Nightmares (FioLee)

Chapter Seventeen

Fionna and Marshall continued to the next room, where a little girl with black pigtails was sitting on a lone chair, swinging her feet. "You're going to have to be brave."
"Brave?" Fionna repeated. "Are you going to try to hurt us?"
The little girl looked up, her eyes hollow sockets. "Not me. The shadows. You've got to show them that you're brave, or they'll kill you." Then she smiled. "And then you become shadows."

"Is there some kind of creepy award you can win?" Marshall asked her. "Because I think you'd be a real contender."
The little girl scowled. "Don't demean me. Anyway, they're coming. Are you ready? If you show fear, you'll both die. Goodbye."

Fionna drew her sword again as the little girl disappeared into thin air, and shadows started to pool at the base of the wall, before forming into nearly solid apparitions that surrounded Marshall and Fionna. Fionna and Marshall backed up against each other, weapons drawn.

The shadow people drew weapons to mimic them. They circled around Fionna and Marshall, before finally trying to strike at them. The battle raged for a long time. Whenever one of the shadow-people was struck down, two more would take their place. And unlike Fionna or Marshall, they didn't seem to tire.

"Don't show any fear she said. You'll die she said." Marshall grumbled to himself. "What the hell is going to happen when they beat us, then?"
"We just have to keep going." Fionna replied. "We're going to make it out of this."
"Yeah, in a casket." Marshall muttered.
Fionna nudged him. "Don't give up yet."

Marshall finally tired out, and dropped his ax, unable to keep going. Fionna yelled out his name, but the shadows did nothing. Hesitantly, she dropped her sword, and they all dissipated.

The little girl immediately returned to her chair, scowling. "That took too long."
"You could have just told us that we didn't need to fight." Fionna told her.
The girl shook her head. "No. That wouldn't have worked. There's no shame in surrender. But you do need to fight sometimes to protect what you love."

"Poetic." Marshall muttered. "Well, you've defeated us with your shadow army. What now?"
"Did you learn you lesson?" The girl asked.
"Not to mouth off to you?" Fionna asked, looking at Marshall pointedly.
"Give up?" He guessed.

The little girl scowled. "No. This was a test of bravery. Weren't you scared?"
"You said that if we were, we would be killed." Fionna pointed out.
"If you showed fear. Not if you were scared." The girl huffed. "But I suppose it worked out in your favor."
"We don't scare easily." Marshall grinned.

The little girl frowned at him. "It's not... that's a good quality. But the test was to teach you that when in battle, you shouldn't show fear."
"Why not? We can't all be brave all the time." Fionna pointed out.
"It's... you shouldn't show fear to your subjects. When you're a leader, you have to be stronger, something they can look up to."

"That's stupid." Marshall muttered.
The little girl glared at him. "It's not so stupid when it inspires loyalty. Yes, a leader is a person just like everyone else, but when there's a large community of people... sometimes people have to become larger than life personas. Anyway, continue, before I get the shadows back to finish off. There's a safe area just ahead if you want to rest."

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True to the girl's word, there was a mossy area just ahead, with a small, clear stream gushing out of the ground. Fionna examined the water, before pulling a canteen out of her backpack and filling it.
"So, if we're spending the night down here... can I expect you to snuggle with me?" Marshall smirked.
"If you promise not to bite me in my sleep again." Fionna grinned back.

Marshall laughed. "Why not? You might become an awesome half-demon like me. Your reign as queen would be so much more interesting."
Fionna laughed as well. "No thanks. Being a vampire is enough for me."
"Your loss."
"If you say so."

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In the morning, they both woke up hungry, and Marshall valiantly sacrificed the color of his red flannel shirt while munching on some granola bars. With both of their hungers sated, they moved on to the next room.

A similar looking little girl was sitting in the middle of the room, but whereas the one from the day before had been brunette, this one was blonde. "Hello."
"When did you find hair dye?" Marshall asked warily.
The little girl giggled, her hollow sockets betraying no emotion. "That's not me. You must have met my fraternal twin sister."

"Met and pissed off." Fionna agreed.
The little girl straightened. "Well, now it's my turn. I'm the Test of Honesty. I think it's fitting, my sister says I'm a terrible liar."
"So... do we have to lie to you?" Marshall asked.
"No. The opposite, actually." The little girl replied. "Why would you think that?"

"These tests haven't been exactly straightforward." Fionna pointed out. "They kind of mess with your head."
The little girl started swinging her legs. "Well, I am. I just have to ask you some questions you might be uncomfortable with. I'm not going to kill you or anything. You can leave whenever you want."

"Are you going to be the hardest to answer?" Marshall asked skeptically. "That's the only way I can see out of this."
The little girl shrugged. "It depends on your perception. Some might think I'm harder than others. Some might think I'm the easiest. But if you fail my test, that's it. You'll never be able to find the sword."

"Doesn't anyone kind of find it weird that we've stumbled across the one thing we really need?" Fionna asked.
A smile played on the lips of the little girl. "I'd like to think the universe is full of coincidences. 'Sides, you wouldn't have found us if you didn't need us."

Then the little girl leaned back, her face losing her smile. "Time to get serious. Have you ever killed a sentient being?"
Marshall nodded, but Fionna shook her head.
The little girl pursed her lips. "If someone ever exposed a dark secret of yours, would you own up to it, or not?"
"It's kind of hard not to if they're already saying it." Marshall pointed out.

"What's more important, honesty, or keeping from hurting someone's feelings?"
"You can't just transition from killing someone to being mean." Fionna protested. "And isn't the answer kind of obvious?"
The little girl leaned back. "Maybe. I don't know."
"Then honesty is needed if it's a big problem, but if it's a white lie, then..."

"And you?" The girl asked Marshall.
He shrugged. "This isn't really my quest, but I guess I'm with Fi on this one?"
The little girl, somehow retaining her eyelids, closed her eyes, giving the appearance of a normal little girl. "Come on. I'll show you the path."

"What? But, we answered wrong." Fionna replied.
"No, you answered honestly. That's the entire purpose of the test. I thought I made that clear, but I guess not. Anyway, I've never really been able to come up with good questions, so come on."

"What if someone else comes along and needs a test?" Marshall inquired.
The little girl giggled. "You're funny. I like you. I hope you don't die."
"I hope he doesn't die too." Fionna agreed, smiling at her boyfriend and trying to lift the mood a little. Marshall smiled, kissing the top of her head. "That makes three of us."