Fionna

We've been trapped in this death box for almost 4 days now. It's long enough for me to lie down flat either way, so it wasn't big enough to pace around in or even really stretch out. When I stood up straight, my bunny hat ear just barely missed the pulsing Nightosphere magic. Poor Cake was going nearly insane with not being able to stretch out. I can't say I was doing any better. My muscles were stiff and sore, and my whole body ached with the need to move. The air was getting more stale and harder to breathe by the minute, and each day we grew more tired from the lack of movement.

For days we tried to derive a plan to get us out. Cake shrunk herself down and tried to dig us out, but we soon found out that Ice Queen had turned the layer of dirt beneath us into a solid wall of ice. Even if Cake could dig her way under the box, she'd only end up at an ice block. I tried promising things and giving things up to the Ice Queen. I even told her I would leave Aaa and never return, if it would get Gumball out of marrying her. She didn't believe me, and demanded that he prove it himself. I even tried telling Hannah Abadeer that I would take over the Nightosphere for Marshall, but she just scoffed at me and returned to her conference, or whatever it was, with other demons.

I felt hopeless. There was no way out, and I could feel deep in the pit of my stomach that, even though the trip is dangerous and it's near impossible to tell who trapped us, they still managed to find out and make their way here. Even the thought of them killing each other was more comforting than sitting here, waiting for their lives to crumble before me.

"Don't worry baby, we'll find a way out of this. I promise." Cake curled up in my lap as the tears began to pool in my eyes, her warm yet dirty fur still giving me comfort. I smiled and buried my face into her back, breathing in the scent of home for what seemed like the millionth time today.

"Thanks Cake," I said, muffled into her fur.

"Oh look, the tom boy is showing her feelings again. How sweet," the Ice Queen snorted, for whatever reason thinking that she was funny. Her and Hannah would take turns watching us. Even though they had us in an inescapable box, they didn't trust us not to figure out how to get out. I wish we could. I would fight them both with my bare knuckles if I had the chance.

"Ice Queen, don't you think you've had enough? This is torture! You hardly feed us, you taunt us all day long, and you never give us any air. We're chocking on our own breath, woman!" Cake tried, going for sympathy.

Ice Queen just laughed and came closer to the box. "You know, I think when this is all over, I'm going to make Gumball turn Fionna into my own personal slave. She'll be my maid, and she'll be cleaning her little heroic fingers into nubs from sunrise to sunset. And you, little kitty, will be my personal pet. I always wanted a kitty cat to drag my nails through. And just for fun, Lord Monochromicon will be my personal transportation. When I'm not riding him around Aaa, he'll be locked up inside a cold, cramped stable." Cake hissed at her, and I felt her body about to lunge into the glass. Without looking up and letting my hair block the Ice Queen's view of my face, I wrapped my arms around her and brought her close to me. I didn't have the energy to fight Ice Queen anymore. She could say all the evil, nasty things she wanted, but she wasn't going to get the satisfaction of seeing me cringe or break.

I heard her scoff, then begin to pace back in forth in front of us before stopping again to speak. "I'll make you watch me marry him, Fionna. You'll have to see me in my beautiful wedding dress, and him so handsome all dressed up in his dark suit. He'll smile so affectionately at me as he slips his magnificent ring onto my petite little finger, and when he kisses me, all of Aaa will know how much he loves me and despises you." I knew Ice Queen was off her rocker, but I didn't think she was so delusional as to think that Gumball would ever love her. If anything, in these last few days, I've grown some sympathy for her. She wasn't just evil, she was out of her lumping mind!

I could feel her growing tension as I sat there quietly, not responding to her. "Then, on our wedding night, I'm going to chain you to a chair in our Royal Couple's Room so you can watch the love of your life make love to me, and I'm going to laugh as I watch your little heart shatter to pieces."

That did it. I dug my fingers into the dirt around me, trying desperately to hold onto my sanity. My teeth were clenched, my face was red and hot with frustration, and my heart beat wildly in my chest with rage.

"Oh, what's the matter? Did I hit that nerve? That part of you that you can't ignore? You wouldn't be able to stand it, would you? Your handsome prince making love to me, his wife. It'll be quite a show, I can tell you that." I tried as hard as I could to breathe evenly, to keep calm. Cake watched me cautiously, ready to subdue me if I lost my mind and tried to come at her through the glass.

"Wait, what's this? Do I sense something more than infatuation?" Her tone changed from venomous ridicule to sarcastic curiosity in a split second. "Did you fuck him, Fionna? Is that what happened?" I pursed my lips and turned away, biting my tongue so the pain could remind me that I had to keep quiet, especially now. "I think it is. I think little bunny girl fucked the prince, and now she thinks they mean something to each other! How sweet!" She became very quiet for only a moment, before I heard her voice again, low and threatening. "You're nothing but a piece of ass to him, Fionna. You're the scapegoat that will keep him his kingdom and the flesh that will keep him warm at night. Nothing more. You pathetic girl. You know nothing of love."

"That's enough, Ice Queen." Hannah stepped out of the shadows, her face rigid and business-like as always. "You don't need to ruin her. Don't be a savage."

"Ha! Ruin her? Ruin her? She's so damaged that not even a sage could repair her. She's pitiful. She runs around playing house and dress up, but she knows nothing of being a woman." I could feel the Ice Queen's eyes on me as she spoke, as if she wanted me to know just how she felt about me.

"And you've made that clear. Any more ridicule and our trap will be for nothing," Hannah said, so matter-of-fact.

"And who are you to tell me when to stop? You have no power over me!"

"If you refuse to stop, I will remove you forcefully from the situation and take my half of the bargain immediately." Her voice never faltered. She was the epitome of serious, and it took some kind of junked up crazy to think she wouldn't do what she said she would do.

Even Ice Queen backed down. I heard her shoes thud against the ground as she walked away into the shadows, her anger and manipulation lingering in the air. Hannah sighed deeply. When I looked up at her, she had her fingers up to her nose, pinching it between the eyes, as she shook her head. "I had no idea the Ice Queen would be this difficult to handle… Fionna!"

As if she was some sort of tough guy drill sergeant, my whole body automatically sat straight up. "I want to apologize on her behalf. I had no intention of hurting you in any way. I simply want what was promised to me, what is rightfully mine. I hold no bonds to you once this is over. You will be free to go as you please, so long as you stay away from my son."

Her cold, hard gaze lingered on me for a moment, but I felt like I was unable to speak, so I just dropped my gaze and began to pet Cake in my lap. She began to walk towards the area Cake and I deemed as the Hall of Witches. It was really just a corner in the caverns where they perched as they watched us.

"However, I can't guarantee your safety from the Ice Queen once you're free. I suggest you plan to leave Aaa, immediately, lest you become a part of her twisted delusions." She didn't even shoot a glance our way as she spoke. She just sat down in that area, crossed her legs properly, and pulled out her huge crystal device.

Leave Aaa? I mean, yeah, a day ago I was prepared to leave everything behind, so long as it protected Gumball and Marshall. But leaving just because I had lost? Because Ice Queen would try to implement me into some sick fantasy, and leave them and everyone I cared about behind? I couldn't do it. If I could, I don't think I would.

"Hannah, what do you plan to do once you get your power?" I asked, my voice sounding dead and beaten. It reflected how I was beginning to feel.

"That's really none of your concern," she stated, again keeping her gaze away from mine.

"You're the ruler of the Nightosphere. Why don't you just take what you want and be done with it?" I was truly curious. Ice Queen might be able to control frost and ice, but Hannah… she had the shadows on her side.

"Because, child, I have a contract with her. Well, not quite with her. Really, it was a contract with my son. But, because of it, I must refrain from hurting the Ice Queen until Marshall takes over the Nightosphere. Though, to be quite frank, I'm beginning to question whether or not my son's respect is worth her life. She poses a threat to more people than she thinks." A contract? With Marshall?

That's right.

She wasn't always the Ice Queen. She was once Sam Petrikov. She was his protector when Hannah had disappeared. I was just stunned to think that he would even go so far as to make a deal with his mother just to keep her alive.

"Is that why, no matter how hard I try to beat her, Ice Queen always comes back? Is it because she's under your protection?" I gazed intently at her, my hair covering most of my dirty face.

She stopped whatever she was doing on her crystal and began to look up, but decided it was better to keep her distance. "Yes, more or less."

"I see," was all I said. I went back to petting Cake and thinking over everything.

I think I understood now why Marshall fought so hard to keep his distance from the Nightosphere. It wasn't just the job. It was the contract he had with his mother. Once he took over, the contract was broken, and the Ice Queen was vulnerable to the world. And, with all of these years of unknown protection, she's probably deluded herself into thinking that she had the power to take care of herself. She would be her own ruin if it weren't for Hannah.

I remembered the story Marshall told us, long ago, when Ice Queen wasn't as crazy evil as she is now. He told us that he was only 7 when he was abandoned, and that he waited and waited for someone to come to him. Then, like some sort of angel, Sam appeared, ready to take on the world with him.

I smiled at the memory. It reminded me of how tender Marshall could be, but more so, it reminded me of the day Mary and Jack found me, crying in the forest, and took me in. Even though the two situations were so completely different, I always related to Marshall in that way. It didn't matter where my parents were at that particular moment, because in that moment Mary and Jack meant everything to me. That must be what it's like for him and Ice Queen. He still holds that memory of her before her tiara took her over.

Cake began to purr gently in my lap, which distracted me from my thoughts and memories. For now, I would just wait, and when the time came, I would make that decision, whether to flee for the first time, or to stay and fight.

I picked her up and snuggled her into my chest, holding her close as I laid on my side and closed my eyes. It was like the more I slept, the quicker the time passed. Maybe I would get lucky, and the Cosmic Owl would take me away in my sleep. That way, when they get here, Hannah and Ice Queen have nothing to barter with. I'd rather lose my life than have them live their lives in misery.

The thought comforted me, and slowly I drifted to sleep. I dreamt of my human mom, bidding me to take her hand, but as hard as I tried, I could never reach her…