Trauma and Respect

Continuing to the Breakfast Kingdom in the dead darkness of night Fionna and a baby Breakfast Prince cut across an overgrown field on the back of Cake. Cake slows her pace as they stroll by the ruins of an eire worn down mansion.

"Betcha that would be a gorgeous home if only it had been taken care of over the years. People need to learn to respect their belongings. "

"Cake this doesn't seem like the way to the Breakfast Kingdom. "

"We're taking a shortcut. Thanks to paste face we've lost a lot of time. I wanna get home before midnight."

"Why, you gonna turn into a pumpkin?" Fionna couldn't help but giggle at her own comment.

"Hey! Some of us beauties still like our sleep, whether we need it or not." Cake says past a pouty feline muzzle. " Did you hear that?"

"No what?" Fionna giggles.

"I'm serious."

Fionna listens cautiously. With her arm wrapped around in now two year old sleeping Breakfast Prince, it's too difficult for her to reach for her sword. Come to think of it she abandoned her sword during her panic search for the baby prince earlier that evening in the forest.

"I forgot my backpack!" Fionna's jaw drops at the realization. 'Dad's music box. How could I just leave it there?'

"Shh! We will get it later, " Cake says softly. Branches break as something darts through the bushes. This time Fionna hears it too. "Something's following us." Cake says a little panicked. She is frozen beneath Fionna's grip on her fur. The faint glimmer of yellow reflective eyes shine in the wooded area near the house. Fionna slides off Cake's back and squints to make out the figure around the eyes.

'It might be nothing. Its so dark I'm not sure that it's even a creature.'

Cake however, who can see in the dark knew exactly what it was, though she cannot tell its gender. It was not a creature it was a monster. She could see it slinky pale figure. Its arms so long, but so thin dangling loosely by its sides, and with sharp claw like nails on each bony hand. It's sharp figured face smiles deviously revealing two fangs just like Marshall Lee' s, and it is staring Cake down. It can see her too. Cake bolts determined to outrun it, and wholeheartedly believing Fionna is close behind.

" Cake! where are you going?" Fionna shouts, as she turns and faces the fleeing cat. Then she hears the figure then stampeding towards them. Fionna spins around and sees this figure kicking up dirt and branches of thicket as it charges towards her and the baby. Fionna turns and sprints a short way before she trips and stumbles down a hill. "Ahhhhh!" she screams as she feels its claws dig into her sides riding on her back, as they now all three tumble down the hill. Fionna keeps herself closely wrapped around Breakfast Prince, doing her best to shield him from all elements. A large rock extending from the hills knocks the monster from the girl just before her in the small child fall into a narrow ditch. "Agh!" The adventuress lands on something hard and feels every bruise throbbing horribly; bringing her to remember her plummet into the trees earlier. Suddenly, all the forest can hear the toddler's wailing, and way off in distance Cake's heart breaks. Fionna still holds a grip on the wailing babe. Taking a deep breath the girl tries to ready herself for what is next. She struggles to think of a plan, for the putrid smell of the ditch is her prominent thought...rotting candy flesh. Fionna knew this smell from the undead candies she had battled twice before. 'This monster is killing candy people.'

Hearing a loud thud Fionna knows the monster has joined them in the ditch. She hears the brittle bones of the monster's candy victims break beneath it's every step towards her and the crying toddler. Fionna holds her breath to keep from breathing the powdered sugar of the broken bones. Quickly, Fionna reaches across Breakfast Prince grabbing the skull of a candy creature and holding it like a bowling ball, Fionna swings it just as the monster lunges for them. When the skull makes contact with the monster it breaks, but it also sends the disfigured vampire back several steps. Fionna scrambles out of the ditch with the toddler held close to her, and she looks for another weapon to aid them. She thinks to hide, but with the wails of the toddler so loud, she would be better off hiding with a blaring alarm clock. She bounces the baby in her arms and hushes it softly before she hears the most blood curdling, horrible, pain-defying screech sounding from behind her and the terrified toddler Breakfast Prince.

'If it lets him live he'll be traumatized for life.'

As they anticipated the monster's blow, time stood still. Fionna's spirit is on edge as the confusion over takes her skill. She had no fear of vampires at least not before... when Marshall Lee was with her.

Without her sword, and without Cake Fionna knew for sure she had failed Breakfast Prince and as a hero also. Even in her mind this vampire had already won...'but the Prince...No! I will still fight, even without my sword. I can not let this fear overtake me.' Fionna goes to charge the beast.

However, when Fionna turns around she is greeted by an entirely different conflict.

"Cake don't eat it! It is a vampire! What if it bites back? You don't want vamp venom in your tongue." The overgrown cat lessens her determined crewing and spits out the vampire's head-less remains. Fionna covers the baby's eyes.

"No worries baby, I saved the head half for you. Like a present." Fionna jumps back upon the notice of the monster's body less head at her feet. Its face is still mid-scream.

"OhhAhh!" Fionna's high pitch scream sends all the horror out of her while also shocking Breakfast Prince into silence.

"Don't you scream like that you'll scare the prince even more," Cake scolds. After lowering her pitch back to her regular voice Fionna finds composure, and she uncovers BB Prince's eyes while being sure to hold him on her hip facing away from the monstrous cadaver. The toddler's eyes are extra wide for a moment as he sits staring back at Fionna's now curious face. His own face then turns red and hot tears began running down his tubby yummy cheeks. Cake shrinks down to a smaller size and pulls the child from the human girl so that she can bring him into a motherly embrace.

"No worries baby, it's mama Cake's turn, I have experience handling baby tears. If you look you'll see mutant-monochrome-y-kittens on my résumé, except not really cause mama ment that figure-tive-off-ly and I don't have a résumé. Hush now let's bring you home."

"Cake, you know we would be there by now, had you stayed to fight in the first place." Now frustrated Fionna couldn't help point it out.

"I just needed the inspiration, I can't always be fearless."

On their way to the Breakfast Kingdom Fionna couldn't help but wonder. Besides Marshall Lee himself, before today, Fionna had never come across a vampire in the land of Aaa without Marshall Lee introducing them to her, which is significantly rare, because he had only ever introduced to Fionna two other vampires. Maybe Marshall Lee was keeping Fionna from meeting other Vampires. Or maybe there aren't that many?