"People, people, calm down," cried Princess Bubblegum. She was standing at the lectern in the conference hall, addressing the citizens of the Candy Kingdom, or trying to. As soon as she had mentioned the word war the candy citizens had gone into a panic, muttering amongst themselves. Several near the front had exploded, causing those around them to back away in fright, close to exploding themselves.
"Please, calm down, let's not lose our heads," continued Princess Bubblegum.
"Lose our heads?" cried a gummy bear near the front. Several more citizens screamed at this, exploding and littering the floors with tatters of candy.
"You've lost your way, Bubblegum," yelled a doughnut off to the right.
"You can't protect us anymore," shouted a custard cream to her left. A cabbage hit the wall behind her head. The candy people booed and hissed, chucking more vegetables at the hapless princess. A cabbage hit her in the face and she fell backwards off the platform.
THUMP! Princess Bubblegum's eyes flickered open. She was lying on the floor, her legs tangled in the white linen sheets that had fallen over her like a tent. 'It was just a bad dream,' she thought to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. She stopped as she heard a sound at her window, a tapping sound. She scrambled out of the sheets and peered over at the balcony window. A pale skinned figure was hovering outside, her long black hair blowing in the wind and it was she who had been tapping at the pane with her long slender fingers.
"Marceline," cried Princess Bubblegum, hurrying over to the window and unlocking it. Marceline watched her in bemusement as she rushed to the balcony, looking down at the surrounding kingdom. 'Not even so much as a kiss hello,' she thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted as Princess Bubblegum grabbed her wrist. "Get in here," she whispered urgently, pulling the vampire in through the door.
"Whoa, what's the hurry princess," grinned Marceline, curling one arm around the princess, "We've got all night, you know?"
"Marceline," squeaked Princess Bubblegum, taking a sharp intake of breath as Marceline gave her a gentle squeeze, "There's something I've got to talk to you about." Marceline hesitated.
"Come on, talking's so boring," she said, kissing the princess under her pink jaw line. She was rewarded with a shiver. "Marceline, please, this is serious," whispered Princess Bubblegum. Marceline stopped.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Michelle Nougat of the Candy Resistance saw you leave that night," replied Princess Bubblegum, "She's convinced you're going to hurt me. I tried to tell her you were on our side but she wouldn't listen. She and the other members of the resistance are patrolling the castle grounds. I'm just glad they didn't see you." The words tumbled over themselves in a rush as she blurted out her story.
"And they definitely won't listen to you?" asked Marceline. Princess Bubblegum shook her head.
"They're far too stubborn," she replied, "This trouble has been brewing for a while now. They started off as a group of enthusiastic freedom fighters but I never thought they'd take things this far."
"I'll have to be more careful when I visit then," mused Marceline, stroking the worried Princess' hair, "Are we safe in here?" Princess Bubblegum nodded.
"The resistance don't enter the palace," she replied.
"You don't mind if I practice a little, do you?" asked Marceline, indicating her bass.
"Of course not," replied Princess Bubblegum, sitting down on the edge of the dishevelled bed. Marceline sat down cross-legged in midair, cradling her bass in her lap. She began strumming a few chords, making the Princess' heart stir in her chest. Marceline began singing, her sultry voice setting the princess aflame. The song was about someone growing up through a war. She guessed the song was about Marceline's past. That is, until she reached the next verse. She sung about something called the PLO and about two lovers courting after curfew. She had no idea who the PLO were but she guessed they must have been something from before the great mushroom war. She did, however, know who the lovers were.
Marceline drew the song to a close and Princess Bubblegum clapped.
"Thank you, thank you," said Marceline, taking a couple of bows.
"That was a beautiful song," grinned Princess Bubblegum, "I take it we were the lovers courting after curfew?"
"You got it in one, Bonnie," smiled Marceline, setting her bass down on the bed. She looked at the sheets which were half on the bed, half on the floor, "Restless sleep?"
"Kinda yeah," replied the princess, "Nightmares."
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Marceline, draping an arm around the Princess' shoulders. She leaned into the welcoming embrace.
"I was telling the candy people about the declaration of war and they freaked out," said Princess Bubblegum, "Everything started going wrong. Some of them exploded. They said I can't protect them anymore and that I was losing my way. Then they started throwing cabbages at me."
"That won't happen," soothed the Vampire Queen, "You know how to handle your peoples' ...err...explosive tendencies. I've seen you give speeches time and again, not always about happy circumstances and I've yet to see a single one blow up."
"Thanks Marceline," murmured the princess. Marceline looked at the clock on the wall. The hands read 3am. "Is the speech tomorrow?" she asked. Princess Bubblegum nodded.
"Right then," said Marceline, kicking off her boots, "We should be getting some sleep. And I'll make sure you don't have any more nightmares." She sprawled out on the mattress and waited as the Princess lay down next to her. She enfolded the smaller monarch in her arms and held her close, protectively. Princess Bubblegum reached over, switching off the bedside lamp and plunging the room into darkness. Marceline's eyes glowed a faint red in the dark, making her feel safe in knowing she was there. She snuggled against the Vampire Queen, nestling her head in under the cool grey jaw line as she drifted off to sleep.
They awoke the next morning to the sound of a voice calling in from beyond the door.
"Your Majesty, I've brought you your breakfast." It was Edith.
"Quick Marceline, hide," gasped the Princess. Marceline looked around, searching frantically for a place to hide. She dove under the bed as the door opened and Edith came in, wheeling a trolley on which rested a steaming plate of blueberry pancakes, a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal.
"I figured you could do with a big breakfast," said Edith kindly, "Before you make your speech."
"Thanks Edith," replied Princess Bubblegum.
"Princess, are you feeling alright?" asked Edith, "You're as white as a sheet."
"I'm fine, Edith," replied Princess Bubblegum, "Really."
"Very well, Princess," conceded Edith, "Just don't stress out too much about the speech. I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Thanks Edith," replied Princess Bubblegum as Edith left, closing the door behind her.
Marceline emerged from underneath the bed, brushing dust off her clothes.
"Geez Bonnie, you really need to dust under there once in a while," she said. Princess Bubblegum smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Mar-Mar," she replied.
"I was thinking, Princess," said Marceline, "About last night, when you told me about the resistance. It's too dangerous for me to stay here with you, isn't it?"
"Until we get them to see sense, yes," replied Princess Bubblegum sadly.
"Then we'll live as we are in the song, courting after the curfew," murmured Marceline, "I can outsmart them at night easily. I'll blend in with the shadows." The sun had not yet fully risen so Marceline decided to leave then and there. "I'll see you tonight," she said, kissing Princess Bubblegum before heading for the window.
"Be careful," Princess Bubblegum called after her.
"Aren't I always?" laughed Marceline as she flew up away into the sky. Princess Bubblegum ran out onto the balcony and looked up, watching the rapidly fading speck that was Marceline.
* * *
That afternoon Princess Bubblegum called a meeting of all the Candy People in the conference hall.
"People of the Candy Kingdom, over the past couple of months we have all been aware of a killer terrorizing our nation," she began, "It saddens me that anyone would threaten us with such violence, particularly unprovoked. I have taken every effort to uncover the identity of the killer. Sadly the truth is more terrible than we feared. The killer is not one, but many."
"Who are the killers?" interrupted a coffee cream.
"They are vampires from the Dark Domain," replied Princess Bubblegum. A chorus of gasps rose up from the gathering, "A group of them are hiding out in the Acutus Mountains as we speak."
"Then we must send out a raiding party and stop them," snarled a burly vanilla muffin.
"There are far too many for that," explained Princess Bubblegum, "According to the scouting party I sent out three and a half weeks ago there are well over a thousand of them." She didn't mention Marceline for now the Candy People were more prejudiced against vampires than ever.
"Then what shall we do?" asked a gummy bear.
"I regret to say it, but we must go to war," replied Princess Bubblegum. There was a shocked silence. There had not been a war in the Candy Kingdom for over two centuries. "You know I would not suggest war if it wasn't as a last resort," she continued, "I've thought long and hard over this."
"But we have only a small army," protested a jellybean, climbing up on the shoulder of a cupcake to make himself heard.
"Which is why we will be calling upon all of you to help. Every able-bodied candy person must help defend the Candy Kingdom. We've lived on this land for generations. It's our home," continued Princess Bubblegum, a note of steel present in her voice, "Finn will be teaching you all swordsmanship down in the square on a daily basis. He, Jake, Lady and Flame Princess have all agreed to fight alongside us. We won't be alone." A wave of murmuring swept through the hall.
"Princess Bubblegum's right," said Mr. Cupcake, "We've defended this kingdom against the Lich king, the ice king and the Earl of Lemongrab. We can't give up now. I'll join the fight."
"And me," said a voice near the front, "It was the marshmallow who had been the first witness of the killings, "We have to put a stop to all this and if war's the only way then so be it."
"I'll fight too," said a large heavyset doughnut. He turned to the crowds of candy people behind him, "We can do this. It's about time we repaid Princess Bubblegum for all the times she's saved us." There was a murmur of agreement. Princess Bubblegum looked over at Finn who gave her a double thumbs up. "Very well," she said, "The decision has been reached. I will send a declaration of war to the Dark Domain. Report to the main square for your first lesson." She turned to Officer Butterscotch who stood off to her left. "Officer Butterscotch," she continued, "I'm appointing you as general of the east Candy Kingdom Battalion, Finn, you are general of the west."
"Cool," grinned Finn, "Those vampires are as good as gone." With that the citizens filed out of the hall along with Finn and Jake. Only Lady Rainicorn remained. Princess Bubblegum picked up a scroll from the lectern and turned to Lady.
"Lady, I need you to take this declaration of war to the Dark Domain," she said, "I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this. Please be careful." Lady smiled.
"공주를 걱정하지 마십시오. 나는 잘 될 것입니다," she replied, assuring the Princess she'd be fine. She took the scroll from Princess Bubblegum before soaring out through the open window near the top of the Conference Hall. With her gone Princess Bubblegum felt more alone than ever. She stood in the empty Conference Hall for several minutes before departing for her study to work out the battle plan she would show to the others the following night.