Toffee's Trick

Chapter 1

Set in 'Storm the Castle'

"I ...don't know how," Star murmured.

"Yes, you do," Toffee returned, emotionless. "It was the first spell your mother ever taught you."

Star closed her eyes, cold realisation running over her.

"The whispering spell," she breathed.

"Exactly," said Toffee. The lizard looked over at Marco, who was lying down, pushing with all his might but being squashed painfully against the glass. The lowering ceiling was starting to press against his head. He didn't have long.

"Marco's waiting," Toffee smirked.

Star looked at her friend anxiously.

"Star..?" He asked, terrified, his shaking voice muffled by the glass.

She took a deep breath, knowing she had no choice. Marco was literally having the life being squeezed out of him, and this was her only option: Toffee alone knew how to detonate the glass cage, so attacking him would be pointless.
She raised her wand. It was her ancestry, her history, her protection and the source of her magic... her whole life... No... It had been her whole life.

Not any more.

As Star performed the spell, a single crystal tear slid over her cheek.

Then she layed down the broken wand on Toffee's plate and seemed to come out of a sort of reverie, saying sharply,

"Now let Marco go."

Toffee smiled and pressed a small button in his claw. The glass stopped lowering, but it didn't retract.

Star stared at it, confused and horrorstruck. She turned back to Toffee and shouted,

"Let him go!"

Toffee merely let out a small laugh.

"Princess," he said quietly. "I have been studying you and your history and magic for years. Do you really think I don't know what's about to happen?"

Stat frowned. How could he know? He was bluffing. Stalling.

"The wand will explode, leaving the star at it's centre in two," Toffee continued. "And then? You will flee with what remains. I will not allow this to happen. I am sick of this petty feud. I want this to be over now."

He sighed and looked right at her. She shivered. He wasn't bluffing.

"Because you see, Princess, I now know your hook."

"I'm sorry- what?" Star asked, genuinely confused. "My-

"Hook, that's right," said Toffee casually. Beside them, Marco groaned quietly. Star glanced at him. He was trapped with barely a two foot gap between the glass ceiling and the floor. His cheeks were squished together and he could barely see because he didn't have enough room to open his eyes fully. It broke Star's heart to see him crippled like this.

"What do you..."

"Did your mother never tell you the true source of your magic?"  Toffee sneered.

"It comes from my wand," Star said automatically.

"No, it is channeled through your wand. The true source of your power comes from something else. As I said," Toffee drawled, leaning back in his chair, "I have been observing and studying your family for years. Your power, Star Butterfly, used to stem from faith in your family- your parents and your home kingdom. It allowed you to create a powerful stream of magic, but it was unstable. Now... Have you wondered why your spells have improved? It's not just down to practice alone. Your magic comes from another place now. Do you know where it is? Do you know what your hook is?"

Star listened intently, dread filling the pit of her stomach. She sagged on the table, her mind working like cogs in a machine which suddenly clunked into place.

Toffee saw it click in her face and he smiled. He lifted the button and pressed it again. The glass ceiling on Marco's tiny prison lifted off him and rose to it's original height. Slowly, he got to his feet, trembling and rubbing his chest. He was breathing heavily and shaking rather violently.

"That's right," Toffee hissed, locking his cold eyes on Star's. They were like flecks of emerald crystal deep set in his reptilian face. "Marco Diaz."

"No," Star whispered, looking at her hands.

"Star?" Marco called, pale and confused.

"No," she said again, ignoring Marco, talking louder this time, looking up at Toffee.

"I'm wrong?" Toffee grinned, showing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

Star sighed heavily, but when she spoke, her voice was strong.

"No," she said. "You're not wrong, Toffee. Marco is my 'hook'... He's my everything. The source of my magic."

Marco clapped a hand to his mouth.

"But..." Star continued, refusing to look at Marco. "I won't let you use him against me. I'll... I'll do what you want, but I won't let you bring him into it. You can't hurt him any more. Do we have a deal?"

Toffee's grin didn't slide.

"Well, you see, Princess, I'm afraid you won't be having a choice on this one."

That's when Star felt strong hands wrap around her face, over her eyes and mouth so she couldn't see, couldn't scream, couldn't even breath. A sharp blow to the back of her head rendered her unconscious. The last thing she remembered before slipping into swirling blackness was Marco's distant, strangled cry, calling her name.