On the Tip of the Moon

Chapter 2- Bad Meetings

"What am I supposed to do?" I groaned out of frustration.

"First of all, calm down," Isaac told me. "And secondly, I'm here to help you. Why don't we go to the Toadstool Hotel? My parents run it."

"Ok, and thanks."

Isaac smiled. "Can I show you something? You have to promise not to tell anyone- not even my parents, ok?"

I swallowed. "umm, o-ok."

He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then pulled his hood down. He seemed to look more friendly and approachable. He had sandy blonde hair and his mysterious blue- green eyes were sparkling and smiling.

"I'm not allowed to do that. Queen Cordelia reckons that showing our faces to outsiders is dangerous, but you're not an outsider if this is your world, are you?"

"Well," I responded awkwardly. "Not when you put it like that."

Isaac carried on walking, not bothering to put his hood back up. I could feel eyes on us, from things that I couldn't see. I knew that Isaac could feel them watching as well. He faced me and blew a pink item that resembled glitter onto my face. I blinked a few times before he handed me a bottle of something yellow.

"Use two finger dabs of this pixie dust and place it underneath your eyes. It'll help you see the goblins."

"Aren't goblins supposed to be evil creatures?"

"Well, yes, but you made them good when you were two."

I tried to remember the dream about goblins that I had, but nothing came to me.

"Is queen Cordelia the ruler of this world, or just the sea?" I realized that I was asking way too many questions, but I was curious to find out as much as I could.

"She's just the queen of the sea, but she's considered more important than other fairy queens. Most magical ingredients come from the sea, and she watches over them. She also makes the tough decisions for the queen of this world."

"Who is the Queen?"

Isaac laughed nervously. "You'll see soon enough."

Had he just dodged my question? Did he not like to talk about the Queen? I then spotted an old, wooden sign, that read 'Toadstool hotel'.

The hotel was certainly true to its name. It towered over us like a giant, and it was an actual toadstool. I imagined that plenty of fairies stayed here as they are rumoured to be attracted to toadstools. The door was red and had pretty star shaped fairy lights.

"I should warn you about the king and queen. They aren't the friendliest of people."

I tried to calm my nerves. The king and queen were inside and I have a chance of meeting them.

"Hello, mum." Isaac said, before trying to correct himself, "I mean-"

"How many times have I told you, Isaac? Do not call me mum. I am the Queen and I expect to my called by my title."

I raised my eyebrows. Isaac's mum was a queen? That would make him a prince.

The queen was very tall and glamorous. She was wearing a red, silk, floor-length gown that had gold frills and bows. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a tight bun, resting neatly on the top of her head. She held a wand with a crown shaped at the end of it. Her golden wings matched her dress perfectly. I realized then that she was looking at me as though she was disgusted. I had to bite the inside of my bottom lip to prevent me from saying anything rude or sarcastic. I wasn't a germ infested rat!

"You must be Oliva Gold. I'm Queen Amethyst. We are very-" She trailed off, trying to think of something to say.  "honoured to have you staying here."

"T-thank you, your majesty." I stuttered out. Was the right thing to say?

"As you are here, I would like you to call me Amethyst."

My jaw almost dropped. I couldn't believe that I was allowed to call her by her first name when Isaac wasn't even allowed to call her mother. It didn't make any sense. Isaac dropped his gaze to the ground, staring sadly at nothing in particular. He noticed me staring and his eyes began to smile again. He gave me a small smile, that I instantly knew was fake.

His mother then fluttered over to who I presumed was a customer.

"Isaac, are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He replied, coldly.

"Are you sure?"

"I said I was fine." He snapped back in response. "I should probably show your room."

I followed him up a long flight of stairs, not bothering to take in much of the scenery around me. What I did notice was that there were two perfectly positioned paintings of a beautiful universe. The one was a painting of a bustling, crowded city at night-time, with brightly- lit, neon lights shining. The other one was of a grassy riverbank, with a clean, clear river, flowing freely. Rocks and pebbles were visible from underneath the water. A wooden bench was placed, overlooking the view. I guessed that these were paintings of Earth.

"Here's your room," Isaac announced. I hoped that my room wasn't too far away from the hotel's reception area as I hadn't taken in any directions along the way to remember how to get here.

I looked around my room. It was average in size and had a single bed that had simple white sheets. In the corner of the room, there was a pale pink dressing table, that had yellow, white and pink flowers decorated around its mirror. A cupboard with clothes already in had been placed next to it. A black, leather armchair was located in the middle of the room, stood in front of a clear coffee table. The room was very cosy and reminded of my room back home.

Isaac was about to walk out of the door when he stopped and faced me.

"Meet me outside your room at midnight."

"OK," I responded. I wanted to know why but I didn't feel like asking.

He then left my room. I decided to sleep as I had nothing else to do. I set my phone alarm clock for dead on midnight, before climbing under the covers, not caring that the sun was still seeping through the curtains. I didn't even bother to change. I rested my head on the comfortable pillow, and instantly, sleep took over me.