When I woke up for a second time, I thought I had only slept a few hours. Marshall was sitting in a chair next to my bed, his head hung, his arms crossed and resting on his knees, his body slumped over. Then, in the silence, I heard light snores escaping his lips. I smiled at myself, reveling in the small things that I learned to appreciate.
I tried to move my muscles little by little and found that it was much easier to move this time around. I could lift my right arm all the way up, but my left arm still had something stuck in it. To the right of me a glass of water was sitting on the bedside table, so I tested my luck and reached to grab it. The whole process was painful, but tasting that sweet water again was well worth it. Next step: sitting up.
I found that my torso was in far more pain than my limbs and face, so when I sat up in the bed, a searing, agonizing bolt of pain rocked through my body. I gasped at the pain, that being the quietest thing I could do so I didn't wake up Marshall. It was no use. He heard me and shot straight up in shock, looking around everywhere, ready to fight whatever it was that made the noise. I chuckled a little, bearing the pain that shot through me as I did. If I could sit up, I could laugh. That was my resolve.
Marshall turned to me and smiled, realizing that, not only was I awake, but I was sitting up and smiling. "Fionna! How are you feeling?" he asked, exasperated.
"I'm better, thanks," I replied in my still raspy and worn out voice.
"How's your pain level? One to ten."
I thought about it for a moment. "Hmm, well if ten is like getting stabbed in three different places by poison swords like that one time, I'm going to say a 9." Marshall didn't even get the joke or the reference. He just floated over to the end of the bed, picked up a clipboard I didn't notice, and jotted some things down. "Hey, uh, Marshall? What's that?"
"It's your chart, Fi. Bubba said we needed to record everything on this thing so we could make sure you heal properly, or some junk like that. He told me that if you woke up again while I was on watch, I needed to at the very least record your pain level and how much you could move. He was—we were afraid that you might not move again." His voice sounded like a puddle of emotion; excitement, pain, exhaustion, happiness… I couldn't tell which one he felt more.
"Well tell your chart that I'm doing much better. Everything still hurts pretty bad, but I'm happy I can move. And look! It only took me a few hours to feel better!"
Marshall looked up at me from his chart with a careful and confused expression. "Fi, you've been out for 3 weeks. This is the first time you've woken up since that one time after we pulled you from the ice."
I felt my eyes go wide and my mouth drop open. Three weeks? That's insane! And incredibly disheartening. Here I thought I was healing pretty quickly. "Wow, uh… I guess… I guess it's still a good thing I'm healing, right?" I chuckled nervously, not totally believing my own words.
Marshall smiled warmly at me, set the chart down, and floated over the bed. He stopped right in front of me, crossed his legs, and lowered himself about half an inch above my legs, so it looked like he was sitting on the bed with me. "You are one incredible chick, Fionna." His bright red eyes penetrated my own, searching me, taking me in, setting a gateway between him and myself.
"And you are one charming vampire king," I replied, smiling back at him. I tried lifting my left arm to touch his face, but was once again pulled back by whatever it was that was stuck in it.
"Careful, that's an IV. Doctor Prince insisted that you have it, because you weren't getting the nutrients you needed without it, or some junk." He leaned over me and gently laid his hand on my own.
I giggled a little, my ribs aching with each motion. "You're not good with medical junk, are you?"
He let out a sad chuckle and blushed a little, looking away. "Nah, hospitals aren't my style." He turned his gaze on me, his eyes suddenly full of longing and want. "I can't do much for your body here, but put me in a bedroom with you, and I'll make your body beg for me." His voice. It was just dripping with lust. It made me shudder and tingle in places I'd almost forgot about.
I laid my right hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him away, a weak and timid gesture. "You're such a perv, Marshall Lee. Praying on the weak and crippled and junk." Together we laughed, the pain soaring through me once again.
We talked together for a long, long while, laughing, giggling at stupid jokes, even flirting here and there. Mine and Marshall's relationship was always like that; light and airy half the time, deep and passionate the other half. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Marshall said, "Okay, okay, okay, I can't hog you to myself anymore. I got to call Bubba and Cake and let them know how you're doing, or they'll never forgive me." He reached over me and picked up a device attached to the bed that I had never seen before. He pressed one button and spoke into it. "Hey, Bubba, she's awake. Get Cake, okay?"
"This is wonderful! We'll be right there!" Gumball's voice echoed through the machine. Marshall smiled and laid the device back where it was.
"So, when they get here, I say you tell us what's going on. How 'bout it?" He winked at me, even throwing in an obnoxious eyebrow wiggle, as if he needed to convince me to tell my story.
"No, I think I'm going to let you all wonder about me forever and ever. Is she a zombie? Is she a ghost? Who knows! She won't say!"
Marshall literally fell back in laughter, nearly hitting his head on the footboard. Just then, Cake and Gumball ran in, worry written all over their faces.
"What the glob is going on here?!" Gumball shouted, not fully soaking in the scene yet.
"Bubba! Bubba—" Marshall was still laughing as he tried to speak. "She—pft—she says we think—hahah—we think she's a zombie or something!" With the mention of the word, Marshall was sent into a fit of laughter, and I couldn't help but join him.
Gumball stood there a little dazed, but cake covered her mouth with her paw, stifling her own laughter. "Oh sweet babies! Fi, you are too funny!"
"I guess I am!" I retorted, still chuckling.
It took us all a few minutes to calm down, the air in the room gradually weighing itself on all of us as the giggling settled.
"Fionna, are you feeling well enough to tell us what's going on?" Gumball asked patiently. He talked to me like he talked to other patients in the hospital, which was sort of annoying. I guess I understood though. In his position, I can't say I'd act much differently.
"I guess it's time, huh?" I started, taking in a deep, painful breath. "Well, you guys know what happened. I realized, once Ice Queen burst in and she was in the same pain Ice King was, that it had to do with their crowns. The Seeress told me that when two relics break, a sacrifice will be made to set my lovers free. I had no other choice. It was the only thing I could do."
The room grew heavy as I spoke, each of them reliving that day over a year ago. "The ice was so cold and so bitter, and it took the feeling away from my body as it inched up me. In my head, it seemed like it took at least a minute to get all the way around me. I wanted to leave you all with a smile, not my tears." Marshall and Gumball both looked away, frowning.
"I thought for sure I would die. Really, I did. But it was like my death, my crossing over, was interrupted. By The Seeress." The mention of her name immediately took all their attention to me. "She told me that I was neither dead nor alive. I just was. We were in this underground cave thing, packed full of crystals. On the biggest crystal, the one she stood in front of, I saw her watching my death. I stood with her and watched, and I saw everything. Every moment of it. In actuality, I saw every moment of the year that passed since that day. I don't know where we were or what we were doing, but time passed like a speeding river in that place. I saw everything."
No one knew what to say. They all stared at me, uncomprehending, unable to make sense of it. I suppose it was understandable. How do you explain living in ether when no one else knows what that is? "While I was there, The Seeress revealed some… things… to me. She told me that the curse, which was meant to last a hundred years, couldn't hold me for more than a year for one simple reason: my father. She told me that my father was…" I choked a little, not really knowing how to proceed. I took another deep breath and tried again. "My father was Billy, the Hero of Aaa."
"WWHHAAATT? Girl you have GOT to be kidding! Billy? Our idol, Billy? The greatest adventurer ever? He's your daddy? Oh sweet babies!" Cake burst out, unable to hide her confusion.
"Heh, yeah, that's what I thought, too. But she was right. She had to be. Otherwise, why would a hundred year curse only last a year for me?"
We all sat there for a few minutes, thinking, considering. Finally, Gumball broke the silence. "It does seem plausible. After all, how else would you and him have such similar qualities?"
"But that's… that's insane!" Marshall added, still in shock.
"Believe me, guys, I was just as surprised as you were. I decided that, if I did get free after a year, I would believe her."
"So what about your momma, Fi? Where was she?" Cake asked, genuinely curious.
I hung my head, a sadness suddenly overwhelming me. "She, uh… she was killed. By the Lich."
The whole room went heavy with silence. If my mother being murdered wasn't bad enough, the name of the Lich had definitely sent terrifying and tragic ripples through us all.
"Fi, I'm so sorry, sugar…" Cake said, breaking the almost unbearable silence.
"Don't be, Cake. It may seem tragic, but I won't let him get away with it. While I was in there, I had a year to come up with a plan for revenge. I decided I'm going to kill the Lich."
Everyone seemed stunned for a moment, looking at me like I'd gone insane. "But, Fionna… you and Cake sent him to another dimension a long, long time ago. No one even knows where he is!" Gumball replied in surprise.
"The Seeress does. I have two years to come up with a solid plan before I return to her. She's going to help me get to him." Cake and Gumball answered my reply with worried looks.
Marshall, though, looked beyond excited. "Glob yeah! This is awesome!" I smiled excitedly at him, happy that he was so willing to be on my side.
"Marshall!" Gumball hissed, trying to passively get him to change his mind.
"What? She's got a point. Billy was Aaa's hero, man! He deserves some cold, sweet revenge. And who better to dish it out than his own badass daughter? This is going to be epic!" Marshall replied, now floating above us all in his enthusiasm.
Cake smiled at us, chiming in. "Alright, girl, I'm in. Let's get this baddy! For Billy! For Aaa!"
"You've all gone insane. Don't you remember the terror he spread? The people he's killed? He's not some beast you can just slaughter and be done with! He's some sort of otherworldly demon!" Gumball was shocked at us, completely unwilling to accept our resolution.
"I don't care what he is or how terrifying he can be. He killed my parents. He killed Billy. He doesn't deserve to live." My voice sounded strong and defiant as I stared Gumball down. Still, he wouldn't budge. He just crossed his arms and looked away.
"Fine. If I can't change your mind then I won't. But please, at least think it over. This is the second time we've almost lost you, Fionna. Don't make us lose you again." Gumball looked back at me with sadness and pleading in his eyes. I had to drop my head and look away from him.
"I'm sorry, Gumball. I'm sorry for causing you guys so much pain." Again, things went quiet. I didn't expect anyone to say "it's okay" or "just don't do it again". Making people believe you were dead twice was a hard thing to come back from.
"Well, we're all happy you're back, sugar. I tried to tell these fools for months that you just went away for a while. I'm glad you can finally tell them yourself that you weren't dead."
I chuckled at her, but the pain I kept experiencing was beyond exhausting. I didn't realize how tired I was getting. "Thanks Cake. I, uh, I think I want to go back to sleep now."
I heard agreeing mumbles from around me as one by one they got up to go. Gumball helped me lay back down, kissing my forehead gently. Marshall's cold hand came and stroked my cheek from the other side of the bed, and Cake's paw gingerly grasped my hand.
"I'll stay with her for now, Marshy. Go get some rest." Their voices were fading again, but I heard Marshall say something to him in agreement. Gumball sat in the chair next to my bed, his hand on mine, as Cake and Marshall made their way out of the hospital room.
For a moment I wondered how long I would sleep this time, but that thought faded, like everything else, as my pain melted away and I slowly fell asleep.