[FFML] [AdvTime][Lime] The Flame Princess No More

[Henry Cobb]

Yet another unrelated very short story. (Will April the 2nd never arrive?)

The Flame Princess No More
By Henry J. Cobb

[Adventure Time is the creation of Frederator Studios for Cartoon
Network. This work is done without their knowledge or involvement. -HJC]

Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

I peeked around the boulder I was hiding behind. There was Finn, bending
down to examine the tracks I had left. I was so sure that I had covered
them this time. He looked up at me and I saw the bandages he had applied
to his face and arm, to cover up the burns I had inflicted on him.

"Flame Princess!" He held out his good hand.

I turned and ran, the best I could. My flames were now so depleted. He had
hounded me for days without rest. I marveled at his endurance, in his
condition, then put all my attention into making my way through the rocks
ahead of me. Here on the edges of the Fire Kingdom there was nothing to
burn to recharge my flames, but soon I would be home.

I stopped. His hound Jake was running up in front of me carrying a
bucket. It sloshed ominously.

I turned back towards Finn and gathered my flames. "So that's your
plan. You mean to douse me to death!"

"No, Flame Princess." Finn grabbed me.

I blasted him with what little remained of my fires. His clothing caught
fire and burned away as he screamed.

"Finn, no!" Jake tossed the contents of the bucket onto us.

I screamed as the water ate away at me, but now I was so weak I could not
resist it. This time there was much less pain, but instead I felt numb and
so very weak. I collapsed in Finn's arms and he collapsed under me.

I felt so chill. The only warmth available was from Finn's body and I
instinctively snuggled up against it. I closed my eyes, too weak to
move. Is this what death was like? But no, I continued to draw breath. I
rested there for a minute in his arms, his warm breath on my shoulder.

"Flame Princess?"

I found the strength to look into Finn's face. His bandages were gone, but
his skin was unblemished. I ran my hand over his cheek that had been so
burned, along his arm that had been so damaged, down his chest. He was
completely undamaged and totally nude. For the first time I saw a boy
without any clothes on, and he was pressed up against me.

I noticed that my garments of ember were gone, washed away by the
water. In spite of the chill in the air I pushed away from Finn's slacking
embrace, rolled over to a sitting position then stood and summoned my
flames to recreate my dress. Nothing happened.

"Flame Princess?" Finn continued to stare up at me, at my nude form. He
blushed.

"Don't look at me!" I reached out with all of my strength to blast him
with my fire. Nothing happened. My strength exhausted, I fell, into
his arms and into darkness.

Sometime later I awoke to the sounds of a small fire and the smell of
smoke. I opened my eyes and saw I was in a cave of some sort. There was a
fire near the entrance and Jake was cooking something over it.

"Flame Princess?"

I turned to the sound of Finn's voice. He was sitting next to me, without
a shirt on. I glanced down and saw that he was at least wearing pants.

"What have you done to me, Finn?"

"I didn't do nothing, I swear. I didn't even look at you, I mean after you
fell asleep. It was Jake who dressed you."

"Dressed?" I pushed down the blanket I was lying under. I wore a thin
shirt that was long enough to reach down to my thighs. I ran my hand down
it and felt some sort of thin shorts under that.

"Sorry, but I only had one change of clothes in my backpack. So I had to
split it. I swear I didn't look."

"What was in that bucket?"

"Cyclops tears." Jake brought over a bowl with a spoon in it. "The way
Finn was getting burned I figured he was a goner without it. Sorry about
splashing your highness."

"How dare you!" I raised my hand to burn him, but no flames arose. I stood
and turned to the cave entrance. I saw that it was raining outside. With
nothing left to lose, I walked out and stood under the rain.

The water did not cut through me. All I felt was a chill as it ran down my
body.

"Flame Princess!" Finn ran to me and wrapped his arms around me.

Once again I instinctively accepted the warmth of his body and leaned
against him.

"Come back inside, you'll catch your death out here."

"Let death claim me." I didn't look at him, but I didn't resist either as
he led me back into the cave and sat us down by the fire.

Finn picked up the bowl and raised a spoon of the soup to my lips. Soup?
So called food made up mostly of water? How absurd. But I drank from the
spoon anyway. It's warmth comforted me and I was so very hungry.

Finn raised another spoonful of the soup and I drank that down as Jake
draped the blanket over our shoulders. Then I grabbed the bowl from Finn's
hand with both of my hands and quickly drank the rest down. I felt no pain
from introducing water into my body. Just a gentle warmth. Again I
snuggled up against Finn as I sought the warmth of his bare chest to
counter the chill of my damp shirt.

"Are you okay, Flame Princess? Do you want some more?" Finn took the empty
bowl from my unresisting fingers and handed it to Jake.

"Stop calling me that." I closed my eyes as I snuggled against him, too
ashamed to even look at what I was doing. I was acting like a small
miserable creature, seeking what little warmth it could find. "I am
obviously no longer the princess of the Fire Kingdom. Just call me
Sholeh."

"Sholeh. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful princess."

I blushed and pushed away from him. I stared at his yellow hair, a sign of
great strength amoungst the fire folk. I shook the image of his nude form
from my head. "Didn't you hear me, fool? I am a princess no longer. I have
seen what has happened to you water folk when they have wandered into my
Father's kingdom. They have burned like this!"  I leaned forwards and
pushed my right hand into the flames under the soup pot.

"Flame Princess! I mean Sholeh. No!" Finn grabbed my shoulders and pulled
me back against him. Then he stopped.

I looked down at my right hand. I was holding a piece of the fire in my
hand. It wasn't burning my flesh. I didn't feel any pain at all, but I was
just holding it. The flame started to die down as there was no fuel for it
to burn. I pushed my strength into it and it brightened. Then I tried to
draw it back into my body. The flame flattened against my palm but refused
to enter. I closed my fist over it to snuff it out.

"Wow, Flame- er Sholeh. You do have fire powers."

"A pale flicker of my true flames." I stared into the tiny cooking fire as
he sat down behind me and extended the blanket over us again. Once more I
leaned back against his small warmth.

"Sorry about the inconvenience, Sholeh. My boy Finn here gets carried away
at times." Jake looked out at the sky then continued without looking back
at us, "The rain will end soon. Will you be returning to your kingdom?"

"Not like this."

"Where will you go?" Finn's breath ticked at my ear as he spoke.

"It does not matter." I rested my arms on his arms that he had around my
waist.

"Then come with us, to our house."

I found myself nodding then reached out my arm. "Another bowl please."

-HJC