Eclipsa was cradling the Royal Wand in her arms, scowling at the portrait of herself and King Shastican, standing side by side, on their wedding day.
Not that it felt like a wedding of her dreams, that was for sure. The decorations were opulent, the flowers fragrant, the wedding dress too long for her liking.
But for all the grandeur her husband could afford for their wedding day- or week, more like!- he was severely lacking in passion and compassion. He never cared about Eclipsa as more than a nifty political maneuver to the throne of Mewni.
Thank the Stump for her sharp wits and overwhelming desires for independence! Otherwise, she would have been used as a pawn by Shastican and Diamond to control her own kingdom through her.
As for their marriage; it hadn't even been consummated! It had not been an easy subject to broach on, at all. Plus, Shastican was obese and disinterested, which were huge turnoffs for her trying anything. Not that she was showing interest.
If her parents knew about the state of her marriage, they would have shaken her by the shoulders by now and told her to 'GET A MOVE ON!' In the most royal way, possible, of course.
Suddenly, she heard the doors open behind her, and she smiled in relief.
"Ah, good morning, Velvet," she purred, without turning around to face him. "I trust you slept well last night?"
"Reasonably, thank you, Your Majesty." Velvet answered cordially, albeit a little puffed out. "You are well, I presume?"
"Yes. But I am concerned about your tardiness."
The chameleon-turtle hybrid cursed in Mewman at hearing the dreaded 't' word. But before he could apologize, the queen raised her hand.
"I am not angry, Velvet- merely concerned. It is unlike you to be late in the morning."
"I merely slept in, Your Majesty. Then I accidentally bumped into Grunera… who was carrying… your breakfast." He trailed off, his face burning with embarrassment. It wasn't professional to reveal such emotions to the King and Queen; but he was so flustered that he hadn't kept his emotions in check.
"Never mind, dear. I never wanted any bacon, or egg, or anything like that for breakfast." She replied, finally turning around to give her servant a smile. "I quite fancy chocolate for breakfast."
Velvet didn't bat an eyelid at this odd request. This was one of the reasons he adored Eclipsa; she never stuck with the expectations of the monarchy; instead, she always went off and did her own thing.
"Well, a friend of mine did pass along some chocolate… Your Majesty." He said. "It's in the greenhouse, where the King won't look. Let me bring it inside for you."
"No, no. If you don't mind, Velvet; I'd rather we walked there together. Just a little bit of exercise and fresh air." Eclipsa replied breezily, placing the wand down by her throne before joining her servant.
"As you wish, my Queen," Replied Velvet warmly, and the pair linked arms before he led outside to the garden; his pride and joy.
….
The grass smelled of fresh dew, and the roses were blooming beautifully. Velvet hid a quiet, proud smile as the rosy smell wafted through his nostrils; for the smell reminded him of his one and only triumph over King Shastican.
Beside him, Eclipsa stopped to smell the roses, her eyes taking on a dreamy look as she allowed the smell to drift into her nose and the color to dazzle her eyes. She tenderly stroked a few rose petals, looking at them in awe.
"You know, these roses always feel like how I would imagine a baby's skin to feel like." She admitted.
"Really?"
"Yes. I…" She trailed off, looking away from her companion in sadness.
"What is wrong, Eclipsa?" He asked, 'forgetting' her title in his concern for her.
Eclipsa looked up, surprise and fondness in her face, before it melted away to sadness "Well, I… I just wondered what it would be like to have a child, Velvet… but I can't imagine having one with Shastican."
"I couldn't either, Your Majesty. He might give your daughter his moustache." The turtle-chameleon blurted out, causing Eclipsa to burst out into the most unqueenlike laughter he had ever heard.
"Oh, my dear Mewni! Velvet, behave yourself!" She scolded, but she was still giggling at the thought of a newborn baby girl with a moustache. Her laughter soon faded, however, and she sighed again. "I just wonder what it would be like, to be a mother. At least then, I'd have someone to love unconditionally, and vice versa."
Velvet could say nothing to comfort the distraught Eclipsa about it. Instead, he allowed a scaly hand to rest on her shoulder, ignoring all warnings that he should NOT be doing this. At all.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. I cannot imagine your pain. But I shall be at your side as long as you need me."
The Queen of Darkness gave a tiny smile at her old friend. "Thank you, dear," she whispered. "I shall simply go mad within those castle walls without you around."
Velvet wanted to disagree with that statement, out of habit; but he knew it was at least partially true. So, instead, he changed the subject.
"The King would not let me find a more protein-based plant feed, your Highness, as he said the roses were 'just in dirt and shouldn't be treated like royalty'." He informed her.
"Well!" the queen replied haughtily, pouting; her maternal yearnings temporarily put to the side. Velvet was rather amused by her facial expression, despite himself.
"Indeed," Replied he, gravely. "So, I improvised a little with some old eggshells, you see. I put them in the soil, and the soil absorbs the proteins in the shell shards; which in turn boost growth."
"Oh, that is wonderful, darling!" Eclipsa answered delightedly, clapping her hands eagerly. "You have an excellent resourcefulness, my dear."
"Thank you. At least that's one thing I honed during my thieving days." He told her, honestly.
At that, the mood was lifted, at least for the time being, and the pair strolled across the wet grass to the greenhouse; where they promptly unleashed the secret stash of chocolate, sat down, and partook in a belated (and very sweet) breakfast of: Snooker bars; lavender and vanilla cremes; strawberry flavored chocolates sprinkled with corn; and other brands and flavors of chocolates with no names.