A Girl & the Moon ~ A Fairytale

Chapter 4

Drenched in the pink light of morning, the girl watched, perched upon a rock, as the sun rose over the ridge. It was still her sun, but the thick haze had turned its golden eye red. 

She was in monster land. 

That's what the funny man had said, anyway, and looking out at the angry sky, and the spiny trees, and the sharp, crooked peaks of the mountains in the distance, she could well believe it. It was early, but she could already feel the heat in the air, ready to stifle any happy life on the ground. She never did care for daytime. And this was shaping up to be worse than normal. 

With a determined cough, she shouldered her pack and jumped off her rock, back onto the trail. Even without the stars twinkling down at her, and the cool comfort of the night, she was still determined to continue her quest. 

The trail was rather bad, if we're being quite honest. Large rocks, large cracks in the dry ground, thistles and briers ready to snatch your feet and clothes. Quite nasty and rather in want of a good road crew, the girl decided. But she wasn't one to complain. Well, at least she'd try not to. But the day was young and so was she, and so she was ready to take on anything. 

Anything, that is, except the monster. And she met him all too quickly. 

"Oi, it's you again, is it?" A huge shadow loomed over her. "You was s'posed to be shut away safe an' snug. Well, what are you runnin' about for?" 

She looked up, petrified. Now, naturally, being a young girl, she wasn't a very large person to begin with. Seeing the massive figure above her made this far worse. Oh boy. 

The giant hands came down over her and picked her up. He looked at her, wrinkling his oily nose. 

"Time to take you back home, eh?" he said, chuckling. 

His grip was firm (and painful), and wriggle as she might, she couldn't get out. Not that the long drop down was that appealing anyway. Perfect. 

The monster was also humming to itself very off-key, which didn't help. 

She was annoyed. She had just gotten out of jail - wasn't once enough? And now she was stuck with a smelly monster, going the WRONG WAY (well, she realized she actually didn't know which way she was supposed to go. Hmm.) So... going the OPPOSITE WAY. And... he was just going to put her back in the cell, right? Not something else. Because she knew there was a spare key hidden in the cell, so she could always get out. Unless he put her somewhere else. Or... she didn't want to think about it. (All the same, she couldn't help but remember all the stories she had heard about ogres who eat children and things. She certainly hoped...)

But she WASN'T going to be afraid. She wasn't. 

Her hands were free, and that was good. Making sure he wasn't paying attention, she reached her hand behind her and undid that top of her pack. Maybe there was something in there that would be useful? She reached in (though careful not to disturb Pepper. He didn't like heights, so she would hate to wake him, only for him to realize that he was on a moving tree of a man) and pulled out the first thing her hand closed around. 

It was a bag of trail mix. 

Fantastic. 

But then she noticed, written on the bag, the words, "Snacks for Strength." She considered this. She remembered the map, and how it had given her directions. She remembered her flashlight, and how it had given her light (both literal and metaphorical, sort of). And she wondered if maybe, just maybe, eating the trail mix would giver her special strength. Like Superman. If nothing else, at least there was chocolate. So it couldn't hurt. So she ate. 

"Watcha doin' now?" asked the giant, watching her. She looked up, embarrassed actually, because her face was full of food now. But she didn't reply because she knew that it's rude to talk with your mouth full, and also because she felt that the answer was pretty apparent. 

"What was you doing anyway?" the monster repeated. "Surely you weren't on a scenic tour of Ovaetterheim." 

She looked up at his face again. Should she tell the truth? He was a monster, which could very well mean that he was in league against the moon. Maybe he was the one who had stopped it from getting back to the sky in the first place! He could be EVIL. But she shouldn't lie, she knew that. But what if he decided to stop her? Or - 

"I'm trying to save the moon," she replied, summoning up whatever strength was in her. 

"A pest and it can't even talk sense," the monster rumbled. He rolled his eyes at her. 

"I'm sorry, little bug, but what are you planning on saving jolly ol' moon from? Goin to rescue it from havin' to sit in the sky every night, are you? Goin' to take it home and make a pet out of it, are you?"

"NO!" She was indignant. 

"No?"

"The moon hasn't been IN the sky for over a week. That's why I'm going to save it!" 

"You mean - we haven't had a moon?"

"Yes, that's what I mean! It's been missing!"

Blimey, and I hadn't noticed." The monster seemed truly shocked. "But - but my petunias! They need moonlight! Why, it perks them right up after a rough day. No wonder they've been droopin'. An- you don't know where it's gone to?" 

She shook her head solemnly. 

"Well, now, that is a bit of a problem."

She nodded. 

"Then, then I ought to help you out! We have to get the moon back. I mean, we can't just go leavin' it lost forever! That would be a right shame! Only - but then who will do the waterin' for me? No... I'll tell you what, little critter, I'll put you on the right path. I ain't never been to the moon myself, but I've heard that to get there you have to pass through Ovaetterheim (that's here and reach Niflheim, and from there it's something about mists and darkness and terror and whatnot. Can't remember all that. But I can get you to the bridge to Niflheim. And then get back to my flowers, of course. Shouldn't take us too long. Would you prefer to ride on my shoulder?"

"Yes, thank you," she said. The hand was getting sweaty, so she was thankful when he set her gently on his shoulder. Though his hair didn't smell too nice either, but now wasn't the time to mention bathing. She peeked in her bag to check on Pepper. He still seemed to be sleeping soundly. 

"I'm Gifling, by the by," the monster said. 

"So I guessed," said the girl, "I'm Astrea."

"Pleased to meet you. Now, I realize I may look something awful to you, but I promise I only scare critters like you because it's my job. I'd really rather go full time with gardening. See, I have these petunias - " and so he continued without sign of stopping. I mean, Astrea liked flowers and listening to people, but neither quite that much. Halfway through the monologue on aphid killing, she pulled out her bag of trailmix again. She pulled out an almond and a chocolate chip and savored them.  

"- And so that's why you need to use fertilizer regularly. But the type of fertilizer you choose is important too, because if you have the wrong one -" 

Oi. She was going to need strength now more than ever. She reached her hand back in the bag. 

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Thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying the story! If you are (or, hey, even if you're not) let me know in the comments! See you again next Tuesday!