Chapter Text
Jubilee could hear her mother and sister fighting in the kitchen down stars. The blue troll bit her lip, her stomach churning at the conflict below.
The tension between Mama and Lotus had been high strung for weeks. Jubilee tried to ignore it, really she did. Between the upcoming wedding, her one and a half year old son, minding the rations delivers, and her fiancé's pregnancy nearing its end, she had a lot of things to keep her busy. However, always in the back of her mind she feared for her baby sister. Lotus was her own troll now, and they hadn't been all that close since Daddy died, still Jubilee worried. Her sister was a free spirit, always chasing what she desired. A trait that Jubilee considered dangerous, since just beyond the safety of the Troll Tree's canopy was a town filled to the brim with their top predators. Jubilee has expressed her concerns many times, however Lotus only called her paranoid, snapping that one of them should be allowed to be happy since Jubilee was so intent on spoiling all the fun.
A shudder trailed down her spine as she heard the voices grow louder, a fight becoming a war just down the stairwell Jubilee stood over. Soft footsteps shuffled behind her, and a warm rough hand slinked along her shoulders and pulled her into a loose side hug. She leaned into the familiar tender heat of her partner. Her bright blue eyes, glanced over to the green troll, with wild red-orange curls atop of his head, seeing his look of worry.
"You okay?" Her fiancé, Branch, whispered.
"You should be in bed," Jubilee muttered, eyeing his stomach that was swollen with egg.
"You've fussed over me all day. I think it's time I return the favor," Branch whispered, leaning close, "Jewel, please let me help."
She took a deep breath, swallowing a lump in her throat, "They've never gotten this bad. They've disagreed before...but..."
"They've never screamed," Branch murmured, he hugged her closer, "It's going to be okay."
"Was your home like this?"
"No, my parents were worse."
The screaming crescendo-ed, before cutting off with a violent slam of the pod's door. Jubilee's mouth went dry, the dust was settling on the conflict, but the quiet felt even worse then the chaos. The quiet was final. Whatever happened down stairs was never going to be the same again.
"Mama? Dada?"
Jubilee turned to find a tiny teal colored trolling standing behind them. Her little peanut, John Dory, looked up at his parents with wide, scared blue eyes, and she felt like the worst mother in the world. Letting her baby hear the conflict that just happened down stairs.
"Is Gam'a an Aunt Lo-Lo mad?" Her peanut's lip wobbled.
Johnny had been one of those kids who hatched, already quite developed, and aware of his surroundings, sometimes it felt more like a curse then a gift. She and Branch shared a look. Her fiancé's gentle magenta eyes, locked with her own ocean blue, and he gave her a peak on the cheek.
"Check on your mom, I got this," He whispered, before turning towards their toddler, "Grandma and Auntie are just having a very loud talk. Now c'mon, I think this is a two bedtime story night."
Like any little kid, Johnny's eyes lit up at the mention of another bedtime story, and eagerly took his father's offered hand. Jubilee smiled as her loves continued down the halls towards the bedrooms, chuckling as Johnny asked if he could read to his "baby brother". Despite the fact that, one John could not read yet, and two, they didn't even know if the baby was a boy or a girl. Her peanut was going to be so disappointed if the egg ended up being a baby sister.
Her humor was short lived however. Taking the stairs slowly down into the pod's first floor, the blue troll steeled herself. Her Mama was sitting at the breakfast nook, next to the kitchen. The elder troll's eyes glistening with unshed tears, but Jubilee knew that they wouldn't fall. Mama was too strong for that, even if her heart was breaking inside of her.
"Mama?" Jubilee called.
Mama startled, but managed a smile once those minty blue eyes laid on Jubilee, "Oh, Junebug, I'm okay sweetheart."
Jubilee knew it was a lie with how shaky Mama's voice was, however she knew not to push. The blue troll just turned the stove on and prepped the kettle for a pot of much needed peppermint tea.
"Lo-lo, left for the night?" Jubilee asked.
Mama hummed in affirmation.
"Things will be better once she cools off and comes back in the morning," Jubilee tried to comfort.
Mama sighed, "She's not coming back Junebug, Lotus is gonna marry him."
Jubilee nearly dropped the kettle onto the tile floor, as she whirled to face Mama, "What?!"
Mama nodded sadly, and Jubilee felt her heart sink.
She had known her baby sister had been in a relationship, however Jubilee everyday wished Lotus had chose a different partner. Sure on the outside, Brook Bell-Blossom was a good man. A handsome young troll who came from a powerful family that lived at the top of the tree. Every single family from the middle and lower branches would be thrilled if he had chosen their child for his bride, but Jubilee was not celebrating. She knew what Brook was like on the inside, judgmental, rude, and full of himself. She knew the moment that Brook looked down his nose with a disgusted expression at her newborn peanut, and made a backhanded comment about how he hoped Johnny didn't inherit his father's disability, and how it would be a pity if her baby did (joke was on Brook with that one, Johnny was singing before he could talk and it was every bit as beautiful as her own voice).
"And you're just going to let her?" Jubilee said before she could think, "Mama! You have to stop her, Lo-lo is going to get hurt or worse!"
Mama sighed, "Sweetheart, as much as I would love to march into wedding hall and drag your sister out by the ear, I can't. I don't have anymore control over her in terms of her chose of partner, than I did you. Lotus is her own troll now, if this is what she wants this is what she's going to do. It breaks my heart, and I know it would've broken your father's, but..."
Jubilee felt something hot and salty well up in her eyes. Tears were not something that should be shed in the tree, tears could lead to sadness and sadness to something worse, but just because she wasn't crying didn't mean it hurt any less. Mama almost never brought Daddy up, not because their was any anger between them, only because it wasn't done. It had been over ten years since his death, yet it still felt fresh. Daddy had been killed in the tunnels, the first ever escape attempt failing before it even started when the first underground network collapsed in on itself during construction. So many families lost there loved ones in that tragedy. King Roland, swore never to use such a plan again. Jubilee had only been seven, while Lotus only had four candles on her cake less then a week prior.
Nothing was ever the same after that.
Jubilee poured out the tea, into two mugs, one with sugar, one with honey, and joined her mother at the table. They sat in silence for while, not sure what to do with themselves. Lotus was always the one who had something to say...
"I didn't wake up the boys did I?" Mama said after a minute.
"No," Jubilee shook her head, the little lie was worth it if it made her mother feel better (though they would probably have to convince Johnny not to ask about the fighting he heard). The blue troll bit her lip, "What do we do now, Mama? If Lo-lo..."
Mama reached out and pulled her in for an embrace, "We'll keep the door open, maybe one day Lotus will walk back through it."
...
Lotus never did come home, but over thirty years later, her son did...