Chapter 11: Invite

The notes flowed out. Fionna listened, enraptured with the music. It was the complete opposite of what she had expected Blaine to play. The song was slow, but it was gentle and warm. Some of the guests had their eyes closed in order to listen to the music better. Fionna turned her attention back to Marshall and Alina who were expertly dancing to the rhythm of the tune. At the site of them dancing, Fionna felt her heart sinking. They really did make for a good-looking couple.

Fionna watched them danced across the dance floor, trying to suppress the urge to grab two thin wine glasses filled with a mysterious transparent color from a random waiter and gulp it down in one go. However, binging on some odd alcoholic drink wasn't going to improve her mood. It was probably going to make it worse.

So, the heroine continued to watch Marshall dance with Alina. Her eyes may be on them, but her mind was thinking up of various ways to kill Alina. One of them involved a flame thrower, although she wasn't sure whether the demon girl was fire resistant or not.

Marshall had almost forgotten that he was supposed to dance with Alina later on into the ball. He nearly shoved Fionna out of the way when he saw his fiancée at the corner of his eyes coming towards them. But, if he had done that, it would definitely confirm that the demon girl he had caught snooping around was more than just a would-be-thief. Of course, in retrospect, dancing with Fionna might've been a bad idea. However, at the moment, he didn't care. The way she talked about Blaine made Marshall want to saunter over the dance floor and sucker punch the bastard.

"I thought you had more sense than to dance with a girl you just caught snooping around," Alina said.

Marshall just snorted, prepared for her question. "Please, I've danced with girls worse than her before and in some more…risqué places." He tried to suppress a smile when he remembered that he and his band had performed in a club with the customers in rather suggestive clothing. But, hey, a gig was a gig. Plus, he got to dance with plenty of sexy girls for a couple of hours. "Besides, it's the Prince's job to dance with whoever is asking." Even though he practically pulled Fiona onto the dance floor.

Alina was not amused. "Since you are going to be the ruler of this place soon, I strongly suggest that you don't associate yourselves with demons like her. You have a reputation to uphold as the heir to the Nightosphere and if the demons here see you as the party boy that you were before, they will not take you seriously and might revolt for a better king."

Marshall narrowed his eyes. "I told you, didn't I? I don't like taking orders."

"That was not an order. It was merely a suggestion," Alina countered. "I don't need to remind you that you have agreed to our union and that means that you have to let go of your old habits before we are coroneted."

He never thought any one could piss him off more than Fionna could, but the Alina could definitely be the runner up.

Marshall didn't say anything more to his fiancée as they kept dancing. He twirled her around a couple of times, trying to ignore the urge to release his grip on Alina and send her crashing onto one of the tables while she spun. But he wasn't that cold hearted, so he begrudgingly continued to dance with her.

Fortunately, Blaine didn't play that long and when it was over, Marshall wanted to breathe a huge sigh of relief. They bowed and curtsied to each other and everyone in the ballroom clapped to both the dancers and Blaine's performance.

Marshall wanted to get the hell out of Alina's side right then and there, but she grabbed his wrist tightly. "Some of our guests want to speak to the both of us concerning about what you plans are for the kingdom once you become king."

Great.

The Prince of Demons had no desire to be with a bunch of high born stuck ups, but, he was going to have to do this every day for the rest of his immortal life until he committed suicide. So, suppressing a growl, he reluctantly let Alina lead him to a group of impeccably dressed demons sitting at a corner table.

Fionna watched as Alina led Marshall to a corner table filled with demons, wondering what they were up to. They immediately started chatting. The heroine wished she could get closer to them and listen on in the conversation, but it was probably complicated, political stuff that she had yet to comprehend.

"Penny."

Fionna turned around to see Blaine walking towards her, with Liana by his side.

"How did you like my performance?" he asked her.

"It was awesome," replied Fionna. "I didn't know that you could play."

Blaine shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a hidden talent of mine."

"Blaine is the best when it comes to piano," Liana bragged. "No one can compare."

"I wouldn't exactly call myself the best," said Blaine. "But I'm pretty good. Still, the song isn't perfect. It needs a few more tweaks."

"The song sounded awesome to me," Fionna said.

Just then, the demon girl with the snow white hair came to stand besides Blaine. She didn't say anything to him but gave him a smile and a nod.

"Thanks, Miora," said Blaine. "Oh." He gestured to Fionna. "This is my friend Penny. Penny meet Miora. Miora. Penny."

The demon girl glanced at Fionna and simple gave a nod. This close to heroine, Fionna could see that the girl eyes really were all black. Her pupils and irises and even the white stuff surrounding it were devoid of color. It was…what would PG say? Disconcerting.

"Miora doesn't speak much," Blaine said.

That made Fionna even more wary of her. Marshall always told her that the quiet ones were the freakiest. And this girl with the weird looking eyes was the top of the list.

"H-Hi," Fionna scolded herself for stuttering. She couldn't show Miora that she was making Fionna feel uncomfortable.

The demon girl just nodded and then moved on. Fionna followed her back until she was lost in the sea of guests.

"Don't worry about her," Blaine said, placing a hand on Fionna's shoulder. "She can be a little taciturn but you'll get used to her."

The heroine wasn't so sure of that.

Liana tugged on Blaine's arm. "Come on, Blaine, let's go dance again."

"What?" Before he could say anything more, Liana dragged Blaine onto the dance floor. The demon boy gave Fionna a quick apologetic glance before dancing with Liana again.

Once again, Fionna was alone. She saw that Marshall and Alina were still talking to the demons. The future demon king seemed engaged in the conversation since his lips were moving much more than his fiancee's. Fionna tore her gaze away from the couple and looked for her table. She sat down. She wondered what time it was. Maybe close to midnight, she suspected. Fionna yawned, her eyes getting tired. She hoped that the ball was going to be over soon. She was about to tell Marshall that she was going to leave before Alina interrupted them, but, could she really do that? Fionna couldn't bear to leave her best friend alone with these monsters but what could she do? Protest? She knew she wasn't powerful enough to disagree with the marriage and she couldn't just kidnap Marshall away and lock himself in his own house. Fionna didn't know much about politics but that was a sure fire way to wage war on the demon realm.

She grabbed her bag and searched through the contents until she found the bag with the hellhound's fur. Peppermint was sure that Fionna was going to return to the surface. Could this be what Peppermint meant? The heroine wondered if the maid was part psychic. Sighing, Fionna placed the bag deep inside her bag. Maybe it really was time to leave. She could already see that some of the guests had already dwindled down. Fionna also realized that the Lady of Evil was nowhere to be found. Did she disappear in the middle of the party? Was that protocol? Were royals even allowed to just leave their own party?

Whatever, she thought.

She sat at the table, watching Blaine and Liana dancing before the little demon girl dragged the taller demon to a bunch of strangers. There, they started to chat. Fionna watched them for ten minutes before she got up, hoisted her bag on her shoulders and walked towards the ballroom entrance. She glanced back once more at Marshall, who was too busy to notice her departure then left the ballroom. Luckily she stored extra bug milk inside her bag, which had been intended for her and Marshall but that wasn't the case now. She slowly followed the other guests who were leaving to the front doors which were now open but, unlike earlier when Fionna had failed to escape, the demon with single red streaked hair was there saying goodbye to the guests.

Outside, carriages were waiting for the departing guests. Fionna stopped at the last step, realizing that no one was going to pick her up. She highly doubted that the trader from earlier was going to be her escort the second time. She was going to have to walk. Sighing, she stepped down the last of the steps and walked past the carriages, ignoring the stares that she was getting. Fionna would probably have to climb the hill again. She looked back at the imposing castle then continued on her walk.

It felt strange to walk away. It was never her nature to walk away from danger, especially if it involved her best friend, but, if she really was honest with herself, then there really was nothing Fionna could do. Charging in there with her sword was stupid not to mention suicidal. When she was going to get home, Gumball was sure to scold her telling her that he was right all along. Cake would also give her an earful too for sneaking out of the house and going to the Nightosphere alone.

Fionna made sure to stay at the edge of the road, least she'll be flattened by the carriages making their way to their demons waiting. Rocks and dirt hit her dress as the carriages quickly past by her. She tried her best to wipe them off but it was too much for her arms, so, growling and cursing at the drivers, Fionna headed towards one of the dead trees surrounding the castle, waiting for all the carriages to pass. She leaned against them and branches shook against her weight.

"So, you're leaving without saying goodbye?"

Fionna jumped and almost screamed. Willing her pounding heart to slow down, she glanced behind her to see Blaine coming towards her.

"Blaine? W-What are you doing here?" Fionna asked, shocked that the demon boy followed her all the way outside.

"Watching you leave and with no carriage to take you home no less," he said. "Doesn't your family have one?"

"Oh…uh…it's being fixed…I flew here by myself…" Fionna wanted to smash her head against the tree trunk. What kind of excuse was that? And how could she fly? Especially with those tiny wings? Did demons even use their wings?

"Then why didn't you fly? Why are standing here?"

Fionna's heart was racing again and she tried not to swallow, in case he could notice her nervousness. She shrugged, trying to act casual. "Oh. I didn't feel like it. I thought walking would be nice."

Blaine raised an eyebrow. Fionna knew that he wasn't going to fall for her lies again like he had before. She sighed, going for the half-truth. "I'm sorry that I left without saying anything. You were busy with your friend anyway, so I didn't think it would matter. Besides, I just wanted to go home. I was getting tired."

"Home? Oh. Getting tired of me already?" Blaine asked. He tried to sound nonchalant about it but Fionna could hear a bit of hurt underneath. He massaged the back of his neck, as if the situation was getting awkward for him. "Listen, before you suddenly left, I wanted to ask you something. But, I guess that won't happen."

"What won't happen?" Fionna asked.

"I was just going to invite you to my sister's wedding."

Blaine handed Fionna a white envelope with a gold seal. "Here. It's an extra invitation that I found."

Fionna reluctantly took the invitation, surprised. "Are you sure about this? What if your sister finds out that I'm at her wedding?" I don't want to give her anymore reason to hate me.

Blaine waved his hand, as if it wasn't a big deal. "She won't recognize you when there are hundreds of people. Trust me. Besides, she'll be too busy with the whole ceremony to even pay attention to every guest."

Fionna glanced at the envelope. Could this be a sign? Could this be the reason for her to turn back and get Marshall again? But what was she going to do then? If she went, it would yield no results. It would be like the ball all over again, only this time, her best friend was actually going to be gone for good. Normally, she would've said yes in a heartbeat, but now, she couldn't. Besides, Fionna didn't think that she could sit through while Marshall was making wedding vows. She really was a fool to even come to the ball.

Fionna shook her head and handed the invite to Blaine. "I can't. I'm busy. Besides, weddings aren't really my thing."

"Oh. Well then. I guess I have no choice."

For a moment, Fionna thought that she saw Blaine's eyes flash red. All of a sudden she felt a jolt inside her. Her whole body became numb. She tried to open her mouth to say something but she couldn't get anything out. Fionna's eyes became heavy. Darkness threatened to consume her and she tried to fight. It was too much. Fionna felt herself falling.

Originally the last part was supposed to be part of chapter 12 but I thought it would be a better ending for the previous chapter. Anyways, now you saw a glimpse of the true colors of one of the demon clans. What will happen to Fionna? And I'm sorry I haven't posted for months now but I got busy with college and I wanted to catch up on my reading because that is fuel for the brain. :) More soon! And don't forget to review. Thanks guys.

Next chapter: Wedding Blues