Author's Notes:
So, after a much longer wait than I had planned, I'm back. I could give a million different excuses, but it really just comes down to me struggling to balance my time with college starting. I'm taking the hardest class I'll have to take in my entire college career in my first semester and I really just need to make sure I pass. I want to keep updating this story and I promise I will, I just won't make any promises as to when I will.
If I'm finding it easier or more fun to write my other fics, I won't stop myself from doing so. I want to ensure the quality of my work, so forcing myself to focus on one story will just produce bad writing.
As for this chapter, I'm proud of what I've written. It took me multiple attempts and full rewrites to get it right, but I finally finished and reached the result that I was hoping for. This is a much calmer chapter, so just relax and enjoy. The plot will begin ramping up in chapter three and beyond.
…
Chapter Two: Drunken Despair
The sharp, chilled morning wind gusted through Star's flowing golden locks with a faint aroma of rain. At the center of the Kingdom, just across from the fountain that had stood for as long as the Kingdom had lived congregated its entire population, or at least that which remained.
The young Queen stood beside a tall structure covered by a long cloth tarp. She knew what was underneath. She'd spent the entire night before and even hours into the morning ensuring its quality.
A black marble statue, filled with the carved names of every Mewman killed in the day prior's attack, was finely constructed by the Kingdom's second-best sculptor, who was forced to carve the name of the man who was her superior.
The scene was somber. Not a voice filled the air besides that of the royal family's longest-tenured servant, whose tone was as dully austere as ever.
Manfred was an emotionless man, but even he couldn't help but shed a tear as he brought his long speech to an end.
"...and for those who remain, the gift of our friends' memories will remain with us for as long as we live and travel to our children when we inevitably join those who await us in the afterlife."
The moans of children and adults alike echoed through the air as two long minutes passed.
Star's head hung low, the memory of her father's dying eyes plastered at the forefront of her mind. Her eyes had been glossy for as long as the ceremony had persisted, and only then did she let her tears fall.
Marco held his arm around her, but even as she pressed against his chest, he felt none of her usual warmth—not even from her fresh tears.
Finally, Manfred signaled to the knights that held down the tarp, and with a gust of wind, they pulled it away, revealing the beautiful tribute to the entire Kingdom. The crowd let out a quiet hum of approval as they quietly stepped forward, brushing their hands against the memorial as they searched for the names of those who were lost.
Star let out a sigh of relief and finally let her shoulders fall. After such a horrible day, she wasn't sure that anything could go right.
It wasn't as if they were screaming and cheering, but that would have been far more concerning. No, they merely accepted the gift that she gave, and that was more than she could have possibly hoped.
Marco stood beside her and was unsurprised when she let her head rest on his shoulder. He hadn't seen her so tense before. The year of jubilant fun they had together seemed so distant as the beautiful memories faded, only to be replaced by horror.
The past wasn't perfect and the present wasn't the worst it could be, but it was undebatable that times were far darker than they'd ever been before.
"This is nice," he remarked quietly, Star nodding as refused to move from his shoulder.
He let several minutes pass, his wounded side beginning to ache. Against his will, he let out a pained grunt, Star pulling away in an instant.
She met his eyes with concern, then glanced to his side, where blood leaked through the cuts in his tattered hoodie.
"Marco!" she whisper-shouted, pushing him toward the castle. "You need to go get patched up. I can't believe you didn't tell me you were still hurting!"
"Go to the castle!" she commanded sternly.
He opened his mouth to argue, but as her big blue eyes glared back at him, all of his reluctance was sapped away.
He sighed, letting her push him forward, and after a couple of steps, she let him go, but he knew better than to stop. Instead, he simply waved.
"Are you gonna come get me when this is all over?" he asked, slowing his pace as he awaited her response.
"I-" she started, turning to the crowd and then back to him. "No, I think I'm gonna stay a little bit after."
Marco nodded, then continued his walk to the castle, grasping at his side.
Star watched his every step until he finally walked through the open doors, her gaze lingering there for several seconds before she finally turned to the crowd once more, watching as her subjects slowly peeled away.
Without another moment of apprehension, she joined those who remained, standing at their sides and conversing with them as they shared in their reminiscence.
Each story was in every way unique, yet had every bit of the same beauty as the last. Even despite the recency of their losses, all that the families had to say was positive. All they remembered were the best of times, and as she found herself watching Manfred and the other royal servants preparing her father's funeral service from a distance, she couldn't help but remember the good moments as well.
River Johansen-Butterfly was a great man and an even better father. He taught her everything he knew, from fighting to fun, he gave her what she thought were her best traits, and she couldn't have been any more thankful.
So, with every new story she heard, she felt her eyes grow more glossy. She felt her heart grow more full, and yet, so empty… so lonely.
Her happiness was true, but false at the same time. She felt every bit of the emotion, but somehow, her heart still ached. It wasn't like she was alone. She had Marco. She had her mother… wherever she was. She even had Marco's family to go back to, but still, her father's place in her heart remained, even if it was just a void with him gone.
After about an hour, she couldn't take any more. She listened to her last story while holding herself together with what little strength she still had, said goodbye, then pulled her scissors from her bag and dove through a portal, the dam of her heart cracking before she could even step all the way through.
She stumbled through the portal with burning-hot tears rolling down her pale cheeks, her entire body tensing as she wept endlessly on the ground.
The floor was hard, but cold, and somehow familiar. She let her body seep into it without care, letting herself be enveloped by its comforting coldness, her eyes red as she sobbed.
Her vision was blurred, but somehow she knew exactly where she was. Beneath her was the cold, rocky floor of her father's secret space, where he would always escape when the burdens of being a King became too much. All too many times did he vanish off into this cold, seemingly dreary room, and all too many times did Star join him.
The room was empty, but inside it were endless possibilities. She remembered her father chasing her around in the room and playing tag, and only a day later, sitting down to play chess with her. She was never any good at the game, but she took joy from it every time just because he was there.
She wiped her eyes and sat up slowly, expecting to feel some of the same joy she always had, but even as seconds turned to minutes, all she felt was sorrow. Her eyes grew wet as she pressed her palms against the floor angrily.
She lifted her hand and balled her fist, clenching her face. She wanted to slam her fist down with everything she had. She wanted to let her anger flow from her body. She wanted to be free from her pain, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't muster the strength.
Her body seeped back into the floor as her body continued to weaken.
Several minutes passed before she was finally able to roll onto her back, staring at the dark ceiling as she continued to sob.
A day's worth of pent-up sorrow spewed from her eyes as the depth of her father's loss finally hit her. She felt every emotion that she was supposed to. The shock she felt from the moment his body hit the ground still lingered in the deepest depths of her soul, yet she still couldn't believe that he was truly gone. She was angry at Toffee. She was angry at herself. Hell, she was even angry at him, but no matter how hard she tried to let it out, all it turned out to be was sadness, masquerading as something she couldn't possibly feel for her greatest idol.
Her emotions rendered her body completely useless to the point that she could hardly breathe, her body puddling on the ground beside her fresh tears.
She was desperate to get back up, to smash through the walls that bound her so, but with every breath, her lungs felt incapable of refilling completely. With every sob, her eyes felt more wet. With every moment, she was more weak.
It was only when the edges of her vision began to grow dark, her lungs so impossibly empty that she let herself be conquered—that she finally gave way to the pain that she so relentlessly fought away.
Finally, her mouth pulled in the air she couldn't live without. Finally, she felt her autonomy return. Finally, she accepted that this—everything going on around her—was truly reality, and no longer did she fight to pull herself back up.
No longer did she only remember her fondest times with him. No longer did he feel so hopelessly distant.
He was dead and she was alive, but somehow, it felt like he was still there. Somehow, her shattered spirit seemed to be piecing itself back together, even if slowly.
Deep inside her, she finally heard a faint voice. It seemed like it had been calling for her for an eternity, but only then could she answer.
She shot up from the ground in an instant, her mind focused on the single missing piece of her new reality, her mother.
She remembered desperately tossing aside the fallen castle's rubble, searching for something she desperately hoped she wouldn't find. She remembered pulling out her mother's cracked battle crown and the jubilation she felt.
She was alive. She knew it was true, and yet, she was nowhere to be found. Her kingdom was without its queen and her daughter was without her mother.
Despite her body still being so weak, she pushed off of the ground and returned to her feet, her hand slipping into her tattered bag and pulling out her dimensional scissors.
Her eyes lingered on them for a while as the rest of her body pulled itself back together. She took the deepest breath she could manage, then sliced her scissors through the air.
Determination was all she felt as she stared down the open portal, her steadfast resolve returned to its unwavering state.
She felt something as she began to step through the portal. It was almost like a rope or a magnet, warning her against leaving with all of the strength it could manage. Under any other circumstances, she would surely have obeyed its requests, but as her foot pierced the boundaries of the portal, she knew in her heart that her mission was true.
Gathering the little strength she still needed, she thrust herself through the portal and into a world she'd never seen before.
She didn't let herself get distracted with any details. Instead, she simply walked down the path that laid ahead of her, asking whatever citizens she found whether they'd seen or heard about her mother.
Of course, the people didn't seem to know anything, but one strange fellow pointed her toward another dimension, and seeing no other option, she followed his directions.
She repeated that process over and over, going from dimension to dimension and talking to whoever would listen. Usually, she didn't seem like she was making any progress, but after three long hours and an unimaginable amount of questioning, she finally overheard a group of women talking about a queen at a bar.
She listened from a distance for a while before finally budding in. Like she had a thousand times before, she questioned the women, and finally, when they told her to go to a place called the "Tavern at the End of the Multiverse," she knew she was heading to the right place.
A smile snuck onto her face as she gripped her scissors and ripped open a portal, stepping through without hesitation.
She scanned from side to side, taking in the strange sights of the unnatural tavern when her eyes widened.
She fell to her knees as her eyes landed on the bar, where her mother's unmistakable, snowy hair. Her eyes ached. She wanted to cry but didn't have a single tear to give.
Still, she sobbed, the attention of all in the bar except her mother falling on her. She chuckled as her mother refused to turn her head. Her legs were too weak to support her standing, so with what little strength she still had, she dragged herself across the floor.
It took at least half a minute for her to finally get to the bar, but once she was finally there, tugging at her mother's dress, her pain seemed to vanish for a moment.
Her mother finally glanced to the floor where she sat, her drunken eyes widening after a couple of seconds.
"S- Star?" she questioned, slurring her words. "What're you d- doing h- here?"
"I- I came to find-" her smile faded in an instant as her mother toppled over, collapsing in her chair. "...you."
With the help of the bartender, Star got her mother into a booth on the side of the tavern opposite its magical border. She had watched people throw their trash through to the other side and she didn't want to find out what, if anything was beyond it.
Instead, she sat across from her mother, who was too inebriated to sit up.
Her cheek was planted firmly against the table and Star couldn't tell for sure, but she thought she might've been drooling.
She sighed.
"Mom?" she called, seconds passing before she finally acknowledged her daughter with a groan.
"What are you doing here?" Star questioned. "The kingdom needs you."
Moon chuckled.
"What does it look like I'm doing," she jeered loudly. "They don't need me…"
Her words were slurred and her posture was terrible. She lifted an empty mug to her mouth and tried to take a sip, letting out a deep sigh of relief despite having not taken a drink.
"I-" she hiccuped. "I deserve- a- breeeeeak…"
Her face slammed against the table, her glass mug shattering in an instant. The onlookers in the Tavern watched from a distance, whispering to each other as Star leaned back in the booth.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself, grabbing her mother by the collar of her top and dragging her out of the booth.
"If you don't want to listen…" she began, grunting as she hoisted her mother onto her shoulder. "-then you don't get to have a choice.
Star sliced open a portal and planted a foot on the other side when she heard her mother's voice, sorrowful and weak.
"I- I can't-" she sobbed out, barely able to form a word. "I can't be queen. It's too much, I-"
"I know," Star answered with a sigh. "... but I'm not gonna let you miss Dad's funeral either."
"I-" Moon began, her words failing her. "Okay."
Star stepped through the portal and into the Butterfly castle just outside of her parents' room. With little struggle, she carried her mother into her room and planted her on her bed.
Her eyes drifted to the master bedroom's balcony, the beauty of the setting sun peering into the room and onto her parents' bed just beside the queen. It was as if the king himself was reaching out to her, barely creeping onto her body even with all of the strength he still had.
Star walked toward the balcony and leaned over its edge, letting out a deep sigh. After a tiresome day, she could finally let her eyes rest.
She felt a great amount of weight come off of her back. It was obvious that her mother was in a less-than-desirable state, especially to reclaim her title of queen, but even as drunk and dirty as she was, her mother's presence made the castle feel much less lonely than it was before.
The void in her heart remained, but it would keep beating regardless.
…
Hours passed and finally, the time of the ceremony had arrived. Star and Marco had reunited two hours prior, giving both the chance to change out of their tattered clothes and into more formal attire. Her mother, however, made no such changes.
The service was incredibly intimate, allowing only those who were immediately related to the king, with the one exception being Marco of course, but even still, if Moon were in her usual state, she would have been ashamed of how she presented herself.
She reeked of alcohol, both old and new. Her cheeks still stained with blood and dirt, it was abundantly apparent that she hadn't even taken the time to rinse off after the battle the day before. Even beyond that, her outfit was in a pitiful state. She hadn't changed since she had gotten home. Patches of skin peered through her tattered clothes and shattered armor.
But even still, even despite the disapproving glares of the Butterfly and Johansen families, her eyes never left the sight of her husband's coffin. Even in her drunken daze, all she felt was despair.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, splashing onto the grass as he descended into his grave. As he reached the bottom, all of the others dropped gifts at the bottom, ranging from flowers to golden jewels, but Moon gave up much more.
She didn't drop a single item into that grave, but still with River even in his coffin was her heart.
Star leaned on Marco as the ceremony dragged on. She didn't cry, if for no other reason then because she was simply out of tears. She felt every bit of the same pain she'd felt since she watched his body fall, but even as the families slowly poured the soil atop his coffin, he felt no more distant.
Sure, he was intangible, never to be seen again, but Star knew deep down that for as long as she lived, she would always feel him. She'd feel his presence no matter how great or how terrible her situation was.
He would always be there for her, watching with pride…
…
Author's Notes:
Alright, there it is. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As I said, it was meant to be a much calmer one, but from now on, we're focusing on this story. We needed time to focus on the effects of Dark Times's finale, but now we can begin to progress the plot once more.
I won't say anything more here, but if you were disappointed or expected the story to ramp up with this chapter, then don't give up yet. It's coming, I promise. I have some great plans for this story and the ending I have in mind will be worth the wait.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time. As I've mentioned in my Instagram stories ( starcovstheworld), is broken right now and I can't see the views I'm getting per chapter. So, to help me gauge your thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment.
See you next time! Have a great day!
~ lucash21
