Bad Little Girl
Chapter One
Marceline the Vampire Queen floated on her back in the mouth of the cave that contained her tiny cottage. Resting on her belly was the bright red bass guitar she had made from her family's prized axe. She strummed on it absent-mindedly as she gazed out into the sunlight. Not far from her cave, Finn and Jake were playing one of their idiotic games.
Marceline sighed. Even though all she needed to go outside in daytime was a large sunhat or umbrella, she had never felt like she belonged with day dwellers like them. Sometimes she even felt alienated by Bonnibel. Marceline loved hanging out with the friends she had made since she settled into her cottage after her travels, but sometimes she felt like she could only be herself around other undead, and sometimes they could be real jerks…
Marceline sighed again. That was just they way it had been, even since then.
983 Years Earlier
Marceline leapt over another abandoned car and continued sprinting down the cracked road that ran through the ruins of the metropolis. She glanced nervously over her shoulder. There was no one there, but she continued to run nonetheless.
In her left hand, Marceline clutched a solid gold crown, imbedded with three red gems. As she ran, she could hear the whispered voices that had driven Simon Petrikov insane, echoing in the back of her mind.
Wear me… or return me to the one that will!
Marceline winced. She had seen some pretty scary stuff since her father had abandoned her in this wasteland, but she would rather die than let that crown touch her head. And there was no way she was letting him have it back. If she just kept it from him for long enough, maybe there was still a chance…
While she was distracted, Marceline had stopped paying attention to where she was treading. Suddenly, her foot plunged through where she thought the tarmac would be and she fell, head over heels into a pothole the size of a small pond.
Marceline's head span. She regained her bearings and her heart skipped a beat when she realised she wasn't holding the crown anymore. She frantically scanned the area around her and patted herself down. Slowly, she looked up and froze with fear. The crown was teetering on the edge of the pothole, less than a foot above her head. Marceline was too scared to move as it slowly rocked backwards and forwards.
Just as Marceline was about to get up and collect the crown, it tipped forwards and fell towards her. Marceline screamed and tried to cover her head. She sat there for a couple of seconds, her eyes squeezed shut and her hands firmly grasping handfuls of her wild, black hair. Slowly, Marceline opened her eyes and flinched.
Standing right in front of her, was a fat, old man with pale blue skin and an enormous, white beard. He was dressed in a battered and torn, black suit and held the crown, having caught it just before it landed on Marceline's head.
"Bad Gunter!" Simon scalded Marceline, as he repositioned the crown on his head. "Now you stop stealing daddy's crown!"
Marceline stood up. She had been taller than Simon ever since she was 16, but he had stopped being the Simon she loved long before then. Not that Marceline would ever truly accept that.
"My name isn't Gunter!" Marceline begged Simon to remember, for what seemed like the millionth time. "It's Marceline! MAR-CE-LINE!" Tears began to swell up in Marceline's eyes as she watched Simon's blank expression.
Simon patted Marceline's head patronisingly. "Sure it is sweetie, now come on, let's go home."
Simon's beard divided down the middle and the two halves began to flap, lifting him up into the air. He held Marceline's wrist and tried to lift her up with him, but she pulled free of his grasp.
"Ehh, you go ahead. I'll see ya later." Marceline said, trying her best to smile.
"Ok. Don't stay out too late!" Simon cried as he flew away.
Marceline sighed. That was the kind of thing Simon used to say, and meant. Back when he actually worried about her when she was away for too long. Back when he cared…
"Goodbye Simon…" Marceline whispered. And began walking in the other direction.
