The final installment! I hope you enjoy.

It was several weeks after Ice Queen had given her the rose. It still glowed, a dim, pulsing red light. When she held it, it beat in time with her heart, and she could lose herself staring at the intricate swirls dancing along the petals.

“Girl, are you coming or what?”

“Sorry Cake.”

“Are you staring at that rose again?”

Fionna paused for a second as she slid the sculpture back into her pack. “Umm, yes.” Cake laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Honey,” the cat said, “How often have I caught you looking at that thing the same way you used to look at Gumball?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Ten, twenty…”

“At least thirty.” To this Fionna only shrugged, so they continued their way back to the house. Over her shoulder, Fionna had slung yet another massive bag of treasure, which clinked as the bag gently bounced up and down. They had made a temporary camp by some trees, and had slid some more bags under a stone they used as a hiding spot for whatever spoils they couldn’t drag all the way back.

When they did make it to the house, it was almost noon. Cake made some lunch while upstairs Fionna changed into a cleaner outfit, identical to her former one. The day passed by, until soon the moon drew up into the night, and sleep beckoned. Cake settled into her drawer, covered in both a blanket and a very fuzzy sweater. Before Fionna could get into her bed, a knock by the open window turned her around.

Outside, in her magnificent blue gown, floated Ice Queen. Her cool face was warmed by a smile, her fingers nervously tapping on the window sill. Fionna smiled back, quite surprised to see the monarch. “Hello, Ice Queen.” It came out as a whisper, but even so Cake still turned in her sleep. Carefully walking across the floor, Fionna came closer to the Queen. “What are you doing here?”

Ice Queen tried to answer, but couldn’t say anything. Blushing, she produced a book, titled “How to Win Her Heart: Three Easy Steps”. Fionna opened it, and began to flip through the pages.

She looked the blushing Ice Queen in the face, then read the title of a chapter out loud. “Step 1: Gain her trust.” Ice Queen just nodded. “Step 2: Leave her flowers.” Another nod. “Step 3: Sing to her.” Another nod and a deeper blush, with the Queen’s voice coming out hesitantly.

“I can’t sing.” It was Fionna’s turn to blush; Ice Queen was trying to “Win Her Heart.” Ice Queen’s voice came out a bit stronger, whispering into her ear, “But I wrote you a poem.” From a pocket in one of the folds of her dress the Queen produced a roll of paper. It had words scribbled all over it, half of which had been crossed out. One paragraph, though, had been circled. Clearing her throat, the monarch began reading.

“My heart’s been adrift
A ship with no sail
Chill waters seeping in
Caged in a jail
But you are the key
To the lock on the door
You set me free
And I love you forever more”

Ice Queen glanced up at Fionna’s face, and seeing her reaction began to put the paper away. Her voice was low and a bit hurt. “It was bad, wasn’t it.” The girl’s face slowly moved from shock, and she grabed after the retreating Queen.

“No, no! It was lovely.” Fionna smiled up at the cold face. “I just didn’t know you could write like that.” Ice Queen dropped her head, trying to hide her face.

“Y-you really think that?”

“Yes!” Fionna put her hand under the monarch’s chin, not feeling her fingers go numb from the cold. “And I love you too.” And with that, Ice Queen leaned over, her kiss lightly brushing over Fionna’s cheek. She then left, flying back to her kingdom. And Fionna felt her lips still there long after she woke up the next day.

I know I need to update more. Here you go.

The next day Fionna let Ice Queen out of her cell. It was bright and sunny, and outside the sun gleamed against the polished candy turrets. Fionna spent most of the day having Ice Queen go through the town and greet all of the citizens. Crystal sword in her pack, it surprisingly stayed there, and the day went nicely by. And the next. And after that. Fionna was impressed, and Gumball surprised to say the least.

“Fionna, she hasn’t been… well, taking anything, right?” Fionna gave a small laugh.

“No, GB. She’s just always wanted company. And now that she has it, I think she’s happier.” Gumball gave her a look, then shook his head.

“Whatever it is, I’m glad she’s at least not freezing anybody solid.”

The rest of the week passed by, and Ice Queen was doing perfectly. Fionna had to admit, to her at least, that it was time to see if Ice Queen would still do well on her own. And so on their daily walk, Fionna planned to tell her that she was free to go. They were walking down a side street, not very busy. Ice Queen had said a few things, and then Fionna, neither really caring and paying more attention to the fresh air and the glint of sun. Ice Queen coughed politely, and Fionna turned to lookat her.

The Queen was watching Gumball and Marshall a few blocks ahead, both in an avid discussion and Gumball carrying a box. As they disappeared around a bend, Ice Queen turned to Fionna.

“So, I know you used to take a liking to that Gumball boy.” Fionna’s face flushed.

“Yes, well, so did you.” Ice Queen chuckled a bit.

“I guess so. But that was more of me just needing somebody. So I captured him, and you would show up with Cake. Those times were always fun, even if I always lost.” She sighed. “But I needed to lose. I was going down a strange path, and you three always brightened me up. Especially you, Fionna.”

Fionna took a pause at this, but eventually when nothing cane to mind to say back just continued walking. The rest of the walk passed by, and at the end of it, Fionna told Ice Queen she could go.

“I’ll miss these walks. Thank you, Fionna.” And with that they parted ways. The next stage of the plan was to keep an eye on Ice Queen to make sure she stayed the same way outside of her cell as in it. So on occasion either Fionna or Cake or both of them together would stop by. Ice Queen was doing fine. No kidnappings, no drinking. It had been simple, and it had worked aparantly. But one day, after returning home, Fionna noticed several flower shaped sculptures of ice. They melted away, and the next day were replaced by more. All shaped in a perfect 1:1 scale version of a rose. She managed to hide them from Cake, and Fionna wasn’t sure why she felt the urge to hide them.

The next time she stopped by Ice Queen’s kingdom alone, it was almost half a year after they had first found her here roaring drunk. Now when she knocked on the door, wrapped in a thick sweater from the cold, Ice Queen answered fully sober.

“Fionna. Come on in, dear.” Inside the pale room of ice sent reflections of the two sparkling across all of the walls. The cage had been removed and replaced with a few chairs and a rarely used fireplace. Some logs were stacked on, and Ice Queen managed to light them. The walls were made of a special ice, sustained purely by Ice Queen’s will, and almost impervious to all flames.

“So, seeing as Cake’s not here, I was going to ask you a question.” Fionna drew out one of the carefully preserved flowers she had hidden. “Why have you been putting these in my house?” Ice Queen sat down, and beckoned Fionna to do so too. When she did, the Queen folded her hands together over here dress, and took a deep breath.

“Well, you see, I’ve told you how lonely I am up here.” Fionna nodded. “Well, I, um, after Gumball went with that Marshall fellow, I noticed you were a bit disappointed.” Fionna’s already red face couldn’t blush, so she just nodded again. “And you’ve always been there, and helped me to be how I am right now.” She looked at Fionna, her usually hard face softened a bit. “I wanted to say thanks.”

Fionna was a bit shocked at the sincerity in Ice Queen’s voice. The Queen stood up, and moved to take the rose. At her touch, it solidified more, hardened, and sharpened. It grew to a faint red color, more of an inner glow, pulsing like a heart.

“Keep it, and put it somewhere where it will always be nearby. Because while I think of you, I want you to think of me.” The Queen sat down again, silence falling like the snow outside. Fionna looked at the rose in her hands, now a bit warm to the touch. She smiled, and after she left, put it into her pack. Always a bit on her mind, as in her crystalline ice palace she was on Ice Queen’s.

#15. This one is Snowbunnies not Bubbline. Inspired by a comic that blackcatula did. Thank you for the idea!

Fionna took a step back, the Ice Queen’s breath stinking of root beer. A lot of root beer. The Queen stumbled forward, her finger tracing against Fionna’s cheek. Her voice slured as she mouthed out some words.

“F’yona… I love you. Seerisly.” The Queen smiled, a smile that was all drunken happiness. “Nah, I’m kiddin.” She stumbled back again, tripping over the hem of her large dress. Fionna barely caught her, and the Ice Queen looked up. “No seerisly. Love… you’re my fav’rit.” With a little laugh and hiccup, the Queen’s eyes rolled back, and she was soon snoring.

Fionna looked desperately over to Cake, who just shrugged. “We could leave her here.” Fionna looked again at Cake, who just shrugged again. The Queen looked pitiful. Sweat glistened above her eyes, and she shook, as if cold. Her long white hair was unkempt, and her dress stained.

“No, we can’t do that.” Fionna slung the surprisingly light Queen over her shoulder. “Come on Cake. Let’s take her home.”

“What!” Cake looked incredulously at the lump that was the Ice Queen. But she couldn’t deny how bad the Queen looked. The cat let out a sigh, and the trio left on the path leading away from the mountain. It was night when they arrived at the house, a full moon bathing everything in it’s pale light. The wooden door swung silently open, and they lit a few of the lanterns. Fionna set the Ice Queen down on the couch, and Cake threw a blanket over her.

In the morning, the sound of her snoring filled the house. A groggy Cake was making some breakfast, while upstairs Fionna dressed. As she came down the Ice Queen woke up, and looked around her. Bleary eyes looked at Fionna, then Cake, and then around her again.

“Where am I?” The Queen sounded a like she had a hangover, but at least she wasn’t slurring her words any more. She shook the blanket off of her, giving only a brief glance at the stains on her dress. “Is that bacon? Look at you Cake, still making all the food.” The Ice Queen grabed a piece of bacon, munching thoughtfully on it. She turned to face Fionna again, and asked her, “Why did you bring me here?”

Fionna wanted to say that they couldn’t have just left her there, madly drunk and posing more of a risk to herself than she usually did to others. Instead, out came a mumble, which the Ice Queen couldn’t make out.

“What was that?”

“Just be out of here before we get back.” The Ice Queen nodded, and returned to the couch, still munching on the strip of bacon.

“Alright. I’ll be gone before then. And Fionna…” The Ice Queen stoped for a second, staring blankly at the wall. A smile played across her cold lips. “Thanks.” Fionna nodded, and after a hurried breakfast, she and Cake left the house, calling out a farewell to the Ice Queen. They returned as it was getting dark, Fionna whistling and dragging a large sack of gold behind her. She casually threw it onto one of the many piles of similar treasure, and as Cake began making dinner, the human went upstairs to get into her pajamas.

She took off her clothes, tossing them into a corner, and sliped on her pajamas. A creak sounded by the ladder, the groaning of old wood. Fionna’s head shot up, and there was the Ice Queen. Fionna stood for a second, just staring.

“Why are you still here?”

“I was about to leave, and my dress was stained, so I had to wash it and… yeah.” The Ice Queen smiled, and Fionna could smell more root beer, leaking off of the older woman. She had been drinking again. Fionna felt in her an unexplained disappointment at the Ice Queen

“Well, then leave.” Fionna sighed, shaking her head. “And go get help for your drinking problem.” With that, Fionna pushed past the Ice Queen, and began descending down.The Ice Queen’s smile turned around, and she snarled down at Fionna’s back.

“You try being lonely every day! You try living your whole life known as a frosty bitch!” Ice flew down, slamming and freezing around Fionna’s feet. “You try.” The Ice Queen strode down the stairs, bringing her face inches from the human’s. “You have Cake. I used to have Cake. She was mine, and she left me, just like everyone else.” Little drops of frozen water gathered in the monarch’s eyes. As she opened her mouth again, the still hot frying pan flew out of the kitchen, catching her squarely in the face. Fionna looked back at Cake in amazement, then at the downed Queen.

“Well, here we are again.” Fionna looked down at her frozen ankles, then at the unconscious Ice Queen. “A passed out Queen, and another choice.” Cake picked up the pan, moving to wipe off a small bit of blood, then remembering it’s heat. Fionna looked pleadingly at her friend. “What do we do Cake?” The cat thought for a minute, looking at the pan, and glancing at the still downed Ice Queen.

“We can’t keep her like this. But we can’t just let her loose.” Cake heard in her head the Ice Queen’s remark about her. It had been cold, but true, and it had hurt.”She needs help. What about Gumball?”

“The Prince?” Fionna nodded. “We could bring her there, but what would he be able to do?”

“We could lock her up.” Before Fionna could object, Cake quickly shoved in, “Look, Fi, it’s the only safe way to hold her, and maybe to help her.” Cake looked down again at the sad looking person on the floor. “Bi-polar, drunken, crazy person she is.”

Fionna saw her point, and so in the darkness of night brought to the Prince a wrapped bundle, which was promptly scurried to one of the old cells. Very rarely were they used nowadays in the Candy Kingdom, and so were moldy, with heavily rusted iron bars. It wasn’t until the late afternoon that the Ice Queen woke up, drifting out of her foggy dreams.

“What is the meaning of this?” Her yell startled Fionna from her daydream. The Ice Queen was clutching at the bars, bending and freezing and snapping them. But each bend or break was immediately replaced with an exact replica of the bar’s previous position.

“Calm down. You’re not breaking out any time soon. We enchanted the bars.” At Fionna’s words, the Ice Queen did calm down, and sat heavily on the bare floor, wincing as she hit, despite the folds of her