Archive of Our Own ^beta

Marco didn’t think he was ever getting out of that royal council meeting, but at long last he found himself standing from the gold-plated velvet chair at the head of the mahogany table. Giving the men and women of varying ages a slight bow as they followed suit, he stated “On behalf of the Queen and myself, we thank you for your thoughts and condolences” in the strongest voice he could muster.

“Sire,” they replied in unison, bowing back before filing quickly out the door into the hall. Once alone, he pulled his phone from his tunic pocket, the odd sight of the twenty-first century device alongside his casual royal attire making him look twice even now. He checked the time. 10:14am. Perfect, he had over an hour to kill before seeing to that property dispute between the two feuding monster families. That was going to be a cakewalk compared to the announcement he’d just made at the end of the weekly meeting. Not pertaining to the state of the kingdom, but of a more...personal matter.

It wouldn’t faze them, that much he knew. A tragic shame that it happened, sure, but Star had already produced an heir and that was all they cared about. She would recover physically just in time for Casual Friday and be back running Mewni with an iron fist and a gentle pat before anyone would miss her. Even though they both knew she was never really going to be the same again. As queen, she’d mastered keeping up appearances so effortlessly that even her mother had been impressed, and would easily fool the people into believing she was “fine”.

Those who actually worried about the emotional scars that would never leave her was limited to her handmaidens — identical twins Aurora and Astra — their Earth and interdimensional close friends, and of course their families. The only time Marco had left his wife’s side was when her father burst into the castle an hour after being informed of what happened. In the twenty years he’d known her, Marco had rarely seen anything shatter Star so badly. And while she’d probably berate him for it if he said it aloud, he had been afraid to leave her alone. 

Which was why he was glad he had time to go check on her now. Striding briskly down the winding corridors, he was so distracted that he didn’t give his usual lecture to the guards that bowing wasn’t required when he walked past. A nurse would have checked on her earlier this morning, and Pandora wouldn’t be home until the afternoon after spending the night at Tom and Janna’s. So he and Star could have some time to themselves before he had to jet off to the next task.

Three days ago — late Friday night, early Saturday, he didn’t know exactly nor did he care, it was all a blur now — he awoke to her scream. At first he thought she was having a nightmare brought on by the sketchy pregnancy drugs. Then a shrill Mewnian expletive spat from her lips and he instantly sat up knowing he was wrong. Very wrong. Somewhere between the blood-stained sheets, the servants roused from their sleep milling about the infirmary and the doctors’ grave faces, they found out Star had lost the baby. It was such a weird way to put it, like the child had run off in the supermarket, not that they had been swiftly denied the happiness of a second life to nurture.

And just like that, there was nothing more to be done. Star was returned to their cleaned bed chambers in silence. Neither of them slept. Once the numb shock wore off, all they could do was cling to each other and sob convulsively. It was decided to withhold the news for twelve hours so they could grieve in private, but there was one person they had to tell right away: Pandora. Their princess, their little miracle who needed to understand that her baby sibling wasn’t coming. So when the six-year-old bounded into the room at sunup, ready to jump on the bed and wake her parents as always, she became very still and quiet when she saw they were already awake. 

“Mama? Why’re you crying?” Her eyes were large and scared as she looked from one to the other. “Papa…?”

Marco rounded the final corner before leaning against the stone wall, resting his arm on the windowpane as he looked down at the graveled landscape of his second home. That had been the hardest moment of his life: When his daughter crawled in-between them and they both cradled her close, Pandora begging her mother not to cry as Marco whispered the sad news. She only shed a few tears but mostly she seemed shocked, bewildered, as if she didn’t know what to feel. How did you mourn someone you hadn’t even met? That was harder for even him to wrap his head around, let alone explain to his kid.

“Are you okay, Pandi?” he had asked, kneeling down to her level in the corridor outside the bedroom where River was consoling Star. The little girl nodded slightly and he held her by the shoulders. “It’s fine if you’re not, you can say so. You don’t have to be brave this time.”

 “I...think I’m okay,” Pandora said under her breath, as if trying not to wake someone. She shuffled her feet, fiddling with the skirt of her dress wordlessly until Marco spoke up again.

“Do you still wanna spend the night at Lily’s? I know you were looking forward to that.”

“Yes please,” she nodded with vigor, her dark brown pigtails bobbing. What had been planned as an ordinary sleepover now felt like she was being dumped off because both of her parents were emotional wrecks, even though Tom insisted they take all the time they need.

The young princess’ smile faded. “Is Mama still sad?”

Why that simple question broke something inside of Marco, he’d never know. Maybe it was because Star’s heartbreak was his heartbreak, or that he couldn’t stand seeing her suffer. But he instantly felt a lump clog his throat, his eyes growing foggy and damp. “Yeah...she’s still sad. She might be sad for a long time.”

“You’re sad, too.” Pandora lifted her hand to her father’s face and wiped a tear off his cheek, causing Marco to exhale ruefully and pull her closer, kissing her forehead. “I drew you both something.”

“Did you?” Thank goodness for a switch of gears.

“It’s me and you and Mama...and the baby.”

“O-oh,” Marco stammered, watching her pull a folded piece of paper from her skirt pocket and open it. It wasn’t bad, especially for her age. She’d moved beyond stick figures and squiggles. “Pandi, this — this is really good.”

“But I drew it before—” She stopped, hanging her head. “I don’t wanna show Mama, she’ll cry again.”

“Don’t show Mama now,” Marco soothed, folding the drawing back up and tucking it into her pocket. “But don’t throw it away. Wait a while before you give it to her, she’ll want to see it.”

That seemed to assuage her for the time being, but he knew it was going to be a daily struggle trying to make sense of this. Waving the guards off in front of the bed chambers, indicating the need for solitude, Marco turned the knob before flinging his body against the door. These old castle doors were so dense that his entire weight was needed to get them open. Not everyone had a wand and could do it with magic.

“How was the meeting?” came Star’s inquiry, her voice raspy from lack of sleep and all the emotion she’d exerted in three days.

“You have a huge stack of papers to sign once you’re outta this bed,” Marco said lightly, trying to keep things casual. “Next I’ve got that property dispute and then...I think a ribbon cutting for a new bookstore?” He double-checked his phone calendar. “That could be fun.”

“Look at you, runnin’ the kingdom all by yourself.” Star sat up from the wall of fluffed pillows behind her head, pushing the covers down to her waist. Despite her goofy teasing tone, her smile didn't even come close to reaching her clouded blue eyes. “Does everyone...know?”

“I only told the council,” Marco replied honestly. “So — yeah, by now, everyone knows.” Star let out a long sigh as he slid into the bed beside her, pecking the heart on her right cheek. “I told my parents we’d visit this weekend. They really wanna see us.”

“Great, more people feeling sorry for me,” Star grunted. “Fine, I’ll tell Janna to move Girls’ Weekend to next week.”

“And Janna suddenly scheduling a Girls’ Weekend isn't feeling sorry for you?” He raised his eyebrow.

“I just need to get outta this castle.” She closed her eyes exasperatedly, “It hurts too much being here.” She shifted her gaze over to the wall, where she’d hung up the beginnings of a sparkly colorful collage depicting the journey to the baby’s birthday. Her gaze narrowed, and Marco felt her tense.

“You need to take that down.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Star, you have to,” her husband almost begged. “You’re just torturing yourself with it.”

“As soon as I take it down, it’s all over.” Star whipped her head around to him, her voice crackling.

“It’s never gonna be ‘over’,” Marco said with his own slight tremor. “Don’t you want at least some peace of mind?”

There was an uncomfortable pause. “You didn’t want another one,” she breathed out as if she’d been holding it in.

“And I was still so happy when you told me.” He wrapped his arm around her, but she didn’t lean into him.

“I knew the risks—”

“We both did.” There was a reason they called Pandora their ‘little miracle’. It had been uncertain whether the two of them could conceive, being of separate worlds. But as usual, they defied the odds — and this was their punishment for tempting fate a second time. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Don’t lie,” Star shot at him. “Geez, I hate when you lie to make me feel better.”

“I’m not lying, you’re just feeling guilty,” Marco said patiently. Which was natural, he couldn’t tell her how to deal with this, and she would pull through like she always did. But that would be awhile from now.

He was fighting to stay strong for her, Star could tell. He thought he didn’t have as much right to be broken over this because he hadn’t been the one carrying the child. And that just wasn’t fair. He was torturing himself as badly as she was. Lacing her fingers through his, she reached for the wand on the nightstand with her free hand. Pointing the head at the posterboard, a pink aura glowed around it as it ripped itself from the wall, folded itself into quarters and fluttered beneath her bed.

“Okay…” She murmured only to herself, letting her wand arm drop, tears streaming down her cheeks unchecked. “...okay.”

“Shhh...” Marco rested his head against hers as she burrowed her face in his neck, soaking his collar through as he bunched her hair up in his hand, wishing he could just squeeze all of her pain away. Baby steps, ironically. That was the reality of it. “I love you,” he assured her softly.

“I love you, too.” And they sealed it with a deep wet kiss. With a low, almost relieved-sounding exhale, Star sat up and swiped her fingers roughly over her eyes. “Could ya have Geoffrey send those papers up? Might as well get a head start on ‘em.”

“Sure.” There was his queen again, securing the mask over her face and getting back to work. Inching himself to the edge of the bed, his feet hit the rug clumsily as he made his way to the exit.

“What am I signing anyway?”

“The usual. Tariff agreements, Pixtopia’s adjustments to the peace treaty — oh! And Buff — er, Yvgeny asked for an allowance for the orphanage.”

“Well of course he’s getting...that…” Her voice trailed off as the word “orphanage” reverberated in her eardrums, and the idea so obvious she couldn’t believe they never considered it took shape in her head. She wanted to leap off the bed and tell Marco, but restrained herself. It was way too soon to be thinking about that.

“Hey!” she called as he turned to leave. “I, um…” She twisted her fingers in her lap, “I still...want another one.”

What she didn’t know was the same thought was surfacing in Marco’s mind. “Yeah...I think I’m used to the idea.” He couldn’t tell her yet, it was too soon.

Star had made many attempts to get out of the Castle, to clear the storm that was her mind with some fresh air and sunshine. As luck would have it, though, the Mewnian spring had been brutal with heavy rains, cloudy skies, every sort of weather that matched her mood as of lately. Wonderful. But regardless of the weather, she didn’t let it stop her — crouched under the umbrella of a patio table, mulling over the tariffs, treaties and other monotonous and borderline brooding papers.

She absentmindedly chewed on the end of her pen, eyes skimming through ‘blah, blah, open borders but more security’, things she’d have to dispute and veto a few months from now…

“Nearly a decade of peace under the reign of Queen Star the Benevolent.”

Star perked up at the strong, low but almost booming voice that broke the serenity of the royal terrace. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled, “You know those papers always exaggerate things. I mean, that’s basically my entire reign right there, Dad.”

River chuckled low, shuffling over and sitting next to his daughter, the hefty newspaper being plopped right next to the stack Star was working on.

“I wouldn’t be so quick to put yourself down like that, my dear,” River assured. “Mewni is flourishing since you took the crown. Why, almost every time someone doubts it, you prove them wrong and do something new — just like that.”

He gave a broad smile, full of light and hope. The same sort of light used to shine even brighter in his daughter, but instead, Star just gave a modest nod. The small silver tiara she had opted for today, or even her typical golden crown, really did seem to be heavier these days. She turned her pen upside down, click-clacking it on the tabletop as she bit her lip.

“Sometimes,” River sighed, continuing on. He sounded wistful, almost out of breath, before he let out a soft chuckle. “Sometimes your mother would threaten to burn the entire stack of those blasted things.”

“I understand how she felt,” Star grumbled, scribbling her signature out on the bottom of the first of many, many more.

“We actually did that once,” he added. “By accident. It was her fault, actually. Right before she gave the wand to you, it was acting awfully strange. Well, one day, it just—” He mimicked the noise of an explosion, earning a giggle from Star. “And your poor mother, I wasn’t sure if she was laughing from how amusing it all was or if the job was finally getting to her, if you know what I mean.”

Star felt a true laugh escape her for the first time in weeks, and she rolled her eyes. “Mom was such a goof sometimes,” she mused. “Makes me wonder why she always hid that side around me…”

River trailed off with his laughter, a sad smile twitching at his lips. “She worried far too much,” he admitted. “She always swore worrying would be the death of her, but I told her it would be stubbornness.” 

“You were both wrong,” Star mused. 

“She also had to grow up fast,” River sighed.

Star placed her pen down, folding her hands and slowly making eye contact with her father; two sets of periwinkle meeting one another. “Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “I don’t know how she did it.” She swallowed a little when her father placed a hand on top of hers, and blinked quickly to prevent another set of tears.

“I don’t know how you do it either,” the former king said softly.

“I have no clue how I make it,” Star spluttered out, in an almost paradoxical mix of crying and laughter. “Especially without her. She promised me, you know. At my wedding, she was a huge mess. We both were, you remember that. And at the end of us crying and hugging and being total dorks about it, she told me she would be there for me. For everything, no matter what. A-and,” She fumbled over her words, gripping her father’s hand. “And I always knew that, you know? But it felt more real back then. Now…" 

“Now she’s not,” River sighed. “I know. It’s hard.”

Star nodded wordlessly, sniffling and screwing her eyes shut. “What would she tell me to do now, Dad?” she mumbled.

There were not many moments of his life where River Butterfly found himself speechless. He came up for words every now and then, stammering out nonsense, his brow furrowing before a deep exhale escaped him.

“She would tell you to be strong, Star,” he said, his tone of voice full of defeat. “Keep doing what you’ve been doing this whole time.” He brought his lips to their clasped hands just as Star leaned down to kiss his cheek. Then, overcome with sudden emotion, he seized her tightly in his arms. Wrought over yet another tragedy befalling their family, this was one of those days where he missed Moon more than ever. Sitting here with his daughter, the traces of her that she had inherited being all he had left of his dearly departed queen.

“Yep… that sounds like Mom,” Star mumbled into his shoulder as they hung on for all it was worth.

The morning was still set with a gloomy overcast, but the mood couldn’t be more cheerful. Star found herself standing knee-deep in mud and muck, a frilled parasol perched on her shoulder as she peered up at the construction before her.

“You sure you’ll get this finished before the weather breaks?” she asked, tilting her head to the side a little. “There’s no rush.”

Buff Frog shook his head, continuing to direct the beam being hoisted high up in the air. “Will be done very soon,” he mused. “Very, very soon.” He grunted while schlick-ing his flippers out of the terrible terrain. “Thank you for your support, My Queen.”

Star gave a small smile and a curt nod. “It was the least I could do,” she assured.

The council had begrudgingly agreed to the idea of a monster orphanage. ‘Better to have them under a roof than running rampant,’ a duke from Pixtopia had put it. Star had wished that after all these years, more tolerance would arise, but alas. She fidgeted in the mud, nearly getting knocked over by a sudden rush of overgrown tadpoles.

“Papa, can we go home now?”

“Tell Boris to stop making mudpies!” 

“I wanna help build the house!”

Star stifled a laugh, hiding it behind her hand as she watched Buff Frog get swamped by all thirteen of his rambunctious children. He took a minute to try and answer all of their questions, before caving in and whistling like a sergeant. They all lined up before him, from shortest to tallest, and he pointed at them, ready to command.

“Katrina, Anastasia, go play mudpies with Boris.”

“Yes, Papa,” the two girls pouted, looking down at their ruined, mud-covered pink dresses.

“Alexi, Nadia, Mikhail, you can help me build the house.”

The three tadpoles in the middle clapped, jumping up and down with glee, ignoring the mild glares from their siblings.

“Dimitri, go wash your face. What did I raise you to do?” Buff Frog said, looming over his most rebellious son.

Folding his arms and pouting, Dimitri shrugged. “To not go through mudslides,” he mumbled.

Buff Frog rolled his eyes. “Well, yes, that,” he said gruffly. “Among other things.” He sighed, and pointed away. “The rest of you, go play nice. We will take shifts in working.” He watched attentively as the tadpoles shuffled off, and he spoke up. “Play nice.” 

By saying ‘help’ , Buff Frog must have meant ‘let the children run amok through the workscene’, seeing how the rowdy trio continued to play their game of adventures and battles. Star trudged through the mess, right behind Buff Frog as he explained the surrounding construction and the plans for the building.

“We already have long wait list, from south to north and east to west,” he said. “Orphanage just keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

“That’s amazing,” Star spoke up, not realizing her voice was far away and faint until it escaped.

She kept glancing all around; halfway staircases, the frame of one wall almost finished, and a chandelier being set up. The main frame of the orphanage was all set, it was just the busy construction of outside decor and indoor necessities being polished up. 

Buff Frog cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact with the queen. “I heard of your loss.” 

There was an awkward moment of silence between old friends who had started out as unlikely allies. Star swallowed hard, and nodded.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

She had heard the same spiel over and over by almost everyone she knew. Was it kind of them to give condolences? Was it, really, when it was actually just another painful reminder of the loss? Of what she had been robbed of?

“To be so excited for another child to come to you,” Buff Frog rumbled quietly, “only to have it taken away...” His gaze landed on Katrina and Anastasia, who had apparently gotten fed up with trying to cooperate with their brother and were rolling him around in the mud puddle. Their laughter drifted over to where they stood, and the frog-like creature sighed. “I would not be as strong as you, my Queen, if I ever lost one of my children.” 

“I’m not strong,” Star whispered. “Seriously, I’m the worst at handling this stuff — loss. I’ve been doing anything and everything I can to get my mind off of it.” She bit her lip so hard she nearly slit it open. “I did the same thing after my mother died. Just tried to ignore it. You think I would’ve learned after that, but—” A mocking laugh at her own expense escaped her, “Guess not!”

Stupid silly Star Butterfly, running away from all her problems again. There were days when she felt as if she hadn’t grown at all from her simpler adolescence, staying the same while Marco and the rest of her friends all became fine well-rounded people that she looked up to. That when it came to dealing with actual trying times, she was just a scared little girl in a grown queen’s dress and crown pretending she knew what she was doing.

“I have watched you grow, remember?” Buff Frog reminded her. “You were skinny little girl blasting me in head with Wand when I met you, while Karate Boy kicked me into grass.” 

“Yeah, sorry about all that,” Star chuckled nervously.

“Now you are Queen who changed all of Mewni.” He smiled at her, showing off rows of sharp teeth. “I have good home and food to feed my children because of you. Only strong Queen can do what you have done.”

“Thanks.” She shuffled her feet in place, grateful for the compliment but not really in the frame of mind to fully accept it. “Listen, I’ve had a thought. It could be a way to both strengthen the image of harmony we’re trying to make the norm and — well, maybe even help my family recover from this blow.” Star glanced over at the clearly interested orphanage owner, uncharacteristically serious. “And I need your word that you won’t tell my husband. Right now, this needs to just be between us.”

“Depends on what it is,” Buff Frog raised his eyebrows. “His Majesty does not like when you keep secrets from him.”

“Buff Frog,” Star said warningly. “I’m still your Queen. Now I need your word, please.”

The amphibian struggled internally with himself, his face making odd ‘deep thought’ expressions that seemed to more resemble ‘constipation’ than anything. “Oh alright, I promise,” he finally gave in. 

“Good,” Star nodded with a small smile. “You said there was a really long waiting list?”

“Yes, and getting longer every day,” Buff Frog said, suddenly seeming nervous. “I am not sure if we can fit everyone.”

“Maybe I can help relieve a little of that.” Her smile grew a bit wider and his face slowly morphed into realization of what she was saying. “Mind if I take a look at that list?”

“Boarhead, Serge!” Marco greeted the two guards — one Mewman, one monster — standing outside the glass doors leading to the gardens. They snapped to attention, quickly hiding the phones they had been playing some game on in the pockets under their armor.

“Sir!”

“Guys, Casual Friday.” Marco reminded them, jabbing his thumbs at his black jeans faded from too many washes and Prussian blue hoodie. “No, nonono — no bowing, remember?” He wagged his finger back and forth like a parent scolding a child as the two men slowly raised their hung heads.

“S-sorry,” the one called Boarhead growled almost guiltily, wiping away the slobber that would involuntarily drip down his fur chin sometimes.

“What can we do for you?” Serge asked professionally with his nose in the air.

“Actually I was looking for my wife,” Marco rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes scanning their surroundings quickly.

“The Queen just returned from an inspection of the new orphanage,” Boarhead informed him just as Serge opened his mouth, and the Mewman looked quite put out that he had been interrupted. “I believe she’s gone to the fourth floor washroom for a shower.”

“Shower?” Then he remembered the brown smudges on the marble tile in the front hall, some in the shape of Star’s familiar bootprints. She would, wouldn’t she? Marco thought, letting out a chuckle at the mental image of the warrior Queen of Mewni wading through the mud with the biggest childlike grin on her face. “So, she’s occupied?”

“Indeed.”

“Excellent.” The guards exchanged a confused look at Marco’s tone of satisfaction. “Is the Princess around?” 

“But I thought you wanted—” 

“Don’t question His Majesty!” Serge nudged Boarhead in the chest with the butt of his spear.

“Dudes, chill,” Marco held his hands out in a calming manner. “It’s not a big deal.” Well okay it was, but they didn't need to know that right now. None of the public could know until everyone involved was in agreement anyway.

“Princess Pandora is back there,” Serge pointed behind him to where the hedges and flowers bloomed in neatly trimmed clumps of greenery and pastels. “Um…‘dude’.”

“Now you’re gettin’ it,” Marco nodded, patting him on the shoulder as he strode past them and slid open the glass door. Out past the maze-like hedges was a large open field where he and Star often rode warnicorns, which was where he found his daughter kneeling in the grass plucking wild flowers to clutch in her little fists. 

“Over here!” called Astra, the twin with the shorter dark hair waved him over from where she was keeping watch over the princess. “‘Bout time it stopped raining, she was getting restless cooped up in the castle.”

“That makes three of us,” Marco replied pleasantly, watching Pandora twist the stems of the blossoms into a crown, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Could you — uh — give us a few minutes?”

“Of course,” Astra replied, inclining her head slightly. “I’ll be on the patio if you need me.”

Once she left, Marco felt his heartbeat quicken. He was working his way up the list: So far he told his parents, River, Tom, Janna, and now Pandora was next. All of them had been sworn to secrecy — Star couldn’t know until he asked her himself. This situation, his desire, was too delicate. But it was getting harder to keep it locked in his head to spare them both heartache, in case things didn’t work out. Again. 

He wanted this. So badly. Not just for himself, but for Star and her happiness. For Pandora. And ultimately for their kingdom. His heart swelled at the image of harmony this would bring, despite the controversy upheld by the older heads of state. Who cared what they thought? This was Star’s Mewni now. And she did things her own way.

“Papa!” Marco managed to grab his daughter before she rushed right into his knees and hoisted her up in his arms. She’s getting tall, he thought wistfully as she placed the flower crown on his head. Not gonna be able to do this much longer.

“I dub thee King of the Posies!” Pandora sang out. 

“A duty I shall uphold with pride,” Marco played along. She latched her little arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder as he carried her to the stone bench along the hedge. As soon as he sat down, he instantly regretted it.

“It’s still wet!” the girl cried out in vain, smothering down a giggle with her hand as her father’s eyes widened in unpleasant shock. 

“Yep, thanks sweetie,” Marco bit out tensely, shifting her so she was in his lap to spare her the same fate. “Hey Pandi, can I tell you a secret?”

“Uh-huh!” Pandora nodded. “I’m real good at keeping secrets.”

“I know you are. That’s why I’m trusting you with this one.” He leaned in closer to her face, rubbing his nose with hers. “You can’t tell anybody, especially not Mama. It’s a surprise.”

“Is it a surprise party?” she asked.

“Nope, just a surprise,” Marco replied. “And not just for Mama, it’s...well, it’s really for all of us.”

“What is it?” Her eyes widened, the spades on her cheeks flushing in excitement.

“How would you feel… about adopting a new baby brother or sister?”

For a moment, Pandora’s eyes lit up and she gave a cute little clap, before her face was riddled with confusion. “What’s adopting?” she said.

Marco hesitated. He had already done a G-rated version of how babies were made not too long ago, and that was awkward enough, so how could he explain adoption in simple terms to a six-year-old? “Your mama isn’t going to have the baby herself. Instead we’re going to take a baby that doesn’t have a family and we’ll let them live with us,” he said.

“For how long?” Pandora said, biting her thumb innocently as she talked.

“Forever,” Marco admitted. “Or until they’re all grown up, at least.”

“How come Mama isn’t gonna have the baby?” Pandora asked. Full of questions, which was expected for her age, but there was no denying she had a little too much curiosity and it was sometimes painfully obvious to see that nature was from her mother.

For a moment, Marco felt himself tense up. “Well,” he trailed off. “She just doesn’t want to.” He really hoped she didn’t ask why — the topic of grief-induced trauma was a bit too grim for a kid her age. Even though he had spent his college years as an assistant guidance counselor to middle schoolers, it still wasn’t easy talking about some of these things.

Pandora nibbled on her finger thoughtfully — another trait from Star — before glancing back up at him. “So will the baby really be my brother or sister if Mama doesn’t have it?”

Phew, that’s an easy one. Marco almost laughed in relief as he kissed the top of her head. “Of course they will. You don’t have to be related by blood to be family. Like Uncle Tom and Aunt Janna. They’re not really your aunt and uncle, but you call them that because the relationship you have feels like you’re their niece.” He thought on it a bit, “Adoption’s a little more involved than that, though. The baby will have our last name, and they’ll be a Prince or Princess of Mewni just like you.”

“Ohh!” his daughter finally exclaimed. “I get it!”

“So you’re okay with it then?”

“Yeah!” She kneeled on his lap to hug him around the neck. “Thank you, Papa.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Marco whispered, letting out a long exhale as if a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders. One down, one to go, he thought as he held her close.

“These are our newest additions, we call them baby Doe’s,” Buff Frog said, lifting up a blanket to reveal two monster newborns, curled up against one another. “Brother and sister, it would seem.”

Star peered into the basket, softly gasping at the two tiny monsters. Vaguely reptilian in appearance, crocodile-like tails tucked in-between their legs, tufts of golden hair, pale green skin freckled with lavender and one had a scar just above their lip while the other had one below.

“We shall name them by the opening,” Buff Frog continued.

He couldn’t help but notice the queen’s lingering stare on the sleeping babies, looking at them with a fond smile.

“You know,” he mused. “The Queen naming our newest members would give this orphanage yet another seal of approval.”

A soft “oh” escaped Star, and she tore her gaze away from the newborn monsters. “You want me to name them?” she said. She had names on her mind for a few months now, ever since… well, ever since the good news. Before it had turned into bad news.

But Marco had told her to let go.

So all of those ideas were wiped clean from Star’s mind by now, she just couldn’t use them…

She stole one last glance at the brother-sister bundle in the basket, and smiled sadly. “Well,” she piped up. “One of them should be named after the orphanage’s founder. Yvette for the girl, maybe? Yvette, like Yvgeny?”

A tiny smile made it’s way across Buff Frog’s expression. “Why thank you, Your Majesty.”

“And,” Star hummed in appreciation, squinting a little and tapping her chin with a single finger as she thought. There were plenty of ideas popping in her brain, but ones that just seemed too personal, too close to what she had wanted before.

A good, beautiful, strong name for a monster?

Some people would scoff at the idea. 

But not Star. She knew many monsters with those qualities, monsters who had been at her side since she was young and just wandering around, finding her place in this world, building herself up for this role she had taken on. 

And one monster who had unexpectedly been by her side through the years, despite all of the awkward ups and downs.

The one who was now her chief royal advisor.

“Tomás.” 

“Is that an Earth name?” Buff Frog asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

Star shrugged. “Kind of,” she said. “You could just call him Tom.”

It took a moment before Buff Frog gave a curt nod. “You are a strong ally to all of monsterkind, My Lady,” he said. “We are honored to have you stand by our side.”

“Oh my gosh, you should’ve seen them,” Star gushed, lying on her stomach on the canopy bed, resting her chin on a pillow bunched in her arms. “They were so small and helpless and just begging to be booped—”

“You got bit by the maternal bug pretty hard, didn’t you?” came Janna’s reply from the mirror, running a file along her black nails as she sat at her vanity conversing with Star. 

“C’mon,” Star prodded her knowingly. “You act all tough and blasé, but you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“As soon as you make eye contact, it’s all over,” Janna admitted begrudgingly. If someone had told the demon queen when she was younger that she’d not only have a child but would love the stuffing out of her, she would’ve said they were insane. But Lily was the greatest thing that ever happened to her, the balance she and Tom had needed. Now she couldn’t imagine life without her, and would move hell itself if anything happened to her. Which was why her sympathies went out to her friend despite her default indifferent expression. “I get it, you’re feeling the itch leftover from before the miscarriage. But I think you’re in the clear as long as you didn’t—”

“And then Buff Frog asked me to name them!”

The raven-haired woman dropped her nail file. “Oh no.”

“I couldn’t help it — I named one after Tom!” Star exclaimed, sitting up with her baby blue eyes sparkling. “I hope he doesn’t mind—”

“Oh no.”

“You think he will?”

“No not that, I — urgh Star, you’re not supposed to name them!” Janna cried, grabbing at the ends of her hair. “Once you name them, you start getting attached to them!”

“Well, maybe I am attached to them.” She shrugged like a shy schoolgirl, shifting with her legs crossed, her knees jiggling. “I think I...wanna go for it.”

“Great,” Janna nodded. “Awesome. Seriously, I’m happy for you. Oh wait—” She tapped her cleft chin in mock thought, “‘Cept for that one teeny tiny little hiccup, what was it? Oh right — Marco doesn’t know anything about this.”

“It’s complicated, Janna,” Star sighed, twisting her long hair in her hands. “It’s only been a few months since...ya know. And he’s taken it just as hard as I have.” She shook her head, “I don’t wanna just throw this in his face.”

“Oh my God, you two,” Janna moaned, rubbing her hands over her face.

“Whaddya mean, ‘us two’?”

“Exactly what I said — ‘you two’!” She slammed her hands on the table, making Star jump. “Every time, the same pattern since we were fourteen! You both have some ‘thing’ going on where you don’t wanna make the other one upset, you run to me and Tom for advice, and big shocker, it turns out this all could’ve been avoided if you guys just talked to each other about it.” 

“Oh, like you don’t run to me when Tom’s having one of his episodes?” Star countered, making Janna close her mouth in defeat. “I need this, Janna. I need to move forward. I’m sick of people giving me sad looks and trying not to talk about kids in front of me. I’m sick of the council not taking my decisions seriously and chalking it up to me being ‘emotional’—” 

“Ew, they really do that?” Janna wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“I wanna be happy again.” She felt her voice break and cleared her throat. “And I want Marco to be even more.”

“Then you know what you gotta do.” And with that, Janna’s face fizzled out and the mirror switched back to Star’s reflection. Just in time for her to see a small pair of feet scurry under her bedskirt. 

“Hmm,” Star hummed mischievously, curling her fingers around the wand handle on the nightstand. “Who dares to trespass in the Queen’s private chambers?” There was a giggle followed by a gasp, and Star leapt off the bed with speed and grace. Aiming the wand under the bed, a rainbow splash spilled from the head, bathing the room in a colorful glow. 

“A-ha!” she called triumphantly as Pandora squealed, the spell’s impact causing her to slide across the floor and crash into the bean bag chair against the wall. “I have you now, vile intruder!” Throwing the wand aside, she swooped over to where the child lay on the floor and scooped her up in her arms.

“No! Please have mercy!” her daughter yelled in mock panic, trying to squirm away.

“How do you plead?!”

“Guilty!”

“Then you know the punishment!” Diving back onto the bed, Star began to tickle her all over while Pandora screamed in laughter. “Surrender!” she cried, blowing a raspberry into her stomach.

“I surrender!” Pandora gasped, still overcome by uncontrollable giggles even after her mother released her.

“But seriously,” Star sat back on her heels, crossing her arms. “It’s not nice to spy. Spying leads to crying.”

“I’m sorry,” her daughter whined sheepishly, her brunette hair a tangled mess when she sat up. “But you said something about babies and—” She shut her mouth quickly.

“Well, you know that big monster orphanage that’s about to open up?” Star raked her fingers through the princess’ locks trying to smooth them down. “I got to take a look inside today. And there’s already a whole bunch of sweet children there that deserve to go to nice homes, with families that’ll love them.”

“Mama? Are...are you gonna…?”

Star bit her lip, the corners of her mouth lifting at the thought of those two precious infants in the crib. “I’m...seriously considering it.”

Pandora’s eyes lit up like a fireworks display, “This is the best thing ever! I have to go tell—!”

“Honey — honey, no!” Star grabbed her before she made it off the bed and pulled her back up on the mattress. “You can’t tell anyone. I—I have so many people I need to talk to before anything happens for sure. Buff Frog, my advisors, your father—” Her jaw tensed at the last one.

“But Papa said—!” Star eyed her curiously as the girl’s blue eyes grew wide as saucers, slapping both hands over her mouth.

“What did Papa say?” Pandora shook her head, and Star raised her curled fingers again, “Don’t make me tickle you for it.”

“No, don’t! He made me promise not to tell!” her daughter burst out, and now Star’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. It didn’t take long for her to start piecing it together: Pandora was already on board with the idea of adoption. Almost as if someone had discussed it with her already.

Marco. The queen let out a nearly vocal exhale. He had the same idea as she. Likewise, he had kept it from her to avoid any pain — as she should’ve known he would. And their poor daughter had been plunked in the middle of it.

Well, enough was enough of that. Swiping the compact phone off her nightstand, Star pressed a speed dial button and held it to her ear, waiting. “Geoffrey? Get the carriage ready. Track down the King and tell him to meet me out front.” Pause. “Thank you.” Hanging up, she turned her attention back to Pandora, a gleam in her eye. “Ready to take a little trip?”

“I’ll get my coat!” As the princess sprinted from the room, Star chortled under her breath at all this unnecessary nonsense.

Janna was right. It was time to show Marco that she was ready to move on.

“Pandi, watch your step, sweetie,” Star said, as she gently lifted her daughter over a mud puddle that would get the little girl stuck had she stepped into it. “Someone’s excited.” She murmured the words almost under her breath as she glanced to Marco, who smiled at her and shook his head fondly.

“A sudden adventure off to the middle of nowhere with no explanation?” he mused. “Just like the old days, huh?” 

At first, Star tried to smirk it off, scoffing and spluttering out a laugh for a few moments. “Me? Take you on an adventure?” She hoisted Pandora up even further, letting the little girl sit on her shoulders and hold on. “When have I ever done that?” 

Marco smiled and shrugged. “Oh, a long time ago,” he said, almost wistfully. “Now I feel like we only hop dimensions to settle some dispute so we don’t go to war with a neighboring kingdom.”

“Trust me, this isn’t that extreme,” Star said dismissively, hiking her long skirt up so it didn’t trail in the sludge. “Would I have brought our daughter if I thought she was gonna get hurt?” 

“Ouch!” Pandora cried out, following a slight thunk when she hit her head on the top of the doorframe.

“Oh geez, sorry hon!” The queen brought her back to the ground, fussing over her head making sure it wasn’t cut or bruised before giving it a kiss. “How ‘bout you walk next to me?”

“Why won’t you tell Papa why we’re here?” her daughter asked irritably, far more so now that her head was sore, rubbing it as she glared up at Star.

Because Papa thinks he knows, Marco thought to himself. His wife’s eyes were sparkling again, her smile lit up her entire face, so distracted by the subject of her ecstasy that she hardly seemed rattled by Pandora’s injury. Star had a lot of different smiles that he’d learned about over the years, and as far as he could remember, he had only seen this particular one twice before: When she told him she was pregnant with Pandora, and when she announced he was going to be a father a second time. 

“‘Cause...it’s a surprise! Yeah.” Star looked around and spotted a familiar face, waving to the young frog-like creature in a pale yellow dress. “Hi Katrina!”

Her eyes got very large, almost swallowing her small green face when she saw the royal family approaching and scampered away. “Papa!” Katrina cried, rapping on the door of the front office. “The King and Queen are here!”

“Haha, that is funny, milka,” came Buff Frog’s chortle from inside. “Queen Star may show up unannounced, but King Marco always lets me know if he is coming. Very prompt and responsible, you could learn from him.” 

“Yeah, about that…” Marco trailed off, laughing nervously as he poked his head inside, causing Buff Frog to leap to his feet so quickly he scattered papers everywhere.

“Your Majesty!” He sprang into a salute for no reason other than a knee-jerk reaction as Katrina ran around the office picking up the scattered documents. “You did not tell me you were coming! That was very irresponsible of you!”

“I gotta mark this down on my calendar later.” Star closed her eyes, smiling contentedly, “'Marco did something irresponsible today’.”

“Star!” Marco cried out. “You’re the one who dragged me here on short notice!”

“Princess Pandora is here!” came Dimitri’s call as he popped out from under the desk.

“Princess!” cried Boris as he and Anastasia climbed out of the closet. Buff Frog clamped his hands to his head, unable to figure out how his children were all hiding around his office.

Pandora raced out from behind Star’s skirt and hugged the young frogs around the neck. “It’s been so long!” she exclaimed joyfully. “Why don’t you come to the castle anymore?”

“Papa keeps us too busy here,” Anastasia grumbled with an exaggerated eyeroll towards her father.

“Orphanage is not built in a day!” Buff Frog recited with his finger in the air. “And it takes a village to...er...confused my words of wisdom there.” He deflated, “Oh alright, you may have ten-minute break.”

“Yay!” the four of them cheered, grabbing the princess by the arms and pulling her out the door.

“Pandi, stay outta the mud!” Marco shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the sticky scurrying of little frog flippers. Buff Frog’s remaining nine children stampeded into view, two of them tackle-hugging Pandora so forcefully that she was knocked off her feet. “And so much for that,” he sighed in defeat as she landed in a fresh puddle of muck. 

“Let her live a little,” Star said. “My mom would’ve picked me up and taken me straight home for a bath if that was me.”

“Fine, but your handmaidens are gonna be the ones up all night scrubbing mud out of her dress.” 

Star tugged on her husband’s hand, the smile she bestowed almost sly. “Oh, come on, Marco,” she said. “What are the tadpoles going to do, love her to death?”

“That’s our job,” Marco grumbled, almost getting defensive.

An involuntary giggle, one that felt good and genuine, escaped Star and she dragged Marco away from the hoard of children all surrounding their daughter, having a long overdue reunion full of clamoring and excitement.

“I’ve been meaning to show you around here,” Star mused, hopping over a hole in the floor that would quickly need replacing. “It’s… actually kind of amazing how fast this all got built. The monsters are really efficient and hard-working. It makes me wonder if maybe we should work on an employment thing next. I mean, it’s a step in the right direction, right? And Mewni needs to keep going the way it’s going so—”

“Star,” Marco spoke up, his voice a bit firm but also soft. “You’re rambling.”

Star trailed off, and her hearts grew a shade darker with blush. “Am I?” she said meekly. “I didn’t notice.”

“Uh-huh,” Marco said slowly, leaning in to wrap an arm around his wife’s waist, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Hey,” His tone grew more gentle, his stance becoming slack. “You seem better now. I’m glad. I…I’m happy you’re happy.”

“Wow, so smooth, Diaz,” Star murmured, placing a kiss on his nose. 

“You know what I mean,” he assured, reaching out to brush hair from his wife’s eyes and cradle her face in his hands. “It’s all falling back into place, isn’t it?”

Star found herself smiling, smiling so hard it almost hurt, and nodding excitedly. “Actually,” she piped up. “There’s someone, a few someones, I’d like you to meet. As part of the grand pre-opening tour and all.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway, their steps quickening until they were practically running. Weaving in and out of construction beams, workers pausing to remove their hats and bow to them as they rushed past, the two of them felt like children again about to jump through another interdimensional portal. Marco stared at the back of Star’s head as she tugged him along, feeling the energy and excitement radiating from her, building and pulsing as they came upon the door that said ‘Nursery’ scribbled on a piece of paper tacked onto the wood that would later be replaced with a proper plaque.

“In here.” Star pushed it open, revealing a brightly sunlit room with rows of cribs lining the walls. “This is where they keep the babies.”

“No, really?” Marco sassed, looking at the colorful crayon drawings on the sun-bleached walls he could only guess were Buff Frog’s kids’ doing, to make the room more friendly.

“Alright smarty, they’re back with the newborns.”

“Newborns,” Marco repeated distractedly as he followed her. And now he knew exactly what they were doing here. In a side room that was smaller and a bit darker so the infants could nap, there were about a half dozen baskets with tiny sleeping monsters inside them.

“And they are…” Star scanned the baskets trying to locate a certain one, then her eyes lit up. “Here!”

She cupped a hand to her mouth, realizing she’d shouted a little too loudly. “Sorry,” she whispered to the little ones as she picked up basket that was a bit wider than the others and turned to face her stunned husband.

“Star,” Marco said, almost breathlessly as he looked at the basket in his wife’s hands.

“I’m not attached to them!” she blurted out. “These are just the most recent ones that have been accepted, and Buff Frog already said they’re overflowing with kids, so—” Star gently swung the basket in her hands, amusing the infant monsters inside, causing them to coo and giggle with glee. “I think they’re cute, that’s all. I mean, most babies are cute.” 

Marco arched an eyebrow, nodding slowly. He crouched down a little, reaching out and letting the one with pink ribbons in its hair — the girl, he assumed — take his finger, babbling incoherently.

“They are cute,” he agreed. “Twins?”

Star nodded. “That’s what everyone assumes, anyway,” she admitted. “I was asked to name them. You know, to give the approval of the orphanage some meaning, I guess.”

“Oh?”

She recognized that tone. The ‘I know you’re up to something’ tone, the one Marco had used practically since they met. And it still never failed to make Star blush and stammer over her words, acting like a child with a secret.

“I named them after the two most important monsters in my life. Yvette, after, y’know, Yvgeny — even if no one uses his actual name. And Tomás, ‘cause Tom. I, uh, I added the Spanish because of you, though. I don’t know, I just thought…” Star trailed off, shrugging. 

Marco pursed his lips. “You weren’t thinking of these names before, were you?”

Star shook her head. “Oh, no, no,” she assured, her tone becoming faraway. “I wanted to name them after my mom. Or your parents. It depended on whether…yeah.”

“Yeah,” Marco repeated, a sad smile tugging at his lips, wincing as the little monster girl tightened her grip on his finger. It was surprisingly strong, and he was just a tad surprised when she smiled at him, three tiny fang-like teeth peeking out from her gums. “O-kay . Well, Yvette and Tomás sure are heartbreakers.”

The boy blankly stared at Marco, patting at the blanket and fussing a little, pure apathy compared to his sister. He wasn’t afraid, examining the human’s face with wonderment, but he also appeared...unsure. At that moment, Marco knew precisely how he felt. 

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was rushing into this, getting both himself and Pandora excited without properly consulting Star. Now that he was staring into his prospects’ faces — he knew they were, the way Star’s eyes shone when she looked at them were a dead giveaway — seeing how fragile they were, and not to mention the fact that there were two of them, the idea of adoption was terrifying him.

“It’s uh...they’re a package deal, right?”

“Duh,” Star gave him an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t dream of splitting them up — look at them.” The one she had called Yvette began to cough out little cries when Marco pulled his finger from her grip, her face screwed up and flushed. Tomás curled up against her and she instantly calmed, baring his lower fangs at Marco as if angry at him for upsetting his sister.

“Ah, gotcha…”

“You’re shaking,” Star whispered once his hands covered hers. She set the basket down on the rocking chair before taking him by the shoulders, trying to get him to look at her. “Tell me.”

“Can we do this?” Marco rasped out, his amber orbs meeting her azure ones in a hybrid of fear and turmoil.

“Do what?”

“You know what, Star. You’ve wanted them ever since you laid eyes on them.”

The queen hung her head, as the arms of the only one who had ever been able to break down her walls slid around her waist. “I should’ve told you, I’m sorry. I thought if I even brought it up—”

“—you’d tell me it was too soon,” Marco finished. “I know. Even after all these years, we’re still worried about hurting each other.”

“We can do this. At least I think we can.” Now it was her turn to cup his face, digging her fingers in his hair as their foreheads met. “You are an incredible father, Marco Diaz. Your daughter loves you.” She squished his cheeks as she turned his head back towards the basket. “Those babies will love you, too. If either of us deserves another shot at this, it’s you.”

“No, Star…” His voice trailed off, gazing at the most amazing woman he’d ever known sorrowfully. “You’re the one who deserves this.” First she had lost her mother. Then she miscarried. Star Butterfly deserved nothing but a life of bliss and contentment, and he couldn’t stand watching her shoulder all of this anguish anymore. “I’ll do anything to keep you smiling again.”

She breathed out as he kissed both of her cheeks, “You keeping that promise is all I need.”

“Majesties?” The door to the nursery opened and Buff Frog appeared with Pandora at his heels. “Oh—oh, I’m sorry. I—I did not realize—” He eyed their rather intimate position as he stammered awkwardly.

“Ew, that’s the faces they make when they’re gonna kiss,” the princess groaned, her features scrunched unpleasantly as if she’d just bit into a lemon.

“Oh you mean this face?”

“Eww!” she cried again as Marco swooped his wife into a low dip, his lips heading for Star’s as the little girl covered her eyes.

“Marco, stop embarrassing your daughter,” Star deadpanned, halting his lips with her finger. “I promise you’ll have plenty of opportunities to in the future.”

“Fair enough,” Marco sighed disappointedly, returning her to her feet. “Buff Frog, I know construction isn’t quite finished, but would you say you’re open for business?”

“Um, well perhaps—" 

“Can I hold one?” Pandora had bounded over to the basket, peering inside as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “Pleeeease? ”

“Okay, but you have to be really really gentle,” Star said in a serious tone, lifting the basket from the chair. “Sit down.” Pandora obeyed, smoothing down her mud-splattered skirt and holding her arms out eagerly. Her mother lifted the boy out of the basket and placed him ever so carefully in her lap.

“Put your hand under his head — babies need head support,” Marco instructed her tensely. “And don’t squeeze him too hard.” 

“Marco, quit hovering, she’s fine,” Star hissed, suddenly reminded of when they used to babysit the tadpoles.

“What’s his name?” Pandora asked quietly, feeling the baby monster’s soft blonde hair as he squirmed against her.

“Tom. After Lily’s dad.” She pointed to the other child. “And that’s Yvette.” 

“Your Majesty, a word?” Buff Frog motioned for her to move aside, she in turn motioning for Marco to join them. “Is this it then? Are you truly planning to bring them into your home?” 

The queen and her consort glanced at each other slowly, as if sharing a silent conversation. Then moving as one, they reached for each other’s hands. “Yeah, I think so,” Star nodded.

“Are you sure?” Buff Frog’s shoulders drooped, his face relaxed into a frown. “I know you will be good parents, I see what lovely girl Her Highness is becoming. But—”

“The controversy,” Marco understood immediately, and Star stiffened beside him.

“I worry for their safety, should they become Prince and Princess. As well as yours.”

“Not to mention the papers might see this as a publicity stunt,” Marco went on, running a hand through his hair until it collided with his crown. His other hand was numbing as Star’s grip grew more vice-like, her face hardened as she breathed heavily through her nostrils. Of course this would anger her, it was pissing him off too. They could see the headline already: Rebel Monarchs Adopt Twin Monsters, Causing Further Civil Unrest. 

“I’ll have to make a statement,” the queen finally bit out resolutely. “Before the press gets wind of it.” She hated public speaking, but she hated the deeply-rooted prejudice among Mewmans even more. “We’ll double down on security in and around the castle, as well as safety measures passing between dimensions. Everyone who holds dimensional scissors will have to complete a background check.”

“Even me?” Marco raised his eyebrows. 

“Especially you.” Her voice dripped with venom until they made eye contact, and she winked at him teasingly. “But seriously, Buff Frog,” she laid a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll do everything I can to make this transition as smooth as possible. I promise. If anyone wants to harm them, they’ll have to strike me down.” 

Buff Frog smiled, taking the comment as a playful joke, before Marco shook his head, and Star’s expression remained rigid. 

“There was a council meeting back right after Pandora was born, and some of the members attending were kind of…old-fashioned, so to speak,” Marco muttered. “Let’s just say it ended with me and Moon having to hold Star back from blasting some people.”

“Like I said,” Star declared. “If you want to get to my family, you’ll have to go through me first.”

“Well,” Buff Frog said, slow and almost like a pondering murmur. “Irina will draw up papers for you. She wanted to ‘do books’, very smart girl.” He paused, then smiled. “I will give you time first. Congratulations and…” He looked specifically at Star, his smile growing fond. “Thanks will never end, Your Majesty.”

“Mama?” came Pandora’s unsure call, followed by a baby’s wail. Little Tom wanted out of the girl’s arms, and Star broke away from their conversation to take him from her.

“Hey, shh-shh,” she soothed, rocking the infant against her as his crying dwindled. “See? You’re okay.” With a great yawn, Tomás rolled over until his face was against Star’s chest. And as if in a sign of complete and utter trust, he settled down into a deep sleep. 

“Would you look at that,” Marco whispered as his wife’s tear-filled eyes met his.

“Thank you, Buff Frog,” Star’s voice warbled slightly. “For giving us another chance.” She meant that in more ways than one, and they all understood. As Buff Frog gave them a slight bow and then left to see to his children, the queen removed one of her arms from under the bundle and raised her index finger in the air.

“Star,” Marco’s voice dropped to a low warning tone as he scooped Yvette up from the basket.

“What?” the queen asked innocently. 

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Think about what?” Pandora asked, swinging her legs on the chair as she glanced between her parents.

“Doing this… ”

“Star, don’t do it — it never ends well!” But his pleas fell on deaf ears as Star moved her finger closer and closer to Tomás’ button nose. Her face split into the biggest youthful grin yet, every tooth visible as the tip of her finger made contact.

“Boop!”

“It’s been awhile since we did this,” Star beamed, unable to contain her smile as she adjusted the golden pins on her husband’s suit jacket. Almost as if right on cue, little Pandora tugged at her dress. “Gee, Marco, how long ago was it? Six, almost seven years, right? Who was it for, anyway?”

“Mama!” Pandora giggled. “You did it for me! I’m six!”

“Oh, that’s right!” Star said, hoisting up her daughter and instantly getting bombarded with a scribble masterpiece. “Did you get me a gift, sweetie?”

Pandora wrung her tiny hands one over the other. “I made it a long, long time ago but Papa told me to hold onto it until you were happy again,” she mumbled. “You’re happy now, right? Cause we got two babies instead of one!” 

Star glanced at the drawing her daughter had given, and found tears springing up in her eyes.

“Are you not happy anymore, Mama? Is that why you’re crying?” Pandora blurted out.

“No, baby, no,” Star spluttered out, holding her daughter a little tighter. “I’m crying because I’m happy.”

“That’s silly,” came the innocent, sweet and naive reply.

Star could feel Marco’s hand on her shoulder, and she slightly turned, accepting an embrace. The drawing had an exaggerated doodle of the grand Mewnian castle, a goofy but rather adorable sketch of Pandora and her parents, and at the end of the line, two little green blobs titled ‘sister’ and ‘brother’. However, as expected in the Mewni castle these days, nothing was ever content and quiet for too long. 

“It’s a mini me! And he’s too cute!” Tom said as he walked into the grand hall, holding up the little monster who he shared a name with. “Jan, babe, I want another one.”

Holding onto Lily’s hand as they entered, Janna groaned. “This one—” She said, pointing to their daughter. “—has started more fires in five years than you have in your entire lifetime. I’m scared to see what a second one would do.”

Tom pouted. “Star, can we kidnap your son?” he asked.

“You can have our son the day you beat me in arm-wrestling,” Marco playfully shot back.

Laughing as she placed Pandora back on the ground, Star accepted the little monster boy, who kicked at the royal Mewnian blue blanket he was wrapped in. “Glad to see you two are getting along well,” she said. “Where’s his sister?”

Janna shrugged. “We last saw her with your dad,” she said. “Oh, by the way, Pony and I are fighting for the title of godmother.”

“Did you tell her that we don’t want a repeat of Pandora’s blessing?” Marco muttered.

“What happened?” Pandora piped up, making her presence known among the grownups.

Star let out a light yelp, glancing at her husband. “Nothing at all!” she lied. “N-nothing bad, anyway. Your aunt Pony Head is just very…enthusiastic. She was happy to be your aunt, we were happy to be parents — speaking of parents, Marco, where are yours?” She cleared her throat, and everyone in the room clearly noticed she was panicking, except for innocent little Pandora who was now chattering animatedly with Lily.

Marco shook his head playfully and smiled. “They got here early this morning, they’ll show up soon enough,” he assured, kissing the top of his wife’s head. “Off on a grand Mewni tour, again.”

“Make way, new princess of Mewni coming through!” River boomed as he gallivanted into the room, with little Yvette clinging onto him and chewing on his mustache. “Heh….” He slowed down, to catch his breath. “This one put up quite a fight.”

“Dad, you can’t hold her like that!” Star exclaimed, her voice nearly going up an octave.

“Oh, nonsense,” River said, waving a hand while trying to pry Yvette off with the other. “I did it with you all of the tim— Yvette, darling, no, we don’t eat Grandpa’s mustache, it took a long time to grow this back, Star, Marco help me—”

Cooing excitedly, Yvette kept a death grip on River’s mustache, much to his chagrin. Drool began to form and she fussed, starting to cry and wail around the fluffy soft blonde hair. Carefully, Marco shuffled over, reaching out to console his new daughter…only for the grand castle hall to be flooded with even more chaos; Pony Head floating in, whooping, with Angie and Rafael right behind her, vibrant as ever. And so, Yvette’s wailing and crying only grew louder.

Be it years of expertise with Pandora or just regular fatherly instinct, Marco dove in and took Yvette in his arms, letting her wail into his bright red jacket, which matched her sparkly little crimson ensemble.

“Aw, come on, you can’t get all cranky before your first big appearance as Princess,” he said softly, bouncing her in hopes it would diminish her crying.

But his attempts were in vain, watched with both amusement and cringing from everyone else around him. Fortunately, Angie stepped forward, smiling at her son before gently taking her new granddaughter. 

“Come to Grandma, sweetie,” she said, giggling as little Yvette gurgled with curiosity at this new friend, even pawing at Angie’s face with tiny, trimmed claws. Concerned, Angie turned to her son, brow furrowed and whispered, “Are those normal?” 

“Oh, so you’re nice to her but not me?” Marco said, patting the hyperactive infant on the head.

Just as the words left his lips, the trumpets sounded, alerting everyone in the hall.

“Their Imperial Majesties, Queen Star and King Marco!”

A grand marching beat began to play, causing the entire family, plus their honorary members, to scatter and gather together last minute. Marco swiped little Yvette from his mother’s arms, Star tried to keep Tomás awake— it seemed only he could try to doze off during such an exciting event. The rest of their family and dear friends lined up behind them, with Pandora eagerly bouncing up and down in front of her parents.

“Hold up!” Janna called from the back of the line. “Who’s taking care of the kids when you guys magically disappear?!”

“Janna” was the first thing Star blurted out, while Marco seemed to oppose, speaking at the same time as his wife, surprisingly “Pony Head” being the name that had first come to his mind. 

“Awww, Earth turd, you finally trust me?!” Pony Head called.

Star paused, watching her husband roll his eyes, then grinned ear-to-ear. “Both!” she declared.

“Two god-moms! Sweet!” Janna whooped, offering her hand for a high five, only to receive a light tap of Pony Head’s horn against her palm.

The royal march music began to fade slightly, a court member nodding vigorously, summoning the king and queen to walk out onto the balcony with the rest of their friends and family crowded right behind them. 

A few last squawks of the trumpet was heard, before Star and Marco found themselves high up above their entire kingdom, with little Pandora happily waving down to everyone.

“People of Mewni,” Star spoke up, her voice wavering a little before she cleared her throat and readopted her familiar bold, Queenly tone. “I stand here today with my King, and today is the day we all welcome two new members of the Butterfly family!” 

Just a little off-balance in rhythm, Star and Marco respectively lifted up each one of the twins ever-so-slightly to show off the new Prince and Princess of Mewni to all.

The reaction was…surprising.

Star seemed most nervous of all, but her expression instantly lit up with one of the biggest smiles ever when almost everyone began to cheer and whoop. She even spotted a few monsters in the crowd, and she leaned up against Marco, both of them wearing unerasable and irreplaceable grins.

“Today, from henceforth,” another court member announced through a megaphone. “The Kingdom of Mewni welcomes Princess Yvette Artemis and Prince Tomás Angelo Butterfly!”

The crowd’s cheers grew even louder, and it was only now did the diversity really show. Mewmans and monsters alike were all crowded in the Castle gardens down below, and even beyond. Word must have travelled fast, even before today.

And in classic Star Butterfly fashion, she acted impulsively and shoved her new son in her husband’s arms, snatching the megaphone from the court member.

“Thank you, Mewni!” she exclaimed. “Thank you for letting me bring peace and safety to every single one of you!”

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, while her smile only grew, if that was possible. Star felt her eldest daughter tugging at the bottom of her dress, and she lifted Pandora up, letting her get a better view of the breathtaking scene.

“So,” Marco sighed, shaking his head playfully at his wife. “Someone looks happy.”

Star nodded, standing up on her tiptoes to place a kiss on her husband’s cheek. “Very happy,” she agreed. “I think we’ve finally got this whole royal family thing figured out, Marco.”

“Yeah,” Marco said softly, ignoring little Yvette trying to use his crown as a chew toy. “I think we do.”