The Moon and Her Star

Chapter 3

"You surprise me every time, Quinn," says Toni fondly.
"I agree. But don't we have to call her Queen now," teases Alice, mischief in her eyes.
"Oh, don't be so extra. You know you don't have to. You wouldn't want me to do it to you when you're crowned," I rebuttal.
"No, I would want you to. To make me feel superior,"jokes Toni.
"Oh my goodness, why am I friends with such idiots?" I wonder.
"Says the one who didn't say any of the lines she spent all night memorizing in the place of a good night's rest," Alice chastes.
"What? You prepared a speech and didn't say any of it?" askes Toni.
"Alice, you gossip. And yes, I might've gone off script, but it's not like my speech was bad, right? It was truly from the heart and expressed the topics on my mind."
"No Quinn, it was great," says Alice apologetically.
"If you say so. We'll talk later. I have to socialize with the royals," I say with a posh accent at the end as I turn to walk away.
"Have fun," shouts Toni as I reluctantly begin walking towards the Amethyst royal when a figure steps in my path, stopping me from continuing.

"You did so well, you little thing, you," says Wendy in a rush as she envelops me in her arms. I pull back to see tiny tears had formed in her eyes that she tries to hide by wiping them away. "I can't believe you are queen. I'm never gonna be queen unless half of my siblings die."
"I'd have to die first," smiles Queen Catherine as she joins her daughter's side. "You did great dear. I'm so happy I was able to come."
"Thank you," I say, bending down to hug her gently. "I'm also glad you're here because I'm going to need your queenly advice."
"You know I'll always help you but I don't think you'll need it, dear."
"I just wanted to say 'hi' before you got pulled into talking with the other attendees. We'll see you later at dinner no doubt," explains Wendy.
"Yes, please tell the other Carnelian family members that dinner starts at 7:45 sharp and they are staying in the west wing, second floor. You two are on the east wing, first floor though. I know how much you hate the noise."
"Thank you for that. You know how rowdy they can be, the animals. See you later. Let's go, Mother," said Wendy as they leave, checking the Carnelians royals off my list.

"Charles, do put your coat back on correctly."
"Why?" askes the six year old prince of the Amethyst Kingdom. "The way you put it on was old and worn out. This is much cooler," he says, replacing the clothing on his body but folding the sleeves of the jacket way too high and uncuffing the collar of his under shirt.  
"You are only making a fool of yourself," comments his second eldest sister.
"Shut it, Eloise. It's not my fault you don't have good style. This is what people are going to dress like in the future. At least that's what Uncle Leo said.
"You did this," accused Helena, mother of these children, as she turned to her brother.
"Calm down please. We are in public," Leonard pleads.
"You should've thought of that before you decided to interject your opinions upon my children. If you would just hurry up and have your own then maybe you wouldn't feel the need to parent mine."
"Here we go again," sighs Adaline, the youngest.
"Shh Ada, before mom lectures you too," whispers the oldest child Natalia, though she is clearly also fed up with the adults' behavior.
"How many times do I have to say it, Helena? I'm not trying to parent your children. I don't want to be a father because-"
"Because you never had a proper father figure and think you'll be a bad one. Yeah yeah. But you keep acting like Charles will be the same as you if he doesn't have one and that the girls will be like me which is outrageous! They are their own people and for you to think otherwise-" she stops having caught a glimpse of me in her peripheral.
"Pardon me. I'm here to inform you of when dinner starts and where you all will be sleeping," I say, stopping the argument from escalating further.
"No, I'm sorry for our rude behavior, Prin- I mean Queen."
"Your dress looks really pretty Miss Quinn," a tiny voice praises.
"Thank you, Adaline. Yours does too," I say, appreciating the light purple dress.
"When is dinner Miss Quinn?" asks Charles.
"The food will begin being served at 7:45 so be there a little earlier, that way you don't miss any of the courses," I say, making the boy jump for joy at the closeness of the meal. "As for where you will be sleeping, the second floor of the West wing is all yours. It's the same floor the Carnelians will be on."
"Does that mean I can have a sleepover with Arabella?" asks Eloise.
"If your mom and Miss Lucille agree then I see no problem with it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go tell the information to the other Kingdoms."
"Thank you for telling us, Queen, we are looking forward to the meal," says Leonard politely.