Chapter Two

Fionna felt the cold floor against her face before she opened her eyes. Two stern voices danced in the air around her, but they were drowned out by the sharp pain that the girl could feel searing up her right arm. Rolling onto her back, she buried her arm in her cloak and opened one lid at a time, groaning at the memories that were flooding to her brain. She was angry at herself for letting the monsters get the better of her, gritting her teeth with frustration. Realising she wasn't alone, she looked, surprised, at the two figures that were yelling at eachother across the room. The deco was simple and weirdly homely - it was Marshall Lee's house, she frowned.

"Why do you have to be such a baby?" Flame Prince was arguing. "It is just for a few days."

"You're the baby!" Marshall was hissing. He was sat on the edge of his sofa, his back so stiff that he looked like he was ready to leap from his perch at any moment. "I don't want to babysit some kid for an hour, let alone a day! Why can't she stay with you?"

"What, and trust the Fire People with her? The Fire Kingdom isn't a place for human girls, Marshall. You know that."

"Neither is my HOUSE, Flame," Marshall hissed, his fangs pressed so hard into his bottom lip they left tiny, black holes.

Fionna watched them for a while from her spot on the floor, a little irritated that she was in a heap on the floor whilst Marshall was sat upon the sofa. It had been a few years since she had seen him last, as she had devoted herself to defending the citizens of Ooo from the evil that had claimed the land, and she mentally sized up this Marshall with the Marshall that was unaffected by the War. He looked the same; dressed in laid-back, scruffy clothes, his black hair probably unbrushed for a decade and very close to hanging over his eyes. His brow was lower, his scowl more permanent, and his shoulders were fixedly raised. Considering he didn't age, Fionna felt that he was somehow less boyish, but she couldn't figure out why.

"I need to fight for the Kingdom, you cowardly dog!" Flame Prince barked. "She is staying with you!"

Marshall stood up abruptly. "I-"

"Both of you SHUT UP!" Fionna yelled, jutting out her bottom jaw in anger. She propped herself up with one arm and made sure to hide the other whilst slowly getting to her feet and marching to the two boys, who stood in shock. Her hair was loose and flowing behind her like a golden veil, a few strands hanging stubbornly in front of her face. "I can fight, and none of you chumps are gonna keep me here!" She pointed a finger defiantly at Flame Prince. "And where is my hat?"

Flame Prince opened his mouth in surprise.

The Vampire King moved towards her quickly, appearing abruptly next to her face and she startled at the suddenly closeness of the boy. She yelped in pain and looked down; Marshall had grabbed the arm that was hidden in her cloak and yanked it free from the material, pulling it up in front of his eyes. She squirmed but her own wriggling put more pressure on the arm so she stopped as soon as she had started, letting her other arm go limp by her side and looking at her feet in shame.

"Did you think none of us would notice this?" Marshall growled. "You think you can fight with this?" Fionna didn't look up from her shoes. "Give me a break." He said, placing his fingers on her wrist and slowly tracing them up her arm, moving her sleeve delicately up to the elbow. She shivered at the touch.

Flame Prince inhaled a sharp breath of air before rubbing his hand through his fiery hair. Fionna's right arm was blackened, green in some places, with dark bruises growing under the skin like malignant roses. She closed her eyes - a Goo monster had cornered her during the fight and she had let it get too close. She had failed. Fionna refused to open her eyes due to the tears that she felt burning behind her eyelids.

"Let me see," Flame Prince said, softly, pushing Marshall to the side so hard that he was sprawled on the sofa with a snarl. He brought his hand delicately to her arm but stopped just before they made contact, hovering his palm over the blistering skin as a light to help him see closer. Fionna peeped at the Prince's face, which was twisted in concentration and concern whilst examining his patient.

"It's no use," he said, motioning for her to drop the arm (which she did, gratefully). "I'm no Gumball, but that thing is a problem for us and more importantly, for you." He looked her deep in the eye. "That poison is going to spread, Fionna, and when it does-"

The girl turned her face stubbornly. "That won't happen," she lied.

They all looked at the floor in silence.

"Well then," Flame Prince clapped his hands together. "That's my cue to leave."

"What?!" Marshall and Fionna snapped, scowling.

Flame Prince had moved to the door by this point. "Someone needs to go and find an antidote or something for that infection. I'm gonna be the one to find it." He grinned back at the pair. "I'll be quick - just gotta break into the Candy Kingdom and sneak past evil Gumball to get to his potions. Kids stuff."

Fionna jumped when Marshall let out a hiss and stomped over to Flame Prince. "Flame, you are a kid, and if you didn't notice I am a vampire KING. I'll go to Gumball."

Flame Prince laughed. "You're a KING?" Marshall frowned. "Start acting like one." Flame Prince let out a small jet of fire that flew through the air towards the boy, causing him to fly backwards into Fionna who yelped when he brushed her arm. Marshall turned around in surprise and reached to touch her arm before stopping himself, blushing. Fionna saw the guilt in his eyes and raised her eyebrows.

"Two days, tops!" Flame Prince crowed. By the time the pair looked up, he had disappeared.

The boy looked back at Fionna, who looked up eagerly in his eyes to search for the flicker of humanity that she had just seen. He stared back for a minute before scoffing and brushing past her good side towards the door.

"Do whatever you want - just stay out of my room." He said. "I suggest you take a bath." She thought she saw him smile but as he turned she realised it was a very violent grimace.

"You stink."