(Cover image by fangcovenly)
"You ready, Cake?" Fionna asked, looking up at her feline companion.
"Am I ready? Girl, I was born ready! We are gonna be awwwwwwwesooooooome!" Cake exclaimed, excitedly, shrinking down so that Fionna could reach the guitar on her back, as the drum set clattered in front of the door.
"Marshall, we're here!" Fionna yelled, through the door. It had initially just been a side comment about how Marshall Lee was such a fan of playing his axe-guitar randomly, and that they could play instruments as well. The obvious conclusion, bring it all together and see what happens.
Cake snickered as Fionna impatiently waited for an answer. "Ya know, Fionna…I think you might be excited for a whole 'nother reason."
"…I don't know what you're talking about…" Fionna's cheeks immediately flushed a bright red, as she refused to look over to her cat. "Marshall!"
"Boo!" A voice shouted from behind Fionna, which reveled in her shriek, as she turned and pulled out her retractable sword. "So jumpy, Fionna." Marshall Lee teased, winking.
"Dangit, Marshall! I almost killed you!" Fionna roared, while Cake merely hissed up at him.
Marshall grinned even wider, showing off his fangs. "Already dead, remember?" The vampire king took an exaggerated bow and opened his door. "Ladies first."
"Don't mind if I do!" A voice cackled as a blue blur went past the three friends into Marshall Lee's house. Marshall's eyes widened, but as he made out the female figure now taking residence on his couch, he let out a loud sigh.
"Get back!" Fionna ordered, pushing Marshall out of the way and charging towards the Ice Queen, sword drawn. But before she got the chance to attack, a black shadow came between them and from it formed a bat shaped beast, that quickly turned back into Marshall Lee.
"Easy everyone. Easy. No need for this to be…unpleasant." He stated, calmly.
Fionna looked over to Marshall obviously confused. "No need to-…are you not seeing the Ice Queen over there?!"
"Ya know, the evil old hag who tries to kill us every 5 minutes?" Cake seconded.
"Says you! Marshall likes it when I visit. Isn't that right, Marshall?" Ice Queen grinned, suggestively stressing his name.
"She…visits you? Did you invite her?" Fionna asked, trying to make as much sense out of this situation as possible.
Marshall shrugged. "No. I never invite her. She just shows up from time to time."
"And you love it!" Ice Queen smiled wider, flapping her eyebrows and floating over to Marshall and hugging him from behind. "Why don't you tell the little girl and her kitty to go away so we can be alone."
"Well! Maybe Fionna and her kitty will just do that." Cake spat out and hopped in Fionna's arms, as the two started to leave.
"Fionna, wait." Marshall shrugged off Ice Queen's embrace and took a step towards the heroes. "It's not like that, okay. Me and Simone, just go way back, is all."
Fionna turned back and raised an eyebrow. "Simone?"
Ice Queen chuckled, and suddenly looked thoughtful. "He likes to call me Simone for some reason. Kinda kinky, really."
Marshall groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I call you Simone because that's your name. You just don't remember it." He slowly floated into a sitting position. "…you never remember…"
For Marshall Lee especially, his display of frustration was extreme show of emotion, not exactly something he was known for, and that alone kept Fionna and Cake from leaving. "Awww, don't be sad Marshall. Ice Queen will kiss it all better."
Ice Queen made an attempt to kiss Marshall, who immediately put his hand over her mouth and kept her at a distance in a very practiced gesture, letting out a loud sigh. "You always play so hard to get. I'll wear you down eventually. What Ice Queen wants, Ice Queen gets."
"I thought you wanted Prince Gumball." Fionna commented.
Ice Queen immediately stopped her advances on Marshall and got a dreamy expression. "Oh Gumball…he'd be mine already if you two weren't always in the way!"
Fionna figured Ice Queen was sufficiently distracted, and Marshall looked thankful. "…anyway, um…tell me about…" Fionna spared a glance at Ice Queen. "…Simone…"
Marshall Lee gave Fionna an unusually serious look and faded again into shadows and appeared by his guitar and started to play.
990 Years earlier
"Simone! Simone, you have to stop!" A teenage Marshall Lee protested, pushing against Simone, who was steadily forcing against him.
"Marshall, please! I just want to touch it!" She pleaded. "I miss it so much!"
Marshall groaned with the effort of pushing her back. His demon physiology made him very strong, but Simone's tiara made her just as strong, if not stronger judging from the amount of space she'd actually pushed him through the dirt. "You're not a nymph anymore, Simone! You know what happens when you touch water!"
"Marshall!" Simone whined. "I'm getting better at controlling it! It won't happen this time! Let me go!"
"It's for your own good!"
Simone's pupils disappeared, leaving her eyes a solid white, and her voice gained a different pitch, as if it were two voices in one. "I said…" The air around her began to pick up and the temperature started to drop. "Let…Me…GO!" As Simone shrieked, a blue blast released from her hands knocking Marshall away. The barrier gone, she immediately bound towards the lake the two had come across. Just as suddenly as the change happened, it faded as she looked over to the frozen Marshall. "Oh! Oh Glob, Marshall! I'm so sorry!"
Spreading her arms apart, the giant ice ball with the Marshall Lee center, split in half and Marshall fell to his knees, flashing Simone a glare as Simone tried to lift him up. "I know! I know! I should have listened to you, I'm so soooo sorry!"
Marshall brushed the remaining ice off of himself and sighed very audibly. This was not the first time she'd frozen him and it was not getting better with repetition. "I know you didn't mean it. But you see what I-" Marshall looked exasperated when he was that Simone wasn't paying him any attention, she was just staring at the lake. "…fine…go…" He growled between his teeth.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" Simone screamed gleefully as she ran full force towards the water and jumped in…only to slam face first into the ice that froze as soon as she came into contact with it. She barely even felt the pain, at least in the physical sense. The panic began to take hold as she realized anew she would never enjoy the water again. Her breathing sped up and she began looking around for anything other than ice and snow, and when all she could see was both, Simone let out a loud scream, sending out her power even further.
"…are you okay?" Marshall Lee muttered, putting his hand on Simone's shoulder. He'd have been frozen again by her power display if he hadn't known it was coming and hid high in a tree, accordingly.
"Why would you care?!" Simone hissed, before getting a good look at Marshall and quickly standing up. Her expression immediately softened and gained another emotion altogether. "Oh! And who are you, cutey?"
Marshall paused as he looked at Simone and sighed. "I'm Marshall. Marshall Lee. Do you know who you are?"
"Of course I do! I'm…" Simone got a very thoughtful expression. "…um.."
"Simone. Your name is Simone."
Simone rolled her eyes. "That's not my name! Its something more…icy…and queenly…"
Marshall's shoulders gradually dropped as he spoke, "Like Ice Queen?"
Simone's eyes widened. "Yes! That's it! I'm the Ice Queen!" She grinned, licking her lips. "Maybe you'd be interested in being my king?"
Marshall looked into Simone's eyes, trying to find his friend in there instead of the woman who stood before him. "…let's go…" He muttered.
"Wait!" Simone quickly cut off Marshall's path. "Shouldn't we consummate our new relationship…with a kiss?"
"…please snap out of it, Simone…" Marshall muttered, exasperated.
"Oh come on, Marshall. Just a little one. You'll enjoy it." She practically purred, leaning in, lips puckered.
"Snap out of it, Simone."
"You can call me Simone, if that's what does it for you. Come on, now. Don't' be shy, I'll be gentle…the first time, anyway." By this point, Simone was basically grabbing Marshall's face and trying to pull it onto hers, desperately trying to kiss him.
"SIMONE, SNAP OUT OF IT! UGH!" Marshall's sudden yelling surprised Simone enough for her to let go of him. "I HATE IT WHEN YOU'RE LIKE THIS! SOMETIMES I WISH YOU JUST DIED INSTEAD OF TAKING THAT STUPID GEM!"
The future vampire king instantly regretted his words when he saw the mixture of horror and pain on Simone's face. "I…I'm sorry, Marshall…I'm so sorry…please…please forgive me…I…"
"I wasn't talking to you."Marshall muttered, "I was talking to…who you become…" He was not liking the guilt that was building up inside of him as he looked down at his friend who was dealing with guilt of her own.
"…I know…I'm trying to hold it back but-" Simone's face suddenly twisted into a look of furious frustration. "SHUT UP! I'm trying to apologize for everything you keep making me do! Why won't you just leave me alone?! No! For the last time, I don't want to know your secrets, just-"
Marshall sighed again. He'd gotten used Simone's arguments with the gem in her tiara. And he could usually tell when she was talking to him and when she was talking to it. From what he could tell, the gem wasn't very nice, and considering its influence, he'd love to get it away from her, but she never let him get anywhere near it, even when she slept. That wasn't what worried him the most. She was getting worse every time she snapped or used her powers too much. At first it was just a flash of insanity. Then it was just her leering at him enough to make him uncomfortable. Then she spoke just enough so that he knew she had no clue who he was. And then she spoke enough so that she showed she didn't even know who she was. It just kept snowballing further and further out if control. He was afraid that eventually…Simone wouldn't come back and…he'd be stuck with Ice Queen forever.
When Marshall looked over to Simone, she was looking at him, intently. Apparently her tiara wasn't yelling at her anymore…or she was simply ignoring it. It seemed she was better at doing that sometimes than others. "Marshall…what did I do…? What…do I do?"
Marshall gave Simone a look and he pondered the answer to that, and then shook his head. "It's nothing, Simone. You're better now. Let's just go."
Simone grabbed Marshall's hand and pulled him back. "I mean it, Marshall. Tell me. I can't help if I don't know what I'm doing."
Marshall shrugged. "What good would that do? You don't remember it, anyway." But when he looked up at Simone, she was giving him a very no nonsense expression that brought a smile to his face. That wasn't an expression that 'Ice Queen' gave him. That was his friend. And she wasn't going to take no for an answer. He could fight it if he wanted, but the ending result would be the same. He sighed again in defeat. "You…call yourself Ice Queen, and you don't remember me, and…um…you usually try to…erm…be...very affectionate…with me…"
Simone's eyes bulged at that last part. "…how affectionate?..."
"You might have…tried to…kiss me a couple of times…" Marshall grumbled. "And succeeded when I wasn't paying attention." He let out another sigh and shrugged. "Eh, whatever. I don't know why I bother. I'll just let you…her…do whatever she wants next time, until you snap out of it."
Simone suddenly tilted Marshall's head up by the chin and made him look at her. "Don't you dare, Marshall. If you have to fight me back, you fight me back, you understand? I don't care if you have to knock me out. How…?" Simone tried to find the right way to phrase it. "How rational am I?"
Marshall shrugged again. "Sorta rational, I guess?"
"Well then…why don't you try to distract me next time?" Simone suggested. "Tell her that she's your mother. Throw her off."
Marshall cocked his head to the side as he pondered that change of tactics. "Do you think that will work? Really?"
"Well, we won't know until we try, will we?" Simone pointed out, rationally. "Though…I am a bit young to be your mother." She grinned and nodded sharply, "Maybe I could pass as your sister. That would explain why we're both so youthful and attractive." The grin was immediately wiped off when she saw the expression on Marshall's face. "What's wrong?"
Marshall Lee stared at Simone for awhile before he finally answered, "Ice Queen is…extremely vain…"
Simone immediately froze as she realized what Marshall was implying. "…Mother it is then…" She muttered, looking away, embarrassed.
"…I shouldn't have said anything. Sorry…" Though Marshall's voice was slightly far away. He wasn't able to hide his worry. If the 'Ice Queen' persona was starting to bleed through into Simone's personality, instead of just flipping back and forth, he might very well end up losing her no matter what happened.
Simone immediately shook her head. "No, Marshall. If I ever do anything like her, I need you to call me on it so I can keep it in check better, okay?"
"If you say so…" Marshall responded, in kind of a deflated way.
"It's going to be okay, Marshall. I promise." Simone insisted, playfully ruffling Marshall's hair, giggling slightly as he scowled. He always hated when she did that. However, it was something Ice Queen didn't do, and that was always good. "Let's go."
The two never went anywhere in particular. They just tried to stay safe. Sometimes that was the problem. Marshall never quite understood it, but even though he was fully capable of taking care of himself, Simone never let him protect her. She always insisted on doing it herself, even though it seemed like she lost a bit of herself each time. It was becoming very frustrating. He might be young, but he was a demon. He had powers too and they didn't turn him crazy.
Simone started singing in a low voice. It made Marshall smile. She always did it when he was brooding. And it usually worked. There was something very peaceful about the way she sang. He couldn't help himself and he sang with her. It was normal. It was times like these where he really could think of Simone as his mother. They couldn't sing very loud though. They had to keep an eye out at all times. Danger was everywhere. Saying the forest was dangerous was especially moot. It was no more dangerous than any other place.
Almost on cue, a loud, piercing scream echoed throughout the forest. Marshall and Simone traded glances and just like he knew she would, Simone took the front, shielding Marshall from whatever caused the noise. He mentally prayed to Glob that she wouldn't access the gem's powers. It was a ticking time clock that was counting down to the loss of his friend. They heard the rustling and were both immediately on guard.
But to both of their respective surprises, a little girl ended up running, quite literally into the two of them. Marshall and Simone gave each other a confused look before turning back to the girl.
"Help me!" She screamed, hiding behind them. They could hear the shuffling from the woods which tore their attention from the girl to what she was running from. Three figures slowly slid into their field of view. Whether they were made of black slime or merely covered in it wasn't clear. What was clear was that they were hostile.
As usual, Marshall attempted to attack and barely got into the attempt before Simone moved him behind her. "Watch the girl!" She ordered, accessing the power within her tiara. The temperature immediately dropped as Simone welded her ice with a grin that wasn't very 'Simone'.
As worried as Marshall was for Simone, if there was anything he didn't need to be worried about it was her safety. First thing was first and he turned back to little girl hiding behind his legs. "Hey there. Are you okay?"
The little girl's eyes were bugged out as she watched Simone take care of the sludge monsters. That was when he noticed her eyes. He would have thought that they were empty if it weren't for the green glow in the middle of them. She definitely wasn't human. Then again, who was? The only human he'd met since his father died was Simone and it didn't seem like she'd be that way for much longer. Humanity's time was obviously over. The war took care of all of that.
Marshall wondered exactly what the little girl was. He'd assume a demon like him. Which just opened up another set of questions that would have to wait for later. Simone's fight didn't last very long. They rarely did. The gem in the tiara was old magic. There were a lot of problems with it but lack of power wasn't one of them. The sludge monsters didn't have a chance. Of course, the problem was after the fight was over.
Simone turned back, cocking her head curiously to the side as she acknowledged the little girl again, kneeling to her level. "And who do we have here?"
Marshall gave Simone a skeptical look. She seemed to be back to normal already. He was distracted by this as the girl continued to silently hide behind Marshall's legs. "It's okay. You don't need to be scared."
The little girl slowly peeked around Marshall's legs to see Simone looking warmly back at her. Simone opened her mouth as if to ask a question before she suddenly winced, grabbing her head.
"Simone?" Marshall reached out to his friend only to discover his new one was now clinging to his legs instead of just hiding behind them.
"I'm okay! I'm just-" She winced again. Marshall had been around long enough to know when the voices on her head were making things difficult for her. "JUST SHUT UP! What itch?! What's scaring you?! You're never scared!"
The little girl's grip tightened. Marshall sighed and pet the girl's head. "It's okay. That…happens sometimes. What's your name?" He asked, trying to distract her.
The little girl blinked, tearing her eyes from Simone's seemingly one sided argument. "Um…it's The-…Thelia."
"Well Thelia," Marshall gave her a reassuring smile. "Do you have a family we need to get you back to?"
Thelia gave Marshall a curious look, her glance going questioningly back at Simone, whose argument was getting louder before her eyes rested on the frozen remains of her would be attackers. Her eyes fell. "Not anymore…"
Marshall pet her head again, hoping her apparent attachment to him would be enough. "I understand. Guess you'll be with us then. I'm Marshall."
"And I'm Simone." Simone chimed in, surprising both youths in that her argument was apparently over. There was still something off about her smile as she knelt down to Thelia's height. "I'm so sorry about that, Cutie. I didn't make the best first impression, did I? I swear I'm not usually so rude."
Thelia was clinging tighter to Marshall as Simone got closer, before something seemed to catch her eye. She suddenly reached out. "Pretty…"
"No!" Simone shrieked, suddenly jumping back, an almost feral snarl on her lip. "It's mine! My gem! All mine! No one else's! No one touches it! MY GEM!"
Thelia squealed in horror, hiding behind Marshall again, while he merely sighed, trying to calm her down again. "Sorry…I should have warned you about that. Simone's gem is very pretty but it's also very dangerous. She never lets anyone else touch it. "Marshall then muttered under his breath, "It never lets her let anyone touch it…" He was trying to make the best of the situation, but he knew if he were in Thelia's position, he'd have a hard time trusting Simone as well. This wasn't helped by the fact that she started arguing with the gem again.
"STOP YELLING AT ME! I DIDN'T LET ANYONE TOUCH YOU! Why are you being like this?! I don't even know what a Lich is! Why are you-? She's just a little girl! What? You're just talking nonsense now! You know I can't understand you when you get all excited like that! What do you want from me?! LOOK AT WHAT?!" Simone gave an exasperated sigh, looking back over to Marshall and Thelia. Her eyes then immediately bulged as she visibly gulped. "Marshall…I know you think I'm crazy…and you're probably right…but if you listen to anything I've ever said, you need to listen to this and get the Hell away from her."
Marshall let out another sigh. It sounded like Simone talking and not Ice Queen, but how could even a demon be all that dangerous at her age. He looked down to reassure Thelia again only to see her expression had completely changed. It wasn't a look of fear. It was now the purest hatred. Her grip on his legs gained a new meaning.
"Give me the gem or the boy dies. Painfully." Thelia's grip started to hurt.
"It's going to be okay Marshall. I promise." The words were all Simone. Marshall could feel her worry. He didn't know what the tiara showed her that tipped her off about Thelia, but he could easily sense the danger he was in. And there was something about that, that angered him.
"Let go, Thelia." Marshall growled, his eyes gaining a crimson glow.
"There is no Thelia." Simone stated, glaring at the little girl. "She's the Lich. She's …dangerous."
"So am I." Marshall grumbled, struggling against the Lich's hold, freeing one of his legs. Before his eyes, the Lich began to change, doubling and even tripling in size, a dark shroud covering her, along with two horns making themselves seen on her head. The green of her eyes was even more apparent now. She no longer resembled a human. She was ghastly.
Marshall began to realize what was making him so angry. It wasn't that he was being held hostage. It was that both Simone and the Lich were shrugging him off like he was human, like he couldn't take care of himself. He began to grow to the same size as the Lich, accessing his rarely used demonic powers. He freed his other leg and launched himself at the Lich. Simone didn't have to keep losing herself to her power. He could be the one who protects her. She never let him really cut loose. Now she'd see.
He was immediately thrown from his train of thought as the Lich literally lit him on fire. As Marshall was engulfed in the green mystical flames, he refused to be defeated. Using the excess magic and adding his own, he formed a weapon to fight his enemy and swung the large axe at the Lich, giving him some room from the beast. Another animalistic snarl escaped his lips, leaping into the air and swinging again, this time hitting his target.
Marshall smiled widely as he saw the Lich's arm fall to the ground. She growled at him, but merely grew another one and prepared for her next attack. She was obviously thrown by the power the boy was showing, but her body language showed that the initial surprise was wearing off. The Lich now saw him as a threat. "Enough of this…" Her voice echoed through the woods. As it did, the air around her began to shimmer. The effect was immediate as everything surrounding her began to die. The trees, the grass, the aura was killing everything.
"NO!" Simone shrieked firing a blast of ice that engulfed the Lich, momentarily slowing the aura.
"I have this!" Marshall snapped. He really didn't want to deal with Ice Queen on top of all of this.
Simone knelt to his level, with a warm smile. There was something about it that almost made Marshall feel embarrassed. She ruffled his hair. "Listen, Marshall. I know you're strong. But…just because you have the power doesn't mean you have to use it. Just because you have a weapon…" She glanced at his bloody axe. "Doesn't mean that a weapon is all it is. You're a smart boy, Marshall. Don't always go for the obvious. Think…" She tapped his forehead and then smiled again.
Marshall didn't like it. It felt like she was saying goodbye. Both of them were distracted by the Lich breaking out of the ice. With a shriek, Simone turned her attention back to her opponent, shooting a much larger blast this time, once more freezing the Lich in a block of ice. Taking the ice, Simone suddenly took flight, using her eyebrows and dashed off.
This caught Marshall off guard at first before he changed again, growing wings and racing off after her. Simone didn't even look back. That, along with her cautionary message earlier was scaring him, making him fly even faster to catch up with her. The three of them were over water now. Once she was in the middle of the lake, Simone dropped the frozen Lich into the water, waited a few seconds and then touched down on the water, freezing the entire lake. There was a very familiar look of sadness on her face as she looked over the frozen lake which would serve as the at least momentary tomb for the Lich, only reminding her that she'll never feel the water again.
"Simone? Simone it's okay…" Marshall encouraged, inching cautiously closer.
Simone immediately hissed and lashed out at Marshall with an ice blast. He was barely able to dodge it, mostly because he was expecting it this time. It was a bit awkward moving like that in his enlarged body. It then triggered that maybe looking like a ferocious monster wasn't the best way to calm his already confused friend down and he quickly shifted back. "Simone…it's me…calm down..."
Simone's face changed as Marshall turned back, but it wasn't with recognition. "And who are you, young one?"
"I'm Marshall, remember?" He sighed, about to ask if she knew who she was before amending the thought. "Your son."
Simone jerked back with another his. "You lie! I'm too young and beautiful to have a son your age. Tell the truth or you'll anger me. Ice Queen doesn't like liars."
Marshall froze momentarily. Simone had never referred to herself as Ice Queen right off the bat before. It was always a slow realization that that name fit her better than Simone. He was losing her, if she wasn't already lost at this point. "But Mom, you're literally don't age. You'll always be young and beautiful. Perks of being immortal."
Simone looked at her reflection in the ice and smiled. "This is true." She looked back to Marshall. "But don't call me that, dear. I'm not your mother."
"I'm not!" She snarled. "Stop lying or I'm going to leave."
Marshall looked at Simone again. He wasn't sure if she knew how much of a threat that was true or not. Maybe she remembered the plan and was actively letting him know it wouldn't work. He felt this sudden rush of fear that Simone wasn't going to come back this time. That really had been her goodbye. He could either lie and lose her or tell the truth and keep what the gem had turned her into.
When it came down to it, Simone had made the decision for him. If he did anything else, it would technically be against her wishes. He sighed deeply. "But Mom, I'm not lying."
"If you're not going to play the game-" Ice Queen growled. She then spread her eyebrows and true to her word, she left Marshall alone on the temporary ice tomb of the Lich.
He watched her fly away and slowly headed into the woods, alone again. He thought on what she'd said. 'Just because you have a weapon, doesn't mean a weapon is all it is.' He summoned his axe and really thought about that, wondering if he'd ever see Simone again.
There was an awkward pause as Marshall stopped talking and put down his guitar. Everyone had conflicting facial expressions. Sadness, horror, and sympathy all vying for their attention at once. With the exception of Ice Queen, who just looked angry.
"That was a horrible ending." She grumbled, crossing her arms.
Marshall still seemed more emotional than usual but obviously trying to hold it back. "Yeah…I know, right? When I can…think of a better one, I'll let you know ."
"You should have had Marshall and Ice Queen leave together." Ice Queen responded, matter-of-factly.
Marshall's eyes bulged slightly before he looked into her eyes, noticing that she was playfully ruffling his hair, absentmindedly. He looked as if he was trying to figure her out. "You think?"
Ice Queen's eyes went wide as well, her smile beaming to match. "Between the both of their power, they could have turned the planet into a frozen Wonderland! Anyone who opposed their rule would have been dealt with swift vengeance! And since you're so fond of the human girl, we could keep her and her pet as slaves."
"I'm no slave!" Fionna protested.
"And I'm no pet!" Cake seconded.
"I'd have you rub my feet." Ice Queen sneered. "And you'd be my shapeshifting little pillow."
Marshall let out an audible sigh. "That's enough Mom."
Ice Queen immediately turned to Marshall with a growl. "Don't call me that!"
"But Mom," Marshall smirked. "What else would I call you?"
"I will not stand here and be mocked!"
"But Mom…" Marshall repeated.
Ice Queen hissed, her face twisting into a monstrous snarl. Fionna and Cake started to go on the attack, but Marshall held them back and flashed them a wink.
"Fine! Be that way! I'm going to have ice cream and you can't have any!" Ice Queen's eyebrows unfurled, levitating the Queen as she launched herself out of the window shrieking. "IT WILL BE ALL MINE! I'M NOT SHARING!"
"Holy Glob…" Cake gasped, as Ice Queen flew off into the distance. "I knew she was unhinged but I've never seen her like that!"
"I know what you're thinking." Marshall picked his guitar back up and began tuning it. "It only works when I call her that."
"Drat!" Fionna swore. That would have made her life so much easier if a single word could just make Ice Queen freak out and leave. As she looked back at Marshall, who had a bemused smirk, she asked, "Has…Simone ever…come back?"
Marshall strummed a few notes from the axe guitar. "Not even once. I like to think she's the reason Ice Queen freaks out whenever I call her Mom though. It was her idea after all."
"I'm sorry Marshall…" Fionna apologized and suddenly hugged him.
Marshall smiled widely, returning the embrace. "We're both immortal. I have all the time in the world to figure something out."
"I guess that's-EEK!" Fionna jumped back, a reproachful look on her face. "Watch the hands!" She ordered, her face breaking into a huge blush.
Marshall grinned back, mischievously. "It slipped, I swear."
Cake stretched out between the two of them. "You watch yourself there, buster! You better watch it!"
Marshall chuckled, floating upside down. As he strummed a few more notes. "Of course, Sir Cake Sir!"
"I'll give you a Cake Sir…" Cake grumbled, swiping her paws as he floated by her, batting at him unsuccessfully.
"Wait a minute…" Fionna chimed in, changing the subject. "You said you were a demon then, not a vampire…"
Marshall landed gracefully right side up. "I was turned into a vampire later." He could see the curiosity on Fionna and Cake's face and chuckled. "That…is a long story. And you already got one out of me today. How am I supposed to be all mysterious if I keep telling you all my secrets?"
"But Marshall," Fionna protested.
"I'm beginning to think you're just stalling. Is that guitar just for show, little girl?"
Fiona's eyes shot wide. "Little girl?" She picked up her guitar, taking the bait. "You are so on!" Fiona growled, ready to play Marshall's cocky butt into the ground.