"Bonnibel! Bonnibel! Where are you? We're going to be late if you don't hurry!" King Bubblegum scorned his young daughter, who was trailing behind her father and his bodyguards as they walked through the exit of the castle gates and continued on their way to Town Square.
Bonnibel Bubblegum huffed as she glared into her father's back. She had only wanted to play with the garden bugs as they flitted around her and through the blossoming garden bushes. She was but a mere child, just 6 years of age, who had no interests in the political affairs and running the kingdom as the heir to the throne.
No, she was more interested in playing with her science kits, examining nature and playing out in the sun. A good book to read before bed time also didn't go astray in her daily routine.
The armoured guards clinked and clanked with each step they took, their armour rattling. Bonnibel wondered how they could stand to wear such things on a day like today, where the Sun was high in the sky and pressing its waves of heat down upon the citizens of the Candy Kingdom.
They pressed onwards through the town, and Bonnibel noted how the people smiled and waved, some bowing to her father, who in turn would nod only slightly and for the most part ignored the praise they seemed to lavish upon him.
Her father was to discuss the matter of news laws that were to be passed, to answer questions from the people and gather feedback on the matter. But as her father got up on the stage and approached his podium to the cheers and clapping of an attentive audience of candy people, Bonnibel was anything but interested in sitting in her uncomfortable gingerbread chair while listening to a discussion that was quite frankly, boring her to tears.
It was as she swung her feet back and forth over the edge of her chair, that she decided she would try to sneak off and find something else more entertaining to do. With a cheeky smile, she slowly slid off her seat and carefully crawled her way past candy feet and legs until she finally made it to the back of the crowd.
Standing up and brushing the dust off her floral pink dress, she looked back to make sure that her father hadn't spotted her. Fortunately, he seemed otherwise engaged arguing with a Cinnamon Bun in the front row.
Smiling to herself, she took off down one of the nearest streets, feeling quite proud of her bold escape.
The buildings and houses that surrounded her seemed gigantic when compared to her tiny stature, making her feel much more timid and even a little bit scared. What if she got lost and couldn't find her way home? What if her father scorned her and locked her in her room like he had before?
Her fears washed away, however, once she happened upon a smaller building with a candy cane fence, a swing set, a slide, and a sandpit. She made a small noise of excitement and ran towards the building, only realising as she got closer the sign that said "Orphanage". It made her stop momentarily, overcome by a feeling of sadness as she knew that all these children would have no parents, no family at all. Would they get to celebrate Christmas? Birthdays?
She bit her lip slightly as she turned the handle and entered the Orphanage. It was a strange sight to behold.
There was a group of children sitting around a table being read a story by one of the caretakers. Another group of children ran around with each other, laughing and playing with some paper planes they had crafted. One child however, really struck her.
A girl who looked about her age, with long silken black hair, wearing a grey button up shirt and a tattered pair of shorts sat in a corner by herself. Bonnibel couldn't see her face as it was hidden behind the flowing locks of hair, but she could tell the girl was intently focussed on the drawing she was working on in her hands.
Straightening her dress, Bonnibel made her way over to the corner, ignoring the others rough-housing around the room, bumping into her on the way over. Huffing slightly at the other children, the Princess finally made it over to the girl, kneeling down in front of her and smiling softly.
She didn't say anything at first, she waited for the raven haired girl to notice her presence, slowly lifting her head to meet eyes with Bonnibel. A single, dark eye peered out from behind the hair.
"Hi! I'm Bonnibel, what's your name?" the pink haired girl asked enthusiastically. She beamed at the dark-haired girl, even when she got no response to her question.
"Whatcha' drawing?" Bonnibel quizzed, and scooted closer, peering at the drawing. She hardly noticed as the other girl stared at her, never breaking her gaze.
The Princess looked at the drawing. It was a tall stick figure with black hair, obviously representing the girl she was sitting near, sitting underneath a tall tree. There was a house with two windows and a door, and on the other side of the house was around 6 smaller stick figures which the princess assumed represented some of the other children at the orphanage.
"She looks lonely." Bonnibel mused, pouting slightly as she turned her head to peer up at the taller girl. In response, the dark-haired girl reached up and tucked a large chunk of her flowing locks behind her left ear, revealing two bright, yet lonely eyes.
The princess frowned and snatched the grey crayon from the girl's hand, much to her surprise. She then leaned over and started to scrawl another figure next to the one under the tree. With a smile, she grabbed a pink crayon laying near the dark-haired girl's feet and vigorously coloured in a mane of pink hair on the figure.
She smiled at her work, and looked up at the girl next to her.
"There, she won't be so lonely now!" Bonnibel mused, giggling slightly and playing with her pink dress.
The dark-haired girl gave a small smile in return, a rosy tint covering her cheeks and creeping down her neck.
"My... My name is M-Marceline." she finally uttered, blushing even more furiously, and quickly looking down, her mane of black hair flopping once again down her face. Bonnibel smiled and laughed quietly.
"That's a really pretty name! I like it." She remarked.
Looking around, Bonnibel noticed that all the children were still pre-occupied with their games and story telling, and the raucous yelling of the boys was getting a bit harsh on her ears. She leaned closer to Marceline and nudged her gently in the side.
"Hey Marcy, want to go outside and play? I can push you on the swing if you like." Bonnibel offered, watching as Marceline looked over at her again, nervously biting her lip as if to try and hold back a grin that threatened to crack her face in half. Marceline nodded enthusiastically, her hair flying around as she did so.
"I-I'd like that!" she replied, laughing quietly as the Princess grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
No one noticed as the two girls ran out the back door together to enjoy the sun and the playground.
"Hehehe! Not so high Marcy, ah! I'll fall if you push any harder!" Bonnibel squealed, but the laughter revealed that she was still enjoying flying high on the swing regardless of any risk of falling off and scraping her knee. Marceline laughed, and as the swing came backwards, she caught the tiny pink haired girl in her arms and brought her to a safe stop.
The two girls were laughing hard, and the Princess was trying to catch her breath as Marceline let go of her and ran off to lay in a tall patch of grass. Bonnibel got up and ran over, flopping herself next to her. The dark-haired girl pulled some tufts of grass out of the ground, playing with them between her fingers.
"So are you new at the orphanage? What happened to your mum and dad?" Marceline asked, looking up at Bonnibel with quizzical eyes. Bonnibel blushed slightly as she watched the girl tearing up the grass.
"I... um. No, I'm not meant to be here. My dad... well my dad doesn't really ever let me leave the castle. So... I ran away. I found this place... um... I don't have any brothers or sisters so I really wanted to find someone to play with." Bonnibel felt ashamed that she had maybe led Marceline to believe she could become a new bunk buddy.
"You... you live in the castle?" Marceline asked, her ministrations with the grass stopping as her eyes widened and peered at the pink haired girl. Bonnibel blushed some more.
"Y-yeah... my daddy is the King. But it's no fun living in the castle all the time, he never lets me do anything and I have no friends. Well, except for our butler." Bonnibel continued, looking glumly at the ground before laying her arms out in front of her and planting her face into them.
"You're... a princess?" Marceline's voice came almost as a whisper now, and she bit her lip a little as a blush crept up her face. She'd never met a princess before, let alone befriended one. Bonnibel surprised her by sitting up quickly with a reddened face that looked close to tears.
"I don't want to be a princess! Ugh, sometimes I hate my dad. I just want to be a normal girl with friends, I want to be able to run around outside and play and not care about wearing this stupid princess dress!" The princess thumped at the ground and tugged at the hem of her long dress, wishing she could just rip it off and run around in a shirt and shorts like Marceline could.
Marceline frowned, but scooched closer on her knees until she was close enough to put a hand over Bonnibel's shoulder.
"Hey Bonni?" the raven haired girl called her quietly, watching as the pink-faced girl looked up at her, sniffling a little. Marceline smiled down at her.
"I'll be your friend." she told the princess, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her in a warm hug. Bonnibel sniffled a little more and returned the hug.
"Oh Marcy! I'll be your friend too. We'll be each other's friends!" Bonnibel raised her voice, becoming more excited at the prospect of having her first good friend in her entire life.
As they broke their hug, they smiled at each other for a few moments, before Bonnibel laughed and poked Marceline in the chest.
"You're it!" She shouted gleefully, before jumping up and bolting off with a squeal. Marceline grinned and pounced after her.
"Oh no you don't, I'll- OOF!" Marceline ran straight into the legs of someone. An adult. A tall adult. She peered up.
A tall, fuming adult. They glared at Marceline who shrunk timidly away from them, a deep blush forming on her cheeks. The adult snapped their gaze over to where Bonnibel was standing behind one of the legs of the swing.
"BONNIBEL! Where on Ooo have you been? The guards have searched all over for you, Peppermint butler was worrying himself to goo, do you have any idea what could have happened to you?" The man, quite obviously King Bubblegum, stormed over towards his daughter with his arms hanging stiffly at his side.
Bonnibel knotted her eyebrows together and looked at the ground, shuffling her feet in the dirt.
"Daddy, I... I just wanted to make friends. Marceline and I..." she started, but was interrupted.
"It is not your duty to worry yourself with the presence of such... peasants." The King turned his head and eyed off Marceline. The dark-haired girl pulled her hair over her face, hiding it from his scornful gaze.
"But Daddy, I..." Bonnibel tried to explain to him again, but to no avail.
"I've heard enough!" The King stormed over to her, picking her up easily and slinging her over his shoulder.
"You're coming back to the castle, Glob help me if I ever let you outside the grounds like this again!" he continued his tirade, ignoring the cries and protests of his wriggling daughter.
Marceline stood up and ran over as far as she dared as the King stormed off with Bonnibel over his shoulder, joining up with the guards that were waiting for him.
"MARCY!" Bonnibel called over his shoulder, tears starting to form in her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. Marceline tried to hold back her own.
"Bonni! Don't worry Bon, I'll find you!" she called back.
Marceline watched helplessly as her friend was taken away from her. Her first real friend she'd ever had. She swallowed hard to try and hold back the tears as the caretaker and a few children came out of the Orphanage to see what all the fuss was about.
Looking at the ground and wiping her eyes, the dark-haired girl noticed something. Something that must have fallen from Bonnibel's side-satchel. She kneeled down and picked it up carefully.
It was a teddy bear. Obviously very loved, a little tattered and dirty from falling on the ground. The teddy looked back at her with his two big blue button eyes, as if telling her everything would be ok. Sniffling she turned him over to see a name tag stitched to his back.
"Hambo..." she whispered to herself, reading his name out aloud.
Pressing the teddy to her chest, she promised herself she would find a way to see her friend again, no matter what.
Bonnibel had spent the better part of two days crying in her bedroom. Despite being surrounded by everything pink and beautiful, books she could read and board games she could play, there was only one thing she truly wanted.
She wanted to go back to that Orphanage, she wanted to see her friend Marceline again. They shared so much in common, both friendless and always so alone even in a crowded room. Even swinging on a swing set, something so simple, had brought them so much joy.
"It's not FAIR!" Bonnibel cried, pounding her little fist against the brightly decorated pink blanket on her oversized bed.
A knock came at her door, and without looking over she shrieked "GO AWAY!", before returning her face to sob against her bed.
The bedroom handle turned, and a timid voice called out to her.
"Princess? It's Peppermint. I just thought I'd come check on you and see if I could get you anything." the round, red and white striped butler slipped in quietly and shut the door behind him.
Bonnibel looked up slightly, wiping her eyes, and watched as Peppermint came over and took a seat next to her on her bed. He smiled as brightly as he could at her, took her right hand in his and gave it a pat.
"Don't fret Princess, your father told me what happened, and I completely understand your anger at him." Peppermint told her, nodding sternly. Bonnibel's eyes brightened as she looked up at the man she considered to be family.
"Y- sniff You do?" She asked quietly, her voice questioning as Peppermint let out a husky laugh. He patted her hand again.
"Princess, while I do what I can to serve the King and our people, there is one thing I'm not willing to do. And that is deny you the right to have a friend." His face grew a little sterner now, and his brow crinkled as if he was trying to remember something.
"I've been a fool to allow your Father to treat you like a fragile hard candy. But, I cannot convince him to allow you to visit the orphanage and see your friend." he continued, and Bonnibel's eyes started to well up again.
Peppermint saw the hurt, and instantly comforted her.
"But I have a plan! You see, I spoke to your father, and he is quite pleased to learn that I will be escorting you to weekly Whistling lessons." Peppermint seemed to be quite satisfied with himself, but the Princess just sat there dumbfounded, her lip trembling.
"Whistling lessons? Your solution is WHISTLING LESSONS?!" Her voice rattled Peppermint's eyes in his eye sockets, and he had to place a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"If you Father thinks you're at whistling lessons, when you're really visiting your friend... he'd be none the wiser! Especially if I'm with you, you know how much he puts his trust in me." he continued, and smiled as he saw Bonni's eyes light up and her cheeks blush a soft, rosy pink.
"You'd really do that for me, Peppy?" she asked, her eyes full of hope and excitement. Peppermint laughed again and squeezed her shoulder.
"Of course I would, your majesty. Your happiness means the world to me." He replied. He was taken a little off guard as the Princess threw herself at him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.
"Oh Peppy, you're the best!" She cried, suddenly overwhelmed by the thought of seeing Marceline again and getting to play and have fun, just like a normal kid could.
She could hardly wait, but fortunately for Bonnibel, her very first "whistling class" would be that afternoon.
"Your majesty, the Princess and I are off to town for her class. I'll return with her by dinner time, as promised." Peppermint butler stated, his arms folded behind his back with Bonnibel by his side as he stood before the King in the throne room.
The King nodded firmly his understanding, but as Peppermint and Bonnibel turned to exit the room, he called out.
"Peppermint, would you allow me a moment with my daughter? I wish to have words with her in private."
Peppermint nodded meekly, smiled a little at Bonni before turning to leave the room.
"I'll be waiting in the garden for you, Princess." He told her kindly, before walking off quickly through the huge ornamental doors of the throne room.
Bonnibel came a little closer to her father, but stopped a few metres away, crossing her arms over her chest and looking irritated.
"Bonnibel Bubblegum, there is no need to give me that attitude. You know this is for your own good." staring down at his still unmoving daughter, before continuing with a sigh.
"When I grow older, someday it will be your duty to take over the Kingdom. There is no time for trivial games and gallivanting around town with orphan children."
Her face snapped up to meet her father's, and she gave him one almighty 6-year-old frown.
"What if I don't want to rule your stupid kingdom? Ugh, you lock me up in this stupid castle all day long, making me read stupid boring books about law and royal history! Well, you can just... just... take your globbing crown and sit on it!" She yelled at him, her cheeks turning red with anger.
The King slammed his fist against the arm of his chair, the loud thump echoing through the walls and sending a shiver down Bonnibel's spine.
"You watch your tone with me, young lady! Don't think I won't spare you the back of my hand for that lip!" He boomed down at her, ignoring as the girl looked away to hide the fear creeping over her face.
"Responsibility demands sacrifice, and you'll be best to heed that advice. One day you will become the Queen of Ooo, coming to understand that now will save you having to throw away your peasant friends when you don't have the time of day for them because of your duties."
The word struck her, to the point she feared she might never be able to stop them from resonating in the back of her mind. No... no matter what, she would always find time for the people in her life. Her friends, family... she reasoned herself to the fact that once she was an adult, she would go down to the orphanage herself every week and read stories and play games with the children. Even if it meant shirking whatever her duties might be at the time.
"Whatever." she breathed, still not looking at her father.
It was silent for a few moments before her spoke again.
"Go to your lesson, don't keep Peppermint waiting on you."
Bonnibel turned quickly, storming out of that room as fast as she could.
Bonnibel was grateful for the fact that Peppermint took them the back way to the Orphanage. The last thing she wanted was citizens, or Glob forbid, guards, seeing where she was really going. She couldn't handle another angry tirade from the King.
She could see the candy cane fence coming into view, and tried hard to keep a squeal from pushing its way from within her chest and out of her mouth. She looked over at Peppermint, who was smiling at her kindly. At least... at least he understood.
As they grew closer to it, Bonnibel could see the swing set in the yard, and a lump grew in her throat as she saw her friend Marceline sitting on a swing, by herself, dragging her feet on the ground beneath her. Before Peppermint could object, she took off as fast as her little feet would take her.
She burst through the gate, and ran around the side of the building, slowing down as she came up behind the swing set. With a cheeky smile, she crept up on her unaware friend.
"UH? HEY!" Marceline cried, as suddenly a pair of arms pushed her forwards on the swing, sending it sailing forwards and upwards, making the taller girl cling tightly to the chains out of fear she would fall off.
As the swing came backwards, a pair of arms caught her, and a small giggle in her ear made her face burn red and a smile burst across her face. She got up from the swing, turned around and embraced the small, pink haired girl behind her.
"Bonni!" She cried, hugging the girl tightly. Bonnibel giggled again and hugged her friend back.
"I thought you'd never be allowed back here!" She continued, breaking the hug and looking into the bright eyes of her grinning friend.
"Don't tell anyone, It's a secret." She laughed, turning to Peppermint butler who had finally caught up to the Princess and was panting slightly.
"This is Peppermint, but you can just call him Peppy! He told my dad I was going to whistling classes!" Bonnibel drew out the last two words, before laughing quietly.
Marceline smiled at the Peppermint man, blushing and letting a few locks of dark hair fall over her face.
"Hi Peppy! Thank you for bringing my friend back." She uttered shyly, looking up a little more as the man chuckled slightly.
"Think nothing of it. Just remember, it's only once a week, and no rough-housing! I wouldn't want the King wondering how the Princess managed to get a grazed knee at whistling lessons." he replied, scratching absent-mindedly at his arm. Marceline grinned.
"Don't worry Peppy, Marceline will take good care of me, won't you Marcy?" Bonnibel replied, looking at her friend with a big smile. Peppermint chewed his lip slightly.
"Well, I'll leave you two to play. I'll just be sitting over here reading if you need me, Princess." he replied, nodding as he wandered over to a shady area with a few chairs and a table.
Marceline looked thoughtful for a moment, before her face lit up.
"Oh! Hey, wait here Bonni would ya? I have something for you." Marceline stated, before running off quickly, leaving the Princess to her own devices. Bonnibel found a clean, dry patch of grass and sat down.
She looked up after a couple of minutes to see her friend return. Marceline sat down next to her and held out her hands. Bonnibel's eyes lit up as she saw what the girl held.
"Hambo! Oh you found him, I thought I'd lost him in the town and that I'd never find him again!" Bonnibel reached over and gently took the teddy from her friend's hands. She checked her teddy over to make sure he didn't have any scrapes or bruises, and was satisfied that he hadn't been injured in her absence. She noticed that he had grown warm from being in Marceline's arms.
Bonnibel looked over at the dark-haired girl, who was smiling kindly at her. That's when she made her decision. She pushed her arms out, holding the teddy towards Marceline.
"I want you to keep him." Bonnibel stated, in a curt, sweet voice. Marceline blushed deeply, looking at Hambo, looking at Bonni, looking at Hambo, looking at Bonni again.
"A-are you sure?" she asked quietly. Bonnibel nodded enthusiastically, smiling endearingly at her friend.
"He'll keep you warm and safe. I have a lot of blankets to keep me warm, and guards to keep me safe, so you should have him." Bonnibel replied, watching as her friend gently took Hambo from her hands and held him against her chest.
"T-thank you." Marceline uttered, smiling shyly. She noticed how Hambo now had a slightly sweet scent on him, left behind from her candy friend. She looked into Bonnibel's eyes and bit her lip.
"I don't have anything to give you." she said quietly, and slightly ashamed.
Bonnibel smiled and reached out, taking Marceline's hands in her own. She squeezed them in her palms.
"Sure you do, you can give me a best friend!" Bonnibel replied, smiling broadly. Marceline emitted a small noise, pouncing forward to hug the Princess.
"Best friends!" she cried gleefully, causing Bonni to giggle as she hugged her back.
"Forever?" Bonni asked. Marceline nodded, her hair flying around her.
"Forever!" Marceline replied.
Peppermint watched happily, but deep inside he feared that it would be a promise that one of the girls might not be able to keep.