"What do we do?"

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?"

"There's got to be another way."

"…"

"Right?"

"We both very well know this isn't a threat to be taken lightly. What happens if we don't ask?"

"…"

"I don't like it either, but it's the best option."

"I suppose you're right. Make the call."

"The other matter?"

"Yes, that too. We need to know as soon as possible."

The wall mirror rang. Star lazily looked up from her bed, hoping it was someone that could be ignored. Mom was written across the screen in large, bold letters. Marco glanced at the mirror and seeing the caller, closed the book at the desk he sat at and headed for the door to give Star privacy.

Star rolled off her bed, tumbling off and onto the ground. Could have sworn I had more space, she thought to herself, picking herself up and leisurely walking to the continuingly buzzing mirror, now getting annoyed at the incessant beeping.

Reaching the mirror and pressing answer, she began the normal routine. "Hi mommy!"

"Hello sweetie," Moon said, looking jaded. Bags had formed under her eyes and. Her usually queenly hairdo was messy and down, leaving an unofficial impression; the opposite of her normal appearance.

"Did I do something wrong," Star asked nervously.

"Oh, no. I just need to talk to you and Marco. Can you go get him?"

"Yea, totally," Star paused for a moment." "Hey, Marco! Get in here!"

"I guess that works too."

After a few second, Marco reopened the door and took his place next to Star. "Yea, what's−oh, hey Queen."

"Marco"

"Hey. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing like that." Moon scanned the room, avoiding Star and Marco's eyes.

"Mom, are you sure?"

Regaining composure, Moon took a smile met their eyes again. "No, but I'd like to talk to Marco and you tonight at six o'clock, in person. Can you do that?"

Marco grabbed his phone and looked through his calendar, seeing no events.

"Yea, we're free. We might miss dinner, but we can get something on the way home."

"Yes, I apologize for the bad time. It's the only period it would work out today."

"We will be there!" Star said. "See you there. Bye!" Star closed the curtains to the mirror, cutting off the call.

"I wonder what she needs?"

"Not sure. My mom usually is fine with talking on the mirror."

"Guess we'll find out. Star, how about this. Since we're going to miss dinner, I'll make us so nachos before we leave?"

"Perfect."

"Ok, I'm gonna go get a shower. Don't do anything that would hold us up. Your mom sounded serious, even if you aren't in trouble."

"Marco, Marco, Marco. When have I ever−" Star started to trail off, realizing what she was actually saying.

"Exactly. I'll be out in twenty minutes. Go get ready."

Marco stepped out of the shower and into the steam filled room. He started getting ready, hoping that they had enough chips for nachos. He figured that a quick trip to the super market wouldn't hurt too bad if he was fast.

Looking at his phone, Marco realized he had taken an extra five minutes. Annoyed, he started to brush his teeth and blow dry his hair to try to make up time.

The five minutes probably didn't matter in the long run, but keeping to a precise schedule was a routine he tried to live by whenever possible.

Looking down again, he saw there were two missed calls, both from Jackie. He quickly redialed Jackie. Waiting a few seconds, she picked up the other end.

"Marco, hey."

"Hi. Sorry, I missed you, I was in the shower."

"It's all good. Hey, you want to go to the skatepark tonight? A few upperclassmen are bringing speakers and live music. It's going to be wild!"

"That sounds fun." Marco paused, remembering his meeting with the Queen. "But I can't go. I'm going to Mewni tonight with Star. Something we need to hear."

"Oh."

"Yea, sorry. Some other time?"

"Marco, don't you spend a lot of time with Star?"

"I mean−"

"I'm your girlfriend, but it's like you want to spend more time with her than me."

"I…I'm sorry," he said. He was largely at a loss for words.

Marco waited for a response. Her quiet voice broke the silence. "Marco, are you alright? It's like you've been avoiding me recently. You've been all… like… stressed out over something."

"Maybe." Marco drooped over his own words. "listen, I've got to get ready, sorry. Next time, promise."

"Yea, sounds good. Bye." Jackie sounded a little better, at least.

This stress isn't what Marco needed clouding his mind.

Marco finished in the bathroom to the hall. He walked down the steps and into the kitchen. He grabbed an apron off the hook and a closet and started to work.

He started to rummage through the fridge and cabinets for ingredients. He came across the only bag of chips in the house, painfully empty.

"Shit," he said under his breath, soft enough so his father couldn't hear in the next room. He was a little surprised. Marco almost never swore. Maybe he was a bit stressed like Jackie said.

He shrugged, brushing it off and heading out the door to grab his bike.

Star, still making no progress at getting ready, flipped through the pages of the book Marco left behind in her room. It was a story about the 'Old West' the book called it. Had they learned about it in history class? Maybe. The details escaped her.

Star took the procrastinated time to reflect on what had happened earlier. Her mom did seem insistent that they talk in person. Star took a moment to run through recent memories, trying to remember if she had done something and just forgot. Surly her mother would have seemed even slightly angry if it was the case. Come to think of it, Moon didn't even look bothered, just tired.

Nothing came to mind. Maybe she wanted to tell them about some new training. Star pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and went to brush her teeth.

Star and Marco had finished eating. A barren plate was on the table in front of them. Marco grabbed it and headed to the sink, rinsing it off and placing it in the dishwasher.

"it's five till. You ready to head out now?" Marco asked. He turned to look at Star, not hearing a response. She was looking down at her feet, not paying attention. Marco spoke again in a softer tone. "Nervous?"

"Huh?" Star looked up sharply. "I guess."

"Why's that? She said you're not in trouble."

"You're always kind of tense when your mom is the queen and wants to talk." Star offered a small smile.

Marco chuckled. "Guess you're right. So, ready?"

"Yep."

Star took the chrome scissors out of her purse and cut a hole to Mewni.

They arrived in the throne room, but it was empty. No sign of guards standing at their posts and the two large seats were abandoned.

"Princess," a voice behind them called. They turned to see a single castle guard. "I am to escort you and a 'Marco Diaz.' Is this him?"

Both Star and Marco nodded.

"Good, please follow me."

The castle guard took them through a side door of the throne room. Immediately inside was a flight of stairs to be climbed. When they reached the top and opened another door, ahead was a long hallway. Leading across the hall and coming closer, Marco could make out animals engraved into the wood. He opened it for Star and Marco, who went inside.

Inside was a large table surrounded with people. Marco counted more than twenty seated at it.

Star recognized a few faces in the room. Her mother and father, of course. There was the chief of royal guards in Butterfly territory, the barracks quartermaster, and a few generals she had seen in portraits before. Everyone else in the room was a foreign face. There were men and woman in long, blue cloaks that dotted several seats of the long table. All of them had a hood placed over their head, making it impossible to see their eyes.

Moon looked similar to before, only more exhausted. The generals were different from the pictures she had seen line the castle walls. Instead of the well-dressed men, they looked rugged and had unkempt facial hair. To be fair, the quartermaster and chief of guards had worked a full day's shift a few hours ago, but the other men weren't out training or even running errands.

"Sooo, what's this about?"

"Star, Marco, please sit down at the seats in front of you, were about to begin" Moon pointed at two seats, side by side, near the end of the table. They sat down close to the King and Queen.

The Queen stood up and cleared her throat, getting the attention of the room. "You'll have to excuse my shabby appearance, I've been working straight since last afternoon."

"We understand, my Queen. We are sorry for you inconvenience."

"Thank you." Moon snuck a look at River, only to catch his eye in return. River took hold of his wife's hand delicately. "As some of you already know, we received an unmarked scroll yesterday at midday. This scroll was only identifiable by the seal. The seal was of Clan Drengild.

Audible gasps were heard around the room. Scanning the table, nearly everyone was in some state of shock. Even River winced at the name.

"Mom!" Star's hand shot up at first chance.

"I'll answer any questions you have at the end, just listen."

"Ok, fine," Star said as she set her arm back down.

"The message of this scroll was written in a language I wasn't familiar with. It was immediately taken for translation and was finished at around three-thirty this morning."

My Queen, we've finished translating the message."

Moon was snapped out of her delirious state and on her feet. "Good. And the translation, it's been checked?"

"Four times, each by different people."

The group of scholars looked onward for her reaction, The Queen rose her voice slightly. "Thank you all for your arduous work. I will make sure you all receive triple pay for your work tonight. You may go home."

Star, this part you need to know."

Star shifted her full attention to her mother, waiting eagerly.

"Technically, you could have assumed some royal duties when you received your wand. Like many other queens before me, I chose to not tell you that or give you any. It's long been understood that royal duties at such an age are unnecessary, barring extreme circumstances. The reason I'm telling you this is because the message concerns you." Moon slowed herself and picked up the rolled scroll up. "let me read what it says about you." Moon started to read.

We request that the princess, your daughter, meet with us for discussion on several topics such as, but not limited to, relations between us. You may choose to Embark to Aldmist or face invasion. She is to arrive with any number of people or supplies necessary. The only requirements are that neither the King or Queen is to attend this meeting and she arrives no later than seven days after receiving this message. In addition, we are also in possession of a wand. We hope to see the crown princess soon.

Signed

Kaglov, Emperor of Aldmist

"They are a very powerful force."

The room stood still and silent. Marco just looked at Star for the longest time, as everyone else in the room seemed to be doing. There was no change of expression on her face. It was some weird mix of surprise, confusion, and content. Her golden hair draped over her left eye.

Moon finally broke the silence.

"Despite what this message says, I will not break what I said earlier. I will not force royal duties upon you, especially one of this magnitude. What you do here is your choice, and we will assist in whichever you choose."

Instead of the normal outbursts Star had, she stayed quiet, thinking. Minutes passed and she had still not said anything. In the entire time she stayed with Marco, this was the longest she had ever stayed still, let alone talk or make a notice. On a scale from one to normal Star reaction, this was placed at zero. She got up and started pacing around the room. Not focused on anything in particular but taking in all the objects littered around the room.

Eventually after circling the room several times, Star excused herself, saying she would be back in a moment. Marco got up and followed her, staying a long way behind to not alert her. Star turned a final corner and into a room. The door in was slightly larger than the others in the hallway. Marco rapped the door knocker twice.

"Come in."

Marco walked in to find Star sitting on a bed and reading through a small spiral notebook with gilded handwriting on the front.

"Is something wrong?"

"…"

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"…I'm going to say yes."

"What?"

"Even if I didn't want to, I don't really have much of a choice here. My parents may think I do, but they aren't the ones enforcing it. If they were, I would have a choice. I don't though."

"You're saying you want to do this?"

"Kind of. If I don't, there's invasion we have to worry about. That's the forcing part. But I want to do this because I want to help somehow. I kind of almost destroyed the kingdom once."

Marco sat next to Star on her bed. Looking over her shoulder, he saw tiny notes scribbled everywhere, harmonized by little drawings.

"I'll be queen of it someday. I'd rather not be 'queen of ashes' if I can help it." Star chuckled, trying to calm the mood.

Suddenly Marco's arms wrapped around her body, encasing her in a personal cocoon.

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"If you want to do this, ok. I'm not going to stop you."

"Don't start crying on me Diaz." Marco gave some not so convincing sad eyes. "Let's go back down."

Star and Marco went back through the wondering hallways. He was glad Star was the one leading. He had forgotten which way they came.

The pair approached the room and opened the door. The scene wasn't changed. Star and Marco took their seats next to the king and queen.

"I'll do It."

"Are you absolutely sure? There is more time for you to think if you need."

Star explored her parent's worried faces. "Mom, Dad, it doesn't matter how long I take to think about it, I'll just say the same thing then. I am absolutely sure about this."

"Well, if you're sure, then you have full right to answers any question you want. We'll give you complete answers."

"Ok, first… what even is Aldmist?"

"Aldmist is an island far off the northwestern coast of Mewni. It's about a two-day trip with our fastest boats. Clan Drengild, the one mentioned before, is the leading force there and has been for about nine-hundred years."

"What about boats. Why boats? Couldn't we use dimensional scissors for long distance travel in the same dimension."

"Well, the area of Aldmist and the surrounding waters is under a curse. Dimensional portals cannot be cut to or from there. We can make a portal to the edge of the cursed waters, but the rest will need to be sailed."

"Then what placed the curse there?"

"The curse was cast by one of the earliest Queens of the Butterfly family."

"Ok, why was it placed?"

"It was because−"

"Queen Moon," the voice of one of the hooded figures interrupted. The hood was taken off to reveal a burn on the left side of his face. He was maybe thirty years old. "I believe I should take over here."

Moon, ignoring the inappropriate interjection, acknowledged him. "Yes, go ahead."

"Thank you."

The man turned to face Star. "The reason the curse was put on Aldmist was because it is an island of insanely powerful monsters. They're faster and stronger than any monsters here. Most of them have abilities that have never been seen on Mewni. With them having free travel, it gave the possibility of annihilation not only for Mewni, but also the universe as a whole. You're familiar with The Lizards, yes? They originated from Aldmist and came to Mewni some time later. Septarsis was a small province in the Northeast on Aldmist."

"We know that the lizards can be killed though, what makes the monsters there so powerful," Marco said, sensing a bit of hope.

"The problem is I didn't give you the whole story yet. The lizards left Aldmist was because they were being persecuted. The chief of the Lizard insulted The Emperor, so the entire race was to be punished."

Star asked again, "What did they do to make The Lizards leave?"

"Have you eaten recently?"

"Yea, before we left."

"Then, with respect, you probably don't want to know. I'll leave it at they were able to kill the Lizards without magic.

"Ok then… What about the wand he mentioned. Is it like the Butterfly wand?"

"We are led to believe it is. There are currently three wands in existence: The Butterfly wand, the wand they are in possession of, and a third that is a complete mystery to us. They came into contact with the wand, we predict, no longer than one-hundred years ago. Their use is extremely primitive compared to the Butterfly wand.

"Just one more thing. Who even are you guys? I don't recognize any of the robe getups. Did you just not have time to change after a shower?"

The cloaked man leaned forward, not expecting the presented inquiry. "We are representatives of the Guild of the Arcane. I am Atticus Lamwood, current director."

"Guild of the what?"

Moon picked up seeing the direction of the conversation. "I'll explain that later, it's a much longer story then we have time."

"Then that's everything I needed."

River stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is concluded. We will talk more on the matters present at a future date."

Everyone In the room started to pack up and leave, some talking on the way out and others remaining silent. All of the shrouded guild members grouped tightly and left quickly. The quartermaster jotted a few notes down. The room was now empty except for the king, queen, Star, and Marco. Star went over to her parents while Marco stayed put. River's head looked up and saw Marco still remained seated.

"Marco, can you please leave the room for a moment so we can talk to Star?"

Marco got up from his seat and walked to the door, taking a painfully long time because of the sheer size of the meeting room.

He pushed on the handle of the door. It was surprisingly light for how tall it seemed. He found a nice spot on the floor and slouched against the wall. He could hear mutters from the meeting room, but no words were distinguishable. He lost track of time in his own thoughts. What's going to happen was just one question he asked himself several times.

Following the unpleasant questions, Marco looked up for the first time. The walls in this part of the castle were pained crisp purple. Painting of dogs, unicorns, and other animals were strewn around, radiating off a calm atmosphere.

The door creaked and Marco looked over. River, who had come through, was already standing above Marco and offering a hand for support. Marco took it and was pulled to his feet.

"Marco, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Yea, sure."

"Please follow me."

The short walk down the large passage Marco originally branched to a cross-section and finally into a much smaller room. It wasn't small by any means, but at least it didn't echo.

River walked over to a small table in the center and sat down, patting the seat next to him. Marco gladly obliged and took the seat next to River.

The King took off his askew crown and placed it on the table.

"Marco, I'll be to the point here. Star is going to need great protection when she travels to Aldmist."

"That's what the royal guards are for though, right?"

"Technically yes, but that is hardly enough." River looked up at Marco and into his eyes. "Let me tell you about something. This happens sometimes. A queen or princess has to travel to a very dangerous place and normal guards aren't enough. For many, many generations of royalty, there was another type of soldier that went on these missions. The Monarch's Elite Guardian is what they're called broadly. You see, the monarch decided the exact title of them, so they have many different names. These guards are extremely special. Instead of dozens, there is a single one. Instead of being mostly strangers, the Monarch's Elite Guard is very close to the princess and knows them well. The bond they have is like family, if not closer sometimes."

"Why do you−"

"Because when we talked alone, as a family, we talked about an Elite Guardian for her. How it would work, people to choose, and other fine details. Lots of details." River paused to catch his breath. "It was unanimous that you should be the one. You're with her every day, always helping her in some way. The reason I'm the one telling you this instead of Star is because she didn't know how to ask you, she thought it was too much. She wanted more than anything for you to be the one that goes with her."

Marco thought. He took his eyes from the King and focused on the crown instead. It wasn't a stereotypical earth crown with so many jewels that the weight caused neck problems. River's crown only had a single gemstone. The rest of the crown was carved with intricate designs. It looked impossible for a Mewman to handcraft, but there it was. The inside rim of the crown also had small etchings. It looked like a writing of sorts, but they were too small to read.

"I'll do it. If she's able to agree so quickly, I shouldn't have to think about my decision."

"Marco, you do realize what you're agreeing to, correct? When you accept this officially, you will swear allegiance to Star."

"Star needs me for this, so yea, I'm sure."

The King's spirits seemed to rise immediately. River picked the crown back up and placed it on his head, making sure to straighten it.

"With me then, please," River said, sounding and acting much more like himself.

River again led Marco through the halls, this time faster. River knew the castle by heart, leading Marco through places he would never be able navigate without a map. They went down a flight of stairs and took a left into the first room. Inside was fabrics of all kinds, leather, and metal. A small table was stationed in the middle. A group of men were playing what looked like a card game.

River walked over to one of the men. He had a different colored vest on then the rest. River addressed the man first then turned to the rest of the cardplayers, whispering something. Immediately, all four of them grabbed different sized measurements and headed to Marco. The suited men measured nearly everything that would touch clothing. They went about their job while the man in the colored vest stayed back and ignored the others, looked at Marco directly.

"Do you use weapons?" The voice had an aristocratic ring, but welcoming all the while.

"I study Karate. I tend to focus on using arms and legs. I have trained with a staff before though."

The door opened again. Moon walked in and waited next to her husband for the worker's job to be finish. Once they were done, Marco turned to acknowledge the Queen. She seemed to stand much straighter. It appeared her dignified look had been revived.

"You're going through with it?"

"Yes, I'm gonna do it."

Moon smiled. "Call for me when you're finished. I want to tell you a story."

Author's Note

Much longer chapter. I'll be trying to be more consistent with chapter lengths in the future, I just need to figure out an amount that works well.

Special thanks to Angelz1251, Itzli, Sally B. Mcgill, and abbydobbie for favoriting this story.

Comments and Criticism are welcomed.