♖ A Game Of Diplomacy ♖
((Starter for @cold-blooded-candy))
They cloaked the earth around the castle in a pall of smoke and knives.
It seemed far from fitting to have a queen’s funeral in the shadow of the jeering faces whom had seen to her death. The eyes of the monster troops were trained on the castle. Moon could have sworn that as each day went by, their tents appeared to inch closer and closer to the Mewman walls. The Commission had spoken of war and of treaties. Such matters were ones that Moon knew little of. The acts themselves seemed relatively straightforward, but the consequences were far from what she could predict. The princess’ training as queen had not yet drawn to a close. Glossaryk found himself in such a bereft state that he had little interest in tutoring at all. Moon had to battle to maintain the firm mask she had set in place above her child-like emotions. All eyes were fixed on her, waiting for the command of what their next move should be. They watched with an expectancy that stung the girl- expectant of wisdom she had yet to find. They looked to her, but their eyes sought the queen whom had worn the crown mere days ago.
All that was left were the chapters penned in the large spell book. In the absence of Glossaryk and her mother’s guidance, Moon began to take matters into her own hands. Decisiveness was an important trait- one that had led her to seek out the Queen of Darkness herself. It would not do to simply march into an enemy camp with violence as one’s first intention. The injustice enacted upon her family would not soon be forgotten, but the hurt had been swept beneath the girl’s stony expression as she descended the castle stairs for the courtyard. The Commission were expecting her. She had no intention of sitting in a stuffy room to hear them squabble over a decision that was ultimately hers to make. They had each said their part, they simply awaited her decision. However, unbeknownst to those in the council room above, Moon Butterfly had one last person to consult with before any more talk of war and treaties would be solidified.
With all the poise and control she could muster, Moon set her satchel over one shoulder and crossed the manicured castle grounds. A bleating sound greeted her after a few steps as Chauncey rose his head from a bush of rose buds he had been thoroughly devouring. A fond sigh fell from the girl as she extended a palm towards the damp snout. With the chaos that had unfurled over the last few days, Moon had hardly had a moment to see the little pig-goat. The queen was glad he had found some entertainment for himself in her absence, even if it did involve destroying half of the royal gardens.
A calm breath filled her lungs as she raised herself onto the back of the creature and set them on course for the entrance to the bustling monster camp ahead. As the pair made their approach, eyes began to settle upon them. Moon swallowed back her fear and anger felt towards the faces- ignoring the thought that some of those same eyes had caused her mother’s untimely death. Now was not the time for anger. What was done was done. Her mother’s fate lived in the past. It was not the time to let hurt cloud a judgment that was to be of such great importance. The monsters were lucky that she had chosen to extend an offering of any discussion at all. They were lucky she had not sent an army for them in a haze of grief and anger. They were lucky that unlike other queens, she would be patient and withhold judgment in order to consider a compromise. Compromise was better than defeat, after all.
With a self-assured air about herself the young queen set her place at the entrance to the camp. There was no need to trespass. Towering beasts had already begun to gather as they noticed her. Things would be civil. She would see to that. The queen found it of utmost importance that weakness did not enter into the figure of the small queen they saw. At one month from her eighteenth birthday it was hard to dismiss the lingering sense that some still saw her as a child. Moon would not permit the beasts to laugh. She would not stand for mockery. If words dripped venom she would soon see to silencing them. The young queen had prepared herself.
In a patient display, the teen made herself at home before the lingering watch that had gathered into a physical wall of monsters to prevent her entry. Food, drink, silverware- each played a simple part in her own display of victory. Perhaps they had killed the queen, but the monsters had a mere slither of what the kingdom of Mewni had. She was not afraid. A little disdainful, perhaps, but fear had no place. A precedence had been set. To engage with Mewni’s new queen, the muddied buffoons that barred her entry would have to speak to her as they were spoken to- in an adult manner. She would show them that she was every bit as fierce as a queen in her prime, regardless of age, size or experience.
“I wish to speak to the general.”
The statement sounded clearly as the girl paused before taking another pointed bite of food. For negotiations to be made she would need to see the face of the operation. A septarian. That was the extent of her knowledge regarding the general. He was an immortal- a creature with such vast regenerative abilities that they had once been deemed impossible to slay.
Once.
If he pushed her too far, Eclipsa’s spell would soon banish that myth.
