Club Snubbed - "She's fighting fire, with even more fire."
"Grrr! Raggh! Fmmm! Hghh!"
Dozens of angry grunts accompanied by hissing and growling could be heard coming from behind the closed door of Marcia's room. Inside, the young–newly dubbed royal–was still trying to get the book unlocked. She spent hours into the night attempting to pry it open only to fall asleep, exhausted. Waking up the next day, groggily she attempted once again to get the book open.
At this point, she was growing desperately frustrated. On her bed, she struggled with the book, which was now clenched tightly between her teeth. Her sharp canines gnawed at the book, but just like her other attempts, it did nothing.
Marcia spat out the book flopping over in her bed.
"Why? Why! Why must fate be so cruel? To lead me so close to the answers I seek only to have my hopes trampled out by something as stupid as a lock!"
"I give up."
Marcia slumped in her spot, allowing the book to slip from her limp hands. It hit the floor with a minute thud only to be scooped up by Liger not a moment later. He held the book between his jaws staring at the sullen Marcia. He booped Marcia several times with his head, trying to put the book back in her hand. Marcia just ignores the cat's attempts, allowing him to prod her.
"Marcia!"
A rap of knocking sounded from Marcia's door and the girl finally moved from her spot. The door opened and Star's head poked in.
"Marcia, are you ready?"
The girl in question lifted her head. "Ready for what?"
"Your fitting!"
"Fitting? Oh!" Marcia sat up. "I almost forgot."
As she got up, the young teen's phone started to vibrate. It shook, wiggling across Marcia's nightstand. Grabbing the device she glanced down at the screen, reading over a message she had gotten. After she quickly typed a response she tucked the phone away in her pocket, only to have it go off not a second later. Pulling the phone back out she skimmed the message and gave her reply. Once again she went to put her phone away only to have it vibrate before it could even make it into her pocket.
Marcia sighed and without looking at this new message she put her phone away in the drawer of her nightstand. The phone could be heard buzzing around as it knocked against the walls of its confinements.
"Uh, what's up with that? Your Dad having one of his 'moments' again?" Star asked.
"Nah, it's just Tom."
"Tom you say."
Star wore this wide giddy smile as she suddenly appeared on Marcia's bed, legs kicked up behind her. It was a similar look the princess wore during the girl's last slumber party. The one that said "dish girl".
"Yeah," Marcia raised a brow. "Tom. He's been messaging me a lot since he found out I was in Mewni. He wants to hang out, but…"
"But…" Star mimicked leaning close.
"Kinda been dealing with a lot here." Marcia gestured to her ears, the left one flicking.
"Ooooh, right," Star said. "Well, you're gonna have to see him soon."
"I know, I know. It's not cool to ignore him."
"No, no, I mean like in a few days," Star corrected.
"What?! Is he coming over?!"
"Duh, he's gonna be here for the Silver Bell Ball."
"Wait…I have to go to that?!" Marcia exclaimed.
"Yes. Why do you think you're getting fitted for a dress?"
"Because it's normal princess stuff."
"Hey," Star hummed, hand on her chin. "Since you're the only heir wouldn't that make you Queen instead of a princess?"
"Ugh!" Marcia groaned, flopping face-first onto her bed.
Liger stepped back over the bed once again trying to push the book back into her hands.
Both Star and Marcia spent the rest of the week preparing for the upcoming ball. Marcia learned the ins and outs of the entire event. Queen Moon, if anything, was thorough with her lessons. Marcia would be the guest of honor at the ball, introducing the Sphinxtonia Kingdom's resurgence.
The days flew by and before anyone knew it, the day of the ball arrived.
Marcia and Star prepared for the festivities getting ready in the blonde princesses' room. The girls decided to make a day out of it, treating it as a mini spa to look and feel their best. Hair pinned up in rollers, mud masks on faces, and those spongy foam separators wedged between their toes to ensure perfect nail polish application.
Star had finished painting Marcia's nails a deep rose and now it was her turn to have her nails painted.
"Ooooh Marcia, your first ball, are you excited?" Star asked, bouncing in her spot.
"Star stay still, I don't wanna mess up," Marcia said concentrating.
"Right, right," Star nodded. "But aren't you excited?"
"I thought you said balls like this were boring?" Marcia said.
"I mean, yeah, they can be, but it's not every day that we get to add a new kingdom. You're like the special guest of honor."
"I don't think it's that big of a deal."
Star leaned in close, nose nearly pressed against Marcia's. "Marcia it is."
Star's eye locked with Marcia's, contact not wavering. Marcia was sure that Star wasn't blinking, it was starting to unnerve her.
"Uh…Star is a bit too close there."
"Huh?" Star gazed at Marcia a bit longer and slowly started to pull back. "Sorry," she chuckled, albeit a bit awkwardly.
"You okay there Sta-?"
The door to Star's room slammed open and both girls jumped. Star let out a surprised yelp, while Marcia's tail puffed and fell to her side.
"What is up, party peeps! Who is ready to get their ball on!"
"Pony Head!" Star cheered, getting to her feet.
"Star, your nails!" Marcia said.
"Hey girl, I'm here!"
"Yay, now we can all get ready together!" Star smiled, clapping her hands together.
"Yup. Now, where is this new so-called Princess?" Pony Head questioned.
"Are you referring to me?" Marcia asked, sitting up.
Pony Head's mane whipped as the floating head turned to face the cat-eared royal. The moment she caught sight of Marcia's new features she gasped, zipping into the girl's face.
"Oh, my gosh earth turd look at you!"
"Yeah, yeah I know. Come one, bring it on, I can take it," Marcia said.
"You know, normally I would like be totally ragging on you about how uncool you are but now you're not so uncool anymore."
"Th-ank you?" Marcia questioned.
"Yeah, you can almost be like my SBFFBNAGATF."
"Wow, Marcia, that's a total honor!" Star gasped.
"What's a SBFFBNAGATF?" Marcia asked.
"Second Best Friend But Not As Good As The First," Star explained.
"And that's an honor?"
"You can thank me now," Pony Head said.
"I-"
"You're totally welcome! Now let's get ready! You girls are gonna need my help, there's no way you're gonna step out as new royalty and not look fly."
"I-"
"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome, I'm the best I know, we need to get to work, we've got a lot to do!"
Was Marcia nervous? No, absolutely not. And that was an absolute lie. Despite years of training, whether dance or karate. Performing in front of crowds of people. For some reason taking on the title of Princess, sent her level of anxiety to new heights.
Star, and Pony Head too, were forced to separate from the girl, the duo being rushed off to their proper spots in the ballroom. Marcia had to stay behind, awaiting her turn to be announced and welcomed into the alliance of the Mewni Kingdoms.
A sharp eye peeked through the slits of the red curtain. Marcia took in the grandeur of it all. So many familiar faces and so many new ones. On a small elevated stage sat the Kings and Queens of the kingdoms. Lined down the ballroom, set up in chairs, were the princes and princesses of each kingdom sitting across from one another.
There were two empty seats amongst the group, one from the girl's side and one from the boy's side.
Queen Moon, as head of the Mewni royal family, was facilitating the events. She stood at the head of the ballroom, a small silver bell held dainty between her fingers.
"Kingdoms of Mewni, each year we hold this dance to celebrate the peace between us. Welcome to the Silver Bell Ball." She rings the bell to bring forth a round of applause, solely performed by her dear husband, River.
"Whoa! Yeah-ha-ha! Wahoo! Woop! Yeah!" The King cheered.
Queen Moon gave her husband a look. While she found him very so endearing, he had his moments.
Paying no mind to her husband's antics, Queen Moon proceeded on. "The rules of the ball are the same as always. Each royal heir will dance with all the others, representing the bonds between our kingdoms."
Most of the other kingdoms seemed to be in fair spirits, but that did not pertain to the monarchs of the Spiderbite Kingdom.
King Spiderbite leaned a bit closer to his wife. "Their kingdom got taken over by rats. Ew." He whispered.
"How could they let that happen?" The Queen whispered back.
River picking up on the not-so-subtle jabs at his kingdom, pointed at the couple. "Hey! Hey! They were big rats."
Pony Head, who was seated next to Star, turned to the princess with a wide grin. "Ooh, girl. Okay, okay. What do you think of the line-up this year? Be honest."
"It's just the same bunch of borings as every year, Pony," Star sighed.
"Emm, okay, that's fine, but, like, check out Prince Larry Kelpbottom." Pony Head gestured to the prince sitting across the way. "Mm-hmm, okay. It's like somebody came up and hit him with a hottie stick."
"Yeah," Star smiled, sitting up straighter. "I guess it is kinda cool to see everyone again." She turned to her left waving at the princesses by her side. "Hey, Princess Jaggs."
"Hey." Princess Jaggs waved back, greeting with a low baritone voice.
"Hi, Princess Spiderbite." Star waved around Pony Head.
"Hello." The princesses with a large welt on the side of their heads waved back.
"Oh, look, there's your annoying cousin," Pony Head said.
"Yeah. Guess I should say hi. Hi, Rock." Star waved.
Rock, whose attention was pointed solely at his compact phone, didn't budge. He paid no mind to his cousin.
Star undeterred kept waving, calling out to Rock. "Hi, Rock, your cousin, over here. Rock Johansen."
Rock finally looked up, glancing at Star, only to go back to his phone. Looking rather disinterested in everything.
Star frowned, smile dropping. "Okay, well, he hasn't changed. Oh, looks like Rich Pigeon got himself some new legs."
"Ooh, somebody's missing, Star." Pony Head gestured to the empty seat in the boy's section.
Star huffed, crossing her arms. "Yep. He's always late."
"Well, this is where you two met, isn't it?" Pony Head smirked.
"Mm-hmm."
Pony Head's smirk grew, "Drama."
Star said not a word, keeping her arms crossed.
"Drama!" Pony Head repeated.
She still received no reaction from the Butterfly Princess.
"Drama, drama, drama, drama, drama, drama…" Pony Head chanted, pushing into Star.
After several more dramas, Star silenced her friend, closing her hands around the girl's muzzle.
"Pony, no drama this year. I told my parents I was gonna focus on the princess biz."
"Oh, come on, you're the bomb at shakin' up these dusty old traditions, girl."
"Not this year."
"Oh, come on."
"No," Star sternly said.
"Come on."
"No, Pony. Seriously."
"Oh, did you not hear me when I said, come on?" Pony Head went back to nudging her friend. "Come on, come on."
Star pushed her friend back. "I'm serious-"
"Shhhhhhhhhhh!"
From across the room, came the forceful hush of Queen Moon. A finger poised over her lips, a stern expression in her eyes as she looked at her daughter.
Star slinked in her seat with a sigh. "I've caused a lot of trouble this summer. It's time to be a better princess. I need to set a good example for Marcia."
"Ughh come on, that earth turd finally started moving up from being lame to sorta okay. Don't let her become some boring huffy princess."
Before Star could respond, the main entrance to the ballroom was burnt down. From out of the flames stepped none other than Tom Lucitor, wearing a pair of black sunglasses.
Star rolled her eyes. "Sunglasses at night. Classy."
Manfred, the Emcee of the evening, appeared with a mic in hand. "Announcing the arrival of Prince Thomas Lucitor."
"Hey, everybody," Tom greeted.
"And his parents, Lord and Lady Lucitor, of the underworld."
Marcia peeked further from the curtain, wondering exactly what Tom's parents looked like. She was surprised to find Tom's father to be a rather normal-looking man. In fact, he looked strangely human, someone Marcia wouldn't bat an eye at him if she crossed him on the street. His mother…
"Whoa, Mama," Marcia gasped.
Tom's mother was tall, like the size of a house tall. She looked exactly like one would suspect a demon to look like. Red skin, polished black horns that curved upwards, three eyes–just like her son–sharp and yellow. She was muscular, the kind of stature bodybuilders strive for.
The demonic Queen stomped with each step, taking her seat behind the rest of the royals.
River looked up, waving. "Hello, Wrathmelior." He looked at the rather human-esque King. "Hi, Dave."
"Hey."
Queen Moon stood back up, ringing the bell in her hand. "Thank you all, normally this would serve as the beginning of the Silver Bell Ball, but this event is much different from previous ones for today a new alliance shall be joining."
Everyone murmured and whispered at Queen Moon's announcement. Star had an excited smile on her face as she shared a knowing look with Pony Head.
"Joining us today is a representative from a kingdom thought long lost." Queen Moon moved her arms motioning to a set of red curtains. "I am pleased to present the last heir of the Ligeria family and future Queen of Sphinxtonia Empire, Marcia Diaz."
Heads whipped towards the curtain, Tom's moving the fastest. His head snapped, doing a complete 180, much like an owl.
The curtains were slowly drawn back, revealing the new princess in all her glory. Marcia was wearing a wine-red ombre dress, as the bottom of the dress faded into black. The dress was off the shoulder with a sweetheart neckline along with flowing split sleeves. Donned on her feet were a pair of black kitten heels. Her hair was let free-falling in long soft waves that draped around her body. Her cat ear flicked as her tail swayed behind her, a red bow matching her dress had been tied to the end of her tail. Marcia's Ligeria ruby hanging around her neck.
Marcia raised her arms until they were parallel with the ground. She slowly started to lower to the ground, going into a bow where her upper body was nearly flat against her lower half.
"Dang girl, she's getting real low," Pony Head whistled impressed.
With elegance and grace–and a surprising amount of core strength–Marcia rose back to her feet. She lightly grasped the skirt of her dress and made her way over to the empty seat set for her. She'd be seated to Pony Head's right and across from Tom. When Marcia was in her place, Manfred held his microphone.
"Will the dancers please stand for the commencement bow?"
All the princes and princesses rose from their seats, facing one another. Marcia went to bow to the one across from her, Tom, but halted mid-movement as Tom turned away from Marcia and instead bowed to someone else.
"Uh.." Marcia raised a brow confused. "That was odd," she said, taking her seat.
Star gasped, "Did you just see that?"
"Oh ho ho, yes! Ooh, I think the whole room saw that. Mar-cat, you're getting club-snubbed," Pony Head said.
"Oh, no...wait. What is that?" Star questioned.
"Also Mar-cat?" Marcia added.
"Mar-cat is my super totally cool awesome nickname I came up with. You're welcome," Pony Head said.
"Well, it's better than Earth-turd. But back to that club snub thing?" Marcia asked.
"It's just the best way to get someone all up in your business. Watch. Hey, Kelpbottom. Kelpbottom!" Pony Head called out.
Kelpbottom grinned excitedly, pointing at himself.
"No, no, not you. Not you. The handsome one."
King Kelpbottom beamed and pointed at himself, smiling at his wife. "You hear that, honey? I'm the handsome one."
"Pony, what the-I thought you liked him," Star said.
"Oh, I do, I do. But listen, the more you ignore somebody, the more they fall deeply in love with you. That's like science. It's scientific or something like that," Pony Head explained.
Kelpbottom appeared by Pony Head, taking in a big whiff to smell her mane.
"Ugh, okay." Pony Head pushed him back. "Can you please give me some space, 'cause I really need that from you, okay? Thank you. Bye-bye."
Kelpbottom walked away, head hung, shoulders sagged.
Pony Head snickered, proudly. "It works every time."
"Weird," Star said.
"That's just totally dumb, Tom's not club-snubbing me," Marcia said.
"Oooh, someone's sounding defense. I think you're jealous girl," Pony Head said.
Queen Moo rang the bell. "Let the first dance begin."
All of the young royals remained seated.
"Ahem. Anyone?" Manfred glanced around.
Finally, Tom rose from his seat and started to make his way over to what everyone thought was Marcia.
"Oh, my. It seems Prince Thomas has taken the initiative, and he appears to be walking towards our newest Princess, Marcia. What a change of events, normally Thomas chooses Princess Star for his first dance. Star and Thomas have always been the best dancers at every Silver Bell Ball, and we all know they had a very tumultuous relationship before breaking up last year."
"Manfred," Star groaned.
"How commendable, Prince Thomas is welcoming in the new Princess with the honor of the first dance," Manfred said.
Tom held out his hand, "May I have this dance…"
Marcia smiled, raising up her hand ready to place it in Tom's-
"Princess Jaggs?"
Gasps echoed out amongst the crowd as Tom offered his hand to not Marcia, but Princess Jaggs. Taken aback, Marcia pulls back her hand.
Princess Jaggs glanced around a bit confused. "Uh, yeah, okay."
She took Tom's hand, the demon prince leading her to the center of the ballroom. "You look lovely today," Tom complimented.
"What?" Princess Jaggs blushed, "No, you do."
The orchestra played as the two danced, everyone watching.
"Well, this is a surprising turn of events. No mistake. Instead of choosing Princess Marcia, he chose Princess Jaggs."
Tom turns in step, briefly locking eye contact with Marcia, but then looks away. Marcia's brows furrowed as she sat back in her seat. A mix of emotions play across her face, confusion, irritation, and a hint of embarrassment.
Star gasped, hands clasping Marcia's shoulders. "Pony, I think Marcia's getting club-snubbed. How dare Tom do this to our precious baby Mar-cat."
"That was a bit-Wait, you're using Mar-cat too?"
"It's such a cute little nickname," Star gushed.
Tom continued on with his dance, Princess Jaggs picking him up and twirling around in a move that was quite similar to a famous movie Marcia loved watching. The entire time, he kept his gaze away from her, purposefully avoiding eye contact.
"Ooh, this is some next-level club-snubbing. He wants you bad, girl," Pony Head said to Marcia.
"He seriously can't be doing that, can he?" Marcia questioned.
"Ugh. Tom always does stuff like this." Star started rubbing Marcia's shoulders like a coach hyping up a boxer preparing for a big fight. "Don't you worry, Mar-cat, you got this. Don't let him win."
"Star, it's just a dance, not a fight. If Tom wants to be that way, then I'll let him be," Marcia said.
"Wow, girl, look at you being all mature. How boring!" Pony Head said. "We need drama! I want drama! Gimme, gimme!" Pony Head pressed close to Marcia, making sure they were eye to eye. "Don't start acting like that boring earth-turd again. I will revoke your cool, awesome nickname!"
"Stop it," Marcia pushed Pony Head away. "I'm not gonna-"
The dance came to an end and Tom bent forward, kissing the back of Princess Jaggs's hand. It didn't really bother Marcia, but what did was that he finally made eye contact with the cat-eared girl. A smirk played on his lips, almost smarmy in a way. Was he challenging her?
Marcia's gem flashed red, and her fangs flashed as she snarled, ears going flat as her eyes narrowed. "Oh-ho-ho, so he wants to play it that way. Okay then, Tom, let's dance," she hissed.
Queen Moon rings her bell and before anyone could move Marcia shoots up to her feet.
With her head held high, she made her way over to the boy's side. She held a hand out, eyes locking with Tom's.
"May I have this dance, Rich Pigeon?" Marcia asked.
She takes the pigeon with human legs onto the dance floor, not breaking eye contact with Tom the entire time.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Pony Head chuckled, enjoying the delicious drama brewing.
"Oh, Princess Marcia has chosen Prince Rich Pigeon as her first dance partner. And they say felines and birds don't get along," Manfred said.
Marcia put on her best face, giggling giddily. "Oh, Prince Richard, you're so light on your feet. I'm delighted that you have honored me with my first dance."
Marcia led the dance, dipping Rich Pigeon. When it came to an end, Queen Moon rang her bell. The two separated, reclaiming their seats.
"Oh, you sure showed him, girl," Pony Head said.
"Yeah, Marcia, you go, girl," Star said.
Marcia looked at Tom, the prince's attention settled on Kelpbottom, the duo sharing a good laugh.
"He's going down," Marcia hissed, clenching her fists, Ligeria gem glowing more. "I will drink his tears and bathe in his defeat."
"Whooooa, I'm loving this new violent scary Marcia," Pony Head said.
"Marcia, maybe you wanna dial it back just a smidgen," Star said.
"No, no, she's better this way. Maybe I'll sic her on one of my exes. How dare Travis dump me before I could dump him!"
The dance continues in this manner. Marcia and Tom literally dancing around one another. Pony Head even joins in, club-snubbing Kelpbottom. As the ball continued, Marcia steadily grew angrier. She wasn't going to back down.
The dance partners filtered through until the last pair left was Marcia and Tom.
"At last, the dancers have completed the ceremony, and are seated with their parents." Manfred chuckled. "All except Marcia and Thomas."
King Butterfly nervously chuckled, looking at King Lucitor. "They're saving the best for last."
The two kings look at one another, chuckling more, in an obvious attempt to hold back their nerves.
Queen Moon leaned over, whispering to her daughter. "Star, what in the world is Marcia doing?"
"She's fighting fire, with even more fire," Star said.
"What does that-Star, Marcia has to dance with him. This is a very important ball," Queen Moon said.
"Well, it's all Tom's fault," Star said.
"I won't let him win," Marcia hissed.
She stood up from her seat, stomping her way towards Tom. She held out her hand and spoke through gritted clenched teeth.
"May I have this dance... Manfred?" She asked, turning to the man.
Everyone in the room gasped, a few even covering their mouths.
"Oh, dear," Queen Moon sighed, pinching her brows.
Why, oh why, did teenagers have to be like this?
"Oh, snap!" Pony Head laughed, eating from a bag of popcorn she had procured.
Manfred, as happy as can be, kept his microphone in hand as Marcia led them in a dance around the ballroom. "No one has ever asked me to dance. Ladies and gentlemen, Marcia has asked me, Manfred, to the dance floor. I feel like I'm in a dream."
King Lucitor turned, pointing at River, "That girl just club-snubbed my son. You're the ones who brought her here."
"Your son's been club-snubbing Marcia all night!" River countered.
"My son is a gentleman!"
"Marcia is a fragile young kitten!"
"Fragile kitten! Let's see how fragile you are!"
King Lucitor dove at River and a brawl broke out, the two men rolling on the floor, engaged in fisticuffs. As Marcia turned Manfred around, her eyes scanned for Tom, only to catch the demon prince solemnly walking out of the room.
"Oh no, he did not just-"Marcia broke away from Manfred, the man continuing to sway away, off in his own little world.
"Tom! Tom! Tom, you turn around right now!" Marcia shouted.
He turned around, facing Marcia. She approached the boy, her forefinger poking into his chest.
"How dare you! How dare you make those sad kicked puppy eyes at me, when you're the one who club snubbed me. What? You think you can just mess with me, play your little mind games, then get upset when I beat you at your own game?"
"Games?" Tom questioned.
"Don't you try and play coy with me. You club-snubber you!" Marcia narrowed her eyes.
"Marcia, I wasn't club-snubbing you, well I mean not really, sort of, it's a bit complex," Tom said.
"Complex? What the heck does that mean?" Marcia asked, throwing up her hands.
"Listen, Marcia, I know you and I didn't really have the best start of things."
Marcia huffed at Tom's words.
"But I was trying to change things. When I heard you were coming here, gonna be royalty, well I was hoping this could be a chance for us to start over. Clean slate," Tom said.
Marcia's lips were pursed inwards, cheeks puffed with irritation. "And you think you club-snubbing me throughout the entire ball is how you do it?"
"Well, I did read it in a book," Tom said.
"You read it? Where?" Marcia questioned.
"In this book here. I got it from Earth."
Tom slipped a book out of the pocket of his suit, passing it off to Marcia. The cover was black with white lettering. The title of the cover read "The Women Whisperer: Teen Edition".
"Uh…"
"Look, look, it says right here 'In order to get a girl to notice you, you gotta play it cool. Make her seem like you're not interested.'"
A wrinkle appeared in Marcia's brow as her forehead creased.
"Uh-huh…" The odd expression dropped as a forced smile appeared. "Hey, Tom, think you can do me a little favor? Give me a bit of fire, will you?" She asked.
"Sure."
Tom presents his hand, palm facing up. A small fire ignited in his open hand. Still smiling, she raised the book and proceeded to light it on fire.
"Marcia!"
She tossed the burning book over her shoulder without a care.
"Tom, never, and I mean never, buy or read a book like that again."
Tom's mood went from 0 to 100 as he burst into flames. "At least give me credit for trying! This wasn't easy!" He roared, blasting his carriage to pieces.
Marcia's eyes widened before her eyes sharpened into slits, her ears went flat against her head, her tail puffed, her back arching slightly. She snarled, flashing her fangs while brandishing her claws. Her magic gem glowed, the red hue growing a deeper shade of red, pulsating with magic.
"You don't get to be mad here! I'm the one who's mad here!" Marcia exclaimed.
"Why are you mad!?" Tom shouted
"Why are you mad?!" Marcia shouted back.
The shattering of glass broke the teens out of their staredown, and a chair flew out of the window. It landed between the two, breaking upon impact. Peeking through the shattered window, Tom and Marcia spotted River and King Lucitor still fighting. Tom's father had King Lucitor pinned to the floor, but the Butterfly King was countering by biting the man's leg.
"Look what you did! You're paying for that chair!"
"I'll pay for the chair when you pay for all the damage Toffee caused. I'm starting to rethink being allies with your kingdom."
"Oh, why don't you just crawl back into that little hole you came out of?"
"Please, everyone, settle down," Queen Moon said, trying her best to break up the fight.
King Rich Pigeon, stood up on his perch and started squawking as he flapped his wings aggressively.
Queen Spiderbite shook her head. "How could they let that happen?"
Pony Head was loving the drama, already on her second bag of popcorn. Star was cheering on her father, before being reprimanded by her mother.
Marcia calmed down, groaning as she threw her head back.
"Ugh, I'm ruining this ball. What a great first debut as a Princess." She huffed, shoulders squaring. "Alright girl, time to get your big shoes on and step up." She turned around, facing the now no longer-on-fire prince. "Tom, may I have this dance?"
With strained words, Tom answered. "I'd be delighted."
He placed his hand in Marcia's, the princess dragging him back to the ballroom. The moment they step in, Marcia grabs Tom's free arm and wraps it around her waist pulling him in close.
"Whoa…" Tom whispered.
"Shush and dance," Marcia said.
The music began to play, an upbeat tango-esque tune. Tom quickly took the lead, guiding Marcia across the floor. Their feet quickly moved to the vivace notes, fast stepping in time. The fight between the two kings came to an end as everyone observed the dance.
Fire started to pick up underneath Tom's feet the more they danced, leaving behind a trail as they went. The heat didn't phase Marcia in the slightest, it even seemed to fuel her dancing. The dance picked up as Tom and Marcia started to get more into it. Their frowns slowly started to dissipate as they enjoyed the dance. Tom raised an arm and Marcia spun fast three times before she fell back into his arms into a low dip. Tom swung Marcia's body in a low arch, her hair brushing the floor, before she was pulled back into his arms. Marcia pulled back from Tom and grasped her dress skirt as she started dancing around him. She snapped her fingers and tapped her heels to the tune, flinging her skirt like a flamenco dancer. Tom picked up on her movements, clicking the heels of his shoes as he snapped his fingers. The duo circled around one another, eyes solely set on each other. Smirks painted their lips, playful and a bit teasing in nature.
Marcia spun around, swinging her skirt, and Tom held out his hand for her to take. She grasped his hand and was pulled in close. For a moment she froze, nearly nose to nose with Tom, hands on his shoulders. Without a word uttered to another, they knew what to do next.
Tom grasped Marcia's waist and started spinning around, lifting her up, so her feet don't touch the ground. As they spun, the fire swirled around them, creating a tornado of flames. A small giggle left Marcia's lips, and Tom smiled wider. He bent his knees and then tossed Marcia in the air. The girl, without fear or hesitation, twisted her body performing a corkscrew spin, earning sets of "oo's" and "ahh's" from the crowd.
She fell back, landing in the waiting arms of Tom. The fire tornado burst in a brilliant show of dissipating flames. The dance came to an end, Marcia leaned against Tom, her back pressed close to his chest. Despite their position, the teens were still gazing at one another, focusing just on each other. They were in their own little world. They didn't even hear Queen Moon continually ringing the bell, signaling the end of the ball.
"Um, Marcia? I think the ball is over," Tom said.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think it is. So maybe we should let go."
"Yeah, yeah, let go…"
The two stood close for another few seconds before finally separating.
"And this concludes the Silver Bell Ball," Queen Moon announced.
Applause rang out along with crying. Wrathmelior had tears of lava dripping down her eyes.
"I had no idea you were such a good dancer," Marcia said.
"Yeah, you're not so bad yourself. So, um,-" Tom glanced down, rubbing the back of his head. "-would you maybe wanna get a corn shake sometime?"
Marcia smiled, "Yeah, that…that sounds nice."