CHAPTER ONE: AWAKENING

A/N: A short first chapter to warm myself up! This is an idea that has been in my head for awhile now and I want to give it a go! It's going to be shaky, so please bear with me and I hope that you enjoy it! 'v'

Cordelia has an English accent, by the way - her voice is very much like Emma Watson's for those who are curious!

Summary: Cordelia had always been one to display kindness & compassion; she believed that the world gravelly required it, especially in the land of Mewni - where inequality caused wars to be waged, suffering to be elicited. She learned of soul purification from Lekmet, he who had taken her in as his own, but had ultimately found love with the most unlikely of creatures - the immortal monster. Their intimacy had been a secret, their feelings for one another only known to a few. She had thought his desire to destroy the very family she served to be thrown aside but, upon certain events transpiring, the future had played out in the very manner she had feared. Cordelia had not been there, though, and now, post-battle, she had to live with the consequences of her actions - but had forgotten all that had occured between herself and Toffee of Septarsis.


Equality had always stood as a fragile concept in every world, every corner of the multiverse, for there were those who would forevermore believe themselves to be superior to those ( they deemed ) as their lesser. Quite simply, a long-lasting period of peace was a rarity to happen upon - equality had never truly occured in any realm; chaos, war, suffering, they were impediments to it and were events that would never abate. It was idealistic to believe that all living beings could live harmoniously - every one differed tremendously from the other, and there would always be those who would refuse to avert from their close-minded tendencies. Mewni was no exception; truly, it was one of the worst dimensions for the problem of inequality among the populace.

Whilst mewmans did not look upon one another with disdain for something as trivial as skin colour or personal beliefs, they ridiculed the other tangent of beings that dwelled there - the monsters. Creatures that were so akin to their counterparts and yet very much different because of their appearances; claws, sharpened fangs, tails, etc. Each appeared fearsome in their physicality, many in how they portrayed themselves, so much so that they were judged heavily for it. Treated with mistrust, anger and hatred by the mewmans and the royalty of the Mewni - and even from that of the other dimensions. 'Twas small wonder why battles were often instigated, why riots broke out, and why monsters resented the mewmans for their cruel ways. However, that does not mean to say that no evil lurks among the creatures; good & evil existed within every race, nothing was ever so simple nor was the world so black and white.

Mewmans and Monsters rarely ever were melodic in their interactions; disgust for one another a palpable thing and it had been that way for generations.

There were the few, though, of either species that found themselves drawn to one another. Those whom rendezvoused in secluded locations, whom met beneath the canopy of forests to look upon one another with tenderness, not disdain nor hatred. Those few mewmans & monsters who fell so deeply for one another, who grew to care for the other, that the rules of separation mattered little to them. The consequences mattered so very little; for only THAT person was their reason for being.

The masses would never understand due to the depth of their history - thus, the pairs remained secretive & withdrawn. Never betraying the other and never breathing a word of their intimacy. Never to those who would reject them. Only to each other and the small number that would accept them.

Love should never exist between a monster and a mewman, after all.

That was the law.


"Toffee."

A whisper that was followed by the intake of a choked breath, outstretched hand curling into a fist as a supple form tipped to land upon the cool surface of the crystalline floor - knees hitting against it with a dull thud, panting resounding throughout the vicinity. Tendrils of raven-black hair swept around a visage that conveyed regal beauty - plush lips, cheeks of rose-pink & eyes of emerald that beheld their location with evident urgency and panic. What had happened? What was going on? She hardly knew the answer, for the shock that lanced through her was overwhelming; eliciting an ache in her stomach and a pounding emergence of a migraine that had her wincing. Shakily, the woman raised her hands, allowing fingers to glide through her wayward hair, the mass wavy and wild about her petite form as she attempted to process her current situation. She only remembered the forest, the beauteous expanse that surrounded the castle, and a gaze of luminescent gold - a pair of reptilian eyes that had ensnared her from the very moment they had connected with hers. Slender shoulders quaked, her body tensed. Who did they belong to? She could not recall his face. And he? Yes, he seemed correct - the stranger in her mind was definitely male. Definitely someone who had been enthralling to her curious soul. But, why couldn't she remember -

"Cordelia."

The familiarity of that voice made her whip her head around, hair cascading down her back, and her eyes widened in astonishment at the sight before her. Lips parting once more, a haggard puff of breath passing, she spoke. "R-Rhombulus...What…" Her voice was hoarse from disuse, causing her underlying fear to be realised - she had been here for quite some time, an unknown length having passed her by unknowingly.

"I-I...I can't remember…" Cordelia proceeded to heave herself up on unsteady legs, the sweep of her navy skirt brushing her ankles and she noted with bemusement that she was barefoot. Lashes fluttering, she looked to the MHC member with desperation; silently pleading with him to grant her with answers.

His singular eye squinted with what appeared to be remorse, his twin snake appendages eerily silent in their regarding of her. "A lot happened. The crystallization can affect people differently - memory loss isn't uncommon." He answered in a gentle tone and took a step forward; appraising her form for any anomalies, from the heart-shaped curve of her face to the tips of her tiny toes. "...I don't know how to say this, but -"

"How many years has it been?" She cut him off promptly, diverting her gaze as she uttered the question - voice stronger than before, only a slight quiver to its lilt.

Rhombulus winced. "...Twenty-five years." The certainty of those words echoed off the walls of his lair, the expanse of crystals oddly feeling colder than usual.

Cordelia hurriedly turned to stare at him once again; her expression displaying how astounded she was, how horrified the revelation was to the fragility of her own self. "T...Twenty-five years!? But how? Why!?" What had she done to be imprisoned? Wrongfully, of course, it had to be. Cordelia had always been a kindhearted woman, had always strived to be honest and true, to be compassionate as the world was in dire need of it. What had she done?

Rhombulus, approaching her slowly, tried to contain himself, he really did.

"Well, when someone shacks up with a monster, this tends to be the punishment."

Silence blanketed them, stilted and the intensity of it so thick that one could cut through it with a knife. Cordelia's features froze, hands twitching erratically at her sides, her mind trying to work through what he had just said. Rhombulus' tone had shifted to disapproval; the sadness remaining but the negativity of his feelings making itself known. She couldn't even formulate an answer for a few, agonising moments. Her memories were broken and her remembrance as to why she was here absent from her psyche; but his words, his accusation, how had this come to transpire? How had this been brought her?

What was Rhombulus talking about?

Cordelia sourced control over her vocal chords after another beat and her head began to shake in disagreement. "I-I...I don't know what you're - "

"Don't lie to me." Rhombulus ordered and pointed an accustory snake-arm at him; the beasts own eyes narrowed with fury at her attempt at hiding from the reality of her situation. "That's what you tried to do before and just as as badly. You were never a good liar; you weren't raised to be one."

Her mouth snapped shut at that and pain of the worst kind marred her visage; her eyes, again, averting to look upon the floor. "Before? B-But I'm not lying...I can't remember - I can't remember anything."

From several feet away, the magical entity's brow furrowed and confusion welled up within. The sincerity of her words confounded him, she genuinely seemed oblivious to what he was referring to. Was her memory that damaged from imprisonment? Eclipsa's had not been affected in any way and whilst his earlier words rang true, it was nearly unheard of to be this lapsed in remembering past events. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the 'Queen of Darkness' had been a powerful magic user; Cordelia's abilities were far different from the former monarchs darker ones, indefinitely more pure and untainted by malice or evil. Very much like her master's had been. The thought of such elicited a further bout of sadness within Rhombulus and his shoulders dropped - the stress and fatigue caused by the last few days having taken a heavy toll on not only him, but the entirety of the Magical High Commission ( and the citizens of the multiverse ).

Sighing then, he turned on his heel and began his descent down the flight of stairs, gesturing with the wave of his arm for her to follow him. "Come on. I think it's best if we talk this over with Queen Moon, Omni and Hekapoo. If you really can't remember anything, then we need to talk it over with them."

Surprise coloured her countenance and Cordelia was swift in hiking up her skirt and hurrying after him; legs a tad achy and feet padding against the glass-like floor with rhythmic taps. "The Commission? I-I don't understand, though. Why was I crystalized? And where...where is Lekmet?"

This was the question he had been dreading and it very nearly brought him to a halt. He couldn't stop though, he couldn't bear to look at her face while he delivered such heart-wrenching news. "Lekmet won't be there. He...He's dead, Cordelia."

It was Cordelia who was brought to a standstill; her pitched gasp, practically a yelp, loud in the quiessence of Rhombulus' home. Eyes of vibrancy grew round, widened in the shadow of the horror that this admittance invoked; tears were swift in their succession to cascade down her cheeks, a rush of emotions unfurling in her stomach and rising to clog up her throat - words garbled with her utterance. "D-Dead? What? M-Master...Master Lekmet...But...No, h-he...He can't be g-gone...How?"

The agony of losing a loved one was a weighted burden to bear; enough to draw most into the abyss of self-destruction if they were not careful. Caution had to be shown. He had to go about this carefully, lest he broke her. His departed friend, so dear to him, would want him to show Cordelia even the slightest of comfort; despite her crime of falling in love with a monster. Even if said monster had been the worst of them all; a manifestation of utter evil unbridled. Upon reaching the desired location, eye focusing on the nearest object, his work-out equipment, and favouring that instead of looking at her. Even when she rushed over to stand before him. Even when she began to sob softly. Even then, he did not look at her.

His voice, however, was soft. "He died protecting everyone, saving everyone. He was so brave but he…" He clenched his eye shut. "...but he was killed by the most...despicable person."

"...His p-power was always draining." Cordelia responded quietly, lips trembling and tears continuing their trek. "W-When he trained me, h-he had warned me...b-but I always thought that he…that he was invincible." She blinked with rapid motions and brought a hand up to rub it over her eyes, smearing the dampness on her cheeks. Her own problem did not matter in that moment, it didn't hold importance when this grief that partnered with it was so powerful; her dear master, the one who had taken her in so long ago, who had bequeathed to her the knowledge of healing and purification, was gone. "Oh Rhombulus, I-I am so sorry…"

A broken chuckle emanated. "The culprate paid for what he did - " The perpetrator that was closer to her heart than any could know, though Cordela was now ( apparently ) unaware of this. " - and he isn't coming back. Lekmet was avenged."

"What sort of e-evil were you fighting? W-Who was it?"

It was as this inquiry was breathed that Rhombulus peered down at her; a prominent curtain of solemnity clouding his eye.

Cordelia's breath hitched, bated with her fear of the answer.

"His name was Toffee."

Darkness closed in, enveloped her in its humid embrace, and she cascaded; descended into the abyss as it rose to engulf her. It was a bittersweet notion; to be taken under by the very thing you feared, allow it to sweep you away into delightful bliss. And that was what happened - Cordelia let it take her under.

'Twas far simpler than facing reality, after all.


A/N: Please leave some constructive reviews, it would be very much appreciated! :D