A. N. (this is when Fionna first meets Marshall Lee. Don't hate me for such a short first chapter, by the way. Lub yew all)

Another peaceful day in the land of Aaa. The sun is shining, the grass is green, the water is cold, and the people are cheerful. There's just one thing wrong with this picture, at least for Fionna the Human.

No adventure.

No fights to be had.

Nothing going on.

She sighed. A gust of wind picked up that stray curl that always escapes from her bunny cap and played with it before releasing it gently to frame the seventeen-year-old face. The face that suddenly screwed itself up in a childish display of anger.

But what do you expect?

"Cake!" she shouted. "I'm bored! Find me something to do!"

"Hmm? Babygirl, you on your own with that one." the cat awoke from her sleep long enough to answer. She then morphed her tail into a pair of earmuffs, settled them over her large ears, and went back to sleep.

Fionna scowled. Nothing was going her way today. Even with the beautiful weather, something felt off.

Ever since Prince Gumball had left on his journey to Glob-knows-where, she hadn't been able to focus. Her face colored slightly as she thought of the royal candy man. She truly thought she loved him.

Of course, he had left.

And ignored her pleas to take her along.

And laughed at her claims of competency.

But other than that, he really was perfect. In her eyes, at least.

"Ugh! This totally sucks a rock melon!" Fionna shouted out the window of the tree house she shared with Cake. Suddenly, she made up her mind. Just because there were no monsters to fight didn't mean no adventure to be had! She grabbed her backpack off the floor and hastily scrawled a note for her sister before running out the door.

A little ways away from the tree-house, it occurred to Fionna that she hadn't the slightest idea where she was going.

She took the time-honored approach to the decision: spinning around in a circle until falling down and traveling in the direction her feet were pointing. Laughing breathlessly, the human girl started off.

It didn't take Fionna too long to find a destination. In the distance, she glimpsed a collection of rocky outcroppings. Surely a cave would provide a decent adventure, right? She ran faster, anxious to explore.

Long before the reached the caves, however, she noticed something startling and more than a little disconcerting. All the little creatures of the plains, the birds, and even the insects were silent. Once she stopped to look, she noticed that they weren't there at all.

This worried Fionna. Not enough to make her return home to Cake, but enough to make her hurry on towards the rocks. Clouds gathered above her. She took a deep breath. "Smells like a sword storm." she muttered under her breath.

She reached the largest cave just as a bolt of lightning cracked across the sky. Fi threw herself across the moist rocky floor in an attempt to get away from the imminent downpour of swords and daggers. As she rolled herself into a ball to protect her head, her backpack snagged on a rock, jerking her into a wall. Darkness swam before her eyes, and Fionna slept.

Fionna awoke with a start. How long had she been out? A glance at the mouth of the cave did little to answer that question. The storm still raged, the girl could see nothing to suggest the time of day. Her head throbbed dully, but she was able to ignore it as she stood and arched her stiff back. As she felt her joints creak, she looked around at her surroundings.

The cave was bigger than she thought. The part she had tumbled into extended only about twenty feet back, before a small opening led to what Fionna assumed was the rest of it. "This is going to be better than I expected!" she murmured excitedly. She started forward on shaky legs and put her hand up to the craggy wall at the edge of the small opening.

That's when she felt it. A Presence. Not necessarily an evil one, but a very real and definite Presence. There was another being in that cave with her. Fiona's face colored with anger that someone else had found her rainy-day adventure first. She drew her sword and took a few careful steps further into the cave. She wished she'd worn something other than her T-shirt and skirt, it was a lot colder now than when she'd left. She shivered as she moved forward.

Fionna peered into the darkness, wishing also for a light. There was no way she'd be able to see another person in this pitch black! Still she crept around, keeping one hand on the wall at all times. Suddenly, she felt the presence.

Behind her.

Too terrified to turn and look, Fionna merely stopped in her tracks.

A cold breath fluttered over her neck, standing her hair on end.

And a voice whispered in her ear.

"What are we looking for?"

Fionna screamed and jumped about two feet in the air. Suddenly the presence moved. She ran with her hand on the wall back to the opening and squeezed through. She threw herself into a corner and curled into a ball, panting hard and trying to appear invisible.

She closed her eyes and waited.

And waited.

And waited still.

After a few moments, the human girl opened her eyes...and shrieked again.

A boy sat by her side.

Well, maybe a boy. Definitely some kind of male being. Fionna's hand went for her sword, only for her to remember dropping it in her initial fright moments ago. She pressed her back harder against the wall.

The boy blinked. His red eyes and bluish-gray skin combined with his dark hair to make him seem almost demonic. As he stared at Fionna, a slow and lazy smirk grew on his face. He moved closer toward the girl as she struggled to back away until he was nearly in her lap.

He arched his neck enough for Fionna to clearly see the bite marks.

He grinned wide enough for her to see his fangs.

He laughed as he saw her eyes widen in horror and shock.

Her heart nearly stopped as he spoke with a beautiful voice that defied his appearance.

"Hey there Little Bit, I'm Marshall Lee, the Vampire King. May I help you?"

And Fionna slept again.

A. N. I'm loving this. Don't harsh my mellow. But definitely leave me comments and let me know how to improve! I might just take your advice.

Lub ya - Nada