Marceline was floating against an endless expanse of stars that stretched around her in every direction. The dull pains that had plagued her since Ash's attack were gone, and she felt no fear. Her baby stirred inside her and she placed her hand on her stomach. The queen closed her eyes, and let herself be carried through space.
When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting at the head of a long oak table. A large owl, the owl that had visited Marceline's dreams several times in the past week, sat at the opposite end of the table, a porcelain teapot in one wing. Without speaking, he poured two cups of tea and handed one to the Vampire. She absentmindedly stirred the brown liquid and stared at the owl before her, waiting for him to speak.
"The time of peace in Ooo is over," the Cosmic Owl spoke without looking up at the queen, and his voice seemed to come from every direction at once. "Beware the horned man who wears a familiar skin, for he will try to sway the Precious Lamb."
Marceline stared at the owl, wanting to speak but unable to do so in the presence of his sheer power.
"Drink your tea," the owl ordered.
Marceline obediently took a drink, and instantly spat the liquid back out, coughing violently. Instead of the tea that had been in her cup only moments before, she had drunk blood for the first time in eight hundred years. She looked towards the owl to see that he was gone, and she was slowly falling away from the table.
"She's waking up."
Marceline's eyes fluttered open and she squinted against the bright fluorescent lights shining above her. Hunson stood on one side of her bed, Finn on the other. They were both looking down at her hopefully.
"Marcy?" Finn asked. "Are you awake?"
"What happened?" Marceline mumbled.
"Marcy!" Finn hugged his fiancé tightly and buried his head in her hair.
Hunson cleared his throat and Finn stood up, his face burning.
"You're in the castle infirmary," Hunson said. "You were drugged by a visiting ambassador from the Wizard Kingdom."
"He tried to kidnap you," Finn interrupted. "Thankfully, Lady Rainicorn saw him trying to carry you out and she yelled for me and Jake. You've been out for six hours."
"Is the baby…?"
"He's fine," Finn said, beaming.
"He?" Marceline asked, tilting her head.
"One of the doctors did an ultrasound when they brought you in," Finn answered. "It's a boy!"
Marceline smiled and pulled Finn down to kiss her. She placed one hand on the side of his face, the other in his hair, and held him close to her for a long time. She only released the hero when her father made a slight noise of disapproval.
"I'm going to let everyone know that you're awake, Marceline," Hunson said. "I trust that you two can behave yourselves until I get back?"
"Yes sir," Finn squeaked.
When the door closed behind Hunson, Finn sat down on the bed next to Marceline and took her hand.
"You scared me, Marcy." He said, staring down at their intertwined fingers. "I can't help but think what would have happened if Lady hadn't been outside."
"Don't worry about it, Finn. You and Jake would have saved me anyway; you just might have had to travel a bit further to do it. What was it that he wanted to talk to you about earlier?"
"Oh, uh, he wanted to congratulate us on the engagement," Finn lied.
Marceline cast her eyes down and bit her bottom lip.
"He's not happy that you're marrying me, is he?" She asked.
Finn sighed.
"No, he's not. But he said that he won't stop me. Not that he could," Finn added. "I hope you don't mind, but I still asked him to be my best man. He'll get used to idea of us being together, eventually."
"Of course," she replied. "I was kinda thinking of asking Bonnie to be the maid of honor. If that's okay with you, I mean."
"That's perfect," Finn said, smiling.
Finn was leaning in to kiss Marceline when they heard a curt knock at the door. He jumped back, remembering Hunson's warning, and nearly fell off the bed. He regained his balance just as the door opened and a tall, imposing Vampire walked in. He was wearing a black double breasted suit, and his shoulder-length gray hair was perfectly combed despite the late hour. Finn was suddenly very aware of his own suit and hair, made wrinkled and messy by the hours spent by Marceline's bedside.
"Hello, Malum," Marceline said, sitting up a bit straighter in the bed. "This is my fiancé, Finn."
"Hello, Queen Marceline, King Finn. May I sit?"
"Please," Marceline replied.
Finn once again marveled at the way Marceline changed when she was attending to royal business, everything from her mannerisms to body language to speech patterns.
"Have they caught my attacker? The ambassador?" Marceline asked.
"Yes," Malum replied. "He is in the dungeon as we speak. His attack has prompted us to rethink a few things, though. The date of your wedding, for one."
"What do you mean, Sir Malum?" Finn asked.
The elder Vampire chucked.
"Please, there is no reason to call me 'sir'. I'll be answering to you soon enough. Anyway, the High Council feels that it would be best if we moved the wedding up a bit, to next month would be best."
Finn and Marceline exchanged a glance.
"If that's what you think is best," Marceline replied.
"We do," Malum said, folding his hands. "The wizard kingdom learned of our plans for their ambassador, and they have officially announced their intentions of war. We're no longer in times of peace, Queen, and we feel that you're marriage to Finn will greatly increase the morale of everyone."
Marceline was reminded of her dreams, and she shivered.
"That will be fine," the queen said.
"Wonderful," Malum smiled. "Now that just leaves us with the issue of Finn's transformation, and who will complete it."
"Can't Marcy do it?" Finn asked.
Malum looked at the human, confused, and then turned to Marceline, who was looking down in shame.
"You've not told the boy how Vampires are transformed, have you, Queen?" He asked.
"No."
"What about it?" Finn asked worriedly.
"The Vampire that turns a mortal has to die in the process," Malum explained. "He or she has to give up their very life force to the one that they transform. I'm surprised you didn't already know."
"I didn't want to upset him before it was necessary," Marceline said, her head down.
"I-I can't let someone die to change me!" Finn exclaimed. "I'm a hero! I save people, not kill them!"
"It's the only way to be transformed," Malum said.
"It's okay if you can't, Finn," Marceline whispered, her voice small and quiet. "I understand if it's asking too much."
"No, Marcy…I'll do anything to be with you, and you know that. I just hate the idea of someone dying."
"We have a whole dungeon full of criminals waiting to be executed," Malum interrupted.
"So, they'd die anyway?" Finn asked.
"Yes. Any one of them can transform you."
"Okay," Finn said after some consideration. "When do you want to do it?"
"As soon as possible," Malum answered. "We feel that there is a good chance that our kingdom will be attacked again, and it would be best if you are at your strongest."
"No!" Marceline exclaimed. "I mean, it's so soon. Can't it wait a bit?"
"Marcy, you don't want me to be a vampire, do you?"
Marceline looked away from Finn.
"I'm just afraid that you will regret it and hate me," she whispered.
"I will remind you, Queen Marceline, that Finn must become a Vampire in order to marry you."
"I'll never regret it as long as I have you, Marceline," Finn said, stroking his fiancé's hair.
"Are you sure?"
"More than anything."
Finn kissed Marceline's forehead and turned back to Malum.
"Can we do it now? Get it over with?" He asked.
Malum looked at Marceline questioningly and she hesitated, then nodded.
"I'll have one of the prisoners brought up, and the room next door prepared for your transformation."
Malum left the room and Marceline threw her arms around Finn and hugged him. She clutched the back of his suit with both hands and didn't let him go for a long time. When she did, she brushed his hair away from his face and looked into his eyes.
"Remember that time I pretended to turn you and Jake into Vampires, hero?" She asked, smiling sadly.
"I remember," he replied. "You pinched my neck and used ketchup for blood."
"Not going to be like that this time. This time it's real. No going back, you know?"
"I know," Finn said, brushing his lips across the top of Marceline's head. "Hey Marcy, is the baby going to be a Vampire?"
"No," Marceline said. She had been dreading the question for a while now. "Vampirism isn't inherited."
"Oh, Finn replied. "But we can turn him, right? I mean, if not we would live forever and he…wouldn't."
"That will be his choice when he gets older, I guess," Marceline said, absentmindedly running her hands through his hair.
"Okay."
Finn visibly relaxed, and Marceline realized for the first time just how much Finn loved her baby. She wondered if she could ever love Ash's child with as much strength as Finn did, and her hand found its way to her stomach. The hero placed his own hand on top of hers, and she smiled up at him.
"I'm going to be a daddy," he whispered, his eyes growing wide. "And you'll be a mommy."
Marceline giggled at Finn's sudden realization.
"Yes, that tends to be how it works," she said.
Finn smiled, his eyes still wide, and rubbed her stomach gently. Marceline was overcome with love for Finn, and her eyes filled with tears. They were threatening to spill over when a Malum knocked on the door and looked inside.
"We're ready for you, King Finn," he said.
Finn stood up and hugged Marceline.
"You're not coming?" He asked.
"No, it'd be better if I didn't," she replied.
Finn nodded, kissed Marceline gently, and followed Malum out the door. The Vampire sunk back into her pillows and placed her hands over her face. She lay in silence for a moment before she heard the door open and soft footsteps approaching her bed. She moved her hands and looked up to see her father standing at the foot of her bed.
"I told all your friends that you're safe," he said. "I had Thurston set up rooms so that they wouldn't have to travel back tonight."
"Thanks Dad," Marceline said. "They're turning Finn into a Vampire right now."
"I know. It's not what you wanted, is it?"
"No," Marceline admitted. "I didn't want to fuck up his life. I don't want this baby. I don't want any of this."
Hunson sat down in a high-backed chair next to Marceline's bed. He tried to look at his daughter, but he couldn't bring himself to face her.
"Finn told me what you said earlier today. About when you were transformed…and what happened."
Marceline rose up in bed and stared at her father.
"He told you that? That jerk!"
"He didn't want to Marceline. I can read mind, remember? I could sense that he was upset with me for some reason, so I pressed until he told me. Don't blame him."
"I never meant for you to find out about that," Marceline whispered.
"I could have had all those men killed for what they'd done to you if you had just told me," Hunson said. He coughed nervously. "I never meant for them to hurt you, honey."
"Well it doesn't matter," Marceline snapped. "They did and it's over."
Hunson sighed.
"I know I've failed as a father, Marceline, but I would appreciate it if you didn't throw it in my face every time we talk."
"I wasn't throwing anything in your face, I was simply-"
Marceline was interrupted by a scream of pain from the next room. She scrambled off the bed and ran out the door, dodging her father as he tied to stop her. She threw open the door looked around wildly for Finn. He was standing in the center of the room, head down, his hand on his neck, blood running from between his fingers. A Vampire in prisoner's clothing lay at his feet, dead. Marceline tried to run to Finn, but Malum held her back.
"Be careful, my Queen. He hasn't eaten yet."
Marceline watched as one of the servants brought a platter into the room and sat it before Finn. He removed the lid revealing a plate of plump strawberries and stepped back quickly. Finn sniffed the air and looked down at the platter before moving with an unnatural speed to attack the fruit. Marceline had made it very clear that Finn was never to be offered blood, and she was pleased that they had complied with her wishes.
The queen stared at Finn, unable to take her eyes off him. He was paler than before of course, but other than that, he looked the same. Marceline was relieved; she knew that the transformation affected everyone differently, and she was glad that Finn had stayed nearly the same, at least in appearance. She could only hope that his personality had stayed the same as well.
When Finn had sucked the red from the last strawberry, he looked around the room. When his eyes fell on Marceline, she smiled and he ran to hug her. Finn, unaccustomed to his new strength, picked Marceline up with his arm and nearly dropped her in surprise.
"Sorry, Marcy," he said, gently placing the queen back on her feet.
He leaned into kiss Marceline, but she gently pushed him away. He looked at her, confused.
"Nothing personal, hero," she said, "but you're covered in strawberry juice."
Finn smiled, pecked Marceline on her cheek despite her protests, and went to wash his face.
"What do we do now, Malum?" Marceline asked.
"We wait, my queen. We wait."
Marceline nodded and put her hands on her belly. She stared at the mess her fiancé had made and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review to let me know what you think, and any suggestions you may have for me to improve the story or my writing!