Flanella
Act XI: The Butterfly
"It symbolizes metamorphic transformation. It represents a person who is currently experiencing a change, allowing him to grow or evolve and follow a new direction. It is a change that has been coming for a long time, has been worked for, and is certain to happen. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon."
–Animals, Symbols of the Tarot
Furnius erased the smirk on his face and stepped forward, ignoring Flame Princess' aggressive pose. He stood next to her, staring at the butterflies displayed on the wall. Flame Princess lowered her stance, following his actions cautiously. Her cousin turned to face her and chuckled. It had been years since the last time she met him, and like her, time had stolen away the childish traits in his features.
He stood two heads taller than her, his flames bulging out in a muscular build. A heavy armor, shaded in a dark red hue, coated most of his frame. The fire that grew about his chin and upper lips as facial hair certainly gave him an older appearance. Flame Princess felt like snickering. In the past no one ever expected Furnius to mature in the physical sense. He used to be a frustrated teenager, cursed to look "adorable" in the eyes of aged female elementals. Now however, something about the composed look in his eyes disturbed her growing nerves. And his forked tongue, snaking out of his lips to cause the characteristic hiss inflection in his husky voice, wasn't exactly comforting either.
"Don't you dare think this ridiculous collection is mine, it belongs to someone you'd rather not hear about. My foolish brother still likes to run around like an idiot, catching petty butterflies!"
An irritated frown seized his features as he slammed his fiery fist against the wall, causing several crystal cases to fall and explode in pieces at their feet. Flame Princess cringed a little, never expecting such a violent reaction. Nonetheless, she didn't move an inch from her place, keeping a better watch on his next moves. Furnius began to laugh. First muffled by his now damaged hand, his voice slowly grew louder until he eyed his young cousin again.
"But I must confess, you are his greatest catch yet, dear cousin!"
"Quit mocking me, Furnius!" Flame Princess' eyes turned wild with anger, "If you think this is some kind of game, why don't you go back and play with your dumb toy soldiers? Or do you want me to punch your lights out instead?!"
The fact that she still had her powers boosted her confidence, however not knowing why Furnius allowed her to keep them, held her feet frozen to the ground. She could tell he was up to something, just what could it be? Furnius silenced his guffaw, walking past Flame Princess while she laid her gaze down in deep thought, wondering, considering what sort of dirty tricks was he keeping under his sleeve. The exiled prince reached the desk on the other side of the room. Placing his hand above the game board, he proceeded to move a few clay figurines further into the east.
"Toys?" he whispered, "Yeah… I've got myself an interesting game set recently. You won't believe how fun it can be to play with mud and a dash of black magic."
Flame Princess noticed him inviting her to come closer, and she did so unconsciously. The stings pulsing in her head struck her once more, causing the young woman to rest a hand on her forehead. Furnius stopped her in the middle of the action, running his fingers across Flame Princess' skin in her place. There was a deep cut about her hairline, possibly a consequence of her previous encounter with Torcho. A single drop of blood slipped out of the wound. Furnius caught it with the tip of his finger as he made some space between him and Flame Princess. She could only stare at him coldly as he examined her blood.
"The royal bloodline of our family has been kept pure for centuries and it was supposed to stay like that forever." he suddenly said, "But you… You dared to do the unimaginable, mixing our noble blood with that of a pitiful candy fool, to defend your right to the throne… A right that never corresponded to you in the first place!"
"You left me no choice!" Flame Princess yelled back. "Can't you see it is not the power I care about, but the safety of my people? How could I cede the throne to someone like you? It would have been the same as letting my father rule the kingdom!"
"Me? The same as your father?!"
Furnius lunged against Flame Princess, attempting to slap her face. He restrained himself though, stopping his palm before it could graze her cheek. A soft chuckle came afterwards, as Furnius lowered his arm.
"If you think that old good-for-nothing Flame King was a threat, you should wait and see what I can do! Your father was weak! If he had the guts to murder mine, he should have killed you at the moment you were born then! But he accepted you back and tossed you into the lantern instead…" the prince leaned over, grasping a figurine from his desk. "What is it of him now? Nothing but smoke and ashes within the prison where you should have perished as well!"
Furnius clenched his fist, melting the small figure back into a mass of clay. It called Flame Princess' attention to notice how her cousin rubbed the finger coated with her blood along the reddish mud. A grayish aura engulfed the soft mass as the prince easily gave the clay a new form. A gasp was ripped out of her lips: the figurine was turned into an identical miniature of herself.
"And you are just as weak, if not more!" Furnius continued with a smirk, "You freed us from the punishment room and banished us into a life of senseless wandering throughout the cold west plains! How compassionate of you, cousin! Were you expecting me and my brother to take that as a second chance, and start our lives over?"
It hurt to admit it, Furnius was right. Flame Princess, ashamed of her ingenuous hopes, turned her head down with a nod. "Blood is thicker than water, some people say, and I can't stop thinking of Torcho and you as family. Isn't there a way we could end this conflict peacefully?"
"Your concept of family was clearly swayed by all those months you spent outside of the Fire Kingdom." Furnius shook his head in disapproval, "We are fire elementals. We are evil, and we don't create strong emotional bonds with others! Family or not, we are all waiting for the right moment to stab each other in the back. That's the way of the fire elementals! And you hold no pride whatsoever for the glory of your own race! How can someone like you be allowed to be king of the Fire Kingdom?! You want to end this as peacefully as possible? Relinquish the crown to its true king, then!"
As Furnius spoke those words, a long gone memory of Cinnamon Bun made itself present in her mind. Eight years ago, when thanks to him, the people of the Fire Kingdom chose and allowed her to remain as their king, no matter how weak —physically or emotionally— she could be. Such event was carved deeply in her heart. It proved that the fire citizens had accepted her and her new philosophy. It proved that there was good in them and that they had the will to change, that there was hope for their race to achieve harmony with the rest of the land.
Flame Princess felt an anxious tickling sensation in her chest. That was also the day in which she pushed Finn out of her life and let Cinnamon Bun assume the title of knight. Separated from him for eight years, that seemed eight centuries to her, she could only wonder if Finn had truly changed. Had it been the right decision to leave Flanella at his care? Had it been right to leave her daughter behind at all?
"Hey, I'm over here!" Furnius called, snapping his fingers to pull Flame Princess out of her train of thought. "Glob, you certainly look nervous, your Majesty!"
Replying to the sarcasm in his voice, Flame Princess glared at him. A small flare left her mouth, accompanying her angered growl. "What could you know about our people and the kind of king that they deserve?! What could you know about their needs, when all you ever think of is yourself?! There's no way I could possibly make you king!"
"Really? Because I believe there is a way!"
Once he had claimed that, Furnius raised the small Flame Princess clay doll, squeezing her tightly in his hand. Her body was quickly overwhelmed by pressure, leading to a painful sensation of stiffness in each vein, muscle and bone. Flame Princess swore she could feel the tight grip that Furnius was exerting over the doll on her own skin. Despite how much she struggled to move her arms or just any limb, it was simply impossible for her to escape from whatever spell cast upon her.
"What? What's happening to me?!" she barely managed to shout.
"I told you I had gotten myself an interesting game set!" Furnius chuckled, "Remember the 'toy soldiers'? What would you do if I told you they are now wiping out your puny armed forces on their way to the palace?"
Flame Princess' eyes grew wide in shock.
"Yeah, thanks to your compassionate punishment I was able to meet a merchant, who made me an offer that I couldn't resist. A witch read the palm of my hand for free and saw greatness in my future. Since I care so much about my fate, I paid for a deeper reading. It appears that the Tarot cards do know who deserves to sport a crown after all!" Furnius gave off a bright glow, his flames growing with pride. "And to make things better yet, in exchange of a cheap payment, that ugly hag granted me the power to fulfill my destiny!"
"P-power?" she muttered with difficulty.
Furnius smirked, giving the doll a light pinch. Flame Princess flinched, feeling the sting in her arm.
"Are you familiar with voodoo magic? It's simple. It obeys two principles, Similarity and Contagion. The first one allows me to use a scale army on a game board here —or little toy soldiers as you said—, while a real sized battalion crushes your forces on the eastern lands! It's the same thing that allows me to control you right now. If I raise this doll's arm, you'll raise yours. Isn't that cool or what?"
A smug grin was drawn across his features, sensing the increasing despair on the helpless victim before him. Flame Princess' body shuddered in fear and desperation, unable to control her own muscles at will.
"The second one, thanks to the tiny drop of blood that I mixed with the clay in this doll, lets me inflict pain, pleasure, or fear. Whatever I want on anything in possession of your blood. No matter the distance between us, your will is mine! Your powers are mine! You are mine!" he then rubbed his chin, pondering. "Now that I think about it, that daughter of yours must be linked to the second principle as well… Isn't that convenient?"
"F-Flanella…!" Flame Princess gasped in horror. "D-don't hurt her! Please, I beg you!"
Furnius couldn't help to laugh in amusement. "See? I haven't done anything yet, and now you are begging for clemency! Even I am amazed by how fast this voodoo magic works!"
He eyed the helpless woman as she lowered her head, shedding tears of frustration. Flame Princess was ready to overcome all the pain that Furnius had in store for her but Flanella, her baby, how could such a fragile creature endure it? What use did keeping her strength and might have if she couldn't defend the innocent life of her child with them? No one could… Surrendering seemed to be her only chance of sparing Flanella from an imminent suffering.
"This is exactly why fire elementals don't form strong bonds with others, for personal safety! Do you think your father felt any remorse when he killed his own brother or kicked you out to perish in the wilderness as a baby? No! You wouldn't be tormenting yourself for that child now! Why do you care about her anyway? You only conceived her to use the royal law against me, and as you see, she didn't serve her purpose. In your position, disposing of that child would be a wise decision." Furnius eagerly stated. "At least you'd free our family's bloodline from a mongrel!"
"Why do I care about Flanella? Someone so consumed by evil would never understand it…" she breathed, "How would you ever do it… when you've never been loved?"
Slowly, either proud of being in control or disappointed by the existence of such a weak fire elemental as Flame Princess —Furnius shook his head.
"Love, really? Are you going to give me a lecture about love? Wasn't love what got you into this mess? It made you feel compassion towards Torcho, didn't it? Wasn't because of love that your precious cinnamon knight died? Isn't love what's forcing you to surrender to me now?" he scoffed skeptically, "Love won't save you from this one, Flame Princess."
She hopelessly thought of her loyal knight, Cinnamon Bun who was dead and gone. Her brother was probably fighting for his life somewhere near the military settlement with little to no chances of winning this time. That is, if he hadn't been defeated already. The rest of her subjects were virtually unaware of the catastrophe that was looming upon them. And Finn —he probably was sitting in his living room, caring for Flanella. The hero of Ooo would never come to her aid, for she had requested him to do so. If he did respect her, as she believed, Finn would obey her command and stay away from the Fire Kingdom.
With a sigh Flame Princess gave up to Furnius' words. Suddenly it bothered her to have so few friends to rely on. She remembered that, whenever Finn found himself in a perilous situation, he could always count with Jake, Beemo, Princess Bubblegum, the Vampire Queen —and even the annoying Ice King, among countless others, who were ready to lend him a helping hand. But she, she was alone.
Used to that immense feeling of loneliness, Flame Princess gave a weak nod. "I know love won't save me… but it's the only joy I've ever had. Whatever you do, Furnius, please… just keep Flanella out of this…"
"That doesn't depend on me, it depends on you and your disposition to cooperate. Now, you will take off that crown on your head and you'll declare me as the new and only king of the Fire Kingdom, is that clear?"
Flame Princess was about to reply when the sound of approaching footsteps filled the room. She turned her head to find Torcho, leaning on the entrance with an anxious look on his face. The young prince eyed her briefly, quickly averting his gaze from hers, ashamed. Avoiding Flame Princess' stare, feeling the weight of guilt crush his back, he advanced to his brother's side.
"C'mon, Furnius!" Torcho pleaded, laying his hands on Furnius' shoulders. "Don't you think this is going a bit too far? Flame Princess hasn't done anything to us, much less her child."
His brother wacked him off of his armor, impatiently pushing the young prince back. "Torcho, you agreed to do this with me, have you forgotten? It's too late for regret! How dare you intercede in Flame Princess' favor when you can't even look at her in the eye? You were the one who brought her here, to the clutches of revenge! And since the old Flame King is already dead, his descendants are bound to pay for his sins!"
"Torcho…"
The weak voice of Flame Princess called him. With great difficulty, Torcho tried not to give his back to her, whilst avoiding her eyes. It didn't feel right to stare directly at her. At least he knew he didn't have the guts to do it. He was responsible for her pitiful condition. When she acted in his favor to keep him safe from falling, he went behind her back and pushed her down. No, he couldn't face her.
"Torcho, look at me!" Flame Princess commanded, the anger in her tone rising.
Paralyzed as she was, her facial muscles were making a great effort to exteriorize her resentful emotions. The fury in her brow, the sadness swelling in her eyes, the despair in her voice… Furnius crossed his arms with a smirk, noticing how little by little Torcho's stoic cover began to fall apart. It was an enjoyable show indeed.
"Torcho!" Flame Princess' cried once more, frustrated. "Why are you doing this to me? I had faith in you, Torcho! I gave you the chance to prove yourself worthy of my trust! We both know who deserves to be the true king, don't we?" her voice broke, "Torcho… please…"
"Enough!" Furnius slammed his conflicted brother out of his way, approaching Flame Princess steadily. "I am the true king here! Now, Flame Princess, either if you want to or not, you'll make it official! And Torcho, my brother, you'll be the witness!"
He threw his arms open in excitement, "Let the crowning ceremony begin!"
Enthusiastically, Furnius knelt before Flame Princess, waiting for her to proceed. She refused to move. With indignation, Furnius pulled the voodoo doll and manipulated her arms. Flame Princess' hands rose to the level of her head, trembling as a consequence of her futile restraint. Her fingers seized the golden crown, forcefully striping it off of herself. Soon her legs buckled forward, compelling Flame Princess to stumble near her evil cousin.
"Now repeat after me," Furnius said, whispering at the doll's ear, "I, Flame Princess, unworthy of the title of king of the Fire Kingdom…"
"I…" his living puppet repeated, her voice quivering with woe. "F-Flame Princess… unworthy of… the title of king …of the Fire Kingdom…"
"Hereby declare, Furnius as rightful heir of the throne, True King of the Fire Kingdom!" as he said this, he forced the doll to lean over and place the crown on his head.
Flame Princess, unable to fight against his wishes, repeated each word between her clenched teeth. She bent over, her hands trembling as they held the crown, and deposited it on Furnius' head. She could barely keep her tears from falling. She had just surrendered the fate of her people to an ominous king. Her own body had betrayed her.
Furnius rose and stood victorious before her, a pleased smirk enlightening his sinister features. Torcho covered his eyes, yearning to stop watching such a disheartening scene. Nonetheless, the young prince was driven to unveil his gaze when he heard Furnius giving a new order to Flame Princess.
"Now, bow before your king and accept your failure!"
"W-wait, Furnius! Haven't you humiliated her enough already?" Torcho instinctively snapped.
"Stay out of this, Torcho!" he roared, "She's mine now! I am the king and I will do whatever I want of her!"
The young prince eyed Flame Princess for the first time, concerned. Her eyes no longer depicted any signs of emotion. Nothing but a remorseful reproach, an "It's too late for that now…" remained in her clouded stare. He cringed back in astonishment then, watching how Flame Princess —by her own will—, laid her knees on the ground and let her head hang down in submission. A few lava tears hit the earth, abandoning the wet trails on her cheeks.
"Long live the king…" she wearily whispered and then collapsed.
Torcho let out a terrified gasp, running to her side. He cradled her in his arms, helping her up. It was no use. Flame Princess had fainted. Furnius approached him and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"Torcho, we no longer need of her." he chuckled, "Though, if you want to keep her, I suggest you give her a place among your other trophies."
Grasping Torcho's hand, Furnius set the clay figurine of Flame Princess in his palm along with a few butterfly pins. Torcho gulped, unsure of what to do next. He gripped the figure and stood back on his feet, leaving Flame Princess behind. It would be better to do it now that she was unconscious, she would feel no pain. No matter how wrong it seemed, it was better to take care of Flame Princess' fate himself than letting Furnius toy with her any further.
Inhaling a deep breath, Torcho placed the soft clay doll against the wall and gently, with the same care that he used whenever he worked with his butterflies, inserted the pins into her. Two in her tiny hands, delicately as to not rip her wings off, and one on her chest to support her light weight. Furnius patted his back once the job was done.
"I'll go pay a visit to that witch before my ascension to the throne. Meanwhile, I want you to leave to the battlefield and make sure my soldiers have exterminated each royal flame warrior that might oppose me. Guide our troops to the palace and wait for me there." he turned to Torcho and grinned, "We'll assume our true place in the throne soon enough. Our time in this dark pit has finally come to an end!"
Torcho faced the opposite wall in concern, "What about her?"
"There's nothing she can do as long as she lays up there. Does it seem cruel to you, feeble brother?"
Torcho raised his head and stared at Flame Princess in silence. "As you said, Furnius, sometimes preserving beauty requires cruelness."
Satisfied with that answer, the evil king marched out of the chamber and vanished within a tunnel. Left alone with Flame Princess, Torcho moved closer to her body, as it lay attached to the wall. He acknowledged his mistakes, his sins. Flame Princess did not deserve to end up like that, trapped in a new prison. There had to be a way to set her free. It was always more delightful to watch the butterflies, flapping their colorful wings on the wind than to have them dead on display.
Freeing her in Furnius' absence would have no use. Flame Princess was bound to a curse now, and only his brother could remove it from her.
"I promise I'll make it up to you somehow," he whispered, looking down at his untied shoelaces. "You saw good in me when no one else did, just like with the rest of the Fire Kingdom. No one but you should carry the weight of the crown."
"I can't stand to watch you like this, Flame Princess. I swear I'll make things right this time."
He waited in silence for an answer however, trapped in her unconscious self; the only words that she could utter were weakly pronounced names. Names that he had heard before.
"Flanella… F…inn…"
Author's Notes:
I apologize for the delay, hopefully I'll have more time to work on this fic next week.
I chose not to make Furnius' hiss an explicit thing in the dialogue, because he is going to speak a lot and it just makes the paragraphs look awful. Anyway, thank you guys for waiting and see you soon!