AUTHORS NOTE
Hey all. Sorry for the late update and the short hiatus. Thanksgiving was great, and I got to spend quality time with the fam when I went back home. Thank you for your patience. I truly appreciate it and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Marco had spent the rest of the day dissecting the information Glossaryk had given them. To learn about why he had been sent back was something he truly wasn't expecting. And all because he was meant to clean up the mistakes of a goddess. His life toyed with and his friendship with Star put into jeopardy. He was furious. But at the same time, his heart was heavy with guilt.
"I have given you a chance to 'fix' your future. How much have you been rewarded since you returned?"
Her words still rang in his ears, heavy with the truth he had been afraid of from the start. She had shown him how their relationship had changed so dramatically, from Stars broken heart to an adventure of love and passion. But was she right? Was he really just 'Fixing' his past? He made a promise to Star to let her live her life, and now he sat at home enjoying the spoils of their romance. He thought about how unhappy Star looked when he saw glimpses of his old life. Her broken smile, hiding a more damaged heart.
He ended that notion when he thought of how happy and full of life she was when they were together. How her eyes shone brighter when she looked at him. "She's happier now. I know that. And she chose me, so I need to be the best Marco I can be for her." He smiled at the fact that he and Star were truly happy together. He kept a lingering fear of making her choices for her, but he knew that he hadn't fixed anything. He just let Star unknowingly fix things herself.
Before he could think any longer on the topic, Star crept into his room and slumped onto his bed. She spoke softly, staring at the wall without a hint of emotion. "So, what are you thinking?" He smiled and shook his head. "I'm thinking some heavy stuff. But I'm alright with it. How are you holding up with the info?" She shrugged and laid back on the covers that radiated with the scent of Marco. "I dunno, dude. I feel like I'm being used, but, part of me is okay with it, I guess?"
She eyed Marco as if to ask his opinion of her outlook. He smiled warmly at her. She loved that. "I'm pretty okay with it too. I say we go with it, and when it's all said and done, I can enjoy being in love with the coolest girl I know." Stars cheeks turned a shade of crimson and she fought to keep her eyes on the ceiling. "Well, in that case, I guess we just wait for Vartek. And when he shows his face, we take him down."
Marco stood and walked over to her. He held out his hand, which she took gingerly, and helped her up. Star eyed him with curiosity but felt ease wash over her when he pulled her into a tight embrace. He kept his arms snug around her as he spoke. "No matter what happens, I'll have your back, Star." She smiled and pulled back before planting a kiss on his cheek. "Good. But for now, let's just chillax and enjoy being kids again."
The next day, Star was sitting in the kitchen trying to master a spell used to create a floating light source to follow her around. Marco kept busy making his famous nachos as both teens seemed well adjusted to their normal lives again. Raphael and Angie were off at work, whatever that was, and school was out for a few days due to an unfortunate incident in the gym. Ludo had tried to steal the magic wand again, though this time it was just him and a handful of other monsters.
Star shot a beam of light into the air, which collected into a pure white glowing ball that filled the room with cool light. She gasped and pounded a drumbeat onto the countertop. "Maaaarcoooo!! I did it!!!" He smiled and watched the glowing ball with amazement. Glossaryk had set her with the task of practicing the spell yesterday and she finally got it down. "That's great Star! I know that spell is going to come in handy."
She beamed at him and pointed to the oven. "Speaking of coming in handy, when are those delicious triangles gonna be done?" Marco frowned and crossed his arms. "You can't just rush nachos like these. They take love and patience. Maybe I'll show you how I make 'em sometime." She blushed and smiled, absentmindedly fidgeting with her wand.
Before Star could respond, a tone rang from her small portable phone. The word 'MOTHER' flashed across the screen and the color drained from Stars face. She knew that whenever her mom called out of the blue, It was almost never good. "Marco! My moms calling what do I do?!" He gave her a confused look and pointed to her phone. "You should, um. Blow it up. Obviously, you answer it, Star." She glared at him but clutched her ringing phone. "Fine. But if I die, build a statue of me." She clicked the center button on the cell phone and a holographic image of Queen Moon was projected above the countertop. A recent modification that glossaryk helped with.
"Hi, mommy, what's up. Up?" Star kept her hands behind her and maintained a sheepish grin to deter her mother from asking questions. It seemed to work if only for the reason that Moon was pressed for time and very busy. The queen smiled curtly but wore an inquisitive frown as she examined Star. "Star, I'm calling you to ask if youre attending the Kingdom of corn dinner. It's tomorrow night so I must know if you'd like to join your father and I." Star groaned and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "Mom, I don't want to go to some old peoples dinner party and talk about policies and how stuff is working. And don't get me started on the 'Dance', as you keep calling it."
Queen Moon's frown held true with her eyes never leaving her daughters. Marco felt largely uncomfortable but felt he should ease the tension. He stepped forward and bowed cordially to the Queen. "Your majesty, if I may interrupt, I've never heard of the Kingdom of corn dinner before in my...travels. What is it?" The queen's frustration dropped almost immediately. Here was a fine young lad who knew how to behave and act respectfully to his elders. She smiled at him before speaking.
"Marco, so lovely to see you, my boy. Of course youre not interrupting. The Dinner is a meeting between all the royal families of mewni and contacted neighboring dimensions. They meet here to discuss the surplus of corn and the shipping of corn as well as political events coming and gone. After the meeting, there's dinner, and it usually goes to a more, dancelike event where the royals may relax." Marco processed her words and smiled. "Thank you, your majesty. I'll leave you both to it." He stepped away and continued working on his nachos as Star absent-mindedly began tapping her fingers on the countertop.
"Well, Star. If you're not going, then please behave yourself and continue practicing your magic." Star rolled her eyes but let a small smile creep out. "I will mom. Thanks for inviting me." Queen moon couldn't help but smile at her daughter before nodding to both teens." Of course, I'd invite you Star. If you change your mind, let me know. You can even bring your little friend. Ta-ta dearest!" And with that, the hologram faded away.
Marco wasn't doing very well at hiding his blush when he spoke as he pulled the finished nachos from the oven. "Soo, little friend huh? Your mom seems to like me." Star glared at him and shook her head. "Such a heartbreaker, Marco. The ladies can't help but fall for you." He served the large pan of nachos and offered Star a drink before sitting down. "I do have to ask, though. I didn't hear about this dinner last time. How come?"
This time, Star blushed profusely and kept her eyes glued to the nachos she was shoveling into her face. "Well, You see. Umm." Her unusually uncomfortable demeanor told Marco she was obviously hiding something. "Yes? What is it?" He pressed. Star had her mouth closed tightly causing the sides to scrunch in the cutest way. "Its because princes and princesses have to go with a date. Its some old dumb tradition about having a prince or princess be betrothed or at least dating. I went once with Tom, but ever since then I haven't been invited because I don't want to have to go with a boy they've selected. "
Marco let his clear discomfort about the subject show as he spoke. "So the reason she's asking now is that she has a prince in mind? Whos that?" Star shrugged. "I don't know. But I don't swing that way. If I go, its because I have someone I actually li-" She stopped and stared at Marco, before a wide grin spread across her face.
"Oohhhhhhhh yeeeaaaaah." She eyed him, Making him even more uncomfortable. She loved doing that. "And she did say, that I could take you." Marco began to smile and played with one of the few remaining nachos. "Soo, maybe you want to go now?" Star surprised him by shaking her head. It's really not my type of party Marco. And you have to be a prince or a ruler." Marco frowned and looked around him. He ate a nacho and suddenly beamed at Star. "Wait. What if I bring YOU?" Star looked at him quizzically and chomped a nacho. "What do you mean? You're not royalty."
Marco smiled at her. "But I AM the only one on earth with dimensional scissors. And I can declare myself the ruler. I get some fancy clothes, bada bing bada boom. Royalty, and I take you." Star laughed out loud and had to take a second to breathe. She wiped a nonexistent tear off her eye and eyed Marco smugly. " Marco, It takes more than clothes and a title to pass as a prince. They would find you out immediately."
"Oh really," he shot at her. "Yes, really. You couldn't pass as a prince." Marco slammed his palms to the countertop and pulled out his dimensional scissors. "Wait there, smarty-pants." He cut open a bright green portal and walked through, leaving Star alone once it closed. She sat for a few seconds, getting impatient with no nachos remaining. "As if he could act like royalty. He can barely-" She was cut off by a sharp red portal opening. Out walked one of the most surprising sights she had ever seen.
Marco was dressed in a young generals dress clothes. He wore a sky blue jacket with golden epaulets (the brush on the shoulder) and dark blue buttons on the front. It was accented with gold trim and a red sash across the chest. He wore a deep blue feathered cape with a bright purple gem at the center of his chest. His pants were subtle as a deep black and his boots were white trimmed with gold. And as always, he had both scissor blades strapped to each hip, both glowing on the edges with icy blue.
Star was at a loss of words, but Marco still didn't give her a moment to speak. He strolled up to her and knelt, taking her hand and kissing it with a bow. He looked up at her and smiled. He had two black loop earrings on his left ear and his hair was neatly swept down underneath a simple silver crown atop his head with an intricate blue gem at its center.
"Princess Star butterfly. It would be my true honor if you would attend the Kingdom of Corn Dinner as my other half, my date to the kingdom of Earth. I await your answer and will humbly accept your choice as law. My heart is yours and will always be, on my honor as the prince of Echo." Star was beet red and kept her blue eyes glued to Marcos. She slowly retracted her hand and fumbled with words to say to the handsome thing that was once Marco.
"I-I w-would love to, M-Marco. Where did you-" He stopped her and kissed her softly, taking both her hands this time. She relished in how warm and soft his lips were. She loved nothing more than kissing him and found it hard to bear when he slowly backed away. "Don't ask. I spent a few weeks earning this stuff from a royal family in a dimension that doesn't know about magic." She nodded and smiled before standing up to get a better look at him.
"I gotta say. It suits you. I'm sorry for thinking you couldn't pass as a prince, because you even have me fooled." Marco laughed and began walking to his room to change. "Well let's hope the other royals are just as fooled. I look forward to our meeting on the morrow my lady." And with that, he was gone. Star stood in the kitchen, hypnotized by the boy that keeps stealing her heart. A thought crept its way into her mind as she thought about his transformation. "How come MY Marco didn't do that?" This time, Star didn't push the idea away, she embraced it and answered its silent question.
"He came around but you didn't give him a chance to redeem himself for his mistakes. You found another the moment he stepped out of your life, but I should thank you for giving your Marco to her" She caught her breath, as a wave of mixed anger and sadness swept over her, disappearing in an instant. She didn't know where any of that came from, but it felt right to her. "Now I have to prepare for the best dinner date of the year."
The next day, as the warm sun was slowly creeping towards the horizon, Marco was preparing for the dinner. He knew that there would be a lot of royalty sitting in, and there would be no room to act out of line. He had discussed the evening with Star, who was feeling less and less excited for such a boring event, and came up with their alibi. Marco was the crowned prince of Echo, the unknown kingdom where he resided with his mother, Queen Angelica Phalange Diaz, and his father, King Rafael Ubaldo Diaz. He would attend the dinner with Star as the prince of the earth dimension, and go over general current events of earth, if asked.
He was notably nervous, as every possible thing that could go wrong had crossed his mind, from scolding, to the death penalty, but the idea of going on a date with Star eased him immensely. He placed his gilded crown atop his head and walked downstairs. His mother met him at the bottom and took a few photos, smiling wildly next to her husband. "Marco, you look sooo handsome, You remind me of your father when he was your age. Behave yourself while you're out and please be careful."
Angie knew about the kingdom of Mewni and some of the plan but was largely unaware of what else was going on between the two, believing it was a friendly activity they were attending. Raphael patted his son on the back as he exclaimed his praise loudly. "Mijo, youre really turning into a fine young man. I'm so proud of you, though youre mother is right. Behave yourself and have lots of fun!"
Before the smiling Prince Marco could say anything, he heard a door open upstairs. All eyes turned towards the noise and they all gaped in awe as Star made her way down, practically glowing under the light that seemed to come from nowhere. Marcos' eyes were wide as they drank in the sight of the beautiful girl before them. She smiled with confidence and excitement as she slowly walked downstairs.
Her hair was curled and let loose to its full length, as her usual horned hairband sat atop her head, maintaining her golden locks. She wore a small amount of makeup as her face was practically radiating on any given day. A black choker adorned her neck and below, a beautiful, strapless blue dress. It had six blue buttons tied together with gold across her midsection in front of the intricate design of a deep blue heart. The back and sides of her dress bore detailed designs of flowers in a lighter shade of blue all the way down, though it faded into white sparkles near her legs. the front of her dressed bloomed on its own and faded from sky blue to a deep blue with white sparkles near the bottom. The lower part of her dress was tapered near her calves like a hobble skirt dress from the 20s, mixed with a Victorian age gown of sorts.
She strolled down the stairs with ease as Marco and his parents stared in stunned silence. He let a smile crawl across his face as he watched her reach the bottom, and stepped forward to greet her. She smiled heavenly, causing his heart to flutter, before clapping her hands twice. The auspicious light from above floated downstairs and shut off near her wand while she grinned wildly. Marco eyed her and was about to ask a question before his parents stepped in. Angie spoke up first, motioning the two closer together before taking a picture.
"Oh, ambos se ven increíbles. Look at you!" Marco and Star exchanged smiles and blushed profusely as his parents raved about their attire. Marco rubbed the back of his crowned head and held Stars hand, drawing shocked looks from his parents as he spoke. "We should be going now, sorry we can't stay longer but we don't want to be late to a royal dinner." Angie smiled and hugged her son. "You've grown up so much lately, Marco. I'm so proud of you. Knock em dead Star!" Marco thought about that for a minute but brushed it off.
He pulled his blades out and cut a pink portal in front of the front door. He sheathed his weapons and gingerly grabbed Stars hand, lacing their fingers together. "Are you ready, my dear Princess Star Butterfly?" She smiled, with red cheeks, before answering. "Let's go crash this dinner party."
To be continued in 'How to Liven Things Up'
AUTHORS NOTE
So, some changes, everyone. Updates will now take place Tuesday and Saturday, as my work hours have changed. I work 4 12-hour shifts over the weekends so sorry if this messes anything up. Please leave a review if you like the story so far as well as for any comments youd like to make. Enjoy your day and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. BUH BYEEE!!!
Mr. Ronald Reagan