Welp, I'm a little late, but that never stopped anyone, right? Anyway, thanks to my readers/followers/favoriters/reviewers for the continued support of this story. I really appreciate people taking time to humor my attempts at writing. This updates next Tuesday.
"I'm kinda starting to get some second thoughts about this, Diaz." Janna glared at the intricate lock in front of her. She and Marco had split up with Star and the king, who instead went to the Cloud Kingdom to meet with some allies.
"Don't. You've broken through worse." The two had snuck past a pair of drunk lizards and a trio of sleeping chimera, so just because this was the first difficult part of the break-in didn't mean that they could throw down and leave.
"You aren't getting it. This beast busted all my lockpicks. I'm locked out." Janna began knifing the wood near the lock, trying to cut it away. Unfortunately, the tiny daggers didn't do much against the mountainous door. Marco stroked his non-existent beard and frowned. He could feel the beginnings of an idea, but- One of Janna's knives clanged against the lock, forcing them to hide behind a nearby bush. A few seconds later, one of the lizards staggered over and peered at the scrapes on the wood. Suddenly, he pitched forward, shuddered, then went still, a small blade lodged in his arm.
"Janna," Marco hissed, "you didn't kill him, did you?"
"I have two words for you, Marco- Sleep. Potions. He'll wake up in a few hours with no memory of this. Now hurry up! I need you to help find a way in."
Janna resumed her attempts at picking the lock, this time with her knives. This lock- its kinda like those shoelace knots that you can't ever untie- And just like that, a fully formed idea popped into his head.
"Janna, move." He drew his sword and she jumped out of the way. After sending more than a few prayers to the corn gods that this would work, Marco shoved the blade through the keyhole, then through the bolt itself. It sliced through the lock's internal mechanisms like butter, then ended the bolt in similar fashion. All they had to do was push, and the door opened. The Queen of Thieves was agape.
"How did you- that's not fair!"
Marco smiled for the first time in a while.
"Ever heard of the Mewnian Knot?" Janna shook her head. "I didn't think so. It was supposed to be unsolvable, but then Nebula Butterfly came and chopped it in half, solving it. This was a similar situation. Also, this sword is designed for cutting metal, so..."
The thief rolled her eyes, but not in a mean way.
"Still as nerdy as ever, I see. C'mon! Let's get in there before the guards notice us."
It wasn't long before the main hall of Castle Butterfly branched into two identical corridors, much to Marco's displeasure. He knew, from prior experience, that not only was the keep way larger than it looked from the outside, but also that getting lost was very likely. Unsure of what to do, he turned to Janna, who was preoccupied with prying rubies off the corner of a picture frame.
"Janna!" He whisper-yelled.
"Yeah?" She didn't bother turning her head. It was the same every time.
"Put the rubies back. We really need to focus on getting the queen." Yep. That's about what she expected.
"Alright, Mr. Straightlaced." She subtly slipped the gems into her boot. "I'll go right, you go left. Fair?"
"Umm… Yeah. Fair. Try not to get lost."
Janna flashed him a Cheshire smile.
"Ten crowns says you never come outta here. Later, Sol."
"Oh, you're on, Vixen. Bye."
And so they parted.
Star vowed that when she became queen, she would abolish meetings forever. The day just dragged on and on and on, and no one got anything done. If she had a choice, she would've gone with Marco and Janna to rescue her mom. Then she could have been doing something productive. But nooooooo. Here she was, sitting and trying to listen to whatever her dad was saying. Next to her, Tom and Princess Ponyhead were struggling to stay awake. Even the ever-regal Queen Lucitor was fading. She could bear it no longer. Beneath the table, Star unscrewed the top of her wand and began doodling on her arm. A scene danced across her skin, animated by the magical golden ink. In it, she, Tom, Ponyhead, and Marco were relaxing on a grassy hill, free from responsibility and danger and war. The princess sighed. Maybe when Toffee was gone she wouldn't have to worry. Maybe someday, hopefully sooner rather than later, her knight would accept her as a friend. And hopefully, one day far in the future, Tom would get down on one knee and- A sharp poke in the side distracted her from her daydream. The demon prince was staring at her and pointing to the pen in her hand. He made a grabbing motion, and after wiping the ink off of her arm, she placed it in his hand. Tom scribbled on his palm for a bit, then showed what her he had wrote.
Meet after dinner 4 romantic walk?
Star nodded, then replied.
I have to keep this on the DL. Dad doesn't know.
K. Pony showed me her hedge maze. See u there?
Yep!
Excitement bloomed in Star's chest. She would finally be able to spend real time with her boyfriend! They had been writing and calling each other for almost two years now, but she had only ever seen him at the royal balls that her parents hosted, and, aside from the two times that they had been able to talk face-to-face, she had never actually been around him. Though the Butterflies considered the Lucitors allies, the two families were not exactly on you're-allowed-to-date terms. And even if they were, her mother wouldn't approve of Tom. He was actually cool, which conflicted with everything her mom stood for.
"And that," finished her father, " is how we will reclaim the castle. Any questions?"
"You'll never believe it, Pony! He asked me on a date!" Star was up in Ponyhead's room, which was decorated with beanbag chairs and posters of...buff centaurs. Star had to admit that her friend had slightly different tastes than she did.
"Well it's about time, B-Fly! You've been together for what- two years now?"
"One year, eleven months, and seventeen days." Star said dreamily.
"And he's never asked you out before?"
"Well…" The air in the room grew thick and oppressive. "You know why, Pony. My parents don't understand is all. What they don't know can't hurt them, right?"
The unicorn squinted her eyes dramatically.
"Star…." A smile lit up her face. "Go get him!"
The rest of the day passed in a blur of names and faces of allies from every corner of Mewnie. Star remembered none of it. Her sole focus was her date after dinner. If she could just make it through these never-ending introductions…
Dinner came and went without incident. Everyone was in a good mood despite the dire situation, mostly due to the combination of ale and King River's jokes. Every member of the Mewnian Court that had escaped the castle alive were there, and the minstrel Ruberiot performed Light, a patriotic ballad about Mewnipendance Day. The song made her think of Marco and how disgusted he would be if he were to hear it. She was unsure of why he didn't kill monsters, but whatever reasons he had were probably good ones. He just didn't seem like the type who would rebel pointlessly.
And at the dawn when war was done,
They held their dear ones tight,
Staring into morning sun,
The bringers of the light.
Ruberiot gave a huge bow and ducked off into a side room. People began to disperse, and Star made a beeline for the maze. Unfortunately, she was stopped by a meaty wall of flesh.
"Where are you going, Star? Did you forget about dessert?" Her father placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her toward the kitchen.
"Uhhh, Dad?" Star chuckled nervously. "Pony and I were going to go for a walk and talk about… girl stuff..." Star hated lying to her dad, but it was necessary. How else would she get out of this?
River removed his hand and smiled.
"Oh. I see. Go along then."
Star met Tom at the entrance to the maze. He looked amazing in his white suit and pants, a red rose corsage pinned on his lapel.
"Hey Star."
"Hi!" She practically squealed. Stupid hormones.
He offered her his arm, and she took it. Together, they walked into the maze.
"So, Starship? How's life?" Star and Tom had stopped at one of the numerous benches inside the labyrinth of bushes, and were making up for lost time, talking about interdimensional adventures and monster hunting escapades. Star was on cloud nine. He was so kind and caring, listening to her like this. She would be content to sit and stare into his beautiful brown eyes for eternity...
"Mewnie to Star..." Tom waved his hand, catching her attention. "I asked about you, but there's something else on your mind isn't there?" Star grinned hugely, trying-and failing- to hide the blush that had turned her face into a tomato.
"Uh-Nope! Nothing else on my mind at all! I definitely wasn't staring-" That story turned on her pretty fast. Tom smirked.
"You're a very bad liar, princess. So tell me- What's up?"
"Well," Star started, "My Mom's gone and so is my kingdom, but you already know that. My parents found me a new guard, though, to replace Ingrith after she had her manticore...incident. " Both of them cringed at the memory. "He's actually pretty cool-"
"Wait wait wait. He?" Tom was instantly suspicious. Star's parents never hired male guards for Star.
"Yeah. Mom and Dad wanted to try something new this time. Don't worry. He doesn't like me."
This did nothing to abate Tom's fears. The first bubbles of anger popped in his chest.
"What's his name?" The demon clenched his teeth. Come on...This isn't the time... By now, he was visibly shaking.
Star saw the barely contained rage just beneath Tom's surface, but didn't pay attention to it. He wouldn't blow up at her, right?
"His name's Marco Diaz. General Diaz's son." Star was wrong. Tom exploded into flame, torching the hedges around them. An inhuman roar ripped from his mouth.
"OF ALL PEOPLE, THEY CHOSE HIM? HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT YOU WHEN HE CAN'T KILL-" Star pulled out her wand and froze him solid. A long moment passed before she walked out of the blaze, her expression blank except for one lonely tear dripping from her chin.
"He's coming." said Glossaryck.
"Really? This is going to be easier than I thought." Toffee sat back in the Butterfly throne, relishing the elevated view of the room.
"Hmmm… The spell is prepared, right?
"Yes. Do you take me for a fool?"
"No, of course not. I'm only concerned because he is as much a pawn in my game as he is yours."
"Well then, Glossaryck. A good game to you."
"Same. You're the first decent opponent since the annoying triangle demon."
Toffee merely chuckled. His stolen magic swirled in his palm, creating a hypnotic green vortex. Soon….very soon….