Work Text:
Queen Star the Benevolent
A once belittled princess
Fought hard to prove her worth
With a gentle hand, united the land
And found harmony on Earth
“Be honest. We can always change it.” Moon watched as her daughter read over the stone block at the foot of a white sheet hanging on the wall of the Grandma Room, as Star called it. Underneath said sheet was the tapestry that would hang in her honor for centuries after she was gone. But it would be a bit longer before that was revealed, they were still waiting for one more person to join them.
Star turned around to beam at her, her baby blue eyes having never lost their youthful sparkle no matter how old she got. “I love it. It’s like...yup, that’s me in a nutshell.”
“That’s the point.” Moon returned a much more subtle yet equally genuine smile. This was all happening so fast that it hadn’t really sunk in for the queen yet, let alone for Star. It felt like only yesterday -- well, last month technically -- that Glossaryck had contacted her and her husband to express his confidence that Star was ready. All of them knew what “ready” meant. The myriad of emotions that had welled up inside of Moon instantly had to be squashed in favor of her stiff businesslike default as she began to list off everything that now needed to be done in preparation. River had burst into tears murmuring about his “baby girl” into his hands, and even Glossaryck’s mystical eyes shone a bit more brightly than usual. There was a shared sentiment between the three of them that Star was very special, both as an heir and a person.
Moon couldn’t cry, she couldn’t even get the least bit choked up. Not then. And certainly not in front of her subjects when she announced that she and her husband would be stepping down from the throne. The kingdom itself seemed to reflect her conflicting feelings: Excitement, anxiety, sadness, fear, all that came with facing an uncertain future when ushering in a new Mewnian regime. Especially when the princess passionately expressed all she planned to do once she was in power, and Mewmans were divided in half as to whether or not they supported her propositions.
Her little girl had a very long and difficult road ahead of her, and there was not a thing Moon could do to ease her way. She was slipping away, right through her fingers like grains of sand, between the crown and the engagement ring Star twirled nervously around her left finger. If anything was enough to break Moon the Undaunted, it was that.
“Mom, are you okay?” She blinked her unfocused eyes as her daughter’s voice brought her back to the present. Star blew a raspberry through her lips, rolling her eyes, “What am I talking about, of course you’re not okay--”
“I’m as well as I can be.” She placed her hands on Star’s shoulders, surveying her thoughtfully. She had come such a long way, and grown so much since the Royal Wand was bestowed upon her. Has it really been ten years already? she often found herself wondering. Then she saw the woman before her, tall and slender with defined cheekbones in her previously round face, and knew there was no doubt about it. Her princess, while dressed in a simple elegant puff-sleeved frock and her signature loud-colored leggings with knee-high boots, was indeed becoming a queen.
“You’re frightened,” Moon whispered, seeing past Star’s near constant smile to where her brow knitted slightly in the center of her forehead, her lower lip turned inward where she was nibbling on the inside of it. Her eyes were wider than usual, as if trying to convey that she was collected and in control rather than actually feeling it.
“To death,” Star admitted without hesitation.
“I would be extremely concerned if you weren’t,” Moon nodded in understanding. “Your coronation is in sixteen hours. In the summer, you will be married. Your entire life is changing in a very short span of time, Star.” She lowered her voice to a dull mutter, half speaking to herself, “If I were you, I’d be lying on the floor curled up in a fetal position begging for death’s swift hand to take me.”
“Oh don’t worry, I did that this morning,” Star assured her dryly. “And I’ll probably do it three more times before the ceremony starts.” She wished she knew for sure if she was exaggerating or not.
“I’m sorry this couldn’t be postponed, but you know there won’t be another solar eclipse for decades.”
“And ‘a queen of Mewni crowned during an eclipse ensures a flourishing reign’,” Star recited Glossaryck’s words that she was sure were verbatim from somewhere in her spellbook. It probably wouldn’t have been this bad if she wasn’t, on top of queen training, running herself ragged planning for the next big event in just a few short months. Whose brilliant idea was it to have an Earth wedding and a castle wedding? Oh yeah, it was me.
The clunk of the heavy decorated door opening drew their attention to the entrance of the tapestry room, and Star saw the third member of their party poke his head in. “Well, look who’s fashionably late.”
“Sorry, your dad really likes to talk,” Marco said as he slid inside the room, shutting the door behind him. “And that was two hours after they fitted me for my suit for tomorrow. It’s crazy, they wanna decorate me like I’m some kind of war hero.”
“Well, you kinda are?” Star sang out, bringing her arms up in a shrug. “The battles, the dimension hopping -- and how many times have you saved my life again?”
“As many times as you’ve saved mine,” Marco countered smartly. “The score sheet doesn’t lie.”
“I bet it doesn’t,” Star smirked as he approached them, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. Ten years later and he hadn’t let go of the hoodie, although he had branched off into different colors. Today it was a light grey, which complimented Star’s midnight blue dress nicely.
The queen moved away so Marco could stand beside Star. She would be doing so in a figurative sense very soon, but she wouldn’t let that deter her from the matter she needed to conduct. Normally on coronation eve, the queen met privately with her daughter while the king spoke with the prince consort, which was where Marco had been preoccupied most of the evening. Moon, however, had chosen to do things differently and have her meeting with the pair of them.
“Well, now that you’re both here, I suppose it’s time to finally--”
“Marco, come look at this,” Star said excitedly, pulling him by the arm over to the stone block that bore her inscription. “Isn’t it perfect?”
“That’s you in a nutshell,” Marco smiled as his eyes scanned it over.
“That’s what I said!”
“Ahem,” Moon cleared her throat loudly and they both snapped their attention back to her. Her gloved hand curled around a rope attached to the white sheet. “Ready?”
They both nodded, and she pulled the rope downward. The star-shaped skylight above opened, letting the stars in the evening sky sparkle upon them as the moonlight cast itself onto the sheet. And then it parted. The woven image of the princess caused both Star and Marco to inhale deeply. She wasn’t depicted as an adult, but younger. Much younger.
“Am I...fourteen in this tapestry?” Star asked, stepping forward to study the picture. This Star was shorter and skinnier with tiny wings fluttering behind her, rather than the full grown ones folded flat against her back. On one half of the frame was a crowd of Mewmans, a throng of monsters of various species and sizes on the other. All were grinning and cheering while in the center, the princess held her wand aloft, magic spraying from the head and showering the subjects around her. “But I don’t get it. I was older than that when the ceasefire was called.”
“The tapestry is meant to reflect the turning point in the queen’s life,” Moon explained, resting her hand against the woven frame. “Yours was during your fourteenth year.”
“Wow...I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like it but -- this is really gonna mess with the history books, isn’t it?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Moon remarked sullenly, and Star knew she was thinking of the depiction of her own past. She chuckled lightly as she looked back around at Marco. Then her smile vanished. As he gazed up at what would become his fiancée’s most preserved relic, his russet eyes glistened with tears in the moonlight.
“Marco?” Star felt her heart clench painfully, latching her hands around his arm as she pulled herself closer to him. “What is it, what’s wrong?”
“N-nothing,” he stammered hastily, wiping his sleeve under his nose. “Nothing’s wrong, I just...this really takes me back. I remember everything, from the very beginning.” He only seemed to choke up more, and Star entwined her fingers through his as a lump rose in her own throat. “From that first day you got the Wand, I was there.”
“Two kids just thrown together outta the blue,” Star said softly, reaching up to brush away the tears leaking down his cheeks. “Turns out it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I never had someone to battle with before you. You were with me through every milestone. I kept telling you I didn’t need you, but I really did.”
“You were such a crazy reckless princess, and now --”
“I’m gonna be a crazy reckless queen.” A laugh burst from Star’s trembling lips as Marco wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.
“Tomorrow...I can’t believe it’s happening tomorrow. You did it, Star.”
She wanted to wave it off, say it wasn’t a big deal like she normally did. But like the time she destroyed her wand, or when her spellbook was stolen, or the instances she could now count on both hands where she’d nearly lost her best friend, she couldn’t. Because it was a big deal, the biggest deal of her life. So Star did what she always did at those times: She buried herself in Marco’s warm embrace, letting a few tears fall onto his hoodie as she inhaled his scent deeply.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she whispered. “I’m not just saying that, Marco, I -- I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you. We did it.”
“That’s precisely why I requested both of you here.” They pulled themselves apart as Moon gently broke the tranquil moment. She took both of Star’s hands and pulled her towards the tapestry, standing her directly beneath the ray of moonlight. “The Queen is the center of all Mewni. It is her magic that lets us flourish or wither, her command that brings us war or peace, her heart that either strengthens or weakens the kingdom’s morale. You will be the heart of Mewni, Star. The choices you make can no longer be for selfish gain -- your actions from tomorrow onward will affect every one of your subjects, including your family and friends.”
She cupped a hand around her daughter’s cheek, letting her thumb stroke the rose heart etched into her skin. “I cannot demand this of you, for once the crown is on your head, I am at your service. I can only implore you to heed my words...as your mother.”
Star said nothing for a moment, trying to force herself to recognize the magnitude of her duty instead of standing there in numb acceptance. Her mother had been telling her to “heed her words” every day since her fourteenth birthday. That was a lot of days, her warnings more like a routine than carrying any weight, and everything she was working towards seemed so far away back then. Then she Dipped Down, then her wand evolved, then her wings grew in, then mastered wandless magic, culminating in her grooming to be queen which began when she turned eighteen. And all the while she was living on Earth, going to school, having fun with her friends, falling in love, and trying to discover who exactly Star Butterfly was. Time just flew by, and “You’re going to be Queen someday” suddenly turned into “You’re going to be Queen in a matter of hours”.
“I understand.” Star said, her voice laced with uncharacteristic solemnity. “I do, Mom. You know how hard I’ve been working with the court and your council, trying to get where everyone’s coming from.” She swallowed hard, “But like I said...being on Earth, looking back at Mewni from a distance, I realized there’s a lot that needs to change.” She shook her head, thoroughly distressed. “Some of these laws have been around since the year one, and they’re just...wrong. They’re based on prejudice and superiority, not doing what’s best for the people. So much of what we stand for is wrong, and I need to start fixing it.”
She paused, seeing that she was about to go off on a rant and took a deep breath. Letting go of Moon’s hands, Star stepped back into the moonlight, drawing herself up straight and tall into a regal and almost intimidating stance. From the somber look on her face to the fire in her blue eyes, Moon believed she was looking at herself for one wildly astonishing moment. “I’m not trying to be reckless or a radical or throw Mewni into chaos, I never have. I’m doing this because I love my kingdom. And...that means everyone in it.”
Marco brought his hands together instinctively at Star’s declaration, then realized a round of applause probably wasn’t appropriate right now and stopped himself. The clap caused Moon and Star to whip their heads around at him, and he grinned sheepishly. “Whoops. Uh...slow clap. It’s like ‘kudos’. Spot on. You go, girl.”
“I’ll explain it to you later,” Star giggled at Moon’s increasingly puzzled face.
“Well, I’m glad you approve,” the queen said to him, shaking off the oddness of the moment. “Because while the Queen is the center and the heart, your role is simultaneously the right hand--”
“And the backbone,” Marco finished. “Your husband told me. Before he started telling me about all of his royal hunting trips.”
“All of them?” Star raised her eyebrows.
“All of them,” Marco trailed off in a withering voice.
“Yikes, I am so sorry--”
“Regardless,” Moon cut in, slightly exasperated, “he is correct. Star tells me that in your world, women in positions of power are not held in as high regard as the men.”
“It’s seriously messed up,” Marco rubbed the back of his neck as if embarrassed by his own dimension. It was even harder for him to wrap his head around, when he had been surrounded by strong formidable women his entire life: His mother, Star, her mother, Jackie, Janna, just to name a few.
“So you are comfortable taking the Butterfly name when you marry?”
“Yeah, of course,” Marco replied.
Star grinned widely at him. “And I’ll be taking his name when we’re on Earth.”
“You don’t have to, Star.”
“I want to,” she insisted, and Moon could tell by her tone that this was something they had been disagreeing on. “I love your family, and they’ve done so much for me. I wanna be a part of that, even if I am queen of another dimension.”
Marco sighed, giving the queen a knowing look. “Can’t stop her once she’s made up her mind.”
“I’m familiar with that helpless feeling that often accompanies Star’s stubbornness,” Moon agreed, a hint of humor seeping into her regal tone. “In all fairness, she gets that from me. As her King, it will be your job to steer her in the right direction, not change her mind. She will, of course, have the final word on any and all diplomatic matters.”
“R-right, as she should.”
Star’s smile wilted a bit, watching the muscles in his jaw tense like they always did at hearing the K-word. If this was all daunting for her, then she could only imagine how petrified Marco was at what was going to be the culture shock of his life. Although he had spent years immersing himself in Mewnian customs as much as Star had adapted to Earth, it was nothing compared to actually living in the palace, carrying an imperial title, walking one step behind his sovereign wife, and being her rock when outraged citizens called for her exile -- or worse, execution.
It was already happening, the rioting cries of traditionalists who rejected her appeals to integrate monsterkind with Mewmans. Her ideas were rendered “treasonous”, “the radical flights of fancy of a naive little girl” who was “too dangerous to rule”, and she wasn’t even on the throne yet. She didn’t tell Marco for a long time, and when he found out he hadn’t only been upset -- he was downright livid, both with her for withholding this from him and the situation itself. It was the perfect moment for him to back out of the whole thing. But he didn’t.
“Marco,” Moon approached him now, surveying him through narrowed thick eyelashes. “You are a kind genuine soul, so I have no doubt you will answer my next two questions with complete honesty: Are you sure you want to marry my daughter, and your best friend, Star Butterfly?”
“Yes,” Marco stated with complete ease. Among all the dramatic changes happening to him that he didn’t understand, this was the one thing he did. His eyes drifted to the beautiful young woman standing under the moonlight, her long golden locks shimmering, her crystal blue eyes glittering as they gazed back at him. She looked unearthly and radiant, but underneath was the same fun, crazy, goofy, reckless yet fiery and courageous Star he had known his entire adolescence. And he loved her more than she’d ever know.
“Are you sure you want to marry Queen Star the Benevolent of Mewni?”
“Yes,” Marco repeated, sounding more irritable than he intended. “I’m sure! I-I’ve never been more sure of anything else in my life!”
“I see...” Moon drifted away from them as if lost in thought, and Marco exchanged an alarmed look with Star.
“I’m so confused.”
“Me too -- where ya goin’ with this one, Mom?”
“Perhaps we should sit down.” The couple watched as Moon snapped her fingers, and two footmen sailed into the room as if they had appeared out of thin air. One pushed a plush blue armchair underneath Moon a second before she sat down like she’d been expecting it. The other shoved a blue cushioned couch so forcefully into the backs of Star and Marco’s knees that they buckled, and both of them yelped as they crashed backwards into the seat. Without a word, the footmen scurried away to make themselves invisible, and Moon faced the stunned young people as if nothing had happened.
“Comfortable?”
“Yeah, s-sure,” Marco spluttered. He leaned over and whispered in Star’s ear, jabbing a thumb at where the servants had just left. “Do we get that? I mean, after tomorrow?”
“Oh totally,” Star nodded eagerly, and Marco pumped his fist in a silent “Awesome.”
“You answered ‘yes’ to both questions.” Moon relaxed back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other under her gown casually. “Therefore, you fully grasp what standing at Star’s right hand for the rest of your lives entails.”
“With all due respect, Ma’am, you asked me the same question twice.”
“No, Marco Diaz. I asked you two separate questions.”
“Mom, you asked him if he’s ready to marry me twice and he said yes,” Star said slowly as if she were hearing impaired. “Don’t start goin’ senile on me already or we’ll have to put you in the home with Aunt Etheria.”
“I know what I said, Star,” Moon bit out through gritted teeth, and her daughter shrank back at the scolding tone from her childhood. “And you would do well to listen closely to this, too.” Her icy eyes darted back to Marco, who still looked lost. “Tomorrow afternoon, my daughter assumes the duty she has been destined for since birth. When you asked her for her hand, you asked two people: Star Butterfly, the girl you’ve known and loved for years, and the next Queen of Mewni.”
She lowered her eyes, for the first time dropping her imposing stature as her shoulders curled forward, drumming her fingers on top of her knee idly. “Being Queen changes you. The power struggles, the warfare, the advice and demands coming at you from twenty different directions, the decisions that will leave half your people cheering and the other raging -- whether you wear the crown for five years or fifty, you will not come out of it the same person you were.”
“I won’t let that happen to me,” Star shook her head. As if rising from the depths of her darkest nightmares, the images of the halls of St. Olga’s Reform School For Wayward Princesses swam before her mind. Those chanting cardboard-cutout royals would haunt her until the day she died, and she vowed from that day forward to find some way to be a queen Mewni could be proud of without losing her spark of individuality. “I’m gonna rule Mewni my way, to quote someone way smarter than me.” She winked at Marco who flashed a grin right back.
“I said the same thing,” Moon whispered, pressing a hand to her heart as she felt it start to ache. “I was even younger than you are, the night before my coronation, telling myself that I wouldn’t lose sight of--” She halted as her voice caught for a moment, and Star reached over and grabbed Marco’s hand. “You are so much stronger than I was Star, there is no denying that. But so much will happen to you -- to both of you -- as the years go by. I have changed so much since River and I were children that I’m shocked he’s still here with me...after everything I’ve put him through…”
“Okay, now I’m scared,” Star’s voice quivered as Marco’s fingers around hers tightened.
“She will lose sight of who she is,” the queen declared, her voice full of anguish as she leaned forward, pointing a finger at Marco. “She will distance herself, make rash life-altering choices without you, put the good of her kingdom before the good of her loved ones. She’ll break your heart over and over again. There will be times where you don’t even know who she is anymore. And you’ll wonder ‘What sort of heartless creature have I given myself to?’ ”
“What are you saying?” Marco willed as much strength into his inquiry as possible despite his shaking hands and the cold hard pit in the center of his stomach.
“I’m saying your final chance to leave is now.”
The silence that followed was deafening, even the cool air from outside wafting in above them seemed completely still. Marco’s heart pounded so loudly in his ears that it made him dizzy. Of course he knew what a huge undertaking this was. Of course he’d considered what he was signing up for when he proposed. That didn’t mean he wasn’t guilty of having second thoughts, breaking out in a cold sweat when he envisioned himself wearing a heavy crown and commanding an army, panicking over how they would successfully split living on Earth and ruling Mewni equally -- especially if, heaven forbid, a war broke out.
And then there was Star. Everything her mother had said had to be true to some degree, for they both knew how much happier and more free-spirited Moon had been as a princess. The pressures of ruling a kingdom, plus those so violently opposed to her, could be enough to snuff out Star’s resolve, holding her chin high while yielding to the demands of her elders. The reign founded on changing Mewni for the better would dwindle into just another notch in the dynasty’s callous belt. He couldn’t let that happen. His future wife was bold and unrelenting when it came to warfare and kind-hearted when it came to wanting what was best for others. But in her abilities as leader? That was where her confidence faltered. Star had always just wanted to be herself, but she doubted if that was what was best for the Mewmans and monsters of the land.
He felt her hand fall away from his, his heart sinking as Star drew her knees up onto the seat, hugging them against her chest. She didn’t look at him, and frankly Marco couldn’t bear to look at the shattered expression on her face either.
“She’s right, Marco,” Star spoke in a very small voice, resembling that of a child’s rather than a soon-to-be queen. “I can’t walk away from this. You can.” She loved him -- sweet Mewni, she could go on and on for days about how much she loved Marco Diaz and always had. But just how much was he willing to sacrifice for her sake?
He stood from the couch, and Star closed her eyes, feeling tears bead rapidly behind her lids. She waited for his footsteps to echo and die on the marble floor, and she wouldn’t blame him one bit. Moments passed and the sound never came.
“The night before I asked Star to marry me, I had a long talk with my parents,” Marco began. "My mom told me that loving someone is like being in a race. And...the reason a lot of marriages don't work out is because people think the wedding is the finish line. Like, that's it. They got the prize. They don't have to work at it anymore or try to win the other person over. And when they don't wanna grow together anymore, it falls apart.”
Star lifted her head from her knees, daring to glance up at him as she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. He wasn’t afraid like she was anymore. He didn’t falter when he spoke directly to her mother, who was listening intently. And he certainly didn’t look like he planned to walk out on her.
“The truth is, marriage is the starting line. There's gonna be hurdles, and there's gonna be hills and valleys. We're gonna fall in the mud and help each other back up -- literally, I bet.” He took Star’s hand, and she untangled her legs so she could rise to stand level with his eyes. She saw him, and everything else went away: the tapestries surrounding them, the skylight, her mother -- there was nothing except Marco. His earnest brown eyes with flecks of gold, his caring smile, the dark stubble on his jawline, and the cute little mole under his right eye.
“It's gonna be hard, but it's also gonna be fun. Until one of us crosses the real finish line. When 'death does us part'.” Their foreheads were touching now, and Marco whispered, now speaking only to her. “I've become a better person every day since I met you, Star. And every day, you win me over. I...I wanna keep winning you over, too."
Star leaned in, capturing his lips with hers -- a kiss that unfortunately did not last long when she started to cry, both relieved that he stayed and moved tremendously by his words. Marco contented himself by letting his lips gently brush the top of her head as she dried her eyes on the collar of his hood, their arms wound snugly around each other as if they didn’t want to let go.
“Star,” came Moon’s soft call, sounding like it was far away rather than a few feet in front of them.
“Yeah -- yeah, I’m here,” Star gulped, taking several deep breaths as Marco rubbed her back. “We’re here. And we’re ready.”
“You are, darling.” Sadness began to creep more and more pronounced into her tone as the queen watched her only child gaze at the boy chosen to be her guide on Earth like he was her entire universe. “You’re a team against the forces of evil, and you always have been. When your worlds become a lot more dangerous and your choices much less simple, I can only hope that you always will be.”
She stood and inclined her head, giving them a slight bow. “Your Majesties.”
“Marco, I know I didn’t really formally ask you, but...” Star removed the diamond ring from her finger and slid it as far up Marco’s pinkie finger as it would go. “Will you be my King?”
He exhaled in a short laugh as he looked down at her ring on his finger. For once, the royal title didn’t freak him out. “I’d be honored, My Queen.”
“And I can getcha one of those if you want,” Star hinted, wagging her eyebrows.
“Might take you up on that,” Marco nodded, admiring how the jewel sparkled in the dim light. “Man, I treat you good, don’t I?”
“Sure do, Diaz,” she said, nudging him with her elbow playfully. “Ya sure do.”
“If the two of you are satisfied with the tapestry and inscription, then I suggest you retire for the night,” Moon said, pleasantly yet dismissively as she hastened them towards the door. “We all have a very big day tomorrow.”
“Aren’t you going, too?” Star asked quizzically, eyeing her over her shoulder as she guided her out of the room.
“Shortly, I just need a moment.” She didn’t elaborate further than that, and Star’s eyebrows knitted together.
“Well goodnight, Your Majes--I mean, Ma’am. Uh--” Marco chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck again. “What do I call you when you’re not Queen anymore?”
“‘Moon’ will suffice.” The queen reached for the door and gave them one last slight smile before shutting it.
“Whoa,” Star marveled, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. “First name basis? You must’ve really impressed her with that whole marriage speech.”
“Like I said, my mom gets credit for that one.” Marco started down the hall to their bed chambers until he realized Star wasn’t following him. She was still staring at the closed door to the Grandma Room in silence. “Hey, you coming to bed?”
“Yeah, totally totally totally…” She trailed off, waving him down the corridor with her hand. “I’m just...gonna make sure she’s okay.” She wasn’t, and Star could tell. While her mother wasn’t the easiest woman to read most of the time, Star knew she always isolated herself when she was overcome with emotion, refusing to publicly show weakness. These were all the tell-tale signs.
In front of the tapestry of Queen Star Butterfly, Moon sank down onto the couch as she gazed up at her young daughter’s sweet smile and vibrant eyes that had been captured so perfectly. Beyond royal duty, beyond crowns and rings and the Royal Wand, beyond diplomacy and decrees and magic, she and Star still were mother and daughter at the very core. It had been a shaky bond, fragmented by years of stern indifference masking dark secrets to keep her safe, a destiny that she could never protect her from. A bond that had strengthened with age and common ground, yet the shame for those early years would never leave Moon be. But now, she had complete faith. Now, Star would lead Mewni to better days. Now, her work was finally done.
And Moon wept at last, convulsing deeply from long buried despair as the tears poured forth, staining her blue satin gloves. Her child...no matter what, she was still her child. The fear for her future coupled with the pain of letting her go was simply too much for the fragile heart under her toughened skin to bear. But she had to. There was someone who could give Star something she and her father never could. He had been doing so for a very long time already, and she knew her daughter was in the best hands she could possibly be in. But still…
She hadn’t heard the door open, nor the pair of boots echoing on the tile as the queen’s sobs reverberated off the silent marble walls. Then Moon gasped aloud when a pair of arms seized her tightly from behind, and she turned to see a blonde head burying itself in her shoulder.
“Star?” she breathed, her face still gleaming with unrestrained tears as she tried to loosen herself from her arms -- but Star refused to budge an inch.
“I love you, Mom,” Star mumbled brokenly, her own eyes leaking quiet tears. “So much. I’ll never ever stop needing you.”
And in that peaceful room lit by a clear crisp evening, no more words of assurance were needed. Moon gathered her daughter up in her own arms, imagining if only for a moment that she was an infant once more, before whispering tearfully into her ear.
“I love you too, my Star.”