"It all really starts with my parents. At the time of my conception, there was a war going on between the vampires and the demons. My father was Anthony Melahone, the younger of the twin sons of the king of the vampires at the time, Julian. My mother was and is the queen of the demons."

"But your surname's Abadeer, not Melahone." Fionna said.

Marshall shrugged. "I only found out my father's name a little while ago. I always thought that he'd abandoned us, which my mother basically did to me too. What really happened to Anthony Melahone was that his twin brother, Tobias, murdered him."

Fionna's eyes widened. "That's awful."

"Mm-hmm. Apparently, Julian was deliberating who got the crown, and..." Marshall shook his head. "Don't worry, I got Tobias back myself. I was enlisted as a spy at the time, since I could pass as a full vampire more easily than the demons around me. I was what, fourteen at the time...? Yeah, fourteen. But I got caught by Tobias, who turned me as much as he could."

"And then?"

"And then he started trying to mold me into less of a threat. He tried to break me emotionally, and would have eventually gotten to trying to break me mentally and physically. Not that I really had much to live for, anyway."

"That's awful." Fionna breathed.

"If you interrupt me again, I'm going to kiss you." Marshall grinned.

"Sorry, carry on." Fionna smiled softly.

"So one day, I just snapped. I killed him, in front of everybody. Next thing I know, I was crowned king. I didn't earn it. I didn't care about the country like you do. I was just a pissed off kid. And I knew it, so I stopped the war and went home. Next thing I know, Mom tried to marry me off to Gumball, for an alliance. Duine was getting too powerful, not to mention Valleyhale, and we had the same idea you all did."

"How old were you?" Fionna asked.

Marshall pulled her as close as he could, and kissed her, making good on his threat. "It was two years ago, so I was seventeen. So when I got there, everything was good for a while, and then I realized that Gumbutt had rules for everything. How to dress, how to talk, how to walk, where to go... it was crazy. So eventually I just picked up and left. And when this ship was finally finished and they were looking for volunteers, I signed up. And that's how I got here."

"Amazing story, Marshall." Fionna replied honestly.

He smiled. "Oh, so I'm back to being 'Marshall' instead of 'Captain Abadeer'?"

"There's no point in you not being Marshall, if we're never going to see each other again after tonight."

He nodded jerkily, as if he didn't quite believe it, and handed her the keys. "Please... don't let him change you. Please don't go from my Fi to Princess Fionna. Don't turn into his doll."

"I won't be able to run like you did."

"But you're stronger. You don't run like I do anyway."

She unlocked the cell, then kissed him gently. He pulled her into a deeper kiss, which she readily returned.

"You need a boat, right?" He asked as they pulled apart.

"It'd certainly be better than swimming." She agreed.

They walked to the deck, and she climbed into one of the rowboats, before he cut the ropes. "I love you."

"I love you too." She replied, before she fell into the water.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"Firing upon the Shadow like that could have caused an international incident, let alone the repercussions that would have occurred had I been killed in the crossfire." Fionna said, in a somewhat rehearsed tone. She, along with the room's two other occupants, was in an office on Middleground Island.

The captain of the Royal Pride squirmed. "We were under the impression that Captain Abadeer had disobeyed one of the prime rules of the Navy. It was our duty to punish him for these actions."

"Captain, you either understood that I had been kidnapped and was still onboard the Shadow, or you were lied to." With that, she turned to Cake, the final occupant of the room. "Why did you do it?"

"I wasn't trying to kill you! I was trying to stop the Shadow from leaving with you! I was trying to cripple their ship like they crippled the Silver Sword."

Fionna nodded. "Fine. What are the plans for our alliance with Dulce?"

"Due to issues regarding the Silver Sword and the Royal Pride... the festivities and ceremonies will be moved to Middleground Island. Prince Gumball is already on his way."

Fionna nodded. "And... what will happen to Captain Abadeer?"

"Because of the agreement regarding Middleground Island, there's nothing we can do to stop him from landing. However, rest assured that he'll be kept away from you." The captain of the Royal Pride said.

"Thank you, you are dismissed, Captain." Fionna said.

"With that attitude, one would think that you had been upgraded to Rear Admiral." Cake pointed out.

"I was speaking to him as his princess, not as his peer." Fionna replied.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Cake asked.

"I just... I need someone right now. Like with Phoebus."

"Hey, you did the right thing. You are going to be very happy with Gumball, you'll see. You'll forget this demon in a few days... it'll all be okay, okay?" Cake rubbed circles into Fionna's back. "You'll see."

"I hope you're right."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Prince Gumball adjusted his gloves as he stood on deck of the ship. "I hate being out at sea. What am I, saltwater taffy?" He muttered.

'At least the girl's alright.' Lord Monochromicorn tapped on the railing.

"And thank providence for that. There's no telling what he would have done to her if the Duine Navy had not intervened."

'Weren't you the one who said he'd never hurt an innocent?'

"Stop twisting my words against me." Gumball said, wrapping his coat tighter around himself. "It's been two years since I knew him, and in that time... besides, you've heard the stories of him breaking girl's hearts and using them to satisfy his carnal desires just as much as I have."

'Are you worried about her feelings, then?'

"What feelings? If he didn't touch her, what would the matter be? I'm sure he didn't...?"

'Maybe she fell in love with him anyway.'

Gumball shot his friend a look, then huffed. "Normally I'm not this cynical, but this is for my kingdom, and its politics. It doesn't matter who loves who, as long as the heirs are legitimate."

'That's cold.'

"I know, I know... but I don't even know the girl. Perhaps love will come later, but for now, it's for politics. I bet she feels the same."