“What do we do?” they beseeched.
“There is nowhere else to run or hide,” Laetitia stated.
“We will make our last stand here and let Vaxlesh watch over us.”
Many of her followers still looked poised to flee as they watched the Sprite army come ever closer. Then, with fabled resolve, they took up whatever weapons they could find and formed a narrow line of defence.
“We’re not staying here, are we?” Buttons screeched. “We can’t just leave them,” Delridden disputed.
For once Damselfly agreed with her trusted companion. There was little they could do in the coming battle and her priority was completing Death’s mission.
“Where can we find the leviathan?” she asked Laetitia.
“Amongst the ruins where our holy font once rested.”
Leaving the Shades to face their final battle, Damselfly, Buttons and Delridden headed back towards the lake.
Inside the ruins of the old Shade tower, Damselfly led them down a steep flight of stone stairs. Buttons had refused to follow until they reminded him that The Lady of the Lake might be lingering. Delridden brought up the rear though he constantly looked over his shoulder, feeling sore at leaving Laetitia and the others to fight alone. The tower was a haunted shell with pieces of stone cracking as they walked over it. The only occupants were bats and supposedly a leviathan. As they reached the final stair, Damselfly could just make out an area across the room where she could see the holy font lying discarded on the ground. Watching her step, Damselfly led them across the abandoned room and stopped at the edges of a deep well.
“What do we do now?” Buttons questioned.
“We summon the beast.” Damselfly kicked a loose rock into the water.
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Delridden said.
Suddenly the water began to ripple and break into waves before a serpentine head broke the surface. A pair of tiny eyes stared out of a ginormous blue head as the leviathan stared up at the intruders.
“Who is throwing stones?” he demanded.
“I only wanted to get your attention,” Damselfly excused.
“Why would you want to do that? I eat fish bigger than you,” the leviathan threatened.
“I heard you were good at riddles, and I have some that even you cannot solve.”
“Ha, ha, the tiny morsel thinks she can beat me,” the leviathan chuckled. “I am old as the sea and wiser than any creature who lives above water.”
“Prove it,” the princess provoked.
The leviathan slammed his giant head into the water, sending a wave of cold spray over the three of them.
“Ask me anything,” he challenged.
“First we need to agree on the rules,” Damselfly stated.
“Get on with it,” the leviathan urged.
“I will ask you three riddles. If you get them all correct you win. If you get a single one wrong then I win.”
“Fine, ask the first one,” the leviathan agreed.
“What about stakes?”
The leviathan was by now getting visibly frustrated and could hardly stay still in the water in his eagerness.
“Name them,” he ordered.
“If I win you will give me the bell Laetitia Shade threw into the well,” Damselfly continued.
Suddenly the serpent’s gaze became astute as if reassessing his opinion of them, the earlier impatience replaced by studious observation.
“What if I win?” he asked.
Damselfly searched for something to wager and discovered Bakka’s skeleton key. With a slight hesitation she showed it to the leviathan.
“Good enough,” he agreed. “Ask your riddles.”
Damselfly had heard Old Nana tell a thousand stories and many of them included riddles or puzzles that the heroes had to decipher. She quickly scoured her memory for a challenging riddle that might stump the leviathan.
“Riddle me this,” Damselfly began.
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
The leviathan looked deep in thought as they all held their breath hoping that the answer would not be forthcoming. After some deliberation the serpent bobbed his large head confidently.
“The answer is wind.”
“Correct,” Damselfly admitted.
“That was too easy,” the leviathan boasted. “Give me a tough one.”
“All right, see how you fare with this,” Damselfly posed.
What begins but has no end and ends all that begins?
This time the leviathan took only a few seconds to say the answer was Death, and their only opportunity of recovering the bell rested on their final riddle.
“Maybe we should take some time to discuss our options,” Delridden suggested.
“We don’t need to because this last riddle is really good,” Damselfly assured.
“Let’s hear it,” the leviathan demanded.
“What is Delridden’s real name?”
“That is not a real riddle,” the leviathan disputed.
“It most certainly is,” Damselfly grinned.
“How could I know such a thing?” the leviathan sulked.
“Are you saying you don’t know, because if you are, I win.”
The leviathan shook his large head, sending a fresh wave of water at his adversaries. Delridden still appeared concerned although Damselfly and Buttontail were looking rather pleased with themselves.
“What is his name?”
The leviathan struggled with himself, swimming from one end of the well to another in an attempt to help him think.
“What is his name?”
The leviathan was getting frustrated, turning the water into a violent froth. Suddenly, he raised his large head high out of the well so he was eye to eye with them.
“I got the first two riddles correct so I want more than one guess,” he negotiated.
“I thought you were an expert at solving riddles,” Damselfly mocked.
“Five guesses,” the leviathan stated.
“Three and that is being generous.”
“Fine,” the leviathan accepted.
Again, they waited while the sea creature pondered as he constantly muttered, “What is his name?”
A period of tense silence lasted several minutes before the leviathan ventured his first guess.
“Tom.”
“Wrong,” Damselfly replied.
The leviathan threw himself against the wall in his anger, shaking the floor below them and sending further jets of water over the edge.
“John.”
“No, only one chance left,” the princess reminded.
By now the leviathan was in such a rage, Damselfly half expected the water to start boiling.
“What is his name?” the creature bellowed.
“WHAT IS HIS NAME!”
The leviathan shook the ruins in his terrifying wrath, and yet Damselfly continued to smile cheerfully as though none of it mattered.
“Will,” the leviathan whispered.
“Wrong again, that means I win.” Damselfly celebrated with Buttons.
The princess and her faithful companion danced a small jig at their success, leaving Delridden looking bemused.
“Hand over the bell,” Damselfly said.
“Wait a moment,” the leviathan added slyly. “What is his name?”
Delridden stepped forward to answer before being silenced by the leviathan.
“This is a game between the girl and I. If she does not know the answer, then I keep the bell.”
“I do know the answer,” Damselfly revealed.
“How can you?” Delridden questioned.
“Enough debate, tell me now,” the leviathan roared. “What is his name?”
“Kimson.”
They emerged from the ruined tower, triumphant, with Damselfly holding the bell. Buttons was in high spirits though Delridden was lagging behind.
“How could you possibly know that?” he asked.
“I have never told anyone my real name since I got to Shadowgarden. Unless…”
Delridden looked at them hopefully, and Damselfly nodded with a flashing smile.
“Yes, we met Uriel.”
Back in the Thronegarden dungeon, Uriel had given Damselfly the gate token which set them on their mission. She had described a brave soldier as her true love and everything they had learned about Delridden had convinced Damselfly that this was the same man. It had been a gamble, but they had the bell, and with it they were that much closer to recovering Death’s timepiece and saving her mother.
“Where is she?” Delridden asked, stunned.
“In Thronegarden,” the princess answered vaguely.
“I went there,” he stated. “Of course I did, it was the first place I thought of though no one had seen her.”
“She attempted to reach the Evergarden and was imprisoned,” Damselfly confessed.
Delridden dropped to the ground like the words had physically struck him; the veteran soldier looked vulnerable and shocked.
“I have to find her,” he said.
“Of course, and we will help,” Damselfly promised.
“You helped us so it is the least we can do,” Buttons agreed.
“Why did she try to visit the Evergarden? It doesn’t make any sense,” Delridden questioned.
“I cannot say,” Damselfly replied. “I’m sure she had a good reason.”
“A good reason?” Delridden struggled. “A reason why she left without a word, abandoning her family and everyone who cares about her. All because of some foolish notion to visit the Evergarden, a place near impossible to reach and from which no one has ever returned.”
Delridden seemed to realise how careless his words had been the moment he spoke them. Damselfly and Buttons looked crushed at his harsh criticism of their own parallel mission.
“I’m sorry,” he apologised. “I just need to understand why she left.”
“That is your mission,” Damselfly acknowledged.
“I don’t know how I can ever thank you for what you have done,” Delridden praised. “You have given me my identity and purpose back.”
“I think you’ve saved our lives enough to repay us,” Damselfly laughed.
“Thank you.” Delridden rose to his feet, a new man.
“I will find Uriel and everything will be right again.”
“I know you will,” Damselfly gave her blessing.
“Er, guys,” Buttons interrupted. “We have a problem.”
Damselfly and Delridden turned to follow the rabbit’s gaze, and their eyes were greeted by signs of a great battle. The war for Shadowgarden had been fought and won while they were underground.
It was a scene of confusion.
A number of Sprites lay sprawled across the plain with signs of battle everywhere; a plume of smoke rose from the Shades’ huts and a sense of foreboding met the trio.
All thoughts of triumph fled Damselfly as she witnessed the carnage that had occurred while they were below ground. Delridden was especially affected, believing his sword might have made some small difference against the tide of enemies.
“Where are the rest?” Delridden questioned.
Moving reluctantly forward, Damselfly caught sight of several figures kneeling in the dirt. Behind them, stretching as far as the eye could see, was the Scorj army.
“They came,” the princess stated, though any joy died instantly.
Laetitia Shade was one of those kneeling, and Maiden Fayre was standing over her victoriously.
“What happened?” Damselfly asked. “You were supposed to help each other.”
“We did help,” Maiden Fayre replied. “Without us they would not have survived.”
“Then why treat them like this?”
“No one is taking our victory from us,” Maiden Fayre pronounced.
“It doesn’t need to be like this,” Delridden argued.
“You are not from this land so you do not understand,” Maiden Fayre demanded, her lips, stained dark red. “The Shades have treated us like nothing for too long. Now it is our time to rule this land.”
“Then be better than them,” Delridden lectured. “Do not repeat the offences that were made against your people.”
“It is too late for forgiveness,” Maiden Fayre replied. “The Shades will suffer as we have suffered.”
Damselfly caught Laetitia Shade’s eye before the young woman lowered her gaze to the ground once more.
“What made you change your mind?” the princess questioned.
“When we left Mount Duskenside, you were unconvinced about fighting at all, and now your whole army is here.”
“Not what, child,” Maiden Fayre responded. “Who.”
The Sting appeared beside his leader, wearing a cruel smile, while the Blood Brothers stood with their weapons drawn.
“A man appeared shortly after you left,” he explained. “He offered us a better deal.”
“What did he offer you?”
“A chance to get rid of the Sprite army and defeat the Shades.”
Delridden shook his head in disbelief, and Damselfly looked nervously around at the Scorj who were still all wielding their weapons.
“Who promised you this?” she queried.
A man appeared from amongst the masses, wearing a familiar red cape with a high collar; a crescent birthmark could just be made out beneath his black beard and a gold pendent hung from his neck.
“Hello, Princess,” Orion greeted.
“I have been searching a long time to finally find you. “Who is he?” Delridden asked.
“I am Orion and the king sent me to return his daughter home,” the sorcerer proclaimed.
“I have come too far to go back now,” Damselfly retorted angrily.
“I was not asking for permission,” Orion threatened.
“You heard her.” Delridden stood before his wards protectively.
A burst of light flew from Orion’s fingers and struck Delridden in the chest, flinging him backwards several feet.
“No!” Damselfly cried.
Running to the soldier’s side, Damselfly glared at Orion who stood menacingly; his features may as well have been carved from stone for all the emotion he showed.
“I will go with you,” she acquiesced.
Orion stepped forward confidently before stopping in his tracks. “What is that?” he gasped.
At first the princess was confused by everyone’s attention until she followed their gaze and realised the bell was showing on her hip as she bent over Delridden.
“You recovered the bell,” the Scorpion’s Sting said, in shocked awe.
“How?” Maiden Fayre questioned.
“You achieved what even The Lady of The Lake could not.”
“It does not matter,” Orion interrupted. “I will take the girl and the bell with me.”
“I don’t think so,” Maiden Fayre disputed.
The Scorj immediately pressed forward behind their leader, although they appeared concerned by the magician’s powers.
“No, the bell is too powerful,” Laetitia Shade warned although her words were ignored.
“We had a deal,” Orion continued. “You would not have run off the Sprite army without my support.”
“Our agreement did not include the bell,” Maiden Fayre reminded.
A tense standoff followed with everyone waiting for someone else to make the first move.
“No one else is going to get hurt because of me.” Damselfly stood, raising the bell.
“Be careful with that, child,” Orion beseeched.
Damselfly held the bell high before her and watched as everyone took a step back. She knew the magic was too powerful for it to fall into the wrong hands, though she did not trust Orion. If the bell came back to Thronegarden, it could be protected by Pariah in The Hall of Bells. Maiden Fayre calculated her odds at overcoming a powerful sorcerer and a bell
of unknown power before accepting her recent victory as sufficient reward. Orion placed a heavy hand on Damselfly’s shoulder and led her towards the gate. The princess took one last look over her shoulder at Delridden lying hurt though still alive on the ground before submitting to her captor.
They were going home.
Chapter 14
Testing Times
Damselfly was feeling miserable; her return home had been ignominious, being paraded through the castle by Orion like a naughty child. The sorcerer had confiscated Bakka’s skeleton key and the bell. Locking her away in her room, the princess had only seen one visitor, her father, King Handel, who had looked like a stranger and spoke harsh words that had caused Damselfly to burst into tears. Except Buttontail, all other visitors had been prohibited. Her nurse, Old Nana, was ushered away before Damselfly could speak with her, and a guard was stationed at her door. Kept prisoner, Damselfly could only reflect on her failure and remember the scolding words of her father.
They would not even let her see her mother.
Buttons had attempted to raise her spirits to begin with, though he soon became maudlin when they were given only bread and water twice a day. Damselfly had raged against her captors, banging on the door and throwing her belongings around the room. She had tried to bargain with anyone who would listen more times than she could count and received nothing except indifferent silence. Damselfly had hoped Death might return regarding their deal, though she was equally terrified that the old king would be angry too and take her mother away. King Handel had made it perfectly clear that she was on her last chance; even a princess was not immune to the laws of the land. Damselfly felt sure Orion was whispering poison in her father’s ear: the king had looked ancient and nothing like the kind man she recalled from her memories. Her father had taken her to visit the stables when she was
barely old enough to walk and comforted her when she had been frightened by the large bay horse. He had even allowed her to sit on his throne with him while he heard petitions from his public, and everyone in the court had laughed when she pretended to admonish the wanton landlord on trial. Those recollections brought fresh tears as Damselfly sighed heavily as the weight of her situation pressed down on her. Worst of all, Damselfly felt like she was letting so many people down: her mother Etherelle, the people of Wintergarden, the Matriarch and Delridden, who had all helped so much. A lingering thought struck the princess, one person who might be willing to help that she had not considered until now.
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