Hey you guys! We're back for the next chapter of the Dragon Guardian to the Princess of Mewni. Last chapter had Marco, Scarlet going to the World of Orbis; a world where it's people live on the body of a celestial god. King River and Higgs have joined them on this little adventure; and they've met Ras and Arky, learned a bit about Orbis, and now after parting ways with Ras and Arky are on their way to Tirel Castle. Where they hope will allow Marco and Higgs to participate in training alongside their own knights.
Disclaimer: Star vs the forces of evil belongs to Daron Nefcy and Epic Seven is the property of Smile Gate.
Chapter 7: New Adventure; Land of Orbis pt2
After parting ways with Ras and Arky; Marco, Scarlet, Higgs and River are now making their way to Tirel Castle, located at the center of the Kingdom of Ezra where they hope will allow Marco and Higgs to take part in their training. Along the way however; they've had to make a few stops. Mostly due to River wanting to try the different foods and see all the others things the people of the kingdom had to offer.
"I must say the people here surely do know a thing or two about good food." River said as he took a bite out of a sandwich he had purchased from a vender on the way to the castle gate. "Mm, this sandwich is absolutely marvelous."
"That's what you said about that honey bread you ate earlier River." Scarlet said.
"And that meat shish kabob." Marco added.
"And also that strawberry, lemon- grape drink." Higgs said. "Admittedly it was pretty good, a big change from corn shakes a guess."
"Indeed." River said. "So Scarlet dear, what was it you asked that fellow Ras about?"
"Oh, it was something… well… personal really." Scarlet said. "But it turns out Ras didn't really have much that could help me, so I'll have to find what I'm looking for elsewhere."
The group soon came to a stop as they saw the gate which lead to Tirel Castle. As they made their way to the front gate, they saw two guards wearing grey armor with green hoods holding spears. When the guards saw the four approaching, they stopped them.
"Halt! What business do you all have at the castle?" They asked.
"Marco, show them that thing that you-know-who gave you." Scarlet said as nudged Marco's arm with her elbow.
"Oh, right." Marco said as he pulled out the badge that Ras gave him and showed it to the guards who gasped in shock when they saw the symbol that was on it.
"That… that symbol!" One of the guards gasped in shock.
"W-Where did you find this!?" the other guard asked.
"Oh, a friend who didn't want to give his name gave us this and said to ask for someone named Sir Charles or another named Lady Iseria when we come here." Marco said.
The guards looked at the badge before looking back at the group. They then turned from the group and spoke in hushed voices. After a few seconds, they turned back seeming to have come to a decision.
"You four remain here, we will be back shortly." One of them said as they walked into the castle.
"What do you guys think?" Marco said. "You think the badge Ras gave us worked?"
"We'll have wait and see my boy," River said.
"I kind of doubt they bought it." Higgs said. "They looked like they were on the fence about it to me."
"Can you maybe not make it sound like we were trying to con them, huh?" Scarlet said. "If the king or queen of this place knew Ras, then they'll most likely recognize the badge he gave us."
"Alright, alright sheesh. I was just guessing is all, you don't have get your tail in a knot over it."
"How about you keep my tail out of this!" Scarlet said, starting to lose her cool a bit.
"Whoa, whoa you two, let's calm down." River said trying to calm the two girls.
"River's right you guys," Marco said. "We can't know for certain if the people of this kingdom remember Ras. But if the two people and the current ruler do know him, then I think we'll be fine. So let's just do what River said and just wait, okay?"
"Sigh, fine."
"Fine, whatever." Both girls said facing away from each other with their arms crossed as Marco sighed.
"Oh look, their coming back." River said pointing towards the two guards who were walking back to them. "And it seems they've brought someone with them too."
Indeed, there was a third person with the guards. This person was a woman with pale-blonde hair that stopped at the middle of her back and was braided into a looped that hung at the front of her head and two white lily flowers on both sides of her head. She was wearing what looked to be a white outfit that was brown on the front with gold lining and a short skirt that had what looked to be a harness with two orange belts with gold buckles that held it in place. She wore a pair of white boots that stopped at the hem of the skirt and had gold lining and design on them. She had a black stocking on her right leg, a white ribbon tied on her chest and what looked like black and white thimbles on her hands. But her most eye catching feature were the pointed ears she had.
As the three approached, Scarlet saw that the woman with the pointed ears was holding the badge.
"These are the ones who showed you this item?" The woman asked one of the guards as they now stood in front of the four.
"Yes Lady Iseria, these are the ones." The guard said to the woman who the four knew was one of the people Ras spoke about.
'This is Lady Iseria then?' Scarlet thought as she looked at her with a subtle gaze. 'Well she's defiantly an elf if her ears are anything to go by, plus there's also the large pool of magic I'm sensing from her too. I'm also picking the presence of another, something or someone is connected to her.' She thought as Iseria's gaze soon pointed at them.
"May I ask how you four came into possession of this item here?" Iseria asked.
Before Marco could try and say anything, Scarlet spoke as she stepped forward and stood in front of Iseria.
"Unfortunately Lady Iseria; the person who gave us that badge asked us to not reveal his name." Scarlet said. "But they did inform us that the people of this castle were those who they fought with during the Archdemon war, I believe your name as well as that of Sir Charles and Prince Aither or should I say King Aither at this point, were only a few of the names that they mentioned to us."
Iseria looked carefully into the young girl's yellow eye to see if there was any sign of her lying, but couldn't see any. Also the way she spoke had no indication that what she said was false either. Iseria then looked back to the badge in her hand, she'd only seen this badge worn by one person. The very same person who she once harbored a grudge for, but soon saw their conviction which absolved her of those negative thoughts during their time together when they helped save her home or during the final battle against the Archdemon.
"The person who gave you this;" Iseria asked, "Do you know… what they were doing when you met them?"
"They said they were was one more important task they needed to do." Scarlet said. "From what they told us, they were looking for a way to bring back a friend they lost during the war. And they seemed very determined too."
"Indeed." River said in agreement. "Why I've never seen a young lad with such a strong drive before."
"His friend was just as determined too." Marco added.
"Yeah, even if he was a noisy puff ball." Higgs added as she snickered.
"You know if he heard you say that; you'd be on the receiving end of him yelling in your ear, right?" Scarlet said.
"There was another with this person you met?" Iseria asked.
"Just a noisy cotton ball with love for anything tasty and thinking he's the best." Higgs said.
"Which is strange that you and him didn't hit it off and become friends, seeing as you both act the same way." Scarlet said smirking.
"Shut it," Higgs growled out while Scarlet stilled smirked at her.
Once Iseria heard that, she now had a clear picture of the person who these four met.
'So it seems Prince Aither faith that you were still out there was not misplaced, was it?' Iseria thought before looking to see the girl with the dragon like tail and bright red hair and yellow eyes getting into an argument with the other young girl who had green eyes wearing the attire of a squire while the boy wearing the red clothing was trying to calm them both down as the short looking man looked on with amused smile on his face. Iseria then cleared her throat to get the group's attention. "Alright, it seems as though all of you are honest in what you have told me. Now can you please tell me what brings you all here to Tirel Castle?" she asked.
"Well Lady Iseria, we actually come here with a request." River said as he walked up to the front of the group.
"I see. What is you need then?"
"Yes well, as you can see these two fine young ones here wish to take part in training alongside the fine knights here at this castle of yours." He said as he pulled Marco and Higgs up next to him.
"You both wish to train to become knights?" Iseria asked Marco and Higgs to which they both nodded and said "Yes ma'am."
"Oh, just to let you know Lady Iseria;" Scarlet said getting the woman's attention. "We aren't from around here. And by that I mean we aren't from Orbis. We're from a different dimension called Mewni."
"What!? A-a different world!?"
"Impossible!" The two guards shout in surprise.
"This world sits on the body of a celestial god and has fought in a war against a monster that could destroy it… twice." Scarlet said with a raised eyebrow. "And you guys are saying the fact that me and my friends here are from a different plane of existence is impossible?"
"Well… it's just that… umm," one of the guards said trying to respond to Scarlet's statement.
"I apologies on behave of the guards here," Iseria said. "they should know that there are many possibilities in the world that we live in. So the fact that some beings can cross over into other worlds should not be all that shocking to them." She said as she looked back at the two guards who straighten up and stood at attention. "Also they should be fully aware of the fact that Reingar's student council is led by the heir Yuna, who also comes from another world."
"Someone from another world also came here to Orbis?" Marco asked.
"Yes;" Iseria said. "Taking a boat from here will lead you to the academy city of Reingar, where they use both engineering skills as well as magic to create many different inventions." She explained. "The city is run by a student council, and its president is chosen by whomever the guardian there deems worthy. The current president is a girl named Yuna Woo, who I mention before. She too comes from a different world and was chosen by the Reingar's guardian to be the city's council president."
"So whomever the guardian over there thinks is the best person to run that council is the president?" Higgs asked. "What happens if the guardian picks the wrong person?"
"That won't happen," Iseria says. "a guardian is able to see deep within a person's soul to find out their true nature. So it's impossible for them to make a poor decision on choosing."
"Well that makes sense." River said. "If the choice of who runs that city is based on the who this guardian chooses, then it would only make sense for them to pick someone who is very upstanding and devoted to the well-being of the people."
"That's correct, you sound as if you have a grasp of the concept of what it means to have to the responsibility of what is needed of one's people." Iseria said impressed with River's statement.
"Well let's just say I've had sort of a "Life-long" experience with something similar, ha ha." River said.
"Hmm, I see," Iseria said before returning to the matter at hand. "Well considering the person who gave you this badge, they must have seen great potential in you both." She said looking to Marco and Higgs.
"So does this mean that?" Scarlet said in a hopeful voice.
"I do not see any real reason why you two cannot join in our knight's training." Iseria said.
When Marco, Higgs, and Scarlet heard this the three of them cheered and high-fived while River gave Marco a friendly slap on the back, before Iseria cleared her throat to get their attention.
"But be prepared; while I'm unaware of the training that is done for the knights of your world, the training down for the knights here in Ezera is very… strict." Iseria says. "While you may not be from Orbis, you both are training to become knights one day. That means you are expected to train with all you have and to overcome your limitations. Do you both understand this?"
"Yes Ma'am!" Marco and Higgs said as they both stood in attention.
Iseria smiled at the two young squire's readiness.
"Very well then. Before I lead you lead you all to the knight's training grounds, we'll first have to go by the army to get you the proper gear. Please follow me," Iseria said as she walked back to the castle with Marco, Higgs, Scarlet and River behind her. "You two may return to your post." She said back to the guards who saluted before returning to stand at the gate.
Once they saw that Iseria had left with the four, they began to speak among themselves.
"Well… I wasn't expecting this to happen while on guard duty today."
"True; I mean it's not like I wasn't aware of the fact that Reingar's student council president was from another world. I remember hearing about it during the time I was selected to act as guard to some nobleman who was going to there on business. What truly shocked me was the badge those travelers had with them."
"Indeed, we had all thought that he had perished in the battle with the Archdemon. Who would have believed the Heir of the Covenant is still walking among us?"
"Quiet, remember Lady Iseria swore us to secrecy. We cannot breathe a word of this."
"Right, my apologies."
Inside the castle, the group followed Iseria while looking around at the impressive decorum.
"My word, this castle truly is impressive both outside and inside." River said. "How long has this castle been standing for?"
"I'm not sure," Iseria says. "I know that the castle as well as Ezera were the birthplace of the Church of the Goddess. It's a religion that's followed across all of Ritania." She said. "Twenty years ago during the last time the Archdemon attacked; the previous king fled, leaving the Ezera in chaos. Until a girl named Diene who was a nun from the Order of the Blue Cross and a participant in the war at the time was chosen to be the new queen."
"Wait, so this Diene person wasn't like the daughter or relative to the previous king?" Scarlet asked.
"No, Diene had no connection to the royal family at that time." Iseria said.
"So during the time when a war was going on, the king of this place ran and left his people? What the heck, why did he do something like that?" Marco asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know either, thought I would like to know the reason as well for why he abandoned his people during the war?" Iseria said as they came to a stop at a door. There was a plate above it that read "Knight's armory". "You both should find what you need in here, as well as a spare uniform."
"Uh what's the spare uniform for?" Higgs asked confused.
"Well," Iseria started as she looked over to Marco, "the training that knights of the Order of the Sword do involve the use of real swords and shields, as well as other weapons."
"Wait, we'll be using real weapons right from the jump?" Marco asked. "you guys don't use training weapons?"
"No, we do not. Sir Charles the Commander of the Order of the Sword, believes that the use of really weapons during training will better sharpen a knight's awareness in battle." Iseria explained. "Which it has shown to hold true, during a few of our joint training sessions with the Order of the Shield."
"Order of the Shield? Is that a separate group of knights here?" Scarlet asked.
"Yes; the Order of the Shield is led by Crozet Morbihan a fellow Knight Commander. He can be a bit… strict when it comes to the rules and regulations, but he's a very dedicated knight." Iseria said. "Now I believe you two should begin getting what you need, Sir Charles will be starting training soon." She said to Marco and Higgs.
After about 19 minutes since they went in, the two came out ready.
Higgs came out first wearing her same squire outfit. Only she had on silver gauntlets in place of her yellow bandages and shin guards of the same color. She held a leather shield in her left hand, while in her right hand was a standard one-handed broad sword.
"Pretty cool right? I feel like I'm a real knight wearing this." Higgs said.
"You defiantly look like a real knight dear," River said approvingly.
"Agreed, you look prepared for the training." Iseria said.
"I guess you kind of have the look of a knight now;" Scarlet said. "even if you're only wearing some armor, the sword and shield help give at least the air of a knight."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment or are you making fun of me?" Higgs asked.
"It's constructive criticism." Scarlet said. "Now let's see how Marco looks already, come on."
"Fine," Higgs said as she stepped out of the way so Marco could be seen.
Marco was in a similar outfit to Higgs's, only his tunic was red with black shoulder pads, a brown belt, black pants, brown boots, and silver fingerless gauntlets. Instead of the sword and shield that Higgs chose, Marco decided on a rather enormous two-handed broadsword. From tip to handle it was approximately five to six feet long, with a single-edged large blade approximately one foot wide. The handguard was colored gold and had swirl designs. There were two holes on a part of the blade that was sectioned off from the rest, and there are etchings engraved on the blade near the handguard.
"Wow Marco! Look at you now!" Scarlet said as she rushed over to get a better look at Marco. "Now really look like a squire."
"Y-you really think so?" Marco asked sheepishly.
"Heck yeah!" Scarlet said. "Marco this outfit gives you the appearance of someone who was born to be a knight, someone who is willing to protect those who can't protect themselves with everything they have."
"Young Scarlet speaks true Marco," River said as he came up to get a good look at Marco. "My boy, you remind of my time when I was young, adventuring, going on dangerous hunts with my brothers in arms, oh the good old days."
"Umm… thanks River." Marco said.
"Hey Marco, how come you chose this monster of a sword to use?" Scarlet asked as she examined said weapon that was on Marco's back.
"Oh, well I kind of used a two-handed sword before, so I figured I'd try to see how proficient I am if I use one of a different size or shape you know?" Marco said.
"Ooooh, I guess that makes sense." Scarlet said before she spoke to Marco through their bond. 'And the fact that only other time you used a two-handed sword was the time when you were in your mid-thirties while trying to earn a pair of scissors.'
'Don't expect me to start calling this one El Chopo ll if that's what you're thinking?' Marco said as he heard Scarlet's snickering in her mind before Iseria got everyone's attention.
"Right then; if you two are now ready, we should make our way to the training grounds now."
"Yes Ma'am." Marco and Higgs said as they followed behind Iseria with Scarlet and River following a little way back.
"Hey River; is it me or does it seem like Lady Iseria just expects you to listen the moment she speaks?" Scarlet asked in a quiet voice.
"My dear, I thought I was the only one who noticed that." River said in an equally quiet voice. "To be honest with you, she reminded me a bit of Moon pie when she's lecturing either me or Star on something we did wrong."
"Seriously?"
"Oh yes, there was the time Moon was giving me a stern lecture on properly sitting on a throne."
"And how did that go?"
"I'm really not all too sure, I fell asleep at the last few parts of it. How I managed to stay awake up to that point is still a mystery to even myself."
"Yeah, I'd probably would have fallen asleep like in the first three hours." Scarlet said which got River to laugh a bit.
Soon the group walked through a door way that lead to a large open area where they see a large group of knights running training drills and sparing matches all while being instructed by a very tall looking man.
The man's outfit consisted of an official looking suit that was blue on one side and black on the other with two lines of gold buttons. He had on two brown belts with small pouch attached to the lower one, a flowing white cape with a red interior, a gauntlet on his right hand which held a massive two-handed black sword that had wrappings on its handle. A couple more belts held his cape in place as well as a shoulder guard that was in the shape of a mask. He had pale-ish brown hair and a mustache of the same color, followed by stern focused golden eyes as he watched the knights train and spare before they looked over and saw Iseria and the others.
"Lady Iseria, this is quite unexpected. Your usually the first one to begin training the knights." The man said as Iseria stood in front of him.
"My apologies Sir Charles, I was called by the guards who were stationed at the front gate regarding something." Iseria said while Marco, Higgs, Scarlet and River had surprised looks on their faces.
"That guy is Sir Charles?" Higgs whispered. "That guy looks… he looks like… wow."
"Yeah," Marco muttered. "He just looks so… cool. I don't think I've ever met anyone who looks old but has this imposing and strong feeling to them. Ah, no offense River." He quickly said.
"Oh you don't have to worry my boy, I'm just as amazed as you and young Higgs here." River said waving off Marco's concerns. "The man defiantly has a very powerful and commanding presence about him, along with a very impressive mustache. It's no wonder why he's the knight's Commander."
"And why you guys haven't noticed he's now looking right at us." Scarlet said.
Marco, Higgs and River looked and saw that Sir Charles was indeed looking right at them. He then walked passed Iseria and made his way over to them until he was standing right in front of them.
"Lady Iseria has informed me of the circumstances of your arrival here," he said in a strong but even voice, "she has also shown me the item that was given to you by someone who wishes to not be mentioned, is this correct?" he said looking to the group.
"Yes sir," Scarlet said as she saw Charles's gazes move to Marco and Higgs.
"So you two are the young squires who wish to train to become knights, yes?"
"Yes sir!"
"That's right sir," Marco and Higgs said.
Charles then looked them both over with an examining gaze, making them both feel a bit nervous. He then brought his hand to his chin in a thinking position before speaking again.
"Tell me you two; what is the reason you wish to become knights?" he asked.
"I want to be the first and best female knight; to show that just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't fight to protect my kingdom just as much as any other person." Higgs said.
"I see, a very honest and worthy goal to strive for." Charles said before looking to Marco. "And what of you young man? What's your reason?"
Marco hadn't really thought of the reason he wanted to be a knight. Originally the offer was presented to him when River gave him a knight's cape before returning to earth, only to come back to Mewni and learn that the cape was actually a meat blanket and that he was only given the offer on the premise that he would not be returning to Mewni. Once he returned to Mewni and meet Scarlet; and after clearing the air a bit with Star, he became Star's squire as a way for them to hangout like they did back on earth. Scarlet suggested that Marco still get some knight's training in the event that neither she or Star are there or he is expected to also assist the kingdom.
Overall however; Marco just wanted to be there to help Star. He knew that she could take care of herself as she has proven that more times than he can count, but there have also been times where she has gotten in situations that she couldn't handle on her own. And in those times Marco could hardly do anything to help her.
"I guess my reason for wanting to be a knight is… is so I can help my friend and keep them safe." Marco said as Scarlet and River had knowing smiles and looked at each other knowing who Marco was talking about. "They usually tend to get into trouble… sometimes big trouble, but their kind and just want to make everyone happy in their own way. So I just want to be strong enough to both help keep them and their ideals protected, but I also want to be able to fight by their side when they want to protect others. That's my reason for why I want to become a knight sir." Marco said.
Sir Charles looked at the determination and resolution within the young man's eyes. It reminded him of the same look that Queen Diene, King Aither, and Ras Elclare had in their eyes during dire times.
'Which would explain how they came across the badge." He thought. 'Hmm, just as Lady Iseria said; our little king's faith in you was not misplaced, was it Ras?' he then looked to Marco and Higgs.
"Very well you two; as Knight Commander of the Order of the Sword, I declare you both honorary squires of Ezera. While you both do not hail from Orbis, these titles will allow you to participate in our training drills or missions should you come and visit our world. Of course being that you both our squires, these missions will mainly consist of either basic monster extermination, item transporting or escorts missions. Do you both understand this?"
Marco and Higgs snapped themselves awake after being shell-shocked with what they heard just now.
"Understood Sir!" they both said.
"Well said." Charles said in approval. "Lady Iseria, bring these two new recruits and gather the other knights so that we may begin today's training exercise."
"Yes Sir Charles." Iseria said as she ushered Marco and Higgs to follow her which they did with a bit of eagerness in the steps.
Charles then turned back to Scarlet and River. "If you wish, you both may watch from here or I can arrange for someone to show you the rest of the castle."
"Thank you for the offer Sir Charles; but if it's alright, I'd like to see how my friend's training will go." Scarlet said. "The idea of coming here to Orbis came from me, and it wouldn't really make any sense for me to go sightseeing and not see his progress for myself."
"Ha, ha, couldn't agree more with you dear." River said. "While I would like to see more of this very impressive castle, nothing gets me more excited than watching the young people train and grow pass their limits."
"Hmm; very well then. If that's what you both wish to do, now if you'll excuse me." Charles said as he felt to join Iseria and the other knights, while Scarlet and River watched from the side.
As Charles stepped onto the training field, he made his over to where the knights under his command stood at attention awaiting his directions. Off to the side he sees Lady Iseria standing along with the two young squires who were also awaiting his orders.
"Now then; before we begin today's training, you all no doubt noticed we have two others joining us. Though the two of them are only starting out as squires right now, they have shown to have the same drive and determination to become knights like all of you have." Charles said. "Do not treat them any differently than you would your fellow knights, is that clear?"
"Yes sir!" all the knights said in unison as they all saluted, including Marco and Higgs.
"Now for today's training; we will be working on our endurance and strength against different weapon types. Afterwards we will hold a small competition to see how far some of you have come and – "
Before Charles could finish, he was interrupted when a girl with long bright-red hair, red shirt with an armored chest plate, gauntlets with black gloves, two black belts, a black cape with red interior, armored heel boots and a sword on her hip came rushing onto the training ground out of breath.
"Now I wonder who this young lady is?" River asked curiously.
"Uh River?" Scarlet said. "I think that person is also a Knight here. And I also think that she is really late, since I can see Lady Iseria with a very not too happy look on her face from here." She said directing River to look towards the Order of the Sword's Vice Commander.
Safe to say River was now wishing that he had not looked, since he saw a very cold and freighting look on Lady Iseria's face that could almost rival Moon's.
"Oh my," River said as felt a wave of fear wash over him the more he looked. "Something tells me that this isn't the first time this has happened."
Back on the training field, Scarlet and River weren't the only ones who noticed Iseria's scary look; Marco, Higgs and the others knights felt that same fear creeping up on them as well. The only one's not effected were Sir Charles and the red-haired woman who had just arrived.
Sir Charles just sighed before addressing the woman who had just come.
"I see that you've decided to join us for training today, Miss Cermia." Charles said in tone that indicated that he was in no better mode than Lady Iseria. "May I ask thought why you have arrived late… again?"
The woman known as Cermia soon raised her head revealing a pair of bright golden eyes.
"Uh yeah; sorry about that." Cermia said with a sheepish grin on her face. "I was kind of 'busy' with something at the moment, but when I saw the time and remembered that we had training today I rushed over as fast as I could, hehe." She said not noticing the heated glare that Iseria was sending her way. "But I'm here now right? So we can get on with… huh?"
Cermia then took notice of Marco and Higgs who were standing next to a very unhappy looking Iseria. She ignored that with little to no care and returned her gaze to the young boy and girl.
"So who are the two short stacks standing next to Iseria over there?" Cermia asked.
Higgs could already feel her temper start to flare up at being called a short. But chose not to risk looking like a brat in front of the others knights as well as Sir Charles and Lady Iseria, so instead calmed herself down and breathed out of her nose while narrowing her eyes.
"My name is Higgs; and I would really like it if you would address me by my real name please." Higgs said.
"Okay, okay; didn't mean anything by the short stack joke, geez." Cermia said as she looked over to Marco. "And how about you?"
"Oh uh, my name is Marco, Marco Diaz. It's nice to meet you Miss Cermia." Marco said with a nervous smile as he waved a little to her.
"Okay, so Marco and Higgs huh? Okay then." Cermia said as she glanced over and saw Scarlet and River standing off to the side. "So what brings you two and your friends over there to the castle today?"
"They are honorary members of the Order of the Sword as of today." Iseria said. "As such; they are here to take part in today's training. Which begs the question of what exactly kept you from coming on time, Cermia?" she asked.
"Oh well you know, umm… just some… monetary matters… that's all." Cermia said as she felt herself being backed into a corner.
"So in other words; you were out gambling instead of coming to training on time, again?" Iseria said.
"Hey now come on; how do you that's what I was doing anyway, huh? I could have been out helping someone and just lost track of time."
"That would be the case. Except seeing as it's you we're talking about Cermia and you have a reputation of gambling, the prospect of you being late due to your… habit is of a higher chance." Iseria said. "You are a talented knight Cermia; competitive and you never give up. Yet you waste those traits on gambling of all things."
"Lady Iseria is correct," Charles said in agreement. "You are a very talented knight Cermia. You may be impulsive at times and reckless as well as hot-headed, but you are also fiercely competitive and loyal to the Order in your own… 'special way' I suppose."
Cermia sighed already having heard this about a million times whenever she was late. It usually ended with her punishment being that her weekly knight's payment was cut.
"Okay sir, I understand." Cermia said as she sighed again. "So… how much of my pay is getting cut this time?" she asked already prepared for what's to come as she looked off to the side.
As Sir Charles looked at Cermia, he glances over to Marco and Higgs who looking at her as well. He then looks to Lady Iseria who looked back and sighed as she closed her eyes, knowing that her commander had thought up a suitable 'punishment'.
"You need not worry Miss Cermia, your payment for this month won't be cut this time." Charles said surprising not Only Cermia who had looked back with surprised, but also the others knights as well as Marco and Higgs. "Instead of that your punishment will be this; you are to act as Training Instructor to our two honorary members for the day."
"Huh?" Cermia said making sure she had heard right along with Marco and Higgs who were also equally surprised as Sir Charles continued.
"Despite your tardiness; you are a very strong and capable knight and have also been noted to work well with others to some degree. Given all that, I'd say you are the perfect instructor for them."
"Uh… well I… I'm really flattered you think that of me Sir Charles," Cermia said. "And hey it would be cool to impart my knight experience onto these two promising kids. But I'm not too sure if they could handle it all that well."
"Huh?"
"Excuse me?" Marco and Higgs said a bit offended by Cermia's comment.
"Hey easy there; didn't really mean it." Cermia said. "It's just that even if I wanted to be your instructor for the day, there aren't any requests that have come in so – "
"Actually," Iseria said cutting Cermia off, "A request did come in today as I was preparing to come here to the training grounds. But I was pulled away when our guests arrived."
Iseria then walked over to Sir Charles and handed him a rolled up scroll. Charles then took the unfurled the scroll and read what was on it.
"A request from the Longtail Company of Savara, they're asking for assistance in driving off a Ruby Wyvern that has been seen near Ki Ruburan." Charles read.
"According to the details; it's a fairly young wyvern that seems to have wandered from its home in the mountains. It's been attacking caravans and causing unrest with the people there." Iseria explained. "Since you frequently visit Savara Cermia, I figured this request would best for and your new trainees."
"Uh excuse me?" Marco said getting the attention of Sir Charles and Lady Iseria. "Don't wyverns have like poison on their claws, breath fire, and can fly fairly fast?" he asked.
"So what?" Higgs said. "Your making it sound like you want to chicken out or something, geez."
"I'm not trying to chicken out!" Marco said. "I'm just stating what I know about what we could be possibly fighting. I mean have you ever fought a wyvern before?"
"I… well no, this is going to be my first." Higgs said as she looked away as her cheeks turned red from embarrassment.
"Whoa now then that's no good." Cermia said. "I mean I'm all for training you guys, but I can't really take the risk of one you getting poisoned or worse. So I guess we that request is out the que – "
"Oh you don't have to worry about that Marco,"
Everyone looked as Scarlet made her way onto the training ground and walked over.
"What do you mean Scarlet?" Marco asked her.
"Exactly what I said. Yes, it's true that the claws on a wyvern's feet do carry poison. But that's only for the more adult wyverns Marco."
"Wait, adult wyverns are the ones with the poison claws?" Marco asked.
"Yep; and since this wyvern is young, it's body hasn't yet reach the point were its claw can secrete the poison. So you don't have to worry about that, you just have to worry about getting roasted alive." Scarlet said jokingly.
"Ha-ha, very funny." Marco said as he rolled his eyes at her.
"Well then seeing as things have been made clear," Sir Charles said. "Cermia, Marco, Higgs, you three are tasked with making your way to Savara and assisting the Longtail Company in driving off this Ruby Wyvern, understood?"
"Yes sir," Marco and Higgs said together readily.
"Got it sir," Cermia said not as readily as Marco and Higgs. 'AAAHHH! WHY COULDN'T HE JUST CUT MY PAY INSTEAD!' she wined in her head.
After taking a boat trip to Reingar and grabbing the connecting boat to the port city of Levulin, then walking from there, Marco, Higgs, Cermia, Scarlet and River had made it to the desert region, Savara. Scarlet and River had asked Sir Charles permission to go along with the three, which he allowed. He said they could also act as back up for them in case anything was to happen. After leaving with Lady Iseria to get their own equipment, the five soon left for the sandy region, much to Cermia's displeasure about the whole thing. The group was currently walking through the city Ki Ruburan, looking to meet up with the representative for the Longtail Company.
River was wearing the armor the guards at Tirel Castle's front gate wore. Only instead of a spear like they used, he went for a double-edged ax which was on his back.
'How in the heck can a guy that small carry something that heavy?' Cermia thought before looking over at the other red-head of their group and her choice of clothing.
Scarlet's choice of clothing was as she so put it "more free moving". All she wore was a white sarashi around the upper part of her chest and a red hakama with a gold flame-like pattern at the bottom with black highlights, tied by white strings. There was also a hole in the back of the hakama for her tail to come out. Her hair that was normally free flowing was tied up in a high ponytail at the back by a white headband. She wore a pair of geta (wooden sandals in japan) on her feet. As for weapons; instead of borrowing one from the castle armory, she surprised everyone by creating one with her power which was the weapon she was carrying in her hand. It was a long-sword that looked to be around 90.9 centimeters and was kept in a red sheathe. The grip of the blade was composed of a long handle with a somewhat thin base, rolled up in a distinctive pattern. The back-tip of the handle is coated in gold and from it extends a short dark red rope adorned with three relatively big yellow pearls.
'I'm not going to ask why she chose an outfit that has zero armor, I just don't want her getting hurt because of it to get me in more trouble.' Cermia thought before her thoughts were interrupted by Higgs's comment on Scarlet's attire.
"It's stupid and has zero armor on it, why didn't you not just get something else?"
Scarlet groaned in annoyance at Higgs's continued complaints about her choice of clothing.
"You know; you should be lucky that when we stopped by Reingar and that they were nice enough to fire-prof your gear. Otherwise, I would be melting that shield of yours right now." Scarlet said as her hand had small flames coming off of it.
Higgs sighed before speaking again.
"Look red – I mean Scarlet;" Higgs said which surprised Marco and Scarlet as the young squire had used the dragon's name. "I'm not going to be a squire forever, someday soon I'm going to be a knight of Mewni. And that means not only severing the next queen and king, but also looking out for all the people of the butterfly kingdom. Even those who… you know look… different." She said as looked away to the side.
Scarlet saw how Higgs was acting and speaking, and got the subtle hint at what she was trying to say.
"(Sigh) I know that." Scarlet said. "But I can look after myself just fine Higgs."
"I get that; I'm now making sure nothing suddenly shoots out of ground below me when I'm near dirt."
"Oh I can do a lot more than just make spiked rock shoot up from the ground, if you are – "
"Yeah hard pass on that please."
"Oh come on, I thought you wanted to be a knight."
"Knights don't have to fight rocks that shoot out of the ground. Not unless there fighting someone with magic that can do that."
"This coming from a girl who plans to swear her loyalty to a royal family of magic users?" Scarlet said with a knowing tone in her voice.
"You get what I mean, geez." Higgs said groaning. "And by the way; what's with that overgrown sword you made, can you even draw that thing?"
"First off; this sword is called a Ōdachi or a Nodachi if you want to be technical like that." Scarlet said. "Second; it's a sword used by warriors from Marco's home dimension and yes I can also draw it just fine."
"Hold on a sec," Cermia said looking at Marco, "Your world had warriors too?"
"Yeah it did, in fact some places on earth still have people who follow the notion of being warriors. Whether it's fighting with a weapon or fighting bare-handed." Marco said.
"Hmm, interesting." Cermia said thinking of something. "Okay now I have another question."
"Sure go ahead."
"So if your world has people who train to be warriors like knights and what not, does that also mean it has places where you can… I don't know… make a ton of money maybe?"
"Umm…"
"How did I know that question was going to come out of her mouth?" Higgs whispered to Scarlet.
"It may have to do with the fact that she loves to gamble." Scarlet said. "But Lady Iserai told me before we left, was that Cermia here is by far the unluckiest person you will ever meet."
"Your joking?"
"Nope, whenever she gets money the first thing she does is gamble with it. Then before she knows it, she loses every penny. It was so bad that her parents gave the inherences money that was meant for her to her younger sister who provides her with an allowance."
"Holy corn cobs, you have got to be kidding. That is really bad." Higgs said as she and Scarlet tried not to laugh. Keyword is tried.
After a bit more walking the group came to the open plaza of the city.
"Okay, this is where we'll be meeting the person from the Longtail Company at." Cermia said as they came to a stop in front of an open fountain area.
"Do you by chance know who will be meeting us, Lady Cermia?" River asked.
"Hmm, well I know only two people from the company, since I did borrow money from them."
"Which you still haven't paid back yet." A new voice said.
The grouped looked and saw a person approaching them.
They had on green plate armor that had yellow crosses on the shoulder, chest, and on her green boots. She had yellow cross earrings and some kind of armor head gear that was shaped like cones. But upon looking closer, they saw that they hide a pair of black and white stripped ears. Which would also explain the black and white striped tail that swayed behind them. They had brown hair and light green eyes, but the most eye catching thing was the massive shield they were carrying.
"Oh Armin," Cermia said. "So the commander herself is the one coming to meet us?"
"Yeah, I'm also the one who will be leading the group in driving away the wyvern." The person named Armin said as she looked at the others that were with Cermia. "Uh Cermia? Are these the other knights that were sent with you?"
"Haha, yeah about that." Cermia said. "I kind of got in trouble when I got back to the castle; so as my punishment I've got to be their Instructor for the day. These two here are Marco and Higgs, honorary members of the Order of the Sword." She said pointing to the two squires.
"Hey," Marco said as Higgs just waved at Armin.
"Yeah; and these two are Scarlet and River." Cermia said pointing to the other pair.
"Hello there," "Greetings," They both said.
"Nice meeting you all." Armin said. "So do any of you have any prior experience fighting wyverns?"
"Well I've very little chance to fight wyverns honestly," River said. "But I have fought a number of other winged beast and the like before."
"I may not have had the pleasure of fighting a wyvern yet, but I do know about their strengths and weaknesses." Scarlet said.
"Okay, that sounds promising." Armin said before looking to Marco and Higgs. "So what about you two then?"
"Umm, this is actually going to be my first time fighting a wyvern." Higgs said looking towards the ground.
"Uh same here;" Marco said. "But I've been through a couple of crazy fights, so I know to stay on my toes, I hope that helps."
"Hmm, well that's fine." Armin said. "Just make sure to watch out for each other, okay?"
They both nodded their heads.
"Okay; since we've now got that out of the way, can we get going now?" Cermia said as she started walking away.
"She does know that I'm the one who knows the way right?" Armin said before sighing.
"Give her a second, I'm sure she'll realize it herself." Scarlet said. "Before she gets lost, maybe?"
After Cermia finally realized that she didn't know where to go and ran back to everyone, the group made their way to Coin Grave Desert to meet up with the other members of the Longtail Company as a well as a few hired mercenaries. Once they got there; Armin introduced them to Kluri, a girl with light brown skin and pointed ears like Iseria, as well as dark brown hair tied into a ponytail likes Scarlet's. Her outfit was a white top that revealed a bit of her chest, transparent pants and a green cape that draped over her right shoulder where a flacon was perched.
Next was a girl named Nicolet Fleur, she had long' flowing pink hair, black tank top and skirt with two belts that held the holsters for her twin daggers. She wore fish-net stockings and combat boots that stop just below her knee caps. She wasn't a member of the Longtail Company, but she does work with them sometimes on jobs as a mercenary.
Lastly was Celeste; like Nicolet she too worked as a mercenary. She doesn't talk much and had a serious but earnest personality. She and Marco seem to have become friendly with each other over the fact that they both tend to think too much on some things and have a hard time when it comes to choosing.
Higgs and Nicolet hardly made small talk, but the two of them were fine with that. Scarlet and River were both speaking with Kluri on how she met her Falcon who was named Fluri.
Soon the group reached Red Sand Island, the location where the wyvern was said to have been seen last.
"So this big wyvern has been living on this island?" Higgs asked. "Why doesn't it just fly back home?"
"Because it doesn't want to." Nicolet said.
"What do you mean?" Marco asked confused.
"Wyverns aren't just mindless monsters, their actually really intelligent. So much so that they consider all creatures expect their own kind and dragons to be lower than dirt and have the problem of either playing or killing them." She explained.
"Simply put Marco, we're going to be forcing a flying lizard who thinks it's better than everyone to move away from here." Scarlet said.
"Uh are you sure you should be calling it a lizard?" Kluri asked. "Considering that you and it are kind of… related?"
"Oh, no, no, and triple no. I am a dragon; a noble and legendary creature. A wyvern is just a poor knock-off excuse for a dragon. So the fact that the ones here think that their better than every living that walks on the ground just makes me want to knock them down a peg or eight." Scarlet fumed.
"Something tells me I brought up a touchy subject, sorry." Kluri said.
"Don't worry about it, you didn't know. So can't fault you for it, right?" Scarlet said.
"Whoa, you really don't like wyverns, do you?" Cermia said.
"it's not that I don't like them, I just don't like the concept that someone thinks that they're the best thing to happen since life itself." Scarlet said. "But that's a can of worms for another time. So where is this show-off of a wyvern anyway?"
As appearing to answer her question, the group saw a large shadow appear. They looked up and something that was descending from the sky towards them at a rapid pace. One it was close enough, the group saw that it was a creature with a dragon's head and wings, a reptilian body, two legs, and a tail ending in a diamond-shaped tip with bright-red scales and yellow eyes. Yellow eyes that were looking directly at the group.
"Uh Scarlet?" Marco said as he drew the great sword from his back. "I think it heard you."
The wyvern then let loose a torrent of flames at the group. Armin quickly deployed her shield as a barrier surround them, blocking the flames.
"Yeah, it defiantly heard her!" Armin said as she held back the flames.
"Oh that's fine if this greenhorn here heard me," Scarlet said as she drew her Ōdachi and tossed it's sheathe away, "because I'm about to show it just how out-classed it is compared to me!"
As soon as the flames died down, Scarlet charged towards the wyvern as it charged back. When it was close enough, it swung its tail at the charging red-head, only for her to not only jump over it but also grab on and let it carry her upward and behind it. Scarlet then let go before diving down and striking the wyvern on its back, forcing to the ground.
"Now guys! While it's on the ground!" she shouted as she jumped off of the wyvern and back to the others.
They all soon started charging together after Scarlet had rejoined them, but the wyvern was starting to get back up to try and fly again.
"It's getting back up!" Cermia shouted.
"I'll keep it down!" Celeste said. She then took five arrows from her quiver and set them on her bow as she pointed it upward. She then fired all five arrows into the sky which then quickly came back down in the form of a volley of light as they struck the wyvern with great force keeping it on the ground. "It won't get up now."
This further angered the wyvern as it opened its mouth and prepared to let loose another torrent of flames.
"Kluri and Higgs! Both of you rush to the sides of the wyvern's head and attack so it can't breathe its fire." Armin said.
"Got it!" "Right!" they both said as they rushed ahead.
"Marco and River! Once those two have stopped it from attacking, you make for its tail and keep it pinned down so it can't attack with it."
"Okay!" "Leave it to us!" they said.
"Once that's done; Nicolet, you and I will try and stun it so it can't move."
"Understood." Nicolet said as she prepared her daggers.
"After we do that; Cermia and Scarlet, you two attack it with everything you've got once everyone has moved out of the way."
"Alright!" "Oh with pleasure!" they said.
As Kluri and Higgs got closer, they soon split off from each other. Higgs dashed to the right side and smashed her shield into the wyvern's eye, causing it to roar in agony, while Kluri had Fluri fly towards the wyvern's left as a distraction. While the wyvern was distracted with Fluri; Kluri ran up and slashed her sword at its eye blinding it and stopping it from breathing its fire.
"Now Marco and River!" Armin shouted.
"Right!" River said as he jumped onto the wyvern's back and headed for the tail.
"Scarlet! Can you fling me up onto it's back!" Marco shouted.
"Yeah! Grab onto my tail and hold on!" she said.
Scarlet swung her tail to Marco who quickly grabbed a hold of it as she swung him up onto the wyvern. He and River then ran down its back until they reached the tail where they saw it thrashing about.
"Tally ho!" River shouted as he jumped towards the tail and swung his ax into it and pulled it down to the ground as he fell. Marco then jumped as high as he could and pointed his great sword downward as he fell and sunk it into the tail effectively immobilizing it.
"We've got the tail down!" Marco shouted.
"Let's go Nicolet!" Armin yelled as Nicolet and her rushed towards the wyvern's head.
Since the wyvern was still reeling form the pain it was in from Kluri cutting its eye, it didn't see them quickly closing in. Armin went first and quickly smacked it with the front of her shield twice. She then crouched and held her shield up, allowing Nicolet to jumped off it and into the air above the wyvern that was roaring.
"Be quiet," she said as she summersaulted down and slammed the but-ends of her daggers onto the wyvern's head silencing the noisy creature.
"Alright! Cermia! Scarlet! Let him have it! Everyone else out of the way now!" Armin yelled.
Once everyone cleared the area around the down beast, the two red-heads rushed towards it with both their swords cloaked in raging flames.
"You ready for this?" Cermia said to Scarlet.
"I was born ready for this! Let's go!" Scarlet said as the two of them jumped high into the air.
When they were high enough, they held their swords back as the flames around them grew larger.
"NOW TAKE THIS!" They both yelled as they swung their swords letting loose two blazing infernos that took the shape of two dragon heads that soon crashed into the wyvern with devastating force. The roared in agony as the flames licked at its body; through it's one good eye it looked at the insignificant creatures that had done this to it. When its vision landed on smaller looking red-head, its slit pupil dilated in fear when it saw that her own eyes had become like its own. Except they held a dominate presence, much greater than any of its kind.
'Leave or die fledgling.'
The wyvern quickly recognizing the danger before it, quickly flew off of the ground and into the sky away from the small… no, enormous threat that was back down there.
"Whoa-ho, did you guys see how fast that thing got up and flew off like that?" Cermia said. "It obviously was scared witless when it saw my amazing strength."
"That or it just wanted to get away from the fire that was burning its body." Kluri said as she gave Fluri as piece of meat from a pouch. "Anyway Armin, we're done here now, right?"
"I suppose so; from the how fast it wanted to get out of here, I don't think we'll be seeing it around here anymore." Armin said.
"So mission accomplished then?" Cermia said. "Good, I wasn't expecting it to go this smoothly."
As Armin, Kluri, Celeste, Nicolet, and Cermia discussed, River was congratulating Marco and Higgs for a job well done. Marco looked over and saw Scarlet had gone to go and retrieve the sheathe for her sword and noticed that she looked a little winded.
'I guess that attack took a lot out her.' He thought. 'Hmm, Scarlet went to a lot a trouble so that me and Higgs could come here to train, and she hasn't asked for anything in return for it.' Marco then began to think of something as a way to repay his friend.
After returning to the Ki Ruburan and saying their goodbyes to Armin and the others, Cermia, River, Scarlet, Marco, and Higgs made their way back to Ezera to report to Sir Charles and Lady Iseria. The trip didn't take that much time and they were back at Tirel Castle's gate just as the sky was turning to evening. There they found the Order of the Sword's Commander and Vice-Commander waiting for them.
"Welcome back you five," Sir Charles said as Marco, Higgs, Scarlet and River saluted him.
"Sir," they said in unison as Lady Iseria stepped forward.
"We had just received the report from Armin of the Longtail Company on your mission. Well done, all of you." she said.
"Yes indeed;" Charles said in agreement as he looked to Marco and Higgs. "You two especially performed exceptionally well."
"Thank you, sir." they both said.
Just then a ringing sound was heard, everyone looked to River who pulled out his mirror phone.
"Oh my apologies; that's me. Please excuse me," River said as he back away a bit to answer the call. After a bit of talking, he ended the call and walked back. "Sorry about that; but that was my daughter Star, asking for Marco and Scarlet here. So I'm afraid we had best be getting back to Mewni."
"I see, then please don't let us delay you. It was nice to meet all of you and I wish you safe passage back home." Iseria said.
"Agreed, it was a rather interesting to know that there are those who are striving to become knights who wish to protect others. I expect you two to continuing your training, I'll be looking forward to the results next time you arrive on Orbis." Sir Charles said to Marco and Higgs as they both nodded and smiled.
Marco then pulled out is dimensional scissors and cut open a portal back to Mewni.
"Oh, so this is how you guys got here? With a pair of scissors?" Cermia asked.
"Believe me, those are a lot harder to get than you know Cermia." Scarlet said. "And I don't think you'd be able to pull it off, given your bad luck rep."
"Hey wait!" Cermia said surprised. "How do you know about - "
"Sorry lips are sealed, see you next time and try to limit your gambling bye!" Scarlet said as she rushed into the portal.
"Thank you for letting us train with your knights." Higgs said as she saluted and entered the portal.
"Sir Charles my good man, next time lets you and me have a match, what do you say?" River said.
"Very well, but know that I will not be holding back." Charles said.
"Haha; I should hope not, take care until then." River said as he entered the portal.
Before Marco entered the portal, he pulled something out of his pocket and walked over to Cermia.
"Here, you can have this Cermia." Marco said as he placed a white rabbit's foot in her hand.
"Uh, what are you giving me this thing for and what am I supposed to do with it?" She asked confused.
"It's a rabbit's foot; where I come from their supposed to bring whoever holds them good luck. Maybe it will give you some."
"Wait really?" Cermia said looking at the item in wonder. "Alright! Yes! Thanks a bunch!"
"No problem really." Marco said as he walked to the portal. "Thanks again for the training, see you all next time." He said as he waved and entered the portal.
Cermia then began to walk away from Charles and Iseria.
"And where are you going Cermia?" Iseria asked.
"Where do you think? I'm going to try out this this good luck charm I just got." Cermia said. "if this thing really does give good luck, then I may or may not have to start thinking if there's a way for me to go see that kid again soon. Anyway don't wait up for me, later."
As Cermia walked off, Iseria sighed as she and Charles walked back to the castle.
(Mewni, Castle Butterfly)
After arriving back on Mewni, Higgs left to most likely brag about getting to train with knights from another dimension, while River headed off to find Queen Moon and tell her of the excitement he had today.
Marco and Scarlet were making their way to Marco's room, after having quite the exciting day.
"Hey Scarlet?" Marco said.
"Yeah Marco?" Scarlet said.
"I wanted to thank you, for today I mean."
"You don't have to thank me Marco; the whole thing of training somewhere else was Star's idea anyway."
"Yeah, but still, you went above and beyond just so I could train in a whole new dimension. A dimension that you can't even get to with dimensional scissors." Marco said. "I just feel like I have to do something to show you how thankful I am."
Scarlet sighed as smiled soon appeared on her face.
"You aren't going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope."
"Of course. Okay if you really want to thank me, then just do this one thing for me." Scarlet said as she stopped walking and turned to face Marco who also stopped.
Although he had to look away, since Scarlet was still wearing the out during their mission on Orbis.
"Marco?" Scarlet said teasingly. "I can't tell you how to thank me if you don't look at me."
"But you're still wearing – "
"Then just focus on my face and not anywhere else, okay?" she said as she turned Marco's head so that he and she made eye contact.
"Marco?" Scarlet said, all sense of teasing gone from her voice. "I want you to take the knowledge and experience you got from today… and use it to help keep the person and all those connected to you safe from anything or anyone that would hurt them." Scarlet said as she smiled and let go of his face. "Just knowing that you'll do that, is all the thanks I can ask for, okay?"
"Okay, I will." Marco said as he smiled back.
"Hey! Marco! Scarlet!"
The two then looked and saw Star waving at them to come over.
"Hey Star," Marco said. "What's up?"
"What's up? What's up is the fact that you got to go train with knights from another dimension and I missed it all." Star said puffing her cheeks out like a squirrel. "I know Scarlet said she'd take care of your training, but I didn't think she'd take you to a whole new dimension! And it's one we can't get to with dimensional scissors either."
"Well technically, we can Star." Scarlet said which instantly made Star's eyes widen. "Well only Marco's can take us there, but we can go back there any time now."
"Wow really!? Yes! I can't wait!" Star said excitedly.
"Okay Star, so aside from us, how did your day go with Tom?" Marco asked.
"Oh, it was alright I guess, but what really made my day was something that's going to help me with bringing mewmans and monsters together as friends." Star said as pulled something or someone from around the corner.
The person was a large pale green humanoid frog with yellow eyes, dark green lips, and webbed wings on each side of his head. He has a bulky upper body, but disproportionately short legs. He was wearing a tunic which was a light green and a gray belt with a skull buckle.
"Buff Frog?" Marco said surprised.
"Ah, Karate boy!" Buff Frog said as he pulled Marco in for a big hug. "Is good to see you doing well." He said before he looked and saw Scarlet. "Oh, and you must be girl that Star Butterfly told about, yes?"
"Um yeah that's me. I'm Scarlet, nice to meet you Mr. Buff Frog." Scarlet said.
"Oh please, just Buff Frog is fine." He said as Scarlet shook his hand.
"So Star? Not that it's great to see Buff Frog and all, but why's he here at the castle?" Marco asked to which Star grinned cheerfully.
"Well Marco, it may have something to do with the fact that Buff Frog is Mewni's new Monster Expert!"
"Monster Expert?" Marco said confused.
"Wait, then what happened to the previous Expert?" Scarlet asked.
"That… is a little complicated." Star said. "But If I'm going to get monsters equal rights, then I figured having a friend who can show that monsters aren't as bad as mewmans think would be good step in the right direction."
"That's really good thinking Star," Marco said. "Plus Buff Frog is really nice and a parent, I'm sure some people can relate to that."
"You really think so Marco?" Star said.
"Yeah I do, it's a really mature way."
"Yes, yes it is Marco." Scarlet said as she winked at Star who giggled modestly.
A/N: So? How'd you all like the inclusion of Epic Seven in the story? Also I added the scene where Marco and Scarlet got to meet Buff Frog and learn that Star made him Mewni's new Monster Expert. I wondered why she didn't tell Marco after that fact she did that? or maybe she did it off screen or whatever. Any who, let me know what you guys think And I'll see you all in the next chapter Keyblade out, Later! ;)