Guys, guys. I have read, re-read, edited, re-written, these last 3 chapters I have posted (including this one). I hope they've been good, cause I feel like they're lacking a bit. ^^"" Anyway, as usual, hope y'all like them! I'm off to star Chapter 11 now, hopefully I can finish it tomorrow!

Chapter. 10

Marco and Tom held Star back onto the bed, fighting frantically to strap her down. The girl thrashed, her wings pushing against the mattress. Tom tossed a chain to Marco, wrapping it around her waist to keep her from flying off with the bed. The bed was brand new, just replaced earlier in the day by Star herself, but was already splintering and cracking under her escape attempts.

Finally, her thrusting stopped and she settled, her eyes closing.

Marco looked at Tom. "We can't keep doing this, Tom."

Tom nodded. It had been two weeks- and they had found nothing in lieu of helping Star. This clearly wasn't working, despite all attempts at trying to figure out what was going on. Marco's eyes were baggy, dark circles underneath them; Tom was sure he looked the same. They were exhausted.

"Let's talk to Star in the morning to see what she wants to do." Tom wanted to cry, but he couldn't muster the energy. He knew they would have to tell their parents; what other option was there? The took the chains off. She was so peaceful now, it was hard to believe she was a flailing mess just moments before.

He kissed her cheek. It would probably be the last time he would get to do that. "I love you, Star." Strands of hair danced against his whispered breath.

He went back home, collapsing onto his bed. He sobbed, though no tears came; he sobbed for not being able to see Star, he sobbed that he couldn't figure out what was going on with her now, he sobbed because he was tired, because in two weeks he had slept maybe a total of three hours each night. He grabbed a handful of something from a nearby snack bag, he didn't even care what it was, and ate it.

Marco was drained, too. Every morning, he would spend in the kingdom library, reading book upon book of medical records written from their histories, but couldn't find anything that even begun to touch what Star was going through. He still persisted, however, clinging to the last bit of hope he had in discovering something that could help her. In a nonchalant way, Star had asked her parents at dinner one night what would happen if someone couldn't control the form anymore.

"Why, utter chaos!" River had chimed in, laughing. "We would have to lock them up in the dungeon, probably forever!"

It had scared Star really badly, and though he'd never admit it, Marco, too. Star didn't want to be some freak of nature; she especially didn't want to be locked up forever, either. That night she had cried, quietly, alone in her room. She never told Marco, but he could hear her through her door. It tore his heart into pieces.

And yet still, each morning, she never remembered a thing, just that she dreamed something she couldn't quite recall once awake, along with sores and bruises as a reminder of her struggles from the night before.

Reaching the door to his room, his feet were as heavy as his eyelids. His body ached. The worst part was, every inch of pained body for them all, it was all in vein. Laying on his bed, he let himself drift into sleep, hoping to gain some energy before his day would have to start.

It was still dark when Star woke up, fresh bruising on her wrists and arms. She wasn't feeling so hot, but she didn't really want to go back to sleep. She let her sore feet hit the cold stone floor, and began wandering the halls. The castle was quiet, the only sound the soft pud of her feet against the floor.

"Globgor!" Glossaryck ran past her, successfully giving her a minor heart attack. She groaned, but followed him, because what better else was there to do?

Glossaryck leaped down a corridor, slamming into a brick. Star rolled her eyes. Maybe his training wasn't helping. As she closed in on the dazed Glossaryck, she realized the dead end wall was shifting backward. The bricks opened into a small doorway, which Glossaryck, now to his senses, was able to easily get through. Star crouched on her hands and knees and crawled behind him, not so much chasing him at this point as she was curious as to where this led.

She didn't crawl very far when she saw some light from an opening up ahead. She saw a pair of bunny slippers, attached to legs, that were attached to Eclipsa. "Oh, hello there." She smiled at the Princess. "I'm not use to visitors. Other than Glossaryck, that is."

"If I would have known about this secret tunnel sooner, I would have came." Star yawned. "Mom doesn't like it when I visit you too often." Eclipsa chuckled, patting the seat next to her.

"Care for a beverage?"

Star took a seat next to the dark queen. Accepting the cup, she took a long sip; the warmth of the liquid healing her body from the inside out. "So, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"I couldn't sleep. I've been," she hesitated, wondering if she should tell her what was happening. She had no one else to talk to, so why not? "I've been transforming in my sleep and trying to do things. With my boyfriend. And each night, it gets worse."

"Things?" Eclipsa repeated. Then, she realized. "Oh. Oh, my. Well, you're awfully young for that sort of thing. Though I must admit, I wasn't much older than you when I first started doing things."

"Really?" Star was surprised.

"Yep." Eclipsa took a sip of her tea. "Though that doesn't mean I condone you doing them. Do you want to do things?" Her brow raised inquisitively.

"Yes," Star answered, almost too quickly. "But at the same time, I don't. I know I'm not ready yet. But… I do love him."

"Well, there certainly isn't any rush. Why don't you try exploring other options?" Star made a face, and Eclipsa realized what she said. Giggling at herself, she rephrased, "No, no, not like that. I mean, why not use this to your advantage and see if there's any way to harness it? It could come in handy later on."

"Yeah. Yeah! That couldn't hurt, could it?"

"I can't see how it would."

"Thanks Eclipsa. I should probably be getting back now, though."

"Anytime, deary."

Star crawled back through the tunnel and returned to her room. The sun still hadn't come up yet; she laid down, and went back to sleep.

That morning, Star was woken up very early by Manfreid. Moon was tired of chasing Star, and had sent the faithful servant to retrieve her.

"Manfried, what is this about?" Star was still in her pajamas, dragging her feet behind her.

"The Queen has summoned you, Princess, to complete your next step in training."

"Training?"

"Yes," Manfried singed, "you are to begin shadowing the Queen today." They reached the Queen's quarters. "My Queen, I have Princess Star." Moon opened the door and dismissed Manfreid, beckoning Star to come inside.

This wasn't official, but since Moon had lost her mother at such a young age and thrown into leadership she wasn't ready for, the Queen wanted to make sure her daughter was prepared for when the time finally came.

"Star, starting today, everyday, for the next two weeks, you will be following me around you can learn all the responsibilities of being Queen."

"Two weeks?!" Star moaned, overdramatically slumping to the floor.

"It's really not that long, Star. And it's for your own good. You'll thank me when you're older." Moon touched her face up in the mirror. "Alright! Shall we get started?"

The two started off with breakfast. Moon sat down, and looked over the menu. "Now, since this is the beginning of the week, I'm going to plan a menu for the cooks for the rest of the week. Let's see, today we can have-"

"This is soooo boring." Star grumbled under her breath. How hard was it to pick out food? "Here!" Star grabbed the papers and hastily filled them out.

"Hmm," Moon looked them over. "Good initiative Star, but your father likes to eat meat for all his meals."

"ACK!" Star kicked the wall. "Mom! I don't see how this will help me be a better queen!"

"Stop acting like a child!" Queen Moon demanded. "Now you have to do this whether you like it or not. And we can do it the easy way, or the hard way, your choice!" Star slumped back down into her chair, pouting, but compliant. After choosing a menu, they moved on to other things, like signing new laws, looking over contracts, determining the economic status of Mewni. Star didn't retain any of it, and kept getting lost in the words Eclipsa had told her. How could she harness it, if she didn't even know when she was doing it?

"Star, are you paying attention?" Moon questioned her.

"Oh, yeah yeah, parliament and stuff." Moon scowled.

"Star, this is important!" The Queen insisted.

"I know, Mom, I'm just trying to soak it alllll in." Star faked a grin, which was enough to appease the Queen.

Finally, it was dinner time. Their training was done for the day.

Star sat with her knees in the chair, hugging it, relieved. "Ohhhmygosh, I have never been more excited to see this chair."

"That is some fine upholstery."

Star's eyes went wide. "Tom? What are you doing here?"

"Your parents invited us for dinner."

"Us…?"

King and Queen Lucitor followed behind him, taking a seat at the table.

Tom sat across from Star, between his parents, while mouthing "Sorry." Yeah, this was going to be awkward.

The kings and queens chatted, exchanging pleasantries and small talk. Dinner was served in a rather formal manner, a show put on for the Lucitors. The chefs lined up, assembly-line style, presenting the food on the nicest platters they had. The first chef danced to the table, twirling, tossing the platter he had and catching it with ease, before setting it on the table and revealing a roast. The rest followed suit, in an ostentatious display.

"Dinner and a show?" Star said to Tom, smiling awkwardly.

More small talk.

"So, Princess Star," King Dave smiled. He was a generally handsome man, with a strong jaw line and sharp nose. Star had never really noticed before, but aside from his demon attributes, he looked a lot like his father. "You and my son have been quite smitten with each other, I hear."

No, no, no, no, no. This was not happening. "Mhmm." Star shoveled food into her mouth.

"Oh, yes, quite," River responded for her. "She flits about the castle, hearts in her eyes, saying things like, 'Ah, Tom is so handsome!'" River mocked, fluttering his hands and pitching his voice so that it was higher to represent Star.

Her face was beat red.

Tom's face was beat red.

They were looking at each other, without making eye contact. Star felt like she was going to die, right there, at dinner, at fourteen years old, from embarrassment. While she tried to convince herself she was only dreaming, their father's continued.

"Oh, yes, Tom talks about Star all the time. Tom even told me they recently said-"

"Dad, please, no!" Tom uttered in frantic realization, nudging the King conspicuously.

"-they loved each other."

Yup. Star could feel her soul physically leave her body at this point. She slid down in her chair and under the table.

Moon and River nearly choked on their food.

"Star, is this true?" Moon dabbed her face with her linen.

Star couldn't speak; she could only groan in absolute, utter horror.

"It's true, Queen Moon."

'Whaat?! Tom, no!'

"I am absolutely in love with Star."

"Well, I see," Moon thought on it for a moment. "The two of you haven't been together long, you know."

"I know, it seems a little fast. But please hear me out, when I say that I in fact, without a doubt, love her. My feelings for your daughter never waived, even when we were broken up." She could hear the sincerity in Tom's voice; it made her heart swell. She peaked over the table, slowly easing back into her chair. She didn't understand it, but Tom had a way of making her feel better.

Then the big one was thrown out there.

"So, when are the two of you looking to become betrothed?" King Dave asked.

The entire table nearly choked.

"W-what?" River spat out. "Why, Dave, they're just children."

Dave laughed. "It's like you said, they have been quite smitten with each other. After all, if it is true love, they will still be in love when the time is right. Why wait to work out the details?"

"That is true," Moon stated, matter-of-factly.

"Mom!" Star squealed.

"But," Moon cut her eyes at Star, "I still think it's still rather early to be discussing such things. Maybe within a year or so, we can approach the topic again."

Star felt slight relief that her mother would come to her aid, but the situation as a whole was still very uncomfortable. "May I be excused?" Star stood, not waiting for a confirmation. "I'm suddenly not feeling very well."

"Star, wait!" Tom got up to follow her, stopping before he had completely left. He bowed cordially to her parents. "Queen Moon, King River. Dinner was lovely. Thank you for having us." He darted out of the dining room.

"Star!" He caught up to her. "I am so sorry. I didn't know any of that was going to happen." She kept walking without answering him. "Are-are you mad at me? Star, I swear, I didn't know. I just thought it was going to be an awkward, meet-the-parents sorta deal."

She stopped, letting out a weighting breath, shoulders slumping. "I'm not mad at you, Tom. I know you didn't know." She turned around to face him. "I'm just a little mortified by the entire thing."

"Oh, yeah, well, me too," he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we can still salvage the night…?" He took a step closer to her.

"Oh, yeah?" She took a step closer to him.

"I certainly think it's a possibility…" his voice was low, sexy. They inched closer to each other, until burnt toast filled her nostrils. She loved the way he smelled. They both leaned in for a kiss, their lips barely brushing before Star could feel herself start to transform again. Why should she even fight it? Like Eclipsa said, maybe it wasn't a bad thing…

"Star, we can't." Tom pulled away. He already knew what was happening. Her heart dropped; this was going to be hard. "Hey, it's okay. We're gonna figure this thing out, alright?" He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"Awww! My little angel is growing up!" River interrupted from the entrance of the dining hall.

"Dad!" Star pulled away, blushing again. River laughed, skipping away.

"About that," Star whispered, "I think I know how to handle it. We'll know for sure tonight. If not," she glanced at the doorway to the dining room, "I think we're gonna have to get help."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Starship." Tom took Star's hand in his, and they walked back into the dining room, together.