"I'm so sorry about my father, he's really very arrogant and a dick when it comes to three things: me, my mother and humans..." Phoebe said, as she held my hand and walked with me as I was escorted to Flambo's house.
"Nah, it's cool...I've had experience with these kind of people before," I said, grinning sheepishly. "Besides, he may be your father but I know better that these kinds of people cannot affect me with their scathing words." Honestly, I really could not be bothered with the Flame King's insults hurled at my face. I knew better than to lash out in anger against this arrogant and hypocritical king. Better that my head be still upon my head rather than rolling on the ground for just a moment of pleasure letting out your anger against someone superior. Anyway, Phoebe's presence kept my mind at peace as she really treated me kindly and well. I could not believe this, but I felt I may love her.
"You know when my father said that my mother died during the time she gave birth to me?"
"Yeah, what about it?" I asked, already knowing that one way or another the Flame King was not telling the entire story to me about Phoebe.
"My mother was actually the legitimate ruler of the Fire Kingdom, and my 'father' was originally a high-ranking noble that, although not made leader of the kingdom, was given important responsibilities by my mother due to her trust in him.I don't know who's my original father though." She bit her lips tightly, clearly showing anger. "But then, my father made use of the love and power given to him to overthrow my mother in a coup and seize the throne for himself, killing her in the process and establishing a new dynasty in his name." Orange tears were starting to flow down her cheeks as she spoke. "So the reason my father hates me is not only because he thinks I'm too powerful; he also sees me as a threat to his position as king due to the fact I was descended from my mother, from the legitimate dynasty. After seizing power he killed all his opponents within the common people and purged the nobility, replacing them with his cronies, most of them thugs. My family ruled the kingdom with virtue and efficiency, showing mercy whenever they could, but this cruel and mad king-no, despot- has turned the kingdom into his own playground, not really caring for the people and just serving his own interests. His dynasty is going to plunge this kingdom into destruction if this keeps up."
As I listened to her story, my mind drifted back to the time when the mysterious voice spoke to me.
The strong do what they can, while the weak suffer what they must.
Was the story of how the Fire King rose to power an example of that? Perhaps. But one thing was for sure: I need to help those who cannot help themselves and protect them from their oppressors in order to prove to myself that what the voice said was not true. But why did something inside me feel that I was gonna be proven wrong one day?
When we got to Flambo's house, which was basically a giant rock that resembled a house, Phoebe knocked on the door and I was met by a small fire cat-like creature that had stubby arms and legs, with a long fiery tail. He was standing on two legs, which was pretty surprising to me since given the shape of his body he should not had been able to stand up like that. What was even more surprising was that he could talk, unlike the fire dogs I had seen earlier.
Flambo looked up at us with surprise for a while before saying, "Well, hello there princess nice to see you! Come in, come in!" He then gestured to the guards to go back to the palace before me and Phoebe went into the house.
Inside, there was a bed with woolen sheets on it and a small plate of coals at one corner of the room(which I assume is what Flambo eats). There were also some books, canned food, a map and some weapons laid on the floor of the house like a bow and arrow and a sword. The house was really plain,to be honest. I had some knowledge of using them actually, since Edward had trained me to use them to be prepared to fight any danger while he was still alive we might have had encountered travelling in the multiverse. Tears were already brimming in my eyes just thinking about it, but I wiped away them quickly.
Flambo walked up to me and observed me with a look of suspicion at first before breaking out into a grin that I could not help but smile at as well. "Well, human, I'd say, you look pretty handsome! And strong, too. Honestly, I was expecting the princess's choice of companion to be really bad, but, wow, you actually seem fit for her! That is, if you can prove it." He petted me on the leg, but all of I could think of was;What the hell? Phoebe was really interested in me? God, I though her father was lying when he said that but wow! She actually loves me! I looked up at Phoebe, giving her a look of shock. She just shrugged and smiled. Damn, her smile was really beautiful to look at. I could not help looking at her, and did that for a few moments that seemed like forever to me before I was pulled out of my daydream by Flambo's talking.
"Anyway,human-"
"Call him Michael, Flambo," Phoebe said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Oh, yes, sorry princess,ahem...as I was saying, Michael, you're gonna be on a long trip finding the Enchiridion, so you're gonna need supplies to keep you going on your journey...and to make sure you don't die out there." Flambo sighed and walked over to the spread of items on the floor.
"Here's is the map of the land of Ooo, and I have marked down the place where the book is," Flambo said, pointing at the map. I looked at it and saw it was really...strange, to say the least. It only showed one giant piece of land with many coloured areas, many of them labelled as weird-named kingdoms like the Candy Kingdom and the Goblin Kingdom. And the place where the book was located: it was labelled as a red cross somewhere between the Candy and Ice Kingdom. This might not be easy as I hoped it might have been...but I guess I'll have to make do..
"By the way, just thought I'd say this: the Enchiridion is guarded by a powerful and evil entity bent on destruction, known as the Lich. You might need to be prepared for the worse, that means, you're probably gonna die...but look, all you need to do is to grab that book and get out of there. The point I've marked is a mountain which you will need to climb using the stairs in there to go up to where the book is. Easier said than done, unfortunately for you. Although I wanted to give you more supplies to fight the Lich, the Flame King is bent on making your quest a hard one. I think he wishes to see you fail."
Wow, thanks a lot, Flame King. Just because the daughter you mistreat is interested in me, a mere human,you are making my quest arduous. I shook my head in disbelief, wondering what was his logic in planning this. Phoebe looked at me and nodded in agreement, sighing. Nevertheless I knew I had no choice if I wanted to save Phoebe: either I back down now and live my life with regret not saving her, or I could choose to do what he had taught me all these years and free someone from oppression. Besides, I knew that if Edward were in my shoes he would have done the same though it was crazy and dangerous.
Everything else was just Flambo going through my other supplies and instructing me on where to meet him after I had returned with the Enchiridion within the year. After I had packed up everything I had needed in my bag, Flambo said, "I can tell you guys wanna be alone for a while. Don't take too long though." He winked at us before walking out and closing the door and Phoebe and I blushed, our cheeks turning red. I could feel my cheeks were burning and I smiled.
"Soooo..."I started as we both sat down on the bed.
"Hey, Michael, don't be so reserved with me," Phoebe said as she inched closer to me until her body was pressing against my arm, as she rubbed her hand on my chest gently. "Besides, I love you, and we are all alone now..sooo..." She pushed me onto the bed and started biting my neck, nuzzling her face into my neck. My heart was pounding wildly at this point as we touched each other, my body stiffening with excitement at her skin in contact with mine. I played with her hair and she looked up, smiling as she put her hands under my shirt and rubbed my stomach. "You wanna kiss? Maybe we could even-"
"Actually, Phoebe, what made you interested in me?" I asked,holding her arms. She smiled and rested her head on my chest before saying, "When I saw that you were rescuing me, I felt as if that someone actually cared about me...you know? I have never been truly loved ever since my mother's death, and with my 'father' always treating me badly I felt betrayed and felt I couldn't trust anyone." She then ran a hand through my hair gently. "By the way..I'm sorry about your friend...I wish he didn't had to die...I-"
"It's cool, Phoebe,you didn't cause his death" I said, pulling her close and kissing her on the cheek. "My mentor died happy...and although I miss him I can't bring him back from the dead...besides, I gotta move on...I need to protect you.." I pulled her to me and nuzzled against her neck, my hands exploring her back.
"I really love you, Michael...so much...you are really kind and caring..." We looked at each other for a few moments, and as our faces slowly inched closer to one another, Flambo burst into the house and shouted, "Michael, don't kiss her!"
Phoebe and I both jumped off the bed in shock, and turned to look at him, looking visibly worried. "Michael...could we talk outside for a while? Alone?" I shrugged and petted Phoebe's head, saying," It won't be long, just wait a while..." She looked at me questionably before smiling, "Sure, no problem!"
When I was outside, Flambo looked about nervously and curious, I asked, "What the hell's going on Flambo? Why did you say I couldn't kiss her-"
"Look, man, I like you, alright, you're a good person, but you can't kiss her no matter how much you are in love with her!" he said, talking very softly to me. But why though? Flambo sighed deeply before continuing.
"Okay, here's the thing: remember Flame King told you that her daughter could be even more powerful than her? It's partly true: you see, because of the immense power in her, if you kiss her, the strong emotions of love would cause her to go unstable and release a hugeeee amount of energy that, if not prevented, could cause the Earth's core to collapse! In other words, this world could be destroyed if you kissed her, along with her!"
"Why are you only now telling me this?" I asked.
"Because I suddenly remembered while waiting outside about what Princess Bubblegum told me about Flame Princess- yes, that's her other name-so I quickly sensed danger and,well,here we are." Flambo shrugged. "I'm sorry, bro, but if you truly love her, you might not wanna get so physical. Or rather, do not kiss her on the lips! But...please don't tell Flame Princess...please?"
Numbed by this new discovery, I merely nodded and went back to talk to Phoebe, acting as if everything was okay. However I took Flambo's advice and tried not to be so intimate with her. God, why was she cursed to never be able to love anyone? It's not as if she chose this life...
Anyway, Flambo and I went out of the kingdom through a tall mountain with lava afterwards after saying goodbye to Phoebe, the secret revealed to me repeating in my head again and again like a broken recorder. And remembering something Edward told me: Not one of us can choose the lives we want to live, and whether our lives are good or bad, perfect of imperfect, we cannot control our destiny through our own will. In other words we're slaves to destiny. But it doesn't have to be that way with God, for with him, all things are possible.
How I wish that were true for Phoebe.I really wanted to save her, that poor and kind girl. As I climbed up the rocky mountain, I turned to look at the Fire Kingdom one last time, promising myself and Phoebe I would return and save her, God-willing if I stayed alive.
And I stepped into a world full of danger and uncertainty, not looking back.