Author's Note: So…it's been a while since I last updated this story and a lot has happened in S3. I don't know about all of you, but the season finale gave me chills. Rereading this sequel, there are a lot of things that don't fit in with the show but somehow, I'll try to keep it as canon as possible. Eclipsa is still an anomaly to me and I hate Glossaryk more than ever but I'll work recent major events into upcoming chapters. Sorry if the story starts to feel rushed, I just don't like how AU it's become.

Watching and Waiting

Later that week

Moon paced impatiently beside Star's infirmary bed. She'd been asleep for four days now and she still hadn't woken up. To make matters worse, there still wasn't any sign of the dark queen. In the meantime, Marco and River left to Moon's study to think of strategies to avoid any oncoming attacks from magical forces. Nonmagical threats were easy to deal with, but with the two magic wielding royals on bed rest, they were sitting ducks against magical threats. Two days prior, word had reached the castle that the headmistress of St. Olga's had been attacking young girls and was now on the run from the two available Commission members. Moon shook her head, trying to ignore the growing tension and finally decided to sit down.

A soft knock sounded from the door several minutes later, alerting Moon to the arrival of River. He liked to check up on the two frequently, wanting to be there when his darling little acting queen opened her eyes. Too tired to stand up and greet him, Moon waited for him to walk up to her so she could lean against his right arm. They both released a sigh as they looked over at their sleeping daughter. River sweetly kissed the closest baby-blue gloved hand he could reach and walked over to grab an extra chair to sit in.

"Has the doctor said anything?" River looked over at his worry-stricken wife and listened for a response.

"No. He didn't see her today, but a nurse said she heard Star sleep talking. As if that's any consolation to me." Moon frowned, she hated the fact that she couldn't control the health of her loved ones. Once again, River took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon. We both know how strong she is and I'm sure, right now, she's dreaming of bossing Marco around. It's become a favorite pastime of hers now." He silently chuckled at his statement, but it did nothing to cheer Moon up. She merely rested her head against his and sighed deeply once more. "Cheer up, Moon. I promise you, she'll be awake by tomorrow."

"It's not just that, River. I'm worried about the state of the kingdom as well. Who would've guessed that headmistress could be so…evil?"

"Star. She did say that it was more of a prison than a school. Then again, aren't all schools like that?" River released a small, hearty laugh.

"River, I'm serious. What if she tries to attack Star? Marco said that she wasn't named Ms. Heinous by accident and she has a grudge against the two. They're not safe and I'm in no condition to hold her off." The second laugh that had been building up in River's chest swiftly died at the mention of danger.

"I'm very sorry, my dear. I wasn't taking our current situation into consideration." River looked down at his feet in defeat.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so hard on you. You and Marco have been working hard to keep us safe. I'm just worried about Star." She turned to look at her hunched over husband and patted his back. "What's Marco up to?"

"He went to bed about an hour ago. Poor boy! He's been working hard to track down Ms. Heinous. I don't think anyone sees Eclipsa as a threat anymore, not with that monstrous woman on the loose."

The two were so lost in their conversation that they failed to notice Star open her eyes. She blinked a few times before she recalled where she was and turned to look at the couple. She silently watched her parents try to comfort each other and smiled. Look at my little goof balls, so cute! The words "Ms. Heinous" and "danger" reached Star's ears and she immediately felt more alert.

"WHAT!?" Star shot up out of bed, startling her parents in the process. The two almost fell out of their chairs as they stared in disbelief at their loud and very much awake daughter.

"Star! How long have you been awake? We've been worried sick about you," Moon stated angrily as she tried to steady her pulse. River, on the other hand, chose to crush his daughter in a hug and rejoice her swift recovery.

"Gosh Mom…I only…just woke up," Star barely managed as she fought her father off. "Dad, I love you very much, but this is serious! What's Ms. Heinous doing?"

"She's been sucking souls out of young princesses and she's gone on the run from Heckapoo and Rhombulus. Your father and Marco have been keeping up with the latest news to try and find a way to stop her." Moon tugged her husband off of Star and gave him a stern look.

"What about Eclipsa?"

"Nothing yet. She's the least of our worries if Ms. Heinous is coming after you and Marco." Moon sat on the edge and began to fix her daughter's messy hair. "I'm so glad you're awake."

"Mom! Now is not the time for bonding, I have to stop her and find Eclipsa." Star pushed her mother's hands away and started to crawl out of bed before another thought struck her. "Wait, what about Omnitraxus? Did anyone get him out of that magic prison?"

"No, and before you think about it, you're going to wait until you're completely healed before you try to pull him out. We need someone to fight Ms. Heinous should she come to attack the castle. Unfortunately, that leaves only you, Heckapoo, and Rhombulus." Moon tried to lay Star back down, but the latter was stronger than the former had anticipated.

"Mom, we might need Omni and what if he's been moved from his prison. What if she killed him? Oh, why couldn't I save them all out before passing out," Star said angrily, pulling at the sides of her hair. She fought back hot, angry tears.

"Star, there wasn't much you could do." River tried to reassure his upset daughter, but this only brought unwanted attention from the angry royal.

"And where were you!? You left me and Mom worried sick, we thought Eclipsa got you and that we'd never see you again." Star pointed accusingly at her father and noted that it was still late at night.

"Well…," started River. He began to shift anxiously and opened his mouth to continue.

"Save it. It's late and the two of you need to rest. Meanwhile, I'm starving so I'm going to make me a bowl of cereal. I'll see all of you in the morning and we can talk about all of this then." Star turned to get off the bed and walked passed her parents. They watched her leave with shocked faces, mouths wide open.

"Did she just send us to bed?" The blue-haired queen was having trouble accepting the fact that Star just walked out on them while they were trying to talk to her. Not only that, but she did it in such a regal manner that, if Moon hadn't known that Star had only been acting queen for two months, she would have thought that Star had been queen for at least a year. She turned to River who merely shrugged in defeat and stood up from where he was sitting.

"Face it, my dear, Star's become an independent young woman. Now you know how I felt when she confined me to my own room." A smile conquered his face as he straightened his back. "I'm so proud of her!" The two shared a proud smile before leaving the infirmary and heading to their room.

Simultaneously, Star had finally reached the kitchen and pulled out the necessary ingredients for a bowl of Captain Blanche's Sugar Seeds. She felt a little guilty for leaving her parents, but they weren't focusing on what was important. All of Mewni was in danger, not just her and Marco. She angrily munched on the moist cereal and thought back to Eclipsa and Ms. Heinous. Something felt off. Why did Eclipsa disappear when she could have taken over Mewni by now? How did people find out about Ms. Heinous' heinous acts? Even Star had been oblivious to the headmistress' diabolical acts.

"Ugh!" Star sank lower in her chair and held her head in her hands. She just couldn't make sense of everything that had happened since Eclipsa's return.

"Psst, Star." From a dark corner of the kitchen, the forgotten queen stepped out to greet Star. She was wearing a pink robe and bunny slippers with her hair in a head wrap.

"Eclipsa!" Star couldn't hide the surprise in her voice as she jumped up. "Wha-what are you doing here? It's like you don't even care if you get caught." The green-haired queen chuckled as she approached a confused Star.

"I wanted to explain something to you."

"What could that be, because I have a lot of questions," the young acting queen whispered angrily.

"You should sit down, it's a long story. I recently discovered some things that I think you should know too. I'm sorry, Star, but you're going to hate what I have to tell you. Well…you'll hate some of it." Eclipsa poured herself a bowl of cereal and waited for Star to allow her to continue. An awkward silence fell over the two before Star let out a long sigh.

"Alright, I'm listening."

Author's Note: I'm planning on trying to update this one regularly just so I can end it to start another project for Steven Universe. I know not everyone thinks Eclipsa is evil and I'm trying to move in that direction. Unfortunately, I'm not as a great a writer compared to SVTFOE's. Thanks for reading!