Fionna awoke to the silence, her eyes red with the tears that had flowed like torrents the night before. Her face, once with a grace and beauty that only angels possessed, was scarred by misery. Her golden hair lost all of its enchantment.  This goddess of beauty was now reduced to a mere mortal. The war between the Candy Kingdom and the Fire Kingdom had now reached its fifth day. What was the cause of the war? She! Prince Gumball had declared war against that kingdom of Flames.

 Two mighty empires, each with their thousands of fierce knights, with their sharpened swords and sturdy shields, rode on the most elegant horses to face the enemy, only to be struck down and mercilessly slaughtered to death. All for love. 

Fionna’s heart was torn between Prince Gumball and Flame Prince, two charming princes. She did not know who to stand against. To see one of them, lifeless, motionless on the ground, with cold unblinking eyes, was something that she once thought could have only existed in her most horrific nightmares. Now, Glob has destined one of them to meet such faith. For, in wars, there is only one who can be victorious. 

This sad truth proved too much for her lively spirit to bear and ever since day One of the war, she entered a dull state of mind, rarely moving an inch from her bed, sometimes madly sobbing for the safety of one of them, only to remember the other and shed tears for him. O Glob, why must you torture this sweet innocent girl, in the prime of her youth!

 In the first three days of war, there was no silence, only chaos reigned outside the tree house, for the Grasslands was the location of the war. Fionna could have heard the galloping of horses, the clash of steel as swords came in contact and the bloodcurdling cries of soldiers as they were stabbed in the heart, the enemy’s face being the last one they ever saw before they fell to the ground, never to stir again. After those three days came silence, that spine-shivering silence that follows after Death.

 Cake, her most beloved sister, would have surely kept Fionna company and even add light to Fionna’s depression.  Alas, Cake was summoned to the Candy Kingdom immediately after the declaration of war, to fight alongside other magical creatures, including her husband Lord Monochromicorn.  Her time was so occupied, that she could not visit Fionna.  The gorgeous and heroic Fionna was left all alone to face her nightmares. 

All this time, from the start of the war, Fionna dared not step outside the tree house. Even the tree house seemed to share Fionna’s mood. Once comforting and cozy, it became dark and cold. Not a ray of light entered the tree house, for the sun had hid itself behind the clouds, as though to hide its eyes from the onslaught which ensued. She slowly got out of bed and crept to the window. Oh, could there ever exist a sight more gruesome than what was laid before her bloodshot eyes! The Grasslands no longer deserved its name. There was no more of the lush green vegetation; instead the grass had turned brown and flaky, smeared with blood.  Dead bodies, some with the head severed from the body, were scattered throughout the land. Had Fionna opened the window, she would have let in a repulsive odor, which would have made anyone sick to the stomach. “All of this”, she said to herself with a hoarse voice, worn from all the crying, “all these lives, wasted, in the name of love!” Immediately, she dropped down on her knees, pressed her beautiful hands to her face and wept, letting loose a volley of tears.

 Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream invaded the silence. Fionna removed her hands from her face. Now a new feeling aroused from within her heart, more powerful than despair: fear. She recognized that voice. Her heart almost skipped a beat.
  It was Prince Gumball.