Sorry about the wait.
When I awoke, it was almost like when I first arrived in the Vampire Realm. It was dark, damp, my head was pounding, I was completely naked, and I had no idea what was going on. I was positioned on my knees. My arms were outstretched above me, bound to the wall. The shackles dug into my wrists. I tried to stand up, but I was yanked back. The sound of scraping chains let me know that my feet were bound too.
Two female figures stood in front of me. It took a minute of my eyes adjusting to realize that it was Marceline and Bonnibel. They were motionless.
"What are you doing?" I wheezed. "Get me out of here."
"Well well," Marceline said. Her voice was cold, like if a snake could speak. "It seems our little human has awoken. It's about time." I found it odd that she called me human, even though I obviously wasn't anymore.
"It's your fault it took so long, Marcy. You didn't have to hit her so hard. You know she has to be awake for this to work." Bonnibel's voice was teasing. But I still didn't know why...
"I got caught up in the moment," Marceline said sheepishly.
That's right. The dim bell rang in my head. They killed the girls... All of them. They wanted the Vampire Realm. But they were demons... At least Marceline was. Why did they have to use me to steal the power when they could easily have done it themselves? It didn't make any sense.
"Why did you...?" I trailed off. The strength I had before was gone. I felt like I was human again, except with less emotions. All I wanted was to crush the girl's before me. I wasn't scared or hurt at their betrayal. I was simply angry and confused.
"We're going to kill you, obviously," Marceline said. "That's the only way to steal your power."
I knew that already, conniving bitch.
"But why did you...?" I repeated, unable to say more.
"I believe our little Fionna here wants to know why we had to use her to get what we want," Bonnibel said. Her tone sent shivers down my spine. It almost reminded me of Marshall Lee's. But Bonnibel was smarter, more cunning, maybe even more malicious. And she was definitely more deadly.
"Ah," Marceline said. "Alright little human, I can give you that much. You see, when my twin and I were born, neither one of us was the eldest, so we were both equally eligible to the throne. Our father refused to let a female rule the Vampire Realm, so he put a spell on the only person that could ever rival Marshall Lee in power. Me."
"It really is heartbreaking," Bonnibel said. "We could've done this a long time ago without you if this weren't the case."
I mentally cursed the twin's father, and Marceline continued with her story.
"According to the curse, which so far we have been unable to break, states that no harm or magic that is cast by my hand or the hand of someone I am affectionate for can ever touch Marshall Lee. This curse holds true, I'm afraid. I've tried to kill him myself for eons. So has Bonnie. She's not quite the innocent tree nymph she used to be."
Bonnibel giggles. "Of course I'm not. You've been teaching me dark magic for so long."
"You're still just as beautiful."
"That's true."
Marceline kissed her then, shamelessly running her hands over Bonnibel's bare skin. They got so lost in each other that I had to clear my throat just to get Marceline to focus. Bonnibel swayed a little when they broke apart.
"Right," Marceline said. " So when I heard that my fool of a brother had brought a human into his little personal brothel, a species he's never had before, I hatched a plan with Bonnibel and sent her down there. And none of the girls really noticed because they were going insane due to that little ritual of his. Truth is, the infatuation spell works on humans just fine as long as there's no inteference. So Bonnibel just had to reverse the effects when she treated your wounds. So our plan worked. Now we get to kill you. End of story."
"You didn't have to kill them," I said. Finally, a full sentence.
"We didn't have to," Bonnibel said, "but it sure makes our lives easier. Freeing them was your goal. Your powers are ambition based. Take away ambition, and take away your hope to succeed, and it's much harder for you to break out of those chains. Anyway, I think that's enough story-telling. Marcy, you have the dagger?"
"On it."
Marceline brought the dagger out of the folds of her blood-stained dress. She stalked toward me slowly, relishing the feeling of victory I suppose. I begged her to stop the whole way, desperately.
"How pitiful," Marceline said, "The lion becomes the lamb on the way to her slaughter. Have fun in hell, say hello to my mother for me."
I started to say something really sad and cliché, like "Please no!" But she stabbed me right where my heart used to be before I can, and darkness exploded again.
0o0o0
The first thing I registered is that I could think, and that I could feel. I opened my eyes, and I was met with red. Fire, all around me. The landscape was vast and barren. Sulfur smoke filled the air. Charred bodies and skeletons roamed around, moaning desperately, only to be gobbled up by oddly shaped beings with red and grey skin.
"Well well," a familiar voice said. I turned and I saw Marshall Lee smirking at me. No. NO!
"You're supposed to be dead!" I shrieked.
"So are you," he said, "This is a pleasing surprise. I was prepared to wait multiple millennias for my revenge. It's only been a few hours. Lucky me. But before we begin, Fionna the not so human, let me formally welcome you to the demon realm. Better know as the Night O'Sphere. Now, onto the torture." He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.
"Where are you taking me," I asked, frightened.
"You're going to meet my mother."