Things changed. Since Bubblegum no longer stayed up late to entertain her nightly guest, she had time to relapse into the routine she lived by before the Candy Kingdom had Marceline as a prisoner. It seemed lonelier than usual. Her relationships had always been professional, so when a casual friendship had begun to blossom, the princess realised in its absence that she'd been yearning for someone like Marceline. Not necessarily an assassin, but not a hero, or a subject, just... a friend. Even having an argument with the vampire would be better than being ignored. All she did was eat, sleep, sometimes sneak out for a shower, but regardless of the activity, she never uttered a word to Bubblegum. A "thanks" at most.

Marceline had been alive for a long time, or so rumours say, and the princess found her cowardice ridiculous. She wasn't afraid to die, so Bubblegum's main question was why Marceline stayed if she was unhappy with her situation.

And that's when Bubblegum had an idea.

She stopped counting, dropped her knitting needles and her project, then stood up. Peppermint Butler had said goodnight, which meant she could leave her room without him finding out.

Down the still lit halls she crept, wincing whenever her slipper-clad foot pressed against a sensitive floorboard that groaned under her weight.

The entrance to the secret passage leading to the dungeon hid beneath a rug in a rarely used room. It was a trapdoor with two small holes in it. Rope attached to the rug occupied the holes so that once Bubblegum entered the secret passage, she could close the door and pull the rug back over it using the rope.

Most of the Candy Kingdom ran on electricity, but the less frequented areas, like the dungeon, were reliant on candles. This passage, however, was brought alight by glowing gems embedded in the walls. They created a path straight to the dungeon and Bubblegum was very interested in the purpose of this secret tunnel. When she first used it, her torch had died and that's how she found out about the gems. They didn't shine when exposed to light, which meant whoever constructed the passage didn't want people to know where it led, as there were many gemless diverging routes.

When she came to a walled dead-end, she shouldered the loose brick in the corner, moving it forward an itch. With all the times she'd done this, Bubblegum thought it would get easier, but it was still strenuous. She pressed harder against the stone, only for it to slip forward like it was an ice cube. The princess stumbled to the hard ground and saw Marceline holding the large brick. She placed it next to her, wiped her dirty hands on her jeans, and crouched, gripping Bubblegum's arm. She hoisted the princess out of the passage and to her feet.

"Thank you," Bubblegum said.

"Yeah."

Marceline's facemask was in place and she floated back into her cell - a tame bird.

"Go no further." Marceline stopped at Bubblegum's command. "I know it's only been just over a week since you arrived here, but I've decided to let you go."

"Huh?"

"To free you," she rephrased. The vampire whipped around.

"That'll make the Candy Kingdom's reputation golden," Marceline said sarcastically.

"It will if everyone thinks you died."

"Bonnibel..."

"No, I'm serious. It's clear you don't want to be here and I'm sick of you treating me like a ghost. We're going to fake your death and you're going to leave this kingdom. If you reveal that you're alive, you'll cause me and yourself a lot of trouble. I might have wars to quell and you'll have bounty hunters on your tail now that everyone knows you are attainable."

"I can always shape shift, you know."

"You won't be the Candy Kingdom's responsibility anymore," Bubblegum maintained firmly, fixing red circles with a hard look.

"You really want me to go?"

"I'm not entirely sure why you haven't left on your own, but now you have a cover."

"You'll be a criminal if you do this."

"So be it."


Kingdoms everywhere celebrated when news of the Reaper's death reached them. Many wished to attend the funeral of the assassin, but it was a private burial in which the spirit of the Reaper would be wished a safe trip into the Otherworld like any recently deceased citizen. It was the proper thing to do, no matter how harshly most of the Candy People protested.

Bubblegum was at the cemetery, conducting the funeral, as no priest wished to offer any sort of positive prayer for Marceline. So there was the Candy Princess, standing before the coffin that contained the frozen body of her secret friend. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, a part of her felt that Marceline was really gone. When she saw how still the vampire was on the floor of her cell, how limp her body was, it was hard to believe that it was all a charade.

What the assassin chose to do now was no longer Bubblegum's concern, but she couldn't help but worry and wonder. There were still so many things the princess wanted to find out about Marceline. Like how she was turned into an immortal, and who bit her and why.

These were the things Bubblegum would never know.

The coffin lowered into the earth, swallowed whole. It disappeared under the raining dirt the Candy Folk eagerly kicked and shovelled atop the lid and soon enough, there remained only a rectangle of freshly disturbed soil.

A poorly made gravestone sat at its head and chiselled into it was:

The Axe Reaper

Feared by all

Loved by none

Bubblegum wished Marceline an unobstructed journey into the wings of the Cosmic Owl, and when she finished, everyone cheered. There was nothing she could do to stop the joy, or her sadness. Even though Marceline wasn't really dead, she still wouldn't be around anymore.

To Bubblegum, Marceline would forever be buried in the ground. The few memories they shared would be in that coffin along with its temporary occupant and that's it. The first exciting thing to happen to Bubblegum in years only lasted a week and left her feeling like she was kicked in the stomach. She should never have given in to her curiosity that night and visited the dungeon alone. She would never have viewed Marceline as a wounded spirit in need of a caring hand to wrench her from the darkness.

It seemed silly when Bubblegum thought about it. She actually believed she could change someone who had been a killer for centuries. If anything was close to impossible, it was that. Why was she always enticed by such gruelling challenges?

She left the cemetery, feeling as if someone really had died, and considered what to do with the vampire's axe. She didn't want to encourage Marceline to continue with her past life under a new alias, so destroying the weapon was a very appealing option.

However, Bubblegum didn't go through with it. She left the axe among all the castle's dusty weaponry and confiscated treasures, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Marceline would return to retrieve it.

That didn't happen. Three days after the funeral and there were no mishaps. Not even the Ice King popped up, probably because the inhumane death Marceline had suffered spooked him into hiding. He hadn't known how cold Bubblegum could be; it was enough to repel even him.

Although, things weren't too dull, because there was the exuberant Finn to keep the princess occupied. He always spoke animatedly of his most recent adventures and Jake cleaned out the fridge, pretending to pay attention to the conversation.

It was currently nightfall and Finn and Jake were in one of the castle's various parlours with Bubblegum. Finn had his hands webbed with yarn as Bubblegum knitted and Jake napped by her feet. Finn watched the princess' fingers intently, still a little clumsy, but exhibiting growing skill. His eyes travelled up her arm, to her shoulder and then to her face, creased with concentration and complimented by a relaxed smile. She enjoyed what she was doing.

Finn blushed and shifted on the stool he had pulled up next to Bubblegum's armchair. He'd blame his flushed skin on the crackling fire they sat in front of if anyone asked. He could've admired Bubblegum's beauty all night if she remained immersed in her knitting and it would be wonderful.

Suddenly, a blur of black behind Bubblegum alarmed him and he tore his gaze away from the princess to determine whether his eyes were just playing tricks on him. He blinked a few times, squinted, and blinked again. He wasn't sure if he was seeing things or not. He carefully untangled his fingers from the yarn and pointed at Bubblegum's shoulder.

"Hey, PB, what's that?" Finn asked, not sure if what his finger was aimed at was dangerous or not. It wasn't doing anything sketchy, but it didn't look totally harmless; it had fangs.

Bubblegum turned her head to see what Finn was talking about and nearly threw her knitting project on the floor with happiness and relief.

There on her shoulder perched a bat, its red eyes inspecting the boy and dog. Before Bubblegum could reply, it crawled down her arm and the princess placed her knitting needles and her work in progress on the table beside her so that she could cup the bat in both hands.

"This is a special friend of mine, Finn," she said warmly, daring to trace her thumb down the animal's soft back. It made a small snorting noise in response and jumped out of Bubblegum's grasp. It plummeted to the floor and landed on Jake's nose. His eyes flew open, and, upon seeing the bat, he shrieked and started crying out for help as he rolled around on the carpet.

The bat clung to his snout, hissing, and Finn was trying to calm him down so he could remove the creature, but Jake kept kicking him as he flailed. Bubblegum watched the scene for a second before she flooded the fire-lit room with laughter.

Finn and Jake stopped making a commotion and stared at the princess. They'd never heard her laugh so hard before and couldn't help but join in. If not for the noisy glee, the trio would've noticed the small chuckles the bat emitted as well.

When they settled and the bat was removed from Jake's nose, the heroes stood and stretched their stiff limbs.

"It's about time we went home, right Jake?" Finn asked, nudging the dog so he'd stop glaring at the bat and pay attention

"Mmm, yeah," he grunted.

"A'ight. Well, it's been sweet Peebs. We'll see you around." Finn waved and then grabbed Jake's jowl, tugging it until he moved and ended the staring contest he'd initiated with the small animal now on Bubblegum's lap.

"Rock on, my batty bro," Finn called out as he left the parlour, still hauling Jake along.

When their voices faded down the hall, Marceline stretched out and her body burst into its original form. She was still on Bubblegum's lap and she snaked an arm around the princess' neck, grinning as she said, "Hey, baby. Miss me?"

"Get off me," Bubblegum said blankly.

The vampire drifted into the air, her hair flicking Bubblegum in the face on her way up.

"What are you doing here? I let you go."

"Exactly," Marceline agreed.

Bubblegum raised an eyebrow, waiting for the vampire to elaborate. Marceline landed by the small table beside the armchair Bubblegum was still sitting in and picked up the knitting needles. She handed them to the princess and then sat on the stool by Bubblegum's knee, wrapping the yarn around her long fingers.

"I'm here to hang out. That's all," she said.

"But why? I thought you didn't like me..." Bubblegum, not wanting to look at the vampire's face, started to knit. Even though she wore those insufferable goggles, Bubblegum still felt pressured under Marceline's gaze.

"Well, uh, that's not true." A blush lit up Marceline's cheeks and her boots creaked as she adjusted her feet nervously.

"Did something happen?"

"Sorta."

"What?"

"When I was in the coffin, I heard everyone cheer after the funeral ended. Usually stuff like that never bothers me; I haven't felt pain inside for a long time, Bonnibel. But that changed." Bubblegum waited for her to continue, because she was evidently struggling to articulate her problem. "It's you," she managed. "You've done something to me. You made me feel something I haven't felt for a thousand years."

"And that is?"

"Guilt. I felt guilty about all the lives I've taken."

"How am I to blame for that?"

"You didn't treat me like a monster, so I stopped feeling like one. Why?" Marceline asked, her voice cracking.

Bubblegum had never considered Marceline to be as vulnerable as she was at that moment and she freed herself of her knitting project and removed the string from Marceline's fingers, covering them with her own as she replied, "Because a part of me knew you wanted to be more than that." Then she smiled slyly. "Now, it looks like you could use a hug."

"A... hug? No way. Keep your mitts off me!" Marceline cried, trying to launch off the stool, but Bubblegum grabbed her arms as she stood up.

"Come on, hug me," Bubblegum coaxed, invading Marceline's personal space, waiting. The vampire grumbled something, still trying to half-heartedly resist, but the princess didn't budge.

Sighing, she scooped Bubblegum into her arms, who giggled at her childish behaviour and returned the embrace.

Her head rested under Marceline's chin and her cheek pressed into her chest. It was comfortable and pleasant.

"They're happy I'm gone," Marceline whispered, her grip tightening.

"I wasn't happy."

"Me neither."