MMH: edited 10/14/14. I have a tendency to be very neurotic when it comes to my writing so I'll most likely go through all of the chapters and edit them. Mostly I'll be adding detail and correcting errors. Please rate and review!

I walked up to the Candy Kingdom with Cake at my side. "Why are we going to see Gumball again?" my kitty companion asked me. I hadn't seen him for a while, but Prince Gumball and I were still good friends. I had saved him countless times before from the Ice Queen. We became friends because I simply saved his ass so often. He was smart, and funny, and nice, but totally oblivious when it came to romance. My romance. I had a major crush on him since I met him, but he still remained totally imperceptive.

"Prince Gumball called upon me because he needed me. Those were his exact words. 'I need you Fionna'." I blushed at what he might have meant by 'needing me', but then felt silly for letting my imagination run wild.

"Ooh, girl. You've got it bad." Cake looked up at me from my side as we entered the gates. My cat (and sister) knew I how I felt all the time about almost everything. I had told her of my feelings for Gumball about a week ago, but she insisted that she knew of my feelings when I first saved him.

The candy citizens were running about excited for one reason or another. Some were worried about not providing food for their gummy children. Some were just glad their houses didn't crumble from the last knife storm. Trails of sugar and dried icing of various colors littered the road to the castle.

"I do not! I'm just his pal, remember?" My heart sank to think that Gumball was too focused on his schiencey-stuff to even consider me as something more than a girl who was just a friend. A girl who was a friend who rescued him from time to time. "Stupid girl feelings, making me do anything for Prince Gumball. I'm so dumb. To him, I'm just his… chum." I mumbled. I'm pretty sure Cake heard me with her freakishly sensitive ears, but she didn't say anything. Cake and I approached the castle and the gingerbread drawbridge opened, letting us in. I hurried into PG's lab and saw him pour a green liquid into a beaker and then a puff of smoke billowed out.

"Why, hello Fionna!" Gumball greeted me cheerily once the smoke cleared. A grin appeared on my face and I said hello. For some reason, he always made me smile when he was around. He walked up to me, his face inches from mine, and said in his sweetest, most sultry voice, "I need to deliver some…" My mind was racing with possibilities of what he would want me to deliver.

Some roses to my house?

Some chocolates for us to eat?

Our children?

"…tarts." Tarts?

"Oh… sure." I tried to not sound disappointed and I only half succeeded. I swear Gumball uses my crush as an excuse to make me do whatever he wants. I bared a smile as well as I could. "Who, why, and where?"

"My grandmother, she's sick, and in Sucrose Pastures; right on the other side of the Evil Forest." Gumball smiled handing me the tarts in a clear, bulky anti-gravity tote chamber. "I would ask the Royal Tart Toter, but she's gone sort of nuts… and not in the edible way." I smiled at his joke, but my lips quickly fell into a concerned frown. The last time I was in the Evil Forest, I kind of lost an elderly elephant called Tree Trunks. It's kind of a long story. I'll need to rescue him eventually… I wanted to decline, but it's not like I could back out now. I had already agreed. I would just have to buck up.

"As you wish, Your Highness!" I saluted jokingly. We both grinned and a silence fell between us until we heard a little cough. I turned and looked down at my feline friend.

"Fionna? I hope you don't mind but, can I stay here? You know, hold down the fort?" Cake asked. I was taken aback by her sudden fear. She was my best bud, my right hand man; what on glob's green earth had her in such a fright enough to not accompany me?

"What?! We've gone through the forest dozens of times."

"Yeah, but it's going to get dark soon and… vampires come out at night." I bit my lip. Vampires were a thing to be concerned about, but they were hardly something to run in fear of. Of course, Cake always did have an irrational/rational fear of vampires. It's irrational because we've faced far worse and it's rational because, well they're vampires.

"Can't we just deliver the tarts tomorrow?" I turned and asked PG. He had a grim look on his face, which didn't equal well for me. I knew his answer before it came from his lips.

"Nope. She's really sick and these tarts have the cure. I'm worried that time is of the essence." I paused for a moment to think, but it was sort of stupid because I had only one option.

"Okay. I'll do it."

"I can't believe I've been reduced to a delivery girl." I grumbled. It was dark, cold, and I was only a couple minutes into my two hour journey. In all honesty I wasn't annoyed that I was just delivering some tarts. In fact, helping people is what I was born to do. No matter how small the task. I was annoyed at myself for letting Gumball get to me.

I had the perfect opportunity back at the castle. Cake was inside flirting with Lord Monochromicorn and it was just me and PG. He gave me a red cloak because it was getting cool so I pulled it on. The lining was a smooth silk and the felt outside brushed against my skin.

"I made it just for you." He said as brushed the hair from my face that had escaped from my hat. We were gazing into each other's eyes, but I chickened out. For being a hero, I'm kind of a coward… When it comes to certain things, of course.

All of the trees were bare, but the forest was still ridiculously hard to see through. Shadows moved about forming shapes of monsters, villains, and other kinds of ruffians. I know I'm an adventurer and all, but walking through a dark, spooky forest all by yourself is scary no matter who you are or even if you do have a giant sword with you. The anti-gravity tote chamber, or as I like to call it the clunky metal thing that jabbed into my back, was where my adventurer-pack would have been which left me holding my sword in my right hand. Both items were getting kind of heavy.

"Hmm, I wonder if I can take a break?" I thought aloud. I wouldn't take that long, only long enough for me get my strength back. Plus, that all-nighter I had pulled with Cake the night before left me really exhausted. I shook my head, trying to shake off the sleep. "No! Time is of the essence! Gumball wouldn't have said that if he didn't mean it! The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can go home and sleep," I said.

"Humans sure are weird. Talking to themselves. Well, I suppose I should say 'herself' since you are the last human. No point in trying to make a population seem larger than it actually is…" a smooth voice whispered around me. I looked around but saw no one. A cool shiver ran down my spine. Vampire. My heart raced and I tried to remain calm, but sort of failed miserably.

"Hey! Who's there?" I asked as fiercely as I could muster, though a slight quiver remained in my voice. I held my sword clenched in both hands spinning around chaotically in a circle. My vision blurred and my head grew dizzy.

"Red looks very exquisite on you. I could just eat you up." A chuckle came at me from all angles and I began to panic. Why was I being so afraid? I had no reason to be afraid.

I wasn't afraid.

I wasn't.

Really.

I shook my head and took a deep breath then repeated my question in a much braver tone than before. "Who's there?"

A hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled me into the air causing my sword to fall from my hand with a heavy clunk. The tart chamber slid off my arms and hit the ground hard, but luckily it didn't break. I tried to keep track of it, but I was jerked into looking straight ahead. I then found myself face to upside-down face with one of the most attractive boys I've ever met. Well thinking about it now, the only two human-like people I've ever met were Gumball and the person that was in front of me.

"The name's Marshall Lee, the Vampire King." His hair was shaggy and pitch black, which blended into the night sky. His skin had a faint blue-ish tint to it and his fangs poked out of his incredible smile. "Now tell me, what's a little girl like you doing all by yourself in the Evil Forest?" I flailed my leg that he was holding and he reluctantly let go. I quickly flipped so I landed on my feet.

"I am not a little girl." I said as I got a hold of my sword and pointed it at his floating figure.

"You're younger than me." He smirked and folded his arms.

"Yeah, well you're a vampire. Vampires are old." Marshall laughed at my remark as his feet touched the ground. He was still a couple yards away so I wasn't too nervous, but stood my ground all the same.

"Is that all we are? I thought we were dashing, smart, beautiful…"

"…conceited, evil, monstrous." His grin faltered and I smirked. I was not going to let this vampire get the best of me.

"You know, not all vampires are bad."

"Oh really? Last time I checked vampires were blood-sucking murderers."

"You should be careful about what you say around me." I knew I should have backed off, but Cake taught me to never go easy on vampires. 'You have to be unforgiving to those things because they'll tear you apart without a second thought.' That's what she always said when there was talk of vampires.

"Oh really?" I continued. "Vampires are just old, heartless, dead things. They don't feel anything but hunger for power and blood. You're just some worthless mosquito that needs to be squashed." Marshall scowled at me for a moment, but then smirked and disappeared behind some bushes. I circled around to make sure he wasn't going to do a surprise attack. What he said next made my heart plop down into my butt.

"Hmmm, 'Urgent: To Grandma Gumdrop. Deliver to Sucrose Pastures ASAP'. That sure sounds serious." He appeared above me out of thin air with the anti-gravity tote chamber loosely held in his hand. He saw the look of horror on my face and grew and evil grin.

"Give it back! I have to give them to her or she'll die!"

"Why would I care? I'm just an old, heartless, dead thing, like you said remember? After all, a frigid bitch like you would know, right?"

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"For some reason I don't believe you." Marshall said coldly and began to leave with the chamber still in his hand.

"No! Stop. Please!" I screamed, tears forming in my eyes. I had to do something. I threw my sword at him, but it only cut his arm instead of stabbing like I wanted. My sword fell and this time landed with a loud clank. It had probably hit a rock or a branch.

"OW! That fucking hurt you BITCH! You're definitely not getting these back now." Marshall began to float into the sky, far from my reach. I cried and begged for him to come back, but he was already miles away, the tarts and all hope with him.