Thronegarden

by Andrew Dickerson

  “Uriel would know what to do,” she whispered to herself.

  “What was that?” Buttons enquired sleepily.

  “We have to speak with Uriel,” Damselfly stated.

  “How? We’re locked in and there is a guard outside,” Buttons questioned.

  “I don’t know but there must be a way.”

  “This is what got us in trouble to begin with,” Buttons warned.

  Damselfly shook the nagging feeling of guilt as she assessed everything in the room for an opportunity to escape. There had to be something she could use, something that they had missed. The room was full of books and old toys scattered across the floor in abandon. The princess began searching through the disorganised piles, looking for inspiration. She came across one of Trigger’s old chew toys and felt another surge of regret. After her father had finished his lecture, the Dalmatian had entered the room with his tail wagging madly. Damselfly had been so upset that she had turned away from the animal who had left the room with his tail tucked between his legs. Damselfly swore to make it up to Trigger once she escaped from her current captivity. There were a lot of people that she hoped would forgive and understand the motive behind her behaviour. She could only imagine how furious her father would be if he discovered her missing again.

  “There is nothing here,” she cursed, sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed.

  “Perhaps it is for the best,” Buttons reasoned.

  Damselfly rested her head upon her arms that were balanced on both knees. Something crept into her peripheral vision, and she jumped to her feet in excitement. “My wings,” she exclaimed.

  Orion had taken all her possessions, yet he had not known the fairy wings had been enchanted with magic to enable her to fly. Running to the window, Damselfly threw it open, giving her a beautiful view of Thronegarden from the top of the castle.

  “We can fly out here and circle back round,” Damselfly suggested excitedly.

  “What about your damaged wing?” Buttons pointed out. “Last time we nearly crashed.”

  “You’re right,” Damselfly agreed, looking at the hole in her wing from the Sprite spear.

  Taking off her wings, the princess disappeared back into the sea of discarded objects and returned holding a roll of tape.

  “This will do the job,” she claimed.

  Buttontail watched nervously as Damselfly patched up the hole zealously and shrugged back into the wings.

  “Come on, Buttons,” the princess urged.

  Buttontail struggled between loyalty to his friend and his fear of everything that waited outside this room. With a backward look, the scared rabbit scrambled into Damselfly’s arms, and without any further delay she thrust them out of the window. Damselfly’s wings flapped in the wind, struggling to keep them steady. Buttons held on tight and closed his eyes to avoid catching sight of the terrifying drop below. Damselfly fought determinedly against the elements as she spotted an aperture in a lower level. Pushing them towards the opening, Damselfly stretched for the windowsill, only to find her fingers slip, and almost propelled them down to the ground. With a desperate lurch, the princess managed to drag them safely inside, before they collapsed on the cold stone floor with a piece of tape sticking to Damselfly’s face.

  “Let’s not do that again,” Buttons added.

  “At least we made it,” the princess registered. “Now we just have to find Uriel without being seen.”

  It felt strange creeping around their own home, though Damselfly could only imagine what her father would say if he caught them. Putting that out of her mind, she concentrated on reaching Uriel who would know what to do. It was difficult to judge what part of the story she was most looking forward to sharing with the sorceress. The corridors were eerily silent as they stalked amongst the lingering shadows. There were no signs of habitation and the whole castle felt neglected. As they neared the dungeons’ entrance, Damselfly could make out two high-pitched voices. Even from a distance there was no mistaking who they belonged to.

  Celeste and Coral.

  The Children of the Moon were the only other youngsters that resided in the royal apartments. As twins they had always ganged up on Damselfly and teased her mercilessly.

  Although the princess no longer felt like a little girl and wished to confront her bullies, it would not be wise to reveal herself as no doubt Celeste and Coral would run straight to their mother, Luyna.

  “What are they doing?” Buttons questioned.

  Damselfly could not make out their words, so she carefully snuck closer to overhear their juvenile conversation. Just as she began to comprehend the girls’ meaning, Damselfly realised they were not alone. Tyten, the Captain of the Guard was standing like a statue before the doorway they would need to enter the dungeon. He stood in full armour which was embossed with the Thrane family crest. The lone tree with an owl perched in the branches. Damselfly remembered the scene exactly from her dreams and momentarily forgot to listen in as Celeste and Coral argued.

  “I will be queen before you because I’m older,” Celeste bragged.

  “Only by a few minutes,” Coral disputed.

  “I’m also prettier, aren’t I, Tyten?” Celeste twirled a finger through her fair hair.

  The Captain of the Guard remained resolutely silent as the young twins continued their sibling dialogue.

  “Tyten thinks you look more like a frog than a princess,” Coral teased.

  The Children of the Moon squabbled pettily before Tyten finally abandoned his statuesque demeanour to pull them apart.

  “The young ladies should be getting back to their mother,” Tyten instructed.

  “Only if you tell us who you like best,” Celeste bargained.

  “I couldn’t possibly choose between two such beautiful ladies.”

  Coral and Celeste skipped off together, forgetting their earlier feud in light of the soldier’s kind words. Damselfly felt a stab of betrayal at Tyten’s behaviour. She knew the Captain of the Guard was honour-bound to protect the throne, though she had always believed he did it for more than just duty. Tyten whose long golden hair made him look every inch the prince himself, yet after a fortune teller had told him he would be defeated by love, the soldier had spurned all romantic entanglements in favour of a life of discipline. This revelation at least made tricking Tyten to enter the dungeon easier. After some convincing, Buttons agreed to run along the corridor. When Tyten spotted the escapee, he pursued, leaving the way clear for Damselfly to slip through into the dark stairway that led down to the dungeons and Uriel.

  As the princess descended the narrow steps, she heard a low voice drifting upwards from the impenetrable gloom. Slowly, the words became comprehensible, and Damselfly realised someone was singing.

  Girl in a Cage

  Like a moth to the flame,

  I sit a girl in a cage,

  With no voice or name,

  Even the sunlight appears beige.

  The shadows are my only audience,

  My heart and mind remain trapped,

  As I have only patience,

  A promise to be kept.

  Though hope knows no barrier,

  Even for a girl in a cage,

  Faith is my strength, love my power,

  This isolation is but a stage.

  The voice went silent as Damselfly approached the cell. It was too dark to make out anything, and the princess followed where the sound had originated until she came upon the bars.

  “Uriel,” she whispered.

  It was unlikely anyone would overhear their conversation, being so far under the castle and surrounded by stone, though the oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon made it feel safer to keep your voice down.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, Princess Damselfly.”

  Uriel appeared close to the bars, allowing Damselfly to catch sight of her silhouette. There was a waver in the prisoner’s voice that suggested delicacy.

  “Do I know you?” she asked.

&
nbsp; “I came here once before and you helped me,” Damselfly recalled. “Now I am here to help you.”

  “No one can help me,” Uriel cried.

  Damselfly tried to look around for inspiration, but the cage door was locked, and without Bakka’s skeleton key there was no way she could release Uriel.

  “You gave me a token for the Garden Gate, and I went on an adventure to restore time for my mother and your unborn child. I met The Matriarch and Eloise; they miss you.”

  “I can’t remember,” Uriel struggled, holding her head in both hands.

  Damselfly could see a familiar look in Uriel’s eyes. She had glimpsed it in her uncle’s eyes just before he had lost his mind.

  “Uriel, you will never believe who I met,” Damselfly continued. “I found him, I found Kimson.”

  Uriel sobbed pitifully, and the princess could not tell if she understood. A feeling of morosity seemed to permeate the chamber walls, poisoning the very air they breathed as Damselfly felt herself close to tears at her failure.

  “I had the key and the bell which could have gotten me to the Evergarden. I was so close to restoring time yet I failed and now we are both trapped.”

  “Girls in a cage,” Uriel stated.

  “Yeah, girls in a cage,” Damselfly agreed.

  A light illuminated their gloomy scene, and Damselfly turned to see a small party descending the stairs. It was too late for evasion and there was nowhere to hide, so the princess remained by the cage, waiting. Luyna led the group holding Buttons up by his waistcoat. The rabbit kicked futilely and looked at Damselfly with regret in his eyes. Tyten, along with four other soldiers, followed the sorceress, looking grim, and her heart dropped.

  “You have really done it this time,” Luyna sentenced.

  “I told your father not to be soft on you and he would not listen. Well, now he will have no choice.”

  “I just wanted to help,” Damselfly responded weakly.

  “You have disobeyed your father, put your own life at risk and endangered others who have been pulled into your foolhardy fantasy,” Luyna lectured.

  “I had to do something,” Damselfly retorted. “I could not stand by and let everything I care about slowly disappear.”

  “This is not a game or one of your precious stories,” Luyna refuted. “There will be consequences for your actions, princess or not.”

  “I don’t care,” Damselfly argued, her ire rising. “I wouldn’t change what I did and given the chance I would do it again.”

  “You tell her, Damselfly,” Buttons supported from the sorceress’s grip.

  “I am disappointed,” Luyna said, turning to the animated rabbit.

  “I created you to be afraid to keep the princess in line; it seems in that I failed,” Luyna revealed.

  Damselfly watched as Buttons’ face fell at the truth of his origin, before she was surrounded by soldiers and dragged away to her own prison cell.

  Damselfly had been in a daze since Luyna had discovered her outside Uriel’s cell. Kept in complete isolation, the princess had been unable to sleep and now existed in a permanent malaise. If she was not terrified about her mother’s condition, Damselfly fretted over Buttons who had looked devastated by Luyna’s cruel revelation. Then there were all those people she had met on her adventure, who were depending on her. The villagers of the Wintergarden, the Matriarch who had placed her last hope of keeping magic alive in her, and, of course, the Shades who were right now prisoners like her. When Damselfly believed matters could not get any worse, Coral and Celeste had stood outside her door whispering terrible things. Damselfly had tried to ignore the spiteful twins, though it did not stop the tears from soaking her dress. It was Tyten who finally entered the room, wearing his shining armour and formidable broadsword.

  “You have been summoned,” was all he would say.

  Damselfly, who was initially glad to be leaving her confinement, soon discovered to her dread that she was being led to Judge Vale’s court. With Tyten leading the way, and two other stalwart soldiers on either side, Damselfly was led down to the upper levels of the castle beneath the royal apartments. The court room was surprisingly empty, although that did not stop Damselfly from feeling like her stomach was doing somersaults. Judge Vale was sitting on his plinth while Luyna was standing before the vacant benches, looking enchanting in a light blue dress with her golden hair tied up in a bun. Damselfly felt a shiver run down her spine as the sorceress looked at her with those yellow feline eyes. The princess was led into the defendant’s position by Tyten before the soldiers withdrew to a respectful distance, and Judge Vale drew everyone’s attention by bringing down his gavel.

  “Court is in session,” he declared dramatically despite the lack of audience. “Lady Luyna, when you are ready.”

  Damselfly had thought the benches were empty; however, she noticed now that two people were sitting near the back, and she recognised Old Nana being comforted by her husband, Pilgrim. It felt slightly better knowing that she was not completely alone although that feeling was soon to fade.

  “This child has abandoned her duties, caused grief to her family and put many lives including her own at severe risk,” Luyna barked.

  Judge Vale adjusted his tiny spectacles on his large nose and peered through them with tiny dark eyes that looked like pinpricks.

  “This girl entered a restricted area through nefarious means before leaving the castle without permission and running amok. Without thought or consideration for her father, mother or the kingdom she is supposed to represent.”

  “That’s not true,” Damselfly interrupted.

  “Order, order.” Judge Vale slammed his gavel authoritatively.

  “You will have your chance to speak later.”

  Luyna smiled coldly at Damselfly before continuing her verbal assault.

  “Due to her thoughtless actions, I was forced to send my brother chasing half way around Fable to keep her safe and bring her back.”

  The proceedings were briefly unsettled by a latecomer who attempted to sneak into the courtroom and only succeeded in drawing more attention. Damselfly was surprised to see Gregorian the gatekeeper take a seat, near the front where he watched dutifully. Luyna, who had been unbalanced in her conviction for a moment, pressed on, speaking a litany of half-truths and accusations against Damselfly like she was some base criminal.

  “I call Pariah as my first witness,” Luyna announced.

  The Master of Bells, whose title was mostly ceremonial since the knowledge of bells had dwindled, obediently appeared and walked to the front where everyone could hear him.

  “Tell us a little about the magic of bells,” Luyna introduced.

  “Well, much of the knowledge about bells has been lost over many generations. We know that Death possessed the bell Sereth which was called ‘the voice of death’ and gave him great power. We also believe there was a sister bell known as Genesis ‘the voice of life’ though where this object might be is lost to legend.”

  “Were these two bells the only ones made?” Luyna posed.

  “No, there are records of other bells created and designed for different purposes,” Pariah explained.

  “Unfortunately, there is no one alive today that truly understands the origin or mastery of fusing magic with bells.”

  “Would you say that bells represent the greatest danger from magic?” Luyna questioned.

  “It depends on the wielder, though it is fair to say that the power these bells can bring others is potentially a great threat to the wider community.”

  “Exhibit A.” Luyna revealed the bell that Damselfly had won in the Shadowgarden.

  Judge Vale nearly toppled from his perch trying to catch sight of the rare artefact.

  “What do you make of this specimen?” the sorceress asked.

  “Be careful, Lady Luyna,” Pariah pleaded.

  “You are frightened of this bell?”

  “Without studying it further, I cannot know what damage it could do; no one does,” Par
iah warned.

  “It does not ring,” Luyna revealed, flourishing the bell recklessly.

  “That was extremely dangerous,” Pariah criticised. “We do not know the bell’s purpose.”

  “You talk as if the object has cognizance,” Luyna scoffed.

  “The truth is unknown.”

  Luyna placed the bell down carefully, bringing a joint exhalation of relief from the attendants as the sorceress continued her diatribe.

  “One fact we can all agree on is that this artefact is too dangerous for a child to possess.”

  “I would like to know how she came to have such a treasure in the first place,” Pariah said.

  “Please stick to answering the questions,” Judge Vale interposed.

  “I am certain she stole it,” Luyna condemned.

  Again, Damselfly leapt to her own defence, only to be silenced by a venomous judge whose face was turning red.

  “You will get your chance later.”

  The princess dropped into her seat, feeling like it was a mile down. When she finally raised her eyes, Damselfly noticed the orphan Rat watching from high above on the gantry. Damselfly remembered watching Blakast’s trial from that same spot in what felt like a lifetime ago. Rat was not the only fresh observer as the benches now boasted a fresh group of onlookers.

  Damselfly recognised her tutor Palen along with Professor Drawbridge, sitting beside Doctor Garland and Nurse Vial. It seemed word of Damselfly’s trial was getting out and Luyna peered at the growing crowd with suspicion.

  “I call my second witness,” Luyna announced. “Librarian Scroll.”