Author's Note: Thank you all for the feedback! I'm glad that so many of you like it so far! I hope I won't let you down in later chapters. Ahaha... Anyway, here's the second chapter, so please review, maybe? (￣¬￣ )ﾉ
Marshall Lee was a rather peculiar sort of god. To the mortals over the earth, he was known as God of Trickery—a god holding with him the cruelty of a child and the patience of a drunk. It was said that if you wallowed in self pity and depression for too long, he would descend upon you, bag of tricks in hand, and have a good laugh by cursing you with misfortune and agony. "Don't you dare frown for too long! Keep up your spirits and smile, no matter what, even if your loved ones have been slain," mothers and fathers often warned their children, "If God of Trickery sees you with that sorry look, he will come to you and double your misery! Triple it, even! He will trick you into trusting him, and once he does, he will curse you!"
That was not the only superstition about Marshall Lee floating about in the world of men. It was also said that, in times of boredom, he would come to the mortal lands and "have good fun". By this, they meant he would steal, cast plagues and vermin infestations, and spook people—all to amuse himself. For these reasons, he was known as being the god of trickery. He was also known for being the god bandits, delinquents, and scum prayed to often.
Yet, to the other immortal beings in his realm, he was known as nothing more than Marshall Lee—a tall, lanky god with a fondness for games and pranks. Whenever something odd happened in a god's domain, all hands immediately pointed to Marshall Lee, for who else would actually take time to do such a childish thing? If a lesser spirit's list of duties was stolen and hidden in their master's undergarments drawer, everyone instantly knew Marshall Lee committed the perverted act, for no one else was as sly and dirty to rummage through another's private clothes. The times when he wasn't responsible for such actions... Well, the gods figured they would figure something out when they reached that.
There was one other thing the trickster god was known for in the immortal realm. His voice. Many of the goddesses and female spirits would gather around his enchanted lake, where the trickster himself would sit on a small island and sing, a strange axe shaped instrument in hand. His songs were often about topics such as nature, love, and seasons, but there were times when he just made things up as he went along, selecting words at random regardless of how they worked together. Nevertheless, his voice was heavenly, and the females would squeal and gasp at every tune he played out to them.
Marshall Lee was, indeed, a peculiar god, but despite how people thought they knew him, they really knew nothing about him at all.
Fionna awoke several hours after being carried in by her savior.
The girl, weak and weary, slowly sat up from the bed she rested on, groaning quietly to herself. Her back was aching, and she could feel a burning sensation emit from her stomach. She wasn't really surprised, though, seeing that she had fallen off a cliff and...
She suddenly gasped and clutched at the bedsheets on top of her, sky blue eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Clutching at the fabric of the sheets, she glanced around the room, wondering if she had, perhaps, made it to heaven...or if she had survived somehow. Of course, the girl had a hard time believing the second option, because, really, who could survive such a terrifying fall, especially when everyone was rooting for her blood to be spilled? I died, Fionna thought with a nervous chuckle, I died and this is heaven... Besides, this place smells freaking amazing. It's like... Gods, what is that smell? It's nothing I've ever experienced... Ever!
Easily distracted by the intoxicating aroma in the air, Fionna peeled the bedsheets off of her body, not even noticing how her clothes had been changed, and carefully crawled out of bed, curious as a cat. The scent was not something that made her hungry... But it was definitely something that struck her fancy. It was like an odd, beautiful combination of night, pine leaves, and roses, yet at the same time, entirely different.
She tiptoed towards the doorway—there was no door for some unknown reason—and peeked out from the room, eyes wide with curiosity. The corridor she met was long, empty, and rather solemn looking, which she considered odd, due to the smell.
"Wonder if anyone lives here," she murmured.
"I live here," a voice cut in, "Any problem with that?"
Fionna let out a surprised yelp, and spun around, only to face Marshall Lee, a smirk plastered on his face. Not knowing who he was or what his presence here meant, the girl nervously laughed and inched away, wondering if this man could be trusted or not. "Hi, um," she sputtered, "What are you doing here, exactly? I mean... Are you dead too? Guess so, since we're both here and, you know, dead, and stuff."
Marshall Lee tilted his head to the side. "Dead? Er, wrong-o. I'm not dead, and neither are you."
"Ha, nice try," Fionna laughed, planting her hands on her hips. "I wasn't born yesterday! I fell off a cliff! I was sacrificed to the gods! I'm pretty sure that means I'm dead, unless I'm some sort of miracle human." Smiling triumphantly, she turned to walk down the corridor, ready to explore, but Marshall Lee was not finished with her just yet. The god, laughing, reached forward and grabbed her wrist, grinning impishly.
"So you think you can prove a god wrong, huh, human? Well, guess again. Feel my presence and tremble."
Fionna whipped around, ready to push him away, but suddenly, she felt as if her strength had been sucked from her body. Her legs shook, and her eyes drooped. "What are you...?"
"I'm a god," Marshall Lee said smugly, not understanding that she was trying to ask what he was doing to her.
"Not that! I mean... Let go!"
Laughing, the god did so. "See? I'm a god. You're a human—and a live one, at that. Those stupid villagers tried to have you killed to please the Divine Empress, but I decided that, perhaps, your life would be worth saving. So I saved you. Understand me, mortal?"
Fionna, despite having regained her strength, trembled slightly. She wasn't scared—she would never admit to that—but she was, indeed, overwhelmed. A god. A god thought her life was worth saving. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that such a grand thing would happen to her, a human orphan! She bowed her head, unable to bring herself to gaze upon his divine features. "Um, sorry for, er, insulting your wisdom, um, god of...?" She paused, unsure of what his name was.
"Trickery. God of Trickery. Oh! You can't call me that, though."
"Why?"
Marshall Lee chuckled to himself and walked past her, entering the corridor, which lit up with his presence. The walls were a dark pink color, and the floor was a rich shade of purple. Candles flickered, bringing light not only to the area, but to the god's face, outlining every divine aspect of his features. It was horrifyingly beautiful. Sharp fangs that glinted dangerously, dark and soulless eyes, pale blue skin... Fionna suppressed a shudder and looked down at her feet.
"I saved you. So, naturally, you are in my debt. You, mortal, are now my servant. Understood?"
She hesitated. "Am I supposed to accept this without complaint? Can't I return to my village?"
The god scowled at her and clenched his fists at his sides. "Ungrateful... Typical of you humans. Nothing we gods do for you is ever repaid. Listen, you, I saved you, and so you must repay me for such an act. You must become my servant, otherwise, I steal your memories. All of them. Hear me?"
"Steal them?" Fionna repeated, shouting out her words. "Why would you do that? I haven't done anything to deserve something like that!"
"Humans cannot enter the realm of the gods. The fact that you are here right now is a grand honor, and you should be bowing down to me in thanks!" Marshall Lee growled, his patience running dry with the girl, "You start your new life here tomorrow, understand? You will be my servant, or else I will erase every memory in that little head of yours, got it? Now, get back into bed. Your body is still healing—worthless mortal bodies, holding you humans back. I shall send in another servant to take care of you."
"I don't-"
"Get. Back. Into. Bed," the god ground out, eyes flashing angrily. "You're annoying me. Just shush up and do what I say, or I'll throw you back into the ocean, weights tied around your ankles!"
Fionna glared at him and, unwillingly, crawled back into the bed, grumbling to herself the entire time.
"Oh, poor baby. I don't understand why there is so much death going on in the world, really. Poor, poor lamb."
The servant sent to Fionna was a friendly cat spirit named Cake. She looked like a normal cat at first glance, but she was entirely different from the animal she resembled. For starters, she stood on his hind legs, walking and running about in the manner of a human. She could also talk—and what a talker she was—and stretch parts of her body to unnatural sizes and shapes. Fionna, despite her current situation, found Cake to be amusing and interesting, and instantly warmed up to her. "No big deal, I guess," Fionna chirped, feeling her sadness drift away, "I mean, I'm alive now, and I get to serve a god. Pretty exciting for a mere human."
Cake smiled a little. "Being a servant isn't too bad, hun. I serve another god. God of Reason, but he's known as Prince Gumball to us all. Oh, he's not really a prince, though. He's just very gentlemanly and everything, so it's kind of a nickname cooked up for him. He's very nice. Always giving me sweets and calling me adorable. Oh, baby, and his other servant, Monochromicorn... Sweet babies," the cat purred out, eyes widening slightly at the mention of the other servant. Fionna tilted her head to the side.
"Oh, he's my, heh, partner. He's also my master's method of transportation."
Fionna nodded, not quite understanding. "Um, is God of Tri—I mean, is my master a good guy? He's a little scary looking, but he saved me, so he can't be all that bad, right?"
The cat spirit was silent for a moment, but then she slapped on another smile and hopped off the bed. "That's enough chit-chat, girl. We need to get you bathed and everything. Tomorrow is going to be a little busy for you, so come on. Hop to it!"
The human frowned at the lack of response, but obliged, crawling out of bed and following her companion out of the room and down the corridor. The heavenly scent filled Fionna's nostrils once again, and she felt her knees go weak. "What's the smell? Smells really good."
Cake blinked. "Oh, that's the scent from your master's enchanted lake. It's right outside, but you'll see it tomorrow. Come on, baby get in the tub. The bath is prepared and everything."
Fionna blinked and looked up, seeing that they had reached another room. In the middle of it was a large black tub, filled up with warm water and pink bubbles. The girl scrunched up her nose. She never really bathed before... Was it going to feel nice?
"Oh, whoops, you get in, okay? I forgot to bring by those herbal soaps and what not. Be back in a moment, hun."
Fionna lowered herself into the tub, biting her lips as her sensitive skin met with the water. It felt rather good, she had to admit, but... She hugged her knees to her chest, face crimson red. This was a god's place... Gods had powers... Looking around the room, Fionna prayed silently that her master wasn't looking in somehow. It was a guy, after all, and he didn't look too old, so it was always a possibility.
The room was actually quite beautiful, despite the god who owned it. The walls were draped with deep red curtains and candles, which sent an odd feeling of comfort through Fionna. It wasn't too fancy, but it wasn't too slobbish. Perfect for a snotty god, Fionna figured. "Besides," she whispered to herself, lifting one of her feet out of the tub and wiggling her toes, "I was saved by that jerk, so he can't be entirely bad. Right?" She tilted her head back and looked up at the ceiling, only to see a giant mosaic of her master, God of Trickery, surrounded by beautiful women. "Well, I was wrong about that, then..."
Suddenly, a voice rang out through the room, sending Fionna into silence. The voice drifted in through the stained glass windows, which were located above. Far too high for Fionna to reach, much to her disappointment. Nevertheless, she climbed out of the tub, spilling water all over the ground, and walked over the wall from which the voice was loudest, forgetting her nakedness entirely. She pressed her ear to the wall, frowning. It was a song she was hearing.
The voice was bittersweet and young, belonging to a young man—that is, young god or spirit. The song was about a terrifying dragon that was in love with a beautiful princess, and from what Fionna was hearing, there was some sort of stringed instrument involved in the music. It rang out through the bathroom walls, beautiful and mesmerizing. Fionna looked up, hoping to find a way to reach the windows.
"Alrightie, sugar, I'm ba—Fionna! What are you doing?"
Fionna let out a small yelp and turned around, only to see Cake staring at her in confusion. She reddened and became aware of her nudity. "Uh, I heard someone singing..."
"Never mind that! Get back in the tub so I can wash your hair, baby."
The human nodded, but turned back and glanced up at the windows, curiosity shimmering in her eyes.
The voice had stopped.
Author's Note: I bet you all know who was singing. Bwhaha.
Hm... I have two possible ideas for the next chapter. I need help deciding.
Should Fionna meet Gumball in the next chapter, or Ashley? Help me decide! ;A;
Ah, thank you for reviewing the first chapter. I hope you liked this one.