Prologue
Bonnibel pulled up her light gray hoodie to hide the long wad of bright pink hair that threatened to give her identity away to anyone who might have been watching. She made it a point to dress as informal as possible. She had just turned 16, and to celebrate she decided to give herself a little gift by sneaking out of the castle at night and going to Ooo's Annual Music Festival. Music has never exactly been much of her thing; she preferred more of the maths and sciences, but the thought of being around hundreds of teenagers within her age group for once, was really appealing. The truth was, she just really wanted to feel un-princess like for a day.
For the past couple of weeks, Bonnibel had undergone many lectures by her mentors on how to rule the Candy Kingdom properly and with ease. It was wearing her out. Now, she loved her candy citizens, more than anything, but she only had two more years to be solely responsible for herself before she assumed her role as ruler of the Candy Kingdom, and she intended to try to live it up. Usually, her idea of a good time included a day in her lab, conducting all kinds of crazy experiments, but she felt it was necessary to try to enter more social settings and step outside her comfort zone for once, who knows, she might even make a friend. Bonnibel tried to picture herself in a friendship with some crazy punk rocker, and giggled to herself as she drew closer to the cluster of lit up stages.
Making her way through the crowd of fans and aspiring musicians, she spotted a small stage with a group of teenagers who looked like they were setting up to perform, and since she didn't know any of the bands here, Bonnibel figured she would just start with this one. It seemed like a popular enough group, judging by the large mob of fans that started gathering around her. Soon enough, Bonnibel was forced behind a mass group of people and had trouble seeing the stage in front of her. She tried to wriggle herself through two giants standing in her way.
"You're gonna have to push harder than that if your ever gonna catch a glimpse of them." Bonnibel turned abruptly to see where the hard voice had come from. It was a girl no bigger than herself, only she had mad piercings and a small knife tattoo on the front of her shoulder, which made her look both silly and intimidating. "Seriously girl, what are you new?" Bonnibel shook her head yes. It would be dumb to pretend to know what she was doing there, when clearly she had no idea. The girl's attitude changed and she smiled knowingly. "Don't worry, I got you covered." She grabbed Bonnibel's wrist and dragged her along as she began punching and pushing her way through the crowd. They ended up fairly close to the stage, and Bonnibel could see everything. "Here you go," she said in a friendly tone, "By the way, I'm Lacey."
"Thanks," Bonnibel said, a bit awkwardly, "I'm Bonnibel." Lacey was a pretty delicate name for such a tough looking girl, she thought. Then again, she hadn't expected the girl to be as nice as she was either.
"No problem, though you should really consider strength training, you're never going to get past anybody with those weak pushes of yours, plus I couldn't let a newbie like you miss out on hearing Violet Bites play. The lead singer is a total babe," she said. Looking past Bonnibel, Lacey seemed to spot a couple of her friends. "Anyways, I got to go; I guess I'll see you around then." She gave Bonnibel a wink and left to go stand with a group of girls who were as equally decorated as her. Bonnibel was alone again.
"One two, one two," Bonnibel looked up at the stage at the sound of the voice. A girl with dark long hair stood at the microphone wearing high-waisted dark blue jeans and a purple tank top. A red bass guitar resembling an axe hung off her shoulder. She looked a bit older than Bonnibel, eighteen maybe, and after checking her mic, she turned to nod her head at her drummer, mouthing something to him that Bonnibel couldn't quite make out. She then turned back to the microphone. She spoke coolly.
"Hello, people of Ooo. My name is Marceline and we are Violet Bites." The crowd began to cheer loudly, some people even whistled. She waited until the noise dimmed down a bit to speak again. "Now, I know all you guys out there are here to listen to some super cool tunes, and I want to thank you for coming out to see my band play, we'll try super hard to deliver." The audience cheered and hollered even louder. Marceline smiled appreciatively. That's when Bonnibel noticed two things about this girl; 1) She had a very nice smile, and 2) Her fanged teeth. Bonnibel cast her eyes on Marceline's neck.
Two bites, just as she expected.
Marceline was the musical vampire queen Bonnibel heard vaguely about by her candy citizens. Again she spoke, "This song is new, I hope you all like it."
The drummer started the band off, and the girl on first guitar followed up quickly on the melody. Marceline casually entered in with a smooth bass line. Waves of loud, rich sound penetrated the atmosphere around Bonnibel. She could feel her spirit intertwining with the notes of the song, and the vibrations in the air made her feel dizzy with euphoria. Then the lyrics began, and Bonnibel was in awe. Marceline's sang with a voice made of silk. Bonnibel swore her voice was magic, the way it was serene and laid-back, while still maintaining a hard edge. Her emotions guided the lyrics to life, and whatever Marceline felt, the whole crowd felt as well.
Bonnibel was filled with admiration for the vocalist and bass player. She began to study her. Marceline was a vampire, which meant she was probably well over eighteen years. She probably has so much life experience to share with her fans. Looking at her with a purpose now, Bonnibel had to admit she was very attractive. This string of thought caught her slightly off guard. Rarely did Bonnibel ever feel attraction like this. Being so absorbed in castle life and her own studies, she hardly had time to experience these kinds of things, and too be honest, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The lead singer is a total babe. Bonnibel blushed a bit remembering Lacey's words. So it wasn't just her. Somehow this made her feel better.
By the time the song had ended Bonnibel was smiling like crazy and cheering louder than she ever had. Marceline thanked the crowd and introduced the band's next song. Once again, Bonnibel was entranced. Being here tonight was definitely one of her greater plans, and she stayed until even after Marceline's band finished their set, but none of the other bands captivated her quite as much. She wondered if Marceline had stuck around.
"Did you like it?" Bonnibel recognized Lacey's voice. She turned around to see her and her group of her friends. "She's amazing right?"
"Oh my glob yes! I didn't even know music could have that effect on me until now!" Bonnibel gushed. She continued to rave about Violet Bites with Lacey and her friends, stopping only when they came across a pizza booth nearby. Everyone ordered and they sat down at a small picnic table. Lacey's friends began talking about which music stores sold the best guitars, but Lacey's attention was still on Bonnibel, who was talking a bit too long about Marceline. Lacey cut her off with a small laugh.
"I take it you fancied more than her voice," she teased. Bonnibel blushed hard at the comment, and stuffed her face with the rest of her pizza. She knew she was saying too much but couldn't find it in her to shut up. "Hey, no need to be embarrassed. Practically everyone has the hots for her. Too bad she has a boyfriend." Lacey took a big bite out of her slice.
Bonnibel spoke up. "I don't have the hots for her. I just think she's talented," she said without conviction. She has never had the 'hots' for anyone in the entire 16 years of her life. She didn't even think she knew what that meant.
"Whatever you say," Lacey said. She finished her pizza and joined into the conversation her friends were having.
"Um, I better get going," Bonnibel started, "This was fun though. Maybe I'll see you guys around." She rose from the table, picking up her plate and empty water bottle. Lacey and her friends all said their goodbyes, and after throwing away her garbage, Bonnibel began the walk home.
She tried to remember where she had come in from, and looked around for the big music festival banner she had seen coming in. Spotting it, she walked toward its direction and the crowd thinned out as she approached it. In the distance, she spotted some moving figures. She peered ahead, but it was too hard to make out what she was seeing in the dark. She heard a familiar voice.
"You guys go ahead, I'm going to stick around for a while, but call me! We still need to find rehearsal time for our gig next week." Marceline stood and waved as her band left her where she stood. Bonnibel's heart quickened at the sight of her, only yards away. Marceline seemed to be looking for something. A smile grew on her face as she appeared to have spotted it. "Ash!" she called out.
"Mar-Mar!" Out of the shadows, came some guy wearing all black. He had only three thick pieces of white hair on his whole head. One hung over his head in a Mohawk like fashion, and the other two were draped over his shoulders. His pointed ears suggested that he might have been a wizard. He extended his arms out wide and Marceline ran into them, giving him a big kiss. Bonnibel hid from their view watched with some distrust. The guy pulled away and looked Marceline up and down. "No offence babe, but what's with those pants. They look like something my mom would wear."
"Hey, I like these pants!" Marceline said slightly defensive. Ash hooked his arm around her shoulder and left his hand resting at her neck. They began to walk into the distance. Bonnibel could still faintly hear them.
"No worries, Mar-Mar. You can take them off at my place."
"Oh Ash!" Then they were gone, concealed by the night.
Bonnibel continued her walk, slightly more irritated than before. Who did this weenist think he is anyway? She looked up at the moon, deciding that it was probably around 2 in the morning. She picked up her walking pace, realizing she should probably make it home quick, just in case anyone tried to check up on her.
She made it back to her bedroom in good time, and quickly changed in her pajamas yawning dramatically, as she was not used to such an eventful night. Bonnibel drew back her pink comforter and relaxed into her bed, closing her eyes as the faint tune of Marceline's song played itself in the back of her mind. Before drifting completely to sleep, she wondered when she'd ever see that long haired bassist again.
