A/N: Alright! New one's finally out! Now, I just have to maintain a steady output schedule... Could anyone tell that wasn't typed with a straight face?

Page 1: The Heir of Mewni

Butterfly Castle, as it sat in the heart of Mewni, was always the first building to receive the glowing rays of the sun, and the tallest turret was always the first to be greeted. In that tallest turret slept a figure that was immediately beseeched by the sun's invasive shine. As the sun's golden rays graced the faint red spades on his face, he winced and tried to move away. Wherever he rolled on the bed, the sun seemed to follow. So, he continued to roll over, in the hope he could outwit the sun invading his eyelids-!

THUD!

...and rolled right onto the floor. "Ow."

The moment his face hit the floor, a gaggle of servants came pouring into the room. They practically pick the young man up and dragged him down the hall. "Hey! Watch the hands! Let me go! And who's touching my butt!?" He screamed and squirmed, but these particular men and women have grown used to his… rambunctious antics as a child.

"Apologies, Prince Sirius," the lead servant of the gang, Geoffrey, commented, "but your mother, Queen Moon, made it very clear you were to be prepared for today."

"I DON'T CARE!" Prince Sirius struggled harder, looking like a demented lemur. "THAT OLD HAG HAS NO POWER OVER ME!"

Geoffrey just shrugged; Sirius was never much of a morning person, so this was hardly out of the ordinary. "Well, she has power over us. And her orders were clear." He then smiled in a way that looked a bit sinister to the now-paling teen. "Today is royal bath day."

In a complete reversal, the teen's cheek colored a little as he blinked at his caretaker. "Royal bath day!? While I like being pampered, I can clean myself!"

Geoffrey nodded. "And while that would be the case in usual circumstances, your Highness, today Queen Moon wanted to be certain there wasn't a sudden… aversion to cleanliness right before we entertain guests."

"Wait, guests?" Sirius raised an eyebrow just as the servants kicked open the bathroom doors, ending the time for talking and beginning a lot of scrubbing, brushing, exfoliating, moisturizing, and plucking! By the time the cleaning was over, the young prince didn't know what hurt and what didn't… mostly because he couldn't feel his face. As the very exposed teen sat on a stool, the servants (all male, as per his mother's orders) taking the time to give him both manicures and pedicures, Geoffrey entered the Royal Bathroom with a few maids laying out dress clothes... seriously fancy dress clothes. "Huh," Sirius murmured, even as one of the servants dried his hair. Halfway through the bath, an idea sprang to mind: the only time he was subjected to such atrocities as washing behind his ears was when the Royal Matchmaker found a potential suitor. "So, what is going on? Are the Spiderbites coming over?" A large part of him prayed that was not the case; not to be rude, one must understand, but Princess Spiderbite was only cute... if you ignored the watermelon-sized zit on her face.

"I'm afraid," Geoffrey said, "if the word through the grapevine is right, that Princess Spiderbite has been sent to St. Olga's for some...impropriety." Translation: she misbehaved and got sent to "Princess Jail" for it. Thank Glossaryck they had a strict "No Boys" policy or the threat would have hung over his head, too! His personal butler explained, "Rather, some important guest from overseas will arrived… with an eligible young lady in tow."

'Uh-oh,' suddenly shot through the young prince's mind. The bath, the servants' sass, fancy clothes… it was that day! He had hoped – nay, prayed! - that there would be no big event for this occasion! There had been a deal and everything! In his panic, Sirius struggled in vain to escape – but alas! The bath has made his feet too smooth! He could run nowhere! As he was dragged to his doom, one terrified thought played in his head: 'It's my birthday ball.'

The young man was marched (followed) into the main hall, knights on both sides, and now dressed in the finest blue suit he owned, decorated with golden epaulets on the shoulders, a ruby red sash from shoulder to hip, and black shoes, polished so they shined like the gold buckles attached to them. Out of the habit of passing this part of the castle, he looked up at the Royal Family Portrait of himself, his mother, and his father… or, as the world saw the three of them—Queen Moon, King River, and, and Prince Sirius.

"Your Highness, you are alright?" one of the guards asked Sirius. The boy jumped a little, before realizing he had stopped moving to stare at the painting, pausing the group's advancement as well.

"I-I'm fine," Sirius gave the alerted guard an unsure smile. If the guards noticed how shaky it looked, they had enough tact to keep it to themselves. "Let's keep going." As they began their trek again, passing the window, a figure on a distant rooftop, well outside the range of any eagle-eyed archers, watched Sirius through a visor on his mask.

When the boy prince left the view of the window, the figure said, "Target spotted. Proceeding to infiltration. Will maintain radio silence until mission is complete." The figure took out an unusual staff, a red jewel at the top of it, before jumping and vanishing in a flash of golden light.

As the entourage reached the throne room, there before Sirius was his parents: King River, strong, stocky, with a bushy beard that sort of offset his regal air. Queen Moon, hair grayed from stress, but she still maintained her elegant demeanor. In the Queen's hands was the most powerful artifact ever created, and one of a kind: The Royal Magic Wand. With a flourish, Sirius bowed in greeting. "Father. Good to see you."

River nodded back. "Ah, good to see you so… serious." The teen bit back a laugh, and from the sound of the stifled snickers, the king had to as well. If anybody had a better sense of humor and timing than his father, he'd never met the soul.

Coming up from the bow, Sirius squinted at his mother's face in fake scrutiny. "Hey, ma. I think I see a new wrinkle. Right there around the eyes."

Moon just gave the glib boy a raised eyebrow; as usual, she was the coolest one in the room. "Sirius, please keep a civil tongue today. This afternoon event was put together for you, after all."

"Sorry, Mom," Sirius said, scratching the back of his neck self-consciously. "You're doing this to help me, I get that. I just..." he paused, trying to ignore his thoughts crashing into each other, on top of his churning stomach. "Hey, Mom, can we send the Servants out for a minute, so we can talk in private? Like a family?"

For a moment, Moon looked like she might say "certainly, this can wait," but, between Sirius' open honesty and his slightly nervous expression, her face softened a bit. "Well..."

"You know, dear," River chimed in, coming in for the clutch, "we have some time before the event gets underway! The guests won't even arrive for five more minutes!"

Moon looked between males a few times, before sighing, although with a small smile on her face. "Oh, very well. I suppose we have some time. Manfrey, let us know when the entourage from the Gozerian Kingdom arrives." With the grace from years of practice, Queen Moon rose and motioned to a door right behind the throne; it was a small parlor, where the Royals wined the neediest (sorry, "important") guests at the usual events. And now, it would house all three Royals of the castle for at least five minutes. As soon as the three of them entered, Moon, coming in last, waved her Wand swiftly. "There. Until that door opens, no sound in this room can be heard out there."

River just chuckled, a little more relaxed behind closed doors. "Come now, Moon Pie. Who would really eavesdrop?"

Flat look on her face, the Queen of Mewni, or rather the wife of the man who just said that, smirked at the bearded man. "Maybe whoever told you what I was getting you for our anniversary last year?" Through the man's stream of half-formed excuses, Sirius laughed at his father's poor attempts to cover his own butt. "Now, then," her voice went right back to clipped and to the point. "What is so important you had to ask me in front of the court?"

Back in the spotlight, Sirius's bravado faltered, as he began toying with the gold buttons on his shirt. "Well… It's just… Mom, am I good enough to be the heir to Mewni?" Going by the looks on their faces, whatever Moon and River thought he wanted to talk to them about, that was not it. "I mean, I like being rich and all, but… I don't have magic. I can't cast spells or hexes, can't even mix a potion without the fallout evacuating the castle! Heh, my stamina's the only thing impressive about me, but I'm certainly no knight…" Sirius rubbed furiously at his only itchy eyes, ignoring the blurred vision. "I'm not a great heir, I'm not good at all these high society meet-and-greets, I can't even play the Clarinet…" Sirius' voice gave out by then, letting silence mercifully permeate throughout the room. He stood there with clenched fists, a little embarrassed he had said a lot more than he had intended. Choosing to grasp at anything to cover up his inelegance, he added, "And, well, I'm not really interested in the parties and stuff, too, I guess. This kinda stuff just makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable, everyone's always walking on eggshells with how they talk, and it's exhausting-!"

Sirius' tirade was cut off as Moon placed a hand on his cheek, lifting his head and affectionately rubbing a thumb over his cheeks. "Sirius, my Glorious Star." She pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed lightly at the tear tracks coming down his face. "I understand those fears and trepidation. I had them once too."

Sirius gawked, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Wait, you? Were afraid?" This was not something the young teen had ever heard of; even Glossaryck never mentioned the early days of 'Moon the Undaunted!' Wiping his nose on his sleeve, he asked, "What could have scared you?"

Flicking her Wand almost causally to make the snot smear on the hand-spun silk sleeve vanish, she stepped back, looking at the picture of her mother, Sirius' grandmother, hanging on the wall. "I…" She trailed off, her gaze distant. River patted her back soothingly, and just like that, the queen returned. "It was a long time ago. I was...your age when I first took the throne." She raised her hand the minute Sirius opened his mouth, a slew of questions already on his lips. "It's too much to get into now. But I understand worrying about not measuring up when it counts." She paused for a moment and gave her son a small smile. "I just ask that you do your best… and never be afraid to be yourself."

Sirius seemed to brighten up at the pep talk. Moon smiled in return, then looked away for a moment. "Actually, sometimes pull back and be less sometimes… " That brought a confused blink from the teen before he noticed his mother fighting back a smile. "There's a small gray area you can work in." His small smile turned into a guff at her joke, his doubts (for the moment) no longer plaguing him.

Sadly, a knock at the door ended the jovial time among the Butterfly Family. "Your Highnesses," Manfrey spoke up, "The VIPs are arriving, and would be undue to not have you to greet them."

Like magic, the Queen and King slipped right back into their masks, from parents to stalwart leaders in an instant. "Thank you, Manfrey. That will be all," River said. Sirius shook his head at the sight, never used to his father, down and dirty prankster when he wanted to be, turning into such a mature individual in the blink of an eye. Even his tone sounded different; though, as he caught the prince's gaze, he winked, sending the kid into giggles again.

Moon did a quick one-over on the boy, making sure he was presentable. "Take a moment to collect yourself, Sirius, and meet us outside. These parties are only as exhausting as you make them…" With that, the King and Queen of Mewni walked out to greet their court, clearly waiting for the Prince, their heir, to take the next step with them...

As the young prince took deep breaths to steady himself, he recalled his mother's parting words, and his father's flawless ability to switch from jester to king. "Is that… what it means to be royalty? For corn's sake, I'll be dealing with snobby nobles forever! But… if even Dad can handle them…" Glancing up at his grandmother's portrait, he smiled sardonically. "Damn, I'm wallowing in here, and there's a party where everyone's going to throw themselves at me right outside? I guess… there are worst fates…" With that, he opened the door to step out, and follow in his parents' footsteps.

A/N: Just a small re-intro for now. Spoilers, some parts of the previous story, Mewman on the Loose!, were and will be used, but not everything. Actually really like these small setup chapters, way quicker to write! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!