Chapter 7: Flowers and Fire

The sounds within the Butterfly castle began to die down as the dining hour came at night. The ingredients almost finished being prepped, the tables were set with dining utensils, and the dining hall was decorated beautifully for this day. As all the castle staff prepare for this joyous feast that will house the noble families of Mewni that were invited or were present during the tournament.

Meanwhile, in a separate room Queen Moon and River were getting dressed up for the dinner. As strange as it was, they needed to make the dinner presentable and accountable based on their efforts of advertising the tournament. Making sure the dinner lived up to the expectations of the ruling monarchs of the Butterfly Kingdom.

"River, can you be a sweetie and pass me my diamond shaped earrings."

"Of course moonpie, but could you pick out my cape? I'm having issues deciding between my royal blue cape and my navy blue cape. River responded as he held up the two capes for Queen Moon to see.

Moon looked at both capes and looked back at her husband's outfit, "The royal blue does look appealing but the navy blue suits your outfit the best." Moon replied.

After some minutes, Moon looked over to River expecting that he had found her earrings.

"River dear, did you get my earrings off the desk?" Moon asked.

"Moonpie, are you sure that you left your earrings there? Cause there is nothing on the table." River replied.

Confused, Moon walked over towards the table within their bedroom and began looking around for those earrings. " I could have sworn that I left my earrings here." Moon thought to herself as she checked the table once more.

"Did you leave it in your office Moonpie?" River asks as he looks at his reflection in the mirror.

"Yes, you are probably right, I'll be back in just a moment." Moon said as she left the bedroom and went towards her office.

As she reached the door, there was something eerie about the presence beyond the door. Like there was something or someone stalking around within waiting for a target to pounce on. Moon began to flow magic into her hands causing them to emit a light blue hue around them. With her guard readied, she twisted the knob and barged into the room with her hands ready to strike any that dare oppose her. However, there was nothing inside the room besides the evening breeze that poured in from the window. Moon slowly walked over to her desk and spotted her diamond shaped earrings. Grabbing the earrings, she made her way towards the mirror within the office and began putting the earrings on. As she continued to use the reflection to guide her hands to their targeted location. She noticed something that was out of place within the room, specifically on the edged hinges of the windowsill. After Moon finished putting on the earrings, she made her way towards the cloth dangling in the wind. She closed the window and grabbed onto the piece of black cloth. Analyzing the fabric for any clues to why it was caught onto the hinges. That was when a thought popped into her head, Moon quickly moved towards her desk and opened the drawer of that report she was reading. What should have been a full stack report of some sort of naval battle that transpired outside Mewni's borders, had disappeared from its spot. That was when the pieces clicked into her mind where Moon ran back towards the window and peered downwards. Spotting the movement of a cloaked figure ran across the courtyard before disappearing from Moon's line of sight.

Outraged that someone had successfully infiltrated the castle and ran off with confidential papers. Moon walked out the room and summoned the royal guard, issuing a command to hunt down the infiltrator. However she added on to the importance of keeping this issue on the down-low away from the ears of the guests who were attending dinner. After dismissing the guard, Moon made her way to rendezvous with River who was eager to eat.

Marco POV

As I left the change room, I encountered Sir Lavabo who was promptly waiting for my discarded clothes.

"Hey Sir Lavabo, do you know where Star went?" I asked him as he grabbed the basket of laundry.

"Star left and is probably waiting for you in the dining hall." He responded.

After giving my thanks, I began my ascent up the spiraling stairs towards the direction of the dining hall. At least what I had thought was the direction of the dining hall, which of course was wrong. Lost within the castle, I began wandering around the halls with the subtle hope that I'll bump into one of the castle staff. Continuing my walk forward, the scent of fire filled the hallway in front of me. If fire had a scent, it smelt like the burning logs of a campfire if I had to describe it. Was the castle on fire? Was it under attack? I continued my walk until I felt an unprecedented glare from one of the rooms I passed by. My instincts kicked in and my hand immediately dived across my body to where my pistol was located. Only issue was, I handed my firearm to the head servant Manfred who has yet to return it to me. Instead I decidedly turned towards the door in question. Slowly shifting my feet to ensure balance and my hands raised near my torso to quickly subdue any melee attack that dared comes my way. Keeping my eyes locked onto the door, I called out to whomever dared to remain hidden within that room.

"Show yourself, I'll have you know that I am trained in the art of hand to hand combat!"

As if on cue, a figure slowly emerged from the room and I began analyzing his outfit. He was dressed in an exquisite white suit that was finished with a red bowtie, fine black boots, and a handkerchief within the front pocket. What did bring up concern was the upper part of his body. He had salmon pink hair, a third eye, and lastly two demon horns sticking out of his head. Looking behind him, a set of flames followed his footsteps but didn't stay long enough to burn the carpet. However, he was no doubt young and possibly around my age of seventeen. Once he stopped in front of me, our eyes locked onto each other in a showdown. As if we were trying to read our opponent's next move.

Eventually, I noticed that this stalemate won't get me anywhere closer to the dining hall. So lowering my martial stance, I raised up my hand towards the demonic humanoid.

"My name is Marco Diaz, captain and recent champion of the Tournament." I said with beaming confidence.

Upon hearing my name, his eyes widened as if in disbelief which was followed by some mumbling. Soon after, he brushed off his hands for some reason and reciprocated my handshake.

"My name is Tom Lucitor, Heir to the Obsidian Throne, and Prince of the Underworld."

As I shook his hand, I felt some sort of ominous shiver running in my body. As if my body was telling me that I knew this person before somewhere. Yet why was my senses urging me to beat this guy up?

Before I knew it, I found myself within the enclosed boundaries of the cold yet familiar void. Looking ahead of me, the constant blood red moon shining its light onto something that was strangely familiar. Once again, the moonlight acted as the spotlight on a stage which directed my attention to the figures under the spotlight.

The Stage

A young blond girl is seen dancing around in a vast green field with blooming flowers all around. Her smile was glowing as if she was the glowing yellow star that the flowers needed to survive. She went around this field, with each step taken delicately to avoid harming the beautiful flowers around. But where there is the bright light, there is a sickening darkness leaving a path of terror behind them.

The light from the moon disappeared briefly like a curtain leading onto the next scene. Keeping my eyes towards the stage, I wanted to learn about this familiar story. Rather suddenly, the moonlight was casted onto the stage once more. Yet there was a new figure alongside the girl, intrigued. I kept my eyes on the new figure.

A boy was walking towards the girl, each step he took decimated the flowers and the grass around them. Like terror, the decimation of all things wonderful was in this boy's path. The girl looked at the boy and watched as the flames cooked the flowers to ashes. The girl voiced her deep concerns for the flowers.

"Hey! Don't hurt the pretty flowers" the girl said

However, the boy continued his walk of flames towards her as he replied, "Not like the flowers could feel."

As he took another step closer, the girl continued to voice her concern, "Stop burning them!"

"Why should I? I'm simply trying to get to the flower I want" He said as he moved even closer to the girl.

Slowly, the flames began to spread further and further and began to decimate the flowers around in the field. The girl began to step back from the boy, as she watched the flames roar behind him. Rather quickly, the boy increased his pace and with that the flames roared faster. The heat was unraveling and he spoke again, "Come with me, who cares about all the other flowers when you are the prettiest of them all"

"Stay away from me! You hurt my flower friends!" She shouted as she turned to run away from the boy loved by flames.

The boy grabbed her arm, "Don't think you can get away that easy!" he said.

The moonlight left the stage again, leaving the thought that something was terrible happening to the blonde girl. That boy was acting out of line, nobody burned down the entire meadow to speak to her. Furthermore why would he lay his hand on her, I was riled up for taking action. Yet again, the moonlight began to shine and my attention was taken by the newest figure on the stage. I was interested to see how this character will play on the stage.

Another boy enters onto the stage, wearing what seemed to be a glowing red tunic as if he was being blessed under the spotlight. In the boy's hand was a bucket filled to the brim who was likely passing by the field. The smoke from the flames made pillars in the sky for the surrounding areas to see. Rather suddenly, a voice cried out startling the boy carrying the bucket.

"LET ME GO!" the girl screeched out as she struggled to pull her arm away from her aggressor's grip.

The boy with the bucket immediately rushed towards the scream but made sure that none of the bucket's content's spilled out. Rather quickly, the boy made it to the field and saw the flames spreading around. It was a circle of flames surrounding two figures in the middle. That was when the boy saw the blonde girl struggling to escape. Taking his bucket, he immediately spilled some of the water onto the flames in front of him. Creating an opening within the circle of flames. Putting down the bucket, the boy quickly ran towards the girl in hopes that he could save her.

Meanwhile, the girl tried kicking and throwing punches at the boy who had visible horns on his head. These attacks didn't hurt the boy as he kept his guard up and just kept blocking her attacks with his spare hand. That was until one of the full powered kicks hit his shin which immediately weakened his grip on the girl. The girl celebrated as she got away from the boy but it was quickly short lived. The eyes of the boy before her became glowing white, his horns increasingly more visible and a nasty scowl was across his face. He raised his arm up with his knuckles clenched and was prepared to throw a punch. The girl was frightened, and tears began to run down her face. The horned boy said, "YOU ARE GONNA REGRET DO-" before falling to the ground unconscious.

The girl's eyes widened as the boy dropped to her feet, rather in his place was the boy who carried a bucket. As he panted heavily, he pulled out a red handkerchief that had the letter M embroidered onto it. "Here, he can't hurt you anymore." the boy said as he offered his handkerchief to the girl. The girl thanked the boy and began wiping the tears and soot from her face. Soon after, the fires died out and smoke columns dissipated in the sky.

Taking in her surroundings, she felt heartbroken from the sight of the once lush green meadow she laid in. As she looked up to her saviour, she asked the only question in her mind. "Who are you?"
The boy smiled before replying, "I'm M…."

Before I could catch onto the words, I was overwhelmed by the familiar blinding ruby light that overtook my senses once more. Blinking rapidly, I found myself back in the hall shaking the boy's hand. Breaking away from the handshake, I followed Tom hoping he'll guide me to the dining hall. During our silent walk, I couldn't help but attempt to make connections with the boy in front of me and the vision of the boy on the stage. Was that scene something that I had forgotten? Or was it conveying a message about this Tom person. What was that boy gonna say at the end?

As I tried to formulate answers to the questions surrounding my head. I was briefly interrupted by the glamorous crowd of nobles heading into the dining room. Looking at the doors ahead, the recent moment involving a blonde princess invaded my head. Those deep blue eyes that reflected the great Mewni seas. With her beautiful skin that practically glowed. The wonderful plump lips that begged to be kissed. Shaking my head as I tried to rid myself of these indecent thoughts. That was when something caught my attention, or rather someone. Keeping my gaze on the hooded figure who was standing in the shadows.

"Are you alright there?" Tom said as we walked closer to the dining hall doors.

"Yeah, lost myself in my thoughts" I replied as I kept my gaze towards the shadows at the end of the nearby hallway.

"Well, I gotta get to my parents inside. It was nice meeting you Marco." Tom said as he went inside the hall towards a group of nobles which had the Lucitor Emblem embedded within their attire.

Seeing my chance to meet up with the figure in the darkness, I made my way over making sure I wasn't attracting any attention. After a couple of steps after checking that no one would be eavesdropping on this conversation. I greeted the fellow assailant who was no one other than Janna.

"So Janna, I'm assuming that you put the earrings back to their rightful owners?" I asked as I stepped further into the shadowy corner.

"Of course I did, but we may have an issue regarding a certain butterfly queen."

"What do you mean?" I asked as the topic turned out to be serious.

"She knows that I'm here and she might make the connection that we're pirates." Janna said nonchalantly as she spun some sort of necklace around in her fingers.

Deciding to ignore the fact that Janna has successfully taken some sort of necklace from one of the nobles. I debated about the two possible options I have left, the first is that we stick to the plan, the second means that we skip the feast and leave. After several seconds, I made my choice and I immediately told Janna.

"New plan, tell the crew to grab as many things as they can carry from the Mewni Armoury and we'll be attacking the next merchant ship to leave the docks. As soon as I get the gold from the tournament, we'll be leaving before the Mewni Navy mobilizes. I'm assuming you could do something about them before we leave."

"Of course Cap." Janna said as she began to blend back into the shadows.

Knowing well that Janna will never reveal how she does that, I began walking towards the dining hall doors with a strange sadness deep in my heart. I knew well that I'll be losing hours that will be spent with Star if I leave tonight. As I thought more about the blonde magical princess, I found myself missing everything about her. Funny how the heart works, I met her today and yet my heart acts like I've known her for years. I made myself a promise as I got closer to the entrance of the dining hall. I promise that I will tell Star about these feelings, because I know that I will regret it if I don't. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the hall filled with nobles with the prospect of looking for a certain magical blonde princess.

Star POV

As I made my way up the steps of the castle, the occasional cold breeze blew through the halls. Something that only reminded me that I was warm under the fabrics of Marco's coat. With every breath I took, I caught a whiff of a strangely appealing smell that excurred from the coat. Cherishing the fact that this must be what Marco smells like. I felt like I was sinking into the coat as I tried memorizing the smell. With every step that I took, I found myself thinking more and more about him.

Oh corn, I can't wait to taste the real thing…
"Woah,woah, calm yourself Star, you just met the guy…" I told myself as I shook off the indecent thoughts that circled my head. But I couldn't help but feel like I knew Marco before, sometime in the distant past.

Continuing my walk towards the dining hall, occasionally passing a guard or servant. I noticed something strange up ahead. There was someone lying on the floor, as I got closer to the body. I noticed that it was one of my mother's guards. Before I could inspect the body, the doors of the hallway shut, causing a loud slam to echo. It wasn't before long that a strange gas started filling up the room. Grabbing my wand, I prepared to shatter the glass beside me. Intaking a deep breath to perform a spell, my body immediately began to shut down. My legs dropped to the floor, using my last bit of strength I hid my wand in its secret spot. After it was hidden, my arms dropped to its sides and I ended up face down on the floor. My eyelids grew heavy, as the urge to close them grew stronger. Before I drifted off, I heard voices coming from somewhere. I tried to speak but my mouth didn't move. Eventually I came to realize that whoever I'm hearing was probably the people that used that gas.

"Pick her up, we need to leave before they find us"
"You pick her up."
"Why would I pick her up, I have claws"
"Damn it, I'll grab her before the two of you alert the guards here."

A trailing thought ran through my head as I fell into a state of unconsciousness.
"I wish I could have seen Marco, one more time."

Author Notes: Well, I won't lie I rushed the end of this chapter a tad bit which is why this chapter is smaller than the others. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to begin the journey for the pair and that required a certain push. Or in this case, the introduction of a vital character that plays a important role. Which is why sometimes you need to stop and run away from the roses, because they are on fire by a certain someone.

Anyways I hope you liked this chapter, I have plans and I'll see everyone in the next one.