ACT III: Solarius, the Monster Carver Part 4: Rising Tension

Solarius held his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Ever since he passed the scepter on to his son for his fourteenth birthday, he had been forced to use alternative weapons. Additionally, his age was beginning to catch up to him, and he was slowly losing his physical strength. It proved rather difficult, but he still managed to muscle through each and every battle. Because he knew no matter how weary or how tired he grew, he could never give up until he accomplished his goal of driving the monsters back to the Forest of Certain Death. His kingdom depended on it.

His son depended on it.

However, one day, something completely unexpected happened. One day, while gathering up the casualties of the latest massacre, Solarius was beginning to lose faith in his own cause. That was when a small brigade of monsters approached him, led by a kappa. His name was Klevis, and he had an offer that the king could not refuse.

"Say that again?" The king crossed his arms as he listened to the proposal.

"I said, I have spoken with a representative of each monster colony," Klevis repeated. "And we have all come to the same conclusion: this war is going nowhere, your majesty. We lose some of our men, you lose some of yours. And it has carried on like this for almost twenty years. So, we propose a final contest. One last duel to the death. We will volunteer a single fighter, as will you. And the winner will determine the fate of Mewni."

"Explain." The king demanded.

"If your fighter emerges victorious, every monster settlement outside the Forest of Certain Death will be abandoned and we will retreat back into the Forest. However…" The monster's smile grew wider. "If our fighter succeeds, your castle will be ours."

The Mewman soldiers gasped in shock at the absurd idea, but the king was unfazed. Indeed, it sounded too good to be true, but it would definitely end the war. He looked over at Hekapoe and Rhombulie who had been by his side for protection the entire time. Both members of the Commission seemed to have faith in the idea, but he still wasn't entirely convinced. Asking for a moment to himself, Solarius summoned Indexia.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"I think it's suicidal, my king." She replied. "I told you from the beginning, I don't get involved in wars and politics. Additionally, I can see by that look in your eyes that you plan to volunteer yourself. With all due respect, I think you are out of your mind. You are past your prime."

"Tell me something, Indexia." He remarked. "You consider Omnitraxus, Lekmat, Hekapoe, and Rhombulie your children, correct?"

"In a way." The mage nodded.

"Well, if you had a chance to guarantee their safety, would you take it?"

"... of course I would, my liege."

With that, Solarius strutted back to the kappa. "Where will this duel take place?"

Two Weeks Later...

The leaders of Mewni rejoiced. By tomorrow morning, they would be free from monster threats for good. Solarius had been training ever since the proposal, ensuring that his body would be ready. Jeshica had insisted that he take a few hours to relax before the duel, and so he joined in the celebration.

An umbrella handle pulled on his bicep, earning his attention. Eclipsine was tugging on his arm, wanting to get his attention. "Hey, kid." The king smiled. "Are you alright?"

"Can I talk to you? Alone?"

"Yeah. Absolutely."

Solarius followed his son away from the delegates and into the hallway. The prince didn't say anything until the voices quieted down enough. "So you're really going through with this?"

"Yeah, I'm heading out at twilight with your aunt and a few others."

"You know, you don't have to do this, right?"

"Actually, I kinda do."

"Dad." Eclipsine stopped walking once they were alone. "Please. Please, don't do this. I can't lose you, too."

Solarius tilted his head. "What're you talking about? I'll be fine. And even if I'm not, you'll be taken care of-"

"Really?" The prince scoffed, irritably. "So, you're idea of taking care of me is marrying me off to someone I don't like?"

"Who told you that?"

"Indexia! She overheard you talking to Warner Spiderbite and she said you arranged for me to marry his granddaughter!" Eclipsine shuddered, uncomfortably. "That… that horrible woman!"

"But this way, your Aunt Jeshica could still take care of you!" Solarius reasoned.

"Dad, I… I met someone."

"What? Really?" Solarius sounded surprised, but happy. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because… because…" Eclipsine struggled to find the right words. "Because you wouldn't approve of her. And I'm afraid if you ever see her, and find out what kind of girl she is, you'd… you'd hate me."

"What?!" Solarius spluttered. "I would never-"

"Yeah, you would, trust me." Eclipsine held his head with both hands, clearly frustrated. "You know, it isn't easy being your son. It's bad enough that everybody finds my behaviour eccentric, but now, you arranged for me to marry a total stranger because you let someone convince you that I'm so terrible that I am incapable of finding love on my own! Now I finally find someone who loves me! I finally get a little happiness for myself! And now this happens! Do you think that's fair?!"

The king was at a loss for words. It was as if he was meeting his son for the first time. Solarius never denied that his son's hobbies were odd by normal standards - especially after reading over a few of the spells he conjured up in the Great Book - but he never once thought that any of it was something to be ashamed of. So why did the boy think he would be ashamed of him for falling in love?

Eclipsine was still staring at his father, waiting for a reply. It had taken him so much courage to finally speak his mind, but as the king stood there in shocked silence, he wondered if he had just made a huge mistake. At long last, his father rubbed a hand over his mouth, thinking about what to say and how to properly say it.

"You wouldn't believe this, but you used to fit right here." Solarius pointed to his palm. "I'd hold you up to your mother, and I'd say to her 'just wait and see. This kid's gonna grow up to be someone great. This kid's gonna be better than anybody ever knew.' And you grew up good, and strong, and smart, and wonderful. I savored every little chance I got to watch it happen. It was like a privilege."

Eclipsine's face softened, slightly. "And with all my heart, I wanted nothing more than to stay home and make sure you were treated right. And now, I see I probably should have. Because at some point while I was away, you changed. You stopped being you. You let all those stuck-up delegates and their kids walk all over you, and say you're no good. Just because you're 'weird,' or 'creepy,' or whatever. And when you started to believe them, you stopped talking to me. You wouldn't let me help you. But now that I've tried to help - to do what I thought would be best for you - you decided to blame me."

Eclipsine found it hard to look his father in the eyes at this point. Nevertheless, the king went on. "I never wanted to do anything that would hurt you in any way. If you know what you want, then go out and get what you want! But you gotta be willing to work for it! You've always been smart enough to know what's best for you, but you have to communicate! And not go around saying that your life is only miserable because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that, and that's not you! You're better than that! You're better than them! You're better than me!"

Solarius took long, deep breaths to calm himself down. The grandfather clock inside rang out to signal ten o' clock, meaning that he needed to wrap up their conversation. The king placed a firm hand on his child's shoulder, tilting his chin up to meet his eyes. "I'll alter my will when we get back." He promised. "But I never wanna hear you say that again. I will always love you, no matter what. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you learn not to worry about what others think of you… you're not gonna have a life."

The prince whimpered, touched by his father's words. Solarius pulled the boy close into a tight embrace, which Eclipsine gratefully returned. "I love you, dad." He cried.

"... I love you, too." Solarius sighed and let go of his boy to rejoin the other leaders. "Don't forget to visit your grandparents at the cemetery."

With that, the young boy looked on as his father went back to entertain the delegates.

To Be Continued!

Author's note: Sorry if this one's a little short.