One more day, and it would be her birthday. Marceline thought about that. How many years has it been? One thousand and five. One thousand and five. The thought made her bones shiver as the thought repeated itself.

It was a long time to live. Marceline, she had seen the world. A thousand summers that seemed to last forever. A thousand icy winters that gave her breath steam. She had seen a baby turn into a child, an adult to ashes. Marceline not only seen the world, but she had also seen every detail. Every rock, every blade of grass, was at least touched once by her hands.

Marceline flopped on her bed, it's mattress soft. A pair of earbuds blared music into her ears from her Mp3 player and she mouthed the words. She had memorized every word, every note. If a person saw her right now, they probably would think she was insane. The thought of that made her laugh, her laugh bittersweet as it filled her bedroom.

She didn't care if someone thought she was insane. In fact, a lot of people thought she was. But Marceline laughed louder. As long as she had her bass guitar and her vampiric red/blood lust, she knew things could be much worse.

Her dad could've killed her years ago, when she was little. But he didn't. He could've killed her best, and only friend, Simon Petrikov. But he didn't. Things could be much worse. Much, much worse.

And, it could be better. In fact, she had a friend who was pretty much in the same boat. A memory just flashed in Marceline's mind and she fought back tears. A tall man, wearing a suit, managed to get a fire going in a corner of a room in an abandoned house. A five pointed golden crown with three red gems hung by a string on his belt. Simon.

Marceline allowed a tear to roll down her cheek as he looked at her. His smile was warming and a pair of slightly broken glasses lay on his long nose. Though he always seemed to hide it, his eyes were full of fear. His skin was tinted blue and was cold as ice. His brown hair turned white almost overnight and although he tried to shave it off, his beard always grew back.

"Happy Birthday, Marceline." Simon's voice was more cheerful then it usually was. Marceline walked over to him, a thousand years younger. "I've got something for you." He smiled a little more realistically and believable.

"A…present?" Marceline hoped. She wore a large shirt, but it fit like a nightgown on her. Her hair was shorter than usual and was getting a little greasy.

Simon nodded his head and handed her a box, the wrapping paper a dark shade. Was it black? It might have been a long time ago. The box wasn't heavy, but it wasn't totally light either.

"Go ahead," Simon motioned her to rip the paper. Marceline opened the box, revealing a necklace with a charm in the shape of a broken heart. Simon put the necklace on Marceline's small neck.

"See. I've got one too." Simon pointed to a necklace that hung on his neck. It looked just like Marcelines', except his was the left side. "We'll never get lost as long as we have these." Simon grabbed some bacon out of his backpack. Marceline's favorite breakfast. She could feel her mouth water as Simon put the bacon on a pan over the fire.

Suddenly, the now one thousand and four year old Marceline got rushed back to reality. Her eyes were red from the tears, and her cheeks were redder. She realized something. The necklace was still on her neck. It was faded and the chain had seen better days.

She had kept it. Did the Ice King even… Marceline hated the thought. But, maybe…A small part of her believed. Just maybe….

000

"…Seriously, Gunther, I can't get why the princesses don't like me. I give them toys to play with, I read them stories, even write songs about them." The Ice King, an old wizard with a long white beard, a long nose, jagged sharp teeth, and wearing a blue tunic and a golden crown with five points and three red gems, was talking to his only friend, a penguin named Gunther.

"Wenk," The penguin stood by the Ice King's side as he brushed his teeth.

"Is it that I kidnap them? Or is it that I'm old?" The Ice King had "kidnapping princesses" as one of his hobbies. And even though he tried so hard to empress them, they would always love on "Finn, their hero."

"Wenk, wenk." Gunther honked. Even though the old man was ugly, and at times annoying, Gunther could never hurt his feelings.

"Maybe you're right. I'm gonna kidnap a princess today. I'm thinking Hot Dog Princess. Do you want to come with me?" The Ice King asked after spitting out some toothpaste into the sink.

"Wenk." Gunther honked, a little louder this time. The Ice King took it as a "no thanks," even though it probably was a "yes."

"Okay, but you're missing out." The Ice King sighed. He used his beard as wings and started to fly out of his Ice Castle. When suddenly, an object hit him at the exact speed.

The Ice King flew on the ground like some sort of a ragdoll, his crown somehow stayed on his head. He moaned, his head had hit the floor pretty hard. Marceline, her shiny, black hair in a ponytail, and wearing a tee shirt and a pair of shorts, became visible. She had, of course, fell on the ground but quickly floated to make sure no one saw her.

"Marceline? What are you doing here?!" The Ice King growled, now realizing that it was Marceline who hit him.

"Oh, umm," Marceline smiled as she quickly lied, "My birthday's tomorrow and I was wondering if you weren't busy, if you could come to my slumber party. It's going to be totally bombastic!"

"Well, I was going to kidnap Hot Dog Princess, but I guess…" the Ice King started, but was interrupted by Marceline.

"Great. So the party starts at six. See you then!" And with that Marceline floated out the door.

"Wenk?" Gunther honked, wondering who it was.

"Yeah, I guess I am going to the party." The Ice King wondered what he should give Marceline.

*Three hours later…*

The Ice King knocked at Marceline's front door, a carefully wrapped box in his arms. "Hey," Marceline opened the door, and the Ice King walked in.

"Nice place you got here." The Ice King put the box on a table. Steamers hung on the walls and music played silently in the background. Nobody else had arrived yet and it was already six thirty p.m.

"Well, it works." Marceline laughed. "You want some popcorn?"

"Oh, yes please!" The Ice King shook his head. Marceline walked to the kitchen and threw a pack of popcorn into the microwave, and put the timer on for less than two minutes.

The room started to smell like burnt popcorn and Marceline blushed. "Uh, do you like burnt popcorn?"

The Ice King shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so." He plopped on her red couch.

"Be careful, it's hot." Marceline gave him a bowl of the burnt popcorn.

"So…is anyone else coming?" the Ice King said in between handfuls of popcorn.

"Well, Bonnibel had one of her science-thingies, Finn and Jake were too pooped out from adventuring, and my dad is trapped in the Nightosphere." Marceline explained and sat down gracefully on the couch.

The Ice King looked at her and smiled. "What?" Marceline asked, feeling his gaze.

"You are really going to love the present I got you." The Ice King's smile got wider.

"Really? Well, first let's watch a movie. Have you ever heard of 'Heat Signature'?" Marceline popped in the VCR into her T.V. and dimmed the lights.

"I don't think so. I might have seen it a long time ago." The Ice King shoved some more burnt popcorn in his mouth.

"Well, it's pretty awesome. Just watch." Marceline floated back to the couch and sat down. She pressed a button on a remote control and the movie started.

Letters began to appear on the screen:

"Document 413

Classified Information. Up to fifty years federal prison if viewed to unauthorized personal.

March 15, 1945. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean."

"Um, are those words?" the Ice King squinted his eyes.

"Yea. Wait…you can't read it?" Marceline paused the movie. The Ice King nodded his head left to right.

"You can't read any of that?" Marceline asked again.

"None of it. Does it, um, say 'Laggid Ifiamation. Ut ol legodo gosh kidgo kihsed '?" The Ice King guessed.

Marceline tried not to laugh. "Wait right here. I'll be right down." Marceline floated to her bedroom and grabbed a box out of her closet. She opened it, grabbed a pair of glasses out and floated back downstairs.

"Here. Sorry one of the lenses is cracked, but it's the only pair I got." Marceline handed him the pair.

The Ice King put them on. Funny, he kind of looks like someone Marceline used to know. An antiquarian with a crown and a streak of bad luck…

000

What a night. After they had watched 'Heat Signature,' the Ice King ate pizza(Marceline sucked the red out of the sauce and the pepperoni), and a couple sing-offs, Ice King fell asleep on the couch. He was right, Marceline did love her gift. A scrapbook.

Marceline stared at the pictures, remembering Simon taping them in there when she was younger. Some of them were pictures that Marceline had drew, her interpretation of the world around her, Simon, a doodle of her mom.

The Ice King looked so much like Simon when he slept. Even though he had changed. He had forgotten to take off the pair of glasses and he snored loudly. His long nose pushed against the arm rest and Marceline wondered if he could smell better than she could.

Marceline flipped a page in the scrapbook. Pictures of Simon and his fiancé lined the edges and Marceline realized they really were a cute couple. A sketch, probably by Simon, was of the Ice Crown. But it looked so realistic. Marceline wondered when he'd sketched it. She flipped to the next page. Simon scribbled gibberish all over the next pages, though Marceline could make out some words.

"War"…"Nukes"…"My Betty, please"…"Forgive me"…"It's so cold"…"Please, no"…

"Oh, glob," Marceline whispered under her breath. Why did he have to buy that stupid crown?! He didn't, no he couldn't, have wanted it. And yet, he did.

Marceline touched the necklace that hung on her neck with the little broken heart charm. So many memories rushed in her head and she couldn't stop the tears.

A thousand year younger Simon and Marceline were hiding in an old library when a thunderstorm forced them to the only shelter in a long ways. "Let's play a game, huh?" Simon proposed.

"Okay. How about 'Hide-and-Seek'?" Marceline asked, holding Simon's hand as they walked through the giant library.

"I'll count. You hide." Simon watched as Marceline ran away. "One, two, three, four, five, six… 'Over the mountain, the ominous cloud, coming to cover the land in a shroud, hide in a bushel, a basement, a cave, but when cloud comes a-huntin', no one's a save... no, safe'! Ready or not here I come!"

"I wonder where my Marceline is…" Simon walked down the aisles of old, rotting books. "Is she here?" Simon looked underneath a desk with a crashed in computer on top of it. "Nope. How about here?" He looked under another desk.

Marceline's little giggles echoed from behind a stack of thick books. "Marceline… where are you…" Simon's footsteps were getting closer.

"Rawr!" Marceline jumped out of her hiding place. "I'm brave, cloud! No way you'll get me!"

"Marceline, I told you, it's just a game." Simon sighed. She would always think she could defend herself, instead of hiding.

"I know but… you were scared, right?" Marceline asked.

"Terrified. Hey, I think it stopped raining." Simon couldn't hear the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof. "Let's go outside."

Another memory flashed in Marceline's head, and this one wasn't so happy.

"What are we going to have for dinner?" Marceline asked as she rode on Simon's shoulders.

"How about sardines and beans?" Simon asked. It was the only things he had found that was in a can.

Marceline stuck out her tongue.

"Why don't we eat something good?" Marceline questioned, even though she had known the answer.

"Because, Marceline, the good stuff is bad for us. And it doesn't stay fresh for long." Simon explained once again.

"But Twinkies stay fresh for a long time!" Marceline whined.

"Do you know what they put in those things to make them fresh for a long time? Chemicals!" Simon said disgusted. "And anyways, it's way too much sugar. Not good for you at all!"

Marceline would kill for a Twinkie. She only had one, one time and it was heaven and back.

"After dinner, can I sing for you?" Marceline changed the subject.

Simon laughed, "Of course! And I will sing with you!"

Now in present day, Marceline wondered what would've happened if Simon didn't find her. What if, what would've happened if Marceline didn't find him?

"Don't think about that." Marceline sighed. "It happened, and you can't do anything about that."

It happened a long time ago when Simon brought the crown home to his fiancé. When he put on the crown for the first time…