The Eternal Plain
Marceline sipped at her mug of milk tea. Even though she no longer could no longer use it for sustenance, it was one of the few treats she still enjoyed as a vampire. She was sitting next to her dad in a soft, old beaten corduroy armchair. Her father sat across from her in a similarly homey, warm set up. The decor of the-the room clashed with the rest of the house and Nightosphere. The room was sealed so that the only noises Marceline could hear were the crackle of the fireplace and the crunch of her dad’s teeth as he systematically consumed a plate of chocolate chip cookies. There were no wails of the tortured or cries of the various demons who inhabited her father’s domain.
“You should visit more often Marceline,” her father began, brushing off a crumb from his dark suit, “It gets boring down here sometimes. All this wonderful chaos gets old after a few millennia. There isn’t even anything left down here to fight and bend to my control.”
He snapped his fingers and a new batch of strawberry jam cookies on the plate next to Marceline. She reached over to grab one and saw a small framed picture of herself sitting on the same end table. She picked it up and inspected it. She looked about 8 years old in the picture. She was standing next to a pond and feeding ducks with one hand while holding Hambo with the other. Hambo’s right eye was missing.
“Dad, what did I tell you about making fake pictures of me. It’s super creepy. Plus, you got Hambo’s eye wrong.”
“What’s wrong with a father wanting to have pictures of his little girl,” Hunson Abadeer waved his hand and the little blue button on the left side of Hambo’s face jumped to the right.
“Why did you ask me to come here, dad?” Marceline asked. She put down her mug and stood up. The winking cartoon cat on the side smiled at her.
The Lord of Evil sighed and stood up. The sentimental trinkets and souvenirs lining the walls disappeared. The warm red brick and walnut paneling was replaced with rough grey rock. The plush carpets melted away and hard slate took their place. The smell of brimstone and terror entered Marceline’s nose and the sounds of screaming and of ancient horrors filtered in through the window. Some great demon shifted in flames that had begun burning long before even her father was born.
“Can’t you even humor your old man?” Marceline’s dad asked, bending down to adjust the spines on one of his old trophies. “Did I ever tell you about the time I fought this guy right here? I had to track old Szelezon for decades before I found him and he almost got me, too.” Marceline’s dad rolled up his sleeve and showed her a vicious scar running up his arm from his wrist to his elbow.
“Dad, you’ve told me that story a billion times already. You tracked him down to the bottom of some lake and fought him for 7 years straight before you finally got close enough to eviscerate him. Then you skinned him and turned him into a throw rug,” Marceline looked at his arm, “Besides, you’re deathless, dad. That scar’s not even real; why do you keep that thing around?”
“Marceline, one day when you’re as old as me you’ll understand,” Hunson draped his arm around his daughter’s shoulder, “my little monster.”
Marceline shrugged off his arm. “Dad, why am I here?”
Hunson Abadeer sighed once more, “Marceline, I need to talk to you about something. I know you’ve been seeing that candy princess a lot lately.”
“Dad, her name is Bonnibel.”
“Right, well, take it from me,” Hunson rubbed his hands through his hair, “you need to be careful.”
“Dad,” Marceline moved a step away from him and leaned against the open window sill, “What are you talking about?”
“Marceline, when you were born your mother had a dream about you. ”
“What like with the Cosmic Owl?”
Hunson laughed and looked out the window, “The Cosmic Owl is only the idiot servant of a far greater power. No, this message was far too important to trust to him. It concerns your inheritance.”
“If you’re trying to convince to put on that amulet again-”
“Do not interrupt me, Marceline,” Hunson yelled and Marceline took another step away from him. Her father’s face softened and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Marceline, you know I love you. I want you to be happy, but I won’t always be around.”
Marceline frowned and creases appeared at her eyes. She hugged her dad’s arm, “Dad, I…” a small voice cracked.
“Marceline, you and...Bonnibel...are going to live for a very long. But you two cannot stay together forever.” Once more the lord of evil looked out the window and sighed.
“You know just as well as I do that nothing lasts forever. I’m sorry you were born into this cycle. I’m sorry you have inherited this loneliness.”
“But can’t someone else do it instead? Can’t you find another heir?”
“You know as well as I do that no one else can bear this burden,” Abadeer polished the pink amulet around his throat and looked out at the desolate plains, “Our family must pay the price for our power.”