Alternate Title: Night of Silence

At the annual celebration of the Night of Noise, a nearly 1,000-year old tradition of song since the end of the Great Mushroom War, Marshall Lee leads the musical charge with the help of Fionna and Cake. But after a (literally) magical flute solo by the heroine, Marshall Lee finds himself at the receiving end of Fionna's honest and true feelings... but they weren't what he expected.


"Fionna! Wake up, man! We're gonna be late!"

Ugh. Was it sunset already? Fionna had stayed up all night with Marshall Lee and Cake, practicing their songs and jamming to get warmed up for the annual Night of Noise and sleeping til near sunset when the fun would begin. The Night of Noise was a huge celebration that all of Aaa celebrated, some kingdoms even joining up with others for fun. It was a huge party all about music and dancing, begun when the first civilizations of Aaa appeared from the wreckage of the Great Mushroom War. It kept alive the old songs that the people knew and brought forth new music and styles either never previously discovered, or long-lost. And this year in the Candy Kingdom, Prince Gumball had called upon the Vampire King who was widely revered for his talent with a guitar and composing to help plan and open the night-long party. And Marshall Lee was bringing Fionna and Cake as his special guests for he was officially titled MC for the night.

Fionna popped out of bed much more quickly than her tired head wanted her to, causing her to stumble, but she caught herself and shook her head. She couldn't be late, because that meant Marshall Lee would be late.

"Fionna!"

"I'm coming! Just keep your jeans on!" Fionna shouted back down the ladder.

"Says the girl thinking about me with jeans off, you bad little bunny."

"Marshall!" Fionna cried, turning red as a rose petal. She hurried to the bathroom and was dressed in seconds before half-jumping down the ladder with her wind flute.

"Glob, you take forever," Marshall snorted, earning him a punch in the shoulder from the embarrassed girl.

"Shut up. Now where's Cake?"

"Outside waiting. Grab some money and let's go," he motioned to the huge treasure horde that Cake and Fionna kept. The three had planned to buy dinner and souvenirs, even breakfast if they felt like it as the celebration ended with sunrise. Fionna scooped a couple of handfuls of coins into her backpack and they hurried outside. Fionna jumped on a giant Cake's back and Marshall flew alongside, fiddling around with his new clothes. Gumball and Fionna both had insisted he wear something nicer than his usual red plaid and jeans combo, so he had dug out his pointed black boots, some new black jeans, and a nice white shirt (untucked of course) with a black vest. He refused to dress up any more than that, but it was enough for everyone else that he at least cleaned up a little, even gelling his hair to make it look more like he spent some time on it than just ran his fingers through. It was still messy, but less so.

They arrived just in time, but when they all came to stand before Prince Gumball behind the main stage, he grabbed Marshall Lee and shoved him toward the curtain. "You're on! Go! And don't mess this up!"

"Psh, like I ever screw up music," Marshall told him with a smirk that made Fionna giggle.

"Good luck," she whispered to him as the crowd quieted before the stage at Peppermint Maid's introduction. Marshall gave Fionna a wink that nearly made her blush, and he trotted on stage with his guitar on his back.

"Hello, Candy Kingdom! You guys ready to rock this Night of Noise?!" He roared over the applause, and the crowd went wild. He knew how to work an audience, Fionna had to give him that. "For you scrubs who don't know, I'm Marshall Lee the Vampire King, and you all are in for the wildest night of your lives!"

Another roar of approval, and Fionna, Cake, and a couple backup musicians hurried on stage. Cake had an electrified dulcimer to more suit Marshall's style, and began the opening act with the fastest, craziest guitar riff she'd ever heard, but now on her dulcimer, and Marshall Lee, the drums, the bass, and Fionna's voice joined in. Her flute would be saved for another time, a special song that Marshall Lee had asked her to play. This song, however, was a new take on an ancient madrigal from nearly a millennium ago at the first Night of Noise.

With a heavy input of riffs from the bass and a dark melody by Marshall, they launched into what was almost a rock-opera version of the song named for the special night.

"Welcome all you girls and boys

To the new world's Night of Noise.

With your voices make a tune,

Sing to the heavens and the moon.

Welcome all you girls and boys

To the new world's Night of Noise.

Bring your guitar, drum, and flute,

Bring your family, bright your lute.

Come now all you girls and boys,

Celebrate the new world's night of Noise.

In the old darkness we must rise,

Until the new dawn's blood-red skies."

"WELCOME TO THE NIGHT OF NOISE!" Marshall Lee roared over the crowd that was going absolutely insane. The music never stopped, because every song had to segway into the next. Their drummer and bassist remained as another hyped-up and loud band hurried on stage and kept the initial high going. Fionna and Cake hurried off-stage, but Marshall Lee remained, giving the crowd a rundown over the music of what would be going on and when that night. When he joined Fionna, he was practically vibrating with energy, and they joined the crowd to dance and sing along to anything they knew. Midnight seemed to come too fast for how much fun they were having, and that was the time when it was traditional for a song of magic to be played. The one with the honor of the Midnight Spell, as it was called, was Fionna with her flute. The crowd was still cheering for the last group when Fionna stepped alone onto the huge stage.

"You'll be fine. Everyone's gonna love it. I know I do," Marshall had told her for weeks. "Just get up there and play. Forget about the magic behind it." She was going to play the 'Song of the High Wind', which was a spell in the book of songs she'd gotten along with the flute that called down the cold air from high in the atmosphere to create a chilling breeze all around her. She and Marshall had figured out how to tweak it the slightest bit with an extra few bars to summon mist animals running in the sky above the crowd to be lit by Prince Gumball's specially-made colored spotlights. Gumball was ready with the lights, Marshall was ready with high hopes, and Fionna had never felt less prepared in her life.

She stood before a microphone as the crowd quieted to murmurs about the ancient Midnight Spell tradition, and before they could become entirely silent, Fionna lifted the flute to her lips. She closed her eyes as the first long, sweet note filled the air and she felt the cool breeze stir around her ankles. It was a slow, very precise songspell, but she let it flow. All she could hear was the flute and soon the oooh's and aaah's of the crowd when her mist animals appeared above, lit in many colors filtering through the water vapor while the cold breeze swirled around them all.

Fionna opened her eyes for just a moment to take in the beautiful mist and wind magic she'd created, and at the same time, she let the note trail off until the animals disappeared. The people below seemed disappointed, but they hadn't seen what Marshall had spent weeks researching yet. With a low roll of notes almost like a musical chant without words, the mist in the skies reformed into a long serpentine shape, and when Fionna began to add in notes, it took shape until she was performing a complicated theme faster and faster as her eyes remained on the shape. Scales and small clawed hands formed. Whiskers grew out from its reptilian face, and soon, with just the right tiny spot of light from Gumball, its eyes lit up gold among the rainbow across its body. It began to move as if performing a simple spiraling dance to Fionna's tune, speeding up with her pace until, with one final middle note, the massive eastern dragon's body exploded into a rainbow of mist that filled the sky above the Candy Kingdom, and was swept away by one last cool breeze.

There was a long silence as the candy people stared up at the sky in wonder, until one whoop from the first person to get ahold of himself got the rest of them roaring in applause so loudly that Fionna could feel the stage shaking.

"Fionna! Fionna! Fionna!" They chanted, and she rose from her seat with a smile and a humble little bow before exiting quietly. Once off the stage, she fell on her back in the grass, staring up at the sky for a long moment until Marshall Lee's face poked into her vision.

"Holy Glob, Fionna," was all he said before Fionna pulled him down into the grass beside her. He wasn't quite sure what she was doing until he looked up, and he could see the mist high above them, racing around in spirals and loops in the form of the dragon. "Wow…" He knew that the magic was powerful, but he had no idea that Fionna would actually create a real dragon with it. It would fade away come sunrise and evaporate, but for the night, it would be a mascot for their celebration.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Fionna turned her head only slightly toward Marshall Lee, still watching the dragon.

"That was freakin' fantastic. Beautiful. How about a late dinner, on me?"

"Sure."

Both rose to make their way to one of the many vendors, seeking out anything and everything that sounded good until they finally sat down at a makeshift table of a tree stump just outside the walls and away from the crowd, but within earshot if either was needed. Marshall Lee laid his food down before taking his guitar off his back and laying it aside, and Fionna laid her flute beside it. Both ate in silence for a few minutes before Marshall Lee snorted about something.

"Cake would kill us if she saw this."

"Why? It's not a date," Fionna reasoned, knowing her sister thought Marshall was trying to go out with her.

"Doesn't matter. To Cake, you spending any time with me is a date."

"Well then I guess I'm dating," Fionna stated without really thinking.

"So… does that mean you're my girlfriend?" Marshall smirked. Fionna turned so red that she thought she was going to burn up.

"No!" She yelped quickly. "We're just friends! Y'know, a guy and a chick, friends, that's it!"

"So I'm not your boyfriend, I'm your guyfriend?"

"Yes!"

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Marshall Lee grinned and Fionna pulled her hat down over her face.

"Mmmph muph muh mrk…"

"Can't hear you, bunny."

"I said you're such a jerk!" Fionna growled after pulling up her hat just enough to be heard. "And don't call me that!"

"Why not? It fits."

"Only certain people get to call me that!"

"What, like your actual boyfriend?" At that, Fionna peeked out confusedly.

"I don't have a boyfriend. Who're you talking about…?"

"Uh, duh. Torchy." At that, Marshall Lee thought Fionna was going to throw up,, she was so embarrassed, and he wasn't really sure why it was so much worse.

"NO! No! Nononononono!" Fionna jumped to her feet to run away, but Marshall Lee was in front of her before she could.

"What's with the drama queen reaction, man?"

"It's none of your business!" Fionna turned away, but the moment she turned around, he was there again.

"Oh… I get it. You like him."

"No!"

"And you wish he really was your boyfriend."

"NO!"

"Why didn't you just say so? Did you think I'd be jealous or some junk like that?" Marshall Lee chuckled, but when Fionna met his eyes with silence, he paused. "… What? You really think I'm jealous?"

"… Marshall… do you think he and I could work, even though he's all fiery and stuff?"

Marshall Lee stared at her like she'd grown a second head. No, that'd be funny and cool. This certainly wasn't. His best friend was asking him for his opinion on a guy she liked, and she apparently thought he was jealous of the Flame Prince too. Glob, what kind of messages am I sending this girl? He wondered silently to himself. It wasn't that he wouldn't be a little jealous… Envy! That's all it'd be, right? Envy that she might have a good relationship! … And he wouldn't. Not with anyone… Not with her.

"Marshall Lee…?" Her voice suddenly reminded him of reality and he shook his head, meeting her eyes finally. "… What do you think… about me and Flint, if we maybe saw each other?"

"I… honestly?"

"Yeah…"

"I think you're stupid, and I think he's dangerous."

"So're you."

"Yeah… yeah, I know. I… I guess it could work… maybe a little magic and tin foil here and there, but… do you really want that…?" Marshall Lee landed before her and stepped a bit closer. "Are you sure… you want to commit to someone? Especially someone so unpredictable?"

"I'd like to try… I like him, and I think he likes me."

"I think he does too…" Marshall Lee sighed. "Listen, I can't tell you what you can and can't do and who you can and can't date, but… just do me one favor before you pick anyone, okay?"

"… Okay." Fionna's eyes seemed to shimmer as their gazes met, and he was given pause. Did he really want to tell her it was okay…? Despite what he really wanted to say…?

"Just… think really hard about it, and… be careful."

"I promise I will." Then, to his surprise, Fionna wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. "Thanks Marshall…"

"Hey… what're friends for?" He tried to keep the hint of bitterness out of his voice before Fionna let him go and hurried off to go find Flint who, as she'd planned earlier, would be able to listen and enjoy the celebration from outside the walls. She'd promised to join him, and now, she had something important to ask. This left the Vampire King standing alone, his gaze following her until it fell to his guitar, and her flute laying across its strings. He wasn't sure what he felt, if he was jealous, hurt, or angry, because he didn't understand what he was feeling about the bunny-eared blonde as a whole.

Why didn't you just tell her that, you idiot…?


I delivered on the promise of some happy, but I immediately negated it with more feels... what can I say, I like feels and angsty Marshalls. Look out for part two coming soon, which will feature Fionna's question that she ran off to ask of Flint! Leave me a review and let me know how you're liking it!

-Taiylor Wallace