Royalty. That is what it always played down to; royalty. If one was not royal, then they did not matter. Now, about fifty percent of the population was indeed royal. However, that did not help to even out the scores. At the top of the royal food chain, there was the Prince of the Candy Kingdom, Gumball, the absolute ruler of Aaa, and a personal plaything of mine. Second were the Crowns of Power, rulers like Ice Queen, Flame Queen, Ghost Prince, whoever actually had control over the rebellious Cloud Kingdom, and the nightly realm that I myself held dominion over. Not to be confused with my lazy ass mother, who stayed down in the Nightosphere constantly, allowing me utter control over whatever may go bump in the night.
However, the remainder of the population was common when compared to the royals. Those living in every kingdom and the grasslands; those who had no power but those of their own lives. It is among these people that a few of my friends stick out. Or, one, I should say.
The golden haired, blue-eyed girl, the last remnant of an entire species, Fionna the Human. Despite a rather fragile appearance—to me, at least—I rather fancied her. She was tough, a bit rowdy, even, but someone I did not completely despise being around. Her cat—oh no, sister—was of much lesser company than the human, but since they were a package deal, one simply had to cope. On a good day, Prince Gumball would bring by his own pet, a downright awesome animal by the name of Lord Monichromicorn, and the two pets would go off and frolic in flowers, or do, I do not know, animal stuff.
As I sat on the top of a large house, the rain pelting down, I reconsidered my presence there. Cake had seemed pretty odd upon coming home, and maybe Fionna would not be up for a visit… I did not get to contemplate much farther as I saw a figure burst out of the house, apparently angry, and nearly steaming. Or… actually steaming…?
"Oh whoa, a Fire elemental," I chuckled to myself. Must suck for him; the rain was awful that night. Nevertheless, I hopped off of the tree fort's roof and made my way down to the door. It was left open. I snuck in, closing the hinges, and turned around to see a disgruntled Cake and a shocked Fionna. She sat on the floor, her legs curled under her, her small hand caressing a burn on her cheek. It took another moment to notice it was in the shape of a large hand. A hissed escaped from under my breath as the girls finally realized I was standing there.
"Marshall Lee," Fionna said, trying to sound surprised, or maybe she actually felt that lousy. I helped her up and sat her down on her sofa. She kept her hand on her cheek.
"What the hell happened?" I asked. She met my gaze, and I saw them. The silvery tears I knew would come the second I had seen her on the floor, shocked beyond belief at what had just happened. She huffed in, attempting to keep herself together, but as I sat beside her and wrapped an arm around my friend, she broke apart, clutching at her sides as if attempting to keep herself whole. "Fionna, calm down."
"I… didn't… even… know him…" she wept severely. I did not dare be stupid enough to ask who she was alluding to, even though I already knew. The fire boy who had left in apparent rage, angry enough to leave in the rain; it would be like me becoming so incredibly furious that I would leave in the broad of day without even a shirt on.
"Fionna, it's okay. Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"He… he came here… he tried to burn it down…" I knew she was speaking of the house as she hastily checked it for its assurance, "and, he was so angry… said I insulted him… then he left… I said I liked him… oh, what a stupid thing to say…" she groaned and shook her head. Cake peered around the corner then, holding up something that looked like a towel. I registered what she was meaning, and held Fionna at arms length, forcing her to look at me.
"You go with Cake, now," I said slowly. It seemed to take her a while to process the very air before her. "And then, after you calm down, we'll talk about it some more, okay?" She nodded and stood, slowly making her way to the stairs where cake stretched an arm around her waist and pulled her up the ladder.
I will not lie when I say I am not proud of my actions following this. Upon seeing Fionna, probably my closest friend, hurt to the point of a burn and bitter tears, I either panicked, became enraged, or a bit of both. I stormed out of the house, not caring about the pounding rain, and looked around. There was a trail of grass that seemed like it had tried to burn, but quickly extinguished. I smirked; the fire people were so inconvenient to themselves. I sped along this track, assuring that I kept to, and soon found myself in a dark, stagnant area of the forest so incredibly hot and humid it was hard to believe that it was so cold elsewhere. The canopy of trees nearly blocked all of the rain, and so, the ground was nearly springy due to the moisture in the air, leaving everything muggy and sticky.
Upon venturing further in, I felt myself calm, and I stopped. What was I expecting to do if I actually caught up to the boy? Would I fight him? Let him go? I groaned and punched a tree; a distinct whimper came out from behind it. It took me off guard, and as I looked closer, I shuddered.
The body was gray and muddy looking, like a bold painting that had been left in the water. The clothes, and later the musculature, assured me that the gender was male, and of high social standing. He had boots, pants, and a sleeveless blazer, all in in the same, poor condition as his skin. His hair was slicked back; sopping wet, and looked dull and pathetic. I soon realized a distinct accessory that made me gasp aloud, as I stared at a bright ruby, muddled with gray and brown. It all clicked, and I suddenly envision the figure burning bright red, yellow and orange, the hair alive in a fiery Mohawk, the ruby gleaming bright and boastful.
As I stared down at the Flame Prince, I felt my stomach plummet, leaving me there, standing above the nearly dead prince.