Chapter XXI: Stonehearted
Selesdria
Darkness surrounded her. No. Not again, please.
Wherever she looked there was only infinite darkness. Shadows, silence and cold. She was freezing, why, why was she so cold? Why couldn't she move?
"Why am I here?"
Why, the emptiness answered her. Why, why, why, why?
There was a burst. The searing heat caressed her skin and in the blink of an eye flames manifested around her, whirling and leaping, giving the shadows the shapes of unicorns, birds, giant knights, dragons and fantasy monsters in a macabre dance filled with screams of dread.
No, not a dance.
A battle.
Selesdria caught the sound of whispers. Out of the flames appeared armored Nagas, wielding spears and swords and faces wreathed in gray smoke, whispering incomprehensible things. They watched her greedily, she realized. How, if their faces could not be seen? She just knew. It was not necessary to see to understand.
The Nagas formed a chorus around her and rhythmically pounded the ground with their weapons, a sound that made her heart race, her body beg her to flee as soon as possible. One of them, larger than the rest and hidden behind a blood-red hooded cloak, approached him with a raised dagger. The light from the flames licked the steel and Selesdria could see herself reflected in it. She was naked, chained hand and foot to a flat rock with splashes of blood along her belly.
"Why?" the hooded Naga spoke in an all too familiar voice. "Why, Selesdria?"
The red hood fell to the floor with a thud and she found herself staring into Ben's lifeless, wolfish face, empty, crystalline eyes that seemed to be able to peer into his soul.
"Why did you let me die?"
"I didn't know the tea was poisoned," her voice came out hoarse. "Ben, if I had known..."
"You stood there, completely still, watching me squirm like a worm, begging for help, praying for a miracle. That poison wasn't for me. You let me die. You killed me. You killed us."
The smoke covering the faces of the Nagas vanished, revealing the faces of Galena, Pip, Grace, Grace, Ryder, Vyper, Iris, Eliza and Jenny. Tears formed in Selesdria's eyes and fell uncontrollably.
"They were accidents, I swear! I never meant to hurt anyone!"
"Excuses! You're no different than your ancestors, you know? You go around unleashing chaos, death and destruction, ruining the lives of those around you. If not with your magic it's with your weakness. What did you do when I was dying? Or when the Nagas killed Galena and the children you promised to protect? Nothing. You did nothing."
"I brought them back to life! I... I loved them. They deserved to live many more years. They shouldn't have... Not like this. I had magic to make amends for that... that..."
"So you decided to break the law of nature just like that, simply because you could? Why do you think you are superior to the dictates of the gods, arrogant woman? What does it matter that you resurrected them? Those children suffered enough in life and Galena was already very old, she practically had one foot in the grave. Wouldn't it have been more compassionate for you to give them the gift of mercy and let them rest in peace?"
"I just wanted to do the right thing," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"And who decides what is right or wrong? Zhihao and Glossaryck? Toffee? The High Commission? You? There is no such thing as right and wrong, that's something people make up depending on their ideals and their interests. No matter what you do, there will always be someone in the world who thinks you made a mistake and you will always end up losing what is valuable to you. All we can do is living while losing things, make decisions and take the consequences. Doing nothing is a decision."
"Everything hurt, Ben. Everything still hurts. I-I..."
He wrapped both hands around her neck, squeezing so violently that Selesdria's cry was exchanged for a silent gasp. She would have pushed him away had it not been for the chains, which squeezed her limbs tighter and tighter
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm... I'm..."
A hooting broke the darkness. The sky glowed with a blinding white light, everything around her disappeared, she found herself sitting under the branches of a heavenwood in a golden field under a full moon and shooting stars.
Selesdria awoke in the middle of the night sweating, panting, listening to her racing heartbeat in her ears. Her body automatically rolled over and she looked for a place to curl up, but the bed was empty. Shivering she ran her hands over her face and hair as she took deep breaths. Luster perched on her shoulder and pecked behind her ear softly.
"I've put an end to it. Are you okay?"
She brought her hand to her chest, only to a second later lower it in defeat. That's right... I don't have it anymore.
"I... I think so."
Unable to go back to sleep, Selesdria pulled a robe over her nightgown, took the Book of Spells from Star's room and returned to the loft. She sat on the bed and opened the book. The pages turned of their own accord until a sleeping Glossaryck appeared with a pudding-fouled mouth in the chapter on Jushtin the Uncalculated.
"Hm? Huh? What's wrong?"
"Sorry, Glossy," she whispered. "I can't fall asleep, so I thought I'd practice magic or keep reading. You can go back to sleep."
"Sure, sure," he yawned. "Go... I don't know. Look at Celena's chapter, her magic is the simplest and safest in the whole book."
The pages turned again of their own volition until they came to a section where it said 'Cinnamon and Anise Amulet for Protection' above the instructions. Selesdria caressed the words, somehow feeling her great-great-grandmother's affection and care.
When someone has cast the evil eye on you, this amulet will strive to keep you safe. A velvet pouch filled with cinnamon, anise and a cat's-eye crystal: all good things for an extra dose of protection. Keep it under your pillow, in your purse or pocket... or even put it on a string and wear it as an amulet around your neck.
"Evil eye?" she blinked slowly, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow. "Glossaryck, great-great-grandmother was very superstitious, I know, but an amulet against bad luck..."
"It's not just superstitions," his mentor spoke from under the pages. "It's a very powerful dark magic that will threaten your life from wherever your enemy is. Your body will become seriously ill through dark magic, it will devour you inside and out, it will consume everything you have, your dreams, your emotions, your life... The way to cure that curse is very complicated and dangerous, so if I were you I would save myself some trouble with Celena's amulet."
Selesdria put on some boots, a simple light gray dress with long sleeves ending in lace, a belt on which she hung a small pouch full of golden coins and finally she tied a long brown cloak with a hood. Looking at herself in a mirror she discovered that her suspicion that the hood would not be enough to hide her identity was true, so she covered her marks on her cheeks with some makeup that her great-aunt Saturn gave her a few years ago and that she very rarely used.
"No store will be open at this hour," Luster reminded her, playing with a lock of her hair with her pick.
"I know, but I want to take a walk through my kingdom," Selesdria wanted to get to know her people, see what their lives were like on a daily basis, find out what they thought and what they needed.
That is my duty, as well as my desire, she thought. And anything is better than staying in a cold, empty bed full of memories.
When she closed her eyes she silently prayed to the gods that she would wake up in the tent she had been living in for months. She wanted nothing more than to open her eyes to meet the golden gaze she knew so well, the one that soothed her when she had bad dreams and anxious thoughts. But that had been in the past. How would those eyes look at me when I saw them again?
Selesdria opened a portal with the dimensional scissors and stepped inside.
Star
It was another bright morning in Echo Creek. For that school day, Star wore a short, sleeveless sky blue dress with a drawstring tied at the neck, a gray cloud-shaped pouch with a face on it, blue striped leggings, light blue sneakers with white tips, and light blue fuzzy leg warmers.
When she came down to the living room, the entire Diaz family was sitting at the table eating breakfast.
"Good morning everyone!" she greeted, quickly sat down next to Marco and poured herself a bowl of milk and Captain Blanche's Sugar Seeds, a brand of very sweet cereal from Earth.
When Star looked up she noticed that her sister was nowhere to be seen. That was unusual, she always woke up very early and had never been late for any meal when they lived at Butterfly Castle.
"Where is Selesdria?"
"She left this note on the fridge," Marco showed her a slip of paper.
I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Star, behave yourself and stay out of trouble.
-Selesdria.
"I always behave myself," Star felt mildly offended and the smile on Marco's face didn't help.
"Oh, c'mon. She just wants you to be safe."
"You shouldn't worry so much," Angie smiled warmly. "It's normal for older siblings to tell their little siblings how to behave."
"It's true!" Rafael laughed. "I'm an only child, but I remember my older cousins telling me what to do from a very young. They didn't stop even when I was your age!"
Star smiled, feeling more relaxed. The Diaz family was warm and open, always full of positivity, drastically different from how her own family was. Her older sister's arrival had been unexpected and she feared her parents would find out how she was using the wand, but since that conversation with Selesdria she felt more relaxed.
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz left for work and shortly after Star and Marco left to catch the bus to school. They didn't even make it out of the courtyard before a portal opened in front of them and a familiar group of monsters appeared.
"Star Butterfly! You're going to give me the wand today!" Ludo shouted, a green bird-like dwarf monster dressed in dark robes and a strange skull like helmet.
Star and Marco shared a smile and dropped their backpacks. As her best friend took a karate stance, Star's wand began to emit magical flashes. You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. That was what her sister had told her the other night. Oh, but there was something she wasn't supposed to know. If she knew then Queen Moon would know, and then all the fun would be over.
"Go get her!" and with that command, the monsters pounced on them.
Star and Marco immediately counterattacked: she conjured spells and sent them flying away while he knocked them out and hurt them with his martial arts techniques.
"My weak spot!" a giraffe monster gasped breathlessly as Marco kicked him in the neck.
Adrenaline coursed through her body. Star had loved fighting for as long as she could remember, especially against monsters, the greatest threat to her kingdom, the feeling of her victory against evil was such that it was irresistible. Ludo and his henchmen had been suddenly appearing since his first day in that dimension to steal his magic wand, and they had been losing miserably since that day.
Just when she least expected it, a monster embraced her from behind in such a way that she could not move the wand properly. Star, furious, tried to free herself as best she could, screaming and kicking, waiting for Marco to help her.
"Star?"
Two monsters jumped up and smashed the boy to the ground, their combined weight being enough to make him unable to move. Star's anger rose when she saw Ludo gloating and practically jumping for joy.
"Yes, yes! Now somebody grab the wand! Lobster Claws, you!"
A monster similar to a gigantic red lobster smiled and started flexing his thorax.
"Oh, yeah, I got this! Go, red boy! Go, red boy! Go, red boy!"
"Stop flexing your thorax and get it already!"
"This is happening now!"
Lobster Claws approached with a few steps and raised one of his claws. Star and Marco screamed in tandem, helpless at the monster's proximity, the arm reached down and lifted an object skyward.
"Booyah! I got it! I got it!" he laughed jumping, clearly unknowing it wasn't the wand what he had.
The monsters were horrified, gasping, holding their hands to their mouths or heads as Ludo watched in disbelief.
"What the?"
"You got clawed!" the happiness of Lobster Claws vanished when he realized that what he was holding was not the wand, but one of the horns of the monster holding Star. "Eww."
The monster holding Star howled in pain, bringing his hands to his head and letting it fall free. She smiled, leapt into the air and pointed her wand at the monsters.
"Poison Crystal Cupcake Kiss!"
The monsters were hit by colorful blasts of poisoned crystal cupcakes that came from the wand. They groaned, howled and fell from the wounds inflicted, Ludo being the last as he landed on the ground with a thud. Once again victorious, Star and Marco approached the bird with big smiles.
"That was fun! But we gotta go to school. Ooh, you're on my backpack."
"Here," Ludo handed her backpack and she and Marco cheerfully walked off.
Yes, it was another bright morning in Echo Creek.
Selesdria
Selesdria spent the rest of the night until dawn strolling through a wooded patch of Mewni. She had admired the large, lush and varied trees, eaten wild berries both bitter and sweet that she herself knew were edible, dipped her feet in a small stream, watched a pair of birds build a nest and enjoyed the sunshine lying in the grass in a small clearing.
The smell of the herbs, plants and berries made her feel almost at home and she thought of Galena and her lessons, of those days in the monster camp. That old woman had taught him well and much and he intended to learn more under the tutelage of Zhihao, the druid who knew magic and plants.
After resting she headed for the nearest village, located in the lands belonging to House Stoneheart, one of the great noble families of the Butterfly kingdom. The village looked better than certain areas of the city surrounding Butterfly Castle, definitely without such dirty streets or peasants begging or selling bowls of strange substances.
It was at a tailor's shop that she bought the tiny little black velvet pouch. Selesdria was struck by the fabrics of varying quality and price displayed on the tables, ranging from simple wool and cotton to linen and delicate silk. Learning to use a needle was a social requirement and expectation that any maiden whether princess or noblewoman had to master to perfection, an ideal skill when creating your own garments.
By the time she was seven or eight years old she had grown tired of wearing the pompous, uncomfortable, pink dresses full of ribbons and ornaments that her family forced her to wear. She encountered the refusal of her relatives to change her closet just like that, particularly her mother and great-aunt.
"These dresses represent that you are a Butterfly, Selesdria," Queen Moon told her. "It is tradition."
"You may wear whatever dresses you wish as long as you have made one exquisitely," Etheria added somewhat reproachfully.
"T-then I'll make an exquisite dress," she declared, willing anything to be free of the bonds.
Her whole family looked at her with either amusement or indifference, irrefutable proof that they believed she would be unable to do it, that she would fail or forget the challenge and eventually give up. Months later they were all forced into silence when Selesdria showed up dressed for a dinner party in a plain dark gray cotton dress that came down to her ankles, with long, wide sleeves, a lace Y-shaped belt adorned with a pearl in the middle and three white butterflies sewn on the chest.
It was a more complex task than she thought. First she looked up a style she liked in the Great Book of Fashion, seeing that she lacked precise instructions on how to make the dresses she went to the royal library for design books, then had to politely insist several times to her sewing tutor and maidservants to bring her the fabrics, threads and tools for cutting and measuring. It was a process of trial and error, getting mediocre results for many weeks until she achieved a result she was sure was perfect.
My fingers ended up full of holes and blood from the needles, I stayed up many times all night only to get dark circles under my eyes and a fever and ended up more days in bed resting than sewing, but it was all worth it in the end.
To find the other ingredients she went into an apothecary. She was fascinated by the smell of incense, scented candles and the various plants and flowers hanging from the cabinet at the back of the store, so large that it took up almost the entire wall except for two doors on either side. From the counter she could instantly recognize the herbs Galena had instructed her on, from those that were hanging to those that were supposedly inside small drawers marked by names on the large cabinet.
The apothecary, in fact, had a very similar ambiance to the old monster woman's tent, despite looking and smelling very different. The scent, in fact, was very, very familiar to her. Selesdria sniffed repeatedly. Yes, there was a certain smell in the air that was personally familiar to her.
"Carnations?" she wondered, but there were no carnations in sight in the entire store.
The scent came from some yellow flowers above a window sill. Their leaves were sword-shaped green in upright fans and the flowers were funnel-shaped grown on slender stalks. As she approached she noticed that the sweetness of its scent was comparable to that of the Butterfly Castle roses.
Why? She thought and her eyes began to water. Why do they smell like him?
"Septarsis' yellow bun-blossom gladiolas are a wonder, aren't they?" The apothecary's owner smiled at her from behind the counter, a middle-aged woman, short as a child, with early gray hair and kind eyes.
"Gladiolas?" Selesdria looked from the flowers to the woman. "I thought...I thought I smelled carnations or roses."
"It tends to happen. Mewni's soil has properties that cause certain of its flowers to have similar scents, even a well-trained nose used to the task has a hard time telling them apart."
The princess blinked slowly and sank into memories.
"Honey, sap, parchment... and gardenia," Toffee listed. She could hear him clearly, as if he was next to her right now. "Tell me, can you identify any particular scent in me?"
"Leather, steel, and... I think I smell carnation."
"Carnation?" He laughed. "Not bad, princess, not bad."
I was wrong, but not entirely... and he laughed because he knew.
"Miss? Miss! Can I help you?"
Selesdria sighed shakily, realizing she had been holding her breath. She approached the counter, breathing in the scent and handed over a small piece of paper with the required ingredients.
"Yes, please."
Star
"Earth history is so cool," proclaimed Star still amazed, going inside the house and leaving her backpack aside. "Ben Franklin blowing up that kite monster with his electric lightning powers? Like, whoa."
"Heh, yeah. That's not what happened," Marco laughed.
Star turned her head to look at him, then saw out the window Lobster Claws in the garden. Her mood immediately soured.
"Hey, look."
Marco and she ran out into the garden wielding a frying pan and her wand. Star screamed angrily, pounced on the monster, knocked him down and pointed the wand at him.
"You want seconds on those cupcakes?!" the monster neither answered nor reacted in any way. Suspicious, she raised an eyebrow. "Um, this is the part where you fight back."
"Blast me!" suddendly, he screamed. "Do it!"
Star recoiled in surprise though Marco, on the other hand, looked concerned.
"Um... Are you okay?"
"Well, uh, the thing is..." Lobster Claws covered his face and his tears fomred a puddle at his feet. "Master Ludo fired me! I can never show my face on Mewni again!"
"Oh, man," Uneasy, Marco looked at her. "He's taking this really hard."
"This is probably just a monster trick," Star scorned warily.
She didn't hesitate to point the wand at Ludo's henchman. Monsters were evil, everyone in Mewni knew that. Since the arrival of the first Mewmen those creatures had been relentless in trying to steal their homes, burn their farms and villages, and kill countless peasants without a shred of mercy.
"Monsters are dangerous, Star," Queen Moon would tell her whenever the subject came up, always speaking harshly and reasoned. "I want you to stay far away from them. They are cunning and liars, they will not hesitate to take advantage of you as soon as they get the chance. They only know the language of violence."
They are baby eaters, thieves and murderers, she thought. The best example was Ludo and the monsters who worked for him to steal her wand. But they can also be dumb and slow.
"I don't think he's faking it," Marco pulled her to him. "We should do something."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. But we can't leave it like this."
"Marco, why do you care? He's a monster," Star crossed her arms and almost grimaced at the sight of Lobster Claws shaking a tree and hungrily chasing the squirrels that fell from it. "Monsters are the bad guys."
"I don't have to be bad," Lobster Claws told them smiling as he held a squirrel. "In fact, I've always secretly wanted to be good."
"Really?" To her astonishment, Marco smiled at the monster. "Well, maybe we can show you how."
"What? That's crazy. Monsters...are... evil! It's just their nature."
"No, it's not! Look!" Lobster Claws put the squirrel down.
"See?" Marco gave Star a gleeful grin.
"Yeah! See?" Lobster Claws opened his mouth. Inside was the squirrel, tail dangling between the monster's teeth, disappearing as it was swallowed by him.
You've got to be kidding me, Star thought.
Selesdria
"You really don't have any? Not even in a warehouse or managers? If I need to make a reservation I can do that, I don't mind waiting, sir."
"Sorry miss, we haven't had any cat's-eye crystals come in for a long time," the owner of the mineral store in town informed her. "That's a pity, they're valuable stones with rumored magical properties, so as you'll see they're good for business."
Selesdria glanced at the counter and the rest of the shelves and display furniture. They were almost completely empty, with vast gaps covered by a light layer of dust between the few minerals presented. It was said in the books that the Stoneheart family lands were rich in minerals and precious stones, a territory blessed with numerous mines and caves filled with gold, silver, copper, rubies, sapphires and other treasures coveted by the rest of the great families.
They had enough mines to allow for the creation of a few rare guilds dedicated to the buying and selling and crafting of a specific list of minerals to expand the trade to other kingdoms in exchange for a small percentage of the profits acquired.
"That's all right, I'll look in another city. I wish you a good evening and may the situation improve, sir," Selesdria turned around but the tired and bored voice of the lord stopped her.
"And I wish you good luck, you'll need it."
"What?" Selesdria blinked in confusion.
"Maybe I shouldn't say anything, but at this point it's no use hiding it. None of the merchants in my guild or any other engaged in the mineral trade have in the last four months received a new shipment from the Stoneheart family from the eastern mines, where minerals such as cat's eye crystals are extracted, and in the last month virtually every other delivery has stopped."
"I thought the Stonehearts were on good terms with the guilds."
"Oh, yes, we all thought so!" the merchant chimed in with a twinkle in his eye similar to that of some court ladies eager to gossip. "The bosses think it's deliberate, a plan to ruin the business and force us to close. Lord Stoneheart is intelligent and responsible, but he's still a child, and if the rumors that his mother is bedridden gravely ill are true..."
"Do you think someone in her entourage is manipulating the family?"
"Just rumors, miss, no one is really sure what's going on. Some colleagues think that the mines are finally dry and that the Stonehearts will soon lose their wealth, others rumor that the monsters have attacked and taken over the mines and are getting the house in trouble, as they claim to have seen well equipped knights going and seeing wounded from battling. Well, I'm sure the queen will soon sort it out."
"The queen..." Selesdria muttered, she pulled her cloak tighter around her.
He was wrong, she was sure of it. Moon Butterfly knew nothing of what was going on, if she had she would have put a stop to it by now to keep peace in her kingdom and her citizens safe, she would have done her duty as soon as possible.
"Sir, do you have a map?"
Star
Star still couldn't believe what they were doing. Somehow Marco had managed to convince her to escort Ludo's monster down the street of Echo Creek as if some disaster wasn't going to happen.
"Okay, Lobster Claws. The key to being good is do unto others as you'd have them do to you," Marco explained.
Less than a second later Lobster Claws hit a guy on a bike riding by them with enough force to throw him several feet away.
"Like that?"
"Actually, that's 100% wrong and you want to do the opposite. Now say you're sorry."
"That's all right!" the cyclist stood up smiling at them. "I landed on a sprinkler!"
"This is too hard," complained Lobster Tongs. "I'm never going to get this."
"Yeah," Star grinned mischievously, pulled out her wand and played with it in her hands as she looked at him. She was getting excited just at the thought of kicking the evil monster's ass again. "You should just give up."
She had hoped her best friend had come to his senses after the attack on the cyclist. Sadly, Marco just laughed nervously and looked at the monster.
"Okay. Don't listen to her. Uh, the next time you get the urge to punch somebody, just imagine how it would feel if it happened to you."
Lobster Tongs frowned and struck a violent pose.
"I got the urge!" His body relaxed and his eyes went wide. "...Wow, that totally would've hurt."
Yeah, right, Star thought. She was going to tell Marco what she thought of all this, but they heard a little girl crying. Tears were running down the cheeks of the little girl standing in front of a tree as the three approached her.
"Aww, what's wrong?" asked Marco gently.
"My kitty's stuck in the twee."
Hanging from a branch was the supposed cat, as white as a cloud on a clear day, meowing as his claws dug into the wood and he swung so far above the ground. Marco looked at the cat, smiled and then turned to the monster.
"Lobster Claws, this is your chance."
"Careful with my Mr. Mittens!"
The red monster climbed to the top of the tree with only a few steps of his four paws under Star's anxious gaze. She frowned and folded her arms as Lobster Claws swooped down from the tree with a triumphant grin and grabbing the animal by the tail.
"Ta-da!"
"Thank you so much, Mr. Lobster Man!" smiled the girl, reaching up to grab her pet.
"I knew there was some good in him," Marco bragged, looking at Star.
The cat's terrified meow made them turn their heads. The feline was trapped inside Lobster Claw's mouth, just like the squirrel from a few minutes earlier, tail dangling from between his teeth and about to be swallowed alive. Marco and Star quickly pulled Mr. Mittens out of the mouth and the princess gave the earthling an upset look.
"Now do you see what we're dealing with?!" she scolded him and looked pitifully at the sweet animal in her hands, frozen with fear.
"Mr. Mittens is fine," Marco reasoned, trying to be positive. "No harm, no fou..."
Marco stopped speaking, letting out a scream with his face contorted in terror. Alarmed, Star looked in the same direction and what she saw made her scream as well. The little girl was half in Lobster Claw's mouth, kicking and struggling between choked shrieks, but nothing she did had any effect against the monster. Star tossed the cat aside and she and Marco ran toward the monster.
They don't just devour babies, Star thought rabidly, watching as the little girl, once freed, ran screaming and crying away, forgetting about them and her pet. They also eat innocent children.
Selesdria
Selesdria looked carefully at the map the mineral store owner gave her and then at the mountainous forest she was in. She had been trying for a long while to find the mines where something was supposedly going on, but so far she hadn't even found any signage or people to show her the way.
"We should be almost there," she scratched the shadow wolf's neck. "Are you okay, do you need to rest?"
The creature shook its head, kept walking. Selesdria sighed and looked around, praying she would find the mines and not be forced to wander disoriented any longer, exhaustion was already starting to take its toll and she hadn't even been walking on her own. A faint flash of yellow in the grass made her step off her shadow wolf. It was a trio of bell-shaped yellow flowers, with six long, sharp petals and pointed leaves growing at his feet. The stems were curved, giving the flowers an appearance similar to that of a sleeping crouching head.
"Wild sleeping tulips: they have properties ranging from tranquilizers to sleeping liquid in teas depending on the parts you use, they generate potent stupefying and drowsy vapors when burned," she recited quietly, plucking the flowers and wrapping them in a small handkerchief, tucking them into a pocket of her dress.
She stroked the shadow wolf's back and rested her head on it, just as she was about to mount it again the earth shook. Selesdria held onto the shadow wolf, watching in a daze as birds soared into the sky and fled screeching, the earth stopped and the brief silence that set in was followed by a roar.
The princess leapt onto the wolf's back and it ran in the direction of the roar, leaping over obstacles and dodging the wild undergrowth that stood in its way. Selesdria heard the sound of steel clashing against flesh, the screams of people and more roars capable of shaking the mountain. A tree up ahead suffered some kind of damage, staggered, fell toward them, but the wolf was faster.
The shadow wolf zigzagged, slipped under the trunk with a full circular spin in time, picked up momentum with its strong limbs and gave a great leap, digging the claws of its paws into a rocky wall, nimbly climbing up to the top. Selesdria clutched the black fur and gasped, catching her breath as a bead of sweat fell from her forehead.
A piercing scream and a set of roars caused her to look down at a clear area of trees and rocks beside another rocky wall where a cave with wooden beams and planks around it and from within which a pair of broken rails, shattered by claws, protruded from the interior. In the cleared area were a dozen knights armed with swords and shields, some wounded and bloodied on the ground with large holes or stingers stuck in them, others standing ready for combat.
Two large red beasts with lion bodies, giant bat wings and scorpion tails were their adversaries. The beasts were roaring and throwing lunges and claws left and right at the knights, their feline eyes delighting when one of the latter retreated or threw a curse, clearly toying with what they considered to be their prey.
"Manticores," gasped Selesdria. "How...?"
Of all the knights there was one that stood out above the rest. His armor and helmet were a copper color gleaming in the sun, his cloak, stained with blood and other substance, proudly displayed the Stoneheart emblem: a copper crown atop three hearts made of diamonds.
"We've almost got them! Don't back down!" shouted the coppery knight, waving his bloody sword. His voice betrayed his youth, but the iron in it removed any hint of doubt to disobey him or that he had any fear at all. "March forward!"
The knights managed to corner the manticores and two of them threw a huge black net at them. One of the manticores leapt aside, roared furiously, and ran into the mine while the other was left behind, trapped under the net. Selesdria gasped as the animal's scorpion tail pierced one of the holes in the net and shot barbs toward the knights.
"Shields up!"
The barbs dug into the raised shields, but one of the knights failed to act in time and the barbs slammed into his armor, his bare face and neck, falling to the ground in agony. The manticore struggled under the net, biting and tearing at them with its claws until it was able to free itself and with surprising speed jumped up and smashed the head of one of the knights nearby with a jaw. It lunged at another Mewman, but the copper knight threw a stone against its mane, enraging it, and began to slam his sword against his shield.
"To me, to me!"
"M'lord!" one of the knights exclaimed.
"Look out!" Selesdria shouted, but she was too far away to be heard.
The manticore lunged at the copper knight, he spun and dodged at the last moment the attack, dropped the shield and threw his cloak into the wild animal's face. The manticore struggled to get the cloak off, roaring and shaking its head, backing away furiously, lashing out with its tail at random and throwing barbs in random directions, one of which flew towards Selesdria and nearly hit her.
The copper knight sought no shield or protection. He fearlessly grabbed his sword with both hands, ran up with a war cry, ignoring how the barbs clashed against his armor and bounced off, and waved his weapon mercilessly. The manticore roared in pain and staggered, its tail, separated from its owner, flew and landed far away, leaving a trail of venom and blood in its wake.
The manticore tore the cloak with one claw and roared in the direction of the coppery knight. Before the beast had a chance to attack again, the young knight let out a roar of his own. He used a stone that was in the way to leap high into the air, his sword and armor gleamed in the sun, the steel came down and dug from tip to hilt into the manticore's forehead, right between its two amber eyes.
The manticore fell dead with the sword still stuck in it. The copper knight staggered back staggering from foot to foot, his chest rising and falling heavily.
"Down, put me down there!" commanded Selesdria to the shadow wolf.
The latter obeyed and with a leap landed in the middle of the scene, the Mewmen knights let out exclamations of astonishment, standing frozen in their places. Selesdria pulled down her hood and helped the coppery knight lie down on the grass, removing his helmet so he could breathe better.
"My lord, are you alright?" she looked at the rest of those present. "Is everyone safe?"
"Who are you?" one of the knights pointed his sword at her. "Stay away from our lord or else!"
"Sheathe the sword," ordered another knight. He was an older half-bald man with thick white sideburns. "If you don't, you will be charged with treason and attempted murder."
"What do you say, Sir Arthur? We don't know her at all!"
"Such a fool you are, unable to recognize your princess even if she is not exactly well disguised."
"What, the princess?"
Selesdria removed the makeup that hid her cheek marks and respectfully nodded to the old knight. She had seen him before at court and at parties, though they had never spoken directly.
"Sir Arthur Field, can you explain to me what is going on here?"
"My princess, that falls to me," the boy clad in the copper armor stepped back from her arms, kissed her hand and gave her a slightly unsteady bow. His hair and eyes were the very color of copper, a light, bright reddish color that would no doubt become very attractive when he became a man. "Lord Jasper Stoneheart, Your Highness."
"My lord," she returned his greeting, but the pleasantries were forgotten as the boy fell weakly into her arms, almost fainting.
Star
"Okay, that was my fault," Marco said. "I assumed you knew this, but... you can't eat children."
"Really?" the monster looked surprised. "Not even annoying ones?"
"Never!"
Star didn't take her eyes off Lobster Claws, she wasn't going to after the incident with the girl and her cat. That stupid beast was acting as if he really hadn't been about to do something horrible, as if eating a child little more than a baby alive was the most normal thing in the world. He deserved a good Narwhal Punch.
Down the street they came face to face with a house on fire. Star gawked at the flames and thick black smoke billowing out the windows, door and roof of the house, rising into the sky, accompanied by strange piano music of unknown origin. There was no one else on the street witnessing the tragedy except the three of them and a disheveled, smoke-stained human woman screaming hysterically.
"Help! Help me! Help me! My baby is still inside!"
"Your baby?!" exclaimed the teenagers.
"Don't worry," Lobster Tongs smiled at them and ran into the house. "Red boy's got this."
"Wait!" Marco screamed.
"And I'm totally not gonna eat it!"
Star growled and pulled out her wand, she knew the monster would only make the situation worse, either by hurting the baby or destroying the house even more, and she had to stop that from happening.
"Cotton Candy Fire Extinguish!"
A massive amount of pink cotton candy shot out of the wand, flew into the house and immediately extinguished the fire completely. The woman ran inside her house, with Marco and Star following close behind, and as soon as they entered they saw the lady head to a piano that was in the living room to hug it.
"My baby! Oh, my baby, my sweet baby grand piano! Were you scared? Tell me what you're feeling," she played a single note on the piano, and it automatically began to play a song and the delighted woman clapped her hands as she sang. "Camptown ladies sing this song, doo-dah, doo-dah."
"I was wondering where that piano music was coming from," Marco commented, looking uncomfortably at the woman.
Star ignored them to looked around worriedly, but there was no sign of the monster that had entered only seconds ago.
"Um, where's Lobster Claws?"
Then they noticed that there was a hole in the back wall of the house in the same shape as Lobster Claws. Star and Marco went outside through the hole and found the Lobster Man holding a gentleman with one claw and with the other lifting an ice cream cart causing the contents to spill out and fall into his big mouth.
"Well, he's not eating humans. That's a step forward."
Later they saw an old woman standing in front of a crosswalk. When the light turned from red to green the old lady began to slowly cross the street.
"Okay, here's an easy one," Marco looked at the monster. "Help the old lady cross the street."
Star tensed, clenched her jaw and watched nervously as Lobster Claws approached the helpless old lady. In a single day that monster had nearly stolen her wand, eaten two harmless animals and a little girl and held up an ice cream cart, what was he going to do to that old lady now if they got careless? There's no way he didn't do any of this on purpose, she thought.
"I'd say he's starting to get this," Marco smiled, but Star remained unconvinced.
"Well, I'm not taking my eyes off him for one sec..."
There was a sudden outburst and they both yelped in alarm. Somehow, in the few seconds they hadn't been watching him, Lobster Claws had set fire to the street, smashed several lampposts and a car parked next to it. The monster lifted a car over his head, screaming furiously, as the flames spread out of control, the old woman fled and that morning's cyclist pedaled away with his helmet on fire.
"Where's a sprinkler?!"
Selesdria
"Princess, forgive me for losing my composure, it was undignified of me," Jasper Stoneheart apologized once he was able to compose himself.
Sir Arthur had escorted them to a small camp where they had hidden their warnicorns and bags full of supplies and wound-fighting gadgets. Next to the warnicorns were three wagons carrying the corpses of other manticores hidden in tarpaulins.
The knights took the opportunity to rest, heal their wounds and sharpen their weapons while they waited for their young lord to recover from the battle. Selesdria had healed them with her magic, but they could do nothing about the soldier who ended up poisoned by the manticore's barbs, he died before they even reached the clearing.
"Don't worry, my lord. I'm glad you're all right, but I'd like to know what's going on."
"That's understandable," he nodded. His face was serious and solemn and his tall, muscular body for his age made him look older than he really was. "The situation in my lands has not been very favorable these past few months, the miners in this area were attacked by some manticores. Miraculously some managed to flee and inform us, to avoid panic we bought their silence with gold and evacuated the area, but it wasn't until three days ago that I was able to take matters into my own hands."
"Manticores..." Selesdria shook her head, taking in the idea. "How is that possible? There have been no sightings of these creatures in centuries, they were thought to have gone extinct or migrated to the dark lands."
"Well it seems a couple decided to honeymoon through my lands, liked my mines and decided to make them their home to eat as many miners as they could and breed in the process," Jasper narrowed his eyes. "My mother didn't want me to come no matter how much I insisted, she said I was still too young, that in the future I could decide how to do things, so my cousin Jett decided to put himself in charge of this operation. The result has been the death of hundreds of our soldiers and the disruption of the market for the minerals in the area, plus last week they managed to attack a village that is on the mountainside and devoured its inhabitants."
"So you decided to act on your own," she inferred.
"That's right, it's no secret that my cousin Jett longs to be lord of my house, he's wanted it since before I was born, it would have been his right if circumstances had been in his favor. He resents me, just as he resented my late father and grandfather. He does not think me worthy successor to the Stoneheart name and the titles that go with it, all because my grandfather, after all his children he had with his wife died, decided to seek a royal decree to legitimize my father, the product of an affair with a servant girl."
"You intend to prove your worth with this?"
"It is not that simple, princess," Sir Arthur said. "Lady Stoneheart is like you, sickly and frail. She has been more unwell than usual these past few months, a situation Jett has taken advantage of to increase his power in the castle. He once even went so far as to try to lock Lord Jasper in the fortress as if he were a prisoner and not his future lord! All that man is capable of doing is to complain and stand watching in the distance while our soldiers and peasants are dropping like flies before the manticores. Three days ago we took twenty loyal men and women, stole warnicorns, supplies, weapons and medicine and rode here to finish what Jett could never."
"And the family armor," Jasper added, pointing to the coppery armor. "Our family situation is complicated. The longer this drags on the more humiliated my house will look and the less respect we'll get. At the end of this year I will come of age and officially be Lord Stoneheart, what kind of lord am I if I don't protect my people and my family? I suppose if you are here, dressed like this, it is because the rumors have already reached the crown and the queen have sent you to inform her."
"No, my lord, my mother nor anyone in my family knows anything of this. I only found out this morning and decided to investigate on my own," Selesdria said softly. "I understand you more than you may believe, my lord. In fact, I wish to help you."
Lord Jasper and Sir Arthur looked at her in surprise.
"Really? Princess, with all my respect I must tell you that this matter does not concern the royal family, only House Stoneheart. It is not your concern."
"Quite the contrary, Lord Jasper," she smiled warmly at him. "These lands may belong to you, but they are part of my kingdom and my duty, like yours, is to protect its people. I don't intend to change my mind, so don't waste energy doing so and tell me how many manticores are left to deal with."
"Just one, the one that hid in the mines," Sir Arthur said, pulling from a warnicorn's saddlebag the mine map. "There used to be five, the couple and their young, thanks to Lord Jasper's leadership in these three days there is only that one left."
"It's not coming out," Jasper said, clenching his jaw. "Surely it knows we'll be waiting for it outside. Demolishing the mine is not an option, after we do that it won't be as safe as before and we'll be forced to shut it down, lay off the workers and lose its resources. Going in isn't a good idea either, it's its nest; the manticore knows it better than any of us and the fight could cause a collapse."
"Maybe we could come back later," a knight offered. "Sooner or later it'll be forced to leave to hunt food."
"No way," Jasper clicked his tongue dismissively and raised his voice. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime? Wait for my cousin's arrival, offer him tea and cookies, watch passively as he carries off the manticores bodies and claim them as his own before all of Mewni? Ha! Before that I'd rather let that vermin devour me alive! No, that must end here and now."
"Then we'll have to force it out," Selesdria looked at the map carefully and smiled at Jasper and Sir Arthur.
Star
After the incident, they immediately returned to the Diaz home. In the evening, when they turned on the television, the actions of Garras de Langosta appeared on all the news networks. Star could only watch them with concern, hugging her legs on the floor.
"Tragedy today: a rampaging locust man destroyed four city blocks," a reporter announced.
The news showed the monstrous image of Lobsterman Pincers with the words 'CITY IN A PINCH!' at the bottom of the screen.
"Miraculously, no one was hurt, but one cyclist mourns the loss of his new bike."
"Oh, it was our first ride together," the cyclist said, covering his face with his hands. "Now I have nothing."
Marco turned off the TV, laughing weakly.
"Yeah, you know the news is sensationalist. I still think you can be good. But until then, I'm going to go get some rubber bands for your claws."
Star smiled and inhaled to let out a mocking 'I told you so,' but he already knew what she was going to say.
"Save it," he told her, heading up the stairs.
"Why is it so hard to be good?" complained Lobster Claws, leaning back on the couch.
Star was glad to have the red monster alone with her, it was time someone told the truth as it was. She stood up and smiled at Lobster Claws.
"The problem is that Marco is trying to make you into something you're not. You're a vile, repulsive monster," she sneered. "Why fight him?"
"Yes," blinked Lobster Claws, nodded. "I am repulsive. I shouldn't be helping humans. I should be hurting them. You in particular."
"And I wish I could smash your face in again!" Star clasped her hands together and grinned from ear to ear. "Maybe there's a way for both of us to get what we want."
Selesdria
Selesdria moved carefully across the mine floor. Her rabbit form gave her a very fine sense of hearing and smell, so she knew she was very close to the mythical creature before she saw it with her own eyes. For its part, the manticore also knew she was there. The manticore growled in the distance, appearing from a tunnel first her shadow and then her mane. The beast looked at her, wrinkled its snout, crouched.
Selesdria directed magic at her paws and fled.
The manticore roared in pursuit, its claws tearing at the earth and rails as she leapt and zigzagged through the tunnels. With a final leap and surge of speed Selesdria shot outward through the hole the manticore's parents had made to infiltrate the mine. With her heart pounding, her lungs burning and her limbs trembling, she hid in the undergrowth and returned to her normal form.
As soon as she emerged from the mine the manticore was surrounded by Jasper and his knights. The Mewmen took aim and fired arrows from their bows, but the creature stepped aside, whipped its tail and shot poisonous quills.
"Shields up!"
While the knights and the manticore fought Selesdria took the opportunity to bring out the Wild Sleeping Tulips. She placed the flowers inside a helmet and opened her palm over the top.
"It's escaping!"
Selesdria looked up and saw the manticore, wounded by arrows and several sword slashes, running full speed towards the mine. Oh no, you're not, she thought.
"Levitato," she said, uprooting several trees and throwing them over the manticore, blocking the entrance to the mine.
The manticore's furious roar was so loud it was a wonder it hadn't ruptured someone's eardrums, and it leapt toward the knights. Selesdria looked at the helmet where the flowers were, opened her palm and whispered:
"Inspiratione Ignis."
A white flame set the flowers on fire and Ella covered her nose and mouth with her cloak. The next thing she saw was Sir Arthur Field pinned to the ground by the manticore's claws, surrounded by two other dead knights and Jasper being helped to his feet by the rest of the knights, reaching for his sword. The manticore opened its jaws and threw its head back, ready to take a big bite out of the old knight.
"Ventus Fatorum."
A rush of air carried the smoke from the burning flowers and slammed it into the manticore's nose. The manticore staggered, recoiled shaking its head and growling weakly, which Sir Arthur took advantage of to move away. Jasper retrieved his sword and ran towards the beast. The wild animal resisted the flower drowsy, but was still stunned, throwing weak and unsuccessful attacks toward the thirteen-year-old boy.
Jasper whirled around the manticore as it screamed at him, disorienting it even more. He swung the sword in his hands, leapt and drove the steel through the beast's neck until it almost reached the hilt of his weapon. The manticore died with a final grunt and collapsed to the ground.
Coughing and ignoring her exhaustion, Selesdria approached the wounded knights and began to heal them with her magic. Sir Arthur bowed his knee to her and bent his head.
"Princess, you saved my life. I don't know how to thank you."
"There is no need, sir," she smiled weakly at him, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. "Get up, it's all over at last."
They placed the manticore with the rest of the corpses of her species on the carts. Selesdria watched them sitting on top of a stone, catching her breath and rubbing her arms, shivering from a chill that ran through her. She felt cold and her head grew hot, a sure sign of a fever.
"Princess, are you unwell?" Jasper asked carefully. "If I can be of any service to you..."
"I shall be fine, Lord Jasper, you are very kind."
"I want you to know that my house is indebted to you and you alone. If you ever need help, I want you to know that you will have the Stonehearts by your side."
Selesdria wanted to tell the boy that he was exaggerating. Then she remembered everything she knew and thought better of what to say.
"Perhaps someday I will need you, my lord. Someday not too far off."
Jasper kissed the back of her hand politely and proceeded to signal a knight, who approached and handed him something in his hands.
"On the way here you told me about your search for an ingredient for a spell," he gave her the object. "Here it is, for all the trouble I've caused you, Your Highness."
Selesdria realized she was holding a cat's-eye crystal in her hands. She let out a giggle, coughed a little and smiled at the boy who was almost her younger sister's age.
"You will be a wise and strong lord, Lord Jasper. Your parents will be proud of you, even if one of them is no longer with us."
For the first time since she'd met him, Jasper Stoneheart smiled at her, showing his withe teeth. For the first time since she'd met him, he actually looked thirteen.
Star
Star lay in a hammock in the backyard of the house and pretended to sleep with the wand in one of her hands. Before long she could hear a portal opening and someone coming out of it and approaching her.
"Ludo!" Star opened her eyes, smiling at the monster and his army who were looking at her in surprise. "I was just dreaming about kicking your butt!"
She pulled out her wand and cast a spell at the monster resembling a large baby with three eyes, sending it flying into the house, shattering the door.
"Star!" Marco came out of the house screaming.
Star knocked a boar monster back with one blow and, seeing the red two-headed monster approaching, jumped out of the hammock and landed next to Marco. Her best friend looked very surprised as his eyes traveled from her to the monsters.
"They're back?!"
"Yeah," she whispered back. "I lured them here to get Lobster Claws his old job back. I'm gonna let him beat me up. Play along."
"What?! That's crazy!"
Star ignored him. Smiling, she threw the giraffe monster into the air with a spell and ran to Ludo once she had a clear path.
"All right, Ludo, I got more than cupcakes this time!" she waited for Lobster Claws to appear from the other side of the garden wall, but the monster was nowhere to be found. Irritated, she raised her tone of voice. "Uh, I said I got more than cupcakes this time."
Lobster Claws jumped over the wall and stood between her and Ludo.
"Go, red boy!" he exclaimed, pretended to throw a punch at her and she recoiled with a scream. "Booyakasha! Don't worry, boss. I got this," and ran toward Star. "Raahhhh!"
"Boss?" Ludo stammered. "Didn't I fire you?"
Star and Lobster Claws pretended to fight as they had agreed. The two were throwing distant, harmless body and wand blows, making fake grimaces of pain and anger. She herself had to admit that they were overacting a bit, perhaps being overly dramatic, but Ludo and his monsters were such fools that they swallowed the scene whole. They looked at each other and murmured in surprise, praising Lobster Claws, a scene so absurdly funny it almost made her laugh.
"Yes, yes, I do see marked improvement," Ludo said, scornfully. "But I'd really be impressed if you would just GRAB THE WAND!"
"He's defeated me!" Star dropped dramatically, waving her arms with her wand held high. "Ahhh!" Suddenly, Lobster Claws snatched the wand out of her hands. "Hey!"
"Yeeesss!" Ludo celebrated.
Star gasped and Marco screamed. Gawking, she raised her hand to the wand in the red monster's clutches, she had to get it back, but it was too late. Red cracks rose from the charger to the magic crystal, the wand snapped and changed shape, taking on a dark purple color with malevolent thorns in place of the wings and a large snake eye with a fuchsia background at the top replacing the golden star.
"What's...happening... to me?!" the voice of Lobster Claws turned somber.
Star put her hands to her head. Paralyzed, she watched as the monster's eyes turned black with purple irises, his teeth sharpened, fuchsia cracks grew from the claw holding the wand and spread up his arm. The sky darkened, the stones rose into the air and Lobster Claws raised the wand.
"Being bad... feels so gooooood...!"
We had a deal, Star thought. She clenched her jaw, blood boiling in her veins. Liar, liar! You tricked me! Yes, you are evil!
"How could you do this?!" she burst out, standing in front of him. "I was trying to help you!"
Lobster Claws growled and blinked. Star let out a gasp of astonishment, watching as the monster's eyes returned to normal, the stones began to fall and the wand took on a much friendlier red crab shape than before.
"Don't listen to her," Ludo ordered. "She's the enemy!"
Lobster Claws and the wand reverted to the grim form of before. Nervously, Star clasped her hands together and looked pleadingly at the red monster.
"No, I saw the good in you! Don't do it!"
"Act like a monster and give it to me!"
"Lobster Claws! Please!"
Continuously Lobster Claws and the wand switched back and forth between darkness and normalcy. The monster covered its head and moved back and forth, hesitating between Ludo and Star. Then Marco, with a karate yell, ran and kicked the wand away from Lobster Claws' grip, knocking the monster down. The stones fell to the ground, Star grabbed the wand and it regained its shape with white wings and the golden crystal to her joy and relief.
"I always forget about that karate boy!" complained Ludo.
"Stardust Daisy Devastation!"
Star conjured a blast of magical pollen that exploded as it crashed into Ludo and the rest of the monsters. The little monster bird coughed, opened a portal and pointed at him.
"Retreat!"
The monsters ran towards the portal, even Lobster Claws, but Ludo cut him off with his scepter.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. YOU! You had the wand in the palm of your claws!" his yellow eyes sparkled and an excited smile formed on his beak. "What did it feel like?"
"It kind of tingled," he replied with a little smile.
"I knew it! I'm so jealous! Can I touch your claws?! Niiiiice! After you!" and the two monsters entered the portal.
"Don't do it, Lobster Claws!" shouted Marco in front of the portal. "What about wanting to be good?"
Marco was hit roughly by Lobster Claws' fist as Ludo congratulated him. Star, still somewhat confused, blinked at the closing portal, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the Earthling.
"Huh," she murmured, nodding. "Marco, you were right. There was some good in him, after all."
She'd never thought she'd say that about a monster, did it mean there were other monsters with a good side like Lobster Claws? She had fought them many times since she was a little girl, everyone around her had always told her what those creatures were like, the crimes and horrors they committed. Most likely a one in a million chance, she reasoned.
"Not much," Marco told her, still on the ground.
Star helped him up and when they turned to go back inside the house she stopped breathing.
"Star?"
Selesdria was standing in the doorway of the broken door. Her older sister looked unusually disastrous. She was haggard, disheveled and somewhat sweaty, her back slightly curved and her pale fingers digging into a large blanket wrapped around her that covered her from neck to toe, shivering slightly, as if she were cold despite how warm it was.
Her appearance did not affect the intensity of her gaze. Those clear eyes, so still and analytical, made Star's heart shrink.
"What is this?"