Bound To You

Chapter 8

One month had passed and Flame Princess was still consumed by her depression. She wracked her brain over and over for ways to make things better with Finn, but everything came up weak. Finn was a romantic, he needed a huge gesture to get over the way she had treated him. Regret seeped into her gut. She knew the way she treated him was unfair, but had she not acted the way she did, she would have never uncovered her true feelings.

She sunk deeply into her throne, her head supported by her fist. She played with her crown as a citizen complained about their neighbor. She wasn't really listening. Sometimes the flame people's problems were so trite. Everything seemed small in comparison to her Finn problem. She was in love with a man who felt used, felt betrayed by her. When she felt betrayed by him all those years ago, she didn't forgive him so easily. Why should he forgive her? What could she do to make him see how sorry she was?

The princess's day was coming to a close as the last citizen left, unsatisfied with his apathetic queen. She didn't care, she just wanted to get back to her bed.

"Flame Princess, we need to talk." CinnamonBun stopped her from leaving her throne.

"What, CB? What did I do?"

"It's not what you did but what you didn't do. You're a shell of yourself and you're being a bad queen. Pull yourself together! It's been a month! What can I do to make you happy again?" CB took her hands in his. "I care so much about you. How can I help you?"

"Bring Finn back." She blatantly stated. "I NEED him. I don't feel complete without him."

"So how do we get him back? Hey, maybe we can throw a royal ball.."

Flame Princess rolled her eyes. Again with the ball stuff? Clearly that worked the first time. Well, actually, it did. He DID come and they DID get together. Would he attend another royal ball? Would he even bother coming? His pride wouldn't allow him to skip out! Maybe exactly what she needed was to take things back to where they started.

"CB, wait. That might be a good idea. We throw a royal ball to celebrate a "big announcement". Finn comes, I make the announcement that I love him and want to be with him, he forgives me, we party! It's a big, romantic gesture that's sure to get his attention. Plus he wouldn't expect me to do something like this. It's spontaneous. We can play it like our last ball was so successful that we want to do it again! This could work! CinnamonBun, you're a genius!" She hugged him tightly. He fell backwards from her throwing herself at him, but quickly collected himself and hugged her back. He was like her big brother, always looking out for her.

Even though the idea seemed far-fetched, it was the only thing that Flame Princess could see turning out. She immediately had CinnamonBun invite the neighboring kingdoms, making sure to personally invite Finn and Jake.

Across Ooo, Finn was about as depressed as Flame Princess. He hadn't adventured in weeks unless it was an emergency. He mostly stayed in his cocoon-like bed, sleeping the days away. Jake worried immensely for his buddy.

"Hey, Finn... Wanna go scour a dungeon today?" Jake sat on Finn's bed, petting his friend's back.

"I don't know, Jake. I just kinda feel like staying in."

Jake stood up angrily. "You have been laying in this bed for almost a month! Time to do something! This is getting ridiculous! Either get over her or go get her! I'm sick of hearing you sigh and moan and not do anything! I hate to see my friend waste away! Look at yourself, bro!"

Finn knew Jake was right. He was tired of being tired. He wanted to be with Flame Princess so badly it caused him so much pain. But she had burned him, metaphorically this time. She couldn't even say she loved him. But he wondered, could she just not be ready? Was there a chance she could have grown to love him again? Maybe he had overreacted. But she hadn't made any efforts to contact him, so maybe she was over it. He'd gotten over her before, maybe he could do it again. His heart hurt as he thought about forgetting about her again. How could he go through it all again?

"Jake, you're right. I've got to do something. I just don't know where to start. Do I finally give up for good? Or do I hold out hope? I feel like I need a sign or something"

Right at that moment, a knock came at the door.

"C'mon buddy, let's go see who that is." Jake carried Finn downstairs.

They opened the door to find CinnamonBun. He had an invitation in his hand.

"Finn, Jake...you are cordially invited to a royal ball thrown by the Queen of the Fire Kingdom. She requests your presence in four days time. We hope you can make it. She wanted me to hand deliver this note to you." CB handed over the blue invitation.

Maybe this was a sign.

"Thanks, CB, we'll try and be there." Finn shut the door quickly. Was this her reaching out to him? Maybe it wasn't time to give up. But she'd really have to prove herself to make this work. Finn smiled for the first time is ages.

"There's that grin!" Jake hugged Finn, "See? She's making an effort. Now it's your turn. Not only are we going, but you're gonna bring a date!"

What.

"Jake, how exactly will that get Flame Princess and I back together?"

"To make her jealous! Bring someone who you know has zero interest in you, like Bubblegum, for example. Bring her as your date, then Flame Princess will REALLY have to prove herself. It's the perfect test. If she leaves you alone, it's over. But if she tries anyway, then you've finally sealed the deal."

"Jake, that sounds like a really bad idea. But I guess you have a point. Ok, I'll ask PB if she wants to go with me as friends. She'll understand. I don't think Marcy will mind..." Finn winked at Jake. The two stopped and laughed. They suspected those two have been together a long time. It was still fun to poke fun at.

So it was decided. Finn would attend the ball with Princess Bubblegum. And only time will tell if Flame Princess will come around.