Work Text:
Pandora pushed open the doors to the armory with such force that they banged into the opposite walls, an echo that rattled the metal ornaments within as she strode into the room. Chewing on the inside of her lower lip, she scanned her shadowed surroundings lit only by the sun glowing from the high skinny windows. Not much light was allowed in here for fear of tarnishing the ancient battle garments, leftover from thousands of years of Mewman versus monster wars. Indeed, the only thing older than these artifacts was the castle itself, and even that had been updated since her parents’ reign began.
Her gaze finally landed on a brown sheath with an embroidered magenta diamond design outlined in flowing swirls, the polished gold hilt of a sword protruding from the top casting tiny rays of light on the dark walls. She wasn’t supposed to use this one -- not until she grew into it, they said. That was an adult’s sword, and Pandora had only just turned twelve. And more significantly, it was her grandfather’s sword from the kingdom’s most recent Diamond Regime.
Removing the weapon from its resting place in the middle of the wall, carefully so not to disturb the suit of armor beside it, the princess unsheathed the glittering blade, running her thumb thoughtfully over the jewel in the center of the hilt. She had outgrown her training sword, mastering her opponents in combat lessons and felt more than ever that she was ready to level up. Holding it erect, she caught her reflection in the spotless silver: Electric blue eyes shone through beige skin, brow knit beneath thick dark chocolate bangs, soft straight locks reached her shoulder blades, and on each cheek was a crimson spade mark. She was a pretty young thing, and yet couldn't have looked more miserable.
That wasn’t to say she didn’t lead a charmed life, for she most certainly did. Pandora was an extremely talented girl, from sword fighting to painting to singing, as well as excelled fairly high academically. She had even started designing her own royal gowns, bored with the traditional Mewni blue and itching to try some more daring combinations. As for fighting, she’d embraced the calling of the sword ever since she could hold one, enjoying the power surge she got whenever she had a weapon curled in her fist. Known far and wide as the beloved daughter of all Mewni, everyone praised her as the perfect blend of both parents the more she grew.
Walking out into the open space, her boots clunking against the marble floor, she slashed the empty air so neatly she would have cut her opponent in half. It was yesterday during her birthday celebration that she had begun to really see the signs. Or perhaps they’d always been there and she’d just never noticed. The snobbish elderly who had been members of the court since her great-grandparents’ reign whispering with their heads together as she twirled around the ballroom floor, laughing with her companions. In fact it was Lily, the demon princess and her best friend, who had pointed out their stares. The wrinkled men with spectacles perched on their noses and women with high powdered wigs did not appear angry with her, however. It was more...worry. Fear.
At first Pandora thought Lily might have been blowing things out of proportion, the short temper she’d inherited from her father causing her to be paranoid. Then two of the elders had approached the queen of Mewni and begun conversing in undertones. The preteen girls had been eager to eavesdrop, but by the time they had sneaked within earshot, the queen had stormed away from her council.
She rarely saw her mother so upset -- the one who had ushered in the most harmonious regime Mewni had seen in centuries. But the heart marks on her porcelain cheeks were nearly concealed by flushed anger, the scowl on her lips worthy of an adolescent who’d been scolded by authorities. She saw her raise a gloved hand to her collarbone and clutch a heart-shaped locket which contained a picture of their family. And she started to get the feeling her friend just might be right about this one.
Princess Pandora Butterfly -- or Pandora Diaz, as she was known on Earth -- the seemingly perfect child loved by all, was being kept in the dark about something huge. And it was why she had come here so early. To be alone. To think. To simply be angry that not even her own parents would tell her what was going on right under her nose:
“I’ve put up with this every birthday for the past twelve years,” her mother’s tight whisper hissed through her teeth later after the party had winded down. “If they tell me how ‘concerned’ they are one more time--”
“Then why don’t we just dismiss them?” the king suggested, keeping his warm voice collected for his wife’s sake.
“Their seniority even outranks my parents’,” the queen sighed, then grumbled under her breath, “All we can do is hope they die faster.”
“Star.” He adopted that tone, the one he used when she was being irrational.
“It’s just -- that’s my baby they’re talking about, Marco. Our baby! She couldn’t have turned out more sweet and beautiful and gifted. Could you imagine her even being capable of...of those awful--?”
“I know...I know.”
“Mama?” Pandora had hidden herself behind an old tapestry of one of the ancient queens, and chosen to reveal herself at a moment that seized her heart cold. Her parents stood holding each other in a tight embrace, her mother’s eyes so full of tears they were ready to overflow while her father stroked her hair. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh Pandi, it’s -- it’s nothing,” Star hastily covered up, swiping her arm over her eyes. “I just had a really long day, that’s all.” Marco eyed her sideways incredulously, and Pandora glanced between them. They had never behaved so strangely around her before, nor had they ever kept secrets, and it cut through her heart like a knife.
“What’s going on?”
“Pandi--”
“I’m tired, honey,” Star emphasized, shooting a glare at her husband, silently telling him to keep his mouth shut. “That’s it. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Strike. Pivot. Thrust. Spin. Lunge. Her own mother, Queen Star the Benevolent -- more like Queen Star the Liar. No, both of them were liars. Every swipe of the blade felt as if she was shredding another veil hung over her eyes, preventing her from seeing the truth. Whatever it was, it was bad. If it was enough to bring them so much anguish, then the princess had the right to know. Her mother and father, who loved her, cherished her and nurtured her every day of her life had also been deceiving her the entire time. And that betrayal was enough to make her--
Clang!
As Pandora whirled her stance towards the door, her sword made contact with another. Standing before her with her own blade poised at chest level was the most adored and feared woman in this dimension, light gold hair cascading like a waterfall down her back and identical blue orbs reflecting hers.
“Nice mark,” Star raised her eyebrows, impressed but not surprised. Her daughter stepped back as the warrior queen twirled the hilt like a baton before knocking the oversized sword out of her hands, and it hit the floor with a loud clatter. “But Grandpa’s sword is weighing you down. You’d do better with the one we bought you.”
“I came here for some privacy,” Pandora almost sneered the last word, twisting her hands together as if she didn’t know what to do with them now that the sword was gone.
“Try shutting the door next time,” her mother remarked, not unkindly. “Besides, you looked like you needed a sparring partner.”
“I thought you and Papa preferred hand-to-hand combat.” She finally settled on folding her arms over her chest, watching her mother pose with her blade almost giddily, spinning on the balls of one foot like a ballerina.
“Sure, I’m a little ‘weapon rusty,’” Star shrugged, stabbing the sword back into the sheath with perfect aim, “But I think I could take on my own daughter.” She didn’t look like royalty this morning, dressed in a long aqua tunic top with pink and purple striped leggings, not a single piece of jewelry in sight aside from the gold band on her left ring finger. When she wasn’t decked out for appearances, Queen Star could have passed for Pandora’s older, albeit more blonde, sister. And perhaps it was this casual image, or the girl’s still prevalent anger, that made her not nearly as timid as she had been the night before.
“Okay, I’ll spar with my own blade under one condition,” Pandora said, stepping closer to deliver her ultimatum. “Tell me what the Elder Council said to you last night.”
Star had bent down to retrieve her father’s old sword and nearly nicked her hand as she sheathed it. Crud. I’d hoped she’d slept that off. With a sigh, she straightened up and looked down at her child’s steely glare. At first it was like seeing herself through a time machine. Then she blinked and saw Marco’s confrontational scowl, her jaw set in the same tight position his did. Back and forth it went, and each sight left her speechless.
Pandora watched her mother open her mouth before thinking better of it and closing it. Three times this happened before she snatched King River’s sword from her hands. “Fine, I’ll spar with Papa.”
“Negative.” Star grabbed her by the back of her puff-sleeved shirt to hold her back from the exit. “He’s in the dojo this morning.”
Right, it’s Saturday, Pandora remembered, biting her lip. There was no disrupting him when he was in the zone, lest her head become a chopping block at her father’s unwitting hand. But she was willing to wait. The king’s stubborn mold, while rather steadfast, was easier to break than her mother’s -- he would tell her what was going on. She thrust the sword back into Star’s hands before whirling away on her heel.
“Hold it, where’re you going?” Star called, chasing her towards the door.
“To my room to call Lily,” the princess shot over her shoulder without stopping. “I’m gonna hang out at her place until--”
“Pandi, listen to me.” Star latched her hand around her wrist and spun her back around. Not roughly, but desperately -- her voice soft and even, as if trying to calm her subjects after deciding to raise taxes again. “What you overheard last night, it’s nothing for you to worry about. All you have to do is -- is just keep being you.”
“You’re still lying.” Pandora’s heart clenched painfully as all the numbness drained out of her at once. “Why?” Her face crumpled, dropping her chin against her chest as tears rolled swiftly down her cheeks. “I’m your daughter. You -- you’ve always told me everything. All the famous stories, no matter how dangerous or violent they got.”
“Honey, those were the adventures your father and I had travelling dimensions.” Star dropped the sword to hold her by the shoulders, the sight of her daughter’s tears breaking her heart in two. “We can talk about them now because we survived and we can look back on them and laugh.” Her blue eyes clouded over, “This is different though.”
“But it’s really bad, isn’t it?” She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Horrible enough to scare even you and Papa -- and you aren’t scared of anything.”
Star brushed her daughter’s hair back from her eyes, her thumbs passing over the spade marks as she wiped her tears away. Destruction...chaos...as the ones who bore the marks before her. Every year since she was born, the same warning. Not one Spade Regime had been uncursed in thousands of years of Butterfly rule. In just two years, Pandora would inherit the Royal Wand and the spellbook, and then the council would fly into a panic. She and Marco had done everything to make their little girl’s life as happy as possible, even with this looming threat dangling over their heads. An effort that as of this moment may have proved in vain.
“Pandi…”
“Please Mama, tell me the truth. Just get it over with.” The princess squeezed her eyes shut, her face washed in salty streams that dripped onto the front of her blouse, her shoulders heaving with suppressed sobs. “I...I always thought everyone was proud of the things I’ve done. But I’ve never seen the elders look at me like that...like they hated me. Like they wanted me to leave my own party or banish me from Mewni altogether.” A wail burst forth from deep inside her chest and she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “Do you know what it’s like to go your whole life believing everybody loves you, but in reality everyone’s afraid of you?!”
Star caught her as she leaned into her chest, gathering her close while she sobbed heavily. As she rocked Pandora like she was a toddler again, the renowned strong and heroic queen was unable to stop herself from weeping along with her. This was all her fault, in more ways than one. She should have told her years ago.
You were right, Marco. Again. Why are you always right?
“Why, Mama? What did I do wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything,” Star choked out as she fought the urge to break down completely. “Not one thing, you got it?” It killed her to see her baby, who had so much to offer, thinking so little of herself. That even the “perfect” princess lacked confidence in her self-worth. You really are your father’s daughter, Star thought mournfully, planting a kiss on the side of her head.
Once Pandora had calmed down, she felt herself being guided out of the armory into the bright sunlit corridor, leaning against Star for support. By the time she was seated once more, she saw through red puffy eyes that she was in her parents’ private tea parlor. Hardly as formal as it used to be, they had hung up a bunch of movie and scenic posters to make it feel more cozy. The beverages now included a variety of lemonades and soda flavors, as well as cool tea with bubbles that floated on the bottom of the glass -- a delicacy her mother had really taken a liking to on Earth.
“Here you go,” Star whispered, setting down a raspberry lemonade from the magical dispenser on the wall in front of her daughter. She gratefully accepted her favorite drink and sipped slowly, still scrubbing tears out of her lashes while Star rubbed her back consolingly.
“I’m sorry. I really am, Pandi. I thought if we were the best parents we could be and raised such a great kid that all of this would just go away, but it didn’t. And now that you’re old enough -- no, I shouldn’t have waited ‘til you were ‘old enough’, I should’ve told you when you were, like, five.” She paused. “Okay, maybe seven, some of this is a little heavy--”
“Uh, Mama?” Pandora interjected, removing her lips from the swirly straw. “You still haven’t told me what it is.”
“Right -- yeah.” Star plopped into the seat across from her, pressing her palms to her forehead. Her daughter watched as her hands slid away from her face, revealing a dismal expression the queen usually reserved for war memorials and funerals. “Pandora, I’m telling you this because my own mother kept secrets from me until it was almost too late for me to do anything about it. But...some of this is really upsetting. And I need you to know that none of this is your fault in any way. Do you understand me, sweetie?”
Pandora nodded, sliding the lemonade aside on the table as her stomach tightened, especially when her mother called her by her full first name. That never meant anything good in her personal experience.
“Okay,” Star began slowly. “It all started...well, when you were born.”
The Oracle was a centuries-old being in the form of a woman with shimmering coffee brown skin, gold dust painted on her eyelids and lips, and a purple and black cloak covering her from head to toe. She swooped over the bassinet in the king and queen’s chambers, hovering above where the infant princess lay. Her wee arms and legs wiggled in the air as she gurgled up at the pretty lady waving her hands over her.
Watching this transpire warily from against the opposite wall, Marco nudged Star with his elbow. “Why are we doing this again?” he whispered out the corner of his mouth.
“Mandatory,” Star replied in an equal hush. “It’s like, I dunno, ‘baby inspection.’ The Oracle has to visit every new heir and see what the ‘vibes’ predict about their future.”
They watched in silence for a few more moments, the Oracle beginning to hum softly. Seated in two chairs across the room, River and Moon watched with rapt attention, occasionally stealing a glance over at the idle parents.
“This is dumb,” Marco breathed in her ear.
“I know,” Star agreed, her bored sigh matching his.
“Can’t we outlaw this or something?”
Star snorted, covering her mouth with her hand, but too late -- her mother had heard her.
“Star!” Moon snapped, her curt shout piercing through the still bedroom.
“Sorry! Thinking about a joke I heard,” Star covered up so Marco wouldn’t get in trouble. Luckily the cloaked being didn’t seem to hear the commotion and continued her process. The monarchs fell quiet once more. Their baby cooed happily when the soft long-nailed hands rested atop her head, fingertips brushing the wisps of dark brown hair.
“Hold it,” Marco lurched forward involuntarily, and Star grabbed his arm.
“Marco, would you chill?” she hissed, flashing the Oracle a quick apologetic smile.
“You didn’t tell me touching was involved.”
“She’s not gonna hurt her.” The Oracle tapped the spade mark on each of the baby’s cheeks, and Star untensed when Pandora giggled in her crib. “See? She likes it.”
“Well I don’t,” Marco retorted, folding his arms stubbornly. “I don’t trust her any further than I can throw her.” He narrowed his eyes. “Actually scratch that, I could probably throw her pretty far.”
“Easy, Karate Boy,” Star smirked, working her hands on his shoulders from a rub into a full-on massage. “Let’s not disrespect the ancient magical being that could probably snap her fingers and turn us to dust if she wanted to.”
With a swish of her flowing sleeves, the Oracle backed away from the crib, raising her dark eyes to the parents. “She is strong and healthy,” she murmured in a low, almost dreamlike voice. “She will live a long life.”
“Whew! Well that’s good to know.” Star poked Marco in the ribs, “Told you.” Over the Oracle’s shoulder, Moon raised her hand silently as if to say “Wait”, and she closed her mouth again.
“But young Pandora’s reign has the potential to turn disastrous.” She waved a hand over the child, a cloud of purple smoke swirling above her, leaving as quickly as it came. Star felt her heart stop, every trace of good humor evaporating from her face. Marco had turned around ready to say “Told you” right back until he saw the fear in her eyes.
“That’s...that’s Eclipsa’s magic.” Star barely noticed Marco slide his hand into hers, her gaze never leaving the crib.
The cloaked figure gave a slight nod. “Eclipsa. Those who came before her. And all those who bore the marks after her.”
“Those queens who bear the spades have met with varying degrees of...misfortune, my dear,” River clarified, standing from his seat slowly. “But in the case of my granddaughter, surely ‘disastrous’ must be an exaggeration.” He appealed to the robed woman who towered beside him, “Erm...right?”
“There is no certainty,” the Oracle continued. “There are only the several paths I see laid out before her.”
“So as long as we send her down the right path, we’re golden,” Marco deciphered, his shoulders relaxing. “Great, so what do we do?”
“She’s not an instruction manual, Marco,” Moon stated primly. “There is no set of rules for raising a child. All you can do is your best, even when factors are out of your control.”
“But ‘disastrous’?” Star cleared her throat, assuming an authoritative stance. “I think we have a right to know what that’s about.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” The Oracle bowed respectfully, even though her power outweighed every person’s in the room combined. “Most Spade Queens are able to keep the call of darkness at bay, thereby softening fate’s hand upon the kingdom. Your daughter has the capacity to bend either towards light or darkness in equal measure. But there are aspects that can weaken her resolve.”
“Such as?”
“She is born of two worlds -- Mewni and Earth. Because of this, her magical abilities will take longer to hone. This may dispirit her, and thus darken her heart. The Earth human is in many ways weaker than a pure Mewman--”
“That’s your king you’re talking about,” Star shot at her angrily.
“Star, it’s fine,” Marco assured her, “You don’t need to defend me.”
“Begging your pardon, My Lady, I meant no offense to your chosen consort,” the cloaked being went on calmly. “I seek to merely warn you of the potential consequences.”
“Nobody told me there were consequences to marrying Marco!” Star burst out, looking directly at her parents as her heartbeat quickened in panic.
“Your union with a man from Earth is not at all troubling. Many queens before you have married outside our dimension, and Mewni still prospered.” The vision waved a hand palm up over the crib, as if presenting the infant. “Her name…‘Pandora.’ It is commonly associated with one who unleashed the world’s evils due to a curious nature. Chaos and misfortune are linked to such a name.”
“Also hope,” Marco nearly cut her off, his patience wearing thinner than ever, especially when he saw how upset this was making his wife. “There are multiple interpretations of that myth. Some of them say she unleashed all good in the world, but all of them end in hope.”
“That is true--”
“You know, since we’ve stopped, I have to ask -- are we supposed to just take everything you say at face value?” Marco had stepped forward in front of Star, who looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor. “How do I know you’re not just making all this up?”
“If I tell a lie, I will burst into flames.” The Oracle now swept over to the king and queen, her hand passing over each of them. Star suddenly felt very cold and gripped Marco’s hand again, realizing he was hanging on just as tightly. “You have both fallen victim to the darkness in your hearts...I see every choice that led you to the most despairing moments of your lives...your greatest fears…”
“Enough!” Star shouted, an invisible surge of magic coursing through the room as she broke herself and Marco free from the Oracle’s hold on them. Flashes from the past she had hoped to never relive had played before her, and judging by Marco’s wet eyes, the same had happened to him. There was no sound except for Pandora squealing cheerfully at the disturbance in the air as if amused. When Star spoke again, her voice trembled. “We believe you. Please continue.”
“Step forward, my Queen.” Star dropped Marco’s hand and did as she was told, until she was standing opposite the Oracle at the crib side, Pandora lying between them. The baby gurgled happily at the sight of her mother, her arms reaching for her, and Star managed a half smile. “Pandora has inherited your magic to someday take your place. This includes all the good you have done with your power, as well as those spells that have harmed you and your loved ones.”
Star’s eyes widened as she gasped, gripping the edge of the crib with both hands to steady herself. “You mean...when I cast Eclipsa’s spells…”
“You exposed not only yourself to dark magic...but infected your future heir as well.”
“No!” Moon cried out, jumping up from her seat at last. “You told me the same when my daughter was born, and she rose above it to become--”
“You knew about this?!” Star cried, anger threatening to overtake her dread.
“Queen Star does not bear the marks of the Queen of Darkness,” the Oracle spoke in an irritatingly expressionless tone as the tension began to mount around the room. “She was always destined to lean towards the light. The chances for Pandora are less favorable.”
“I think I’m gonna throw up,” Star breathed heavily, clutching her stomach.
“Star, sweetheart--” River reached towards her, but she withdrew from him sharply.
“Shut up! You -- neither of you ever said a word!” Her voice reached a feverish pitch that caused her daughter to start crying. “You sent me to Earth, you -- you let me run around free with the Wand and the spellbook! And not once did you tell me that all the reckless and dangerous magic I did would affect my future children!”
Scooping the wailing Pandora up in her arms, Star clutched her against her chest as she bolted for the chamber door and out into the corridor.
“Star!” River called desperately.
“I’ll go after her,” Marco said, his brown eyes burning with silent rage as he turned to the Oracle. “I think you’ve served your purpose. Good day.”
“As you wish, My Liege.” The Oracle bowed once more before dissipating into gold wisps of smoke, vanishing as if part of a nightmare. Marco didn’t even look in his in-laws’ direction as he took off after Star, racing down the length of the hallway before rounding the corner to the tower balcony.
He found her seated on a bench when he entered the open porch, an overcast sky hanging above them as if to reflect the mood. And as he drew closer, he could hear that his infant daughter was not the only one weeping vocally.
“I did this to you.” Star kissed every part of her baby’s tiny head, letting her lips linger on the rosy spade marks on her cheeks. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“It won’t happen.”
She felt him sit beside her, but didn’t look up. “You don’t get how this stuff works.”
“I don’t care how this stuff works.” Cupping her face in both of his hands, Marco turned her head so she was staring directly into his eyes. “Just listen to what I’m saying: Our daughter is going to be fine. I promise, Star.”
“Marco,” she whispered tearfully, letting herself focus solely on him as her breathing slowed and evened out. For some reason, it always worked. The world could literally be crashing down around them, and his deep pools reflecting love and devotion would still placate her.
“I’m here. Our baby’s here. We’re not going anywhere.” His voice grew gentler as silent tears streamed down her cheeks, and he leaned forward to kiss them away. “I don’t care if that Oracle has a one hundred percent accuracy rate -- don’t listen to what she said. You didn’t do anything to hurt Pandora. Look at her.” They both gazed down at the bundle in Star’s arms, curled against her mother’s bosom as her fussing subsided. “She loves you, Star.”
Her whole body shuddered as she let her head fall onto Marco’s shoulder, wanting so badly to believe him as his arms encircled her and the baby almost protectively. “You saw it, Marco,” Star said gravely. “You saw the darkest most awful things you’ve ever done, just like I did. My magic’s destroyed so many lives and gained me so many enemies.”
“It also rebuilt Mewni into what it is today,” Marco pointed out. “You’re right, Star. She showed us our past actions to warn us that they could affect the future. That doesn’t mean they will.”
“But the lure of Eclipsa’s magic can transcend generations…if I’d known that--”
“Look, this scares me too.” he admitted. “Even if I don’t believe it, I’ve been around you and your magic long enough to know that anything’s possible. Even...our daughter becoming the next Queen of Darkness.” He ran his hand over Pandora’s head as Star placed her in his arms. She let out a contented coo, and Marco exhaled softly. “But then she smiles like that, and I feel a little better.”
“She’s such a happy baby,” came a voice from the archway, and they looked up to see Moon standing there with her hands folded and her face serene. “Just like her mother was.”
“I shouldn't have yelled at you back there.” The young queen stood to fling her arms around her waist, and Moon, normally averse to public affection, let her. “What do I do, Mom?”
“Someday, you will tell Pandora of this prophecy,” Moon said, looking at Marco cradling her granddaughter over the top of Star’s head. “In the meantime, you raise her like the princess she is: Beloved, cherished and nurtured. Fortunately, her parents are two of the most loving people I’ve ever known.”
She pulled back and gave Star one of her tight smiles they all recognized as her own way of showing affection. “But when you tell her of her potential for destruction, in the same way I was warned of yours, you mustn't forget what you taught me all those years ago…”
“Nobody knows you better than you do. And you’re in charge of your own destiny.” Star reached across the table and took Pandora’s hand in hers. “Whatever kind of queen you want to be, you can make it happen.”
The princess sat very still, as if a ton of bricks had crashed over her head. It was a lot to take in, and yet it all made perfect sense now. “So Grandma was the one who told you to keep it secret?”
“No, that was all me.” Star lowered her eyes, biting her lip. “I’m not proud of it. Your father told me again and again that it was a bad idea and you needed to know. You got older, and I kept putting it off and pushing it aside, until you finally got hurt like this.”
“It did hurt,” Pandora nodded, sliding her hand out from under Star’s. “It still does, even more now that I know why.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” her mother said in a very small voice, and she pressed a hand to her quivering lip. “You think there’s something wrong with you and you aren’t loved -- that we’re all just putting on an act for you.”
“I...yeah. That’s exactly what it felt like.”
There was a loud scraping against the tile floor as the chair was thrown back, and Star flew over to her daughter to seize her in a fierce hug, planting a wet kiss on her cheek. “It's not true. I love you more than you’ll ever know, Pandi. It’s ‘cause I love you that I didn’t tell you. I wouldn’t be able to stand watching you grow up wondering if you were going to be a bad person. No child should ever have to shoulder that.” She sniffled into her hair as she felt Pandora’s arms curl around her back. “You can hate me for not telling you. Just please don’t ever let this make you hate yourself.”
Her daughter closed her eyes, feeling Star stroke her hair, deep maternal warmth emitting from her embrace. Warmth she was now certain would never fade -- that no matter the struggle, her mother would be there with one of her famous bear hugs and whispers of love. “Hating someone for lying to me...sounds like something a Queen of Darkness would do,” she said quietly, her hold on her mother tightening. “And Papa told me that the people we love always deserve another chance after they make a mistake.”
Star snuggled her closer. “Yep, that sounds like your Papa. You have no idea how many chances he gave me.” She pulled back to beam at Pandora, who grinned in return. “Feeling better?”
“A little,” the girl shrugged. “But at least we can tell Papa and the court that I know about the prophecy...thing now. And maybe when I get the Wand, Sir Glossaryck can train me easier now that he doesn’t have to hide that from me.”
“Sweetie, if there’s anything Glossaryck’s training isn’t, it’s easy,” Star deadpanned.
“Believe me, we know.” The pair spun towards the doorway as a third voice sounded. Marco wiped his face with a towel as he sauntered casually into the parlor, still wearing his karate gi.
Star’s shoulders sagged, dropping her arms from around Pandora. “How long were you standing there?”
“Let’s see, I came in around ‘You’re in charge of your own destiny,’” Marco replied, smirking at his wife’s annoyance as he filled his glass with water from the dispenser and downed it in one gulp.
“You could’ve chimed in at any time!” Star threw up her hands in exasperation.
“You were doing pretty well on your own.” He winked in her direction before kissing the top of his daughter’s head. “And she’s right. Your mother didn’t become the amazing queen she is overnight, Pandi. It took a lot of years of hard work, while a lot of people told her she didn't have what it took. But the important thing is even as she grew and matured, she never lost sight of who she was or what she believed in.” He reached for Star’s hand, and she laced her fingers through his.
“And when I did go through those dark times, I couldn’t have gotten past them without my friends or your grandparents, and especially not without your father by my side.” She looked back at Pandora, who now smiled genuinely up at them. “You’ve got people in your corner, Pandi. No matter how many others doubt you.”
“So technically,” Pandora said slyly, “I could become queen right now with how much love and support I have, right?”
“Not so fast, missy,” Star said in mock warning, yet glad to see her sense of humor was back. “You laugh about it now, but as soon as you get the Wand, the years are gonna just fly by.”
“I think you should concentrate on being a kid right now,” Marco added. “And for as long as you can.”
The princess shifted her eyes between them before giving in. “Alright, sounds like a plan.”
She jumped up from her seat to hug them both before dashing back to the armory to get her training sword. Whoever Queen Pandora was, whatever her tapestry would weave, the council could go ahead and drive themselves crazy trying to predict what sort of misfortune she would bring to the kingdom.
She still had plenty of years to go to prove them wrong.