An Unexpected Romance

Chapter 1

"Grrraahhhh!" the monster scorpion growled, swinging its large and dangerous tail for a death blow. Fionna Just chuckled and dodged the weapon with ease. Swinging around with a round house kick, Fionna caught the scorpion by surprise and hit it were the sun don't shine.

"Grrrrr-eeee!" it squeaked. Fionna kicked of the monster and landed softly on the ground, observing her work.

"Huh, didn't even need to draw my sword that time, you gone soft Ivan?!" Fionna said to the cowering scorpion. "No fair!" it complained in a snake like voice "You always win!"

Fionna laughed, "Well yeah. I am Fionna, Killer of the dreaded Mintho Toad and Slayer of the Barsqunches. I think I can handle a little practice fight with a scorpion. Beside, you'll win next time"

Ivan just lowered his head. "Imma giant scorpion, hundred times bigger than a regular one, can't even cut me a break, every time…" and with that he crawled away grumbling to himself. Fionna waved goodbye, and without a single glance back started the long trip back to the tree house.

Since Ivan lived in the hot desert on the edge of Aaa, Fionna had offered to go train with him near his home. It helped Fionna stay sharp, and gave Ivan a chance at actually experiencing combat, since he always stayed inside his house during the day.

But still, it took a while to get there and back. It kind of wasted Fionna's day, but she was happy to help any of her friends. Walking back to the tree house gave her time to think, too, some personal time of her own.

A lot of the time she would think of silly stuff, like how Prince Gumball would look with long hair, or how wild it would be to find some living tribe of eyeballs and just ride them all day. Fionna giggled at this thought.

"Was that a giggle I just heard?" a voice said right beside Fionna's ear.

"Ahhh!" Fionna exclaimed drawing her sword, and spinning around ready to fight. But all that was there were miles of sand and a rising full moon. Wow, it's dark already? she suddenly thought to herself. Losing focus was the wrong thing to do at that moment.

All of a sudden Fionna's legs were swept off the ground, and everything was upside down. She dropped her sword on the ground and her book bag slid off. Forcing her skirt to stay up, Fionna kicked at whatever was holding her there. "What the-"

"Hey, careful, I just got this shirt."

"Huh, Marshall Lee?!" Fionna asked recognizing the deep bass of the young vamp's voice "Is that you?"

Marshall Lee suddenly appeared above Fionna holding onto her leg. "In the undead flesh" he said with a bow. He was wearing a dark red shirt and light blue jeans. They glowed a ghastly white on the edges from the moonlight. The shadows on his face made his sharp features make him look very…handsome.

Fionna was surprised. How could she think that right now? She shook her head. She hadn't heard anything following her to Ivan's and usually she was really alert. And why would Marshall Lee follow her in first place?

"Heheh, ok you got me. Now put me down." Fionna said admitting defeat. Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow "Now why would I do that? It's much funnier to see you hanging upside down" He smiled down at Fionna. She was not amused.

"Marshall! I'm serious. I want to be right side up."

"Ok Fi."

Marshall Lee pulled Fionna up and flipped her in mid-air. She screamed as she went soaring up and over. When she came falling back down, Marshall Lee easily caught her by her wrists.

Fionna looked up at Marshall Lee "That's not what I meant!" She was starting to get annoyed. Marshall Lee was just toying with her, and she needed to get home before Cake started to worry. "Put my feet down on the ground Marshall. I'm serious! I need to get back to the tree house before the sun comes back up!"

"Hey, whatever you want Fi" Marshall Lee said as he began gaining altitude. Up he went dragging Fionna with him. "Marshall!" Fionna called out in a scared and angry voice "What are you doing?"

Marshall Lee looked down at Fionna "Just putting you down, like you asked" he said in a mischievous voice "That's what you wanted wasn't it?" The vampire king stopped abruptly, high enough that you could touch the clouds.

"Well, this is where you get off" Marshall Lee said in a playful tone.

"Marshall Lee, stop!"

"Oh no, I feel my hand slipping!"

"Marshall!"

"Oops…" Marshall Lee said as he removed his hand. Fionna tried to hang on, but her hands were still a little sweaty from fighting Ivan. She looked back into Marshall Lee's face just before her fingers left his. His face was caught up in a smile, shadows blotting out a lot of his face. And even though it twisted his features, he still looked like someone she could rely on.

"Marshall…" Fionna said as she fell head first through the air. She didn't know whether Marshall Lee was serious or joking around with her, but this was too far. Please be joking, please be joking, oh Glob please!

"Marshall, I thought you would never let go of me!" Fionna yelled "I thought you cared…" She whispered the last part, hoping to Glob that if she died right then it would be the last words on her lips. She looked straight down at the ground coming up at a break neck speed that made her nauseous.

The last thing she remembered before she impacted the earth beneath her was stupid Marshall.

Then everything went dark.

Fionna opened her eyes with a slight mumble/groan. She was laying against something soft that smelled like death and vanilla. An intoxicating mixture she had to admit. She snuggled up close to it, grabbing handfuls of cloth that was soft and fine to wrap herself in.

She felt safe and secure and… alive.

Then the memories came back. Her screaming, falling, fighting Ivan, going home. Marshall Lee. Fionna sat up screaming, reliving the last few moments before she hit in high definition all over again.

"Shhhhhhh, Fi! I'm here, it's ok, and I'm here…I'll never let you go again, promise." Marshall Lee said pulling Fionna back into his chest, hugging the fear out of her.

It took Fionna a couple of seconds to realize that it was Marshall Lee and not death itself.

"Marshall, Marshall you…let…go!" Fionna said through sobs "You let go!"

Marshall hugged her even tighter "I know, I know. I'm sorry, so very sorry Fionna"

"No, you let go!" Fionna yelled pushing herself out of his arms. They were on the ground. Fionna looked directly at Marshall Lee, tears staining her face. Marshall Lee looked back, a blank apologetic expression on his thin face.

"Marshall, were you really trying to kill me? Were you really trying to hurt me?" Fionna had calmed down enough to ask him. Marshall responded quickly.

"Of course not! I would never… it was a harmless prank …I didn't mean to scare you, I was just…" He stopped when he saw an answer was not supposed to be given. Fionna stood over him glaring down with such force that he just wanted to disappear.

"Ok, this is how it's gonna work. I have a question and you had better give me a straight answer." Fionna said forcefully. Marshall didn't try to ignore her. Fionna wiped away what was left of her tears. Now she was mad.

"Why did you follow me?" the blonde asked. Marshall looked down at the ground

"Was just bored, didn't have anything to do so I followed you to see what you were doing. Figured it would have been better than just sitting around doing nothing."

"Alright, good enough answer" Fionna said shrugging her shoulders. She reached out a hand. "Come on you crazy son of a glorback, your flying me home."

Marshall Lee chuckled "What, you're not mad at me anymore?"

Fionna laughed and then punched Marshall Lee in the arm really hard.

"Owwww!" Marshall Lee yelped.

"Ok, now I forgive you" Fionna smiled.

"Hehe" Marshall Lee chuckled nervously "Yeah right."

And then his face turned serious. He put his hands on Fionna's shoulders and took a step closer. "Fi, you know I would never do anything that would hurt you. I do care." Fionna blushed. They were so close. "Didn't think you had heard that last part" she said nervously.

Marshall Lee smiled "I'm the Vampire King Fionna, I hear everything." And with that he pulled Fionna in and kissed her.

Fionna stood there, shell shocked, but then found herself kissing back. Marshall Lee's mouth was surprisingly warm and the warmth from his hands went through Fionna's clothes to pierce her very soul.

The kiss was short, but sweet. When Marshall Lee finally broke the kiss, Fionna found herself leaning in towards him, wanting more. But she stopped herself, the chill of the night air waking her from her living dream.

Both had a hard blush on their cheeks. Marshall Lee floated back a little looking dazed.

"Fionna I'm sorry! You just looked so beautiful in the moonlight and…" He ran a hand through his raven hair "I just went with the moment. It's ok if you hate me now, but you should probably know that…" He blushed even more as he rambled on.

Fionna smiled slightly "Hey its ok. I'm not mad or…anything. It was actually kinda…nice." She looked at the ground, hoping to hide the dark red staining her cheeks and the smile that was trying to play on her face.

Marshall Lee stared stunned at the adventuress. "Oh. Ok." He smiled his vampire smile and laughed a little "Ok."

"Yeah" Fionna said wrapping and unwrapping her hair from around her pinky finger. An awkward silence fell between the two.

"Well I should probably get home" Fionna said. "You still owe me the ride though, so, come on."

"Yeah I do" Marshall Lee said rubbing the back of his head. Floating over to Fionna, he picked her up gently into his arms, holding her almost like a baby.

So close to Marshall, I could just lean in and… Fionna didn't finish the sentence.

"Ready?" Marshall Lee asked.

"Yep" Fionna confided in him.

"Well then hold on tight" he said.

And with that they flew off into the night for the tree house.

Marshall Lee and Fionna arrived a time later at the tree house. They couldn't see any lights on through the window, so Marshall Lee landed and dropped Fionna off on the roof.

"Well there you go. Tree house sweet tree house" He said.

"Yeah thanks for the ride, Marshall" Fionna said, tugging at her backpack straps.

"No prob" Marshall Lee said throwing a rock on sign and floating away "Talk to you later Fi, bye." But before he had gotten but a few feet into the air Fionna remembered.

So close to Marshall, I could just lean in and…

Fionna frowned a little. "Marshall, wait"

Marshall Lee stopped and turned around.

"Yeah Fi, what do you –"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Fionna had jumped up to where he had stopped and now had her arms around his neck, kissing him.

At first he seemed surprised. But then he wrapped his arms around Fionna's waist and enjoyed the kiss. Slowly, with a lazy motion, Marshall Lee started to descend back down to the roof of the tree house.

Instead of standing, both the vampire and human sank down to their knees. Marshall Lee leaned slightly back, making Fionna lay more up against his lean body.

"Fionna…" he whispered.

Fionna gently pulled away. She starred at Marshall Lee and for a while they sat like that. Fionna broke the silence.

"I don't know what, but something has changed between us. I never thought this would happen, but I all of a sudden feel…lighter."

Marshall Lee grinned "I know how you feel." He brushed his lips against Fionna's. When he talked, her lips moved with his.

"Tomorrow. Echoing Caves. Just you and me. Please don't make me wait."

As he said the last word, he untangled himself from Fionna's arms and flew off into the darkness.

Fionna looked up at the night sky and quietly whispered "I'm in love with Marshall Lee" as if the secret was too big to hold in any longer. Fionna had never seriously considered her and Marshall as anything but friends. But then she dug deeper into her heart and knew that that was what she had wanted all along. Marshall Lee.

She reached up and touched her lips. She could still smell him, still taste him, still feel his lips on hers. They tingled almost with delight at the remembered feeling. Fionna smiled. She had never felt so alive, so on edge before in her entire 14 year old life.

A shiver ran up her spine, making her realize how cold it was without Marshall Lee there holding her. Standing up and stretching to wake up her legs, Fionna headed over to the latter that led down into the house.

She climbed down only three steps before she jumped. Landing softly, she looked around the room. No one was awake, not even B-Ma, who was sleeping soundly on the coffee table. Sneaking quietly past B-Ma, Fionna climbed the latter up to her and Cake's shared room.

When she reached the top she looked over at Cakes bed to see if she was asleep. But Cake wasn't in her bed. All of a sudden a light appeared near Fionna's bed. Someone had lit a candle.

Cake stood in front of Fionna's bed holding said candle and looking very stern in the wavering light.

"Oh, uh, Cake. Did I wake you?" Fionna said.

"No, I've been waitin' all night for you to get home. Where in Globs name were you Fionna?" Cake said in her sassy voice. Correction, angry sassy voice.

"Oh Cake you know it takes forever for me to walk from Ivan's place to the tree house" Fionna said trying to make it sound so obvious. But Cake just shook her head.

"Uh uh Fionna. It don't take that long to get back. You went MIA for about an hour and a half, maybe two hours. So I'll ask again. Where were you." Cake squinted her cat eyes at Fionna and put her paws on her hips.

"I…uh I stopped to, uh, to say hey to Prince Gumball!" Fionna finally blurted out.

"You did now did ya" Cake said raising an eyebrow.

Fionna bit her lip "Yea, just wanted to see what he was…doing." She lowered her gaze a little "I wanted to see if he was making anything. You know him with all his sciency stuff. Hehehe" she laughed nervously.

"Sciency stuff, huh?" Cake said disbelievingly. But she seemed to buy it. "Well next time you want to go see Gumballs 'sciency stuff' call me and let me know first, kay?"

"Yeah, ok" Fionna said breathing a sigh of relief.

Cake walked over to her bed and climbed in while Fionna put on her pajamas. "And anyways, how did your practice with Ivan the giant scorpion go?" Cake inquired before Fionna blew out the candle.

"Eh, ok I guess. He isn't much of a challenge, and I win every time, but he's learning something. Oh and Cake, I'm going extra early to Ivan's to train. Don't want to be gone all day. Have to leave room for adventuring you know."

"Yeah yeah Fionna. Just be back by lunch. We're havin' chicken and egg omelets with catnip on the side! Don't you make me miss my catnip!" Cake said.

Fionna laughed "Ok. Good night Cake."

"Good night Fionna"

Fionna blew out the candle and the room went dark. The window's shadow was cast against the wall opposite by the moonlight. Fionna looked at the moon. Her first kiss was on a night as perfect as this, with Marshall Lee the Vampire King. A girl's wish come true.

She crawled into bed and got comfortable, waiting for sleep to take her. As she drifted off to the slight purr snores of Cake, Fionna smiled to herself. What awaited her tomorrow was a whole day with Marshall Lee.