The dark-haired teenager lay on his stomach on his bed, flipping through a book. He wore a pale grey tunic and pale blue pants, both made of silk. There was a slight knock on the door before a woman came in. He looked up.

"Ori," said the woman. "Your key has been sold again."

"For how long?" asked Ori. The woman sighed.

"Life," she said softly. "Your new mistress shall arrive in late June, when she graduates from her school."

Ori watched the woman leave thoughtfully. His new Mistress was young, a teenager. He'd never had an owner his age before. Most teenagers couldn't afford his Key. It was extremely high-priced. Maybe 1 of her relatives bought his key. Yeah, that was it. Her mother, maybe, as an early graduation present, or even as a birthday present.

Esca awoke to a dreadful noise. What was it… Oh, yeah, her alarm clock. Half-opening her eyes she turning towards the clock, glaring blearily at it with short-sighted eyes made worse by sleep, and stretched out an arm. She patted the back of the green clock, trying to find the switch. Ah, found it. She switched it of and looked at it, staring at the blurry black lines. It was 4:30 am… Too early to be up. Too early to think. Yawning she turned around and fell back to sleep, plunging headfirst into a dream about a cute green-eyed blonde and a boy with long black hair in braids. Oh, yeah. Slash. Slash good. Yawning 1 more time she fell even deeper into sleep.

Esca woke up slowly. She yawned and rolled over, grabbing her glasses and shoving them on her face. She blinked at the clock, then stared in shock. With a shriek she tumbled out of bed and got dressed as quick as she could. A few minutes later she rushed out of her room dressed in purple jeans and a bright orange T-shirt, a red jumper tied around her waist. She ran down the stairs and yelped as she stood on the nails in the carpet grippers. With a non-thought she healed herself and jumped down the next 5 steps to the bottom.

"Mom!" she cried, tearing into the living room, only to be greeted with emptiness. "Why didn't yo…" She scowled in frustration before grabbing her socks and pulling them on, then pulling on and zipping up her muddy boots. That done she grabbed a brush and tried to tame her tangled hair. She just made it worse. Then the doorbell rang. "OH FUCKING HELL!" she cried, rushing to the door, tripping over her phone line for the gods-knows-how-many-times along the way.

She opened the door; panting, scowling, growling and trying to wrench her hairbrush from her hair. The young man stared at her in shock.

Yes?" she asked, yanking at the brush only to produce a yowl from her own throat. "Dammit, you little bugger, get outta my fucking hair!" She tried the wrench the hairbrush again, but a hand grabbed her arm.

"Excuse me, miss, but maybe I could help," said the boy. She growled. "What the Hell, can't make it any worse. Try your best."

The boy smiled and with a whispered word, handed her the hairbrush. The girl stared in shock, hand going up to her hair, only to find it brushed.

"Oh, gods… Magic…" She banged her head against the wall. "Gods, I am such an idiot! Why the frack didn't I think of that?!"

She looked at the boy.

"Like, thanks. So, what do you want?"

"I'm here to pick up Miss Gillberry," he said.

"Oh, that's me. I'll just go grab my stuff and where we going?"

"The Palace." Esca blinked.

"Oh, yeah. Right." She laughed, putting a hand behind her head. "I forgot. Memory like a sieve." She floated her bags through and grabbed them. "Well, lets go!" She grinned brightly.

Hours later a very hyper girl entered the foyer of the Palace. She bounced along, the poor servant boy rushing after her with her bags. She stopped at the desk.

"HI!" she cried. "I'm, like, sooo happy to be here. Do you know how boring it was on the plane?! You showed crappy romance movies. Like, eewww! Now, Within the Rock… Oh, yeah… Blood, pain, screaming, death, evil psychotic murdering aliens with sharp claws and talon-like teeth… That movie was sooo cool! Why can't you show things like that? Or stuff like The Lion King 2 or Shrek or Evolution?! Nooo, you had to show the most boring black and white romance shit I have ever laid eyes on!" She scowled, twitching.

"Uh… Dreadfully sorry, ma'am," said the clerk, looking rather bewildered.

"It's 'miss'!" she growled.

She smiled suddenly, her attitude shifting to one of sugar-induced happiness. "Can I have my Key now?! It's the Moonrise Key. I love the moon. I'm a Moon Spirit. Which explains why I get so cranky after the full moon. But my magic comes from Chaos, the force which created the multiverse and all life within it."

"Moonrise Key? Could you show me it to prove your identity, please, miss?" asked the clerk calmly.

"Sure!" She dug into a pocket and pulled out the key, handing it over.

The clerk checked it, then handed it back. "Roland, please take Miss Gillberry to the Moonrise Suite," he said. The servant boy stifled a sigh, picked the bugs up again, and lead the hyper-active girl to the Moonrise Key suite.