14 years prior
"We need to get rid of her."
His minion looked up at him in surprise. The lizard had grown increasingly restless – a far cry from his usual, cool and collected behaviour. He gulped hard, knowing full well that he was not going to react kindly to his response. He waited for him to finish his sip of scotch.
"Uh…are you sure? That could set off…that will set off the war."
A brow furrowed and Toffee stood from his seat. A finger rubbed at his temple, almost as if the monster's sheer incompetence gave him a migraine.
"Your astuteness must be why you're a general."
The monster flushed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He took several careful steps backwards, putting some distance between him and Toffee's turned back.
"Aren't you… in love with her?"
A fist slammed onto the table, cracking it in half. The general flinched and gulped. He clearly had a death wish that day. This was what happens when he allows himself to get distracted…by her.
"If it looks like I can't trust you fools, I'll do the job myself."
Present day
Moon paced the length of her office. Her husband, uncharacteristically quiet, watched her worriedly. For once in her life, she wished River would say something. Anything, honestly. The silence was oddly deafening and she could not muster a single, straight thought.
A part of her knew that it would happen. She knew of her daughter's recklessness. Most would think it was an inherited Johansen trait – but they would be mostly wrong. Star reminded her so much of herself that it was a wonder something like that hadn't happened to her.
The wand, though cleaved, was no less powerful. But that was not the reason why the Queen of Mewni was perplexed. Rather, it was the safety of her daughter. The wand had always been symbolic – a mere catalyst that helped the wielder control magic. If there was one thing Toffee might be ignorant of magic, it was that it manifested itself without the wand. If he truly wanted to weaken Mewnian defences, he would have to kill both herself and Star.
The problem was whether he knew that.
Toffee had always been at large, but she did not know why he chose now of all times to re-emerge. She supposed her sending Star to Earth played a pivotal role in that decision – but the lizard was far too much of a mastermind to be swayed by an easy target.
Star was indeed left on her own on Earth. But the ancient accords drawn up between the various dimensions ensured that humans and all of Earth's creatures were spared from the tyranny of the many wars between Mewmans and monsters. Star was safer on Earth than she was on Mewni and more so in such a crucial point in her life where magic would consume her to her very soul. Such an outburst of energy would place Mewmans in danger.
"Moon…dear… please talk to me. I wish this old fool could say something to comfort you."
Her eyes softened and she went over to give her husband a kiss to his forehead.
"I have to get Star and the High Commission. Will you hold down fort here?"
River pouted – it would be comical if the situation wasn't so dire. Star's life could be in danger and in any moment, Toffee might strike.
One thing was for certain – if she was to face Toffee head on, she needed to talk to Ludo.
14 years ago
His target was well within sight. Her head was bent over a map, her wand well out of her reach. He had a perfect, clear shot.
A digit rested evenly on the trigger – a magic infused sniper that was sure to kill the victim on impact while simultaneously draining all its magical energy. He can make good use of that energy – enhance monster weapons, put up wards against spells. All the things he can finally do to avenge his people and put a stop to the tyranny of the Butterfly family.
Just one squeeze, and it will be all over.
He took in a deep breath – fully focused on his target. The red cross sat squarely on the Queen Mother's frowning face. For the side of his eye, Toffee noticed a blur of blue storm into the room.
"Mother? Where is Toffee?"
The sound of his name on her lips halted him – it sent shockwaves to his heart. This was no coincidence. It couldn't be.
"Why do you care, dear?"
"Mother."
She looked over to her mother in annoyance – those familiar, fiery blue eyes that were always determined to see the good in everyone. Even a monster such as himself.
"I've dismissed him. He was caught rendezvousing with more monster scum in the outer rims of Mewni."
"Wait…when did that happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
He ignored the pain in his chest as the look of betrayal crossed Moon's face. He did not care for her. She will not care for him. The tears welling in her eyes didn't convince him. Nor the look of sheer anger and betrayal concentrated towards her own mother.
"How could you?!"
"Moon…"
"He was our link to understanding monsters! We could've had a peace treaty with his help!"
"Moon! That is enough."
The Queen Mother hardly ever raised her voice, but the one instance that she did, Moon flinched. Toffee's eyes narrowed. He held his breath, and returned in position.
"If you are to be a revered Queen, you will stop this silly daydream of associating ourselves with those scum. Do you under-ugh… "
"Mother? Mother!"
As the older woman's body fell to the marble floor, staining it red, Toffee stored his crossbow and stood. Knights scrambled about the room and before they could pinpoint his location, he vanished into an opened portal; the sound of Moon's anguished cries still rung in his ears.
Present day
"Tell me what's going on and maybe I can help you."
Toffee seethed as he felt Ludo's heart soften. Weak-willed little fool. It was little wonder he took so long to steal a wand from a child. He needed to act immediately before the imbecile jeopardised years of careful planning.
"Hello Moon."
He watched in satisfaction as the woman noticeably tensed. What a state she was in – her usually coiffed appearance was nowhere in sight. There was dirt on her clothes and heavens, were those peasant's boots?
She heaved a deep breath and clenched her fists.
"Toffee. Fancy seeing you here."
He felt himself – or rather, Ludo – smirk.
"What brings the Queen to my humble abode?"
Without a beat, she lifted her hand. A cold, strike went through his heart and he gasped for air. Damn her – he felt such pride. He taught her well. Toffee chuckled as Ludo's body mended itself effortlessly.
"My Moon. How much you've changed."
"What are you trying to do? If you want my head, you can have it. Just leave my daughter alone."
His rapturous laughter sent chills down her spine. It was difficult to believe that Moon trusted this beast with all her heart only a few years ago. A naïve version of her expected nothing less from cold-blooded creatures - but not from Toffee.
"I'm not after you, dear. We did have an…interesting history."
Moon ignored the furious flush to her cheeks. He had no pull over her – she had fallen out of love with him years ago - the very moment that she held her mother's cold, lifeless body in her arms. The moment he broke her heart irreparably.
"But Star - insufferable as she is – has the last piece of the Mewnian wand. How is it that it has not destroyed itself completely?"
He groaned as another blow hit his chest. Ludo wasn't a reptile which meant that he had limited time before the host body disintegrated completely. He still needed an energy source to transform and his eyes flashed with glee at the thought of absorbing all of the young royal's raw power. For now, the appetiser before him will do.
He muttered a spell under his breath as he readied to extract from the hotspot of magical mana before him – but a flash of light blinded him. There she stood, menacingly beautiful, in her Butterfly form. To this day, it still frightened and captivated him.
If there was a time he knew he would not come out of a battle alive, it would be now. Nonetheless, he wore his best smirk and lifted his glowing palm.
"I loved you."
His smirk dropped. Curse this foul woman. Did she think he was that feeble?
"I have held you with nothing but the highest regard."
He fully expected for there to be tears in her eyes - but there wasn't a drop. Her eyes glowed and for the first time, he felt fear.
"Why did you kill her?"
"I had to."
The softness in his own voice surprised him, but he was sincere for the first time in a long while. He felt a tinge of satisfaction as she faltered.
"You bastard."
"Now Moon, what would your mother think of such language?"
"Does it matter? You killed her."
Moon's hand shook as she delivered the final blow. Every fiber of her being strained as the energy drained from her. The purple veins in her arms grew, but she paid it no mind. For now, she had only one goal - to protect her kingdom, her family, her beloved daughter.
There was an explosion and she heard a cry from her daughter. Marco restrained her and only released her when the blinding light subsided. Her form returned to normalcy and she collapsed to her knees. In the distance, she heard her daughter rush to her side.
Oh thank Mewni she's alright.
She felt her daughter's arms envelope around her and she hugged her little girl tight. There was some exclamations of admiration, worry and well, mostly pride of having a "badass" mother. She managed to smile weakly and just held her daughter tighter.
It was over – for now.
She gave a tired nod of acknowledgement to a concerned Marco that hovered awkwardly behind her – the boy would make for a good partner. But there was still time yet for that.
"Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"I'm…I'm sorry about ruining the wand."
Moon sighed and stroked her daughter's hair.
"Star, the wand is immaterial. It will always come back to you. The real power, is within you. Toffee thought he could destroy that – but that's simply impossible."
While her daughter and her knight squabbled over one thing or another – Moon tuned her senses to the puddle of dark goo. His life source flickered like a dying candle. It was a brutal end that she had delivered him – but it was a necessary one.
"Come along now children. We have much to do."
Her job as Queen of Mewni was never done.
He never thought she had it in her. He had well and truly underestimated her - her power, her emotions – her feelings for him. And he paid the dear price for that.
For just a moment, he caught a view of a future they could have had together. Serving as her royal advisor – her humble servant. He would have been happy, he thought. Nothing in the world had given him happiness save for her.
But as the light left Toffee's eyes, the view vanished.
18 years prior
"You must be Professor Toffee. I've been most anxious to meet you."
Her voice was warm as the hand that shook his. He realized after a few beats too late that she had been waiting for a response from him and he, in uncharacteristic fashion, mumbled a greeting and delivered a shaky bow.
"An honour to serve you, your Highness."
She was as breathtakingly beautiful, brave and intelligent as they say. What a difference proximity made. The royal portraits don't do her any justice. They never quite got the azure tinges in her eyes right nor the silky sheen in her powder blue hair. They never captured how light her gaze was, steadfast but bold. He could not think of a more noble queen.
As she spoke, he found it increasingly difficult to pay attention to her words. It was her eyes that struck him the most. There was this youthful mirth in them that he had seen only in innocent children. For a moment, scorn rose within him and his throat clenched almost as if to control a murderous urge.
Royal obliviousness. Typical. She would be as blood-thirsty as the rest of them.
But then she is leading him into her quarters – by hand. Almost as if she was ushering in an old friend into the intimate corners of her home. There was none of the malice – none of the condescension that he had become so accustomed to from her sort.
"I hope corn tea is fine with you. It's not quite my personal favourite – surprising, I know; but with some honey it can be stomached."
It took a pair of blue eyes peering back at him worriedly – as though she had spoken out of turn that made him open his snout to force out a composed, but too cold response. There was a slight tinge of hurt in her eyes from the supposed apathy on his part.
Curse his militant decorum.
"Tea would be lovely, Princess."
"Call me Moon, please. The time we would be spending together is sure to be insurmountable. It would be quite exhausting to continue with proprieties. Unless of course it makes you uncomfortable…?"
Toffee was not sure what to make of this. She was giving him agency? A choice? That was unheard of. His stunned silence again caused blue brows to furrow in apprehension that he quickly responded in kind. Here he was, taken aback by a little princess. What has become of him?
"Then I insist that you call me Toffee...Moon."
He almost expected the entire guard to come bursting through the door – come to drag him away for an execution for having referred to a royal member – the future Queen no less; in too familiar terms. But nothing other than the giddiest of smiles he had come upon in his lifetime happened.
She gave him a weak smile and gestured to the seat next to hers. A fine, porcelain tea set had been laid out with various baked goods and other corn-flavoured titbits. Such proximity and food was a luxury to monster servants - even unusually high-rankings ones such as himself.
"I'm so excited to learn magic from you! Mother says it's not very Princess-like to show excitement, but I simply can't help it! Glossaryck is an absolute pain. He speaks so cryptically it's impossible to learn anything! I know I'm simply too impatient, but I'm just bursting with curiosity..."
He hid a smile behind a sip of tea and set the cup down carefully. Indeed, she was nearly bursting from the seams. He himself had shown such enthusiasm as a novice to magic. While he had no inherent powers of his own, he had a deep understanding of magic that confounded the royals. Never mind that they had been lucky enough to be born with it. He considered it a blessing that they were unaware of their true potential.
He could sense an immense, untapped power within Moon. A power that was sure to intimidate his kind – but it was something he decided would not be a problem. The last Mewnian royal to explore the unexplored bounds of magic had been punished and doomed into a crystal after all. Their ignorance was their own failing.
Her hands – both hands, surrounded his. She looked up at him with an expression that undid whatever remnants of the crumbling fortress around his heart. Such a look of trust, hope and willingness to do good – it reminded him of his younger self.
A voice hissed "weak" in the back of his mind, but he was quick to quieten it.
"Will you help me be the very best princess I can be?"
There it was, that look in her eyes. Then and there, he made his decision. Instinct spoke to him - a new destiny lit ahead. Her most humble servant. With an emboldened voice that even shocked him, he pledged himself to her.
"With my life, I promise to make you the finest Queen Mewni has ever seen."
A/N: Please note that the only reason that I changed the canon occurrences (where Star was the one to get rid of Toffee) in my story were purely for continuity's sake. I had the impression the writers were heading towards a showdown between Moon and Toffee based off an incorrect assumption (or daydream, really) that they had an intimate past. Of course, the canon won't fit with the plot I already had so the ending you see here is the result of that. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless and so sorry for the (extremely) delayed update!
Please do leave me your thoughts!