I've been away for a while, but I am back. I was kind of burned out after my semester ended, and just needed a break.

Lots of Love,

SoundlessS ❤

Bonnie pinned her hair in an elegant twist at the base of her neck, turning her head to admire her handiwork in the wore a simple black dress that Keila managed to find for her. It had taken the two women a half-hour of rummaging through Marceline's closet before they had found something without studs, safety pins, or plaid for Bonnie to wear. Bonnie ran her palms along the length of the sides, tugging self-consciously at the fabric bunching around her waist loose. Maybe it's a little tight, she thought. Keila had done her best to alter the outfit for her. Shortening the dress had been an easy enough alteration, but fixing the width was beyond their time frame. She supposed it would fit her role for tonight although she had hoped to be a little less exposed.

"Alright Bon, you can do this." she told her reflection, rubbing concealer under the purple shadows beneath her eyes. In the lab, she'd had no need for cosmetics, but here, appearances were important. She and Marceline couldn't afford to get this wrong. So much hung in the balance.

Her stomach clenched, and Bonnie resisted the urge to run an anxious hand through her hair. The stress had kept her from sleeping for more than a few hours each night since they'd escaped from her Tower, and she'd lost her dominion over Ooo. Her stomach clenched again, and she leaned her forehead against the mirror.

Whenever she thought of Tuliad, or her kingdom, a numbness seemed to take over, washing away the dismay, and creating distance between her and reality. Tuliad had taken her station, she was powerless, and she depended on Marceline to take back her throne. She understood these things, but she couldn't feel them. It was like watching an old human film.

She stared at herself in the mirror once more, hardly recognizing herself in the twitchy, red-eyed doppelganger staring back at her. She should have slept, but there had been too much to do in preparation for the summoning of the vampires. Vampires, for all their power, were vain, primal creatures. They didn't need a meeting; they needed a display of authority. Bonnie and Peppermint had spent the evening and night rebuilding some of the old splendor of an abandoned vampire citadel. With such limited time, they had only really been able to rework the main hall where they could receive the vampires. The first of them would arrive within two hours. When they arrived, they would see their citadel restored and their monarchy reformed. Marceline would be the tyrant their natures longed for her to be. It would be a sweet enough lie that, Bonnie hoped, they wouldn't probe the façade. If they succeeded, and Finn and the Huntress managed to bring the wizards into their alliance, they would finally have a force strong enough to counter Tuliad.

I have time. I'll just rest my eyes for few minutes, Bonnie thought, sinking down onto the loveseat behind her, and resting her head against the arm of the chair. She slumped over, and surrendered to her exhaustion. He last thoughts were of Finn and the Huntress, and if they had reached Wizard-City safely.

"Wake up!" Keila shook Bonnie from her sleep.

"What time is it?" Bon mumbled, and propped herself up on her elbows. A rush of anxiety pushed away drowsiness, and focused her mind. "Are they already here?"

"Yes, the first of them arrived fifteen minutes ago. Rise and shine, princess." Keila crossed her arms over her chest.

Bonnie stood up, and began to touch up her appearance. She'd slept far more than she wanted to. As she stood up, Bonnie regarded Keila. She looked incredible; sporting just the right mix of professionalism, and post-punk. Keila wore a collared, military jacket with tassels on the shoulders, and studs adorning the entire right side. She was every bit the handsome, dutiful retainer. When Bon regarded herself in the mirror, she realized that her nap had undone much of the work she'd done.

"Here let me help." Keila sighed, and reached for a comb left on Bonnie's mirror. Carefully, the Vampire began working the comb through the other woman's hair. "Couldn't pick a better time to fall asleep, could you?"

"I was tired." The word's escaped Bonnie's mouth before she could stop herself. Keila's touch felt cold, and alien. They've been sparring with each other since Keila and Marceline returned from the Tower. Every word they'd said to each other had been dripping with contempt.

"Marceline is by herself in the hall. Let's get you out there." Keila ran a hand across Bonnie's bangs, brushing the hair away from the former princess's face. "I'd be surprised if she hasn't killed someone in the time I was gone."

"She's not so bad."

"Yeah, if she doesn't think you're a threat, she's just peachy." Keila grinned, shaking her head. "Challenge her just a little bit, and she'll tear your head clean off. It's a circus of posturing down there."

There was a silence between the two women. It felt heavy and oppressive.

"Keila, it's not that I don't appreciate you helping me get ready, but why are you being nice to me now?" The words rushed out of Bonnie's mouth. She had felt the need to fill the silence with something, anything.

"Can we walk and talk about this?" Keila sighed, putting down the brush and regarding her handiwork. "Think we're done anyways, and we'll have a lot more work to do if Marceline has killed someone."

"Sure."

The two women walked into the hallway, and began making their way towards the reception hall. Silence hung between them.

"So why are you being so pleasant all of a sudden?" Bonnie asked, glancing at the other woman.

"You talk in your sleep." Keila kept her eyes locked on the hall before her, "I needed to hear those things. I needed to hear the regret in your voice. You're good at hiding your feelings, Bonnie. Sometimes, that woman of steel mask you wear is a little too convincing."

"I see."

"I should've talked to you sooner, but I wanted to be angry. It was easier to blame you. I mean, it's still your fault, but regret changes it. It makes you not a monster."

The two women walked in silence. The muffled sound of voices began drifting down the hallway in the other room.

Bonnie stopped, and Keila finally and met her gaze.

"Thank you for talking to me about it now." Bonnie said.

"Glad to clear the air." Keila smiled.

They stood there for a moment, unable to decide if the conversation was over. Bonnie reached out and fixed part a part of Keila's jacket that had gotten wrinkled.

"Welp, we should probably get in there before Marceline takes off all her clothes or something." Keila nodded towards the door.

"It's too early. She won't be so affectionate until she's good and drunk. Probably more likely to punch someone right now."

"That's probably true." Keila laughed, and she pushed the door open. The noise of the reception hall flooded over them. There were hundreds of Vampires talking, and laughing. Their clothes ranged from the ancient to the avant-garde. At the center of it stood Marceline, surrounded by Vampires, who all spoke at the same time. Marceline's eyes were wide and wild, like an animal trying to find an escape route. Marcy's face shifted into relief when she saw Bonnie, and began waving her over. Bonnie's stride changed into the confident, proud walk of someone powerful. She fell into the role naturally.

"Mistress, I'm sorry to interrupt you. There's something that requires your attention." Bonnie put on her best smile. The Vampires turned and regarded her with confusion. A couple of them seemed to recognize her, and gave Marceline feral, triumphant smile.

"Yeah, totally. Let's go do that thing." Marceline nearly fled from the vampires. Bonnie smiled at the group and linked her arm with Marceline's

"Relax. Don't let it get to you." Bonnie whispered into Marceline's ear.

"It's just they're all staring at me as it I knew what we're doing. I don't know what we're doing. There's no plan besides not getting murdered by robots." Marceline glanced around the room.

"Take it easy. I guarantee they're just as scared as we all are. They need to think you're a leader. Let them think you got this under control even if you don't."

"I've never been good at this sort of shit."

"No, and it's ok. I'll help you through it." Bonnie steered Marceline through groups of fears. Together, they cajoled, comforted, and threatened the capricious creatures around them into compliance. By the end of the night, Marceline was a proper queen again.

"Glob, I love watching you work sometimes." Marceline purred into Bonnie's ear, and pulled the other woman off her feet. They were close. Bonnie was almost straddling Marceline's hips.

"I'm glad to be of service, my queen." Bonnie made sure her words reached the vampires around her before dropping her tone quiet enough only Marceline could hear her. "Keep it together, Marcy. We can celebrate after."

"Right, right." Marceline shook her head, and pushed down the primordial urges gnawing at her reason. She lowered Bonnie down to her feet. Pretending to be a tyrant was slowly activating dominant parts of her mind that Marceline thought were gone. It felt natural to be a tyrant.

A loud bang of the doors main hall being flung against stone work rang above the room. A phalanx of tall, bald, powerfully-built vampires pushed their way through the assembled vampires. They wore heavy, straight-laced boots and suspenders. Their leader stood a head taller than all the others. His body was huge, powerful, and cruel. He smiled at Marceline, and she heard his voice inside of her mind.

Regicide, the voice inside of Marceline's head seemed to say. His name is Regicide.