After learning about Uriel’s past, Damselfly told her own, explaining how her uncle had gotten ill and her father had become king. How the kingdom was suffering without time. She recalled her birthday party and her mother falling ill. Uriel was astonished to learn about Damselfly’s conversation with Death; the old king had not been seen since his defeat by the Fairy King.
“I have to retrieve Death’s timepiece,” Damselfly explained. “To do that I would have to reach the Evergarden and then take the timepiece from the Fairy King.”
“That is what I was trying to do before they stopped me,” Uriel revealed.
“I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?” Buttons interrupted.
Damselfly gave her greedy companion a stern look before returning to her new found friend. The princess was relieved to find someone who was in a similar situation to herself.
“They say it is impossible to reach the Evergarden,” Damselfly stated.
“I don’t believe that’s true,” Uriel replied.
Damselfly could not believe her ears. Never had she heard anyone say it might be possible to reach the Evergarden and now she might have a chance at saving her mother after all.
“How do you get there?” Damselfly asked.
“I do not know,” Uriel answered. “They stopped me before I reached the Evergarden, though I think there is a way and you just have to look for it.”
“Where should I look?” Damselfly enquired, desperately feeling her surge of hope diminishing.
“You should speak to the Matriarch in the Magicgarden,” Uriel suggested. “She knows a great deal about these things.”
Damselfly’s head was spinning with all the new information she had encountered recently. Death’s forbidding words echoed in her head, and the slim opportunity Uriel was offering seemed impossible.
“How would I get there?” Damselfly spoke out loud. “What about your father? He could go,” Uriel offered.
“No, he would never do that and he would certainly not allow me to go,” Damselfly reiterated.
Uriel took a step back from the bars as she realised that the princess had come alone to the dungeons and that she was probably taking a big risk just speaking with a prisoner.
“I could not ask you to risk your life on such a dangerous journey,” Uriel confirmed.
“I have to go or my mother will…” Damselfly choked on the words.
Feeling her throat tighten and tears begin to form behind her eyes, the princess looked away so Uriel would not see her childish tears.
“I feel terrible about putting you in danger but I understand your motivation, so you must decide whether to take this risk yourself,” Uriel decided.
“Here is a token which will take you to the Magicgarden via the Garden Gate.”
Uriel produced a gold coin from beneath her rags and slipped it through the bars to Damselfly who looked at it with growing interest.
“I think you should speak with your father,” Uriel proposed.
Damselfly did not hear these words as her brain was processing the possibility of her next move.
“I could use this to reach the Magicgarden, find the Matriarch and she could help me reach the Evergarden,” Damselfly considered.
“It will not be that easy,” Uriel cautioned. “There are many supporters of the Fairy King out there and others only interested in their own agendas.”
“Death said I was the only one who could retrieve his timepiece,” Damselfly remembered. “I have to save my mother.”
“I wish I could go with you,” Uriel said.
Damselfly came closer to the bars so she could touch the prisoner’s hand. “Once I save my mother, I promise to come back and free you.”
Reluctantly, Damselfly left Uriel, departing the dungeons and making the long trek back up the narrow staircase, clutching the gold token in her palm. Buttontail was surprisingly quiet for once, so the princess was left to her own thoughts. As they exited the stairway and came back out onto the main path, a figure stepped out of the shadows to intercept them.
Damselfly held her breath as the figure materialized from their position amongst the shadows. She expected Orion; however, the person turned out to be a young boy, slightly shorter than her, who looked familiar.
“Where did you come from?” the boy asked, confused.
“We were just in the dun…” Buttontail was stopped by Damselfly from revealing their location by a sharp jab. “Ow! What did you do that for?”
“Who are you?” Damselfly asked, putting on her best authoritative princess voice.
“You don’t remember me?” the boy questioned. “Of course, you don’t, I’m Rat.”
The unusual name struck a chord with Damselfly who recognised the boy who had given her the toy rabbit.
“Why are you here?” she enquired.
Rat looked at the floor, struggling to find a suitable excuse for his presence. He had dreamed of entering the royal apartments and meeting the princess so many times the situation was starting to overwhelm him. Damselfly, understanding this, was relieved to find they had not been discovered and that her mission could continue.
“Please return to your home,” she ordered.
“I don’t have a home,” Rat replied. “What about you, where are you going?”
“We’re going to the Magicgarden,” Buttons blurted out.
Rat felt his jaw drop at this news; he had heard about other gardens before, mainly from Pilgrim, though he had never actually met someone going there.
“It’s a secret,” Damselfly explained, giving Buttons a filthy look.
“I can keep a secret,” Rat added desperately.
“You had better,” the princess threatened. “Now we best be going. It was nice to meet you again, Rat.”
Rat did not want
