A silence developed that made Damselfly believe Death had departed; his presence was practically indistinguishable from shadow and only the shimmering scythe revealed his continuing existence.
“There is one thing,” Death revealed. “Only one.”
“I will do whatever it takes,” the princess promised.
“You must retrieve my timepiece from the Fairy King.”
“But that’s impossible! He is trapped in the Evergarden,” Damselfly argued.
Death glided across the room like smoke until he came to Queen Etherelle’s bedside. His scythe pulled back the blankets, and the princess was sure her mother would be lost to her forever.
“I’ll do it,” she vowed.
Death looked at her then and a chill surged through Damselfly’s entire body.
“I know you will,” Death pronounced. “Only you can retrieve what I lost. Do not trust anyone and know this: if you fail then your mother dies.”
“Please, I’ll do whatever you want,” Damselfly pleaded.
“You have one second to retrieve my timepiece or I will take your mother to the other side,” Death portended.
Damselfly ran to her mother’s side. Gripping her hand, she felt the chill in the queen’s fingers and replaced the blanket to keep her warm. Death unlocked the door with his scythe and departed, leaving Damselfly alone with her new mission.
Chapter 4 Troublesome Times
Ever since Princess Damselfly had chosen his gift at her birthday celebrations, Rat had been waiting anxiously for his reward, an actual tour of the royal apartments. He had played every moment in his mind a dozen times over and yet still he waited. There was no one that Rat could speak to about his prize as the residents of the royal apartments almost never left their sanctum and even when they did, it was unlikely, they would remember a poor orphan boy. Rat was not angry or particularly upset about his current situation; instead, he was more determined than ever to gain access to the only part of the castle that had so far remained out of his reach. A familiar dull ache in Rat’s stomach told of his hunger. There had been little work since the princess’s party and few opportunities to earn money or food. Rat kept his mind from the hunger by watching the door to the royal apartments and imagining all the majestic happenings that occurred beyond. On very rare occasions Rat would spy someone coming or going from the apartments. These were rare glimpses of a secret world that the orphan boy treasured, so he was alert and watching as the door opened to allow the dark magician to pass. Rat wanted to get closer though he was smart enough not to sneak up on a sorcerer; however, it appeared he was not the only one with thoughts of espionage as the princess herself passed through the door and followed the magician.
Princess Damselfly was accompanied by none other than his birthday present. Somehow the toy rabbit had been brought to life and now followed the young girl with reticence. Rat could see that the rabbit’s tail had been removed and replaced by a bright gold button. These strange events were certainly enough for Rat to forget his earlier concerns, and he followed the strange travelers at a safe distance. Knowing every inch of the castle, Rat was able to pursue his quarry without risking discovery. It seemed the sorcerer was unaware of his tail, and Rat wondered what reason the princess had for following the magician. They travelled down to the courtrooms with Orion leading the way. Rat was worried about losing sight of the others so he hastened to close the gap and almost walked straight into Tyten, the leader of the royal army. Luckily, the soldier was distracted so Rat was able to disappear into the shadows and avoid being caught trespassing. The problem was now he had dropped behind those he was following, so without hesitation, Rat took a shortcut that only he knew about, through an old maintenance closet that actually joined this level with one two floors down. The shortcut should be more than enough to recover his lost time and, indeed, when he exited, Princess Damselfly was just vanishing behind a corner up ahead. Rat lengthened his stride, determined not to lose them again, but as he turned the corner, he found it miraculously empty.
The sorcerer and the princess had simply disappeared.
It had to be magic, Rat reasoned, as he knew the castle better than anyone, and it seemed impossible that someone else could know of a secret room or passage he had yet to locate. Rat decided to remain where he was for someone to appear; he had been waiting for a chance to enter the royal apartments for years and a little while longer was not going to make much difference.
Damselfly had not been able to sleep after her meeting with Death. His words haunted her and the terrifying prospect of losing her mother was enough to maintain a level of courage she did not know she possessed. The problem was she had no idea where to start; Damselfly had never gone outside the royal apartments alone and her absence would certainly not go unnoticed. The princess’s only strategy was to follow the man she believed responsible for her mother’s condition, Orion. If Death was right and her mother’s condition was due to dark magic, he was the only person who could be responsible. It would explain why Orion kept her mother locked away so only he could treat her and when the queen died, he could say that there was nothing anyone could do. Damselfly’s task seemed so impossible that at times she was close to despair. There was no way in or out of the Evergarden, and even if she could find a way, the Fairy King would hardly just hand her the stolen timepiece.
“I must find a way,” Damselfly vowed.
Death had warned her not to trust anybody.
