Tree Trunks was pacing the length of the sitting room, growing angrier and angrier with each step. Flame and Marceline watched the woman warily. It wasn't often that Tree Trunks grew angry and neither of them wanted to be in the woman's line of fire.

"How the hell did he get her pregnant!?" Flame stood, cautiously edging closer to the enraged woman. He needed to calm her down before she hurt someone, or herself.

"Tree Trunks, calm down." The woman growled at him.

"Calm down!? She's bearing the king's illegitimate heir! His only heir!" Flame shook his head. He knew Tree Trunks valued the monarchy that the Ice King ruled far more than any of them. Before he could respond the man in question burst into the room, eyes panicked. He quickly locked on Flame, reaching out to the man.

"Flame! I need your help. Frostbite, on her throat." He didn't need to ask who the Ice King was talking about as he rushed out of the room. He needed to get there before Fionna's entire throat froze over.

Marceline was looking at the Ice King in blatant horror. He'd frozen her throat.

"You tried to kill her?" Ice King shook his head, too confused to answer. He needed to think. Needed to get his mind together before he hurt someone else. He turned, ignoring the still furious Tree Trunks in the corner and walked towards the door.

"I'll be in my rooms."

Flame knocked frantically on Fionna's door before opening it. He knew better than to barge into a woman's room but Fionna could very well die if he didn't heal her. He found the woman on the floor, cradling her son close to her chest and cleared his throat. The two looked up at him.

"Fionna? The Ice King sent me." Fionna smiled and gently nudged Neptr off her lap before standing.

"Thank you for coming. I don't think we've properly met." Flame blankly shook the woman's hand. Why wasn't she panicking? Why was she so calm?

"Azar, though most call me Flame. You were injured?" He tried to steer the conversation back to her injuries. He glanced at her throat, the collar of her dress covered most of the skin. He couldn't really see the frostbite.

"My throat." Fionna carefully opened the first few buttons of her dress and Flame blushed. He stepped forward none the less and examined the woman's throat. There were only a few spots of deep frostbite, as if someone had already tried to heal her and he stared at the wound in confusion. While the frostbite was disconcerting, the subtle Adam's apple was even more confusing.

"You- you're a boy." Fionna ducked his head, wrapping his arms around himself.

"I never meant to lie to anyone." Flame was baffled. Fionna was a boy. Why? Why had he done this?

"Why do you hide?" Finn bowed his head. He'd never wanted to have to explain himself, expose this part of himself.

"I- I have a womb." Flame shook his head. None of this made sense.

"You didn't have to do… this." Finn huffed, turning angry eyes towards the fire mage.

"I bleed. How would I have hidden that? Would I have hoped my wife would not notice? That no one in town would see the rags?" Flame blushed, turning away from Finn. His sister often spoke bluntly of her womanhood to the obvious mortification of their parents. It seemed Fionna was the same.

"I don't- I'm sorry." Finn slumped forward, anger leaving him again. He was tired. Far too tired.

"It's not your fault. You didn't make the law." Flame turned confused eyes his way.

"What law?" Finn laughed, nearly hysterical. He knew the law by heart now. There was no way he could ever forget the decree that made him less than human.

"Men like me are put to death. We are neither men nor women and we don't deserve to live." Flame frowned. He had never lived in a human village and rarely paid attention to the workings of the human monarchy. His mother had told him stories of human cruelty but he hadn't truly believed them. Now to see a man who had hidden himself just to secure his right to live was more proof than he ever wanted.

Finn let Flame mull over his thoughts, scooping Neptr into his arms again. The boy was afraid, no matter how he denied it. Finn couldn't protect them. Not here. Flame sighed and decided that he could think about Finn's identity later. Right now he needed to heal his throat. His fingers returned to the injured area, pressing softly at the bits of healthy flesh. Finn gasped as magic wrapped around him, healing the bits that Neptr couldn't.

"I healed what I could." He looked down at the boy, Neptr if he remembered correctly, and smiled.

"You did a very fine job." Neptr grinned and bowed his head, unused to praise. Flame's smile brightened and he placed a hesitant hand on the boy's head. "I have a few books on advanced healing magic if you're interested."

Neptr nodded fervently, prompting a laugh from his mother.

"Thank you, sir." Flame turned back to Finn, healing the little bits of frostbite that lingered. He smiled gratefully at the mage and Flame stepped back, looking away once again as he closed his dress. Even with the knowledge that Fionna was a boy he couldn't bring himself to watch the other dress. Once he was fully clothed Finn drew the man's attention.

"Thank you." Flame smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of Finn's hand. Man or not, Flame was still a gentleman.

"Of course. Dinner will be brought shortly. I'll see about having some books sent up as well." With that he left, heart heavy and lighter all at the same time. Fionna was a boy and that was more surprising than he'd thought. But Finn was also a man who wanted nothing more than to live a life where he didn't have to worry about others chasing him. The life his parents had wanted for him and his sister when they fled to the castle. The life that Flame would ensure Fionna and his son had.

"Simon, you know we need to talk." Ice King stared ahead at the frosted window before him. He could see the people in the market, some going about their daily lives while the others stared at the castle in expectation. They'd all seen him walk through the castle town. They had all seen Fionna.

"Not now Melia." Tree Trunks shook her head. Simon wasn't thinking clearly. He didn't understand how serious this was.

"Then when? We don't have much time." Simon turned, confused. He was too tired to think about what Tree Trunks could be implying.

"Time for what?" Tree Trunks moved next to the king, not wanting the man to mishear her.

"Fionna's child." Ice King sighed once more as he made his way across the room. He couldn't think about Fionna's child, his child, right now. Not when he didn't know how he felt about their mother.

"What about them?" Tree Trunks huffed and grabbed the king's arm, stopping the man in his wanderings.

"You can't possibly have an illegitimate heir with a commoner. This needs to be dealt with." Simon's eyes widened before narrowing in fury. How dare she! How could Tree Trunks ever think that he would allow that?

"Leave, before I have you executed for treason." Tree Trunks frowned. Why was Simon angry? She'd given him a solution.

"But-" Ice King growled, ripping his arm away from his surrogate mother. He let ice crawl along the walls and floor once more, a clear warning.

"Leave." Tree Trunks fled the room, ice following her down the hall.