A/N: Here's the (hopefully) exciting conclusion to Frozen Trolls!

Chapter Fourteen – An Act of True Love

Snowflake pulled Poppy along, keeping her steady as they made their way through the storm. "Creek!" Poppy shouted, the wind carrying her voice away. "Creek!"

"Auntie Creek!" Snowflake called.

Frost and Crystal stayed together, trying to battle the storm with their powers. "Baby Brother!" Crystal yelled.

"Branch!" Frost bellowed. "Where are you?"

Cooper, Creek, and Kiv flinched when they hit the wall of snow and wind. They didn't dare stop, though. They passed by a few of the ships, still locked in place. Thanks to the harsh winds, the ships began to shift, breaking up the ice. Cooper and Foxlen leaped over the uneven ground, careful to keep their riders on their backs.

"Which way to shore?" Kiv shouted over the wind.

"No idea!" Creek called back. "We'll find it when we hit it!"

Meanwhile, Poppy continued to shiver, leaning heavily on Snowflake as they pushed through the storm. They jumped when a nearby ship creaked. Thankfully, it didn't fall over on them.

"Come on!" Snowflake urged, her grip tight on Poppy's hand. "Keep going!"

Poppy nodded slowly. The hand Snowflake held was still covered by her mitten. Her free hand she held to her chest because she left her other mitten back in the palace. Poppy looked down to her hand, staring at her engagement ring for motivation. Then, she saw a thin layer of frost appear over her hand, and her fingers turned blue.

"No….." Poppy gasped. Not yet. I can't die yet.

Snowflake saw Poppy's fingers, and she whimpered a little. "Come on, Poppy!" She kept pulling Poppy along, occasionally shouting for Creek.

The snow was so thick that Kiv, Cooper, and Creek could only see a few feet in front of them. So, naturally, they didn't see the ship falling towards them until it was almost on top of them. Kiv pulled back his fox steed.

"Keep going, Creek!" Kiv ordered. "Go!"

Cooper didn't even slow down. Creek ducked and dodged flying debris from the ship as Cooper weaved his way through and avoided every obstacle. Luckily, Cooper managed to jump out of the way as the bow of the boat slammed down behind them. The force caused the ice to crack and break apart. No matter how fast he ran, the ice beat Cooper and a field of ice chunks floated free before him. But when Cooper looked beyond that, he saw solid ice that hadn't broken yet. So he leaped forward, landed on one of the ice platforms, and used the momentum to buck Creek off his back and onto solid ground.

Creek grunted in pain as he hit the ice, and his heart nearly stopped when he heard a splash. "Cooper!" He scanned the ice for his friend, dreading every second that passed when he did not come up again. A green hat floated to the surface.

Suddenly, Cooper's head came up from under the hat, and he scrambled onto solid ground. He shook like a rattlesnake's tail, accepting Creek's hug. "G-g-g-g-g-go….f-f-f-f-find P-P-P-P-P-P-P-Poppy."

Creek nodded firmly, and he took off into the storm once more.

Snowflake struggled a little to keep Poppy upright. Frost and ice continued to creep up and cover Poppy's clothing. It even sneaked up her neck and to her cheeks. She lost all energy to shout.

Snowflake wouldn't give up. "Creek! Creek, where are you?"

Creek was deep in the storm, and didn't have a clue which way to go. He froze for a moment. What was that sound? "Snowflake?"

"Auntie Creek!" The wind carried Snowflake's voice right to him.

"Snowflake…" Creek breathed. "Poppy!" He took off again, but he only made it so far before he slammed into someone and sent them both to the ground. Creek looked up and his eyes widened. "Branch!"

Branch scrambled to his feet, staring at Creek in fear. "Please just stay away from me."

"Branch, Mate, you can't keep running from this!" Creek protested.

"Sure I can!" Branch insisted. "I've been running from it my whole life! I just don't want to hurt anyone!"

"You're hurting the people closest to you by running away!" Creek said.

Branch felt stuck to the ground, wanting to run and wanting to stay at the same time. "Just take care of Poppy for me. Tell Frost and Crystal I'm sorry."

"You can do that yourself!" Creek practically ordered. "Branch, Poppy needs your help. You froze her heart! She's as cold as ice and her hair is turning white. If you don't help her, she will die!"

"She'll die because of me." Branch stared at the ground. "If you like her so much, you save her."

Creek grabbed Branch by the shoulders and shook him. "I'm trying, Branch! I'm trying to save her! But she's the one trying to save you!" He waited for Branch to look him in the eyes, and Creek lowered his arms. "She loves you so much, Mate. I know you love her….even more than I do…and I know we'd both die to save her. So are you going to help me save her or not?"

Branch analyzed Creek's gaze. He exhaled shakily. "O-okay…."

"You're too late."

Creek and Branch turned to see Malcolm standing a short distance away. He had a round shield strapped to one arm, stolen from one of the ships. Creek adjusted his position to stand more protectively between Branch and Malcolm.

"I saw the queen myself, King Branch." Malcolm said. "She was cold as the snow. It was too late to save her. Your queen is dead, Branch, because of you."

Everything just stopped for Branch. "No….." Poppy was dead? Poppy—the bubbly, happy, ever-optimistic troll he loved—was dead? It just didn't compute in his brain. Then he remembered: he was the one who shot Poppy in the heart. Branch stumbled back a bit and turned away from Malcolm. He fell to his hands and knees.

Suddenly, a shockwave spread from Branch. The wind disappeared, and the snowflakes previously blown around froze in midair. Branch sobbed silently, clawing at the ice in his anguish. Creek swayed a little, his knees almost giving out. He was too late. How could this happen? If only his first kiss had worked. Yet there was a feeling inside Creek that said Poppy was still alive.

Creek's ears twitched when he heard the sound of metal scraping on wood. He spun around to see Malcolm approaching with his sword drawn, the imp's eyes locked onto Branch. "Hey, back off!" Creek snapped, stepping between Malcolm and Branch.

"Out of my way, boy." Malcolm ordered.

"No!" Creek growled. "I won't let you kill him."

"Why not?" Malcolm demanded. "What is he to you?"

Creek glanced back to Branch with a confident smirk. "My stepbrother." He lunged for Malcolm, but the imp backhanded him across the face and sent Creek sprawling, sliding across the ice. "All right…" Creek groaned. "That was rather foolish." Malcolm moved towards Branch again, and Creek jumped up to his feet. He threw his hair out and wrapped it around Malcolm's wrist, stopping his strike. Branch still knelt on the ice, shell-shocked so much he couldn't move nor register anything around him.

"Let go, you little worm!" Malcolm growled, trying to pull his hand free. Creek stood firm up until Malcolm switched the sword to his other hand and tried to slice through Creek's hair. Creek retracted his locks, running forward to step in front of Branch. Malcolm snarled. "Move."

"Over my dead body." Creek growled.

"That can be arranged." Malcolm assured. He raised his sword and began to swing it down. Creek stood firm, and his eyes widened when a blast of ice came from behind him and struck Malcolm's blade, shocking the imp and making him step back.

"Get away from my brothers!"

Creek jumped when Frost shot past him, his dagger drawn. Frost and Malcolm immediately engaged in a fierce sword fight.

"Creek! Branch!" Crystal appeared, kneeling down to look over Branch. She smiled at Creek. "You're late."

"And you cut it a little close, my queen." Creek said. He and Crystal looked back to the fight as Malcolm twisted Frost's arm around and threw him aside. Crystal drew her dagger and ran into battle. Creek joined her. They wouldn't let anything happen to Branch, especially not Frost and Crystal. The twins finally found their brother, and they weren't going to let him get hurt again.

Snowflake and Poppy certainly appreciated that the wind stopped. Poppy still couldn't stand without Snowflake's help. She scanned the area for any sight of Creek and found Cooper instead when he galloped over and nuzzled her affectionately.

"H-hey Cooper." Poppy breathed. She groaned in pain, and Cooper had to help Snowflake steady the pink queen.

Cooper scanned the area for a moment and his eyes locked on the battle between Malcolm and the ice troll twins and Creek. Kiv had joined the fight too. Malcolm was able to hold his own, but his opponents did their job in keeping him away from Branch. If Poppy could get a kiss from Branch or Creek, it would save her.

"Hang on, queenie!" Cooper said, scooping up Poppy and Snowflake and tossing them on his back. "You got a troll to kiss!"

Malcolm didn't have the powers the ice trolls had. But he had his shield and sword, and he had the skill to deflect any ice blast coming towards him. Frost and Crystal had their daggers and Kiv had his sword, but they also had to worry about Malcolm's trickery. He had a couple more Breath Stealers, knocked aside when he threw them. He scooped up snow and threw it into his opponents' faces. He would use his shield as a weapon too, smashing it into whoever attacked him. Frost grabbed the shield and ripped it off Malcolm's arm, almost taking the imp's arm with it. He tossed it aside, and then Malcolm punched him in the jaw, grabbed the ice troll's arm, and judo-flipped him aside. Frost slipped on the ice and hit Creek, the two of them crashing into a pile of ice and snow.

"Creek!" Cooper shouted.

Creek and Frost looked up as the troll llama hurried towards them from across the frozen lake. "Queen Poppy!" Frost sighed in relief when he saw her.

"She's alive." Creek gasped.

Snowflake held tight to Poppy with one stick arm and Cooper's neck with her other arm. "Hurry, Cooper!"

"I'm going! I'm going!" Cooper yelped when his feet hit some slippery ice and he hit the ground hard. Poppy and Snowflake tumbled off his back.

"Poppy!" Creek called, scrambling to his feet.

"Creek…." Poppy shakily stood and started towards him. They were quite a distance away. But if Creek could run fast enough to reach her, Poppy would be saved. Just a little bit farther….

Poppy heard a cry of pain, and she looked over to the fight, even closer to her than Creek was. Malcolm had brutally slapped Crystal and sent her in a daze, grabbing Kiv by his hair and throwing him into Frost. Kiv almost stabbed Frost from this, and both of them struggled to get their breath back. Malcolm approached Branch, his sword held ready. Branch was still numb to it all, mourning Poppy's "death." Crystal pushed off the ground and slid across the ice to wrap her arms protectively around Branch. She braced herself for Malcolm's strike.

"Branch…" Poppy breathed. She glanced to Creek, still running as fast as he could to get to her. If she waited for his kiss, Branch would die. If she tried to save Branch, she would die. Only one of them would live today.

"Poppy, stop!" Creek shouted as Poppy turned and ran towards Crystal and Branch.

Malcolm raised his sword.

"NO!" Poppy screamed, putting herself between the imp and the ones she loved.

In an instant, Poppy turned to solid ice.

Malcolm's blade shattered against the frozen Poppy, and a shockwave knocked Malcolm backwards. The shrapnel from his sword pierced Malcolm's chest and neck. He choked on blood until Frost could create icicles and kill the imp with them.

Frost hurried to Crystal and Branch, pulling them both into a tight hug. "Are either of you hurt?"

Crystal shook her head, holding Branch close. "Baby Brother….don't ever scare us like that again."

Branch looked up to Crystal. Then he looked past her and his eyes widened. "Poppy!" He jumped to his feet, staring at Poppy in horror. Frost and Crystal stood as well, their gazes filled with grief. Kiv looked down. Creek and Cooper couldn't tear their eyes from Poppy.

"Mommy?" Snowflake whimpered, clutching Cooper's leg.

Branch cupped Poppy's face with his trembling hands, tears running down his cheeks. "Poppy…..no…..no, please…..please don't leave me, Poppy. I love you." He breathed heavily, pressing his forehead to Poppy's. "I'm sorry, Poppy. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." He never got a response, and he never would. Branch broke down, wrapping his arms around Poppy's frozen form and sobbing. Cooper nuzzled Snowflake comfortingly, even when his own tears began to fall. Creek hung his head. Kiv went down to one knee and bowed his head in respect and mourning. Crystal put a fist to her mouth, tears threatening to spill. Frost held her close. Since the storm had frozen still, everyone in the kingdom could see what happened, and they grieved for the loss of the troll queen.

Suddenly, Snowflake gasped. "Look!"

Everyone's heads shot up, and Branch jumped back when he saw a glow coming from Poppy's icy chest, where her heart lay. From there, the ice began to thaw and disappear. Poppy gasped softly as the ice completely vanished, leaving her alive and well. All the white left her hair, and even the blue streak did not remain.

"Poppy!" Branch gasped, pulling her into a tight hug.

Poppy kissed Branch's cheek. "Oh Branch."

"You're alive." Branch laughed, setting Poppy down and smiling broadly. "You're alive and you…you….." He frowned a little, giving Poppy a light shove. "You big dummy! You almost died! I mean, you…" He sighed in disbelief. "You almost sacrificed yourself…for me?"

"Branch," Poppy placed a hand on her husband's cheek. "I love you." She pulled him in for a kiss. One he happily reciprocated.

Snowflake gasped happily. "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart!"

"You saved yourself by saving our brother." Frost breathed in amazement.

"Really?" Creek laughed, relief washing over him. "Poppy? You couldn't just go the easy route and get a kiss?" Everyone laughed, and Cooper gave Creek a playful shove.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Branch asked.

"When you froze Poppy's heart, the Magi Trolls told us only an act of true love could save her." Crystal explained.

Branch blinked in realization. "Love will thaw." He gasped softly. "Love. Of course!"

"Branch?" Poppy questioned confusedly.

"Don't worry." Branch assured with a wide smile. "I got it." He took a few steps back and focused on what he wanted to do. He thought about all the things and people he loved: his kingdom, his home, his surrogate parents, his siblings, and especially Poppy.

Branch pushed his palms out and towards the ground. The snowflakes that hung in the air began to rise, and Branch lifted his arms up. The snow and ice rose up, uncovering the summer. The lake and river unfroze. Flowers bloomed. The skies became clear and blue. The trolls had to steady themselves as the ship they stood on bobbed in the thawed water. Branch closed his hands above his head, a snowflake appearing in the sky. With a wave of his hands, the snowflake disappeared and the curse was lifted.

Poppy smiled, nudging Branch playfully. "I knew you could do it."

"Well of course he could!" Frost gave Branch a light slap on the back that nearly knocked him to the ground. "He's our brother, after all."

"Hands down, this is the best day of my life." Snowflake said, beginning to melt in the hot summer sun. "And quite possibly the last."

"Snowflake." Branch chuckled. "Hang on, girlie." He swirled a hand around, and Snowflake magically reconstructed to her original form. A small cloud appeared over her head, and snow fell over her.

Snowflake giggled. "My own personal flurry!"

Crystal smiled warmly at Branch. "You scared us, Baby Brother."

"You're not allowed to do that again." Frost added, crossing his arms.

Branch rubbed the back of his head. "So…you're not mad at me?"

Crystal pulled Branch into a hug, and Frost joined in the embrace. "Of course not." Crystal sighed. "We missed you." Branch blinked to keep his tears back, immersing himself in his siblings' loving embrace.

Poppy hugged Creek and Cooper. "Thanks for coming back, guys."

"Well, we're friends, aren't we?" Cooper said with a mile-wide smile.

"And we love you very much." Creek added.

Poppy hugged Creek tightly. "I love you too." She kissed his cheek, and Creek blushed fiercely. Cooper cleared his throat with a grin, and Poppy laughed as she kissed his cheek too.

Suddenly, the crystals around Creek's and Cooper's necks began to glow, and they changed colors. Cooper's crystal turned royal blue. Creek's became a swirled mixture of blue and pink.

"We earned our crystal colors!" Cooper cheered.

"Wow!" Poppy breathed. "What do they mean?"

"Mine is for friendship." Cooper said.

"Same for the blue of mine. And that pink color?" Creek beamed. "That's for love."

"Will you get your powers now?" Poppy asked.

"Yep." Creek nodded. "They'll come into light soon enough."

"Creek." Frost spoke up. "Come. We need to talk." He placed a hand on Branch's shoulder. "As a family."

Frost, Crystal, Creek, and Branch settled in the drawing room in the royal pod. Frost, Crystal, and Creek told Branch the full story of Creek's father and his relationship with Frost and Crystal's mother. They told Branch of how he came to be born, and how Caspian died. Branch listened carefully, a little in shock that Creek was his half-brother.

"So was I just an experiment?" Branch asked when the story finished.

"No, of course not." Crystal assured.

"Mate, a rainbow troll can't even be conceived unless there's love between the two trolls and for the baby." Creek pointed out. "Maybe the whole idea started as an experiment, but you wouldn't be here if your mother didn't love you."

Branch nodded slowly. "What about Father? Why did he hate me?"

"He did not hate you, Brother. He loved you." Frost said. "Father just had a hard time coping with Mother's death. It was like he had to trade his wife for a son."

"We all suffered when Mother passed." Crystal said. "But we loved you so much and it hurt when you left. We thought you were dead."

Branch sighed. "I'm sorry I ran away. When I found out how Mother died, I thought Father treated me the way he did because he blamed me." He swallowed. "Did…..did he even miss me when I left?"

"He searched for you for days." Frost said. "It killed him to believe you were gone."

"He did love you, Branch." Crystal said. "Make no mistake about that."

Branch began to smile. "I'm glad you came back. Really. I missed you two a lot."

"We apologize for any distress we caused." Frost said.

"None of this would've happened if I had learned to control my powers instead of bottling them up." Branch said. "So do you think you two could stick around? Help me practice this powers?"

"We would be honored." Frost said.

"It would be nice to see your kingdom when it's all thawed out." Crystal added.

Branch looked to Creek. "You can stick around too, if you want. We are family, after all."

Creek grinned. "Thanks, Mate."

The kingdom and visiting dignitaries took a few days to fix up any damage to the ships and hold a wake for King Peppy. The lord of the elves offered to take Malcolm's imp henchmen as his prisoners, with the promise that the imp kingdom would be informed of their leader's death. Poppy also asked that the lord of the elves see that a new leader is elected. Branch wanted assurance to be passed to the imps that trading with their land would continue as long as a proper ruler guided them.

Poppy pulled Creek and Cooper along excitedly, the lavender troll laughing all the while. "Poppy, what is all of this about?"

"You'll see!" Poppy said in a singsong voice. She pulled them to Frost and Crystal, who waited at the docks with something covered by a tarp.

"My king, what is with that smile?" Creek asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Frost shrugged with that same crafty smirk on his lips. "Sister?" Crystal pulled off the tarp, and Creek's and Cooper's jaws dropped when they saw the gorgeous sled that lay underneath.

"I owed you a sled." Poppy shrugged.

"Are you serious?" Creek breathed.

"Yes!" Poppy squealed. "And it's the latest model! Mahogany, polished lacquer, the works!"

"Sweet!" Cooper cheered.

"No, we can't take this." Creek insisted humbly.

"You have to!" Poppy affirmed.

"King's orders." Frost explained. "King Branch has named you the Troll Tree's official ice master and deliverer."

"And ambassador between the rainbow and ice trolls." Crystal added.

"Really?" Creek and Cooper asked at once.

"You're best suited for the job." Poppy said. "Besides, while you guys are visiting, Cooper can hang out with Snowflake."

"Where is that little rascal?" Cooper wondered. It was no secret that he and Snowflake developed their own kind of sibling-like relationship.

"Summer!" Snowflake cheered, bursting from a stand of flowers nearby. She cuddled a bouquet like it was a teddy bear, taking a deep sniff of the lovely plants. She snorted a bit and suddenly sneezed hard, sending her carrot nose flying. Crystal and Frost ducked and the vegetable went flying before hitting Kiv while the guard brushed Foxlen's fur. The carrot hit Kiv in the head and caused him to do a back flip right off the dock and into the water.

"I'll get him!" Cooper called, jumping and doing a cannonball off the dock. Of course, this really only succeeded in getting Kiv even wetter.

"My nose!" Snowflake yelped as she darted after the vegetable.

Poppy shook her head. "You know, maybe you should take Snowflake up to the ice troll kingdom now and then." She suggested to Frost and Crystal.

"And let that little blizzard run around like crazy?" Frost scoffed. "Not on your life."

Creek noticed a crowd of rainbow trolls heading for a fenced-off area a short distance away. "Hey! The skating rink is almost up! Let's go!" Poppy cheered as she and Creek hurried off, Frost and Crystal jogging after them.

In the fenced-off area, Branch took a look around at the rainbow trolls who gathered. "Are you ready?" The trolls cheered and clapped excitedly. Branch lightly stomped his foot down, and ice spread out to create a skating rink in the fenced area. It warmed Branch's heart to hear the awed comments from the trolls instead of shouts of terror. He created a snowball between his palms and threw it into the air, sending a bit of snow falling around them.

Poppy almost slipped on her way to Branch, but the blue troll caught her. "I like the open gates." Poppy said.

"We are never closing them again." Branch promised. With a wave of his hand, skates made of ice appeared over Poppy's feet.

"Oh, Branch, they're beautiful!" Poppy gasped. "Uh, but you know, I can't actually—"

"Come on, you can do it!" Branch pulled her along, the two of them skating across the ice.

"Watch out! Llama coming through!" Creek called as he and Cooper skated past.

"I don't got it! I don't got it!" Poppy yelped, almost falling.

"Hey guys!" Snowflake called, coming up and pushing Poppy upright again.

"On your left!" Crystal warned, skating by and holding Frost's hand so the ice troll king wouldn't fall.

"Not very graceful, are you, Brother?" Branch joked.

Frost rolled his eyes and pulled Branch into a headlock, ruffling his hair. "And you're not very quick!"

Crystal and Poppy shared a look and laughed. The ice troll queen gave Poppy's hand a squeeze. "Thank you, Poppy. You've made my family whole again."

Poppy grinned as Frost slipped, taking Branch and Creek to the ground with him. The boys laughed heartily. "I should be thanking you. My family is happy again, and a whole lot bigger." She hugged Crystal, who returned the embrace. "I love you, Big Sis."

Crystal laughed softly. "I love you too, Little Sister."

THE END

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Following this story, I will be publishing a Cinderella Trolls for your reading enjoyment!

Neomoon585 – Aw, thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed my work!

AnimalGirl1507 – Thank you!

BornOnTheBreakOfDawn – Don't think of it as a "friendship love," think of it as more a family love. Like how Bridget loves Poppy, if that helps.

FandomsAreLoveFandomsAreLife – I will be doing Cinderella and I have plans for more stories! I am going to make a poll for people to vote on the next adaptation after Cinderella.

NerdAlert8910 – Cyber high-five back to you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this story!

Guest – Yeah, what Branch and Poppy have is so cute.

The PokemonTroll21 – If you thought it was a real movie, that means I must've done pretty well! Thank you!

Guest (other one) – Hope you enjoy this last chapter!

R.R.E. – Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this story and my Beauty and the Beast story!

A special thanks to Turtle Babe for letting me use the ice trolls, especially Frost, Crystal, Kiv, and even their fox Foxlen!