First of all, thank you to the people who read/commented/reviewed/ect. the first chapter. I'm glad people seemed to like it! School isn't eating up too much of my time yet, so I'm trying to dedicate as much time as possible to writing this before school picks up. Anyway, enjoy!
Marco opened his eyes as he heard the portal closing behind him. He found himself in the middle of an open-air market. All he could here was the sound of merchants shouting at people to buy their goods. The nature of the merchants' goods, however, was far from normal. He heard everything from calzones to giants' toes, wind chimes to shrunken heads.
The area also seemed odd. It was as if he had traveled back in time a few centuries. The buildings were made of large stone bricks, with wooden roofing. None of the roads were paved, and the only form of transportation seemed to be horse-drawn carriages and wagons. The clothes that the people wore were only a little better than rags, and most people seemed to living just above the poverty line. Nothing about the area indicated the presence of modern technology, or any technology for that matter. It seemed as though the people here still fought wars with sword and shield, as opposed to guns and bombs.
"Where… am I?" Marco whispered as he walked out of the market and into the village. As he wandered, he noticed the massive castle towering over the small town. Something about the structure of the castle seemed painfully familiar, but Marco couldn't think of any major empire or kingdom that displayed large, bulbous towers in the architecture of their buildings.
As he stared up at the impossibly large castle, Marco noticed someone sitting on the railing of the balcony of one of the lower towers. "Royalty?" Marco thought. Suddenly, the figure rose to their feet and sprinted back into the tower. The abrupt action surprised Marco, but he quickly shrugged it off. "Whatever. I need to try to figure out where I am," he thought. He looked down at the scissors in his belt loop. "And why these took me here." And with that, Marco turned back into the bustling crowds of people, looking for something that might indicate where he was.
"Uuuuuugggghh," Star groaned as she slowly made her way back to her bedroom. "Etiquette lessons are boooring."
She entered her room and shut the door behind her. Unlike her room at the Diaz house, Star's room in the castle was relatively plain. Though it contained a king sized bed with a canopy and a walk-in closet, it lacked the sense of whimsy that made the room uniquely Star's.
"This room is boooring." Star waved her wand and her clothes transformed from a poofy ball gown into a more comfortable green dress with a purple octopus design on the front. Once the transformation was complete, she collapsed, face-down, onto the carpeted floor. "Mewni is boooring."
From the floor, she looked around her room and her eyes fell on the photo of her and Marco that sat on her nightstand. She crawled across the room, stood up, and picked up the picture. Star smiled at the memories of Earth and of Marco that came flooding back at the sight of the picture: fighting Ludo's army, partying at the Bounce Lounge, exploring new dimensions, even just sitting at home, eating nachos and watching movies.
Tears formed in her eyes as she set the photo back in its place on the nightstand. "I miss Earth," she whimpered. Star made her way to the balcony as tears fell from her eyes. "I miss Marco…"
Star found herself sitting on the railing of her balcony to try to calm herself down. She had been spending countless hours just watching the people of Mewni go about their lives in an attempt to take her mind off of Earth and Marco. So far, she hadn't had much success. Yet here she was again. Trying, and failing, to forget the joy that not even her other best friend, Flying Princess Pony Head, could bring her.
"Where are you, Marco?" Star sighed and dried her eyes on her sleeve. She looked down at her citizens, and the bland, grey and brown clothes that they wore. Her eyes grazed over the market, past the houses, then towards—
Star froze. Standing in the middle of the street, staring at the castle, stood a boy, around her age. His dark brown hair was a little longer than usual, and it looked like he might have gotten a little taller over the last few months, but there was one detail that made him stand out in the flood of dull clothing.
He wore a bright red sweatshirt.
Star jumped up back onto the balcony, and sprinted back into her room. It was him. It had to be him. There was no mistaking it. That was his sweatshirt.
Marco was on Mewni.
