-Chapter 8-

And the next day…the nightmare she had so been dreading had become the horrible, dark side of reality. Her leaving of Earth and returning to Mewni was fated to happen even without an arranged marriage because…well…what of her people? They needed a ruler. They needed the king and queen. Since she was their eventual successor, they needed her.

Royalty was viewed as perfect and easy, so carefree with everyone else doing chores and handling most situations for you. It was true that there were nursemaids, butlers, fine chefs, and the likes; it wasn't true that life was so easy and carefree. It was full of responsibilities that weighed heavily on her parents' shoulders—soon to be her shoulders as well once her fiancée's parents passed and the coronation ceremony was complete.

But she was getting ahead of herself. For now she would focus only on her wedding with someone she did not know or want or like. …Not that it mattered…

She took her dimensional scissors and, leaving behind all dresses and other belongings, tore a ragged hole between Mewni and Earth. And now all she had to do was…step through the hole.

"Just one step. One step. Earth's still right there…" She took a glance behind her at the deep gray of the rising sun, and listened carefully to make sure the entire Diaz family was asleep. Mr. Diaz certainly was… Mrs. Diaz and Marco, she couldn't tell. They were very silent sleepers.

She sighed. "Stop stalling…"

… "Go."

… "Go now. One step."

…

…

…

She lifted one leg and put it through the portal.

… "Gonna close soon…"

…

She pulled the rest of herself through it, turning around to face the last glimpse of Earth.

And that glimpse was all she needed to change her mind. She lurched forward, only to hit the ground as the portal pulled in on itself and closed in the blink of an eye. Just like that, she was trapped on Mewni. Marco was gone now. Everyone was gone now. And she had left them no way to open a portal of their own.

Funny… Before she was told about this forsaken marriage, she had envisioned her departure to be a pleasant one. She would take her dimensional scissors and all the Diaz's, all her friends, they would all come to see her off. And she would be free to travel back whenever she wanted. Or, whenever time allowed.

She picked herself up off the ground and tried to dust off all the dirt sticking to her dress. Marco had told her years ago that she could rule Mewni her way, no matter how destructive. That included getting dirty. At the time she believed that and it consoled her, but had come to realize anyway that "her way" was the wrong way. She would be a queen. And no matter what Marco—who didn't know a thing about royalty—said, she would have to be proper and dignified. She would have to strike a very royal tone. She would have to be perfect and…nothing like she had ever been before. Even those secret practices couldn't change her personality.

She took a quick glance at her dimensional scissors to assure herself that yes, she really had gone back. But it also reminded her that no, she didn't want to stay…

She quickly shook such thoughts out of her head. She was royalty. She was to be married. She was to be a queen. Of two lands. Her people relied on her for their very lives… And…she couldn't let them down… They would be killed. Thagerie wasn't known for playing fair and their wars were typically ruthless ones, as though their only true goal was never domination or retaliation, but just to destroy everything. Any unlucky civilians caught in such a battlefield were as good as dead.

But a marriage… That was an alliance so strong Thagerie wouldn't dare attack Mewni. If there was one thing she did know about Thagerie it was that they were loyal to their leaders. With a former princess from Mewni as their queen, no soldier would even think about a territorial invasion.

Sighing, she turned around to be "greeted" by the most admirable and impressive castle in the entire land in which she was to rule. She was right on the doorstep to entrapment.

She squeezed her scissors. It wasn't too late… She could just…cut a portal open…and go back to Earth… To the Diaz's… To her friends… To Marco…

She pinched herself and tried to pry her thoughts from Earth and anyone on it. It wasn't exactly a form of consolation, but she reminded herself that Earth had only ever meant to be training grounds. She hadn't been sent there for socialization, let alone seeing Earthlings as friends and family, or worse, falling in…temporary-love-that-would-never-last-anyway with her best friend. She had known all of this would end and she had tried to prepare for it but…no matter what she did, it would leave a lasting impact.

She pinched herself harder—the more she thought about Earth, the more difficult it would be to control herself.

She took a deep breath and turned around to head towards the castle, passing her people and future subjects and taking quick glances around the marketplaces. The conditions in the lower classes of Mewni weren't the best… They weren't very sanitary, there was no money, many were homeless, the farms were too small to accommodate the number of cramped animals they somehow held, shady figures were always around each corner, there were few roads with pavement, and most homes were made of wood and hardened mud. Mewni needed this marriage… She was seeing the proof with her own eyes.

The middle classes were hardly any better than the lower. The few differences were that the streets did have paving, the farms were bigger, most houses were wood and/or stone, it was slightly cleaner, and less people were homeless.

She continued marching forth and reached the upper classes. There she saw a huge difference from the other two. The citizens took notice of her presence and bowed before her. The houses were bigger and sturdier, the cleanliness was top notch, and it was pretty much the flipside of the lower and middle classes.

She wanted to stop and tell them not to bow just because she was there, but she knew it would be wrong for the crowned princess to behave in such a manner. She was to keep walking without sparing a single moment for them. She would pay back their respect by making the general life of Mewni better through Thagerie's military and funds. And they knew it, too. Some of them had relieved smiles on their faces that told her they were all grateful for this marriage. The resolve that once wavered was now strengthened and she found herself very much able to bear the thought of being married to a stranger.

She heard the clip-clop of two white stallions approaching her from the main street to her castle. Each carried a royal guard on their back.

"Your highness," one of them said.

Time for that secret training to pay off.

"What business have you with me?"

"The princess should not be walking by her lonesome in the streets."

She stared at him. "And should I not have a last look at my people before I depart?"

Even his stallion shifted in unease.

"O-Of course, my lady…but—"

"I am to be in my quarters right now," she interrupted. "You dare to lecture me about my travel home?"

"N-No," he stutters nervously. "My apologies, princess."

"You see I am unharmed. Return to my father immediately."

Both guards jerked the reins of their horses and left for the castle. It was true she didn't have the authority of a queen yet, but nobody was foolish enough to upset the princess, especially not now under the given circumstances. And she was safer than ever before due to this marriage—no one wanted their lives to be taken by Thagerie's ruthlessness. If they hurt the only solution to that problem, they would be facing the extreme wrath of two lands. Not one person would dare lay a finger on her with the stakes this high.

She kept going, knowing that stalling wasn't an option. The unfortunate part of the upper class of Mewni was that it was small. There weren't nearly as many people residing here as in the middle and lower classes. Considering how far she'd already come into it, it took her mere minutes to pass through completely.

And then, finally, that dreaded moment… She reached the castle, the heart of Mewni, her former sanctuary. Somehow it looked so much bigger than she remembered. It was taller, broader, and—

The guard she had ordered to return here was standing attentively beside the doors. His partner stood on the other side. In the moment they saw their princess approaching, they hastened to pull open the doors, obviously thinking they had upset her and weren't too eager to get on her bad side. She wasn't upset with them at all but sometimes it paid to sound that way.

They bowed to her as she passed them and once again, she kept her head held high and didn't say a single word. She didn't look back at them when she was inside and tried to pay no mind to the unmistakable sound of two heavy doors being pushed shut behind her.

"Ah, princess!" one of the castle maids greeted. "Shall we get you to your quarters?"

Star looked at her and silently nodded.

"Very well. Come now, come."

The maid began escorting her through many long hallways.

"The preparations haven't started yet, milady, but rest assured they will begin shortly," the maid said. "Are you ready?"

"I've come here for no other reason," she replied.

"My, you have grown so much! I remember when you were just a wee tyke. So different from all the other princess and princesses of the land. Even as a young lady you never did lose that adventurous spunk!" she giggled.

Being polite was one of the qualities expected of royalty but she didn't have any tolerance for this. She was already carrying a heavy enough burden on her shoulders; she was far from interested in listening to a recap of her childhood. But she chose to let the woman ramble on anyway—it would probably be the very last they would ever see of each other.

One simple flash of Marco, of Earth, of the life she already wished she could have back, caused her poised face to twist into a depressed frown. Princesses were supposed to hide their emotions but obviously this one still couldn't…

The maid opened a door for her. Her room had been refurnished since she left for Earth. Everything was white, red, or gold. A huge bed with a red bedspread, a plated mirror with jewels, a window with flowing white curtains, desk, chair, closet, this, that…

"Miss?"

She looked at the maid.

"Are you feeling well?"

She quickly nodded and forced a smile. "I will rest now."

"It's…morning, milady. There's still much to be done—"

"The hours are late on Earth. I've hardly slept before returning. You may go start the preparations for the wedding. Tell the king and queen that I would like to incorporate a few traditions from Earth," she said.

"Traditions…?"

"Yes. I will summon you when I wake. You may leave."

She sat on her bed as the door was gently shut, unsure whether to wallow about Mar—Earth, think about what exactly she did want for the wedding, or to just go to sleep like she said she would. The latter didn't seem all that bad. Considering all the restless nights she'd had prior to coming back, she really was exhausted. And maybe it would take her mind off of everything.

A/N

Sorry for the ridiculously long wait. I wanted to continue but my hands spent plenty of time hovering over the keyboard and nothing at all would come to my head…except ideas for future chapters that would cost me a confusing and extremely jarring time jump in this chapter. In other words, I got nuthin'.

Then other fanfic ideas came to me and I had to focus on those so they could get worked out and I could get back to Nova. As you can see…this took quite some time. So much time, in fact, that I have to apologize for that. And I have to apologize for giving you this crap chapter even though you've waited so long and probably expected a lot more than just this.

I'm already on the next chapter by the time you finish reading this! And! I plan to update much sooner in some feeble attempt to help make up for this…horrifyingly long wait.

Originally I didn't plan to tell you this, but considering how I've treated this story in the past…ahem…year…I figure I should give you some future to look forward to. I have some surprises in this story and thanks to a review I got, I now have extra ideas and changed the plot a little.

Furthermore I plan on either splitting this one story into two different ones using a huge time skip and an explanation with it, or make a sequel. Either way both are going to be the exact same—plot, idea, etc. It'll take place in the far future, which typically can screw up the original story, but my plan will have all the emotion and depth of this one (so it won't be one of those screw-ups). I'd like to hear your thoughts on whether it should be in this story (it is a continuation after all), or if it should be a sequel as a separate story.