sub"I don't understand." She rasped, a struck tone to her voice. "What do you mean, 'over'-?"
"That's precisely what it means, Marceline." The young princess bit. "It's iover./i You and me. This entire...thing. I'm putting a stop to it."
It was late afternoon The sun had just begun to brush the treetops of the deciduous forest that ran like a border between the immaculate Candy Kingdom and the wastelands of Ooo. Marceline, clutching her parasol with both hands as if trying to hold onto reality itself, stood frozen under the arching branches of a mighty oak, a thousand years of existence having failed to prepare her for what was happening. A silence, cold and electric, fell over the thicket, pins and needles filling the motionless void between them. Then, all at once, Marceline lurched forward, movements swift with desperation and brutal with anger and the deep confusion of heartbreak, and she seized the rosen-skinned girl by one arm, pulling her with force against her own narrow, willowy body, the warmth of her supple frame burning like embers against her cold, pallid flesh.
"You can't just decide something like that-!" She hissed though bared teeth. "We have a igood/i thing here, Bonni-"
Bonnibel sneered and wrenched herself away with cold authority, then drove her forearm into Marceline's chest, sending the vampire stumbling backwards.
"I can't be seen with you anymore." She deadpanned. "It's distasteful, sharing the company of a-...a..."
There was a moment of pause, and then Marceline clenched her fist, anger rising in her voice.
"A iwhat/i?!" She demanded. Nearby, a flock of birds tore from the trees and took flight, unsettled by her fevered scream. Bonnibel peered at her a moment, with uncharacteristic detachment, then straightened, staring her down with contempt.
"...a imonster/i." She finally spat. "People are iafraid/i of you, Marceline. My relationship with you is...a detriment to my kingdom, and it ends here."
For a moment, Marceline remained still as the cold weight of the words fell over her. Her steely eyes dimmed and wavered, the fight and the life both swept away. Then she clenched them shut, bowing her head to hide the shame as tears, bolder than she was, began pouring down the high arch of her cheeks. The tore down her face and dripped from her chin, sorrowful and humiliating. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat closed painfully around the words, strangling them until only a choked gasp remained. She faltered, thick locks of hair falling into her face as she took a heavy step backwards; then, like a cornered animal, she turned on her heel, dried leaves crackling under her heavy boots as she tore blindly away, parasol clutched to her chest and sharp branches rending her skin.
Left behind, the hardness melted from the princess' face, and she fell to her knees, weeping./sub
