MMH: edited 10/14/14. Please favorite and review!

It took forever to find Marshall's cave. The cave entrance was hidden behind a wall of trees. It took me almost an hour to find the house and I probably never would have if I hadn't stopped to rest. Instead of feeling the firm bark of a tree, I found myself flat on my back looking up at the ceiling of a cave.

I asked Cake if she wanted to come along, but she said going into a vampire's house is like walking into a lion's den. She was right. This could be suicide, but I had to try. I had to talk to him; let him know I didn't mean any of what I had said to him. I shivered, though I wasn't sure if it was because I was afraid or if it just was the cool temperature inside the cavern.

His house made me think of a country house, that is, if a country house were in a cave. A whitewashed porch wrapped around the house and a swing set hung from the rafters. It looked rather nice and homey despite its bizarre location. My heart ached when I thought of what I had said to him. Even though I was horrible to him, he did the right thing. He was a better adventurer than I was.

I walked up to the faded blue door and knocked. I waited a bit, but there was no answer. I knocked again, but the results were the same. Hesitantly, I turned the knob and, as if it were fate, it was unlocked. I cautiously entered knowing quite well that he could kill me in a nanosecond and I wouldn't know what would happen until it was too late.

"Hello? Marshall Lee?" There was a faint tune coming from upstairs and I followed, entranced by the melody. The charming bass thump resonated in my head and I was intoxicated by the sound. I closed my eyes and stood there just listening until I was pulled out of the stupor of Marshall Lee's strumming.

"You got a lot of balls coming in here unannounced," he said. I opened my eyes and saw that he was sitting on his couch facing away from me. I was startled by the fact that I had managed to walk to Marshall without thinking, but I shook it off. I was determined to set things right, no matter how difficult he intended to make it.

"The door was unlocked."

"The lock is broken."

"I knocked."

"And I ignored." I could tell he was about ready to rip my face off, but I had to clear my conscience. Plus, it's the good thing to do.

"How's your cut?" I asked. Marshall lifted up his armed to reveal a gash that looked like it was on the brink of becoming infected. "Do you want me to bandage it?"

"I'm fine. It's not like it'll kill me," he said bitterly. I paused before continuing to speak again.

"I got a letter from Prince Gumball's grandma thanking me for delivering the tarts, but you stole them." He remained silent and I wasn't sure if he was listening or ignoring me. "I was confused for a couple minutes but then a got it. You gave them to her didn't you?" Still nothing. "Duchess Gumdrop even said she thought I was weird for delivering them at night."

"The thing is I'm a vampire not a granny-murderer. Weird, huh?" Marshall was still turned away from me mindlessly strumming his bass.

"Well I just wanted thank you. It means a lot to me that you did that." I tried to step forward, but he felt my presence and tensed, so I moved back.

"You done?"

"Not quite. I'd like for you to come with me to a ball celebrating the Duchess' new lease on life."

"No," he said.

"No?"

"No."

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

In an instant Marshall Lee tossed his bass aside and had my back against the wall with his hand clutching my throat. He lifted me off the ground and my little hands scratched at his trying to free myself from his death grip.

"Because you make me sick," he hissed. "The sight of your chubby, round face makes me want to barf up a lung and then be thrown out into the sunlight. You think a simple thank you will make me feel better? Think again, Princess. You're only thanking me because you're afraid I'd terrorize you forever. All you humans act the same. You think groveling in fear and actually being kind to me are the same thing. You use words to worship us, and then use more words to stab us in the heart. Yes, I have a heart. It's old and withered, but still there."

He glared at me until my skin felt like it was on fire and then dropped me to the floor. I gasped for breath as he floated into his bathroom and slammed the door shut. Cautiously I stood and walked over.

I swallowed a few time, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. "I'm sorry you think that I'm thanking you only because I fear you. The truth is, I'm not afraid. I'm in awe. I know you have a heart. I was awful and rude and callous, but you still were kind enough to save someone's life. I'm so sorry. I was wrong. Though you're the only one I've met, you have got to be the most kind-hearted vampire in all of Ooo, possibly existence. I don't deserve the pleasure of you joining me for the ball, but I won't invite anyone else. If you'd like to come, it's at the Candy Kingdom on Saturday at 10:00 sharp. You can dress up fancy if you'd like. Personally I hate to dress up, but it's for the Duchess." I paused and a heart-breaking silence filled the room.

He wasn't going to come out, much less to the ball, and there was no point fooling myself.

I left and went home.

Cake and I were getting ready for the ball and I must have tried on thousands of dresses because I hadn't found 'the right one'. Cake had found a large chest full of them in our treasure room. Any dress would have suited me just as well as any other, but my sister wanted me to look fabulous for Gumball and for the vampire who probably wasn't even going to show up. Cake, being a cat, had no issue finding an outfit and merely wore a pink ribbon around her neck. Lucky.

"Ooh girl, you look fabulous. This is definitely the dress," she said. I turned around and looked in the cracked floor length mirror in our room. I looked decent. I certainly would have been more comfortable in my normal outfit, but royal parties are all about fashion over function. The dress reminded me of this old anime that Cake found among the debris left over from the Great Mushroom War. It was mainly white, had poofy sleeves, and a little gold trim with a pink ribbon around the waist. Personally, it was all a bit too frilly for me, but it did look good.

"All right, let's go already." I sighed. We I arrived just as the ball was in full swing. Cake ran off to Lord Monochromicorn and I was left alone to awkwardly tell the marshmallow bouncer that my date simply hadn't arrived yet.

"Fionna. You look stunning," someone said. I whirled around and my hopeful expression slightly dropped, but I grinned when I saw who it was in place of who I expected.

"Thanks PG. Although I gotta admit, I feel sort of silly."

"Nonsense. Come along now, my grandmother wants to talk to you." Gumball grabbed my arm and dragged me along to meet the woman I sort of saved.

Duchess Gumdrop was old. Really old. Her faint pink skin was wrinkled and drooped off her face. Her white hair was frizzy, but she somehow managed to put it into a tight fitting bun. If this is what she looked like healthy, I hated to think of what she looked like when she was near death.

"Ah, Mistress Fionna. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too Your Highness." I had to be on my best behavior to impress the royalty that I had saved.

"I'm ever so thankful that you managed to deliver the tarts the same night that my grandson made them."

"Well ma'am, I can't take all the credit. I had a friend help me."

"Oh really?"

"Yup. His name's Marshall Lee." The whole room went quiet and I could have sworn I heard a pin drop. Had I said something wrong?

"Marshall Lee? The Vampire King?! My dear, you certainly are lucky to be alive," the duchess said. Prince Gumball grasped my hand and turned me towards him. His sweet, pink face was scrunched into a troubled frown.

"Fionna! Do you know how dangerous he is? He could have killed you!" I felt my face blush at Gumball's concern, but I was determined to set the record straight… well, straight-ish.

"No. Marshall Lee wouldn't have dreamed of hurting me." That's a lie. "He didn't even say anything bad to me at all." That's a lie too. "He actually knew I wasn't going to make it in time, so he offered to help." Whoa, that's a big ol' lie. Why was I lying to protect a guy who not only insulted me, but threatened me as well? The partygoers uncomfortably shifted their attention away from us and went back to the festivities.

"Well the only thing that matters is that you and I are alive." The Duchess smiled and then dismissed the two of us.

Gumball pulled me onto the dance floor and we began to dance. He was quite graceful, but I probably looked like I had a frog in my shorts (which were hidden underneath my dress, thank Glob). Despite me accidentally stepping on his feet half a dozen times, Gumball seemed over the moon just to be with me.

"Fionna?"

"Hmm?" My head had found its way on his shoulder and I was slowly drifting off to sleep. Gumball's voice was becoming far off, but I tried to stay awake with a goofy smile plastered on my face.

"I don't know what I would have done if you had been killed out in the forest. You're the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. Before I met you I was this shy, nerdy guy, but you showed me a whole new side of life I would have never dared to venture out to. You made me who I am today." If he had stopped there, I would have been perfectly content, but he continued. "You Fionna, are the greatest friend I'll ever have." My eyes snapped open and I felt like I was going to puke.

"That's so nice PG. Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to go outside for a minute." I managed to whisper. I curtseyed and quickly went outside to get some air in order to stop my head from exploding. My hands were shaking and my heart hurt. Not like in the way like when you eat too much candy, but in the way like when it's on fire. "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!" I screamed as loud as I could. My fist collided with the gingerbread wall and it left a huge crack. Cake once told me about this thing called "friend-zoning", but I thought it only happened to dudes. It sucked. Tears were streaming down my face and my head was rushing with so many thoughts. If he was so smart, why didn't he get a clue? If I had meant that much to him why didn't he feel the same way I did? I was getting more nauseated by the minute until I couldn't take it anymore. Boys were dumb.

"If this is a bad time I can leave?" My head shot up to find Marshall Lee… in a tux.

"Marshall?" He cleaned up pretty well. He wore black pinstriped tuxedo with a blood-red tie tied loosely around his neck. His hair was still a moptop, but he must have combed it because it was somehow neater.

"Yeah. It's me. I didn't arrive too late did I?"

"No. It's just, uh… well it's just kind of lame in there is all." I stood up and hastily wiped my tears away after realizing how crazy and weak I must have looked. 'Never let a vampire see you cry, hon. They love sadness and they won't stop till you're left with nothing.' At least, that's what Cake always told me.

"Do you want to get out of here? There's nothing but candy people drunk off their asses in there anyways," I asked hurriedly, eager to escape.

"That'd be for the best. They don't really like me so much. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere." Marshall smiled at my response and grabbed my hand.

"Marshmallowy Meadows it is, then." Before I knew it, I was up in the air on Marshall's back. The breeze blew gently and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"You came." I grinned to myself and felt my face flush.

"Don't think too much of it. I just felt like a douche after you left. In all honesty, what you said isn't the worst that I've heard. You're also the first to apologize, so that helps your case too," he said.

My grin fell. For being a vampire and all, Marshall Lee sure did act human. It made my heart-guts feel bad. I much preferred this silence to us fighting, so I snuggled on his back and waited for the trip to end.