A/N: Hey! So, this is totally a record for me. Updating this late. I'm truly sorry for the long wait. How've you been? I've been super busy :/ Senior and all. I'm so sorry for not updating. Quite frankly it was hard for me to write this chapter. Not a day went by when I didn't think about it tbh. Life has been crazy. Ijust needed this time to focus on everything school related. But its here now! Actually, it's rather unfortunate but I've lost the next chapter for this fic… Don't worry though, I'm gonna find it before another heinous amount of time passes. Thank you to all of you, who've been waiting SO patiently! It means a lot when there are people eagerly waiting for the next update! Love y'all, I'll try to be better for you!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY COPYWRITED MATERIALS USED IN THIS FANFICTION.

Fionna didn't tell Cake about her little visitor earlier that morning. After all, what would she say? She was more than a little afraid that the occasional flushed face may give her away, but she was thankfully able to avoid any incriminating conversation. But… she was bored! She was so bored and frustrated, so the whole day she was irritable and restless. She was only able to sit moderately still till about noon.

At 12:01, Fionna looked at the clock and sighed painfully. It seemed like time would never pass. She really wished there was monster to destroy right now. It's been awful quiet around Aaa lately, and she wondered where all the trouble had gone. She needed a good workout to distract her, but for the past month, Aaa had been a complete and utter ghost town in the terrible monster department. How lame… She thought to herself as she sat perched on the living room chair.

"Are you going to the Flame Kingdom or what?" Cake asked in a bored tone. The feline lay draped across the couch in the living room. Fionna momentarily snapped out of her boredom to answer the cat.

"Ah… N-No. I forgot Flame had a—a thing today." She said hurriedly, as the heat crept into her face and she remembered earlier that morning. She turned her head away, despite the fact that Cake was in the other room and couldn't even see her.

"Fi-ooooooonna!" She yowled; admonishing the girl for what she thought was an excuse. Annoyance spiked in Fionna's head.

"I will go on Saturday, Cake. Would you quit your naggin'?" Fionna borderline spat through her teeth.

"Oooh! You are nasty today! What's gotten into you?"

"Dunno what you mean." The blonde said dismissively.

"Liar."

"I'm not lying." Fionna said, voice deadpan and emotionless. Suddenly, her patience was too thin for these kinds of games.

"Girl, you better get right, because I am too old for this 'teen angst' junk you got goin' on." The young girl only offered a non-committal grunt in response. "You know, you're being really difficult."

"Well! I'm bored! There's nothing to do around here!"

"We could play card wars?" Fionna simply snorted.

"Fat chance."

"Well I can't deal with you sitting around giving off bad vibes. We have to do something. Ummm…. You wanna go spy on the Ice Queen?" Cake asked with obvious hope in her voice. Fiona almost refused, but then she thought against it. It had been a while since they'd done that… Finally, Fionna cracked a genuine smile at the thought of annoying the Queen.

"I guess that'd be fun." The grumpy adventuress conceded.

"Haha! That's my girl!" Cake exclaimed in delight. "Let's go!"

oOo

The two sisters trekked over to the Ice Queen's castle and spent a few hours mocking her from afar, and performing little harmless pranks on her while out of sight. They rolled about whilst laughing their heads off at her Prince Gumball shrine and began to cry hysterically when she read her "original literary masterpiece" aloud to all of her Gunthers.

Fionna felt like it had been forever since she'd laughed with Cake like this. The environment was familiar and it felt so natural. It was fun! She and Cake hadn't hung out like this in months. This… normalcy successfully took her mind off of the prince for a few hours.

When the Queen finally noticed the giggling duo, she chased them straight from her mountain, and as they ran away, screeching with laughter, the Ice Queen smacked into a tree, allowing them a clean escape. On the way home however, the two ran into yet another familiar face.

"Yooo! Fionna!" A voice called from behind. Fionna turned, coming face-to-face with a certain vampire king she hadn't seen in ages. "Long time no see! I thought you died, dude!" He joked playfully.

"Marshall! What're you doing out in the middle of the afternoon?!" She asked, eyeing his usual day outfit and umbrella.

"Ohhhh, ya knoowwww… Errands and stuff." He spoke in a bored voice, twirling his umbrella and floating lazily about on the breeze.

"Vampires have errands?" The Vampire King looked at her like she was completely stupid.

"Uhh, yeah. What, you think we just float around all day, sucking the red from stuff? He asked mockingly.

"I—well.. Pretty much…" She puzzled at him, observing the roll of his eyes.

"Haunting Aaa is a tough job ya know. Much to be done. Even vampires gots chores, son." He spoke almost matter-of-factly.

"Huh. That's actually kinda interesting."

"Pfft. No way dude. It's crazy boring. Anyway. Where have you been? You never come to any of my parties anymore." The vampire gazed at her accusingly.

"Oh, Uhhhh… I don't think that's really my scene anymore." Fionna said apologetically.

"Aooohhhhhhh reaaaalllllyyyyyy? Now that's interesting." Marshall drew the words out slowly, smiling in such a manner that his pearly white fangs peeked out from beneath his lips. "That's riigghhhtt! Oh, I'd forgotten! You're still with that flame kid, aren't you? He's your scene now, isn't he Fionna?" He teased, smiling devilishly and laying himself out along the air; stretching out like a cat.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said childishly, feeling mildly shy at his overly prying tone. The Vampire King laughed, floating around the two women and stopping at Fionna's shoulder.

"Done him yet?" He asked, riding the air back around to float in front of them, his eyes now dancing with amusement.

"Marshall!" Cake hissed, giving the boy a warning glare.

"Done what?" Fionna questioned innocently, offering him a puzzled glance.

"Oh, youuu knoooowwwww! It! Or maybe… You Tier 15 his brains out yet?" Fionna's face suddenly burst with heat upon catching his meaning. Her cheeks flushed such a vivid red that Marshall began to get a little hungry.

"Ohohohohoho! Nooo WAY. I did not expect this. Now this—this is great. Well, How was it? Was it Romantic? Maybe speciialll?" Marshall teased her relentlessly, reveling in her sheer embarrassment. "Hey, tell me somethin'—" The boy brought his lips close to her very red ear. "—is he big?" Fionna's eye twitched and she raised a fist to his face, attempting to cap her irritation.

"Hey, you wanna die today?" She threatened in a deadly toxic voice. It didn't faze the Vampire King, however, and he continued his teasing.

"Pfft! Hahaha! Noo! I'm proud of ya! Nice one Fionna! I always thought you were too stiff!" He continued his chortling, holding his stomach. "Ohp. Stiff. I'll bet! Ahahahaha!"

"Marshallee!" She yelled, lunging for him. "You're dead!"

He floated just beyond her reach three times whilst laughing his head off before she finally gave up.

"Ahah—ok—haha! Ok, no really though… I'm just so proud of my little adventuress! She's- She's growin' up!" He exclaimed dramatically, wiping a fake tear from his eye. Fionna simply stood there, arms crossed over her chest as she glowered venomously at him. Sometimes… Marshall could be entirely too much. Still though, she'd be lying if she said it wasn't at least a little refreshing to see him.

"You done?" She seethed, teeth grinding together.

"Haha! Sure, for now. Trust me kid, you're not off the hook yet. But, I gotta get goin'. Thanks for that though. Glob, that was a great laugh! If you ever wanna be cool again, there are parties in the woods every Saturday night. Oh hey! Maybe your sweetheart would wanna come! You could introduce us!" He chirped playfully, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Now it was Fionna's turn to laugh.

"Oh yeah, right! Get outta here already, you." She shooed him, watching as he laughed and turned, quickly swooping down the hill and toward the horizon. Fionna and Cake began walking toward their home again.

"Oooh I hate that vampire brat sometimes!" Cake growled, feline eyes glowing. Fionna rolled her eyes.

"Totally obnoxious." She tsked, shaking her head as she walked.

After a few more minutes, the treehouse came into view and the adventuress sighed. It was nearly dusk, and almost time to see the prince again.

As Cake pulled the door open, Fionna hung a few steps back.

"Fionna?" The cat asked, offering a questioning glance.

"I'm gonna stay out for a bit. It's nice out here."

"Um… Ok… If you want." Cake said, looking unsure as she slipped into the house slowly.

Fionna let out a breath and her legs began to move again. She looked around the yard, lazily plodding along the front lawn. Her gaze fell onto the large oak tree and without even realizing, she appeared in front of it. Her legs had moved on their own. Her hand reached out to stroke the rough base, and her fingertips ghosted along the deep lines of her initials; than the prince's. Warmth splashed about her chest and she smiled slightly. She was missing him just a bit right about now.

"Hey. Adventuress." Fionna whipped around, startled by the sudden intrusion. When she turned, she came face-to-face with two quite large flame guards. What the heck? What're they doing here?

"Umm… Yeah?" She answered hesitantly, quite puzzled at their sudden appearance.

"We got some… Advice, from the Queen." He said in a low voice. Fionna's heart sank as she began to realize what this was. I should have known. But again? Here? She groaned inwardly.

This type of thing had happened a few times before, but it'd always been as she was leaving the castle. And it didn't bother her that much, but... They'd never come to her before. There was something deeply unsettling about the fact that they'd come to her home; even though for all they knew, she hadn't seen the prince at all today.

"Hasn't she made herself perfectly clear, on several occasions? Why, pray tell, do you keep on comin' back around? Don't you understand you ain't wanted? Don't you know anything? Just your existence is a stain on the prince's life. And, more importantly, the Queen's. You need to realize your place girlie. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away, like we've already asked you. And really, you should consider yourself lucky, because the Queen—" The thug got closer to Fionna and her back stiffened as he leaned in toward her ear. She could feel his impossibly hot breath swath over her neck uncomfortably. "—doesn't usually ask more than once. Our fearsome Queen will not hesitate to destroy you, and there's nothing that foolish child could do about it." Suddenly, Fionna shoved the guard back, surprising him.

"Get outta here! What the heck!? You don't scare me you bozos, and neither does that witch!" At her comment one sprung forward, gingerly poking her neck with an obsidian dagger. It caught Fionna so off-guard that she barely realized what had happened; how she'd let him get close enough to put a knife to her throat. She felt a prick of fear, but she brushed it off and squared her shoulders, looking the grunt directly in his yellow eyes.

"Watch what you say, girl." He growled menacingly, glowering at the young girl; who simply glared back defiantly. However, the she finally noticed the dagger's heat—unbearable as it was—searing her flesh. The Flame shield had finally worn off. She gasped and snapped her head back, winding up her leg to give the brute in front of her a swift kick. In an instant, her leg flew through the air and made contact with the guard's stomach. As soon as the blow landed, the guard flew through the air and straight into his cohort and they both crumpled to the ground.

"Keep your advice to yourselves and leave me alone. If you come around again, I'll kick the snot out of both of you. Got it? I'm so sick of this." She threatened viciously, her anger feeding off of the burn on her neck.

In response, the duo threw Fionna the dirtiest of glances and the violent one uttered one final ominous phrase before they took their leave.

"You've been warned for the last time, sweetheart. Next time, it won't be us knockin' on your door. And the next visitor may not be so… forgiving." And with those words, the team trudged toward the horizon.

Once they were out of sight, Fionna's hand trailed up to touch the newly forming blister on her neck. It was about as long as her pinky finger. For the first time since these types of "meetings" began, she could feel anxiety creep into her mind. They'd never so much as touched a hair on her head before. She wondered what exactly to do. Does she confront the Queen herself? Tell Cake? The prince? Well, okay. Let's not do that. She thought, immediately envisioning all of the ways the prince would blow a gasket. She could handle herself anyway. She wouldn't let their words, or the Queen's obvious disdain get to her.

Who cares what she says anyway? My life has nothing to do with her. It's none of her business. I don't care. I don't. As long as I have him, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't.

She wasn't scared of the Queen, but this kind of harassment didn't exactly feel good. Why did they have to treat her like something they had to erase from their lives?

Fionna suddenly became so very irritated; more so than she'd ever felt in her life. Her hands balled tightly into fists and she wished so very badly that those jerks were still standing in front of her. She'd beat them into a new dimension. Because the pain in her neck was searing. Because it had her so so angry that she felt like she'd erode away.

What burned her most were the stinging tears of utter frustration that filling her eyes. Flames engulfed her from the inside-out as she raged internally. Her hands shook violently from the sheer force of her grip.

Because… It did affect her. And that killed her. The fact that it drove her so insane. She shouldn't care—shouldn't even pay any mind. But this has become a near-constant thing. The 4th time in the last 2 months that this has happened; that they'd threatened her like this. And it was escalating. And… she cared. Whenever in the Queen's presence, she felt like a bug just waiting to be squashed. So… insignificant. And it shouldn't bother her, because she had the sweetest, most loving boyfriend she could ever ask for, but it did. It shouldn't hurt so much that she wanted to forget it; but it did. It shouldn't burn her so, BUT IT DID. And she felt weak. Which was infuriating, because she wasn't. In any other situation, she would put anyone who tried so hard to erase her in their place without even thinking. If it were anyone else, she'd storm the castle and give the Queen a piece of her mind; maybe even throw a few punches. But there was something about the Queen that made her too wary to do anything at all. She had the feeling that if she took her on… She couldn't win. She was, after all, the most powerful Queen in Aaa, and she knew it.

Fionna wasn't scared—she was never scared. She was, however, out-matched. They say that good always prevails over evil… But sometimes… Evil is just—stronger. How embarrassing to say that! The beacon of goodness, fighting spirit, and justice concedes defeat! Disgraceful.

The adventuress shook her head briskly, disgusted with herself. She felt utterly ashamed of herself just then, so she turned and retreated into the treehouse to hide from the world. Some hero. She thought sardonically.

oOo

After a long bath and a whole lot of ignoring Cake, Fionna looked into the mirror at her drawn features. She tenderly brushed her fingertips against the angry scarlet burn mark on her neck that stood in stark contrast with her pale porcelain complexion. It looked nothing like the hickey she'd received earlier that morning, and it was on the complete opposite side of her throat. How exactly was she supposed to explain this to FP tomorrow? So annoying. She'd managed to conceal the wound from Cake, but it wasn't like she was looking closely either. And tomorrow she and the prince would naturally—well, he'd definitely notice. That witch wouldn't stop her from seeing him. Not a chance. Fionna wouldn't give her that satisfaction.

The young girl heaved a sigh and shook her head in defeat once again, stepping away from the mirror and exiting the bathroom. She was exhausted, and she avoided thinking about today's unwanted visitors for fear overexerting herself once again. Climbing up the treehouse stairs, she could heard Cake's snores from the opposite end of the room. Fionna smiled a little, momentarily feeling more relaxed. As she reached the top, she peered around the dark room, shuffling carefully over to her bed near the window and collapsed onto it. She just didn't have the energy to think or worry anymore, she just wanted to sleep. To get to tomorrow so that she could see him and it'd be alright again. It'd all just… Go away.

A/N: Well I hope that was interesting enough, and I hope you liked Marshall's cameo! I may actually keep him around for a while, I loved writing for him. And you know, I never got tired of this fic or anything, life just got in the way, as it does. Writing these chapters is such a long process, like I hate typing them up sometimes! I still have big plans for this story that I will bring to fruition very soon. I hope you'll join me for the ride. Thanks to those of you that already have, I can't thank you enough for giving my work meaning, and waiting so patiently for the updates. Well, what else can I say? I'm back, bitches. Hold on to your butts. The world's about to flip. When will it come? Until the very colorful next time—Case