Title: wrong space wrong time
Fandom: Star Vs. the Forces of Evil
Summary: AU. Toffee's life has been too freakin' weird.
Character(s): Toffee, ensemble
A/N: This part was written before the latest S3 promo released on June 28, 2017. Again, this is a complete AU.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Star Vs. the Forces of Evil.
vi.
Moon could go days without seeing her mother, not even glimpses of her. But even the ten-year-old princess could sense a new tension within the castle, and she grew worried about her mother, whom she still hadn't seen.
No one gave her complete answers, even when she commanded it. She had been given reasons varying from ignorance, to the queen's orders, which were more reassuring—at least Moon could assume from such details that her mother was well enough to give instructions.
It didn't help that Chauncey had to stay with a healer in the stables while he recovered from an injury during this time. He had gotten hurt just before the queen's latest absence.
Moon could still visit her pig-goat, but only for a little while. She had never gone without Chauncey during one of her mother's long absences, not since she had first got to keep him.
This already multiplied tension gained a new bustling nervous energy, as Moon saw even more servants and guards and other personnel rushing about, stormy and worried expressions on their faces. Just all of them generally distressed, their dark mood infecting the princess.
And so it was with significant delight that Moon stood up to greet her mother when she came to the dining table she currently sat at for breakfast, it was the first time she had seen her in days. But words of relief died in her throat when she saw the monster with the queen.
But it was a small one—it looked even a little smaller than her, maybe even a little younger as well. (A monster child?) It seemed completely dwarfed by her mother towering over it, especially with it slouched over and even a little curled into itself, arms crossed, head down and facing the floor.
Moon saw that the small monster looked reptilian, with gray scales, and on its head were either dark feathers or dark fur, tied back with ribbon into a ponytail at the base of its neck. It was dressed in simple but formal clothes, deep violet jacket and trousers trimmed with an even darker blue thread, boots etched with basic designs. It looked very uncomfortable in such clothing.
Moon watched the queen tightly grip the monster's thin shoulder, and felt a stab of surreal déjà vu as the creature winced, as if hurt. It stiffened and straightened up in response, raising its face away from the floor, and uncrossing its arms and holding them stiffly at its side. The queen had done similar with her before, and Moon had responded about the same—though Moon knew her mother would grip her shoulder firmly, but not hard enough to make her visibly wince in pain.
Now that Moon saw more of the monster's face, she noticed the bandage on one of its cheeks, the dark circles under its yellow eyes, and how miserable and angry it looked.
"Princess Moon," her mother began formally, placing both her gloved hands on the monster's thin shoulders, and seemingly ignoring how he flinched and grimaced at her touch. "This monster is Toffee. He is a few years younger than you."
Something marginally hardened in her mother's face, and one of her eyes twitched ever so slightly. The small monster just started looking very ill, and his eyes darted back to the floor. "For now, he'll be trained as your personal body guard. He'll join the monster conscripts in their lessons, but will largely remain in the castle, and be educated here as well. That is all you need to know at the moment."
"Yes, my Queen," Moon said with a nod, reciprocating the formality, and shoving back her curiosity and questions, and sheer shock.
Moon had thought—she knew her mother hated monsters. She had always disliked them, but ever since…then, she had despised them even more. She knew it was only with great reluctance and distaste that Queen Sun still conscripted a number of them to serve in the segregated military corps. It was possibly due to sheer paranoia taking a different turn, wanting to exert more control, to keep some close for surveillance. (Her order to allow no more monsters among the domestic staff within the castle still stood.)
But her mother had never assigned a monster as a personal guard to her before. It seemed contradictory. And last Moon checked, she wasn't exactly allowed to even directly see or interact with any monsters. Now one was to guard her.
This Toffee was not even an intimidating monster; he was just a small, runty-looking thing. Even if Mother said he was to be trained, she had also admitted he was younger than her for corn's sake. What could her mother be thinking? How could this be an acceptable choice for a bodyguard trainee?
(Moon shoved aside gossip questioning Queen Sun's sanity that she had heard over the years after…after what happened.)
Her mother nodded. Then she glanced to the monster. "Toffee, her chair."
"What?" The monster asked blankly, confused, looking up at the queen.
Moon blinked rapidly, feeling strangely embarrassed by Mother ordering this Toffee around like the low-ranking subservient he was, primarily because he seemed so unprepared. That, and this was the first time she had heard the monster speak, and it had startled her, for he did sound like one of the boy cousins she had that were around her age, he did sound like a child.
Her mother favored Toffee with a look Moon knew, and was grateful to not be on the receiving end of—though this one seemed more…severe, than what Moon had experienced before. The queen looked as if she truly hated Toffee. This…was not that surprising, actually. Mother had essentially expressed only loathing for the monsters, Moon could not see that changing any time soon, even with the latest one she was conscripting into a more unusual job.
"Pull out your princess' chair, then take a seat," Queen Sun said, her voice too silky soft. "You are to have breakfast with her this morning."
The monster scowled, and glanced away. "She's not my princess—"
"Toffee, do not disobey my will," Queen Sun said in an icy voice, that made Moon shiver and Toffee flinch. Then the monster walked by Moon—and unthinkingly, she crossed her arms protectively when he got close—and grabbed her chair, forcefully yanking it out, an even heavier scowl twisting his face. He yanked out his own chair with similar force and threw himself in it, crossing his arms and glaring at the dining table.
"Moon, why haven't you sat down yet?" Queen Sun said in a curt voice, her eyes fixed on the princess.
"Oh! I—" Moon stumbled, realizing she had let seconds pass just standing dumbly there feeling awkward while not following her mother's wishes immediately. "—I—yes, just taking my seat, Mother," Moon said, her voice rushed and stumbling even more.
She plopped down in her seat, nervously smoothing her skirts down, and ignoring the way Toffee had stopped glaring at the table to stare at her instead.
"Sorry, Mother."
"Breakfast should arrive shortly," Queen Sun said, not acknowledging her daughter's apology. "Moon, you still have your lessons afterward. For now, Toffee will accompany you. Keep an eye on him." The queen narrowed her eyes at the monster. "Remember, do not speak, do not interrupt. The tutors are there for only her, not you. Do what you are told. For now, stay with Princess Moon."
Toffee then stopped staring at Moon, a glare twisting its face again as it turned its eyes to the floor, and started viciously swinging its legs back and forth from where it sat.
Moon resisted the urge to chew her lip as her mother began to leave. But still the princess asked, "You won't stay for breakfast?"
"I have other things to attend to right now," was all Queen Sun said, and then she was gone.
While Moon sighed and began to pick at her dress while waiting for breakfast to arrive, Toffee stared very fixedly at the exit Queen Sun had just taken. Then, after it seemed satisfied of something, the monster began ripping its boots off.
Moon stared at Toffee again. "…Are they uncomfortable? Do they not fit?"
"They feel weird," Toffee said, stretching its clawed feet once the boots were off. "I don't know how Mom ever—"
Then the monster broke off suddenly, clenching its jaw and baring its fangs, which looked sharp to Moon, and she scooted a little farther away from Toffee in her seat. But the princess frowned; Toffee bared its fangs only at the floor, and that was only because it was clenching its jaw tight. And it looked even more miserable.
Then the boy turned his back on her, wiping at his face and releasing a low, frustrated, wet growl. Moon glanced away, looking at the ceiling and admiring the decorations there, trying to give Toffee some space without leaving the room entirely. She was certain it would be rude to gawk at anyone's—even a monster's—show of emotion.
"Breakfast is here," Moon said loudly when she saw the servants start to enter, and she heard Toffee take a breath, clearly minding her warning that his privacy would be further threatened. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him straighten up and wipe a sleeve over his eyes.
Moon tried to focus on the food, but her eyes kept sliding to glance to Toffee at her side. It didn't help that she had noticed the servants do the same.
The boy's yellow eyes were wide, staring at each breakfast platter as if he had never seen such a thing before, and Moon wondered at his shock. She considered the food; well, it wasn't raw meat, freshly gutted flesh and carrion, and that's what monsters ate, wasn't it? Wasn't that something she heard? Perhaps he was surprised by how different the castle's food looked.
But as the princess continued to stare at Toffee, she looked more closely at how clothes hung on him, how thin his shoulders were, how thin all of him was; she saw the slight gauntness in his face.
Moon's own eyes widened when she saw Toffee's eyes suddenly dilate.
She flinched when the boy practically pounced on the food, tearing at it with his bare claws, ripping with his fangs, made the most unseemly sounds. It was like if Chauncey got to eat right at the dinner table.
The servants grimaced and scurried out, leaving the usual bell for Moon to ring if she needed them. For a wild moment the girl felt as if she had been left with the beast in its den.
But Moon shook herself; Toffee focused only on the breakfast platters before him, nothing else. The older girl actually began to frown in disgust at the mess the boy was making, crumbs everywhere, wiping his maw with the back of his claw or sleeve, if he didn't just lick them up. When he did that one more time, Moon couldn't take it anymore. Her hand snatched up one of the napkins the servants had left with them.
"Don't—use this, they were left here for a reason," she said, quickly holding out the napkin for him. Moon felt something like guilt when the young monster flinched at her sudden motion. When he realized what she was doing, he still kept his distance, still staring warily at her.
Moon resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's a napkin. They're used for—"
"I know what a napkin is!" Toffee snapped, grabbing up another one, and pointedly ignoring the one Moon had tried to give him.
While the boy roughly crumpled up the napkin and dropped it by his plate, Moon frowned. "You certainly don't act like it. Honestly, do all monsters eat like this? Without table manners?"
Toffee growled. "That's not it! I just haven't—" Then the boy flushed horribly, clenching his jaw and looking way.
"Haven't 'what?'" The princess snapped back, growing impatient.
"Just was really hungry, that's all," Toffee mumbled, looking reluctant to admit even that. And Moon awkwardly remembered observing the thinness of his body and how his clothes seemed slightly too large.
But the monster ate at a more normal pace; he still ate only with his claws, still ripped and tore and made unseemly noises, but it lacked speed and intensity, and was quieter. It was much calmer, and Moon thought she could believe monsters ate like this. That this was their equivalent of table manners. Toffee even sometimes wiped his mouth with the crumpled up napkin.
Moon finally began to eat herself, and tried to concentrate on her food. But still her eyes wandered to her bodyguard-to-be, and finally she realized something.
"…You have hair."
Toffee flinched, looking visibly wounded, and lowered the poultry leg he had been about to tear into. Then his face seemed to shut down, irritation and anger clamping down on it. "So?" He snapped at her.
Moon folded her hands in her lap, to avoid letting them pick at her skirt. "I—it's just, I thought it was fur, or feathers on your head. But it's more like…hair," she finished lamely.
The young monster rolled his eyes, picked the poultry leg back up, and tore harder than was necessary into it. Seeing and hearing that made Moon flinch, bite her lip, and look away.
Her eyes fell on Toffee's discarded boots. Her nose crinkled. "I guess Mother wanted to make you more presentable, but why did she bother with shoes, if none of you monsters wear them at all—?"
Toffee swallowed hard, and then growled at her again. "That's not true! It's just normal either way—we can choose to wear them or not. I mean, if we can get them…" Toffee trailed off, staring at the table, his eyes distant. Then he shook himself, flushing slightly. "I mean—I mean, what I mean is, I'm just one of those monsters who doesn't like wearing them, that's all—"
"But your mother did? She was a monster that liked to wear shoes?" Moon asked, recalling what he had almost mentioned before, the implication in his words.
Toffee's eyes widened for a second, startled; and then he seemed to hesitate, before finally quickly nodding his head. "Y-yeah, she was." His voice sounded small, and a little guilty.
Moon stared at him, puzzled by his reaction. But Toffee turned back to his food, even more intent on eating (clearly wanting to drop the subject). Moon shook herself, and tried to do the same.
The princess had gotten around to poking her food, when she finally looked at Toffee again. Whatever had troubled him seemed gone. Now he was looking at all the silverware, and regarding it with the same surprise and confusion he had regarded breakfast with when it first arrived.
"Why do you have so much...stuff?" The boy finally asked, wiping a napkin haphazardly across his jaw.
"Our silverware is highly specialized," Moon said, repeating something a tutor had said once.
"But why?"
"For ceremonial, historical, diplomatic, and practical purposes in the course of diplomatic work while socializing," Moon again repeated, trying to remember her lessons.
Toffee stared at her. "All that with forks, and knives, and spoons?"
Moon frowned. "Don't underestimate the value of cutlery."
Then the young monster actually giggled at her, and Moon blinked, startled.
"You're so serious," Toffee snickered.
"I'm the princess," she said, her voice curt. Moon resisted the urge to give her own growl when the boy just ripped off another piece of bread, not responding to her statement and practically ignoring her. He didn't have the rank to get away with ignoring her.
But at a loss for what to do—her mother would have known how to handle this—Moon just quietly fumed, and tried to resume eating. The girl's soured mood softened however, when she noticed how Toffee seemed to increasingly enjoy the meal (nothing special in her mind, it was the norm—but it must have been extravagant to a simple monster).
Then a servant with a scroll hurried into the room, and Moon had only a second to idly notice him. Her attention soon focused on Toffee afterward, who had startled at the sudden motion from the entrance. The boy shoved against his chair so fast it scraped, and almost spilled a bottle.
Moon had reacted at the same time, raising a hand, while the other steadied said bottle. "It's okay, it's just a servant—he's harmless."
The hand Moon had raised then turned to accept the scroll, which the servant quietly placed in her palm. Moon spared only a glance at the servant, enough to notice that the older man regarded Toffee with a certain wariness. She watched him quickly he leave the room, even faster than when he had entered.
Looking back at Toffee, the princess felt something like pity stir within her as she watched the young monster slowly calm down, taking his seat again and now eying the scroll in her hand with more curiosity than wariness.
Toffee seemed like a jittery creature to her, with nerves worn thin. Seemingly every little unexpected sudden motion was capable of nearly setting him off.
Turning away, Moon broke the scroll's seal and unfurled the parchment open, beginning to read. Eyes scanning the message, her expression switched from something happy to something upset.
Moon then neatly rolled the paper back up and pocketed it while still looking distressed. Her hand covered her mouth, then moved away, then back again over her mouth, her thoughts ricocheting around and dragging her body language along with it.
Finally coming to a decision, she looked back at Toffee—who now eyed her as if she were crazy. Moon frowned.
"I am going to the stables. You are to come with me. We will then try to come back here and finish breakfast. If the servants clear the table before we return, you will follow me to the tutors. You are not to speak of this detour to anyone else," the princess said, trying her best impression of the queen's authority.
Toffee blinked. "Um, if you're already disobeying your mom, you could just—you know—not drag me along—"
"Absolutely not, if anyone saw you unsupervised, Mother will definitely know I didn't follow her instructions to the letter!" Moon hissed in a low voice, now worrying about someone overhearing them.
The young monster stared at her. "Wow, I just realized how that's completely NOT my problem," Toffee finally said with a snicker and a fanged grin that didn't reach his yellow eyes, which now held a wild, angry look. (Though Moon grew incensed, a small part of her also thought the boy sounded like someone slightly on the verge of hysterics.) "Lucky for you, I can hide."
"You're the only revolting monster in this castle, there's no way you can hide!" Moon snapped.
"I'll take my chances!" Toffee snapped back, all rage now. His twisted, bitter, and angry mockery was gone.
"You will not, you are going to come with me!"
"Maybe I should just tell on you to a servant, how about that?"
Moon felt her temper snap, but it bubbled up as an ugly laugh. "Do that, and I'll just say you're a liar and a troublemaker, and who are they going to believe? You? Or their princess?"
Toffee's eyes widened. "I—"
"And then Mother will eventually hear about it, and how do you think she'll react?"
The boy grimaced, and Moon ignored the way fear and anger conflicted on his face. The princess knew Toffee could fire back that her chances of getting away will likely vanish then, servants would escort them both to the tutors, the servants would be reluctant to leave her alone with the monster, and Moon doubted she could persuade them or order them to go...
"Come on," Moon started with a new tactic, trying to cut off the chance that Toffee might try that line of argument. "You'll get to see more of the castle, get some fresh air. You can pet Chauncey if you like. That's who I want to see in the stables; he's my pet."
The monster still looked in turmoil, but he also started to seem a little more willing, and Moon finally appreciated the fact that he was younger than her, and how everything suggested he had no experience with castle life.
"It'll be far more interesting than my tutors, you'll want to avoid them for as long as you can today," Moon continued her attempt at persuasion. "With the tutors, you'll definitely have to be quiet, like Mother ordered; she'll have shared the command with them, and they're strict followers—but you can talk on our detour, and won't get in trouble for it, as long as the wrong people don't overhear. We don't want anyone to know we're taking a detour. And when we meet Chauncey's healer, she won't know you're not supposed to talk."
Maybe that was not the best strategy to use, because Toffee looked more mutinous. But still, he looked clearly tempted. A storm of emotions continued to cross his face, until he finally grabbed one more chunk of bread and stood up from the table. "Fine, I'll go with you," he grumbled, still looking bitter, but complying.
Moon almost thought he would change his mind when she ordered him to put his boots back on before they left, but though he shot her a furious glare, he still obeyed, and went with her.
…
(Toffee's frenzied, panicked thoughts had been filled with temptation, yes; and anger too, uncertainty, anxiety, fear—he did not want to deal with the Queen's possible anger right now, not after what she had done…
So he had caved to the princess' demands. Though she had successfully bulled him into doing what she wanted, she still intimidated far less than her mother, and had not physically attacked him yet.)
...
Moon had to admit she had not exactly followed through on her offer, leading Toffee quickly to the upper tier stables and not really taking the time to show him any possible sights, but it wasn't like she had actually literally promised him anything. Besides, the younger monster seemed both engaged with and apprehensive over the walk. He closely watched most everything they passed, focusing on doors and windows and other hallways. When it came to passing royal guards and knights, nobles and servants and other personnel, Toffee grew more anxious, and clearly wanted to move more quickly then, even if he never voiced that desire out loud.
When Moon thought Toffee was actually frightened of Mewmans in general, her first instinct was to feel incredulity. He was a monster; the Mewmans should be frightened of him, not the other way around. But when she glanced at him again, and saw the way he shot the latest knight a nervous look, and walked faster and closer by her side, Moon felt—well, she was reminded that Toffee was shorter than her, and all of the other Mewmans they had passed were adults and taller than her, thus they dwarfed Toffee as well. He was still little; he hadn't grown into a tall and intimidating monster yet. It wasn't entirely nonsense anymore that the adult Mewmans should scare him.
When they reached the stables, Moon noticed Toffee relax a little, and grow more interested in the greater presence of animals. The only Mewman around right now was Moon herself (and she was only a little taller than Toffee).
"Come on, keep up," an impatient Moon called back, when Toffee lingered to get a closer look at the napping manticore mounts in their stalls.
"Ms. Turnleaf, I got your message," Moon said once she spotted the older woman. The girl approached her, with Toffee following behind.
"Welcome Princess—" The healer paused when she saw Toffee, and the monster stopped curiously looking around. He locked eyes with the older woman, then fidgeted and looked at the stone floor.
Moon waved a hand to him. "This is Toffee; the queen intends to have him trained as my bodyguard."
When Toffee didn't make a move—except for an anxious flick of his tail—Moon tried to whisper out of the corner of her mouth. Mother would rebuke him publicly, but she thought to try to quietly correct him.
"Bow to her." Moon would have to figure out the exact protocol with Toffee's new rank, but for now she figured a young monster should bow to an adult Mewman.
"What?" Toffee asked, not whispering and looking up at her. He seemed far less anxious at least, and just more confused. "What did you say? I couldn't hear you, you were just—"
Moon rolled her eyes, giving up. "Bow to her! Haven't you been taught that?"
The young monster actually flinched, and instead of turning mutinous and snapping back at Moon, he immediately tried to comply. He shot the healer a shy, flustered look, and gave her a small quick bow. Ms. Turnleaf still warily watched Toffee.
"Your note said I could probably take Chauncey back?" Moon said, not wanting to be sidetracked any longer.
The healer shook herself, and gave Moon a strained smile. "Yes, of course. Please, come see him."
Ms. Turnleaf took Moon—with Toffee trailing behind—to the pen she had grown accustomed to visiting for Chauncey. Moon instinctively began to pull up her skirts slightly to run when she heard the pig-goat already happily squeal for her, he knew she was coming. But Moon remembered herself and exercised restraint, and waited for Ms. Turnleaf to open the pen door for her.
Then Moon rushed in and bent before Chauncey, drawing him close and petting him, and enjoying the way he licked her chin.
(The princess didn't glance back and notice the healer had entered after her, and shut the door in Toffee's face when he tried to follow. She did not hear the healer tell Toffee in a low voice to not lay a claw on any of the animals, that the manticores were likely to kill him anyway if he tried to hunt them; and even if he did somehow manage to damage any of the animals, the queen would punish him, she would not tolerate injury to her living property. Moon did not see Toffee sit down outside the pen, hug his knees close, curl his tail around his ankles, and begin to silently wait, and try to make himself as small as possible while doing so. Moon had no idea that the main thought racing through Toffee's head then was how much he wanted to be home right now.)
Chauncey pulled on one of her braids, and Moon laughed. "Ah, I missed you too boy!" She kissed his forehead. "How's your leg doing?" Moon glanced to his hind leg, still wrapped up.
"He can go with you, he's improved enough for that, but still keep an eye on him. Bring him back for check-ups," Ms. Turnleaf said, walking up behind the princess. "He'll still have to mind his leg, but it's healing nicely."
"Thank you so much," Moon said, looking back up at the older woman while she had her arms wrapped around Chauncey's neck, the pig-goat calmly nibbling on one of her braids.
Moon idly remembered her new companion. Then she grew a little puzzled. It was a bit odd, she thought; Moon had assumed Toffee would have been unbearably curious about Chauncey too, he had seemed so annoyingly entranced with the manticore mounts. (Maybe he had just wandered back to watch them more). "Toffee—"
"Present," came the young monster's subdued reply, drifting faintly from outside the pen.
Moon stared at the closed pen door, her brow furrowing. "What are you doing out there? Why didn't you come in with m—?"
Moon then noticed Ms. Turnleaf looking away, as if trying to avoid her notice, and suddenly the princess felt very awkward.
"...Well, never mind that," Moon said, getting up and walking back to the pen door, one hand held toward Chauncey, but the pig-goat needed little to make him follow her with a pleased bleat. "Let me introduce you to Chauncey."
The second the princess started opening the door, Chauncey helped her push it open, and carefully trotted out with his bandaged leg. The pig-goat found Toffee sitting curled up on the patch of floor next to the door, and when Moon saw him, she felt that strange pity stir up again. And it struck Moon that he had not called her attention to him, to what she had promised; whatever had passed between him and the healer, it had driven him to stay quiet and wait. Moon had very nearly forgotten him…
Chauncey immediately drew close to Toffee, beginning to sniff at him. Moon smiled.
"Toffee, this is my pet pig-goat, Chauncey," Moon said with a growing grin, watching Chauncey begin to lick Toffee, making the boy giggle and almost instantaneously brighten his countenance. "Chauncey, this is Toffee."
Her grin widened and her eyes softened when she saw the pig-goat start climbing on top of Toffee, making the boy fall back with a delighted yelp. Toffee wrapped his arms around Chauncey for a moment, then let go, and sat up. He ran a small claw gently through the pig-goat's fur.
"He's so soft," the young monster practically cooed, and he giggled again when the pig-goat began to nibble on the end of his sleeve.
"Oh Chauncey, you really shouldn't—" Moon said, reaching out a hand to stop her pet. Chewing on her hair was one thing, but—well actually, in light of his recovery, Moon would have let Chauncey get away with chewing on her clothes if he had chosen to, she would have let it slide. But it was another thing to let him possibly start the habit with someone new.
"Ah, he's okay Moon," Toffee cut her off, scratching Chauncey behind his ears. "Pig-goat's gotta eat, right?" The boy said, addressing Chauncey now. He smiled even more when the pig-goat seemed to give a bleat of agreement.
Moon opened her mouth, about to protest. But then she noticed the healer again watching Toffee closely with a wary look, one even more intense than the last.
"Oh, Ms. Turnleaf, before I forget, I wanted to ask if there was any medicine I should give Chauncey?" Moon asked, walking in front of the older woman (and better blocking Toffee and Chauncey from view). "Like, if you had anything for him, or just some kind of treatment I should do with him—like, is there anything else I need to do for him, while he's recovering with me?"
Ms. Turnleaf shook herself. "Actually, yes, there's—"
Moon listened to the healer's instructions, and asked her more questions, while Toffee and Chauncey played in peace.
...
"You're just gonna leave him in your room?" Toffee asked, holding the bag of recovery herbs Ms. Turnleaf had given Moon for Chauncey's sake.
"I've done that before," Moon explained while she now held Chauncey, after making Toffee hold the medicine. The princess had wanted to give her pet's bandaged leg a break (and she just wanted to hold him).
"And he had enough room?"
"Of course," Moon said. "My si—I mean, my room was expanded so that Chauncey could stay with me and still be comfortable."
Toffee still looked confused, and Moon was just grateful that it didn't seem like he had noticed her near slip-up. The princess said, "You'll see what I mean when we get there. And then we'll go back and try to finish breakfast. Or if the table's clear, we'll go to the tutors—"
"They'll be happy to know you planned to come to their lessons eventually,"
Queen Sun said as Moon and Toffee walked past her, and both froze. Only Chauncey made a sound, bleating over Moon's shoulder.
The princess was the first to move, whirling back around and facing the queen. "Mother! I was just—"
"Put your pet down, dear, he had his leg broken, he didn't lose one," the queen coolly said.
Moon gently lowered Chauncey back to the ground. He gave one last loud bleat, fondly butted his head against her leg, then trotted to Toffee and began nibbling on his trousers. Toffee had shoved the bag of herbs behind his back, and fixed his eyes on the floor.
"Mother," Moon tried again. "It's just—I was just—I didn't expect to see you so soon—"
"Oh, I was just on the way to one of those things that demand far greater attention from me—and then you crossed my path. Decidedly where you should not be."
Moon deflated. "I asked Ms. Turnleaf to let me know when Chauncey was well enough for me to take him back, and she was able to do that this morning—"
"And of course you had to go get him right then, rather than wait until after your lessons," Queen Sun said, with a cold grin and unsmiling eyes.
"I...I just wanted—I thought it would only take a little bit of time," Moon said, hands now twisting one of her braids. "Just cause a possible small delay...it was only going to be a little detour..."
"Beast, what do you have behind your back?" The queen said, eyes snapping to Toffee. The boy flinched and he curled into himself more, trying to shrink. Chauncey stretched up on his hind legs, leaning against Toffee, and giving a plaintive bleat. (For one wild second, Moon fretted over his bandaged hind leg bearing that much support.)
"Mother, I made Toffee hold the medicine Ms. Turnleaf gave me for Chauncey," Moon said, stepping in front of the young monster.
The queen seemed to listen. Then she said, "Give the medicine back to Princess Moon. She will take that and her pet to her room, then go straight to her lessons."
The girl stared. "And Toffee—you said he would accompany me to—"
"Seeing as you can't supervise one monster yet, he'll just come with me now," Queen Sun said. "He can wait outside the war room with the guards while I'm in a meeting."
"But," Moon said, glancing back at Toffee. He had raised his head back up, held the bag of herbs in front of him again, and now looked more apprehensive. "But that's—"
"Don't question me," her mother cut in, and Moon shut her mouth.
The princess apologized. Toffee gave her the medicine. Moon took that and Chauncey to her room. And the queen took Toffee.
...
Lessons went on into the evening, and as soon as they were over, Moon asked around, trying to identify which war room the queen was in. Butterfly castle in fact had several of those.
Once she had her answer, she found Toffee lying curled up on the floor, next to one of the guards flanked on either side of the entrance to the queen's meeting. The young monster was fast asleep.
Moon stared at him, thinking he looked even smaller. She remembered the dark circles she had seen under his eyes, and wondered when he last slept.
"I will take him to his room," Moon said, trying to sound authoritative and like she actually knew Toffee had a room. The plan was to literally just let him sleep in her room for now, if this worked, if her lie wasn't detected.
"I'm sorry Princess," one of the guards spoke up. "But your mother said he had to wait here until she was done."
"But her meetings can go long!" Moon protested. "Even all night! He can't sleep in the hallway here."
"I'm sure it don't mind," said the other guard. "It's a monster after all, their kind are used to sleeping out in the woods. He's already a step up here, I reckon."
Moon saw Toffee shift and curl up tighter, and she frowned.
At first Moon petulantly thought to just grab one of the nearby decorative rugs, but then thought Toffee would end up getting blamed for that more than her. So she left looking for some servants, and ordered them to bring her blankets and pillows without explaining why. They complied without question, and she walked back with her bundle to Toffee.
Moon knelt down on the floor, carefully laying out the blankets and pillows. Then she tried to even more carefully move the monster into the makeshift bed, trying not to wake him. When he remained asleep, again Moon thought he must be very tired. Toffee just curled up into the blankets, sinking half his face into a pillow.
"Um, Princess," a guard said. "It's getting late, your curfew..."
"Tell the queen I left the blankets and pillows for Toffee," Moon said curtly, standing back up.
"Yes Princess."
Moon nodded to them, and walked back to her room. There, she gave Chauncey food and medicine, played with him a little, watched him curl up in his own bed, and finally went to sleep herself.
...
Queen Sun stepped out of the war room, her thoughts a million miles away.
Her eyes darted to the half-breed, and narrowed at the blankets and pillows he was sprawled on. Her lip curled in disgust when she saw that he was drooling.
"Princess Moon asked that we inform you she was the one who gave the monster the blankets and the pillows," said a guard.
"Wake him," the queen ordered, not taking her eyes off of Toffee, or showing any sign she had heard the guard.
The other guard complied, stomping one metal boot on the monster's tail.
Toffee bolted up with a pained scream, and scrambled backwards in a confused and terrified panic, and when he hit the wall, it only sent him into more of a frenzy.
"Grab him, hold him still, wait for him to get a grip," the queen said impassively. Toffee snapped his jaws at a guard when he got too close, but did not notice the other one, who wrapped both hands around his arms and easily lifted him up.
Toffee squirmed and uselessly kicked his feet, growling and shouting in the guard's hands, until he subsided into heaving gasps and sniffling. He now hung limply in the guard's grip, like a rag doll.
…
"Toffee," Queen Sun said, and the boy's eyes reluctantly and grudgingly looked up with a tired glare. That was the first clear thing he had heard since being woken up so harshly. "Do you remember where you are now?"
The young monster felt his throat constrict and his eyes sting. He nodded his head, biting the inside of his cheek.
"Good." The queen then addressed the guard again. "You can put him down now."
The guard complied, lowering the monster to his feet, on top of a blanket. Toffee stared at it, and at the other blankets, and the pillows. He didn't remember those being there when he fell asleep.
"Princess Moon left you with blankets and pillows," Queen Sun explained, and Toffee's head snapped up to gape at her, eyes wide. "Pick them up; I'm taking you to your new quarters now. You'll stay there until I call for you. And you'll return the blankets and pillows to the princess later with your gratitude."
Toffee grabbed them and tried to keep up with the queen, yawning as he followed her.
After he was left alone in his quarters, Toffee didn't bother with exploring the new room. He plopped into bed, and fell asleep again, his exhaustion overruling the ache in his tail, and the new warmth he had for Princess Moon.
(Maybe she was more like Eclipsa, despite the generations separating them.)
A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Comments/feedback are always appreciated. Also, ALL THE S3 PROMOS HAVE ME PUMPED FOR THE TV MOVIE. CAN'T WAIT.
Updated A/N: Added a cover image drawn by formerly chamomilecoffeequartz, now going by skairheart on tumblr. SHE MADE SOMETHING AMAZING.