Our tale begins with three countries- the lavishly rich country of Dulce, ruled by Gumball. The unknown lands of the demons, whose ships preyed upon the other countries' and were ruled from the shadows by a cruel queen and her son. And finally, the land of the Duine, ruled by an old but just king. But he was not the one the public focused on- it was his beloved only child, who went among her people and earned the nickname, 'Fionna the Human' for her contributions to her people.

It is with her that we start our tale, and the Dreaded Captain of the Shadows, who struck terror into the hearts of the sailors of Dulce and Duine.

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"You wanted to see me, Father?" Fionna asked warily. The Navy had been doing well, aside from him.

"The demon who haunts our seas..." Her father began.

Fionna's heart sank. So this was about him, and not about her progress. "What about him?"

"He's endorsed by the Queen of the Unknown Lands herself. He is her son." Her father creaked. "So this may be taken as an act of war... however!"

Fionna straightened suddenly, having started to zone out at his words. "To keep the Unknown Lands from attacking, we should form an alliance with the Principality of Dulce."

Fionna nodded. "I'll prepare my ship immediately. Who is the ambassador that you have in mind?"

Her father shook his head. "You must marry the ruler of Dulce."

"I'm... sorry, what?"

"Our alliance must be as strong as the iron that we mine." Her father continued. "So there must be no room for error."

"But...! The court of Dulce is radically different from here." Fionna pleaded. "Prince Gumball likely wants a delicate, beautiful porcelain doll of a girl! Not me! And who would become the new captain of the Silver Sword?"

Her father shot her a look. "We do not whine, Fionna. I would find your replacement soon enough- queens are not captains, in any case, so you would have to give up the ship for the throne as soon as I passed on."

He noted her expression, and sighed. "I know this must be hard for you, but it's for the best. The people of Duine need you to do this. Will you let them down, and let that scourge continue to ransack our ships?"

"No, Father." Fionna sighed. "I just... never mind. When do we set sail for Dulce?"

"You set sail tomorrow night." Her father replied, striding out of the room, a servant by his side.

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The captain of the Shadow held out his hand as his crew took the message from the bird and handed it to him.

He unfurled it quickly, and raised an eyebrow, after which a lantern was held over his head. "The Duine princess...? This won't do at all. Find out what route they're going to take. She can't reach Molasses Bay, at all costs."

"Ransom, sir?" One of his crew asked, still carrying the lantern as the captain strode towards his cabin. He stopped short. "Mm... an interesting tactic. We'll have to try that once news of this alliance have died down."

The crew-member nodded. "And... what will we do with her?"

"We can't hurt her." The captain said, the threat clear in his voice. "In any way."

"But what will we do with her? Where will we put her?"

The captain considered this. "She can stay in my quarters. When we decide to give her back, it'll cause Gumbutt no end of dismay that she was sleeping in my bed, even if I never actually touch her." Here he smirked.

The crew-member nodded, and scurried away into the darkness, tail swishing between his legs.

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Prince Gumball was sitting down to tea when the message arrived. "Hmm...? Oh, excellent. That'll keep that stupid, irresponsible demon out of my hair. I wonder what she's like...?"

Lord Monochromicorn tapped out, 'you're overthinking this again', using his fingers. Prince Gumball shrugged. "I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with her. It's natural to be nervous."

'You thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with him, remember?'

"That was different."

'Was it? Really?'

"This one won't fall through." Gumball said crossly. "And while we had what we had, I soon figured out that we are incompatible. Just look at what he's doing!"

'You feel responsible for this, don't you?'

Gumball shot his friend a look, before nodding. "I suppose so. But I really am over him."

'I don't doubt it. You signed his death warrant, after all.'

"As if it matters. He'd never set foot on Dulce soil anyway." Gumball muttered into his teacup. "He's much more likely to make port in Duine."

'You don't think...?'

"I'm sure that the princess can handle herself." Gumball said, as if trying to reassure himself.

'It's the kind of thing that he would do though.'

"Perhaps. But he'd never go far enough to actually hurt an innocent. And besides- she'll soon be safely in Dulce waters. If any of our ships catch him here, he'll pay the price."

'Honoria might declare war on you.'

"She knows what I might do." Gumball said dismissively, the lace surrounding his hand swishing as he waved away the thought. "She understands."

'I only hope you're right. But he was never that good at chess, as I recall. Surely he hasn't thought this out as much as you have.' Lord Monochromicorn tapped thoughtfully.

Gumball shrugged, and the conversation turned to lighter topics.

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"You don't look that happy for a bride." Fionna's best friend Cake said as she approached the princess.

Fionna was leaning against the side of the ship. "It's just... he's going to want me to wear dresses and stuff, right?"

"Well, you can't get away with wearing your uniform forever." Cake chuckled. "And besides, you're young. Live a little."

"I live." Fionna muttered. "I just had to work my way up here for so long that it became a habit. Now I'm here, and it's like my life is being taken away from me before I even got a chance to live it."

"So run away." Cake proposed.

"No, no, that's even worse. I need to help these people, Cake. We can't let that stupid pirate keep terrorizing us. I need to buck up- if living in dress-land saves my people, I'll do it."

"Have you ever been there?"

"No."

"Then I'm sure it's not so bad." Cake smiled. "And you can always come back."

"Can I?" Fionna asked softly. "Can I really come back, pretend it's all the same?"

"Okay, new topic. You're going to keep the Silver Sword, right?"

"Hopefully, yeah. But she might be needed if war ever breaks out."

"You and the Silver Sword are like soulmates." Cake laughed. "No one is going to take your ship from you. And if war does break out, who better than you at her helm? You know every secret, every nook and cranny of this ship."

Fionna smiled softly. "The Silver Sword is no place to fence, oddly enough."

"Sure, okay. Your ship does better with blowing things up than it does in close combat." Cake said, waving her hand dismissively. "But you can still turn her into a warship in the blink of an eye, and win any fight on her. Taking the Silver Sword away from you would just be cruel."

Fionna leaned back, more at ease. "Have you seen the Royal Pride recently? It looks like they're already getting ready for war."

"And you? You're not ready for war?" Cake asked shrewdly.

"War's... not good for the country. Another adventure, like exploring unknown civilizations, that would be amazing."

"So of course, you're ready for it?"

"I'm ready to be married." Fionna sighed. "I have to put aside my adventures."

"Oh? If all goes well, you'll still be able to sail wherever you want on the Silver Sword. You could sail all over the world, get into all kinds of scrapes. And the restrictions of the Royal Navy would not get in the way. Besides, I'm sure he has a mistress, or something."

"That's... not that helpful, Cake."

"...you know, he was once going to marry the prince of the Unknown Lands."

"The demon?" Fionna asked, surprised. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Maybe he is more interested in boys than girls. You'll both be free to do what you want, if that's the case."

"Maybe. But Father didn't mention it. ...the demon prince is an interesting story, though. Do you think Gumball would tell me about him?"

"They ended on bad terms, I heard." Cake shrugged. "I'll try to dig up some gossip for you."

"Thanks, Lieutenant." Fionna smiled, calling Cake by her rank as a crewman called out to her. "Captain, there's something you should see."

Fionna nodded and ascended to the helm, with Cake following her. A deep fog had settled in, though she could see the faint outline of a ship. "I thought we were the only ship on this route?" She asked Cake.

"We were supposed to be." Cake said, frowning.

"Set a course for the Cane Current." Fionna ordered. The other ship began to mirror their movements. As they drew abreast, the crew of the Silver Sword could see the name painted on the side: the Shadow.

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*Author's Note*

Okay, a couple of things: 1) According to Google Translate, 'Duine' means 'human' in Irish (Gaelic) and 'Dulce' means 'sweet' in Italian.

2) The internet has informed me that there is already a pirate Fiolee story out there called 'Deep Red'. In no way do I wish to take anything away from this author or to plagiarize their work.

3) Yes, there are mentions of Past GumShall. Why I bow to this of all opposing ships is simple: there is a lot of evidence for it. While Marshall and Fionna's canon actions are also very full of romance, especially regarding their episode together, the events of the main show have to be taken into account. You can interpret them as past lovers, or you can interpret everything as purely political. Either one is fine.