Escaping the Castle
Authors note: Hey guys! I know that I promised this forever ago, but here it is! The continuation of my last passage in Star Light Star Bright.
Marco Diaz was confused, having just woken up abruptly in a dimly lit place that was decidedly not his room.
'Where am I?' the boy wondered groggily to himself, sitting up and trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around, and after a few moments of inspection, he realized that he was in his living room. A second glance revealed the faint glow emanating from the TV in front of him, and an empty bowl. Realization struck him. 'That's right, it's Thursday. Me and Star must have…" His eyes widened, and a quick look to his right revealed the absence of a certain magical princess.
"Star?" he called out, wondering where the girl had gone. If he was being honest with himself, he had been expecting to fall asleep. It happened every Thursday. But he usually didn't mind, because he always woke up with a sleeping blonde curled into his side. This time though, she was nowhere to be seen, and the boy wasn't quite sure why he felt so… disappointed about it.
'Where did she go?' he wondered, wearily getting to his feet, and stretching. 'Well, I'd better go make sure she didn't fall asleep on the stairs. Again.' He thought wryly to himself, turning the TV completely off and tiredly making his way out of the living room. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, he mentally noted that there was no sleeping princess on the steps. Wow. Looks like she actually made it to her room this time.' He thought, smiling subconsciously. He walked up the stairs and towards his room, but hesitated once he reached his door.
"Maybe I should check on her." Marco muttered, already heading down the hall towards his best friend's room. He paused in front of the door, and carefully opened it. "Star?" he whispered, peeking his head into her room. When there was no response, he quietly stepped into the girl's room. "Star?" he called out again, hoping for an answer other than silence. He crossed the room and stopped at the side of the princess's bed. Confusion and worry overcame him when he realized that she was not there. But before he could panic too much, he noticed what appeared to be a sealed envelope on the girl's pillow.
"What the heck? Why would she leave a letter?" Marco thought to himself, picking up the letter and unsealing the envelope, nearly tearing it in half in his haste. His quickly scanned the page, and his eyes widened and his skin paled as he continued reading.
Panic and fury was all that Marco could feel, as his fists clenched and began shaking violently. He glanced over Star's bed again, and his eyes landed on a pair of dimensional scissors that he did not recognize. Glaring darkly, he quickly grabbed them, and without a second thought, he violently tore a hole through the fabric of space with the pair of disgustingly unfamiliar magical scissors.
As he stepped out of the dimensional portal and arrived at the sinister location, reluctantly storing away the foreign scissors, Marco was always painfully aware of the absence of the girl who normally accompanied him.
"Star." He whispered, clenching his fists angrily. The sound of crinkling paper reminded him that he was holding something. He carefully smoothed it out and read the note again, despite the fact that the letter's contents had already been seared into his brain.
'Hello.
By the time you read this, I believe that you will already have realized that something very important has gone missing.
I'm sure you remember, but allow me to refresh your memory.
The last time we met, you took my beloved school away from me.
That, was a big mistake.
So, because you stole something precious of mine, I took away something precious to you. It's only fair.
If you want her back, come alone to the place where I lost everything.
And, if you do not hurry, or if you disobey these instructions, you will never see her again.
She's waiting.
-Miss Heinous,
Headmistress of St Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses
Marco's eyes narrowed in determination, and he crumpled the note, angrily stuffing it into his pocket. "Don't worry Star, I'll find you!" he declared, starting the trek towards the ominous building to rescue his best friend. However, a small part of him that he refused to acknowledge, was terrified that he was not going to be able to keep his promise.
'Please, please just let Star be okay.' The boy pleaded, finally reaching the steps of the familiar dark castle. Not willing to waste any more time, he quickly climbed up the stairs. He stopped before the large closed door, and raised his fist, but before he could make contact, the door swung open. Marco recoiled at the sight of the… creature, that had opened the door.
"Oh, hello there. Do come in, we've been expecting you." He greeted the stunned boy, gesturing to the inside of the palace. "Wait a moment." He said, looking closely at Marco. "You're Princess Marco?" he asked in disbelief.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the boy glared at the grotesquely lumpy monster in front of him. "My name is Marco. But that's not important. Where's Star?" he demanded angrily.
"I can't answer that, I'm afraid. I've been instructed to bring you to Miss Heinous at once. She'll answer all your questions." He assured him. Doubt filled the dark-haired boy, but considering he didn't really have a choice, he reluctantly nodded.
"Fine. Take me to her then." Marco said, walking into the castle.
"Excellent." The deformed creature said with a sinister smile.
Lightning flashed overhead, and the massive palace doors slowly closed with an ominous groan.
Authors Note: I wasn't planning to make this story more than one chapter, but this seemed like a good place to stop.
*Laughs evilly*
I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought and I'll get started on the next chapter immediately.
