The First Hero Returns
Chapter 6: What Is Lost Can Be Found
By the time King Simon had lead them to the Ice Palace, Finn and Jake were a little scared. The Icy Mountain that the king lived in was huge, not to mention that there was no clear way inside other than the large door-like opening about 200ft off the ground. How where they going to get in there? Not to mention, that if King Simon was as dangerous as Princess Bubblegum said, how would they escape if they were inside? Jake would have to stretch them to safety, but that would make his brother a huge target. Why was he so scared all of a sudden? King Simon is Marceline's friend, he wouldn't hurt them right? Finn's mind went crazy until he hears someone clear their throat. The three outsiders look up at the king. "Okay, all of you stand close to me. I'll get you inside and then we can all discuss why you are here in the first place. After all, I don't usually get visitors." states the ice wizard.
With a tap of the wizard's bare feet against the snow, a thick piece of ice forms under their feet. Then he raises his hands towards the sky, and they all begin to float up to the door-like opening at the top of the icy mountain. Finn and Jake gasp in awe as they rise from the ground. Princess Bubblegum likes the idea so much she decides to build an open elevator in her lab.
King Simon motions for them to walk through the doorway, and into his palace once they reach the top. By this point, all three of them are smiling with delight at the experience. They stepped off first, only for the ice that they were on to disappear once the king stepped into the palace. PB looked at this knowing it had to take a large amount of control for the king to do this without harming the people he carried. Finn and Jake had stars in their eyes at how cool it was.
King Simon walked further into the palace with his guest following him. He lead them into what appeared to be kitchen. "Sit." he stated as he gestured toward a round table complete with four chairs. Once they were seated, he walked to the cabinet and pulled out a box, then walking to the fridge he grabbed some milk. He grabbed a pot as he walked to the stove with his supplies. Then he began mixing everything together and cooking it. He left them in silence while he was busy.
Finn and Jake were starting to become uneasy about the way this adventure was turning out. Who knew that King Simon could be normal and terrifying at the same time? Both of them just wanted to know what the punishment would be so they wouldn't have to worry so much anymore. PB on other hand was trying to think of a way to get the boys off the hook. All of their thoughts were interrupted when King Simon finished at the stove, and brought four cups to the table.
All three of them looked down at what had been placed before them. Princess Bubblegum was the first to speak up. "Excuse me, your Majesty, what is this?" Finn didn't even bother waiting for an explanation, he picked up his cup and began drinking the warm brown liquid inside. "Wow, hot chocolate! This is great King Simon!" exclaimed Finn. Jake also began to drink from his cup, while Bubblegum tried to stop them. She was unsure of the motive behind the hot chocolate. "Wow, this is great! The only thing that would make it better would be marshmallows." said Jake.
King Simon raised a lighting shaped eyebrow at this, and said. "Oh! Don'tcha know?" Both boys looked at him in confusion. "Only good boys get marshmallows. This is your punishment. No marshmallows in your hot chocolate." Simon smiled as he added a few mini marshmallows to his own cup and began to drink. Bubblegum was shocked by this action. If what the king had said was true, then that meant that the punishment was over. She didn't understand. Was it poisoned, or drugged? Both Finn and Jake drank already. What if they were poisoned now, or if it made them sick? What was she going to do?
"Well, all of you attacked my snow golems, however, they are a relatively easy fix. So not much harm was done. Therefore, your punishment is no marshmallows in your hot chocolate." King Simon said with a mischievous grin growing on his face. This seemed to make the Princess believe that the old ice hermit may have gone completely insane in his isolation. "Whelp, what is it that you came into my kingdom to talk about? You said that you needed to speak with me." said the old king.
"Hey, PB have you told him that Marc-!" Finn and Bubblegum cover Jake's mouth quickly. "Jake! You can't just tell him that Marceline has been kidnapped!" Finn yelled at his brother. King Simon looks at them in horror, while Princess Bubblegum looks at the boys in disbelief. The old king's face pales, as he begins to panic. The three were greatly surprised when the old king grabbed his staff that was leaning against the wall by the entrance of the kitchen, and began rushing down the corridors with a limp in his steps. They got up and followed him as he tore through his palace with a look of fear in his eyes.
Eventually they came to a stop before a bright red door. It was really the only color other than blue or white in the whole palace. King Simon quickly opened the door to look inside. Once he saw the form curled up under the blankets he sighed with a breathe of relief. Walking into the room he leaned against the wall and slid to the floor with exhaustion weighing him down. As Princess Bubblegum caught up she rushed into the room after the old King and gasped at what was before her. When Finn and Jake came rushing up they peeked into to the room and were shocked by what the saw. King Simon was on the floor by a bed. In the bed was the Queen that they so wished to save. Marceline was sleeping peacefully in her bed. King Simon reached for her hand and held onto it to bring him some comfort.
Movement from the bed draws their attention. Marceline squeezes Simon's hand as she sits up in the bed. Looking around the room she sees Finn and Jake with jaw-drop expressions, and Princess Bubblegum looks on stoically. "Ummm, guys? What are you doing in my room?" Marceline questions. Then she looks to Simon and sees that he isn't doing so well. He looks so pale and he's shaking. But how can that be, Simon is immune to the cold. "Simon? Are you okay?"she says with concern. When she tries to get her hand back, he panics and quickly makes a grab for it again. "Okay… This is weird." she says more to herself than anyone.
When she looks at the others she sees that the boys look upset and PB looks confused. "So, Bonnie, what have you done to Simon? It takes a lot to make him like this. What did you guys do?" The more she questioned them the scarier she became as her face started to change into that of a bat. Bubblegum tried to speak first, however, Finn beat her to it. "Marceline, Jake and I went to your house to tell you that everything was almost ready for the concert. But when we got there you place had been trashed and you weren't there. We got scared and went to get help. Since King Simon protected you before, we thought that he may want to help rescue you. So we got PB and came here to ask for his help. But when we told him he got upset and ran to this room, where we found you. We are glad you're okay. I'm sorry that we upset King Simon, we didn't mean too. Will he be okay?" Finn said all of this in a rush. His face was red as he finished.
Marceline sighed, "I think that he will be fine in a little while. But first things first. Get the Lump out of my room!" Finn and Jake rushed from the room with PB bringing up the rear. Simon seemed to be pulling further into himself, so Marceline wrapped him in a blanket and started to get ready for the night in her bathroom. When she was done she took Simon's hand and lead him into the Living Room where the others where waiting. With a sigh she realized that this would be a long evening.