Darkness - Chapter I: The Broken Crown

Darkness
Chapter I: The Broken Crown

Eclipsa didn't know exactly how she had ended up where she was. The last thing she remember was falling asleep in her own bed. She had awoken some hours ago to find herself in a disconcertingly silent holding cell.

She felt like she should've seen it coming. She knew there were whispers of discontent in her kingdom. She knew that being stabbed in the back was always a possibility for those in power. But she never expected the knife to be held by one of her own colleagues.

Unlike the dank, musty dungeons of Butterfly Castle, her prison was... clean. Shiny, even. The reflective, crystalline gleam of the walls and floors gave her a good idea as to where she was. The room was a perfect cube, with no windows and only one door, although she suspected she could be seen from the outside.

She'd been trying to come up with a way out since she arrived, but if she had guessed her current location correctly, she didn't have much in the way of options. She had already tried the knob, but to her complete lack of surprise, the door had been locked tight. And even if she escaped the cell, even if she somehow got her wand back, she had no way back to home.

Before she could consider her non-existent escape plan any further, she suddenly heard footsteps heading toward her, accompanied by voices gradually rising in volume.

"... don't like this. That monster lover might try something." Eclipsa's suspicions were confirmed by the sound of Rhombulus' nervous voice.

"It's fine. She can't do anything without her wand." Eclipsa hated to admit it, but Hekapoo was right. She wasn't completely helpless without a wand, but she knew she didn't have it in her to take on Rhombulus and Hekapoo. "Just go to the vending machine and get a Snookers or something. I need two minutes."

Rhombulus growled low, reluctantly accepting Hekapoo's decision. "Okay... but yell if you need me."

Eclipsa heard a key turn in the lock, and Hekapoo stepped inside to meet her prisoner alone. She didn't even bother closing the door behind her as she coldly appraised Eclipsa. "Are you ready?"

"Not even a trial?" It wasn't a real question. After finding out who had brought her to where she was, it didn't take her long to figure out what was going on. She was in Rhombulus' dimension, and that meant a decision had already been reached.

"What's to try?" Hekapoo shrugged dismissively. "You and Glogbor both admitted to us that Meteora is your daughter."

Eclipsa would've been more surprised if she hadn't already had several tense conversations on the subject recently. She knew the Commission was furious at her decision to have a child with Globgor, but she hardly thought it was any of their business. She was, however, surprised that she wasn't standing in front of the entire Commission. "So just you and Rhombulus? I'm sure even if Glossaryck knows, he doesn't care, but did Lekmet bother to show up? He must have known about this little coup. You wouldn't risk attacking me in my sleep without approval and then having him find out. Couldn't he at least look me in the eye when during my sentencing?"

"Lekmet knows what's at stake here. This wasn't an easy decision, but we all agreed to it." Hekapoo pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "And yeah, again, Globgor. The rest of the Commission is still trying to bring him in. Last report was that he's heading toward Butterfly Castle, probably to find Meteora. Can't really let that happen."

Eclipsa smiled, holding some small hope that Globgor would be able to rescue Meteora. She knew the odds were against him, but there was at least a possibility that he could take her and escape somewhere the Commission couldn't find them. She trusted him to pull off a miracle for the sake of their daughter. "The mighty Magical High Commission is terrified of an infant?"

"You know it's not that simple. Magic doesn't work for monsters the same way it does for Mewmans." Hekapoo was getting a sense of deja vu as she explained her concern over Meteora yet again. "Meteora is the first hybrid, and for all we know she could be incredibly unstable and dangerous! We have no idea what-"

"COULD!? You don't even know for sure? And for a 'could', you took my crown, and more importantly, stole my CHILD from me!?" Eclipsa took a deep breath and forced down her rage. She knew it wouldn't matter now. There was nothing she could do to save herself, and she had alrady made her peace with her fate. She was, however, very concerned about the fate of her family. "... what's going to happen to her?"

Hekapoo shrugged, not seeming especially bothered by the question. "That's up to Shastacan. He's the acting sovereign of Mewni."

"You're putting my daughter's fate in the hands of the man I all but abandoned? Who, by his own admission, never loved me!?" Eclipsa had no idea what would happen if Globgor failed to rescue their daughter, and the decision ended up falling to Shastacan. She certainly didn't think Meteora would end up with a good lot in life. "My daughter shouldn't suffer because of my actions!"

Hekapoo leaned up against one of the walls of Eclipsa's prison, shooting her a dark frown. "Then I guess you should've taken better actions."

Eclipsa slammed her fists the wall of her cell, glaring daggers at Hekapoo. "How dare you..."

"EXCUSE me?" Flames began to rise across Hekapoo's body as she snapped back, pointing a finger at Eclipsa. "How dare YOU put your pretty mortal desires above your responsibility to magic and the Commission? How dare you create something that could be the end of us!?"

"Meteora won't be the end of... the end of... 'us'..." Eclipsa slowly slid back against the wall, eyes widening slowly as the revelation hit her. "Yes... that's what this is really about, isn't it? The nameless spell. The power to kill even an immortal. That's what you're afraid of."

A grin silently crept across Hekapoo's face as her fires diminished. She raised her hands, beginning to slowly clap them together in praise of Eclipsa. "Congratulations. You figured it out. Not bad for a mortal. It doesn't change anything, but... not bad.

Eclipsa was beginning to understand now. It was never really about her and Globgor. That was just the story that would be sold to her subjects, a monster lover who got what was coming to her. Perhaps Meteora had been a genuine concern, but it was still just a cover for the Commission's real fear. "Hekapoo... I know I haven't always been on the best terms with the Commission, but I was never planning to use that spell against you. The radical Septarians, Seth's faction-"

Hekapoo held up her hand to stop Eclipsa's explanation. "Save it. It doesn't matter. We can't take the risk of it getting out. Let's say I believe that you really made that spell just to kill Seth. What about your daughter? What about her daughter? Something like that gets in the wrong hands even once, we're in a lot of trouble. And if we're not around to maintain the balance..." Hekapoo left the thought unfinished. Eclipsa wondered if Hekapoo even had an answer for what might happen. A small part of her wondered if the world would really be worse off without the Magical High Commission.

"Your chapter in the Book of Spells will be sealed. Future queens won't be allowed to read it." Hekapoo seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing. "Look, it's... more than just that one spell. There's a lot of dark magic in there that could disrupt the balance. This has been a long time coming. But the nameless spell... that was the last straw."

"Of course... I really shouldn't be surprised. Mortals might be afraid of dying, but in the end we have no choice but to accept it. But you... the Commission... what could terrify an immortal more than the loss of their life?" Eclipsa shook her head sadly. At some level, she could understand their fear, even if it had led them to do something completely unforgivable.

Hekapoo narrowed her eyes at Eclipsa, clearly insulted at the accusation. "I'm not afraid to die."

"I believe you." Eclipsa nodded, not doubting Hekapoo's claim in the slightest. "I just wish your companions shared your courage."

"Is that what's about to happen to me, Hekapoo? You and Rhombulus brought me here to kill me?" Eclipsa already knew the answer, but she wanted Hekapoo to say it out loud, if only to force her into thinking about what she was doing.

"No. The Commission doesn't do capital punishment." Hekapoo sighed softly, having obviously rehearsed this part of their conversation. "We'll tell the Mewmans you fell in battle against Seth's soldiers. They won't question it. Meanwhile, you'll be frozen in crystal by Rhombulus and kept here, with everyone else who's committed high crimes against magic."

Eclipsa had guessed that much, but there was still a question she hadn't been able to figure out the answer to. Again, she had a guess, but she hoped it was wrong. "For how long?"

Hekapoo stared back at her sadly, remaining dead silent.

"... I see." The former queen smiled grimly as she bowed her head. It might not have been a death sentence, but it might as well have been. "You know, this time last month I was ruling over an entire kingdom, spending time with my newborn daughter and her loving father. Even in the middle of a war, it felt like I was the luckiest woman in the world." Eclipsa laughed darkly, astonished at how far she had fallen in such a short time. "Now I've lost my family, my kingdom, my chapter, my wand, my reputation, my entire legacy... and it's still not enough for you. You want the only thing I have left. My freedom."

Hekapoo turned her gaze away from Eclipsa, no longer able to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry it turned out like this."

Eclipsa looked back up toward Hekapoo, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Are you?"

Hekapoo ignored the question, making her way to the door and motioning for Eclipsa to follow. "... Rhombulus is waiting."

The former Queen followed her to Rhombulus, carrying herself with as much dignity as she could muster as she marched out to meet her fate. Like Hekapoo, she had no fear of death, but she certainly feared for her family. Still, she knew Globgor would do anything for their daughter, and the hope of Meteora having a happy life even without her mother was enough to sustain her.

Rhombulus and Hekapoo exchanged a single nod, and Rhombulus pointed an arm toward the fallen queen.

Eclipsa steeled herself and threw out her arms in a defiant stance, staring into the face of Rhombulus' serpent, daring him to go through with it. There was a brief hesitation, and Eclipsa wondered if he might be having second thoughts... until she was struck with a blast of ice cold crystal magic. She felt her body go numb immediately, and her mind was following close behind.

She tried to hold on, remembering all that had made her happy and given her life meaning. Above all else, her thoughts turned to her family. The fleeting moments of happiness with her lover, Globgor. The innocent joy of her new daughter, Meteora. And for a few scant seconds, it was enough to stave off the chill of the magic.

But the freezing cold crept on, and the warmth of their love slowly slipped away as Eclipsa sunk into darkness.