This story was written using the Big Damn Table from the Fanfic100 challenge community (see here at fanfic100 . livejournal . com / profile).

Author's Note: I have reason to believe that age is not as straightforward in the AT universe as people might think. The way I see it, the physical age of the character doesn't necessarily correspond to the number of years they've been alive. For example, Candy People have two ages. They have their age in human years, which is the normal progression of time, and then they have their age in Candy Person years which depends on how much Candy Biomass they have. I plan on writing a story about this idea in the future, but for now, I hope this explanation prevents anyone from getting confused when I start doing wacky things with age in this story.

Rating: T for later parts of the story, just to be safe.

Prompt: #25 Strangers


It was the eve of the annual Nut Ball, one of the most highly anticipated events in the Candy Kingdom. The question on everyone's minds was whether or not the young Duke of Nuts could manage to throw as spectacular a soiree as his father before him. Lord Humphrey had passed away just 2 months ago in an unfortunate encounter with a rampaging nut cracker beast, leaving his only son and heir to inherit his title and, more importantly, his party-throwing responsibilities. The new Duke had promised that this year's Ball would be one for the history books. Everyone in the Candy Kingdom was invited and everyone could hardly contain their excitement. Everyone, that is, except for Lady Bonnibel Bubblegum, heir to the Candy Throne.

As the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon, Bubblegum sat alone in her room, ignoring her freshly pressed dress that was laid out and waiting for her. The castle was a flurry of activity, and Bubblegum could hear the endless tread of footsteps outside of her door as servants, guards, and other Candy People raced back and forth through the halls in their haste to complete their duties and head to the Ball. Her room was an island of calm amidst the chaos, and Bubblegum rested forlornly on her windowsill, looking out over the mass exodus of Candy People heading towards the Duchy of Nuts. She sighed despondently and turned her face away from the festive atmosphere outside, determined to enjoy her gloom.

A peremptory knock on the door shattered that hope, and moments later Princess Celia Cotton Candy strode in. The Princess stood just an inch shorter than Bubblegum (if you didn't count the hair) and for the occasion, she was resplendently garbed in a deep purple dress that flowed to the floor and shimmered slightly under the lights. She was quite beautiful, and if not for the tell-tale laugh lines that furrowed the corners of her eyes and mouth, one might almost mistake her for Bubblegum's sister. But that was most certainly not the case, and the Princess stood in the doorway, one hand on the knob, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hello Mother," Bubblegum greeted with trepidation.

"Bonni, what in Ooo are you doing? We're supposed to leave in 10 minutes." The Princess took a step into the room and her eyes fell on the forgotten dress. "You're not even dressed yet! And just look at your hair! This won't do at all, I'm going to have to call Marzipan Governess in here to get you ready..." she turned and drew in a breath to summon the governess.

"I'm not going." Bubblegum said flatly.

Her mother let the breath out in a huff and turned back around. "Not going?" She repeated incredulously, "Why of course you are dear, you love the Nut Ball. Why ever would I keep you from attending?" She turned again to call for Marzipan.

"No Mother, I mean I don't WANT to go!" Bubblegum shouted, feeling childish, but determined to get her way.

Cotton Candy Princess turned once again and finally let go of the door, allowing it to swing shut on the bedlam outside the room. "Bonnibel Bubblegum, our family has been attending the Nut Ball for hundreds of years, ever since the Duchy of Nuts was created by your grandmother in the years after the Mushroom Wars. And it's your favorite social event of the year! What do you mean you don't want to go?"

Bubblegum turned away so that she was looking out through the window again. "I just... think it's going to be boring, that's all," she grumbled.

"Hmm." Her Mother stepped closer and sat on the edge of Bubblegum's bed next to her dress. "I wonder, is this about the PARTY or is this about the host?"

Bubblegum turned to her mother quickly, eyes narrowed in anger, "Well, everyone knows that Walter can't POSSIBLY throw a better Nut Ball than poor Lord Humphrey could!" she spat out. She glared fiercely for another moment, then her lips began to quiver and she dissolved into tears. "Oh Mother, how could he do this to me? It doesn't make any sense, we were PERFECT for each other!" Bubblegum wailed. Her mother opened her arms and Bubblegum got up from the windowsill and ran to her, curling against her side and sobbing into her dress.

"Oh Bonnibel," Celia sighed, rubbing her daughter's back soothingly, "I know how it feels that first time you fall in love. I've told you the stories about Billy and myself. But, really gumdrop, perfect for each other? You and little Walter? Oh, I suppose I should be a bit more formal now..." Bubblegum looked up at her with watery eyes and sniffled. "Bonni, I know it's hard, but Lord Walter has responsibilities now. He's become Duke much sooner than anyone could have anticipated and that's a huge adjustment. Why, just 2 months ago, he was only 16 without a care in the world, and now he's 18 with a Duchy to look after and big shoes to fill. And who knows, he needs an heir. He might be shooting up to 25 or 30 in the next year or so. You two are just at different points in your life now, gumdrop." She paused, continuing to hold Bonnibel close. "As to the two of you being perfect for one another well... to be honest Bonni, I never thought that Walter was right for you. Why, you have so much spirit and fire, you need someone a lot stronger-willed than Walter to compliment you." Bubblegum sniffled again.

"First loves are always the hardest, especially when it ends," Celia continued, "But just as you wouldn't end an experiment with a conclusion drawn from an insufficient data pool, you can hardy say that Walter was perfect for you when you've only experienced love once. There will be others out there, Bonni, and soon you'll move past this pain and be ready to give your heart to someone new."

"That's quite a logical way of putting it Mother," Bubblegum conceded. Her mother certainly did put forth a reasonable argument, and one that Bubblegum had refused to consider in the weeks since she had been dumped.

"Well, you had to get that science-y brain from somewhere, and it certainly wasn't your father!" Celia quipped. Bubblegum finally smiled. "Ah, there's my gumdrop!" The Princess said warmly. "Now, what do you say we get you ready and get to that Ball? We'll get you all dolled up and prove to that lousy Duke that we're getting along just fine without him, and that he ought to be grateful that we even bothered to show up at all!" Bubblegum sat up and her mother swept to her feet. "I'll inform Peppermint Butler that we'll be running fashionably late and send in Marzipan. That is, if that's alright with you, dear?"

Bubblegum smiled and wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. "Yes, that sounds good Mother. Thank you."

"Of course Bonni," Celia smiled tenderly. Then she marched to the door, flung it open, and called out "The Lady Bonnibel requires the IMMEDIATE services of Marzipan Governess!" The flow of activity halted for a moment, then suddenly surged in a single direction as the order was carried down the hall and servants took off on a new mission. Celia looked back at Bubblegum and winked, then closed the door behind her.

Bubblegum stood then and pulled her dress on. It was a new one, a light blue version of her mother's, strapless and shimmery. She had been so excited to wear it to the Nut Ball when she first saw it, it would have been a crime if she had stayed home and moped. Bubblegum was glad that her mother had helped her to see reason.

That woman was right about all of it. It hardly made sense that she and Walter were perfect for one another. Bubblegum always had to push him to express his opinion and to challenge her ideas (the true heart of scientific inquiry) and he was so resistant to lively debate. He annoyed her so much, but she had looked right past it because she loved him.

Marzipan Governess burst in then and bustled over to her, herding her to the vanity and beginning to quickly fix up her hair while Bubblegum dabbed at her face to hide the effects of her latest bout of tears.

She was so tired of crying over Walter. It would (hopefully) be years before Bubblegum took the throne and became 18 as well, and who knows where Walter would be in his life at that point? As Duke, he needed a wife and an heir, and Bubblegum was NOT ready to be a mother, let alone 25 or even (eww!) 30! She wasn't even ready to be 18! Logically, breaking up was for the best.

But that didn't mean he couldn't suffer just a little bit for putting her through the misery she'd been in for the past few weeks. She was going to hold her chin high, go to the Nut Ball, and make the Duke of Nuts regret (just a little bit) that he had dared to dump the future Princess of the Candy Kingdom.