Chapter 3

Decker's eyes bulged out of his skull at the blank wall of ice. He shifted the bewildered look to Ice Queen, silently prodding her. "Simply a precaution, dear," she said, "I can't have you running off and getting yourself killed. You don't know what's out there."

He raised a defiant finger in the air before he deflated, "I... cannot argue with that."

The ice monarch patted his head, "Very good. I shall be your benevolent guide in this new, strange world, my prince."

Decker hid his deadpan beneath an uneasy, tight-lipped smile. He didn't like the way she called him those pet names. But he was in the soup now, and if there were others that had magical powers like her, maybe there was a way to get his memory back. He made some kind of murmuring noise to get her attention. She acknowledged him.

"Is there any place you can think of that could help me get my memories back?" Decker rubbed his arm.

With a long hum to herself, Ice Queen said, "Let me think about that. I'm gonna go slip into something comfortable."

Please, no. Something deep inside Decker knew that that meant less clothes. She exited the room through the ice wall, stepping through it as if nothing were there. Decker waited until he figured she was far enough down the hall, then scrambled to try and find some way out. With loud groan, Decker's hands ruffled his hair roughly.

He paced back and forth, finally settling on the bed. His leg bounced rapidly, and his eyes darted around the room. Nothing, not even a vent. No way to sneak out.

Then- an idea: if he could tear a door off its hinges and jump thirty feet in the air, how strong were his arms? Decker leapt up from the bed, clenched his fist, reeled his arm back, and blasted it forward into the wall. Nothing happened. It just hurt like hell.

Decker yelped and shook his hand vigorously. Tears pricked at his eyes as he held his throbbing hand. Hissed curses bit past his lips. "Magic ice," he muttered, "bad, bad, bad magic ice."

His hand was somehow throbbing and numb at the same time. Did this happen to all humans when they got cold? Decker pounded on his skull, cursing his brain for forgetting, Ice Queen for cornering him, and most of all Gumball for doing this to him. If Gumball hadn't run those sick tests on him! Now, he was going to be assaulted by some chick with ice powers and serious issues.

Willing his tears back into his skull, he wiped his nose, sent his foot crashing into the same slab of ice where the door had been, and bit back a cry. Decker had to restrain himself. All he wanted, more than anything, was to lash out and destroy everything in the room that could be destroyed. Yet, some sense of self preservation told him Ice Queen wouldn't like that very much. Instead, the floor at the foot of the bed frame beckoned him to sit.

Decker ran his hands through his hair. It wasn't the same. Something gripped him from the inside, something he couldn't put a name to, and a lump formed in his throat. Decker tried caressing his own brunet locks as gently as he could, failing to mimic any kind of external comfort. He hugged his legs closer.

This continued until he heard the sound of Ice Queen's magic. It made Decker jump and try to look as casual as he could manage. "Wait," he stammered, "I thought you were gonna-"

"Gonna what?" she asked, "I told you was getting comfortable."

The monarch stood over him, clad in a thick sweater and fleece pants. Both were some shade of blue. Her hair was up as well, using itself as a tie. In her hands was a stack of board games, none of which he recognized. At the top of it all, a pair of bongos.

It was best to let it go for the moment. Giving her ideas was the last thing he wanted to do. "I'm confused. You froze me and trapped me here to play some board games?"

"Yes," she replied, "How else am I supposed to get you to stay?"

Decker couldn't help a weak chuckle at the ridiculousness, "Why not just ask me to stay?"

She made her way to the bed and set the things down. "Why do that and risk being told no? Freezing is easier. Now come, sit on the bed with me."

Decker did as he was told. As cold as it was, the sheets were a warm welcome, literally. The stinging in his behind and legs began to alleviate. He wouldn't dare wrap himself up in it, for fear of inviting the queen's unwanted attention. Ice Queen set the bongos aside and went about setting up the first game.

It was some game involving a die inside a plastic half-circle. What a strange little game. Even stranger was that it looked as thought it required more than just two people. Decker stared into the pieces. As much as he wished to speak his mind, he equally fear this stranger's response.

He stared and stared until, finally, Decker ripped the bandage off. "Is this what you do for fun?" he asked.

Ice Queen had been explaining the rules to him. Her initial response was annoyance, but quickly shifted more toward confidence. She adopted something akin to a haughty expression, "Only when all my suitors come to court me."

A pause. Suitors? The one guy in the main room was begging to be saved. Before he could say anything, Ice Queen went on, "I also save these games for my gal pals. You may know the famous heroines, Fionna and Cake?"

She knew them? Why? How? Since when? Most importantly, why would they neglect to tell him about her if they really were friends?

Decker shyly prodded, "You know them, too?"

"Know them? I'm practically their bestie! I-" she popped the die and moved her piece before she began fumbling over herself, "D-Did you say 'too'?"

He gave a small nod. His eyes looked anywhere but into hers, electing to focus on the game. Pop. Tap, Tap. "They found me."

Pop. "Ah. I see."

Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap.

"You, uh, don't sound so enthused."

Pop. Tap. "No, no. It's not that," Ice Queen was quick to make her move, a pop and three taps, "We have history, is all."

"Yeah?" Decker chortled unevenly.

Pop.

"Yeah, we used to be nemeses."

Clatter! Two of Decker's pieces clacked across the board as he tried to grab them and compose himself at the same time. Stupid! How could he be stupid enough to wander here? This crazy witch could totally be evil.

"Nemeses?" his voice cracked with the weigh of the lump in his throat.

The pieces were back in place and moved to their correct locations. Ice Queen nonchalantly made her move as she remarked, "It was all in good fun. I'd have one of my fair princes over for a short spell, they'd come and ruin the fun, then they'd leave. Rinse and repeat. It's rather fun."

Decker was silent, his gaze avoided hers. Yet he still stole glances. Her appearance betrayed her personality. The skin looked soft; the hair even softer, so long that it spilled over the edge of the bed and pooled on the floor.

It almost looked like a pile of snow. Maybe that was intentional. The game carried on and he was on autopilot, taking in details. Ice Queen's eyebrows were weirdly long. Her eyelashes, however, were pleasant to look at; white and covered with what looked like white mascara.

While they were odd, they were not as odd as the eyebrows. They defied gravity, the damn things. What purpose could they possibly serve? Despite that, she was an average-looking blue woman with an average-looking body. Why would she have to resort to kidnapping people?

As she continued talking about anything and everything under the sun, even her personality was average. Aside from the whole prince fetish and kidnapping kink, she liked oddly normal things for such an adventure-filled world. Music, drawing, board games, the works. When the game's end drew near, she even picked up her bongoes. The little beats she patted out were complex, maybe even a bit ostentatious, before slowing to something more mellow between turns.

Ice Queen beat him at the first game. The next one had a loose die and a board with ladders and slides on it. She continues talking, playing her bongoes, while Decker found himself easing into the repetitive turn-taking. It felt normal. He felt normal.

The last day had been a whirlwind of superpowers, magic cats, and people made of candy. Now he was playing board games and talking to a girl. She was a witch and he had amnesia, but it was still a far cry from the madness from yesterday. This game went by faster. She won again, doing a little "in your face" dance for emphasis.

The third game included fake money. That's stupid, Decker mused, Who'd wanna just live life but in game form. Yet, by the time he'd made his first round, he had made far more progress than she. Turns out Ice Queen isn't good at handling her money. Decker still was cautious, and more than a bit hesitant.

He still wished he'd never left Fionna's. They were probably worried sick. Meeting new people sucked enough without being frozen. Second time around the board and Ice Queen was seething. She'd been thrown in jail.

Well-groomed nails dug into the sheets while she muttered and gnashed her teeth. Decker let out the smallest of giggles. It made him feel fuzzy to know he was able to fluster her for once. The shoe was on the other foot until the other foot dropped. Even his tiny giggle was enough to shift her anger away from the game board; he was the new target of her seething.

Perhaps it was best if he let her win? Was this too competitive for her? Would she take that anger out on him? It made him curious about her kidnapping practices and the etiquette of being a hostage. His fingers dove nervously into his locks, sifting through the chocolate strands.

"S-So," he trembled, "You never... hurt the princes you kidnap, right?"

Decker moved his piece. Ice Queen was now released from jail. "Of course not," the witch replied.

A sigh of relief.

She continued, "I merely punish them when they step out of line, that's all."

The 'yikes' scale didn't cut it this time. It was a really big 'oof'. Beyond even that, it might even be a 'woof'. A pit in Decker's stomach drew his attention to the shakiness of his breath and the quickness of his pulsing heart; he was afraid. He shakily asked, "You wouldn't do that to me, though. Would you?"

Ice Queen gave him a sly smirk, "I don't know. You gonna step outa line?"

The largest part of him wanted to continue agreeing and going along with whatever she said. Another part of him, however, told him to defy. Was this a conscience? For a moment, he abandoned his logic. That defiant voice, which he had been neglecting for hours, wanted to tell her how wrong she was.

If you don't say something, if you don't try and change her mind, she's gonna do this to other people. Decker's mind drifted to the weirdly shaped prince. Both of them may get out of this alive, but the thought of another innocent person being held hostage pierced his conscience. It was like aching in his heart.

Guilt.

"Well... Maybe. Maybe you shouldn't be punishing people for being themselves."

Everything stopped. Neither piece nor die moved. The already freezing temperature of the castle dropped noticeably. Ice Queen looked up at him, and a dangerous white mist fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. "What did you say?"

It was dread now that struck him down to the bone. But, even through chattering teeth, he responded, "H-Haven't you ever thought about what other people feel and want?"

"Why would I do that?" she demanded, "I am Queen. Why should I care?"

"I-I dunno," Decker admitted, then deflated, "I'm sorry. I just don't understand why you have to kidnap them."

The temperature slowly rose back to normal. The mist faded. Although now Ice Queen regarded him a bit more distantly. "I'm a very picky woman. Someone as young as you can't ever fathom the dedication and commitment of marriage. I collect options because I'm smart and careful."

It seemed as though she was opening up a bit. Decker was emboldened, "Then why kidnap? Kidnapping just puts everyone on edge."

An eyebrow raised. The expression she wore dared him to push further and see where it got him. "How so? I've made my cages as homey as can be."

This chick really was crazy, he decided. Decker shrunk back, pushing his fingers shyly together. Twisting the truth may salvage whatever semblance of safety he'd had before. But was manipulation the way he wanted to go? It all seemed mean-spirited.

Maybe if Ice Queen was shown a bit of kindness, she'd see some kind of light? "I..." he began, "I think that... This board game is relaxing."

Ice Queen remained pensive, awaiting his next line. Decker spit out sloppy word after sloppy word, "It makes me feel kinda normal? But, this whole time I haven't been able to enjoy it because I can't keep my mind off the fact that I'm a hostage."

The temperature lowered. It scared him but he kept going, "And I'm sorry if that makes you mad, but... I'm too scared of being frozen or tortured to enjoy my time with you. And it sucks cause from what I've seen, you're pretty cool. You're not evil. You just want some friends, and you're going about it all wrong."

Pain wracked through Decker as the temperature plummeted. Pins and needles he could tolerate, but these were now scalding scalpels in his flesh! It was almost as bad as being roasted alive. Tears filled his eyes. He hugged himself.

Decker had gone too far and pissed her off. She was totally gonna kill him, for real this time. The ice monarch rose from her position, and he backed away, now standing on the opposite side of the bed. Big plumes of mist fogged Decker's vision with his every breath. His teeth clacked against each other.

"P-Please don't freeze me again," he chattered pitifully, "It hurts too much."

Ice Queen raised her hands, now sparking with blue energy, "I invite you, an intruder, into my home. I give you shelter. I give you my company, I offer you my guidance, and you have the nerve to criticize my lifestyle?!"

"No! I wasn't trying to come across that way, I swear," Decker babbled, "It was a suggestion to help you make friends."

She shot back, "What makes you think I want or even need your help?"

Finally, Decker's voice rose to yell, "Cause you're lonely!"

Mentally, he cursed himself for the silent tears sliding down his cheeks. All he'd done since he woke up was cry. Ice Queen's magic faded, but her glare did not. He continued, "I've got Fionna and Cake. But I'm- ... I dunno, you seem very lonely."

Her glare lightened ever so slightly.

"Please, give my way a shot," Decker said, "I'd hate to lose a friend because she threatened to kill me."

The temperature of the room returned to normal. "Friend?" she asked.

"Yeah. You say you're cool with Fionna and Cake. That means you can't be that bad."

Crash!

The sound of shattering ice. Someone must've broken right into the mountain. Ice Queen's hair stiffened a bit, almost like a cat's hackles. She said nothing, but quickly left the room, leaving only a single detail unattended. The door, it was there!

There was no decision to make. Decker bolted from the room, moving as fast as his body allowed. He felt sluggish, like he was drugged. Every step was a fight to stay upright; yet, with every step, he could feel his core temperature rising and speed him up, bit by bit. He was nowhere remotely close to how fast he ran earlier in that morning, but it was still fast.

The place was labyrinthian, but Decker found that if he focused hard enough of the ground, he could see the miniscule indentation of where Ice Queen's feet melted the ice. He hoped that he would be faster than her magic now that he knew how it worked. That one big part of himself wanted to cut his losses and run. We've earned her trust, she left us alone. Let's get the fuck out!

No, he rebutted. Whoever broke in could be even worse than a kidnapper. Until he saw who the intruder was, Decker would continue to fight with himself. Running as fast he could on these icy floors, he remained indecisive. Yes and no clashed inside him.

Decker wanted so bad to have Ice Queen's back, to trust her, to trust that she may see things as he sees them. There was no way to know that, though. Fear overwhelmed him, but then he heard voices and screeched to a stop before he came to the front room.

With a grunt, both Fionna and Cake landed in the castle. They struck a couple of ridiculous mock kung fu stances before getting serious. "Huh?" Fionna looked around, "No one's home?"

The only remotely suspicious thing was the lavish, blue curtain where the Prince Cage usually was. Everything else, strewn-about clothing included, was intact. Cake sniffed around, "Nah, she's here. The stank's still strong."

Fionna shoved her playfully. "Ew," she chuckled.

"What are you two doing here?!" Ice Queen strode out.

Seeing the queen in her PJ's wasn't necessarily shocking to either heroine. Fionna shuddered at the memory of Ice Queen in a torn dress and painted-on thigh socks, pretending to be her. This was, by far, as normal as the monarch could ever appear to them. It actually made Fionna uncomfortable in a different way, like she was intruding on the older woman's bedtime or something. She faltered, if only for a moment, "We- er... We were wondering if you've seen a friend of ours. He's, like, yay tall and human?"

"Nope, never seen 'im," Ice Queen tersely replied, examining her nails, "Now get out."

Fionna groaned, "Cut it out, Simone. We followed someone's tracks here. They went straight up the mountain to your door."

"And how many humans can run straight up a mountain, hm?" she cut in, hands placed firmly on her hips.

"I can."

All three of them turned to the source of the sheepish reply. Decker slid out from his hiding place. Both his arms were drawn into himself tightly. Wringing his hands softly yet frantically, he said, "You guys are probably tired. I'm sorry."

All eyes were on Decker. It felt wrong. Whatever this was, he couldn't pin down what he was feeling. His hand went to his hair and rubbed softly. "Decker," Fionna called, "How'd you get up the mountain? It takes special gear to climb, but we only saw your footprints."

"I brought him up," Ice Queen declared, "He saw me and practically fell for me! So back off, hussy, he's mine."

That wasn't how it went! Why lie? A pit formed in his stomach. They were all squared up like some big fight. He tried to reason with them, "T-That's not-"

"Silence, my prince!"

Once more, Decker interjected, "But that's not how it-"

Ice Queen's hands rose above her head, sparking to life, "I said silence!"

Decker recoiled in fear. But before she could fire any spell off, her tiara was knocked from her head by Fionna in a flying kick. She yelped, "My tiara!"

Another kick made contact with her stomach. She doubled over. "Oh," she wheezed, clutching her stomach, "Oh, my sweater-"

One last spin kick sent Ice Queen sliding across the floor. Fionna stood from her stand and turned to the boy. He was still. Decker's face was soft, the gentle curve of his cheek unmarred by any lines of emotion. The only indicators of what he felt were the upward turn of his brow and the way his hands held each other far too close to his chest.

Fionna wanted him out of there. She cautiously approached him. "Come on," she murmured.

The tug on his arm was met with resistance. He wouldn't be moved. The tendons in his thin neck jutted out scarily, and his Adam's Apple bobbed with a hard swallow. Decker's eyes never left Ice Queen. Whatever it was he was galvanizing himself for, it grieved him greatly.

Tiny was Decker's voice when he finally spoke, "Why?"

Ice Queen was slowly making her way to her feet. Fionna tried goading him in her direction with another small tug. He continued regardless, "I don't understand."

The grip he had on his hands squeezed until he was trembling. Something inside clenched tightly, strangling him. Why were they fighting? "I thought you said that this whole 'enemies' thing with Fionna was behind you," his voice cracked under the pressure, "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?!"

No more tears. This time, he cursed out loud, loud enough for everyone to hear, and bit hard on his tongue. Big, deep breaths. No more tears. "I wanted to," she finally said.

Her normal demeanor had retreated into something more sincere. Ice Queen laid there on the floor, but her eyes seemed a little less fogged. Beneath the cloudy haze, Decker could almost make out some muted color. It looked like a cooler color, but a bit warmer; teal? Or was it green?

She looked halfway lucid, as opposed to her usual coming-and-going gaze. "I don't understand," Decker whined helplessly.

The monarch shifted, flinching to hold her stomach. She used a free hand to move hair out of her face. "No," she said, "You don't. I need a prince-"

"What you need is your head examined," Fionna barked, "And to stop preying on dudes."

She went unacknowledged. Decker said, "I want to be your friend. I enjoyed the board game a little bit. But you lied to me. I don't really know why I expected you not to, but I know that I've had enough lies for one day!"

"We can play more board games," she quickly begged, and the haze in her eyes returned, "We can stay here and play board games as much as you like. You'll stay here and be mine forever!"

Decker sighed, "I... I wanna leave now, Fionna."

The human girl nodded. Ice Queen's various pleas felt hollow. She was just saying things to get him to stay. The entrance of the palace was drawing close, but slowly. He wanted so bad to leave this all behind.

Again, Decker felt as though his body had a mind of its own. There was this need to self-preserve. Ice Queen was a bad person, right? She deserves to grovel like this for trapping and endangering him like she did. Were these the feelings his body remembered that his mind couldn't?

It felt good when Ice Queen begged. It felt good to be in control. Yet, somehow, it felt wrong. It felt so damn good, but so very wrong. Everyone should have a second chance, right?

No one deserved a final judgement for a first impression, did they? How would someone react to the freakish abilities that he, himself had? Would he want to be dismissed because of that or because he came on too strong at first? There was still so much of his being that urged him to keep walking. Dig in, go with his gut, never question himself.

What if questioning myself is the right thing, though?

Don't be ridiculous. I'm the victim here. Not her.

Yeah. I'm a victim. But does that give me the right to make a victim of someone else?

"Please," Ice Queen whispered, "You were the only one. You were the first one to like those old games. That means something. That can't mean nothing!"

No.

Decker stopped just as he reached the door. His hand came up, laid on the ice. The burning and stinging pain reminded him of everything that had gone down the past few hours.

"I..." Big, deep breath, Decker, "I'll see you later, Ice Queen."