I hate attending meetings of royal subject matter. These meetings always must be done in a certain way; the way it has been done for centuries. Every ruler of a land must arrive in a carriage of some sort. Usually, they are very elegant in design and tailored to that ruler's specific style. Every ruler has one, with an exception to vampires. It was ruled long ago that the Vampire Queen couldn't attend these specific meetings, as she held no dominion over any land. I've lately been fighting to have this repealed as she technically holds dominion in the Nightosphere. Not only would this gain Marceline acceptance in these circles, it would allow her to come with me. Having my girlfriend to talk to would make this infinitely more bearable. Unfortunately, I have thus been unsuccessful. The others are so nitpicky when it comes to Marceline. They make excuses like "the Nightosphere isn't land" and "She just lives with you anyway". Naturally, since I hold the largest amount of land, it is mandatory that I attend these meetings. They go on for dreadfully long periods of time and mostly involves walking around and meeting with other royal figures. I look out the window of the carriage. The rain is pouring down outside and the sky darkens with a coming storm.

"What a perfect night to go out." I mumble.

"Don't worry, your highness. We're almost there." The driver states reassuringly.

My attention is drawn to the fat drops of rain running down the window. I casually trace their path with my finger. The soft sound of wooden wheels moving through the mud only adds dullness to the situation.

"I just wish something would happen to get me out of this…" I sigh heavily. There's a sudden loud boom in front of the carriage that shakes me out of my thoughts. Another loud crash from behind sends the carriage flying through the air, ending in it crashing harshly on its side. It rolls loudly off the road, crushing in on itself in the process. I cry out loudly as a sharp pain jolts through my side. I look gingerly to my side and find a large shard of wood from the carriage imbedded deep into the flesh. The smell of my blood sends a dizzying sense of panic and confusion though my heart. I moan in fear as I frantically try to claw my way out of the wreckage. It takes all my strength to work my way out. I let out a shaky breath and spill out onto the muddy ground. Blood drips from the various wounds on my body and into the ground. My breath hitches in my chest as I hear laughter. It's cruel and mocking.

"Sounds like a group. It's coming from the side other side of the carriage…" Thoughts flood my mind as to who these people are. Are they bandits? Disgruntled subjects? Assassins? The more these thoughts float around in my head, the more terror begins to fill me. I can hear the driver crawling out of the wreckage. Unfortunately, he crawls out of the wrong side.

"Where is she?" One voice asks roughly.

"W-Who?"

"You know very well who."

I hear a loud bang as they slam him up against the carriage. He gurgles weakly. A female voice suddenly speaks coldly.

"Kill him. He's not going to tell us."

"Very well, my queen."

The sickening sound of flesh being ripped apart pierces the air. I'm more scared than I've ever been in my life.

"They're looking for me… I've got to get out of here…" I start crawling backwards toward the forest only to bump into a hard shape.

"Hey, there. I think I've found what we're looking for. Not only that, but she looks delicious…" I look up to see a vampire staring down at me. A predatory grin stretches across his face. Three other vampires soon accompany him and surround me. I don't see the female anywhere. Sick smiles adorn three of their faces. The fourth is the largest vampire I've ever seen in my life, his face cold and emotionless. He has seen war. His body and face are covered in horrifying scars.

"Can't I just have a little taste of that pretty pink flesh?" One asks.

"If you want to die, go ahead." The scarred one replies grimly. "Is this the one you want, my Queen?"

"My Queen?!" I think in a panic.

"Yes. Yes, she is." The female vampire says, walking out of the shadows. She's an attractive, young vampire who's dressed in ragged clothing. Her eyes lock on me as she approaches.

"Look at you, Princess. Looks like you've got a little thorn in your side." She says harshly, giving a mock curtsy.

"W-What do you want with me?"

She leans in close to my face with a cruel smile. Her long tongue slides across my cheek. "Your blood? To leave your corpse lying here, drained of fluid? All that Jazz. I have to admit, the smell of your blood is intoxicating… And you're absolutely covered in her scent…"

Something about her eyes leaves me unable to do anything. Her gaze fills me with terror. Tears start to roll down my cheeks. Pain and confusion are making me weak. She knows that. She takes advantage of that. I feel her bite my neck lightly.

"You're mine now. Not hers." She whispers in my ear and then leans back. "I'm the Vampire Queen, now."

"N-No, you're not… Mar-Marceline-"

"-Is no longer a ruler of anything. I'm taking her place. She may be strong, but killing you will send her a message. The rightful Queen is here."

"S-She'll-"

"-Be able to do nothing about it. You're supposed to be gone for at least five hours. That's plenty of time to hunt, I think. I'm expecting a lot from you. After all, you are the mate of our "Queen". And judging by the strength of her scent, she must have really taken a liking to you. Try not to die to quickly. Go. I'll give you a head start. Count of ten."

I stare up at her in shock. The rain is still coming down hard.

"1."

I slowly rise to my feet, the shard of wood causing an unbearable amount of pain. Pushing back the pain, I run toward the forest trying to put as much distance between them and me. I run until I can't hear her voice anymore. I run until the pain is too great to continue. Blood is pouring from the wound, my over-exertion not helping it. Somehow, I have to stop the bleeding. I lean against a tree and place my hand to the large shard of wood. Soft sobs escape my throat as my hand grasps it tightly.

Finn's been training me to defend myself if the need arises. It's nice to be able to see him on a regular basis again. Since he's become the major hero of Ooo, he's been called away more and more often. He has tremendous fighting ability for a teenager and is growing up to be quite the handsome young man, much to the delight of his girlfriend. With Jake moving in with Lady, he partnered up with his girlfriend, Flame Princess, to travel with him on his adventures. He came to me one day with a concerned look on his face. He was afraid that his absence may cause others to take the chance to attack me. I agreed to let him teach me some basic fighting maneuvers and survival tactics. The fighting was mostly designed to incapacitate an attacker, never to kill.

"I feel like I can handle myself now… What do you think, Marcy?"

"You definitely seem more confident." She calls from the shower.

"Yeah, he's a surprisingly good teacher."

"He's not that enthusiastic little kid we used to know, Bonnie."

"I know, I know." I hear the water stop and sounds of Marceline walking around the bathroom. She walks out in a baggy pair of pajamas and lays down on the bed.

"Just don't turn into a killer on me…" She says with a laugh.

"Can't promise anything…" I say with a smile, cuddling up to her warm body. She kisses me softly on the forehead. I sigh in happiness.

I cry out in agony as I rip the shard out of my waist. Blood flows freely from the newly made opening. Holding one hand to the wound, I use the other to tear a long piece of fabric from the bottom of my dress. I unfortunately have to take the dress off in order to wrap it tightly around my waist. The fabric acts as a makeshift, and I do mean makeshift, bandage. When I'm finished, I quickly put the dress back on. Some of those vampires were giving looks like they wanted to do more than kill me and the amount of blood I've lost is sure to make me an easy target.

"But, she's not going to kill me fast. She wants me to suffer…" I think grimly.

My attention is suddenly drawn to a snapping noise in the brush. A vampire steps out from coming darkness. He's not even trying to take me by surprise. His speed is incredible. Before the thought even enters my mind to run, he has me pinned to the ground by my throat. He wears a sick smile across his face.

"What a pretty little thing you are…" He says, running his finger down my cheek. "I'm going to enjoy this…"

My struggling only manages to please him more. I frantically look around for anything to fight back with as he starts to cut down the front of my dress. Tears can't stop flowing out of my eyes and no words can come out of my throat.

"Struggle all you like. I like them when they're frantic. I can't wait to see that beautiful face of yours twisted in pain…"

I see something out of the corner of my eye. The bloody shard of wood from earlier. He doesn't see it. I weakly reach out my hand for it. He seems amused by feeble attempts at getting away.

"Aw, reaching out to get one last grip of the ground? Better hold on tight, because I'm about to-"

My hand finally grasps around it and I quickly slash the jagged wood across his eyes. He roars in pain and releases me, bringing his hands to the bloody slash. I scramble backwards away from him and rise to my feet. He regains his balance and takes his hands away from the slash, now slick with blood. I only managed to take out one of his eyes with my desperate attack.

"I'm going to make you hurt for that, bitch…" He hisses angry.

He charges forward, grabbing me by the shoulders and knocking me to the ground. He claws at my body, tearing my clothes and cutting my skin. I manage to free my hand and stab him in his other eye. The warm blood spurts onto my hand as he screams in agony. He doubles over on the ground, blood pouring onto the muddy ground. I try to crawl away, but his hand grabs my arm tightly. I cry out loudly as I stab at his throat, tearing the flesh all the way across. I kick his arm away as he crumples in a heap, giving a last bloody gurgle as his life ends. I sit on the ground, hugging my legs close to my body. My dress is torn all over and I'm covered in mud and wounds. My body aches. I know what he was going to do to me. It's too much. Soft sobs escape me.

"M-Marcy… I-I had to… I had to k-kill him… He w-was going to… " I sob, looking tearfully back at the body. The stench of blood is overwhelming. I vomit. Coughing hard, my instinct forces me to crawl away from the horrible sight.

"I have to get away… Away from here… They're coming for me!" My mind screams subconsciously. But, my body won't follow. It hurts too much to move. His blood is all over me. The horrible taste of blood and vomit still lines my mouth. I hear voices approaching and it takes everything I have to take cover from whatever's coming. From my hiding place, I see two vampires come out of a clearing in the forest.

"I heard screaming coming from over here."

"Maybe one of the others got her-"

"Oh my god!" They run up to the corpse of their fallen ally. Their expressions show looks of concern.

"Jack…She… Destroyed him…"

"No, she got lucky. She must have!"

"Dude, she slit his throat! I thought the Queen said that she'd be an easy kill!"

"Get it together, man. Jack wouldn't go down without a fight. She's probably out there bleeding to death. She can't have gone far. There's two of us and one of her. We'll make her pay for what she did to him. After we're done, the Queen will destroy Marceline and take her rightful place as ruler."

"You're right. Let's get back to the hunt."

I slowly creep away from the location, stifling my sobs and being extremely careful not to make any noise. The slightest snap of a branch could send them flying in my direction. It is quickly realized that I have to find shelter quickly. The storm is really picking up and my weak condition is no match for the powerful winds and rain. I gingerly limp through the forest, jumping at every little noise that comes from the darkness. There's no way for me to tell how long I've been walking and the darkness makes it impossible to even see where I'm going. I'm soaked to the bone and shivering all over. It isn't easy, but I'm finally able to find shelter from the rain in the form of a small cave formed as the area grows more mountainous in terrain.

"This is a terrible idea." I mumble softly. Lightning strikes off in the distance, sending me scurrying inside. If nothing else, I'm no longer out in the storm. Exhaustion from what I presume was the last couple of hours is beginning to take its toll on my body. I pass out on the cold floor of the cave.

I'm once again awoken by the sound of voices wandering outside of the cave. I make no noise, praying to god that they don't investigate. The voices start to echo as they enter.

"She's in here. I can smell it."

"Makin' the hunt too easy. Smells like blood."

"Come on out. If you do, we promise to make it quick…"

I grip the shard of wood I brought along with me. I don't know if I can do it. Can I kill again? The voices are closing in.

"Marceline sure picked a little bitch didn't she? Such a disgrace. Don't worry, when you're gone, I'll take good care of her… REAL good care-"

I don't know what happens. Their horrible words toward the love of my life cause me to grit my teeth. I have been attacked, mocked, beaten, and nearly raped. My hesitation melts away. I've had enough. I move faster than I ever knew I could as I leap onto the first vampire and violently stab into his face. He has no time to make a noise before he lies dead. The second vampire stares in shock and horror as his friend's face is reduced to a bloody mess. I slowly rise off the body and stare a hole into his eyes.

"You wanted a hunt, did you?" I say softly.

I hold the shard up to his throat. His eyes are filled with terror, the same terror I felt. It's obvious he just talked like he knew what he's doing; he's just fodder caught up in her lies. Upon closer inspection, I realize that he's just a kid. Tears begin to flow from his eyes.

"P-Please… D-Don't kill me…" He pleads.

"Why shouldn't I? You were going to do the exact same thing." I ask harshly.

He quivers slightly at the remark.

"Please… I just do what she tells me. She's so strong and she's got ways of convincing you that she'

I frown. Even if he looks like a kid, vampires can be much older than they look. I don't know if I can believe him or not. He obviously senses my distrust, as he starts talking again.

"Look, if you help me, I'll help you. I can do my best to get you out of here."

"No."

"N-No?"

"You're mine now. Not hers."

"I want Her."

He looks at me in shock. "You want to go after the Queen?"

"She's not a Queen. She's a pretender to the throne." I snap back.

"Y-You won't even get close. She's got this bodyguard-"

"Bodyguard?"

"His name's Grim. The one with the scars? You thought these guys were bad? He's even worse. He's an animal."

I lower the shard from his throat.

"You all are animals."

"Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what Jack did to you, but it looks terrible. I'm not him. I hardly know those other guys."

"You were in that hunt!"

"Vampires have always hunted. It's an instinct. We need to eat. You're the real Queen's mate, shouldn't you know this?"

"She doesn't do that anymore."

"What does she eat, vegetables?"

"She drinks the color red."

"We can't do that…" He says thoughtfully.

"Marceline told me all vampires can do that. You just choose not to."

He laughs sadly. "Guess I've been hanging out with the wrong crowd."

My expression softens. "Yeah."

He looks away. "Do you think she…"

"What?"

"Do you think she'd teach me how?"

He's just a kid caught up in her lies. Just the fodder in what was destined to be a bloody battle for survival. I smile a little.

"I'm sure she would."

"I guess I'm in your debt, then. Let's go find the… Fake Queen."

We walk out of the cave. The rain has stopped, but it is still dark out. The moon shines brightly in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the forest. Obviously, I wasn't out for that long. I walk through the forest with the vampire leading the way. Even though I trust him a little more, I still keep on my toes in case of a trap. We walk for what seems like hours. He floats around just in front of me, sniffing the air.

"What's your name?" I ask.

He looks back at me with a questioning face. "Huh?"

"I should at least know your name."

"My name's Marshall."

"Nice to-"I pause. Marshall has stopped in his tracks and stares forward with a serious expression.

"What?"

We hear a cruel, booming laugh echo through the forest. Marshall grits his teeth anxiously. A huge, dark shadow stretches on the ground in front of us.

"It's Grim. He's here."