I think I'm going to switch back to once-a-week updates (Monday), because I'm just took freaking busy. Sorry, guy. I hope you enjoy the new chapter! And don't forget to review and shoot me suggestions and stuff when you finish reading! ;)
Chapter 9
It was a bright, sunny day in the Candy Kingdom. The whole of the kingdom was abuzz with excitement. Candy people were busy decorating and preparing for the enormous party that was being hosted at the palace. Prince Gumball had invited Fiona and Cake to help him decorate beforehand. The prince was busy setting up tables, tasting snacks and laying out decorations for the girls to help him with. Cake sat on the floor, tail flicking back and forth excitedly. She held what looked like a gingerbread man in her paws, except it was made out of some kind of jelly.
"Throw it, Cake!" Fiona said.
Stretching her arms, Cake tossed the little jelly-man toward her. Fiona kicked it as high as she could. The jelly-man flung up and stuck to the ceiling. There were numerous other jelly-men in various colors stuck to the ceiling. But unlike the people of the Candy Kingdom, the jelly-men didn't appear to be alive.
"You sure these things aren't alive or anything?" Fiona asked, glancing at the prince.
"Oh no, they can't even talk," he said with a smile, a red jelly-man in his hand.
Suddenly the jelly-man started making odd noises. Prince Gumball slapped his hand over its mouth. He laughed nervously. He tossed it at Fiona. She kicked it up and it joined the others on the ceiling.
"Thanks for helping me out, guys," Gumball said.
"What are these things for anyway?" Cake asked, batting one of the jelly-men between her paws.
"They're decorations for my biannual Gumball Ball. Tonight!"
Fiona snickered. "Sounds like it's gonna be large."
"Yes," Prince Gumball said excitedly. "So very large." He approached her and held out his hand for her. "And I'd like you to accompany me."
Fiona blushed, placing her hand in his. He helped her up. "Really? Is that okay? I mean, are you sure?"
He chuckled. "Of course I want you to go! As my pal!"
Adjusting the weight of her backpack, Fiona glanced away. "Oh. Right…."
"Everything's going to be great!" Gumball grinned.
Suddenly the air temperature dropped and the room grew darker. Prince Gumball glanced around, confused. It had been sunny and warm only moments ago. Cake leaped up suddenly, all her fur standing on end. Her tail was bushed out to twice its normal size.
"Oh, Fiona, we got trouble!" Cake said urgently. "My tail is totally frizzing out!"
"I'll go check it out."
Fiona raced to the balcony on the other side of the room. As she raced outside, she realized something was completely wrong. Swirling black clouds covered the entire kingdom. The air was unusually cold and a strong wind began to blow. Bolts of blue lightning thundered from the storm clouds overhead. A figure emerged from the clouds, the darkness parting as they drew closer. The Ice Queen, wearing her usual blue dress and magic tiara, flew toward them. She laughed shrilly.
"Ice Queen!" Fiona shouted, annoyed.
Cake and Prince Gumball came out to see what was going on. Ice Queen flew straight toward them, summoning her magic. A shroud of blue magic engulfing her hands, she created a huge chunk of ice out of thin air.
"The prince shall be mine!" she cried.
"Get back inside!" Fiona shouted, shoving Gumball through the doorway.
The enormous block of ice slammed into the doorway just as they made it inside. Bits of the wall crumbled on impact, leaving a slight gap big enough for the old lady to fit through. Ice Queen slid down the ice and approached them, hands glowing with her magic.
"Get away from my Gumball, tomboy!" Ice Queen said angrily.
Fiona clenched her fists, ready to fight. "Ice Queen, why do you always gotta be predatoring on dudes?"
"You should talk!" she cried. "Keeping all the hot babes all to yourself, never letting me have any fun!"
Prince Gumball made a face in disgust.
"W-what?" Fiona muttered, taken aback.
"Well, not this time!" An enormous beast made of slushy snow formed around the Ice Queen, fangs of ice gleaming. It roared as it lumbered toward the prince.
He screamed. "Slush beast!"
The beast's arm shot toward the prince, the slushiness extending as far as Ice Queen desired. She pushed him against the wall. Fiona could glimpse the Ice Queen's shadow within the beast as she rushed toward Prince Gumball. The prince struggled to free himself, but to no avail.
"Cake! Morning star mode!" Fiona shouted.
Cake stretched herself into a ball of spikes. Fiona snatched her by the tail and swung her in circles. She flung her cat at the slush beast. The creature exploded on contact, shrouding the room in a curtain of white. Snow fell, blanketing everything in a carpet of thin powdery whiteness. Fiona couldn't see anything. Was Gumball alright? She glimpsed a thing shadow coming toward her. Gumball's pink and purple clothes cut through the whiteness.
"Fiona," he said breathlessly. "You saved me from the Ice Queen."
"Oh, yeah. I guess." Fiona glanced around quickly. "Is she gone?"
"She must have fled." Gumball approached her slowly. "Fiona, you look beautiful amidst all this snow." Fiona blushed as he spoke, "What are you doing later?"
She wasn't sure what to make out of his question. She adjusted the weight of her backpack. "I-I was…just gonna go home I guess," she muttered, embarrassed.
"Let's go out."
"Go…out?" What did he mean? Gumball was acting kind of strange.
"Yes! Let's go somewhere."
"What?"
Cake snatched Fiona's arm, leaping up excitedly. "We'd love to!"
"Excellent!" Prince Gumball's face lit up. "Meet me in the palace gardens in an hour."
"Yes, of course!" Cake said, dragging Fiona toward the door. "We'll be there!"
V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V*
Back at the tree house, Fiona was still trying to figure out what Prince Gumball had meant. He had never talked that way to her before. It kind of excited her—she'd had a crush on him for a long time. Cake sat on the couch, watching her pace.
"O-o-oh, it's a date," Cake said excitedly, grinning.
"What's a date?" a dark voice asked.
Cake and Fiona jumped. They glanced around, but no one was there.
"Hello?" Fiona asked hesitantly.
Cake stiffened suddenly. The rabbit ears of Fiona's hat were moving on their own. Something tugged at her hat. Then it felt as if someone was swatting at the blonde hair that framed her face.
"Hey!" She swatted blindly. "The heck?! Cut it out!"
A dark chuckle filled the room. Marshall appeared behind her. He hissed. "Boo!"
"Boy, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Cake cried.
"I knew it was you, Marshall!" Fiona shoved him playfully. "What's the big idea sneaking up on us, huh? You spying?"
He shrugged. "Nah. Just thought it'd be fun—'cause you're interesting." He leaned forward. "So. What's a date?"
"Get this," Cake said excitedly. "Prince Gumball asked Fiona out! It's a date!"
"No it's not," Fiona said defiantly. She frowned. "I'm sure when he said 'go out' he meant 'go out' not 'go out'."
Marshall arched an eyebrow. "That brainiac? You still into him?"
Fiona blushed. She rubbed her arm absentmindedly. "Well…yeah, I guess. But I don't think that's what he meant by 'go out.' Gumball's not into tomboys like me."
Cake leaned forward. "Shut up! He's into you!"
"Yeah?" Marshall hung upside-down and leaned closer, their faces inches from each other. "Well I think you're a pretty awesome chick. Screw what Gumbutt thinks!"
"Thanks, dude."
"Oh come on, girl," Cake said. "Don't be so negative about the prince!"
"You heard him! I'm like his guy friend." She sighed.
"Well that can change tonight." Cake winked.
Fiona folded her arms. "Then if it's a date, why are you coming?"
"I'm coming to help you."
Marshall laughed. "Sounds like it's gonna be pretty math," he said sarcastically. "I bet we'll see how the date turned out at that uptight ball tonight."
"Are you going?" Fiona asked.
He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Got nothing better to do."
Cake leaped off the couch. "Hold on, I'll bring my dulcimer." She picked up on odd contraption with strings and strapped it to her back.
Fiona groaned. "Come on!"
"It's a conversation starter," Cake said. "Now let's go! We don't wanna be late."
"Uhg! Fine…." She trudged after her cat. "But I'm only doing this to prove you wrong."
V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V*
They arrived at the palace gardens right on time. But Fiona was growing more and more anxious. She hesitated.
"You know what," she said nervously. "Let's just bail. I changed my mind." She started to leave, but Cake snatched her sleeve.
"No!" She snatched her by the collar and pulled her closer. "Don't retreat, girl!"
"Hello, Fiona," Gumball said excitedly.
The two girls jumped. Prince Gumball was standing behind them, a big grin on his face.
"And I see you brought Cake," he said.
"That's…cool, right?" Fiona asked hesitantly.
He nodded. "As long as it's cool that I brought Lord Monochromicorn."
A long, black stallion with a gray mane and a horn on its forehead swooped down and landed in their midst. Cake instantly perked up. The handsome Monochromicorn was her boyfriend. She started purring as she stared up at his muscled form.
"Hiya, gorgeous," Cake said sweetly.
Lord Monochromicorn stamped his foot a couple times, as if he was talking in Morse code. Cake's tail bushed out and a wide grin spread across her face.
"Accept these tokens of our esteem," Gumball said, holding out a little sack and a bouquet of flowers.
It was a first for her to receive flowers and junk. She didn't really know how to react. Fiona waved her hand dismissively. "You didn't have to."
"Nonsense!" He handed Cake the little pouch in his right hand. "For you, Cake, a satchel of Nepetalactone. Mochro picked it himself."
Cake sniffed the bag. Her eyes instantly grew wide and glossy. "Catnip! Sweet babies!"
"And for you, milady," he said turning to Fiona. He held out the bouquet. "A bouquet of posies."
She took it hesitantly, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "O-oh. Uh, they're…."
"There's a surprise in the center."
Fiona parted some of the flowers. A glittering pink gem was nestled in the center. When she touched it, the crystal lengthened into a razor-sharp crystal sword. She gasped. "A crystal sword?! I'm all about swords! How did you know?"
"I pay attention to things I see you being all about."
She gently nudged his shoulder with her fist. "Thanks, dude. It's just," her eyes lit up as she stared at the blade, "Wow."
Prince Gumball climbed into Mochro's back. He gestured for Fiona to follow. "Come. For the wowiness has only just begun!"
V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V* V*
By the time evening had rolled around, Fiona and Prince Gumball had spent hours together. The four of them—Mochro and Cake included—had gone for a long walk, raced to Marshmallowy Mwedows, and spent the early part of the evening staring at the stars. But just after their race, Cake and Mochro had left the two of them alone, in which time Prince Gumball had serenaded Fiona with a beautiful song.
Fiona was feeling nervous and kind of strange. Prince Gumball had re-extended his invitation to join him at the ball…as his girlfriend! She was freaking out. She didn't know what to do! The only person she knew who had any experience with boys was Cake. And her cat was more excited than Fiona was. She had made her a beautiful white gown with gold trim and pink ribbons just for the occasion. Fiona had stuffed her retractable crystal sword in her purse and the two of them were off to the Candy Kingdom in a flash.
As they arrived at the front gates of the palace, Fiona slid off Cake's back. Cake helped her straighten out her dress before she went in. Fiona took a deep breath and reached out hesitantly. Pushing back the curtain slightly, she peered inside. The whole palace was lively with music and hundreds of people. Everyone in the Candy Kingdom had shown up for the event. Even some of the other princes had shown up, like Lumpy Space Prince, Wildberry Prince, and Turtle Prince. Fiona's stomach was doing weird flip-flops and her chest tightened. It was a weird sensation that she'd never felt before. She glanced around the room when suddenly a flash of red and blue floated past her. The figure stopped suddenly. Marshall did a double-take when he spotted her.
Hovering toward her, Marshall looked her up and down. He chuckled. "Whoa! Fiona, you're in a dress!"
"Yeah. Never thought I'd wear something so frilly and weird." She tried to hook her air behind her ear, but her hat kept getting in the way.
"Strangely, it looks good on you." For some reason, seeing her look so girly made him feel kind of strange. He'd always looked at Fiona as someone who was fun to tease and hang out with. But now he saw her as more of…well, a girl. She looked beautiful. He rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly. "Never thought I'd see you in something like that."
"Yeah, well, here I am!"
Cake tugged on her dress. "Girl, look over there! I see the prince."
Hearing the cat mention Prince Gumball made Marshall frustrated. It made him angry. Folding his arms in a huff, he started to float off. "Guess I'd let you get to it."
Prince Gumball glanced up, his face brightening when he spotted Fiona. She waved back at him hesitantly. The prince politely excused himself from the conversation he'd been having with Cinnamonbun and headed toward her. Fiona took a step back hesitantly. Prince Gumball pushed the curtain aside.
"I've been looking for you," he said.
"Well, here I am!"
"Indeed!" He took her gently by the hand. "Come with me. I want to show you something."
"Okay."
"Woo! Okay, girl, I'll see ya later!" Cake hollered after her.
Gumball led her away from the party and into a different part of the castle. They headed up the stairs to a more secluded, less lively area. Everything was dimly lit. The prince opened the door at the top of the stairs and stepped aside for her. Fiona glanced around curiously as she walked inside. It was a dim room, lit only by candles. There was a bed set up with rose petals sprinkled across the sheets. She heard the door close behind her, and then a click. Something felt a little off.
"Um, is this like your bedroom?" She turned around at the sound of the click.
"Fiona," he said passionately. Slowly he began unbuttoning his shirt as he approached her.
Fiona's eyes widened. She took a step back. "What're you—?!"
Something cold and wet dripped on her. Fiona jumped. She looked up. That's when she noticed the huge chunk of ice stuck to the ceiling. Prince Gumball was frozen inside, a look of horror plastered to his face. Fiona gasped. If Prince Gumball was frozen, then who…? She turned to the Gumball before her.
Prince Gumball laughed, but his usual voice melted to a shrill cackle. As the prince peeled away the clothes, the Ice Queen emerged. She had disguised herself as the prince and tricked her!
"This was so much easier than I thought it would be!" Ice Queen said excitedly. She hurled a bolt of icy lightning at Fiona.
Fiona ducked just in time. Her face flushed in embarrassment, she rounded on the old woman. "This is really messed up, Ice Queen! What is your problem with me?!" The ground started to shake as a pillar of ice formed beneath her.
"You're what stands between me and my Gumball!"
Spike of ice shot out from the pillar. It sliced straight through the new dress, ripping it to tatters. Fiona tugged at it, pulling herself free. "Uhg! I can't believe I fell for this trash! You got me to show up in a dress and with a purse—" She gasped. "My purse! My sword!"
In all the confusion, she had dropped her purse. Fiona darted toward it. Rummaging inside, she pulled out the retractable crystal. She activated it and it lengthened into a diamond-hard blade. But suddenly it changed shape. The blade disappeared, replaced by a thick ball of ice. Her arms were frozen in place.
Ice Queen laughed maniacally. "You like my ice sword?"
Fiona shouted in frustration. "Get it off me!" She rushed forward and slammed the ice boulder repeatedly into the queen's head. Screaming in rage, the old woman shot an icy blizzard from her hand. It launched Fiona toward the frozen Gumball. As she sailed toward the ice pillar, Fiona lifted her arms. She slammed the ice into the pillar, shattering it. The ice around her hands broke on contact. Fiona caught Prince Gumball as they fell. Ice Queen screamed in frustration.
Suddenly the door burst open. Cake forced herself inside. "What's going on in here?!" When she laid eyes on Fiona's tattered appearance, her tail bushed out and she rounded on the prince. She launched at him, claws ready to strike. "Don't you touch her!"
Fiona snatched her away from the prince. "It's okay! It's okay!" she insisted. "It was the Ice Queen."
"Paws off my prince!" Ice Queen shouted.
A stream of ice shot toward the cat. She hissed as it started to freeze her entire body. Ice Queen laughed as she watched the cat suffer. But she was so enraptured with the cat that she hadn't realized Fiona creeping up on her. Fiona knocked the tiara off her head before punching her in the jaw.
Ice Queen gasped, staring at her hands in horror. "My magic tiara! My powers!" she cried.
Fiona snatched her by her dress. "And this is for yanking my heart-guts!" She punched her with all her might, knocking her out cold. She stood over the unconscious Ice Queen, panting.
"Wow, Fiona," Gumball said, in awe. "You're just—you're really incredible! Thank you so much for saving me."
She shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's what I do."
In all the excitement, Fiona had lost sight of what had happened throughout the day. She had kind of enjoyed the date they'd had…even if it was actually the Ice Queen. But at the same time, she realized that it hadn't really been Prince Gumball and that he didn't see her as a romantic interest. She was like his "guy friend." She sighed. The thought depressed her. She had been crushing on Gumball for a long time, but he just didn't seem to notice her like that. And she wondered when he would ever take notice of her. Even if it wasn't today, she might still have a chance.
Chapter 10 should be up on Monday!