Notes: Hello everyone! I had a party last night with some family, stayed up til 4AM and didn't wake up til 1PM. That's why this one is a little late and might feel rushed, I honestly have spent a good 2 hours on it in total.

I won't lie to you, it's definitely my weakest one so far in my opinion, apologies. But this mainly focuses on some Star & Marco relationship building, trust etc.

allen Vth - Won't lie xD I actually meant to write in the last chapter that the tap was turned off before Star passed out, but I read it again and realised that I didn't explicitly state it so I guess we're rolling with it still being on! :P

Annabeth2345 - Sorry! Checked your review date and it was Dec 27th. But, I only just got it 29th December so I couldn't respond before. Bit too early for me to say about the plotline with Markus, just realised an error I had planned but I've figured it out. It will be explored don't you worry! There will be starco ;)

There was still some friction between Star's body and the bottom of the bathtub, therefore her body hadn't slipped in yet. The hot tap had been left on and, so it kept up with a relentless downpour of hot water, but it could only get so hot. While it was uncomfortable and drove a bit of a sting into any nerves that encountered it – the heat wasn't immediately life threatening, however, after a lot of exposure it could easily become a very lethal entity.

Star's mind had blacked out by this point, she could still feel the burn, hear the water running and feel the hot water drip from the top of the tub to the floor, gradually encompassing the entire room. It was terrifying, she could feel it but couldn't respond. Who knows when she'd slip and drown? 'This isn't good. What do I have around me?' She had attempted to find some way to call for help, if she could just move one finger a little, perhaps knock something off and cause a bang.

But, there wasn't anything around her. Sweat began to drip from her forehead as she stayed in there for longer, it had been about 20 minutes since she fainted now. Her body still unresponsive as ever. By now she had basically become a slave to the water, her mind was still in a daze from the concussion and she could feel her lower half starting to lose grip against the ceramic surface. 'Is this it? No grand scheme, no higher purpose… Die to something I've been drinking for years… Ironic.'

Her eyes were slightly open, any sign of life they held was withering away, leaving an empty shell which had succumbed to the idea of death.

"Star?" A familiar voice called from the other room. 'Hey… That was… Marco… Right, I think… Yeah, it was Marco. It was Marco! He's here!' The name call from her friendly companion had etched itself deep into her heart, forcing her will to let out one last attempt at survival. It was stupid idea, and if it didn't work she'd die a few moments later.

She decided to force her body to release grip of the tub, if she sank, the water would flow down to replace the area now available by her head moving, once the water collided, it'd create a splash noise. Hopefully a bang would occur too from her upper half hitting the ceramic.

'Here goes nothing!' *Whoosh*

5 Minutes Previously

The time was 9:24PM, Emilia had walked through the door now – Marco had been chatting to Alfonzo and getting to know Matthew Timmings, a real, genuine person he was. Didn't look down on anyone and was here not to win but just to make a few friends, Alfonzo and Marco were happy to get to know him, happy to know that it wasn't as black and white as everything seemed. All high-class people weren't snobs and some cared about others.

They all shared some food and had a little laugh, Ophelia made her usual stroll towards the trio. "Hello boys." She started, the three looked at her, each holding their own form of a forced smile. Alfonzo's was the least convincing, followed by Marco. Matthew on the other hand felt so normal that the Diaz had to question how many times the young man had done it.

Out of the corner of Marco's eye he spotted Emilia enter the room. The other three began to make idle chatter about any stories they had, just getting to know each other. But Marco had been waiting to get out of this place ever since he got here, now was his chance. "My apologies princess, but I need to freshen up a bit." For once, it seemed like 'Phelia was taken aback by someone else's words, she was ignored by this boy for a second time. It was infuriating and insulting, how could he look away from her?!

He bid farewell to the other two and left to get Emilia, "Emilia. Can you cover for me for 20 minutes while I get some fresh air?"

"No problem Boss." She saluted. Marco released a short, cringey sigh before replying.

"Never… Do that again…"

"Yes Sir!" She said, her posture was upright and lean, as if in the presence of a commanding officer.

"Forget it." Emilia let out a slight smile at this, Marco began to walk out of the hall before falling into a hurried walk.

He wanted to see what was going on with Star, something about her made him want to know more. Despite being in the presence of the King, Queen and other Princess, he wanted to see Star more than any of them.

The teen eventually got to the floor he was at before; gold linen was woven throughout a silky carpet – ceramics laid out in a symmetrical order down the corridor. 2 Glass chandeliers were the light source to banish the darkness.

However, once he got close to the door of Star's room, he noticed a small wet patch outside (The water from 'Mission: Heat Switch). Curious about what it could be he knocked a couple times, no answer. He knew that she wouldn't just leave her room given her status in the castle, he forcefully opened the door. 'Unlocked?' Strange.

A small yellow light was escaping the bathroom door, he noticed that the floor surrounding his feet was awfully wet for being so far from the tub, and lead to the bathroom. 'No sign of her in this room.'

"Star?" He asked, trying to get any sort of reply. He would've hated to intrude had she been in the bath, who knows what'd happen if he accidentally walked in on a naked princess.

He waited a few moments before deciding that no one was here. But something in the back of his mind was telling him to check the bathroom, nagging at him that the water was suspicious, and he needed to investigate.

'Screw it.' If she wasn't in there, no problem… If she was, possible problem but she'd understand. And if she was in danger, then he wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing he could've helped.

As he approached the door, he had noticed that there was a slight bit of blood on the carpet, it wasn't too old, maybe half an hour at maximum. This had sent him flying from his previous mindset regarding to be cautious, instead, opting for a more forceful approach, he knocked on the door – this time with more strength.

No answer, his worry was building up quickly.

Fearing the worst, he opened the door and was greeted by a small pool of water swallowing the bathtub. His eyes darted for search of Star – until they landed inside the water and saw a blonde mess floating at the bottom of the tub, a little bit of crimson was escaping the blonde threads. His hands reacted and pushed through the almost scolding water to grab Star and set her free.

Once her face had escaped the water her body immediately gasped for oxygen, a mad frenzy of sharp inhales.

Her eyes wouldn't open but the fact that her body was accepting an intake of air soothed Marco slightly, he rushed her to her bed, snuggling her in. He searched madly for any towels but couldn't find a single one, which was odd, but he hadn't noticed that yet. Coming to the conclusion that there wasn't one in the room he darted out, headed for his room.

He arrived at his door, but in the panic dropped the keys several times. He threw open the door which released a crash as it hit the side of the wall. Immediately moving for the bathroom, from which he grabbed the first two towels he saw. One to get the majority of her dry, the other to dry excess and a white bathrobe to keep her warm.

Star's Room – 2 Minutes Later

Marco rushed into the room, Star had begun to open her eyes and form a sense of consciousness again. "Star?" He questioned, hoping for any sort of response.

To which he received a slow but understandable "Yea?"

"We're gonna have to get you dry, kay?" She couldn't understand what he was saying but she knew that he wasn't going to harm her and simply nodded in response.

He took the duvet off and closed his eyes, gently patting her down with the towel. While he did see her in the bath, the water made her figure distorted, and when he dragged her out he was more concerned about her safety and so was already scanning the room for anything that could get her dry.

He didn't want to ruin her image of him, therefore he had to try and dry her without looking. It was a pain like this, but he didn't mind, he'd rather spend more time making sure she was alright with what's happening, then rush things and take no consideration of her feelings, the blood escaping from her head had sealed up, leaving only a small stained part in her hair.

Once finished, he grabbed the bathrobe and asked her to put it on, her movements were sluggish, but she eventually got it over her body, the only thing left to do was tie the belt. But her arms hadn't enough strength to be able to tie it tight enough. At least, that's what she told him.

'This is nice.' She thought to herself, 'It's not like I love him, but just having someone to comfort me like this is nice. It's relaxing to have someone like him around. Without him… I'd be dead now.' When he was drying her, he deemed that it'd be okay to look at her arms when drying, the willpower he held to not shift his eyes over to her body was… Let's say better than mine would be.

But when he was looking at her arms, he noticed that there were a few… A lot, of bruises – some were very purple while some were a faint tinge of blue, it hurt to see her like this.

Reinforcing his hatred that had began to violently flow out of control for River. However, when he gazed further down her arms he noticed that something was wrong, something that no person should ever have to feel forced to do. He noticed a small scar on her wrist, followed by another… And another, until the total count ended up to 6.

The top one was the freshest, still red and scabbed up. The one below was slightly pink, illustrating that it hadn't been any longer than 2 weeks old with the one above only being about 4 days.

His eyes began to brim with all kinds of emotion: Sorrow, pity, anger, distraught, helplessness, uselessness. Everything filled him except for happiness.

He placed the cover back on her body, and sat in a chair that laid in the corner of her room. He didn't care what the rest of the royals had to say about it, no matter how disappointing that girl was. Forcing her to the point which her only solace was self-harm was wrong, on every level. There is no excuse for it.

2 Hours Later

It was late in the evening now, but Marco remained sitting in that chair, wanting to be there for her when she awoke. Her soft breathing was the only sound to be heard, the Diaz took comfort in knowing that she was still breathing. However, after a few more minutes of this had carried on, her body began to stir.

Slowly waking up from it's slumber, a little more time passed and the little butterfly's eyes fluttered open. She took note of the faint white glow falling in from her window, illuminating everything. Summoning any energy that she could muster – the princess forced herself to an upright position and spotted Marco.

"Marco?" She asked, half still asleep.

"Hi Star." The Butterfly remembered it all, Ophelia trapping her, the fall. The hot water, Marco's voice… Drowning.

On remembrance of the last detail her breath became rugged. "Hey! It's alright, don't worry. You're safe."

"Why did you come?"

"I couldn't stand being down there much longer… I wish I could say that I had a feeling you were in need but honestly… I was in need of you, that's why I came." The two sat in a silence after that, each just wore a gentle smile which communicated all they needed.

After a couple minutes passed, the important questions started to be asked, Star taking the initiative.

"Did you… uh… See?" She was looking down in her duvet now, an impressively large blush covering her face, not like Marco noticed as he was hiding his own blush at this question.

"I mean… I saw a distorted you in the water, then your arms when you were in the bed… But not any part… Else…" It was awkward for the both of them, neither knew what to do in this situation, it's not exactly something they prepare you for in school, not like either of them have a regular school - if any school at all.

More silence befell the two before Marco asked the next one, this one diving into more personal territory – but he needed to know.

"Why do you feel the need to… Harm yourself?" For lack of a better phrasing, Star looked at him in shame.

"I don't know… It helps?" Marco knew that she'd say that, deep down he knew that it was the reason why she did it. To help get over the abuse by her father, but he didn't want to hear it. This precious flower that was so kind and pretty, destroyed by a corrupt father and forced to pluck its own petals.

"Do you want to do it?" Marco asked, concern was abundant in his tone.

"No! Of course I don't… But, it's sort of therapeutic to see that I still have blood… I began 2 months ago and just, can't stop."

"Star…" It was his turn to have a wobbly lip. She took a deep breath in, followed by a shaky release of said breath.

"I want to help you… I promise I will, you are so perfect that I won't allow you to go down this road. I'll figure something out, I'll save you, but I can't if you keep hurting yourself." His eyes began to water, knowing that this friend he made just a few short hours ago has already almost died, and has thrown their life away.

"You've got so much more to live for, it'll get better I promise. So please, don't… Don't cut anymore."

Hearing Marco's words moved her, watching him break down like this made her realise that her destroying her own body had an affect on him too. So much so that he's almost crying and pleading for her to stop. "Ok." Was the only thing he got, it was enough for now.

"Good. Get some sleep, I'll check up on you when I can tomorrow." His words hit her in the heart, she felt trapped between two opposites. Her father who wanted to beat her and be rid of her, and Marco who desperately clung onto a hope that he could save her from herself. He left for the door and softly closed it behind him, once gone. She buried her face into her pillow and cried, cried for Marco and herself.

Same Time – Outside Star's Room

Marco began to walk down the hallway, it was dark outside now, the moon provided an archaic source of light, but it wasn't bright enough to illuminate the entire corridor, only the parts close to the window.

When almost at his room he heard, "Mr Diaz." From behind him, immediately freezing in his position as he realised who was behind him, slowing turning around to respond to his addresser.

"Hello, Queen Moon."

Notes: Yep! That's a wrap people, another chapter down. How you liking it so far? Good? Bad? I know this one was pretty bad as I stated earlier, but I hope it was bearable, I'll try to make it up to you all with the next one :D

Tidbit: You have no idea how frustrating it was for me to work out the time that Marco arrived at Star's room. I had to go all the way to chapter 2 when I said Marco left in the carriage and then say he left at 9AM. And just count all the timings that I had from there xD