When Light No Longer Shines Through the Grey
A sigh that came from deep within left her lips as she watched the sunrise in the horizon. Its fire burned as bright and hot as ever, like if nothing had happened the day before. Like if two forces of nature hadn't collided in battle, like if the balance of the world hadn't been changed.
A melted kingdom lied before her golden feet; its crystalline scars reflected the sunlight so beautifully it was almost a magical sight. As if all the damage, all the destruction had opened a new point of view, as if her mistake had made good. How was she supposed to understand the difference between good and evil when evil things could sometimes lead to new creations, to soothing wonders? How could she understand, when good deeds had brought her nothing but pain?
She had spent the entire night awake, staring at the starry skies of the Ice Kingdom, pondering on questions with no answer. Pondering on the "whys?" and the "hows?" that Finn had stabbed her with. The flaming princess had to admit though, that those long hours of meditation had bestowed a little peace upon her. She even got to enjoy the cold, embracing it as a good old friend. What use could passion have for her now? It only brought trouble, tears, and pain. Letting her heart grow hard as ice was better. She didn't have to feel, she didn't have to suffer.
Flame Princess opened her eyes and took a deep breath; her eyes had no more tears to shed, and her heart had nobody else to blame. It was time to rise with the sun.
x~x~x~x~x
Home used to be a pleasant place to be, but not anymore. That giant bonfire, surrounded by the impressive landscape of the Mountain Kingdom had once held a special meaning for her. Now it felt empty, just like her. It had Finn's personality scribbled all over it, not hers. If she wanted to find her own path, Flame Princess knew that she had to do everything in her own way. She didn't need anybody's help or care, not anymore.
The young princess stood before the fire that had once been her home and shelter. She stretched her arms forward and inhaled, sucking its flickering flames back into her body. In a moment, that bonfire had passed from being the gorgeous sun beneath the mountains, to a lifeless pile of burned wood and ashes. The princess stared at it in silence; she didn't feel happy or sad. In fact, she couldn't feel anything at all, and that somehow softened the ache in her heart. She left some moments later, without remorse.
x~x~x~x~x
No emotions could be felt, but still, the pain and a sensation of weakness lingered in her. Flame Princess gazed at the woodland in which she had lost herself, the peaceful green of the forest, the cheerful songs of the birds, and the breathable peace in the air. None of them meant something to her. For some reason, her flames were growing dimmer. She had to find a special use for that forest, and so, she set it ablaze.
The road ahead was full of falling trees and the cries of scared animals, but the fire princess was unable to react before the horrific scenes that she had created. It wasn't pleasant either, there was nothing to enjoy. She just moved on to nowhere.
As if it had heard the agony of the forest, the sky was soon covered with wide grayish clouds. Flame Princess' empty gaze drifted upwards and glimpsed the falling raindrops. Of course, after what she did, nature was now unleashing its fury upon her. The thunder roared in her ears and the furious wind chilled her spine. Luckily, the princess found shelter inside a rusty truck; it was covered with vines and moss, insects and dust. A putrid stench came from the front seats, however she learned to ignore it.
More rain came and more cries were heard outside. They didn't come from afar; Flame Princess could listen to them clearly. She embraced her knees and closed her eyes. "Why should I help them?" she wondered. "I'm not a hero." But the desperate cries kept echoing in the distance, impeding her dreams. Should she leave the safety of her shelter and risk her life for whoever they were?
"I'm not evil either," she whispered. "What am I?"
x~x~x~x~x
Cold drops dripped from her barely conscious body, covered by stinging bruises and water burns. Flame Princess couldn't tell why, but she had chosen to listen to that inner voice, shouting in her mind, instead of her instincts of survival. Only Glob knows why the fire elemental had suddenly dashed into the storm to rescue a couple of talking foxes, whose bodies had been trapped beneath the weight of a burnt tree.
"Thanks for letting us stay with ya, miss." The female fox said.
"Yeah… I thought my sister and I were doomed, but now we're safe." The male added. "Thanks to you."
Flame Princess leaned against the back seat on the opposite side of the truck and nodded, offering them a gentle smile. The trio fell asleep afterwards, lulled by the comforting heat that the fire elemental irradiated.
The next morning however, the young princess was awakened violently as a pack of wild wolves threatened to rip the rusty doors off their weak hinges. The two young foxes growled and snarled, hoping to scare their attackers away, but to no avail. Flame Princess wondered what could have attracted those beasts, leaning forward, towards the steering wheel. The source of the disgusting smell lied on the seat; it was a dead deer. The fiery girl knew what she had to do then. She slammed the windshield with a couple of devastating kicks, and tossed the dead body outside. The wolves caught the bait. They ran towards the corpse, fighting each other for a piece of rotten meat.
Meanwhile, Flame Princess and the foxes found their way out of danger, opening the car door as carefully as possible. They scurried to the woods, tiptoeing slowly while the wolves were distracted with that unlucky deer. Things could have worked as planned if only the female fox hadn't broken a branch with her paw. That insignificant cracking sound was more than enough to guide the still hungry beasts towards Flame Princess and company.
"Run!" the princess ordered. "I'll take care of them!"
Confident on her unbeatable powers, Flame Princess faced the dozens of snarling wolves on her own. They were just stupid wild animals, nothing that the Princess of Flames couldn't handle. She stepped forward, throwing a rapid punch that was certain to bring down five wolves with one hit, however…
A weak flame was the only spark of power that Flame Princess was able to summon. No fire blasts, no fireballs, just a tiny flare that consumed itself millimeters away from the princess' fingers. Irritated, the blazing girl gave it another try. Nothing. Weak waves of smoke, or if she was lucky, a couple of orange sparks were all she could manage to muster. Where had her powers gone? Had her battle with the Ice King drained so much energy? No, it couldn't be.
"I-I… Time-out!" Flame Princess shrieked in desperation. This wasn't the moment to lose her powers for no reason whatsoever. Not when at least twenty, hungry wolves were seizing her against a cliff.
They attacked. The young princess managed to handle them when they jumped over her one by one, throwing well-aimed punches and kicks, but soon, the wild beasts began to lunge against her in couples, then trios, and finally the whole pack. Their sharp fangs were dipped down her flaming skin, which never seemed to be a nuisance for them. Her body temperature had failed as well; she was warm but not hot enough to drive the painful bites off her now scrapped arms.
As she was pushed beyond her limits and off the edge, Flame Princess caught a glimpse of the two foxes, watching her from the distance. They seemed hesitant, as if they were willing to aid the elemental in her time of need like she had done with them. However, they turned their heads away and ran off, vanishing within the fog of the woodland. Flame Princess smirked in resignation, it had been just another betrayal… another reminder that she was alone in this world.
One defensive step backwards made her fall off the cliff, leaving the sharp claws and teeth of the fierce wolves behind. Her body rolled down, out of control until she finally plopped into the mud. The weakened princess made a few attempts to get herself back on her feet, but she was unable to do so. The best she could do was to roll over her back and stare at the gray skies above. The sun wasn't there anymore; the clouds were hiding its comforting light and warmth from the defeated elemental.
"Fine…" Flame Princess sighed. "Let it rain, Glob… I give up."
"Oh poor, poor corrupted child, abandoned in this earthly world…!" a voice echoed from out of nowhere. It was somewhat frightening, the young princess felt shivers running down her spine, yet in a quite bizarre way, it was also… a soothing sound.
"A fire elemental with no emotions is hollow, weak, pitiful…" the voice hissed.
Flame Princess focused her eyes, hoping to get a better view of the stranger. She met the green face of a woman, smirking at her with a fanged grin. Her short pointy nose reminded the princess of the goblins, but her perfectly round ears told her otherwise. The woman was wearing a brown cape, which she used to cover the green outfit that served her as dress. Her dark brown hair, tied into a big bun was the last thing that Flame Princess could detail on the stranger before this one moved away.
"Do not fear, I'm not your enemy." The woman laughed. "In fact, I am a friend. I understand how you must be feeling… I was also betrayed by those to whom I dedicated all of my joy and devotion…"
Something in her tone made the fiery girl doubt of the veracity in her words, but she kept listening anyway. Lying in the mud, weak and hopeless as she was now, there wasn't much that Flame Princess could do about it.
"I can feel the coldness that you have let grow in your heart. The lack of ferocity and passion is killing your soul, so slowly and silently, that you can barely notice it. However, there's still hope for you, my girl." The stranger admitted. "You are so full of potential sentimentalism, yes, I can almost savor it… All that delicious suppressed anger, the power of a broken heart waiting to burst!"
The woman walked up to Flame Princess once again and leaned down by her side. "I am the All Mighty Sky Witch, Maja!" she claimed in an eager manner. "And who are you supposed to be, little girl?"
The fire elemental thought for a moment. "I don't know." She whispered, her voice dull and empty.
"Right… I made the wrong question. Your answer was a satisfying one, though." Maja said. "Then, tell me your name."
"Flame Princess."
"Oooh! A Princess?" the witch chuckled in amusement. "Excellent, yes, you're exactly what I need, your highness." She stretched her hand towards the fallen girl and smirked confidently. "Come with me, Flame Princess, and I shall make it all better. Everybody knows that Maja's magic does wonders with conflicted emotions. I can help you grow, and get stronger! I can teach you how to overcome the pain that's blocking your feelings, your powers! Or you can stay here in the mud and die in the rain. It's your choice!"
"I…" Flame Princess clenched her eyes shut, some tears leaked out of them. "I will join you." She reached out for Maja's hand and this one squeezed it tightly, never letting go of her.
x~x~x~x~x
Finn ran with all his might. The Mountain Kingdom was just a few steps away, and he was more eager than ever. It was time to make things right. What had he been thinking? Getting with Princess Bubblegum? He knew better than anyone else that conquering that sweet princess' heart was an impossible challenge. Whoever was destined to be with her, must be someone way more radical than him or anyone else in Ooo. In any case, the candy ruler had to be left out of his thoughts by now.
It was Flame Princess the one that he was looking forward to see that day. The human boy was ready to patch things up, to ask (or cry if necessary) for forgiveness. A bouquet of flowers, gripped within his left hand was there to boost confidence on him. This would be his only chance to get back the only girl that had been truly interested on him, the first princess to return his affection, the young and beautiful Flame Princess.
However, as Finn got closer to the place that had formerly been the Marauder's Village, his happy features grew uncertain. The human was unable to glimpse the tall mount of flames that would usually flicker behind the mountains. Its heat couldn't be felt either. The young hero sped his pace up and reached Flame Princess' home.
His heart was broken in half. The house that he had built for her with so much care and effort had been reduced to smoky ashes. Chunks of burnt wood creaked and fell apart, breaking the silence that engulfed that disheartening panorama. Flame Princess was nowhere to be seen. The flowers that Finn had brought with him crashed against the ground, just like his knees did when he cried in concern. "Oh…no…"
"Flame Princess…!"