Kingsley

Chapter 2

More than a Bargain

Moon kept good on her promise to Toffee and worked every day on making his job a living hell. She quickly sensed that he was the kind of person with a thin tolerance for nonsense. Despite his appearance, he was just another stuffy councilman, like the rest. Moon figured that, if she acted out long enough, Toffee would get fed up with her behavior and quit. However, despite all her best efforts, she was unable to get a rise out of Toffee. He didn't get angry when she arrived late, or mouthed off to him in lessons. His comebacks were always witty and intelligent. Moon blasted him with spells anytime his back was turned, but his sixth sense always seemingly warned him before she'd even utter one. She purposely put bugs in in his afternoon tea, which he always drank without complaint. Nothing that Moon ever did exposed even the tiniest bit of emotion in him and it was the most infuriating thing. Did it really take this much effort to get a monster to snap? How long would she need to keep this up before she was finally rid of him?

"Princess, we don't have time for this today…"

Toffee was walking through the royal gardens, unperturbed and surprisingly relaxed for someone who could not find the only daughter of the royal family. Moon's new favorite thing had become hiding from him. He always ended up finding her, but it was a creative waste of his time. The sights of the gardens were beautiful, but he paid them little attention other than a perimeter scanning glance. He took a sudden turn off the path towards a seemingly ordinary tree and found the little pink thing he had seen hanging out of the corner of his eye was indeed the hem of the princess's dress. "I found you."

"Spssh, I went easy on you today. Trust fall!" Moon scoffed, unimpressed. She suddenly swung herself completely off the branch she was sitting on. Toffee's expression changed for a fraction of a second, as he ran to catch her. He held out his arms just in time and she fell right into them. "Good catch. You're actually pretty fast."

"Must you insist on giving everyone around you heart attacks."

"So, you were worried about me?"

"No, I wasn't." he replied, coldly, setting her down onto the grass. "Now, let's get on with your lesson."

They walked back through castle corridors in silence. Toffee was straight-faced, as always, seemingly thinking on nothing but the destination. However, Moon was clearly pondering something deeply.

"What do you worry about, Toffee? Isn't there anything that scares you?" Moon asked, suddenly. He looked at her a little puzzled, but then returned his gaze forward.

"That is none of your concern, your highness." Toffee replied, dutifully. "You need only care about the worries of your subjects—"

"I don't care about them. I'm asking about you." she pressed even further. There had to just be something inside his shell. He couldn't just be Mr. Manners and Responsibility, all the time. He was a monster, for christ's sake. He must've seen war, felt bloodlust and the adrenaline of battle. Frankly, Moon would've found him far more interesting, if he just let her in and displayed he had any form of personality. On that first day she met him, there was a moment where she thought he might not be that bad. He might've actually been someone who believed in her. However, he'd done nothing since to assure her that he was on her side. So, she prodded and poked at his tender spots until finally—

"Tell me! I want to know—"

"Yes, but you do not need to know. That is the difference!" he suddenly snapped. It was the first time she'd actually succeeded in making him angry and Moon stopped following him immediately as his loud voice reverberated the empty hall. It was what she had wanted. She wished to strike any sort of emotion in Toffee. However, suddenly, Moon didn't know why she kept pushing him towards this. His eyes were enraged, his nostrils flared, and sharp teeth snarled, probably wanting nothing more than to bite her. Kill her. It was the first time she really saw the monster in him. It was horrifying.

The Mewman in her was about to raise her wand in defense for her life against a monster poised to attack. However, Moon knew that all it would take to defuse Toffee was a simple apology. All she had to do was say she was sorry.

"Forgive me for asking." she replied, quietly. She added a quick curtsey in there for good measure and slightly gazed up at him with anticipation, waiting for Toffee's reply.

"It's okay." he mumbled, quickly regaining his composure. He almost looked a little embarrassed to have succumb to such an outburst. They continued to make their way to the library in an obviously more rushed hast, led by Toffee. He was completely back to that emotionless shell by the time they arrived and he got out the books they would use for their lessons.

"Now, since we've been working on your language skills lately, I thought we could have a conversation in ancient Mewman and hold it for at least five minutes." Toffee explained. Moon sighed and nodded diligently.

"Hello, princess. How are you feeling today?"

"I will gut you and use your gallbladder for a hat!"

"That's definitely not an answer to my question." Toffee added, returning to English. "Also, who taught you how to say that, because I certainly didn't?"

"One of the guards! They know the coolest stuff." Moon beamed, clearly proud of herself.

"As lovely as death threats are, it's really not the best way to greet foreign diplomats. That's how you start wars." he insisted. Moon shrugged him off nonchalantly, even though he was right. "You don't want to be like Queen Solaria, do you?"

"Yeah, I do! She was such an awesome queen." she replied, proudly. Toffee had been forcing her to read up on all the past queens of Mewni and Queen Solaria was one who had stood out amongst all of them. Unlike the other queens, she fought monsters and the forces of evil (also shaved her head and rocked it). She was fearless and didn't need magic to defend herself. Strong, resilient, rebellious. It was the type of queen Moon wanted to be and was proof that she could do whatever she wanted with her title. She admired her out of all her grandmas. Toffee, however, didn't look as impressed as Moon was. He looked taken aback by her upbeat answer.

"Well, she's killed millions of my kind, so forgive me if I don't think a woman literally nicknamed the 'monster carver' is the most admirable of people."

"Ah, no! Toffee, I didn't mean it like that. I swear." Moon protested, quickly, trying to fix her mistake. However, it was too late. Toffee got up.

"Perhaps, we should give up for today and reconvene tomorrow. Forgive me, princess, but I've suddenly grown tired..." Toffee sighed, suddenly rising again. He left the library towards an unknown destination. Moon had never bothered to ask whether he was being housed in the castle, or not, since becoming her mentor. She begun to chase after him immedietly. But, by the time she had rushed to the door, Toffee was already gone.

"Toffee…"

He didn't come back the next day, even though Moon was on time for their lesson. She sat eagerly waiting, ready to give one hell of an apology to him. Although, she had not intended to offend Toffee, he had been right about Solaria. While she was considered a strong-willed and fearsome woman, she was also consumed by hatred and spent her time as queen developing horrible inventions for war. She wasn't the best role model. Toffee only wished for her not to go down the same path. So, Moon waited. Twiddling her thumbs and adjusting the hem of her dress every other second, until the door to the library finally opened.

"Toffee!" she exclaimed, prematurely. However, Moon didn't know Toffee well enough to know he was never late for anything. If he appeared so, he probably wasn't going to show up at all. The realization only hit when one of the butlers entered in his place.

"Your majesty, Sir Toffee is reported sick and will not be providing you lessons today. Please return to your quarters for now." he announced. Moon's heart sank a little at a prospect that should've brought her joy. No more boring lessons, right? She was finally free from Toffee, which is what she had planned all along.

So, why wasn't she happy?

Moon quietly excused herself and left, in a bit of a daze. Her mindless wandering didn't end up taking her to her room, though. It took her to a rather bizarre place she'd naturally never been to before. When Moon came back to reality, she found that she had made it all the way through town and to the very edge of the Forest of Certain Death. Moon stared into the darkness, wondering what had drawn her there. Despite her rebellious nature, she'd still never dared to go into the forest. Her magic was not strong enough yet for her to possibly be able to survive. However, regardless of every cell in her body screaming for her to stop, she took a bold step forward into the forest. It was not like anyone would care. It was not like he would care. He didn't care about anything or anyone. Let alone her.

"Moon! What're you doing?"

She felt a familiar hand grab her wrist and stop her from continuing further. Moon dazedly looked back to find River, looking troubled and out of breath. He had run to stop her.

"Oh hi, River…" Moon muttered. Even though some string of fate had brought her someone who did indeed care about her safety and wellbeing, she selfishly ignored it. "My business is none of your concern. Leave me be."

"Don't go in there, Moon! Whatever business you could possibly have in there can't be good."

"Goodbye River."

"Moon!"

Meanwhile, Toffee was headed for Moon's room to fetch her for whatever time they could manage at this point. He had calmed himself from yesterday's fight and was ready to get back to teaching her. Toffee had come to realize that she didn't know any better and it really was an accident. He didn't have a right to be angry with her. It was his new job to teach her about these sorts of things and it wasn't like she was going to make a complete turnaround in a week. She was still naïve to the ways of the world.

He arrived at her door and gave it a soft knock, "Princess, it's me. Can I come in?"

She didn't answer.

"I apologize for running off yesterday. I could've handled your comments better and accepted your apology."

Still nothing.

"This is hard for me too, you know. I would appreciate an answer. Please."

Dead silence.

"Moon! Open the door!" Toffee shouted, losing all composure. He kicked it viciously in his temper. A passing maid stared at him oddly, having caught part of his angry exchange with the princess's door.

"I don't think she's in there, Sir Toffee." she replied, cautiously, to his snarled teeth and slitted amber eyes. "She was supposed to stay in her room, until her lesson with Sir Glossaryck, but she ran off somewhere."

"Any idea where she went?"

"I saw her leaving out the servant's entrance about an hour ago."

"And, you didn't think to tell anyone?"

"I'm sorry, but my job is scrubbing the floors and dusting the portraits. Someone else shouldn't have been faking sick and kept an eye out for her."

Toffee sighed, having no more energy to argue with a surprisingly sassy palace maid. However, he did have the energy to run into town after Moon. The town was lively with its usual street vendors and performers, but no part seemed to exhibit any signs that royalty had been there that day. No whispers of the princess's surprise appearance, or crowds just now dispersing, having crowded around her in amazement. Toffee was looking for anything that might give him a clue, when he saw the Johansen's boy, pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself. Although, a lesser royal, it was to Toffee's understanding that this boy was one of Moon's friends.

"Boy, have you seen the princess wandering about these parts?" Toffee inquired, probably sounding a little more malicious then he ought to have. The boy jumped nervously at the harshness of tone.

"I begged her not to, sir! She wouldn't listen to me, honestly." River explained, rather fast.

"Where has she gone?" Toffee asked, trying to sound calmer and not scare him half to death.

"She went into the forest."

"That girl…"

Toffee ran into the forest without any hesitation. He'd never entered the forest named after death, but was certain he could hold his own in there. Even if he couldn't, Moon's safety was a priority to him. She was the most important thing in his life and it was imperative she stayed safe.

"Princess! Please come out from wherever you're hiding." Toffee called out for her throughout the thick vines and gnarled trees, still trying to sound calm and unthreatening. "This is reckless, you know. Come out before you get hurt."

"That's all he thinks of me. A reckless bother..." Moon thought, when she heard Toffee's call. She might've been thrilled he'd come after her. For a split second, she thought of revealing herself with a smirk and play it off like another round of hide-and-seek. However, Moon knew nothing would change. Just because he'd come after her, didn't mean he forgave her. He stopped calling for her after a while, which stung cold. He'd given up. She had briefly thought she found someone who would not give up on her, which is probably why she felt so wretched when Toffee did. He didn't seem like the type that gave up.

Moon got up, but was far too heartbroken to simply look where she was going. She had stepped right into the obvious jaws of a man-eating plant and it snapped shut on her immediately. "Ah!"

She could've screamed louder, she could've fought back, and she did briefly. Moon kicked and blasted it with her wand, but when none of that worked she stopped moving. It closed either trying to swallow her whole, or suffocate her, and Moon let it. There were surely other girls in the Butterfly family who could take her place and do a better job. Toffee had tried to work on her, but she was honestly a lost cause, not worthy of being queen. It'd be better this way.

However, as Moon closed her eyes and sat helplessly waiting for death, she didn't notice something was trying to pry open the rooted jaws of the plant. Only when she noticed more light trickling and a grunting struggle coming from outside, did she dare to open her eyes. Through the growing crack she saw Toffee, his amber eyes determined.

"Moon!" The plant opened for a moment and he was able to hold out a claw to her. Moon grabbed it and was yanked out to safe ground. Toffee then preceded to rip the plant apart, mostly out of spite and rage. She was covered in ooze, but for the most part unharmed. When he was through with the plant, he went to check Moon for any major injuries. But, before he was able to, she embraced him in a tearful relief. Toffee allowed her to shiver and clutch onto him for a good second, before he decided she was fine and let her have it. "What were you thinking? Glossaryck has hardly taught you any attack magic yet. You could've been killed!"

"I don't know…" she mumbled, weakly. Moon didn't have an excuse to give him for being so reckless. It wasn't intentional, surely. Although, she could've done a better job fighting off that thing. She'd admit that to herself, but not Toffee. During the fight, her heart had suddenly asked herself 'what's the point?'and she wasn't able to think of one. It was horribly frighting, but in that moment, she'd given up on herself. "I'm a lost cause of a princess and I didn't want to bother you anymore. I thought you quit after what I said yesterday. I didn't think you'd come looking for me."

"So, what was the plan? To kill yourself in here?" he snapped back, harshly. She started to tear up a little more and realized he needed to tone it back once again. "You're not a lost cause, Moon, and your fear of being queen certainly isn't worth dying for. Just because I am teaching you manners and responsibility doesn't mean you need to follow every single rule. Every queen has been different and you are still allowed to be the queen you want to be."

"I still don't understand why you're bothering to teach me, though. If I can be an irresponsible queen, why do you work so hard on changing me?"

"Because I believe in you, obviously. I believe you can be better and won't make the same mistakes as your predecessors. You have the opportunity to make Mewni a good place for all." Toffee explained. "My kind depends on the heart of a good queen. Will that be you?"

"I don't know…"

"Well, do you hate me?"

"No. I don't." Moon found herself saying. She didn't know when exactly, but her feelings towards Toffee had changed. She no longer felt like she hated him.

"A good start. A week ago, you were calling me a 'filthy monster'. I'd say we're making progress already." he smiled. Moon attempted to smile back at him, but she was stuck on the word 'progress'. Was that all she was?

"So, you're just trying to help me so I won't wipe out your race when I rise to power." she asked, boldly.

"A bit of a crude summary, but that is the general idea." Toffee admitted.

"You don't like me though…"

"Don't take it too personally. I don't 'like' anyone or anything. You're in the vast majority."

"There must be something you like! Books? Your family? A special monster someone?" Moon added, sounding shocked. Surely, he must've cared for something. It might've been foolish to think he would care for her after only a week, but he can't have cared for absolutely nothing.

"There is nothing. Monsters don't make those kinds of attachments." Toffee replied.

"Then, I'll find something!" Moon shouted, suddenly, with a burst of determination. Even a hopeless girl like her had things in her sad life to love and she couldn't imagine this life Toffee was claiming to have. How could he be such a content creature? He may not want her help, but he definitely needed it. "As payment for saving my life, I promise to find something in this world that brings you joy and makes you happy."

It took him a moment to process her statement, but once he had Toffee grew a small smile, "Alright, princess. If you really want to try, then it's a deal." he answered. They shook hands on it, officially sealing the deal. "Now, let's get out of here."

"Only if you address me as 'Moon'. No more 'princess' or 'your highness'. I'm sick of it." she snapped, suddenly, planning on not taking another step forward till it was done. He looked bewildered by her request. "You were calling me Moon earlier. What's the problem?"

"Earlier—I—you were—fine…" he muttered, attempting to come up with a reason. Toffee might've even started blushing just a little. "Only when we're alone, though. The king and queen will not be happy with me treating their daughter so informally."

"Ah, they could use a heart attack or two." Moon laughed. Toffee grinned too. It was the first time in a while he had a reason to smile so earnestly. Perhaps, this wouldn't be such a job after all. He would not admit it, but the girl he was using was growing on him. Just a little.

The princess had entered the Forest of Certain Death, looking dreary, and fighting off emotional monsters. However, when she exited, not only was she grinning from ear-to-ear, but she was escorted by a literal monster. Maybe even a new friend.

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