After a long study session, Damselfly and Buttontail took the chance to play together. Despite the greedy rabbit’s voracious appetite, he could still run extremely fast, with powerful back legs that left Damselfly far behind. The princess had begun to change her strategy, so instead of trying to catch her friend in a straight foot race, she would hide and burst out at him when he least expected it. Buttontail hated this game because he was terrified of everything. It would take him three circuits around the bedroom before he realised that no one was chasing him and even then, his foot pounded the ground anxiously. On this day the game became so competitive that Buttontail burst out of the bedroom and fled down the corridor. Damselfly, caught up in their fun, charged after him, crying out with reckless abandon as she chased Buttontail down the long corridor.
“What is going on out here?” Orion demanded.
“We were just playing.” Damselfly looked glumly at her shoes.
“Your mother is not feeling well and she does not need to be disturbed by you two carrying on like savages,” the sorcerer scolded.
“Damselfly.” A weak voice broke the tension.
Striding confidently past Orion, the young princess entered her mother’s room; it was dark inside with the curtains drawn and a suffocating humidity. Damselfly climbed up on her parent’s bed to get a better look at her mother; even in the darkness she could see that the queen was looking unwell.
“What is wrong, Mother?” the princess enquired.
“I am just feeling a little under the weather, that is all,” Queen Etherelle stated although her words were weak and unconvincing.
“Should I get Skowl to make you some soup like you did when I was sick?” Damselfly asked.
“I would really love some soup.” Buttontail licked his lips enthusiastically.
Queen Etherelle laughed although it was not a joyous sound.
“I am glad you have a new friend. At least I was able to give you that.”
“We’re going to have lots of adventures together,” Damselfly informed.
“I bet you are,” the queen agreed.
“You can come too,” Damselfly encouraged. “Buttons is afraid of his own shadow and all he ever talks about is food, so I will need another person to be brave who can think about something other than their stomach.”
“Rude,” Buttontail remarked, placing his paws on his hips.
“What do you say, Mother?
Would you like to explore with us?” Damselfly posed.
Queen Etherelle did not answer immediately. Instead, she seemed to whisper so low that neither of them could understand her words. Damselfly crept towards the head of the bed while Buttons covered his face in dread.
Damselfly knew her mother was trying to communicate with her though she could not make out the message. They had played games before whispering to one another and the princess still believed this was a game. She did not share Buttontail’s premonition of disaster until the last moment when she finally understood her mother’s desperate pleadings.
“Get Orion.”
Damselfly screamed heartily as she watched her mother slip away from her and it was only when the sorcerer arrived that she was parceled out of the room and taken away by Old Nana.
“What is wrong with Mother?” the princess wailed.
“I don’t know but she is in the best hands.” Old Nana attempted to reassure her as they headed back towards Damselfly’s bedroom.
“It’s OK.” Damselfly suddenly stopped. “No one can die, can they, not with time stopped.”
“I’m sure you’re right and the queen will be well soon enough,” Old Nana prophesied.
“When she is better, then we will have our adventure,” Damselfly announced.
Damselfly lay awake in her bed thinking of everything that had happened lately; her mother was still extremely unwell, and the physician, Garland, had not been able to offer any remedy. Only Orion had seemed to offer any comfort, spending most hours tending the queen. Damselfly had fortified herself with the knowledge that without time there was no night or day, no new life or death. Her mother could not die because it was not her time; it was no time at all. This mantra that Damselfly repeated to avoid despair was beginning to grow thin. She remembered her uncle Abeldine slowly losing his mind and eventually being isolated. Perhaps her mother would not die but Damselfly might lose her anyway. The princess had not seen her father since her birthday celebration. Every time she asked about him or her mother, she was offered false smiles and insulting reassurances that all was fine. Even Old Nana, who had always been honest with her before, became reticent, refusing to tell her stories or offer any comment on the current situation beyond what was already known. Damselfly could not sleep with her world in such disarray. They continually refused to let her see the queen, yet the princess would not allow them to hide the truth any longer. Slipping out of bed, Damselfly crept across the room, careful not to disturb the sleeping forms of Buttontail and Old Nana. Opening the bedroom door, Damselfly almost tripped over Trigger the Dalmatian who had obviously been placed there as a guardian. Whether he was stopping anyone going into Damselfly’s room or making sure no one came out was impossible to tell. Fortunately, the fearsome hound had one distinct weakness: he adored Damselfly and although he raised half an eye lid at the disturbance, the princess was able to stroke him back into a deep slumber. Stepping over Trigger, Damselfly snuck down the empty corridor towards her mother’s room. She was surprised to find no further sentries or barriers and confidently went to open the door only to discover it had been locked.
Why would someone lock her mother’s door?
Damselfly knew that she needed a key and there was only one person she knew who
