Wow! I got a lot of publicity on my last upload, really inspired me to make another one so soon. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing, I suppose it's because season 3 recently wrapped up and everyone's looking to consume more SVTFoE content :P
Chompions - My last update... Hmm, well going based off the reviews I got for Chapter 9 - I'd say about January 2nd was my last update before Chapter 10. And you'll be pleased to know it came out sooner than later :D
Firefighter16 - Thanks! I wanted to do something that wasn't normal. I based this fanfic off another fanfic that was in another fandom, which was based off a book called 'The Selection'. I haven't read that book so I can't relate what I've done to it, but I've used similar premises at the start that are used in another fanfic by, I think, the same name. Check it out if you want, it was a HTTYD fanfic.
bolightning - Much obliged :)
Without further delay,
Enjoy!~
Star's Room
The two brushed themselves off quickly once they realised that no one was heading their way, Marco leapt up and close the door – making sure to lock it. Star turned around and headed for her bed once more; face bright red with embarrassment. "That was close." Marco released a sigh of relief, the Butterfly repeatedly nodded her head in agreement, still refusing to face the other teen. A moment passed by before their conversation had restarted.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Marco, who had currently been sitting on her desk chair snapped back to reality.
"Ah yeah! This." He said as he lifted up the audiograph.
"That's how you plan to record it?" She asked, the flush in her cheeks started to drain away as the situation once again dawned on the young princess.
"Yes…" He started before pausing for a minute, "But, we need to leave. Like, right now."
"We're going already?" She asked, starting to panic a little since she didn't prepare herself at all. "I-I I need to change first. Get into clothes other than this!" She finished as she pointed down to gesture towards her attire, it was a modest blue dress that had small frills coming over the shoulders – a little octopus laid centre on her chest.
"Star, the plan is already in motion!" He had wanted to continue the argument but that would've just wasted more time than they had, so he decided to leave it at that. *Sigh* "Just quickly change then, I'll go grab some more comfortable clothes from my room. We'll meet at the centre of the garden in 10 minutes." The Butterfly happily accepted the much required time to change and left Marco to bolt out of her room.
Marco's Room
I should still have my old hoodie somewhere in my suitcase. The boy began to rummage around his belongings before finding a white t-shirt, dark brown jeans, casual shoes and his red hoodie that he had such fond memories with. It had been with him a while, it should be a bit tattered but it'll do—wait… As the teen lifted his hoodie out of the bag he had noticed that all of the little nicks and frills that had emerged throughout time had been stitched together and/or burnt off. Granted, it was far from looking new, but it was second-hand when he purchased it: It looked better than it did back then.
"Emilia," he muttered underneath his breath. A small smile forming on his lips at the sincerity of his assistant.
Star's Room
Star had originally said that she needed to change, but honestly, she just wanted to get some time alone after the little 'incident' that had occurred. He was so close, like right on top of me. On top of me, I could feel the heat from his body, and his breath tickled my neck. The teenage girl was attempting to comfort her burning face with sweaty palms; she tried to give her legs a break from standing, but it wasn't much use. Her body was squirming in both excitement and embarrassment, unsure as to what she was feeling, the girl just ripped open her wardrobe and began to change. It would've been weird if she turned up in the same clothes.
The heat on her face died down a little from the air pressure created by the swift movement of clothing escaping her body's atmosphere. It wasn't enough to completely dispel the temperature, but it was enough that the biting cold air outside would be enough to finish the job.
Star had swapped into a light green t-shirt that rolled up slightly along the tops of the arms. Blue jeans that had a small 'copper' button on the waist, the button itself had been scratched over time. Cute little green shoes had encapsulated her small feet, they weren't anything special – a white lace wrapped itself around the footwear, weaving in and out a dozen times or so.
That was when the princess had noticed that her cuts on her arms were showing, not wanting to draw much attention to herself she grabbed something from the back of her wardrobe. A green hoodie that was one-size too big for her, it was a birthday present from Glossaryck a few years ago, it had always been too big for her but it made her unbelievably happy then: Even now. The size was only a little bigger than her now, the arms drooped a little and it looked like she was a twig underneath, but it would've been better for people to think she was weak than someone who self-harmed.
Oh, one more thing! She thought to herself before dashing to her desk and looking through the second drawer for her iconic purse. Complete! Now to find Marco.
The Princess had her own means of manoeuvring around the castle, she couldn't be seen by just anyone so she had to find her own method. Luckily, in her room was a painting of an old queen, it could be easily moved and behind was a massive hole that turned into a cave of tunnels somewhere down the line. To any ordinary person it would feel like a labyrinth but Star had a fairly good grasp of where she was going – The Garden huh? I think the closest exit would be the storage shed…
Garden – Centre
The Diaz had been waiting for about 6 minutes, Come on Star you're 4 minutes late.
The garden took on a new form at night, the bushes danced with a quiet symphony. Not many places of lighting were found outside, a few lamps were the best you could hope for – it was barely enough to see what 5 metres in front of you was. The boy turned to his left and spotted the Castle again, he hadn't seen it from this perspective yet but it was breath-taking. White marble was glistening against the full-moon's bright light, all windows were illuminated by a warming glow that almost sucked in all the bad things.
He had to stay focused: River lived there. That mad man and child lived there. Like pathogens invading a foreign host, wreaking havoc behind the scenes. "Marco?" He heard a whisper-shout again, this time coming from behind him. The teen had been stood just past the water fountain, when he looked behind over his left shoulder he could see the shape of Star's body shimmer through the falling water.
It was the first time that Marco had ever seen Star outside of any formal wear, she looked rather cute in her too-big hoodie and loose jeans. The girl had the hood up to not draw any attention, only a curl had escaped the dark chasm, it fell gently over her left eye; she had to blow it out the way with a low *puff*.
Both of the unlucky teens smiled at one another for a brief moment before Marco initiated and walked over to her. He took a gulp before starting his explanation, "Matthew said he saw a small opening in the fence that we could fit through in the left corner of the garden. We're going to have to hurry though, we've already lost 20 minutes."
"Roger!" She cries back saluting her commander, Marco was already past Star at this point so she couldn't see his face, but another small crack of a smile began to emerge on his face.
Fence's Hole
"There it is." Marco stated as he approached a small bush that when moved out of the way slightly revealed a small breakthrough in the impenetrable prison, almost as if it were created entirely for the purpose of escaping. It was roughly 1.5m*1.5m wide, enough for any normal teen to fit through given that they crouched a little. There shouldn't be too much dirt on their clothes – it hadn't rained at all today or yesterday so it was mostly dusty dirt. Both of them crouched down and managed to slip their way out of the asylum.
"Freedom!" Star shouted and raised her arms in the air in a 'V' shape.
"Shhh!" Marco cried putting his hand over her mouth, once again pleading her – this time to be quiet so that they don't immediately get spotted. Although they had escaped, the duo was still in a close proximity to the castle. After a moment she calmed down and the Diaz continued, "we need to head that direction." He pointed to the frontside of the castle, to some it may seem like it was counter-productive to get out the back just to go around to the front but they would've been spotted had they tried the front gates. And there was probably not an escape route there anyway.
The two remained mostly in the forest that surrounded the castle, they didn't want to draw any attention. It was fortunate that there were no spotlights or high security surrounding the walls, otherwise escaping to the town would've been a much taller order.
At the point where the two teens were out of ear-range of any dogs guarding, they began to jog a little more – wanting to make the most out of their time in the village/town 'Hamschmert'.
It wasn't the first time that Star had been out of the castle, before the 'lock-up' she'd regularly come down to visit the villagers, she'd also attend any sort of summoning with her parents. However she vaguely remembers them, they were mostly boring with the adults just drinking wine and chatting about politics.
Hamschmert
The sky had turned into a dark, silky blue – littered with small sparkles that rained down light upon the world, a massive bulb of white rock floated in the never-ending spectacle known as space. As the two approached the village they noticed that the main road was brightly lit and symmetrical, street lights filled up the sidewalks. Speaking of, the aforementioned paths were paved with different tints of cobblestone, some were cracked from years of abuse, others had been replaced and eventually – the entire street would be new.
As Marco and Star approached the village, they began to hear the cheers of drunken men. Given that the village was so close to the castle, it was a popular spot for any off-duty guards, meaning that they had money. It was unlikely that anyone would recognise Star given that they never had anything to do in the royal quarters.
They walked next to a drunk that had passed out from presumably drinking too much. Jeez it's only 7:23PM, what a light weight. Marco silently thought to himself. On the other hand, Star kept a concerned eye on the man while they were walking up to him and walking away from him. "Star, which pub was it?"
A small giggle escaped the girl.
"Yeah… See. Problem is… I don't know." Oh… Great, so we're in a village – that neither of us particularly know well and we don't even know where to find the kid. Does she have any idea how many pubs are in a village?!
"We only have til 10PM to get back." The boy states, slightly annoyed that we came all this way and forgot to find out what bar Markus was in. Worst case scenario they might not even find him.
"Well we won't get anywhere by standing around." Butterfly replied with a smile still wide on her face. "Let's go ask around."
They proceed to walk around the town for a while, taking in the aroma of fast-food being cooked on BBQs and such, the smell of pies and steaks that flow from the local restaurants aren't anything like the food in the castle. But they felt more homely to Star than her place ever could.
The two decided to ask the first person they saw about 'Markus'. "Excuse me." Marco attempted to stop a young woman, she just ignored him and kept drinking her beverage. Next, Star tried the same thing to a teen about their age, once again – no response, it was just a 'Am I meant to know that guy?'
Finally, they stopped off outside a bar where a boy was having a cigarette "Excuse me." Marco started, the boy looked up and put his cig out on the brick wall next to him, waiting for him to continue "Do you know a boy called 'Markus'?"
"Who's askin'?" The other teen replied. He spoke with a slur to his words, he dragged on the 's's on his words a little longer than normal.
"Uh," the duo looked at each other for advice. For all their planning they didn't really come up with what they were going to say to him. "We're from the palace, we're friends with Ophelia – she said you two…" Marco leaned in closer, "were 'intimate'. But we don't believe her at all, so we came to ask you directly." The kid, grew a grin at the word 'intimate'.
"Let's talk inside, shall we?" The boy gestured to the bar behind him, "May I ask yours twos names?"
"I'm Marco."
"Star... Catepillar." She quickly added on.
"Pleasure ta meet ya, names Markus Lucitor."
End Notes:
How was it? Good? Bad? Okay? I put in that slang in there because I was thinking what kind of character I wanted Markus to be and I just thought of him smoking a cigarette outside a bar would be a decent introduction to him. Really set off the bad boy vibe, I always try to mix up words and don't repeat 'Marco this, Marco that, Marco, Marco, Marco :P' So I thought using a bit of slang would be alright.
Review! Whether you say it's good, bad or whatever is welcome! Constructive criticism, hit me with it! Any Suggestions? Put them in there too, I always read them :)
See ya later,
vK~