This time I couldn't get away. The guards caught up with me, tackling me to the ground of the streets as market owners and other commoners watched in shock from where they stood. As they hustled me towards the castle, I felt my stomach rise with sickness and fear for myself.

No one has ever been sent to the royal castle and if someone has, they were never to be heard from again.

And the Princess.

No one has ever set eyes on the Princess before. Who knows what she looks like or how unforgiving she is to the townspeople. They say that it is a sin to look upon the eyes of her as she is our Royal Highness, future Queen of Mewni.

Though others say that her eyes can make a man plead for mercy before they are turned to stone by her pure wickedness. They say ever since the Great Mewnian Battle of 1533, the year she lost her parents, she has never been the same. They say her heart is as dark and cold as the rest of her. Luckily for me, I was yet to discover if these rumors were true or not.

As I was pulled away by the two strong and incredibly built guards, it began to rain hard. The more it poured down on me and soaked my clothes, the more I wished that the guards weren't taking their precious time while taking me through the gates that were as tall as five men combined.

I stared up at the man on my left and he gave me a stern and unfriendly side stare back. I dropped my head again and continued looking at my feet as we went on. The guard nodded to the other castle guards and slowly and steadily the gate opened, rolling up when the castle guards hauled the chains to let us in. They creaked and rumbled underneath my feet as if they were being opened for the first time by man.

After that, the front of the castle shown itself. Though it was getting darker by the minute outside and night was coming quickly, I could still see it all as if it's beauty never died. My breath came out into the freezing rain and air, a small puff of white cloud as I gazed up at the castle, having to lift my head all the way to the sky to capture all of the castle's stone towers. It reached up farther than the clouds above us, almost as a way to reach the heavens.

Just like the gates, the castle began with matching double doors but with designs on them. A star and a sun were circled almost completely by a giant cresent moon, a beautiful and flawless chiseled wooden artwork. When the doors opened outward in a moan, I stepped back, the inside more of an awe than the outdoor torches and the doors themselves, that of which split the cresent and sun on it in half, as of the star, it remained on the right door, unharmed.

Inside, it seemed like double the size of the outside. The guards grabbed both of my arms and hustled me through the gigantic, arched entrance of the castle, walking me up the steep stairs, covered in a beautiful royal red rug that seemed to never end.

The main entrance was a gigantic hall and if I wasn't off to meet my doom, I would have had the desire to take it all in, running around just this one hall as it had enough room to probably fit the whole kingdom's people. The windows were arched just as all the doors were, adding to its astonishing and emotional beauty. I swear, I've never seen a place that was so lovely and amazing to my own eyes in my whole life. Maybe it was because I simply just lived on the streets my whole life, lucky if someone even invited me in to stay for the night and get out of the rain. Unluckily for me, that has only happened once, when I was really little.

If I only had to guess, this royal castle was more gorgeous and elegant than all of the other cottages I've seen. Torches lit up every corner of the castle and the guards didn't halt until we had reached the middle of the room, one of them bellowing their loud voices to someone else, a gentleman in a black tuxedo, decorated in golden strands at the hem and sides of it with a white ruffled collar on his undershirt.

He approached from the double doors infront of us, trudging forward with a slow, confident manner, his back straight and his hands behind his back. As he got closer and more in detail, I realized he wasn't a man at all. His face was not figured as a person's would. He had the face of a reptile, a lizard in particular, not to mention he carried a long, slick tail behind him. His skin tone was a blue-grey and his hair was combed back, slick and neat.

"Thee hast a valorous explanation for disturbing the Princess at which hour the lady is busy." He said, surprisingly calm and orderly.

His way of speech was as old as the kingdom, a speech carried on by only the royal family and members of a higher class than the modern speech of the commoners. Even Mewni's highest and most honorable ranking knight doesn't speak the royal speech. If you weren't able to recognize royalty or upper class by their clothes or luxury castle, then the way of speech was a dead giveaway.

"Forgive us, Sir, but we have brought the theif that has which been caught stealing bread from the local marketplace in the village for the fourth time this week." The guard explained but was interrupted by the lizard-man.

"I hath said the Princess is busy. This wilt hast to wait." He dropped his eyes down at me as if to inspect me through. Maybe it was the undeniable smell of Mewni's dirt and nature on me from not bathing in a few days or the way he must have noticed my shoes dragging in mud from the outside rain, but a scrunched, sort of snarl soon took upon his face.

"Tell our Highness that it cannot wait. He has brought a disturbance and commotion to the streets. We cannot just let him go unpunished." The same guard's voice boomed.

The lizard-man standing before me took one last glance at me before thinking about it briefly and nodding. "Followeth me." He said at last.

The guards continued to drag me forward, up the steps and through the double doors before us. Finally, the main room had been revealed to me, just as jaw dropping as the last room was. I couldn't help but look around before noticing the lizard-man approaching someone else infront of us, a hundred feet away, it seemed. With his back towards the guards and I, I didn't know for sure who was the one who sat upon the throne. He bowed as if to show respect to them before speaking.

After forever it seemed, he stepped away and there she was, the Princess herself. She stood up from her shining and holy throne, approaching closer and closer to me, following the rug's path. Her dress was beautiful, even more beautiful than the castle around it.

Her dress was of a silky blue fabric, outdoing my own dingy clothing of a white tunic and brown vest, rags compared to her own. Her dress looked as if it was made by a god for a god. It dragged behind her as she walked, even as she picked up its long, draping skirt to do so. The flare sleeves of her dress hung down elegantly as they were meant to add to the drama of the rest of her flowing, silky skirt. Around her stomach and back were of the same golden corset laces that were tied tight. It was a corset dress.

As for the rest of her, her hair swept down her back like a waterfall of shining gold. Only the strands of hair that stuck out infront of her ears were decorated with braids and hair accessories to hold her braids together. Her skin was pale, but not too pale, making her even more beautiful. I could not see her face as it was covered with a blue veil to match her baby blue, light blue dress. She had matching jewelry too, white pearls wrapped around her neck and pearls were pierced and dangling from her earlobes. Hidden underneath her golden blonde bangs was her crown, wrapping around her forehead with gold and crystal jewels and a translucent diamond upon the center of her forehead, an elvish crown.

I was so in awe by her presence that I almost didn't realize the guard to my right nudging me. "Your hat." He said.

It took me a moment to understand what he meant but immediately after I knew, I took off my cap, showing my respect. The guards bowed as I soon caught on and did the same, holding my cap to my chest and bowing on my knees.

When she stopped just a couple of feet away from me, I couldn't help but gaze up. She was just as mysterious and holy, even up close. Still, my stomach knotted itself and I became unsettled by how close she was, hoping she wouldn't be too harsh on me for my crimes of theft.

"Rise ere me." Her voice spoke. It was surprisingly soft and light. "Telleth me thy name."

I did as she told me to, getting up and looking at her, though I could not see her face as it was left covered by her veil. "Marco? M-Marco Diaz?" I stated, wishing I sounded more confident speaking to her.

"Marco Diaz, is it?" She said. Even as she said my name, she said it heartedly and calmly, as gentle and composed as ever.

"Y-yes. That is right." I nodded, my voice trembling by her presence. I kept my hat near my chest, clutching it close to me.

Before I knew it, she slowly raised her hand, pulling her veil away from her face to look at me. With it pulled back above her head, I could finally see her. Her eyes were as blue as the most beautiful, glistening ocean and the skies reflecting off of it from above. Her face was flawless like a child's and on each of her cheeks, two plump, light pink hearts. She was the definition of beautiful.

"Woah..." I mumbled under my breath. I was just as astonished as she appeared to be. She looked at me with excited curiosity as if she was interested in me. Whatever she was gazing upon, I knew it didn't have to be me, considering I was as dingy and soaked from the rain as ever. I was filthy, in rags. She was royalty, dressed in riches.

I felt my face get feverishly hot and I had to look away to prevent it from getting worse.

"I hast heard a lot about thee. Thee art the one who steals from those of which art not thy own?" She asked.

"Uh, yes, y-your Highness. I'm sorry but I have no other choice-" Before I could finish explaining myself, one of the guards got up from their kneeling position and interrupted.

"That is not true, your Highness! He has stolen for no good reason! He's a theif-" Now the Princess interjected.

"Silence!" Her voice boomed throughout the main hall with strength, making me rethink her caring and soft nature. Then, she retracted back to her polite whispering volume. "Alloweth the gent to pardon thyself. Telleth me, Dearest Marco, wherefore must thee commit to thy crimes?"

The main hall was silent for a moment as I dropped my head, not sure how to explain it to her. "My father... he was part of the Great Battle of Mewni. H-he never came back. I lost everything. I take care of myself now."

Her face was sympathetic and she closed her eyes as if to have a moment. "Aye, yes. I-I understandeth." Her voice, if possible, became quieter. "We all hast lost someone close to us from that damned war against the cursed monsters." As she opened her eyes to meet my own, a single tear was shed from the corner of her eye.

"I know how you feel, your Highness. I have been through my own difficulties, losing my only family." My hand rose, wanting to wipe away her tears but the guards from each side of me crossed my path, their shining broadswords intersecting.

"Untouchables are forbidden to touch royal skin!" One of them demanded.

My hand lowered itself halfway as the Princess stared at me with interested eyes. As she did, she lowered the men's swords with her single hand, stepping a foot closer to me. I stepped back instinctively, my eyes locked onto her's. The guards looked just as shocked as I probably looked. "Thee art pardoned, Marco Diaz." She finally said.

"Excuse me, Princess, but-" The guard began but she snapped back.

"In the name of Princess Star Butterfly," She crowed back at the same guard, who seemed to be getting very well under her skin. "I command thee to silence!" Her voice did not falter and she stood her ground. The guard nodded in shame and stepped back with his hands held behind his back and he dropped his head.

She then came forth and inspected me from head to toe as if she was noticing something about me for the first time. "Servants," She called out from three of which were in the main hall and hurried over from their cleaning duties. "Has't Marco to beest bathed and wash his robes."

With that, what she said had went and I was shown to the bath while my clothes were cleaned. I even saw her crack a faint half smile as the servants guided me out of the main hall. I couldn't help but smile back.

All the rumors about the Princess were wrong, made up. She was wonderful actually, as she was only my age of fourteen. There was no way a child's heart could be so corrupted and cold. There was no way that the Princess, only still a child, could have a heart that wasn't still pure and caring. And as she gave a tiny wave goodbye to me, I knew she was one, a child, just like me.

The water of the bath was warm as I climbed in, the best feeling after getting stuck in the freezing rain. I don't know how long it had been since I've taken a proper bath before, yet the only time I got to wash off the dirt of my body was the water of the lake nearby. Still, nobody seemed to worry about a teenage boy, sitting in a small gap of two cottages, shivering, starving.

Still, there was one that cared, the only one who noticed when no one else did. As I was only nine, I had nothing but the clothes on my back. But a young girl noticed me. I lifted my head and there she was, staring upon me with bold and wondrous eyes. She must have saw it, the desperation in my face because then she dropped her golden coins from her cloak pocket into my hat, which I kept upside down for donations.

With a tiny and easy smile, she rose up and disappeared into the late afternoon's crowd of people. With her hood slung over her head, her face was not one I could remember easily, even if I tried. Still, I knew her kindness was all I needed. She was kind to me when no one else was, when I thought there was no good left in the world.

It was enough money to keep me full for a whole month, still I survived.

After I had cleaned myself from the grime and dirt on my body, I got dressed in my own clothes once more, shocked by how quickly the servants actually washed and dried them. When I had began to shyly and anxiously roam the halls to look for the Princess, I had found myself in a whole different part of the castle, beginning to question why a castle would need so many rooms.

My footsteps echoed upon the stones of the empty halls as the glass windows were struck hard with rain drops, coming down like bullets. The thunder and lightening soon kicked in after, flashing through and brightening the castle's rooms and halls until the sky was dark once more.

While wandering around one of the more dark and dreary corridors that were lit by torches and fire, I found a framed portrait of the royal family hanging up on the wall. There were three people in the painting, the King, Queen, and then a girl in the middle, the Princess of which I could only guess. She was a bit shorter yet her hair and eyes stayed light and admiring, even through the dust layering the painting itself.

Aside from the Princess however, as I wiped the painting clean from the dust, I found the King and Queen's faces to be more clear and distinct. Both of them had a plain, bored expression on their faces, not showing the slightest of emotion, even the Princess, though her smiling eyes couldn't hide the emotion she tried to hold in. They were all dressed in blue and a hint of white. The Queen had her hair up as it always had been, teased and upright into a shape of a sort of heart with her crown in the center of the indent of it.

The King, standing by his daughter's left side, still was surprisingly shorter than her but only by a slight inch or two. His beard was just as golden as the crown that sat on the top of his head, encrusted with jewels just like the Queen's.

"I see you've found the Forgotten Hall." A relaxed voice had said from the doorway, making me jump and frightened as if I had been caught doing something wrong. I turned to the doorway, the Princess taking my attention away from the family portrait. She came to my side, candlestick in hand, and looked up at the painting that hung on the wall, though I still felt I was forbidden to be here.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to - I was just - got lost and-" I tried to explain, yet she didn't seem to care. Instead of having to hear what I had to say, she interrupted me as if I wasn't talking at all.

"Why did it have to be me?" She mumbled as I noticed she had abandoned her royal way of speech. She set the candlestick down on the sidetable and sighed.

I chortled before speaking, not knowing whether or not to question her change in her English or her question. "What?" I said, caught off guard by her loss of poise and strength.

She looked down from the painting and shook her head. "It all happened without a warning. I still cannot believe it. When Commander Raine came back leading the soldiers, I was only the early age of nine. Just imagine... a girl so excited to finally see her parents come back after a war to never see them come back at all, not to be found in the crowd of soldiers. She was left alone, unfit to rule over a kingdom on her own after a major tragedy to everyone, including her." I could have sworn I saw her lip quiver and her eyes flutter as if to keep her tears away. "They read off of the list of names on a scroll of those beloved and cherished ones who have been lost. They brought my parents back, carrying them out on stretchers, their bodies covered with sheets, their crowns laying on top of them."

"Y-your Highness... I... " My throat swelled up and I closed my mouth. I couldn't talk. Still, the Princess went on.

"I do not like to come to this hall anymore. It brings back too many painful memories."

I sat in the seat of the bay window behind us as the rain had not ceased and the lightening flashed every minute it seemed, the thunder getting more and more distant. The Princess joined me by the bay window, sitting with her back supported on the wall and her knees to her chest, hugging her legs into her. As she did so, she broke her poise, showing her vulnerability.

"The monsters are a cruel and unmerciful race. There is no forgiveness for them, for their dark and wicked ways. They have done much wrong to us Mewmans and now both sides must fight until one side is victorious. It's just a tiring, everlasting cycle, sadly. We are doomed to a neverending feud that we have created and there is no way to cease from it."

I laughed, making her look at me with a sense of confusion and I immediately excused myself. "Forgive me for coming off as rude, Your Highness, but-"

"Star." She said.

"Huh?"

"I think it would be more polite if you called me by my real name. You are more than a guest to me, Marco Diaz. You are... my only friend."

"Heh, r-really?" I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. Star, the Princess of Mewni, thought of me, a lowly peasant, a beggar, and a theif, as her friend. "Wait a minute." I said, waving my hands out infront of me. "Are you sure you really think that way? About the monsters?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, so... I guess you didn't know your personal assistant is also a monster?"

"Sir Toffee is not like any of the monsters of the Great Mewnian Battle. I trust him." She said sternly. "He has been my guide. He has trained me on how to be Queen when my mother was not here to do so." As she spoke, she gazed out the window to her left, watching the raindrops fall down on the window's pane.

"But if your mother is gone, doesn't that instantly make you... Queen of Mewni?" I asked. She sighed heavily and settled herself more on the bay window seat, sitting the way I was, holding onto the edge of the seat.

"Well, yes. That is how it would work but technically, no. My parents, because I was so young when they went, hadn't even chosen my suitors to be the King. Without a suitor for me to marry, I am still the Princess." I nodded but then raised an eyebrow, a new question popping into mind.

"Wait, so your last name is really Butterfly?" Star laughed, her full heartedly giggle sounding nothing like I'd expect it to be. Instead of a royal, poise laugh, it was the laugh of an angel, a young girl with innocence and purity and gentleness. I couldn't help but laugh too at the fact of it. The more time I spent with her, the more her plastic self broke away, the more I found her raw insides. Sure, she was the Princess of Mewni, our ruler, our Royal Highness, but she was also a girl, a regular kid, a friend.

We were from two completely different and separate worlds, yet Star accepted me from the moment she set her blue ocean eyes on me. And as we talked more and more I wondered why she did. I was from a lower class than her, probably the lowest class, and yet, she let me in. Why? What would she want with me? Why didn't she just toss me into the dungeon or chop off my hands when she had the chance?

But as lightening flashed once more and a furious wave of thunder crashed down and Star yelped a brief high pitched scream, I knew she was just a Mewman, just like me. She was born one and felt both good and bad feelings and had a mind of her own. And when she dove towards me, grabbing onto my arm as if I was the one who would protect her from the threat outside, I was stunned in place, sitting and watching her. She looked up at me with the most bold eyes I've ever seen as if she was a little kid.

She kept her wondrous eyes on me and I could have sworn I saw those eyes before. She hadn't let go of me nor did I want her to. She must have known it was forbidden for a peasant and a royal to even touch the slightest but I don't think it struck her as a sinful act. She kept her hold on me and it seemed like we were frozen in time, stuck, unable to move. Then, finally, she spoke up.

"I've seen thy eyes ere." She said, though I didn't begin to question when she spoke like royalty again. Her voice was in a whisper and soon our hands rose in unison, though I didn't realize I was doing it until our fingers intertwined and we were holding hands.

"The girl from the streets..." I muttered, suddenly remembering. "I remember you. I remember your eyes. It was you!"

"I doth not followeth." She said, still staring into my eyes.

"You. You were the girl who brought me gold to pay for my meals! You were the girl in the cloak, the one with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen-" I stopped talking to prevent myself from going any further. My face fell hot and I saw her own face turn a bright red.

"Thee." She began, a smile creeping onto her face with astonishment. "Thee art the one... and I bethought t'was just a dream."

"Princess," A voice broke through the silence, bringing the moment to an end. Star rose up in half a second, straightening herself out as I did the same. The door creaked open a few centimeters further and the lizard-man, Sir Toffee, appeared. He looked at me for a split second, then to Star. His face, the way he had looked at me, I could have missed it. It was the look of disgust, making my stomach unsettle a bit, wondering if I had seen right or was just hallucinating. "The dining table is set." He said to her.

She nodded in responce, then as if she had forgotten, she did a double take with her eyes in my direction, like she was suddenly remembering me. "I would like Marco to join us." She said.

"What? Thee mean the theif? Milady, thee art kind but doth not alloweth thy generosity receiveth the better of thee. Thee art the Princess! Thou has't to act like one and punish him for his crimes!" He declared. Star closed her eyes as if to take in what Sir Toffee told her. "Has't him sent to the dungeon. T'is time thee has learned to rule and taketh initiative. Thy kindness is weakness."

To Toffee's last words, Star's eyes had squeezed together in frustration before she opened them again, showing a surprisingly poise and collective expression on her face. "I am the Princess and what I sayeth goeth. Tonight, Marco wilt join us for dinner, whether thee like it or not." She stood up straight and her hands were folded together. To be honest, I was stunned by how she could go from talking about her parents' death to her queenly duties and strength, fake strength that she taught herself how to make.

Sir Toffee eyed me once more before turning back out of the Forgotten Hall and his slick tail followed behind him. The whole time, he kept his hands behind his back. I wasn't sure why he seemed to be passive aggressive towards me, yet when Star smiled at me, I didn't wish to care.

"Would thee like to stayeth for dinner?" She asked, though I felt as if it wasn't a choice, considering she had already told Sir Toffee otherwise. I nodded, knowing it would have been rude to turn down royalty.

Phew! That took forever to get done! Okay this is only the first part of this one shot but I really tried to keep it short even though I'm at a five thousand word count right now. I decided this would be the right place to stop and make a second part - COMING SOON!!! THANKS FOR READING!!