When night fell, I knew it was safe to see the world beyond the walls of the tree house where Fionna and Cake lived. However, until we all knew what I would be dealing with, leaving the safety of the tree house wasn't such a good idea. Fionna and Cake did their best to accommodate my needs regardless. Being the heroines they are, they did everything they could to be sure I was okay again, and ready to meet their friend Marshall Lee.
Even though I knew, deep down, things couldn't stay stagnant and peaceful, and I knew that once I met Marshall Lee, everything in my life could drastically change.
"Mel," I heard.
I looked over at Fionna, letting my gaze settle on her completely.
"Listen, you don't look so hot," she began. "I can imagine you're nervous about meeting Marshall Lee, but maybe we should call it off and wait."
"No," I said curtly. "I need to do this. If what you said is true, I need to do this."
Fionna paused for a second, then cracked a grin. "Yeah... Yeah, that's the spirit!" she said, pumping her fist a bit. "Glad to see you have some spirit back in you after all the rest you had!"
A knock sounded at the door before I could respond to her comment, and Cake poked her head in. "I think he's here," she said. "I'll go get the door. Fionna, you just stay with Mel."
"Thank you, Cake," I told the cat as she stretched her body away and down to the front door.
After a few minutes, she stretched back up, and...
I let out a sharp gasp.
The boy from my dream followed her up. He was there, more vivid than I'd ever seen him before probably in my life. And the fog that had once claimed my mind started taking over again. He was here, in front of me, the boy I couldn't remember. And now I knew, without really knowing. Somehow, I knew Marshall Lee from before.
"Marsh..."
My voice barely came out. I thought I was feeling faint again. My neck burned horribly and my head ached.
"Mel?" I heard Fionna ask.
I looked at Marshall, who had the same look of shock and recognition I did. He remembered me, he knew then who I was. He almost looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't find any words to say.
Then finally, he did.
"Melody."
A single word, a tiny name. He could barely say it himself, it sounded so forced. But I recognized it; he was saying my name. My actual, full name. And the sound hurt worse than my neck or my head could.
When he said "Melody", everything began to blur, and I clutched my head tightly as a whirl of memories rammed into me. I could see Marshall Lee, walking beside me in the sunlight under an umbrella. He and I were laughing, talking about things I couldn't recall, truly enjoying each other's company like old friends. And the level of agony that memory caused me was so great, I almost fell again.
I felt him and Fionna grab me and keep me upright. "I'm all right," I finally whispered. "I'll be all right. Don't worry."
"So you two already know each other?" Fionna asked awkwardly as she took me from Marshall Lee and propped me up, using her as a balance beam.
"Something like that," Marshall replied. "It's a bit of a complicated situation, Fi."
"How complicated could it be?"
The look on Marshall Lee's face suddenly turned grave. He opened his mouth to speak, but Cake rushed back in holding cups up to us on a tray, offering Marshall and I tomato juice, since they were red drinks, as if to break the tension.
"Thanks, Cake, but I'm good for now. Give mine to Mel; I think she needs it more than me right now."
I took a cup as he spoke and began to drink deeply, but I nodded in thanks and acknowledgement anyway.
"Anyway, I see why I was called. And yes, I can confirm for you that Mel is a vampire."
"How do you know?" Cake and I asked at the same time.
"Well for one, the fangs and pale skin are two dead giveaways. Two, you're feeding on red things as a substitute for blood. I don't know how though, since I didn't teach you how to. That alone is incredible to me. And three..."
His voice trailed off and he looked away, as if tense.
"Go on," I ordered.
He sighed before facing me, and his answer shook me to the core.
"I turned you into a vampire myself."
