I Can Save You~ Chapter One

One

“Come back here!” The yellow haired adventuress screams. “I’m not done with you yet!” She stops in her tracks. Mud covers her perfect white thigh-high socks. Her blue tank top was ripped everywhere possible. The girl took off her black boots, so she could run faster. She stood in front of a dark forest. She was unsure about entering the strange land. Her skirt had a tear that reveals her upper thigh and the edge of her pink undergarments. The short, but strong heroine pulls her skirt down farther and bolts into the woods. “Hey, Ugly? Where are you?” She yells with courage in her eyes. She hears a deep growl. The blonde girl stands straight, as if she was trying to appear strong and brave. Her blue eyes burn with anger. A black one-eyed monster breaks through a wall of branches. “Well, there you are, fatty,” the blue eyed girl smirks. She runs towards the beast. Its arm raises and hits her, causing her to cough blood. The girl is thrown into a rock with a painful thud. She clutches her chest as the red liquid drips from her lips. “You’re gonna pay for that, asshole.” The girl runs with her sword grasped tightly in her hands and stabs the beast in the eye. It swings around and its claws slash through her arm. She screams out in pain. The beast brings his arm down on her back, pushing her down. She struggles to get up. Hot tears roll down her cheeks. The blonde girl looks up, hearing a series of cuss words and the sound of metal piercing flesh.
“You’ll regret the day you were born,” he hisses. He brings the axe-bass he uses as a weapon down on the monster’s face. It growls with fury and pain searing through his eyes. “Fionna? What the hell do you think you were doing? You could’ve gotten yourself killed! You know that?” He hisses again. She stares at him and pushes hair out of her eyes. “You could’ve gotten lost in this hellhole for all I know.”
“I was killing that stupid monster thing! It’s my job, ya know! Why would you care anyways, Marshall Lee?” She chokes out, trying to stand. The teenage boy picks her up. She shivers against his chest, trying to stay conscious.
“Fi, don’t worry. I’ll save you. I promise,”  he reassures her, as her blood runs over his arms.

He watches her open her eyes and close them again as they adjust to the bright lighting. She sits up and drags her fingers through her hair. She looks around and her eyes lock with his.
“Dude, wha-what happened?” She asks. He sits on the edge of her bed, fidgeting slightly. “I mean, I don’t remember anything. Just like ‘snip-its’ of this monster and you... you kinda saving me.” He glances at her.
“Fi, you almost got killed.” The teenager plays with the holes in the knees of his jeans. It was a nervous habit of his.
“Oh. Well that’s not new.” She laughs awkwardly, trying to lighten the obvious weight on his shoulders. Fionna tries to stand up. Her knees give out and she falls, cringing in pain. “How long was I out?” He hesitates to answer the pale girl. “Marshall, how long was I asleep?”
“You lost a lot of blood and you were in a “coma” for a couple of weeks. At least, that’s all I remember Bubba explaining. I’ve been the whole time though.” She pulls her knees up to her chest. “I never left this room. You scared the shit out of me, Fionna.”
“That explains your face,” she says. Marshall Lee drags a hand over his chin, feeling the beard growing in. “And your hair. And the grey fruit all over the floor.” He looks at his feet, which were concealed by untied red converse. He sinks down to the floor and sits next to her on the linoleum. She looks away from the deeply worried boy.
“You okay?” He asks the small girl. She nods. “Oh, I uh... got you a present. I know you won’t like it that much..., but I thought it was kinda cute. I’ll leave and let you open it.” He hands her the small, sloppily wrapped gift. Fionna takes it in her frail hands and smiles shyly.
“Thank you,” she murmurs. The boy closes the door behind himself and leans against the wall. He drags a hand over his face and rakes his fingers through his hair. Yet another nervous habit.
“Why can’t she stop getting nearly killed?” He asks himself.
“Because it’s my job.” She spins in the sleeveless dress. “I know I don’t like dresses, but... I think I like this one. It’s my favorite color.” He already knew that. “Thanks, Marsh.” Her arms wrap around him. He kisses her hair in the same way he is used to. She runs from Marshall Lee. Her dress mimics her movements. He leans on the wall with a confused look plastered on his face,thinking about showering. And shaving. Coming to his senses, he sees a nurse with a basket of apples strolling past him.
“Excuse me, but I’ll take one. Thanks,” he tells her with a charming smile, grabbing the reddest fruit of the bunch. Even with tired eyes and an unshaven face, he could still steal a few hearts with a smile. She attempts to protest, but he’s gone before she even begins to scold. Arriving outside of the hospital, he thinks of Fionna’s many hiding places. “If I was Fionna, where would I be?” He thinks aloud.

The Candy Gardens gate stands before him in all its pink glory. He gags as he walks through. How could a man live with so much pink around him?
“Fionna?” He yells quietly enough to not scare the few candy people around him. “Where are you?” Marshall hears giggle above him. He looks up at the cherry blossom tree above. Fionna sits on a branch swinging her legs. “Come down, here little Bunny.”
“Why don’t you come up here? It’s pretty easy for ya since you can fly,” she yells back. He chuckles and grabs the branch above him, swinging his legs up.
“You know, I can climb a tree without floating.” She laughs. “Told you,” he says as he reaches the thick branch she sits on. “Why’d you run off?”
“Just for fun.” Her face darkens. She looks at me. “Marsh?”
“Hm?”
“What’s it like being... a vampire?” She asks quietly. He looks at the grass below us, as his fingers begin to fiddle with the holes of his jeans again.
“It’s like I die a little more every day.” Her arms embrace him in another hug. She stiffens awkwardly and furrows her brow. She lets go of me and stares at the ground. “Why’d you ask?”
“Just curious I guess.” she whispers. “Thanks you for saving me...” Fionna tips off balance and nearly falls off of the branch. Marshall Lee holds her arms in both hands, “saving” her once again. Her blue eyes stare back at his. She closes her eyes as if she was waiting for something. Her lips purse slightly. The teenage boy leans in, breaking the gap between the two. His heart restarts with a steady beat.