This is for Scath H Wolff who wanted a fic about Marceline and Bonnibel's past. I might continue it if you guys are interested, but right now I'm leaving it as a one-shot. I hope you enjoy.
Wonders
Everybody leaves. Everyone. Maybe not by their own will, maybe they are pushed away or maybe their lifespan just isn't long enough. Either way, they still leave. It's as sure as the merciless sun in the sky everyday, the cool gentle moonlight through the dark every night, the melting of snow when spring arrives for the thousandth time. It's became part of a cruel routine. A routine the vampire queen should be very used to. Indifferent to perhaps.
She had spent a long time alone. Hundreds of years in fact. She had developed her music skills, along with her executing skills. She had fought, and scrapped and very rarely lost. She had played for thousands of people, seen everywhere there was to see, swept down the highest mountains and screamed into the biggest canyons. She'd stubbornly swam up waterfalls and tamed the largest of beasts for fun. Witnessed the destruction and restoration of great civilizations, and sometimes, civilizations that were never rebuilt, only to be lost to time and the memories of the eternal teen.
But what did it matter when she had no one to share it all with, no one else to witness it with her? No matter how amazing the sight was, it would never be enough for Marceline.
It had been years since she had came anywhere close to the Candy Kingdom, maybe decades, time wasn't a concept she thought too much about. She had ghosts there. Not like Wendy, Booboo, and Georgy. Emotional ghosts. One of the biggest was occupying the castle looming over the Ice Kingdom, not far from where she currently was.
She let her weary eyes drift towards that direction, only to tear them away before she could spot any ice towers emerging from the horizon. Why she was back in this part of Ooo, she didn't know. Maybe she had run out of wonders to behold, but that seemed impossible. The world was constantly adapting and changing before her eyes, there would always be wonders and marvels side by side with the disasters and tragedies that struck even the most beautiful of places, after all these years both tragic and wonderous sights had lost their attraction.
What had never lost its attraction was messing with people. That had always amused Marceline, each reaction could always be different from the last.
She flashed a grin before slipping down to the kingdom below her feet. Of course the streets were empty at this time of night, so she saw no need to hide herself. Marceline swept up and over the candy houses, nearly balking from how sweet the place smelt. Most houses were dark, the occupants probably sleeping soundly by now.
The vampire was about to give up and scope out somewhere new until she heard hushed voices floating above the castle's garden walls.
"...any point. There hasn't been a serious attack on the castle in a year, probably more."
"You can't get down on them for wanting to keep the kid safe, she's a princess after all."
"Come on, I didn't mean it like that, I just mean... should there really be this many of us around when..."
A new princess? Man, she forgot candy people got busy. Even the royal ones. How the actual reproduction worked... She didn't even want to know. She waited until the guards (who looked like strange upright banana's) were out of sight and slunk towards the castle. Inwardly laughing at how lumped up the kid would look, Marceline searched for a way in. For a place with so many guards, they weren't being overly safe. Most windows were left wide open, almost begging someone to climb inside. Or in this case: float.
"Probably a good idea to lay low right about now." Marceline muttered before letting her from fade away, making the castles hallway appear empty once more.
It's always the tower, right? Highest room of the tallest tower. There had to be some truth in that. Everything else about this kingdom was damn cliché.
There was only one room in the tallest tower she could find. Well, one door. Knowing her luck it was probably a broom cupboard. Still, Marceline eased it open ever so slightly, bringing an invisible eye to the space between the door frame and dark wood.
Bingo.
The room was large and sickening pink, the drapes and wall covers a nauseating mix of dark, light and powder pink. The bed was very much the same. Listening carefully, though she really had no need, she attempted to pinpoint the quick telltale breathing of a baby.
Nothing like that came to her ears, quickly scanning the room, she saw no crib either. Only the large bed, mainly made up of fluffy pillows and too many blankets. There was one person in the room though, but maybe her 'tallest tower' theory was wrong after all because the breathing far too heavy to be coming from an infant. Marceline went to shut the door again when a childlike murmur and a ruffle of blankets stopped her.
Maybe the new princess wasn't so new after all.
Allowing herself a smirk of success, the vampire slipped into the room, quietly clicking the door back into place.
What if it was made of chocolate? Would it melt if it got too warm? Oh glob, what if there was chocolate everywhere under those blankets? Man, that would be priceless!
She inched closer, rising higher in the air as she did. Marceline needed to get a good look at this.
Is ice-cream candy? It wasn't very likely that the princess was made of that. She'd be dripping melted cream everywhere when she grew up, maybe when she'll try giving a speech. Maybe even slipping on the spillage as she tried to act royal. Marceline had to cover her laugh induced snorting with her hand. No use getting caught now when she hadn't even had a look at the thing.
She was hovering a mere meter above the bed now, a grey arm reaching out for the edge of the silk bedding. She grasped it in a steady hand, and slowly dragged the blanket away from the small, sleeping frame.
It slipped from her fingers with very little grace, tumbling back on to the bed she hung over. Well... that definitely was not the melted mess she imagined. A small girl, looking no older than nine years old, was curled up in a little ball clutching at her pillows with pink little hands. As she looked, Marceline saw that all of her skin was pink. An intoxicating sweet scent attacked her senses then, how she hadn't picked up on it before was a mystery. Was that bubblegum? Wow. The child looked almost human. Human apart from the bubblegum on her head in place of keratin based hair, and the shade of her too-pink skin.
Slowly, Marceline descended until she was sat cross-legged at the end of the young princess's bed, staring into the sleeping girl's face. It had been a while since she had seen anything look so human. Sure, she'd met beings with similar body structure, but usually they'd be on fire or have goat feet or rotting flesh hanging off thin bones. The less distracted part of her brain suddenly remembered owing a zombie some money, but that could wait.
Tentatively, the queen extended a long finger to prod the short bubblegum hair, it gave a satisfying squish under her fingertip. She then trailed her finger to the princess's face and very lightly traced the skin at her cheek. It felt like ordinary flesh, like Marceline's, only very warm under her icy touch. Suddenly the princess clenched her eyes tight before they fluttered open to reveal shocking sky blue orbs looking right at her.
Funny, Marceline assumed they'd be pink just like the rest of- wait.
The princess froze, her mouth fell open, eyes jumping from the vampire's eyes to the finger still touching her and back again.
Shit.
She didn't need vampire hearing to catch the heavy intake of breath the princess heaved, probably readying herself to scream for her parents or guards. Or anyone.
Double shit.
"No!" Marceline almost yelled, retracting her finger. She tried again only quieter this time. "No, shh, I'm not gonna hurt you, kid." In a panic, she pressed a hand over the preteen's mouth, leaving the pink button nose free so she could breathe.
"Mmffh!" One thing she could say about the princess was that she didn't look scared. Though she must have been. Minutes ago she was off in the land of forty winks only to be awoken by a monster crouched over her in the middle of the night, a monster that was now desperately trying to get her to shut up. If anything, she looked displeased and shocked.
The princess started to flail wildly, trying to get away from the stranger above her. Hands whooshed past Marceline's face as the girl attempted to fight back what she must have thought was an attack. Couldn't blame the kid, really.
"Hey," Marceline started, dodging another blow. "I said I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I can totally explain this. Just stop trying to hit me, it's embarrassing."
Surprisingly the princess seemed to listen to her. She stopped waving her arms around, and started frowning instead. Man, the kid already has an insane death-glare. Stuck for what to say, the queen started with the basics, afraid any silence would freak the child out even more.
"My name's Marceline, I don't make a habit of sneaking into kid's bedrooms in the middle of the night. See, I used to kinda live around here. And uh... I just got back from a really long trip. I heard there was a new princess so I came to check it out. That's all, okay?"
Well, the frown was still there, but she felt the princess clamp her mouth shut under her hand.
"So... if I take my hand away, promise you wont scream? I really don't wanna draw any attention to myself right now." No movement. "And if I was gonna kill you, I would have done it already, alright?"
That seemed to do something. The bubblegum girl looked over Marceline once, then twice, then gave what looked like a laboured nod. Blowing out air she didn't really need, Marceline withdrew her hand little by little until it was beside her own head, raised in a half surrender gesture. The pink girl looked like she was going to keep her promise of not shrieking the castle down, so she moved back keeping her jean clad legs underneath her. The young girl scooted back, pressing her back against the headboard of her bed.
"I suppose that is true." She murmured, voice as sweet as her skin, chewing the inside of her cheek. "I am Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum."
Manners at a time like this, she's a princess alright.
"Okay, I guess I should... wait. Your name is Bubblegum? Seriously?" She said, repressing a snort.
"Yes, why? What's wrong with it?" Bonnibel clenched her little hands into fists and glared at the vampire.
"Nothing, nothing. It's just... you know, you're made of bubblegum."
"Yes, that is why Bubblegum was chosen as my surname." The young princess spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Marceline could have sworn there was an eye-roll thrown in there too. That's not very princess like, she thought it best to keep that thought to herself though. For now.
"Your surname was chosen? So you weren't born with it or whatever?" Feeling a little calmer, the teen lifted her arms to rest behind her head, and shut her eyes. She quickly stopped herself from levitating off the bed. Too many things at once could really weird the girl out.
"Born with it? No, I was engineered, so I wasn't exactly born." Bubblegum seemed to have calmed down too, she shrugged her shoulders with her statement, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.
Red eyes snapped back open and landed on Bubblegum.
She was made? Like, in a lab? That's crazy...
Bubblegum was staring at Marceline now, a quizzical look on her face.
"What?" Marceline asked slowly, she was the one frowning now.
"N-nothing. You just seem shocked."
"Well, it's not everyday you meet a person who was like, designed and put together and junk. And believe me, I've met a lot of people."
Bubblegum nodded, seeming like she understood. The kid was smart for her age. However old she really was anyway. Maybe she'd always looked like this and was actually really old. But the guards outside had called her a kid. Damn, this stuff was messed up.
"So, did your parents create you or..?" Talking seemed to help ease the princess, and there was no harm in making small talk with her. If this could even be classed as small talk. It had been a while since the queen took part in a conversation that didn't end in a bloodbath or three, she may as well take advantage of the situation, even if the conversation was with a royal candy sprog.
"My mother did, yes."
"She the Queen?" Marceline probed, stretching her legs out across the horribly pink sheets.
"She was..." Bubblegum breathed, observing the crinkle of silk as pink fingers trailed across her bed sheets. It was a quiet statement. So quiet, yet so hard-hitting. The vampire almost felt a rough clench in the useless muscle that was once her very alive, beating heart. Ouch.
"I'm sorry." A thousand years old and she had never learned what to say. She had witnessed death before, in the thousands in fact. She watched as the former world burnt away into nothing, she had even brought death upon people herself. Yet the hardest thing would always be figuring what to say to person who has lost someone. It was even worse when that person was a mere child. Marcy scowled at the pathetic sentence. What would sorry do? Nothing. And she hated that. Not being able to do something was the most frustrating thing. But apparently the princess didn't want to be comforted. She simply shook the sad look away, and Marceline was glad to see it go. That look was too old and too shattered to appear on a child's face, it reminded her of another certain shattered child. Marceline shook her head too.
The two sat in silence for a while. Marceline lazing back on the bed, relaxed, like she owned the very air around her, and Bonnibel sat resting her behind on her legs folded under her, hands on her knees.
Marceline was about to apologize for, well, everything and take her exit but before she could move to get up, Bonnibel spoke.
"You're a vampire."
Marceline froze. Only for a split second, then opened one eye to look at Bubblegum. She was still sitting on her legs, only her hands were now placed on the bed and she was leaning forward the tiniest bit. Interest danced along her features, big blue eyes glittering under the moonlight seeping into her room. She looked curious, which was better than looking afraid like Marceline had expected.
"Am I?" She drawled, keeping her eye on the princess, searching for any fearful reaction.
"You must be." Bubblegum adjusted her sitting position so she was sat crossed legged, elbows on her knees, face in her hands, leaning even further forward.
"Really?" Deciding she really wouldn't freak out, Marceline winked and finally let herself float up and off the bed until she was parallel with the ceiling. Spinning so she was upside down, her hair cascading down in a river of black satin, Marcy smirked allowing a fang to poke out over her bottom lip. "What makes you think that?"
"I knew it!" The princess laughed loudly, jumping up to stand on her bed. She wasn't anywhere near tall enough to join the vampire, so Marceline dropped down until they were at eye level, remaining upside down all the while. "There aren't many vampires in Ooo."
"Yeah, you're welcome." Marcy laughed. There had been many vampires when Marcy first came to this part of Ooo, and being territorial creatures they had fought for land and pride. Of course they were no match for her. She was skilled and ruthless, and had no issue with putting lower beings in their place.
"What?" Still smiling, the princess raised one thin pink eyebrow at her.
Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to tell a kid about vampire brawling.
"Probably should have mentioned it in the introductions," She started, flipping right-side-up and clasping the young girls hand so quickly it made Bonni's head spin. "Vampire queen at your service, princess." She brushed her cold lips across the top of Bonni's hand before letting go to push a lock of hair behind a pointed ear.
"You're a queen?" Bonni couldn't help but grin, and Marcy couldn't help but grin back. She could see what all the fuss was about, the bittybite wasn't so bad.
Without warning the door handle on the other side of the room began to rattle, then the door flew open, and a little, round candy man stumbled in.
"Princess! Are you alright? Some of the servants heard noises coming from..." The red and white candy trailed off, taking in the sight of Bubblegum standing on top of her bed. "Princess?"
Looking around frantically, Bonni saw no sign of Marceline. Her wide eyes landed on Peppermint Butler, still stood staring at her. "Oh yes, I'm fine, Peppermint. Sorry about the noise, I thought I saw a uh..." Her telescope caught her eye first. "New constellation. Yeah, and I got excited and um... sorry about the noise Peppermint." She felt her face flush red so she dived back into bed, pulling the covers up to her nose.
"Hm, well, yes." The butler said, looking at the princess like she had lost her mind. "Well, goodnight princess."
"Goodnight Peppermint."
After hearing the handle click, Bonni let her breath out in a quick exhale, only so gasp it back in when she heard a voice right next to her ear.
"That was a close one, huh?"
"Marcy!" Bubblegum's hand flew to her pounding heart while Marceline raise a brow at her.
"Marcy?"
"Oh.. um, sorry I-"
"No," She interrupted, lounging back in midair. "It's okay, I like it." She said, offering a small smile. Bonni returned a shy one.
"Hey wait, where are you going?" Throwing the covers off herself, Bubblegum ran after the vampire who was making her way to the locked window.
"Uh, I'm leaving. It's pretty late and I did break in and stuff." Marceline shrugged before clicking the window open and lifting a foot to the ledge, she stopped when she felt a hand fist into her striped jumper. Looking down she saw Bonni, red-faced and staring at the ground.
"Um, do you think you could come back tomorrow?"
"What?"
"Come back here I mean, to see me. I was thinking maybe we could... We could be friends. I mean you're a royal too so..." Her grip tightened ever so slightly around the jumper. "So... there are reasons to be friends."
"You don't think it would be weird?" Marceline asked after a second or two.
The small girl looked up, all innocence and confusion. "Why would it be?"
"Well, I'm like super old, not to mention dead." She shrugged as best as she could while her jumper was still in the princess's grip. Seeing the girls face fall slightly, she added. "But, if you want to... Sure, we could be friends."
Suddenly a face splitting grin flashed onto Bubblegum's young face. "Okay!" She smiled, letting go of Marceline.
The teen patted her on the head, whispered a goodnight, and swept out of the open window. Bonni rushed to the window to shout out a loud "Don't be late" not caring if Peppermint Butler came running again.
Everybody leaves. Everyone. Maybe not by their own will, maybe they are pushed away or maybe their lifespan just isn't long enough. Either way, they still leave. But sometimes, it's worth the risk. Knowing something can't last forever doesn't mean it can't be something great. And maybe, just maybe, Marceline hadn't run out of wonders after all.
Thank you for reading, I hope enjoyed it! If you want this continued let me know and I'll see if there's enough interest. Also please review, any suggestions or thoughts would be awesome!
