Inside a grand volcano the fire wizard of exile, Ignisem, paced in thought. He had heard enough of the peasants' talk through his spy fires to know that there now was an active resistance being plotted against him. Many of these peasants now even had courage that they could defend themselves against his terror.
Courage from peasants!
He knew the root of this disease: the goblin war hero Singly Eota and the damned pesky Princess Bubblegum. Together they were drawing the scattered scraps of Ooo's populace into an army. He knew he had to regain his grip of fear on the land lest they forget how powerful he was. Thinking of power caused him to flinch in anger at the thought of his blight- the block to his precious well that was placed on him at the time of exile by his old enemies. Even with the spell fading by its dead caster's power seeping out in a grave, he still was locked away from his full potential. And now, upon finding a solution, his catalyst to revitalization, another block jabbed him in the side - that determined vampire who haunted the Spark Alternator to protect her people.
Bah! A vampire protecting her people! What kind of vampire is she?
But there was no point in mockery, he realized; he had to resolve this issue, there was no other way but the Alternator. He softened the rage in him and reassured himself: no matter how elaborate these unforeseen blots in his grand scheme were, there were ways around them.
First, I demonstrate my current power. He thought, staring down the fumarole he was creeping in. He closed his eyes and imagined pathways. With the power he had already managed to subvert from the Alternator he could utilize his full fire magic, even if his summoning was far from acceptable. He smiled as his mind clicked into a plan.
I'll burn the lands, so they think I surround them. They won't be able to look at fire without fearing me within it.
Pomp befell the interior of the Candy Kingdom as the Princess' caravan set off from the foot of the palace. The citizens, having cultivated an unhealthy abstract of fear in their homes, were elated to see their Princess on the diplomat's path. To them it meant more allies, better chances, less dead friends. They burst their tension in song and dance and she smiled at their apparent happiness. One could see the desperation there, but she choose not to think so cynically. Enough destructive thoughts already pervaded her usually bridling composure. There were so many things to worry about from the moment of waking these days, and on top of that this unnecessary dwelling about the vampire. She had no idea exactly what was stirred in her when she thought of that dark woman of sinister smirks and cutting laughter, but she was determined to meet her this time as a challenger. Not some haughty doll to be poked and pricked, she would be prepared to give that vampire a piece of her mind if she should want a contest.
She thought then that it must be foolish to be wasting all this thinking time with the idea of getting even, of proving herself to a dirty burnout party girl.
…
Where did that come from?
She frowned at this thought. Something had made her thrash out a low blow, and it was definitely emotional. Such wild emotion was too dangerous to be wielding alongside the war sword she already swung over Ooo. The Princess resolved to prove herself not a stuffy fluff of air to the vampire lady but then concentrate on the matters at hand: the war. Nothing more should distract her from ensuring the safety of her beautiful people of the land, the people she now stretched a hand out to wave at and raise smiles from.
Diplomacy.
A halting woke the Princess from a sleepy stupor that had slammed down on her from the heat that the grasslands produced in midday. She poked a head out of the curtain of her carriage and could see soldiers running up and down the convoy, in the distance she saw plumes of smoke from where the great forests lay. Singly Eota broke from the bustle and approached her cabin,
"There is a great fire in the East, it could be from the wizard himself! Attacking in broad daylight- he will certainly regret it!" Eota had that wily heroic look about him.
Bubblegum turned inward to the shade for a moment, rolling over decisions. She came back out and looked to him.
"I can handle these negotiations. Take what soldiers you can from the palace and the tribes and investigate." She said.
He nodded and turned to hark commands at choice soldiers in steel. He began to leave but she tapped his shoulder plate and said,
"thank you, my brave knight." She smiled.
He returned the smile with a glowing grin and roared off towards his horse.
I hope I didn't lead him on with that. Glob, what wouldn't lead him on.
She laughed.
The sound of trampling hoofs faded away and the familiar rocking of her carriage resumed, heading towards the Hole In The Center Of The Earth, where they would descend down the tunnel into the Underground. She closed her eyes and plunged into thought again.
Another halt jerked the carriage and this time the wakening princess could feel through the heavy moisture that she was no longer in the free air of the surface.
Voices flashed up and down the caravan, horses neighed as they were halted at the end of the line.
"Make way! Make way!" A voice screeched over the other jumbles of shouting.
She could tell now that they had arrived. What a sudden jump her heart made. She was now in a completely foreign realm that was brimming with (supposed to be) evil creatures. A few doubts ran through her mind about the crop of beasts she was about to make allies with, but she struck them down with a list of trusty affirmations she'd been reciting for weeks.
"Princess, it is safe to step out." It was the voice she'd been waiting to here.
She broke through the fabric and took the waiting goblin soldier's hand, casting out a serene face to the gathering crowd. He led her up the caravan to its tip where a wedge of armored men cut clear ground out of the crowd, isolating two ghostly representatives. She nodded as she made her way towards them, then rested ten paces away, back to the lead wagon. The goblin soldier that was entrusted by Eota to act his replacement began the royal dialogue, a bunch of gobbledygook that seemed to soothe no one in sight. The Princess observed the formal ghosts from behind her diplomat: for all their regal air she could see the undertones of stress and fear, and something in their form's glow reminded her of a sick candyperson whose rich color had faded sour. She turned up her chin at the mention of an agreement, nodded in unison with the ghosts and with that the dialogue was finished and the ghosts seeped back into the crowd.
"So, we get to go back to the hotel now?" She said to the replica Eota.
"Haha, I call firsts in the hot tub." He joked back, turning to her.
The crowd about them started to waver and disperse, hovering back towards the ever-present drone of rock music that leaked from the distance. He gave a subtle glance to the Strip, and bit his lip as if suppressing interest.
"They've offered an empty building beside their Council Hall for our temporary camp. Unfortunately it's right next to all that damned racket. They apologize for the noise but, there is really nothing to be done." He said as he shuffled through paperwork that was being steadily handed to him by an aide.
"That's fine, knight. Let's get set up as soon as possible, something about this place makes me incredibly tired…" She threw her hand up to can a wide yawn.
"Ah, well, m'lady, we actually have been asked to join their council session. You… Agreed to it just now."
"Hmm, oh yeah. See, I'm rather tired… We're not diving into the war talk just yet, are we?" They started moving back to a carriage that would take them towards the Strip.
"Ah? Well, maybe not. It seems like it will be a lot logistics… I can handle most of the dialogue if you wish, m'lady."
"We'll see who shows up." She said lightly.
He glanced over in brief confusion, but pulled out of it to hop forward and open the carriage door for her. They both stuffed into the cabin of the transport, sitting across from each other. He immediately forgot her curious response and dove into the paperwork that he had been carrying; she turned her head to a crack in the curtains and returned to her plains of thought.
So… We're riding to the battlefield. An excited, nervous smile was drawn on her face.
I'm not ready, I'm not ready, I'm not ready…