Standing on my doorstep was none other than Flame Prince.
"I thought I told you to stay away," I snarled.
"You told me to stay away from Fionna," Ignus said with a smirk, "which I am. I just came to talk. To warn you."
"Warn me?! Warn me of what?!" I scoffed.
"Fionna's in danger," Ignus stated bluntly.
I paused. It could be a trick. It probably was a trick. But with Fionna's safety at stake...I wasn't sure I wanted to take the chance.
"In danger from what?" I asked skeptically.
Ignus smirked. "From you."
"HA! From ME?!" I laughed. "That's an awfully brave thing to say, especially coming from you."
"Don't act like you didn't see the way she looked at you that day."
I stopped.
"She was afraid of you."
I was speechless for a moment.
"She was just shocked. She wasn't afraid." Right?
"Oh come on Marshall, you and I both know there are two things Fionna will never do; admit she's afraid and hurt her friends. She knew if she told you she was scared, it'd hurt you."
I glared at him. Ignus shrugged.
"Glare all you want, but the fact remains. In that moment, Fionna was afraid of you."
"Well...well so what?!" I yelled. "Maybe she was then. Maybe seeing my demon powers exposed for the first time did scare her. But she knows that I'd never do anything to hurt her! She knows I'm not like that! That I'm not like you!"
"Not like me? Ha! Marshall Lee you and I are more alike than you realize. We're both royalty, we manipulate others by striking fear into them, and we're hot-headed and respond violently."
"Yeah, well unlike you, I can control my anger," I snarled.
"Check yourself, bat boy. Your demon eyes are showing."
I stopped in my tracks. I noticed the heightened vision I now had due to my demon eyes. I looked down to see my fingers now had sharp claws rather than fingernails. I brought my hand up to my head, and felt small, ivory horns just starting to poke through my hair.
"You see? You're no better than I am."
I bared my fangs at him. "Are you looking for a fight, Ignus?"
"No, no. Like I said earlier, I just came to talk. I realize you're much more powerful than I am," Flame Prince said as he walked to the door and opened it. "But, the question is, do you realize that?"
Marshall narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Face it, Marshall Lee, you're more of a danger to her than I ever could be." With that, Ignus left, leaving me alone once again in my house.
As much as I hated to admit it, Ignus's warning bothered me. In some ways, he was right. I was much more powerful than he was, and could do a lot more damage. I could be hot-headed in certain situations, and it wasn't exactly uncommon for me to use some of my demon powers when I was angry. But, unlike him, I would NEVER hurt Fionna. What bothered me most, though, was one particular line.
"She was afraid of you."
It was true, Fionna probably wouldn't tell me if I actually did scare her. But what if I did? The confidence I had had before concerning telling her how I felt was completely gone now.
That'd be just great. "Yeah Fionna I know you just got out of a relationship with a dude who'd hurt you when he got angry, but I (a dude you might think could maybe possibly do the same thing) really like you." I'm sure that'd go over great.
Ok, new plan. I still had to find Fionna, but for a whole different reason. I had to make sure she wasn't afraid of me.
Because how am I supposed to protect her from her fears if what she fears is me?