The council had whipped into a furious production once word that the visitors from the Candy Kingdom had arrived in the Underground. It was almost as if the ghosts felt like they were suddenly being watched from over their shoulders. Marceline couldn't be bothered with the frantic air; she had found an escape in an anteroom in the back that was musty and dark. Stretched out over a couch, her black cap over her eyes, she sighed tiredly. Her mind was racing with so many things that she couldn't relax even now, but at least she had managed to escape that round table in the main hall that reeked of seriousness. She had spent the last 3 days at the edge of that table, yammering in strict, stuffy language with the ghosts. They were nothing but neurotic wisps of air, she concluded. They were all deathly afraid of fading, determined that it would happen. They were so used to relying on their sole judgment that the only conclusion they could now foresee was the doom that haunted them. And even with their newfound cooperation, the ghosts still struggled with trusting her counsel. They were not alone in this problem of selfishness, either: every creature out there had only ever fought for itself and would turn their head in confusion at the mention of any 'community' within the Underground. Vampires basically typified this deficiency. Another problem, too, was that these creatures couldn't feel the impending danger like the ghosts; though susceptible to death, their version of immortality was not dependent on a source, a mechanism. If Marceline couldn't rally them, if they really were as cold as they prided themselves on being…
"Ugh!"
She flailed in the air, and pulled the black cap down on her face in anger.
In her frustration the same old challenge floated into her mind:
Why do I even care?
But something about her tiredness, her desperation, or maybe even something about the anticipatory air made a new response come up in a way that couldn't be ignored: I want to impress her.
She wheeled around in the air violently, as if trying to find the owner of the voice who had dared to utter such an idea. However, upon settling, she conceded that it was truth- probably even truer than most of the things she'd been thinking recently. This thought deeply planted, she had hardly ever considered it the reason to why the Princess had so often bubbled up into her thoughts since they had briefly crossed paths long ago.
I want to impress her.
She pondered it with full focus then, noting with surprise the leniency that her normally ungainly pride was giving her. Defiant of the dark confliction that raged in her mind, her face leaked a smile. Things were feeling different now, just like that sweet smelling day 2 years ago. She felt liberated from the fiery demeanor that gave her the respect she craved from others but also had slowly infected her mind with callousness. Her body was blowing up with adrenaline, reacting to this new challenge. She realized that beneath all the real, scary fears that had driven her back to this royal responsibility, there laid a subtle but even more emotional force that was compelling her. And the wind of that force was arriving at the door in minutes.
The noise started slowly, then quickly tumbled faster into a racket that awoke Marceline from her nap. She floated up to see the scene in the great room beside her. At the entrance was a swelling of ghosts blended into one long band of murky white that splashed against a collection of taller, firmer bodies whose colors danced about in the low light. She caught quick winks of pink from the dead center of the mass of beings and became fully awake with anticipation. Standing well within the darkness she did a quick adjustment of her clothes and smoothed out her hair with her hands, then made sure her mind was closely focused on her personality, the snarky vampire girl.
Having to make sure I'm me? What's happening to my head?
All of this was so new, she would never have enough time to be prepared for it. She decided to default to her stony toughness and react from there. She edged up to the exit of the backroom, trying to catch the talk while still being hidden in shadows. A formal dialogue was being exchanged…
"If the Princess may, we have made ample accommodation for the Candy Kingdom's royal staff at the Round Table of Council. Our Royal Representative should be here soon, we cannot find her at present…"
The opaque ghost was humming small talk to the Princess, biding time. His companions that jammed together around him kept shooting glances about with clear worry. Bubblegum also joined the other ghosts in glancing around, although she dared not move her head lest she arose anyone to her nervous eyes. He motioned then for her procession to join the Council's table and she led the clambering for seats. Eota's substitute shot through the crowd to secure a spot on her right, she turned to acknowledge him and he irked out a smile while sifting through an explosion of parchment. She almost picked up a conversation with him to escape the brimming tension of the room, but she recognized it would only be cruel to him and childish of her. Renewed stiffness swelled in the space of waiting, threatening to drown her, but she rode the heat inside her with a defiant intensity and she found her mind successfully quiet and focused. The princess turned away from her aide now and firmly planted herself in her chair, lifting her head and setting her entire body into a cone of light. In the yellow wash her face glowed a burning pink and her eyes flashed with a warrior intensity, her mouth was long and taut. The suited ghosts took in the power of her presence in the light, many of them stirred loudly, like they had finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
Bubblegum began her speech with a firm blast of air from her chest,
"Leaders of the Underground, today we congregate for the purpose of…"
Bubblegum's words broke as a streak of grey and black melted into the light and everyone shifted to look. Marceline flashed a toothy grin as she wound around the table and took a seat directly across from the princess.
"Ah, Princess Bubblegum, here is—"
"Shut up." Marceline snapped at the ghost who had started to speak beside her, then grinned wide. "Hello, Bonnibelle."
The way she smoothed it out across the table hushed the entire room. The crowd had first been reeling in disarray at the abrupt silence from the princess, but now quickly became fixated on the strangely casual air between the two royal figures. Bubblegum quickened up into a firm pose again and threw her wits back into gear.
"Ah… You stuck around then? Is someone else in charge or is this going to be…annoying?" She laced playful venom in her words, keeping a rigid image in her chair.
"I'm not here to play this time. Drop the grudge and do your job, Princess." Marceline returned, a quietly solemn look now came on her face.
The princess could have smiled then, realizing she had adjusted well to this brazen style of exchange and could now even see Marceline's defense being drawn. The vampire had taken a bold step into the room, but now sat with a smaller presence. The attention shifted back to the Princess and the contest began.
"Very well, vampire." She said and motioned for her goblin adviser to push over the itinerary.