A Fiolee Fairytale

Chapter 18: Poisoned

To everyone's surprise, Marshall fell sick over the next few days. At first, it was just a gradual cough, then he was bedridden, and glaring at me and Annie over the blankets and protesting that he was completely fine (and trying to sneak off unsuccessfully when we weren't looking), then he became delirious.

I stayed with him every minute I could- which wasn't often. Annie said I was responsible for the Kingdom now, which basically meant a lot of paperwork and listening to the Parliament Marshall had set up before he had gone to Aaa. But every free minute, I was there, worried out of my mind and hoping he'd get better soon.

On one such day, the third week with Marshall being willfully bedridden (well... as willful as he was going to get) I was sitting beside him when his eyes suddenly snapped open. "Fi." He croaked.

"I'm here, Marshall." I said softly, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Do you regret marrying me...?" He asked.

"Of course not." I replied.

"I regret marrying you." He sighed, looking away.

"Marshall?" I asked quietly, tears welling up. "What do you mean?"

He looked back at me. "Don't cry, Fi. Save that for my funeral. What I mean is, I regret marrying you, because I'm going to leave you a widow so young, and you're responsible for everything down here. Otherwise, I don't regret marrying you for a minute. You made me the happiest man... I'm just going to go with 'undead'... when I was fine. But now... Fi, I'm going to leave you. "

"Don't say that. You're not going to die." I said, mostly trying to reassure myself.

"Everything must come to an end. Mine is just drawing nearer." He replied.

"You're not going to die, Marshall! You're not going to leave me here, all alone! I love you too much to just let you go like this." I said, the tears falling.

"Fi... love has nothing to do with this. If it did, I wouldn't be dying on you like this. I don't like the thought of you alone."

I knew what he meant, but I was really hoping he meant something else. "I'll be okay on my own... I have Annie, and our friends in Aaa-"

"No. Not like that. I want you to remarry." Marshall said quietly. And I was right.

"No way." I said, shaking my head.

His eyes narrowed. "I don't want you to be alone."

"And I don't want to marry anyone else! I love you, Marshall. I always have, and I always will."

"Knew it." He grinned. "You did love me that time I faked my death."

"I still do." I said quietly.

He sighed. "Fi, don't make this harder for yourself."

"Don't accept death so easily then!" I begged.

"But I do accept it. You should too, because if you don't, you'll just become angry and bitter regarding everyone."

"How do you know?" I asked.

He was silent for a minute, then he said, "My father left us when my mother was pregnant with me. And the man I considered to be my father, my step-father... when he died, my mother completely shut me off. Don't become my mother, Fi."

"Why you?"

Marshall shrugged. "I think I remind her of my father."

"But your stepfather...?"

"As long as he was there, she had something else to compare me to, to pretend I was. When he died... she couldn't pretend any longer, and I had to go. And don't think I didn't notice how you changed the subject."

"So what if I did?"

"So, I want you to promise me what I asked."

"No."

"Fionna, I am your king, and a dying man! As the latter, I ask you to obey my final wish. As the former, I order you to obey me when I give you a command like this!"

"Throw me into the dungeon for all I care! But as your queen, I cancel out that order. As your wife, I refuse. I'm not just going to remarry, and you can't force me to, no matter how many times you order me!"

"Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

"Because you mean much more to me than anyone else ever could!" I yelled back. "Please stop asking me to do something I just can't do. Please, Marshall!"

He sighed. "Don't cry. I just want you to be happy again after I'm gone."

"And maybe I will one day. But I don't want to be trapped in a loveless marriage, or at least one not as great as this because of a promise I made to the man I love. And do you want some guy waking up with me every morning, and having kids with me, and kissing me good night?"

He let ou a low growl, and grabbed my arm, pulling me into a passionate kiss. "You're all mine- for now."

"What if they find a cure?" I asked.

"Then I take it all back, and Annie is going to get annoyed with all the public displays of affection that we'll be showing because I want to make up for lost time." Marshall smirked.

My watch beeped, and I kissed him goodbye. "I have to go meet with Annie again, about something I forgot about. A delegation, maybe... anyway, get some sleep."

He rolled his eyes, and I left the room. Annie was waiting for me when I got outside, glaring at the ground. "He was poisoned."

"What?"

"I heard back from the doctors.This isn't a normal cold gone crazy, he's been poisoned, though those idiots are still trying to find out which specific poison. And remember what Jenna said, as she left?" Annie asked.

"Uh... it was never too late for him to call her?" I asked somewhat calmly, but inwardly I was panicking.

"Well, yes, that too, but I was focusing more on the 'if I can't have him, no one can'."

I paled. "She did this to my Marshall?!"

"Presumably, yes."

"How?!"

"Remember that kiss she gave him? What if she coated her lips in a poison?"

"Then she and I would be bedridden as well." I pointed out. "I kissed Marshall right after that. Like, four-ish times."

"Not necessarily..." Annie said, handing me a flyer.

I read it quickly- it was a short little ad for a slow-acting, poisonous lipgloss.

'Tired of your boyfriend? He just won't leave you alone when you want YOU time?

Then get Kathleen Brown's Poison-Gloss! One kiss to your sweetheart, and he goes down like *that*! And don't you worry: if he's cheating on you, you won't be held responsible, because the poison has two modes- carrier, and death row! No one will suspect YOU if the new girlfriend doesn't die too! (Death Row Mode is the first kiss given after application, then it is automatically switched to carrier by DNA coding within the poison.)

But once he's been given the kiss of Death... Anyway, call now, before supplies run out! *Antidote included in case of accidents*'

"Where's the antidote?" I said, on the verge of panicking.

Annie sighed. "I called around. No one we're directly associated with has one, because not everyone down here is a sociopath, and Kathleen Brown is out of stock... for the next five hundred years, to build up a more demanding clientele. Those scientific idiots are analyzing what's in there, but it'll take too long. Our best bet is..."

"...Jenna." I finished with a sinking heart. She'd never help us, and Marshall... no, I couldn't think of what would happen if she didn't help us. I'd cry for three days straight, trust me.

Annie nodded, before dragging me out of the castle. "Let's go."