Necessary Lies

Finn gazed out into the open lakes of lava and heated rock, trying whatever he could to keep himself distracted from the two people sitting in front of him. The flame human was in Flame Princess's royal carriage, on the way to the palace, where he'd be oriented to his responsibilities and new living conditions. It was honestly overwhelming to the young man, especially due to the high chance that the fire elemental was still staring at him.

Unfortunately, he was absolutely correct. FP wasn't even blinking as she gazed at the mysterious fire being on the opposite seat of her royal transport. Cinnamon Bun was following Finn's example, staring out into the scenery. For a split second, the hero snuck a peek back at the king, immediately regretting it and darting his eyes back out the window. His face was a bit reddened. The fiery girl noticed.

"Fenrir, why are you so nervous?"

Darn. A question. It was a sad truth that it would be difficult to operate at all in the Fire Kingdom if Finn was asked too much. Lying was illegal, and he would have to, at some point, break the law. Swallowing his nerves, he went ahead and kept his honesty intact, seeing as it wasn't a mind-boggling question.

"Just…wondering why you're still staring at me."

He wasn't looking, but FP blushed quite hard and swiveled her face away, embarrassed. CB looked over between the two, smirked with amusement, then turned back to the outside. Silence ensued for a particularly long time, due to Flame Princess's now nervous composition, but she didn't feel right not responding, no matter how awkwardly late.

"Oh. I see. Well, to be honest, you remind me of someone, a lot."

Finn was afraid of that. He mentally groaned, seeing as this may have been a bad idea. He briefly thought PB should've just reconstructed his face too. However, she hadn't had the time for that. In any case, beggars can't be choosers.

"That's…interesting," he replied as casually as he could.

FP mumbled an affirmation of sorts, but it trailed off as she looked down to the floor. It took a few more minutes before Cinnamon Bun found the quiet unsettling.

"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Fenrir?"

The young man cursed in his mind, not sure if he was ready to deal with more questioning. Regardless, he had to keep his cool, as the two people accompanying him were the most important to stick with during his task.

"Well, I'm an adventurer of sorts, traveling around, seeking perils, fighting monsters, the works."

Flame Princess's expression further grew into one of surprise. Finn knew what she was thinking. CB spoke up, luckily, before the king could reply.

"A fire elemental traveling around Ooo? That's quite unique."

The hero faked a sad sigh, although it had some truth to it.

"Actually, I was an orphan, abandoned in the wild. I was fortunate to be found and raised by some nice folks, but they're gone now."

He looked at his two companions, figuring eye-contact was more convincing.

"It's been a while though. I've gotten far since then."

Flame Princess still appeared to be examining him. Her amber gaze drifted down to his right arm, where the lava vine sword lay wrapped up to his shoulder.

"What exactly is that thing?" she asked curiously, pointing to the thorny object.

He raised his arm, as if studying it himself.

"It's a magic weapon. I bought it a while back, but the guy didn't mention it would become stuck to me forever."

CB and FP seemed quite stunned by the explanation, eyeing the vine with awe.

"Wow, that's some purchase," the fire elemental responded.

"It must have cost a fortune."

Dang it, Finn thought.

"Well, actually, it was pretty cheap."

The royal and knight stared at him, confused.

"How cheap?" FP asked.

Finn did his best to keep a calm face.

"Three bucks. It's kinda cursed."

CB seemed to shift his expression to one of pity, while Flame Princes remained curious.

"Cursed sword…where have I heard that before?"

She pondered to herself, until Cinnamon Bun snapped his fingers.

"That's right, Finn had one of those. He kept talking about it; remember?"

The candy person instantly regretted what he'd said, as far as the flame human could guess. The king's facial features dropped to one of solace, then quickly corrected itself to a blank stare. She turned to look out the window, remaining in that pose.

"I'm sorry, princess," CB stated as he hung his head.

The fire girl didn't look back as she replied.

"It's fine."

Even though she refuted any effects the topic may have brought up, FP stayed quiet for the rest of the trip, saddening her two knights. Finn however, had a mixture of curiosity somewhere in his mind.

Dang it, Finn. Keep yourself focused. You're here to protect, not to do…that.

Shaking his head helped remove the stray thoughts. But it was too late now. It was there, in the back of his mind.

The ruler of the Fire Kingdom was welcomed back to her palace with flawless lines of guards paving the way inside. As she walked through the border of loyal defenders, CB and Finn flanked her on either side, showing off quite the image to the flame citizens who managed to sneak a glance at the king's new personal protector.

Once inside, the lines dispersed, returning to their posts are various points around the throne room. As far as Finn could tell, security had increased significantly compared to his last appearance. It made sense. With an assassin on the loose, there could be no gaps to Flame Princess's person.

FP stopped them at her seat of power, then looked up at the ceiling. Her knights did the same, spotting the infamous lantern that hung there. Inside, the former Flame King stood leaning against the glass wall, as if waiting for something. Don John was meditating, not giving the slightest attention to the arrival of the king. FK however, instantly caught interest and gazed down at the trio. His face was somewhat excited.

However, upon seeing Finn, his face turned into a frown.

"Who the heck is this loser?" he growled.

FP took a step forward, glaring up at the tyrannical being.

"Fenrir here is the one who proved victorious in the tournament, dad. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of him. As such, you'd better show him some respect. After all, he beat you're precious champion Calor quite easily."

Finn shrugged, feeling like she exaggerated a bit. In truth he'd almost lost, or died. Meanwhile, Flame King looked shocked.

"Agh! That idiot! I knew I should've picked a more competent assassin!"

He immediately covered his mouth.

"Whoops."

The trio below him was stunned.

"He was your assassin?" FP questioned.

Beside the evil fire elemental, his fellow inmate snickered.

"Looks like you failed, sucker."

Flame King growled, then swung around to face Don John.

"Shut up! It's not like yours will do any better!"

The entire throne room gasped. Even the flame lord had wide eyes. However, this quickly became a scowl.

"You idiot! Now they know what to look out for!"

"That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Yes it was! I was expecting your stupidity to throw them off, but apparently I underestimated how dumb you are!"

"Aaagh! Take this!"

FK socked the flame lord in his face. Don John didn't react much, and punched back. The two swiftly got caught up in a fistfight, completely losing focus on the group down below. Flame Princess sighed and turned to face her knights.

"Morons."

She eyed Finn directly.

"So, Fenri-, Fer-, Fenr, ugh, I'm sorry. It can be a little difficult to say your name."

Cinnamon Bun tried to give a helpful hand.

"How about we just call you Fen?"

The flame human obviously noticed how ironically fate was twisting him. He could tell from the look FP had that such a name was clearly similar to another she knew. However, she submitted to the advice, nodding.

"That sounds like a good idea. Do you mind?" she inquired.

Finn shook his head.

"Not at all, princess- I mean, your majesty."

He frowned at the ground, thinking he'd made a mistake. However, he soon felt FP's hand on his shoulder. Looking back up, he found the young woman giving him a humble smile.

"Fen, along with Cinnamon Bun, you'll be the closest person to me at all times. It makes sense to be a bit less formal."

Finn was briefly surprised, then quickly nodded and tried to smile back.

"Oh, alright. Thank you."

FP chuckled.

"No problem."

The flame human was truly feeling the effects of being reunited with the fiery girl. Her gorgeous appearance, her maturity, her laugh; it all tortured him so much, especially in his chest. Meanwhile, she had her attention drawn by a palace servant, speaking to her about some citizen's problem or other. Finn suddenly felt himself being pulled aside by the arm. Looking over, he found CB dragging him to the side of the room.

"Hey, what's the deal?" he asked with slight irritation.

The candy person gave him a serious look, which immediately shut him up.

"Listen Fen, I can tell you're a great guy. You've got coolness, vigilance, and heroic qualities that this place sure could see more of."

Finn furrowed his brow.

"Where are you going with this?"

Cinnamon Bun leaned in closer, whispering.

"Since there's two of us now, we can each take turns protecting Flame Princess. You have a good heart, Fen, and I think it would be good for her to have you hang around often."

He motioned for the young man to look over to the fiery girl.

"She's constantly overworked. As much as I care for her, I don't quite have the heartfelt know-how to talk things out all the time. You on the other hand, have some experienced passion in that ticker of yours."

He nudged the hero in his chest, smiling.

"So what do you say? Can I trust you to be her best friend?"

Finn had been picking apart the bun's words for the past minute. Long ago, the final words he heard from the candy person struck him like a dagger in his heart. No matter how hard he concealed his dormant memories, that one in particular hurt no matter what. He looked hard at CB.

"Then what does that make you?" he challenged, almost aggressively.

Cinnamon Bun was a bit taken aback by the reply. However, before he could answer, Flame Princess walked over to them.

"What are you two talking about?" she casually asked, smiling.

CB grinned back, the motioned to Finn.

"I think it's a good idea if I go run the security drill with the newer guards again. What would you say to Fen escorting you around for a while?"

FP eyed the flame human, who kept a stoic face. She smiled gently, then nodded.

"Sure. That sounds nice."

She momentarily placed her hand on CB's shoulder. The knight nodded, then walked off. As he was leaving, Finn could see him over Flame Princess's shoulder. He turned around, walking backwards, and motioned to the fiery girl, as if saying 'talk to her'. The young man didn't reply, since that would look obvious to the fire elemental, and did his best to smile.

"Shall we go?" he inquired, gesturing to the entrance of the palace.

FP nodded warmly then slowly made her way towards the gate, accompanied by Finn on her left.

Flame princess led her newest protector to the magma gardens near the palace, where she explained she went to whenever there was free time to unwind and relax. Her job was difficult, no doubt about it, and such relief was precious gold to her. Finn enjoyed hearing about her life; it felt as if she were filling the gaps that he'd missed due to being out of the loop with her for the past several years.

Noticeably, as they walked past a bed of fire lilies, the nearby flame citizens stared at them. Finn assumed it was since FP was there, but there was more to it than that. Any of the watchers that were girls around his age were giving the king a fairly resentful look, any guys they passed discreetly gave the flame human a thumbs up and grin, as if congratulating him, but not on his victory from earlier.

Everyone else just gazed in awe, smiling sweetly and tilting their heads to the side. Finn brought himself shoulder to shoulder with the fiery girl and whispered to her.

"What's the deal with all these people?"

FP looked around, apparently noticing the stares for the first time. She let out a brief laugh.

"I suppose word hasn't spread yet about you. They probably think you're another suitor."

Another?

Finn swallowed his thoughts and proceeded carefully.

"Oh. Do you get a lot of those?"

Flame Princess stopped by a line of flare lotuses, floating in a lava pond, kneeling down to take one.

"Every once in a while. They all turn out to be awful though."

She stood back up, examining the flower.

"Besides, I don't need a spouse or anything like that. I do just fine with myself. Plus, Cinnamon Bun helps a lot. I guess in a way he's like my royal partner."

Finn cringed a tad from that comment, but kept it in.

"He's...a good man."

FP nodded, smelling the lotus.

"Indeed."

She started up walking again, with her knight close behind. Neither spoke for a time, as they gradually circled the gardens, looking at and smelling the colorful flora. Eventually, they made it to the portion of the area that bordered a small lava lake, which bubbled and boiled somewhat peacefully.

However, as they stopped to watch the flowing molten rock, FP frowned sadly, gazing upon a prominent boulder that disrupted the majestic scenery.

"Ugh, that dumb rock has been there for weeks. I've asked them so many times to move it."

She approached the boulder and ignited her fist, apparently preparing to take care of it herself. However, Finn suddenly placed his hand on hers and lowered the flaming fist.

"Wait. I think there's a better use for it."

Flame Princess was a bit startled, but curiously stood by as the flame human backed up. He framed the boulder in relation to the fiery ruler, examining multiple angles as he tried to find the best positioning. In the meantime, the fire elemental was actually blushing slightly at all the attention.

"Um, Fen, what are you doing?"

The hero stopped moving, deciding on a spot.

"Perfect. Stay just like that."

He raised his arm, extending his lava vine sword. FP felt nervous.

"Seriously, what are you doing?"

The young man smiled a little.

"Giving the garden one more flower."

Flame Princess tried to inquire further, but was startled as the boulder behind her instantly shattered, causing her to yelp and jump forward. She landed against Finn's chest. The two briefly stared at each other, before FP shoved herself away.

"Are you nuts!?" she shouted.

Finn appeared rather ashamed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted it to be a surprise."

The king furrowed her brow, puzzled, then turned around, instantly shocked by what she saw. The boulder had been sculpted with absolute precision, now the splitting image of the fiery woman herself. The dark yet shiny surface of the material greatly portrayed FP's every detail, down to a gentle smile on a set of stone lips.

All around her, Flame Princess could hear the citizens walking around stop and gaze in awe at the newly formed creation, whispering of its majestic quality. The fire elemental herself studied the statue with unyielding fascination. Her rock-based copy stood tall, vigilant, and inviting, a true representation of the king. Finn had added all of that himself, since she'd just looked like a confused girl when he'd performed the actual cuts.

Finally, the ruler turned back to Finn, seeing he was still a bit saddened by the initial negative response to his 'artistic actions'. He sensed her walk up to him and stop, causing him to slowly force his eyes to meet hers. Startlingly, he found her smiling.

"That's…amazing."

The flame human stuttered as he responded.

"Oh, yeah, well…I mean, inner strength can be just as impressive as attractiveness, so I figured…"

He basically trailed off, feeling his face burning hotter than usual. In the meantime, Flame Princess tilted her head with that wondrous curiosity that never left her.

"Did you just…call me beautiful?"

The hero was feeling intensely uncomfortable by this point.

"Uh, basically," he managed to spit out.

Silence ensued for a moment, as the two just stared at each other. Then, FP burst out laughing, stunning Finn. She wasn't mocking him, it was actually quite comical the way he was acting. Eventually, overcome by some hidden joy at hearing her laugh, the young man did the same, sure that everyone around them thought they were off their wagon.

After a minute, the two calmed down, letting out the last giggles and smiling at one another. However, the moment FP looked at the hero again, she grew an expression of utter shock. Naturally, this worried Finn.

"What's wrong, princess?"

She pointed a shaky finger at his face.

"Y-your eyes! They're blue!"

Finn could swear his body temperature was sliced in half as he heard those words. He quickly turned away, covering his eyes and snapping his lids shut. He felt Flame Princess's concerned hand on his back a moment later.

"Are you alright, Fen?"

The young man slowly took away his hand, then nodded while cautiously returning his sight to the king.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I forgot to mention. It's some strange genetic disorder that pops up every so often."

As he finished the sentence, his irises reclaimed their amber tonnage, normal once more. FP gazed with interest, although Finn could sense another emotion hidden in her facial features. He mentally cursed himself. That blue; no one else in Ooo probably had his original eye color. As he stood there, being examined by the fire elemental, he could practically feel his cover being pulled off like a cloak upon his shoulders.

"I see. I've never seen one of our kind with such a condition."

Finn could hear the subtle suspicion in her voice, but decided that she was letting it slip.

"Yeah, it's really weird."

Suddenly, a horn could be heard in the direction of the palace, drawing all attention to the distance building. FP sighed.

"Looks like our walk is over. Time for business."

She definitely looked disappointed. Finn remembered what CB had said about her being overworked, feeling sorry for the young ruler. His goal drifted into mind. Protect the kingdom, protect its ruler. Support; as far as he could tell, that was a type of protection. He placed a hand on the young woman's arm, giving a small smile.

"Come on, me and CB can totally help you with that."

The fire elemental was at first caught off by the gesture, but gradually regained her composure and smiled back.

"That means a lot. Thank you."

Finn nodded, then motioned for his king to walk ahead, as he filed in beside her.

The palace was indeed crowded when Finn and Flame Princess returned. Even before she got to her throne, the ruler was assaulted by requests, pleads, and various other inquiries. Finn kept them at bay with his arm, earning an appreciative grin from his king. Cinnamon Bun greeted them at FP's seat, which he stood by as they approached. After Flame Princess sat down, the candy person turned to them both and put on a interested look.

"So, how was your stroll?"

FP grinned at her friend.

"Wonderful. Fen is such a gentleman."

The flame human hid a blush as the girl briefly grinned at him. While she wasn't looking at him, CB sent Finn a thumbs up and a nod. A moment later, a young handmaiden walked up to the throne, holding a platter with a cup of tea. She bowed to the king, then offered the beverage.

"You know the rules," FP stated.

The girl glanced nervously at her highness.

"I'm sorry, your majesty. I just got my braces in and can't eat or drink for a while."

Flame Princess frowned with a sigh.

"Well, I guess we'll have to get someone else to-"

The cup was quickly snatched off its plate, catching everyone's attention as Finn took a small sip. He clicked his lips a few times, then placed the drink back.

"It's clean," he said matter-of-factly.

The others stared at him for a moment, before Flame Princess slowly took the tea from her handmaiden.

"Thank you...Fen."

She seemed unsure, but generally grateful. The servant girl bowed once more, then was off. She was replaced by a messenger, who plowed his way through the complaining crowd and ran up to the throne in a huff. After panting heavily for a second, he tried to speak.

"My king, there is a-"

Flame Princes held up her hand.

"Hold on, first my tea, then I'll take the message."

"But-"

Cinnamon Bun stepped forward.

"Please, sir, be patient."

The man looked extremity stressed as he watched the fiery girl sip her beverage. Taking advantage of the quiet moment, and still occupied within by thoughts on her new bodyguard, she struck up a conversation.

"So, Fen. Do you by chance…know Finn the Human?"

The hero tensed up, worried that she might ask that very question.

"I know of him, yes."

FP looked over to him, almost appearing to be observing his reaction to the talk.

"Have you ever met him?"

Was it technically a lie to say no?

"I haven't."

The king took another sip, then peered into the steaming liquid.

"You and him are so…similar. Not just by your traits, but also by physical appearance. It's almost as if you were twins."

Finn grinded his teeth as he felt a drop of sweat magma grow on his neck. FP chuckled.

"I suppose that's impossible, since you're a fire elemental and he's a human. But still, maybe…we should invite him to the kingdom. You two could chat it up. I'm sure you have much in common. And…"

She frowned.

"It's been a while…since I've seen him."

She gulped down the last of her tea, now with a determined expression.

"That's what I'll do. After so long, I want to know how he's grown."

Finn was nearly shaking. By this point, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Finn the Human is dead!"

As those words reverberated off the walls, everyone in the throne room went silent. Cinnamon Bun's mouth dropped as he stared at the young man with his massive black eyes. The flame citizens all stood still, not quite sure they heard him right, but at the same time knowing that his echo was obviously loud and clear enough to be certain of his sentence.

"Wh-what?..."

FP's voice hurt Finn's ears, regardless of how quiet and weak it was. He dared to look the young woman in her eyes, seeing only the infection of despair and disbelief setting into her amber irises.

"No…y-you can't break the law…you can't lie…"

Finn held his hardened facial features, clearly trying to communicate his certainty to what he said. Hesitantly, the messenger stepped forward.

"M-my king, that's actually…what I came to say."

Flame Princess turned her head to look at the man, a growing vision of grief enveloping her face.

"Finn's brother found his tree house burned to the ground earlier today. He said that Finn had been inside."

FP's breathing was spotty at best, as her mouth trembled and hand gripped her seat with such force that even the volcanic material was beginning to burn. While the dead silence continued, she shakily got to her feet, gazing at the ground with her pupils shaking. After what seemed like forever, she dropped her tea cup, letting it shatter to the floor. With that, the girl slowly put one foot in front of the other, turning to the nearest set of stairs leading further into the palace.

The single sound that was heard were the clanks her armor made as she walked off, exiting the throne room while all eyes gazed after her. Finn felt his chest cringe, a great pain emitting from the beating force beneath his ribs.

He had just spoken the most devastating lie that he could possibly inflict onto the princess.

Man, it's ridiculous how much attention this has grabbed in only a short time!

nrbuer: At least the season finale gave a brighter outlook for season 6.

Awolfx9: I know, It's been forever since an update. Life sucks sometimes.

Guest: I'll do my best, even with life junk.

Fiery Crusader: Good advice, thanks!

CuteFoxSage: Sorry for following it up with a sad moment.

TheMentalAdventurer: Hm, never thought of it that way, thanks for the feedback.

kojh0124: All of that will be answered, soon.

Guest: I wouldn't say that, but I do agree about the reviews.

Guest: Beautiful quote.

Guest: We'll see how it goes. I do want to include a bit of drama after all.

Roberto: Well, not soon, but there it is.

Bio team2: I WILL!

Mayojar77: Heh heh, good instincts there

Ventus Uzumaki: I did. I just don't get to check my inbox that often.

Poseidon: I'll definitely try.

Holahello: Man, so many of you guys are cool with waiting. Makes me feel bad that I can't do the same for myself.

Kaiser Luigi: Glad to hear I made them exciting enough.

I am The7: Haha, those would probably just burn up.

trystrike: Glad to hear it.

SCIK1012: Nope, I never heard of that show until you mentioned it back in chap 17 of CoT.

TheCrazyFilipinoGirl: I wish it were sooner, believe me.

PricetoPay: Hm, not quite sure how that ties in.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!