A/N: I'd like to give gratitude to those who have given this story a chance, I really appreciate it. This story is a bit different, but I'm glad to have united a small group to like it.
To answer someone's question: I've been writing for a while now, I guess you can say I've learned a thing or two. Most of it comes from my imagination and experience, but I do have my college classes for support.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about recent episodes, but if it's canon, I'll go along with it.
Thank you all, and if you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.
"Star, I swear I didn't hit him that hard!" Marco insisted. Star blew a stray hair from her face. Yesterday she had seen Tom being punched by Marco, and while maybe another time she would have applauded her best friend's actions, she simply wasn't in the mood. Star had decided to grab Marco by the ear and drag him away, circumstances be damned. Tom was a conniving jerk, and the fact that he was smirking as she dragged Marco out of the room led her to suspect that it had all been planned. Tom wasn't one to laugh when getting punched in the face; usually, he'd go on a rampage, and the room would have already been incinerated at that point.
"Then why did you hit him?" the princess asked. She brushed her hair, hoping to look a little more dignified than the day before. Star huffed when she heard Marco hesitate.
"We were sparring..." he slowly replied. Marco avoided his gaze, but Star could see him through the mirror. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Uh-huh, and why were you sparring with the almighty Demon King?" she asked, putting emphasis on the sarcasm. Star could see Marco sweatdrop.
"Well, funny story—" the teenager was interrupted by Star's exasperated groan.
"First of all, your stories are never funny," the princess put down her brush and faced him, "Secondly, you know you shouldn't involve yourself with him. Tom's a jerk."
"I thought I could outsmart him," Marco replied, evident disappointment in his voice.
"Although you can outsmart him, we both know that Tom is a cheater and sore loser." Star replied.
"Of course I know that. It's just…" the teen hesitated, "Can you believe that this is a guy I once considered a friend at one point?"
"He was my boyfriend at one point. There's no hope for that guy. Besides," she said, "He stopped being anyone's friend after he almost blew up Earth.
"Isn't it strange how he almost destroyed this dimension then just... disappeared for almost three years? Am I the only one who finds that weird?" he asked.
"I stopped trying to understand that guy a long time ago, it's best if you do too," the princess stated. She adjusted her dress and brushed it off. When she looked up, she noticed Marco was staring at her.
"What?"
"Is this really necessary?" he asked.
"I have to make some effort to look nice—"
"No! Not that. I mean the whole marriage thing..." the teen frowned.
"Yes, Marco, I already told you the whole situation." Star made a move to grab her wand and her dimensional scissors. Her friend released a groan and slumped into his chair.
"Can't we just run away and get our own recruits or something?" he pleaded.
"As much as I would love that, I don't think I can leave Mewni at the hands of Tom right now. You just have to trust me, okay?" she looked at him expectantly. He sighed.
"I'll help you find a way out of this, I promise you, Star."
The princess placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She knew he was being honest, but she also knew that if there was nothing she could do, there was nothing her Earthling friend could do either.
Star looked into his hopeful eyes. Caramel orbs shone with determination. She decided that she didn't have the heart to put him down.
Tom sat across from her again, arms crossed behind his head. His facial features revealed nothing but a smooth complexion. She looked at his face. His fierce eyes were outlined by dark eyelashes and a thick streak of black. Though, it was his sharp jawline and aristocratic nose that gave his face masculinity.
Star huffed, once he got angry, he wouldn't look the same, that was for sure.
The only discernable emotion Star was able to find was concealed in those bright eyes of his. They shone with amusement and arrogance. The way the king held himself juxtaposed with his feeling of superiority; he knew he was the most powerful in the room in terms of physical strength and political power. He had the advantage and Star despised him for it.
"I've decided to accept the proposition," Star spoke up, gaining the attention of everybody in the room. Prying eyes were on her, including Tom's. All the Mewnians held their breath, probably in anticipation for the demon's response.
They were sorely dismayed at his reply.
"Tut-tut, that's not the proper way to greet your guests," Tom responded unapprovingly. He shook his head and sighed. The senators exchanged bemused glances.
It took Star a few moments to comprehend his words. They had thrown her completely off; that was the last response she had been expecting from him. "What?" Star blurted unintelligibly. Her eyes widened incredulously, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"You're supposed to greet other monarchies by their full title, Princess Star Butterfly," the Demon King chided mockingly. Her eye twitched and her face flushed in irritation. "Let's try again. Good morning, Princess Butterfly. Now you say..." He motioned with his hands for her to continue.
"Tom..." she growled in warning.
"Ah, ah! King Tom," he corrected. The Demon King sighed, "Do you anything about etiquette?"
Star glanced at her parents with a furious glint in her eyes. Despite how childish it seemed, she blamed them for her predicament. She was doing this for them and for her people. The princess could take responsibility for cleaning up their mess, but it wouldn't slip her mind that it was them who got her there in the first place. A deep irritation had ignited in her chest as a result, causing her to feel betrayal every time she so much as thought about her birth givers.
"Good morning, great, almighty Demon King Tom -whatever your last name is- of the vast Underworld." she spat. The princess crossed her arms defiantly.
"Laying it a bit thick, aren't we?" he asked, amusement shining brighter in his eyes, "No matter. Go on, you were saying?"
"I've decided to accept the proposition," Star repeated.
"Well technically, you proposed this idea. I'm the one accepting." the demon stated. Star stubbornly ignored him.
"I have a few conditions, though," she continued. His soft features hardened at her words.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's this about conditions?" Tom demanded, raising an eyebrow. The princess was glad to have finally wiped that smirk off his face.
"Don't be rude, King Tom, let me finish," Star said, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. She smugly narrowed her eyes at his slight glare. The demon rolled his eyes before waving his hand for her to proceed.
"You have complete control of this marriage, so I just want to make sure Mewni is really benefitting from this partnership. Let's lay it out. I won't marry you until I turn 18 in a few months. That should be enough time to organize the wedding. And I don't care if this marriage sucks, I'm going to have a glamorous wedding and you won't stop me," the blonde girl commanded. She pointed accusingly at him as if he would somehow foil her plans. He raised an eyebrow and nodded.
She looked at him to see any hints of anger, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw something that was akin to the opposite of irk. Star continued.
"As Queen of Mewni, I get full access to rule as I please. Rule the Underworld like you want, but your kingdom won't merge with mine. Keep your evil demons away from any of my Mewmans," the princess explained, "Aside from saving Mewni, we need to try and save Uni. Uni is a powerful dimension, they're are best allies." Star looked over to the demon to see his reaction.
Needless to say, his icy demeanor wasn't reassuring. Tom's harsh chuckle filled the air.
"I think you misunderstand the word alliance. An alliance is a partnership, contributed from both sides. As future King of both the Underworld and Mewni, I have the rights to rule alongside you. This is not one sided, Star. You can't be the only one to benefit; although you think so little of my subjects, they are my people, and they deserve to be treated better than how you treat the peasants in your dimension."
"Mewni will not be ruled by an evil dictator." Star balled her fists.
"Take a good look at your parents and tell me that's not already happening." Tom scowled, flames subtly igniting at his shoes. Star glanced at her parents with confusion. Her eyebrows furrowed. Before she could retort, Tom continued talking. "My people will be allowed in this dimension without any borders. It would be tactful military-wise if I had access to both lands. My demons need to clean up your mess somehow but don't get your panties in a twist, it's not like they'd want to come to such a boring and pitiful dimension out of their own violation." The princess felt both relieved and offended at the same time.
"Fine. Do we have a deal then?" Star asked impatiently.
"I'm already humoring you in letting you speak freely but remember, you came to me. You're in no position to be setting up these ridiculous conditions because let me tell you something: beggars can't be choosers." the demon King scoffed, "The deal was simple: I marry the Princess, and the Kingdom is saved." Tom made exaggerated hand gestures to emphasize his point.
"But that's not fair!" she interjected. The princess leaned forward in outrage.
"Life's not fair, Princess. Get used to it," he replied icily. Star eyed him incredulously while pursed her lips tightly together. It wasn't often that she didn't get what she wanted. As an only child, she was almost never denied. Having access to magic allowed her to summon half of the things she wanted and anything more extravagant could be brought by her parents. All it took was her to bat her pretty baby blues and her dad was sold. Her mother required more coaxing, but the conclusion was mostly the same. Since she was a child, she had this wild her belief that her mom and dad could grant her everything. It was times like these that made the princess realize that just because she stomped her foot, she wouldn't get what she desired.
Star focused her gaze onto Tom. He wore a blank expression with only his eyes fixated onto her. The two guards beside him were hideous, though they were dressed in fine suits like their master. Their sharp appearance imposed intimidation on most of the Mewnians in the room. It was a great contrast to when they were younger and Tom was more susceptible to childish tantrums. She wasn't sure she liked this version of him either.
"What happened to you? You are an even bigger jerk than before," Princess Butterfly stated. This caused the demon's eyes to narrow.
"Oh, I'm sorry I don't appease to you because I refuse to yield to your demands," he retorted sarcastically, "It's nothing personal, Starship. Just politics."
"That's it then? I get no say in anything? I refuse to accept that!"
"It's not like you really have a say in the matter," Tom scoffed, "But you know what, I can be a nice guy. I'll tell you what, I'll make sure that ridiculous horse planet is rescued, but once that happens, they automatically become allied with the Underworld. As for age, fine I'll wait until you're 18, doesn't make much of a difference to me.
Go all out with the wedding. Do what you want, have it on Mewni for all I care. All you need to know is that my demons will show up, and considering you're marrying the ruler of Hell, there will be a ritual involved." Tom reasoned. Star bit her lip. He had technically agreed to all her demands, despite that he had altered them. She wasn't sure how she felt about the ritual, but if it meant she could have total control of the ceremony, she'd go along with it.
Anxiety filled her chest; just the other day she worried about what homework she had to do, now she was worrying about what she was planning for her wedding. Star internally sobbed.
"What... kind of ritual?" the princess hesitantly asked.
He feigned disinterest, "Oh nothing, I just bite your neck and suck all your blood, claiming you as my bride."
All the Mewnians in the room released a disgusted gasp. They murmured angrily to one another. Star unconsciously grabbed her neck. She looked across the table and saw one of the demon guards grumble something to Tom. The young man laughed and replied in a language she couldn't understand.
"I'm kidding. It was a joke, no need to start throwing tables," he said.
Some of the council released several relieved sighs.
The princess decided to voice one more distressing thought. She knew she was treading on thin ice at this point, but she had to give it a try. Go big or go home, they said on Earth.
"What about Earth?" Star asked. His demeanor seemed to change completely. His smirk dropped, and a heated look drifting into his eyes.
"What about Earth?" he asked, voice becoming sharper, "That dimension is not my concern, and Mewni's not in the position to be offering help. My only purpose there is to collect the souls of the damned." Tom said. His eyes flashed white. Star tenaciously met his gaze. The tension in the room automatically became thicker. Their auras were electric, both of their willpowers striking at each other, attempting to assert control on the other.
It seemed that Earth was a touchy subject for him.
This was going to be an interesting marriage.
"Alright, whatever," she dismissed it, "So how exactly are we going to rule the Underworld and Mewni?"
He made a sound of disapproval, "You're a princess, aren't you? Shouldn't you know that by now?" he retorted. Star grit her teeth.
"How was I supposed to know I was going to get married and share kingdoms with the Demon King?" she snapped.
"You almost sound disappointed," Tom stated.
"Well I'm not happy, that's for sure," she scoffed.
"Pa-lease, any girl would be ecstatic to be in your place. Consider yourself lucky to have ended up with someone as handsome as me," he threw her a flirtatious wink. Star flushed red with indignation. She growled in an unladylike manner.
"Why you little—" her father had stepped in front of her, covering her mouth and restraining her arms before she could point any obscene gestures at Tom. River Butterfly grumbled a few words in her ear, causing Star to cease her struggles. Her father released her, allowing her to breathe.
"Please be professional, King Tom," she gritted her teeth. Amusement shone in his eyes. The jerk is baiting me!
"Only because you asked so nicely," he replied. He was brass enough to wink again.
She hissed at him.
"Sorry, my bad. It's just entertaining seeing your face turn that cute shade red," the young king said. Star spluttered. As if on cue, a tint of red appeared on her face. King Butterfly coughed loudly. Tom's red eyes flickered towards the old man. He frowned disdainfully at the other King's warning glare. Tom rolled his eyes.
"Alright, I see governing is still an active issue. How I plan to govern are negotiations between Princess Star and me. Once we've settled on a something, we'll advise Mewni's monarchy," he pointed to the council.
"No. Absolutely not. You will not decide Mewni's future without consulting any of us, senators and monarchy included," Queen Butterfly interrupted. Tom narrowed his eyes at her.
He snorted and innocently shrugged. "Well I just assumed that if Star was old enough to get placed into a marriage, she was old enough to make her own decisions, especially since you definitely seemed to consult with her about our arrangement before settling the deal," he coyly added. The Queen gave an indignant huff.
An icy feeling invaded her chest. Star looked down. It was true: Tom was behaving in a blunt manner, but there was no denying the truth in his words.
"You stop this manipulation at once!" the Queen demanded.
"Stop talking as if I weren't standing right here," Star interjected. She watched the exchange, unhappy at the fact that she was being ignored in matters as important as this.
"Star's right. She's standing right there, why don't you let her decide what to do?" the King asked. On cue, everybody in the room expectantly turned to her. Her eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights. The sudden attention caused her to become momentarily flabbergasted.
"Star, pay him no mind, he is simply trying to goad you into falling into his slick trap. You know better than this," her mom softly murmured.
The princess had never been given full reign of her own kingdom. Although Star was aware that the responsibility was immense, at least she knew she wouldn't have anyone looking over her shoulder. Star had always been cast out in a shadow, always kept in the dark about what was going on. This was, perhaps, a way out of her parents' restrictions
The Queen placed a hand on her shoulder. The princess hesitantly elevated her blue gaze to meet the older woman's. Her mom had a point, she had no idea about the politics of ruling; up to this point, she had only studied magic and combat. Tom obviously had more experience, this could just be a setup...
The blond girl bit her lower lip.
"Well..." she nervously began. Star looked at her parents. Tom seemed to have noticed.
"That's right, don't forget to ask mommy and daddy for permission," he taunted.
Oh, no he didn't.
Star turned to him with a harsh glare on her face. Much to her annoyance, he was unfazed by her murderous gaze. The demon was just sitting there, with a stupid look on his stupid face. Princess Star Butterfly did not like the fact that her anger was being ignored. He vexed her so much, and she wanted to prove him wrong so badly. It killed her to know that someone as pretentious as him was superior to her. The princess could almost feel the steam blowing from her ears.
The princess slammed her fist onto the table. "I don't need their permission. I can make my own decisions and I will make my own decisions." Star crossed her arms proudly while giving a soft "humpf."
The demon grinned, giving them all a view of his white teeth. "So it's settled then?"
"Yes," Star proudly held her stance, even at hearing her parents exhale in disbelief. In fact, she took even more pride in the matter.
"Let's make it official, shall we?" he asked.
"Fine with me."
"I assume you have the treaty, King and Queen Butterfly. Since I haven't signed yet, adjustments are still open to discussion, right?" he asked.
"You haven't signed yet?" Star's pose faltered a little.
Tom made an exaggerated gasp of astonishment, "And miss hearing the opinion of my favorite princess? Why I'd never..."
What a bunch of baloney.
A minute later, a Mewni guard arrived holding a thick, rolled-up paper.
"Give it here," Tom commanded. The guard did as he was told. The demon unraveled it, his eyes skimming through it, "Okay, uh huh... blah, blah, blah... Oh, here it is: Should any adjustments be made, they shall be put in this section here," he turned to her, "Care to do the honors? Or should we have the King and Queen write it for you."
"I can do it myself, thank you very much," she snapped.
Star was up in a heartbeat, snatching the pen from his hands. She took the official treaty, eyeing it suspiciously, at the same time carefully maintaining distance from Tom.
She scribbled the details:
Wait until Star Butterfly is 18.
Have a cool party based on what Star Butterfly wants.
Save Uni.
Uni pledges alliance to demons.
Rule together (ew) under a compromise from both parties.
Help Eart—
She was unable to finish the rest of her writing when someone had grabbed her wrist. Star rebelliously looked up at Tom. He gave her a hard stare. The young adult plucked the pen from her grasp.
"Hey!" she protested. Tom immediately scribbled away the last detail.
"Hah, nice try, Starship, but I'm not an idiot," said the Demon King.
"That's debatable..." she grumbled under her breath. He gave her a silent snarl.
"Sign here and the deed is done. If anyone has any protests, speak now or forever hold your peace—no? No one? Okay, sign right there... terms and conditions may apply," he spoke quickly, not giving anyone the chance to interject.
"Star, wait!" her father rose. The Queen placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. They exchanged glances.
The blonde girl froze.
There were multiple eyes on her again. This was perhaps, one of the most important moments for her dimension. It was this paper that would save thousands. Oddly enough, she didn't feel like a hero.
In signing this piece of paper, she'd be relinquishing her previous lifestyle of no responsibilities; she'd relinquish her life with Marco. Things would change forever, and the paper was symbolic of it. She was making a deal with the devil, literally. This couldn't end well for her.
She squeezed the pen in her hands. Cold sweat welled up on her forehead. Star held her breath. A minute ago, she was so confident, it only took a paper and pen to discourage her bravado. Blonde eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
A tear welled up in her eyes. Her heart ached with sadness and a yearning for the life she'd have to say goodbye to. Things wouldn't be the same... She had never known anything different, though.
A stray tear fell from her delicate cheeks. A warm hand came up to her face, startling her in the process. Her alarmed eyes met his. His crimson eyes were mocking with a hint of false compassion. His thumb brushed the tear away from her soft skin.
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" he asked softly. His voice was so sympathetic, so quiet... so fake.
She yanked her head away, scowling at him the process, "Stop touching me." He pinched her cheek in spite of her. Star threw him a dirty look.
The princess paid him no mind as she signed the 'x' below the print. Tom wasted no time signing his own name in elegant curves, making her signature look childish.
He raised his hand and allowed a dark wisp to come in contact with the paper, sinking into the print. Star looked at him with confusion. "Just a little something to make sure neither of us breaks our deal."
"Dark magic?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, don't look so surprised, Princess," he snorted. Well, pardon her then.
Tom faced the Mewnians, holding up the treaty like some sort of trophy.
"In the Underworld, it's custom to have a drink to celebrate..." Tom paused, "Eh, whatever it is you want to celebrate. So I'd like to propose a toast for the unification of our Kingdoms."
"That really won't be necessary—" her mother was cut off.
"It really is. You've all been so hospitable, I'd thought I'd return the favor by offering you all a drink. After all," Tom stopped, eyes roving around the room to look at the council, "It looks like you all need it."
Although Tom had invited them all to drinks, he could sense the King and Queen's displeasure. He was mocking their situation by casually proposing a drink. Of course, he knew it wasn't the time for such trivial acts; they should prepare for further negotiations, start sending out the message to other kingdoms.
But damn, he loved seeing the glowers on their faces.
They all settled around the table once more. "A toast: to the Underworld, and to our newest allies: Mewni and Uni." The Mewnians lightly tapped their glasses and sipped their wine. Though they were all weary, he could sense some of the tension die down.
He was about to lift the glass to his lips, but a pair of eyes stopped him from doing so. There was one glare settled on him and he had a suspicion on who is was.
"What?" he asked, not bothering to turn to the Princess.
"You don't look old enough to drink," she pointed out. He shrugged, and downed the entire glass in one go.
"Just because there's a drinking age on Mewni, doesn't mean it applies to everyone else. Besides," he downed another glass, "It doesn't affect me. Because of my high body heat, I have a high metabolism. Means it takes a lot of these babies before I can be considered drunk." Tom grabbed a bottle and patted it affectionately.
Star looked at the glass in front of her. She raised a hand, possibly to reach it. However, she seemed to change her mind halfway, because the teen ended up pushing it away. Tom rolled his eyes.
Amateur.
"Well, folks, it's been fun, but I've gotta run. I've got to settle things with my own council," Tom stood up, his demon minions following suit. "If you need me, call me up, or simply die. I have a feeling I'll be seeing most of your souls in hell anyways."
Tom heard a variety of collective gasps, causing him to chuckle. He winked, ironically throwing a peace sign. The demon took his bottle, tucking it under his arm. Once he secured his possession, he made a move for the door. His loyal subjects followed, opening the door for him.
He heard fast footsteps come from behind. The demon to his left spoke.
"Your majesty, the small, blonde one approaches," the minion said in their native language.
"Let her, let's see what she has to say now," Tom replied.
"Tom!" she shouted. He turned around.
"King Tom," the young man corrected. Her eye twitched in irritation.
"So, that's it then? You're just going to leave." Star crossed her arms and looked up at him.
"Well, yeah. I made that pretty clear, no?" the young king replied.
"What's going to happen now?" Star asked.
"I don't know, I guess that depends if you contact me or not."
"How am I supposed to contact you?" she asked irritably.
"Well I don't think dying's an option; I wouldn't see your pretty face where I live," he murmured. The princess wasn't amused. "You have my number on your mirror, don't you?"
"Yeah, but—"
"Good. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. See yah," With that, him and his minions disappeared into a wall of flames. Tom purposely left before she could finish her thought.
She must have been pissed off.
He took total satisfaction at the fact.
The princess was a stubborn girl, that was for sure.
But, then again, so was he.
It amused him as much as it annoyed him. It gave him joy to burst her little bubble. It was times like this that made him realize how he took joy in the smallest things.
When he had been younger, Tom had suffered through the rejection to Star: the one girl that simply wouldn't obey him. His infatuation with her had been more obsessive than it had been sincere. Looking back, he couldn't exactly remember what drew him into the girl. It was more of the fact that he wouldn't let her have the last word.
Looking at it now, Tom realized that the traits he once found annoying in her, were the aspects that most amused him presently. It was hard to find an entertaining mortal, not that female demons didn't interest him, but they were wicked in a way he didn't find interesting anymore.
Star was riveting because she was so unpredictable.
At the same time, the princess was so naïve, so inexperienced when it came to the real world. Her ignorance would have been endearing if it hadn't been so infuriating.
Though, he could play this in his favor. He could easily manipulate her, simply because her inner desires were that obvious. Knowing what she really wanted made it easy to subliminally sway her.
Her mind was strong and it made his inner demon instinct jump at the chance of breaking her.
However, this wasn't the time for that. He had many important matters to attend to. Tom wouldn't break her, not when she showed so much potential. Not only was Star Butterfly his only source of entertainment but he knew that she had the possibility to be part of a bigger picture.
All he had to do was enlighten her a little.