"I present to you Butterfly Castle."
Moon led her new friends down the main hall of the castle. Occasionally, Star and Marco would look off to the side of the path, catching glimpses of the hundreds of different rooms within the castle.
"I've lived here since the day I was born." narrated Moon. "This place has so many rooms that there are still rooms that I haven't seen yet."
"That's crazy." said Marco.
They continued to walk until they reached the end of the hall, where they came across an elegant staircase that granted access to the second floor above. Adjacent to the staircase was an oil painting of the Butterfly royal family. Star immediately noticed the image and pointed out its position to Marco.
"Hey Marco." whispered Star. "Doesn't that picture look familiar to you?"
Marco shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I've never seen it before. Is it familiar to you?"
"Well, yes. Back in 2015, this same painting is right here in this spot. It's just... it's not the same."
"Not the same?" asked Marco. "What do you mean it's 'not the same'?"
"Last time I remember, this painting was of my mom, dad, and me. Now look at it for yourself, Marco. Who do you see in the painting?"
Marco took a good look at the painting, and noticed that the painting was quite different from the one that Star was describing. Instead, the painting was an image of Moon and her parents. Like the modern variant of the painting, all of the family members depicted in the painting shared the same, deadpan expression. Perhaps it was a look of indifference, or maybe a look of subconscious pride in the strength and fortitude of the kingdom, but Marco couldn't tell for certain.
"Your mom and her parents." answered Marco flatly. "So that would mean that in 1985, her parents were then King and Queen."
"Exactly." said Star. "And if you look closer, you'll notice that my grandparents look like my parents. Kind sorta?"
Marco smirked a little. "Of course. Do you think we might meet them?"
Star flipped her hair and sneered sarcastically. "Of course! I think it's only a matter of time before we meet them. I mean, we're in the royal castle now!"
"But Star!" urged Marco hesitantly. "That might be a bad idea! We can't tell anyone that we're from the future!"
"I won't tell." insisted Star.
"You sure?" persisted the karateka.
"Nope." affirmed the inter-dimensional princess. "I'm just gonna act like I'm Moon's new bestie, like I have this whole time."
Star and Marco walked away from the painting and made their way up the stairs, which lead to the main dining hall. In the center of the dining hall was a large, rectangular table adorned with a royal blue colored silk tablecloth. Seated at the far end of the table were Moon's parents, who looked visibly surprised as Star, Marco, and Moon made their way closer towards them.
"Moon, why are you back so early?" asked Moon's father. "I thought you were going out into the villages to proclaim your possession of the magic wand."
"Are who are you?" inquired Moon's mother, who pointed to Star and Marco. "Are you Moon's friends?"
"Sort of." admitted Star. "Earlier, Marco and I helped her defend herself against Ludo."
"Ludo?" wondered the queen. "Who is Ludo?"
"He was this evil monster who attacked me and tried to steal my wand." explained Moon.
Moon's mother gasped. "That's awful! Are you all right?"
"Of course." answered Moon. "And it's all thanks to Star and Marco."
"I don't know how to thank you." announced the king. "You both helped save this kingdom from monster takeover. But before I can write you down in the history book for your achievements, I'd like to get your names."
Star blushed and smiled in a wide, Cheshire grin. "Well, my name's Star and this is my best friend, Marco."
"It's nice to meet you both." affirmed both royal parents.
Suddenly, the relative quiet and peace of the room was cut by the sound of a rumbling stomach.
Star chewed on the base of her wand. "Moon, what time is it?"
"Eleven-thirty." replied Moon.
"Well... actually, I'm pretty hungry right now." complained Star.
"Me too." added Marco.
Moon's father got up from his chair. "Not to worry, I'll send for the servants to—"
"Wait, Your Royal Highness." interrupted Star. "Marco's a pretty good cook. He could make us something."
"Are you sure?" asked the royal parents in unison.
Star grinned mischievously. "Of course he can! Marco, are you comfortable with making us food?"
"I don't see why not. As long as we have all the things I need to make us something to eat, then we're good."
Star opened her star-shaped purse and pulled out several things, including a saucepan, a bag of corn chips, and a jar of queso cheese sauce. She then handed the ingredients to Marco.
"I think we have everything we need!" yelled Star excitedly.
"So then, how long is it going to take for you to prepare this meal?" asked His Royal Highness.
"Maybe ten or fifteen minutes." replied Marco. "The dish I'm making isn't too complicated, but I think you'll enjoy it as much as I will."
Marco worked feverishly over the small, wood-fired stove near the dinner table.
"What are you cooking for us, Marco?" asked Moon's father.
"You're soon to find out, Your Royal Highness." replied Marco as he plated his dish.
"Feast your eyes on this!" yelled Marco as he whipped around, displaying his creation to the royals.
"What is this?" asked Moon.
"It's a snack that Star and I eat all the time." answered Marco. "It's called..."
"Marco's Super Awesome Nachos!" sang Star, who quickly grabbed some nachos off of the plate and handed them to Moon and her parents. Both of them looked at the teenagers in confusion.
"What are nachos?" asked Moon's father.
"Chips with melted cheese and other stuff on them." answered Star. "What are you waiting for? Take a bite!"
After a few more seconds of hesitation, they all carefully ate their nachos. Instantaneously, they gave each other, and then Marco, looks of complete astonishment.
"This is amazing!" boomed Moon's father. "Star was right. You are a very good cook, Marco."
"Well thanks." said Marco plainly.
"Tell me, Marco. What's your secret?"
"There is no secret, really." explained Marco. "You just need to go to a store, buy the ingredients, and then you'll be able to make them."
Her Majesty looked back at Marco, now confused as ever. "What's a store?"
Marco awkwardly grinned. "Well, uh... you know, that place where people sell stuff like food and clothes."
"Oh. I see." acknowledged Moon's mother.
"Hey, uh, Moon..." muttered Marco quietly. "Weren't you going to give us a tour of your room?"
"I think so. You want to set out for it now?"
"Sure. Why not?" reasoned Star. "Oh, and bring the nachos."
"No problem." affirmed Marco as he picked up the plate with the nachos on them.
Meanwhile, near the Forest of Certain Death, Toffee, Ludo, and his army had set up camp for the remainder of the day. As various minions began organizing supplies for their stay, Toffee and Ludo began to contemplate the next steps of their evil plan.
"Our first plan fell apart like wet paper." grumbled Ludo. "What's next on our to-do list?"
Toffee folded his arms and glared at the kappa monster. "Our next course of action is simple."
"What exactly are we going to do?" asked Ludo.
"We are going to slightly alter our plan." elaborated Toffee. "If you have as good of a memory as I believe, you likely remember that our initial plan was to steal the wand outright from Moon Butterfly. Which, despite your minions' best efforts, failed miserably because of numerous reasons. The most obvious being that Princess Butterfly and her best friend interfered."
"Yes, I remember! I was there, you know!" chortled Ludo sarcastically.
"As a result of this unexpected roadblock, we need to take a different course of action." dictated Toffee. "Perhaps even an indirect course of action."
"Indirect course of action?" inquired Ludo.
In layman's terms, we need to lure Moon Butterfly to us." explained Toffee without hesitation.
"How are we going to do that?" wondered the kappa monster.
"We are going to lure Princess Butterfly and her companion into a trap."
"What kind of trap?" asked Ludo.
"A convoluted and foolproof trap. If all goes well, we could have that wand in our wands within twenty-four hours."
"How are you so sure?" asked Ludo.
"Trust my word." muttered Toffee in a low tone of voice. "If we set up our trap properly, there is no way that our inter-dimensional friends would not fall for it."
"Well? Let's get to work!" excitedly gasped the kappa monster. "Buff Frog!"
Buff Frog saluted first his master, and then Toffee. "Ludo! Master! What is your command?"
"Search this forest for River Butterfly." ordered Toffee sternly. "Do not give up your search until you have caught sight of him. Once you have found him, inform me and your fellow minions where he is. I have the means to capture that fool like a common feral monster and make him suffer. Now go, for we do not have time to waste."
"Um, yes!" answered Buff Frog, who promptly left for the thick of the woods.
Toffee pointed to Three-Eyed Potato Baby. "Once we have captured River Butterfly, you are going to flock to the center of the nearest town and tell as many people as you can about what we have done to him."
"I thought we were luring Moon to us!" interjected Ludo. "Why would we ever tell—"
"It's all part of the plan." explained Toffee. "When Princess Butterfly finds out that River has been kidnapped by us, she will most certainly try and free him. She'll bring along her companion and recently acquired royal friend to support her during the rescue attempt."
"Oh. Now I get what you're saying!" exclaimed Ludo.
"Precisely." retorted Toffee as he tilted his head skyward to catch a glimpse of Butterfly Castle. "Needless to say, Princess Butterfly's magic can only help her so much. Her lack of logic and trick will seal her fate."
At that moment, yet another simple phrase entered Toffee's head. A phrase said frequently among those who were educated enough to formulate multi-step plans.
"Absque sudore et labore, nullum opus perfectum est."