The Crossing of Blades (FIOLEE)

Chapter Eight

"It all really starts with my parents. At the time of my conception, there was a war going on between the vampires and the demons. My father was Anthony Melahone, the younger of the twin sons of the king of the vampires at the time, Julian. My mother was and is the queen of the demons."

"But your surname's Abadeer, not Melahone." Fionna said.

Marshall shrugged. "I only found out my father's name a little while ago. I always thought that he'd abandoned us, which my mother basically did to me too. What really happened to Anthony Melahone was that his twin brother, Tobias, murdered him."

Fionna's eyes widened. "That's awful."

"Mm-hmm. Apparently, Julian was deliberating who got the crown, and..." Marshall shook his head. "Don't worry, I got Tobias back myself. I was enlisted as a spy at the time, since I could pass as a full vampire more easily than the demons around me. I was what, fourteen at the time...? Yeah, fourteen. But I got caught by Tobias, who turned me as much as he could."

"And then?"

"And then he started trying to mold me into less of a threat. He tried to break me emotionally, and would have eventually gotten to trying to break me mentally and physically. Not that I really had much to live for, anyway."

"That's awful." Fionna breathed.

"If you interrupt me again, I'm going to kiss you." Marshall grinned.

"Sorry, carry on." Fionna smiled softly.

"So one day, I just snapped. I killed him, in front of everybody. Next thing I know, I was crowned king. I didn't earn it. I didn't care about the country like you do. I was just a pissed off kid. And I knew it, so I stopped the war and went home. Next thing I know, Mom tried to marry me off to Gumball, for an alliance. Duine was getting too powerful, not to mention Valleyhale, and we had the same idea you all did."

"How old were you?" Fionna asked.

Marshall pulled her as close as he could, and kissed her, making good on his threat. "It was two years ago, so I was seventeen. So when I got there, everything was good for a while, and then I realized that Gumbutt had rules for everything. How to dress, how to talk, how to walk, where to go... it was crazy. So eventually I just picked up and left. And when this ship was finally finished and they were looking for volunteers, I signed up. And that's how I got here."

"Amazing story, Marshall." Fionna replied honestly.

He smiled. "Oh, so I'm back to being 'Marshall' instead of 'Captain Abadeer'?"

"There's no point in you not being Marshall, if we're never going to see each other again after tonight."

He nodded jerkily, as if he didn't quite believe it, and handed her the keys. "Please... don't let him change you. Please don't go from my Fi to Princess Fionna. Don't turn into his doll."

"I won't be able to run like you did."

"But you're stronger. You don't run like I do anyway."

She unlocked the cell, then kissed him gently. He pulled her into a deeper kiss, which she readily returned.

"You need a boat, right?" He asked as they pulled apart.

"It'd certainly be better than swimming." She agreed.