Marco was in a difficult position. He sat in his room as the day was just beginning and the warm light of the sunrise had only begun to make itself known. Being up so early, he didn't need to worry about having to prepare for the day or there being a slew of things to do. No, his problem was something far more important than his morning routine. Marco was bored.
It wasn't a boredom one is dealt with when they simply have nothing to keep them occupied, being that Marco had plenty to do. It was a different issue altogether. He was tired of knowing everything that would happen on a day to day basis. Sure, some things would change here and there that he didn't see coming, But he still largely knew what adventure was waiting and what people would say or do. It had become mundane for him, and he wanted to shake things up.
He knew that the more he strayed from the norm, and the more he tried to fight his predicament, the more things would change. He wasn't afraid of things being a little different, but he was terrified of not being prepared. Ever since he was young the idea of being unready for any of life's issues had always made him extremely uneasy. But at this point, what was the alternative? To lie in wait for the little details to change for him and to hope that those changes weren't just deadly? There was no other option for Marco but to take the reigns of his fate and change things himself.
He got up and left his room, making his way to Stars. If anyone would be down for the adventures he had in mind, it would be her. Though he stopped just outside her door. There were voices inside, like the soft talk after an argument. Not wanting to intrude, he politely knocked and waited for a response. The conversation inside stopped and there were footsteps getting closer. He drew a shaky breath and smiled light-heartedly.
Star opened the door and smiled wide, dressed in her usual sleeveless dress, striped pants, devil headband, and horned boots. "Hey, Marco! I actually need you for something right now so come in, quick." She led him in and closed the door behind her. Marco looked around the room and noticed the image of the Queen of Mewni staring back at him from the mirror. "Oh, Queen Moon. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She allowed the corners of her mouth to soften from the unamused frown she was wearing and she spoke like only true royalty do.
"Hello, dear Marco. Don't worry about interruptions. We were simply going over Stars magical training. Or more accurately, the lack thereof." Marco shot a glance to Star and noticed she was suddenly interested in the floor over the call. "Would you kindly inform me of her frequency in practice?" Marco now too found a sudden interest in the ground and tried to find words that wouldn't blow up in his face. "Well, your majesty, Star has been training hard. Glossaryk is being his usual self and has assured me that his specific training regimen for her must be adhered to. I wouldn't argue with him and I think Star has made some real progress."
At that moment, Glossaryk himself floated out from Stars spellbook and smugly grinned at the party before him. He shot Marco and Star a knowing look before turning his full attention to the queen. "Yes, your majesty. Star is doing well with her training and I'm finding her company, quite supportive of her learning." He calmly shot Marco another knowing look.
Queen Moon eyed the two, not once letting her half smile waver, and slowly nodded. "Yes, I do suppose that's the best course of action. As long as her learning doesn't falter, and she doesn't slack on her training. Very well. Thank you, Marco. Thank you, Glossaryk." "Its merely my duty, your majesty," Glossaryk said softly.
Star smiled nervously as if trying to end the conversation there. "Well, mom, if that's all, I guess we should be-" "That reminds me, Star. Given your current living situation with the Diaz family, you haven't been getting into trouble, have you? I hope you've been behaving yourself." Moon eyed Star with intent but Marco stepped in again to ease the situation. "She's actually been giving us lots of help around the house. I know I speak for my parents when I say that we're delighted to have her."
This actually made Moon smile, though it wasn't a lighthearted one. More like the smile of a Magician who knows the next three tricks in a show and is about to perform them. "I'm so glad to hear. Please continue to keep an eye on her and do keep her from destroying too much." Moon glanced at Glossaryk before again turning her attention to the two teenagers. "Well, I must be off. We have a council meeting beginning in the hour, so you two behave yourselves and remember: I was once a princess too, Star." Both teens looked at Moon with a surprised face as the call cut out.
"Well, that went better than I expected. Thanks to Marco and I." Glossaryk spoke with a tone of ease as he floated towards the spellbook. It's pages flipped open for him, welcoming the book elf back to his home. "You heard your mother, Star. Stay out of trouble. And Marco, I expect that after youre more available, we can have a talk about your predicament." With that, he sank into the pages of the book before its large, heavy sides slammed shut.
Star sighed and slumped her shoulders before walking over to her bed and flopping down face first into her pillows. Marco had been watching the spellbook, thinking of Glossaryk's foreboding words before turning his attention to his best friend. Though he was certain they were more than that by now.
Marco smiled at the sight and walked over to her and sat on the edge of her bed. He enjoyed relaxing with her as it guaranteed that even something as peaceful as doing nothing would be full of excitement. He spoke softly but in a gruff, mocking tone. "So hows the future Queen of Mewni doing? Preparing to rule the world I assume?" She didn't answer, instead only shaking her head into the pillow. "Ahdun Grph wah Hmmph Prumphm Iiihhh."
Marco laughed and cocked his head. "Care to repeat yahself, yar good grace?" She lifted her head and sat upright. A wide frown was spread across her face and Marco was almost caught off guard when she glared at him. "I don't get what her problem is. I can learn to rule a kingdom and use the wand my own way. I don't need to be taught how to be me. Like, maybe I just want to do things by myself."
Marco thought on that for a moment. He knew that being Queen was no simple matter, what with all the rules and regulations to follow and the never-ending list of duties, it had to be the most stressful job imaginable. And for Star, he knew she'd have to learn how to do her massive job on her own. "I can imagine how you feel. Knowing you're set for only one job for the rest of your life, having the final word in every matter but being told how to rule? And to top it all off, being responsible for everything in your kingdom but not having your own real choice in how you run it. It must be really scary for you."
She continued glaring at him and spoke softly with words that seemed to be on the verge of breaking. "Aren't you supposed to be making me feel better? You're just reminding me of how bad I have it." She stared at the ground and wrung her hands for a moment as Marco spoke. "Well, think of it like this. Not all of that is true. You get to decide what kind of ruler you are, how you lead your people, and what you do for your kingdom. You still get to be who you are now, just with more responsibility. You'll always be Star, regardless of what your job is. So don't worry. Youll be the best you, you can be."
She thought about that for a moment and smiled, a new gleam in her eye. "Yeah. You're right. I can do things MY way. And when I'm Queen, no ones gonna make me rule any different from how I want to." He chuckled and stood slowly, thinking about her in the future, and what kind of ruler she'd really be. "Don't mention it, Star. I'm just happy to help when you're feeling down. All up in those dumps of yours." She stood and slugged his arm before throwing her hands into the air. "You try ruling a country and see how much fun it is," She said sarcastically, egging him on.
"You know I'd enjoy organizing a country behind me, waaaay too much." She smiled because she knew he was right. He had always been one for scheduling and organizing and planning. Being a ruler would be perfect for him. Though she blushed at the insinuated idea and pushed it aside.
Marco took a step back and slid his hands into his hoodie. "Let's go on an adventure." Star stopped smiling and narrowed her eyes at him. She didn't know what he was up to but she knew it was something. "What kind of...adventure?" she asked quietly as if someone was listening and would punish her just for speaking about it. He shrugged and pulled out his dimensional scissors, cutting a series of portals. "I dunno. Why don't we do something different? Let's just go on an adventure someplace and see what happens."
She kept her eyes firmly glued to him and grabbed her wand. She desperately needed something to liven up her day, but she couldn't let him have all the satisfaction of guessing what she wanted. "Sure. I guess that would be fun if you could make a good adventure happen." He smirked at her and gestured to 4 portals cut in the center of her room, each one sporting a different color and style. "Choose wisely, oh great and powerful Queen." She kept eye contact with him and strolled over to the red portal with random sparks flying from its edges, pointing at it.
Marco cocked an eyebrow as he picked up his things. "You sure about that? Its gonna be a tough one, and I know how much you hate fun," he said sarcastically. She grinned and stuck out her tongue before stepping through the portal, immediately followed by her guide. All four portals closed and the only sound in the room was that of a spoon scraping against a plastic pudding cup.
Glossaryk was enjoying some pudding inside his book when the small, hexagonal red gem on his head shook slightly. He immediately stopped what he was doing and sighed, defeated. Raising his hands to his eyes and rubbing them, he spoke in an indignant tone. "Getting a little pushy, aren't we? Perhaps I'll just quit my job as a glossary of terms and teacher so I can answer every one of your calls."
The red gem shook again, this time much softer. It glowed dimly before igniting like a bright red bulb, shooting its burning light in every direction. It hummed slightly as its rays slowly began to focus in front of him. Thin beams of light darted around in intricate patterns, crossing in different directions and forming a symbolic hexagon. Finally, the light dimmed and the design shifted to open, like a telescopic doorway.
Glossaryk went through and on the other side, he entered a large chamber of crystals, sapphires, and rubies with a superior glow that could never be found on earth. He approached a large crystal at the center of the rotunda that seemed to be a mixture of both types. It gleamed a precious purple and glowed with a power that rivaled the sun. It flickered brightly as he approached, shining steadily as he stopped at its base.
"ɹəɥ əʌɐs oʇ sı əɥ ɟı ʎɹɹnɥ ʇsnɯ əɥ."
"Yes, I have seen the events you've set in motion, and I have to say, even I'm afraid of what is to come."
"lıɐʌəɹd llıʍ əɥ ɹəɥ ɹoɟ əʌol sıɥ oʇ ənp 'əɯoɔəq llıʍ əɥ ʇɐɥʍ uəəs əʌɐɥ I"
"If you say so. He cannot do it alone, however. They both need to tap into what you've given them. To accept the gift they need to survive. If they don't, then you've doomed us all."
The crystal hummed with energy as the small emblem etched on its face glowed furiously. The crescent moon shined bright as the voice in Glossaryks head seemed to tear him apart.
"ɥɔʍ Oʎ əlIɥʍ NIʌ NI əIp Oʍ NəSOɥɔ ʎW əl llIʍ I əW Ԁləɥ OS ɹO NOIOW ONI əS əʌɥ I ɥʍ qOp ON Op"
Glossaryk held the sides of his head as if to keep his mind from shattering. He knew better than to goad the divine power before him, but he was completely overtaken by his concern over his student.
"əuop sʎɐʍlɐ əʌɐɥ I sɐ op əɯ ʇəl puɐ 'uɐld əɥʇ oʇ ʞɔıʇs ʇsnſ ʎləɹns 'lıɐʌəɹd llıʍ ʎəɥ ɯəɥʇ ʇnoqɐ ʎɹɹoʍ ʇ,uop"
"Fine, fine. Youre the boss. Just, please be careful. If he fails at stopping what has been started, this will have been for nothing."
"pəsɐɹə əq llıʍ əʞɐʇsıɯ ɹnO ɹɐəɟ oʇ ɓuıɥʇou əʌɐɥ llıʍ əʍ puɐ əɯ uı ʇsnɹ əʌol ʎɯ 'ʍouʞ I"
"If you say so. I must return to my dimension now. Not even I can sustain myself in your presence for much longer." He began floating back towards the door as a single strand of purple magic snaked towards him. It held his chin and stroked his cheek before returning to the gem at the center of the room. It glowed once more and then the room was still.
"And I love you too." He floated slowly out of the chamber before allowing his symbolic portal to be undone. He gently settled on the cover of the magic spell book, wondering where all of this began. The planning, the prophecies, the pain he surely wrought on so many because of a simple mistake. But he sighed, slumping his shoulders and resting between the pages. All of it would be better, now that she had began.