Welcome to Chapter 2 of Queensguard. As always, feedback is appreciated. Special thanks to JJmmmmmlol and robertkellett for their reviews on the last chapter.

Down on the streets of Mewnie, a young man, about Star's age, stared up at a notice that had been tacked to the wall. It read:

Notice

The castle is looking for honorable and able men or women, aged fifteen, to serve as Princess Star Butterfly's royal bodyguard. Must have knowledge of combat and military tactics. If you are willing to audition, sign your name on the line below.

Before being disowned by his family, Marco Diaz had been the son of a great Mewman general in charge of eradicating any monsters that violated the Monster-Mewman accord. He had been taught martial arts and sword fighting, but it, at least in the eyes of his father, had been wasted on him, because, for some reason, Raphael Diaz's errant son didn't want to kill monsters. Thus, he had been thrown out into the slums of Mewnie, and expected to survive on his own in this strange new world. But now he had a chance to rise above his circumstances. Marco, without a second thought, signed his name on the line.

"Diaz? Are you Raphael's son?

King River squinted down from his throne at the boy in front of him.

Marco nodded.

"Hmm...So your old man put you up to this… Anyway, do you think that you can handle my daughter? She's a bit….wild."

"Yes, sir, I believe that having six younger sisters makes me more than qualified for this task." His back straightened, and he began to sweat. It was this or go back to the streets.

River smiled.

"At ease, soldier. You got the job."

Marco's jaw hit the floor.

"I..uhhh...I… don't know how to- Thank you!"

The king yawned.

"See, the thing is...You were the only person to sign up, and we're desperate. Basically, your job is to keep Star from doing anything too stupid. You do that, and a life in the castle with three meals and a bed is guaranteed. You are expected to abide by castle rules, respect all senior staff and royalty, and be willing to put your life on the line for queen and country. Oh, and ah...one more thing. You try anything with my daughter, and I will personally feed you to the dogs. Got it?"

Marco blanched, and the king winked at him. Then he was escorted down to the armory to get fitted for armor. The castle servants removed his red cloak, then slipped chain mail and a chestplate over his lean figure. The metal was cold, and he shuddered even though he wore a shirt underneath it. One of the maids glanced up at him, concerned. He shook his head, and she looked away. Hours passed in a flurry of greaves and helms and everything in between. At long last, he was finished. The armor was a rich black, and polished so that you could see your reflection in it. The servant that had been helping him placed the helmet over his unruly hair, and he was ready. Just as he was about to leave, a door whooshed open and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. In walked a tall woman with blue hair. She looked around for a few seconds before settling her icy gaze on Marco.

"Mr. Diaz, I presume?"

Marco dropped to his knees.

"Queen Moon." He was terrified of this woman, but she was his queen, and you respected the Queen. Or you died.

"Indeed. I understand that you are to be guarding my daughter." Her eyes bored holes in his skull.

"Y-yes."

"Well then. You ought to be introduced to her. Follow me."

Marco rose from his kneeling position and trailed after the queen. They wound their way through endless corridors and antechambers until they reached a flight of stairs. Moon stopped.

"Her room is at the top, to the left."

Marco made to leave, but she stopped him. In her hand was a black sword.

"This is for you. As a knight of Mewnie, you will be needing one of these. Use it for good."

He tentatively took the blade and clipped it to his belt. Then, under the careful watch of the queen, he climbed the steps.

"Ow! What the-"

A massive iron trap had attached itself to Marco's leg and penetrated his chainmail. Carefully, he leaned over and removed it, causing a trickle of blood to drip out from under his armor. Why, he thought, would there be a bear trap at the top of the castle stairs? Marco shook his head and continued on, only to find himself stuck to the floor by a sparkly pink substance. No matter how hard he tried to escape, his long-suffering leg wouldn't budge. Finally, he gave up and removed his shin piece altogether. Now he walked like a cripple, using his sword's sheath as a cane. He was almost to the door when-

"Super Duper Deep Freeze!"

Marco was frozen in place, and not because of the pretty girl standing in front of him. He was, quite literally, trapped inside a block of rainbow colored ice. Star walked up to the block and sized up her catch. Her quarry was in a strange position, with his (shoeless) leg off the ground and his right arm stuck out in front of him.

"Mph mmmh mhh mm hmmm nnw!"

Marco silently cursed himself for ever signing that notice. In one day, he'd had more trouble than he ever had on the streets. Terrifying monarchs, bear traps, and whatever this was, to name a few.

"Are you the guard my parents sent?" Star asked innocently. Of course she knew what he was, and she wanted no part of it. She didn't need a bodyguard. Or a "friend", for that matter. She was an independent princess, and having another one of her parent's thugs looking over her shoulder would only make things worse than they already were.

"Of crssss m m!" Marco grunted through frozen teeth.

Star was about to leave him there, but he looked pretty pathetic, and it would be cruel to keep him like that. She waved her wand a couple of times, and the ice melted away, causing Marco to flop backwards onto the floor. He groaned, and sat up. Star was standing over him.

"Need some help?" She offered her hand.

He gratefully accepted, and stood up to full height again. He was well aware that he didn't look like the most professional knight, because he was pretty sure that real knights wore armor on both legs and weren't covered in rainbow water, but he was made more uncomfortable when Star yanked off his helmet, causing his matted hair and dirt-smeared face to be revealed. Star, however, seemed unfazed by the muck. She pointed her wand at his face, and when he moved to shield himself, she smiled.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, silly! I was going to use a spell to clean you up. You look like you crawled out of a gutter!"

Marco winced. He had actually crawled out of a gutter once, and it was not fun. Star pointed the wand at his face again, and this time, he didn't resist. Suddenly, a warm feeling spread across his body, scrubbing away the grime and healing his bleeding leg. He closed his eyes and soaked it all in, relishing the warmth. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this good. He was...just going to... stand here...for awhile….

"Hey! Wake up!" Star stared at the heap of a mewman being that was, once again, splayed on her floor. This time, however, he wore a dopey smile on his face and was unconscious. Hmmm….

"Evil Alarm Attack!"

A horde of alarm clocks marched out of her wand, bearing air horns and buckets of water. Star covered her ears. A deafening noise rang through her tower, followed by a splash, and she watched- with some amusement- as the knight sprang from the ground into a standing position in all of two seconds. He looked dazed for a moment, but then seemed to register where he was.

"My apologies, Princess. I did not mean to fall asleep while on duty. I swear to you that this will never happen again."

She sighed. He was just as stiff-necked as all the rest of them. This new guard was definitely not friend material.

"You can call me Star, Knight…"

"Diaz. My name is Marco Diaz."

Diaz….where had she heard that name before? Huh. She made a mental note to ask her parents about this boy.

"So, Marco Diaz, where are you from?" Star decided to start with a question. Most people were more than willing to talk about themselves.

His eyes darted shiftily across the room. "Somewhere."

"Where?"

Marco's gaze hardened. "That's not your concern."

Star was beginning to become curious. This wasn't what usually happened. All the other guards that she had been assigned splattered their credentials all over the room the second they saw her. But Marco was different. He was a mystery, and Star was determined to figure him out.