To remember nothing of his past,
A most faithful servant would be his stance,
Until the very last.
Well, Death had a secret,
One lingering doubt,
He wished to forget,
All the suffering his work brought about.
The man made a deal,
Death would take his personal memory,
While he would remember everything else that Death would steal,
Neither of them was happy afterwards, but they did feel a little less misery.
So the man became a record keeper,
Death’s trusted companion,
He remembered every son, husband and father,
Despite not knowing his own past, his name was Gregorian.
The gatekeeper appeared thoughtful as though something in Damselfly’s story had sounded familiar. Buttontail began pulling at her hand; however, she ignored it because Gregorian looked so sad.
“He’s coming,” Buttons warned.
“What are you talking about?” the princess asked. “Orion.”
Buttons pointed anxiously, and Damselfly turned to see the sorcerer, dressed in his red cape, closing the distance.
“We have to go now,” Damselfly shouted.
“I cannot let you leave,” Gregorian said, coming to his senses.
“I have a token,” Damselfly pleaded.
“It is not safe for you out there,” Gregorian reasoned.
Damselfly was trapped between Orion and Gregorian with the gate only a few feet away. Her mother’s life hinged on getting to that gate and nothing was going to stop her. Grabbing Buttons in her arms, Damselfly ran at Gregorian who was surprised by the princess’s desperation. The gatekeeper did not want to hurt her and put out an arm to stop them. Damselfly anticipated the move, dodging out of Gregorian’s reach and racing towards the Garden Gate. Orion attempted to use magic to stop Damselfly escaping, but Gregorian was between him and his quarry. Damselfly ran so hard she could hear her heart pounding against her chest like a drum. Buttons was looking over her shoulder in fright, and all she could think of was getting to the gate and saving her mother.
“Stop!” Orion called out.
Damselfly suddenly found herself under the Garden Gate, which towered over her. Buttons caught sight of a slot and pushed the token inside. They both turned to see Gregorian and Orion racing after them as a bell rang from somewhere and the gate began to rotate. As it increased in speed, Damselfly began to glimpse objects; she could see blue sky, trees moving in the breeze and even birds.
“Which one is the Magicgarden?” Buttons cried.
“I don’t know,” Damselfly doubted.
“Maybe we should go back.”
“No, not until we have Death’s timepiece and can save my mother,” Damselfly decided.
Catching sight of what looked like a magical land, Damselfly moved towards the gate only to find a hand upon her shoulder holding them back. Turning, she glimpsed Orion before Buttons bit the sorcerer’s hand and they stumbled forward into the gate.
Chapter 6 The Coldest of Times
Damselfly was lying on her back wondering why she could not see, until it dawned on her that it was night time and she had made it through the Garden Gate. Sitting up, Damselfly looked around sceptically. This place did not seem like the Magicgarden she had been told about. There was a bright full moon along with dozens of twinkling stars. Damselfly had forgotten how beautiful they were and was momentarily lost in wonder.
“What is going on?” Buttontail asked. “Who turned out the lights?”
“Calm down, Buttons. I think we’ve taken a wrong turn,” the princess explained.
“Are we lost? I’ve always been terrified of getting lost,” Buttons whined.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be all right,” Damselfly promised.
“All right?” the rabbit stormed. “So far we have been down in a filthy dungeon, witnessed the trial of a madman and been chased by a powerful sorcerer.”
Damselfly ignored her friend’s tirade, trying to orientate herself in the unfamiliar darkness until something Buttontail said caught her attention.
“Everything will certainly not be all right. I want to go home right now, and something cold is falling on me…”
Damselfly looked up as Buttontail’s words trailed away. It was true; something was falling from the sky and it took a moment for them to realise what was happening. “It’s snowing,” the princess exclaimed.
A steady flurry of snow was falling, covering everything in a layer of white powder.
“We must be in the Wintergarden,” Damselfly announced.
Buttontail was examining the unfamiliar snow. He sniffed it with his wrinkling nose and even tried tasting it with his long tongue.
“I’m not sure—” Buttons conclusion was cut short as he was struck by a snow ball.
“Got you,” Damselfly laughed.
Buttontail recovered from his momentary shock by gathering snow to create his own projectile. Damselfly quickly ducked behind a tree to avoid the snowball and reload her own supplies. Buttons was rather hopeless at snowball fights although for a change he was enthusiastic about the game. After chasing each other around the hollow, they rested with Damselfly showing Buttontail how to make snow angels.
“I like snow,” Buttons stated.
“I forgot how pretty the moon and stars are,” the princess exclaimed, looking up at the night sky.
In the Wintergarden it was always night, always snowing and always a full moon. The pair’s game was interrupted by a distant howl. Buttons’ ears perked up immediately at the sound, which appeared to be coming from behind them.
“What was that?” the cowardly rabbit enquired.
“Probably a stray dog,” Damselfly replied unconvincingly. “Maybe we should go look for some people and shelter.”
“And food,” Buttons reminded. “I’m starving.”
Damselfly led the way with Buttontail close behind, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow. Several times they heard howling but it was distant and they kept moving. Soon Buttontail became weary, his stomach growled and both of them were freezing.
“I don’t like snow,” Buttons corrected, his long buck teeth chattering as he pulled his waistcoat tighter.
Damselfly was also cold and hungry though
