hi! is this au still ongoing?
Hello! I know that it's been a pretty long time since I've posted any sort of updates, but I haven't dropped this AU yet completely, I promise! I've sunk far too many words into it already, haha (I think I've got something like 40k words worth of outlines and future chapters written collectively). My main hangups have been:
1) College has been quite consuming, in terms of both my free time and my creative limits. I have a pretty tough time balancing my hobbies outside of classwork, I've mainly been spending it learning how to code as of late. I have been very hyperfocused on a personal project for the past few months.
2) My interest in SVTFOE has faded a bit. I'm sure it will come back at some point, it does eventually, but it's not something I can really control.
3) I have a Steven Universe fic that I've generally been more interested in working on whenever the writing urge strikes (I say that, having not updated it in 4+ months lol)
TL;DR: I don't intend to give up on this AU any time soon. It might be quite a while longer before I manage to get a new chapter posted, I'm still rather stuck on this next one despite how much time I've had to think about it :/
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Chapter 6 - Off She Goes
The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings
Word Count: 3476 | AO3 Mirror | Previous | Next
Summary: Marco tries not to think about summer. A familiar face realizes heâs out of the loop.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* âž *:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
It didnât really feel as if summer had ever arrived, to Marco, but it wasnât like that was a trait unique to this particular one. When he was little, summer was the most exciting time of the year, but as heâd grown up, summer started to feel like it was getting shorter each time it came around. It had sort of lost its magic, in a strange way.
Not to say it was unwelcomeâfar from that, really. Summer break still probably was one of the better parts of the year. He got to spend a lot more time with his friends when they werenât in school, and it was nice to take a couple months of break, not having to worry so much about the future.
But as days went by, he was starting to realize that he was⌠bored. By almost all of it. And it was strange, so strange. Really, this summer was equally as mundane as those that preceded it, and yet, here he was, feeling overwhelmingly alone.
You know exactly why that is.
Marco tried his best not to think about itâabout herâas he went about his day-to-day life. But over half a year had passed since his everyday life had been upheaved. Heâd practically forgotten what the bathroom countertop actually looked like when it was completely clear, or how small the guest room really was before it belonged to Star. They were little details that he was sure never would have stood out to him, not in the past. His painfully normal life had never stuck out to him like this until now, after everything thatâs happened.
He missed the unpredictable nature of having Star as a housemate. The excitement, the danger, and everything else. He missed it so much.
Everything is still about Star.
He rolled over in bed, groaning, not able to find the motivation to get up just yet.
Some of his old friends hadnât spoken to him in what felt like ages. Did he miss them too? He couldnât tell. He thought that he did, but couldnât even begin to think of how he might reach out. Jackie andâto a lesser extentâJanna were really the only friends from school that he regularly talked with anymore. He wasnât exactly doing a good job of keeping in touch with anyone else.
Before he could think on it any longer, his phone vibrated. It took a surprising amount of effort for him to sit up and grab it off of bedside table. Reading over his lock screen, he saw that Jackie had texted him twice, the first message being from about an hour ago, and the other happening just now.
Jackie: Hey! How are u doing?
Jackie: Just realized you might still be asleep, sorry! xoxo
12:30 in the afternoon wasnât a completely unreasonable time for a teenager to sleep in to, but Marco rarely ever stayed in bed for that long. Heâd been up since noon at leastâon a normal day, heâd be annoyed after wasting time, laying there and feeling sorry for himself.
Marco: Nah, I wasnât. Sorry, missed your first text
Marco: Itâs been a long morning đ
Jackie: No worries :) Just checking in on u!
Jackie: Have u had lunch? Theres a food truck fair in town at the park, I think it would be fun to go!
Jackie: I bet theres a nacho truck somewhere, probably not as good as urs tho :)
He wasnât really hungry at all, but he could certainly use the distraction. And he loved spending time with Jackie, more than anything. She always knew exactly what to say to make him feel better.
Marco: That sounds great. Did you want to meet there?
Jackie: Sure! Is 1:00 too soon?
Jackie: Also, hope u donât mind but I invited Janna to come too!
Janna was one of the few people heâd managed to keep up regular conversation with, mostly over text. She didnât give off the impression of a very social person, but then again, their unusual friendship probably didnât make a lot of sense to outsiders, either.
Her reaction to the news of Starâs disappearance had been about in line with he was expecting, which wasnât really saying much. Janna was an absolute wildcard, and he had a hard time figuring out what was going through her head even when things were normal. So her complete non-reaction, which might have caught other people off-guard, was just another Janna thing, in his mind.
She never liked talking about her emotions, and this would be no different. All he could really do was let her know that he was available to talk if she never needed to.
Marco: 1:00 is fine. And thatâs cool with me
Marco: Sheâd probably find a way to invite herself if you didnât.
Jackie: Lol ur probably right :P
Jackie: Iâll see you thenđ
He let out a sigh and set the phone down on his bed, finally convincing himself to stand up. It wouldnât take him that long to get ready to go out, mercifully. Such was the benefit of wearing a hoodie every dayâeven if the summer weather wasnât exactly kind to him for it. Heâd have plenty of time to get to the park and meet up with his friends, provided nothing weird happened.
Of course, as luck would have it, a lone laser puppy came wandering into the room, his tail wagging in excitement.
âOh, hey⌠Sajak?â Star was the only one who could ever tell them apart, but he liked to believe he was getting better at it. âYeah⌠Sajak.â
The puppy gave short little barks as he hopped around the room, coming to a stop in front of Marco and rearing up on his hind legs to demand his attention.
ââScuse me, buddy,â he said, carefully stepping over Sajak so that he could better reach his closet. âSorry, but Iâve got things I gotta do today. No more lounging around.â
Sajak kept running circles around him and the room, occasionally pausing to stare at him expectantly. Marco tried to head out to the hall and towards the bathroom, but nearly tripped over the puppy as he rushed out in front of him before flopping down in front of the closed bathroom door.
âWhat in the world has gotten into you?â Marco asked, laughing, mostly to himself. He scooped up the dog with the intention of moving him. âYou donât feel like shooting me with a laser today? No?â
It was sort of a joke. He couldnât quite remember last when the puppies had used their laser eyes. He wondered if it was related to whatever was going on with magic. It was a bit nicer to pretend that Sajak was just being particularly nice today, though.
Before he got the chance to move, a horde of laser puppies charged up the stairs, yapping excitedly. Barko Diaz brought up the rear, dragging in a multi-leash with him and nearly tripping over its cable several times as the lugged it up to the second floor.
âSeriously?â It was pretty cute at first, but now this was getting kind of ridiculous. âGuys, come on! Iâm trying to do things!â
But he knew better than to tempt fate. These puppies were absolutely ruthless when it came to getting what they wanted. Truly, how could anyone say no to those adorable little faces?
He let out another low sigh. âOkay, okay, fine!â Heâd had stranger mornings. If anything, he was getting exactly what heâd asked for with a distraction. His bad mood from the early morning was a distant memory by this point, which was a rather impressive turnaround.
He made his way slowly through what felt like a minefield of dogs, back to the side of his bed and picked up his phone once more.
Marco: Iâm gonna be a little late, I have to take the dogs out on a walk first. They wonât leave me alone, haha
Jackie: Aww, so cute! Thatâs cause they love u so much ^^
Marco: Just doing my civic duty o7
Marco: See you in a bit â¤ď¸
Jackie: đđ
âSettle down, Barko!â He cried out, once heâd turned his attention back to the excitable puppies. âI canât put a leash on you if you wonât sit still!!â
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* âĽď¸ *:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
âWhat the heck?â
The phrase wasnât really intended to be a question. It was more like... some sort of out-loud expression of Starâs ever-growing confusion. Sheâd only been free falling for a few seconds or so, but as she blinked, she somehow found herself standing in front of Echo Creek Academy. She had no idea how or why. She didnât even remember landing on the ground, which she was sure would have injured her under normal conditions.
âSchool? Again?!â
What even were the odds that sheâd end up on the schoolâs doorsteps? Unless, for some reason, it was doing that thing where it was in every place she lookedâ
Oh no⌠it absolutely was. There was another school right in front of her. When she turned away, there was another school there, too. She turned again and again. Another one, each time.
âYouâve gotta be kidding..! Why?! Why here?!â
She was most definitely somewhere inside of the wand. She shouldnât have been that surprisedâit was one of the most likely options that sheâd narrowed down, for cobâs sakeâbut there was still something deeply unsettling about how sheâd found her way back to this place. Not long from now and sheâd probably start bumping into past versions of herself, following in her current footsteps like some sort of video game. Only this time, she had no idea of how she was supposed to get out. Hopefully Glossaryck would know to come rescue her if things got bad.
At least those weird disembodied voices hadnât managed to follow her here. Somewhere along the way she must have lost them.
âIâm not going in the stupid school,â she grumbled, having nothing but negative memories associated with its strange, magical realm counterpart. Itâs supposed to be summer! I do what I want!
Instead, she took to the sidewalk, putting her hands in her dress pockets and wandering along, looking around for a glimpse of something, anything else.
There certainly wasnât any shortage of weird things to look at in the wand. Everywhere she looked were pieces of Echo Creek and Mewni, awkwardly stitched together in ways that didnât make much sense at all. Street lamps and sidewalks wove between wells and Mewnian carnival tents. Spanish-style houses were dotted between the fields of corn that stretched out into the horizon, from what she could see past the school. Cacti and coniferous trees were growing side by side, as if they were always supposed to be that way. But even with everything going on, the looming silhouette of Butterfly Castle towered over all other set pieces, only dwarfed in size by the mountainous terrain that made up the background of this strange place.
âAck!â she cried out suddenly, stumbling a bit as the ground beneath her transitioned from sidewalk to an empty parking lotâsave for a single chariot parked on the other side. Just ahead of her, a little puddle rested on the uneven pavement, made up of that same green sludge that Toffee had left her to drown in.
She was so overcome with anger and frustration at the sight of it that she kicked it out of impulse. Just before her boot made contact with the puddle, though, she swore she saw a glimmer of light hiding within itâbut not nearly soon enough to stop. When her foot landed back on the ground, and the puddle stilled, nothing was there.
A bit shaken, her gaze wandered upwards. The star-shaped insignia in the dark purple sky looked the same as it had before, split in half and all. But as she watched it, she couldnât help but think it looked a bit dimmer. Itâs fine. Youâre gonna be fine, she wanted to say, but she never spoke it aloud, not entirely sold on the idea herself.
Was it fine? Is that really why she wasnât running into any timeline duplicates of herself? She was still alone, sure, and maybe that was a good thing. There wasnât any immediate danger, or anything like that. So why am I worried?
She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to quell her doubts.
Surely nothing had changed, right?
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* â *:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
Tom rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand as he made his way out of his room and towards the dining hall, headed out in search of coffee. He never was much of a morning person, and that fact probably wouldnât come as a surprise to many people. He was never thrilled about having to wake up early for meetings, or summons, or whatever else, but that was something that sort of came with the territory of being a prince.
Heâd been trying to avoid Star ever since heâd failed his anger management final exam, following the suggestion from his life coach. It didnât make sense to him at firstâhow was he supposed to know when she wanted to talk to him again?âbut heâd ultimately come around to Brianâs advice, even if it was with reluctance. It was clear that she still wanted space. He needed to respect that.
It sure was frustrating, though. Patience wasnât exactly his strong suit.
He was drawn out of his irritated thoughts when a messenger demon nearly crashed into him as he appeared around the corner. âWatch it!â Tom snapped, but the messenger didnât acknowledge him as he continued in a hurry down the corridor. He couldnât help but be a bit curious why this particular message was so important that it demanded such prompt attention.
Weirdly, the demon suddenly skidded to a halt, whirling around to come back down the hallway and stop in front of Tom, bowing. âMaster Tom! Would you perhaps know where King Dave would be at this hour?â
âUh⌠probably in his office?â
âThank you, Master Tom!â Just as quickly as heâd returned, he was off again, headed back down the hall.
That was weird, Tom noted. He watched the messenger instinctively head towards the throne room, only to remember where he was supposed to be headed and travel down the adjacent hall instead. It wasnât often that they received news worthy of any interest, so before Tom could convince himself otherwise, he was chasing after the messengerâtoo intrigued to stop himself from prying. Itâs not like I have anything better to do, he remarked inwardly, somewhat dejected.
Light on his feet, he followed the smaller demon at a short distance so that he wouldnât be noticed. They both quickly arrived at the kingâs office, and the messenger disappeared through the towering doorway. Tom was able to catch the conversation before it had really started, listening through the door.
ââuncement from the Butterfly Kingdom, my lord! The Silver Bell Ball has been indefinitely postponed!â
What? If he was being completely honest, heâd sort of forgotten that it was almost time for the Silver Bell Ball again. He had some fond memories of the event from over the years, but he wasnât really the dancing type. It was more boring than anything else, and it was quite funny how Star agreed with him wholeheartedly. But she always made the point of how it was nice to see everyone again, and he supposed that was one of its better aspects. It would feel weird to not go to it every year.
His fatherâs thought process mirrored his own. âWhat?â Dave exclaimed. âBut the ball is a yearly tradition! Why would they do such a thing?â
Tom overheard the messenger clear his throat as he unraveled a scroll. âIn the words of the Queen and King themselves: âit is with great reluctance that we inform you of our decision to cancel the Silver Bell Ball this year. We believe that this is the right thing to do, as the ongoing magical fritz is a pressing issue that requires our full attention. This is a difficult time for our kingdom, and we sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding.ââ
âA magical fritz? What in the Underworld does that even mean?â
âThe announcement does not clarify it, my lord.â
Tom heard the groan of table legs against the floor as Dave adjusted his chair. âI know that the Butterfly Kingdom is quite dependent on magic, but enough to cause this level of instability? This is preposterous!â
Admittedly, he didnât have that much of an understanding of how magic worked, either. Most of the cities across Mewni had close ties to magic, but none of them were quite as clear cut as the Butterfly Kingdom. They had been an incredibly powerful force for centuries. If something weird was happening with magic, Star likely would have been one of the first to notice, since she was in possession of the magic wand.
âThere could be something more serious at play hereâŚâ The messenger demonâs words trailed off.
âIn what sense?â Dave asked.
âWellâŚâ He lowered his voice, and it immediately became more difficult for Tom to pick up on their conversation, much to his frustration. He had to listen incredibly closely in order to make out what was being said, leaned up against the door. âThereâs a rumor going around that something happened to the princess.â
Tom swore he could feel his blood run cold.
âWhat do you mean?â the king asked. âIs she sick?â
âSomething like that. People canât seem to agree on whatâs happened to her.â
Dave paused for several moments, likely thinking over the implications of the messengerâs words. âYou think that the Butterflies are lying?â
âNot necessarily. Perhaps it is an indirect lie, or a lie by omission. Whatever is going on, it appears the royal family are trying to hide it while they're so vulnerable.â
It had to be impossible. Star mustâve been fine. She was on Earth! Who did this messenger think he was, to present such a baseless claim as an actual reality? No, heâd prove him wrong. He could call her, right?
Of course! Why didnât I think of that sooner?
Before he could even stop to remind himself that, no, Star still needed space, he shouldnât bother her, sheâll come back to him when sheâs ready to talk againâhe was clicking through his contact list and tapping on her displayed nickname. Starship. Heâd never brought himself to change it from that.
âCalling Star,â read the text-to-speech voice, before it was cut off by a screen tear and replaced with loud, crackling static and white noise. Startled, he snapped his compact shut immediately to silence it.
âWhat was that?â
âHuh? I didnât hear anythingâŚâ
âOh⌠hmm. Sorry. Perhaps it was nothing.â
He wasnât listening to them anymoreâno, he was panicking. Fear was getting to him, badly. He hated this, he hated feeling scared. This didnât make any sense! Even if something had happened to her, the call should have gone through. It still should have let him leave a voicemail, or something! Not static and nothing else!
This was strange, this was wrong. Something was wrong, and he had no idea what it was.
ââh well,â he overheard Dave start to speak again. âI suppose itâs notââ
Unable to stand there any longer, Tom threw open the door and came storming in, glaring accusingly between them both. âThatâs not good enough!â
âThomas!â Dave scolded, standing up from his chair. âWhat have I told you about eavesdropping on my conversations?â
Ignoring him, Tom stared directly at the messenger, his eyes fiery with anger. âWhat did you say happened to Star?!â
The demon flinched, scrambling for words as he stepped backwards. âI-Iâm sorry, Master Tom! I truly wish that I had more information, but I donât. So long as the Butterfly kingdom keeps its borders closed, Iâm not sure weâll ever get an answerâŚâ
âThen do your job!â He snarled, clenching his fists. âGo out there and find the answer, and donât come back until you do!â
âThomas, thatâs enough!â Dave stepped between them both. âWe donât know whatâs going on, and thatâs how itâs going to be for right now. Itâs ultimately not our business, to know whatâs happening in the personal lives of other royals.â
âIt is mine!â Tom hissed. âI care about her! I need to know that sheâs okay!â
But no matter how much shouting he did during that confrontationâand it certainly was a lotâhe never got an answer he was happy with. No amount of sulking around the castle was going to change that. He wasnât going to find an answer here on Mewni, not anytime soon.
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Chapter 5 - Forget-Me-Not
The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings
Word Count: 3409 | AO3 Mirror | Previous | Next
Summary: While Moon and River try to get some answers, Star gets lost.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* ⌠*:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
âAre you ready to speak with him, your majesty?â
Moon nodded once, certain. It had taken a day or so to find the time, but she now felt able to finally confront Ludo about his involvement with the way things had spiraled out of control. What she needed was answers, and nothing so far had given her any clues. The only item that was recovered on his person was his skull-shaped dimensional scissors, which Moon highly suspected had been stolen from the Avarius family, just like he had stolen their castle about a year ago.
River had insisted on accompanying her, and she was grateful to have him back by her side. He was doing a far better job of holding himself together, much of which she believed was for her sake.
Upon her confirmation, the guard unlatched the door and pulled it open towards them. The cell was quite dark and gloomy, but Ludoâs yellow eyes were easily visible in the darkness, catching the light that flooded in through the doorway. His arms were cuffed together in front of him with a long chain running from him to the wallâhe was too short in stature to use the wall shackles. He watched them both carefully from his seat along the back wall, choosing not to make a move.
âKing RiverâŚâ His shrill voice carried a lilt of surprise. âYouâre back?â
River narrowed his eyes at him. âYes⌠with no thanks to you,â he muttered.
âIâm surprised you were able to find your way back so soon,â Ludo mumbled, half to himself, before remembering the situation he was currently in and going completely silent.
Moon approached him in a few steps. âLudo.â He flinched under the sound of her commanding tone, so she made an effort to soften her voice. âItâs in your best interest to cooperate with us.â
He glanced between the both of them several times, attempting to read their faces. âI donât know what happened to Star, ifââ
âItâs not that,â Moon interjected. âYou have information that may be of use to us. You were the last person in possession of the Book of Spells. Weâre here because it is pivotal that Glossaryck is returned to us.â
âGlossaryck?â He looked away guiltily, slouching his shoulders. âI-Iâd almost forgottenâŚâ
âWhat did you do with him?â
He drew in an anxious breath, shrinking as far into the wall as he physically could. âHeâs⌠heâs gone. I burned the Book of Spells.â
Moon practically did a double take, completely caught off guard by his transparency. She couldnât help the incredulous anger that immediately overtook her. âYou what?!â
âToffee goaded me into doing it!â Ludo was quick to try and deflect her ire, holding his hands up in front of himself as a defense mechanism. âHe was inside of my wand! He convinced me to do it!!â
âI donât care about your excusesâdo you have any idea how important that book was to my family?!â
âI didnât mean to! I didnât mean to do it, I swear!â
Moon buried her face in her hands, groaning. Of course⌠it was foolish of me to assume anything would be easy.
âOh, sure!â River chimed in, equally frustrated with Ludoâs excuses. âAnd Iâm sure you threw me into the sky on complete accident, too!â
âWell, no, that was definitely intentional. B-but not everything was!!â
âYou donât get to pick and choose what youâre guilty of!â
âI donât know what you want me to say!â Ludo leaned forwards and glowered at both of them, his fears completely forgotten amidst his outburst. âNor do I have any idea of what you expect to gain from this conversation.â
Moon let out a slow breath, attempting to calm herself down. âWhy did you do it?â
Ludo blinked. âW-what?â
âWhy did you burn our spellbook?â
âI told you, I didnâtââ
âJust tell me why you think you burned the book.â Her patience was hanging on by a dangerously thin thread. âIâm... Iâm not mad. Iâm trying not to be mad. I just want to know.â
The monster hesitated for several moments, thinking. âTh-the book, itâsâ once you have it, itâs yours, right? You own it?â
She was a bit lost on where he was going with this, but she nodded anyways.
âAnd only the owner can write in the book?â
âYes, thatâs correct.â
âO-okay, well⌠I donât know why, but the book wouldnât let me write in it. I thought that I deserved to have my own chapter, but the book wouldnât give me one! Glossaryck said it wasnât mine anymore.â
Moon had never actually seen the book behaving in such a way, mostly because ownership of the Book of Spells was never a problem. It was always inherited along with the wand on the heirâs fourteenth birthday. Sure, it had been misplaced once or twice, and earlier incarnations had been lost to time, but the actual book had never been successfully stolen by someone until now.
âI thought he really started to understand me, but all he ever did was laugh at my failure!â He was getting angry again, this time at the unpleasant scenes he was revisiting. âI was just so frustrated⌠I felt like the only way I could feel powerful again was if I took that stupid book down a few pegs.â He straightened his posture and looked up at them, a slight frown on his face. âI canât do anything about the book. Iâm⌠Iâm sorry. There, I said it, okay? Iâm sorry.â
Moon and River exchanged curious glances with one another, equally surprised to hear his apology so clearly voiced after trying to deny any blame.
River was the one to break the silence. âDid Glossaryck say who the book belonged to, if it wasnât you?â
âNot a word.â
Moon began to pace, lost in thought. âPerhaps there is something you can help us with, if not the bookâŚâ
âHuh?â
She turned to him. âWhat do you know about Toffee?â
Ludoâs mood immediately soured and he scoffed loudly. âWhat about him?â
His disdain for the septarian was clearly evident in his tone. If Toffee truly had betrayed Ludo and taken complete control of his agency, it was no wonder that Ludo regarded him with such contempt.
Moon stooped down to level with him, hoping that she could convince him to listen. âItâs incredibly important that we find Toffee as soon as we can. He needs to be held responsible for what he has done, and you can help us achieve that.â
Averting his gaze, Ludo crossed his arms and huffed, like a child stubbornly holding onto a grudge.
âDo you have any idea of where he could have gone?â Moon continued. âWhat has he set out to do?â
He shook his head. âI knew nothing about him from the very first day I hired him to work for me.â His voice took on a petulant, almost jealous-sounding undertone. âWhat did he even do? Why does everyone care about him so much?!â
âToffee,â she said, practically spitting out the word as if it were poisonous, ââŚis guilty of regicide.â
Her fists clenched at the mention of his name. She felt River place a hand on her back comfortingly, and she caught a glimpse of a sympathetic frown on his face.
The change in atmosphere, however, was lost on Ludo. âI donât know what that means.â
âHe killed my mother.â
Immediately, his face paled. âY-your⌠ohâŚâ
âI think youâre beginning to understand why this is so important to me, arenât you?â she asked icily.
âY-yes, your majesty⌠um, Iâm very sorryââ
âI donât want to hear any more apologies from you,â she sighed. âI just need you to tell me what you know about him. Anything could be of use.â
His stubbornness had all but disappeared as he nodded nervously. âUm, well⌠I really do wish I knew more⌠I thought he was only looking for payment when I hired him. But he took advantage of my monsters and tricked them into betraying me! He stole my castle and my men!â
Despite her better judgement, Moon still found herself feeling some kind of pity. âYou had no idea how dangerous he was, did you?â
âNo⌠I had no idea that he wanted to get to Star. Even after he overthrew me, I was sure he only wanted the wand for its power.â
As she listened, Moon found herself stricken with overwhelming guilt. Star must not have known any better, either⌠I should have told her about him sooner. If only she knew how dangerous he was, she would have known to tell me.
Apparently, Star and Marco had ran into him well before Moon was aware he had emerged again. When she had listened to Marco recount all of their past encounters with Toffee, she was quick to realize that there was a lot Star had opted not to tell her. I suppose thatâs what I get for not being honest with her about what happened toâ
No, she should have told me that she was in such danger regardless.
Moon was doing everything she could to avoid assigning all of the blame onto herselfâthis situation was far more complicated than thatâbut it was hard not to feel like she had been complicit in endangering her daughterâs life by allowing herself to forget about Toffee. She had been so desperate to move on from her past that she foolishly let her guard down and suffered the consequences for it.
She hoped that she could one day learn the reason why her daughter, arguably one of the most outgoing people in the world, was so distant with her.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* âĽď¸ *:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
Star hummed to herself as she continued to walk along the strange and unusual place she had found herself in. She wasnât sure when exactly she had said her goodbyes to Glossaryck and set off on her journey, but sheâd lost sight of him long ago. What had started as a pathway made of amorphous blobs of color had shifted into a bed of big, pink clouds. The surrounding sky was a pale blue, which was much more comforting than the sickly green it had been before. It was quite pretty, but she was beginning to worry that she might be getting lost.
She held her hands up to her face to form a makeshift megaphone, shouting âHello!â into the void. âAnybody out there?â
I guess there are worse places to be all alone, she mused. It could be a lot creepier.
There also was the comfort that Glossaryck was here, too, even though she was still trying to stay mad at him. At least there was something familiar within all of the weirdness.
As she blinked, she caught a glimpse of something moving in the corner of her vision. Her initial impression was that it was just a cloud, but as it continued to happen and she repeatedly failed to get a good look at whatever was darting around, her footsteps slowed to a halt.
âOkay, weird magic dimension, what are you playing at?â
The dimension, of course, chose not to respond. At least, not in a way that she would understand.
âYouâŚâ
âHuh?â Is someone there? she wanted to ask, but she found herself doubting that sheâd heard anything in the first place.
She was suddenly all that more aware of the complete silence. There wasnât even a faint ringing in her ear, or a soundless breeze passing through. It was absolutely still, the only noise being her long hair brushing against her back as she looked around with increasing franticness.
âHello?â she called out, unsure of if she wanted to receive an answer or not.
âYouâŚâ repeated the ghostly voice.
Star felt her heartbeat quicken as she suddenly grew anxious. There was that inexplicable part of humanâor, in this case, mewmanânature that allowed someone to recognize when they were somewhere they did not belong. Despite the similarities, it wasnât fight or flight reflexes. There was no way it could be, because she didnât feel like she was in any sort of danger. She certainly felt out of her element, but this place wasnât anything particularly special. And yet, she was getting the impression that she was not welcome here. Whoever was watching her was not here out of intrigue, but obligation.
She hugged her arms to herself nervously and set off again, hoping that the strange feeling would go away once sheâd distanced herself from this place. But as she walked, the voice followed, infrequently calling to her. A second voice soon appeared, and then a third. Whispering, disembodied voices that hovered just over her shoulders, like spirits that she was never quick enough to catch a glimpse of. It was at that point that she stopped trying to count how many individual voices there were, in an attempt to calm herself down.
âAm I losing it?â Star asked aloud, as if it were going to make her case look any better. âI think I might be losing it.â
The voices continued to speak, both amongst each other and to what she assumed was herself. âItâs her⌠Youâre not supposed to be here⌠I never was your wandââ
That last one rattled her to her core. Have I heard that somewhere before?
Despite how unsettled she felt, she continued walking.
âSave yourselfâŚâ
âF-from what?â Please donât tell me that thereâs something here! Her encounter with Toffee had already been frightening enough. She seriously hoped that she wouldnât be stumbling into a similarly dangerous situation. âIs someone here?â
âIâm sorry⌠Iâm sorryâŚâ
She combed through her hair nervously with her fingers. What are you sorry for?
âIâm sorry for all the horrible things Iâve said and done... remember me, remember me...â
A suffocating chill went up her spine and she froze in place. Those were her own words. It was the exact incantation for the Whispering Spellâthe one that her mother had taught her several years ago. âWho are you?! What do you want?!â she shouted, growing more frightened and angry by the passing second. Were they mocking her?
The voices continued their echoing round, reciting more of the Whispering Spell as if it were nothing more than a cryptic poem. âOne to remember me.... Iâm one to worship out of nothing, out of nothing...â
She put her hands over her ears, but it didnât block out the noise. âStop it!â
âI never was your wand.â
âSTOP IT!â
Through the cacophony of voices, a single, haunting word stuck out to her, threatening to bring her to tears.
âRun.â
That was exactly what she did. Before she could think, she took off in the direction she happened to be facing, taking one last fleeting glance behind her before she fled for good.
Nothing was there to follow her. She was still alone. But her feet kept moving, carrying her faster and faster into the unknown.
That was when she tripped on something she couldnât see, and then she was free falling, too shocked to make a sound.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* ⌠*:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
âWe donât have the Book of Spells, or Glossaryck, or the wandâŚâ
Moon was pacing back and forth in the foyer while River watched on, uncertain. Her hands were held behind her back as she mulled over their incredibly limited options. âOr the High CommissionâŚâ she went on, her frown deepening.
âIs that because of the magic being broken?â River asked.
âNo, it was Toffee. He was using some kind of dark magic that allowed him to tear their souls directly out of their bodies.â
âThat sounds⌠painful.â
âIt wasnât, really.â
Riverâs eyes widened, horrified. âThat happened to you?!â
She recalled her short conversation with Ludo in the Monster Temple from the week prior. At least, sheâd thought it was Ludo. It could have just as easily been another one of Toffeeâs mind games. But she liked to think that she had gotten through to Ludo, at least somewhat, before everything had started to fall apart.
âHe caught me off guard.â
Her brief explanation did nothing to ease her husbandâs worries. âBut youâre okay now? Youâre not still hurt?â
Again, that day came back to her. She wasnât sure what had happened exactly. Life had suddenly returned to her, and she awoke to see the High Commission members limply scattered around the room with dark, empty eyes. Lekmetâs frail hand was holding onto hers, and within seconds, heâd collapsed into dust. She could only assume that he had overused his powers trying to save everyone. She was the one who was granted a last chance, and she had taken it, fleeing as fast as she could, setting out to find Star before Toffee ever could.
She realized that she was wringing her hands together and made a conscious effort to stop it. âThe only reason that Iâm still here is because Lekmet gave his life to save me.â
Riverâs worry was first replaced with surprise, and then an eventual frown. He rarely met with most of the High Commission outside of formal gatherings. Even if he hadnât been around Lekmet very often, he still appeared saddened by the news.
âHe seemed like a nice guy⌠even if I never had any idea what he was saying.â
She felt as if she should have been more affected by the loss, too, but with how emotionally drained the past few days had left her, it was hard to tell how she felt about it at all. All she could think to do was nod in acknowledgement.
River slumped against the wall, moving to sit on the floor. âI donât know much about this âmagic stuff,ââ he admitted. âI wish that I did, so that I might be of more help.â
Moon still found herself at a loss for words. Theyâd talked about Star for hours, and Moon had done her best to make it clear that what had happened was none of their faultsâeven though she still was having difficulty believing she wasnât responsible in some way. I canât begin to imagine how he must really feel about all thisâŚ
âIâm just so grateful that you believe me,â she admitted. âFor a while there, I thought no one would.â The only other people who had witnessed what happened were Marco and Yvgeny, neither of which would be seen as reliable sources of information by any of the castle staff.
âOf course I do!â He exclaimed, taking her hand in his. âYou always know whatâs best.â
She gave him a thankful smile. âWeâll get through this. I know we will.â
âAnd Star knows it, too.â
âBesides,â she digressed, âitâs not as if the kingdom hasnât faced hardship before.â Itâs only that I wished it wouldnât happen to me, not again⌠âI think that we should close our borders.â
âWhat for?â
âAs long as magic is unreliable, so are our safety precautions. I feel that we should turn our focus solely on the kingdomâs stability and defenses, in case any rogue monsters get any funny ideas.â Or if Toffee decides to drop by for an unwanted visit, she noted. Really, septarians were the only monsters of serious concern during a magic outage. Their regenerative capabilities proved to be incredibly dangerous, and if any of them had any particularly malicious intent, there was a high chance that the guards wouldnât be able to chase them off.
River nodded earnestly. âThat is a fantastic point, my dear! We canât have those scoundrels attempting to steal from our cornfields during this crisis.â
âThat, and⌠well, I want to slow the spread of these unhelpful rumors as much as I can,â she confessed. The unspoken reason was well understood between them both. Neither of us have any idea how weâre going to explain whatâs happened to StarâŚ
âWait⌠does this mean weâre cancelling the Silver Bell Ball, too?â River normally would have been elated to find a way out of attending a formal event, but he sounded much more cautious than usual.
She blinked in surprise. The annual ball had completely escaped her mind so far. The Silver Bell Ball has gone on every single year, uninterrupted, for decades. Wonât cancelling it just draw more attention to our problems? Surely the other kingdoms will realize that something is wrongâŚ
A weighty sigh escaped her. âI suppose we donât have much of a choice, do we?â
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Chapter 4 - The First Breath
The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings
Word Count: 2980 | AO3 Mirror | Previous | Next
Summary: One question still remains⌠what does Star think of all this?
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* ⼠*:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
âPoor little Butterfly. You've lost your wings.â
Star had been in a lot of bad situations in the past, but this one was a top contender for the worst of it. The Whispering Spell had done its work and tossed her somewhere she didnât recognize at all, into an ocean of what appeared to be corrupted liquid magic. Her planâif it could even be called a planâmust have worked in some fashion, because Toffee was here with her, too.
Now that she had finally found him, she quickly began to realize why her wand had become so increasingly dysfunctional. His presence in this dimension was likely the source of the problem. He appeared to have manifested directly from what was left of the magic, taking on the same sickly green color as their surroundings. His sludge-covered figure occupied so much space that even a singular tooth of his was larger than her entire body. He had ahold of Star by her hair, clearly amused by her struggling.
âLet me go!â
He paid her no mind, instead focusing on the tear in space in front of him. It was a window to the real world, and it was so close, just within reach. It was right there. But no matter how much she yelled and screamed, her motherâs unflinching stare never changed. They were worlds apart. Only Toffee had the power to communicate with her now.
âNow then,â he began, grinning a malicious smile. âYour majesty⌠do we have a deal?â
Horrified, she saw Moon hold out her hand, offering the severed finger. Her motherâs face was wearing a reluctant frown. âTake it.â
âNo, mom, stop!â Star shouted, frantically trying to swim towards the opening in the sky. Maybe if she got up there, she could stop her mother somehow. Toffee couldnât win. No, she wouldnât give him the satisfaction. âI can take him! Just hold on! Please!â She struggled and struggled, but no matter how hard she fought, she couldnât seem to make it any further. Her mother placed the finger in his hand, and the deed was done. Magically, it reattached itself to his severed finger, and it looked as if nothing had ever been absent in the first place.
Inside of the wand, Toffeeâs beady yellow eyes turned their focus to Star herself. She froze up as overwhelming fear washed over her. Everything about the situation was telling her to run as fast as she could, but she had nowhere to go. He towered over her smugly, content with what he had achieved. He lowered his head towards her, and she frantically tried to move as far away from him as she could.
âHow does this make you feel, little Butterfly?â His voice was menacingly low. Â âDo you feel scared? Helpless?â
âY-you wonât get away with this,â she snarled back, doing her best to appear intimidating.
âGet away with what, princess? Tell me, what do you know about my true intentions?â
He was right, in some capacity. At the end of the day, she still hardly knew anything about him or his motives. She couldnât help but ask herself, what do I have to do with this?
Toffeeâs patronizing grin widened as her uncertainty grew. âI do admire your fortitude, Star, but you really should know what youâre getting involved with before you charge in headfirst. Thereâs nothing brave about making foolish choices in the moment.â
âIâm going to fix the problems that I created,â the princess declared. âYouâve hurt my family enough, Iâm not gonna let you do it again!â
âHow admirable of you.â Toffee hummed, pausing to think for a moment. âYou know⌠we are not so different, you and I.â
âNo! Youâre a murderer!â Star hissed. âWe arenât anything like each other, not at all!â
âI only do what I must to help me bring my cause to reality,â he explained plainly, remaining excruciatingly vague. âI donât believe youâll understand it just yet, but you will. Oh, you certainly will. This place will make you realize it.â
Star allowed herself to be smug. âI think you should have more faith in me than that. Iâm not just gonna flip sides for no reason.â
âBut thatâs just it, princess. I do have faith in you. I believe that you are capable of much more than you realize. You have the power to change other people.â
W-what? How was she supposed to respond to that? It almost read like a compliment, but she knew that he had to have some sort of ulterior motive behind it. âY-yeah, well⌠Iâm going to stop you! I donât care what it takes.â
His booming laughter echoed around them. âAh, of course. In that case, I look forward to the day we meet again, princess.â Toffee looked up into the darkened sky for a moment, and then back down at Star. He opened his mouth, and a single, two-syllable word left his throat. âGoodbye.â
He started to rise into the sky, oozing further and further away. âNo, no NO NO!â Star struggled to keep her balance, but was ultimately thrown off of him and was sent cascading down into an ocean of sickly green magic that swallowed her whole.
Star breached the surface mere seconds later, flailing her arms and turning her head back and forth in a panicked state. Only when she saw that she was alone did her heart stop pounding so violently in her chest. The magic had erupted into waves, crashing back and forth. She struggled against the sludge, but she was unable to stop herself from getting pushed under a couple of times. Frantically, she looked around, hoping to find something off in the distance, something to give her an idea of what to do next.
Without warning, her cheek marks began to glow a soft golden color. âWhat..?â All around her, small pieces of uncorrupted magic were glowing as well, easy to see in the plane of darkness. But they were fading out of existence fast, succumbing to corruption.
The princess started to panic. She tried to swim over to the nearest blob of light magic, but it disappeared right before she could grab it. âNo, wait!!â Every attempt that followed was increasingly futile. Frustrated tears began to pool in her eyes. Her cheek marks kept flickering in and out, making the scattered uncorrupted magic even harder to spot.
A particularly strong wave grabbed ahold of her and shoved her head under the surface. She kicked her legs furiously and bobbed back above the waves, breaking into a fit of coughing. Again, her cheek marks glowed. She didnât understand whyâas far as she could see, there wasnât any uncorrupted magic on the surface anymore. Sheâd wasted her one chance.
But far, far below, there was her beacon of hope. A piece of magic shimmered from its home in the depths. Without a second thought, Star gasped for air and dove under the surface, pedaling her way towards it. There was so much distance between it and her, but naĂŻvely, she let herself pretend that there wasnât any at all. It was just her and this scrap of magic. That was all that mattered anymore. Just a little farther!
And then it was gone.
She could feel herself breaking down. Her energy sapped from her body and her movements slowed. She instinctively breathed in and was only met with the suffocating presence of the corrupted ocean invading her mouth, stealing the air out of her lungs. The fear that had been plaguing the back of her mind took over full force in those last few seconds of consciousness. There was absolutely nothing she could do. Never had she ever felt so hopelessly lost.
â§Âˇďž: *¡ďžâ§
âStar!â
The pitter-pattering of feet across the ground echoed all around her head. A bright white hallway extended infinitely in front of her.
She started giggling hysterically. âWait up!â
âCome on! Youâre gonna miss it!â
âMiss what?â
âYouâre never gonna know if you donât hurry up!â
Her eyes blinked slowly, and when they opened again, there was only darkness in front of her. Was she blindfolded?
âI canât see, this isnât fair!â
âItâs a surprise.â
âMhm...â
âOh come on, donât pout like that.â
âWell, I need someone to help me so I donât accidentally trip and die.â
âThatâs a bit extreme, donât you think?â
âOh, come on, Tom, sheâs right.â
She smirked. It felt good to hear that every once in a while.
âOkay, fine! Fine.â Someone took hold of her left hand. âYou just better keep up, then.â
âYeah, yeah.â
Not long after, someone was holding her right hand as well. They all took off into a wild sprint, thundering through the field.
âCome on, Star!â
âSlow down!â She huffed out, exasperated. âGosh, whatâs the big hurry?â
âStar!â
Her name bounced off of the walls and ceiling, assailing from every known direction. She blinked repeatedly and shook her head, trying to clear her thoughtsâuntil finally, some piece of reality snapped back into place.
âHey, Star!â
Her eyes finally opened to a world of bright clashing colors, swimming around in the sky. There was a distinct voice coming from in front of her.
âDoes this, uh, need salt?â
Glossaryck? Why is he here? She wondered about it, but ultimately was in too delusional of a state to come to a reasonable conclusion. Waitâdid he have a spoon? Why?
Apparently, her unresponsiveness warranted being poked repeatedly with said spoon. âHey,â he said alongside each additional jab. âHey. Hey. Hey. Star.â
It was annoying, she decided. âOh, knock it off!â She swatted at the spoon in his hand, but completely missed due to her still skewed perception. She managed to sit upright, but not before Glossaryck shoved the spoon into her mouth.
âLess salt? More salt?â
Offended, she spat out the spoon and shoved it back into his hands. No amount of salt was going to save⌠well, whatever that big, bubbling pot of stuff was supposed to be. âUgh, what is wrong with you?!â She pushed herself off of the ground and dusted herself off. âWhat's going on here? Where am I?â
âI have no idea. I doubt this place gets very many visitors. I mean, look at the place! Itâs in disrepair, no one even dusts. Some people should never be hosts, I tell youââ
"Oh no,â she managed to gasp out. There were only so many places she could assume this to be, and well, with what had just happened⌠âIâm dead. I'm totally dead. I died!â
Glossaryck sighed, shaking his head. âWell, if you're dead, then I'm dead. And if you're calling me dead, I find it... well, I find it a little insulting, frankly.â
âOh, no. I am totally dead.â There were so many confusing factors at play that she hardly could wrap her head around any of it. âAnd I'm stuck hereâŚwith you.â This was not her ideal purgatory by any meansâŚ
âUh-huh. Again. A little insulting.â
Why do I have to be stuck here with him, of all people?! âYou betrayed me!â
âI'm sorry it seemed that way,â Glossaryck murmured, returning to the side of the soup pot. âCan we get beyond this and just enjoy our time here together in... wherever we are?â
âDo you really think I'm gonna stay here with you and eat your dumb magic soup? Toffee is out there doing who knows what!â
âStar, whatâs out there doesnât really matter to you right now, does it?â
âBut itâs still my problem! I chose to go into the wand, I wanted to deal with him myself! Okay, yeah, maybe my mom tried to stop me, but itâs too late to change anything. Iâm here now.â
âWell, why didnât you listen to your mother, then?â
âWhat are youâugh, youâre just like everyone else!â Star snapped, turning away from him and crossing her arms indignantly. It seemed like she could never escape this spiel, but she certainly did not need to hear it right now, and from Glossaryck, no less.
âAnd everyone else is⌠who, exactly?â
âThe âeveryoneâ who thinks that Iâm incapable of doing anything for myself!â She put on a petulant, imitating tone as she continued to fume, mimicking the many people her anger had stemmed from. ââUh oh, wouldâja look at that! Starâs gone and messed everything up again! You were supposed to be watching her! You were supposed to be keeping her under control!ââ
âA straw man often enough does nothing to support your argument, Star,â Glossaryck said rather simply, not so much as flinching at her enraged display.
She ignored him. As far as she was concerned, she was just venting at an emotionless brick wallâa mirror, even. Something that was only there to bounce back all the terrible things she believed people thought of her. âI know Iâm careless, reckless! Iâm a joke! But is it really that hard to understand what I tried to do? Iâm so sick of being monitored like a child! For once, I just wanted to clean up my own mess. I did thisââ she gestured to the pocket of space around themââand I brought Toffee into the wand. I... I just wanted to end everything. I justâŚâ
Her knees suddenly felt very, very weak. Silently, she cursed herself for not being able to stay angry. But she never was very good at that, was she? No, if there ever was a moment where she felt overwhelmed, sheâd fall to her knees, cry, and wait for someone to come rescue her, to make all the bad things go away. Then she could pretend to be prepared for the next time, until another obstacle came along and knocked her fragile self down again.
At this point, she was only arguing with herself. âI am a child,â she mumbled under her breath. âJust an impulsive, destructive little child.â I really messed up this time, didnât I? âI-I just wanted to prove that I can do this,â she cried out, tears already pooling in her eyes. Her hands came up to cover her face. âI thought that I could fix everything, but⌠I just made everything so much worse.â
âStar,â Glossaryck spoke up, his voice surprisingly sympathetic. âYou tried. Thatâs all we can really do, isnât it?â
âI tried,â she repeated. âBut I messed up. Really, really bad. I-I donât know what to doâŚâ
âSometimes, you donât know anything. Thereâs quite a lot that I donât know, even.â He hovered down to the ground to be at eye level with the young princess. âBut you canât let it scare you. If youâre scared, youâll never start trying to learn why.â
She was shuddering now, crying. âIâm scared,â she whimpered. âIâm really, really scared, Glossaryck.â
âOf what?â
âI-I donât know! I donât know anymore.â
âWell, then, how about this? How about you try to figure out what youâre not scared of, and go from there?â
âBut I donât know-â
âOh, come on, now, you canât be afraid of everything.â
âMaybe I am!â was her childish retort, before she curled further in on herself.
âYou arenât going to get anywhere if you just sit here, on the floor. Do you really just want to hide behind my soup pot and not come out until you know everything is going to turn out okay?â
She sniffled. âW-well, no⌠I donât want anything to do with your dumb soup.â
âThere you go. You arenât afraid of soup. Thatâs one thing off the list.â
The absurdity of that statement managed to get a solemn giggle out of her. âYeah, sure.â
âOh, and the floor. Obviously, you arenât afraid of the floor.â
âGlossaryck, this is silly.â
âWell, evidently itâs working. There are a lot of things you arenât afraid of. You just donât realize it.â
âDuh,â she laughed, wiping at the tear streaks on her face with the palm of her hand. âIâm not afraid of you, or the air, orââ she gestured at the potââor whatever weird ingredients are in that soup.â
âIf thatâs so easy, then why donât you know what youâre afraid of?â
For a moment, she thought about it. âI guess⌠Iâm really afraid of dying. And being stuck here, forever. Being alone... and not knowing whatâs out there.â The blip in space seemed to extend infinitely in every direction she looked.
âGood, good.â He nodded his approval, and a sincere smile appeared on his faceâsomething that happened very scarcely. âThatâs a good start."
âOkay, are you done interrogating me now?â
âI mean, you arenât done yet. You still need to think about if youâre willing to act on one of those things.â
Her eyes fell on the horizon yet again as she thought about it.
âJust what are you going to do, Star Butterfly?â
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Glossaryck interlace his fingers. He was very clearly waiting for an answer of some kind. What exactly, she wasnât all that sure.
âWell, I... I guess Iâm gonna go see what else is here. Wherever here really is. Maybe...â she stood up quickly, looking out into the unknown. An ocean of colors swam and bled into an indistinguishable horizon, reaching out forever into the distance. âMaybe thereâs something in another part of the wand that can help us get out of here. Well⌠assuming that we are in the wand, and not in some weird type of after-death purgatory.â She subconsciously crossed her fingers. I really hope itâs the first oneâŚ
As she left, Glossaryck watched silently. Not a single emotion crossed his face. Only when she had disappeared did he shake his head, carrying a quiet chuckle under his breath.
âItâs for her greater good,â he said. He returned to and stared down into the soup pot intently. An ambivalent smile formed on his face. âFor her greater good.â
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Chapter 3 - Earth and the Lost Soul
The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings
Word Count: 3981 | AO3 Mirror | Previous | Next
Summary: Marco returns to Earth and sets out to right a wrong.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* âž *:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
A rift in space opened up in the Diaz familyâs living room. Marco emerged from it a second later, dimensional scissors in hand. He was exactly where he had intended to land, in the middle of his living room. But only when the portal had disappeared did he realize that he hadnât fully thought that decision through.
His mother, Angie, immediately noticed his arrival from her standing place in the kitchen. âMarco, youâre home!â
A cold wave of dread washed over him as he caught sight of his motherâs unknowing smile. She threw her arms around him in a hug, but he was completely lost in his thoughts, dismayed by his realization. Iâm going to have to be the one to break the news to everyone in Echo CreekâŚ
âWelcome home.â
âHi, mom.â Marco tried to politely excuse himself to his room, but Angie wasnât about to let him go so easily.
âDid you get everything figured out with Star?â she asked, letting up on her grasp. âI know she didnât leave on the best terms.â
He turned around slowly, opting to stare at the wall behind her instead of making eye contact. âActually⌠can we talk about it later? Iâm really tired.â
Unfortunately, Angie was smarter than that. âIs everything alright?â
âIâm tired,â he repeated. âIâm really, really tired.â
âMarco?â She could only repeat her sonâs name as he turned his back and ascended the stairs without responding further. âMarco!â
He shut his bedroom door behind him, trying to listen through the door. When he was certain that his mother hadnât followed him in an effort to demand answers, he slid down the wall to a seated position on the floor and sighed heavily, his exhaustion finally starting to catch up with him.
His phone in is pocket was being bombarded by incoming messages, now that heâd returned to a place with cell service. He remained there on the floor for several moments before he was able to convince himself to look through his notifications. There were a lot of unread messages from his friends, mostly Jackie. As he was attempting to read through them, he was bombarded by several new texts from Janna.
Janna: yo diaz
are u home yet?
u better answer me
Because of course Janna somehow knew that he was back on Earth. He supposed it really wasnât all that surprising, once he thought about it. Iâm not sure if Iâm in the right headspace to put up with this right nowâŚ
Marco: Yeah I am, how did you know that?
Janna: not important
ur gf has been harassing me bc u werent responding
next time maybe give some notice before u disappear?
Guilt flooded over him. She had every right to be upset with him, as far as he was concerned. Everyone did. He was the one who left without notice, and aside from a parting message to Jackieâapparently she had still tried to contact him anywaysâno one else in his immediate friend group had known where he was.
Marco: Iâm really sorry
I didnât mean to be gone as long as I was
Janna: save your sorries for your gf dude
u cant just disappear for a week w/o warning and pretend nothings changed. shes got every right to be mad if she is
i kinda do too, lucky for u im not the grudge holding type
did star come back with u or is she like staying on mewni or whatever
Marco collapsed backwards onto his bed, defeated. His phone fell out of his hand, currently of little concern to him, now that he was so lost in his thoughts. Thereâs just no escaping this, is there? Everything had always been about Star, and everything still was about Star. Just as suddenly as she had crashed into his life, she was gone, and there wasnât a thing he could do about it. He couldnât stop thinking about her, about how the last thing sheâd thought to do before disappearing in that explosion was to apologize.
A piece of his world had went with her, and he couldnât help but feel that he was somehow responsible. There had to have been warning signs, right? Should he have done something differently, or done something sooner? âI hate this,â he murmured aloud, burying his face in his hands. âI hate thisâŚâ
Star probably hates this, too, he admitted inwardly. She always did everything in her power to be a positive force in peopleâs lives. The last thing sheâd want is for everyone who cared about her to be moping around. I really hope she knew what she was getting herself intoâŚ
He finally spared another glance at his phone.
Janna: ???
Marco: Sorry
I donât know if I want to talk about it right now, if thatâs ok
Janna: yeah sure
if things are awkward between u two now thats ur business, not mine
jackie isnt mad at you fr that btw
Marco: For what?
Janna: uh
at the party?
Oh, right, Marco grimaced. Just before she left for Mewniâand subsequently vanishedâStar had confessed her feelings for him in front of everyone at their end-of-the-school-year celebration. Even now, he still couldnât help but hold some resentment towards her for how hasty that decision of hers had been, especially when she knew he was dating Jackie.
It was almost like she knew that was the last time sheâd ever see him, and that her true feelings had been a weight on her chest that she could no longer bear to keep bottled up.
And yet, at the same time, his resentment felt unfair. He had no way of knowing when these feelings of hers had actually emerged, but Star never stopped trying to help him get Jackieâs attention. Even once they were finally dating, Star still went out of her way to include both of them in her lives however she could. As much heartache as it likely caused her, she must have valued their friendship over everything else, if she was able to force herself to put up with it for such a long time.
Conflicted feelings about Star aside, he still had overwhelmingly negative memories associated with that party. He preferred to forget about it where possible.
Marco: Gee, thanks for that, Janna
Iâd almost forced that party out of my recent memory, but now itâs back.
Janna: sorry lol
Marco: Why would Jackie be mad at me about that? Star having feelings for me doesnât change anything
Just wondering why you think that
Janna: i dont, im just repeating what she told me
and she told me she wasnt mad at u, sooo
i dont think shes mad at all tbh? that was a week ago anyways
go talk to her urself dude, im no therapist
Marco: Alright
Thanks, Janna
Janna: no prob
Though he did feel a bit guilty for withholding the truth of the situation from Janna, he swore to himself that heâd be honest about what really happened as soon as he felt able to. Janna was a mixed bag, and even though they were friendsâat least, I think weâre friends?âhe had no idea how she was going to take the information. He wanted to give himself time to come to terms with it all before trying to explain it to his and Starâs friends.
He had some things he needed to take care of, first. There was someone that he needed to apologize to, more than anything. Hopefully she was home.
His door creaked open, and he slowly made his way back down the staircase. His mother looked up from the book she was reading on the couch, her eyes lighting up with concern. âMarco?â
âIâm gonna go see Jackie,â he said quietly.
âOkayâŚthatâs okay.â Angie stood up and crossed the room to stand in front of him cautiously. âJust⌠if you need to talk, Iâm here for you, sweetie.â She extended her arms in an offering for a hug.
âI know.â He accepted her gesture and rested his head on her shoulder. âI just need to talk to her first.â
He headed out to the garage. It didnât take long for him to wheel his bike out of the garage and suit up. He never really felt like taking his bike out was all that notable. Nothing would compare to when he tried to teach Star a couple months back, but sheâ
No, stop it, he told himself, shaking his head as if it would help unscramble his thoughts in any way. Stop thinking about her.
He was sure that the last thing Jackie needed was for him to suddenly show up on her doorstep in tears, especially when he had already done such a terrible job of communicating with her during his impromptu trip to Mewni. His only message to her about the entire situation had been incredibly brief.
Marco: Iâm going to Mewni to make sure Star is okay. It sounds like something bad is about to go down there. Iâll be back soon, I promise. Love you
If he could go back in time a week, he would have done a better job of explaining himself. But itâs too late to worry about it now. I just need to focus on the present.
Once heâd shut the garage behind him, he headed off in the direction of Jackieâs house. His gaze rarely lifted from the street, and he couldnât bring himself to make eye contact with any neighbors that he passed, out of fear of encountering someone whoâd ask questions or demand answers.
It almost felt like some of the color in his life had been leeched away. The only thing that didnât look any more faded to him was the moon, which was painted a vibrant and shadowy red, slowly climbing its way out of the magenta-colored morning skyâwait, what?
Marco rubbed his eyes fervently in an effort to snap himself out of it, but it didnât work. No, his fears were completely correct, and he found himself staring up at the Blood Moon, hovering behind the clouds. It wouldnât be visible for much longer before it sank behind the trees, but the fact of the matter was that it was here. It was still here, lingering in the background like a silent menace. A shudder ran up his spine as he watched it, unable to look away.
The front wheel of his bike suddenly collided forcefully with the curb, threatening to launch him over the handlebars. Miraculously, he managed to plant a foot on the ground to prevent himself from landing in a heap. He let out a trembling exhale as he stared up at it with an intense gaze.
Okay. Why itâs here isnât important. Youâre here to see Jackie, he repeated in his mind, over and over in the hopes that it would stick. Sheâs worried about you. You havenât spoken to her in a week. You need to apologize.
With one last fleeting glance at the moon, he backed his bike away from the curb and continued down the road towards Jackieâs house.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* ⌠*:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
âKing River has returned.â
Moonâs gaze snapped up from the book on dimensional travel she had been scouring through. Even if she had publicly said that returning Star wasnât first on her list of priorities, that didnât mean that she was about to drop all of her efforts. As she viewed it, her status as as queen was an entirely different person from herself. Queen Butterfly was the one who would look after the kingdom, and Moon was going to find a way to contact her daughter. But hearing the news of her husbandâs return reminded her that this situation was far too great in scale to look at it in such a black and white way.
âIs he alright?â she demanded, standing up.
The guard nodded. âHe appears to be, yes.â
Moon let out a breath that she hadnât realized sheâd been holding in. âThank goodnessâŚâ
She left her notes behind and quickly followed after the guard. It was a slightly unusual scene that she walked into, as there were several large eagles perched around the foyer. But her husband was there, too, and that was all that mattered to her in that moment.
âMoon-pie!â he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. Their common formalities were forgotten as both of them rushed towards each other and met with a tight hug in the center of the room. âIâm so glad that youâve returned safely.â
âAnd I you,â Moon murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek. âI didnât know how much more of this I could take...â
He pulled back from the hug to hold her hands instead. âYou know, you really had me worried, leaving so suddenly!â
âIâm so sorry,â she apologized.
âItâs not that I donât trust you, because I do! But if you and Star had to leave so quickly, it must have been serious...â
Sheâd sworn to herself that she wouldnât cry, but her composure was betraying her. âIâm so sorry,â she repeated, her voice choking up on the last syllable.
River frowned in concern. âDid something happen?â
âI-I triedâ but I didnâtâ Star, s-sheâ I couldnât...â River brought a hand up to cup her cheek, and she met his gaze with sad, watery eyes.
âMoon-pie?â
She lurched forwards and buried her face in his shoulder, holding him close as tears began to flow freely.
The few knights that were left in the room lowered their heads and excused themselves from the room, granting them both some privacy.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* âž *:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
After a very brief internal pep talk, Marco was finally able to convince himself to knock on Jackieâs door. As anxious as he was to see her, he tried to focus on the floor as he waited, in the hopes of not overthinking anything.
When the door finally opened and he was face to face with her for the first time in an incredibly long week, he felt a grin take shape on his face. âHey, Jackieââ
âMarco!â She darted forwards and caught him in a tight hug. âGod, I was so worried about you, doofus!â
âYeah, yeah, I know. Iâm the worst.â
âNo youâre not,â she argued, holding him tighter. âI saw your message⌠but I sort of hoped you brought your phone anyways, just in case.â
âI canât exactly get cell service on Mewni. Earth phones donât work there,â he reminded her, chuckling halfheartedly. She laughed too, and it managed to brighten his smile a little. There was something comforting and familiar about hearing her laugh.
âI know! I know, itâs just⌠you left without much of a warning at all. First Star, and then you⌠you guys really scared all of us.â
âIâm really sorry. I shouldâve talked to you first. I didnât mean to make you worry so much.â
âItâs okay, Marco. I know you didnât mean to.â
A beat of silence passed as he tried to think of what to say and she patiently waited. Where do I even start?
âDo you think we can go sit down and talk about everything? Itâs⌠a long story.â
âYeah, of course!â She nodded and beckoned him through the door. âCome on in.â
He followed her upstairsâafter a brief hello to her parentsâand took a seat in her desk chair. She sat down criss-crossed on the foot of her bed and looked at him expectantly.
Jackie was the first one that dared to break the temporary pause. Her voice was cautious. âI take it that something bad happened?â
Marco was surprised by her forwardness. âW-what?â
âI can tell you have bad news, Marco. Well, either that, or something exhausting happened. I can see it in your face.â
âOh, uh... yeah, your first guess was pretty on point.â
Jackie frowned sympathetically. âI may not know much about this Mewni stuff, but hey, Iâm probably easier to vent at than a brick wall, right?â She leaned forwards and put her hands in her lap. âSo lay it on me.â
â...How much do you want to hear?â
âTell me as little or as much as you want to. If itâll help you feel better, I want to hear it.â
But thereâs so much thatâs happened! âGosh, where do I start?â
âThe beginning, maybe?â
Marco nodded, and, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, he began his story.
âWell... thereâs always been a bunch of monsters from Mewni that kept coming after Star. Their leader was named Ludo. He wanted her wand, but him and his lackeys are pretty incompetent, so they never managed to take it. Not until this guy named Toffee came along.â
âToffee? Thatâs a weird nameâŚâ
âYeah, I donât really understand Mewniâs naming conventions, either,â he laughed. âMaybe itâs a normal name there. I mean, to be fair, most of Starâs family is named after celestial bodies, so itâs probably not that weird.â
âYeah, I guess thatâs fair.â
âAnyways, Toffee kind of showed up out of nowhere, and we could tell that this was a lot more serious than what we were used to with Ludo.â
âYou didnât ask anyone for help?â
âStarâs not exactly the type to ask her parents for help, so no, we just kind of dealt with it ourselves.â
Jackie pursed her lip. âThat sounds like a really bad idea.â
âIn hindsight, yeah, definitely. We had no idea who this guy was.â Queen Butterfly made it sound like heâs pretty infamous, he remembered, silently wishing he had asked for more information on Toffee when he had the chance. âHeâs the only one who ever managed to take the wand. He kidnapped me, and then he tricked Star intoââ
âExcuse me?!â She interrupted, somewhat outraged. âYou gotâ you canât just gloss over that!â
âBut this isnât about me!â Marco protested. âIâm perfectly fine now, so itâs no big deal.â
âIf youâre that calm about literally getting kidnapped, Iâm not sure how comfortable I am with you going to Mewni all the time...â
âItâs not a regular thing, I promise!â
âOkay, okay,â she sighed in defeat. âFine. What happened there? Besides the whole hostage-taking thing.â
âHe used me as blackmail to make Star destroy the wand.â
âI thought you said he wanted to take it?â
âThatâs what we thought, initially,â Marco admitted. âHe had Star use this really weird spell that set it off like a bomb. The whole castle blew up, Toffee included. We thought it killed him, but⌠well, it obviously didnât. He came back.â
Jackie furrowed her brow, thinking for several moments. âNot to insult your storytelling or anything, but Iâm really lost.â
âYeah, Iâm, uh... kind of skipping over a lot. Sorry.â
âItâs okay... I know thereâs a lot to go over, probably.â She glances around her room once before an idea came to her. âWait! What was up with the night of the school dance? In the graveyard, when that weird little bird dude showed up.â
âThatâs Ludo,â Marco explained briefly. âLong story short... when Star tried to destroy the wand, it actually split it in two. Star kept the first half, and Ludo had the other one. That night in particular was when he stole the spellbook from Star.â
âWhat does that Toffee guy have to do with this?â
Marco tried to recall as much as he could about the days prior to Starâs disappearance, but the fact of the matter was that he hardly knew anything about Toffeeâs involvement with the whole situation. There was obviously a lot more to it, far beyond his own knowledge.
âThat spell Star used must have put him inside of the wand. For some reason, she used it again, and she got caught in the blast that time...â He took a pause, having a hard time thinking about those that few moments before she disappeared. âToffee got out. Wherever the spell put him, it put her in his place. I think that might have been his plan all along.â
He was leaving out a lot of the detailsâhe could tell from the slideshow of emotions on Jackieâs face that she knew his explanation wasnât quite lining upâbut frankly, he could hardly make sense of it, either. Even if he had visited Mewni several times now, everything about it and its magic was otherworldly. Â He couldnât imagine how crazy it sounded to someone who had never even been there.
It wasnât that unlike the Neverzone, in that way, though Mewni was certainly a lot less intense. A few things had stuck with him once he leftâmostly learned skills, like how to drive a dragoncycle or wield a katanaâbut all the rest of his memories of that place had faded in a matter of weeks. He supposed it was time shenanigans of some sort, but it was still weird to him that he had acquired these skills when he didnât remember practicing them at all.
Jackie had remained silent, mulling over his words. In the temporary break in conversation, Marco went on, saying, âApparently this guy has been involved with Starâs family in the past, but I donât really know how.â
Finally, she spoke up, offering an idea of her own. âCanât someone use the same spell, or something? Anything at all?â
Marco shook his head. âI donât think itâs that simple. The wand seems to be broken for good now, and I think thatâs the only way to get to where she is.â He stared at the floor as he was reminded of just how dire this situation was. âSheâs trapped in a dimension that no one can get to, and⌠I canât tell if thatâs worse.â
Jackie immediately dipped her head in understanding, and her sadness was apparent on her face. âGosh, this really sucks.â
âThatâs a heck of an understatement.â
âYou were there when this happened? I canât imagine how hard that was.â
He nodded once, averting his gaze from her when he felt his eyes begin to tear up again. âIt should be so easy, but itâs not⌠everything that could have possibly gone wrong did go wrong.â
Despite his efforts to hide it, Jackie was quick to notice his defensiveness. âHey... come here.â
He hesitated for several second before finding the energy to move. When he got up, she stood as well and met him halfway in a hug.
âI-if I had known that was the last conversation I was going to get to have with her,â Marco mumbled, his voice never rising above a whisper, âI, I wouldnât have just let her leave withoutââ
Wordlessly, Jackie pulled him in tighter, resting her head against his shoulder. âI know,â she murmured. âIâm so sorry.â Marco could tell from her tone of voice that she was upset, even if she wasnât really showing it in the same way he was.
In that moment, he felt awful for subjecting her to all of it. She and Star knew each other, of courseâit was hard for anyone not to be charmed by Starâs infectious personalityâbut he wasnât sure if him dumping all of the information on her without warning was a fair way to relay it. I hope she doesnât feel guilty about what happened.
Nobody should have felt responsible. Not Jackie, not Janna, not Marco. It felt awful to admit it, but Star had been a victim of bad circumstance, and that was all. It wasnât his fault. He wasnât supposed to be a mind reader.
A shudder went up his spine. But why do I feel so guilty?
âIâm so glad youâre here, Jackie,â he said, attempting to redirect his thoughts.
âAnd Iâm glad youâre back,â she replied. âIâm so happy that youâre safe.â
At least he didnât have to wake up for school tomorrow. That was something he didnât think he could manage.
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Chapter 2 - Rollover
The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings
Word Count: 3142 | AO3 Mirror | Previous | Next
Summary: It is the day after the disappearance of Star Butterfly, and things still seem uncertain.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* ⌠*:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
In a strange sort of phenomenon, the Kingdom of Mewniâs atmosphere often reflected the queenâs. There were days where this inexplicable aura copied Moonâs feelings well before she was able to fully realize them on her own.
The air that greeted Moon when she awoke the next morning was heavy with uncertainty. Her eyes flickered open to an empty, gloomy infirmary, and she immediately had trouble recalling why she would be here instead of in her bedroom. She laid there, unmoving, as she tried her best to remember.
There was no possible way to cover up the disappearance of her daughter, that much was obvious. People were going to notice in a matter of time. But she silently hoped that she might first have some time to come to terms with what had happened and figure out the best way of explaining it. Public morale was already dangerously low, and the last thing the people of Mewni needed to hear was that a member of the royal family had disappeared.
Magic wasnât going to be of any help, either, on account of the fritz. Moon felt more out of touch with her magic now than she had when she was first learning to harness it. That in combination with how emotionally drained she felt made her connection with her butterfly form feel distant and inaccessible. Wandless magic simply wasnât an option. There was a high chance that she wouldnât be able to use it reliably until something came along to change that fact.
But things had not changed for the better. She suspected it would be a long time before that happened.
Staring at the ceiling, she continued to lay on the mattress, trying to garner the strength to move despite her exhaustion and pounding headache. When she sat upright, a rush of vertigo hit her with force, making her suddenly aware of how sick she feltânot feverish, but nauseous. Where in the world did this come from..?
In that moment, the door to the infirmary opened and a disheveled nurse entered the room. âOh! Your majesty, youâre awake. How are you feeling?â
With the way her head was swimming, Moon was barely able to process the words that she heard. âDizzy,â was the answer that left her mouth. Not really a feeling so much as it was a symptom, but at least sheâd managed to say an actual word.
The nurse crossed the room and stood beside her bed, pressing three fingers flat against her forehead. âHmm⌠it doesnât feel as if you have a fever, thankfully.â
âHowâŚâ The nurse waited patiently as she tried to get her question across. âHow long have I been asleep..?â
âItâs been about fourteen hours."
âW-what?âThatâs absurd! This situation is far too dire for me to be sleeping through half the day! âWhy didnâtââ
âYou fainted,â the nurse answered for her, falsely assuming that she wanted to know what had happened to her, and not why she hadnât been woken up before now. âItâs clear that you needed rest, your majesty. These past few days certainly must have been traumatic for you.â
I donât remember fainting⌠though, I suppose itâs not likely I would remember that. The more Moon thought about the preceding days, it didnât seem all that improbable. She had briefly abandoned her queenly duties for the sake of uncovering the source of the magical fritz. It felt as if she had visited the Avarius family several weeks ago, when in reality it couldnât have been more than a few days at most. Everything had transpired rapidly, giving her no time to breathe. The last time she had slept was when she and Star took refuge in the Magic Sanctuary, and that had only been for a couple of hours.
That explains the exhaustion, though I have no reason to feel as sick as I do. âI-I appreciate the sympathy, but⌠I canât afford to waste so much time.â
âYou havenât missed anything, your majesty,â the nurse assured her. âPeople are being understanding. Manfred has been doing his best to allocate duties in your place.â
Her reassurance only gave Moon more questions. Why is Manfred assuming responsibility during all this? Where is River?
âWeâre just trying to make things a bit easier on you,â the nurse went on. Her voice was cautious, as if she felt she was treading on ice. âYour grief appears to be making you ill.â
Thatâs not a real thing, Moon wanted to retort, but there wasnât much of a point in arguing. She was no stranger to grief. Not many people were.
She hadnât been granted much time to grieve her motherâs death, not while tasked with finding a resolution to the war. Back then, the entirety of Mewni had its eyes on her. She could not allow herself to be grief-stricken, with the threat of destruction looming just on their borders. It had to stay bottled up under her surface, so that no one would ever know what was really going on inside her head. Doing so had made her incredibly tired, but never physically ill to the point where it was debilitating.
Swallowing thickly, she made an attempt to stand up, placing a hand on the side table in an effort to stabilize herself. Her opposite hand came up to rest against her forehead as she screwed her eyes shut, the movement setting off a pounding sensation inside of her skull.
âAh, Iâm not sure if itâs the best idea to try to stand,â the nurse objected. âYou should eat something first.â
Whatever level of appetite she mightâve had under normal circumstances was rendered irrelevant by how sickly she felt. Food was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. âI have a kingdom to look after.â
âYour health is important, too, your majesty. At the very least, may I bring you some water?â
Moon held her gaze for a moment, before sighing and giving in. âSome water would be great. Thank you.â
She smiled and dipped her head. âOf course.â
Relieved by her cooperation, the nurse was quick to exit the room, leaving Moon alone with her thoughts again. As she rested against the bed frame, her recollection of the events prior to her fainting slowly started to become clearer.
Word had gotten out about Star, despite her attempts to prevent it. She had only spoken to a select few guards about what had really occurred the previous day, not realizing soon enough that it was a mistake. It hadnât been long before the entire castle erupted into roaring whispers and hushed speculation, and she suspected the castle town was no different. Word only ever traveled fast when it was the least desirable.
And like any good rumor, it was quick to lose its original meaning through miscommunication and generalization. The whispering shifted from âthe princess is missingâ to âthe princess is deadâ in a matter of hours. Moon was confronted about it multiple times, by captains and staff members and even a surprisingly outspoken servant, once. She could only refute it so many times before it had started to grate on her and make her question if she really knew the answer.
What are you thinking? Of course you do, she asserted to herself. Star is still alive, she has to be alive. You spoke to her on the day the wand was destroyed.
Moon buried her face in her hands, stifling a disparaged laugh. How crazy did that sound? She could deny that her daughter had been killed with as much insistence as she could muster, but at the end of the day, she had nothing to support her claims. She knew that it was possible to reach Star through the wand, but it was broken now and would therefore be useless in any of her attempts to prove her point.
She drew back her palms from her face, catching a glimpse of her arms. The dark magic that scarred her hands had stretched even further up her forearms, and her gloves were no longer able to hide the markings from view. She had failed to cast the Darkest Spell when she tried yesterday, but apparently it still had some sort of effect on her. If sheâd been in her usual headspace, she would have been much more alarmed by the realization that several people now had seen her like this. But all that escaped her was a sigh.
Itâs probably for the better that it failed, she admitted. She had resolved to never use that spell again, many years ago. As much as she wished to see Toffee face a gruesome punishment for his crimes against her family, he was the only person in the universe who had any idea of where Star was. He was her best chance at returning her daughter to her.
Of course, thatâs assuming heâs willing to cooperate. Moon clenched her fists in irritation. Thereâs no way to know if catching him will improve any of this⌠but I have to try, donât I?
The door to the infirmary opened once more, and the nurse offered her a smile as she returned. âHereâs that water, as promised. Iâd like to run a couple more checkups before you head out.â
She bowed her head gratefully. âThank you for your help.â
The nurse nodded once as she checked through the nearby cabinets. If you can think of anything else you might need, please donât hesitate to let me know.â
Moonâs thoughts trailed back towards her previous musings. Her gaze fell onto her arms again. âActually⌠if may trouble you for one more thing?â
â§Âˇďž: *¡ďžâ§
With a new set of arm-length gloves and a waning feeling of nausea, Moon made her way to the castle foyer. There were several guards and castle attendants hurriedly bustling about, but a hushed silence quickly fell over the room once people began to take notice of her. Manfred forced his way through the crowd and mercifully broke the silence. âMy queen! Iâm glad to see you are alright.â
She nodded her head once in acknowledgement. âI trust that youâve supervised the kingdom well in my absence.â
âI have done my best,â he said, bowing.
Moon nodded her approval while thinking carefully about her priorities. Magic was still on the fritz, and the kingdomâno, all of Mewniâwas going to suffer greatly if it was not dealt with. This wasnât just about her daughter anymore. No, it was so much bigger than that.
Okay. Make a list of whatâs important, then. Dwelling on such things wonât be of any use right now.
This fritz was a magical crisis, likely requiring a magical solution. She straightened her posture and assumed a serious demeanor. âWhere is Glossaryck? Has he been recovered yet?â
âNobody has found him or the Book of Spells.â
That was unfortunate. As difficult as it was to understand Glossaryck at times, Moon still found herself saddened by the fact that he was still missing. Recovering Ludo should have restored some sort of normalcy in her life, but it sounded like it wasnât going to be nearly as simple as that. âThen, where is my husband?â
âErm, well⌠we arenât entirely sure, your majesty,â Manfred explained, his voice sounding rather apologetic. âThat monster, Ludo, um⌠he âLevitato-edâ him while he was in power. B-but I assure you we have scouts looking for him now, all across Mewni.â
âWell, if it was something that Ludo did, it canât be all that bad.â Normally, the mere thought of such a thing would have amused Moon, but as far as she was concerned, she was lucky. âHow is Ludo, anyway? Where is he?â
âIn the castle prison, as you requested. He hasnât said much of anything since he was placed there.â
Moon thought about it for a moment. âHe should know where Glossaryck is. Iâll speak with him later.â
âIâll be sure to put in a word to the guards,â Manfred promised. âWhat else do you wish to see done?â
âRecovering King River and the Book of Spells are our most pressing matters currently. From the sound of it, youâve done a good job of prioritizing these things.â
âOh, wellâŚâ Manfred mulled over his next words cautiously. âI had thought that youâd⌠forgive my bluntness, your majesty, but what do you intend to do about the princess?â
The silence in the room only grew denser as dozens of gazes watched, curious to see what her answer would be. Since Manfred had tossed the question into the air, heâd allowed them to get their answers without having to ask her themselves.
âAt the very least,â he continued, âDonât you think we should make some sort of statement about whatâs happened to her?â
âThereâs nothing to say. Until Toffee is found and captured, I donât want to speak on this matter publicly.â
The room erupted into confusion, with so many people speaking at once that it was nearly impossible to decipher what was being thrown her way.
âBut how long will that takeââ
ââyou would dare postponeââ
ââthink the people will start to noticeââ
ââdeath of a royal is far moreââ
ââmourning of your own daughterââ
ââwonât make it go awayââ
ââexpect the other Kingdoms of Mewni to reactââ
âEnough!â Moon shouted in frustration, her voice projecting over the entire crowd. âThereâs nothing that I can do for her now, not while magic is so unreliable. I have no choice but to wait until the situation changes.â
âB-but certainly, your majesty, the people would be more than understanding if you needed time to mourn. If anythingââ
âStar is alive,â she cut him off, declaring her statement with as much certainty as she could muster. âI know that she is. I havenât lost her yet, and I wonât allow that to happen, I swear it on my life.â
Her audience shared wary, uncertain glances amongst each other. A familiar face, Lady Whosits, stepped forwards. âDo you know where she is?â
ââŚNot exactly,â Moon sighed. âItâs not somewhere that any of you can reach, let alone myself.â
Unspoken words travelled across the faces of the crowd. Even if no one dared to speak them aloud, the questions still met Moon with unrelenting force. Doubts crept into her subconscious. Even if Star is still alive⌠if sheâs stuck somewhere where I canât reach her, is that really any different? Is it better? Is it worse?
She couldnât allow herself to show hesitation. Clenching her fists at her side, she stated, âMy daughter is a fighter, that much I know. I will never make the mistake of underestimating her, not again. You all would do well to learn the same and stop propagating these baseless rumors.â
The beat of silence that followed was chilling. Not one of them appeared to be willing to debate her directly. Hushed murmurs spread through the crowd, but Manfred was quick to start ushering guards out of the room.
âYou heard the queen! We shall focus our efforts on the capture and containment of this âToffeeâ character. Now, shoo! Leave her be!â
As the crowd dispersed, Moon was able to pick out a face among the crowd that she hadnât noticed until now. He was standing off to the side, near the royal songstrel and his group of performers. Admittedly, Moon didnât know much about the extent of his and Starâs friendshipâit really wasnât any of her businessâbut she had gathered that they were close. This was likely affecting him in a similar manner.
âMarco? Youâre still here on Mewni?â
He hadnât been looking at her directly, and startled at the mention of his name. He glanced over his shoulder sheepishly. âOh, yeah⌠I was planning on leaving soon, I promise. I got a bit sidetracked, sorry.â
âNo, itâs not a problem, itâs just⌠donât you have your own family you need to return to?â
âYeah,â he admitted. âBut I couldnât leave with a clean conscience if I didnât apologize to these guys for leaving them behind.â
âAnd like we said,â Ruberiot spoke up, unable to mask the smug grin on his face. âThe resistance never forgets.â
The jester, Foolduke, slugged Ruberiot in the shoulder and cast a glare in his direction. âDonât listen to him, Marco. We totally understand.â
Marco smiled appreciatively at herâand the mime, too, who pantomimed a big grin across her face. He turned back to Moon, and exhaustion found its way back into his expression. âOkay, maybe not just that.â He shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. âIâm really worried about Star, too.â
âI understand. Really, I do.â She placed a hand on his shoulder and mustered up a sad smile. âBut I couldnât forgive myself if I let something happen to you, too. You should go home. Iâm sure that your friends and family are just as worried about you.â
âSheâs one of my best friends,â he murmured, looking away. âI donât want to just go home and do nothing about it⌠there has to be some way we can help her, right?â
âIâm afraid this is a lot more complicated than any of us could have imagined.â Things were grim, and Moon wasnât sure if she had the energy to remain optimistic. The heavy uncertainty in the atmosphere was affecting everyone. Even the performers seemed at a loss for words, each one of them glancing away. âIf we find out anything, you will be the first to know. I promise.â
Marco frowned, not satisfied with that answer. âI want to stay until River gets back, at least,â he argued. âI have to help somehow, itâs the least I can do!â
Moon attempted to consider potential options, but there really wasnât anything he could do that wouldnât put him at risk of getting roped into this mess any more than he already had. Toffee was simply far too dangerous. Moon had assumed he knew this, too, if their encounter with Toffee yesterday was anything to go by.
Wait, she realized. Why would he have known to be afraid of Toffee? UnlessâŚ
âYou can help by telling me what you know about Toffee,â she decided. âI know now that Star faced him before, and I assume you were aware of that.â
His eyes widened in surprise at the mention of Toffee. He took a moment to process before sighing and confirming her suspicions as correct. âYeah, I⌠I was there, actually.â
âI need to know the full extent of what happened. If I can try to understand his motivations, it might make it easier to predict his movements and track him down.â It would be good to know how much Starâs been keeping from me, too, Moon admitted, fully recognizing a part of her incentive for learning the full story.
âIâll try to remember as much as I can,â Marco promised.
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Chapter 1 - Motherâs Wisdom
The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings
Word Count: 4501 | AO3 Mirror | Next
Summary: It was on that fateful day when Star Butterfly, the princess of Mewni, disappeared. Mewni was left broken, grieving, and lost. Queen Moon, despairing and left at her lowest point, decided that she would not rest until her daughter was freed, no matter what it cost her.
â§Âˇďž: *â§Âˇďž:* ⌠*:¡ďžâ§*:¡ďžâ§
If only her daughter had listened to her, then maybe, just maybe, this situation would never have befallen them.
Oh, who was Moon kidding? It was unfair to blame Star for all of this. If anything, she was just like her mother, pulling practically the same scheme that Moon had when she was her age. She was proud of Star, in a strange way, for taking the matter into her own hands and attempting to fix the problem as best as she could. But only now was Moon in a position to finally recognize how dangerous the situation was.
âStar!â
Her daughter was on an adjacent balcony, standing beside Ludo. She wasnât that far away at all, and yet, it felt as if the distance between them was far greater than it had any right to be. At the sight of her daughter, Moonâs fear subsided significantly, but she could not shake the feeling of dread that was heavy in the air. Marco and Yvgeny stood next to the queen, confused by the situation presented before them. They probably felt very much out of their element, being thrown into a situation as dire as this.
Star turned to meet their gazes, offering a sad, little smile. Maybe she already knew how her mother felt about all this. âHey, Mom. Hi, Marco.â
Moon wanted to ask what was wrong, but it clicked into place when a ghostly unicorn escaped from the wand embedded in Ludoâs hand. Her blood turned to ice. No, she wouldnât have⌠The half of the star insignia had darkened to an ominous black, confirming Moonâs fears.
âI, uhâŚâ Starâs eyes darted away, as if she knew the consequences of what she had done just as well as Moon did. âIâm sorry, you guys.â The ghostly figure of the millhorse let out a defeated whinny before disappearing into the sky.
âIs she okay?â Yvgeny asked aloud, not to anyone in particular. âWhat does that mean? Is, is that...â
Marco attempted to answer him, but his voice quickly trailed off. âItâsâŚâ
Tears immediately began to pool in the corners of Moonâs eyes as panic set in. âThe... the Whispering SpellâŚâ She slammed her fists down on the railing in front of her, as if it was going to give her some kind of ability to stop this from happening. But she knew just as well as Star did that what had been set in motion could not be interrupted. âNo! Star! You... you get away! You run away from there!â
Starâs voice was quiet, but firm. âIt's too late, Mom.â
Marco moved forward to stand beside Moon, his hands gripping onto the stone railing in an effort to ground himself. âSheâs⌠why isnât she running? Why is she justâŚâ
Something must have clicked in Yvgenyâs mind, because he suddenly blurted out, âWhat?!â and took several quick steps backwards, away from the impending destruction. âWhy she use that spell again?!â
Moon was too overwhelmed with horror to wonder how or why either of them would know what the spell was capable of. She was frozen to the spot, her mind, heart and body all at war with each other. She wanted to rush over there and do something, but what could she even hope to do?
Ludo said something to Star excitedly, but Moon was unable to hear him over the wind. The two of them exchanged some words. Starâs gaze never strayed from the wand, her lips pressing together into a thin, contemplative line.
âNo!â Moon screamed as the spell began its work. A fiercely bright pillar of green magic shot out of the wand and into the sky, crackling and snapping viciously. There was a sickening moment of silence as the wand imploded before an explosion shook the castle, taking down the entire tower with it. The three of them could only watch in horror as it fell apart and collapsed into a spray of dust and debris.
âN-no, no no no NO!â Moonâs shoulders began to tremble violently, out of fear for her daughterâs life. âBuff Frog, we have to go now!â
Yvgeny, despite his dread, grunted in acknowledgement and scooped both her and Marco up in his arms, jumping down to the crater below. Moon tore through the rubble recklessly, overturning chunks of rock and sheets of stone. A wave of anger washed over her as she found an unconscious Ludo, however irrational those feelings might have been. Now that she knew Toffee was involved in this mess somehowâshe should have known better than to assume that heâd finally left her and her family aloneâit was impossible to place blame in this situation.
She never should have left Ludo alone once she found out he had the other half of the wand. If she had acted sooner, there was the chance that she could have prevented all of this. She felt so lost without the High Commission on her side, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it in the given moment. Her daughter was her one and only priority right now.
âWhere's Star?â Moon barked out, picking up the small monster by his shoulders and shaking him. His eyes opened, but they were glassy and difficult to read. Was that the faintest tinge of pink light she could see in them? âWhere is my daughter?!â
How peculiar it was, that it wasnât Ludoâs voice she heard when he responded. No, it was far more familiar than that. âMom! Mom, Mom! I'm in here!â
âStar? Is that you?â She wasnât exactly sure how Star had ended up inside of Ludoâs consciousnessâwas the inside of the wand and his mind connected somehow?âbut the fact of the matter was that she was okay, and that was all that Moon could hope for.
âYes, yes, it's me!â The relief was prominent in her daughterâs voice, as if she had shared the same fears as her mother.
âOh, thank goodness!â Moon hugged the kappa tightly. She understood that her daughter might not even be able to recognize the gesture, but she made the effort nonetheless. Behind her, she heard both Marco and Yvgeny let out sighs of relief. They came up on either side of her and looked over Ludo curiously, equally surprised and puzzled by this new development.
âThis is very strangeâŚâ Yvgeny commented. As comforting as it was to know that Star was still here, it didnât make it any less disorienting to hear her voice coming out of Ludo.
Marco leaned forwards to better center himself in Ludoâs field of vision. âC-can you see us?â
âYeah, Marco, I can! Y-you guys didnât get hurt, did you? Youâre all okay?â
âI assure you, weâre fine,â Moon answered for them. âAre you? Where are you?â
Her daughterâs voice was shaky and uncertain. âWell, I-I'm totally fine, but, uh... I don't exactly know where I am.â
âThat's okay, sweetie,â Moon assured, hoping that her words could comfort her in some way. âThe important thing is that you're safe. Just stay right there. And no matter what, we will find you!â
âMom? Mâyeah, cââ Her voice was beginning to break up, to Moonâs dismay. âCan yâreât-thaââ Ludoâs eyes closed as her voice faded away.
Just as quickly as the brief period of relief had appeared, it was gone, leaving her unnerved and frightened. _No no no, come back to me! Please! _âStar? Are you still there?" She shook Ludo again, a bit more aggressively than she intended, hoping to somehow reconnect to her daughter.
Ludoâs eyes opened again, but this time, the light behind them was a sickly, ominous green. The voice that came out of him was not her daughterâs. Yet it was somehow just as familiar, eerily so.
âHello, Moon.â
It didnât feel like her blood could run any colder than it already had. Her fight or flight reflexes desperately wanted to kick in, but she felt rooted to the spot, face to face with the one she recognized as her worst possible enemy. âToffeeâŚâ
Ludoâs body floated out of her hands and up into the air, where he hovered in place, smiling a wide, toothy grin that didnât quite seem to match what she knew about Ludoâs personality. The emptiness of his eyes made it all that much more unsettling.
All three of them were on their feet in an instant. Neither Marco nor Yvgeny moved into attack stances right away, but they were clearly put on edge by the confirmation of who this was in front of them. Marco looked completely taken aback, as if he thought this was impossible. His mouth was agape, but not so much as a word escaped him. Yvgenyâs eyes were anxiously darting between Ludoâs hovering body and their surroundings like he was expecting more bad memories of the past to jump out of hiding and ambush them. Despite his attempts to appear threatening, he was very clearly incredibly tense.
Moon shook her head quickly, clearing her thoughts. Why Toffee was here did not matter, not right now. She took a commanding step forwards and clenched her fists at her sides. âGive us back Star.â
âOh, of course,â Toffee chuckled. âBut I'd like something from you first. Something that belongs to me.â He outstretched his hand, still bearing the blackened half of the wand in his palm. The missing finger was easily recognizable.
His finger, she remembered. He had mentioned it before, when the rest of the Magic High Commission had been incapacitated. She had found it amid all the rubbish shoved into Starâs closet and had kept it on her since, fearful that Toffee would find it himself. But now, what was she to do? Her sense of reason told her that giving in to his demands was a very poor choice, but did she really have any other options? Her child was now trapped inside the same plane as that monster, that villain. Star needed to be rescued immediately. There was no doubt that her daughter was a fighter, and she was likely already trying to find her own way of escaping. But if Toffee had been inside the wand, after all this time, and had never found a way to escapeâ
Moon stopped herself from debating it further, reluctantly reaching to remove the small jar from her belt and hold it out towards him. The finger sat inside.
âYour Majesty,â Toffee said, as he floated down closer to her. His hand outstretched further, silently asking for her to follow through with his demands. âDo we have a deal?â
âTake it.â
She tipped the jar upside down and dumped the finger out of it, placing it in his hand before she could convince herself otherwise. The smirk on Ludoâs face widened as he closed his hand around it. The finger immediately began to reattach itself to the severed stump it was once a part of, until it was whole once more.
The light in Ludoâs eyes flickered out, leaving them pitch black. He looked as if his life force had been taken out of his own body, similar to the fate of the High Commission. He hung limply in the air.
Moon wanted to cry out for her daughter againâperhaps she could finally hear her, nowâbut Ludoâs right arm sharply extended, prompting her to stay silent. The newly reformed finger had yet to stop expanding, as unnatural gray ooze slowly spread from his hand and up his arm, overtaking Ludoâs entire body in a horrific display. The dark sludge took on the shape of a skeleton as it continued to grow. Skin stretched over its form, followed by a jet black suit. As the figureâs shape began to finalize into lizard-like features, his eyes were the last thing to roll into place, and he lightly floated back down to the ground without saying so much as a word. Toffeeâs eyes were widened, his gaze settling on the empty space in front of him.
Before anyone was able to even react, he bent forwards and vomited out some of the sickly dark ooze that had reconstructed his body, as well as Ludo himself, who landed in a mostly unconscious heap on the ground. Toffee blinked a few times, shocked silent, before returning to stand upright and examine his hand. It looked as if his finger had never been absent in the first place. His eyes were stretched wide in disbelief.
âWhere is my daughter?â Moon demanded, taking a slight step towards him.
âYeah, whereâs Star?!â Marco chimed in from behind her, finally breaking his silence. He chose to adopt a karate stance, lowering himself to the ground with partially bent knees.
Toffee turned his hand out to face them, where the fragment of the wand still resided. Without warning, he clamped his hand shut, crushing the blackened, brittle stone in his palm. It crumbled to dust and he allowed the broken remains to fall to the ground.
âSheâs gone,â he said plainly, before he turned and began to walk away.
Everything around Moon in that very moment felt as if it ceased to exist. He had to be lying. There was no possible way that he was telling the truthâshe refused to give it the consideration. Admitting that would mean that her daughter was gone, and she wasnât going to let that be a possibility. No, not at all. She wasnât in the wand, no, she was somewhere else, safe and happy, somewhere where nothing bad could happen to her.
Her eyes were tearing up...why were they tearing up? Nothing was wrong. No, she hadnât just made the biggest mistake of her life. Toffee hadnât won. He hadnât succeeded in this revenge scheme of his. He hadnât taken away her baby girl. She was going to prove it. She had to prove that he had failed, and then maybe, just maybe, she could have the last laugh...
Her feet set in motion before her mind could even register it, carrying her towards the septarian. She stepped faster and faster, until she was running, and a emotionally-driven scream tore out of her as she clenched her fists and lunged at him.
Toffee had whirled around to face her the moment she threw her first punch. He pushed her hand away from him before it could collide with his chest. Again and again, she threw her fists at him, and he continued to block her attacks until he caught each of her fists in his own hands. Moon struggled free of his grip and instead pulled Starâs half of the wand off of her belt, placing it directly over the monsterâs chest as she repeated the words of the very spell she had used on him in the first place. Despite it being in her own hands, the wandâs shape never changed.
âI call the darkness onto me from deepest depths of earth and sea! From ancient evils unawoken, break the one who can't be broken! From blackest night I pledge my soul, and crush my heart to burning coal! To summon forth the deadly power; to see my hated foe devoured!â Her words were bathed in desperation, but the spell did nothing at all.
Toffee narrowed his eyes at her impatiently. âAre you finished?â
He flinched slightly as a punch was thrown into his back and turned his head to glare at the one who had inflicted it. Marco stood there with his fists held up, clenched knuckles turning white with anger. Tears were pooling in his eyes. Toffee grumbled something under his breath and turned to grab him by the arm, haphazardly throwing him at a nearby pile of rubble. The boy landed in a painful heap, and Yvgeny immediately rushed over to him.
Moon snapped out of her stupor as Toffee took hold of her shoulders, shoving her into the ground. He dusted his hands off on his suit jacket and spared one last unreadable glance at her before walking away. Ludo stopped him before he could leave, but her mind had tuned him out. Her thoughts spiraled downwards as fast as her tears were falling down her face, and she tried desperately to think of something else that could be done.
She scrambled over to the pile of broken pieces scattered across the ground, scooping up a small handful. Yes, that was it! She could put the wand back together again. Then everything would be alrightâit had to be alright.
The ground scuffled in front of her, signaling that someone was approaching. But she hardly even heard it.
âCome on, come on. Why won't you fit? Come on.â
A shadow appeared on the ground over her. âQueen?â She looked up and met Marcoâs gaze. His sadness was apparent on his face.
âM-Maybe if I-I put the wand back together, it'll⌠it'll bring her back.â Her voice was trembling as badly as her frail hands were. âBut this piece won't fit.â
Marco leaned down on one knee and silently looked over the wand, before picking out a piece and offering it to her. âHere. Try this one.â
âTh-thank you,â she murmured, carefully taking it from him and glancing over it first, and then the pile of shards just in front of her. âThereâs just so many pieces, I-I donât even know where to startâŚâ
She heard light footsteps cautiously draw near, and she knew there was only person around that was small enough to fit that description. Her gaze snapped up to connect with Ludoâs, startling him with how piercing it was.
âI-Iâm sorry!â he stammered out immediately, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
She didnât care how apologetic he sounded. There was no excusing what his actions had ultimately led to, in her eyes. âThis is your fault. Itâs all because you were stupid enough to fall for his tricks!" He flinched under her accusation, frightened. She recognized the hypocrisy in her own statementâshe had just given Toffee the power to escape the wand, hadnât she?âbut the torrent of emotions running through her mind convinced her that she was justified in blaming him. It felt like the only thing she was still able to do.
âIâm so sorry,â Ludo murmured. âI⌠I donât know what else to say. I donât know anything anymore!â He conveyed his frustration and equally afflicted emotions with a wave of his arms. âI never meant for this to happen! I donât even know what is my fault, a-and what is hisâŚheâs used me, too, I hope you realizeâŚâ
âAnd thatâs supposed to give you a pass?â Moon pushed herself off the ground, standing tall over the comparably tiny monster. âDid you really think that no one was going to get hurt? You took over an entire kingdom by brute force and threatened every person standing in your way!â
Ludo made no attempt to deny any of the accusations being thrown at him. He hung his head shamefully and couldnât bear to maintain eye contact with the queen. âI wanted to be something more, someone who would be revered by the masses for his awe-inspiring greatness. My wand, it spoke to me, yes! It told me that I would be loved as the new King of Mewni. I thought that I could make things better! But the people of Mewni, they despised me⌠and even worse, it turns out, I havenât accomplished anything on my own! I thought Toffee was dead, but he was here all along, manipulating me every step of the way!â
âWhatâs done is done, Ludo. You cannot deny responsibility for your crimes!â
âIâm not trying to!â He retorted, his temper growing equally short. âIâm trying to apologize!â
Moon, not able to stand looking at him any longer, turned herself away from him. âJust get out! Go away!â
âI know that we fought all the time, but I truly never wanted Star to get hurt! Not like this! I just wantedââ
âGet out of my sight!â She screamed, clutching her hands over her head. âL-let me concentrate, please...â
Ignoring him, she studied the wand pieces through her teary eyes, trying to think of what other options she had. She couldnât think clearly with that insurgent monster pestering her, but even once he gave up and backed away, there was still no way she was going to be able to put all of the pieces back together. Her mind knew this, but her heartache refused to let up. She fell to her knees in front of the broken relic in an admission of desperation.
âI, I need to start over.â She dumped the fragmented half of the wand back into a pile and flattened out the crumbling pieces so she could more easily see them individually. âI have to...â
âQueen Moon.â Yvgenyâs voice was firm, but cautious. âI do not think that is going to work.â
âItâs going to work,â she insisted. âIt will work, youâll see. Iâll prove you all wrong.â
âShe might be right,â Marco offered, only to immediately be shut down by Yvgeny.
âNo! Do not encourage her.â
âItâs going to work!â _Iâll show you all, _she told herself. Iâll prove it. For Starâs sake.
âPlease, you are only hurting yourself by doing this.â Yvgeny kneeled down and managed to pry the wand out of her handsâgranted, her grip on it had been shaky.
âWhat are youâno! Give it back!â She was on her feet in an instant, repeatedly trying to steal it back. He held it well above her head, just out of her reach.
âQueenââ
âGive it back! Give it back, now!â She started beating her fists against his arm weakly, desperately. When the wand still had not returned to her hands, she collapsed into heavy, miserable sobs. Yvgeny frowned sorrowfully at the poor queen, holding onto her shoulder to prevent her from toppling over where she stood.
When the tears had finally run its course, her shoulders dropped in resignation. Her pleading, watery gaze connected with the frog monster. âWhat am I supposed to do?â
âYou should take rest, come back with clear head. Then maybe you will find answer.â
She sniffled and nodded slowly.
âIf there is one thing I know about Toffee, is that he is liar. He get inside your mind, make you think all the wrong things.â He turned and looked in the direction that Toffee had left, glaring with contempt. âWhat he know about magic, anyway?â
Moonâs eyes followed. The septarian had since disappeared, leaving no trace or hint of where he might have gone.
A commotion of royal guards and a few curious passerby had begun to gather around the edge of the crater. Upon seeing the state of the queen, the guards jumped down so that they could escort all of them up to safety.
âYour majesty! Are you alright?â the guard captain asked, skidding to a halt in front of her. âThat was quite the explosionâŚâ
Moon hurriedly scooped the wand fragments up from off of the ground, depositing them in the same jar that had previously held Toffeeâs finger. Only after she was sure she had all of the pieces did she respond to the guard. âY-yes, Iâm fine, I wasnât hurtâŚâ
The guard noticed that she had been crying almost immediately. Her reddened and puffy eyes were a dead giveaway, and she likely was showing her grief very clearly. The captain was about to start speaking again, but Moon caught something in the corner of her vision that was more of a pressing matter. A few of the other guards that had jumped down into the crater were now attempting to handcuff both Ludo and Yvgenyâit seemed like they were having difficulty finding handcuffs of the right sizes for either of them, however.
âJust what do you think youâre doing?â Moon demanded, projecting her voice as clearly as she could manage through her emotional turmoil.
The guards shared glances with each other. It took a couple of moments before one of them dared to speak. âUm⌠arresting these monsters, your majesty?â
âHe helped me,â she said, pointing at Yvgeny. âWhere exactly do you think you are taking him?â
âWell, we were going to imprison both of them until further notice, just to be safe.â
âNo, you will not. Not him. Buff Frog has not done anything wrong.â
âBut, your majesty, heâs aââ
âNo. That is an order.â
âIf you insist, your majesty.â The closest guard removed the cuffs he had been attempting to lock on his wrists, sparing a judgmental glance at him. Yvgeny took the high road and ignored him entirely. As the guards turned their attention back to Ludo, he crossed the clearing to stand in front of Moon.
âT-thank you, Queen.â The monster quickly bowed his head in gratitude. âI am terribly sorry about Star⌠if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.â
âYou have your own family to take care of,â Moon responded curtly, her tone coming off as cold. She realized this and tried to backpedal. ââŚso you donât need to worry about me and my problems. Iâll be okay.â
He seemed to understand what she meant. He nodded his goodbye and, with one last âthank youâ and a solemn look at all of the saddened faces around him, he left the scene and returned to the forest.
âWhat about him, your majesty?â the guard captain asked, motioning to Ludo. The kappa had already been handcuffed and the guards were waiting for further direction from the queen.
Moon addressed him directly, which seemed to startle him again. âLudo, you have committed many crimes against my kingdom. I canât simply forgive that.â
Guiltily, he dipped his head. âI understand.â
That was good enough for the guards, who were quick to escort him away as a prisoner. As they began to climb out of the crater, the captain noticed that Moon hadnât moved from where she stood. She was staring at the ground silently.
âMy Queen? Are you sure that you are alright?â
Quickly, Moon assessed her priorities. âIssue a dimension-wide arrest warrant for Toffee of Septarsis immediately. Make it of the highest importance, have him brought back alive.â
âB-but your majesty, is that not to be the decision of the entire Magical High Commission? Do you have the authority to make such aââ
âI am the only one left.â Her voice dropped to a low, serious tone. âI am making this decision on their behalf.â
âWhâ do you mean to tell me that the High Commission is dead?!â
âNo, theyâre not dead! No one has died!â Part of her knew her denial was more personally motivated than sheâd like to admit. Exhaling loudly, she attempted to calm herself. âJust⌠please, please⌠do as I ask.â
The captain, despite her frown, raised her hand to her head in a salute. âO-of course. Right away, your majesty. My apologizes.â
âFind him,â Moon ordered, clenching her fists. âWe have to find him.â
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Hello there! I created this blog a little more than half a year ago with the intention of putting content for my Star vs. AU here. Finally, Iâm doing just that. (honestly Iâm still kind of proud of how the blog theme came out)
I decided that I want to host my fic, The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings, here on Tumblr as well as AO3. That way I can also put any art or other information in the same place as well, just to keep everything nice and organized. Itâs also going to be the new place for readers to reach out to me, rather than through my main.Â
Hopefully soon, Iâll be uploading the chapters to this blog individually. If your preferred reading experience is on AO3, however, I encourage you to read it there. Itâs been several months since Iâve updated, but rest assured Iâm working on the next couple of chapters as best as I can. Hopefully soon they will be done, and when that happens Iâll link this new blog in the AO3 notes so that people can actually find it, lol.Â
Until then!
-illusionofcalm
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Welcome to the Motherverse!
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