"Oh, what a pleasant little surprise. How are you Nia?"

The princess of mewni smiled up at one of the former queens. She curtsied towards the woman that she considered sort of an aunt. "Hi Eclipsa. I hope you don't mind me stopping by unannounced," she said.

The queen of darkness waved off her concern. "Of course not. I'm honestly just happy to see you. With how busy everyone in the family is our visits are becoming a bit too far and few inbetween. Come in, come in." She stepped aside, allowing the blonde to enter into the castle.

Her and Globgor's home used to frighten Nia as a child. It was a very gothic aesthetic about it. But they had always been so kind to her, and they'd had so much fun, that now it just made her nostalgic. When Meteora used to babysit her and Astro, this place was pretty much like a playground for them.

"So, what brought about this little visit? Did you just want to come by and see us, or is your mother in need of some advice," Eclipsa asked. Star would sometimes go to her regarding relations betweens monsters and mewmans since both she and Globgor had quite a bit of pull in the monster community.

Nia scratched her cheek. "Uh… no, mom is fine right now. Got everything handled. I actually wanted to ask you about something I'm having a little trouble with."

Eclipsa looked down at her curiously. "Really? Well, I'm happy to help with whatever I can. Why don't I put a cup of tea on and grab some snacks." She could tell something seemed to be bothering the girl, and sweets never failed to help cheer her up.

"Here we go," Globgor said, setting down the cake on the table. "I tried out a new recipe Moon gave me a little while ago. Let me know if it's too light. I was going for fluffy, but not too fluffy, you know?" he asked, smiling down at the two. He cut a rather large slice and set it in front of Nia.

The blonde looked at the cake with wide eyes. "Oh, it looks so good! Thank you so much Uncle Globgor!" she said, quickly taking a forkful. She hummed in delight, placing her hands on her face. "Oh my gosh, it tastes so good!"

"You think so?!"

"Oh yeah, it's perfect! It's fluffy but not too light, and the icing is just… amazing!"

Globgor beamed with pride, and Eclipsa giggled in amusement. He had been trying his hand at baking lately, and hearing Nia compliment him was probably reassuring. Globgor cut another slice off for Eclipsa, and she nodded towards him. "Thank you sweetie," she said. She then turned to Nia. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask about dear?"

Nia swallowed another forkful of cake as Globgor took a seat, cutting off his own slice of cake. "Well… I don't know if you got all the details about what happened on Earth, but things got pretty crazy," she said.

Eclipsa hummed. "I heard a few details from Moon." She knew that Uran was back, which made her make a mental note to come by and visit. He had always been such a sweet man. A good partner for Star. "I've never had the pleasure of coming face to face with Oberon, but I imagine the whole event was quite… telling."

Glodgor shivered. "Oh, I don't envy you for meeting that guy. My parents told me to stay away from Earth just because they didn't want me to risk running into him." Oberon's name may not have been as well known to the younger generation, but to the elder monsters he was still very well known.

Nia nodded. "Yeah, he was… kind of a jerk." She really wished she could have ended things on better terms. He was her grandfather after all. But she honestly didn't think she wanted to see him again. At least not for a long while anyway. "But meeting up with him, and seeing how things were on Avalon… It made me start thinking. About what kind of Queen I want to be."

Eclipsa tilted her head. "Did it now?"

"Yeah. I mean, the way Oberon seemed to run things and boss around everyone in the family. He was almost like a tyrant. Everyone either seemed mean or miserable." Hearing about what happened with her father and aunt, and seeing how angry Cressida was, and how dranged Umbriel had been. It was just jarring. When it came to rulers, she'd always pictured people like her mother, and the other kings and queens of the royal court. Some of them were a bit rough around the edges, but they all cared about their people.

Eclipsa and Globgor both looked concerned. "Dear, you don't… you don't think you're going to turn out like Oberon, do you?" she asked.

Globgor spoke up. "That's nonsense. You're the sweetest person I know. You'd never turn out to be someone like him," he said trying to reassure the girl.

Nia held her hands up and laughed. "No way, I don't think I'll ever be as bad as him… but it just started making me think about the throne and everything. And I'm not sure I've been taking it as seriously as I should have until now," she said. "I went to Earth because I wanted to have the same experience as mom. And I've learned things and grown. But I'm still not sure I've become anymore fit to rule."

Eclipsa reached out and grabbed her hand. "Nia darling, you're young. Nobody simply becomes fit to be a ruler overnight. Their qualities that are built over years of experience. And the fact that you're trying to gain those qualities says volumes," she said. "When I was your age, I couldn't have cared less about becoming Queen. All I cared about was the study of magic and boys… monster boys."

Globgor chuckled as he thought back fondly. "Ah, we had no idea just what we were getting ourselves into back then…"

Nia sighed. "But I just… I just feel like there's more I should be doing. More that I could and should have done." When she thought back to all the lessons she skipped or slept through, all the times her brother tried to teach her about the relations between the kingdoms and how it went in one ear and out the others. So many missed things. "Am I really fit for the throne?"

She had asked Eclipsa this for a very specific reason. Of all of the Queens of mewni, she was the only one who had given up the throne so willingly. People had called her irresponsible and selfish for it, but she'd always said she just hadn't been fit for it anyway. Nia didn't know what she meant, but she wanted to now.

"What made you give up the throne?"

Eclipsa stared back at her for a bit, and then sat back in her chair. "I never cared about ruling the people," she admitted. "It was honestly the furthest thing from my mind. All I cared about was my family, and making things easier for them," she said. Globgor reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"That's all most people care about really. Being a Queen of mewni, a good queen anyway, requires a certain sort of… selflessness. One that isn't common in most people," she explained. "It's why I gave the throne to your mother. She cares about mewni, and everyone in it, monster and mewman."

Nia thought for a moment. Selflessness. That made sense. Her mother was always working on one project or another to help strengthen relations between kingdoms, monsters, and mewmans. Helping whenever she could and always reaching out. Could she consider herself a selfless person? She liked helping people, but…

"You're twelve Nia," Eclipsa said cupping her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. "You're still so young. And yes, one day you will have quite a burden on your shoulders. But I have no doubt that when the time comes, you'll make the decisions that you think are best for mewni. As I said, that you're worrying about this is already a good sign."

Nia stared back at her, and then smiled. "Thanks." It was good to know that her family all had confidence in her at least.

"Now, for right now at least, why don't you stop fretting over things that are years off and indulge me in some good ole fashioned gossip. I'm sure you've been up to some exciting things on Earth," she said, smirking. "I heard you met a boy."

The blonde's face lit up. "W-what?! No! I mean yes, but it's… it's complicated. Like super complicated, but it's not like that yet. I mean, not yet! It's just…" She covered her face, clearly flustered by the topic.

Globgor bit back a chuckle of amusement, while Eclipsa just laughed. She was a complete mess. It was probably best for now she not bring up the girl either. "Well, why don't you tell me about this boy and all the other friends you've made," she asked.

Nia nodded shyly before taking another bite of her cake. She had more or less got what she had come for, and she was happy to just sit back and catch up with Eclipsa and Globgor. Though there was one thing that had stuck out to her with what Eclipsa said.

The right choice.

They were at a tipping point after all. The kingdoms and monster tribes were trying to come together, and while her mother was going the best to lay the groundwork, she knew eventually the task would pass on to her. Depending on how things went it could make or break everything they'd been working for.

So, what exactly would be the right choice to make for mewni?

She wondered...

A/N: Nia getting some advice from the Queen of Darkness! Eclipsa and Globgor as a couple in the show were just... perfect. I really need to have more interaction with them (and Meteora) in the future.