Starnapped: A SVTFOE Story

Starnapped: Chapter 2 - A Motive

As Marco kneeled there in the room of his missing friend, tears continued to run down his tan cheeks, drenching the floor beneath him with his sadness and guilt. I'm worthless. I don't deserve to be living here, in a castle so large and wondrous. I don't deserve to have someone like Star. Marco was quickly descending into a seemingly endless whirl of guilt, his mind racing with constant negativity towards his own actions. He imagined the pain Star was in, how scared she must be, which only made him feel more guilty. It was only then, when he snapped out of it.

If he truly did care for Star, he wouldn't be moping in a room thinking about her. He would be taking action. Marco marched over to Star's closet in search of something of her's to carry with him on his quest. He settled on her devil headband laying on the very top shelf of her closet, as if she was trying to hide it from intruders. But Marco was no intruder. He placed the headband over his messy hair and marched down the curved steps to find the King and Queen. Only they could understand the pain he was in.

They were not very hard to find. In fact, they were still eating their dinner when Marco, tear marks still staining his face, entered into the room. "Well hello, Marco! What is wrong?" asked River, shoving half of a chicken into his mouth as he spoke. "Star has been kidnapped." Marco croaked, tears building up in the back of his eyes just from the thought.

The expression on Moon's face changed from anger to sadness to fear in less than a few seconds, leaving her paralyzed with a mix of the three emotions. River, however was a much different story. "Well, my boy, let's go find her! I'm sure she is doing just fine, she's quite bright that girl! How about we start with her room, maybe we can find some clues there." River spoke, his true leadership instinct shining through as he confidently walked up the curved staircase to his daughter's vacant room, Moon and Marco following close behind.

Star slowly opened up her heavy eyes, still covered in bruises and scratches from before. "How long have I been out?" she asked herself, perhaps somehow hoping that she would receive a response. Looking around her, it seemed like she was still in the exact spot she last remembered being in, propped against a wall in an old wooden cabin. She took this time to observe her surroundings, for her captor was nowhere to be seen.

The walls of the cabin seemed very old and unstable, like they could fall over at any moment. The flooring was pure concrete with very small cracks in the otherwise perfectly smooth ground, which explained why the ground beneath her was so cold. After her previous incident, she did not appear to have been strapped back down, leaving Star free from all bindings and restraints. Noticing this, she stood up to further investigate her surroundings. The building, upon further inspection, seemed like more of a shack than a cabin, with the inside being rather compact. The pole that Eclipsa herself had stepped out from before was not as far off as it appeared to be the first time she saw it. Maybe she was still delusional from when she had been taken the night before. Or at least it seemed like it was the night before. How long had it really been since she had seen her family? Her friends? Marco? Would she ever get to see them again? Just as Star was beginning to tear up from the thoughts of her old life, she heard a distant snap. In a mere moment, in front of her stood the dark queen herself, that sickly smile still plastered across her face.

"Well it's nice to see that you are awake. Would you like some tea?" asked the ancestor, waving her hand into yet another pattern. Star heard a short "pop" sound and a cup of tea appeared in her hand. Still hot.

"Stop messing around granny, why have you really brought me here? Most people want me for my wand, but I'm sure you've got enough magic already. So what's your game? Your motive? Hm?" Star interrogated, taking a sip of the tea after she had finished. It tasted surprisingly good.

"Now, now Star, I have no intention of hurting you. I just knew that capturing you would be the only way I could get to your mother. A little ransom can really put people at your mercy, you know?" stated Eclipsa calmly, sipping from her own cup of hot tea.

"If you are after my mom, it won't be so easy. She's very strategic and smart, she wouldn't be stupid enough to fall for your trap." Star spat, turning away from the woman in disgust. "My mother may be loving, but she is not stupid. She knows what Eclipsa is capable of. She wouldn't just charge in here alone to save me. Right?" she quietly thought to herself, sitting back down against the stone slab she had been at before.

"If you are worried about her coming in by herself, don't worry. I'm sure that Marco boy with come as well." Star spat out her tea in shock, dropping the teacup onto the ground.

"Don't you dare drag Marco into this! He doesn't deserve to have to go through the trouble of finding me here. And why would you care about him anyway? He has nothing to do with my mother!" Star cried out, her mind suddenly flooding with worry. Her mother could certainly handle herself here on Mewnie, she had been for years. But Marco had only been here a couple weeks. He had no idea what he was getting into!

"Even if him coming here is unwise, people will do anything for love." spoke the mysterious woman, snapping her fingers to clean up the mess that Star had made. "And please, don't drop my precious teacups. They were very hard to get you know."

"I couldn't care less about your damn teacups, but what did you say before?" Star asked, her mind now flowing with curiousity of what the ancient had to say. If she truly did not wish to hurt her, at least Star could maybe get some useful information out of her. Even some advice.

"Are you really that clueless? He asked to live with you for god's sake, just to protect you. You really think that's because you are just best friends? I have been frozen in crystal for 300 years and even I understand such a simple pattern. Maybe before you run off almost killing yourself fighting monsters, you should get in touch with your own feelings. Maybe you could learn something." Eclipsa teased, getting up from her spot on the ground. "Now if you excuse me, I have business to attend to."

Star had already tuned out of the conversation before the fugitive could finish her sentence, her mind preventing her from listening any further out of shock. "Was she right? Did Marco actually care about me in that way?" Star questioned, her mind slowly starting to start up again. "No. It can't be true. Marco is my best friend, and nothing more. Plus, even if it were true, Jackie would be devastated! She was already in shock after I confessed at the party. Her whole world would fall apart if we were... together. Just like mine did when they were." Star finished, her mind decided. She must put off these emotions for now. She had worse things to worry about. "Wait, where are you going? I'm not done with you yet! You still haven't told me what you wanted from us!" Star cried out, desperate for answers.

"Oh nothing much. Just the kingdom of Mewnie." spoke the evil queen calmly, smirking as she tore a hole in the dimensional rift with her own pair of scissors, leaving a horrified Star behind to ponder her thoughts.