Welp, I was planning on this being the final part but there will be one more by the looks of things! Yay!

Replies to the latest reviews:

Sugar: Why not both?

archivewriter3: Well, prepare to have your mind boggled yet again!

Rock Raider: Toffee was a diplomat in my universe, yes. What caused him to become resentful towards Moon, you ask? Wait and see in the next chapter!

gemstarz22: Oh, no worries, glad to have you on board! And you'll find the answer to all your questions very soon, that I guarantee!

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 4

The royal couple brutally murdered while on a diplomatic mission.

A Kingdom on the verge of a political turmoil.

An alliance of monsters preparing to strike while the iron was hot.

A young girl, just over fourteen, left to fend for herself and fill in her parents' shoes to guide her kingdom through those dark times.

Now that I think about it, this sounds more like a dark, bloody fairy tale rather than a chapter of my life, but this was the state of things. Each waking moment, I wished to collapse unto my bedsheets and bawl like an infant, but I could not show any signs of weakness. Not then. I had to forego such selfish actions and focus on what was truly important: the well-being of Mewni. The Kingdom and the crown come first.

It was a difficult mindset to maintain, but I knew that if I failed to maintain it, I wasn't fit to be a queen.

That week, I had regular meetings with my generals and on occasion had to present myself on the battlefield as we defended our borders and tracked down the encampments of our foes, all while trying to find the monsters that had slain my mother and father.

However, no matter how many captives we questioned, none ever claimed the kills.

On the contrary, they feigned complete ignorance of my parents' death and insisted they were merely responding to our sudden attacks.

To this day, I wish I'd believed them...

Regardless, following several battles, we came to a cease-fire on the request of Toffee, who wished to end the conflict before more blood, both monster and Mewman, was shed. He wasn't angry with my decision to attack his people; on the contrary, he was just as horrified as I was when my parents were attacked by monsters under the banner of the Monster Alliance, and he was in utter disbelief that his people had done something so brutish. He apologised on behalf of his people's actions and promised to uncover the truth behind the murder of my parents, and pleaded me to end the bloodshed and re-open negotiations amongst our people.

I answered in kind.

For some reason, I felt that Toffee could be trusted. Throughout our conversations, I learned much about him. He was a dreamer, a visionary. He had made it his goal to end the conflict between Mewmans and monsters and make both sides understand that peaceful coexistence is not only possible but beneficial to both sides. Together, we could forge a prosperous empire that would be akin to paradise. No more conflicts, no more discrimination, no more fear and hatred and no more lies, only peace and tolerance.

My mother shared his vision and I understood why she had invited him to our castle.

He was a young lizard with a great dream, and sometimes it is the dreamers who set the foundations for a glorious future, and I've no doubt in my mind that my mother saw him as a kindred soul with whom she could work to ensure such a future.

I wished to honour my mother's dreams and create such peace after decades of on-and-off conflict.

Thus I gave him my blessings and a rite of passage so that he could traverse my lands unharmed.

We remained in correspondence, sending letters back and forth, discussing future plans and negotiations. With each new letter I received, my people and my advisors grew more and more impatient. They saw this as a method of stalling out the cease-fire, for Toffee always included a passage about his investigation of the murder of my parents at the very end of each letter, and the words were always the same.

"I'm getting closer, just give me more time."

This was easier said than done, for with each day that I declined the urges to resume the war, my popularity amongst the people plummeted. Whispers of dissatisfaction, disapproval and revolt seen began reaching my ears. If I didn't take action soon, I'd be disappointed.

Then came a rather peculiar letter, not from Toffee, but from Queen Ula of the Merfolk, a powerful province or demi-kingdom within the monster territory. While the monsters had no formal leadership and consisted of several independent bands of monsters, on an informal level, Queen Ula and Kind Tethys were akin to any royal family. They held councils with the numerous leaders and aided them in whatever way they could. While it wasn't in their power to stop the conflict by simply giving an order, my mother and Queen Ula had often met either in secret or in public to discuss the conflict and ways of ending it. Both understood that if they simply gave an order to stop all violent transgressions against the opposing side, their reign would be over swiftly, for the solution wasn't as simple and revolts would quickly follow.

Just as whispers of a revolt were reaching my ears, so too were the revolts of their own people reaching the ears of Queen Ula and King Tethys. The peace wouldn't hold for much longer; we needed to act swiftly.

The letter she sent me contained the following proposal: they would visit Mewni on a diplomatic mission and we would negotiate the terms of either side's surrender. That's what we'd tell the public. In private, we would hold secret negotiations with the Uni Dimension, a neutral party in this conflict, and manipulate the records to make it seem as though they are entitled to the lands that divide Mewni and the monster territories. They would then prohibit the passing of armed forces through their territory, and since neither we nor the monsters wish conflict with them as they're allies with us both, it will force a standstill amongst our forces since neither side will wish to invoke the wrath of Uni. With the forced peace, I would hold further negotiations with Queen Ula and King Tethys, and each one would be reported as having been fruitless due to the other side's stubbornness so that our people would remain satisfied with our reigns and wouldn't revolt against us. We would stage conflicts and pre-determine the winners of each, keeping both sides satisfied and dissatisfied. Finally, under the demand of Uni, we would agree to form a safe zone within the newly claimed Uni territories wherein both monsters and Mewmans may freely dwell under the condition that they do not bear arms. Each side would at first hand pick the individuals who are granted the permission to live there, and rumours of a friendly co-habitation would begin spreading. While the older generations of Mewmans and monsters would be doomed to forever despise one another, the trend would begin catching on with the younger generations and it wouldn't be long before we would arrange a political marriage between the noble families, and once that is done, the commoners on each side would follow suit at first within the special zone, and eventually it would spread outside of it.

That was the plan, anyway. It would take decades and a cautious pulling of the strings behind our people's backs, but there was no simple solution to the ever-lingering problem. We had to begin somewhere.

Thus I sent forth an invitation and patiently awaited their arrival.

To this day, I can't help but wonder if all of the sorrow and grief could have been avoided had I cast my ink and quill aside on the night I wrote that damned letter.

That accursed, forsaken letter which doomed my soul...

Castle Butterfly: Bedroom

The young Queen lay in bed, her eyes fixated on the ceiling. The pallid moonlight shone through the open curtains of the large, gothic window in her parents'- her bedroom, creating a still image of ominous, shadowy forms. She tossed and turned from side to side in search of a position that would allow her to drift off to sleep. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and the eye shadows she bore on her face told of numerous nights spent without the bliss of sleep.

At the request of her advisors, the young queen had moved from her room to her parents' room.

It felt wrong.

It was large and lonely, even with Diana by her side. The spirit-girl didn't need sleep, so she spent the nights quietly observing the night sky through the windows. Currently, she was taking a stroll through the castle, occasionally playing a trick or two of the unsuspecting guardsmen who could not perceive her unless she allowed them to.

Unlike Diana, Moon was not an immortal spirit and desperately needed some shut-eye to recover her strength and maintain her sanity.

She took a deep breath through her nose and could smell her mother's fragrant scent on the bedsheets; the scent of juniper berries tickled her nostrils, and she could picture herself as a young girl, resting her head atop her mother's lap as the soothing and gentle tone of her mother's voice recited to her wondrous stories and legends of times long gone by.

She inhaled another scent, this one was sharp and musky. It was that of her father, and she pictured herself being carried on his broad shoulders, towering over each and every servant and even her own mother who was by no means small of stature. She could remember it distinctly, gripping and tugging her father's hair as he took her on walks through the castle and climbed with her atop the tallest tower of the castle, a vantage point from which she could see the whole beauty of the kingdom.

She inhaled the scent again, and a new memory presented itself.

She remembered it distinctly; the howling on the wind, the hammering of the rain against the rooftop, and the roaring of the thunder. She was lying in her bed, cowering in fear, sobbing to herself, convinced that some demonic figure would jump at her at any moment and steal her away. Thus the little girl got up and ran as fast as her bare, tiny feet would carry her until she reached the safe haven of her parents' bedroom, burst open the door, and cried their names as she lunged onto the bed, waking them both.

"What's wrong, darling?" her father asked, concerned for his little girl, and pulled her closer to himself. He gently stroked her hair and made soothing sounds to calm the terrified princess.

"Did you have a bad dream?" her mother asked as she took her daughter into her hands and wiped her tears. Little Moon sniffed and shook her head. Just then, another flash of light penetrated the darkness and a loud boom shook the very foundations of the castle. The girl lunged at her mother and buried her head into her chest, shaking violently and hiccuping uncontrollably. Her mother, realising what was making her precious baby so frightened, chuckled. "Oh, Moon, it's just a storm, there's nothing to be scared of."

The young princess withdrew her head from the comfort of her mother's chest and met her gaze. The woman smiled at her precious daughter and wiped away a fingerful of tears.

"A storm?" the young princess asked innocently.

"Yes, darling, a storm. Just like the ones in those stories you like so much," her mother explained, smiling softly, then frowned as she looked out the window as another flash of light blinded her and another boom momentarily deafened her. "Although I have to admit, this is a violent one! Gosh, we'll need to repair so many damaged buildings in the morning..." The woman sighed wearily and turned to her daughter. "I suppose your first storm could have been a bit nicer..."

"Will it hurt us?"

"No, sweetie, it won't hurt us, not as long as we're inside the castle."

Those reassuring words calmed the unease that was welling within the young princess, and she looked out the window and saw another bright flash of light, followed by another demonic roar.

"Why does the sky keep lighting up and roaring at us, mum?"

"That's lightning, sweetheart. And those roars that follow it are called thunder."

"Is the sky angry at us?"

The King and Queen both chuckled at the naive, innocent question posed by their little daughter, and Moon looked at both with a perplexed face. Instead of answering the question, her mother lifted her up, put her down in between herself and her husband, and draped the covers over them.

"Why don't you sleep here with us for tonight, sweetie?"

Moon smiled joyfully.

"Can I?"

"Of course." Her father nodded. "I just hope your mother doesn't get jealous if I snuggle with the only other girl I love just as much as her."

"Neil!"

Cressida narrowed her eyes at her husband's comment, and the king playfully smirked at his wife. In response, she stuck her tongue out, and young Moon giggled at her parents' childish antics.

That night, the little princess slept soundly as a log, knowing there was no place safer than in the embrace of her parents.

As the memory faded into oblivion, sobbing filled the room as the young Queen felt a part of her break.

"A ruler must never show the people signs of weakness or vulnerability, my precious child," echoed her mother's soothing words as she recalled a time when she'd scraped her knee and was being cradled and comforted by the woman she looked up to. "There are only two places where you can cry. In my arms and in the arms of your father, for we both love you so dearly and wish you nothing but happiness, little angel."

The pillow became moist quickly, absorbing every teardrop that trailed down the young queen's cheeks as she buried them in the pillow to muffle her sobs.

Never show signs of weakness... never... that was the price that had to be paid by those of noble blood.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Moon's breath was caught in her throat and she abruptly sat upright, gazed in the direction of the voice and saw Diana approaching her with a worried look. The spirit-girl had apparently finished her nightly stroll and entered without Moon noticing.

Moon swiftly composed herself and faked a loud yawn whilst rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, um, Diana! I didn't hear you enter!" she said in a more-than-obviously fraudulent cheerful voice. "I was merely yawning, nothing more."

Diana frowned at her mortal lookalike and made her way over to her bed and sat down beside her.

"Moon, please, don't pretend."

"I'm not!"

"Moon, please. I can see through your lies. Your soul is in a state of unrest. I urge you; unchain those feelings of sorrow and let them take command. It's OK now. It's only you and I."

The princess was hesitant.

"I am prepared to listen to all you've to say and weep. Do you not trust me?"

"...I do."

"Then keep those feelings chained no longer. I am by your side, so let them out as much as you need to."

The young princess met Diana's gaze. It was filled with care and concern, telling her that the spirit-girl wanted to help her. Moon cast her gaze downwards at the bedsheets and allowed tears to dribble down and moisten the soft, silk fabric.

"They're gone, Diana! My parents are gone!" she said with unspeakable anguish that only those who had lost their loved ones could manifest.

"I know they are," she said in a hushed voice.

Moon lifted her face. Even in the pale light of the moon, the princess's pain was visible in each glistering tear that slid down her cheeks. Each tremble of her lips that accompanied her sobs told tales of sorrow and inner agony. Diana inhaled sharply; she could not have imagined that any being, mortal or immortal, could experience so much grief and pain. "My parents were kind and caring people! They always helped others and never laid a finger on me! Who would do this to them?"

Diana didn't reply immediately. She cast her gaze away and contemplated the answer.

"...a monster. A heartless, cruel, vile monster..." said Diana. "A monster that cares for none but itself; one who is indifferent towards the suffering of others; one whose selfishness knows no boundaries."

"Whoever they were, I hope theirs will be a fate worse than death for what they've done to my parents!" said Moon, clenching the bedsheets, her voice a mixture of sorrow and rage.

"..."

Silence filled the room. Moon followed Diana's silent gaze and it led her to the open window across the room. Therein she could see pale moon lost in the starless sky. She felt sad for the celestial body; without a star, the moon looked so lost and sad. She wondered whether the pale light wasn't a cry for companionship, inviting all who bathed it in to ascend to the skies and give her company.

Every moon needed a star.

The young princess whose namesake was the heavenly body wiped the last of her tears Allowing herself that brief catharsis set her mind and soul at ease. Those tears that stained her bedsheets were long overdue.

"Diana?"

The spirit-girl turned to her.

"Thank you. I... I needed this."

"I know. I care for you too much to watch you suffer so."

"You do?"

"Of course I care for you, Moon. You're my dearest friend."

Diana smiled earnestly and placed her hand atop Moon's and squeezed it tightly. The princess blushed lightly and smiled.

"T-thank you..."

Her mood was improving, but the spirit-girl wasn't quite satisfied. She had a few more tricks up her sleeve to make her friend feel better.

"I know what'll cheer you up!" Diana exclaimed and, without warning, grabbed the bedsheets and flung them off the bed.

"Hey!" Moon yelled in protest, but before she could utter a further complaint, Diana grabbed her by the hand and yoinked her upright. "What are you doing?" Moon's startled cry rang on deaf ears as Diana hooked a hand around her waist and shot her a devilish grin.

"Let's see how much you remember from those lessons I gave you!"

"Lessons?" Moon was confused; she didn't recall taking any magic lessons from Diana recently. The young princess then took notice of the position she was in and widened her eyes at the deranged spirit-girl.

"A dance!? In the middle of the night!?" Moon felt that the need to even ask such a question was absurd, but Diana smirked and twirled the blue-haired princess on the spot.

"Have you gone mad!?" Moon cried upon turning in place for the fourth consecutive time.

Diana giggled mischievously and twirled the princess once more before suddenly releasing her. Moon spun around herself like a wind-up toy before catching her footing. The world was spinning and she had trouble maintaining her balance, so she shook her head rapidly and placed the palm of her hand on her forehead to help stabilize herself. Once the world was only somewhat shaky, she glared at her impish doppelganger, who burst into laughter.

Moon kept a resentful glare aimed at the sly spirit-girl but eventually failed in keeping up the act and laughed along with her.

It felt so wrong. She went from weeping her eyes out to wishing death upon her parents' assailant to giggling like a fool because of a stunt some spirit decided to pull, all in under three minutes. And yet, she welcomed this absurd situation.

Everything was going to turn out alright. She just knew it would.

"Well, it appears that my plan was a success," said Diana, proudly, pleased with herself for cheering up the blue-haired queen. Moon smiled a reserved smile; she was still hurting, but knowing that she had someone like Diana by her side made the situation much more bearable. Diana offered Moon an outstretched hand.

"Care for a midnight waltz?"

"I think it's way past midnight, Diana."

"Does it matter?"

"No, not really," said Moon, locking her hand with the girl's and waltzed the night away.

Morning came and the young Queen sat atop her throne. She was clad in one of her finest dresses; an ankle-length blue and white dress made of giant spider silk and adorned with snow-white pearls found only at the bottom of the Deep Sea in the Uni Dimension; the dress was a gift from The Ponyheads, the rulers of the Uni Dimension, some of the oddest creatures the young queen had ever seen as their entire species comprised of bodyless, flying unicorn heads that puked rainbows. To this day, she had not a clue how they produced offspring and being entirely honest with herself, she could die happily without ever finding out.

She was tired. The sleepless night spent twirling around the room with Diana had taken its toll, but she couldn't complain; the constant drowsiness served as opium to drown out the feelings of unrest and grief. Today was the day that the king and queen of the Merfolk would arrive; it was the day that would mark the beginning of a long and treacherous journey to unite the Mewmans and the monsters. Everything had to go smoothly, and the pressure was on her to ensure that nothing bad would happen to the couple during their stay.

"Tired?" asked Diana, lying on the left arm of the throne, idly misusing her powers to play with the guards posted outside the castle by levitating their weapons above their heads and leading them around in circles as the men tried reclaiming their evasive weapons. Eventually, she got tired and simply dropped them on their heads.

Moon placed a hand to her lips and yawned loudly.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Well sorry for being forced to dance around my room for four hours straight!"

Diana shrugged.

"Look on the positive side of things. When you marry, you won't kill anyone by accident when dancing with your spouse."

Moon was about to protest but heard footsteps coming down the corridor. A servant entered and bowed.

"Your Highness," the servant announced. "They've arrived."

"Send them in."

The servant bowed obediently and stepped out the door, only to return moments later, accompanied by a young couple and a very young girl who was holding the young woman's hand. The three approached the Mewman Queen.

"Queen Ula. King Tethys." Moon greeted them and bowed her head in respect. "It is a pleasure to meet you in person at last."

"The pleasure is ours, Queen Moon. I am glad that we no longer have to correspond in such a secretive manner."

The mere mention of her newly-acquired title felt like a jab at her heart. She took a deep breath to compose herself and force the tiniest of smiles onto her lips.

"It comes as a great relief that you've arrived unharmed. Was your journey treacherous?"

"We lost six guardsmen along the way. Some slain by monsters, some by your warriors," Ula explained calmly.

"What!?" Moon yelled, enraged at the information. "I explicitly ordered them to grant you safe passage and aid you if need be!"

Ula smiled understandingly.

"I suspected as much, but during such dark times, one cannot help but be paranoid at all times, especially when one is a soldier on the fronts. And unfortunately, our men did not have the luck of appearing as... human as the three of us."

Indeed, if one were to look at the royal family, one would mistake them for Mewmans. While in this form, Ula took the shape of a beautiful girl in her early twenties. Her pale-milk blonde hair ran loosely down her back, the tips cutting short just around the middle of her spine. Her pearl blue eyes had a tender warmth to them, and her thin, pale-red lips were curved into a relaxed smile. She wasn't particularly tall, perhaps half a head taller than young Moon. She wore a tailored, mossy-green gown made of magically-processed seaweed and the softest white silk. The dress fit her to a tee and complimented the whole of her form. Most notably, she wore an orange seashell necklace.

Her husband, King Tethys, was a tall and handsome youth. His coal-black locks were brushed back and tied into a bun. A good chunk of his face was obscured by a neatly-trimmed black beard. His suit was of exquisite craft, a mixture of several cloths of blues and greens, put together in the pattern of fish's scales. On his right hip was attached an ornated sword. He wore a blue necklace in the shape of a seahorse.

"And who is that young lady?" Moon asked, smiling at the girl holding Ula's hand. The girl stared meekly at Moon and looked up at her mother with a perplex look.

She was a cute little girl that resembled her mother closely in both face, hair and clothing, albeit she'd inherited the skin pigment and eyes from her father. Unlike her mother and father, she wore no necklace.

"This is our daughter, Nerida. Say hello, dear."

"Hello, Ms Butterfly," greeted the girl.

Moon smiled at the girl's politeness and knelt so she was on eye-level with the girl.

"Hello, Nerida, I'm Prin- err, Queen Moon. How old are you?"

The young girl held up three of her teeny fingers.

"Three, ma'am," said Nerida.

"Ma'am?" Moon chuckled and looked at Queen Ula. "She's certainly very polite for her age. When I have a child, I'm counting on you lending me your book of tricks!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. That would be cheating!" said Ula in a teasing manner, winking at Moon, who laughed pleasantly and stood up.

"Please, follow me to the dining room. I wouldn't want your first day here spent on empty stomachs," said Moon and motioned them to follow her out the throne room.

As she watched them depart, Diana cast a sorrowful gaze in their direction.

"Not yet... not today..." she murmured and stood up to follow them.

To be continued...


Chapter end notes:

Well then, this was an interesting chapter to write! Again, sorry for the long wait, but it is what it is ^^'

As always, reviews and general feedback are more than welcome, and see you guys soon (hopefully!)

Bye!