An Eternity's Choice
Chapter 1 *Late...Again*
16-year-old Finn was walking along the sweet covered street of Candy Kingdom. Jake, his bud, was right along side him.
"So, what you're saying is, it's okay to eat the town, but not the people? Isn't it all made of, like, candy? So technically you're eating people when you eat a piece of sidewalk, and when you eat a candy citizen, you're eating a piece of town. Because you know, it's all made of candy, so they're connected. Right?" Jake asked Finn.
"Dude, I don't know. Just eat some candy cane lamppost and be quiet. You're giving me a headache with this whole candy connected thing," Finn answered, irritated.
Jake obeyed, but only a little too late did a horrified expression cross his face.
"I'm eating a person," he whispered. He spit the contents of the candy cane out violently. "GROSS, GROSS, GROSS, GRO-"
"Hey!" Jake was interrupted by Bubblegum Princess, going on her daily stroll through the kingdom. "What's going on?"
"Jake ate a person and I'm just chillin'," Finn said casually.
"Oh! Jake, you know you're not supposed to eat the candy people! We've been over this," she accused.
"But-lamppost-connected-agh!" Jake stuttered. "I'm going over to...I don't know, but anywhere. Yeah." He raised his hand in a farewell and moped off.
PB sighed. "Who'd he eat?" she asked, not sounding angry or worried, just annoyed, like this happened everyday. Which it usually did.
"Actually, he had a bit of lamppost, but he believes they're connected somehow to the candy citizens and all," Finn said dismissively. Princess Bubblegum just shook her head.
"Anyway, what I really came to ask you Finn was for your assistance. I'm holding a banquet tonight and will need a hand serving the food. Three of our servants were eaten yesterday. We'll need all the help we can get!" Princess Bubblegum begged.
Happy to help a friend, he said, "Sure, whateves' PB."
"Thank you, Finn! Be at the kingdom at 8:00pm sharp! I'll have your outfit ready and everything by then. Farewell, Finn." She turned on her heal and headed to the castle.
'Wait, did she say OUTFIT?' Finn thought. Throwing the thought aside, he walked in no particular direction.
Getting bored, Finn set to find Jake. It had been about three hours since he'd left and Finn couldn't find anything better to do. But there was no need for searching when Jake leaped out of nowhere and stretched his legs long and wrapped them around Finn's ankles and tripped him.
"Bonsai!" Jake yelled.
Finn laughed as his best friend untangled himself. "What does that even mean?"
"Bonsai? I don't know, it just sounds cool. See, like this." And he tackled Finn to the ground once more, screaming 'Bonsai!'
"Okay, okay! Settle down!" Finn said through fits of laughter. Jake was laughing too, but yelped when Finn pushed him off.
Finn picked up his back pack. "Where were you anyway?"
"Oh, you know...grabbing a snack," he replied quietly.
"Really? Where?" Finn asked, now intrigued as to why Jake was acting bashful.
"Thekirdyhingfom..." Jake muttered.
"The what?"
"The candhykinhrom..."
"Huh?"
"The Candy Kingdom! Ok! I admit it! I ate the annoying little peppermints that lived in the palace! But for my defense, they were calling me a candyvore! Pssh. I showed them." Jake crossed his arms five times and started towards the tree house. Finn stood looking at his back, puzzled, but soon caught up.
"Whoa! Calm down, man! Didn't mean-"
"Just stop talkin' about it, bro. I'm not proud of what I did," Jake said solemnly. Finn dropped it. But he couldn't stifle his laughter. "What's so funny? Huh, huh?" Jake asked defensively.
"Nothing! Nothing! Just forget about it." Finn said, swatting his hand through the air decisively. Their home came into view, just over the bright green hill. They walked the rest of the way in silence, both set on resting before the banquet. Jake threw opened the door and stretched all the way upstairs without taking a single step. By the time Finn was upstairs Jake was already snoring loudly. Finn waited for his friend to say something, but finally convinced that he was sleeping, went straight to the bed and plopped down face first. He was fast asleep immediately. It was a dreamless sleep, but sleep nonetheless.
When he awoke he saw the time was 8:45pm.
'Crap! I'm late!' he thought. He was supposed to be there at 8:00pm sharp! Finn took a look around the room. Jake was gone, so he quickly ran downstairs and grabbed his backpack, but it got caught on a piece of stray wood sticking out of the wall and tore open, leaving its contents strewn across the floor. Too busy worrying about getting to the banquet, he threw his hands up in desperation and ran out the door.
As he ran as fast as he could, afraid he had missed it. He wondered how mad PB would be. That just made him run harder.
Chapter 2 *The Banquet*
Running through the palace doors, he saw the Princess talking to a few other guests. Upon seeing Finn, the Princess excused herself quite quickly and gathered her skirts. Almost running to him, she whispered urgently, "Where have you been? I asked you to be here at 8:00pm exactly! We haven't begun eating because of you!"
"I'm sorry! Why are we whispering?"
"Because...because...oh, I don't know! Just come with me," she said, exasperated. He didn't know why she was so angry with him, which she usually wasn't, but decided not to comment on it. She led him through some passages and into a sort of smaller type of room. Here, she handed him a light blue under shirt, a deeper blue jacket with gold outlining the cuffs and neck line, the same color pants and black shoes.
"Why do I have to dress so fancy? Can't I just wear what I have?" he pleaded.
She shook her head sternly. "No. I will not have anybody taking part in this banquet look less than they should. And for glob's sake, take that hat off! It's not proper at all."
Geez, she was bossy tonight.
"But I wear my hat with EVERYTHING. I'm not taking it off for some stupid party," he retorted.
She looked hurt after he'd said that.
"Finn, please."
"I'm keeping the hat."
...She reached for the hat and pulled it off before he could react.
"Hey!"
"I'm sorry, Finn, but I simply cannot have you break the dress code. No hats. You can have it back at the end." she said primly. Taking the hat with her, she walked quietly down the hall.
"Hmph. Wonder what her problem is," Finn mumbled. She'd been perfectly fine this morning, now she was being a bossy-pants. But not wanting to make her more mad, he hurriedly put the clothes she'd given him, also wondering why she was making him put on a fancy suit.
Finn still didn't know what the room's purpose was for, but there was a table, two chairs, a mirror, and a dresser. He got dressed and took a look in the dusty mirror, which was cracked in the corner. His hair was mussed and disheveled, but other than that, he looked quite ravishing. The blue of the outfit went perfectly with his eyes and hair. Though he was not happy, he reminded himself that he was doing this for Princess Bubblegum. He never let a friend down.
Coming out of the room and practically running down the hallway, he finally found his way to Princess Bubblegum.
"Ah, there you are! Why, don't you look handsome! Though we could do something about your hair...Don't worry, we can fix that. And don't you just absolutely love the suit I picked out for you?" PB gushed. But to be honest, Finn was a little ticked off. PB knew he didn't like formal wear, so why did she all of a sudden pick out the most fancy jacket and shoes for him? But he hid his feeling well.
"I do, Princess." he said with a forced smile. "Now, shouldn't I be getting to..." he trailed off. What was he supposed to be getting to?
"Oh! Yes, indeed. Just ask Jake where you shall be heading and please get started as soon as possible."
"Uh, k," he said. He hadn't known Jake was here already. Scanning the room he finally found him. He was talking with Lady Rainicorn and a few of her friends. Finn walked briskly over.
"Jake, why didn't you wake me?" Finn asked, hands held out.
Jake turned around lazily. "Hmm? Oh, it's just you. Well, you know...I was too tired."
"Ugh, forget. I can't rely on you for anything lately, can I?" he said, not so much as asking, but talking aloud to himself.
Jake replied anyway. "Of course you can, broham! I just gotta get over this candy obsession. It's harder than you think." Just as he said this, a group of lollipop waiters walked by. Each gave Jake a nervous look and quickened their pace. Jake pointed at them.
"See! People are avoiding me now!"
"Uh, yeah, good luck with that. Anyway, Princess said you knew where I had to go to start serving."
"Oh yeah, no prob. Follow me." Jake began walking toward the back. There, he pushed open a swinging door and stepped aside.
"There you go. Just gotalk to the other peeps serving and they'll tell you what to do. Peace!" Jake made a giant peace sign on top of his head, then walked out without another word.
Amiably walking, Finn checked out the room. It looked sort of like an oversized closet, but it had tables, chairs, silver carts on which you placed food (like the kind in a fancy restaurant), a chandelier, and quite a few other things. It looked like a dining room, and probably was. But he eventually noticed the group of people standing in the far end of the room, discussing something intently. He began to walk over.
"So, are you guys the other servers?" Finn asked. They all looked up.
"Oh, yes! We are! And you be Finn, am I right?" a perky little gumdrop squeaked.
"Yeah, I am. So, when do we begin?"
"Whenever the Princess says, dipstick." said a very oversized red hots candy. Finn said nothing.
"We have just been discussing our pl-" But the perky little gumdrop was interrupted when thered hots candy, tootsie roll, and lollipop slapped their hand over its mouth.
"Shut up, you dumbdrop!" the lollipop whispered.
"Hey! That's not very nice to call people names!" the perky little gumdrop said not so quietly. Tootsie roll just rolled his eyes. Just at that moment, Princess Bubblegum cracked open the door and poked her head inside.
"Okay! If you'll just follow me, you can get started."
They all followed her out, none looking to happy to be doing this except for the gumdrop. She skipped and whistled, smiling the whole freakin' way. It seemed to be getting on the red hots candy's nerve, but he held it in, not wanting to make a scene on front of the Princess. When they finally got to their destination, all five of them were given a platter and pushed out the door, into the ball room.
"Okay, you may begin serving. Oh, and thank you Finn for doing this! I so much very appreciate it!" She gave him a hug before setting off to attend to her guests, trying to be the perfect hostess.
"Why'd she give you a hug? I'm doing this for her, too, ya know!" red hots candy said huffily. Finn just shrugged his shoulders, happy that the red hots candy was jealous. He really didn't like him.
He began walking around. People talked to him, thanked him for doing such a polite thing for the Princess, took something off the platter, or just plain out ignored him. It was a very uneventful evening. He was beginning to get so bored that he wanted to go to Princess Bubblegum and quit. It came to the point where he just sat down among the other visitors and rested for a few moments. But that didn't last long, because Princess Bubblegum noticed and came over to him. A frown was plastered on her face, and she scolded Finn. Now working again, he didn't greet anyone with smiles. PB was getting on his nerves and he just couldn't take it anymore. But he thought about it again realized there was nothing he could do about it. So gathering up his last bits of patience, which was very little, he began serving the food without a word.
When he was walking with his head down he felt someone tap his right shoulder. Turning his head, no one was there. Annoyed, he kept walking. Then someone tapped his left shoulder and he turned his head in the general direction. No one. He began walking again, but now the person tapped him on both shoulders. He spun around quickly, about to tell whoever it was a few choice words of his own, but upon seeing it was Marceline, he stopped.
"Hey, hero," she said, smiling mischievously.
"Oh, hey, Marceline," he said, but without his usual enthusiasm.
She raised an eyebrow. "What's your problem?" She began floating a circle around him, putting her arms behind her head.
"PB," he said frowning. She nodded her head and took a cherry off the tray, drinking the red slowly.
"What's up with the suit?"
Again, he said, "PB."
"Oh, well I think you look cute." she said sincerely, but then ruffled his hair. "That reminds me, where's your hat?"
"PB," he said flatly, looking away.
"Hmm. She seems more...annoying, than usual. If that's even possible." she said with a teasing smile. She tilted her head sideways, trying to catch Finn's eye.
"Yeah, well, I'm going to have to put with it for about six more hours. This banquet goes on all night." He closed his eyes, turned his head back to Marceline, and opened his eyes with a sigh.
"It's really that boring?" she asked.
"Yes. Boring, I'm tired, Bubblegum is being a pain, Jake's being a jerk, and PB took my hat. That really makes it worse."
She smiled at his last comment.
"Well, hero, I'd love to help, but for some reason Bubblegum invited me here. And we both know she doesn't invite me anywhere. So I'm bound to figure this out. See ya." she said nonchalantly. Floating away backwards and waving quickly, she winked at him. He held his hand up in response. He turned around, getting back to work.
Chapter 3 *Maybe*
'Finn's grown,' Marceline thought as she went to Bubblegum. "He's taller, that's for sure." Nearing Princess Bubblegum, Marceline thought over a few other differences she'd seen in Finn while she'd been gone. His hair was the same gold color and same ear-length. Nothing changed about that. She'd already mentioned his height, in which he had grown considerably taller. He was as tall as her now. He was slimmer, too. Must be because of his sudden growth. He seemed a bit more mature, but not as much as you would think of a person his age. Still his usual crazy self. But she hadn't seen much of that crazy Finn as she used to. She didn't know why she was thinking of him like this, so she tried to distract herself.
"Princess!" she called when she was floating right behind her. Bubblegum Princess turned with a flourish of her dress.
"Yes?" she asked sweetly.
A little weirded out, she said, "Um, why did you invite me here? We both know we're the not the best of friends...or friends...or acquaintances."
"Oh, well...I'm sorry! I've just been really stressed out lately and it's all just really...ugh! I don't know why I invited you! I can't think straight these past few days and it's all so pressuring." she admitted. Marceline just stared at her. That was way more information than she'd wanted.
"Uh, it's okay. I can leave..."
Bubblegum looked startled. "No, no! It's absolutely fine if you stay! Finn will probably rather speak with you than with me at the moment. I've been a bit pushy. I need you to convince him to stay, because he looks as though he's ready to leave any minute now." She looked over at Finn, who was looking down at the red hots candy with a blank expression. The red hots candy was telling him what to do and how to do it in a very annoying manner. Marceline looked over at him too, thinking about what she'd said earlier. That he looked cute. But jumping at her realization of what she just thought, she snapped her head back to Bubblegum.
'Why am I feeling this? He's a friend. Best friend. I shouldn't be thinking this. I haven't even seen him for a year,' she scolded herself. (She'd been in the Nightoshere with her father. Don't ask.)
"Should I?" Bubblegum asked, breaking Marceline's train of thought.
"Wha-huh?" Marceline stammered.
"My voyage. Shall I ask Finn to accompany me? Jake would be allowed also, of course. Plus, I'm inviting a few other close friends," Princess explained.
"Where're you heading?"
"To Sweetden. I just took about five minutes explaining this to you. Geez, you really need to work on your hearing skills, Marceline."
"Oh. Sorry."
Bubblegum changed the subject, but not knowing what else to say, decided to compliment Marceline on her outfit.
"I love your dress, Marceline. It suits your personality," Bubblegum tried. Marceline was wearing a floor length black dress that had a deep red ribbon going around her waist. She wore a necklace in the shape of a bat. The bottom of her dress was a jagged lining. But at the moment, some random guest called to the Princess, and she politely excused herself.
Marceline watched the back of Princess Bubblegum swiftly walk away.
Heeding Bubblegum's instruction's, Marceline went to Finn. He did look quite irritated. Wanting to help him out, Marceline decided to have some fun with the RED piece of candy.
"Hey Finn. This red dude bugging you?" she said, sauntering up.
"No, not at all," he said sarcastically.
Taking the hint, she didn't stop there. "Oh, okay then. Well, anyway, I'm kinda thirsty. You know where anything RED is?" she asked mockingly, flashing her fangs and staring straight at the red hots candy with a menacing look in her eyes.
The piece of candy got nervous, looking at anything but Marceline. "Uh, yeah, you know, I'm a little busy-so-uh-yeah!" he stuttered. He turned around and speed-walked away.
Finn sighed. "Thank you. He is a pain in the neck. Blah blah this and blah blah that! I actually kind of wished you'd take care of him, once and for all." He finally smiled, the first time that night. Marceline felt butterfly's in her stomach for some unknown reason. When she realized she hadn't said anything, she cleared her throat and responded. "Oh, yeah. Um, listen, Bubblegum said she wanted to apologize for being rude earlier and all. She didn't mean it," she mumbled, not knowing what to say. She was beginning to get real cross with herself. Why was she acting so shy all of a sudden in front of Finn? She doesn't see him for a year and when she comes back she acts nervous when he's around? That just didn't make sense.
"Marceline?"
Dang it! She did it again. "Uh, what?"
"You okay? You kinda spaced off for a few minutes there." Finn said, concerned. Being shown this much attention from him made her mind go blank. She'd had enough of it.
"Yeah! I'm fine. I just...I need to go home," she said, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "See you tomorrow?" Why did she just say that? She was trying to spend time away from him not with him.
"Yeah, see ya," he replied, just as Princess Bubblgum came walking up.
"Hello Finn! May I have a few words with you?"
"Sure, PB. What's up?" Finn sat the half empty tray down on a nearby table and followed Princess Bubblegum to a spot a couples paces away. Marceline couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew it was about the voyage Bubblegum had mentioned. She waited to leave and watched them. She saw Bubblegum explaining the trip with subtle hand gestures, and Finn looking unsure. He knit his eyebrows together and stuck his hands in his pockets. He said some words and PB nodded. They split apart, Finn heading toward the exit, Bubblegum to her banquet. Marceline caught up with Bubblegum.
"What was that all about?" Marceline asked.
"I just asked him if he would like to go on the expedition with me and he wasn't too sure yet, so I asked him to go home early and get a nights rest to think about it."
"Why didn't he agree?" Marceline asked, now intrigued.
"Well, I think it's because of how long we'll be gone."
Without knowing why, she asked, "How long will it be?"
"About 10 months."
"What? Why?" she asked, surprised at how long the simple trip will take.
"I'm going to be visiting some family while we are there, and they asked if I could stay for the Christmas. I said yes."
"Couldn't you just go when it's CLOSER to Christmas?" Marceline questioned. Why did she care so much?
"No, I can't. I have some royal business to do there."
Marceline looked down at the floor. Feeling disappointed for no particular reason, she bid Princess Bubblegum goodnight, and flew home.
Sitting on her bed, wearing her usual grey tank top, dark blue jeans, and red boots, she thought about her feelings and tried to sort them out.
'He's a friend. Just a friend. Only a friend,' she tried to convince herself. 'Then why can't I act normal around him? Why's it all of a sudden when I come home after a long time...Is it because, while I was gone, I've had time to realize my feelings? Or, am I just going crazy?'
She turned on the song she'd recorded about half an hour ago.
"I'm confused...
Or is just me
I'm trying to feel what isn't supposed to be
Holding on to nothing
I should confess and stop bluffing
Why_can't I_ see it through
Maybe, just maybe...I love you."
She hit the stop button with frustration. She deleted the song, but after the deed was done, she thought, 'Maybe, just maybe...'
Chapter 4 *Hanging Out*
He lay in his bed with his arms behind his head. He stared at the ceiling, thinking. Did he want to go with Princess Bubblegum? 10 months away from home. He didn't know if he should leave, leaving the Land of Ooo unprotected. But he also had to help Bubblegum wherever she went, even if she had been rude.
He let these thought run through his head as sleep began to take over. But before he fell completely under, he concluded to an answer for PB.
As Finn fell asleep, Keef stood outside, laying only a hill away. He smiled evilly. He wore a tattered old cloak and his hair was a black mess. His teeth were all sharpened to a point and sparkled dangerously in the full moon light.
'I will use this mere human for my bait. He will lead me to my true prize,' he thought cleverly. 'In time...In time.'
Yawning and sitting up groggily, Finn noticed Jake still wasn't back, but hearing pans and pots downstairs proved otherwise.
"Hey Finn!" Jake greeted as Finn came down.
"Hey, what time did you get back," he said, pausing for another yawn.
"I don't really know, around 5:30am?" Jake wondered aloud.
"Oh." Finn sat down at the table and rested his head on his left hand. Watching Jake make...what was he making?
"I'm makin' a breakfast burrito. Want one?" Jake asked, as if reading Finn's mind.
"Nah. I'm not hungry," he replied. Jake looked at him with concern.
"You feeling okay? You've been out of it lately. Bubblegum's noticed too and a few others."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired lately. And now that decision for going on the trip...Don't worry, I'll be fine." Finn said reassuringly. Jake nodded his head and turned back to his now burnt breakfast burrito.
"Aw man!" Jake whined. Finn snickered. After a few moments, Finn stood up and got dressed. In the year Marceline had been gone, he'd switched to actually wearing different outfits everyday. Today he wore a black and blue plaid shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reach his elbows, and denim jeans. His sneakers were a pair of black and white converse. Still without his hat, he said goodbye to Jake and left for the Candy Plalace.
Running a hand through his hair, he made sure his decision was the right one. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he walked on ahead.
Unaware of the dark cloaked figure walking in between the trees a few paces behind him, Finn didn't stop. But the Keef went on. When he saw the palace, he memorized where it was, already forming his diabolical plan. Very soon it will be put into action.
"Bubblegum?" Finn called out. He walked in through the big doors that led inside. The guard at the door spoke to him.
"She is in her lab, Finn. You may see her. She has been expecting you." he said with a straight, blank expression. Finn nodded his head.
"Thanks." Walking down the long hallway, up a flight of stairs, down another hallway, and finally reaching the door to PB's lab. He walked right on in, knowing he was welcomed.
Bubblegum looked up from her experiment, pulled off her goggles, and came to Finn.
"Hello Finn! I've been awaiting your presence. Did Marceline give my apologies last night? I'm terribly sorry."
"Yeah, she did. See, I've come over to talk to you about-"
She held up her hand. "Yes, about your answer. But I really do have to work on this experiment at the moment and I can't discuss this now, so come back after noon and we can talk then."
"Um, okay. But-"
"Finn. Please," she said urgently, glancing over at the table with her project on it. The substance was beginning to boil over and some green, slimy monster thing started crawling out.
"Oh no! It's boiled too long!" the Princess yelped, running to the table and grabbing random tubes of chemicals, mixing and matching them.
"So, bye then?" Finn said. But PB didn't hear him, she was too busy taming the creature.
Walking down the streets, Finn thought of what to do till noon. He remembered his conversation with Marceline, about seeing her today. He set for her house.
Coming up to Marceline's house, he knocked on the door. He heard her call from inside and then some shuffling. She opened the door eventually.
"Oh, hey Finn! Uh, what're you doing here?" she asked, only opening the door far enough for her head to poke out.
"Hey, Marcey. Just wanted to hang out today, like we said yesterday."
"Oh. Well, we can't hang out in my house today, sorry. But I'll be right out!" She closed the door and Finn sat down on the porch steps, waiting. When she came out, her hair was bushed and she had a long sleeve red and black striped sweater with gray skinny jeans. She had black boots on and in her hand she held her axe bass.
"Ready," she said. Finn stood up and they walked out to the woods that surrounded the cave Marceline's house was in. The trees were thick, so only patches of sunlight leaked through. Marceline didn't need her umbrella. There was a group of rocks big enough to sit on, so Finn sat on one and Marceline on another, side by side.
"So what's up?" Marceline asked Finn. He looked nervous. But she had a feeling she knew what he was going to bring up.
Chapter 5- *Summer Afternoon*
Marceline hadn't wanted him to come into her house because the floor was littered with lyric sheets. Those papers were filled with her feelings and everything she didn't want Finn to know about.
Now sitting next to him, right next to him, she used all of her willpower to keep her usual cool attitude. She'd also noticed his new choice of clothes. She hadn't known he had a sense of style, and it fitted his personality. His hair was messy too.
'It looks good that way, natural.' she thought.
He sighed. "Should I go?"
"Go where?" she said, pretending to be genuinely curious, although she already knew what he was asking about.
"On that trip, with Bubblegum. I'll be gone for 10 months. I'm not sure if it's just me, but that's quite a long time." he said, looking straight ahead. He had pulled one knee under his arm and was holding on to his wrist with the other hand. A patch of sun was perfectly shining through the trees, right on top of his blonde hair, making it vivid. She pushed a piece of hair out of her face lightly, still staring at him.
"Uh." She cleared her thought again. "Yeah. I mean, go if you want to. What's the worry?" Though she secretly didn't want him to go on the trip. 10 months WAS a long time.
"Well, you know. Someone has to protect the people around here. And...I just don't want to leave." He ran a hand through his hair, a habit of his. Marceline thought it was adorable when he did that. And when she thought that, she realized she really did have a crush on him. And she wasn't going to try to deny it anymore, for she knew it was pointless to do so. But she sure as heck wasn't going to admit it aloud, or to any other living soul. She knew how all relationships ended. And to add to that, they were friends. She couldn't ruin that.
"You don't HAVE to leave," she tried. He didn't answer, but just stared down at the ground with an intent look on his face, thinking everything over. He looked charming when he was being serious.
Strumming a few chords on her axe bass, she watched him. He seemed deep in thought, so she didn't say anything. He still didn't have his hat, but to be truthful, she liked him better without it.
As this was going on, Keef hid among the camouflage of the dense forest, as quiet as a fox watching its prey.
'So the girl has a sweet spot for the boy. Perfect. She shall be an excellent pawn as well.' He left, gone to finish the rest of his plan.
Marceline waited a little longer before she said something.
"When do you leave for the trip?" she asked, trying to make conversation. He looked up, startled for a second, then answered.
"In a week," he stated.
"That soon?" she said. But she played her bass and tilted her head to the side, pretending to look non too interested. He nodded. Another silence came between them. She reached out her hand and put it on top of his, looking at him for a reaction. He looked at their hands and then at her, blushing.
She smiled. "You're cute when you blush."
That just made him blush more. He looked away, but didn't move his hand. She held his hand.
"It's okay. Whatever choice you make will be the right one. Don't worry." she encouraged. He gave her a grateful half-smile. But at that exact moment the wind blew and shifted the tree leaves, making the sun more exposed to the two. The sunlight touched where their hands were and Marceline pulled her hand back with a jerk. Rubbing her hand, she looked at the ground.
"Are you okay?" Finn asked, forgetting his troubles at the moment.
"Yeah. I'm fine." She stood up. "It's past noon, maybe you should be getting to Goody-Two-Shoes." she said with her regular silky voice.
"Yeah, I should. Thanks for listening, Marce." He stood up too. Sticking his hands in his pockets (Another habit) he went the opposite way.
Marceline hesitated. "Wait!"
He looked over his shoulder.
"What...is your decision?"
He smiled. "The right one." Then walked away.
Chapter 6 *The Answer*
"I've found my answer, PB." Finn said confidently.
"Please do tell me! I've been waiting nervously for your response."
They were sitting in large arm chairs around a fireplace that was unlit.
"I've gave it some thought and...yes. I'll come." Finn agreed.
Bubblegum clapped her hands twice and clasped them.
"Splendid! I knew you'd agree! You already know we'll be leaving in less than a week, to be precise, four days,so just be at the palace by 10:00pm. Is there any of who you'd like to accompany us to Sweetden?"
Finn thought about Marceline, being all alone in Ooo for 10 long months.
"Could Marceline come?" Finn raised his eyebrows.
The Princess faltered at this request. "Well...you see..." she laughed nervously. "You know...Now that I think about it, I do believe we don't have room. We're booked. Sorry." she said pathetically. Finn saw through the lie, but couldn't argue. She was the Princess, she decided who came and who didn't.
"Princess! We have an emergency! Princess, please come at once!" a guard squealed from outside, his high-pitched voice carrying through the open window.
A hand went to PB's mouth. "Oh dear, what has happened? I'm so sorry I keep kicking you out like this, but please, I have some business to attend to." She dismissed herself and walked out the door. Standing up, Finn went to the window. Leaning on his hands and crossing one leg over the other at the ankle, he looked down on the kingdom. It was beautiful from the height of the tower, but he saddened at the thought of leaving it, unprotected. He knew he wouldn't be leaving forever, but a lot could change in the amount of time he was gone. He didn't want to miss out on anything.
Turning his back on the kingdom below, he went for a walk, nothing better to do in his spare time.
Keef explained what to do to his minions. They were to get the Princess to stand directly in front of her throne and to keep her busy and talking, because he always said, 'If its a still target, it's an easy target'. And only then would he let his knife throwing skills take over. He had practiced and practiced ever since he was five. His father had been in the entertainment business as a knife thrower, but Keef had better plans. He wouldn't be doing this for entertainment, he'd be doing it for the throne. He was to be king and king he shall be. But if Princess Bubblegum stood in the way...well, she won't be in the way much longer. Using the boy named Finn as a ticket to getting inside the palace would be easy. But Keef would also cause some love trouble between Finn and the girl, Marceline. That way the boy shall be too distracted by his own feelings to notice the Princess being put in harm's way. He had it all figured out, except the incident to happen between the boy and girl. That he couldn't figure out. He mulled over decisions while his minions left the room. Keef had only three days to come up with the love trouble, make it happen, then still be ready by the time the fourth day came. It would be a tiresome task and risky, too. But he will do it. That you can be sure of.
As Finn strolled the streets he imagined what Sweetden would look like. His mind switched to other ideas and he daydreamed for quite some time.
Being so deep in his daydream, he didn't hear Marceline calling his name, so it was an even bigger surprise when she came speeding into him.
"Whoa!" he cryed. He and Marceline fell onto the ground, her laughing, and him shocked. She had fallen on top of him, her umbrella somehow still in her hand, covering her, and her hands planted on either side of his face, just above his shoulders. Her hair was swept to one side and hung down in a long black sheet on the left side of her face, guarding her from the angle of the sun. She had an excited smile on, her fangs showing, obviously happy she'd scared him.
"What the heck?" was all Finn could manage.
She laughed. "Sorry, you weren't listening, so I figured I had to get your attention somehow."
He put a hand to his head. "You sure got my attention." She just smiled. A piece of his hair hung over his eyes and she brushed it away. But before he could register what she had just did, she got off of him and helped him up.
"What's so important that you had to plow me over, hm?" he asked sarcastically. She fake laughed and playfully punched him on the arm.
"I just saw you walking and thought we could hang out. Leave off from where we were before, you know, before you left to give Bubblegum your answer. And speaking of answers, what was it?"
"I'm going. We leave in four days."
"But, I thought you said it was a week till you left," she said. This time, she didn't hide her disappointment. He put an arm around her shoulder and they began walking.
"Why're you so sad? I thought you'd be happy to get a break from PB."
"Yeah, it won't be her that I miss." Finn thought he saw her glance at him, but he couldn't tell for sure, for it had happened too fast.
"Marcey, what's going on? You've seemed down the last couple of days. It's worrying me," Finn confessed.
He looked at her and saw her blush a little, but she turned her head away and her long hair cascaded across her face.
"You wouldn't understand. You'd just make fun of me," she insisted, shaking her head.
"No I wouldn't! I swear! Believe me, I'd never make fun of you," he told her. He looked at her until he was sure she wasn't going to tell, then looked ahead.
Chapter 7 *The Incident*
Marceline smiled to herself. Finn had his arm around her shoulders and was trying to comfort her. If she had been able to, she'd be blushing profusely, just remembering she'd been laying on top of him only a few moments ago. His arms now around her, she felt at peace. But she only had to think of him leaving in three days to bring back her sour mood. But while she had these good and bad thoughts, she was soon interrupted when Finn told her he had to go, and they went their separate ways.
Floating home by herself, she hummed along to her recent song she'd written. She didn't know how much longer she could keep up the whole "just friends" act, but right now she was content. And she liked it.
Keef had found the perfect plan to ruin it between the vamp and human. Mixing potions and spells, he would magically change his appearance into that of the human's, frame him of doing something bad, and angering the vampire.
He drank the concoction. Only moments after, he looked like a clone of Finn, but different yet. The difference between the two, was that this one had a malevolent glint in his eye, and he was hungry for vengeance.
Marceline walked onto her porch and was about to turn the doorknob when looking through the curtains, she saw a shadow of a person. Confusion, anger, and pure disbelief surged through her at the thought of someone having the nerve to break into her house. Ready to show the idiot what they'd gotten their selves into, she threw open the door.
What she saw was unexpected. There stood Finn, rummaging through her drawers and cupboards, picking things up and tossing them aside if they did not interest him.
"Finn?" she whispered. He turned his head to her, not one bit surprised. A smirk crossed his lips.
"Oh, Marceline." was all be said. Picking up a vase containing VERY valuable items, he threw it behind him. It shattered loudly in the silence.
"What are you doing!" She ran to pick up the remnants of the vase. But he didn't seem to listen. He pushed past her and began snooping through her lyric sheets, ripping them one by one. She gasped.
"No, stop!" she screamed. She pushed him back. But that made him push her back, and somehow, he was stronger. She flew into the wall.
"Ah!" she cryed. Holding her arm, she looked at him with confusion. He glared down at her. But returned to going through her stuff. He ripped, tore, threw, broke, shattered, and did every possible thing to ruin everything he touched. Finally when it got to a picture frame of Marceline's mother, she jumped up. But only too late, he threw the picture into the fire, which she didn't remember lighting.
She didn't say anything. She leaped at him, ready to kill if she had to. He sidestepped easily and she fell to the ground. But not discouraged, she tried again and again. Finally, she scratched him very deeply on the arm. He flinched and grabbed him arm, but smiled evilly.
"Perfect." he mumbled, weirdly happy. But before she could do anything more fatal, he bolted for the door and ran. He ran way faster than he should have been able to, but Marceline didn't care at the moment.
"I'll kill you the next time I see you! I swear!" she screeched after him.
He just smiled. The deed being done, Keef knew his plans were in action.
He made it back to his hideout. Keef drank some unusual green liquid. He slowly became Keef again, not Finn. He quickly grabbed another liquid and downed it. The cut on his arm disappeared within seconds.
He went to his slaves. The little gumdrop looked excited and jittery, which annoyed Keef greatly.
"Stop jumping, you ignorant imbecile!" he spit. She stopped jumping immediately.
Now settled down, he said, "Well, I've done the hard part. Now we just have to wait for their voyage and all shall be well on its way to being my kingdom. I will be going to watch the fight between the vampire and human. I'll create even more drama between them by revealing myself after Marceline kills the boy. Or if she does. I've got my fingers crossed." He laughed mirthlessly. He obviously enjoyed others suffering. The servants trembled in pure terror. They didn't want to be tortured like he did to these two innocent people. Keef just kept laughing, already able to feel what it was like to sit upon the thrown.
Chapter 8- *Revenge*
Finn ran a hand through his hair. It was near midnight and it was a full moon out. He walked among the forest trees and whistled as he went. He was going on a walk to clear his head and focus on the expedition.
As he walked, he heard rapid crunching of leaves and twigs. Thinking it was just an animal, he paid it no attention. But when Marceline came running through the trees, he jumped.
"Oh, hey, Marcey-"
"Don't call me that!" she said fiercely. She looked angry.
"What's wrong?" Finn asked innocently.
"Oh, don't put on a stupid act right after you ransacked my house!"
"I did what? But I didn't-" But he didn't have time to say anymore, for she jumped at him. He put his hands up for protection on instinct. She pushed him to the ground and tried to claw him with her now razor-sharp nails. She succeeded and got him across the cheek. It was a deep cut, but he didn't have time to worry. He pushed her off and tried to stand, but she punched him in the jaw. Blood now trickled from the corner of his mouth. He knew he couldn't do much compared to a vampire's super-strength, but he tried to dodge her blows and swipes as best he could. He didn't want to do anything that might hurt her, but he didn't want to be torn to shreds either.
He thought quickly, swung his leg under her, and pulled her legs out from underneath. She fell with a thud, surprised that he had fought back. But she got back up and tried to reach for his throat.
"You ruined my life's work! All those songs, all those feelings, all those words written onto paper. Everything! You broke my every possession and burned the last thing I had of my mom!" she yelled as she tried to strangle him.
"I-didn't-do-anything!" he gasped as he tried to break her grasp.
"Liar!"
He finally couldn't take it any longer and put his foot on her stomach and kicked her back.
He shakily stood up. He had a look of fear in his eyes, caused from his once best friend to someone who had tried to viciously attack him. Blood still trailing down from the corner of his mouth and the cut on the side of his face, he shook his head, still unable to fully comprehend what had just happened. Marceline kneeled on the forest floor, her hands planted firmly down. She glared at him with pure hatred.
Still breathing hard, he turned and ran, his clothes getting caught on brambles and thorns, cutting him even more.
Keef had been watching from the shadows. He was very pleased at how the boy had reacted, though still wished he'd been killed during the fight. After Finn had gone, Keef decided it was the moment to reveal himself. Stepping out from the underbrush, he held his arms wide.
Marceline turned her head to the sound of leaves shuffling. "What you looking at?" she growled.
"Oh, nothing, darling. I just wanted to congratulate you on your excellent performance! I really did enjoy it."
"Huh?" she said with confusion.
"Well, of course you didn't actually believe Finn would do such a horrid thing! And to his best friend, too. No, no, no! Why, it was me, of course," Keef explained.
Still kneeling on the ground with a confused look, she said once again, "Huh?"
He sighed in pretend irritation. "I guess it's better to show you than tell you." He drank the last bit of the potion that he'd made to turn into Finn. "Ta-da," he said with a mischievous smile after he finished morphing. Now looking like Finn, he did a mock bow. Still bowing he lifted his head up and locked eyes with her, and she saw the cold, heartless monster for who he was.
"How...How could you," she said, not asking, but stating it. Suddenly, she turned and ran in the direction of Finn.
"Finn! Wait, come back!" Keef heard Marceline yell.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. We can't have that insolent little girl getting in the way of my plans, now can we?" he asked no one in particular. He plunged into the darkness of the forest, listening for the sound of her running feet.
Catching up with the vampire, Keef pulled out a knife and threw it with every skill he possessed. He hadn't been aiming to hurt her, but to get her caught. Which is what exactly happened. It caught her shirt and pinned her to a tree trunk.
"Ah! Let me go!" She reached around to yank the knife out of the tree, but wasn't fast enough. Keef shot out a hand and grabbed her wrist forcefully. Twisting it to the verge of breaking, he hissed, "You will not warn Finn of what is to come. And I will make sure of that. I will release you in good time, but until then you'll be my hostage. It's not like the boy will even care about your sudden disappearance after you're attempt to kill him." he smirked. Keef saw tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she stayed strong. She jutted her jaw out and said nothing. He smiled again.
Pulling out the potion with the opposite affect, he drank the last of it. He turned back into his usual self and threw the glass aside. Grabbing the hilt of the knife and jerking it out, he didn't let go of her wrist, but held on all the more tightly.
Dragging her back to his hideout, he took out some regular old chains, sat her down, and wrapped them tightly around her ankles, arms, and waist. She seemed to relax at first, knowing she could break out easily. But then Keef put an enchantrix on the chains, which put the flame out on her last bit of hope.
"What're you going to do?" she tried to ask coolly, but failed miserably and sounded as though she was just about to cry.
"I'm just going to take my rightful place as king. Absolutely none of your concern." he replied with a wave if his hand. "Though you will have to stay here till all if well with my scheme, else you'd be blabbering about it to everyone, wouldn't you? Especially to your boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" she said.
"Well, Finn is of course your boyfriend, is he not?" he asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to confirm his suspicion.
"N-no! We're not-no..." she stammered, and if she'd been able to blush, she'd be all shades of red.
But her fidgety motions and stuttering made it obvious enough, and his suspicions were confirmed. Using this information against her, he decided to have a little fun.
"Ah, but you are in love with him, nonetheless. Am I right?" She tried to answer, but he didn't wait for her reply. "And you wouldn't want any harm to come to him, would you? Or more harm than what you have caused." She hung her head guiltily at the last part. "Now I suggest that if you still want him living by morning, you best be a good little girl and keep quiet." She shot daggers at him with her eyes. But that didn't deter him. "Yes, I do believe you'd rather have him live. Though his death could be arranged. Actually, I prefer that option. It'd be more fun." He glimpsed her out of the corner of his eye. He saw the jitteriness of her movements and was satisfied. He chose to prod a little further.
"Hmm, they're leaving for their voyage tomorrow, are they not? He'll be leaving without a goodbye and a fresh hate for you. Or fear. Either one hurts, doesn't it." he mocked. But he wasn't mocking for fun anymore, he was letting his resentment pour out through his words. His resentment for all who had abandoned, backstabbed, ridiculed, and hurt him. All those years of inflicted pain had built up to this moment of retribution. When he ruled, they'd all be sorry they had ever existed in this savage, brutal world.
With a final fling of his cloak, he stomped from the underground lair, leaving the teen-vampire to ascertain an escape plan.
Chapter 9- *Love, A Dagger, and A Kiss*
He raced home through the thick expanse if trees. His mind raced with all the possible things he'd could've done to Marceline to upset her this much and couldn't find a single wrongdoing. Not one. He stopped running for a moment, panting, and wiped the carmine liquid falling from his cheek. The deep cut didn't stop bleeding, but it did stain his shirt a deep and unpleasant color. Licking his lip, he tasted the blood and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He had a few bruises, but other than that, he was fine. He resumed traveling back to the tree house. He knew he had to pack once he got home, tomorrow was the day of their leaving.
Every once in a short while, his thoughts whipped back to Marceline and her rampage. He wanted to make things right, but feared to go back to the vampiress and her sharp, glinting fangs, those needlelike fingernails that could tear anything to bits if she pleased, and her dark, sinister eyes. Though he knew she only looked like this when she went vamp, he was still afraid she was angry with him and didn't jump at the chance to confront her. And Marceline sure knew how to hold a grudge. She's been doing it for over a 1,000 years.
Now in the safety of his tree house, Finn packed his belongings that he would bring unto the ship that carried them to their destination. It was 9:37pm. Finn had gotten lost at a couple of turns in the pitch black forest and then had a run-in with the Ice King. Then he had had to walk the rest of the way to his home. Jake had been gone already by the time Finn had gotten out of the forest, so he just slept for over half the day and awoken at 7:30pm. Nothing better to do, he packed.
Today he wore the same suit Princess Bubblegum had given him for the banquet. The Princess had ordered him to wear his best attire for the 'Farewell Voyage', and this was the only good clothes he had. Over the past few days, Finn noticed he hadn't worn his hat since the banquet, and he still didn't know where Bubblegum had put it. Determined to get it back before they sailed off, Finn swore to ask PB about it when he got to the palace. Deciding that it was close enough to leaving time, he grabbed his bag and went for the palace.
Keef had a carriage bring him to the kingdom. Marceline sat chained beside him. Her attempts had freedom had been futile. Now Keef smiled pleasantly and stared out the carriage window with contentment. He had arranged the the driver to follow the human boy inconspicuously, so he could gain entry through the palace without being detected. Marceline saw Finn off in the distance and she struggled to free herself of the enchanted chains.
"Do not burden yourself with ineffective struggling. It's actually quite bothersome," he said with disdain.
Although Marceline couldn't reply. He'd also put a cloth around her mouth, to keep her from biting him when he had tried to bring her to the carriage.
They carried on like this till they came upon the palace gates. Finn hadn't noticed them because, with Keef's orders, the driver had taken many misleading routes and streets that all led back to the same pathway, but made it seem as though they were traveling elsewhere.
Letting Finn go in first, Keef got out of the carriage, but before he left, he said to Marceline, "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten you. But I can't let go yet. Once I throw this," he held up a silver dagger with a some type of liquid outlining the sharp edges. Poison. "I'll let you go. The spell will be automatically broken. You should be grateful, I usually kill whoever I kidnap, but I'm feeling exceptionally good today. Farewell," he said with a sharp-toothed grin, his teeth like daggers themselves. She glared in response. He slammed the creaky door hard enough to break it, but surprisingly, it didn't. She scooted over to the window and watched as Keef said a few words to the guard, and miraculously got in without trouble.
Her mind raced with cruel punishments for Keef. She could do nothing until he threw the knife that would be the downfall of the kingdom. She didn't care for the candy people, but she didn't want any harm coming to anyone either. She tried to wiggle out of the chains, but to no avail. She sat with a huff and waited, ready to burst out of the carriage confinements and into the palace.
Finn was now standing next to Princess Bubblegum, waiting for her to stop jabbering to a piece of candy that had served at the banquet. She looked fairly annoyed herself.
"Yes, I've made the arrangements and calculations for longitude and latitude. Yes, I've taken the aerodynamics into consideration as well."
"Did you-"
"Yes! If you do not mind, we shall be leaving now!"
"But-but-" the gumdrop glanced nervously over at the doors leading out if the throne rooms.
'Where is he?" the gumdrop thought worriedly. But then she saw a hand peek around the side of the door and give the signal. She sighed with relief.
"Yes, Princess. Indeed. Have fun on your trip!" the gumdrop cheered delightedly.
Confused with this sudden change of attitude, she said, "Um, yes. Ok?" She gathered her skirts of her long pink dress.
Finn looked over to where the gumdrop had been staring only moments before. He saw a figure flit by the door in a flash of dark green and black. He raised an eyebrow. The figure snuck around the edge of the door and pulled an object slowly from under his cloak. A dagger. He raised it above his head, and at the last second, Finn knew what it was for.
Not having enough time to yell out a warning, Finn pushed the Princess out of aim, and instead taking the dagger for himself. He fell to the ground immediately. The pain was excruciating and he almost couldn't keep awake. It was unbearable. It stung and felt numb all at once. His mind began to falter, he couldn't think straight. His breaths came in short gasps and he couldn't keep his eyes open. His hand lay across his stomach, just beneath the hilt of the dagger, and his other arm lay still next to him.
The Princess stood up and dusted her skirts off. "Finn! What in glob's sake was-" But upon seeing the knife, she froze mid sentence. She looked over to the door, where an angry Keef stood fusing over the idiocy of the boy.
"That dagger was meant for you, Princess! No matters, I will simply do the job with a plain knife. He began to pull another knife from his cloak, but was interrupted when Marceline came rushing in. She pushed him to the side and he fell into the wall. He was furious now, but she didn't pay attention to him. She had already seen the body lying on the ground.
Finn distinctly heard the Princess yelling his name and at her guards to go back for him. They were pulling her away to safety and insisted that she was more important at the moment. She commanded them once more, but none listened.
Marceline ran to him. Kneeling down quickly, she put a hand on his forehead. He was cold. Deathly cold. His eyes were half-closed and his breaths were shallow. She put a hand on his chest where his heart would be, and she felt the beats, but they were slower. Her hand trailed down to the knife, sticking just between his ribs. She didn't want to cause him more pain, but knew that it had to be done.
"This will only hurt a little," she whispered. With tears in her eyes, she yanked the knife quickly. His face contorted into a look of agony, but that quickly subsided. His expression was blank once again, eyes almost closed. She lifted his head and cradled it in her arms. She observed to where the knife had been lodged and pulled the jacket aside. He was losing blood fast, and if that wasn't enough, the poison was setting even faster.
"Why? Why did you take the hit for her?" she asked him, angry that he always had to save everyone.
His eyes slowly shifted to hers. "Because. If I don't, then who will? She's my friend, I know she'd do the same..." but his words died off, the effort becoming too much. Her anger softened and her eyes widened. He was right. Who would do such a thing for anyone else? She knew since he was human, his feelings for others were stronger. The candy people wouldn't die for each other. But he gave up his life willingly for the sake of a friend. It didn't matter if they were royalty or a peasant.
Her attention went back to him automatically. "Finn, please don't die! You're gonna be okay, I promise!" she whispered urgently. She searched the room with her eyes for anything that could help. Coming upon nothing, the tears fell. Looking back down, she saw his light blue shirt and jacket were soaked. He wasn't going to last much longer.
"No. No, no, no..." she mumbled. She put her head to his chest, listening for the sound of his beating heart. She heard nothing. Pulling her head back, she saw his eyes were closed. A shaking gasp escaped her. Not knowing what else to do, she leaned down to his still, quiet lips and pressed hers to his.
'It worked in all those fairytales mother used to read me, didn't it? Why not now...now...' she thought hopefully.
Leaning back, she saw his eyes did not flutter open, his chest did not move up and down to his breathing...He didn't even flinch.
Chapter 10 *Goodbye and Hello*
Keef hurriedly grabbed everything with his greedy little hands. When Marceline had pushed him, everything had fallen from his pockets. Some potions even shattered within his pockets and he was cut quite a few times by the shards of glass. Only five bottles had been left undamaged. He quickly grabbed the purple one and drank a drop, wanting to preserve it for any other misfortunes befell him.
Marceline glanced at him for a moment, watching the assassin drink a foul liquid. But when she saw the cuts on his face begin to dissipate, she had an idea. Lightly laying Finn's lifeless body to the blood covered ground, she slowly and quietly floated to the murder. Sneaking up behind him, she darted for the purple substance. But somehow he had anticipated her actions and he swatted her arm aside.
"Ha! Did you really think you could get this away from me that easily? You may have thwarted my plan of being king, but I can still kill you!" he threatened. He pulled out the regular plain knife and thrust it towards her. It grazed her arm, but nothing more. Grabbing his arm at the elbow, she pulled it behind his back and held tight.
"Give me the bottle," she said calmly and forcefully. He yelped in pain, but didn't give up. He spun around and thrashed at her with his knife. She tripped from surprise and landed against the wall. She growled with frustration. Tired of playing around, she finished it. Using the trick Finn had used on her, she took his feet out from under him and jerked the knife from his hands.
Pointing it down at him she cautiously picked up the purple concoction and said, "You may be a skilled knife-thrower, but you're no fighter." Taking the knife with her, she ran to Finn. Keef stared after her with dismay. He'd been beat by a girl.
Back to kneeling beside Finn, she laid his head on her lap for elevation. She uncapped the bottle with great care. Tipping it to his parted lips, she poured it steadily.
"Don't give him too much or else," Keef called from other side of the room, still wallowing in his self pity.
She stopped. She'd already given him over half the bottle.
"Why?" she asked casually, with a tint of guilt in her voice.
"Because that's a healing potion. Too much can heal the soul, which leads to immortality...How much did you give the boy?" Keef questioned suspiciously.
Marceline gulped. "Over half..." she shyly mumbled.
"What? You fool!" he exclaimed. Putting a hand to his head, he sighed in resignation. "Well, there's going back now. The magic has already taken affect and it will take its toll on him."
She looked to Finn. Holding her breath, she waited.
His eyes parted a little ways. He was breathing again, his heart was beating, he was alive.
"Marceline?" he whispered. She shook her head excitedly, like a child who was given permission to buy any toy they fancied. Not able to contain her excitement, she kissed him. But this time, he responded. Surprised at first, then gave away. He kissed back and sat up.
But he broke away suddenly, concern filling his bright blue eyes. "Where's PB?"
"She's fine. The guards took her to safety. Really, you worry too much, hero." She ruffled his hair. Smiling he stood up and took her hand.
Marceline's smile faded. Immortal. What would he think?
"Uh, Finn...There's something you should know..."
"Yes?"
"Well, the price to pay for your life back was immortality..."
His jaw dropped. A hand went through his hair. "I suppose...I suppose I'll have to deal with it..." he tried to convince himself. But secretly, Marceline was a little happy about the circumstances. She was immortal. He wouldn't leave her. But just at that thought, Princess Bubblegum came plowing in.
"Finn! Oh my glob, are you okay? I saw the knife-I-" Finn hugged the Princess, which silenced her immediately. Blushing, Bubblegum backed away from their shared moment. Marceline snickered at PB's discomfort.
"Ahem...I...I'm glad you're okay. Thank you. I owe my life to you," she said gratefully. He smiled.
Princess Bubblegum returned to her usual regal composure. "If you're alright, we shall be getting to the voyage."
Marceline had forgotten. He'd be gone for 10 months. As if reading her mind, Finn said, "Don't worry, I'll be back. Remember, we have eternity on our side." He winked. He seemed to get used to the whole 'living forever' thing. She liked him for that, being able to cope easily.
"Goodbye, Finn," she said quietly.
"Goodbye, Marcey. For now," he whispered back.
And in that hour, Marceline watched as Finn and Bubblegum, plus the other guests, sailed off for Sweetden. But Marceline didn't worry. She knew he'd be back. He was right, they had eternity on their side.
•THE END•