This is an idea I've been kicking around for a while. I hope you like it. Adventure Time is owned by Cartoon Network. Enjoy.

Chapter 10: The Death of Marceline: Part 1.

Dreams…

I hate dreams.

Specifically, I hate my own dreams. They're always so creepy and weird.

Take the one I just had for example. See, I was trapped inside this cocoon made of pitch black silk, and there were all these golden chains wrapped around my heart. And then the chains transformed into pink butterflies. Or… maybe they were pink bats. Then… then there was something about cotton candy and frilly pink dresses and… and… and now it's gone.

Oh well, I guess that's the one good thing about dreams; you never remember them for long.

Anyway, I might as well wake up. No point in putting it off.

Ugh… what's going on? Why are the lights on? And why do I feel so… weak?

And what's… is there a wet rag on my head?

What the hell's going on here?

Wait… is that Horus? What's he doing in my room? And why is he sleeping in a chair?

Ugh… this is so confusing. I hate mornings.

"Hey… Horus…" I say weakly. Glob, my voice sounds terrible. Even worse, he can't hear me. Let me try again. "Horus… Horus, wake up, please. I need you. Horus!"

"Huh… Whazzat?" he slurs as he's jolted back to consciousness. "What's happen… My Queen! You're alright!"

Aw~ He was worried about me. Such a sweet boy.

"Of course I'm alright, Silly. Why wouldn't I be?" I say as I force myself to sit up. Seriously, what's going on with my body today?

"You… you mean you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Your Majesty, you… you've been in a coma for almost four days."

What?

"W-What? But… but that's impossible."

"I'm afraid not, My Lady." He replies. I sense no deception in his voice. Not that I ever do. "Tell me, what's the last thing you can remember?"

Good question. What do I remember?

"Well…"

Okay, I was with Finn and Jake. And Bonnie, FQ, CB, B-MO, Poppa, and a bunch of princesses were there too. And I was… opening presents. Why was I opening presents? Oh wait, duh.

"My birthday… I remember my birthday."

"That's right, Your Majesty. We had a party for you in the main ballroom. Can you recall anything else?"

"I… I'm not sure. I think I… I…"

Okay, think. I was in the ballroom. I was having lots of fun. And then Poppa came in with his present, and it was… Oh Glob!

"Jungle Princess…"

"That's right, Your Highness. Brother Simon offered you a Princess for your birthday. A new bride for your 'collection', as it were."

Yes, I remember now. He just carried her in bridal style. Had her all wrapped up with a big purple bow and everything. Then Poppa tried to hand her to me. So calm and casual. Like he was giving me a new toy.

Finn and Jake were furious. Bonnie looked ready to tear his head off. But I knew better. I could see it in her eyes. She hadn't been kidnaped or coerced. She'd wanted this to happen. She probably put Poppa up to it in the first place. She wanted me. And I… I wanted her.

"I see you're beginning to remember what happened next." Horus says to me. His tone is unnaturally even. "Before anyone could react, you accepted Brother Simon's gift, and you wed yourself to her right there on the spot. Then you carried her off to your room to… consummate your marriage. I should have known something was wrong then and there. With all due respect, My Lady, you weren't acting like yourself. You were more like… an animal."

Ah yes~ My sweet Georgette and I made such sweet and passionate love~ Such a remarkable little acrobat that one. So athletic and perky. I'm going to have so much fun with her.

But wait… what happened next?

We had just finished our second bout, and then… and then it was right now.

What the hell is going on here?

"Horus… what happened to me?"

"Well, sometime later, we heard Miss Georgette screaming, so several of us went to investigate. That's when we… found you… like that."

Oh Glob. This can't be good.

"You… you were delirious, My Queen. You were sweating profusely, and crying. You were crying for your mother, cursing at your father, and… and clawing at the air. It was… scary."

Oh. My. Glob.

"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"Oh no, Your Majesty. No one was hurt. Although… Anubis and I did have to restrain you while Serket gave you a sedative. After that, you fell into a deep sleep. And, well… you can guess the rest."

Sweet Gob.

My head is spinning.

This sounds like something from an old horror movie.

But it must be true. Horus wouldn't lie to me. None of my children can lie to me. Not ever.

"Okay, but I seem to be alright now. So whatever was wrong with me must not 've been all that serious. Right?"

Oh dear, he's not answering. Not good.

And he's got a weird look on his face. Double not good.

"Horus, this was nothing, right?"

"Well… it wasn't anything too serious." He answers while scratching the back of his head; never a good sign. "However, I would hardly call what you've endured 'nothing'."

Triple not good.

"And what exactly did I endure? And please, be a little more direct this time."

"It is… difficult to explain, Your Highness. But I will try." He says before pausing; clearly needing to organize his thoughts. "Well… after we… um… contained you, I called for Thoth, to see if he had ever read of anything like this before. And as luck would have it, he had."

I can already tell I'm not gonna like this.

"You see, My Lady, some time ago, Thoth discovered an ancient tomb of vampire lore somewhere within his massive bookstacks. Most of it was either common knowledge or superseded theories, so he never bothered mentioning to anyone. However, when I called him and told him about your condition, he remembered something from the tomb that matched your symptoms."

Oh great, he's pausing again.

Is he trying to kill me?

"As you know, Your Majesty, in ancient times it was customary for Vampire Lords to form a harem of no less than three wives. But what most people don't know is why. As it turns out, a Vampire's harem plays a more vital role than any of us ever realized. Apparently, the brides are an important part of an ancient ritual."

"What kind of ritual?" I ask, already dreading the answer.

"It's… difficult to explain, My Lady. You see, when a Vampire Lord, or in this case Queen, takes their third bride, it triggers some sort of… metamorphosis. An internal transformation, as it were, that…oh… how shall I put this? It… cleanses the Vampire's mind and soul. Removing all of the emotional muck from their previous life."

"I don't understand."

"You see, the ritual was created by Hunson Abadeer, the ancient Vampire blood god, as a means of rewarding those who reached the higher castes of the Old Society. Essentially, it… deletes all unwanted data from the subject's mind; forever freeing them from all the painful or unpleasant memories of their mortal life. So that they may fully enjoy their immortality."

Hunson. I should've known he'd have something to do with this. Every time something horrible happens to me, it's almost always his fault. Oh, he makes me so mad.

But wait… I don't really feel all that mad. Maybe a little steamed, but not mad. Not mad mad. But that's impossible. Every time I think about that creep it makes my blood boil. I must be mad, I can't not be mad. Not unless… oh Glob.

"Horus… this ritual, you're saying it gets rid of emotional baggage?"

"That's one way of putting it, yes."

"But… I'm pretty much all emotional baggage. I'm like a fricken luggage car of grief and angst."

"I realize that, Your Majesty. And we suspect that is why you had such an extreme reaction. Everything in Thoth's tome suggests that it was supposed to be a quick and painless transition."

"So… if all that's really gone for good, then what am I? What is Marceline without the pain and angst at her core? Am I… am I even Marceline anymore?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, Your Highness. It appears that this is something you must discover for yourself."

Great… it's one of those things.

I hate those things.

"However, just because this is something you must do yourself, doesn't mean you have to do it alone."

"Huh?"

"My Lady, you are not the same lonely, starving girl you were when we first met. You are a Queen and a mother to thousands. You are the daughter of King Simon, and the lover of Princesses. You are the most respected and admired monarch in all of Ooo. You have the entire continent wrapped around your little finger."

"What's your point?"

"My point, Your Majesty, is that unlike the girl I met in the woods all those years ago, you are not alone. You have legions of friends and loved ones to help you through these difficult times. Not to mention three gorgeous brides who live to coddle and pamper you mercilessly."

All excellent points.

"So take heart, Your Excellency. For although Marceline might be dead, the Vampire Queen lives on. And she is as strong, and as wise, and as beautiful as ever."

Again, all very, very good points.

Huh, weird, I don't feel… anything.

I don't feel good. I don't feel bad. I don't feel sad or angry or any of that stuff.

I just feel… empty.

It's kinda nice actually.

Wait, what's that up there on the wall?

Oh, it's just my bass.

Funny. I don't remember hanging it there.

Now that I think about it…

"Hey, Horus."

"Yes, My Queen."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Your Eminence."

"You see that bass hanging on the wall over there?"

"Yes."

"Do I know how to play it?"

To Be Continued in Part 2…

End Notes:

Thanks for reading. And just like the last few times, here's some more world building.

1) Sometime between 800 and 400 BC, the demonic entity known as Hunson Abadeer created the first Vampire when he made a Faustian Pact with an Athenian woman named Lamia, who wanted the secret of eternal youth. Ever the trickster, Hunson gave the girl what she wanted, but only after he remade her in his own image and gave her a long list of conditions to sustain her immortality. In the centuries that followed, Hunson became something of a god to the Vampires; a fact which greatly amused him, which is why he threw his worshippers the occasional bone. Such as, the Ritual of the Third Bride.

2) Much like the rest of Ooo, the vast majority of the Vampire Kingdom is unaware that the Ice King is not Marceline's biological father. Likewise, they are ignorant of her connection to the demon Hunson Abadeer and her role as a Vampire Hunter before becoming Queen. She doesn't actively lie to her people, she just doesn't share certain details about her past unless asked directly.

3) For every myth about Vampires that turns out to be true, there are at least fifty or sixty that are pure bunk. For example, the idea that Vampires have no reflections and cannot be photographed is based on the mistranslation of an ancient tablet describing the creation of Lamia, the first Vampire. Similarly, the idea that Vampires cannot cross running water is based off of a game they used to play during the 12th Century to make hunting humans more challenging. Crosses and Holy Water are also ineffective against Vampires, although they may work on Marceline since she is half demon.

4) Slight alteration to what I said last time.

Princess Nikki: Enhanced Hydrokinesis and Super Speed.

Princess Barbie: Mind Control and Invisibility.

Princess Georgette: Animal Transformation.