin of the creature.

"What is that?" Archer asked in amazement.

Branch snorted, which in turn made the creature snort into his hair, blowing surprisingly hot air. "What? You've never seen a nokk before?"

"A what?" Archer asked again, wondering what his friend just said.

"A nokk." Branch repeated. "A water horse."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Archer demanded, gesturing to the watery creature next to his friend.

"Because 'nokk' sounds way cooler." Branch said with a smile.

He then climbed onto the creature's back, not feeling the water soaking into his patched up shorts. It was the coolest thing about nokks. They can maintain their shape in and out of water at will. Plus, having a rider is a sign of real trust between them and those who they deemed worthy since they are usually very wary creatures, and they won't let their rider get wet while they were riding them.

"Come on, boy." He said, patting the neck of the nokk, not feeling his fingers getting wet at the contact of the watery shape. "Let's get a closer look."

He then guided his nokk friend out onto the lake, the creature making ripples in the water, towards the boat. Glitz immediately buzzed after him.

"Branch!" Archer called out to him. "Are you crazy?!" But Branch was already out of earshot.

The Party Crasher groaned at the sight of his friend slowly getting further away into the distance. "He has to be insane." He muttered.

"Want a lift?" Cloud Guy asked him, suddenly appearing above him, his hands held down to him. Archer sighed and took hold of them.

"You better have some hidden strength in you." He said.

Soon, Branch and his nokk friend had come up next to the boat with Glitz, where the Trolls on board were partying like crazy, and the music was getting really loud. He slightly winced at the volume before reaching into his hair with one free hand and pulling out some foamy earplugs. Normally, he would've used gumdrops to completely block out the sound since they work surprisingly well, but he still wanted to hear a little bit of what was going on. And the foam ones work pretty well enough.

He put the ear plugs in his ears before leaning down to talk to his watery steed. "Come up to the side. I'll see if I can get a view. And stay out of sight."

The nokk quietly whinnied in response and then carefully came up to the side of the boat, where Branch used his hair to pull himself up onto the sides of the boat and made his way over to the front end of it, staying out of sight; Glitz landing in his hair to hide his light. He got a good grip on the thick railing of the peak of the boat, near the bow, and got a good look at the party on deck.

As usual, there were quite a number of Trolls dancing on deck or swinging from ropes above. There was even a little stage built up on the quarter deck. Branch watched with mild amusement. It must be another random party; ever the usual with them.

Just then, a red female Troll with orange hair wearing a cream crop top and matching capri made her way onto the stage. "Hey there, everyone!" She greeted the party-goers as they turned their attention over to her. "Is everyone having a blast?"

The Trolls cheered loudly, giving her their response. Branch took the opportunity of the lowered volume and removed his ear plugs.

The red Troll laughed when things began to quiet down. "Well, here's a real treat for you guys." She said. "The birthday girl wants to sing us a little song, so let's give her a big round of applause!"

The Trolls on deck clapped and cheered as the red Troll left the stage. Branch and Glitz watched with silent curiosity. So it was someone's birthday. But whose?

Just then, another female Troll appeared on the stage, walking up gracefully. Branch blinked at the sight of the pretty Troll, his jaw slightly agape. He had seen other girls from a distance whenever he would see the village, but this one, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Her skin was pink like bubblegum, her hair was more of a hot pink color, and it was pulled up into a ponytail, and her eyes; even from where he could see, were rose-colored. She had glitter freckles on her cheeks, and she had the brightest and warmest smile on her face. She wore a turquoise colored dress with a matching flower headband.

The pink Troll smiled at her guests before taking a deep breath. Then, she began to sing in the sweetest voice Branch ever heard as gentle music began to play.

Everybody's got a thing,
But some don't know
How to handle it.

Branch wasn't the only one who was mesmerized by her singing. All of the Trolls were in awe at the sound of her lovely voice.

Don't you worry 'bout a thing.
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama,
'Cause I'll be standin' on the side
When you check it out.

Just then, the music became much more lively as a little mischievous smirk appeared on the pretty pink Troll's voice. The other Trolls began to cheer as the pink Troll began to dance an upbeat sequence flawlessly on the stage, her hips swaying and swinging.

They say your style of life's a drag
And that you must go other places.
Just don't you feel too bad
When you get fooled by the smiling faces!

Don't you worry 'bout a thing.
Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama,
'Cause I'll be standin' on the side
When you check it out, come on!

Then, the pink Troll began to reach the end of her little song, which she was vocalizing a bit before. Her voice got higher and louder, which really impressed Branch. It wasn't easy to reach those particular high notes, and not for very long either. Not only is she beautiful, but she is extremely talented, judging from her voice and moves.

Ooh-whoa-ooh-ooh!
Ooh!
Don't you worry 'bout a thing!

When the pink Troll finished singing, the Trolls were cheering like crazy. From his hidden spot near the peak of the boat, Branch just smiled widely at the sight of her positively glowing at the attention that she was receiving from her people. He felt like he couldn't take his eyes off her for even a second. She was just….incredible.

Glitz looked down at his friend's face, and then over at the pink Troll who was singing earlier. He could sense the pheromones emitting from the gray Troll. He was smitten, twitterpated; in other words, as Trolls would say it, he's in love.

"Hey, Branch!" The gray Troll almost froze when he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw Cloud Guy coming over, carrying Archer, who was pretty much dangling down from his flimsy purple arms.

"You couldn't bother to give me a ride too, could you?" The teen Party Crasher asked him as Cloud Guy dropped him and he grabbed a spot next to Branch, hanging from the peak of the boat.

Before Branch could answer him, Cloud Guy landed on the peak. "Well, I must say. This is quite the schniding!"

He had said that a little too loud, making his friends wince. Branch quickly slapped his hand against his mouth, and he and Archer looked back with worried eyes at the main deck, hoping that no one heard them. Luckily, they weren't, and they breathed out a quiet sigh of relief.

Branch then removed his hand and narrowed his steel blue eyes over at Cloud Guy. "Do you want them to know that they have stowaways on board?" He quietly hissed before he removed his hand.

"Okay, fine." Cloud Guy muttered. "Dumpy Diapers." Branch glared at the cloud and then pounded his fist onto his head. "Ow!"

"Still though." Archer changed the subject, looking back at Branch. "What made you, Mr. Overprepared, throw caution to the wind to get close to a party ship?"

Branch didn't answer him as he found himself staring at the pink Troll again. He found her dancing along with the red Troll from earlier, along with a pair of twin female Trolls, one of them having light pink skin and the other one having pale blue skin. Their pale blue and teal hair made them conjoined. They had similar shimmery outfits, except the pink one wore a jumpsuit, and the blue one wore a dress. Her smile was so bright that Branch thought the sun couldn't compare to it. He felt like he couldn't stop smiling himself when he saw that radiant grin of hers.

"Branch?" Archer asked him when he saw that the gray Troll had been silent for a few long minutes, staring off into the space ahead of him. He then waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "Hello in there?"

That got Branch to snap out of his little daze. "Uh, what?" He asked.

Cloud Guy then looked over at what Branch was staring at. Or rather, who. A little mischievous smirk appeared on his dopey face. "Oh, I see." He said, a teasing lilt in his voice. "He was looking over at that pretty pink Troll over there."

A light lavender blush appeared on his face and up to the tips of his ears, and he narrowed his eyes at the cloud. "I was not." He hissed.

"What pretty pink Troll?" Archer asked as he looked over at who Cloud Guy pointed to, and the first impression was to also tease Branch. "Oh, that one." But then, he recognized her, and his eyes widened. "Uh, guys? That's-"

Just then, an elderly pink Troll with sky blue hair tied up into a bun appeared on the stage. All three stowaways, four including Glitz who was still hiding in Branch's hair, immediately recognized the Troll and quickly hid behind the peak of the boat, out of sight. It was Guffin in disguise.

"Everyone!" She said in a cheery tone, getting their attention over to her. "I have a little gift here for Princess Poppy."

Branch carefully peeked over the edge of the peak and saw the pink Troll come back up onto the stage to stand next to the disguised Guffin. His eyes widened when he recalled the name.

Poppy. That's a really pretty name. But what?! She's the princess?!

His eyes flicked over to Archer, silently asking him if it was true, since Archer knew almost everything that happens in the village. The teenage Party Crasher just nodded his head in confirmation.

"Aw, Miss Guffin!" The pink Troll, apparently Princess Poppy, beamed at the elderly Troll. "You shouldn't have!"

"Oh, but of course, my dear." Guffin cooed at her lovingly, softly patting her hand against Poppy's cheek. She then handed her a little flat box wrapped in simple shiny red paper with a little white bow. "Happy birthday, Poppy."

Poppy wrapped her arms around the disguised sorceress and then released her. "Thank you, Miss Guffin." She said. "But I'll open all of my presents when I get back home. Don't want to lose any of them or get them wet because we're out on the lake."

"Wise decision." Guffin said, and then looked over at the wrapped present in Poppy's hands. "Though to be honest, I was saving that for a wedding present."

For a brief second, there was a faint frown on Poppy's face. But then she erased it and just laughed. "Come on, Miss Guffin. Don't start on that now."

She got off the stage and then headed over towards the peak of the boat, where the stowaways were hiding. They all quickly ducked down and pressed themselves against the exterior of the boat, hoping to remain out of sight.

"You're not still upset that I wouldn't give your top student a chance, are you?" Poppy asked, looking out towards the lake.

"Well, why not?" Guffin asked. "He's smart, handsome, just oozes positivity and is very easy-going. He'd make a perfect husband for you. After all, as future queen, you would one day have to marry someone who will benefit the kingdom as your king."

Poppy shook her head with a sigh as she turned back to the older Troll. "I'm sorry, Miss Guffin. I do like Creek, but I don't love him."

Guffin herself then sighed. "Oh, Poppy." She said. "It's not just me. Your father and the entire village wants to see you happily settled down with the right Troll."

"He's out there somewhere." Poppy said before she sighed again, looking out towards the still lake. "I just….I just haven't found him yet."

Branch's ears traitorously tilted upwards as he curiously listened in on the conversation happening above him and his friends. The thought of Guffin possibly catching him was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.

"Well, maybe you haven't been looking hard enough." Guffin suggested.

"We are a small village, Miss Guffin." Poppy said. "I've met all of the single males, and none of them ever had caught my eye." She then sighed as she looked back towards the disguised Troll. "But believe me. When I find him, I'll know."

She then moved slightly away from the railing around the peak of the boat. "Without a doubt. It will just….hit me. Like lightning."

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling sound in the distance. All of the party-going Trolls immediately stopped what they were doing when they heard it. Then everyone, including the hidden stowaways, looked out towards the horizon. Clusters of dark clouds had gathered around, and there was a white lightning bolt that appeared from it, briefly lighting it up. The waves were beginning to get a little rougher, and the winds started to pick up, making the waves bigger.

"Storm approaching!" Someone cried out, getting the Trolls all worried and freaking out.

Being out on the open water during a storm wasn't the most fun thing in the world, nor was it safe. It was a Troll's worst nightmare that could happen when they have parties out on the lake. In a matter of seconds, rain began pelting down as the boat found itself and its passengers smack dab in the thick of it.

A/N: If any of you have seen the movie, "Anastasia", then you might've picked up on little elements of that in the beginning of the chapter. But other than that, this was very much inspired from "The Little Mermaid." Finally, since so far, there only had been elements of "Cinderella" and "Rapunzel".

The songs that I used were, "Listen With Your Heart" from "Pocahontas"; which is one of my favorite Disney movies ever, and "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" from Stevie Wonder. But this version was sung by Tori Kelly, who really has an incredible voice. However, I don't know them in any way or form. All credit goes to their respective owners.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And I can bet you already know what's coming up next. Until next time, y'all! Please leave a review about what you think. And remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)