Tales of the Alternate Universe
Chapter Seventeen: Marceline
The silence of that peaceful summer night was only accompanied by the constant chirping of distant crickets and the occasional neigh of horses, sleeping in the red barn beside them. After such an (both physically and emotionally) exhausting day, it was only natural for the two cuddled teenagers on the rooftop to have fallen asleep.
His metallic arm remained firm, holding the weight of the two bodies leaning on it while his flesh arm surrounded the girl's waist, granting her the warmth and softness that only human beings can provide. Finn had found one more reason to be proud of his unnatural arm; it was resistant and immune to pain. With it he would be able to defend Flanna from any harm, while his still human arm would always be there to offer her tenderness and care whenever she'd need it.
Finn would have wished to linger in that moment until dawn. To be finally able of holding Flanna while she was completely defenseless was something that he had never even dreamed of. Yet there she was, relying completely on him while her fierce nature remained dormant, and an inoffensive, almost angelic gesture flourished on her sleeping features.
A loud howl echoed from below, followed by an insistent barking and scratching on the walls. Jake wagged his tail in excitement as he waited for Finn to come down. When the boy didn't show up, the dog left his comfortable sitting position and went to bark and howl even louder in an attempt to get his owner's attention. His impatience was understandable. Jake was hungry.
More desperate barks and moans came from the hungry bulldog, but the young farmer (despite the fact that he could clearly listen to his noisy racket) just snuggled deeper into Flanna's hair, seeking to ignore Jake's howling. It didn't take long before the dog's yapping caused a baby's crying to echo inside the Mertens' house.
"Finn!" shouted a voice that the besotted lad couldn't pass over. "You'd better get that dog quiet in this instant, I'm trying to get your brother to sleep!"
"Ugh…" Finn moaned lazily as he rose from his comfortable position. "Geez…"
Of course, the girl in his arms wasn't able to keep drifting in her sleep anymore just as well as him, and rose from his embrace with a soft yawn. "What's up with all that noise…?" she asked.
"It's just my little sib…and Jake." The boy lend Flanna his flesh hand to help her get up. "I gotta feed him and… Oh dang! I almost forgot about dad!"
Finn ran to the roof's edge and crouched down to glance at his father who was still sleeping under the tree. The boy slowly shoved his hand in his pants' pocket and pulled out an old slingshot. The red-haired girl noticed this with curiosity and leaned beside him with a clear look of confusion on her face.
"What are ya doing with that toy?" she asked.
"This ain't no toy!" Finn replied as he aimed at the old farmer's head and shot a small bullet with great precision. "Hehe! There's no nobler weapon in the world!"
"What was that for?" Flanna inquired, watching how a very annoyed Mr. Mertens walked into his house.
"Mom will get mad if she finds out that dad has been sleeping this whole time."
"Ohhh…" the girl nodded after getting the idea. "Can I give it a try?"
"Sure!"
Finn gladly handed her the slingshot, and with great enthusiasm began to teach her the basics; such as aiming with the hand that holds the slingshot instead of the one that holds the ammunition leather pouch, and the importance of a proper firing stance (because everyone knows what is it to get your own hand hit by a rock) He then instructed her to aim at a crystal bottle, which was left over the fence and encouraged her to shoot it down.
Flanna did as said, closing her left eye and letting the tip of her tongue slip out of the corner of her mouth —due to a total state of concentration. She stretched the rubber band, held her aim for a moment and released her grip on the leather pouch, causing the small projectile to knock down its target with great accuracy.
"That was AWESOME!" Finn exclaimed in excitement. "Alright, alright, now shoot…that brown owl on that tree!"
"Finn, I don't really feel like shooting an owl, you know?" she laughed.
Finn rubbed his chin thoughtfully in search of a better target, forgetting about his hungry dog once again.
"Finn!" his mother yelled. "Hurry up, your brother needs to sleep!"
"You know, Finn…it's getting kinda late, I really should get going."
The farm boy turned to stare at her in disappointment. He still didn't want her to go, but she insisted in leaving and reminded him that Miss Bonnibel was waiting for her. The two teenagers descended carefully, climbing down the oak tree on Finn's window and then faced each other one last time before parting ways.
"Are you sure about leaving on your own?" Finn asked worriedly.
"It's fine, Finn. I know the way."
"Yeah, but… I don't really mind to take you there after feeding Jake." He gave her a concerned a smile. "It could be dangerous…"
"And wouldn't your way back be dangerous as well?" A shy grin was curved on Flanna's lips. "I'll be here tomorrow in the morning, we can hang out around the town…you know…like on a date."
"A date! I mean…yeah, why not?" Finn leaned in with a blush covering his face and kissed the wound on her cheek. "Just…be careful, okay?"
The familiar reddish glow was also spread across the girl's features shortly after Finn stepped backwards to stare back at her. Her hand flew nervously between their bodies in an attempt to break the awkwardness of the moment and tried to give Finn his slingshot back.
"Keep it." The farm boy said. "It might help you on the road, you know, to scare wild dogs and stuff."
"Thank you, Finn." Flanna paused for a moment. "For everything…" she bit her lip nervously, "And don't you dare forget it…! You'd better be here tomorrow when I come to meet ya, okay?"
Finn walked towards a nearby tree, which was facing the farm's barn and sat down on one of its bulging roots.
"I'll be waiting for you right here the whole morning if I have to, I swear!"
"Finn!" Mrs. Mertens shouted again, "What did I told you about letting mules sleep on my bed?!"
"Oh, geez! Bar-Bar!" the boy cried frantically.
Flanna smiled in amusement and sprinted out of the Mertens' property, nothing could go wrong now that Finn was by her side. Nothing…
x+x+x+x+x
The red-haired girl ran swiftly through the meadows. The tiny rocks and sticks of the grassy path that she had taken were not a significant nuisance for her bare feet, which just kept increasing their speed as several thick black clouds loomed over the moon, drowning its soothing glow with darkness.
Fear? Why would she be tempted to believe that she was afraid? Pure nonsense. Flanna went into the woods and lost herself within the trees. The speed of her feet was slowed down due to the multiple obstacles that were suddenly sprouting out in the middle of the night. Fallen trees, hollow stumps and thorn bushes got in her way, causing Flanna to trip and meet the ground repeatedly.
"It's no use…!" she growled as she dusted off the dirt from her skirt.
A faint warm light glowed in the distance. It was a bonfire in the dead of the night. Flanna supposed that it was probably just a shepherd guarding his flock and decided walk in his direction, hoping that he'd share some of his fire with her so that she could continue making her way towards Miss Bonnibel's house. But as soon as she got closer, Flanna distinguished a mixture of familiar guffaws surrounding the flickering flames, and she immediately hid behind some bushes to take a better glance of the four men before her.
"Destiny Gang…" she hissed in disgust.
Big Destiny wasn't with them, they were just his henchmen, laughing and talking about the poor victims that they had assaulted that day. Flanna decided to ignore them. She saw no use in messing with them on her own, much less in the darkness. The red-haired would simply surround them through the woods and forget about them for the rest of the road. That was until the surname "Mertens" was pronounced by one of those freaks. Now Flanna couldn't just walk away and ignore them anymore, the sake of Finn's family was way too significant for her as well as her own life.
"Humph…" Trumo growled as he rubbed his rear end. "That kiddo and his yellow beast…! My buttocks are gonna hurt like…for the entire week!"
"What are you crying for, Trumo?!" said Tremi. "At least you didn't get bitten on the front lines, like me!"
Tromo and Trami shared an amused glance between each other and then laughed to the top of their lungs.
"Heh… You guys are the Destiny Gang's greatest shame!" Trami chuckled as he leaned on his giant hammer. "You're always getting your buns kicked by that One-arm runt!"
"Hum…yeah, but that's about to change!" Tromo smirked, "His father still owes us our money. Tomorrow first thing in the morning, we'll get him and force him to pay Big Destiny…! And if he refuses well…"
"We beat him up!" Trumo exclaimed.
"Aye, WE'LL BEAT HIM UP…!" the whole gang replied in laughter.
Flanna stepped back in shock. "I gotta warn Finn!", her heart cried as she turned around, ready to make her way back towards the Mertens' farm. But luck wasn't on her side this time. Her poor vision caused her to break a dry branch as she was running. It's creaking sound alerted the Destiny Gang of her presence instantly.
"Huh? What was that?! Who's there?!" Tromo yelled, lighting the woods with a torch.
The red-haired girl escaped from the light, hiding herself behind a tree. She carefully pulled Finn's slingshot out of her dress' pocket. Flanna used a nut from the ground as ammunition and shot it towards the opposite side of the campfire in an attempt to fool them.
"Silence guys, I think I heard something behind us!" Tremi cried, biting the bait. "Follow me!"
"Heh…! Fools!" Flanna whispered as she sprinted towards Finn's home.
She quickly crossed the woods, letting the low branches whip her face and tear her once new and beautiful dress without regret. There was no time to worry about such things now. Her green eyes spotted the light of the Mertens' widows. Flanna was about to leave to the woods behind when a sudden strike tackled her down. The girl hit the ground with a thud and struggled to get up, but a knee was quickly buried into her stomach, impeding her from doing so.
"Do you think I'm as stupid as the others, Firefly?" Tromo's face appeared before her with a cocky smirk.
Flanna refused to reply. Instead, she focused on trying to get a hold of a small rock in order to shoot it on his face. Her fingers were barely grazing the coldness of its hard surface when...
"Huh? Who the heck are you taking me for?!" the black-haired man muttered, slapping the rock out of her reach. "Some donk?!" he literally spat that on her face.
"Actually…" Hacksworth replied confidently as she pulled the empty leather pouch backwards. "YEAH!" she released her grip on the pouch, whipping Tromo's nose with the slingshot's rubber band.
"NOT IN THE NOSE!" the thug cried, rubbing his face with both hands.
Flanna immediately took advantage of the situation to kick Tromo off her and sprint back into the woods. She couldn't run towards Finn now. The fields were an open area, and now that the rest of the gang had heard Tromo's screech, they would all be on her heels. No, she needed to find a place to hide. She needed to lose them.
Her eyes analyzed her surroundings and found an odd rock formation in the distance. Flanna thought of covering herself behind it, but as soon as she jumped over it her feet reached no ground, causing her to slide into the depths of the earth and crash against the cold soil. Flanna quickly leaned onto the rocky wall, clutching her throat in a desperate attempt to control her claustrophobic reaction due to the narrowness of the area. The girl closed her eyes, listened, and waited…
"Quick this way…!" "She couldn't have gotten far, c'mon! Move yer feet!"
"Where the heck are you, Firefly?! It's been years…!" Tromo's voice chuckled, "I'm sure that Big-D will be really pleased to see ya now…! C'mon, show your pretty freckled face…!"
Flanna held her breath for what seemed to be an eternity, until the Destiny Gang's voices finally vanished in the distance. She opened her eyes and fell onto her knees, gasping desperately for some air. If only she had let Finn come with her…
Her gaze drifted upwards, seeking for a way to get out of that crack in the ground. Unless her arms stopped shivering, Flanna wouldn't be able to climb all the way up. There had to be another alternative. A soft breeze caused her hair to tickle her nose, making Flanna look towards its source and realize that there was actually a path before her. She slowly got back on her feet as she mustered all the courage that was left within her. Flanna didn't know where would that path take her, it could lead her into an even more enclosed area or worse. The memories of her experience inside her father's mine were still as fresh in her mind as they were on Finn's flesh…
"Finn…" the red-haired girl whispered. She had promised him to be back in the morning so that they could go on their first date together. "I have to get out of here…no matter what!"
Ignoring the vivid phobic sensation that was devouring her on the inside, Flanna decided to advance into the unknown, risking everything she had left just to return to Finn's side.
x+x+x+x+x
A dim light in the distance arose from within the darkness to guide Flanna's path, causing her to let some grateful tears leak out of her eyes. The red-haired girl soon discovered that the source of that light was a small forgotten candle, which was left on top of a small wooden table. The question was, what was that kind of stuff doing inside an underground tunnel?
Of course, it was impossible for Flanna to answer that. She could only wander through the small hallway, noticing that its walls and floor were almost hidden beneath all sorts of antiquities; furniture, books, and objects of great value.
"Heh… Is this, like, some kind of buried treasure?" the girl wondered, not really paying much attention to where she was going and ended up bumping against a drawer.
Flanna fell on the ground and a dusty book fell on her head afterwards. With a little bit of annoyance, the girl grabbed the odd book and blew the dust off its cover.
"Huh?" Flanna blinked in curiosity as she analyzed its title. "Ench–… Endri–… Enchiridion?"
Hacksworth flipped the pages at great speed, taking a quick glance of the strange illustrations and texts within its dozen withered pages. When she finally reached the back of the book, Flanna noticed that someone had attached a few more pages onto it. Curiosity took the best of her, and the red-haired began to read them silently.
Though this might sound quite absurd, it has been until now that I have realized that the visions and the vicious whispers will never stop… Not even if I take the crown off my head…
I curse the day when I came across this wicked object —the crown… The crown is evil, and its evil has now corrupted my very soul…
I should have never accepted it… I should have never put it on my head…
You must never wear it, Marceline… You must never let anyone wear it…
I trust you, Marceline…
"Marceline?" Flanna whispered.
"How the heck did you get inside here?!" an old woman's voice gasped in horror.
Flanna quickly closed the book and got back on her feet to face the stranger. Her entire skin was pale and wrinkled; a brown tattered coat covered her short chubby body and a small hat crowned her long black-haired head. The Hacksworth girl stepped back in fear, noticing a couple of weird features on that woman's face. Large pointy ears and a pair of glimmering fangs, sticking out of her upper lips.
Though that old woman's appearance was mostly shocking, Flanna didn't react with astonishment until she spotted the small basket, clutched within her claws. Inside it, there were nothing but eggs.
"The Egg Thief…!" Hacksworth gasped.
Update: Grammar checked and corrected.