Until Death

This Endless Cycle of Grief

"I'm home," Marco announced, closing the door behind him.

"Marco! You're home later today!" Rafael greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah. I was hanging out with my friend today," he explained, setting his bag down on the table.

"Ohh, your girlfriend?" Rafael laughed, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Dad! Why do you keep saying that?" Marco flushed red.

"I just teasing," the man patted his sons head before ascending upstairs. "Make sure to finish your homework!" he called.

"I will!" Marco called back, pulling out his homework.

Star groaned, her body sore from training with some of the knights.

"Are you okay?" Glossaryck asked the tired princess.

"I'm fine, just sore," Star reassured him, rolling her shoulders back.

"Star? May I have a word?" Moon peeked her head into the princess's room.

"Yeah, what's up mom?" Star sat upright on her bed.

"I know that it's a bit late to show you this, but come," Moon instructed, motioning for her to follow.

Star followed, slightly nervous on what was to come. As they continued their turns throughout the corridor, Star recognized the direction they were heading.

"Mom, are we going to the Grandma Room?" Star asked.

"Yes, I'm surprised you remember about its existence," Moon smiled.

Star remembered every bit of it. When her wand was contaminated, she had to go into her memories and find the thing that didn't belong. She eventually found it in the Grandma Room, but she had little memory of any specifics that happened during her adventure.

Moon swung the door open. It led into a large circular room with a small star on the ceiling, allowing light to enter the room. Around Star were multiple portraits of the previous queens.

"All these were the previous queens before me," Moon stood before Star, gazing around.

Star glanced at each portrait before settling on Eclipsa's. Her small eyes from the portrait seemed so contrasting to her large eyes from Star's memory.

"Why don't we speak of Eclipsa?" Star asked, catching Moon off-guard.

"You know her?" Moon's eyes widened.

"Glossaryck told me about her chapter," Star explained. It wasn't a lie. Glossaryck had explained it to her in the original timeline.

"She, well," Moon rested her hand on her daughter. "She did some things that were unforgivable."

"Unforgivable?" Star questioned.

"It's not important now. I brought you here to look at something else," Moon pushed her daughter away from Eclipsa's portrait.

"So what are we here for?" Star asked.

"I have something to tell you about my childhood," Moon led Star to her portrait.

"Wha..." Star shifted her gaze to her mother's portrait. As she did, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as all of her muscles tensed up.

There, she saw her young mother blasting away a monster's finger. Toffee's.

"This monster's name was Toffee," Moon grimaced. "He is a lizard who can regenerate." Moon turned to face her pale daughter.

"So he's immortal?" Star asked.