Fionna was still running flat after two hours. She wouldn't stop until she was far enough away that even when every old memory and feeling crushed her aching chest she couldn't turn back. She would not return now, not after all the precautions she had taken. Her friends knew nothing about the danger they were in, and that was the way it should be. It should especially be kept from them how much danger Fionna herself was in. They would only want her to be safe, and safe was the last thing that she would ever be. To be honest, Fionna didn't really know if she wanted safe anymore. She liked her life, even if it was hell most of the time. She did what she was always meant to do, which was to keep the innocent safe and bring down the guilty. She didn't know if she was happy, but she knew what she was doing. She knew what she was getting into when she began this.
She was still running steadily, feeling her lanky but strong body move easily and swiftly. She kept her eyes open for anything around her that might be cause for alarm. It was still just before dawn, the pink light coming up slowly. The thick trees above weren't going to give her much cover soon, but they still allowed her to keep to the shadows. Her body still did not protest even as she ran, lack of food and water not affecting her much at the moment. She hadn't slept for at least 24 hours, maybe more, but she had trained herself to be able to go up to three days without sleep and still functioning.
She kept her head down as she ran, making sure the hood covered her face. The cloak was flying behind her. Her body wasn't even perspiring yet. She allowed her thoughts to tumble freely for a moment.
An image of Cake came up, holding her white hat, looking confused. She hadn't really accepted that Fionna was leaving until she was gone. The next image was a smile of Gumball's face before she had said goodbye. Another was the song Marshal had been playing before she hugged him and left for the journey of a new life.
Her first real adventure by herself had been helping a society of mer-people reclaim their land over lake knights. The mermaids had wished for her to be their queen and marry their youngest royalty, a handsome merman who looked 17, but had actually been 84. He had confessed his love for her on her third week of living with them, but she had already politely declined their offer of ruling, and she could not stay in one area for too long anyways. She had lied to the merman and said that she was cursed to live a life without love, but really she just thought he was too sweet to end up with someone as dangerous as she. Fionna had visited the people last year, taking note on how unhappy the prince had seemed in his new marriage, and how quickly he had seemed ready to break if off for Fionna. She wasn't very pleased with the idea of such a disloyal person as a husband, but she hadn't even really loved him to begin with. She left after two days, politely wishing the couple well and apologizing for her early departure. In all fairness, thieves and villains didn't get caught on their own, and the neighboring village had been getting worse for a long time crime wise.
She tripped over something and stumbled for a moment, before cart wheeling on her hands and landing smoothly. She turned her head sharply, wondering what she had not been able to see through the fog of memories.
A chest, long and thin, almost the exact same shade as the patch of moss it was on lay before her. It could've been there for centuries, or just moments. She gingerly touched it with a small swig, and when nothing happened she began to swish the twig around the chest, making sure it wasn't trapped. She slowly extended her hand, the other tossing the twig aside and pulling out the knife from her boot.
Nothing happened when she touched the thing, and even more surprising was that there appeared to be no lock. It was also suspiciously shinny and modern-looking, which suggested it had been placed here recently. She looked around quickly, wondering if she was being watched at that moment. But she felt no eyes on her, and saw nothing. She cautiously opened the long thin chest.
A small piece of parchment lay inside, neatly wrapped and sealed. It explained the shape of the chest, but not its purpose. She took out the paper, and unrolled it, reading the messy handwriting.

Stop running

Fionna reread the short writing. She didn't want fear to get the better of her, but the message disturbed her. Was there any way it was just a coincidence? What were the chances someone else would find this message and it would have meaning to them?
Fionna shoved the message back into the small chest and threw it back where it was, sprinting behind a tree a few yards away. She pushed herself against the tree, looking around with wide eyes. She began to climb the tree, reaching the top in less than a minute, and hid among the branches and leaves, frozen.
She waited for at least 15 minutes without moving.
But she began to doubt herself. If someone had been watching her, knew her story, why would they have stayed hidden? What was keeping them from attacking her? Or worse…..her friends. And this person clearly knew she had been running away from somewhere. But did they know where?
Fionna shook her head. She was being paranoid. Weirder things had happened, she had found lots of strange messages. One time she found a tiny slip of paper that had said "Today is your lucky day." And she had found a mystical golden axe. She jumped out of the tree, and began her continued running. She ran even faster now, wishing only to be more separated from the paper. The more distance she could put between herself and everything she wanted to be with, the better. The message couldn't have been for her. It just couldn't have.
But every inch of her wanted to turn around and read it again. She wanted to sit there until someone came to get it. Because someone had to get it. Because there was no way it was meant for her.
But what if it was?
Shut up
She told the voice in her head.
Don't let it distract you
But what is it WAS?sssss