“Explain the plan to me again,” Buttons requested as they walked.
“The Fairy King said a soldier named Slabtak stole the timepiece. Having never heard the name before, I thought he must be mistaken, but what if he was right.”
“So why have you never heard the name before?”
“I have,” Damselfly corrected. “Slabtak is an anagram for Blakast.”
“Blakast is the soldier who switched the timepiece,” Buttons reasoned. “So does he still have it?”
“I don’t think so,” Damselfly replied. “He is always talking about a mistress and this plan is too intricate for his unstable mind to compose. Likely he gave the timepiece to someone else after he stole it.”
“How does this information help us if Blakast no longer has the timepiece?” Buttons queried.
“Well, I remembered at the usurper’s trial we saw the artefact as evidence. Then I thought how easy it would be for Blakast to have created a doppelganger and switched it for the real one just like he did with the timepiece.”
“So you think that Blakast may have the original artefact, which would mean…”
“It would already contain moonlight which he stole from the Wintergarden,” Damselfly concluded.
Buttons was beginning to get excited about this new plan, yet he had one more question.
“If Blakast has the original artefact, why hasn’t he already used it to get out of here?”
Before Damselfly could respond, a silhouette appeared from behind them and snatched the fake artefact before fleeing into the darkness. What the thief did not know is that Damselfly’s friends had been following at a safe distance, hidden by the insentient fog. When they witnessed Blakast take the bait, they gave chase, hoping to collar the magician before he disappeared into the Evergarden’s endless shadows. Blakast instantly realised that The Never had deceived him once again. He attempted to use the artefact to escape his pursuers though it failed to work.
“What is happening?” Blakast shook the useless artefact before looking inside the conduit.
Finding the cylinder empty, the usurper continued his flight before recalling a fact The Never had been hiding from him since he arrived in the Evergarden. Blakast retrieved the original vial from his robes, and this time when he opened the conduit, a blinding light emerged.
“He’s opened it,” the Matriarch cried out.
“Look, it’s working,” Bakka highlighted.
The luminescent light created a portal in the fabric of the Evergarden, allowing Blakast to pass through it. Only a few feet behind, the Matriarch followed along with Phoebus, Gregorian, the Peritwinkle, the Wintergarden villagers and the Shades.
“Hurry, before the portal closes,” Delridden urged.
Buttons put on a burst of speed, using his powerful hind legs, and vanished inside the portal, leaving just Delridden and Damselfly bringing up the rear.
“Something’s got me,” Damselfly screamed.
Delridden turned only a couple of paces from the portal. He glimpsed Damselfly and reached out for the princess, taking her hand just as something pulled them backwards. Digging in his heels, Delridden put all his strength into dragging Damselfly through the barrier with him.
“The Fairy King has my foot,” Damselfly cried.
“You have to let me go. We cannot risk bringing him back to Thronegarden with us.”
“I am not leaving you again,” Delridden refused.
With one last heave, Delridden entered the portal bringing his passengers with him.
Chapter 18 Time to go Home
Damselfly landed heavily on a bed of dried grass. Ignoring the impact, she shook her leg only to discover that the Fairy King was nowhere to be seen and they had safely returned under the setting sun of Thronegarden.
They had done it.
They had returned from the Evergarden.
The portal had dropped them at the Garden Gate, underneath the shadow of the castle. Gregorian was quick to point out that another gatekeeper had not been assigned.
“I suppose they are not expecting visitors,” the Matriarch theorized.
“Then why is the castle surrounded by soldiers?” Phoebus announced, having scouted ahead.
“Blakast must have warned them,” Delridden cursed.
The group gathered together in search of a plan that would avoid bloodshed on both sides.
“We could charge the front door using the Peritwinkle as a battering ram,” Delridden suggested hopefully.
The Peritwinkle nodded his giant head at this idea although the Matriarch was not so keen.
“The castle is well defended by Tyten’s men. A frontal assault is playing directly into their hands, and we do not have enough fighters to break through.”
“I have an idea,” Damselfly ventured.
“Does it involve lunch? I’m starving,” Buttons added.
“Not yet,” the princess explained. “First, we have to get inside the castle, and I know someone who can get us in without alerting the guards. Phoebus, can you find an orphan boy called Rat inside the castle and tell him I need help getting inside.”
“How do you expect me, a sophisticated scholar, to communicate with a rat?” Phoebus demanded.
“Rat is a boy and he knows the castle better than anyone,” Damselfly revised.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Phoebus puffed out his chest and launched into the sky, heading towards the castle.
“Are you sure this will work?” the Matriarch questioned.
“No, but it is our best shot,” the princess stated.
“I’m coming with you,” Delridden requested.
“Only Buttons and I can go,” Damselfly replied.
“Some of the passages are so small only children can fit through them.”
“Children and rabbits,” Buttontail corrected proudly. “It sounds dangerous,” the Matriarch worried.
“We cannot stop now,”
