Yo! I have returned! Basically, I've gotten involved in so many things that my schedule is literally packed from dawn until dusk, Monday 'till Sunday. I won't go into any details, but it includes:
-Projects at my University
-Voluntary work
-Talks with a publisher from Canada
-Having to DM a group of players once each week, and attending another D&D session with another group
-Doing research for 2 scholarly papers me and a mentor from my university are putting together
In short, I am not at all exaggerating when I say that the Christmas and the New Year holidays have finally given me time to get back to this fanfic and finish those last, pesky chapters! As you all know, my academic stuff and my novel writing take priority over anything but rest assured that I won't ever abandon this story that I've worked so hard on and still have more work ahead of myself. All I can say is that I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
Also, Merry Christmas ^^!
Replies to the latest reviews:
SugarQueen97: My poor, innocent child; you have no idea what I am capable of :)
Rock Raider: You will learn bits and pieces then you'll have to piece together the whole image. Warning: it ain't a pretty one.
Disclaimer: I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters that appear in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic, and would kindly ask you to inform me should you want to use anything from this fic in your own story. -jolleIQ
Beta read by ElleFreak.
Story cover by Luzz015. Be sure to check her out on DeviantArt!
Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Staring it up!
Chapter 11
Queen's Lament
Part 2
And thus passed the years of my youth. Slowly but surely, day by day, month by month, year by year; and before I realised it, the day came when I would inherit the royal magic wand from my mother, Cressida. At this point, I was well beyond the level that I should have been, courtesy of Diana's aid. There seemed to be no spell, no matter how hard or complex to cast that presented to her any trouble whatsoever; she understood each piece of magic to the fullest and taught me, in secret, the art of focusing one's magic without a wand.
Therefore, once the day to inherit the wand dawned, I had several questions and worries.
"Will the wand amplify my magic even further?" Moon asked as she busily braided her hair before a mirror. The ceremony was close at hand, and due to the sudden illness of each and every servant fir to groom her and tidy her up, she was forced to do it herself. Well, that wasn't entirely true as Diana stood by her side and combed her hair and put several diamond, emerald and sapphire-pins into her hair, answering the young princess' questions all the while.
"I've explained this before, haven't I? A wand is nothing but a focusing point through which a magic user can channel his or her magic to have it reach cataclysmic proportions. It's quite exhilarating, truly, for in theory, with the right knowledge, even a novice such as yourself could tear a fabric in the space-time continuum and end the world!"
"Hmm... that's good to know. I-I think?" Moon haphazardly replied, then followed up with another question. "But if such a danger exists, then why hasn't anyone done it? If your words bear any truth, then ending the world, let alone conquering a kingdom should be child's play."
Diana giggled.
"My, how silly you are, Moon. I never said 'twas simple, merely possible. As of yet, I've not encountered a mortal neither powerful enough nor wise enough to come close to such levels of power. One would need at least a hundred or so of your mortal lifetimes to even come close to such power levels. I reckon that even if you were to spend your whole life studying under my wing, you could barely manage to put an end to your own kingdom, which is merely a small speck in the cosmos."
"I see."
"Not that such a thing would ever cross your mind, after all-" Diana lifted Moon's hair up and divided it into two equal halves, then began braiding her hair.
"Couldn't you just use magic to make my hair look perfect for the occasion?"
"And where's the fun in that? I may be an immortal spirit, but I do still enjoy the small joys of life."
Moon hummed in approval.
"Say," Moon began hesitantly. Diana gazed at her intuitively. "Hypothetically speaking, what would happen were you to come into possession of the wand? Would it also amplify your powers?"
"..."
"Diana?"
"I-I know not..." Diana had this thoughtful frown on her face, as though the answer should have been obvious enough. "I've never contemplated it, but following the logic, it should further increase my powers, but I know not what that would result in."
"If you ask me, we should try it out!"
"I'd rather not," Diana replied, drily, and smiled as she placed the last jewel in Moon's hair. "There! Lo and behold!"
Moon turned her head from left to right before the mirror to get a good look at her new jewel-dotted braid. She smiled happily and stood up from her seat and spun around with the grace of a ballerina. Or she tried, but promptly tripped and fell flat on her face, upon which Diana snickered.
"I see those dance lessons you've been taking a certainly paying off, Mona."
Moon raised her head and replied with a deadpan look that matched the tone of her voice. "One, it's not funny. Two, don't call me Mona."
Diana smirked mischievously.
"My apologies, Mona."
"Diana! What did I just say!?"
Moon promptly stood up so that she was on eye-level as her purple-eyed, spade-cheeked lookalike, stomped her foot, narrowed her eyes menacingly, and said in a much lower intonation, "Don't call me Mona!"
Diana met Moon's challenging gaze, stepped forward so that their noses practically touched, and whispered, "Mona."
The young princess lunged at her, knocking both of them to the ground, and the two tumbled across the room, giggling all the while. They eventually chased against the bed, and the teenage princess released Diana from her grasp. After a time of laughter, the two 'reconciled' and helped each other up. To both of their reliefs, Moon's hair remained neatly braided and lavishly decorated as not a single sparkling jewel had fallen out.
"Give a girl a warning next time you send her spiralling halfway across the room and crashing into the bed, will you?" Diana said jokingly and Moon rolled her eyes.
"I did warn you not to call me by my birth name. You know I don't even like it when my mother calls me that. I much prefer the name Moon Butterfly."
"I must disagree with your choice," replied Diana, "I like Mona much better. You have poor taste when it comes to names. I dread to ask for the name your offspring shall have to bear."
"I haven't really considered a name for an offspring yet," replied Moon, then chuckled. "After all, I'm still lacking a proper suitor."
"Oh?"
Moon arched an eyebrow at Diana, who stood before her cross-armed and with a suggestive smirk. "Are you now?"
"What are you talking about, Diana?" asked Moon, genuinely clueless.
"Unless I'm mistaken, isn't there a certain prince who fancies you? 'Tis quite transparent."
Moon blinked twice, then burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Who? You mean prince River Johanson?" Diana nodded firmly. Moon chuckled at Diana's misinterpretation of the circumstances.
"I mean, 'tis quite obvious that he wishes to court you. Have you not noticed?"
"Oh, Diana, don't be silly." Moon waved it off and rolled her eyes. "Just because he writes me love letters, showers me with gifts, gives me compliments with no end, looks at me with starstruck eyes and jumped at the opportunity to dance with me after the ceremony today doesn't mean he fancies me. He is merely a close friend."
Diana rubbed her chin in thought.
"Hmm... fascinating. Tell me, are mortal females all so dense?"
"What?"
"It's... never mind," Diana dismissed the thought. While the topic was one that had to be addressed sooner or later, there was a far more pressing matter to discuss. "Speaking of a dance, you have two left feet, don't you?"
Moon looked at her in shock. "I beg your pardon!?"
Diana ignored her outburst. "You can't even spin in place without tripping over your own foot, Moon, so it is more than just to assume that you dancing, well, sucks."
"It does not!" Moon retorted.
"Does too."
"Does not!"
"Prove it!"
Moon narrowed her eyes and motioned for Diana to give her some more room. Diana stepped to the side and sat on the bed, then said, "The floor is yours, your highness."
Instead of reaching to Diana's obvious taunt, Moon took a single breath and placed one foot forward, then the other, and immediately tripped and fell to the floor. After two or three repetitions of the stubborn princess' attempt at proving her wrong, Diana sighed.
"Halt! I've seen enough!" she yelled as Moon's face hit the floor for the fourth time. At this point, Moon was becoming a bit dizzy so Diana offered her a hand at getting up, then stared at the princess with a 'you were saying?' look, to which Moon sighed, frustrated.
"Ok, fine! I can't dance! My mother and father tried hiring the best dance teachers in Mewni to prepare me for the ceremonial dance, but three of them told me that I was a lost cause and one of them after five hours of trying to teach me screamed like a madman and plunged himself out the window."
"Well, that explains the maddened scream I heard two days ago. Is he alright?"
Moon nodded.
"Oh, of course. Dad said he went to the dance teacher farm to hang out with other dance teachers!"
"... right, let's go with that..." Diana feigned ignorance and instead opted to address the heart of the matter. "Anyway, your dance is later today, isn't it?" Moon nodded, and Diana continued, "In short, we have but a few hours to teach you to waltz properly."
At that, Moon arched a curious eyebrow at the girl. "You know how to dance?"
Instead of responding with words, Diana smiled, did a small curtsy, and performed five consecutive pirouettes, then glided elegantly over to Moon and with swift steps danced around her, then grabbed her by the hand, lifted it up, and forced the surprised princess into a pirouette of her own, then promptly grabbed her by the waist and pushed her gently to force her into a fall, but caught her mere inches above the ground, then righted her back up on her feet and bowed, leaving the princess baffled.
"Does that suffice as an answer?"
Wordlessly, Moon only nodded, dumbstruck. Diana could only giggle.
"Well then, I suppose I'll simply have to succeed where others have failed spectacularly." Diana clapped twice. "So, no time to lose! Time is of the essence!"
Before Moon could muster up a response, Diana grabbed her by the hands and pulled her closer, so close, in fact, that it made the young princess blush lightly.
"Left foot first!" Diana yelled commandingly and snapped Moon out of her trance. She followed the command, or so she thought.
"No no no!" Diana grabbed her foot and put in back to its starting position. "Again, but more gracefully, not like some stiff old beggar. Left foot first!"
Moon repeated her earlier movement, this time focusing on the movement of her leg being less stiff, then looked at Diana. The spirit-girl sighed.
"Well, it was better than before, at least. If I'd known the situation was this terrible, I'd have given you lessons ages ago. Unfortunately, we're pressed for time, so it'll have to do. Anyway, repeat the movement, then move your right foot."
Moon did as instructed and nearly went deaf as Diana yelled into her ear at the top of her lungs.
"Do you want to learn to dance like a proper lady or do you want to look like a one-legged baboon on the dance floor!? Do the same with your right foot as you're doing with your left!"
Moon swallowed.
Diana sure could get aggressive when it came to dancing.
"Again!"
Again!
Again, and again, and again. I don't think my feet have ever been as sore as that night. We spent a good three hours practising move after move right up until it was time for Diana to hide before anyone would catch us. She was the sole reason I didn't blemish myself at the ceremonial dance after I received my wand. I must say, it was fun in a strange sort of way, dancing with a spirit, even if it was tiring.
Once the night was over and I was allowed respite within the sanctuary of my own room, she was there waiting for me, as always, and greeted me with a satisfied smile. Apparently, my dancing wasn't entirely horrendous, which I took as words praise.
However, this is not why I'm telling you this story. I mean not to simply portray the bond we shared, but more so I wish to stress that which happened after the dance...
"Isn't it neat?" Moon said whilst admiring her new wand. It was just as she's always envisioned it; a golden sceptre with a heart-shaped sapphire adorning it. Elegant, beautiful, and a true symbol of power that would be the envy of every monarch. Although, the whole ceremony surrounding it was a bit much; maybe she should give her future daughter a break and simply throw the wand to her and let that be that? Yeah, that would work.
"Yes, for the 16th time, it's wonderful..." Diana replied, visibly tired of having to praise the object over and over again. Gosh, mortals could be so unnecessarily posh at times.
Moon took no notice of Diana's mood and sat beside her on the bed.
"I can't wait to try it out tomorrow!"
"Why wait? Just test it out now. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? A giant flaming rainbow that would desecrate Mewni as we know it?"
The two shared a hearty laugh. Yes, jokes were funny.
They liked jokes.
After they'd finished laughing at the absurdity of the hypothetical worst-case scenario, Moon replied, "No, my mother told me not to use it at night. I can wait until tomorrow."
"I wouldn't," Diana replied and shrugged her shoulders as if making a point. "I would test it out as soon as it fell into my hands. No use in saving it, after all."
"Well, do you want to?"
"Pardon?"
"Do you want to test it out?" Moon presented the wand to Diana with an open palm, and the spirit-girl only stared at the object but did not move a muscle. "Go on," Moon urged.
"I don't know... As I've mentioned, even I am uncertain as to what the result will be if I wield it." She attempted to reason with the princess, but Moon was having none of it.
"Oh, don't be such a wussy spirit. Just try it out! You said it yourself: what's the worst that could happen, right?"
Diana thought about it for a few moments, then replied, "I suppose you're right." She slowly reached for the wand and wrapped the palm of her hand around the hilt, then lifted it from Moon's hand and the princess promptly withdrew it.
Suddenly, Diana flinched, her eyes wide and fixed on the sapphire adorning the wand.
When nothing happened, Moon tapped Diana on the shoulder, but the girl did not so much as turn her head to face the princess, instead, she kept her eyes fixed on the wand.
"T-traitor? Me?" Diana suddenly said aloud, startling the young princess.
"Um, Diana? Who are you talking to?"
"No. I... I would never do that! D-Destiny? Fate?"
"D-Diana? What's going on?" Moon was growing anxious as Diana remained locked in a trance-like state, completely oblivious to her words.
"But-but I don't want to do that! Why must I? Why me? Why!?"
Upon hearing her scream, Moon slapped her, hard, and that seemed to have done the trick as the girl blinked numerous times.
Moon hesitantly placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, and Diana jumped, startled.
"Is everything alright?" Moon asked, genuinely concerned for her friend.
Diana seemed phased and blinked numerous times, looking about the room with a face the betrayed her confusion. It was almost like she didn't know where she was and was trying to make sense of things. Finally, after a time, she replied with a tiny smile.
"I-I'm quite alright. Yes. Quite alright..." Her voice was a mere gloomy whisper, such that Moon grew genuinely concerned. Diana noticed the worry on Moon's face and smiled a reassuring smile, then added, "It's nothing to worry about. Just... never mind." She returned the wand to its rightful owner. "It's a wonderful object, truly. Wield it with pride."
The princess nodded and the two sat quietly.
I never confronted her about it. I know what you're thinking: you fool. You dumb, dumb fool. I know I should have, especially after seeing her in such a state, but I feared that were I to bring the matter up, she would resent me, thus I kept quiet and we never spoke a word of that event as though it never happened. Although, to my own credit, I never ceased wondering what all that had been about, not that it helps me in the slightest.
I wonder, had I confronted her about it and unveiled the truth, could I have possibly prevented the tragedy that soon followed? Would the outcome have been different?
No matter how I look at it, I only have myself to blame that the answer will never be known.
To be continued...
Good news! The next update will be in about a week or so!
Yay!
As always, reviews, favourites and follows are much appreciated! 'Till next time! Bye!
-jolleIQ
