Thronegarden

by Andrew Dickerson

  “She wants to meet the king.”

  “Has she got a death wish?”

  The Sprites pulled Damselfly’s red hair, mocked her broken wing and pulled grotesque faces in an attempt to intimidate her. Princess Damselfly remembered what her mother had said about ignoring Celeste and Coral when they teased her and remained impassive.

  “Let’s take her back to Bullring before his nose falls off,” one cheeky Sprite relayed.

  Damselfly allowed herself to be escorted by the naughty Sprites, who ran and skipped beside her with glee. The princess was secretly happy too. She was about to meet the Fairy King and with him was her only chance to save her mother.

  Death’s timepiece.

  Chapter 16

  The Darkest of Times

  Rat had watched the trial from his usual vantage point high above the court. He remembered sitting in the same position with Damselfly, watching Blakast’s trial and could not believe what was happening. Rat’s dream was to visit the royal apartments, and despite winning a wish at the princess’s birthday party, he had still never been approached. Every night he went to sleep dreaming of the day he would be invited up to the highest level in the tower. His pet and friend, Midknight, the raven would wake him in the morning, only for him to discover that nothing had changed. Rat was an orphan who slept in the lowest levels of Castle Thrane with the horses and birds. His curious nature had allowed Rat to uncover almost all of the castle’s hidden passages and short cuts. Only the royal apartments remained a mystery, and Rat was determined to find a way in. After Judge Vale gave his verdict and Tyten took Damselfly away, the crowd had erupted angrily. After a few moments of shock all the benches rose as one to give their condemnation to the decision. Judge Vale was first to flee while the royal guard kept the dissenters at bay. Rat watched with interest as events unfolded with the rebels being led by Old Nana and her husband, Pilgrim. Despite their age, the two servants were greatly wounded by the princess’s exile and were oblivious to the potential harm they placed themselves in. Rat also noticed the gatekeeper amongst the crowd, which was unusual as he rarely came up to the castle. The kitchen staff along with the masters were equally unrestrained in their protest with Bullan the Master of Hounds turning red as he screamed at the soldiers blocking their path. Luyna who alone had stayed calm was beginning to grow concerned as the mob’s enmity continued to burn hotter. Rat wondered if the soldiers would be forced to draw their weapons and then Tyten returned. The Captain of the Guard was able to inspire his men with renewed confidence, together with the unspoken truth that his appearance alone meant that Damselfly had been sent to the Evergarden, momentum swung towards the soldiers. Old Nana, realising what had happened, dropped in a sheer faint. Pilgrim knelt over his wife, protecting her from the brazened crowd until the gatekeeper arrived to carry her to safety. Many of the crowd were intent on going further until Tyten ordered the soldiers to draw their swords. Faced by three dozen armed fighters, the residents of Thronegarden began to understand the futility of the current situation. In small numbers the group started to disperse. Luyna watched triumphantly, although there were many hard looks and curses sent in her direction. The people of Thronegarden had seen King Abeldine go mad. Now his brother, King Handel, was heading the same way, and Queen Etherelle, who had always been so popular, was struck down with a mystery illness. The loss of their princess in such a cruel manner was too much. Damselfly’s story, whether true or not, had caused many to raise questions that had lain dormant.

  Was there a cure for the queen? Could time be restored?

  What had happened to Death?

  Even news of other gardens had risen old alliances, with the folk of Thronegarden sympathizing with the villagers of Wintergarden and becoming concerned when they heard magic was running out in the Magicgarden. Since the rivers dried up, travel between gardens had become rarer. Few visitors came to Thronegarden and it was easy to forget that other people were struggling just as they were. Rat wondered what would happen now the sole heir of House Thrane had been exiled. Who would rule when King Handel died and would they be a good ruler or bad like the Fairy King?

  Rat travelled the length of Castle Thrane completing his many chores. Wherever he went in the castle, a tense atmosphere lingered and would not pass. People would talk in whispers and stop the moment someone else entered the room. Pilgrim who was a master storyteller had already embellished Damselfly’s tales into legends and created new ones regarding Luyna and Tyten. A petition to the king was signed by dozens of residents asking for an audience with King Handel so they could voice their grievances. Many people believed the king was unable to rule due to illness or had been manipulated into exiling his daughter. Rat also discovered, to his annoyance, that soldiers were placed on every level at all times. They watched everyone and everything which made it difficult for the orphan to spy. Gleaning information was one of the ways Rat fed himself; scraps of overheard conversations could be traded for scraps of pie crust and stale bread. Three individuals were almost exclusively blamed by the mass populace for Damselfly’s exile: Luyna, Judge Vale and Tyten.

  The Captain of the Guard was especially targeted as he was forced to face down his critiques every day when he patrolled the castle. One time a rotten tomato was thrown at Tyten by an unseen hand. Tempers almost boiled over, yet, surprisingly, it was the soldiers who backed down, realising that violence would only encourage greater resistance. Damselfly had become a martyr to the people of Thronegarden, a sign of the lost time and innocence that they had been enduring for too long. While Luyna hoped for the rebellion to fade, Rat expected further escalations to happen imminently and was not surprised when a couple of soldiers got into a scrape, arguing with Pariah when they attempted to enter The Hall of Bells. Everyone was on alert and it would only take one spark to burn the fragile peace.

  Luyna had been surprised at the reaction Damselfly’s trial had caused. She expected the residents of Thronegarden to remain passive and certainly did not predict such a violent consequence. The tension showed little sign of abating, so Luyna went in search of her greatest ally, her brother, Orion, who had barely left the queen’s side since returning from his mission to bring the princess home. Luyna disliked visiting the queen’s bedchamber as it was a place infected by dark magic. The room was ten degrees colder than anywhere else in the castle and left you feeling dirty.

  “Brother, I must ask for your assistance.” Luyna spoke from the doorway, keen to avoid any further contact with the atmosphere.

  Orion was resting close to the bed where a silhouette beneath the sheets was all that could be discerned of the queen’s fragile presence. Luyna could just make out the crescent moon mark on her brother’s face that was the twin of her own.

  “The castle is close to rebellion,” Luyna warned.

  “I cannot leave,” Orion replied without opening his eyes.

  “When will you accept the truth,” Luyna added. “Queen Etherelle is beyond redemption.”

  “While she lives, I will remain here,” Orion answered. The weariness could be heard in his voice.

  “You expect me to run everything while you sit here,” Luyna accused.

  “You brought this on yourself, sister,” Orion remarked.

  “Perhaps you are right,” Luyna responded bitterly.

  “It is best if I deal with this matter myself.”

  Leaving her brother to his vigilance, Luyna decided to seek allegiances elsewhere. Despite her powerful magic she could not hold everything together alone and clearly violence was not the answer. Luyna required a different kind of deterrent. Travelling the empty corridors of the castle, she almost crashed into her twin daughters, Celeste

  and Coral. On seeing their mother, the girls grabbed hold of Luyna’s dress in an unusual show of affection.

  “Mother, you must punish them,” Celeste cried.

  “They were being mean to us,” Coral sobbed.

  Luyna had a lot on her mind so found the unexpected intrusion exasperating.
However, she dutifully calmed the girls down until they were able to tell her what had happened.

  “We were just minding our own business,” Coral started.

  “Playing a game,” Celeste inserted.

  “When a group of those rotten performers started making fun of us,” Coral continued.

  “They said Damselfly sang like a bird and we sang like a cockerel,” Celeste confessed.

  “What were you singing?” Luyna enquired.

  “Nothing, just a little rhyme we had created,”

  Coral defended.

  In reality, the twins had been boasting about Damselfly’s exile and had been scolded by Polter and Geist, the acrobats, for doing so. Luyna guessed that her daughters were not quite as innocent as they said, though she was still furious that anyone would have the audacity to discipline her children.

  “Don’t worry, girls, I will see to it,” Luyna promised.

  Both children had a glint of mischief in their eyes as they watched their mother depart. They would enjoy hearing about how the perpetrators were punished. Hand in hand the girls skipped away singing their song.

  The princess is gone,

  Leaving the king without an heir.

  Who will the crown rest upon?

  The Children of the Moon will soon be there.

  Luyna was fuelled with indignation at her daughters’ treatment and could not hide her irritation when she came across Tyten.

  “What are you doing about this situation?” the sorceress demanded.

  “My hands are tied,” the Captain of the Guard replied. “Any show of force from my soldiers will only make matters worse. We need greater powers to deal with this insurrection.”

  Luyna understood the sense in Tyten’s request, so the two of them went to find Judge Vale to request greater powers for the castle’s guardians. Judge Vale was locked in his office, too frightened to leave amidst the animosity towards him. He had demanded two soldiers remain with him at all times for his personal protection and even that was not sufficient for him to feel safe. When Luyna suggested a new proclamation giving Tyten’s men greater authority, she found her idea met with skepticism.

  “What punishment is going to make them forget?” Vale argued.

  “We don’t need them to forget,” Luyna explained. “Just to know that any resistance will have consequences.”

  “We cannot lock up the entire castle,” Vale stated.

  “We only need to discover what these people most fear,” Luyna revealed.

  This thought gave her a fresh insight into the two men who shared her confidence. Tyten famously was driven by a prophecy that foretold his defeat by love. The captain’s whole life had been spent serving his duty and perfecting his own skills. No one in Thronegarden could wield a blade half as well as Tyten, though the captain lived alone and had no close acquaintances.

  Judge Vale loved power. He reveled in being respected and lording it over other people. His vanity was Luyna’s best chance at persuading the man to her cause.

  “We could outlaw any mention of Damselfly,” Luyna suggested.

  “How would you patrol something like that?” Judge Vale questioned.

  “My men could do it with the right support,” Tyten agreed.

  “What do you think, Vale?” Luyna requested.

  “I am not sure.”

  “Perhaps if it came from a greater authority,” Luyna considered.

  “You mean the king?” Vale questioned.

  “No, I mean Chief Justice Vale,” Luyna teased.

  Judge Vale’s fear of the mob was lost in his desire for greater accolades, and he readily agreed to Tyten and Luyna’s plan. Any mention of the exiled princess would be a crime and those found guilty would be stripped of their roles. Any further occasions of ingress would result in expulsion from the castle or a term of imprisonment in the castle dungeons.

  “That should be enough to deter these reprobates,” Luyna hoped.

  “What we really need is an example,” Chief Justice Vale proposed.

  “I have just the person in mind,” Luyna revealed, her yellow eyes shining malevolently.

  Gregorian the gatekeeper had been the first civilian of Thronegarden to witness Damselfly’s return. Escorted through the Garden Gate by Orion it had taken all of Gregorian’s willpower to stand by and watch as the princess was marched up to the castle like a prisoner. Ever since Gregorian’s first encounter with Damselfly at the very beginning of her journey, he had been struggling with the revelations she had brought him. The song about Death’s right-hand man had struck a chord with the gatekeeper, and he could no longer simply forget his past. So, abandoning his post, Gregorian had travelled up to the castle where he had watched with horrid fascination as Princess Damselfly was exiled. No one in the courtroom had ever suspected the sentence would be so harsh. Even Judge Vale seemed surprised at Luyna’s request for such a brutal punishment. In the aftermath, Gregorian had carried an unconscious Old Nana from the room after she fainted. Her husband, Pilgrim, had soon become a friend and the trio had arisen as unofficial leaders of the rebellion. Gregorian had been blessed and cursed with an incredible memory. He had made a deal with Death to have his worst memories taken away in exchange for a life of servitude. This had ended prematurely when the Fairy King had stolen Death’s timepiece and the old king had fled. Without a master, Gregorian had lived a quiet existence guarding Thronegarden’s gate, until Princess Damselfly had entered his life and washed away all the ignorance. Old Nana and Pilgrim loved Damselfly like a granddaughter. Even Old Nana’s name came from the princess although the nanny was no older than middle age. She had sacrificed a life with her husband to watch over Damselfly. In the fleeting moments the couple managed to spend together, there was always an unspoken realisation that they would have to part, and so Pilgrim would tell stories to avoid the dreaded silences. Old Nana would then impart these stories to her young charge and inspire Damselfly’s love of fairy tales. Gregorian realised that he owed his new enlightenment indirectly to the couple and was eager to repay his appreciation by helping with the current injustice. Everyone knew that no one returned from the Evergarden. That is why the Fairy King had been exiled there for eternity and why the residents of Thronegarden could not find a way to fight back.

  This did not decrease the level of emotion that continued to weigh heavily on the castle, and tension only seemed to be growing when Luyna announced that any mention of Damselfly was prohibited. This news was met with a fresh wave of anger. How could speaking about the princess be a crime? What had she done that was so reprehensible? Pilgrim who had been retelling Damselfly’s stories from the courtroom in greater and greater detail to growing audiences was the first to fall foul of this new legislation. While speaking of Damselfly’s adventure in the Lavagarden to a group of willing listeners, Pilgrim was detained by a group of Tyten’s guards who declared the bard guilty of breaching the new proclamation. Gregorian was again helpless to defend his friend, and much of the fight went out of the residents who began to accept that Damselfly would never return.

  Knowing that he could not forget even for a moment this loss, Gregorian decided with a heavy heart to leave the castle and return to his post. A feeling of defeat dragged at the gatekeeper’s heels and he kept his eyes demurely on the ground so when he finally raised them, he was astonished to discover people exiting the Garden Gate. It had been so long since anyone had arrived in Thronegarden from Fable that Gregorian was stunned. The travellers were equally astonishing in their own right. An unmistakable warrior sat astride a beautiful white horse leading the group. He was followed by a group of rough-looking fellows who were all dwarfed by an enormous beast that looked like it could eat the white horse whole. Gregorian, in his state of surprise, did not consider any danger to himself and went to greet the new arrivals.

  “My name is Gregorian the gatekeeper. Welcome to Thronegarden.”

  The warrior leapt down from the saddle gracefully and accepted the warm welcome. “I am Delri
dden. It is good to meet you.”

  “What a spectacular horse,” Gregorian commented.

  “Thank you,” Delridden replied. “Winter is one of a kind.”

  The horse swished his pure white tail in agreement and pawed at the ground.

  “These are our friends: villagers from Wintergarden, Shades from Shadowgarden and, of course, the unforgettable Peritwinkle.”

  Gregorian was once again staggered by the sheer size of this monster. Although the creature showed no signs of aggression, the gatekeeper wondered what anyone could do if the Peritwinkle attacked.

  “We are looking for a girl,” Delridden explained.

  Suddenly, Gregorian remembered Damselfly’s stories of facing down a mighty Peritwinkle who helped save the villagers of Wintergarden from a Sprite army. He recalled the princess’s adventures in Shadowgarden and how she had stood up for the Shades against the vengeful Scorj. Then Gregorian realised that they had travelled all this way for nothing and his excitement at meeting new visitors disappeared. As if events were not strange enough, an owl began circling overhead before falling from the sky, and only Delridden’s sharp reflexes stopped the bird from crashing into the hard ground.

  “I am sure there used to be a river here,” the owl squawked.

  “Many years ago, there was,” Gregorian corrected.

  “I do hate it when things change,” the owl spoke indignantly.

  “Who are you and where did you come from?” Delridden asked.

  “My name is…” The owl stopped, clicking his beak in agitation. “I am sure there used to be a river here,” he repeated.

  “Perhaps he hurt himself during the fall,” Delridden ventured.

  Gregorian, with his impressive memory, felt especially sympathetic towards the forgetful owl, and they were all wondering how to help the creature when further guests arrived. The latest arrivals did not emerge from the Garden Gate but walked up from the barren outer edges of Thronegarden which once had all been covered in water. They came from the direction of The Captive shipwreck, a pair of unlikely travellers.