ACT XII: Mars, the Undaunted Part 1: Regrets

Mars stared at the coffin being lowered into the ground as the rainfall hid his tears. Every noble family in Mewni came to pay their respects. Never since the death of Simon the Shy had the kingdom mourned on such a scale. Once the Magical High Commission finished lowering the coffin, Ramsey stepped forward to deliver the eulogy.

"What can you say about a king like Comet Galaxius Astro Celestio Cosmo Dragonfly?" The faithful squire began, sadly. "Throughout his life, he was many things; a benevolent king, a prince among men, a loyal friend, and a wonderful father. When I think of Comet, I'm reminded of the day he and I first met. My village was celebrating its annual Mewnipendence Day potluck and Comet had disguised himself as a peasant to enter his Mewnipendence Day pie. He won the red ribbon that day, second only to my pot of five-alarm chili. That very evening, he invited me back to his palace, and I was afraid he would punish me for humiliating him. Imagine my surprise when he instead asked me to be his humble squire. From that day forward, we were inseparable. He became the brother I never had. He introduced me to my beautiful wife, and I introduced him to the woman who would bear his son, Mars. And now… now here I stand… burying him… goodbye, brother…"

The squire dropped a rose onto the coffin, tears flowing down his cheeks as he walked back to his family. The nobles then took turns paying their respects to Mars before leaving for home. The prince stayed behind to watch Etherio's morticians finish burying his father.

"Thank you for paying for all of this, Uncle Etherio." Mars whimpered. "It couldn't have been cheap."

"Oh, it was the least I could do, Mars." Etherio gently patted the boy's shoulder. "If only there was something I could have done to protect him. But the king is dead. I strongly recommend that you get some rest, my boy… for your coronation tomorrow."

Mars blinked in confusion. "Coronation?"

"I'm afraid so, Mars." Etherio sighed. "As Comet's only son, you are next in line to the throne of Mewni. And what with the threat of war looming over us all thanks to the monsters' betrayal, we'll need a new king to lead us into battle now more than ever. It will be dangerous, for sure, but I know in my heart that it's what your father would have wanted."

With that, Etherio and his family returned to the Mortician's kingdom, leaving Mars alone by Comet's grave.

Hours went by before the prince finally returned to his family castle. Ramsey had left food outside of his room, but Mars just ignored it and shut the door behind him. He dropped the scepter to the floor, shrugged off his coat, and sat down on his bed. He was about to go to sleep when a soft knock drew his attention to the door.

"Lake?" He sat up from his bed as his eyes locked with the countess. "What're you doing here?"

"I was worried about you."

Mars looked away. "Why? I figured you'd be the last person who'd care about how I'm feeling right now."

"Why? Because you called me fat?" Lake rolled her eyes and moved closer to the prince. "You're still my friend. And I loved your father as much as anyone. He'd want me to make sure you're okay. Where's Mildred?"

Mars sniffled. "She's giving me space to deal with my feelings."

Lake frowned. "And how's that working out? Have you even eaten anything since yesterday?"

Mars didn't answer.

"Okay… I'll give you some space."

"Why didn't I go with him, Lake?" Mars whimpered.

"W-what?"

"Why didn't I go with him?!" Mars sobbed. "I was the one who had the scepter! I should've been there! I could've helped him!"

Lake felt an ache in her heart at seeing her friend like this. "Mars, no-"

"Yes!" The prince angrily stood up from his bed and punched a nearby wall. "I'm not afraid of those monsters! I could've protected him! I-I could've done something! I…" Mars rested his face against his palm as tears flowed past his diamond-shaped cheek marks. "I yelled at him, Lake… he grounded me and I wouldn't listen… the things I said… I'm such a jerk…"

Lake had never seen Mars in such a mess. As she watched the prince collapse onto his bed, she didn't know what to do. There was nothing she could say that would offer any form of comfort to her friend. So instead of saying anything, the countess silently made her way over to the bed and sat down next to her friend. She put her arms around him and just sat with him in silence, sharing his sadness.

The next day, the entire kingdom was gathered at Castle Dragonfly to witness Mars' coronation. The Magical High Commission bowed in respect to their new king, swearing eternal loyalty to him. The MHC promised to give him one day to settle into his new role, but after that they would need him.

Once the formalities were out of the way, Mars returned to his room. With rage and self-hatred bottling up inside, he finally lashed out. He threw his scepter across the room and began tearing his room apart in blind fury. As if he were trying to sacrifice all of his personal belongings to bring his father back. With his energy spent, Mars tearfully leaned against the wall and slumped to the floor. His last act of violence before hugging his knees to his chest was to take his mirror out of his pocket and toss it aside. However, doing so had inadvertently activated the message box.

"You have one unheard message…" The mirror's voice called out. "First unheard message… Mars?"

The newly appointed king felt his heart jump at the sound of his father's voice coming from the mirror. Desperately, he lunged at the mirror and flipped it over. Sure enough, the image of Comet flashed over the cracked glass. Mars' breathing hitched as he saw the saddened expression on his father's face.

"Mars? Mars, I know you have your mirror on you, I can see the green light… okay… yeah, I - I get it. You still don't wanna talk to me." A few tears dripped onto the glass as Comet's message continued. Right now, that was the only thing he wanted. "Look, Mars, I just… I didn't mean to… your mother and I… Mars, I'm scared, okay? See, our family has this terrible history about fathers and sons who… well, they loved each other, but they… one way or another, they just… they drift apart… and I don't want that to happen to us. Look, I can't promise that I'll always be able to say whatever you need me to say. Or do whatever you need me to do. But I'm here for you, bud."

While Mars continued to listen, he made his way downstairs to the garden. He stood before the newly sculpted statue of his father as the voice went on. "And, I know that I push you. But that's just because… I mean, I look at you and I… I just see so much potential in you, son! I mean, it's amazing! And I don't want you to waste it. But it's yours. I understand that. Whatever you choose to do with it, you'll be great. And I'll be right beside you when you figure it out. Okay, I gotta go, now. We'll talk more when I get home. I love you, son."

The message ended, leaving Mars in deafening silence.

"... I love you, too, dad." Mars whimpered, kissing the statue on the cheek.

To Be Continued!

Author's notes: No, Lake has not forgiven Mars for what he said about her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still care about him. Don't worry, I still plan on having them get together (duh), but he'll have to work for it. More on that in later chapters, though. As always, please read and review!