Thronegarden

by Andrew Dickerson

  “I don’t suppose we could stop for a quick snack?” the gluttonous rabbit queried.

  “No,” both Rat and Damselfly answered in unison.

  Tyten had placed soldiers on every level of the castle. Working in pairs, they patrolled every staircase and bolt hole. Thankfully, Rat was familiar with routes that had been forgotten centuries ago. The orphan boy was masterful at discovering fresh paths and some of those they passed through were so covered in dust that it looked as though no one had stepped foot in them before.

  “Thank you for bringing me back here,” Damselfly said.

  “It’s nothing,” Rat shrugged.

  “No, without your help I never would have escaped the castle to begin my quest, not to mention you were the one who gave me Buttons for my birthday. It feels so long ago now.”

  “A lot has changed since you’ve been gone,” Rat replied.

  They travelled steadily upwards, avoiding any creaky board or stair that might give away their presence. Just as Damselfly felt sure they must be reaching the higher levels of the castle, Rat turned to her with a finger to his lips, emphasising the need for silence. Buttons struggled with being quiet though his fear was able to hold back his words.

  “Just through here,” Rat advised, sliding back an old oil painting to reveal a hidden gap in the wall.

  Damselfly went first, ducking to avoid hitting her head. Buttons followed close behind, so they both fell into the next room together.

  “Nice of you to join us.”

  Damselfly looked up to discover Luyna smiling like a hyena and sitting in a chair her mother had often favoured when entertaining. The princess discovered that the parlour was also occupied by Judge Vale and Luyna’s twin daughters. Rat hung in the opening, uncertain where he should put himself.

  “It is like my dream from the Dreamgarden,” Damselfly recalled.

  Rat at least had the decency to avert his eyes when she stared accusingly at her betrayer.

  “You have done well.” Luyna praised the boy who smiled shyly. “Come sit by my side.”

  Rat scrabbled across the room awkwardly. His hair looked wilder and his clothes shabbier in contrast to Luyna and her daughters’ sophisticated beauty.

  “Why?” Buttons asked.

  “He wished to visit the royal apartments and I guess now he will get it,” Damselfly answered bitterly.

  “I didn’t…” Rat started.

  “You do not need to explain yourself,” Luyna interrupted. “This girl is a criminal and you served your people well by bringing her to us.”

  “I am not the criminal, you are,” Damselfly accused.

  From a darkened corner, Blakast the usurper appeared, showing a row of teeth beneath his shadowed cowl.

  “Do not speak to my mistress like that!”

  While Buttons cowered behind her, Damselfly stood her ground, armed with the truth.

  “She tricked you worse than any of us,” the princess revealed.

  “She made you steal the timepiece for her and then gave you a small taste of magic so that you would crave more and become her puppet.”

  “Do not listen to her lies,” Luyna contradicted.

  “You did not expect him to steal the artefact though, did you?” Damselfly questioned. “You were happy he was exiled to the Evergarden, another loose end you did not have to worry about,” Damselfly accused.

  “The Never always tries to fool me.” Blakast struggled with his inner demons.

  “We are together now and that’s all that matters,” Luyna replied, her yellow eyes flashing dangerously.

  “You had everyone believing that the Fairy King stole time when all along it was you,” Damselfly continued.

  Rat and Judge Vale both looked surprised at this revelation, although Luyna did not seem concerned by her allies’ reactions.

  “The Fairy King believed he had banished Death. In the end only I had the conviction to actually achieve it,” Luyna bragged.

  “You stole so much from everyone,” Damselfly castigated. “You took away Uriel’s chance to be a mother, created an eternal winter in Wintergarden and drained magic from the Magicgarden.”

  “A rather useful consequence,” Luyna smiled.

  “What about Thronegarden, when there is no water left for crops or cattle, what will you do then, rule over a land of dust?”

  “Such things are none of your concern,” Luyna stated.

  “I will not stand by and let you get away with this,” Damselfly threatened.

  Luyna grinned alarmingly, showing pristine white teeth between her blood red lips.

  “Your uncle Abeldine spoke very similar words to me once, before I twisted his mind around my fingers.”

  “It was you who cursed my uncle,” Damselfly flared.

  “Your mother was suspicious of me too, so I had to get her out of my way,” Luyna confessed.

  “My father as well,” Damselfly realised.

  “Your whole family, the great Thrane dynasty, is beholden to me and very soon you will be too,” Luyna predicted.

  “Never,” Damselfly rebelled, though secretly she was frightened of what the sorceress might do to her. “I did not come back from the Evergarden alone. My friends will come for me when I do not return and then you will be sorry.”

  “Let them come,” Luyna responded confidently.

  “Tyten will deal with your little friends, and if not I have you as my hostage.”

  Damselfly looked at Rat for support, though the orphan boy was staring at Celeste and Coral, who were poignantly ignoring him. Judge Vale shrank in his seat until he almost disappeared, and Blakast was talking to himself in a dialogue that only he could understand.

  “You are alone,” Luyna chided.

  Before Damselfly could respond, the whole castle shook and, echoing up from below, they heard the first sounds of battle.

  Delridden had been uneasy about letting Damselfly enter the castle alone. He did not know the boy Rat and Buttons would not be much help in an emergency. From the moment they departed, Delridden was pacing like a caged animal, even the Matriarch could not assuage his anxiety. In truth, though he was loath to admit it, Delridden had become extremely fond of the princess. She had restored his purpose and given him hope that he might reunite with Uriel. Regaining his family was only part of it, because now he felt that Damselfly was his family, and when Orion had taken her away in the Shadowgarden, it had felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Delridden might not have any familial bonds to Damselfly; still, he had adopted her in his heart, and he was certain that Uriel would agree with his decision.

  “We cannot just stand around doing nothing,” he stated, for the hundredth time.

  “They have been gone a while,” the Matriarch agreed.

  “What can we do? The castle is well-fortified,”

  Bakka enquired.

  “I don’t care how many men stand between me and Damselfly, it will not be enough to stop me,” Delridden vowed.

  While the Matriarch questioned her companion’s wisdom, she was also growing worried about Damselfly and she had spent enough time waiting.

  “We will go in and hope it is enough,” the sorceress concluded.

  All of their followers were eager to help Damselfly despite the odds being against them. The Peritwinkle volunteered to charge the gates, and once they were open,

  Delridden would lead the first wave through.

  The castle gate was fifteen feet high and twelve feet wide, yet it sprung open like a mousetrap when the Peritwinkle bulldozed his way through it. Immediately, he became a large target for the waiting soldiers who shot arrows and threw spears at him from behind a barricade. Delridden wasted no time leading his men through the castle entrance. Villagers from Wintergarden and Shades from Shadowgarden made up the majority of his army with the Matriarch adding her magical prowess to the invasion. The soldiers all wore bronze armour with the Thrane family crest embossed on the metal. None of them realised that the owl sitting upon the tre
e was actually one of the attackers, and rather than worry about the fighting here, Phoebus went in search of Damselfly on his own. Delridden could not fly so he was forced to fight for every inch as his small group met a strong resistance from the household guards. The Peritwinkle was little use in tight areas as they fought up staircases and in narrow corridors.

  “This is taking too long,” Delridden cursed.

  “There is nothing more we can do,” the Matriarch replied. “I am not powerful enough to wave so many men aside.”

  Delridden could see that their path was successfully blocked. It would take a miracle to get past so many vigilant defenders, and who knew what might happen to Damselfly in the meantime. Without a better option Delridden fought twice as hard, his sword seemed to be everywhere at once, and the castle guards were pushed back although they did not break. Tyten had been watching the conflict with satisfaction. His men were well ensconced and the invaders too few. The leader of his opposition refused to accept his situation and the heroic effort he was showing was encouraging his own forces to keep going. Tyten considered himself the greatest swordsman in Fable. He had sacrificed love, companionship and a family for his duty as Captain of the Guard. Now, standing before him was a real threat to his dominion, and no man could call Tyten a coward.

  Passing through the lines of his own men, Tyten drew his blade and set his sights upon the opposition leader. Delridden glimpsed Tyten heading his way. The Captain of the Guard was dressed in gold armour with a helm that covered his face except for a pair of fierce blue eyes. Tyten’s long golden hair fell down his neck like a mane making him an intimidating figure. Delridden had fought many battles and he did not shy away from this latest challenge. Both warriors knew that the quickest route to victory was through each other. As the lines of fighters seemed to move aside, Tyten struck first bringing his sword down hard in a movement that would have slain Delridden had he not brought his own blade up to parry. For a brief moment the ’combatants’ eyes locked before Tyten drew back, feinted left and then struck right. His blade missed Delridden’s side by an inch and cut through his thin shawl before whirling back around like a striking snake and passing a hair’s breadth from Delridden’s throat.

  “I have been training for this my entire life,” Tyten boasted.

  Delridden was already breathing heavily. His opponent was obviously very skilled with superior footwork and heavy armour. To defeat such an adversary Delridden would need to be patient and cunning if he hoped to survive. As the duo once again came together with blades bared, they both heard a noise from behind them. Briefly distracted from their own personal duel, Delridden and Tyten witnessed a flood of castle residents rushing down the stairs to join in the battle. Led by Pilgrim the makeshift army fell on their protectors with whatever weapons they could find; Bullan the Master of Hounds carried a chain while Balius the Master of Horses wielded a bullwhip. The kitchen staff were well represented too; Swelter the Butcher charged into the fray with a cleaver raised high above his head while Skowl the Cook brought a carving knife, and Kale the Baker swiped at any soldiers with a pair of rolling pins. With his men facing challengers from both sides, Tyten was forced to retreat, awarding the ground level to the invaders while defending the steps that led higher up.

  “Thank you for your support,” Delridden welcomed the reinforcements.

  “If you are looking for Luyna she has barricaded herself in the royal apartments,” Pilgrim explained.

  “Have you seen Damselfly?” the Matriarch asked.

  “She is alive?” Pilgrim questioned.

  “Yes, we brought her back with us from the Evergarden,” Delridden revealed.

  The castle residents cheered at this news. Luyna had kept them in the dark about her reasons for increasing security around the castle, and now they had even greater reason to keep fighting.

  “It will not be easy and many of you may get hurt,” Delridden warned.

  “We are with you,” Pilgrim pledged, and the others behind him swiftly agreed.

  “Then follow me.” Delridden renewed their charge up the castle tower.

  Luyna could not block out the sound of battle being waged below them. She sat icily in her chair and snapped at anyone who spoke above a whisper. Rat was perched on his heels, trying to get Coral and Celeste to notice him, while Blakast remained in a dark corner mumbling nonsense to himself. Damselfly and Buttons were straining to hear what was happening beneath their feet, though it was impossible to really know how the fighting was going from so far away.

  “Let us go,” Damselfly demanded.

  “Be quiet, child, or I will turn you into a frog,” Luyna intimidated.

  One look from the sorceress was enough to still the princess’s tongue; despite her bravery, only a fool would test Luyna’s threats in her current mood. To everyone’s surprise, the door to their room suddenly opened. Damselfly briefly hoped it would be her friends coming to rescue her, though these expectations were dashed as she recognised Orion, swathed in his usual red cape, step into the room.

  “Brother, you are just in time to celebrate our victory,” Luyna heralded.

  “What is going on?” Orion questioned, seeing Damselfly and Buttons.

  “It is all under control,” Luyna pronounced.

  “How did they return from the Evergarden?” Orion queried.

  “I will explain everything, just not now,” Luyna promised.

  Damselfly knew this was her only chance to speak up. Despite her long-standing distrust of Orion, it was clear that he had been unaware of all Luyna’s plots.

  “Blakast blasted a hole in the Evergarden, using the stolen artefact from his trial,” the princess revealed.

  “Shut up,” Luyna hissed.

  Orion glimpsed the usurper curled up in a corner and turned back to Damselfly for further enlightenment.

  “He stole the artefact just as he stole the timepiece, for her,” Damselfly pointed accusingly at Luyna.

  Orion looked unconvinced until he looked in his sister’s yellow eyes and glimpsed the truth.

  “It was you,” Orion reeled.

  “I did it for us,” Luyna pleaded.

  The Children of the Moon looked at each other from across the room, their dual crescent birth marks revealing how much they were a part of one another.

  “The king and queen, that was you?” Orion realised.

  “She would be dead already if you had not interfered,” Luyna raged.

  Orion stepped forward placing his hands on Luyna’s shoulders. The siblings seemed to only see each other, and Damselfly wondered if she could reach the door while they were distracted.

  “I do not blame you, it is our curse,” Orion voiced.

  Damselfly remembered the fairy tale about The Children of the Moon and these lines particularly held a new perspective for her.

  Your children will be born with the moon’s mark,

  So you know my words are true,

  One will be fair the other dark,

  One will be a gift the other will be the death of you.

  “I have spent my whole life trying to protect you,” Orion stated. “And to protect others from you.”

  A single tear rolled down Luyna’s cheek, the first Damselfly had ever seen the sorceress shed.

  “I will not let you hurt the child.” Orion let go of Luyna who slumped without her brother’s support.

  Turning his back, Orion walked over to where Damselfly and Buttons were being kept prisoner and stood protectively before them.

  “I’m sorry for believing the worst of you,” Damselfly apologised as Orion stood bravely between them and his sister.

  “We need the girl,” Luyna argued. “She is the last Thrane. We cannot rule Fable while a single heir remains.”

  “We are not here to reign but to serve,” Orion answered.

  “These regents are not superior to us. We wield magic and have power they could only dream of,” Luyna spat.

  “You sound like the Fairy King,” Orion a
rgued.

  “I am better than the Fairy King!” Luyna screamed.

  In her emotional state the sorceress pulled the timepiece from her robes, and every eye in the room was drawn to Death’s greatest weapon.

  “The Fairy King was terrified of death; I control death,” Luyna demanded.

  “You have gone too far,” Orion warned. “I cannot let you lose any more of your humanity, or you will be lost to yourself.”

  “Stand aside,” Luyna ordered.

  “No.” Orion raised his chin and stood his ground.

  “Move aside,” Luyna screamed.

  “If you want to kill the girl you will have to kill me first.” Orion delivered his ultimatum.

  Luyna was growing unhinged; her hair had fallen across her face, which was red with anger and tears. Damselfly thought for a moment that they were safe. Luyna could not bring herself to harm her twin brother, and Orion was refusing to back down. Everyone had taken their eyes off Blakast.

  Hearing his mistress’s distress, he sought to remove the cause of it. Sneaking up behind Orion, the usurper plunged a dagger into the magician’s back, right up to the hilt. Luyna and Damselfly screamed as the blade sank deeper.

  “No.”

  Orion fell to his knees, the life already draining from his eyes. Luyna knelt before her brother, trying to save his life with magic.

  “What have you done?” Luyna cursed Blakast who retreated back to his corner, like a scolded dog, unable to understand why his mistress was angry with him.

  “I cannot save you.” Luyna admitted defeat as the blood continued to flow from her brother’s mortal wound.