Hey guys, sorry about the long wait. It's been a combination of me fighting the lazies and some events happening at home (both good and bad) But i promise to continue working on these, hopefully at a quicker pace.
I arrived at the tree house about two hours before sunrise. I decided to use this opportunity to unpack my stuff while I figured out what I was going to do about Bonnibel. I knew I liked her, after being around for a thousand years I know how to tell when a serious crush was forming. I would have been fine if it hadn't been for her dress and the way she talked to me at the funeral. But with how stunning she looked and the way she talked so freely to me while standing so close, I just couldn't take my eyes off her or stop thinking about her. Thinking back on all of this just makes me even more flustered.
Ok Marceline, clear your mind of all of that. Think, what are you going to do about this crush? I sigh; my thoughts aren't clearing up any. This is going to be harder than I thought. You've had crushes like this before, you've had plenty of boyfriends and even a few girlfriends in the past thousand years Marceline, don't let her inquiring eyes intimidate you. While I think this, I begin to open up my bags. First thing's first, I put my food in the fridge upstairs. My clothes can stay where they are for now though. Talking to her shouldn't be a problem; she's invited you over tomorrow. That and she's already interested in you, in a way, so that's a start. But how should I do this? I know Queeny likes me and everything but I don't think she would quite approve of me sweeping her daughter off her feet; she's got enough on her plate as it is.
Actually, I think as it dawns on me, that could actually work to my advantage. Her thoughts are going to be occupied so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. I'll just worry about how to explain everything to her once she starts to feel better. I hate how it feels like I'm going behind Queeny's back, but it's the only way to not stress her out any more than she already is. I float back downstairs to my bags and grab my axe-bass. I start to strum out a few notes in an attempt to calm my nerves. It works as it always does; music always has had a way of soothing me.
Since we had the funeral today, there should be an event tomorrow, such as a banquet or a ball, maybe both, in an attempt to raise the people's spirits. Personally, I find the practice a bit disrespectful, but the citizens of the candy kingdom are a bit special, they need to be kept in good spirits or else they just… stop working right. Their kingdom can't really handle a mourning period.
I look out the window; the sky is just starting to lighten up slightly. Just a few more hours till sunrise. I pull the shutters and shades closed. If one good thing came from living here with Ash about fifty years ago, it's that we managed to sun proof this place. I still wish I had smacked him around a bit for everything he did. Maybe I could do just that the next time I see him. The thought brings a smile to my face.
But now isn't the time for those kind of thoughts. What I need to do is go ahead and go to bed so I can get to the candy kingdom before dusk and make it in time for the banquet. The candy kingdom always starts banquets before sunset for some reason that I will never understand. You would think that they would wait when the royal family has connections to vampires.
When I get up, there are a few hours remaining until sunset. I float down stairs to get ready. While I would normally settle for wearing jeans and a tank top, but I'm going to need to look impressive for the plans that I have today. So I pull out a long sleeveless red dress, one of the only outfits I have that are red that I haven't tried to drink the color out of, and a low V-cut collar. As I pull this dress on, I get an idea. I grab my axe bass and sling it over my shoulder and quickly grab my daytime gear of my arm length gloves and umbrella before heading out the door. Unfortunately, my daytime gear doesn't quite help my legs, so I wince slightly as they burn while I float on toward the candy castle, my feet occasionally slipping in and out of shade.
I arrive at the castle to see that people are still funneling into the main hall. Once I cross through the door I hear a voice above me shout, "Bwaa, bwaa, blaaaaa! Introducing the vampire queen Marceline!" I look up to see a horse shaped piñata hanging from the ceiling and looking at me.
"Uh, thanks." I say to it
"You're welcooome" it says while giving me a huge smile. If there is one thing that stays constant about the candy people, it's that they are pretty much always friendly, regardless of weather or not they may seem a bit creepy.
"Marceline, you made it!" I turn away from the piñata to see Bonnibel walking towards me. She's wearing a long blue dress that gets progressively darker as it reaches the ground. She wears a sash around her midsection that marks where her light pink hair ends. She watches me as I close my umbrella and then step out of the light, my skin sizzling for a second before I step into the shade of the building. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asks while looking a bit worried.
"Of course it does" I say while looking for somewhere to put my umbrella and gloves, "it's just that after being around for so long, I get a bit used to it." I turn away and put my stuff in the umbrella bin in the corner. "Plus it reminds me of my mother and how she would take care of me when I got hurt." I smile "Besides, I heal quickly anyway."
She still looks slightly worried about me, but seems more understanding now before shaking it off. "Anyway, Marceline, please come in. We are just about to start the banquet once everyone gets settled in here." As we walk, she spies my bass strapped onto my back with the strings facing away from her. "Um, should I take your axe for you?" she asks while giving me a strange look.
"Oh no this stays with me, and it's not just an axe, it's my bass guitar." I explain as I swing it around and strum a few random notes. "I'm going to be putting on a performance later on tonight." I look around the room and see Queeny sitting at the far end of the table, her expression almost completely blank. The look of someone who doesn't quite know what face to show others, one who is too worried as to how others see her to let them know how she feels. "Gob knows Queeny needs a distraction from all of this."
The banquet itself is uneventful; though I was surprised how much spaghetti Bonni was able to shovel down. The main problem I had is trying to find someone willing to eat what I suck the color out of; it's surprising how many of the candy people find this disgusting, but luckily pepbut was understanding so he would take my food away and bring it back to the table later for other people. I spent a lot of time explaining who I was to the candy people, since quite a few of them didn't remember me. Queeny was doing a good job of directing the candy people's attention away from recent events, but she wasn't fooling me. She was way too stressed for my tastes.
Queeny stood up from the table for an announcement. "Alright everyone, finish up your meals and we will head down to the courtyard for the ball." She said in a loud yet soft, motherly tone, "From what I understand, we have a surprise performance tonight." She glanced over toward me as she said this. The candy people were sent into a buzz about this, trying to find out who it was, while the few that remembered me seemed to simply get giddy at the news. All of the candy people attempted to finish their food quickly, one of them, a cinnamon roll, just started shoving his food directly into his stomach once he saw a few people stand up to leave. I went ahead and excused myself; once I approached Bonni I place my hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"I'll talk to you after the first few songs" I whisper to her. She nods back to me as I float on out the building. The courtyard houses a large and beautiful garden, the entrance has a hedge-arch over it, a small fountain lies in the middle of the courtyard with small gardens in the corners. Directly across from the entrance at the far end of the courtyard is a large stage with a few lights above it, all of this surrounded by large hedges that form walls. Normally I would need some back up here, but due to the short time and the mood we are trying to set here, I decide to just do a few solo pieces. People are starting to flood in now so I float over near the stage to wait for the majority to get situated when I see Bonni walk in with Queeny.
Once I decide that I have waited long enough, and the people have started to get pumped with anticipation of the "mystery performer" I step up to the stage with my axe in tow. I grab the mic and call out for their attention. "Hey there candy kingdom, it's been a while. I'm Marceline the vampire queen and I am going to be doing your opening performance tonight. So everyone get on the dance floor and get ready for some jams!" I start to float in a nonchalant manner before I begin to play. I start with a really chill song to get people in the mood, and I start to pick up the energy with each song, getting more and more into each piece. My performances have always had a profound effect on people, and now is now exception as I can see Queeny is on the floor and dancing with her people as if she hasn't a care in the world by the third song. Bonni is following suit in a more awkward manner towards the edge of the crowd, I can tell that she isn't one for dance parties, though I think I can see her keep glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, regardless of who she may be dancing with. I try to bring the energy down slightly after my fourth song before setting my feet back onto the stage to call out to the people again and sign off. I swing my bass to back before flying off the stage to the punch bowl where I grab myself a glass and watch some orchestra take my place on the stage as they push for more of the slow moving music that one would normally think of in a royal ball. As I sit down at a random table in the back to relax, I see Bonni come sit down next to me.
"You were great up there Marceline. You really livened up this place"
I nod "Yeah, I can tell. Even your mother is having a good time now. Regardless of how down she may have been feeling before."
"So you caught that huh?" she says solemnly "she hasn't quite been the same since dad had his accident." she shakes her head as she looks at me. "But enough about that, I believe you promised me that you would answer some questions about being a vampire?"
"Ah, I did." I chuckle "go ahead and ask what you want to know." I figure it couldn't hurt to satisfy her curiosity, how long could it take to answer a few questions?
About an hour and a half as it turns out. Sheesh this girl has a lot of questions and she is not afraid to ask some of the more uncomfortable ones either. She flippin asked me about how being undead affected my menstrual cycle, now that was embarrassing.
"Ok, I think I'm done with the questions for one night." I say as I get up from my chair. "It's almost midnight anyway so I think we should be moving somewhere else before people start heading home." I offer her my hand to pick her up from her seat before leading her past the crowd and to the main gardens. "So since you spent all that time asking me questions, I feel that I've earned the right to ask a few myself." I glance down at her slyly in an attempt to make her nervous. It seems that I succeeded, as she blushes slightly and nods to me. "Ok so first off, since I know that candy people age strangely, how old are you?"
"We age strangely? This coming from the one who's immortal?" she shakes her head at me, "Well since you asked, I'm sixteen, though father said that I'm going to look around this age for quite a while to come."
"Sixteen huh? A princess that old must have a guy in the picture right?"
"Actually, no. I've dated a little bit but I don't have a boyfriend." She looked up at me with a bit of fire in her eyes and said "Though just because I'm single, don't be pulling the 'old maid' card on me. If I'm not going to be aging for a while then I should be able to put off anything permanent until I feel I am ready for it."
"Don't worry, I get it. You're forgetting that I am immortal, a queen, and single as well. Believe me when I say, I know what you mean." I look over her shoulder and see that they are beginning to disperse and the courtyard is being packed up by the servants. "Anyway, since we are going to have to head back to see off your guests, I have a proposal for you. How about tomorrow night me and you head out on the town? Just us girls?"
"Well I might have a few things to do tomorrow, but sure I'll see if I can slip out." She smiles as we turn out of the garden to meet up with Queeny. "What exactly would you have in mind anyway?" she asks.
"Well there should be a movie coming on tomorrow, unless it's that couple's night junk. But other than that I would rather keep it as a surprise."
"hmph, I don't like not knowing plans ahead of time." She pouts "But fine, I'll leave it to you then." She says as we wave off the last few citizens. "Oh and this movie night is supposed to be some action flick called… I think that Joshua said it was something called assignment improbable or something like that."
"Ok good, as long as it's not any of that sappy stuff then it should be good. Now don't worry, I've got the rest handled." I pat her shoulder and stifle a yawn. "Though today has been kinda tiring, I should probably be heading back to the tree house and get some sleep." I float out as I hear a short protest from Bonni. "Don't worry princess; I'll pick you up tomorrow night!" I call out. I smile to myself at being able to set up this date, even if she doesn't see it as one. I figure I should start planning for the rest of the date once I get to the tree house, but for now I'm just floating off feeling satisfied with myself. I start to notice that the night is getting really cold, making me wish I had worn a longer dress with a few more layers.
"Wait a minute," I stop myself, "I'm dead, I shouldn't be feeling cold." just as I say this I notice a small amount of snow drifting down. "Oh, no." I whisper as I realize what's going on, and the moment I do, I hear a scream come from the castle followed by a familiar voice.
"Oh come on princess, stop squirming and just come with me." He says.
My first dramatic cliff hanger, what do you think? as always, please leave me some reviews. and i promise i will attempt to get these chapters out faster.
