Thronegarden

by Andrew Dickerson

  “Boss, the others are heading in this direction,” Bullring warned.

  The Fairy King gathered his dark green robes around him and swept from the tomb. He waited patiently at the head of his army while the Matriarch approached, followed by her own troupe.

  “Do you seek another fight?” the Fairy King questioned.

  “We have all been fooled,” the Matriarch stated. “If we work together perhaps it is possible for us to get out of here and find the real culprit.”

  “We believe Luyna stole the timepiece,” Bakka added.

  “I know who took the watch,” the Fairy King revealed. “It was not Luyna.”

  The group from Thronegarden were shocked to find their logic flawed. Could they trust the Fairy King’s version of events?

  “If not Luyna then who stole the timepiece?” Delridden questioned.

  The Fairy King remembered the day he was sentenced to the Evergarden vividly. The brothers Thrane had stood regally, watching as others handled their dirty work. Tyten, the Captain of the Guard had marshalled the Sprites who hissed and spat at their captors. Luyna and Orion had stood side by side like two pieces of a puzzle while Judge Vale gave orders like a drill sergeant.

  “There was a soldier,” the Fairy King recalled. “I had seen him before though never really paid him any attention. I remember his name only because it was so unusual, Slabtak.”

  “I have never heard the name before,” Damselfly queried.

  “He had a strange look in his eyes and before I was placed on trial, he checked my robes to be sure I was not planning any last-minute schemes,” the Fairy King told.

  “I did not think anything of it until now. He was the only person who had an opportunity to steal the timepiece and replace it with a fake.”

  “Even if we believe you, how does this help us get home or recover time?” Delridden asked, frustrated.

  “You came to me for help?” the Fairy King reminded.

  “We need to create an artefact powerful enough to store large amounts of magic,” Bakka explained. “We can use the false timepiece for parts to create this object; however, we need your magic to complete the process.”

  “Why would I help you?” the Fairy King posed.

  “You’re trapped here the same as us. If you ever want to escape from the Evergarden then you had better help us,” Delridden threatened.

  The Fairy King did not seem intimidated by the warrior’s words although he was convinced enough to assist with the project. While Bakka and the Fairy King began work on the artefact, Delridden took the Matriarch aside for a quiet word.

  “We cannot allow the Fairy King to leave here or history will repeat itself.”

  “Presently, we need his help to create the artefact. Once that is done, we will find a way to make sure he does not return with us,” the Matriarch vowed.

  Blakast had been watching events from the shadows. After being betrayed by Bullring, he knew that he could not trust anyone.

  The Never was always looking to trick him.

  Blakast had hoped both sides would wipe each other out during the battle. Unfortunately, they had separated and gone their own way. The only good thing to come out of all this was the Fairy King had emerged from his long slumber. Blakast was thrilled to watch the great sorcerer wield his power and was disappointed when he did not finish off the Matriarch. Now something strange was happening. Blakast could not understand what he was seeing as both sides seemed to be working together on a new project. Blakast was concerned that The Never was twisting his vision, yet he could not deny what he was seeing: the Fairy King was helping their enemies.

  “My mistress was right about him after all,” Blakast whispered under his breath.

  Watching from his shrouded position, the usurper witnessed Bakka and the Fairy King transform the timepiece into something else. Blakast was aghast. If they were destroying the timepiece then they must have learned the truth and that meant… Was this another of The Never’s illusions?

  Blakast could hear himself breathing heavily and a pulse in his head pounded like a drum.

  “I have to get closer,” Blakast concluded.

  Luckily, the Evergarden offered excellent camouflage, especially with Blakast’s long dark robes. He was able to move within hearing distance without fear of being discovered.

  “So what happens once we create this artefact?” the Fairy King asked.

  “We believe that moonlight can break the barrier between gardens. If we can filter that inside this object then we can return to Fable,” the smith advised.

  “I thought leaving the Evergarden was impossible,” the Fairy King questioned.

  “So did we until Damselfly discovered evidence to the contrary.”

  “The girl is important,” the Fairy King considered.

  “None of us would be here without her,” the smith revealed.

  Blakast was more interested in what the unusual duo were creating. The Never had taught him that words were often deceitful. He wanted to see with his own eyes what this pair were doing. Imagine Blakast’s surprise when he recognised the artefact as his own weapon, granted to him and him alone by his mistress. The usurper was furious. Although his mind wondered if The Never was behind this, he dismissed it and allowed his anger to build.

  “I will teach them to steal from us, my mistress,” he swore.

  Once the artefact was complete, their plan hit a dead end. Without moonlight it was only a conduit and of no particular use. Damselfly inspected the artefact carefully and was impressed by the similarity of this object compared with the one she had witnessed at Blakast the usurper’s trial. With a sudden moment of clarity, the princess discovered a link that she had not considered previously, an idea that might offer an opportunity to escape the Evergarden and return home. After explaining her plan to Delridden, Bakka and the Matriarch, she finally convinced them to let her try it out. So with some trepidation, Damselfly and Buttons drifted away from the main group, taking the artefact with them. The princess was careful to make sure the artefact was visible to anyone who might be watching without making it too obvious that they were showing it off.

  “Explain the plan to me again,” Buttons requested as they walked.

  “The Fairy King said a soldier named Slabtak stole the timepiece. Having never heard the name before, I thought he must be mistaken, but what if he was right.”

  “So why have you never heard the name before?”

  “I have,” Damselfly corrected. “Slabtak is an anagram for Blakast.”

  “Blakast is the soldier who switched the timepiece,” Buttons reasoned. “So does he still have it?”

  “I don’t think so,” Damselfly replied. “He is always talking about a mistress and this plan is too intricate for his unstable mind to compose. Likely he gave the timepiece to someone else after he stole it.”

  “How does this information help us if Blakast no longer has the timepiece?” Buttons queried.

  “Well, I remembered at the usurper’s trial we saw the artefact as evidence. Then I thought how easy it would be for Blakast to have created a doppelganger and switched it for the real one just like he did with the timepiece.”

  “So you think that Blakast may have the original artefact, which would mean…”

  “It would already contain moonlight which he stole from the Wintergarden,” Damselfly concluded.

  Buttons was beginning to get excited about this new plan, yet he had one more question.

  “If Blakast has the original artefact, why hasn’t he already used it to get out of here?”

  Before Damselfly could respond, a silhouette appeared from behind them and snatched the fake artefact before fleeing into the darkness. What the thief did not know is that Damselfly’s friends had been following at a safe distance, hidden by the insentient fog. When they witnessed Blakast take the bait, they gave chase, hoping to collar the magician before he disappeared into the Evergarden’s endless shadows. Blakast instantly realised that The Never had d
eceived him once again. He attempted to use the artefact to escape his pursuers though it failed to work.

  “What is happening?” Blakast shook the useless artefact before looking inside the conduit.

  Finding the cylinder empty, the usurper continued his flight before recalling a fact The Never had been hiding from him since he arrived in the Evergarden. Blakast retrieved the original vial from his robes, and this time when he opened the conduit, a blinding light emerged.

  “He’s opened it,” the Matriarch cried out.

  “Look, it’s working,” Bakka highlighted.

  The luminescent light created a portal in the fabric of the Evergarden, allowing Blakast to pass through it. Only a few feet behind, the Matriarch followed along with Phoebus, Gregorian, the Peritwinkle, the Wintergarden villagers and the Shades.

  “Hurry, before the portal closes,” Delridden urged.

  Buttons put on a burst of speed, using his powerful hind legs, and vanished inside the portal, leaving just Delridden and Damselfly bringing up the rear.

  “Something’s got me,” Damselfly screamed.

  Delridden turned only a couple of paces from the portal. He glimpsed Damselfly and reached out for the princess, taking her hand just as something pulled them backwards. Digging in his heels, Delridden put all his strength into dragging Damselfly through the barrier with him.

  “The Fairy King has my foot,” Damselfly cried.

  “You have to let me go. We cannot risk bringing him back to Thronegarden with us.”

  “I am not leaving you again,” Delridden refused.

  With one last heave, Delridden entered the portal bringing his passengers with him.

  Chapter 18

  Time to go Home

  Damselfly landed heavily on a bed of dried grass. Ignoring the impact, she shook her leg only to discover that the Fairy King was nowhere to be seen and they had safely returned under the setting sun of Thronegarden.

  They had done it.

  They had returned from the Evergarden.

  The portal had dropped them at the Garden Gate, underneath the shadow of the castle. Gregorian was quick to point out that another gatekeeper had not been assigned.

  “I suppose they are not expecting visitors,” the Matriarch theorized.

  “Then why is the castle surrounded by soldiers?” Phoebus announced, having scouted ahead.

  “Blakast must have warned them,” Delridden cursed.

  The group gathered together in search of a plan that would avoid bloodshed on both sides.

  “We could charge the front door using the Peritwinkle as a battering ram,” Delridden suggested hopefully.

  The Peritwinkle nodded his giant head at this idea although the Matriarch was not so keen.

  “The castle is well defended by Tyten’s men. A frontal assault is playing directly into their hands, and we do not have enough fighters to break through.”

  “I have an idea,” Damselfly ventured.

  “Does it involve lunch? I’m starving,” Buttons added.

  “Not yet,” the princess explained. “First, we have to get inside the castle, and I know someone who can get us in without alerting the guards. Phoebus, can you find an orphan boy called Rat inside the castle and tell him I need help getting inside.”

  “How do you expect me, a sophisticated scholar, to communicate with a rat?” Phoebus demanded.

  “Rat is a boy and he knows the castle better than anyone,” Damselfly revised.

  “Why didn’t you say so?” Phoebus puffed out his chest and launched into the sky, heading towards the castle.

  “Are you sure this will work?” the Matriarch questioned.

  “No, but it is our best shot,” the princess stated.

  “I’m coming with you,” Delridden requested.

  “Only Buttons and I can go,” Damselfly replied.

  “Some of the passages are so small only children can fit through them.”

  “Children and rabbits,” Buttontail corrected proudly. “It sounds dangerous,” the Matriarch worried.

  “We cannot stop now,” Damselfly argued.

  While the group waited for Phoebus to return, they noticed that Thronegarden was struggling. The grass was dry and dead with no rain to sustain it. The fields which had once housed cattle and crops were bare, with only old hoof marks and weeds left behind. Faced with this desperate situation only fuelled Damselfly’s determination to see through her plan.

  “Princess, while we wait, I would like to speak with you,” Gregorian introduced.

  “Of course, what is it?” Damselfly enquired.

  “While I have the chance, I would like to thank you,” the gatekeeper offered.

  “For what?”

  “I was a hollow man before meeting you,” Gregorian confessed. “I had forgotten not only my pain but who I was. Masterless after Death fled, I was gatekeeper to a

  gate that no one used, and my life had no purpose.

  That all changed because of you, and I would like to thank you for it.”

  Damselfly was surprised at Gregorian’s gratitude, although she could witness the emotion etched into his features, and accepted his words gracefully with an embrace.

  “I am glad I did not stop you from going on this journey,” Gregorian stated.

  Damselfly had a tear in her own eye as she was released from the gatekeeper’s arms. The blurred vision did not stop her from viewing a line of people behind Gregorian who dutifully stepped aside.

  “I would also like to express my gratitude to you, Princess,” Bakka followed.

  “You’re the one who helped us,” Damselfly queried.

  “I had also given up on life and exiled myself to the Lavagarden,” the great smith reminisced. “I would still be there now if you had not come and found me. I see now that we cannot change our past mistakes, though we can try to make it right in our present actions.”

  Damselfly hugged Bakka whose hands were rough, and he smelt like a welcoming forge.

  “It is my turn to thank you,” the Matriarch expressed.

  “I haven’t done anything for you,” Damselfly questioned.

  “I was so busy watching over the Magicgarden that I forgot to actually fight for it. Magic is disappearing from Fable and if we do nothing then it will be lost forever. Without you I would never have realised that in time and so I am extremely grateful to you.”

  Next came the villagers from Wintergarden who were thankful for Damselfly’s intervention with the Peritwinkle and her assistance in battling the Sprite army led by Jinx. The Peritwinkle himself appreciated Damselfly brokering peace between the villagers and himself so now they were friends rather than enemies. The Shades were next, and as a group they thanked Damselfly for standing up for them against their nemesis, the Scorj, and although they had lost the battle, her example allowed them to continue with their heads held high. When Delridden stepped forward, the last in line, Damselfly was feeling completely overwhelmed.

  “What can I say?” Delridden started. “I lost the love of my life and because of that my heart was cold. You restored my faith in love and gave me back my identity. For that I can never repay you enough.”

  Damselfly thought her emotional turmoil was finished until Buttontail moved from her side to join the others.

  “Thank you for teaching me how to brave,” he said.

  Damselfly stood before her entourage with tears in her eyes and a sense of pride that made her feel ten feet tall.

  “I love you all,” she replied.

  The moment was concluded by Phoebus’ auspicious return. The ancient owl landed on the Peritwinkle’s back and looked around obliviously.

  “Did you find Rat?” they asked.

  “Why would I want a rat, filthy creatures,” Phoebus answered.

  “Not a rat, the orphan boy,” Damselfly clarified.

  Phoebus looked indignant at being corrected and began pruning his feathers obstinately.

  “I am here,” Rat announced.

  Rat
was exactly the way Damselfly remembered him: short for his ten years, stick-thin with long limbs and a shock of wild black tufty hair. He still wore ragged clothes,

  covered with dust from his latest excursions, and only his eyes sparkled with richness. A crow perched upon the orphan’s shoulder with obsidian feathers and a silver beak. Unlike his master, the bird’s small dark eyes were dull and lifeless.

  “I need you to get me inside the castle,” Damselfly explained.

  “It will be difficult, there are guards everywhere,” Rat warned.

  “That is why I asked Phoebus to fetch you.”

  Rat smiled at the compliment, confident in his own abilities to move invisibly through the intricate passages of the castle without detection.

  “Are you certain there is no other way?” Delridden questioned before they departed.

  “I need to find my father; only he can stop this conflict without further bloodshed,” Damselfly explained.

  “I have concerns about this plan too,” the Matriarch voiced.

  “Damselfly has earned our trust and so we will consent to this venture.”

  “Just know that I will storm this castle alone if need be, should you not return safely,” Delridden added.

  “One final thing before you go,” the Matriarch offered.

  With a touch the sorceress fixed the rip in Damselfly’s wings so they were just like new again.

  “I might not have much magic left though I can still help in my way,” she said proudly.

  After a brief farewell Damselfly and Buttons followed Rat back towards the castle. It felt strange returning home again under her own power, and yet Damselfly looked back to where her friends were gathered with greater familiarity than the castle. Having lived here all her life, there was a sense of moving backwards for Damselfly that she could not shake.

  Was this still her home?

  Rat did not talk much, so Damselfly concentrated on following without being spotted by the soldiers who were guarding the entrances. Instead of heading for the main entrance, Rat circled round to the rear of the castle where they were able to enter unseen through an old well shaft. Many years ago, the castle had been surrounded by water, which flowed via rivers across all the gardens. Those waters had long since receded though there were still some evidence left behind. The castle had a sombre atmosphere with hardly any noise; even the mice seemed to be walking on tiptoes. Once inside, Rat was easily able to keep them out of sight, using a myriad of secret passages and hidden corridors. Damselfly was instantly lost and relied entirely on her guide for direction. Buttons, who also managed to remain unusually quiet, could not stop his stomach from growling as they passed the kitchens.