Memories and Meetings

The first harsh rays of light blinded Moon, forcing her awake. She did her best to hide her face in River's chest, but the damage was already done. The queen was awake with no chances of falling back asleep. The door to her room opened, causing Moon to cover her still naked body. River shifted before sitting up.

"River!" The naked queen pulled the covers to her chest.

"What? I'm going to go bathe before I go down for breakfast." Stiff, he stood and stretched. He said good morning to the servants that were cleaning the room and entered the bathroom. Moon was embarrassed by the thought of showing the servants her body but realized that it probably had happened before. It's had to have happened before, we had Star after all. Moon crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom.

"Dear, can I join you?"

"Well, of course, the water is just how you like it." River shifted over to give his wife room to sit down. "How did you sleep, good I hope?"

"That was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. However, I dreamt odd dreams." She began to wash, enjoying the warm water.

"Oh, like what?"

"Well, I dreamt about a wedding, Star as a baby, and a few other funny little moments. Now that I think about it, I think those were memories."

"What do you think was the last memory you saw? I might be able to tell you how far you've come."

"Hmm, Star was caught trying to take my wand, and I got on to her so she asked if she could sit on my throne instead."

"Well, the first time that happened was a little after Star turned three-years-old. She was a hand full then, still is too. It sounds like you remembered some happy things."

River slowly washed his wife's back to pass the time. Moon turned and looked back at River. After last night, Moon thought she should try and be a bit more romantic with her husband. River leaned in and gave Moon a soapy kiss. She giggled and stood up.

"Darling, I think we should get out now."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. I'm sure the others are already up eating breakfast." The two toweled off and got dressed.

"Your Majesty, you have two meetings scheduled for today. The first meeting is with the ambassador from the Underworld regarding the Silver Bell Ball. The second is with the Magic High Commission. Lady Heckapoo has requested the presence of the Princess as well as her bodyguard from Earth."

"Thank you, Manfred. Let's go River, these two meetings seem important." The two departed for the dining hall. Inside, Marco and Star had just finished eating when Moon and River arrived.

"Good morning you two, any progress?" Moon sat down in front of Star and waited for her food.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that. I dreamt of a few memories, not all were happy ones."

"Well, I'm here, you can talk to me about them." Moon aspired to show her daughter that she was willing to listen to her.

"I dreamt of some stuff on Earth, but the ones that bothered me the most were about Toffee." Moon saw that Star's eyes were red and puffy from crying. Moon was upset that Toffee had scared Star after learning that Star was actually a very happy child.

"What happened in these memories about Toffee, I still don't remember that much, so I'm afraid you'll have to tell me." Moon leaned in to hear Star, but instead, Marco spoke.

"She dreamt about the time that she was trapped in the wand with Toffee. He was a giant green goopy version of himself. Then she remembered drowning in the goop and dying. Her usual nightmare." Marco wrapped an arm around Star to cheer her up. "But I'm here, everything will be alright now." Moon could just make out what Marco whispered to Star.

"How often does she have these nightmares, River?"

"At least, once a week. A significant decrease since they first started. Star, your mother remembered a few things as well. She remembered you trying to steal her wand when you were little. She's very happy to have some memories of you." River laughed as he began to shovel food into his mouth.

"You were so cute." Moon laughed at the image of a tiny Star trying to grab the wand from her mother's hand.

"Speaking of wands, I found my spell book and diary last night. I can use the Narwhal Blast now!" Star's face lit up as she spoke. Moon smiled, she was starting to regain her strong love for Star. I guess it's because I remembered her as a child. I wonder if she would get mad if I tried to hug her.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to travel to the Plains of Time today. I have two meetings I must take care of." Moon finished eating and stood up. "River, stay with the kids until I'm finished. I should see all of you for lunch. Then we all have to attend the second meeting." Moon kissed her husband, eliciting a few disgusted sounds from the teens. Moon hugged and kissed her daughter next. She opted to pat Marco on the head and left.

Thankfully, the meeting was only about discussing the time and place for the ball. Within an hour, Moon had finished. Moon was about to find the others when a terrible pain seared throughout her head. She dropped to her knees and waited for the pain to subside. She blinked as a few more memories flashed before her vision. The queen then shook her head before continuing her mission.

Finally, she found the three looking at Star's baby pictures. River was pointing at one that showed Star and Moon asleep in bed. Moon was drooling as she hugged the small child who was also drooling.

"Like mother, like daughter, right?" River and the other's laughed. Moon stood in the doorway and watched as they continued to laugh at the pictures. She smiled, happy to see that they were happy as well. "Here, Moon had just finished feeding Star before she threw it all up on Moon's new dress. At first, your mother was mad, but then she just laughed. Oh, and…Moon, how long have you been standing there? You could join us you know?"

"I didn't want to interrupt. What do you think about skipping lunch and just getting the meeting with the High Commission out of the way?" Curious, she leaned over River's shoulder and looked at a few of the pictures.

"I like that idea, then maybe we can go to the Plains of Time before supper. What do you think you two?" River turned to the two teens. Marco looked at Star, they both nodded to each other before nodding to Moon.

"Then I'll notify the Commission while you three wait in the room." After Moon notified Heckapoo, she joined the others. "How was breakfast?" Moon looked over at her king.

"Delicious! I had corn." River laughed and quieted down once the members of the Commission entered.

"Good afternoon, I'm sorry the meeting is short notice, but it was vital we met as soon as we could. I'm going to just say it. Eclipsa has escaped and we don't know where she is." Moon felt her heart stop.

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" Moon knew she had to stay calm or she would worry the others, especially Star.

"Sorry, we don't know how she even got out. I'm guessing it was because of the fritz." Rhombulus looked frightened. "Who knows what's gonna happen if we don't find her. I think you and Star might be in serious danger, more so than when Toffee was alive." Star leaned forward and shifted closer to Marco. She grabbed his arm and looked at her mother.

"What's gonna happen?"

"I don't know, Star. But, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe." Moon gave a trust-me smile and looked back at Heckapoo. "Well, I was hoping Eclipsa would stay locked away long enough for us to fully regain our memories. I haven't had time to tell you, but one of the spells I was teaching Star wiped her memory completely, and only some of mine."

"What?" All three members began to panic.

"It'll be-", Moon's body tensed up as another, stronger wave of memories hit her. Alarmed, River was at her side. Everyone was screaming, but Moon couldn't make out what they were saying. Another wave hit Moon, the pain causing her to faint and collapse to the floor.