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

local blacksmith stepped forward rather sheepishly and gifted Damselfly an old rusted sword that looked like it might be a better backscratcher than a weapon to slay a fearsome beast.

“Thank you all very much,” Damselfly said gratefully.

“I wish there was more time to get to know all of you. Perhaps one day there will be and I should enjoy that very much.”

Many of the crowd averted their eyes fearing these words about the future were doomed from the start. For what could a child do against a monstrous Peritwinkle?

“Come on, Buttons, it is time to go,” Damselfly announced.

The frightened rabbit was hiding behind Beatrix’s leg and shook his head with both ears flattened. Damselfly felt the refusal like a physical blow and staggered a moment before remembering her mission.

“Thank you for saving us from the Peritwinkle,” one man shouted.

“I will do my best,” the princess replied before forcing herself to take the first step in a journey that would take her into danger.

Damselfly knew her way back to the woods; with villagers having described the path and her handy map, it was a simple route. Her new coat helped keep the wind at bay although her nose and ears were stung. She utilized the sword to dig a path where the snow was thickest. Unfortunately, the tip snapped when it struck a hidden rock, and Damselfly was left with a two-foot blade with no point. Snow fell endlessly from a dark sky. There was enough light provided by the moon and stars so that Damselfly could at least see where she was headed. Wintergarden seemed a long way from home. Damselfly had never ventured this far before and the isolation was disheartening. Thinking about her mother only made Damselfly sad and the deal she had made with Death appeared impossible. Even if she could survive the Peritwinkle and Morris gave her the token that would  only get her to the Magicgarden. She would still have no way of reaching the Evergarden or stealing the timepiece from the Fairy King. The innkeeper’s story about Blakast focused the princess’s mind. She considered the possibility that moonlight could be used to break the barrier between gardens and although the idea was unproven it seemed possible. The moon had been gaining greater control ever since he escaped from The Lady of the Lake, taking dominion over the seas and instilling a mania across the land during fulfilment of the lunar cycle. Did Blakast know a crucial secret or was he just a deluded fool?

Right now, such questions were beyond Damselfly’s reach. It took all her energy to keep moving forward against the wind and snow. The village had been swallowed by a white blanket that threatened to engulf Damselfly if she did not keep moving. She continually checked the map although it was almost impossible to make out any landmarks. Damselfly trudged on, bracing herself against the cruel wind and remembering her deal with Death.

After what felt like an eternity, Damselfly glimpsed a wood on the horizon. The trees were so dense that little light was able to enter, and the princess shivered with fear. Then she heard a scurrying noise behind her, which made every hair on her body stand on end. Looking back, Damselfly could not see anyone or anything and attributed the sound to her own nerves. Steeling herself, she began the arduous trek to the looming woods until, after only a few steps, she heard the noise again.

“Is anyone there?” Damselfly called.

The frozen tundra remained desolate with endless drifts of snow and no sign of life. Damselfly could not shake the feeling that something was watching her. She recalled the villagers’ fear of the Peritwinkle and her own terrifying experience with the Sprites riding Baywolves. With her imagination running wild, Damselfly started running to the relative safety of the wood. Her feet sunk deep into the snow, which seemed to want to hold her down, and the cold night air was burning her lungs. Losing her footing in a particularly deep patch of snow, Damselfly rested for a moment on her hands and knees while all the time feeling as if something dreadful was about to happen. The wind rushing through her red hair carried the sound of an approaching creature, and Damselfly picked herself up and ran for the woods, which appeared to be getting further away. By the time she reached the copse, Damselfly was breathing heavily and her legs would not take another step. The princess propped herself up on a tree trunk, trying to regain her strength, when a small furry animal ambushed her.

“Damselfly, it’s me.”

The princess screamed instinctively, her mind twisted by the whispering wind and desolate isolation before she recognised the creature as her companion, Buttontail.

“Oh, Buttontail, you came after all, you are brave,” Damselfly said, relieved.

Buttons puffed up his chest impressively, looking mightily pleased with himself.

“Don’t suppose you brought any food, did you?” the roguish rabbit asked.

“You, greedy glutton,” Damselfly laughed, hugging Buttons.

At least neither of them was alone any more. Damselfly entered the wood holding her broken sword in front of them while Buttontail brought up the rear.

“I don’t like this place,” Buttons warned.

“We have to deal with the Peritwinkle so Morris will give us a token for the Garden Gate,” Damselfly insisted.

“So we can go home,” Buttons suggested.

“No, we have to reach the Magicgarden and find the Matriarch like Uriel told us,” Damselfly cautioned.

“What about Orion? He won’t stop chasing us,” Buttons declared.

“We’ll just have to stay ahead of him.”

A high-pitched shriek ceased all conversation as the woods fell deathly silent. Not a single bird or mammal stirred in the frozen wood as the Peritwinkle was on the prowl.

It was almost impossible to find their way in the dark wood. Damselfly carried Buttons whose fear made it impossible for him to walk unaided.

“What’s