(A Note from the Author: Hey, ya'll, how ya liking the stories so far? This particular chapter is my own take on something that hasn't really appeared in Adventure Time yet beyond 'Incendium', if I remember the title correctly, especially considering that Flame Prince's only appearance thus far has been for a few seconds in 'The Prince Who Wanted Everything'. I hope you enjoy my view of him, and also, I hope you like my name choice. It's a fairly popular choice from what I understand, and inspired by the writing of Twintaileddragon.)

After a fairly disappointing mission to retrieve the broken and rusted Sword of the Well, Fionna and Cake are suddenly called to combat a fire in the Candy Kingdom that has spread to almost everything but the palace itself. And while they do their best to aid the candy people and Prince Gumball, they come across a lone fire-sprite boy who simply wanted to hide to avoid the wrath of his paranoid mother, the Fire Queen.

Returning home from a long and fruitless trek across the grasslands to find a stupid 'magical' rock that only led to a muddy hole with a rusty old sword in it, Fionna flopped down on the sofa, completely disappointed and exasperated. Prince Gumball had assured her the sword was an ancient weapon from just after the Mushroom War that had been used to slay the remaining evil war criminals. It had been made magical by spilling the blood of a mutated water monster who rose from the depths of underground rivers after the war. But when Fionna and Cake had finally found it under the huge boulder (which was no small feat to move, it was a rusted and broken piece of junk. The only good thing about it was a shimmering marble-like jewel in the hilt that looked like an ocean of stars was trapped inside. Fionna had brought it back just for that, but intended to simply toss the broken pieces after she managed to get the marble jewel out.

Cake came up to rub her back comfortingly. "It's okay, Fi. At least now we can say we have the Sword of the Well."

"But it's completely useless! Gumball said it was all magical and stuff, and it didn't do a thing!"

"Maybe we just don't know the spells."

"I guess… maybe he has some book in that big ol' library about it."

"I bet-" But Cake was interrupted by a frantic knocking at the front door. Cake hurried down to get it, where a banana guard nearly jumped on her and screeched in alarm.

"The Kingdom! It's on fire! We can't put it out!"

"FIONNA!"

"ON IT!" The duo left the banana guard in the dust, but nearly halfway there, Fionna realized she hadn't brought her sword. She only had the broken pieces of the Sword of the Well in her backpack. The hilt with the rusty edge would have to do, there was no time to waste! They arrived in the gates to see most of the city ablaze. The only place not completely engulfed was the palace because everyone was focusing their efforts on it. If the palace fell, they'd have no place to base their rebuilding efforts from. The usually-quite-reserved Prince Gumball was taking charge like the true leader he was, calling out orders and helping distribute buckets to the candy people.

"Pour it around the edges of the palace so the fire doesn't spread! Keep yourselves cool and wet so you don't get burned! Be careful, please! Homes can be rebuilt, but people cannot!" He made sure they didn't take any unnecessary risks, and though the situation was dire, he was level-headed, strong, and graceful. Fionna looked on with a small blush. He was pretty handsome when he took charge and wasn't that slightly-pompous and too-polite pink prince. He'd given up his jacket, soaked in water, to a small child to keep her safe, and he too was soaked to the bone to reduce the chance of burning. Fionna found that heroic, selfless Gumball a little… attractive. But she quickly shook such thoughts away and joined his side. Cake was off to the nearby river to gather all the water she could in the form of a giant basin, and Fionna was digging through her bag to find anything to help. But when the pieces of the Well Sword fell out, Fionna suddenly saw a puddle form around them and Gumball looked down.

"You have the Sword of the Well! Oh, thank merciful Glob! Quickly, put it together and use it!"

"How?!" Fionna looked up at him quickly. Surely a broken sword was useless.

"Wet the pieces and put them together, then just shout 'water' as loudly as you can!"

Fionna, despite serious doubts, immediately did as he said and fetched a bucket to dunk the pieces in. Much to her surprise, the pieces stuck together like they'd been forged back together in fire, but she didn't question it. Each piece added on made the rust fall away, until it was suddenly whole and shone like the light of the moon. The marble gem began to glow and Fionna saw the starry interior turn into water with silvery bubbles. She wasted no time in lifting it to the sky.

"WATER!" She cried at the top of her lungs, and suddenly a flow of water like a small river shot from the hilt of the sword, the blade directing it up. Gumball quickly grabbed her arm and directed the flow at nearby burning houses, and the torrent snuffed the flames out with pure ease. Fionna ran through the streets with the veritable fire hose of a sword until she came to a halt, panting and saw only smouldering and smoke all around her. Cake had done one section of the city herself, but Fionna had taken care of the rest. As the water flow slowly subsided to nothing, Fionna heard a loud thump and a very dull thud behind her. Turning around quickly, she saw a broken door that had fallen out of its arch, and on it lay an entirely blue young man with a red crystal in his forehead. His body was smoking, and Fionna immediately assumed he'd been burned so she ran to him and dragged him out into the street before getting a bucket of water to pour over him. His eyes slowly opened and he groaned weakly, lifting a hand to try to stop her.

"Fionna! Fionna, no! That's a fire sprite!" Gumball called as he came running, and Fionna immediately threw the bucket aside. The fire-boy passed out and Gumball slid to a halt beside Fionna. "He must've caused the fire… and when you put it out, it must've nearly killed him..."

"Oh glob!" Fionna gasped. "You mean I hurt an innocent dude?!"

"Not entirely… I think I know who he is… he must be the Flame Prince of the Fire Kingdom. The Fire Royals are evil as they come. He must've been sent to burn down the Candy Kingdom."

"So… why don't I just dump water on him and finish it?" Fionna asked in confusion.

"We have to be sure of his reasons. We can't charge someone without hearing their side… but he's going to get his flame back with plenty of rest, so he needs to be put somewhere safe that won't burn. Maybe underground."

"What about Marshall Lee's cave?" Fionna offered, and Gumball grimaced at the suggestion.

"I'm… not so sure he'd like that. Besides, I wouldn't trust Marshall Lee not to free him just for kicks."

"He won't, I promise!" Fionna then turned to call for her cat sister, and Cake came hurrying along. "No time to explain! We gotta get this dude to Marshall Lee's place before he gets all fiery again!"

"Ain' no way I'm lettin' him singe my fur!"

"I may have a fireproof blanket you can wrap him up in," Gumball offered before going to find Peppermint Maid. Before Fionna knew it, they arrived at Marshall Lee's house with a large Cake carrying the Flame Prince. Fionna had brought chains and shackles from the Candy Kingdom to make sure the fire spirit stayed in place. She was just chaining him up as Cake laid him down in a flat spot and Fionna hammered metal stakes into the rocks for the chains to attach to and hold Flame Prince in place, when Marshall Lee appeared from his home looking dead-tired and annoyed.

"What the heck, Fionna, keep it down!" He growled until he saw what she was doing. "Whoa, who's that?"

"His name's Flame Prince!" Fionna called back while still hammering the stakes in with a mallet lent to her by Gumball.

"Okaaaay… and you're chaining him up behind my house… why, exactly?"

"He needs to be in a safe place until we figure out why he almost burnt the Candy Kingdom down!"

Marshall Lee's expression grew entirely unimpressed and a little angry. "So… of all the holes and caves in Aaa, you picked my place? You know he can burn my house down, right?"

"Yeah but it's just one house, and besides, can't reach it."

"That's not the point, kid! It's my house! Where am I supposed to stay if he flames it up?!"

"Well, you could stay at the treehouse til we fix it. It's kinda your house anyway."

"Okay, uh, no. Get him outta here."

"But Marshall-"

"I said out!"

"Uggnnngh…" The soft and painful groan of the slowly-reigniting Flame Prince caused them all to pause and stare as the fiery royal sat up. His blue color faded to fiery reds and oranges and he lifted a hand to his forehead before opening his eyes. He froze at seeing Fionna and he bolted to his feet, flames growing large around his hands. "You! You tried to kill me!"

"No way! I didn't know you were even there, dude!" Fionna insisted as she faced him, her hand ready to grab the Well Sword if he tried to hurt her or her friends.

"Chill, Torchy," Marshall grunted, and received a deadly glare from the prince.

"Torcho is my cousin! I am Ignatius!" The Flame Prince snarled.

"Ignatius, whatever. Just cool your jets."

"How dare you speak to me that way!"

"Hold up, hold up!" Cake quickly intervened. "You ain' helpin', Marshall Lee. Now, listen here, Your Royal Flamey-ness, we found you in the Candy Kingdom after we finished puttin' out all the fires you caused! All we wanna know is why you set everything all burnin' up!"

"I was hiding from my pursuers in a house, I didn't realize it would catch fire," the Flame Prince explained as he began to calm and slowly stood up straight, out of battle-stance.

"Pursuers?" Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Fire soldiers from my mother's kingdom. You see, my mother has been hunting me ever since she learned I was alive."

"Whoa, whoa," Fionna raised her hands to stop him. "Start from the beginning, okay? Like why we've never heard of a Fire Kingdom Prince til now."

"Alright… if you really want such an in-depth story-"

"I'm out," Marshall sighed and retreated back into him home. Flame Prince huffed angrily before turning to Fionna, who seemed to actually want to listen.

"When I was just a small tyke, my mother realized I would be more powerful than she ever would be, so to make sure I never overthrew her, she had a servant 'dispose' of me. But that servant took pity, and took me out into the fire savannas where she managed to get a pride of Fire Lions to take me in. I grew up with them, but then my mother captured me when I was fourteen and locked me in a lamp in the palace. I escaped after three years of solitude, and I've been running now for nearly another whole year."

"Wow… that's so… sad," Fionna admitted softly, feeling a deep tug of pity in her heart for this abused Prince.

"I can't go back to the Fire Lions, she'd find me there… elsewise I'd be happy to continue that simple existence… She probably killed my mother, though."

"Mother?"

"The Fire Lioness who raised me."

Cake and Fionna looked at each other. They knew what it was like to lose parents. They were technically orphans, their cat parents having passed away and Fionna never having known her real parents. "Listen, Flame Prince-" Fionna began.

"Ignatius. Please," he added the polite word on, feeling that this girl was good and deserved some respect.

"Ignatius… I'm gonna tell Prince Gumball why you were there and we're gonna figure this out. You don't have to stay chained up and junk." Fionna stepped forward to take off his shackles, but she forgot the one important detail; he was made of fire. She leapt back with a yelp when her fingers burned and the Flame Prince jumped in surprise.

"What? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, still a little startled.

"Yeah…! Uh, yeah, I just, uh… burned myself…" Fionna answered quietly, nursing her burnt fingers. "Here," she decided to toss the key to him and he unlocked the shackles himself.

"Thank you, miss…?" He gave her a smile that made Fionna blush, offering for her to speak her name

"It's… um…" Fionna suddenly forgot her name. Stupid!

"Fionna the Human," Cake spoke up for her.

"Fionna the Human. And you…?" He looked to the cat with a kind smile. He liked her. She was sassy.

"Cake the Cat, baby, and don't you forget it!" Cake answered with a triumphant smile.

"Cake the Cat and Fionna the Human. I surely won't forget such pretty names. Thank you both, really, but I must go before my mother's soldiers catch up to me." He began to make his way past them when Fionna finally found her voice again.

"Hey, wait! If you need help or anything, yknow… we live in a treehouse on the plains near the Candy Kingdom, you can come there and get us!"

"Just don't touch the tree," Cake added.

"Cake!" Fionna snapped, embarrassed of her sister.

"Of course. Thank you again, both of you," the Flame Prince smiled once more before making his way out and disappearing from the cave.

"… You blushin', girl?"

"No!" Fionna quickly hid her face.

"He is kinda cute."

"Cake, we are not talking about this!"

"Especially that spiky red hair. And, ooooh, that toned chest!"

"Cake!"

Marshall Lee snorted to himself, listening to the two from his bedroom, the window cracked enough to hear them. It was so easy to make Fionna blush, but he didn't really like it that she was blushing over some pyro-boy. Then, Marshall Lee caught himself. What did he care?

Oh, he thought to himself, that's right. I don't.

I personally really enjoy Flame Prince, or Ignatius as I call him. He's a fun character whose background I only know from a snippet of Adventure Time comics as a feral child living with Fire Lions. I made his past rather sad like Flame Princess, but his is much more wild and, decidedly, graceful and animalistic as a fourteen-year member of a Fire Lion Pride, whereas she was trapped in a lamp most of her life and probably would've been taught to be more proper despite all the rage and whatnot. I think my Flame Prince will come to be a veritable Tarzan of sorts, with the finesse of a Prince and the survival skills of Bear Grylls. Leave me a review to let me know what you think!

-Taiylor Wallace