Meanwhile, the thoughts swarming through Finn's head revolve around the Fire Princess, even as they are returning to the tree fort. His eyes, tired and sore, don't leave the ground until someone calls out to him.

"Finn!" PB yells from a few meters over. She had wandered over to the wreckage of the base of the tree, and is now sorting through some of the safe items from the shed. Finn looks up from his spot, standing still.

"Huh?" he asks. He walks over to her out of curiosity, then crouches down beside her before she turns and brings something into view.

"Some of the things in this shed are still safe," she states, handing him a gold piece, smiling a little. Finn smiles back, then turns his attention to the shiny piece of metal in his hand.

"That's good," he replies solemnly. After all, when he is gone, Jake and BMO are still going to keep living like they were before. The fire made him feel kind of uneasy, but knowing that they would have money reassured him. "It shouldn't be too hard to find someone to rebuild a house out here. With this money, they'll be fine," he comments, referring to the large pile of expensive artifacts still in-tact.

PB shakes her head. "We're lucky you weren't looted overnight. Burglars look for stuff like this, since it's an easy target." She pauses for a moment, seeing the strange look of sadness plastered on Finn's face. She places a hand on his shoulder, leaning on him.

"But even if something did happen, you know I wouldn't let them live in a broken down place like this. I would've taken them in," she states reassuringly, hoping to have eased his doubts.

"Yeah..." he mumbles. Nevertheless, the faint look of despair lingers, even as he stands up and dusts his hands off.

PB doesn't get up, instead she observes him as he watches BMO and Jake meander about the property, stopping here and there to pick something up or turn over a piece of fallen timber. Once she is sure that they are out of earshot, she speaks up.

"Finn," she calls, catching his attention once more.

"Hm?" he questions, not taking his eyes from his brother.

"Can we talk?" she asks quietly. Finn raises his shoulders.

"Sure, I'll get the others–" he begins, but is cut off.

"No, I meant us...you and me," she states, her serious tone bringing no indication of her actual feelings. She too dusts off her hands, awaiting his response. He nods slowly, reaching his hand out to help her up.

"Yeah, I was kind of hoping you would say that," Finn states. PB nods, before reaching into her back pocket and producing a small notebook paper with words scribbled hastily onto it. He looks over at it with utmost curiosity.

"What's that?" he asks, looking over her shoulder.

"It's something that I wanted to show you before you leave," she replies, not bothering to open the note just yet. Before I leave, he thinks, more like, before I get abducted.

"I wish I could have done more to help you out, since this is obviously all my fault," she continues, her eyes glued to the paper. Slowly, she unfolded it, but purposely kept it out of his view.

"What are you talking about?" he questions. "It's my fault–you know, for breaking up with her." PB laughs sarcastically.

"If breaking up with someone was that big of a deal..." she trailed off. She saw the sudden look of surprise on his face. He gets in front of her, having caught a glimpse of the letter.

"What is that?" he asks impatiently. "Why does it have her writing on it?" She barely has time to hand it to him before he desperately seizes it from her grasp. She doesn't scold him, knowing after all that he doesn't have enough time to be patient. She sighs, watching his eyes dart around the page.

To the Ruler of the Candy Kingdom,

We acknowledge that you, the leader of the Candy Kingdom, are in close relation to one of the Flame Kingdom's pupils, Finn Mertens. With this knowledge, we have come to conclusion that you are a direct threat, being that we are from opposing nations.

It is agreed upon by the Flame Kingdom's leaders that, should you attempt to get in the way tomorrow when we come to escort Finn home–he shudders–we will not hesitate to bring your nation into a war with ours.

–The royals of the Flame Kingdom's government, including yours truly, the Flame Princess.

She waits for his reaction, knowing full well that he won't be okay. He pauses, re-reading the last paragraph a few times.

"When did you get this?" he asks. Before she has time to respond, he continues talking. "-and why is an official document written on a piece of scrap paper?" He turns to her, unconsciously smoothing a corner of the page with his thumb, looking for answers.

"Doesn't this just scream fake to you?"

Another short chapter. And it's out before Christmas, which really surprised me tbh. Not really feeling this all that much, but whenever I'm stuck on another story, I come back to this one.

You can let me know what you think of the chapter, and I'll continue reading your reviews as always.

See you later!