Hi guys!
Long time no see! I'm so sorry for the huge delay between chapters, for some reason the story just dropped off my radar, but now I have so much free time and with the new gender bent episode of AT out (FLAME PRINCE GOT SOME SCREEN TIME GUYS!) I just had to write about them again.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a little short but I hope to pick up where I left off, updating regulalry again so the story isn't just left hanging! LEt me know what you think! Love ya :)
11: The Sealing of Fates
Icy water surrounds, a cataclysm of cold that robs her of breath the deeper she is dragged, the top of the river becoming further and further away. She looks down, cheeks puffed out but all she can see is a greyish hand grasping her ankle, the rest is complete darkness.
Acting on instinct, Fionna grabs her sword from her back, unsheathing it and swings at the limb, severing it at the wrist. It simply disappears, wisps of it dissolving in the water and for a moment she remains still, at buoyant in the water.
Why is this river so globbing deep? Why is it so wide?
Rivers don't bother her like oceans do, but this river stretches on in every direction, barely any light giving her any indication of what the heck is down here with here.
Wasting no more time, she swims upwards, but stops dead when the grey wisps return, this time directly in front of her. Sword still in hand, she wavers, heart hammering in her chest, breath burning in her lungs.
What greets her eyes almost has her yelling, but what precious breath she has left is not to be waster.
Three creatures, no, three old women float opposite her, dark eyes in withered skull like faces meeting her own, and the one in the middle raises her hand and blows a kiss, a bubble of air appearing and growing.
Fionna raises her sword, ready to cut their heads off if they even try anything, but the bubble simply floats over to her, growing in size until it's almost as big as her, and it surrounds her in a second.
Air replaces water and Fionna inhales desperately, sputtering on her knees. The bubble hardens, almost like glass and for a few seconds she stares into the abyss below her, shaking her head.
"Child, rise."
The command is breathy, weird, and Fionna rolls her eyes before rolling over, lacking any grace before standing up a little unsteadily, shivering in the new found air.
The three cougars step into the bubble from the outside, soulless eyes on hers, huddled in cloaks that seemingly join the three together.
"Fionna the Human," One of them says through a blackened mouth, "Sister to Cake, adventuress, hero," another one finishes, and Fionna raises her sword, the demon red colour barely discernible in the darkness.
"Who are you?" Fionna manages to croak, her voice rough from inhaling a good chunk of water. Her lungs have limits, too.
"We are the fates, and we have a message for you," the third one, with lips stitched together manages to somehow say, and Fionna contains her shiver of disgust.
"You couldn't tell me up there," she replies, still a little breathless. Glob, her hearts still pumping away, and she daren't take her eyes off the three croons in case she straight up passes out when she acknowledges the ocean like place surrounding her.
Just don't think about it.
"We are bound to reside within the rivers depths for all of eternity," the middle one provides, cocking her grey head to the side.
"Okay, okay, whatever, please can you let me go now," Fionna says, sword heavy in her hand. If they say no she's just going to swing at this bubble, it looks like glass, or maybe it's some kind of barrier, whatever, she's going to slash her way out of this freaky thing.
"After, child, for we have a warning," this catches her attention, and Fionna eyes the middle one, "You see, we see everything, we see the past, the present, the future. Every aspect of life is laid out to us, and every moment, every decision changes the future, even in the minutest ways," they all sigh, "Which is incredibly aggravating."
Stifling her grin, Fionna sits, nodding politely instead, ignoring the icy cold water that drips down her back. Maybe this is why Marshall reacted so harshly to the idea of crossing this river, maybe he's had a run in with the all-seeing weird witch beast… things.
"Regardless, we have seen your current fate Fionna, and it is not agreeable with our preferences."
Fionna frowns, "Wait, what? Why? What happens? Do I die? If so you should tell me because it would be really uncool if you just let me die."
She doesn't know why she's even entertaining these odd bods, but the idea of being in water rather than air keeps her still.
"You will not die Fionna, but you shall suffer a fate worse than that," they cackle, the sound raising the hairs on her arms.
Fionna stands, sheathing her sword, "What are you saying?"
The three simultaneously raise their heads, eyes beseeching hers, "Human, your life is needed for other things, and if you fail to walk away from this many will suffer. We need you for… other things," and with that last, cryptic, unhelpful and confusing message, the water enters with a whoosh, sweeping her off her feet and she just manages to scrape in a lungful of air before ice surrounds her again.
Not wasting any time, Fionna kicks to the surface, and a few seconds later she breaches the water, gasping in a desperate breath. Glob, they really dragged her in deep in there.
Voices hammer at her senses and she swims towards the edge, nails digging deep into the grassy bank as she heaves herself out, panting.
Seconds later the frightened face of Cake looms over her, and Flame Prince follows, quickly providing a heat source to chase away the scathing cold as his eyes frantically scan every inch of her body.
"Fionna! Oh Glob, what the heck happened down there? Are you okay baby?"
Breathing heavy, chest rising and falling, Fionna shakes her head, "I'm fine Cake, just freaked out."
Marshall floats overhead, blocking out the moons rays, "Damn Fionna, I almost died stopping those two from going after you," he says, shooting a scathing look to their two other companions.
FP cranks up the heat, eyes narrowed as he pretty much starts cooking the ground, "We had to do something."
"Trust me, Fire boy, you go in there you're not coming out, regardless of the fact that you're made of fire."
Marshall moves closer, features tight, "They said something to you, didn't they? That's the only reason you're still alive right now."
Fionna nods, and with Cake's help she sits up, "Yeah, some weird mumbo jumbo that didn't really make sense."
At their silence, Fionna sighs, continuing, eyes fastened on the emerald green ground between her stretched out legs, "They said they needed me for something, and that I shouldn't continue with this because something might happen."
The trio all share a look, confusion written all over their features, momentarily masking the strain from earlier.
Marshall is the first to speak, his voice low, "Fionna, those are the fates, but they've been cursed to live in the river for eternity. I want to say don't trust them, ignore what they say because they've been known to trick people in the past, intervening to shape fate the way they see fit, but sometimes they tell the truth," shadows of pain dance in the vampire kings eyes.
Fionna shakes her head, locks of her hair slapping her cheeks, "I don't know, they seemed crazy, they were just super creepy."
FP has remained oddly quiet during this, his arms bracing her body heating her up in double time, and she finds she's no longer shivering, her teeth not chattering anymore, heck, even her clothes are starting to dry out.
He purses his lips when she meets his red gaze, shaking his head, the flames of his Mohawk flickering slightly in the breeze, "Fionna, I don't think we should go on, then."
She knew he would say that, and her stomach plummets, "No, hell no, we keep going. We've come so far."
He shakes his head, "It's too dangerous, so many things have happened-"
"FP, we're adventurers, if things didn't happen this whole thing would've been super boring, and we can't go back, not with Bubba chasing after you. I love the guy but I can't stand the thought – I can't sit by and watch you be imprisoned again, call it what you want, hero's conscience, whatever, but I'm going ahead."
He stands as does she, both crossing their arms over their chests, "Fionna, no, this ends here."
"Says who?" She snaps back.
"Me, them," He waves a hand at the river.
"Well it's a good job I'm an independent woman, because I'm leaving," She hisses, pulling on her backpack despite the fact that her top is still soaked through. She marches ahead, only stopping when Marshall coughs.
"What?!"
"Fionna that's the wrong way," He says, pointing in the opposite direction, towards the mountains in the distance.
"Oh," she says, the shivers returning as FP's heat no longer surrounds her. Shaking her head before turning it upwards, she heads the right way, Cake coming to rest on the top of her head.
"Are you sure you want to continue baby? You know I'm with you, but… I just don't want to see you get hurt."
Fionna nods, "If I go back now Cake it means I've failed," She tries to hide the grin when she can hear the groan of FP before the sizzle of footsteps as he begins to follow them, "I can't see anyone suffering Cake."
A tiny paw pats her eyebrow, "I know, sweetie, I know, just don't pull a stunt like that on me again."
A tremor travels the length of her spine, "Trust me, I'll try not to," and she will make sure none of them suffer, even if it means the death of her.