The Once and Future Queen
Chapter 15
The Grand Illusion
"As our scouts witnessed, the tournament ended in scandal, the Mewmans were shown another example of their leaders' weaknesses, and the Princess has been confined to the complex indefinitely."
As Rasticore let his dutiful officer list off a plethora of almost entirely useless information, he made little effort to hide the boredom weighing on his waning attention. He rapped his claws against the table, the metallic tips of his fingers having since gouged grooves into the wood. But alas, he nodded in confirmation as his captain continued droning on about the needless details of the Mewmans and the insignificant affairs of the Humans they all but stalked on a nightly basis.
They were well out of reach from detection magic out here, their camp concealed thanks to a gift of an obfuscation stone. A clever little item Rasticore had picked up during his travels in the underworld, it was a one foot high black basalt pillar etched in unintelligible demonic runes; which would prevent the mewmans from scrying on their location no matter what underhanded tactics Moon as the California sun dipped past the trees into dusk, they continued their nightly ritual: a report on the day's findings before another scout was dispatched for reconnaissance. Only this round of information bore far more resemblance to gossip, rather than intelligence.
In all, Rasticore was tired. Having been allowed to lead but one raid on his since-banished enemy, and being forced to settle for mere scouting missions had done little to keep his flaming passion to serve alight. But even in his growing rut, Rasticore knew it was a necessity to bide his time and wait to strike rather than risk punishment for disobeying Lord Toffee's orders.
No, punishment was reserved in its entirety for one monster among his ranks in particular: a certain member of House Avarius, doomed to cleaning duty for as long as this tour endured. The welp was forbidden to return to Mewni until the wand was secured, and it was his commanding officer's personal vendetta that kept him under close watch. Barring any and all possible screw-ups.
As the report drew on, and on, and on, Rasticore found wasting any more of his attention on the pathetic Avarius fool was leaving a sour taste in his mouth and instead, turned it to something far more appealing. The ancient artifact, Heaven's Lament, sat carefully stashed just to his right, close and under careful guard at all times. And even now, safe in their camp, it served to push almost all other thoughts from his mind. Although he didn't quite understand the minutiae of the plan, Toffee had expressed an almost noticeable level of pleasure in seeing it safely obtained. And by the Gods, Rasticore would remember the praise that followed for all eternity.
'You did well. Keep the artifact under close watch until such a time as I deem it is ready for use,' Toffee had ordered, a particularly noteworthy gleam in his eyes, 'Continue to monitor the situation, and strike as you see fit. I have confidence in you; pray you continue to reward my faith.' Such illustrious praise had stuck, and had been everything Rasticore was so feverishly itching to receive.
"As of now, the castle guard is still on high alert since our diversion for the artifact, and the Mewmans show no sign of letting up," the captain droned on with a particularly uninteresting monotone, but the mere mention of that night was enough to send Rasticore's frills into a sudden flare of rage. "Our scouts estimate it could be weeks before-"
"What of the boy…" Rasticore growled, his voice a low gurgle of barely restrained rage, a far different tune than his thoughts had led in the past few minutes. "That insignificant little human; the child in red. What have you to report on him, Captain Drex." Rasticore bared his teeth at the question, his rows of jagged killing instruments glinting in the torchlight. Before him, the captain seemed to sink ever so slightly into his chair, his voice taking on a particularly uneasy tone as he riffled through a short stack of hastily drawn findings for anything to satiate his commander's anger.
"Marco Diaz, as he's known on Earth, was also at the Tournament. A contestant, as it were, who stole victory by a slim margin before playing an active role as the object of the…incident." Drex swallowed carefully and watched for any crack in Rasticore's composure, and when he found none, dared to add casually, "He also hasn't been seen since the incident, though our scouts suspect he may be meeting with the Princess in secret. That or under a type of arrest with the Mewmans for sparking such an embarrassing outcry for order and social ease."
Though the news didn't come with any assurance that Rasticore could enact a quick and swift revenge as he so desired, he nodded disdainfully. It was clear that his subordinate was merely speculating now, likely dry of any actual intelligence he desired, so Rasticore simply gestured for him to continue. Hopefully, with an end to the report, he thought.
"Sir, in light of what I've brought to you today, it is my humble recommendation that we pull back our efforts to capsize the monarchy for now," Drex offered with a touch of sincerity, hoping to sway Rasticore with a reasonable request, "at least until the Princess is granted freedom among the local area. We should bide our time and strengthen our numbers and when she is let out to roam unguarded, then I believe our efforts will be more fruitful."
At an offer of words finally void of gossip and hearsay, Rasticore sat up and decided to give the report more than a sliver of his attention. The suggestion was warranted, but ultimately it disagreed with his own ideals, and more importantly, the matter in which he fancied his mission proceeding. "No, with the Princess locked away in her ivory tower, I see this as the perfect opportunity to gain more insight on the playing field," he answered with steadfast finality. "We're in unknown territory, beset on all sides by primitive creatures we've not yet encountered. And yes, while the Butterflies are in much the same position, we have a unique chance to gain an advantage with these bothersome reconnaissance missions."
Drex seemed to give that some genuine thought, and ultimately he nodded in agreement. Primarily due to the repercussions he'd face should he disagree. "I suppose you have a point, sir. If nothing else, we could gain more insight on the humans the Butterflies align themselves with, the weaknesses of the city should we have to mount an assault; anything of value."
Easily seeing pasta thinly veiled attempt at flattery, Rasticore rolled his eyes and gave his captain a dismissive wave of the prosthetic hand. "You, as before, have full authority to use the soldiers at our disposal to perform your duties," he stated lazily before continuing, "but only under the cover of night. We can't risk being seen. Or worse… followed. Are we clear?"
Drex held his chin in thought. Clearly, he wasn't letting his superior off the hook that easily, earning an impatient, 'What now.', after a moment of silence.
"It's just that...it'll be quite difficult to properly assess the humans during the dark hours of the day," he noted, "they tend to nest at night and hide in their hovels until daybreak."
He had a point, but Rasticore waved the notion aside dismissively. "Let me clarify. We are surveying the meatbags and their settlements as a secondary objective, should our primary objective be met with…" a thin smile crept across his lips to reveal a row of polished fangs, "resistance. We are not to be discovered under any circumstances. We still have the element of surprise for now."
"Understood," barked Drex, "I'll relay your orders to the men and we can mobilize once night falls."
Rasticore nodded and stood. If anything, he was happy to be done with his usual chore but stopped as Drex pulled one last parchment from his stack and gestured to it with a guilty frown. "I just have one final note, sir, if you have time?"
His superior was unsuccessful in hiding his grimace, and even less successful at suppressing a low growl in the back of his throat. "Proceed," he all but hissed as he sat back down, his posture rigid. But as though he simply didn't notice, or rather that he wanted to be thorough with the reports as much as Rasticore, Drex continued in earnest. "Last night, the Zyrn assigned to you split off from the main group to investigate a small wooded area at the city center. Something the humans refer to as a 'park'."
It took everything Rasticore had not to roar in agony. How his subordinates could find any and all useless drivel to report on was out of the question. He'd have to address the issue at the head the next time a patrol was sent out. But for now, the captain continued as though nothing was wrong. "They discovered a particularly high number of magic traces echoing in the forest," Drex noted offhandedly, "levels far higher than what could usually be found in this dimension. Even accounting for background Magic left from the Mewmans, it's...alarming."
As the news poured his way, the frills laid over Rasticore's shoulders began to perk, twitching with an excitement he barely kept hidden. So Earth indeed had something better than backwater creatures to offer, notably something that could very well be harnessed. Magic powerful enough to be felt, even for a Zyrn, was nothing to balk at when his entire contingent was isolated from Mewni. If nothing else, it was best to at least investigate further.
"What sort of properties does it have?" He couldn't help but ask, his curiosity worn on his metallic shoulder, "describe it as best you can."
But the captain could only offer a shrug. "I'm afraid I wasn't there, sir. I can have the assassin brought in if you'd like, but I don't know how vocal he might be willing to be."
"Just do it. Caution isn't something I'm willing to dwell upon when something as prized as a possible artifact is on the line."
With a nod, Drex turned toward the entrance of the tent and gestured for the guard to move it. And after a short excursion to find the aforementioned Zyrn, two figures stepped back into the tent.
Now, Rasticore was far from timid; his hands had been washed a thousand times over with the blood of his foes. But something about the elite infiltrators that had earned a special spot beside his master… It made him uneasy. He had been assigned only one of the elite killing machines, and even though it was here as a strict 'non-combatant', it was still overkill. As the figure seemingly cloaked in darkness stepped closer, it's pearlescent green eyes never swayed from his
With a sound of wind rustling through the limbs of a tree, the scales of the Zryn shifted from almost entirely black, to a softer green as the darkness ebbed from its presence. "What do you need of me, Rasticore?" It asked in a whisper, it's clear refusal at subjugation to this subordinate not going unnoticed. None but Toffee would command the elite killing squad, save for this one exception.
"I need you to describe in colorful detail, everything you remember about the magic traces in the woods," Rasticore ordered with a touch of leeway he reserved for his higher brass, "spare no detail. I want to be sure we're not dealing with something that Lord Toffee might need to be informed of." Cunning as he was brutish, Rasticore knew that all it took to keep the assassins in line was but a mention of their glorious leader, and they'd follow him into hell.
After a moment of quiet deliberation against the veiled attempt at coercion, ultimately the Zyrn sighed. "I did not think it wise to approach the site without caution," he admitted, his voice displaying a marked level of impatience, "but from what I could sense, the magic is deeply rooted into the soil. Even the trees are saturated with traces left behind, the forest resonating with power."
Rasticore nodded, glancing at his captain to see him jotting down notes. Likely to be reported once again at a later date. Rolling his eyes, Rasticore bid the Zyrn to continue. "Whatever is, or was there, it carried a magic not well known to us. It echoed with hatred..." he growled, "I kept my distance, as the traces tasted foul like a corpse, and ancient like the Jagged Mountains."
"Hmmm…" Rasticore turned to face the artifact in his possession, focusing on it with a touch more scrutiny. From what he could manage, the magic he was able to sense carried a somber note, but it by no means felt as ancient as the Zyrn was describing. "What possibility is there that it could be a hidden well?" He asked the room, "There are rumors that Earth has the potential to house some, and if it were so, Lord Toffee would have no trouble wiping the last Mewmans from existence."
Drex looked up from his furiously written notes to offer, "There is in fact a known magic well in a northern part of the landmass. It's hidden in a settlement called Gravity Falls." The room, one brimming with hot tempers and narrow impatience, stayed quiet with a tinge of optimism, so he felt obliged to add, "but erm...the magical dissonance of the area, likely produced by the well itself, makes it non viable with anything we can produce. Interference keeps us from accurately monitoring it as well."
Not waiting to carry more unnecessary speculation than he had to, the Zyrn shifted his scales to a matte black and turned to leave. And in doing so, he shifted the conversation back to the matter at hand. "The chances of that forest housing a well are slim, but possible. The magic is old enough, but take caution… Lord Toffee should be informed immediately." With his parting words left to hang in the air, he left his 'superior' to handle the rest.
Said superior, however, took that caution well. Noting that if they lost men to a fruitless scouting mission, or just turned up nothing at all, Toffee wouldn't take that disappointment lightly. But should Rasticore's first words on the matter be about success, rather than permission? Ooohhh the reward would pale in comparison to any punishment. And should he fail, why would such information need to be delivered to Toffee anyway.
"Perhaps, it would be best if we sent a small patrol to investigate," Drex offered with a dismissive wave, "some lowly troops, preferably expendable ones?" But Rasticore furrowed his brow at the thought of Ludo and his team of misfits bungling the mission in a countless number of ways. Or worse, should they succeed…not likely.
"No, I will handle the matter personally," came Rasticore's grim, but optimistic response, "I won't tolerate failure with such a valuable target potentially waiting in the grass. And should it turn up anything of value, I will take immense satisfaction in reporting our efforts to Lord Toffee myself."
"I suppose you have a point. Should a patrol be killed or spotted, we'd have no choice but to clean up and relocate. And we lose our advantage." Drex knew well enough to leave the matter be, regardless of how plain to see it was that Rasticore was bidding for Lord Toffees favor. "In that case, I'll have my men relay the matter to you when we set out. If there's nothing else, Sir, I'll be-"
"Wait," Rasticore held up a mechanized hand as his shoulders tensed. With a blank face he added in a low tone, "make sure my excursion to this…'park' remains a secret. I don't need any of the lower troops catching wind of it. I take it you understand?" In a fluid motion, Drex nodded, gave a sharp salute, and took his leave. He had plenty to prepare for in the next few hours, as did his master.
Now alone, Rasticore looked down at his arm, the one not spared of an untimely amputation, and grinned as it whirred against the dark. His fingers clenched with the sound of groaning metal, steel hissing against steel, before he slowly stood, turning to face the object of his repeated conquests: an axe. Polished and sharpened even after years of work, it had served him well as he cut down whole branches from the Butterfly line, and very soon it would taste the very roots of their pathetic tree.
Soon.
But first? To work.
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
"Next petitioner!" called Manfred over the low drone of murmured voices in the throne room as he waved a grumpy looking mewman forward.
From the front of the bedraggled line of merchants and peasants, an older mewman walked forward before stopping to bow low towards the two rulers. "M'Queen," he said, before straightening.
"You may speak your piece," nodded Moon, smiling thinly as she did her best to keep any sign of annoyance off her face. Sighing inwardly, she braced herself for yet another tiny issue of minor import, though inside, she couldn't help but feel somewhat thankful. 'At least it's not another report of a monster attack…' she thought, feeling a shot of dread run down her spine at the memories of those awful times. Months of listening to reports of skirmishes and smoldering tension had led to almost four years of unending war. It had taken a heavy toll on Moon's conscience having to deal with the nearly unending casualty reports. It was almost comical, now, how hearing of things like petty theft and land disputes.
Straightening, the mewman nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you M'Queen," he beamed before his face darkened with anger. "M'name's Ben Bugsby, and I'm here to report a crime most foul."
"Oh?" Moon leaned forward in her throne, curiosity peaking despite herself.
"Tis true, M'Queen, I swears on me own life!" Turning, Ben leveled an accusatory finger at another mewman deeper in the crowd of petitioners. "That man right there, Tom Thatcher, is a vicious sneak thief!" he shouted, his cheeks now a ruddy red as his face flushed with anger. "I caughts him sneakin outta me shed just last Queensday and would'ncha know it, but I was missin two full grown piggoats!"
"You. Are. A. Liar. Ben Bugsby!" Tom roared back, roughly pushing his way through the crowd of commoners to stand nose to nose with his accuser. "I was at my dear old mum's last Queensday!"
The next several long seconds were a cacophony of mixed insults and accusations that Moon was truly having difficulty even understanding. As fistfuls of heated jabs and indignantly squawked explanations flew back and forth, she rubbed her temple to quell the stress headache that had blossomed spectacularly just as she predicted. Suppressing an exasperated frown, she watched Manfred wade in to attempt to restore decorum and order between the now tussling farmers.
Still, she was glad to hear that the issue in front of her had nothing to do with Star or Penelope's outrageous behavior of late. The commoners seemed to only ever find glee in being reminded that the nobles of the kingdom had many of the same faults and shortcomings as they themselves. 'No, it will be tomorrow when I meet with the privy council where I hear the worst of it…' she sighed to herself.
A quick glance at her husband threatened to crack her stony composure when she spotted the twinkle in his eye at the clumsy display of fisticuffs now on display as Manfred called for two guards to physically separate the bloodied mewmans now engaged in a messy wrestling match on the floor. River was always up for a fight, no matter who or where, decorum be damned. It was something about her husband she found both incredibly endearing and annoying at the same time.
Finally, after several venomous parting words, the two mewmans were separated and removed from the throne room so that, "both parties may calm down and address the crown with the composure and respect it requires." Raising her hand to signal Manfred to send another petitioner, Moon froze in shock as she heard a very familiar voice.
"Excuse me, pardon me, just gotta squeeze by," came the polite sounding voice of her daughter as, with a final parting of the crowd, Star managed to half stumble, half jog into view.
"Star?" Moon arched an eyebrow as she studied her daughter. She was neither smiling, nor grumpy looking, and her slightly hunched posture seemed to suggest a somewhat…Penitent? Attitude.
"Hi, Mommy," she said, giving a weak wave that died almost immediately.
"Star, I was under the impression that you had elected to remain in your chambers today in protest of your punishment. Is there something in particular you wish to discuss that could not wait until this evening?" A strange curiosity was taking root in her as she observed her daughter wilt into herself.
Star, for her part, was feeling extremely self conscious. Every eye in the crowded throne room was on her, and while she normally flourished in the limelight, the extremely personal nature of what she wanted to discuss with her mom was making her stomach do flip flops. Somehow standing before the throne with her parents seated above her always made her uneasy. And despite her loving both her parents very much, it still felt like standing in judgement before some cold magistrate.
"I wanted to ask you a question…" she began before looking over her shoulder and seemingly making a decision. "It… It can wait, actually. Sorry I interrupted." Turning to leave, she only made it a few steps before she heard her mother clear her throat.
"Manfred, I believe a short recess is in order."
Turning back, she saw Moon gesturing for her to approach. Hurrying over away from the grumbling petitioners, she took the stairs two at a time, her determination to carry out the plan she'd spent half the afternoon working on hardening with every step. Getting to the top, she gladly accepted the big bearhug her father offered before turning back to her mom.
"Darling, if it was bothering you enough to actually come to a petitioner audience voluntarily, I suspect it is important. Come with me to my office and we shall discuss what you wish to propose," said Moon, standing and leading them out of the throne room.
Ten minutes later, Star found herself in front of her mother's desk and struggling to remain as calm as possible. Her father had volunteered to remain behind to continue with the proceedings and now she was here, alone, in quite possibly her least favorite place in the castle. Keeping her head up, she returned the cool, imperious gaze of her mother as she stared at her over her intertwined fingers. 'The last time I was in here…' she shuddered at the memory. Quickly, she pictured Marco's smiling face and felt a rush of calm tamp down her roiling guts.
"Before you say anything, Mom, I want to say I'm sorry. I was overstepping with Marco, and it was out of line. It was selfish of me not to acknowledge that Marco was dating Penelope, and letting my feelings control me." It both hurt to lie to her mother and to pretend her feelings had been anything other than exactly what she wanted, but she had to get her mom on her side or her plan to be with Marco would fail before it even got started. Continuing, she pressed on, "I promise that in the future, I'll be more mindful of my actions and how they reflect on us all."
Across the desk, Moon couldn't believe her ears. The last time she'd had Star in this office, her daughter had been defiant in the face of her reasoning; raging and storming over the perceived injustice of her mother's decision. Moon had even felt her daughter's anger as an almost imperceptible pressure on her skin from the magic radiating with her emotions. What could have possibly changed in the twenty four hours since, she wondered.
Nothing came to mind immediately, until with a flash of grudging respect, the face of the Diaz boy appeared. Perhaps she had underestimated Marco's profound impact on her daughter in the short time he had been her guide. 'To think, that boy may have taught my headstrong, impetuous daughter a modicum of patience in mere months, when I have failed for sixteen years…' she thought, making a note to ask River just exactly how he'd known something like this was going to happen.
Pushing away the distracting thought, Moon turned her attention back to the present. "Thank you for apologizing, Star," she said, studying her daughter as surreptitiously as she could. "While I am glad you have finally decided to be more mindful of your actions in the future, I must ask what brought about this rather sudden change of heart?"
'Here we go Star, make or break on selling Mom this idea,' she thought hard as she fought to keep her jaw from clenching. Meeting her mother's penetrating gaze, she took a steadying breath before answering in a rushed, clipped voice, "Because I'm selfish." she winced, the honesty woven through the lies an almost physical barb in her heart. She had to get it all out before her nerve failed her. "Because I don't want to lose Marco. I realized I'd rather be forced to just stay friends, than lose him entirely."
"I see. And how, exactly, will your selfishness make amends?"
"Because this time, I'm gonna use it for good. I'm going to make things better with Penelope." Star did her best to turn the scowl on her face into a remorseful frown, "She didn't deserve what I put her through…"
Moon pursed her lips as she listened to the remainder of her daughter's clumsy apology. It wasn't that she didn't think Star's was being genuine, but somehow the origins of it seemed to raise her hackles. She had never been one to give up easily in her entire young life. Something Moon considered a great asset to her daughter. So it was suspicious then, that she was so accepting after a mere twenty four hours without seeing him. However, stilling the wagging tongues of the nobles before this newest scandal took root, while simultaneously helping her daughter understand why her behavior had been so unacceptable was an extremely enticing proposition.
"Star." She held up a hand, interrupting the long list of names her daughter was planning to apologize to. "I'm happy you are going to make amends with Penelope over your mutual…issue. It is a sign of maturity that you are willing to atone for your mistakes, and I'm very glad you're making an effort to reach out to those your actions have affected." Standing, Moon came around the end of her desk and waited for Star to stand up herself before bending down and encircling her in a tight hug. "In the future, when things are more…settled, if you still feel strongly about Marco, we can discuss the possibility of you two courting one another."
Star was so shocked she almost let her facade of remorse crack at the sliver of hope her mother was hinting at. Redoubling her hug to prevent her face from betraying her, she thought furiously at the implications of her mothers words. What did she mean "when things are more settled?" Was her mother serious about letting her date Marco eventually? Was pursuing this worth the risk of getting caught? She could easily envision the apocalyptic consequences of her mother finding out what she was about to do before her and Marco were ready.
But unhelpfully, a little voice spoke up at the back of her mind. '"In the Future?" That could be years from now! It's just like my mom to use her royal weasel words on me!' Star knew as well as any one that open-ended, nebulous promises were the stock and trade of the nobles. A pacifier meant to ensure her cooperation and insurance that she would go through with her apology to Penelope. Did her mother really intend to let her see Marco once all the rumors and gossip died down? She really wanted to believe she did, but there had been too many broken promises, too many missed moments, for her to be sure that this wasn't just some kind of ploy to ensure compliance with her mother's wishes.
'No,' Star decided as she stepped back and said her goodbyes, she was going forward with her and Marco's plan; no matter what. She had spent sixteen years doing what everyone else expected of her whether through cooperation, or coercion. Now was finally the time for her to get the thing she wanted, and she'd narwhal blast anyone who tried to get in her way. Still, she had managed to convince her mother to actually let her try to patch things up with Penelope and as far as she was concerned, that was half the battle right there.
"Star and Marco: One. Every other poop head that's doing their best to keep us apart? Zero," she chuckled to herself as she broke into a run. If she hurried, she might be able to catch Penelope in her room before she went down to dinner in the royal gardens with her parents.
Skidding to a stop outside of Penelope's door, Star paused to catch her breath before knocking. This was likely to be an unpleasant encounter, and she didn't want Penelope to suspect anything. But after nearly five minutes, she had yet to knock. She felt horrible as cold sweat began to trickle down her back and her stomach felt like it was simultaneously clenching and twisting. It wasn't fear of getting attacked again; she was sure she could beat Penelope easily in a fight. No, it was guilt that was making her hesitate to knock. Guilt, because even if she could go back to the beginning and do it all over again; she would still pursue dating Marco. A pursuit that had turned both of them into cheaters and was about to destroy two other relationships.
"Pegasus feathers, Star, get it together," she said, shaking her head in admonishment. Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist and gave the door a light knock and waited.
And waited…
Knocking again, though this time louder, she tapped her foot as she tensed for the inevitable explosion. But again, there seemed to be no response from within the room. Quickly checking to make sure she was alone in the hallway, she pressed an ear to the carved wooden door and strained to listen. Inside, she heard the muffled murmur of voices that sounded like Penelope had company over.
Wild thoughts exploded into being in Star's head at that moment. What if Penelope had a boy over? What if she was cheating on Marco with some stuck up noble boy?! It wouldn't undo the guilt over what she'd done with him, but somehow knowing Penelope was on the same level as her made her feel a bit better. Automatically, her hand reached out and grabbed the door latch. Pressing the lever, excitement coursed through her as the latch let go and the ornate door swung inward.
"Penelope?" she asked, peeking her head through the door and realizing at once that the room was empty and what she had heard was merely Penelope's laptop playing that awful soap opera she and Pony Head liked. 'Doesn't hold a candle to Fiesta de la Noche,' she thought distractedly before footsteps behind her made her blood run cold.
"What the fuck are you doing?" came an angry, familiar voice from behind her.
Star jumped back, spinning to face a furious looking Penelope as she stormed down the hallway towards her. "Penelope, I was just looking for you" she said, trying to sound as innocent as possible and not at all like she was just caught trying to sneak into her room.
"I said, what the FUCK are you doing sneaking into my room?"
Penelope had reached her and was now jabbing an accusing finger as she glared down her nose at a very red-faced Star. Shuffling slightly, Star mentally reminded herself to stay cool and not lose her temper, even though she was dying to berate the shallow, stuck-up princess for how she had been treating Marco. Taking a calming breath, she met the furious Spiderbite Princess's gaze and tried to explain herself. "I heard voices inside, but nobody answered when I knocked. I thought maybe you didn't hear and I wanted to talk to yo-"
"You wanted to talk to me?" Penelope let out a clipped laugh whose mirth did not spread to her narrowed eyes. "After everything you did. Lying to me, trying to get with Marco even when you knew I was with him. Even after I warned you to stop…" Star had to jump out of the way as Penelope pushed past her into the room before turning to face her. "Star, I really only have two words I want to say to you right now."
"What's that?" Star cringed internally as the words left her mouth. She had been unable to stop herself from asking, even though she already had a very good idea of what they were.
"Fuck. Off."
*SLAM* Penelope's door shut with such an oppressive finality, it left Star to stand there in the empty hallway, blinking dumbly to herself. "You really walked right into that one, didn't ya Star…" she muttered, before turning and slumping off to her room. Clearly, getting Penelope to agree to be civil long enough for the plan to work was going to be harder than she thought. But she was determined. Nothing was going to stand in her and Marco's way, especially not a spoiled princess who didn't deserve someone as wonderful as Marco.
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
Whistling distractedly to herself as she strolled into the large courtyard in front of Butterfly Castle, Janna grinned as she took in the massive structure. 'Next time we're all at Panucci's, Star's definitely paying,' she thought to herself as she eyed the huge pastel pink onion domes topped with gleaming crystals. She was looking forward to seeing Jackie after the disaster at the tournament. They'd barely had time to say three words to each other about what went down before she had to follow a livid looking Penelope back into the castle, and with Jackie still not having a cell phone following the attack at the ball, she'd had no way to get in contact.
Breaking into a light jog, she scurried up the marble steps at the front door of the palace and had to almost dive out of the way as the front door slammed open and a scowling Tom Lucitor stomped towards her.
"Out of the way, Human!" he barked at her, as their shoulders bumped rather hard. Pushing past without a glance he had just begun to storm down the stairs when he heard her call out to him."
"Hey! Horns!" Janna whirled before shouting at the teen. She was already in a foul mood this morning, and running into one of her least favorite people of all time was doing it no favors.
"What are you even doing here? Aren't you Mango's friend?" sneered Tom as he folded his arms and took a step towards the short teen.
That was it. Janna was going to go easy on the idiot. He had to be reeling since finding out Star had given her bracelet for Marco to wear. She'd been confused herself of course, but only for a few minutes as the whispers of several knights nearby revealed just how personal giving a token was. But as usual, the grumpy teen just couldn't help himself and had to be rude. So now it was time to cut Mr. Furious down to size.
"Just because they won't let you see Star, there's no reason to be so damn…aggro," she said, matching his cocky posture. "Or did you get to see Star and she sent you packing?" Janna grinned internally when she saw his body stiffen at her words.
"What did you say?" Tom's voice was edged with a demonic growl as a hellish red light began to shine in his eyes.
"I wouldn't blame her if she was interested in Marco," Janna continued, a lopsided smirk forming on her face as she goaded him. She kept her voice light and casual, almost as if she were discussing the weather, knowing it would push just the right buttons on the temperamental half-demon. "You act like a jerk every chance you get, and Marco is the sweetest guy I've ever met. He's considerate, kind, helpful, generous to his friends, and very handsome." She ticked off each quality on a finger, marvelling at the sincerity she heard in her own voice.
But as with many facets of her bravado and mannerisms, that subtle desire to inflict some real damage was all too potent a flame to quell. "Ya know, everything you're not. It's a wonder you even have friends, and that's coming from me."
Tom took a step towards her, his voice now a low snarl. "You dare insinuate Star would leave me for that, that…" But Tom couldn't seem to find the right words to describe just how much he disdained the Earthling. "I'm the prince of the underworld for darkness's sake!"
He was trying to act tough and Janna knew it. She could spot the slight deflation in his angry stance, the tiniest little quaver of his now fully demonic sounding voice. No, it was time to finish cutting the legs out from under this ball of anger management issues. "Look, all I'm saying is we all saw that bracelet Peneleope threw back at Star."
It wasn't subtle. In fact, by Janna's own admittedly high standards for manipulation, it was down right clumsy. But she immediately saw a change come over Tom. His shoulders sagged, joined in short order by the angry snarl on his lips. Finally his eyes faded back to their normal red as a stricken look came over him. "There's just no way…" he repeated, though this time not sounding nearly so sure of himself.
Janna was starting to feel a tinge of guilt now. She'd had her hand wrapped securely around the chunk of wine-red garnet in her pocket, ready to put Tom back to sleep if he tried to hurt her, but now she let it go; knowing from his broken posture that the danger had passed. Deciding that maybe she'd been a little too harsh, she spoke up. "It wouldn't kill you to be a bit nicer, ya know." She shrugged as she turned to go into the castle. "Dark, brooding, and jerky might have worked before Star came to Earth, but you have competition now, and even I've thought about taking it for a test drive once in a while." And with that, she left an open-mouthed Tom in the entrance way and strode inside.
Practically running up the stairs, she soon found herself on what she thought was the right floor and hurried to follow the directions Jackie had texted her a few days ago. It took five tries, but finally she found the right guest room, hearing her friend's muffled voice through the thick door. Grinning, she let herself in, eager to spend an afternoon with one of her best buds; but she froze when she saw another of her least favorite people sitting across the bed from Jackie.
"Uhh, hey," she said rather half-heartedly as her eyes fell on Penelope and she fought to keep the scowl off her face.
"Janna!" shouted Jackie, jumping off the bed and pulling her friend into a tight hug. "So good to see you!"
"Mutual," she grinned. It was good to see Jackie without the deep circles under her eyes that she'd had for the last few weeks. Maybe Penelope's idea of having Jackie stay at the castle for the time being was a good one. It looked like she was at least getting sleep again. Reaching into her jacket, Janna pulled out a small necklace and a few handmade trinkets.
"What's this, dude?" asked Jackie, glancing down at the strange items her friend was holding.
"I, uh, did a little research and decided to bring you a few things. Protective things," she clarified quickly when Jackie gave her a quizzical look. "The necklace is the symbol of the Evil Eye, but it's actually worn to ward off other two are viking runes, supposed to do the same thing."
"Are they as effective as your last attempt to keep Jackie safe?" came Penelope's snarky voice from over Jackie's shoulder.
"Marco gave me back that taser, you know…"
"Dudes, chill…" admonished Jackie, giving them both an exasperated look. Reaching out, she took the necklace and charms from Janna before grasping the golden seashell around her neck. Looking down to where the shell lay in her palm, she was silent for several moments.
"What's Wrong?" asked Penelope, getting up from the bed and walking over to her friend. She didn't like the look of that pained flash on Jackie's face at all.
"It's just," sighed Jackie, looking up at her two friends. "I haven't gone a day without wearing this necklace since… I've never even worn a second one over it."
"Then don't wear it. I know how much your necklace means to you." Penelope made to reach for the necklace to give back to Janna, but Jackie closed her fist around it.
"Let me… Let me think about it, okay dude?" asked Jackie, looking torn as she gave her shell necklace a squeeze.
Janna wanted to argue, wanted to tell Penelope to keep her stupid opinion to herself and remind Jackie that she should probably take any additional protection she could get in light of the recent attacks, but one look at the pain on her face snuffed out the fire of her growing anger. She couldn't push this. Jackie would come around on her own schedule. So instead, she simply nodded and said, "Ok."
Shifting on her feet as an awkward silence descended between the three teens, Janna thought furiously for any topic to break the funereal mood. "You guys wanna hear something funny?" she asked, finally settling on the first thing that came to mind in the deafening silence. "Guess who I saw on the way in here?"
"Who?" Jackie asked as she walked back over to the bed and slipped the items Janna had given her into her nightstand.
"Tom…" Janna pulled a sour face as she said his name, though it was quickly replaced with her familiar, mischievous grin as she continued, "and he was not in the best of moods."
"It's because he was turned away at the entrance," said Penelope, looking much more cheerful now that the conversation had turned to gossip. "Part of Moon's whole plan to starve Star and I into getting along. As if I ever plan to be civil to that slut again…"
Janna again had to bite back a stinging retort. Star was wonderful outside of her "very obvious to everyone but her," interest in Marco. Not to mention, she was more fun and more useful than Penelope could ever hope to be. "So what, you're just gonna try and wait out Queen Moon's patience? Everything about that lady screams patience. Something tells me you'll break before she does…"
"Who I choose to date is no one's business but mine. Queen Moon has no right to decide if I can be with Marco or not!" Penelope's cheeks burned red as she smacked a fist into her palm. "I'll wait as long as I have to."
"Pen, I don't know about that…" said Jackie
"What?" Penelope looked shocked as Janna watched with growing interest.
"I'm Star's friend, so I feel bad even bringing this up… But knowing her, I also know just how determined she is when she wants something. What if you wait too long, dude? You could be sitting here with your principles and Star could have talked Moon into letting her see Marco again. Do you really want to let those two hang out all by themselves for weeks while you're still grounded?"
Janna was shocked. Hearing Jackie out Star like that, not to mention the insinuation that Marco and Star were actually cheating? She'd had her own suspicions ever since the morning Jackie was attacked the first time, but Marco was far too much of goodie-goodie to do anything more than kissing Star, she was sure of it.
"Marco wouldn't!" Penelope looked offended at even the mere suggestion. But gradually, her face fell into one much less sure. She remembered the ultimatum she had given Marco at the tournament. "Me or Her, you choose." What if he simply chose Star? They'd been fighting more than she would have liked lately, and Penelope knew just how close Marco was with the other princess. 'No, Marco knows better than to pick that tranch outright. And besides,' shethought as a measure of confidence reestablished itself, 'I'm the heir to the throne of the second most powerful family in Mewni. I'm just as rich as Star, and I have a body that guys actually want…'
"Dude, I don't know what Marco would do anymore…" shrugged Jackie, "he's so different lately, it's hard to tell. Is it cheating if you gave him an ultimatum and he just chooses the other option? I think you might hav-"
"Let's just get back to watching our show," interrupted Penelope, desperate to change the subject now that nibbling doubt was battling her earlier confidence.
"Well that's my cue…" said Janna, throwing up her hands and turning to leave.
"C'mon, stay with us, dude!" urged Jackie, patting a spot next to her on the huge canopy bed that could easily sleep four. "It'll be fun, we'll get snacks and hang out."
"No thanks. We tried that a year ago and I hated it, remember?"
"Well we can do something else if you don't wanna watch the show," Jackie looked slightly crestfallen as Janna paused to look back.
"Don't sweat it. I should probably be researching what this fucker that keeps trying to kill you's name is anyway," offered Janna, doing her best to hide her disappointment as she slipped out of the room. "Just come by tomorrow. Maybe I'll even have an answer for us."
"Sure thing, dude."
And with that, Janna was gone, leaving just Penelope and Jackie to binge on their show. Hours later, after the twists and turns only a foreign soap opera from Korea could offer, Penelope was just accepting a seltzer from Jackie when she saw something. Reaching out, she grabbed Jackie's wrist gently and turned her palm face up before looking at her friend with concern. "Are you okay? This looks…burnt?" She watched as her friend looked down at the red-raw spot on her palm in the shape of the evil eye pendant Janna had given her, and shrugged.
"Must be allergic to the metal. It's why I don't wear cheap jewelry, actually."
"Do…you want to go to the infirmary? That looks painful." Penelope inspected the injury further, wincing to herself slightly as she noticed the wetness on the wound. It looked almost like the underside of a blister after she'd peeled the skin off too soon.
"It doesn't hurt or anything, I promise. Just a stupid allergic reacion," explained Jackie, pulling her hand slowly, but firmly out of Penelope's grip. "Now c'mon, let's watch another episode."
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; a phrase attributed to, likely, a man who had done his fair share of scorning. As Star shouldered her experience with Penelope following her first attempt at diplomacy, she began to realize that that guy was lucky. Lucky not to have known the fury of a woman scorned by another woman. Because Penelope had worn enough on her shoulder to put even the underworld to shame, and enough to educate Star on just how far exactly she'd have to go to make amends.
And 'far' was a few thousand miles short of the lengths she'd taken to succeed. At first, her attempt to win over her polar opposite was something simple yet endearing. A display of gentle kindness meant to remind Penelope of the fragility of the world, the soft touch of nature, blah blah blah. Star meant to use one of the few things she knew Penelope enjoyed against her, in the hopes that it would make it easier to coax her into peace: the flora of the palace gardens.
All it took was an amateur nature spell to enhance the color and vigor of the rose bushes, liven up the Water Lilies the Spiderbites had been famous for, and strengthen the already full and intoxicating scent of the lavender. Cake for a spellcaster of her caliber. And with a little bit of her Butterfly charm put into place, a mutual understanding to get the breakup ball rolling was all but assured.
It was worth noting, however, that as cunning and surely successful as the idea would be, it wasn't Star who deserved the credit for it. After her failed attempt to be direct with Penelope, Star had enlisted the help of a small third party to request advice from Marco on what to do next, he being the obvious authority on how to handle the rabid princess. So she enlisted the aid of a demon she had previous dealings with, a simple ransomgram-er named Sally.
Well and familiar with the objective of passing love notes between the Princesses of Mewni and their various, 'forbidden' affairs, the timid little messenger had no qualms with being the middle-woman for Star and Marco. She was, of course, able to travel instantaneously anywhere in the multiverse, and under the detection of Hekapoo. And travel, Sally did. Once the messages began rolling, it was a daily delivery of back and forth chatter that kept the two up to speed on every action of the other, and a helpful supply of advice when it was so obviously needed.
Marco had initially suggested that Star simply spend a few days tending to the garden in the hopes that Penelope would notice; hell, she didn't even have to be good at it. Penny would either appreciate the gesture, or get so frustrated with Star's inevitable lack of gardening experience that she'd break the ice and talk terms just to save her flowers. But Star had it in her head that it would take far too long for any viable results to arrive in time for their plan to actually work.
So as always, magic was used. She did want this fixed today, after all.
Penelope had entered the garden sometime after breakfast to start her day, and with her arrival, came a sudden burst of magic, a hastily spewed spell, and more trouble than the plan was worth. Expecting a quiet morning, she was instead met with a tangle of screaming vines from plants that had grown ravenous and hulking seemingly overnight. Vines lashed out against the stone walkways and roots reached for the sky in thrashing snarls. All the while, Star fought desperately to keep the plants in line, hacking through trunks of rose stems or trouncing on petunia bushes growling in rage.
It took but one glance at the horrific display for Penelope to recognize the culprit behind it all, and shoot her a frigid glare meant to stave off any further attempts at negotiations. Star caught the meaning, and after a quick middle finger Penelope left, any hope of a peaceful planters morning all but took several hours of weed whacking and hacking before Star had to admit to herself that she was back to the drawing board.
Thankfully, another ransomgram arrived soon after with another, hopefully better tidbit of advice to help.
Her second attempt to broach conversation with Penelope was far less grand in scale, though no less disastrous in its outcome. Marco had suggested that perhaps smaller was better; that Penelope wasn't one for big gestures, but rather for the thought and effort put into them. And Star saw fit to give him the benefit of the doubt, opting to try what she knew her dad always flocked to whenever the Queen was more than tiffed with him.
Food.
It had been a day since the disaster in the garden when she took to the kitchen, giving them the afternoon off so she could work in peace. She was determined to craft a meal that Penelope would at least appreciate, and possibly enjoy. Not that that part mattered, anyway, it just had to get her talking long enough to form a plan of attack. And if nothing else, it definitely got Penelope talking.
The Spiderbite princess had allowed an entire hour of tardiness in the kitchen staff while she waited patiently for lunch. That is, if you could call silently seething in quiet rage a form of patience. When the clock struck one, she stood abruptly from the dining room table with enough force to send her chair careening before taking off toward the kitchen. Whatever their excuses for taking so long were, Penelope wasn't going to hear them.
Of course, the sounds escaping from beyond the kitchen doors did allude to there being an issue with the staff. Dishes clanking and china smashing in the unseen room told the tale that something horrific was going on, likely a fight breaking out between two cooks, and Penelope wasted no time in rushing in to sort it out.
She kicked open the swinging doors and prepared to berate the mindless simpletons for wasting an hour of her day with petty- "What…the hell?" Penelope failed to bite down a curse as she found not a flock of squabbling cooks, scullery maids, and kitchen boys, but a particular blonde princess wrestling with a grotesque, horrid, sickly pile of what was once food. And it didn't look like she was winning. "Penelope!" She had called out to her, "You're just in time- WOAH! Easy boy! -You're just in time for lunch!"
Penelope could only stare in abject horror at the destroyed kitchen, the homunculus she refused to call food, and the object of her innermost spite. What was she trying to do? What was her end game with these schemes? Was Star trying to apologize, or was she just trying to ruin the remaining enjoyable facets of her life? She had a pretty good idea that it was really the latter of the two, though for as long as she had known her, she had never been one for petty revenge. Still…this could possibly be some vengeful quest by the blonde princess to break Penelope's spirit and get her to concede Marco. To force her down until she gave up under the pressure. Whatever the plan, it wasn't going to work.
She took a few careful steps closer before growling at Star, "If I see you again, I will destroy you. Leave me, the fuck, alone." Star could only nod in silence, even 'The Appetizer' taking a spell of stony resolve in her presence before Penelope strode away in a huff. She slammed the door behind her, leaving the bitch to clean up her mess.
This went on for five days.
Marco would suggest a new plan by Ransomgram, Star would modify it to fit her own motif, and things would inevitably fall apart. The only difference moving forward, was that Star did her utmost to stay out of sight when her gestures were meant to go into effect. Except they never worked, and Penelope only repeated her earlier threat to the room at large. Gifts, a play, serenades from Ruberiot, food, even apology meat was no match for the Spiderbite Princess' mood. It didn't seem as though there was anything that could break her tough outer shell.
*Thruuuuummmmmmm*
Star clenched her jaw and focused, or rather, she thought really really hard about a warm sensation growing in the pit of her stomach, careful to let it take root and flourish. Her wand hummed with a deep vibrato as the sound reverberated through her body, and yet? "Ugh! Stupid Healing Magic! It's even harder to get down than Summoning Magic! How does that even make any sense!?" she yelled out her complaints after dropping her wand to her side, letting both the hum, and the warmth in her gut dissipate.
Glossaryck, as helpful as ever, offered a simple goad as recompense for her efforts. "I feel like I may have mentioned this a few…dozen? Let's go with dozen, times already, but you should focus more on your magic, and less on your surroundings." When Star answered with a grin half-cracked with frustrated insanity, he decided it was in his best interest to elaborate. "It's healing magic, Star, a lot stronger than your little slug…things. You can't coax your target's body into repairing itself unless you have complete control over your own. Nurture that warmth, and let it flood up your body, through your arms, and out your wand. Does that make-"
"So what exactly am I supposed to do?" Star asked, her eyes and thoughts both clearly leaking with enough exasperation to deflate an army, "I've tried everything! And she'd rather be locked away and forgotten about than even say two words to me! Except of course: 'Fuck you'."
Glossaryck, who'd spend the last fifteen minutes doing his damndest to actually teach the girl something she specifically asked for, simply stroked his beard and nodded in mock thought. "Yesss. I uh… sounds rough, kid. Anyway, so back to your lesson?"
"Like, I just don't understand what her friggin deal is," Star answered with a groan. "Nothing's working, and at this rate I'll be old enough to unground myself by the time she comes around!"
She turned a frenzied glare towards her teacher, finding even the calming atmosphere of the garden around them doing little to satiate her nerves. It was like a ball of hot iron was building in her chest, and she wanted nothing more than to rip it out and pound it into a sword to cut off that stupid, obstinate Princess's-
The ancient little lover of chocolate confectioneries stared at his pupil as an encyclopedia of obscenities and mature content flashed through her mind. Were he able to read either of the two, he'd wave to wash it out with soap for several weeks. But thankfully, he was used to his students carrying their stress on their shoulders, and their issues on their sleeves, and as such he knew exactly how to handle it: With enough confusing instruction to steer her back on course. And with any luck, she might even learn something today.
"Have you tried the ole sob story?" He asked with an absent mind, his hands moving on their own to wrestle with the lid of a pudding cup he materialized from the bulb of a nearby rose.
"Yeah, same story. She tells me to screw myself and storms off with the middle finger. She's being a complete wad for no reason."
Past a set of folded arms, Star growled her response as before, but at least this time she seemed to be focusing on him.
Glossaryck arched an eyebrow and ceased his fiddling, his silent question hanging uncomfortably in the air until Star answered it with a noncommittal grunt. "Fine," she barked, "she has a good reason, but she deserved it, and everything coming her way. If you ask me, she should suck it up and accept it already."
"And would that fix everything like magic, allowing you and yoursecret dance partner to go gallivanting into the sunset?"
His question was barbed with sarcasm, and while Star blushed at the insinuation paired with his knowledge, she knew better than to overlook her teacher's doubled intentions. She scoffed with an eye roll, and ultimately answered, "No… it won't. But even you have to admit it's better than the alternative. I'd rather die than let her keep ruining Marco with her stuck up- pompy- SPIDERBITENESS!"
"Insults do not flatter, Star. And you'd be wise to calm yourself so you can see the bigger picture," Glossaryck offered, finally serious enough to give her a straight answer. It was a rarity at the best of times, so she always took his words with the utmost gravity whenever he plainly. Steeling the lump of iron in her chest, she listened with newfound intent. "Put yourself in her shoes and maybe you'll be able to understand what she must be thinking right now. Especially of you, but mostly about herself. What would make her happy right now?"
Star frowned, her eyebrows pooling into a glare as a heat built below her throat. "If I knew what she wanted, don't you think I'd give it to her. Hell, what she needs is a good kick in the dress to clear up her-" she noticed the bored expression on her teacher's face and immediately straightened her posture. "Sorry. Off track for a sec there. What do you think she'd want? Because I've got nothing on that ball of nerves."
"Star, let me make this as clear as I can for you," he noted with a dry, bored expression. "Your proximity to the situation is blinding you to the correct course of action. Only with some perspective, can you guide her in the direction you want. Try something new…"
Glossaryck held out his hand, where a miniature scene was playing out. It was from one of Star's earliest days on earth, and in it she was pushing with all of her might against the glass door of the Shop & Save. Too blinded by frustration, she failed to even see the small sign that read "pull", sitting six inches from her downturned face. For over five minutes, she had strained to move the immovable barrier keeping her from a box of delicious Cap'n Blanche's Sugar Seeds and all to no avail.
"As you can see, your brute force strategy has prevented you from seeing the obvious solution, so think it through, and find the other way. I recommend you exercise a sense of empathy and break down the causes of your situation, to better paint a picture of where she stands, and how best to rebuild a new foundation to work from. After some thought, I'm sure you can guide her in the direction that best leads to your… shared objective."
Silent for a moment, Star weighed his words carefully. The idea that she could be anything resembling empathetic to the sole ire of her current predicament was outrageous. It set the iron in her heart ablaze with abstract fury, to have to give in and relent against such a monster among mewmans. But, if it meant getting her way in the end, then perhaps it would be better to play it as she did with Moon. Say whatever she needed, promise whatever she had to give, so long as it got Penelope to the park and alone with Marco.
But that thought reminded her with a splash of cold reality what she had to look forward to at the park. She had to face Tom, and if the record of their previous breakups was any indication, it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Especially not for Marco. But that was a discussion to be attacked once they had solved this predicament.
"Ugghh, come on, Glossaryck! I came to you for some real help, not an inside look on 'the enemy of 'my enemy's sandwich' or whatever," Star fumed, her focus all but spent. "Like I asked before you turned this into a lesson, do you have any magic to help me or not?"
Glossaryck gave her a wry grin, a telling expression that gave his own lack of focus away. "You came to me, to learn some magic this afternoon, not gossip and complain. And from the sound of it, magic is what's gotten you into all of these messes, so why would you want to deepen the hole you're already trying to get out of?"
"Probably because if I don't, a certain someone's gonna fill that hole with concrete," Star bit back, "I tried doing this the Marco slash 'conventional' way. Now I wanna do this in the way that actually gets results. Which means lying, cheating, bribing…or magic."
Rolling his eyes and making another move at his third pudding cup, Glossaryck offered under his breath, "Well hey, if crazy is your new agenda, why not just skip the line and go straight for mind control magic." To which Star lit up like a bonfire, her eyes shooting open in acceptance to such a fantastic idea.
"Glossaryck! You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that?!" She cried out, startling her mentor enough to send him flailing to keep his pudding in check, "Mind control! I can just cast a simple little spell and viola! Penelope can just break up with Marco from the get-go!"
Before Glossaryck could even pop the top on the pudding and object, Star was already rifling through the Spellbook, madly flipping its pages in search of any magic that could…persuade Penelope into doing as she was told. Thankfully, no such objection was needed, as moments of quiet sifting went by to no avail. When no sort of mind control magic was found, Star slammed the book down and took to pouting at Glossaryck as though he himself hid the answer. "What gives? Where's the ole 'brainwash magic hidden?" she demanded.
All she was met with was a look that screamed, 'you must be mad, or at the very least joking.' "Did you honestly believe that mind control magic was a thing?" he asked, tearing open the cup, "What kind of psychopath do you take me for?"
Star frowned and rolled her eyes in much the same fashion as her teacher. "The kind that wants to help?" she bit back. "What's with the crazy eyes? Is it in the weird dark magic chapter? Or is it some kinda ancient magic I have to find in a cave?"
"First of all, no, there's nothing of the sort locked away in that chapter. Second, There's no such thing as 'Mind control Magic', Star. And before you ask, yes, people have tried in vain for centuries to make it a reality." At Star's deepened frown, Glossaryck let out a sigh and took a heaping spoonful of pudding to ease the… stress. "Magic won't solve this problem for you, and I would suggest that you start taking it a little more seriously," he offered with an unusually stern tone, "The time for magic and schemes is over. This isn't like one of your little games where you can just wave the wand and make things happen as you see fit."
Barely restraining a scoff at the idea of any of the last five days' antics being a game, Star narrowed her eyes at the little blue chocolate loving man. "How has anything I've been doing not been serious?!" she all but demanded, the now white-hot ball of iron in her chest burning to see Marco again, no matter the cost. "For like, five damn days now I've been doing exactly-"
"No, Star. You have not," Glossaryck interrupted, his eyes telling of a dangerous edge to his words, and the marked necessity that they be heeded, "You've spent the last five days using magic as a crutch, and when things ultimately fall apart, you see fit not to take responsibility, but rather to place all of the blame on your inexperience with the wand. As it has been for the last two years, you're running away from your problems, and completely avoiding the issue that Penelope is in genuine turmoil over your actions. It's time you grew up a little and opened your eyes to the obvious answer."
Star folded her arms, though her posture softed noticeably at his words. "And what would That be, oh wise and all knowing Glossaryck?"
Ignoring the jab for now, Glossaryck set down his pudding cup and floated to just shy of inches from Star's nose. "That no amount of parlor tricks, showmanship, or gift-giving is enough to act as recompense for your actions. You can't give Penelope anything that will fix your mistake."
"Then what exactly am I supposed to do?!" Star demanded, now delving into a one-sided shouting match to get some useful information, "She won't talk to me, she's threatening me, and if I do anything she just tells me to go fuck myself! How am I supposed to even get her to hear me out, huh?!" She was to the point of near desperation, her eyes glistening with passion over the issue, but Glossaryck wasn't weak to such displays. Instead of answering her call, he simply softened his expressions and floated back to the spellbook.
"By realizing that this isn't just about getting Marco back. It's about you genuinely mending the rift between you two pains in my pages. Penelope is royalty, so if you want to win her over, then maybe it's time to submit yourself before her and own up to what you've done. Break that wave of humility you seem to be so obviously struggling with, and practice some honest-to-me empathy for corn's sake! With an insane amount of luck, you might get her to look past your previous transgressions long enough to hear you out."
For a moment, Star gave that some genuine thought. Truth be told, Glossaryck had every reason to hit her with such reality, and honest though it might be, it stung. But as it were, it wouldn't be as easy as he would have led her to believe. Star had lied to Penelope more than a handful of times, and trust wasn't something that was going to come easy. So perhaps some sort of gesture would suffice to get the ball rolling- No. Any sort of olive branch would just crash and burn like every other attempt of the last five days.
Unless of course, she had some kind of an in…
Recognizing some headway when he saw it, Glossaryck could only smile as Star stood from the garden lawn, dusted off her dress, and nodded a simple goodbye. "Going by that sullen gleam in your eyes, it looks like you've found your next scheme," he offered, snapping his fingers to dissolve the pudding cups into smoke. "I bid you good luck, Star. Try to be smarter going forward, and you might not even need me anymore." And with that, her teacher evaporated into mist before sinking down into the pages of the spellbook. When it had closed, it took the illusion of the outdoors with it, leaving behind the lonely stone room, and a simple pedestal at its center.
Just about to leave, Star turned for the door when another mystical being came to replace the one who had just left. Out of a small tuft of emerald fire that formed just before the exit, a little demon clad in a blue bellhops uniform stepped, and Sally bid Star hello. "Oh! Uhm- Princess! I uh… I have another message? From Marco?" she offered, saving more than her fair share of stumbling words, "I know I said this last time, but this one sounds like a pretty good plan!"
After a moment of silent deliberation, Star ultimately knelt down to the little imp and took the small envelope. "Thank you, Sally, for all of your hard work," she offered carefully before stowing the letter in her purse, "I really appreciate this, but I think I'll be alright this time around. Tell Marco to meet me at the park tomorrow afternoon, and that if I don't show, he can assume I'm probably dead."
Sally quite literally paled at the mention of the Princess's demise, asking in a timid tone, "W-what are you gonna do?" But she wasn't met with an answer right away. Instead, Star made a move around her for the door before giving her a warm smile for her efforts, one heated by molten steel blazing in her chest. "I'm uh, gonna go face off with the monster that lives in this castle."
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
"So wait… You've been passing Star notes on how to pull off your overwrought little love scheme?" asked Reynard, before popping a chunk of tamale in his mouth.
"Yeah," nodded Marco, grinning a little sheepishly at the devilish smirk on his friend's face.
"Ha! Taking a note from my book I see. Excellent work, my boy, top notch!" laughed Reynard as he clapped Marco on the shoulder. "I've used love notes to great effect in the past. The ladies love it when you dote on them with a little storybook romance. Did you use Sally? She's the best one, you know. Completely discrete."
Marco felt the uneaten half of his carne asada taco slip from his hand to fall and roll down the front of his hoodie. "H-How?" he began, shaking his head, not even noticing the mess of taco remnants clinging to the fabric on his chest.
If it was possible, Reynard's smirk deepened as he breathed on his nails before polishing them on his embroidered doublet. "Many a protective father has forbidden their precious, innocent daughter from seeing someone like myself, though royalty I may be. Sally comes in particularly handy when I need to correspond to those subjects of my affection that may be forbidden from seeing me face to face."
"I should have guessed," chuckled Marco, doing his best to mop up the remaining sour cream and grease stains from his hoodie. However, it didn't take long before the feeling of happiness slid off him, replaced by the familiar gnawing tension he'd been feeling all week. Looking down at his remaining two tacos, he suddenly didn't feel nearly as hungry as fifteen minutes ago when he and Reynard had stopped at Britta's for lunch.
"Marco? Are you alright? You look like you may be sick," asked Reynard, looking concerned now.
Looking up, Marco shook his head. "I'm alright, just worried is all…"
"About what?" Reynard popped another piece of tamale in before continuing. "If it's Star's ability to smooth things over with Penelope, I wouldn't worry. Once that girl sets her mind to a task, she will move heaven and Mewni to achieve her goal."
"No it's not that… I'm just worried about what's going to happen when we actually go through with this plan of Star's. Tom's unpleasant at the best of times, I don't want to be around him when Star breaks up with him." Marco pulled a sour face as he imagined the raging inferno of the half-demon's anger when he got dumped. "I don't think he'd ever try to hurt Star, but the rest of us?" He shrugged.
"I'm going to let you in on a little secret that dear old Tom would not want shared with anyone outside of perhaps Star."
"Wait, so how do you know?" Marco didn't think of Star as one to gossip, especially not with important information told in confidence.
"I'm her favorite cousin, Marco, what sort of question even is that?" But when Marco cocked his head in obvious disbelief, he quickly elaborated. "Well not only because of that. No, I actually learned this secret by accident," he explained. "This was about a year ago, and Star had just gotten back from a rather unsuccessful date with Prince Thomas. Apparently, his dinner had been prepared incorrectly and in a fit of pique, he very nearly caught the Cornshake Shack on fire. Star apparently had to douse the flames with her own cornshake."
"Sounds like Tom alright…" Marco frowned as he remembered his own close encounters with the teen's hair trigger temper.
"Indeed. So naturally, my cousin was angered by him ruining their evening together. But when I made to agree with her, perhaps even suggesting that she might be better served dating someone different, she remarked that Tom's temper often wasn't his fault."
'Classic stockholm syndrome…' thought Marco, before dismissing the dark thought with a shake of the head.
"Trust me, I was just as confused as you are now," said Reynard, mistaking Marco's motion for puzzlement. "But soon my own confusion gave way to curiosity and I pressed Star for an explanation. It took some doing, several days of needling, but eventually she told me that the reason Tom's temper was so fragile was not because he was a massive jerk." Reynard laughed as he saw Marco roll his eyes heavily. "I share your doubts, myself Marco… But no, apparently the real reason is that Tom's half-demon nature compels him to be."
Marco just blinked, momentarily stunned. "What, so…like his demon side whispers for him to be a massive douche?"
"Although my dear cousin blames almost all of Tom's misanthropic, antisocial behavior on his lesser-half, I suspect the truth of the matter lies somewhere in the middle, as with most things."
Finished mopping his hoodie of taco debris, Marco looked seriously at his friend. "So how does knowing all that help me? If anything, I'm more worried about getting my face burnt off now that I know he's got this demonic half whispering in his ear to burn me to a crisp."
"I think you are missing the greater point I am trying to make, Marco…" Reynard shook his head, frustrated at his friend's lack of insight. "What I am trying to explain is that it is the fact that most of the worst aspects of Tom's personality are precisely because of his half-demon nature. He is also half-mewman, and as such, has far greater self-agency than a full blooded demon; who, far more often than not, are slaves to their dark impulses."
Marco picked up another taco, thinking hard. "Soooo," he began, taking a bite to give himself a moment to organize his chaotic thoughts into words. He'd always thought Tom was just a demon Star had met somewhere along the line and taken a liking too. He was somewhat shocked to hear that Tom was half-mewman, though, now that he thought about it, it made sense. Being from a royal family on Mewni, naturally Tom would run in many of the same social circles as Star did.
'Now that I think about it… Didn't Star mention she met Tom at the Silver Bell Ball?' Marco couldn't remember the specific details, but it lent credence to what he already suspected about Tom and Star's origins as a couple. What it didn't do, however, was give him any real confidence that somehow Tom would rise above his demonic nature and not go full pyromaniac once he'd been dumped. Finally deciding that worrying about it any longer wasn't going to get him anywhere, he simply shrugged. "I hope you're right," he muttered, before digging back into his remaining tacos.
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
Hours after her talk with her esoteric tutor, Star found herself standing outside the door of the noble Miss Spiderbite, and found her stomach doing somersaults in anticipation. Thanks to Manfred keeping close tabs on Penelope for her, she had no doubt that she was actually hiding in her room this time, and no doubt that this was either the time when things finally clicked, or when she was doomed for an eternity. Not wanting to keep the inevitable outcome waiting, Star swallowed her pounding heart, and gave a soft, polite knock on the door. Something formal, but gentle.
As expected, however, there was no answer to her call.
Ever the bold one, Star gave out an annoyed sigh before announcing in a raised voice, "Penelope, I know you're in there. I have a deal to offer you."
Again there was no answer, so she decided to up the ante a little to get the fish biting. "If you give me sixty seconds to say my piece, then I swear on the wand I'll leave you alone until the day I die-"
Almost immediately, the door to Penelope's room was ripped open, the displacement of air enough to ruffle Star's hair as Penelope gave out a furious glare. She looked Star up and down, searching for any hint of deception or ulterior motive. She even leaned into the hallway wary of another song and dance routine from the castle staff. But when she saw nothing out of the ordinary, she gestured to the grandfather clock sitting just beyond the threshold of the room. "You've got fifty two seconds left, better make them count," she hissed, her annoyed tone speaking volumes to the world.
But Star was ready for that sort of reaction, and in simple fashion she said nothing, instead reaching into her purse. After a moment of rifling through her belongings, her hand returned to view with nothing less than a simple leather bracelet capped with silver studs, held out to Penelope like an offering. "I wanna give this to you. As an apology," she said with contritefinality, letting Penelope stare for a good long while at the simple accessory, before she snatched it away to give it the once over.
For a very long time, well over the sixty second limit, neither said anything as Penelope studied the bracelet, her mind racing through several possibilities, until she ultimately landed on, "This is the favor you gave Marco at the Tournament. How did you get this?"
Star, recognizing a good opportunity to put on a little show, drew an unsteady breath, releasing it in a marked display of anxiety. She clearly didn't want to say, but darn if Penelope hadn't forced her hand. "I… I went- I went and saw Marco the night after the Tournament," she answered with genuine unease, though adding a precautionary wince for good measure. As expected, Penelope went full nuclear at the admission, readying a full arsenal of insults and beatings that she so richly deserved. But even red at the face, she never got the chance to use any of them.
Instead, her rage was stifled when Star made to continue, and eager to find more fuel for her fire, Penelope let her.
"Please don't be mad, even though you have every right to be," the blonde princess pleaded with a handful of shaky breaths, though not out of fear. Rather, it was anxiety that now gripped that once white-hot piece of iron in her chest. "I told him about what Queen Moon said, and… I wanted to try and convince him to get with me but- well… he said no."
For an eternity, Penelope glared in abject, dumbfounded shock. Her eyes darted every which way, trying to find any evidence of falsehood as even her breathing was stymied by her rage. But wherever she looked, as hard as she tried to deny it, Star appeared to be telling the truth. Which was entirely right of course, but how was that even possible? "Why on Mewni would he say that, huh?" she demanded, folding her arms and letting out a growl. She leaned against the doorframe, the collective wind knocked from her sails. "You two seemed awfully chummy with one another up until that point, so what gives?"
With another unsteady breath cut loose, Star averted her eyes to look down and away from the tight scrutiny she faced. Laying it on thick, but truthfully, she offered in a quiet mumble, "he said… he would rather he and I be more professional, that we can't be together. He decided that night that the best thing to do, for everyone, is to just be my gui-... my friend. Nothing more."
"And?" Penelope barked, clearly ignoring the 'nothing more than friends' part to wait with bated breath on Star's supposed response. She didn't seem too keen on buying what Star was selling, much less that this was the first time she'd heard such an ultimatum, but at the very least she was biting. And that was more than enough to "build that foundation".
"And, I dunno. He gave me the favor back and that was it," Star answered, finding even her own explanation to be distastefully anticlimactic," he said he 'doesn't have any reason to keep something like that if we're just gonna be friends', and that he wants things to go back to how they were on day one. To just…forget anything happened and move on."
Penelope's eyes gave no hint of her swaying view on the matter, and likewise, Star kept her expression sullen yet hopeful. Neither one could afford to let the other keep a high ground, and the stalemate charged the air between them. Until Star saw fit to coat her words with more honesty than she felt was warranted. "I won't lie to you, you know I don't regret trying. But… you also know how Marco is. I can't say no to him, and when he gets an idea in that head of his, there's no changing it."
Holding her breath, Star found that despite her intentions coming here, Glossaryck may have had a point. It was far easier to treat Penelope with some empathy and see that her position be met with a touch of honest, genuine truth. And in answer to her efforts, Star was ultimately relieved to find that Penelope had since cracked the shadow of a grin oozing with her usual, pompous air. Relenting, the Spiderbite Princess managed a laugh as she offered, "well, it serves you right, skank. At least he's finally figured himself out." And while her words did have a touch of venom to them, most of their weight was released as she broadened her smile. A smile that carried the offer that just maybe, there was a touch of decency in there after all, and a possibility of a future reconciliation.
But those promises hidden in that smile melted as it quickly shifted into a coy grin, her eyes daring Star to act on her next words. "Though, if we are being honest with one another? I have to admit, I think I'm gonna have a lot of fun with him, watching him squirm while he tries to get back in my good graces." Star tensed as she went on, her eyes widening almost enough to notice. That burning sensation in her chest flared, and she could swear there was a buzzing in the back of her skull as she stared the Spiderbite princess down with cold apathy. "Hell, a little bit of groveling might even put me… in the mood, if you catch my drift."
No longer a flare, the fire in her chest enveloped her every limb, blazing with hatred that had been festering for weeks, stoked with bitter resentment and jealousy. Even now, despite being offered an alleged truce, even with the promise of Marco, Penelope showed her true colors, and it brought out the darkest shades Star could see.
She knew it was a trap.
It was so obviously a trap.
A well made, tantalizing trap.
It would have been so easy to rip the lid off that can of worms, to slap Penelope just as hard as she had received at the tournament. To throw it in her face, the overwhelming, life changing, soul blossoming sex she and Marco had had earlier that same week. To say anything that would crush the opposition and burn away every layer of smug satisfaction that sat draped across that snake's face. But that wouldn't do. Not yet, anyway, she was in far too deep to slip up here and now. "He's all yours, Penelope, so have at it. I have bigger things to focus on now," she noted with a simple, polite smile her mother was always careful to wear every time she spoke with commoners.
At such a decisive deflection to her attack, Penelope almost reeled from a response she had no business expecting. For her, that was it. The cards were on the table and she had come out with a royal flush, pun intended. "My god," she all but whispered into the back of her hand, "You really are serious, aren't you?" Her eyes widened even as she said it, despite her trying in vain to keep her surprise as airtight as possible. Star, however, was all too keen to notice. And all too keen to carry it further.
"I'm afraid so, Penelope. And if it's all the same to you, I have friends out there- outside the castle- that I'd like to see again. So… I wanna ask for your help."
Seconds ticked by on the grandfather clock as Penelope delved deep into thought. As Glossaryck had suggested, Star could imagine with empathy that it must have been hard to hear and quite the shock to receive all of this at once. And adding to that load, a favor? But in addition to that empathy she now tested, ohhh the promise of a nearby future where she could see Penelope handed everything she deserved? It was almost too rich to even think about. Thankfully, Penelope ultimately relented, opened the door wider, and gestured for Star to come inside.
"What do you need?"
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
It had takenevery ounce of her guile,and more than her fair share of acting, but Star finally had her 'in'. She and Penelope both sat in the Spiderbite Princess's chambers, idly chatting as though they hadn't been at each other's throats for weeks. Star had since gone over the minutiae of her plan with Penelope, though far less than her dealings with Marco, while the latter listened carefully and processed the details. It all seemed straightforward enough, a simple bit of acting from them to get to the park to hang out with their earthling friends. But a glaring, not so minor detail threatened to capsizethe plan before she could even get to the overture.
"So after all this time, and after all that we have to do, I still have to share him with you?" Penelope all but demanded, her brows cocked in disbelief. Had she had her way, Marco would live here in the castle with her and that would be it, safe from the clutches of her royal highness. But such lurid ideals were better said than enacted.
Conceding just enough to keep the wheels greased, Star offered, "Yes. That part isn't up for negotiation. I miss my best friend, and I'm not just giving him up entirely." Though, when the air grew taught with mounting reluctance, she felt inclined to add, "that being said, I have better reasons for having him there at the park with me."
"And pray tell, what are those reasons," Penelope couldn't help but ask, her curiosity worn clear on her sleeve. She didn't have to be snide about it, but it had been a week without her boyfriend, and she'd be damned if she had to deal with Star clinging to his shoulder for the entire duration of the outing. Though, Star's sudden discomfort in the topic made it clear that she was at least being honest about having ulterior motives. Something big was growing in that girl's mind, and it demanded attention.
"I uh… well…" Not even acting at this point, Star cleared her throat. The particular distress she now fronted was well and real, and it was hard to even propose the idea to the present company. This wasn't a trip to the Stop 'n Slurp, this was an ordeal waiting to unfold, and Penelope was anything but the ideal partner for girl talk.
"I want to break up… with Tom," she finally managed to force out, surprised at the difficulty of the admission, "and before you say anything, no. This has nothing to do with Marco. Some shady business is up with him, and I just… I need a little time to myself, to work on being a better princess. I know Tom's gonna blame him right away, so I want witnesses and- should it come to it? Protection."
For a moment, all Penelope could do was stare and nod, her mind racing to find the validity in that claim. When it seemed to check out, though, she couldn't help but crack a wry grin at her counterpart's misfortune. "I mean, can you blame Tom after the way you two have been acting? After what you've been up to?" She asked with a giggle, hiding a fanged smile behind her hand for good measure. "Hell, I'm surprised he's even willing to be seen with someone like you. Say what you will about their temper, but Demons sure do have some loyalty, even if the cause is lost."
Again, a trap was set to catch Star slipping, but again it wouldn't work. Penelope was easy to read by now, and whatever tricks she wanted to pull, Star could see them from a mile away. If she could thank her mother for anything she'd learned in life, it was a sliver of negotiation skills blooming into fruition as she countered, "Yeah, I know I know. I need some work," she laughed back, careful not to lay it on too thick, "no more guys, no more screw ups, trying to make a better name for myself here. So are you in?"
A few seconds of silent consideration droned by as Penelope eyed the floor, then glared at it. She eyed the wall and deepened her glare into a scowl before turning to Star. Finally, she stood, extending a hand in an offer of truce, though not without that same barbed tone she refused to let wane. "I'm in on the condition that if this works, and we get to leave the castle, you have to fire Marco. From now on, he is no longer your guide."
As the condition was relayed, Star's expression went through both surprise, rejection, and landed on blatant annoyance. To be so far along, with progress in sight, only to have a splash of Penelope's…charm, threaten to send them both back to square one."Marco's position as my guide is up to him, and you," she offered with a glare, sure to include Penelope in the decision to best keep the foundation steady, "I'm done hurting people and playing games. Right now, I just want my friend back, and to move on from this. The two of you can work that out for yourselves."
As Penelope matched the glare being served, Star stood and offered her hand for consideration, both sets of eyes not leaving the other. As both parties weighed their options, the room was electric and charged with tension, threatening to blow at any moment. One wrong move, any misunderstanding, and everything would fall apart. No more Marco, and no more…happiness.
But as if to save her entire world, both of their worlds from immediate collapse, Penelope let out a gruff sigh of concession, opting to shake Star's hand after a week of bitter rejection. "Yeah… alright," she barked, plopping back down in her seat, "hell, he probably wouldn't accept that anyway, and he'd likely just get pissed at me. Where's the fun in that, right?"
"So you're in?" Star asked, careful to receive that tantalizing confirmation she was all but salivating over. And to her relief, Penelope nodded. Not to say she outright believed Star was through with her homewrecking ways, or even that she was being entirely forthcoming in their arrangement. But a bit of cooperation would serve to get them out of the castle, and that was fine for now. Jackie had given her a fair bit of warning in her own way, and Penelope intended to shoulder that distrust as long as she felt it was necessary.
"I'm in, so long as you know your place," she warned, a slight edge to her voice that carried the weight of real consequences. A promise of consequences they both know could be delivered. "One wrong move, give me one reason to think that this is all some act, and I'll cut you down a few pegs myself."
Steeling her resolve, Star nodded and gave a wry smile teeming with enough honesty to fool even a noble of her mother's court. "Treat him right then, because if you hurt my friend?" To carry real weight to a very real threat, Star brandished her wand, letting the bulb glow a hot sizzling pink. This wasn't a show any longer, nor a facade to get out of the castle in peace talks. This was real. "I have a warnicorn stampede with your name on it."
Smiling back, Penelope nodded. "Sounds like a plan, skank," she giggled, though behind her veiled smile she couldn't help but accept that this was a looming mistake. But as she had said, cleaning up a mess like that wouldn't be too hard.
And likewise, Star had to fight with every muscle in her body to not erupt with every facet of truth to their discussion. Her plans with Marco, the real reason for the trip, and of course, who could forget that she had about a dozen other bracelets tucked away in her room. It was a tough burden, but to be free with Marco, and to see this jail sentence end? It was worth it. "Alright, P-nups, let's start with how we're gonna outsmart the smartest person in this castle: my mom."
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
"Ransomgram!" said Sally as she opened the door to Marco's room and popped her head in.
"Another letter already? Awesome!" Marco sprang out of his bed where he'd been lounging, running over to the place where the small monster was now stepping into his room. Reaching to take the letter he assumed she was dropping off, he froze when he saw she didn't have anything to give him.
"No letter today, just a message," she said, holding out her hand anyways, and grinning broadly.
"Wait… So I still have to pay you even if there's no letter?" he asked, frowning when the small little delivery demon nodded her head enthusiastically. Grumbling to himself, Marco reached into his pocket for a small amount of his tournament winnings and dropped a couple of silver coins into the happy demon's hand. Too late he realized, when Sally took a deep breath and began to dance a short two step jig. "No-No, it's alright," he held his hands up in a desperate attempt to stave off the awful singing.
"Fair Princess Star bids you pay your utmost attention, for soon she'll be free from her unfair detentiiiioon! Tomorrow she'll meet you, in the park I beseech yooouuuu! So do not delay, prepare for the daaaaaayyyyy, AND THANK YOU MY FRIEND FOR NOT FAILING TO PAAAYYYYY" Sally finished by taking a knee and wagging her fingers in what Marco dimly remembered as, "Jazz hands." Sally finished her song, taking a low bow in front of a befuddled looking Marco and disappearing in a puff of grey smoke.
"Why does she always have to sing…" he muttered, before turning his thoughts to what the message had said. "Tomorrow?" He felt a streak of panic shoot through him. It was already mid afternoon, he'd have to work really fast to get a hold of everyone in time to pull off the plan tomorrow. 'I really wish Star had her compact on her right now…' he thought, frustrated that he would have no way of getting a message to her now that Sally had disappeared.
Grabbing his phone, he quickly started typing out a text to Janna before he paused. Going back into his contacts, he added two people he hadn't seen much of in the last couple months: Ferguson and Alfonzo. Deleting what he'd typed out, he entered something he knew all three would find irresistible. 'Meet at Panucci's at 6? I'm buying." Hitting the send button, he quickly jumped back into the app and typed out another message specifically for Janna: 'Can you make sure to bring Jackie tonight? I know it's short notice, but I can't get a hold of her right now due to her phone being lost. Also, please make sure Penelope doesn't find out."
He'd barely had time to put his phone down, when it buzzed twice in rapid fire succession. The first was from Ferguson, assuring Marco that he was "always down for free pizza" and that he would make sure to bring Alfonzo. The second was from Janna, and he felt a growing dread well up inside before he'd even opened the message to read it.
'Coulda sent me this two hours ago when I was already at CB… And keeping secrets from your girlfriend… Tsk, tsk, Marco…"
Shaking his head, he already knew what his next move would be and was halfway typing it by the time he'd returned his attention to his phone. "I'll get you that book on the occult you mentioned seeing at the used bookshop last week," he texted back. In an earlier time, he might have been angered by Janna trying to exploit him when he needed a favor, but long experience had taught him that it was simply her nature. Besides, the fierce loyalty she'd demonstrated over the years more than made up for the occasional petty bribe.
Another chirp from his phone as the single word popped up under his last message: 'Deal.'
Two hours later, Marco was starting to regret that bargain. Janna had come through and showed up as invited with Jackie promptly at six. She even had Ferguson and Alfonzo in tow, both of whom were happy to hang out. But that had been the last of his goodwill.
"Wait, so Star wants us all to go hangout at the park where that supernatural shithead lives? Jeez, and people think I'm reckless and irresponsible…" Janna shook her head. "I'm all for weird, but the last time we were in that park, things got a little…"
"Dicey?" offered Jackie rather unhelpfully, as Marco felt his patience eroding by the second. 'Janna being cautious?' He was shocked. This was the same girl who said "No guts, no glory," to almost anything, up to and including several misdemeanors. And now she was the one counseling caution after he had outlined his plan for them all to hang out at the park tomorrow.
"Dicey works," nodded Janna, before grabbing for a slice of the rapidly disappearing pizza as Ferguson and Alfonzo chowed down without comment.
"But you were the one who-"
"The one who led the charge to go put the hurt on the demon that tried to off one of my best friends?" interrupted Janna, peering over her half eaten slice. "Look, Diaz, you know that I fully intend to banish that smokey piece of shit back to the underworld when we find him; I just feel like bringing people that don't exactly have a head for that kind of stuff to a place we know he's been hanging out lately is a bad idea." Both looked over at Ferguson and Alfonzo, who were happily gorging themselves on pizza and not paying the slightest bit of attention to the two of them.
"C'mon dude, what's the worst that can happen?"
It was Jackie that spoke up, her devil-may-care tone making both arguing teens snap their attention to her. "I guess I just don't see what the fuss is about," she continued, shrugging, "we'll have Star there, and you too Janna." She punched the frowning Filipina in the arm playfully. "Plus that Tom guy's a demon, and even if he is a major-league jerk, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to Star. What are you so afraid of?"
"See?" Marco held out his hand and beamed, "Even Jackie thinks it will be fine. Besides, it's been a couple weeks and there haven't been any sightings of him in the Park." When Janna looked unconvinced he pressed on, meeting her unblinking skeptical gaze and drawing on some of the feelings that were swirling inside as he watched his plan get shakier and shakier. "We'll all be fine, Janna, I just want to clear the air. Between all of us," he added when she'd rolled her eyes. "That first try ended terribly, and it's only gotten worse since. Star and Penny are at eachothers throats almost constantly. Tom hates my guts worse than ever, and you could stand to be a bit nicer to Penelope, Janna…"
"It's true dude…" added Jackie.
"Don't look at us, man. We haven't seen you or Jackie since school ended and Janna here can barely make our D&D sessions."
"Jeez," said Janna, rolling her eyes and throwing up her hands in surrender. "Fine. But I'm on record as having said this is a bad idea. That being said," she paused to slap Ferguson's hand away as he made to take the last slice of pizza, "I'll happily be wrong tomorrow and just enjoy the fireworks. Star, Penelope, Tom, and you all in the same place all day? I might even sell tickets."
Not entirely sure if she was kidding or not, Marco decided he should probably just accept her surrender at face value and press on. "Soo I was thinking tomorrow we could finally do that LARP we've been talking about for years.
*CRASH*
Looking over at the commotion, Marco saw Feguson holding merely air, the red plastic cup full of Sprite he'd been drinking from now on its side and soaking the tablecloth to drip onto the tiled floor. Alfonzo's eyes were as wide as saucers behind his coke bottle glassesand his mouth was working silently, almost as if he couldn't find words.
"Dude, that. Is. AWESOME!" shouted Ferguson as he jumped up and pulled Alfonzo to his feet. "We've been planning this for literal years, man!" Excitedly, he began to pace back and forth, muttering things to himself as he checked them off mentally on his fingers.
"…Areeee you okay?" asked Marco, sharing a concerned glance with Jackie and Janna as Alfonzo made several suggestions of things to bring that Feguson enthusiastically agreed too.
"Am I okay?" Fergusuon was beaming as he high-fived Alfonzo, "we're finally going to do that LARP and he asks if we're okay?"
"What's a LARP?" asked Jackie, smiling at the display of unbridled enthusiasm in front of her.
"Only the most intense and fun version of D&D there is!" said Alfonzo.
Excitedly, Ferguson checked his phone, before gesturing for Alfonzo to look at what he was seeing. "Okay, Okay, the fabric store is open for another half hour, you run back to your place and get your mom's sewing kit. We got tabards to sew!"
Nodding to each other, they turned for the door and had nearly ran out the restaurant before Ferguson turned back to Marco. "We'll get everything all set tonight and be at the park by 8 to get ready. See you guys tomorrow!" And with that, both teens sprinted out of the door before splitting up to their assigned tasks.
"I still don't know what a LARP is…" frowned Jackie.
"Well seeing as I only managed to get a single slice before Ferguson ate the rest, I'll explain it while we wait for another pizza," chuckled Marco as he signaled for another pie.
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
With a flurry of fanciful china and burnishedsilverware, the table was set as the music began to play. A lighthearted piece to backdrop the evening's dinner wafted softly from a four member chamber band, and while the patrons, nobles, and guests alike sat in polite dignity, Queen Moon stood. Speaking in a voice just loud enough to be heard by all in attendance, she offered only, "Thank you all for your hard work this week, and diligence in keeping our people safe."
A couple of 'here-here's' were mumbled before she continued, eying the room with a relaxed smile she hadn't worn in weeks. Mostly in part due to the efforts of a certain princess making things, for once, less complicated and stemming off questions from gossip hungry nobles.
"It has been my utmost pleasure to see all of you putting forth your best efforts in light of the attack on the castle, and showing a devout… Professionalism, in light of Tournament's end. We have worked tirelessly to achieve a sense of security and reason within our new lands, and while the circumstances haven't been ideal," she paused, letting her court relish in the somewhat rare praise she was giving them. "You've all gone above and beyond what I would ever ask of you. Donations, volunteer work, infrastructure improvement; I cannot thank you enough. So please, as part of my gratitude, I ask that you all enjoy your drink and meals as we come together as a community raised by your own hands. Dinner is served."
And at her words, there came a cascade of servants from the kitchen into the dining hall, each of them carrying food, wine and ale on platters. A far cry from the….'incident' found in the kitchen two days prior, and vigorously welcomed by those in attendance. Soon, wine goblets, mutton, hams, cheese, steaks, bread and beer all littered the table that stretched across the hall. But as Star sat idly between two of her cousins, she found that she wasn't hungry for any of it.
Nah, she was feeling absolutely starved for something else,, especially after five days without, and it was high time she got to work getting it back in her sights.
"You seem preoccupied by something, and I take it it's not the boar that's got your attention," Reynard noted with confidence, happy to see the blush on her face prove him right.
Star shrugged, taking a looong swig of corn ale before shooting him a grin, just to make sure they were on the same page. "You could say that. I've been working towards tomorrow for the last five days, and tonight we're finally about to see some real progress. Provided everything goes according to plan."
A quick, matched swig of ale brought Reynard up to speed before he followed Star's gaze across the table. There sat a certain, pompous and poised princess doing her best not to seem too invested in what was going on across from her. Reynard nearly choked on his drink. "I… ahrm, I see. So that's what he was talking about, and I take it she's more unaware than I?"
Nodding, Star took a bite from a particularly crunchy cob, using the corn as a veil as she answered, "Keep it under the table, the last thing I need is for Penelope to get suspicious at the last second and plum things up for us."
"But of course, my lips are sealed," Reynard chuckled, mocking a lock and key against his cheek for good measure, even tossing a wink Penelopes way, "in that case, I bid the two of you good luck, and I bid the two of you, even moreso." And with that, Star set to work evaluating her next move.
Stretching far to her left and right, the table was filled with lords, ladies, nobles, human guests and guides, a plethora of people from various, higher walks of life. And sitting directly across from her, nearly hidden behind the roasted leg of an ox, Penelope swept her gaze over the two of them in much the same fashion. The once rival princess took a goblet of wine for herself and sipped it with dignity, meeting Stars eyes behind the rim. Their plan wasn't glorious or sure to amaze, but it was foolproof enough to deliver even under Star's lead, so that was enough. Start small, and work your way up. All we need is for her to notice, and we have the upper hand.
"Hey Penny, could you pass me some of that Ox you've got there? It looks amazing," Star made a show of asking, her voice a few decibels higher than needed, but not so much so that it made a scene.
Likewise, Penelope sliced some meat from the Ox leg, passed it over, and offered back just as thick, "Not a problem at all, Star. You just let me know if you need anything!"
Star beamed a smile across the table, and although Penelope wore hers with far less… enthusiasm, it was still a marked show for everyone nearby. Reynard nearly choked on his ale for the second time that evening, but thankfully he made an effort to look just as busy as those around such such, the choice stares they received from the other nobles, both accepting and confused, were a given sign of success. Everyone seemed to be buying it. The plan was actually working.
Everyone, that is, except Queen Moon. From her end of the table, she could see the other guests in attendance giving some modicum of posture and dignity, except for two select princesses making a spectacle. Even River, who sat at the far end of the table for such an occasion, seemed confused by the comradery being shown towards the table's center. She frowned, narrowing her eyes at the display. 'What exactly are those two up to now?' she had to wonder.
"So Star, how was your day?" Penelope asked with perhaps a touch too much volume, Moon noticing the slightest tick in the princesses facade, "was training okay? Did you learn anything new from the old bookkeeper?" By now, the nobles were talking. Whispers of confusion mixed with scattered nods of approval fluttered about the seats, and Star had plans to capitalize on them.
Cracking a fragile smile, she answered back with just as much enthusiasm, making sure to keep her voice just a touch louder than she normally would, "Oh yeeaaah, it was…greeaaat. learned some good healing magic, 'case I gotta patch up my buddies on our adventures!" The two shared a rather flamboyant laugh, even a small handful of nobles joining in.
Eager to help the cause, Reynard too gave his approval, laughing as he threw in his two cents. "I must say, the mood is certainly much better at dinnertime now that the two of you have sorted your differences. You'll have to fill me in later on the many exchanges toward clemency you two have shared this week." More laughs around the table as short stories of the week's antics began to flutter about.
But on the other side of the table, Moon wasn't laughing. Out of the corner of her eye, Star watched as her mother called over a servant and whispered something unintelligible in his ear. She pointed at the two of them, and the servant nodded, quickly making himself scarce among the rush of castle staff. But whatever Moon was up to, whatever her reaction would inevitably be, it didn't matter. As expected, they had her attention, and that was enough.
After receiving a subtle nod, Star asked with a touch more enthusiasm than normal, "Soo, Penny. Do you have any plans for tomorrow? If you're not busy, maybe we could go for a nice nature walk, since you're into that kinda thing? On the castle grounds of course." And while Penelope had to admit, it was a nice sounding suggestion, she would never in her right mind agree to being alone with Star anywhere. But, a show was a show.
"Y'know what? That actually sounds rather nice," she noted as she sipped her wine, "I never really took you for the kind of person who likes that sort of thing." Frankly, that was entirely true, both of them silently agreeing to hate the very idea, but before Star could even answer the prod, there came a gentle tap on her shoulder.
Turning, she found herself unfazed at the sight of the servant from earlier standing just beside her chair, speaking in a hushed voice. Likely, he had been asked to keep their interaction discreet, not that anything thus far had been so, and he spoke in a practiced, discreet whisper. "My Lady, I regret to inform you that the Queen has asked that you sit in your assigned seat for the duration of the evening." He furthered the point by gesturing to a choice spot right next to her Majesty, a coveted seat for any of the boot-licking nobles in attendance. "If you would be so kind? I'm afraid she was rather insistent.
"Can I ask why my mom wants to move me waaay over there?" Star asked, gesturing loudly to the opposite end of the table, "I mean, I kinda feel more comfortable here. Y'know: among friends."
The servant chanced a glance at Reynard, who was quick to offer a look of 'Sorry dude, too drunk to care', before he sought help from the Queen herself. Thankfully, Star was relieved to see Moon shake her head indignantly, pointing with a resolved glare to the empty chair on her right.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid I don't have a choice. The Queen insists that the two of you be…seperated?" Now, Star kind of felt for the guy, clearly out of his depth and deeply uncomfortable at having to order a member of the royal family out of their seat. So she reluctantly- or rather, acted reluctant, in standing before loudly announcing her move. "Hookay, if the QUEEN is really so dead set on keeping the two of us apart," she chastised with sincerity, "I suppose I'll go sit over there next to Lord Parcival! Bye, Penny, I guess this is goodnight."
Of course, there was a hush of muttered grievances for the princesses, Reynard among the loudest to voice their dissent, but unsurprisingly there also came a loud majority who saw through the display with ease. And frankly, that wasn't an issue. Star knew their acting wasn't going to fool the room, but that wasn't the point. What was important was that everyone present and within earshot could see both herself and Penelope working together, and a perfectly rigid Queen Moon attempting to roadblock their cooperation.
So as Star made her way to the far end, tailed by an uncomfortable servant carrying her things, she made it clear that sitting closer to the object of her oppression was the last thing she wanted. Dropping into a seat next to the crusty old Lord Parcival, she caught sight of Penelope resuming her meal with marked remorse, a shamefully chastened Reynard hamming it up, and she knew it was the final stage. A last ditch to get into the butcher's house.
Parcival, bless him for all intents and purposes, sneered at his new dining neighbor, gesturing down the table with slimy glee. "And here I was thinking the two of you couldn't possibly make bigger fools of yourselves after this past week's debacle," he noted, swirling his wine and taking a ginger sip. "How delightful that you see fit to prove me wrong. As if you could make us all forget how you embarrassed the Butterfly name in front of your entire subjugation with a friendly show of peace."
All part of the plan, thank corn.
"Nah, sorry Parcy, but all that business is behind us," Star refused, buttering a cob and taking a less than ladylike bite, "We're done with all that junk, and the fact that my mom is trying to keep us apart right after we fix things? It's a little ridiculous.''
The nobles around her took to that bit of bait like a bloatfrog to a gooba fly, whispering amongst one another and tossing subtle looks towards Her Majesty. And thankfully, for whatever reason, Parcival kept it going.
"If nothing else, I find it admirable that you can find such resolve in the face of someone as steady as the Queen," came his chuckled remark, though his compliment was honeyed with venom. "What surprises you've been up to this week with your 'friend' have certainly kept the castle talking. And talking. And talking. Honestly, what did you reasonably expect the rest of your mothers court to believe in light of your little show?"
"First of all, it's not a show, Parcy," Star noted, happy to see the twinkle in the slimy old man's eyes vanish, "We really did make up. And yeah, it wasn't in front of everyone for the whole castle to marvel at, but I'm really trying to do the right thing here. Frankly, your attitude about it is kind of killing the mood."
Parcival frowned, and while Star was hoping he'd give her an opening for the kill, she was dumbfounded to see him give what he probably thought was a smile. Taking another sip of his wine, he offered with a shrewd, if somewhat genuine chuckle, "Then accept my apologies. Seeing the children who will unfortunately take over after my generation is gone actually go through some sort of metamorphosis? It's refreshing to say the least, especially compared to your usual… antics."
'Wha- ughhh! Seriously? NOW you have to go and say something nice?' Star all but fumed, 'Jeez, whatever. If you want a killing blow, ya gotta take it by the neck and make it happen.'
Setting down her corn, Star gestured towards the end of the table where an almost omniscient Queen moon was watching, and gave her something to stew about. "I really appreciate it, PARCIVAL! At Least some people notice me doing the right thing!" she called out to no one, with enough bravado to make even the lord at her side uncomfortable. "I was hoping to make better amends over the next few days, but if QUEEN MOON doesn't WANT THAT-"
But whatever words Star was going to say failed to find voice as all sound seemed to vanish from the room. Around her, nobles mouthed to one another in silent conversation before noticing that they were not making a , she saw her mother standing at the head of the table. Star could almost feel the heat of her scorching glare, and a quick glance at her white-knuckled fist told her that her mom had used that orb of silent voices spell on the entire room, not caring who it affected.
"That is QUITE enough, Star. Kitchen. Now!" Moon ordered, before releasing her fist and restoring the room to excited murmuring.
Reynard and Penelope alike were both mortified at the gravity her words, and the response from the Queen they had evoked. But one look around the room proved it was under control. Every pair of eyes present darted from Moon to Star with startling speed. No one said a word, watching to see how the latest work of the dynamic screw-up duo would play out. And while no one was looking, Penny gave Star a thumbs up for a job beautifully done. And nodding back to nobody, Star stood, folded her napkin, and followed Moon into the kitchen without another word.
This was the endgame now. All she had to do was make this about anything but Marco, and they had it in the bag. Moon would cry false about the showmanship, be handed the ulterior motives she'd carefully crafted, and they'd be out of here by breakfast tomorrow. Easy peezy, taco breezy.
"Everyone out of the kitchen, now," Moon ordered, giving no quarter to the grumbled protests and meek pleas to protect the fragility of the sauces. "I apologize for the delayed dinner, but I need a word with my- …The Princess. All of you, out."
For a handful of seconds, none of the staff were brave enough to utter a word, each of them trading glances and searching for some sort of validation to just… stop working? Moon stared at Star, the staff stared at each other, and seconds ticked by as meat continued to sizzle and the soups continued to simmer. Until finally, the head chef to Castle Butterfly slowly took off his apron, set it down, and pulled his pipe from his pocket. "Right 'gents, take a quick break," he grumbled, though not with disdain. Star figured he likely just sounded gruff as a norm. "We'll be back in a fiver, yer' majesty. Please try to be quick, we'd hate to 'ave to throw out the octopus."
And with that, he turned on his heels and strolled out, the rest of the staff quickly following suit until only the Queen and Star remained. Once alone, however, the calm facade Moon wore quickly fractured as she turned to face her daughter, her eyes burning with disbelief.
"Have the two of you completely lost your minds?!" She demanded, only to be met with a blank shrug and a confused frown. Pinching her nose, Moon sighed, ready to lay into Star with days of pent up frustration. "You two are making a mockery of an already precarious situation that I have had to clean up! It's plain to see for everyone present that after the events of this week, you both are in some sort of gambit to test my patience and force me to concede to whatever ridiculous terms you have. What could possibly prompt such an idiotic ploy at dinnertime of all hours of the day?!"
In quick retaliation, Star met Moon's demands with a sudden, chilling glare, her previously clueless grin melting away as she answered, "We want out. Both of us."
For a moment, Moon prepared an onslaught at such a simplistic explanation, but she curbed her anger at the immediate thought that came next: Penelope and Star were working together. They planned this, knew the outcome and discussed the risks in full before even sitting down. They were at least speaking to each other again and had even gone so far as to make it everyone's problem, rather than just hers.
"There's no conspiracy, and I'm not trying to mislead you, Penny and I made up," Star continued despite her mothers silence, even going so far as to use an unsavory nickname, "I told her that what she does with Marco isn't of any consequence to me, but I'm trying to become something better than what I've been. And that starts with helping the person I've wronged."
Moon folded her arms in dismissal and rapped her fingers against her shoulder, her eyes narrowing in clear refusal. Despite her obvious stance on the matter, and her clear disbelief, she offered, "Go on?" in a voice as chilling as the peaks of the Jagged Mountains.
Star let out a breath of relief. "I know you wanna think we're up to something. And I don't blame you. Heck, earlier this week I almost tried to find a mind cont-," Moon sighed, furrowing her brows even deeper. "You're right, nevermind, not important. But- ...I don't know. Nothing worked, and Glossaryck said I should just try some empathy, and… I got through to her. So now? I just wanna see my friends again, and so does she. We want out."
"And I'm expected to believe all of this simply because you've gone out on a limb to convince me? After a full week of you terrorizing the castle to 'get through to her'?" Moon asked, not missing a beat, "Star, I have exactly zero time for this nonsense you and Penelope have-"
"Mom," She interrupted with sincere, honest eyes. And try as she might, Moon couldn't see that telltale break in them she had seen earlier at the table. "I know I've tested your patience and trust these last few weeks. I know I haven't been the… ideal daughter you probably wish I was." Star paused, turning her eyes toward the floor.
She caught her breath, as though the mere act of their conversation was taxing in ways she hadn't anticipated. And much to her surprise, Moon seemed to stiffen, shirking her dismissive cold front for one of new, genuine concern. "But like I told you earlier this week, I want to be better. I'm trying to fix things, so you alone don't have to shoulder my load, but I'm afraid I can't do that without your help. And now the people know it. So, I expect you to believe me… because we really can't afford to give you a choice. "
When Star finally braved up and looked back at Moon, she wasn't entirely surprised to see her mother was, well, surprised. Moon was well and truly shocked, not only at the admission that this was all part of some hair-brained plan, but at the clear hoops these two had jumped through to make this happen. Hell, she'd have been almost proud if she wasn't so endlessly annoyed with her long list of dirty laundry stemming from her sole heiress.
In all, it really was refreshing to see a ploy by the princess not end in catastrophe, to see her doing something…right? No, that sounded wrong, however true it may have been. Even the 'ideal daughter' statement was honestly right on the money, despite the guilty conscience it brought with it.
All in all, in light of the ultimatum given to her, Moon was more or less caught in a corner. The nobles had clearly noticed the teamwork both of them had displayed, however poor it may have been. And frankly, Star had actually made progress with her prior rival. Or atleast, enough to get this far, and yet?
"I cannot allow the two of you to leave yet," Moon ultimately decided, flooring the eavesdropping cooks and staff waiting just outside.
But none was more tossed than Star, the princess quick to retaliate with a touch less control than before. "Wha- Seriously? What is your deal with this?" she demanded, marching a few steps closer to Moon and prodding a finger in the Queen's face, "I've been working with Penny, I've been training in magic, I've been trying to fix my mistakes, I've been thinking about the future-"
"Star." Now, it was Moon's turn to take the wheel and loom, stepping past the projected finger and glaring at the object of weeks worth of headaches. "No amount of scheming and conniving would ever convince me that the two of you have gone from at each other's throats, to comrades in arms in just six days. I can only assume that the two of you are plotting something under the guise of settling your grievances, and in lieu of that? I 'have no choice', as you so eloquently put it, but to uphold your grounding until such a time as I see real change in your motives."
Star seemed to deflate at the accusations, an honestly hurt expression shadowed across her face as Moon steamrolled further into her victory march. "You may be able to fool those moronic nobles out there, and I have no doubt that you could find a way to trick Penelope into believing your little chrysalis. But I was young once, and I know what loving someone does. I know what Marco so clearly means to you. And I know what that love has done to guide you this week. So no. You are not. Leaving. This castle."
With an upheld resolve that refused to fracture, Moon searched for the obvious signs of cracks in Star's resolve, those little signals that always gave her away when she lied. She had known since before Star could speak the little ways she would give away the truth, and now was no such exception. Except, the signs of her truth yielded no change. Star remained a steady front against the crashing waves sent her way, and she held Moon's gaze for what seemed far longer than 'a fiver'.
Or rather, she focused with all her might to not give in, to not argue against the Queen despite her so richly deserving it. She had brought up the taboo topic and used Marco as a bullet point to win an argument. It took a substantial effort from Star to keep a cool head and remember what she was doing this for. All of her failed attempts, her talks of peace, making a fool of herself in front of half the castle? All of it had purpose, and it was the price to pay to see this through to the end.
"You said that maybe someday, waaay off in the future, I might get my chance. And really? I… I can live with that."
Moon halted her advance, shifting from steadfast resolve to blanketed shock. She stared, aghast as that statement replayed in her mind over and over again, and while she wanted to refute it as little more than a misguided sentiment, she couldn't. Twice this evening she had lost her carefully crafted composure, and she wasn't keen on repeating that mistake. Star was unnaturally calm for the discussion they were having, and the sincerity she spoke with was almost… unnerving. But Star was content to play things Moon's way, and dip into the topic of the taboo.
"I want to be happy too. I don't wanna sit around like an idiot, and I don't wanna fight tooth and nail for something that gets me hurt. All I want is my one chance. And if that day never comes, then that just means he wasn't right for me," she reasoned, the kitchen staff cowering beyond the door swooning after the display of their Princess, ''I'm not gonna waste years of my life waiting for something that might not even happen, so… she can have him, or be his friend. I don't really care anymore. I just want things to go back to how they were before I donked everything up; back to square one, as strangers. Can you please just let me have that?"
Moon could almost feel her mind turning about to a sharp degree as she weighed those sentiments against her own. She poised Star's present with her own history, divided the risks by the rewards, and multiplied by the chances of it all being a farce. What she got was simply: Error. Try as she might, she couldn't read Star like she used to, and she couldn't find that telltale crack in the usually glass front. Had Star really come so far in so little time? Was that even possible for someone with such a long and charred history of mistakes and pitfalls with her own kingdom? How on Mewni could this possibly not be a trick?
Surely Marco did have some sort of impact on her daughter, right? There was simply no way Star could have managed this type of change of her own accord. But alas, Moon had to allow that that line of thinking, however justified, really wasn't fair. Despite that long list of dirty laundry, despite the many accounts lined up against her daughter, that was really all she was when it came right down to it: her daughter. Perhaps not 'ideal', but persistent, sincere, and compassionate nonetheless.
Star was making a real effort. Towards whatever goal Moon couldn't say, but a real effort nonetheless. And the worst thing she could do as a mother was to deny her daughters good deeds under the veil of past pretenses. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it would wind up digging her hole even deeper, but Moon ultimately found that despite everything? She had to believe that Star was being genuine, and that her actions were real.
"Star," Moon began, breaking the silence and capturing the attention of everyone present, and everyone eavesdropping. "I am asking you this not as Queen, not as Moon the Undaunted, not even as a Butterfly, but as your mother. Please, I beg of you: do not make me regret this… but…"
The amount of breath held around her would have been enough to fill a hot air balloon. And while she was clearly aware of the lingering scent of burning tobacco, lurking staff, and a hint of misgivings? Moon let out a sigh. "Fine. As of now, the two of you are free to leave the castle, and you may see your friends as you wish; all of them." Star nearly jumped out of her skin with joy, her eyes shining every shade of the rainbow before landing on a twilight of sapphire.
"But, I uphold your end of the deal. You both are to seek mutual, platonic friendship with Marco as soon as mewmanly possible. And if you slip, if you make me regret this for whatever reason. If anything happens, you are solely responsible this time. I refuse to shield you from the rest of the castle for your mistakes. Are we clear?"
For Star, that price was well worth it, she could care less about consequences that didn't apply to her. This was all on Penny now, and if she wanted to run around in secret with Marco? Well that was just peaches. And regardless, it wasn't like she had to wait for long to see things start to flip her way, her and Marco's deeper planning well and under the radar. She was about to have the cleanest hands in the entire M.R.C., and she was about to be single to boot.
"Don't worry mom, I promise I won't let you down," Star offered, moving in for a hug Moon was all too willing to reciprocate, "thank you for trusting me, and for helping me fix all this."
"Of course, sweetheart. All I ever do, I do to protect you. Even if it's from yourself," Moon answered, pulling back and turning towards the door. "Now then, all of you can return to work, and breathe not a word of what you've been listening to, or so help me I'll hire humans to show you how to deglaze that octopus!"
The door to the kitchen burst open, nearly a dozen cooks and staff falling in its wake as the head chef cleaned his pipe. There came a hum of chatter from both sides on where to start and what to jump to, but Star was all but deaf to it.
'Now, we just need Marco.'
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
AUTHORS NOTES
Finally! We may be slow, but what we lack in alacrity, we more than make for in quality! Firstly, let me thank you all for enjoying our work thus far! Real life has an annoying habit of getting in the way of writing, but Ronald and I are proud that we can bring fans of SvtFoE a great story. And much like my coauthor below, I'm so excited to bring you all the next chapter in this story and of course read your thoughts on it! And finally, before I leave you to my coauthor's thoughts and our responses to those of you kind enough to leave a review, I want to leave a morsel to tantalize you for the next chapter. How bad, can a LARP go? Afterall, it just a game… Isn't it?
~Lord Cornwalis
Welp, this update certainly wasn't without it's delays and subsequent hazards, there being a plethora of planning, outlining, scheduling, drafting, editing, and exotic cooperation from the two of us. Part one's been a joy, and now that both Corn and I have our feet nice and wet, Part two should leave you all positively breathless. Seriously, if you thought this was good, wait until you see what our happy little mewmans and hewmans have in store for them. Thank you all for the immeasurable patience you've displayed thus far, the enthusiasm you've shouldered since this Fic's beginning, and your… shall we say voracious consumption of our work up until now. Words don't easily describe how it feels to make something and see so many people positively enraptured by it, but if I had to pick a few? "It's been pretty peaches."
~Mr. Ronald Reagan
REVIEW ROUNDUP
(FINALLY)
LC: I'm exhausted from editing this, so my review responses will just be a mish mash of both chapters!
Mr. Spinner
LC: Glad you loved the chapters, man! Like I've said before, and I'll likely say again, quality takes time and I think we fit that idiom to a T. Tons of work and editing goes into each one of these chapters, along with lots of back and forth as Ronald and I bounce ideas off of eachother and refine our writing. It makes me glad that you were really feeling the emotions we were trying to convey to the audience through the various scenes in these two chapters. Can't wait to read your thoughts on this chapter and the next!
RR~Ch.13 Hey, when two minds like this get together, you're allowed to expect greatness haha. Corn really took it away with that Moon discussion, and he was definitely a fantastic oversight in making that Horror sequence. It was as much fun writing it as it was testing out my scary bones. Haha, thanks a bunch for the compliment, I like to think I can pride myself with worldbuilding, and making it as insane as that dance club was no exception! And finally, oh yes, the man himself took off those gloves and treaded ankle deep in waters I dare not cross, and absolutely crushed it. Overall, thrilled to bits you loved the chapter as a whole, it was a joy to write, and a joy to be a part of, thanks to yall!
ViceVersa96
LC: Crazy indeed! WE try not to disappoint with the stakes and drama in these chapters. You readers crave an interesting story, and by mewni, we plan to deliver! Very interested to hear your thoughts on the beginnings of this next calamity!
RR~Ch.13 Hahaha, I love it! I bet I can convince Corn to get on that ball of ending exposition! Now I just need to get back into voice work and we're mint! So glad the crazy shit threw yall for a loop, I was really hoping it would fuck with everyones collective shit nice and proper! As for the future of our once and future queen? Ohhh, in due time, my friends. In due time XD
Xxnike575xX
RR~Ch.13 Lemme level with ya, nike. The entire reason I wanted to get into Writing, let alone writing Fanfictions? Was for that exact emotion and reaction you're having. I sat down one day after reading a particularly good fic, wasn't even for Star Vs, and I said "Fuck, I wanna do that. I wanna make someone feel something, I wanna make it hurt so good, they can't help but come back". I wanted to make something that puts into other people what I feel every time I read a fic that puts me over the moon. And to see someone read the stuff I do, and experience that? Dream came true. Hands down. Thank you, man, hearing this means more than you can probably guess.
LC: I honestly feel the exact same as my colleague above. Hearing from the readers just how much we entertain and thrill is always wonderful motivation. Its validation for all the hours of hard work that go into making these chapters what they are. We want our readers to stop sometimes and be like "god damn this is good shit" lol, truly it makes my day! And honestly? Just wait until this one is over, you ain't seen nothin yet!
AmazingStorytime
LC: Starco is one of those amazing couples in fiction that really transcends the genre. It's a disney cartoon ostensibly aimed at young adults, but somehow it speaks to many of us on a much deeper and more mature level than that. It covers tons of grown up topics like racism and segregation, unrequited love and heartache. All emotions and feelings that evoke powerful reactions from us. I really think that because of how wonderfully written Star and Marco are as characters, and their amazing dynamic, it just fuels this inspiration in a lot of us authors to give them even more amazing adventures together.
RR~Ch.13 You and me both! The high I get when I write these two facing off against something bigger than them is akin to methacrackerall. And magic with sci-fi is easily one of the coolest combos to exist, I mean look at fucking Star Wars! Ironically, also owned by disney but whatevs! I'm sure you've likely already managed to hit that same kind of beat with your readers by now, or at the very least that tenth you mentioned.
Lord of The Storm
RR~Ch.13 Fuck let's get down to the details! Hell yeah! So for the Penny and Star scene with moon, that nod about one of them being rulers was more like Moon stressing that one of them in particular has even less of an excuse to misbehave. And hey, when you're queen, that means ya gotta set aside your personal biz to talk terms with some rowdy teenagers. Happy to see you've been keeping track of that lovely little puzzle known as earth's government, and their extended stay tho lmao. Moving on, I agree, it's tantalizing to think about how far down the rabbit hole Jackie's gone, and how much "Elias" has come back out. I won't say the similarity was intentional, but I have to agree it isssss pretty damn similar lol. As for the club scene- hold on I need a new paragraph for this one lol.
At first, that spherical shithole was just a cool one off idea, but fuck did it demand I run with it. It took me a lot of brainstorming to come up with shit that would fill the bill, and thank god Corn gave me a good enough reason to even send them there. Between the Maze, Marshal, the music, the dancing, It was, for lack of better terms, a trip. For me, I don't think Ive ever written about a scene so hard to describe and track. But the payoff of having those two goofballs run around in there was well worth it. Repressed emotions and fears, Corn's legendary music lineup, and a big ball of fun chock full of opportunity for seedy growth and questionable antics? Where the fuck do I sign?!
Overall though, I'm hella thrilled you enjoyed the chapter, and pun intended, I'm glad you enjoyed Corns little 'cherry' on top. These two have flaws, they have issues, and they're bound by them. But to see them grow and unfurl into something blossoming, something genuinely beautiful to be a part of? I'm thrilled I can share it with you, man, because this is just as much a journey for me as it is for them. Both writing it with another author, and delving into more or less, unknown territory. I'm still learning, as this chapter can attest, and thankfully I have someone a little more well versed in the profession to lend that big, old, sweaty hand XD
LC: Well after that novel what is left to say? But seriously, Lord, it's always a pleasure reading your reviews for our work. They are thoughtfully written, I thoroughly enjoy how you usually pick out specific scenes and things that caught your attention or made you think. I of course agree with everything Ronald said above, but I will add my own little bit that it's very refreshing to see that payoff come to fruition. Having the politics regarding the Penny/Star/Marco love triangle explode into the firework of embarrassment for the kingdom was an absolute treat to work on. It let us weave multiple plot threads together into one giant tapestry of intrigue and plots and I'm very much looking forward to seeing where things take us in the near future.
The smaller second half of the chapter was my little endcap on the absolute behemoth that got rolling in the chapter before. I felt like getting some "immediate aftermath" for our main players was very important to set up this current chapter, and having Starco "face the music" of their heartfelt and passionate night of mutual confession and acceptance was absolutely necessary for all of you to see. That's the kind of stuff I, as a reader, would have been grumpy at if we didn't get to see it first hand.
Adol116
LC: Hope this one is just as amazing as you expected!
RR~Ch.13 Thank you!
The Book of Eli
RR~Ch.13 Corn and I have had a good running lineup thus far of "Fuck, Eli isn't gonna like this", to "Okay this should set him down kinda easy" as the chapters have progressed. I hate to deny someone so devout a potentially great ship, and even more so a really good opportunity to delve into an equally tainted set of teenagers. But true to form, these "bitches do be crazy", and one of them 'forgot their floaties'. We'll see how things develop in the future, and hopefully you find it as intriguing and gripping as now!
LC: Ah yes, we all knew this day was coming… And Ronald speaks the truth. Since basically the very first chapter after you left your review we've been saying "Oh, Eli is going to hate us for this!" But I hope you find it in your heart to forgive us our shipping sins and continue to enjoy this crazy story as we roll on forward. Trust me, even if not with Marco, we haven't seen the last of Penelope, not by a long shot. She'll get her time to shine, for sure!
Blackspiderman
RR~Ch.13 Lol thank you! I was honestly pretty well and ecstatic to get it out to y'all!
LC: Hope we kept your heart racing this time around too!
Starco4everr
RR~Ch.13 Welp, a confession is akin to step one… or I guess in this case its more like step eight, but I digress. A big step all the same to preface a very, very long journey that's only just begun.
LC: It's all about that slow burn and the explosive payoff!
RJV
RR~Ch.13 Why thank you, my good man! Your praise recharges my spirit as always!
LC: We aim to please!
NoDabsAllowed
RR~Ch.13 Ayyyee, poggers all around, brewski, sorry for the long wait but you bet your rear bumper it ain't stopping for long!
LC: More is on the way, fret not!
LotusFury
RR~Ch.13 So glad to hear it! Here's hoping that we can continue to pique your interest with many more chapters!
LC: What Ronald said!
SonGozen32
RR~Ch.13 Sorry that the wait was a little longer than either of us would have liked, but plenty of personal affairs and issues have been stifling progress in tandem for us. However, I'm beside myself that the ride was as wild for you as it was for me! Hope ya stick around, friend!
LC: Wild ride indeed… They do tend to be the most fun, and honestly, the most fun to write! Keep holding onto that seat, friend because things are just getting started!
Stella Imber
RR~Ch.13 He is a man of many talents, one of which being the ability to network lol. Glad you found your way here, found our story to be agreeable, and found our other works to be much the same! And heyyy! Someone noticed the Eclipsa Dragon hahaha! Yup, she aint gone for long, and absolutely, I think the both of us are more than open to the prospect of other ships finding their way into our little portrait. Happy to have you in the club, and I hope this chapter delivered as much as the rest!
LC: You know, Ronald and I hemmed and hawed over that Eclipsa cameo. We were a touch worried that it may have been too early to hint at anything with her, but honestly, I'm happy we decided to include it when we did. It's fun to see our readers catch on to our clues, some more subtle than others they may be. Funny story, Ronald was the first person to ever Favorite "In the Pale Starlight, and after reading so much of his story "Forgotten Ventures," I felt like a partnership would be a ton of fun to put out another fantastic story for this community to read.
Slogokonnor99
RR~Ch.13 Yeah, a bit of a slow start to things, but when it took off it reeeaally took off. This story was a random, 'middle of the night PM' from Corn and I couldn't be happier I was down to clown with it. I share your pain, as I for one am also not much for the more...spicy moments, opting to have it implied, and rare when it's not. But, Corn knows his stuff and makes wonders from it, so i won't complain lol. So happy you enjoyed the story thus far, man, and I hope you enjoy what comes next!
LC: Boo to both of you! I pride myself on my spice writing abilities, try to keep away from the more "lemony" four letter words and give you guys a tasteful, romance novelesque experience and this is the thanks I get! Jk, jk of course. Spice isn't for everyone, so I understand if some people elect to read past it, though I am very glad you're a fan of our work and are excited for the next chapter! Hopefully this one didn't disappoint!
LUKISO2
RR~Ch.13 Yeah, to say that life has a funny way of stepping in, for both good and bad reasons, would also be a massive understatement. But, we're happy to be here now, and back on track for y'all. As for the blood moon, and Corn, stop me if I'm spoiling too much here, but we want it to take more of a backseat role in things. You'll see it more in the future, scattered about the story like sparse buckshot, but for now, things are mostly resting on the shoulders of our two idiot teens, with the Blood Moon, among other Ghastly company, cheering them on from the sidelines.
LC: Yeah, I don't think that's too many spoilers for one review response. Moon imagery can have a lot of different meanings to a lot of different cultures. For some, it's prophecy and the foretelling of events. For others, a more maternal place in their lives as a counterpart to the sun. The Bloodmoon was a concept that I thought could have been slightly more developed in the series if it had been given some time, and much like our moon imagery, the community itself is split on just how much credence to give it for helping Star and Marco come together.
NightAroma
RR~Ch.13 Ohhhh yesss, they're totally fucked lmao
LC: So fucked, lol.
Skiddlez
RR~Ch.13 Well I'm pumped to hear that this story is one of the few that keep ya coming back!
LC: And keep you coming back we plan on doing! Always a pleasure to know we're at the top of the Fanfiction game for you!
