Hey all, I'm just gonna sporadically post the first however many chapters I've written up. HEADS UP: mild gore/mentions of death in this chapter. Nothing insane (I don't think). Enjoy, leave a lil review if you're feeling kind. Don't own the characters.
It had been a couple weeks since the events in the eastern village, and Star couldn't help but stare at her new scars whenever she thought about it.
Well, they were almost scars. The wounds had begun to close fully, but they were still angry and varying between shades of pink and red and scabby. To her they were a dire reminder of what was going on in her kingdom. What was happening to her people.
Whenever she thought about it, she also couldn't help but think about Marco, her own personal knight and savior that day. She hated to admit it, but his skill was unrivaled.
The way he moved and battled those monsters was unlike anything she'd ever seen. His weapons were a part of his body. There existed no emotion beyond determination that crossed his features. Then she was curious how he'd learned those kinds of skills.
The Neverzone came to mind, and she began to wonder how long he spent there. More importantly, why he spent time there. It wasn't a place people went to for fun.
Maybe he had to. Maybe he was a criminal in another dimension and had to run somewhere they'd never find him.
Or maybe he'd just run away from home. Stolen a pair of dimensional scissors and never looked back. Maybe he got stuck there or something. Maybe she'd never know why.
The boy in question had kept a respectful distance and approach to her recently. She could tell he was trying his best to treat her like the princess she was.
In all honesty, she wasn't sure she liked it. She preferred the hints of smiles and haphazard shrugs over his attitude now.
She never felt like a princess, never acted the way a princess should, never looked how a princess should look. This led into her not wanting to be treated like one. Sometimes, she despised the role with her entire being.
She'd joked about running off and starting a warnicorn farm in the country. Living a simple, peaceful life. Though in her heart she knew she couldn't abandon her people like that.
She had so many ideas for the kingdom, making sure that everyone around was welcome, even monsters. Well, the ones that didn't want her and her family's heads on pikes.
Another development since the attack was that Star's mother had issues with her venturing wherever she pleased. This meant that she had gotten her dimensional scissors confiscated, and that Marco kept a watch almost 24/7 over the princess.
Star detested it. It make her feel like a caged animal most of the time. Though she'd found some joy in running away from Marco.
She turned it into sort of a game, figuring out ways to disappear without him knowing about it beforehand. She'd begun to time him and see how long it would take for him to both notice that she was absent and figure out where she'd gone.
He was decent at it, but she was definitely gaining the edge over him. Several of her excursions took her outside the barracks near the gates of the castle grounds, where she sat in the shade of a big tree and listened to the knights gossip.
She heard about some small fires, bar brawls, even a story of rogue warnicorns trampling a roasted corn stall in the market. Though what always captured her attention was news on the monster attacks.
One day in particular, dreary clouds turned the skies of Mewni grey. It was chilly and wet and generally gross outside. Not many people were out due to the sporadic rain showers. Star didn't mind the rain, though.
She had donned her dark blue cloak and made sure her hood was up before she made her way to the barracks, hoping to hear some more news on the monster front.
As she neared the doors, she heard panicked, shrill voices. "I can't believe it, they defeated ten knights like they were training dummies," a woman's voice called out in disbelief.
"I told you, this new crop of monsters is for real. They aren't messing around. The outskirts of the western village…did you see it at all?" This was a man's voice, gruff and low.
"No, I wasn't part of the salvage team that went down there, but I did hear some details. About twenty huts all burnt down to nothing but ashes. I heard there was nothing much to salvage from those places anyway," spoke the woman again.
Another man grunted his agreement. "Not a damn thing. Only a few bodies to clean up, but lots of ashes and blood. We tried to cordon off the area, but it's hard to, especially since the houses closer to the interior weren't touched and people still gotta get in there." A loud sigh was heard. "No one even listens to that stuff anyway."
Star felt her blood chill, her heart skip so many beats she worried that it had stopped entirely. They'd defeated their forces that easily? That couldn't be true. And only some bodies after twenty huts were reduced to tinder? That didn't make sense either.
"We don't even know what happened to the knights?"
"Not a clue, none of the bodies we found were wearing armor or anything. They either burnt them to a crisp or dragged them off into the forest. Hell, we didn't even know what to do with the burnt bodies quite yet. Most of them were still burning when we got there."
A shuffling sounded from inside the building, and someone let out a loud grunt of discontent. "Though…no one knows what happened to the rest of them. Only one guy survived the whole attack, ran to the castle afterwards as fast as his legs would carry him."
Star was ready to bolt from her post beyond the barrack window, but had to wait for one thing. It didn't take much longer before she saw a flash of red cloak, her personal knight panting as he jogged down the path that led to the barracks.
She found a grin brushing across her as she shrugged her shoulders. Personal record. Her smile faded moments after. No time for games or jokes. Not now.
She began to jog over to meet Marco, checking their surroundings for anyone that could have possibly seen them before she grabbed his arm and dragged him behind a nearby supply shed.
He panted, his hands resting on his knees. "For corns' sake, Princess, the way you have me running around is harder than my time in the Neverzone," he grumbled under his breath. She wanted to smile, but knew she couldn't celebrate her victory now.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I need you to take me somewhere," she insisted, her tone hushed. He raised his head and his eyes flickered across her face. She recognized it as him trying to read her expressions, and she sighed, her grip on his arm tightening.
"Marco, I overheard what had happened to the western village. I need to see it for myself. See what…what the monsters did to my people."
He began to argue, but his words stalled in his throat. His skin seemed half a shade paler, his eyebrows a hair higher. It was rare for him to react this way to anything. The only way she realized it was because of how often she'd been around him recently. "The…western village?" he muttered, as if to confirm.
She nodded, and he hesitated to himself, very visibly. He seemed to have an internal debate with himself, one that lasted the better part of a minute. It ended with a slight scowl and a shake of his head. "We can't," he insisted in a mumble. "If anyone finds out, I'll get stripped of my post."
She cocked her head and frowned. "Marco, either you come with me or I go alone. I'm going to see what's happened down there." The look on his face resembled annoyance, but he finally dipped his head into a nod.
"Fine. But we make it quick, and we keep our hoods up," he muttered, almost to himself more so than the princess while he throw the hood of his cloak over his head. "And if there's any trouble, you turn and run back to the castle, you hear me? They'll hang me if something happens to you."
She found a small smile gracing her lips as she pulled her own hood tight around her head. "As you wish, Sir Diaz," she teased as her fingers finally releasing the knight's sleeve before they exited the castle grounds and began to make their way to the west side of the kingdom.
She kept sneaking glances at her personal babysitter as they walked along the paths. He seemed off, acting like he never had before as long as Star had known him.
His brow was furrowed, his lips pressed into a tight line in a way that betrayed how distressed he felt. His brown hair had shifted over his forehead in a way that was very Anti-Sir-Diaz.
She almost wanted to make a jab at him, about how personal appearance was important, even vital, to the Mewnian guard. Though the haunted look in his eyes turned her off of it.
No, right now wasn't a time for teasing or jokes. When she came to from her string of unconscious thoughts, his brown eyes were locked onto hers, his features displaying confusion now over his distress.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" Even his attempt at a joke showed his true feelings, his taut jaw and forced smile. She found herself smiling, though it was soft.
"Nothing besides that mole under your eye," she informed him, to which he responded by reaching a hand up and brushing his fingers across the aforementioned blemish on his skin.
They walked several more paces before she cleared her throat, about to ask her knight a question she hoped wouldn't be too invasive.
"So…the western village, does…does it have some significance to you?" she began, her words slow and methodical, almost calculated. She stepped over a crack in the cobblestones.
She couldn't miss the hint of a stiffening of the boy's body, his posture suddenly perfect and his eyes engaged with anything that wasn't her own. People moved around them as if they weren't there, as if today was a normal day like every other.
Most vendors had shut their doors today. Few people were out and about. Some fishermen, some children playing in the puddles, some shopkeepers watching the rain drizzle from their windows.
It took him a period of time to answer, and as she waited, she wondered if he would answer her at all.
The gate leading to the western portion of the village was in sight, though it was so far off all she could see was scattered plumes of dust and smoke curling into the sky.
"I just knew someone from there," came his answer, his voice now hushed as he quickened his pace. It turned into a light jog as he made his way closer. "A long time ago."
So vague. He always is.
She jogged after him, and herby heart began to sink into her stomach as the sights began to hit her. The houses closest to them were fine, even though there were no people in their immediate sight. But past that…utter destruction.
Decimated houses and huts, burnt grass, charred wood and bits and pieces strewn everywhere. Even the houses that weren't completely destroyed were uninhabitable, wood and foundation cracked and leaning every which way.
The slight drizzles that had been occurring all day had put out any fires that had lingered. Still, wisps of dark smoke curled into the sky. The warmth of the ashes and embers steamed in the cool air.
As they crossed through the gate and hurried along to the outskirts of the village, the smell began to hit her as well. An iron tinged scent hit her first, and when she realized it was blood, she almost stopped moving.
Then she saw it.
Blood. Smeared onto the ground. Rubbed across the remnants of charred wood. All of it was dried and crusted and a shade of brown that made it look like it had never flowed through a Mewman's veins.
And then the scent of rot and death.
Just like she'd overheard the knights saying, few to no bodies were around the remnants of the village. A few were stacked into a pile by the path, probably awaiting a wagon to take them to a cemetery nearby.
The eerie part was that less than fifty feet away, back towards the interior of the kingdom, everything was full of life and houses. It seemed so normal. It's almost like the monsters drew a line, only attacking the houses beyond that point.
As she walked she had lost all sense of her immediate surroundings, so when her foot hit something in the path, she was sent tumbling.
She hit the dirt and immediately sat up, confused as to what would be laying in the road, but when her eyes hit it, she choked back a scream.
It was a person, charred beyond recognition, down to nothing but scorched bones. She saw scraps of skin, scorched blood, some dried out hair.
They were reaching out, clawing forward as if trying to get help. Star lurched back and twisted her body, now on her hands and knees, straining to get away.
She could barely make it to a burnt bush at the side of the path before she vomited, emptying everything she'd consumed that day into the dirt.
Marco was above her as soon as she screamed, and there he stayed as he too gawked at the burnt body.
As Star retched, nothing more than bile coming up now, she felt a hand resting on her back. She raised her head to see Marco on a knee beside her, his expression gaunt and his cheeks pale.
They both knew the severity of this, the cruelty involved to burn a Mewman alive, and it was sickening.
Once Star had gotten everything up that she could, she sat back on her heels. She had turned away from the body now, though now her eyes wandered the rest of the village.
Blackened houses, some still smoldering with small fires and embers. The second she saw more blackened bodies in the street, she closed her eyes.
She couldn't take any more of it, any more seeing what had happened to her people. What had happened that she didn't stop.
Marco was still beside her, his hand absent now, but his presence still felt as he stood, bringing her up with him by a different hand on her elbow. "We need to leave, your majesty," he mumbled, beginning to guide her back to the gate. "It was a mistake to come here."
She heard the tightness in his voice, something that sounded like pain even tinging the edges of his words. Her eyes opened once more, and tears began to well up in them.
She had no idea this was occurring, that the monsters were this angry and violent and desperate to eradicate the Mewmans. It shouldn't have come to the annihilation of a whole village for her to take notice, for the castle and her parents to take notice.
It wasn't until the gates of the castle were in sight that Star's lungs began to collapse, leaving her gasping for air. Marco, still vigilant and present at her side, noticed this and tightened his grip on her elbow.
His head whipped side to side as if he was searching for something. It wasn't a moment later that he pulled her into an alleyway behind a small market.
He put his back to the opening to shield her from prying eyes, and released his grip on her elbow. He instead rested both hands on her upper arms. He looked into her eyes and offered the hint of a smile.
She knew how forced it was from the tightness of his jaw and the faraway look in his eyes, but she didn't care.
"Your majesty, it's going to be okay," he said, his voice soft yet rough. The words seemed to take a large amount of the knight's effort.
Her struggle to breathe lessened as she looked into his eyes, a warm and chocolatey brown. Still, the tears began to spill over her lashes. She wanted to slap herself. This weakness isn't needed right now. You need to be strong.
"I promise. I won't let this happen again." He sounded bitter, as if he'd taken this destruction personally. She cursed under her breath, shaking her head as they stood together.
She couldn't show this weakness. This needed to make her stronger, build a harder resolve for her to help her people. Then why do I feel like I want to run and hide?
"Are you okay?" She looked up at him, and he flushed, staring at his boots. "Ah…stupid question." He trailed off after that.
She would've normally made a jab at him, but she couldn't now. Neither of them were okay. She wanted to help those people, her people, but she also wanted to dash off and never look back.
The guilt, more than anything, is what hurt her. It's not that she couldn't have helped, it's that she didn't. This is your fault, Butterfly. If you had just taken more time to check on the citizens' well-being…
Marco…he felt the same way. He felt her guilt, understood her pain. They had both determined they were at fault for this.
She finally broke into a sob, though what surprised her is how she surged forward, burying herself into Marco's chest. Her fingers gripped his cloak so tight she worried she'd rip it. He was shocked, she knew it.
His heart had begun to pound like a war drum, and his grip had loosened on her arms, though he didn't pull away. He almost seemed confused about the contact between them, unsure of what to do with his own arms or hands.
Despite all of this, he allowed her to cry into his tunic. Eventually, a hand even came to rest on her back. He rubbed small circles with his thumb in an attempt to soothe her.
He began to mumble words of assurance, of encouragement, of calmness to her, most of which fell on deaf ears. Not that she didn't hear his voice, but she didn't hear his words.
His voice, the soothing tones of his words, was enough to bring her a semblance of peace. When she'd run out of tears to cry, she pulled back from him, her brow lowered and her cheeks splotchy from her moment against his chest.
He watched her movements like a hawk, and when she raised her eyes to his for what felt like the first time in an hour, his gaze was tinged with worry.
Worry…for her?
She looked up at him for a moment longer before she reeled back and punched him in the chest. "Ow! What was that for?" he hissed as he took a step back.
Star glared at him, folding her arms over her chest now. "I swear, if you tell anyone about what happened here, I'll make sure you end up a squire again."
She didn't wait for a response from the knight, instead straightening her posture and striding past him. She flicked her hood back over her hair again as she resumed her walk towards the castle gates.