A Matter of Responsibilities
–Chapter Three–
The Curious Girl
This wasn't the kind of situation that she had been expecting, what was she supposed to do with Flame Princess now that she had her in her arms? Release the fire elemental, pat her back, and ask her to go home? This was the sort of awkward stuff that always happened when things were done without measuring their consequences first. Bubblegum hated that feeling, but she was too late to do something about it. Thankfully, Flame Princess' mind was also running wild with questions, and one of them was spoken all of a sudden.
"How come you're not burning?" the girl asked, letting go of Bubblegum in search of blisters.
Glad about not having to worry on how to break the hug anymore, Princess Bubblegum answered. "Oh! That's because I'm wearing an isolating suit beneath my lab coat. It's kinda like a fireproof suit, but I worked hard on keeping it adjusted to my sense of fashion. It's nice, huh?"
"Isolating?" the young princess poked Bonnibel's shoulder in curiosity. "What kind of magic is that?"
"Oh no, it ain't magic…" Princess Bubblegum chuckled. "This is science! You know, the good 'ol scientific method!" she stared at Flame Princess nervously. "Doesn't that ring bells in you?"
"I have no idea of what are you talkin' about." The elemental said.
Princess Bubblegum sighed in reply. Of course, how was someone that was so new to the world supposed to know anything about the wonders of science? Flame Princess had no instruction at all, at least not in anything that hadn't something to do with the evil ways of a fire elemental, and proper manners of behavior. It was a shame, though. Bubblegum was excited when Flame Princess asked about her suit, and she was willing to explain her how it worked, but what use did it have if the girl couldn't understand a word she said?
"But…" Flame Princess' voice was heard once again, this time with a tiny spark of enthusiasm in its tone. "If you would tell me what that is, I might—…"
"You want to know… about science?" Bonnibel said, half surprised and half excited about having an excuse to enter her comfort zone and let her tongue roll on the process of observation, investigation, hypothesizing, experimenting and concluding.
"Mmm-hmm." The fiery girl nodded. She wanted to let her mind drift away from everything, to forget about the dilemma of good and evil, to forget about not being what the world wanted or needed her to be, to forget about Finn… if only for a moment.
"Thank you!" Princess Bubblegum exclaimed.
She sprung up of the bed and ran off into the mess that her lab was, tossing all kinds of junk, trash and mold-full pizza away as she searched for a piece of chalk. Bubblegum returned some moments later, dragging a medium-sized chalkboard with her.
"Alright! The first thing you need to know about science is that it is not, and doesn't have anything to do with magic. But!" her hand began to make swift annotations on the chalkboard. "We could say that all magic is actually unexplained science. And what is science, you were asking? Science is a system, a body of knowledge with indefinable proportions…! The mass of our brains wouldn't be capable of retaining all of it…time… space…communication…infinity…the meaning of life…!"
And so, the princess of the Candy Kingdom went on talking for hours and hours. Protoscience was a subject of great interest for her; once Bubblegum had started to explain it, she couldn't stop herself. And having another fellow princess, listening attentively to every word she said was motivating enough to aboard more subjects, theories, and laws. There hardly were any princesses willing to discuss scientific matters with her in Ooo. They preferred to gossip at tea parties, instead of questioning the exponential growth of zanoids in a humid patch of dirt.
Meanwhile, Flame Princess listened and nodded in silence. The girl wasn't able to understand a thing, as Bubblegum had sidetracked from the basics in a sudden display of enthusiasm. No, Flame Princess couldn't get anything of the scientific speech that was being thrown at her, but she liked to see the excitement on Princess Bubblegum's actions and words. She was so passionate when it came to that weird magic that she insisted on calling science, it reminded her of how Finn used to be about adventuring.
Oh Finn… The human boy was haunting her mind again. The young princess couldn't help it, but at least she had something that would keep her away from his ghost. She had Princess Bubblegum and her science magic now. Thus, Flame Princess paid attention to her complex monologue for as long as her young mind let her, before falling asleep on the scientist's lap.
"And all because the primitive man discovered: Fire!" Princess Bubblegum yawned tiredly. "Isn't that fascinating, Flame Princess? One could say that your earliest ancestors ignited the fundamental spark of collective knowledge in all of us…! In other words, we would be nothing if it weren't because of you and your enchanting, yet dangerous nature. And that's something to be prou—… Flame Princess?"
The fire elemental shifted slightly on the tinfoil-covered bed, not really sending any signs of being awake. Flame Princess just snored quietly, ignoring the drool that was sliding out of the corner of her mouth. Princess Bubblegum rolled her eyes, wondering for how long had she been talking to the wall. It was okay, though. The young princess had an exhausting day, just like hers. Sleeping wouldn't be such a bad idea. Bubblegum tried her best to make herself comfortable on the bed without disturbing Flame Princess' sleep. For once it felt nice to have someone in her lab that could show such amount of interest and curiosity on her highly educational hobby.
Princess Bubblegum closed her eyes, resting her hand on Flame Princess' shoulder. The gloves that she used to handle Flambo had come in handy after all, she had thought that they would only be useful at barbeques, not that it mattered at all. What truly mattered were the possibilities that lied ahead. Flame Princess had potential to become her assistant in the future, someone to talk to while she spent eighty-three hours straight, working on a project, someone curious enough to ask, to care.
If only she could take the fiery girl as her apprentice, they'd do wonders together. It would be challenging of course, but all that hard work would be worth the pain. Bonnibel had caught that one spark in Flame Princess' eyes, the spark that started it all, curiosity. The mark of an authentic scientist. Sure, it was impossible to see the young princess taking that role, as she wasn't exactly forged to do such things. But maybe, just maybe…
"Just imagine what we could do… We could be the greatest team there's ever been, greater than Finn and Jake." Princess Bubblegum whispered, watching the girl sleep. Something about Flame Princess inspired her to keep dreaming, thinking of the limitless possibilities that their futures could hold if they were to work together one day. It was rather frightening and exciting.
"What's so fascinating about fire? What's so fascinating about you?" Bubblegum asked, tempted to run her fingers through the young princess' flaring hair.
That feeling of daring that Flame Princess ignited on her drove the interested Bonnibel to actually do it. She dipped her fingers in the flames and everything became clearer. Suddenly, the wildest things made sense and it seemed that nothing could ever be dangerous enough for her, compared with the thoughts that were crossing her intrigued mind at that moment. It made Bubblegum feel goosebumps, but she couldn't deny that she had liked the sensations growing recklessly within her chest.
"I see, that's what it is." the princess whispered in realization. "Seems strangely complicated, like if there was some sort of cost that no one would dare to pay for this kind of thrill…"
"Still, would it be worth the price?"
"Take me to another dungeon, Finn..." Flame Princess' sleepy voice was overheard. "It's nice to hang out with you..."
Thanks to everyone reading and commenting on this fic! I'm almost done with it, but depending on whatever happens in 'Too Old' I might extend it a little. Hope you keep enjoying it!