Through Her Burning Gaze
~Burning Low~
He ran from one side to the other, grabbing stuff and then throwing it into the fire. The flames grew with each piece of wood that he tossed, glowing golden bright as they sparkled on our faces. Finn was as stubborn as always. It didn't matter how much I insisted in helping him, he wouldn't let me anyway. The only thing I was allowed to do was to stand there and watch how his work progressed. I could only smile and admire his enthusiasm; even after a long day of running around Ooo, Finn didn't seem tired or sleepy like his potat—… I mean, his "brother" Jake. Finn was simply an unstoppable boy!
He grabbed a helmet and held it over his head "Well, looks like your new house is done!" Finn announced, tossing the helmet into the fire with a "Whoop!" and then turned himself around to call his mutt "Jake! Do you wanna check the new house!?"
I giggled mentally at that word. After spending my whole life trapped inside a palace, I never thought that I was going to get a house of my own. It was a place for me, where I could do whatever I wanted without being scolded or repressed. I was going to be free to come and go whenever I wanted. I could stuff it with all the junk I wanted and I could even bring a fire wolf inside to mess up the whole place, and no one would yell at me!
"Nah…don't let me interrupt you. You two have fun…" Jake sighed.
I stared at my house, feeling the anxiousness building up within me "I wanna see inside!" I shouted, not being able to resist my excitement anymore and merged my body with the flames that covered my new home. Oh yes! It was perfect! Cozy, nice and comfortable! "HAHA, I LOVE IT!"
"Great!" Finn replied in excitement.
I couldn't believe how happy he looked for me; now that I had a place to stay near the Grasslands we could see each other more often, and hang out, and he could teach me more things about the outside world, and I could invite him over and do silly stuff and—…
"Whaa! Oh Glob! Oh Glob! Oh Glob!" I heard Finn screaming.
Oh crup! His leg was on fire! I followed him with my eyes while he ran towards the cliff's edge and dived into the lake. The "Splash!" sound came and I felt a little sting on my body. I just ignored it… Finn worried me more.
Jake and I leaned on the edge looking for him "Finn!" his brother called in concern.
The water bubbled and suddenly Finn appeared, floating over his back with a goofy grin "Haha! I'm okay!" he laughed.
Phew…whenever he gets burned because of me I become slightly doubtful, wondering if this will ever work, but lately, Finn had started to withstand our little accidents nicely; smiling and joking like if nothing had happened. He was keeping his promise, Finn was laughing at nature's face for me. Now I can't even realize whenever I'm smiling at him, it was just something that he ignited inside me.
Finn laughed and played with the water like if he was a four-year-old kid while I watched him in delight. He was so cute and funny… "Oh!" Talking about funny… "Do the thing that I like!" The funniest thing in the world was about to happen…
Finn opened his mouth and bared his teeth, then he sank slowly into the water and sucked some of it to rose out of the lake, spraying water upwards like if he was a fountain. I don't know how water elementals do it, but the way in which he almost reaches us with the squirt is impressive. I wish he could show me how to do those water tricks, but oh well…at least I can giggle at them.
"Now do the thing that I like!" his brother requested and Finn instantly spun around and sank his butt in the water to blow bubbles with his farts.
Hehe! Gross… I wonder why boys think that farting is funny…
"Heheh… Classic…" Jake chuckled and then stretched his arm towards Finn. It's kinda cool to see a magic dog manipulating his body in that way "Alright Finn, that's enough…" he said, pulling him out of the water.
Jake put him on the ground and I whooshed to their side, I didn't want to be left out I guess… Finn turned to stare at me with his usual smile and I felt a rush of gratefulness passing through my chest. He's done so much for me, but at that moment I could only tell him one thing…
"Thanks for building my new home, Finn. I'm so happy…"
His eyes sparkled and he lifted his arms towards me "You…wanna hug?"
How could I deny him that? Once I wished to hug him everyday, every time he was near me, but… But of course I wanted to hug him! "Yes!" I replied as we stepped closer to each other's arms.
"Whoa!" Finn's brother popped out between us and pushed him away from me "Hold on mama!" he exclaimed, looking at me anxiously.
Oh right… It's easy to forget about it whenever I'm excited; the reason of why my wish was just a wish even though Finn and I liked each other…I burn. That's why I left him in the first place, but I just couldn't stand being without him and so…here we are again…just trying to make it work.
Jake took the shiny paper out of Finn's backpack and wrapped his entire body with it, only leaving his face uncovered. Watching Finn struggling to keep his balance makes me feel kinda sorry for him, he's the one who has to carry the all weight of our relationship. He has to stand the pain, he has to figure how to hold me and he has to pretend that he doesn't mind… Isn't there something that I can do for him in return?
"Okay bro, tin foil's on!" his brother announced, patting the shiny paper that covered his body "You can hug now!"
With his ever-present smile Finn approached to me and I did the same. However, just thinking about holding him close made me nervous and I turned around, feeling how my face flushed. Finn was blushing too; I guess we're still a little too shy around each other…
I turned my face slightly to look at him and smiled again, knowing that we just wanted to embrace each other, well…he couldn't embrace me 'cause his arms were trapped under his cover, but whatever… I just threw my arms around him and pulled his face close to mine. The heat rushed again through my body, from my feet to my cheeks and my flames grew a little, warming his face. It was a strange sweet feeling that we shared every time we hugged, something that only Finn and Flame Princess could enjoy…
I don't know how much it lasted, just a few seconds maybe, but it was enough for us… I retrieved my hands and stared at him "Bye" Finn whispered.
"Bye Finn…" I replied, watching him go. He looked so weird and cute wrapped in that thing, I wonder if he felt ridiculous wearing it.
Finn walked away with his brother and turned around to see me again "Bye!" he repeated, losing his balance and almost falling backwards.
I giggled, waving at him…sometimes is impossible to stop saying good-bye, perhaps it's because we don't really want to.
I waited until they disappeared inside the woods and then I walked back to my new house. Finn built it for me. It felt like if he was trying to protect me… Dang! I blushed just by staring at it. Is this how liking someone and being liked back feels? I couldn't believe how sweet and kind Finn was, and to think that I tried to kill him once… I giggled "Thank Glob that didn't happen…"
We were going to be together, no more sad good-byes or fighting between us. Things were perfect now and I knew that nothing bad was ever going to happen to us. I stepped towards the house and touched the wood, wondering what could he had been thinking when he gathered it and put it together. Was he thinking about me? Did he really do it to keep me safe? That silly boy…how can I let him know that he didn't need to build me a house? Since he told me that he would defy nature for me I knew that my heart had already found a home, that's why I didn't care to wander throughout Ooo without having a place to stay. I knew that my place was with him, with Finn.
I took a deep breath and then let it go before stepping inside, the air was so fresh here thanks to the trees… I chuckled, thanking Glob for the sweet pine's scent that was surrounding me now—'cause Finn's funny smell was starting to make me dizzy!
x+x+x+x+x
The next morning I found myself sitting on the cliff's edge —although Finn warned me not to do it, I just couldn't help it. Well, if something bad happens to me it'd be his fault. Yesterday he told me that we were going to meet here after sunrise, but that was like an hour ago and I became bored of waiting in front of my house, so I decided to sit here and glance at the mountains. I'm still impressed of how different volcanoes are from them…
"Flame Princess!" It was Finn shouting from the distance.
I turned around and saw him running towards me, all of a sudden I felt like running to him too and I shot myself in his direction. It didn't take me long to reach him and hug him like if I hadn't seen him in years.
"Oh, Glob!" he exclaimed and then I realized that I was holding him without protection.
"Oh no!" I shrieked, pushing him away "I-I'm sorry, I always forget that—…" Finn lowered his head to stare at his burned shirt "I don't know what happened…" I continued to apologize, but I stopped when he smiled at me.
"Don't worry, it's nothing!" he said, swinging his backpack off "I thought that…" he began while I watched him in curiosity. Finn was messing the contents of his bag, searching for something "Well…I don't know how to say this!" he blushed, still looking down "I just… I want to hug you, but I also want to…t-to feel you…"
Now I was the one blushing "What?"
He took out a small bottle with a blue cross painted on it "You see this? It's filled with the magical tears…of a Cyclops!" Finn opened the cork with his teeth and shed a drop on his burnt limps. Then something amazing happened…his burns disappeared! "They can heal any wound!" he finished, smiling back at me.
"Great but…how's that going to let you—…?" I inquired, feeling a little nervous.
"Well, I don't wanna sound conceited, but pain's no big deal for me and I don't really feel like walking around, looking like an 'Everything burrito' whenever I'm hanging out with you—if I use the tears I can heal myself so that you and Jake don't have to worry about me. I-I think it's easier that way, right?"
"You really think you can take it? The last time you—…" I asked, remembering the first time we tried to hug.
"Last time never happened, okay?" Finn replied, cutting me off and stepped closer, extending his arms in the same way he did last night "So, do you wanna… go on an adventure with me?" he asked me with big sparkling eyes.
"Y-Yes!" I answered, throwing my body into his arms for the second time today. As we held each other I reflected on what he said about feeling me. Yes, while he used the silver paper to avoid getting burned we never got to really feel each other. I couldn't know if he was cold, warm or—well…this changed everything! I could feel his heart, beating faster with each passing second, his arms shivering nervously on my back and his chin resting on my shoulder.
We broke the bond and stared at each other shyly "Well…" Finn said, taking the lead "Follow me, I want to show you a cool place!"
x+x+x+x+x
"We did it!" Finn shouted, jumping down from the hill where he was standing a while ago and ran towards me.
Finn took me to an awesome place, "Mount Crag—…crat—" …Hmm… "Something-like-that–dor!" where a muscled and furry guy with two horns on his forehead welcomed us in a very friendly way. We were supposed to enjoy our day there, searching for treasures and beating up bad guys, but a bunch of annoying flying-gnomes came and kidnapped an old yellow man. They threatened to kill him if we didn't find five of them and knocked them down before sunset. Then the horned man told Finn that this could be a "Hero Challenge" and gave him a magic slingshot to bring down the gnomes. Finn got overexcited and left after them in a huff while I just stood there watching.
Mannish —I just remembered his name— suggested me to join Finn and I accepted eagerly. Even if someone's life was at risk, it was actually a lot of fun! Finn and I ran around the whole place, climbed mountains and fought giants the entire morning as we searched for the gnomes. Whenever we found one, we chased him, firing magic bullets and fireballs at him until we got four of them. The whole thing was…how would Finn say it? Mathematical!
That last one was a bit tougher and smarter than the rest, but Finn and I came up with a plan and we managed to drive him into a giant spider's web by combining our abilities to fool him. I still remember Finn yelling: "You'd better tell us where's Key-per or we'll let you become spider crap!" Gob that was hilarious, Mannish and I couldn't stop laughing when the gnome pissed his pants.
Anyway, we freed the yellow man and then Finn grabbed my arms yelling, "Victory is ours!" I was still worried by the smoke coming out of his hands though.
"Okay Finn that's enough!" I advised him, trying to make him stop his jumping.
"Are you afraid of the victory dance?" he replied with a defying tone "C'mon FP, follow my feet, it's easy! One two three, one two three…!"
Now I was feeling embarrassed, how could Finn be so goofy and never feel ashamed? That wasn't even dancing; we were just holding our wrists and spinning around like drunken flambits.
"Okay, I got it! We won, we won!" I said, pulling down his arms, but he kept 'dancing' anyway "Finn, stop fooling around now or I'll have to immobilize you!" I warned, faking anger.
"Yeah? Show me how!" he challenged.
"Like this!" I yelled, dragging him into my arms and squeezed him tightly "You give up?"
"Never! I'm the legendary Gnome Buster, it takes more than a hug to make me surrender!"
"Very well, you asked for it!" I replied, tightening my grip on him.
"No! I will never surrender!" Finn laughed.
x+x+x+x+x
We left "Mount whatever" after sharing some spaghetti made by the small old man. That was the weirdest and most delicious thing that I had ever tasted in my life! Finn just kept making this day even more wonderful than it already was, I couldn't believe it. We walked through the Grasslands, trying to reach my home before nightfall, but Finn stopped all of a sudden and sat down.
"I just need a break" he said after I gave him a worried look. I decided to sit by his side, trying not burn the grass around us and watched him using the Cyclops' tears again. "My idea's working perfectly, don't you think?"
"If you like to be burned and healed over and over again…" I answered, still feeling a little concerned for him.
"Yeah, I like it!" Finn turned to stare at me shyly "These are…you know…the sweetest burns I have ever gotten…" he noticed that I was glowing and quickly turned his head down, muttering something about Jake and a 'tier two' thing as he stared at the ground. His face was completely flushed.
I felt like hugging him again, but since he just healed his wounds I decided to ask him first "Hey…umm, can I…?" Why was it still so difficult? I already knew that he wouldn't get mad at me for asking or anything. "Can I… hug you one last time? I-I know that I should have asked before you healed yoursel—…" Finn didn't give me a chance to finish the phrase. Before I knew it, I was back in his arms.
We remained there, sitting on the grass until the sun sank in the horizon, then Finn took me back home and promised that he'd come back tomorrow. I thanked him for everything; every single thing that he did for me today and since we met was something I could never forget. I still don't understand how it happened, who found who? Finn met me once and I met him twice. We were a mess, but it was our sweet mess.
"I-I'll see you tomorrow then…" Finn said, giving me a small hug and then ran excitedly towards his house. He was so fast that I couldn't even reply in time.
"See you tomorrow, Finn…" I whispered, standing alone and then I walked into my house.
x+x+x+x+x
I opened my eyes lazily and stood up, scratching them. I was still feeling tired because of yesterday and I just wanted to lie down and sleep again, but then I glimpsed the sun shining outside "Finn!" I gasped, remembering that he was coming at sunrise today as well. The problem was that… sunrise had happened hours ago. I jumped outside, hoping to find him waiting and explain him why I was so late; luckily he was indeed waiting for me at the cliff's edge.
"Finn!" I called, whooshing to his side, but he didn't reply. He was just sitting there, staring at the lake lost in thought "Finn?" I repeated, kneeling to see his face. He looked bothered and flustered. Did I make him mad? I never thought I was that late… "H-hey, I understand if I made you angry…I—…"
Finn flinched at my words and sprung up nervously "What? No! I'm not mad at you! I could never…" his brow was still furrowed, something was wrong with him "I'm just—! I feel weird…" he sighed.
"Finn if you want, you can go back to your house. We can leave this for another day…" I replied, trying to calm him down.
"No!" he almost yelled at me "I mean, no. I want to be with you… I need to be with you…" Finn shoved his hand in his pocked and took out a crumpled paper from it "I-I made you something…" he said, unfolding it bashfully "I-it's actually kinda junky…maybe I shouldn't…"
"Y-you wrote something for me?" I inquired, tilting my head.
Finn gulped "Yeah, well…I tried… I-I'm not-I'm actually pretty stupid for these things… I'd rather kill monsters and stuff but…I-I did…for you…"
I felt the heat rushing through my cheeks and smiled to comfort us both "Come, I wanna hear it…!"
We walked to the front of my blazing home and Finn held the paper nervously while I watched him.
"Please…don't laugh at me if you don't like it, I'm not a poet or something like that…" he begged, his face was colored with a pink hue.
"It's a poem!?... I mean... I would never do such thing, I promise… cross my heart!" I replied solemnly.
Finn gave me one last reluctant glance and then fixed his gaze on the paper to start reciting timidly.
"If I had to describe you with one word, I wouldn't
you are so beautiful that, I shouldn't.
More than one word is needed to describe you
more than just words are needed to view
how I feel about you…"
I watched him while he read, his cheeks blushed softly and his voice cracked slightly at the end of very sentence. Finn wrote this poem for me, this time it was real. And still, what if it wasn't like the song that Jake used to woo me? What if he didn't know any lyrical rule or what if some of his rhymes didn't make sense at all? I could feel that Finn meant every word. I closed my eyes, trying to contain the happiness inside me. No one had ever made me feel so special…
"Your ardent eyes melted down my core and smoldered my soul…
Your flickering hair left my chest without air…
Your wavelengths are my weakness…
Your emissions are what I've been missing…"
Maybe I was too close or he got closer at some point, but in any case, when Finn was about to continue reading for me, his poem caught fire and was burnt to ashes. We both watched them fall slowly after gasping in surprise. Oh Grod, what's he going to say now? Finn raised his head to stare at me worriedly and I did the same. Nothing bad had happened really, and maybe Finn thought the same because he immediately began to laugh, causing me to do it as well. I glanced at him, the bothered look that he had this morning was already gone by now. We were having a good time together. We always did. Suddenly he stared back into my eyes, the laughter was gone…
Finn and I were pulled towards each other by some kind of mysterious magnetism; my eyes froze on his face as he drew himself closer to me, then I just closed them and drifted into his mouth. Was this what they called…a kiss?
I could barely feel his lips against mine when something broke inside me and exploded, unleashing an impressive amount of energy that blew away everything around me, even Finn. I didn't know what was happening, I couldn't control it! My body was suddenly burning so hot that the ground beneath my feet was melted almost instantly and I fell through it at a great speed, while my body kept burning uncontrollably. The last thing I saw before crashing against the solid earth was Finn's disconcerted face, popping out from the hole that I had created.
"FLAME PRINCESS!" I heard him cry and then my body hit the ground.
x+x+x+x+x
I found myself lying alone, probably a million feet underground. I tried to breath, but it was useless…there was no oxygen. I became anxious and scared, increasing my need for air. I choked with every gasp. My flames grew dimmer and cold. "Is this the end?" I thought before passing out into a world of darkness.
"I'm terribly sorry Flame King, but that's the way things are…" a voice echoed in the dark.
Wh-who's that?
"But what do you mean by unstable?! Is it something evil, like a really bad temper or are you talking about a dangerous disease?"
F-father?
"It's more of an imperfection. I already made the proper analysis, I wish there was something else that I could do to help her…"
Help? Help who?
"Then what would happen if my daughter falls in love, huh? Should I just break her heart and make her suffer each time a young man approaches her?!"
"That won't be necessary! …Because… she'll never fall in love…"
I won't… fall in love? H-how come-?!
"What are you planning to do, then? Lock her away from the rest of the world her whole life long?!"
"IT'S EITHER THAT OR—!…. putting her out… I apologize Flame King, if only I… If only I could…!"
"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH! …Do whatever you have to do… just let my daughter live…"
"Dad…" I whispered, then I saw a pink glimmer getting closer to me.
"I'm so sorry little one…"
"W-wait! What are you doing?!" The world around me was suddenly lightened and I realized that I was standing… inside the crystal lantern. I searched desperately for the pink glimmer "Wh-what have you done to me?!" I shouted "Where are you?!"
"Please, please forgive me little one…"
"W-where are you going?! You can't leave me inside here!" I cried with all my strength.
"I wish I could free you, but I can't. It's my responsibly to protect the world, and responsibly demands sacrifice…"
Everything fell back into darkness as I screamed "No! Come back here! Please!" tears began to run down my face "You can't leave me trapped inside this thing…"
Then the emptiness consumed it all, no one could hear me cry. I was alone…
"What's wrong?!" another voice cried faraway.
"Please... say something!" It became stronger. Was it trying to reach me?
Who are you…?
"Please…! I need you…!"
Finn?
"…To be okay…"
I could feel him; his arms holding me tight, his lips pressed against mine, it was him… Finn. I felt his breath, filling my lungs. It fired up my flames and brought me back to life. I opened my eyes, feeling his face sliding down my mouth "Huh…!?" I saw him lying unconscious on my chest and then I remembered everything; the poem, the explosion…What in the world just happened?!
I noticed the light suddenly shining behind us, and then something pulled us out from the depths of the earth and slammed us against the ground. My head ached terribly and it was worsened by the sun rays, shinning directly into my eyes. Someone grunted and coughed next to me.
"A-are you okay?" It was Finn's voice.
I opened my eyes once again and I sat up to see him. His face was a mess. Several burnt marks covered his lips, his cheek was becoming worse with every passing minute, and his whole skin was painfully tanned. Still, Finn's first and only worry was…me… I smiled for his sake and gave him the answer he was looking for.
"I'm okay… I'm okay..." Thanks to you…
We got back on our feet and stared at each other. Finn's burns were looking worse and he probably noticed my distress, 'cause he gave me a tender smile and he bent down to pick up something. A rock? I wondered, watching how Finn glanced at it and then kissed it softly. I remained quiet and received the rock in confusion, why did he? Then I got it… I kissed the rock, causing it to lift some puffs of smoke into the air as I stared back at him gratefully. By doing this we had just kissed each other…without hurting each other. Of course, this was nothing compared to a real kiss, but, after what just happened… it was okay.
"C'mon, I still have some Cyclops' tears in the Tree Fort!" Finn exclaimed, inviting me to walk beside him.
Glob, this boy… I think that I just fell in love with him. Whether that's forbidden or not...
I don't care…
Yay, Burning Low it's done! Thanks to everyone for the reviews and the continued support, I really appreciate it!
And well, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. It will be the last one unless FP appears again, which would be great.
I'll leave you for now, have a nice day! :)