After seeing the episode Mr. Candle Cares, I found myself a little disappointed at Tom's "brooding". As Prince of the Underworld, I expected him to be a little more voracious, someone with a personality as passionate as his fire; I mean, it's shown he has an explosive temper, and now he's all quiet and broody? I ultimately figured that being a demon prince makes you see things.
However, I'm taking a few liberties and adding some fuel to the fire, making him how demon princes should be.
Also, don't be fooled with the first chapter, I intend to make this story Tom/Star, a pairing I think is painfully underrated, but there may be hints of a love triangle and all that good stuff.
Thank you for the feedback, I'd love to hear more.
Star's shriek was enough to startle everyone in the room, except for Tom, who oddly enough seemed unfazed. Star jumped out of her seat, instinctively grabbing her wand in defense. Marco, being the loyal friend that he was, followed her actions. Everyone in the room stood from their seats in a much more orderly fashion. The senators stared in shock at first. No one in the room dared to move.
It was like this for a few minutes.
Growing irritated at the awkward atmosphere, Tom cleared his throat. The senators soon realize their mistake.
All of the officials and guards bowed on one knee, in front of the salmon-haired demon. The sudden movement, caused Star to snap out of her slight trance. She couldn't help but stare in open disbelief. She looked at her parents for clarification but was frightened when she saw the two rulers kneeling as well.
Star's grip slackened on her wand, and her battle stance dropped. A sudden cord struck her heart at the sight. Two of the most fearless, most stubborn leaders of the dimensions, were kneeling to a person not much older than her, of all people, they were kneeling to Tom.
It was pure humiliation knowing that her proud race had resorted to bowing as if they hadn't ruled over their Kingdom for decades. They are the monarchy of Mewni, not common people. These were the most powerful people she had ever known, it disappointed her to see them like this. Nothing more had insulted her pride than seeing her King and Queen, her mother and father, bow— show submission, to someone as despicable as Tom.
There had to be a reason for it; it was not everyday that the King and Queen of Mewni kneeled, the thought was almost unheard of!
Her blue eyes turned icy at the sight of him. Tom's posture mirrored his nonchalance; it was a direct insult to ignore the respect her fellow Mewnians were paying him. He must have noticed the indignation on her face because his smirk had widened into a malicious grin.
The young man crossed his arms on his lean torso. Tom wore an untarnished white suit; the pristine cloth matched his unblemished, pale complexion. If it weren't for the horns jutting from the sides of his head, or those unnerving ruby eyes, she would have said he looked somewhat angelic. The irony in that was as strong as the sudden rage she was feeling. His posture straightened at the sight of her defensive stance.
"Now this is what I call a welcome party," he spoke. At his cue, her parents and the council stood. Nobody said a word. The demon looked around, observing his surroundings. It unnerved Star how calm he seemed in a room filled with Mewni's monarchy.
But then again, it wasn't him who was bowing, and there was bound to be an explanation for that.
"Hm... I have a feeling I walked in on a bad moment," he stated unapologetically, "Well, what's done is done." His eyes continued to rove the room until they finally landed on her. He feigned ignorance, as if he had just noticed her, which she knew was a bunch of baloney. "Oh! How disrespectful of me, I haven't even greeted Mewni's future queen."
Her parents took their place beside her, and the senators respectfully stepped aside. They nervously kept their distance between themselves and the demon; it was obvious that no one wanted to be near someone who could summon flames.
King Butterfly placed a hand behind her back, but Star noticed how it tightened protectively.
"Star, please go do us the respect and greet our guest," her father spoke. His words were somewhat forced, and his posture was rigid. In his eyes, she could see the fear, in fact, she could see it in the eyes of all the Mewnians. The fact certainly befuddled her.
Star felt like scoffing. They might fear him, but her pride only allowed her to feel contempt for the demon. The princess refused to yield to him.
"No way, I'm not going to greet that creep," she snapped defiantly. The room silenced with tension. There were a few collective gasps from the Mewnians, as well as a few nervous glances. Her father's hand tightened, but he didn't respond.
Star looked around the room. Not for the first time, she felt a flash of uncertainty in her gut. She glanced at Marco, but he seemed even more clueless than her. The earthling looked thoroughly out of place, as well as uncomfortable with tension in the room.
Tom's amusement vanished, and his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. A minuscule of flames ignited by his shoes. The demon released a harsh chuckle, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
In the end, it was the Queen who had come forth to break the tension. She placed a hand on Star's shoulder. The princess saw the reassurance in her mom's eyes, or was it desperation?
"Please do us the honor and greet King Tom, Star dear." Queen Butterfly spoke. The blonde girl didn't know if it was because of her mom's pleading look, of her soft words, but her resolve crumbled.
"...King...?" Star questioned. Her mom quickly nodded. Alright, so she couldn't beat him to a pulp yet. She swallowed a lump in her throat. The blonde girl looked around the room, noticing how everyone was staring at her expectantly. The number of eyes on her began to make her feel self-conscious. Normally, she would have welcomed the attention, but all she felt was dread sink in the pit of her stomach.
Actions now, questions later.
The princess took a few tentative steps forward. Marco made a move to follow her, but two large guards stood in his way. He looked at Star for assistance. She nodded at him in a silent show that she had things under control.
Star looked at Tom... at King Tom. That was certainly new. Last time she had seen him, he was nothing more than a hormonal, teenage Prince. Getting a better look at him, she saw that age had affected him too, but not in the same negative way as her parents.
His shoulders were broad and confident, though his stance was a little too arrogant for her liking. Star had a sudden urge to punch him in the face and show everyone in the room how little of a threat he really was. His defined features were striking and now her fists were shaking with the urge to disfigure his good looks. Someone as internally ugly as him didn't deserve to have such a pretty face.
It didn't matter how much he thought he could fool everyone around her; to her, he was the same impulsive demon she had know years ago.
In a bold move, Tom stepped towards her and kneeled.
Star flinched back. She definitely wasn't expecting that.
He reached for her hand, causing Star to tense. Instinct dictated either fight or flight, but his crimson gaze let her do neither. He kept her glued to the floor.
The demon King ignored her discomfort and delicately wrapped his fingers over her soft palm. He flipped it around, his thumb caressing her knuckles. Small tingles ran up from where his fingers touched bare skin. Tom's hand was hot, bordering on warm and seething. It was more blistering than she remembered it being.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, my princess," he said. Tom's voice was low; most would have thought his tone was endearing, but Star knew better. He was mocking her by throwing her title in her face. His blood-red eyes locked with hers as his lips descended onto her soft hand. He placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, his lips lingering longer than necessary.
Star couldn't help but blush at the sensation, but she was convinced that she was disgusted by his charming gesture.
"Can't say the same thing." She audaciously snatched her hand from his grasp. At first, he frowned irritably, causing the tension in the room to rise once again.
Then Tom chuckled, "Of course you can't say the same thing, I'm a King, not a princess." He patted her head in a patronizing manner. Star threw him a glare and stepped away before he could make any more contact. She returned her attention to her parents.
"Now will somebody please tell me what the heck is going on here?" Star demanded.
"Star, dear, I'm going to please ask you to listen closely," Queen Butterfly said. Star looked as if she was going to object. "We know you have a lot of questions, you will have your chance to ask them."
The princess listened intently.
After their little scene, all of them had regrouped at the table, including Tom, and an ugly, large creature, that had arrived with him. Everybody in the room still seemed tense, but at least the senators had composed themselves.
She glanced at Marco, knowing that at this point he was the only person she could truly rely on. They locked gazes. He gave her a reassuring thumbs up.
"There is no denying the obvious, Star. We are aging, we've been aging for the past decades, it was a miracle we were to have been blessed with you. Though, as we continue past our prime, you are barely entering yours. We've all known it was a matter of time before you could ascend as our heir."
"You want me to become queen already?" she blurted out.
"As a princess, you have already been taught to take the initiative when becoming queen. You are expected to take the title, should anything happen to us," her mother countered. The blonde girl let out a quiet grunt to express her irritation.
"And where exactly does he come in?" Star rudely pointed towards the young King sitting across from her. Despite her inappropriate gesture, there was a charming smile on his face that Star was beginning to despise.
"Well if you are to become Queen, it is only natural that you have a Kin—" her mother was cut off.
"I'm getting married to him because you two are "aging"? Really? I was hardly prepared to be queen, much less a married queen," the princess uttered nervously, "I'm going to do things my way. I don't need anyone to help me run this Kingdom when I become Queen," she paused to look at her mother, "What does it matter anyways? Most of the time, Mom, you seem to do things herself," Star said.
The King let out an indignant huff, his cheeks turning bright red. At another time, her mother might have been amused, but all Star saw was weary blue eyes.
"Star Butterfly, please refrain from any inappropriate comments. Do try to be mature; do not interrupt us again. We know you are skeptical, but you must wait before it is your turn to speak." her mother replied coldly. The princess recoiled as if she had been slapped. She clenched her fists and exhaled.
"This is not only about the heir to the thrown; you weren't even supposed to become Queen until you were much older and experienced, but it seems we're going to have to forward the process. I assure you, this decision was much thought out than you believe," Queen Butterfly said. Her mother's face seemed to have tightened, causing her wrinkles to become more pronounced. Star was beginning to see more of the aging thing her parents were talking about.
Her dad spoke up. "Having you take the throne is more of a battle strategy than anything else," River Butterfly paused to make sure he had his daughter's attention, "There is an unstopped force that plagues the universe. All of them consist of monsters, many whom which have gathered from countless dimensions."
"Monster rebellions are becoming much more frequent. Their army continues to expand, even the strongest haven't been able to stop them," a middle-aged senator spoke.
"They have already conquered multiple dimensions. Almost no one can compete with their military prowess. Their technology is much more advanced than we could ever dream. Mewni's weaponry is considered primitive compared to there's," a female senator continued.
Her father sighed, "We fear for our people, our race."
Again, Star felt the need to interrupt. "But we're Mewnians! We're powerful, we have my wand and an entire army to command! We just need more time to prepare for them, but we can totally handle them! Our knights are strong. You can't tell me that we're admitting defeat this early on. How great can they be anyways? They're only a bunch of dumb monsters—"
Tom spoke for the first time since the conference started. His voice was sharp, startling almost everybody in the room. "They might be a bunch of," he scoffed, "dumb monsters, as you call them, but as you've heard, they've conquered multiple dimensions, which means they've slaughtered hundreds of soldiers and hundreds of innocents." He crossed his arms, but his expression remained impassive.
Her mouth tightened into a thin line. She wrenched her gaze away from him. Her blue eyes flickered towards her parents. Tom noticed her hesitation and continued.
"What? You didn't know?" he asked. Her silence was enough to answer his question. "Well someone's behind on news. Let's take a gamble, shall we?" Tom straightened in his chair to lean his arm on the table. "I bet you don't even know that they've already attacked Mewni."
Her eyes widened fearfully. A sudden pang caused her heart to palpitate harder than usual. His words were a bitter crash into reality. "W-what? No... no, you're lying!" the princess shouted.
River Butterfly glared angrily at Tom. "You weren't supposed to tell her that, demon!" King Butterfly had stood up, only to have two other demons guards growl. They stood, ready to guard their demon King against any threat. Tom dismissed them, unfazed by King Butterfly's outburst.
"Wow, there are definitely trust issues here. You might be comfortable hiding the truth, but I don't see why I have to lie to the princess," the demon King replied calmly. He turned back to her. "Those "dumb monsters" took out half of the Mewni army and 10 percent of your population." The princess gasped. "That's right, no one was able to escape their wrath, not even Mewni. From what I've heard, they've even gotten to Uni. You know that nice fellow, King Pony Head?"
"Tom..." King Butterfly warned.
Star looked up at him with her big blue eyes.
"He's dead," the demon stated darkly.
"Pony Head...?" Star asked weakly. At this point her voice was shaky, and her eyes were stinging with tears. Rage and sorrow filled her from head to toe. Absentmindedly, she could hear more outbursts, caused by Tom's imprudence. Her father had gone and launched himself at the other younger King. Tom used his telekinesis; a wave of his finger was enough to send her father flying across the room. Mewni guards stepped in to defend their royalty, and so did Tom's demon minions.
"That's not all, Starship. Your parents have been very secretive lately," he said.
"Secretive? There's more?" she questioned incredulously. Marco lightly grasped her arm. The blonde girl momentarily glanced at him.
"Star, don't you think we should wait until your parents tell you this? It seems kinda important and I'm not sure I trust Tom." Marco suggested.
"You actually believe they'll tell you the truth? King and Queen think they can keep this all censored from their innocent little girl, but we know better, don't we Star?" Tom asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. She looked into those red orbs and saw deadly promise. The blonde girl leaned forward.
"Tell me." the princess stated. Her sapphire eyes looked at him assertively.
"Star—" Marco was interrupted.
"I'm willing to tell you the rest in private, we seem to be attracting an audience." he gestured to Marco and the loud yells around them.
Star finally registered her surroundings. She saw the knights holding back her father, while also trying to defend against the much larger demon minions. Fists were swung around as well as death threats. Bodies were thrown back, some colliding with the expensive portraits and some colliding with the glass vases. The council had begun to argue among themselves as well, and the only one making an effort to silence them was her mom.
Everything was becoming chaos.
She looked back at Tom. He was calmly sitting in his chair, his arms calmly folded behind his head. His posture showed his indifference to the violence around him. Star shouldn't have been so surprised; Tom was in fact, the King of chaos.
"Everyone shut up!" Star roared. She lifted her wand causing a powerful burst of energy to rumble throughout the room. The blonde girl stood up, her chin raised authoritatively.
"Get out." she commanded, "Everybody get out. That includes you too, weird demon minions."
They growled at her, but Star was not intimidated.
Tom raised a hand, "You heard the Princess. Do as she says." His guards didn't seem to be happy taking orders from her, but they knew better than to disobey their King.
"Star—" her mother began, though stopped when Tom stood up. He dusted off his pristine suit, before striding towards them.
"I'd like to discuss important matters with the Princess. So if it's all the same to you King and Queen Butterfly, I'd like some privacy." Tom stated arrogantly. Both adults exchanged glances before giving defeated sighs. Much to Star's shock, they didn't argue. She was both relieved and angered by this.
The other Mewnians composed themselves and gave hasty bows before scurrying out of the room. Next were Tom's minions, who bowed completely towards their master. Then her parents, who half bowed at the knees. They threw her a concerned glance.
Star, however, refused to look at them.
The Mewni guards were the last to leave. They weren't all that trusting in leaving their princess with the demon King. Tom stepped in front of them. Fire began igniting from his feet, almost burning the guards.
"C'mon, you can trust the future King of Mewni can't you?" Tom smirked at the guards. Star felt like passing out from hearing those words. He seemingly gave one of the guards a pat on the shoulder. Tom gripped the guard's shoulder, his eyes glowing when they met the guard's. Suddenly the knight gave a pained shriek and fell to his knees. The young man looked at the other knights expectantly.
They suddenly looked very worried.
"Don't make me ask again." All of them gave hasty nods before disappearing with their fallen comrade. Tom didn't take his eyes off them until all of them had skedaddled. "Well, not very loyal, but easily persuaded. I'll keep that in mind," he muttered.
"What did you do to him?" Marco angrily asked. Star had forgotten he was next to her with all the commotion. He hadn't been very helpful in this situation, not that she could blame him; this was a matter of Mewni's foreign relations, something he wasn't educated in. Apparently, neither was she.
"Marco," Tom acknowledged him unenthusiastically, "You're still here."
"That's right, I'm here to support my best friend until the end." the earthling proudly spoke.
"Hm. Hasn't anyone ever told you that three's a crowd?" the demon asked.
"You're right," Marco said, "The door's over there, don't let it hit you on the way out." Internally, the teen gave himself points for being witty.
Tom deadpanned. "Charming," he said dryly.
"Marco..." Star said gently. He turned to her. "Maybe... maybe you should go home."
Marco almost stumbled out of his seat. "What? Star, everything about this screams danger, are you not reading the signs?"
"I just need to be alone..."
"Alone with the demon King?" the teen asked. His eyes peered at the two. Star and Tom's eyes were locked together in a silent battle. It was a harsh contrast, fiery crimson, and icy sapphire. Immediately, he realized there was no convincing his best friend; her mind was set. Marco gave a long sigh. The things Star gets me into. "How about I stand outside in case something happens?" he suggested.
"Sounds like someone can't take a hint," Tom muttered softly but loud enough so that Marco could hear.
"Real ironic coming from you," the Hispanic remarked.
"Marco..." Star warned him softly. She placed a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner. Marco raised his hands in defeat.
"Fiine. But if anything happens, yell for me." Marco exited the room, giving the "I'm-watching-you" gesture to Tom. His flames imitated his growing anger. The demon King was able to keep his mouth shut for only so long.
"Hey Marco," Tom called out.
"What?" Marco paused. A smirk appeared on Tom's light colored skin.
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Star examined Tom from across the table. He wearing a patronizing grin, arms comfortably settled behind his head. His eyes were confident and unafraid, despite the fury in Star's big blues.
"Tell me everything," she demanded. The princess instinctively grabbed her wand, just in case he tried anything funny.
"I'm a pretty fair guy, all you have to do is ask nicely and I'll tell you all you need to know," Tom replied. The young man arched an eyebrow at her glare.
"I'm serious, Tom." Star clutched her wand.
"What? So am I," he responded innocently. He noticed when she clutched her wand. "Tsk, tsk, where are your manners, Starship? Is that any way to treat your guests?"
"Please tell me everything. There, happy now?" she snapped. Star wasn't known for being ill-tempered, but the sudden burst of information was making her patience crumble. She was feeling betrayed, hurt, and even more suffocated than usual. Her insides were tingling with worry, and despite the room being large and empty, she felt as if the walls were closing in on her.
"Wow, that was really pathetic," he deadpanned, "But, I'll take what I can get." Tom unfolded his arms to lean forward on the table. "So what do you want to know, tell me what you're just itching to ask."
Star opted to ignore his tone. "Is Uni really destroyed?"
"Really? That's what you're going to ask first?" he questioned, seeming unimpressed. The blonde girl groaned aloud, slumping in her chair.
"Tom! Can you stop with the games already?" Star snapped.
"Alright, alright. I can see I'm wearing your patience." Tom raised his hands to show her no ill-will. She responded by frustratingly blowing a stray hair from her eyes. "No, Uni is not destroyed." He saw the relieved look on her face and took pleasure in uttering his next words.
"However, the King is dead and the monsters have taken over the planet. The people that weren't evacuated from the planet, are now enslaved."
"What about Pony Head?" Star grew pale. Her insides churned; she could taste her breakfast in the back of her throat.
"Hn, she was one of the few that made it out alive... unfortunately," he muttered. The blonde girl released the breath she was holding in.
"So it's true what you said about Mewni? Half of our army is gone?" she asked. Her voice was strained, almost as if not believing what he had said was true.
"Yes, all of that's true," he confirmed. At seeing Star's dismay, he decided to lighten her spirits. "Mewni forces weren't totally useless, though. They managed to run the monsters out," Tom saw her expression brighten. He wasted no time in continuing, "But they'll be back, especially now that Mewni's been weakened,"
Again, her smile dropped.
"Where exactly do you come in?" she questioned skeptically.
"And there it is," he replied, "The million dollar question."
"Tom..."
"Well, Mewni was a wreck when all that happened, even more so than now. They needed protection; they needed allies. One problem though: All Mewni's allies were either refused, were useless, conquered, or dead. King and Queen Butterfly were running out of options. They were definitely desperate." Tom paused dramatically.
Star took a big gulp, ignoring the tears that stung her eyes. She attempted to remove all emotion from her face so that Tom wouldn't get the upper hand.
"So I was just minding my own business and then, knock knock. I wondered: who could possibly be at my door?" he recited. The first thing Star did was go into denial. She shook her head slowly, eyes wide in bewilderment.
"You can't be— That's not true..."
"That's right, they came to me. Doesn't it just grind your gears knowing that I had absolutely nothing to with it?" he grinned, his white fangs glinting in the light.
"Why would they go to you?" the princess was frantic and unafraid to raise her voice to the demon King.
"Ouch, that really hurts, Star," he feigned a blow to the heart. "I've been King for almost two years. In that time, our army has grown stronger, and our empire larger. While you've been with your head clouded in that Earth dimension, I've been busy gaining my own reputation. Those monsters have tried to take over Kingdom and let's just say... their army didn't make it very far." Tom held his pointer finger up and allowed a flame to ignite above it.
Star couldn't help but cringe. "So my parents came to you, what happened then?"
"I'm sure you can put two and two together," he remarked, "At the time, King and Queen Butterfly thought: what could they possibly have to offer me, the demon King? They had nothing, with half of Mewni destroyed and most of their resources gone. I had my own Kingdom to protect, I couldn't just waste my resources, you know how it is. I guess they must've thought: well, every King needs a Queen. Lucky for them, I was feeling generous enough to accept their offer," the young man explained.
Star looked at him expectantly, waiting to see if he had more to say. He didn't.
"That's it?" she blurted.
"That sums it up," Tom replied.
"They just sold me? Are they that quick to send me to my grave? They didn't even think about asking me? They think they can just do this?" Star stood up, knocking her chair over. She stomped her boots on the cold tiled floor. The princess ran her hands through her messy blonde hair. She growled, kicking another vase to the floor. Her boots crunched over it. "That's— that's not fair!"
"Life tends to be like that," Tom piped. Star's eyes narrowed at him. She marched up to him, arms crossed stubbornly, lip in an angry pout.
"If they think I'm ever going to marry you, they are dead wrong!" the blonde girl poked roughly in the chest, "I'd rather let you annihilate the earth before ever marrying you." She directly insulted him to his face, disregarding any consequences.
"Give me a valid explanation to understand your great reasoning, and maybe I'll pity you," Tom remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Well for one, you're evil!" she spat, poking him again in the chest.
"Oh, I'm evil? That never seemed to bother you before," he replied coyly. Star couldn't help but flush. He was definitely trying her patience.
"You're an obsessive, despicable creature, I mean you're the demon King for crying out loud! You can forget my parents ever offered anything, I don't need your help in saving my dimension."
Tom's amusement completely vanished. His eyebrows narrowed, and his eyes began glowing ruby with white pupils. He stood up, grabbing the hand that Star had poked him with. Star struggled to take her limb from his grasp, only to have Tom grab her arm instead. Once his grip was tight enough, he pulled her against himself. Before Star could grab her wand, he pinned her other arm as well.
Star was about to scream, but once Tom had lowered himself to her ear, she ceased struggling. The blonde girl fearfully held her breath. Standing so close to him, she could feel the raw power emanating from his body. It was searing, uncontrollable, almost as if it was going to consume her. For once in her life, she was beginning to feel real fear for Tom. This was not the moody teen she remembered, this was someone else.
"What if it were your precious Mewni that was to be annihilated, would you still let it happen? In case you didn't get the memo, I'm the only one who's stopping those dumb monsters from taking away everything you ever loved. We're talking about thousands of people, countless dimensions that are relying on their beloved princess to say the magic words of I do," his hot breath caressed her skin, his low tone causing shivers to pass through her spine, "As royalty, you have a duty to be selfless and devoted. This is not only about you. Remember that, Princess."
Tom suddenly released her, brushing himself off as if her skin was dirty enough to stain his white suit. Star watched him exit the room. Before he completely stepped out, he turned to her.
"Before you start pointing fingers, make sure your own hands are clean, Star Butterfly." The door abruptly slammed shut, leaving Star feeling alone and lost in the empty room.