Hello People of Fanfiction. Net! We are here again with another chapter of The Six Star Templars of the Butterfly Kingdom! Now the last chapter had our boy Marco and his new teacher/Knight returning from a little talk were Marco will be going through some noticeable changes. First of which is his new outfit and appearances of cheek marks on his face. Next; the two were introduced to a couple of the knights and their squires with El quickly taking notice of a certain red-haired, freckled – faced girl who is squire to whom I consider the story's cocky punk idiot.
Anyway, one thing lead to another and now Higgs and Marco will be having a little sparring match since Sir Stabby wants to be a show-off and have everyone know that his slave…. Oh sorry, misspelled that (Not really). His squire is the best and put El in his place.
…. Yeah, that's not happening in this chapter so he best be prepared for a big slice of humble pie. If not, I'll stuff it down his throat myself if I have too!
Okay, now that I have gotten that out of my system, let's get on with the chapter!
Chapter 4: Hard Fought Beginnings, Learning to Squire
Butterfly Castle – Knight's Training Grounds
After departing from the throne room, everyone gathered around the arena where the sparring match between Higgs and Marco was about to take place. Unexpectedly, a crowd made up of castle servants and other guards began to form at the training grounds to watch the match.
"River?" Moon asked as she began massaging her temples. "How did word spread of this little sparring match so quickly?"
"Well Moon pie, you can't expect to keep something like this private." River said. "We have two promising youths here who will one day become the swords and shields that will protect this kingdom. I though it only right to let the others knight come see what they're capable of." He explained. "Also; Star said it would help to not only boost our current knight's moral, but also give our boy Marco and his new knight El a bit of recognition around the castle."
"Yeah Mom." Star said appearing beside her mother and almost giving her a heart attack. "Plus, I also invited a few people from outside the castle to come and watch too. Let the people see who are going to be their new knights and shining armor. While also letting them see how a non-mewman like Marco can keep pace with one that's being trained to be one of our own knights." Star explained. "Just think of how much attention Marco will get with how well he does today!"
"Let's hope not too much." Moon said. "Especially considering…"
"Considering… what?" Star asked confused as to what her mother was referring to.
Moon just sighed. "River? Can you give Star and I a moment to talk in private?"
"Oh, very well Moon pie. I'd best make sure this crowd is kept under control then." River said as he rotated his shoulders and walked off to do crowd control with a few of the guards.
Once River had left, Moon looked to Star and said what was obviously concerning her.
"Star, you are aware of the… changes... Marco has now, Yes?" Moon asked, only to receive a look of confusion from her daughter. Moon then began pointing to her face, more specifically her cheeks.
When Star saw this, she then quickly figured out what her mother was talking about.
"Oooooh. When you meant the changes to Marco, you were talking about…" Star trailed off as she pointed to her own cheeks to clarify. "Yeah, I kind of first noticed them when Marco got back with El. It's still kind of surprising if I'm being honest."
"Well it's concerning to me Star." Moon said. "Which is why I'm not sure if we should have so much attention placed on Marco. If the people were to notice his cheek marks, it could result in… unsavory rumors spreading. Goodness knowns how the rest of the Butterfly family or the high commission will react if they find out about this." Moon said already thinking of the worse possible outcomes.
"Mom, I don't see how this is a big deal." Star said. "Okay, I get Marco now having cheek marks is sort of a big issue. But it's not like it never happened before, our family has that one guy who had cheek marks." She pointed out.
"Star, Justin was born into the Butterfly family. Marco was not, there is a clear difference." Moon said feeling her composure slipping slightly. "Look dear, I'm not saying Marco shouldn't have some form of acknowledgment. Just not so much that people will begin to question why he suddenly has cheek marks. At least until we find out how he obtained them." She explained. "Has Sir El told you how Marco got his marks when they came back?"
"Well, kind of." Star said. "He said that Marco "unlocked" something that he didn't have before. And because of that, Marco has something that's similar to the magic we can do but different. Which is why he now has cheek marks." She explained as best she could.
Moon placed her hand under her chin in a thinking position after hearing what Star had told her.
'Hmm, an ability he didn't have access to before and that is similar to our magic? Just as one mystery appears, three join it.' Moon thought before looking to Star.
"We'll have to see where all this goes down the line." Moon told Star. "For now; can I assume you came looking for me to say that everything is ready for this… sparring match?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, both Marco and the other girl are ready to go." Star said.
"Star, when you say Marco is ready do mean that he's?" Moon asked. Already knowing about of Marco's take on large crowds and him being the center of attention.
"Hehe, yeah. He's a little nervous about the whole thing when I went to see him." Star reveled laughing a little. "But after me, Jenny and El talked to him he calmed down pretty quickly. So I think he's good to go." She added happily.
"Oh, well… that's good to hear." Moon said. "Then I believe it's time we got things underway."
"Yeah! Let's get it on!" Star yelled excitedly as her mother tried and failed to tell her that she wasn't the one even taking part in the match.
"Sigh, sometimes I think she takes more after her father than me." Moon said as she followed after her daughter.
Meanwhile on one side of the training arena, Marco was mentally preparing himself for what he was considering his first official training match as a new squire. He had taken off his vest since he felt it would hinder his movements and he wanted to be able to react quickly to anything Higgs would do at any moment during the match.
"How you feeling Marco?" El asked as he and Jenny stood outside of the arena behind Marco. "Still a bit nervous?"
"Well… not as much as before." Marco said as he did a bit of stretching to loosen himself up. "But I am surprised that I'm allowed to use the sword I have with me than a wooden sword. I thought this was supposed to be just a training match?"
"And it still is. Just that it's in a different kind of way." Jenny said. "Apparently here on Mewni, Squires are encouraged to train with real weapons. But the rule during training matches are that the moment you manage to at least cut or knock your opponent's weapon out of their hands you win the match." She explained to Marco.
"So I have to either cut Higgs or knock her weapon away?" Marco said as he glanced over to the other side where he saw Higgs receiving a standard two-handed sword as her weapon of choice. She was doing a couple of practice swings to get a good feel for the weapon. "Something tells me that trying to do either one will not be easy with her."
"Nope, I can tell from just looking at that girl." El said as he grinned and looked at Marco. "You better bring everything plus the kitchen sink to this fight. Anything less than that and you will regret it." He warned his squire with a smirk. "But seeing as you've had your own experience with a sword, I'd say you still have a tiny bit of an advantage."
"You realize that was in a dimension that was on a Completely different time axis, right?" Marco said.
"Your body still remembers the experience even if your mind doesn't." El countered with. "Just don't think too much and focus on the fight."
"Alright then." Marco said as he did a couple more stretches to get ready.
While he did that, El looked over to the other side and saw Sir Stabby was possibility giving some words of advice to Higgs.
But something in his gut was saying otherwise.
"Hey Jenny?" he said getting the teenage robot's attention. "Can you tell me what exactly Sir "Big Shot" over there is saying to the girl?"
"You want me to eavesdrop on them? Why?" Jenny asked.
"Call it curiosity of what my fellow knight's mind set is." El said shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
Jenny just sighed as one of her pigtails turned into a mini satellite dish and had pointed at Sir Stabby and Higgs. She tuned the frequency until she and El could clearly hear what the two wear saying. However, what they heard sounded more like discouragement and encouragement.
"Listen closely here Higgs, you know good and well that I'm one of the most renowned knights in the kingdom. As such, it's only natural that any squire under me must follow suite and not embarrass me. Especially not in front of the King and Queen. So you had best win this match. Is that understood?"
Sir Stabby said.
"Yes." Higgs said as she looked away in disinterest.
"Yes What?"
"Yes, Sir Stabby."
"Good. Also what was that nonsense back in the throne room? Some upstart asks you a simple question? And you freeze up like your being asked to go to war?"
"I-I… couldn't … help it. The look in his eyes, they just had this sort of… commanding feeling to them. I couldn't just say that I was the best out of everyone new squire this year." Higgs explained still recalling the feeling when El asked her that question.
"So your telling me you couldn't answer because basically you were impressed with some pretty boy? Pathetic. I think you were just unfocused and as a result, made me look like a fool." Sir Stabby said blowing off Higgs's words as rubbish, which got a strong reaction from her.
"That's not it! And you dam-well - " Higgs began to say before stopping halfway through when she saw the look her knight and teacher was giving her. It was the one she had see the last time she spoke out and raised her voice to him.
"What was that? Sir Stabby said in a cold and strict manner as he placed his hands on Higgs's shoulders and started squeezing them. "Higgs, did you have something you wanted to say to me?"
"I…I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. I was… I was just… u-umm…" Higgs began to stutter in fear and slight pain as she felt Sir Stabby's metal-gloved hands begin to dig into her skin the more he squeezed her shoulders.
"That's good to hear. Now go out there and make sure to win. Am. I. Clear?" Sir Stabby said as he took his hands of Higgs's shoulders.
"Y-Yes Sir Stabby." Higgs said as she massaged her shoulders while grabbing her sword and marching into the arena.
"Hey El?" Jenny asked in a barely controlled voice as she folded her pigtail antenna back.
"I already know what you want to say and want to do to the guy." El said in a leveled voice. "But, you can't just go over there and pond the guy into the next century. At least, not yet anyway." He said as he casually cracked his knuckles.
"Then please tell me when I can put that creep 6 feet under?" Jenny said in a barely leveled voice.
"when It's appropriate. And also when we have enough credibility to prove he isn't fit to be a knight. Remember we just showed up at this castle out of the blue, so at this moment we've got zero backing as of now to say anything about anyone's actions." El said as he saw Queen Moon and Star approaching the arena along with King River. "For now let's just focus on how Marco stacks up with someone who's been a squire longer than him."
"While also keeping an eye on Sir "Garbage" over there too?" Jenny said to which El nodded his head.
Once Moon, Star and River came to the center of the arena, Moon prepared to address the…unintentionally… large audience.
But before she could do so, Star beat her to it by using her wand as a microphone and amplifying her voice by using magic.
"LADIES AND GENTLMEN! KNIGHTS AND SQUIRES! MEWMANS OF ALL AGES! WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY A GOOD OLD FANSIONED BATTLE/TRANING MATCH!" Star said which got the crowd roaring in excitement. While Moon had given up on trying not to make this whole thing such a spectacle. "NOW TO MY RIGHT OF THE ARENA, WE HAVE THE PERSON WHO WAS SAID TO BE THE BEST OUT OF ALL THE SQUIRES OF THIS YEAR, HIGGS!"
Higgs steps into the arena and raises her sword into the air as the crowd cheers and shouts her name.
"How is it that she's so popular?" Jenny asked.
"She's not." El said. "Star is just hyping up the crowd. And seeing that their princess is speaking of someone she has probably never really talked with or heard of so highly, it's no wonder there cheering for Higgs." He explained.
"Oh, I see. You think she'll do the same for Marco?" Jenny asked. "I mean he's been friends with Star since she was sent to earth to live with him and his family. Plus, he's done a lot for her. Including helping her during the recent attack on the kingdom."
"Hmm… she has been showing a bit more of her connection with Marco since I brought him back from our little trip to the training grounds." El said. "So… who know? Let's see what she says."
After the crowd had quieted down a bit, Star then looked over to were Marco was with Jenny and El. She was kind of amazed at how she was letting Marco back into her life again. After he had left and with everything that followed afterwards, she was really surprised when he showed up in her room and said he'd be staying permanently. When her mom said she and Marco should catch up with each other, Star honestly didn't want to be stuck with Marco for fear of her old feelings for him coming back while she had moved on and was now with Tom again.
'Almost funny how I could have just dumped him in the sub-basement if El and Jenny hadn't shown up when they did.' Star thought. But as she was preparing to introduce Marco next, she couldn't help but feel that what she had thought about seemed kind of… messed up in a way towards her best friend.
"AND NOW HER OPPONENT, HE'S KIND OF AND NOT SO KIND OF NEW TO MEWNI. WAS JUST MADE A SQUIRE TODAY AND HAS A RED BELT IN KARATE AND CAN PUNCH A HOLE RIGHT THROUGH SOMEONE'S CHEST! GIVE IT UP FOR MARCO… DIAZ!
Not knowing what to do, Marco simply un-sheathed his sword. The blade was revealed to be a polished silver that soon transitioned to a dark blue color along the length of the blade all the way to the tip of the sword which he pointed towards Higgs as if to challenge her.
"OH! AND ALSO HIS KNIGHT AND GUEST KNIGHT EL!" Star added as she pointed to El who wasn't expecting to be put on the spot himself and just waved with a sheepish smile on his face.
Marco and Higgs made their way to the center where Queen Moon stood and was handed the wand/microphone by Star.
"Alright you two; please remember that although you will be using real weapons, this is merely a training match." Queen Moon reminded the two competitors, to which they nodded their heads in acknowledgment. "Good. The moment I say "Begin", you may start. The first to disarm or slight harm their opponent will be the winner. Now, both of you take your positions."
Higgs immediately goes into a close stance, while Marco takes a guarding stance.
"Ready?"
Both fighters tighten their hold on their respective weapons as Queen Moon begins to step back until she is outside of the arena.
"And… BEGIN!"
Immediately Higgs lunges at Marco who quickly jumped to the side to avoid her diagonal slash. Higgs then charges at him again, this time going for a side slash to which Marco blocks before pushing her back.
He quickly takes this chance to charge at her, swinging his sword in a horizontal downward strike which Higgs manages to just barley block. Marco quickly jumps back to evaluate the current rate of his combatant.
'Whoa! Okay she's defiantly as strong a Star. I'm betting she practices a lot if she's this good already.' Marco thought before he had to quickly block another of Higgs's attacks. 'And just as quick too! I barely dodged that last one.'
"Higgs! Put more pressure on him! Don't give him any chance to recover at all!" Sir Stabby shouted from outside the ring.
Higgs surprisingly/reluctantly began doing as Sir Stabby said to do and began attacking Marco more aggressively. Which began to overwhelm the young man.
"Marco, Don't start panicking." El said as Marco had managed to lock blades with Higgs in order to stop her onslaught for the moment. "Just focus and try to predict her movements. It's not like this is your first time, you've dealt with opponents like this before."
Marco thought back on some of the fights he's had with Ludo's monsters as a lot of them also fought like how Higgs was fighting right now.
"That's it Higgs! Once you've broken through his pathetic defenses, finish him off!" Sir Stabby shouted, urging his squire to absolutely drive her opponent into the dirt. He looked over hoping to see the distraught face of the boy's knight. But only saw a calm and slightly amused/interested look on the red-haired knight's face as he watched the fight.
'He' smiling! W-Well, he won't be smiling for long once his whelp of a squire loses.' He thought.
El then noticed Sir Stabby looking over at him and gave him a little mocking wave, which seemed to only frustrate the pink haired knight further. He then turned his attention back to the match where he saw Marco was putting his earlier words to use as despite Higgs's increase in aggressive attacks, Marco was easily countering and deflecting each blow.
'Good, he's already re-learning how to adapt to his opponent's fighting style.' El thought proudly. 'Now let's see if he can think on the fly on how to win.'
Star and her parents were watch the match and while River was having a blast at watching Marco's skill and Moon was doing better at reigning in her own surprise at the boy's prodigies abilities. Star was by far the most blown away by Marco's sword skills.
'I know he spent about sixteen years chasing after Hekapoo, but I've never really seen him use any of the stuff he's learn from that time.' She thought before her eyes widened in shock as Marco sent Higgs skidding across the arena with a powerful swing from his sword which brought the girl to her knees.
"HAHA! Good strike Marco my boy!" River shouted as the crowd cheered at the impressive display Marco was showing them.
"Wow, Marco's doing pretty well." Jenny said.
"Yep, and it's also ticking off someone else." El said as he looked over at Sir Stabby and saw how red his face was from rage.
Higgs was breathing rather heavily as she was struggling to get back on her feet. She knew she would get tired very quickly after attacking so aggressively. But she was kind of expecting to have beaten this Marco guy long before the fight got to this point. Princess Star and Queen Moon said that Marco was new to being a squire, so she had assumed that meant he had no knowledge of sword fighting. But right now he was wielding that sword of his as if it was second nature to him as oppose to her who was trained to wield one since she was 6 years old.
'Just what… what the heck am I supposed to do here?' Higgs thought as she finally managed to get back on her feet. But she could tell she didn't have much strength left. Marco only looked a little winded in comparison. "I can't lose… I can't lose here! If I lose then I'll… I'll!" She mumbled to herself as she raised her sword and prepared to continue the fight. 'There's no way I can lose right now!'
Marco could tell from how hard Higgs was breathing that she most likely won't last much longer. Meaning this was his best chance to end the fight here.
'How do I do that though?' He thought. 'When the fight started she had a tight grasp of her weapon and was moving at a controlled pace. If she'd kept that up I probably would be just as tired as she is now. Since I've been blocking and deflecting her more aggressive attacks, her grip has been getting weaker. So if I can get in one strong hit, it will force her to drop her weapon. Just have to bide my time, then strike.'
As Marco had formulated his plan, El looked on impressed. Already deducing what his squire had come up with.
"Looks like Marco already has an idea on how to win." El said which got Jenny's attention.
"He does?" She asked.
"Yep. Now he's just looking for the right time to implement his plan." He explained.
Higgs growing frustrated and wishing to end the fight now, decided to charge at Marco with another barrage of hyper-aggressive strikes.
Like before, Marco deflected the oncoming attacks. But while doing so, he looked for an opening where he could strike. When he and Higgs locked blades this time, he quickly pushed her off again.
"I'm not about to let you – " But before Higgs could continue with her sentence, she looked with widened eyes when she saw Marco quickly closing in on her. 'When did he!?' Higgs quickly brought her sword up to try and block his attack as Marco drew close before the sound steel clashing was heard.
The next thing the crowd saw was a single sword flying into the air before impaling itself into the ground behind…. Higgs as she sat on the ground, while Marco stood before her with his sword pointed right at her.
As Sir Stabby, Jenny and everyone else looked on dumbfounded, El had a proud and somewhat snarky grin as looked at the sight of the pompous pink-haired knight.
'Pretty sure he's going to be hating on me even more now.' El thought as he saw Marco put his sword away and offer to help Higgs up. 'Well whatever. So long as Marco grows into someone the people of this kingdom can look to for protection, I can take a couple slings and arrows for him.' He thought as the sound of the roaring crowd filled the air.
A/N: First off; sorry this chapter took so freaking long to come out. Life... really has a way to keep you busy huh? But anyway, Marco has won his first match a squire. Now the question is... what comes after this? Well that for me to know and the rest of you to find out.
I'll see you all next time!