Hi all, I forgot to do one of these for the first chapter. I'm not going to lie, I've had this written up for about 6 months but never posted it because the final few chapters weren't done. Well, we'll figure it out together. This is a little different take on the show, an AU where Marco and Star are both Mewnian, though Marco is a nobody from a village at the edge of the kingdom who makes his way into the Royal guard. I don't own the characters/show, and I hope you enjoy.
Star had spent the past two weeks running from her new personal guard.
She used dimensional scissors to escape to the Bounce Lounge, used Cloudy to head to her friend Ponyhead's, sometimes even walking into one of the neighboring villages around the castle walls.
She went everywhere, and somehow, he followed. He was always right there. In a booth at the Bounce Lounge with a drink in his hand. Perusing stalls in the village market. Even chatting with the guards that kept watch at Ponyhead's castle.
He was…infuriating. Ridiculous.
Sometimes she'd leave immediately after she spotted him. Other times she would ignore him to the best of her ability. At some other points she'd walk up and yell directly into his face.
To the knight's credit, he seemed unphasable. He seemed like he was made of stone. There was always half an ever-present smile though, as if he found her and the situations in general amusing. Though that only infuriated her more.
At one point, she had walked into the royal gardens just after dusk. She wasn't surprised to see the knight seated on a bench. He was in more casual dress l, consisting of a plain grey-colored tunic with dark pants and his usual red cloak.
Just as she turned to leave after having seen him, he called out for her.
Even a week or so after these events, she wasn't sure what urged her to turn back around and face him. Maybe sheer curiosity. Maybe the fact that she wanted more of a reason to dislike him. That is, if more reasons existed.
"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked bluntly. His tone was as if he'd asked her something simple, like what she'd had for dinner.
She was taken aback by the question, but tried to maintain a mask of calm annoyance. "Do I really need to explain this to you? You work for my parents. You're basically a fancy babysitter." She began to turn on her heel, and his voice stopped her once again.
"I don't see it like that."
She scowled and rolled her eyes, anger taking over once again. "Oh yeah? I need protecting, don't I? I can't take care of myself, can I?"
With each question she took a step toward the knight, practically spitting out the words. He sighed, and the look in his eyes almost looked…like guilt.
"I know full well that you can take care of yourself," he assured. "And I don't think you need protecting. But if anything ever does happen, some backup couldn't hurt."
He lowered his eyes from hers, at that moment. It was as if he wanted to show her the most respect he could. That he didn't feel as if he was above her.
"Some things are developing, I'm sure you've heard. These rumors…well, these monsters that have been attacking aren't your typical ones." He stood. "They mean business."
She wondered if he would elaborate, but he didn't. He was shrouded in mystery, and it seemed as if he liked it that way. He raised his eyes to hers once again, bowing his upper body slightly as a sign of reverence. "The kingdom needs you safe, Princess."
Star felt as if she couldn't speak for a moment, as if some magic cat had actually gotten her tongue. She wanted to respond but no words came to her mind. The only ones that were present were Marco's, playing over and over in her mind as she mulled them over.
It seemed like he respected her, but she still wasn't sure. She'd been irresponsible in her youth (and even now wasn't the picture of what a crown princess should be) so she understood why others had this image of her.
But him? It seemed like he was trying, like he truly did believe that she wasn't irresponsible or delicate. That she wasn't too much of a princess, or not enough of one. After a moment, she found herself scowling, even if it was with less intensity than before.
"If you mean that, maybe you can stop stalking me," she told him in a fiery tone before she completed her turn and stormed out of the gardens, leaving Sir Diaz standing before the stone bench watching the stars begin to rise over the Mewnian skyline.
Even though he'd actively stated that he didn't believe she needed to be protected, the princess still harbored a misdirected anger at the young knight. Mainly because the role was given to him by her own parents. Even though they insisted they trusted her, she knew better.
One day, she'd sworn she lost him. She sent Cloudy off in one direction out her bedroom window, telling him to fly as far as he could over the Forest of Certain Death.
After he'd disappeared, she set out for town. She donned a dark blue hooded cloak to hide herself. The last thing she needed was anyone in town making a fuss over the crown princess's presence.
As she strolled along, she felt lighter, more free. No boy knight tailing her, no one talking to her or noticing her or treating her like…well, a princess.
She moved along the paths, finding herself in one of the outermost sections of the village to the east of the castle gates. She was about ready to turn around and head back to the castle when a large crash sounded near the edge of the forest.
She doubled down in that direction, withdrawing her wand from her purse tucked under her cloak. She looked for the source of the noise while she brandished it.
Her eyes swept back and forth across the paths. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was greeted by several Mewmans running from the forest at top speed, being chased by…monsters.
One of the huts closest to the tree line had begun to blaze, and Star was about to put out the fire when the monsters saw her and began to bear down.
She cursed to herself. The wand was a dead giveaway to her identity, and she was a long way from the castle. And a long way from her personal knight.
"Look what we have here!" one cheered. He sported deep purple, scaly skin and about a hundred eyes anywhere that eyes could fit.
"Princess Butterfly, all on her own? Where're your babysitters at, your highness?" another one jeered. This one was covered in dark feathers and had a beak as well wings sprouting from his back. Star also took careful notice of the sharp talons protruding from his fingers.
"She's alone! Get the wand!" someone shouted from the back. Star began to step back, but it was too little too late. Chaos then ensued. She was quickly overwhelmed by monsters that poured from the dense forest.
Just when she was sure more couldn't come, more came. There had to be about twenty in all. And every single one of them was going after her and her wand.
She leapt out of the way of the brunt of their forces and began casting spells, pushing them back.
"Dagger Crystal Heart Attack!" Sharp, crystallized hearts were summoned, knocking down several of the monsters.
She felt a clawed hand on her arm and whipped around to that direction. "Narwhal Blast!" A stream of narwhals was sent in their direction, knocking them back out of the skirmish for the time being.
"Rainbow Fist Punch!" She knocked back more, but they kept coming.
One or two were unconscious in the dirt. Too many more took their places, trampling over their cohorts on the ground with little to no reaction.
As they got closer, Star knew her priority was protecting the wand. Allowing that much power to be in the hands of someone with that much bad intent would mean the end of Mewni.
The crow monster she'd seen earlier was now in front of her, and with a loud squawk he knocked her to the ground. As she fell, she twisted onto her side and wedged her wand underneath her. She did so in the hopes that they couldn't access it. At least, not at the moment.
The monsters behind the crow began to whoop and cheer, and around the same moment, Star began to panic. She felt talons digging into her, and yet, she couldn't feel pain from it. Only panic, only worry.
She closed her eyes. It was over. They'd get the wand, they'd kill her, they'd destroy the kingdom. No evil force should have as much power as she wielded.
She felt claws at her neck. Another clawed hand dug deep into her forearm. He pinned her to the ground while her other arm was still braced underneath her, protecting the wand.
She felt saliva drip onto her shirt, heard growling and the clicking of his beak. She felt too afraid to even react. It felt as if time slowed at that moment. Her eyes were still clamped shut. Her grip tightened around the handle of her wand.
She should have listened to her parents, she should have done so many things different, she should've, she should've, she should've…
As she finally began to prepare for the worst, the weight holding down her body disappeared. It took her a moment to open her eyes, but when she did, the only thing she noticed was the flash of a red cloak.
Marco was standing over her, a sword in one hand and a spear in the other. He whirled and stabbed as if he'd been doing it since he was born. He dodged each attack as if he knew what was going to happen before the enemy even knew what they were going to do.
He cut down monsters left and right, those too injured to continue the fight fleeing into the forest, and others collapsed onto the ground, quite possibly dead.
His fighting style was so…unorthodox. Star had trained with the Royal Guard since she could walk, and he fought nothing like them.
His style was elegant. That was the only word she could think of that adequately described it. His sword moved as an extension of his arm. His other arm expertly wielded the spear in harmony with his blade.
As she watched…she could've sworn his blade was on fire. That was impossible, though. Right?
Whenever a monster did get close enough to land a lucky strike, Marco was unphased, continuing to press forward and hack through their lines.
Star saw blood seeping from under his tunic, though it brought her attention to her own injuries. Mainly the stinging sensation she felt whenever she moved her arm.
She had managed to get herself to her feet and took off towards her knight. She blasted any monsters that got too close to Marco, wielding her wand with her good arm.
A hairy beast of a monster with a set of curled ram's horns managed to snatch away the boy's spear. He broke it in half over his knee with a guffawing laugh, though Marco was unphased. He continued to press forward with his sword.
When he sliced off one of the monster's horns, Star had to force down a laugh. The monster looked downright livid as he charged the knight, though Star blasted him down with another arsenal of narwhals.
Any monster that got close to Star was cut down as if it were made of corn stalks, and any monster that got too close to Marco was shot down with one of Star's spells.
Before long, the remnants of the force were driven back into the forest. The pair chased after them momentarily before they slowed, both of them out of breath. Marco made sure they were all gone before he sheathed his sword in the scabbard at his waist and dashed to the princess's side.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyebrows lowered as he took her arm gently into his hands. He looked at the tears in her sleeve and tugged one of them aside. The movement hurt, but she'd never admit it to him.
She withdrew her arm from the boy and nodded, jabbing a finger at the bloodied tears in his own clothing. He lowered his gaze and his expression informed Star that he hadn't even noticed.
While another frown crossed his lips, his eyes raised to her again expectedly. He had spatters of blood across his cheeks, though Star didn't know whose it was. His brown eyes stayed on her, intense and dark and searching, until she finally mustered up an answer. "Yeah, I…I'm fine. Thanks to you."
She mumbled the last part, not wanting him to hear it. When she saw the small smile on his lips in response to her grumbled statement, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"I need to check on-" she began, about to turn to the villagers finally poking their heads out of their homes when Marco stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"No, it's okay. I can check on everyone. You need to go back to the castle and get that wound looked at," he said firmly. "I'll call in some of the other knights. We'll figure out whatever we can about this attack."
Star scowled and grabbed the edge of his cloak, revealing the gash by his ribs visible under his torn tunic. "No, you need to go back to the castle," she argued. "They got you good. You'll bleed out before you can even check on anyone."
As a quarter of a smile crossed his lips, the princess's face burned with annoyance. "As the Princess of Mewni, my orders are that you accompany me back to the castle, Sir Diaz."
She said his name like a curse, a plague. Like something that shouldn't be said aloud.
Marco hesitated a moment as he scuffed his boot against the ground. It took him a moment before he nodded. "Yes, your highness," he said through a sigh, his teeth gritted as his body shifted. His wound had finally been irritated enough that he'd been forced to take notice.
As the two walked away from the site of the battle, Marco's arm wrapped around his midsection protectively. The knight found himself looking back. The blood and bodies of the unlucky monsters lied still in the streets. A fire that had burnt down a hut still smoldered, sending dark wisps of smoke curling into the darkening sky.
Somehow, he knew this wouldn't be the worst thing that would happen in the coming weeks. Far from it, in fact.
Moon walked down a hallway at a quick pace, her heels clacking along the floor as she hurried along. Right, left, up the stairs, another right.
We need to move the meeting room somewhere else. This is ridiculous.
Her thoughts didn't wander much as she walked. She focused on one topic and one topic only: the attacks of the monster army.
She came to the double doors and opened them, interrupting the chatter of the inhabitants beyond the door.
The four members of the Magical High Commission sat at the far end of the table, every single one of them casting the queen a look edged with worry.
Rhombulus sat at the far left, a magical being large in stature and larger in muscles, a single dark eye glinting from his crystallized head. His dark cloak spread behind him, being his, well, almost his only piece of clothing, with the snakes that formed his hands resting on the table.
The snakes were having a hushed conversation with one another, their tongues flickering in and out of their mouths as they spoke.
Beside him sat Lekmet, the high chancellor of the Magical Commission. An older goat creature with two sets of horns protruding from his head and a mournful, understanding set of yellow eyes and a large set of wings on his back.
He was bleating and crying out incessantly at the man beside him. Though no one besides Rhombulus could understand what his bleats meant, there was always wisdom in his words and even more so in his actions.
On the other side of the chancellor was Hekapoo, a fire demon and the forger of all dimensional scissors. With her orange hair and ever-present flame on her head, she looked the part of being a fire demon.
She almost seemed disinterested, fiddling with her own pair of scissors, pulling them apart into her dimensional daggers before reattaching them into scissors again.
The final member of the High Commission at the end of the table was Omnitraxus Prime, who appeared on his usual magic orb.
Once the Commission had figured out how much easier the orb was, considering how large Omnitraxus was in person, they began to use it constantly instead of having the master of space-time present at their meetings and events.
The higher ranking knights of the Mewnian Guard lined the sides of the table, while River sat at the end, near the head of the table where Moon took her seat.
Almost as soon as she sat, yelling erupted from al aforementioned parties.
"That's the second attack this week! They're getting more aggressive!"
"We need to go to war, now. We need to head off this problem before it becomes too bad."
"War? What's wrong with you? That'll only make things worse!"
Moon touched her fingers to her temples, a headache forming behind her eyes as she tried to process everyone's yelling at one time.
"What do you want to do? Hug them until they decide to stop slaughtering our people and burning down our villages?"
"I'm not a hippie, Rhombulus! You're just being an idiot!"
"I'll show you an idiot!"
"Shut up! All of you!"
The room quieted as the queen raised her voice, every pair of eyes in the room now on her. She exchanged a glance with River, who gave her a comforting smile, before she continued.
"There's no easy solution to any of this," she assured everyone. "We need to be careful and delicate with this matter. What we don't need is to rush headlong into a war we can't win."
"War!" cried Rhombulus, to which Hekapoo responded "Shut up! War isn't always the option!"
Rhombulus continued to cry out "War! War!" until a hushed bleat from Lekmet caused the crystallized man to go quiet.
There was silence once again, an awkward, tense silence.
Moon had no answers, no clear plan, no perfect plan. This felt like her teenage years all over again, her making the hard decisions against what everyone else wanted.
She just wanted peace, but it seemed unattainable at the moment.
"We need to fortify our defenses around the edges of the kingdom. We need to keep our people safe. One of the knights shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Your majesty, shouldn't we fortify the castle instead? If any monsters get up here-"
"If any monsters get up this far, I'll handle them myself," Moon stated, a glare being sent in the knight's direction. The man just nodded profusely and dropped his gaze to his hands.
"We need to protect the people. They deserve that much," she stated with finality.
"And until their motives become more clear, we…we wait.
"That's all we can do."