Um... I bought Starbound. Wow was that a mistake. That game is so addictive I might have been neglecting everything else. If anyone has it though and wants to play, shoot me a message. So much fun. c:

Avoiding her wasn't going to solve her problems. If it had any effect on anything it just made so many things harder. Still she kept pacing. Back and forth along her front wall, wearing the carpet away. So much energy was boiling inside that she had to walk it off. Floating was out of the question.

She'd broken the promise – if that's what it was – she'd put in the note, and not returned to the Candy Palace the evening before. Instead, she'd spent the night completely unable to sleep or concentrate on anything at all really. Marceline had wasted the whole day pacing this one side of her room. Well… almost the whole day. It had been two days since she'd had a proper rest and she'd fallen asleep above her lounge chair around midday.

The sun was nearly set now, only faint orange light leaking around the lip of her cave. Her feet felt as though they were tied with elastic and the other end was tethered in the tower of the palace. She kept her distance, but every time it would stretch taut and she'd be whipped back there. Against her will usually. There was nothing for her there.

Hours she paced, glancing at her clock sometimes, at her bass others. Sometimes she'd pause and stare out the window. Night cloaked the land and clouds scudded across the velvet sky. A thickening layer building. Maybe it would storm. She kept pacing. Something to keep her mind active wouldn't go amiss.

She sighed, plucking at the hem of her shirt. Her chest felt all heavy and full of sticky goo, hard to breathe. Several times already she'd paced to the door, tapped her fingers on the handle before spinning around with a groan. This time she wouldn't give in. But on her own she was left to marinate in her own thoughts. She needed company.

Marceline retrieved her bass from its rack and left, flying north-east. There weren't many places she could go without causing a stir. This was one of those places. Even though she normally avoided it, sometimes it helped. Not that he understood what she was going on about.

It was well past midnight. Well past. A stroke of good fortune saw the clouds roll in, laden with moisture and complaining loudly about it. Thunder rolled near the Candy Kingdom, booming across the plains, letting everyone know a storm was coming. The weather matched her mood.

Icy peaks reared up before her, the grey of rain sheeting across her vision obscured them somewhat, but when lightning flashed behind her the white capped mountains glared brightly. The lightning, while making her flight somewhat perilous, also made it easier to navigate and it didn't take her long to locate the particular peak she was after. A triangular doorway, fuzzed with magic to keep the rain out, marked her destination, high up the side of the mountain.

Marceline slowed slightly and slipped feet first through the opening. Her heels clicked on the icy floor and she was swiftly greeted by a pair of beady black eyes. The penguin flopped across to welcome her.

"Hello, little Gunter," she said fondly. She gave the penguin a pat on his fluffy crown before walking past him. "Is your king home?"

"Wenk," came the reply. Marceline didn't have a clue what that meant, but she assumed it meant yes. Soft voices echoed through the chilly halls, proving her right.

This was one of the few places she didn't feel… wrong. It was cold, like her. No questions about her pale skin or temperature resistance. She could just be, without funny looks. Marceline floated silently through the rooms, searching for the origin of the murmuring.

"Simon?" she called. He didn't know his name, but he knew that's what she called him. The voice continued. Talking to himself, she presumed, or the voices he heard courtesy of that hateful crown. How she loathed it.

Following the sound of whispering down to a lower level she wondered why he'd be down here. This was his… dungeon… for want of a better word. It wasn't really a dungeon, just a room he'd converted to be more resistant to escaping prisoners. It was where he kept princesses. His fascination with them baffled her. But, he kept locking them up just the same. As if that was a grand way to go about getting married.

Marceline poked her head into a few doorways on the way down, hoping against hope he hadn't actually stolen someone. She saw him before she entered the room so she paused in the corridor to watch. He was humming to himself, he was tone deaf now, but that didn't stop him from trying to be musical. Another thing the crown had ruined. Busy at a bench making a… sandwich she thought, he didn't see her hanging in the air not five feet from him.

"Well my love," he said, turning slowly with his sandwich. "How about we have a romantic dinner? Just the two of us. Gunter won't be interfering tonight."

A snort came from somewhere in the room and the hairs on Marceline's neck rose. Her eyes wide, she drifted closer. "He better not have," she grumbled sullenly. She stuck her head around the corner to look inside and her heart sank. Sitting neatly in the centre of Simon's icy cell was Bubblegum. She was in a nightdress, barefoot and her hair was a mess, black streaks tore liberally through the pink. Quite a sight.

"Oh Bonnie," she said softly. Her boots clacked against the ice as she dropped to the floor and strode through the doorway. Bubblegum's eyes snapped up to her face and her jaw dropped. Simon didn't appear to notice, just kept talking about how amazing their evening was going to be. "I thought I told you to stop stealing people," Marceline said, resting a hand on Simon's shoulder. "It's rude."

Simon lurched around to stare at her. "Marceline," he said, jaw floundering. "I… we… uh…"

"I know, Simon," she replied gently, stepping around him. She slung her bass across her shoulder and unlatched the cell door. "I know. Come on, Bonnie; let's get you out of there." She thrust out her hand to help her baffled friend to her feet.

"What are you doing here?" Bubblegum asked her quietly. Like Simon wasn't standing right there and couldn't hear every word. "Where have you been?"

"One thing at a time, Bon," Marceline replied, smiling faintly. "Simon, stop kidnapping people. They don't like it."

He hunched his shoulders. "But we were just getting to know each other," he pleaded. "You told me-"

"I told you I wouldn't help you," Marceline cut across him. "Just… please, Simon. Stop."

Simon slouched off, calling for Gunter. He seemed so sad, but she couldn't just let him go on. And she couldn't put a stop to it either. In spite of what the crown had done to him, he was still Simon, and she couldn't hurt him.

"Where's Finn?" Marceline asked Bubblegum, picking her up so her toes didn't freeze. "He's normally first on the scene when Simon nabs you. And he's usually there within ten minutes." Marceline placed the back of her hand on her friend's cheek. "And you've been here a while."

"All day and night actually," Bonnie replied somewhat stiffly. "Finn and Jake are on holidays for a week. What are you doing here and where have you been?" Ah, she was mad then.

"I… uh… had a personal issue," Marceline told her evasively. "I was… erm… just out clearing my head. Doing stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Um… vampire stuff."

Bubblegum pursed her lips, frowning. "That's…" she trailed off. Marceline never answered her questions when they pertained to vampires. She knew better than to ask. It was Marceline's way of walling off a topic and stamping it with a big 'don't go there' sign.

The princess's eyes widened when they saw the tempest raging outside. "Uh, Marceline how are we going to get home in this?" She set Bubblegum on the window sill and slid her jacket off, wrapping it around her friend's shoulders.

"It's probably not real warm, but pull the hood up and… hold on."

"We won't make it to the palace," Bubblegum noted.

"Would you rather stay here?"

A long pause stretched taut.

It snapped. "We could go to your house," Bonnie said so softly Marceline almost missed it. "It's closer and… not here."

Marceline stiffened like her spine had become a solid metal rod. "Uh…huh," her voice wavered. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright then," the vampire said slowly. Then she bundled Bubblegum up and did her best to wrap up every exposed inch of skin. With the limited clothing available that wasn't easy. Bubblegum ended up with her hands stuffed in the sleeves of her borrowed coat, her face pressed into Marceline's shoulder and her toes… well… Marceline wrapped them up with a strip of cloth torn from her shirt. "Hang on tight, Bon."

She dove out the window into the storm. It was blowing a gale and she found it hard to fly straight, like she was drunk. Bubblegum's arms were an iron band around her neck, squeezing so tight it almost hurt. Good thing she didn't need to breathe. Her long hair was drenched in seconds and it kept whipping around Bubblegum which couldn't be good. Marceline had to shift around a few times, careful not to drop Bonnie or hold too tight, before she found something even remotely comfortable but the wind and rain lashing them still made it difficult.

Bonnie's breath on her neck felt warm, but her nose was like ice. Marceline bowed her head and ploughed through the tempest. They probably should have stayed with Simon. The coat she'd given Bubblegum wasn't weather proof either.

It seemed like ages, but eventually she swooped through the cave mouth, not even slowing as she raced inside. She laid a sleeping Bubblegum on the bed, had to pry stiff fingers from her neck to do so, and placed her palm on her cheek. Now Marceline had a low temperature, courtesy of being a vampire, but even to her Bonnie felt cold. She peeled off the saturated coat and slid her friend beneath the covers.

Marceline did her best to towel Bubblegum's hair dry, but there wasn't much she could do about her nightdress. She felt awkward and silly, but didn't want to do anything… uncomfortable. Instead, she piled as many sheets, towels and even found a quilt in her wardrobe, on the bed, burying Bonnie beneath a mountain of cloth.

She floated uneasily back and forth across the foot of the bed. What else could she do? She didn't own a heating implement of any kind, she didn't need one. Right now, Bubblegum did though. Marceline was familiar with the idea of sharing heat, but she didn't have any to share.

Twisting her fingers, fidgeting, suffering a mild panic attack, she hovered anxiously above the bed, watching her friend sleep. What if she died? Marceline would be hated by the candy people forever. And that sour fellow would end up ruling. The idea was horrifying. But was that the only reason she was so worried?

Yes, she decided. Yes it was. Any alternative was just stupid. She rearranged the blankets idly and crossed her legs. It was going to be a long night.

"Don't you dare die on me, Bonnibel Bubblegum," she murmured.