Let me tell you what Flax should have done.

As soon as she saw the pup, trussed up and helpless, she should have reached into her satchel, taken out a thread of magic, and tied a knot too small to see.

Then she would not have had to worry about shadows. She could have run full tilt towards the two men, and they would not have known she was there.

She could have reached the pup in time to draw her sword and cut him free.

Meanwhile Rose (who is really Queen Felicia), could have thrown sticks and twigs and branches to distract the men …

Ah, but this is the wisdom of hindsight.

It is so easy, afterwards, to think of all the things we could have done.

The things we should have done.

But it is much harder in the heat of the moment. Especially if you are a minch-wiggin, and not used to quick thinking.

Or a queen, who has never been in such a dangerous situation before.

(Actually, she has. But she was much too young to remember it.)

‘I should’ve used magic,’ groaned Flax. ‘If I’d made myself invisible, I wouldn't have had to worry about shadows. Then I could have saved him.’ She put her head in her hands. ‘But I didn’t think of it.’

‘I should have thrown something at them,’ cried Rose. ‘I should have lured them away from the automobile to give you time. But I didn’t think of it either.’

‘And now he’s gone,’ whispered Flax.

They sat in despairing silence. Flax was thinking about how scared the pup must be. She was wondering who the Lady was, and why someone would offer a reward for the pup when humans weren’t even supposed to know about him. And why oh why hadn’t she thought of using her magic to get to him in ti—

‘Oh!’ she squeaked. She sat bolt upright and unbuckled her satchel with trembling fingers.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Rose.

‘We’re going after them,’ said Flax.

She forgot about not trusting Rose. She forgot that other humans mustn’t see her. It was too late for such caution.

She took a very small thread from the satchel. She grasped the ends of it and tied a knot.

She tied it so quickly that she almost dropped it; so fast that her fingers became a blur.

Then she scrambled up onto Rose’s shoulder, took a firm hold on the collar of her coat, and swallowed the thread.

‘Run,’ she said. ‘Run after the automobile.’

Rose stared at her. ‘But I can’t—’

‘Just run!’ cried Flax.

Rose stood up uncertainly. She took a step forward.

She took another step. And another.

She began to run.