Halley walked down the empty hallway, trying to calm herself.

It's just a party Halley, you'll be fine.

She hadn't lied when she told her mother she felt better. She honestly did. That didn't mean that she was over her nerves. Unfortunately Phil was very popular and didn't hesitate to invite almost all of his friends. James was almost as popular as Phil, but that fact didn't have anything to do with James' personality. James was in almost all of the competitive clubs at school and was a reigning champ. Not to mention that the entirety of the school's population of girls was head over heels in love with him.

Halley held her wand in her hands. It was similar to Grandma Moon's wand except that a pink crystal flower bloomed at the top and jade vines curled intricately around the handle. It was perfectly...Halley.

Halley had changed her dress to a shorter more simpler one. It still was elegant in its own right, being a dark green accented with a light pink and sea foam color. The design alluded towards that of a pink carnation exactly as Halley had wanted. Perfect for her 16th birthday. Two guards stood waiting by the side door Halley planned on going through to avoid too much attention. The guards bowed and swung open the doors for her. Halley inwardly groaned as the entire ballroom set their eyes on her. She walked inside with a nervous smile on her face.

A horn blared in her ears suddenly.

"Her Majesty, Princess Halley has arrived." Halley glared at her announcer and proceeded to the front of the room where the thrones had been placed. She curtsied and that gave everyone the okay to continue the festivities. Halley let out a breath of relief when everyone stopped staring at her. It had gone over a lot better than planned. No one had said anything to her since she came in the room. She considered that a win.

Halley didn't realize that James had come to sit in his temporary throne. She looked at him but he didn't even seem to see her. He gazed out uninterestedly at the party goers with his head resting on his knuckles.

She opened her mouth to say something but hands grabbed her shoulders. She turned to see none other than Allison Spiderbite grinning at her mischievously.

"You can't sneak up on someone like that, Allison." Halley scolded playfully. "Especially not the princess of Mewni."

The two girls laughed but abruptly stopped when James let out a snort of disgust. Halley stared at him sadly before guiding Allison somewhere else in the room.

"What's with your brother?" The other princess had asked.

Halley sighed, "He really wanted to be King."

Allison rolled her eyes, "That's all? Can't he just suck it up?"

"No...this was really important to him..."

"Hey," Allison put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let him get to you. Your mom chose you to be her successor and she's the Queen. She must know what she's talking about."

Halley gave her a strained smile, "Yeah...I guess you're right." The topic was making her a little uneasy, "Let's talk about something else."

Her best friend nodded and indulging in a completely different conversation. Specifically, how stupidly Phil's friends could dress. It was a party at the castle and people were going big. It was just that a good majority of them were 15 and 16 and didn't know how to dress. Who couldn't laugh at that? Definitely not Halley.

Halley loved having Allison around. She was always able to distract her from her problems, and Halley appreciated that greatly. Her friend, like herself, was a monster hybrid. Except not in your traditional way. Allison wasn't some mutant hog creature or even a demon. In fact, she looked normal. Long brown hair, tan skin, olive colored eyes. Pretty normal. However, the tips of Allison's fingers and hair were slime. It was an odd green color that faded into her skin the further up her arms she went but regardless, anything she touched could get a heaping helping of slime.

Halley remembered that everyone at school thought that was the most disgusting thing ever. She was the new object of ridicule when the monsters transferred schools. Halley was more than happy to have the spotlight directed on someone else so naturally she played along. She would glare at her and the other monsters when she passed like all the other kids and she hated to admit that it felt good to feel included. One day she was walking the halls and Allison came up to her.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me where the science room was. No one has been very helpful."

All eyes had been on Halley at that moment. Instantly Halley responded, "Me? Help you? I'd never help some gross monster." With that she sped off down the stairs and towards the outside portion of the school. Calling her a monster just made her sick. Being mean was not who Halley was at all. She couldn't understand why she had done that. Halley hadn't known that Allison was following her.

"What do you want?" Halley asked as nastily as she could.

"Look I don't understand what your problem is but—"

"What my problem is? Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the princess of Mewni. I'm—"

"A monster?" Allison glared at her.

"I—um...er..."

"I get it princess. You want to share a common enemy with all your peers so you're not the enemy anymore," Allison shrugged. "Trust me, I know how this kind of thing works, but you're on the wrong side. If anything, I'm your ally. One of your only allies. Just... don't forget who you are."

Allison had begun to walk away. "Wait!" Halley stopped her. "You're right...I'm sorry... I never usually act that way."

"It's alright," Alison had smiled. "So could you show me the science room?"

And so their friendship began. Allison was never afraid to say what she thought but had an air of humility about her. Quite frankly, Halley admired her.

"You okay, Hal?" Allison asked her.

"Hm? Oh yeah." Halley smiled, "I was just remembering how we met."

"The greatest day of you life you mean?" Allison replied jokingly

"Yeah," Halley genuinely answered. Allison was her first friend, and although it occurred late in her life she was able to do all the things she always dreamed of. She had her first sleepover when she was 13, and it shouldn't have been but it quite literally was one of the most exciting moments of her life. She owed that all to the girl who gave her a second chance even though she was being a complete bitch. Halley didn't think she'd ever be able to repay her debt of gratitude.

Her eyes skirted over to movement from the front of the room where James was sneaking away through the back. Her smile fell and she audibly sighed.

"Don't worry Halley. He'll get over it." Allison sympathized.

Her best friend was right about most things but this seemed different. "I'm not so sure..."

...

Halley sat at the dinner table poking at her food. It had been two weeks since she was named to be her mother's successor and James hadn't talked to her at all. To make matters worse Great Aunt Etheria came to "gage Halley's potential in being a proper ruler," and it was going all too horribly. She was completely zoned out so when her aunt snapped at her she flinched.

"Young lady, a proper princess never plays with her food."

Halley let out a frustrated huff and slowly ate her food. When she had finished, she went to get up, but Aunt Etheria instructed her to wait. Gradually everyone left and her parents gave her a sympathetic

glance before leaving as well.

That left Halley and Aunt Etheria at the table. The small woman got up and came over to Halley. The princess looked straight ahead as her aunt gave her a critical look-over.

Finally she spoke, "Your posture is horrible, you seem quite lazy most of the time, and not to mention your...other qualities."

Halley clenched the fabric of her dress.

The old Butterfly muttered to herself, "I don't know what your mother was thinking. You seem even worse than her. If you ask me the throne should have been given to James. He is the most qualified..."

Halley wanted nothing more than to put the woman in her place for insulting her and her mother, but Star had given her a word of warning: Aunt Etheria was very old and very traditional; just obey and get through it.

Halley took a deep breath and placed a polite smile on her face. She stood in front of her aunt and bowed, "I apologize Aunt Etheria. I will try to be less lazy and improve my posture and my other 'qualities.'"

Etheria could sense the sarcasm and didn't take to it kindly. She scoffed in disgust, "Such an insolent child!" Then she marched away.

Finally free, Halley made her way to her room. She was turning a corner when she heard a commotion down the hall. She stopped to tune in.

"Mom, hear me out. I've wanted nothing more than to be King. I've dreamed about it my whole life! Halley... she wouldn't be safe on the throne! Please just let me—"

"Jamie, sweetheart, I suppose it's sweet that you care about your sister but I've made my decision to continue the Butterfly matriarchy."

There was a small pause then James spoke, "I thought you were about change. I'd be the first blood King in Mewnian history! Wouldn't that make you proud!?"

"I'll always be proud of you, James. Halley will be a great queen—"

"Because she's a monster? Admit it. Halley's only a pawn in your monster integration campaign!"

"James!—"

"Just leave me alone!"

Halley could hear her brother running away. Shortly after a sigh from the Queen, Star's footsteps faded away.

Halley could feel her eyes burning. Was James right? She couldn't stand the thought of her mother using her like that. She ran as quickly as she could to her room but not before running into someone. Halley looked up and saw her father.

"What's the rush, kiddo?"

"I...It's nothing."

Tom looked at her closely, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Tom didn't seem too convinced but let it go. She was a teenager after all. "How was the talk with Aunt Etheria?"

"Not great..."

Tom put a hand on her shoulder, "She didn't upset you did she?"

Halley instantly saw her way out, "A little..."

"Come here," Tom gave her a tight hug that caught Halley by surprise. "I know things have been a little hard lately but you've been doing great."

She looked up at her father, "Really?"

"Of course, Halley."

She hugged him a little bit tighter because it was probably the only thing that would make her feel better.

"Thanks Dad," She mumbled shakily into his shoulder.

He pulled away and held her shoulders, "Are you sure you're okay?"

She wiped at a stray tear away and laughed, "I'm fine, Dad. Honestly. It's just been a little bit stressful lately."

"If you just need to cool down for a while, you can take a break, okay? It's okay to take a break once and a while."

"Thank you Dad. I promise I'll do that sometime."

He still looked very worried but gave her a smile nonetheless. "Don't strain yourself, kid." He ruffled her hair for good measure like she was little again.

Somehow her father had managed to make her feel much better. She wished the feeling of uneasiness would have gone away too, but ever since Etheria came to the castle, and all the change in general, Halley knew things could never be normal again.

When she finally made it too her room, Halley went over to her desk and opened a book.

"I think everyone's turning on me, Glossyrick."

The tiny magical being was enjoying yet another cup of pudding. He licked his lips before responding, "Why would you think that, Princess?"

"James was trying to persuade my mom to make him king and I'm not so sure my mom chose me as queen because of my 'potential.' What's more Aunt Etheria isn't making me feel any better with becoming Queen. I just feel..." She sighed. "Like I don't belong. Even more than usual."

"Well of course you belong," Glossyrick stated mater of factly, "You're the rightful heir by blood."

Halley rolled her eyes, "Tell that to the entire kingdom."

"Well personally, I don't think it matters what the entire kingdom has to say. As long as you are performing your duties, there's no problem." He shrugged.

Halley laid over the edge of her bed, "Gloss, you know you can be really apathetic sometimes."

"Hm."

"What...can you tell me about the Queens of Mewni?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Well...did anyone ever have the same problem as me? Not feeling like they belonged?"

"Not exactly. Yes, every princess had their struggles but rarely were they in the same way."

"Thought so." She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Looks like I'm all on my own for this, huh?"

"No. You've always got me."

...

The next day, the triplets had nothing to do, which was a rare occurrence. It just so happened that they all decided to occupy their lounging room at the same time. James was doing some sparring with a dummy, Phil was lying in the hammock he was somehow able to place listening to music, and Halley was practicing a few spells.

Halley focused on her levitation spells by casting them on relatively light objects. Eventually that had gotten pretty boring. She guessed it was because she didn't have her brothers to talk to much anymore.

"Hey sis," Phil's voice came suddenly. "How are the spells going?"

"Not so good... I can only seem to lift small things. I've been trying all day."

"I'll help you!" He offered cheerfully. Her brother slid out of his hammock and grabbed a book. He placed it on the table before her.

"Okay," He held a hand out to the book, "Try it."

She did as her brother instructed and a magical beam from her wand reached out to grab the book.

"Now lift."

She tried but it seemed much harder than picking up a pen or sheet of paper.

"I can't." She huffed.

"You can, Halley! Try closing your eyes and lifting with your mind."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Phil rolled his eyes, "Close your eyes and imagine lifting the book."

She took another deep breath and closed her eyes. With another try, she was able to get the book to levitate in the air.

"I'm doing it!" She beamed. "Phil, it's working!"

"See I told you you could do it! Try something else!"

Halley then tried the table and was able to make it float around the room. In her excitement, there was almost nothing Halley didn't levitate.

"Now try me." Phil said.

"What?! Won't that hurt you or something?"

"Well we won't know until we try. I wanna touch the ceiling."

Halley eventually gave in, "Okay but just once." Shortly, she had Phil flying around the room. It was the most fun she had had in a while with her brother. Indulging in Phil's company usually meant a good time anyway. Halley momentarily lost her concentration and Phil, luckily, fell from the air onto the couch.

"See?" Phil jumped from the couch. "I managed to help you with an entire spell. What's Glossyrick good for anyway?" He joked.

"I heard that!" Came Glossyrick from the spell book.

Halley smiled at her brother, "Thanks Phil."

He shrugged, his hands stuffed in his pockets, "It's what I do." Halley noticed him look at the wand a little wistfully.

"Do you wanna maybe try it? Just one last time?"

"Really?" His eyes lit up.

"Why not?" She handed him the wand and it changed into a blue S shaped violin. Its borders had purple spikes around it and it was so perfectly Phil, it could only be described as magic.

He happily began to play a song. Like her wand, Phil's violin shot out a beam of magic and reached out to Halley. Phil whisked her around the room with his song and Halley laughing hard. When Halley landed on the ground and her brother finished his sonata, Phil handed her the wand. He still looked a little sad.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm happy for you sis." Then he gave her a genuine smile.

Halley looked over Phil's shoulder and saw James basically pummeling the shit out of his dummy. She walked over cautiously behind him.

"James?"

"What?" He responded coolly.

"I was wondering if you wanted to take the wand for one last go if you—"

Her brother chuckled, "Yeah right. Unlike Phil, I won't take some fucking consolation prize."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Halley narrowed her eyes.

"It means," James stopped his spar. "That I don't want anything to do with that wand. You can barely do a simple spell yet you're becoming Queen?"

"As a matter of fact yes James. I am." Halley crossed her arms over her chest.

"Exactly why I don't need anything to do with that wand or the stupid throne."

"Even me?" Halley shot.

"Especially you!" James finally snapped.

Halley was hurt by the blow but she kept at it. She took a step forward, "You know what James, I don't know what your damn problem is! So what? You couldn't become king oh boo hoo! Little Jamie didn't get his way. Grow up!"

"Me grow up? You think I'm the one who needs to grow up? I'm not the one who still thinks she can become queen even though she's some monster freak!"

The room went quiet. Halley was beyond hurt that he brother could say something like that to her face. She searched her brother's eyes for some sign of regret that was always there whenever he snapped on her like that. It wasn't there.

Halley could see James bracing for the fight that always came after arguments like those. Instead, Halley calmly turned and left the lounge, catching both of her brothers by surprise.

...

Halley looked in her mirror and applied a good amount of concealer to her cheeks. She was able to easily cover up the fuchsia colored flowers. She wrapped her hair into two buns to cover up her horns and brushed some hair over her third eye.

"What are you doing?" Glossyrick asked. The book found its way back to her room and her advisor was floating beside her.

"My brother thinks I can't lead? Thinks that a monster freak shouldn't be on the throne then fine. He can have it. I'm done. I'm leaving."

"Woah woah. That doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Don't care." She slid on her hiking boots and a backpack. She looked at her outfit in the mirror, ignoring Glossyrick's "advising." She looked fairly comfortable. She wore short green leggings and a purple long sleeved pleated tunic. Nothing that screamed "princess of Mewni" that's for sure. She grabbed the dimensional scissors from her dresser, and cut open a portal.

"Halley you can't just leave!"

She huffed, annoyed at this point, "Dad said that I could take a break and cool down whenever I needed to and I am. For a very very very long time."

"But—"

"I'm going Glossyrick. I've already made my decision."

"Well," the blue being said. "I guess it's my duty as the princess's advisor to go with you."

Halley looked back and smiled. "It'll be nice to go with a friend. Hop in my backpack I packed plenty of pudding—"

The words had barely escaped her mouth before Glossyrick zipped right into her backpack. She shook her head and looked towards the portal.

Here we go, she thought as she stepped through.

So sorry for the wait! School gets pretty hectic towards the end of the year. XD (Don't forget to leave a review! :) )