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

come to rescue her, that Judge Vale would overrule his decision and she could come back after all. Despite the illogical thinking, Damselfly still felt closer to her past in this spot; however, moving even a couple of feet would mean her accepting her old life was behind her. How could she leave behind her parents, Old Nana along with her wonderful stories, Trigger whose tail would wag like a pendulum at the sight of her, Buttons who had become her closest companion and Uriel who was trapped in her own exile. Thinking of Uriel brought back memories of her journey’s beginning when she began to believe there was actually a chance of completing Death’s challenge. That was when the pallor around Damselfly’s mind began to clear; everything had been so turbulent that she had forgotten her original purpose was to reach the Evergarden and retrieve Death’s timepiece from the banished Fairy King. Although she had wanted to arrive under better circumstances, Damselfly had at least accomplished her first objective. Of course, finding the Fairy King and getting him to surrender the powerful artefact would be difficult. Returning home if she somehow managed to get her hands on the timepiece seemed impossible right now; however, she could deal with that obstacle when it arose. There was nothing for Princess Damselfly to do other than continue her mission. She had known that this adventure would be dangerous and perhaps if she was safely back home it might have been possible to ignore Death’s words. Now exiled in the Evergarden, Damselfly’s only path was forward. She was closer to the Fairy King than she could have ever have imagined when she started her journey and there was no way back from here. Dusting herself off, Damselfly stood up with both arms wrapped around her chest defensively.

She looked in all directions hoping for a sign or a road that could be followed, and when nothing appeared Damselfly simply took a single step forward and continued her mission to recover time, so Death would spare her mother’s life.

Damselfly was lost instantly.

There were no landmarks, such as a river, to follow, only an endless flat, dark plain. As no one had returned from the Evergarden, there were no true stories of how large the garden was or how to navigate the cold, dark tundra. All she could do was continue to walk and hope that she stumbled upon someone or something in the creeping fog. Alone with only her fears, Damselfly was never far from relapsing into a paralytic state, and only her bruised sense of hope inspired her to continue. There was also a permanent feeling of being observed. Damselfly had felt it almost from the start and could not rid herself of the sensation, no matter how much she told herself it was all in her head. To ease her sense of dread, Damselfly began to recite old stories and songs under her breath.

“How did magic happen,

Well, it was with the first child in the first garden,”

Damselfly spoke the familiar words and felt comforted.

“A whispered word telling a simple rhyme,

It all happened when the first sharing of Once upon a time.”

That was when she first heard him. Her song did not only illicit a response from within, it brought forward the shadow that had been watching from the darkness.

“In one ear and out the other,

It all disappears in The Never.”

 

“Hello.” Damselfly called into the darkness without response, so she tried another rhyme.

“Come listen close while I tell you a tale,

Of the Children of the Moon,

It began on a dark night with the wind blowing a gale,

Warning of the approaching misfortune.”

The princess waited breathlessly for a reply, and after a brief silence one came.

“One lone star that shines down on my madness, Everyone abandons me even the mistress.”

“My name is Damselfly. I am lost and afraid. Please help me.”

The princess’s plea was ignored as fog began to gather. Swallowing her fear, Damselfly continued the game.

“There is no reason, nothing is fair,

You may as well argue with a grizzly bear.

For the Peritwinkle is as mad as a rabid wolverine,

If you see him, it is sure to be the last thing you have ever seen.”

A deep resonating laughter filled the air and raised the hair on Damselfly’s neck. A shape appeared before her though his features were still hidden.

“Another voice screams I am clever,

But all this noise is really just The Never.”

“I’m sure you are clever,” Damselfly offered.

Though the figure seemed strange she was desperate not to be alone, and so she sang sweetly while moving forward very slowly.

“There was a man who could remember,

Every little thing that happened each day,

Yet in his young life he had never lost another,

That was not the way it would stay.”

Damselfly stopped only a few feet opposite the apparition, and she recognised him as Blakast the usurper. The man who had attempted a coup against her family and who she had watched being exiled to this place.

“There was a child who swallowed a bell,

She could not speak for years,

No one could she tell,

Her many dreams and fears,”

Damselfly sung while Blakast remained entranced.

“Every time the child opened her mouth the bell would ring,

A single resounding chime,

The child wished to laugh or sing,

To read aloud every story and rhyme.”

“More,” Blakast demanded.

“It is the darkest black,

A fetid watery prison,

Like living life with your head in a sack,

Until you lose all reason.”

“Yes,” Blakast hissed.

“The shadows are my only audience,

My heart and mind remain trapped,

As I have only patience,

A promise to be kept.”

Blakast squatted on his haunches so he was the same height as Damselfly who simply continued telling rhymes in the hope of communicating