Thronegarden by Andrew Dickerson (top rated books of all time .txt) 📕

forward at the parade as a playmate for her daughter, before dismissing the idea of allowing a peasant to be companion with her princess daughter. The queen still believed she could save the day by giving Damselfly exactly what she wanted, a close family occasion that they had enjoyed before their family had become royalty.

“Where is my husband?” she asked Luyna.

“The king is occupied,” Luyna replied coldly.

“Too busy for his daughter’s birthday?”

Luyna did not respond or try to intercede as Etherelle pushed past her towards her husband’s’ study; there was no question that the sorceress could have stopped her if she wanted to, but the line of command held. King Handel had changed seismically in the last few years so that Etherelle barely recognised her own husband. It had begun during the Thrane rebellion against the Fairy King when he had gone from a mild-mannered farmer to a soldier. Handel had been in awe of his older brother, Abeldine, who had been named king after the Fairy King was exiled to the Evergarden. When Abeldine had started losing his mind, it had stolen something from Handel, and the burden of responsibility once he had succeeded his brother to the throne had changed him forever. The key was in the lock as Etherelle opened the door to her husband’s sanctuary. Inside she was met by a consuming darkness and bitter cold that sent shivers down her spine. There was a tangible silence that the queen felt hesitant to break so she simply continued forward until a single guttering candle revealed a stark silhouette of the man she had once known.

“Handel,” she gasped at her husband’s appearance.

The king’s black hair had turned silver, making him appear decades older. His eyes seemed weak and sensitive to light. His regal clothes hung off him like they were several sizes too large and even his ring of office slipped from his fingers of ice.

“What is wrong, husband?” Queen Etherelle knelt at her lover’s side.

“I am fine,” Handel replied absently.

“Aren’t you cold?” the queen asked, feeling the chill in her partner’s hand.

“I am perfectly fine,” the king answered absently. “Orion takes good care of me.”

“It is our daughter’s birthday today,” Etherelle explained.

“How can it be when yesterday is today and there is no tomorrow,” the king queried.

“I think the best present we could give our daughter is to all be there for her,” the queen requested.

“Daughter?” The king seemed confused and it broke Etherelle’s heart.

“Damselfly.”

The name seemed to rekindle something within the broken shell that was her husband; his eyes became more responsive and he nodded his head defiantly.

“Of course, I will attend my daughter’s birthday,” he stated firmly though when he attempted to stand the effort was too much.

“Let me help you, my dear,” Etherelle responded.

Placing a large robe across her husband’s shoulders, which hid much of his recent atrophy, she allowed him to lean on her as they left the freezing room and walked across to the balcony. As the king moved, he seemed to grow in stature and strength so that he could soon walk unaided, a tiny spark illuminated his dulled eyes and a half smile seemed to cross his face.

“This is a new beginning for all of us,” Queen Etherelle promised.

“Yes, I believe you are right, darling,” the king acquiesced.

During her ‘parents’ absence, Damselfly had been looking out over the balcony with her rabbit clutched tight to her chest. She was trying to remember what the moon and stars looked like since they had been absent for so long. Old Nana always told stories about the moon and stars; now they seemed more like characters from a story rather than actual entities.

“Why did you choose that filthy bunny?” Coral asked disgustedly.

“Maybe because it is ugly just like her,” Celeste joined in.

Damselfly noticed that Coral was wearing brand new shoes and Celeste had on a gold necklace, both of which were presents donated for her birthday. Instead of bringing this up, Damselfly attempted to ignore the twins, focusing instead on imagining the moon and stars. The children of the moon, so called for their crescent-shaped birthmarks, were not accustomed to being ignored and they definitely did not like being ignored by Damselfly.

“Stop it,” Damselfly cried as Celeste pushed her.

“Or what?” Coral asked.

“I will tell my mother,” the princess warned.

“Well, our mother will never believe you,” Celeste grinned.

Before Damselfly could react, Celeste tore the toy rabbit from her grasp and held the stuffed animal over the balcony.

“Give it back,” the princess begged.

“Is this the only kind of friend you can make?” Celeste laughed, enjoying the attention.

“Maybe we’ll send you over the balcony too,” Coral threatened.

Damselfly felt something inside tighten up as she closed her fists in anger and lashed out at Celeste who stumbled back, surprised by the sudden attack.

“What did you do that for?” she demanded.

“Give me back my rabbit,” Damselfly ordered.

The confrontation had caught Orion’s attention and the sorcerer was making his way towards them from across the room. Fearing the consequences, Celeste threw the stolen toy behind her back and looked suitably innocent as her uncle descended upon them.

“Is there a problem?” Orion posed.

“No, we were just playing, Uncle,” Coral replied sweetly.

“Is that true, Damselfly?”

The princess looked at the seemingly innocent twins and back to Orion, who always made her feel small, and nodded.

“Good, then please keep the noise down,” Orion said before turning on his heel.

Damselfly breathed a sigh of relief until she heard a pair of stifled giggles. She turned round with a sense of dread and followed the twins’ gaze to where Trigger the Dalmatian was destroying her toy rabbit.

“Trigger, no,” she screamed, running over to the dog who thought that this was some kind of game and dashed away.

When the king