“Bravo.” Phoebus flapped his wings in silent applause.
“How is that going to help?” Buttons posed.
“I don’t know but it is worth a try,” Damselfly decided.
There was a child who swallowed a bell.
She could not speak for years.
No one could she tell,
Her many dreams and fears.
Damselfly popped the bell into her mouth and grimaced at the metallic taste, like blood on her tongue. She had expected to feel different somehow, a connection between her and the bell’s magic, yet she felt nothing. When she went to relay this to her companions, no words came out, only a faint chime.
“You did it,” Buttons praised.
Damselfly was unsure exactly what she had done or how this would help her defeat Luyna, only that they had to try. The return of time was revealed by a distant crack of thunder and the drumming of rain bouncing off the castle stones.
“Why are you crying?” Phoebus repeated.
“He’s forgotten the whole conversation we just had,” Buttons remarked.
Damselfly, unable to say anything, decided there was no time to waste and headed back towards the stairwell where they had left the others. The princess thought briefly of Orion who had sacrificed his life for her own and whether Death had visited his body yet. She owed him a debt; if the bell could save him, was it not her responsibility to try? Damselfly decided that she did not know enough about the bell’s power to risk something so dangerous, especially without confronting Luyna first. They walked purposefully back towards the staircase where Luyna was trying to win over the devastated Sprites to her side. Without the Fairy King, they would likely side with the next most powerful sorcerer which was without doubt Luyna. As Damselfly watched the face-off from behind Luyna’s army, Kimson and Uriel joined the rebels, bringing with them the news of Tyten’s passing. Kimson was supported by his partner after suffering several superficial wounds. Uriel, herself weakened by the long incarceration, seemed to gain strength from her newly found freedom. The Matriarch was delighted to be reunited with the pair, although their reunion was overshadowed by Jinx, the Sprite leader, agreeing to join Luyna.
The tide of the battle had turned irrevocably. Even without Tyten, the Royal Guard fortified by the Sprites was too great a challenge for the rebels to overcome, especially with Luyna still in possession of Death’s timepiece. A flash of lightning added a sinister element to the atmosphere, as though nature was also in conflict after being held in place for so long. Princess Damselfly stepped forward knowing that if she failed now there would be no future for those she cared about most. Rat glimpsed her first though he could not maintain eye contact. He tugged on Luyna’s dress to gain attention. The sorceress stopped Damselfly in her tracks with those terrifying yellow eyes. Willing herself to be brave, Damselfly walked forward and was allowed through the armed defenders until she stood next to Luyna at the head of the staircase.
“Have you come to surrender?” Luyna asked. “I am the most powerful sorceress alive and I still hold this.”
A flash of lightning illuminated the timepiece which Luyna held up proudly, like a sword hanging over all of their heads.
“Your army is defeated,” Luyna gloated over the battered remnants of the rebel uprising.
Kimson, with fire in his eyes, still wished to fight, though Uriel held him back as the wounds he suffered were too great. Luyna laughed at the feeble sign of resistance, although it ended abruptly as Damselfly stepped forward challengingly.
“I suppose it does come down to you and I,” Luyna acknowledged. “Well, aren’t you going to say anything?”
Damselfly simply stood looking at Luyna, knowing that her eyes were capable of speaking a thousand silent words and conveying a multitude of emotions.
“I corrupted your uncle Abeldine because I wanted his throne,” Luyna confessed.
“Your father never believed himself worthy of the crown, and I personally agree. It was easy to twist his mind and make him my puppet.”
Luyna was boasting though her words were creating animosity, especially amongst the Royal Guard who had stood faithfully beside her all along. Now they realised her deception, many of them moved to stand behind their princess in a show of defiance. Luyna did not seem to care. She did not need soldiers or followers now that her magical competition had been neutralized.
“Your mother is dead and it is because of me,” Luyna smiled.
Damselfly wanted to scream her wrath, like the storm outside, for her uncle and her parents. Every terrible consequence of Luyna’s deceptions ran through Damselfly’s mind like a flood threatening to overwhelm her. It was actually thinking of Orion’s selfless sacrifice that gave her pause. If Damselfly allowed the pain to control her actions, then she would be no different than Luyna or Laetitia Shade who had suffered for her vengeance by misusing their power. The bell held old magic greater than anyone could remember. If brought to bear from a place of anger, it could consume them all and Damselfly was tired of fighting. Her sole purpose for everything she had done was to save her mother, and in that she had failed.
Now she stood for the whole of Fable.
Like her ancestors she represented the Thrane legacy and would once again battle evil. Orion had been her greatest nightmare, yet there was good in him all along, and Damselfly had to believe that there was some good in everyone. Luyna had given her Buttontail. Whatever the motivation behind such an act was irrelevant, some part of her best friend came from Luyna, and that was enough to help calm the rage that threatened to break free.
“You think I won’t harm a child?” Luyna screamed, growing enraged by Damselfly’s passive demeanour.
“Everything belongs to me now, Fable is mine to command, and
