Creating new internal systems for Time was by no means an easy feat. King Oleron had taken back all of the boy's stolen organs that had been harvested by Doctor Vartija in their faraway homeland, but he had no idea at all how to properly repair them.
He had Time blindfolded and gagged, tied to a table in a workshop in the basement of the castle, far away from where Mirana or Iracebeth might sneak in. He cut swiftly through the thick threaded stitching on the clockwork boy's stomach, and Time struggled and thrashed and tried to free himself from his binds, but he couldn't. "Don't be frightened," the King exclaimed, brushing back Time's smooth black hair. "I'm going to repair you, and then you can be Underland's timekeeper for all eternity, in your own safe castle where you belong."
Truthfully, the King was trying reassure himself more than Time. Vartija had carelessly torn out most of the internal organs, leaving the boy's liver bruised and lacerated, his tiny stomach crushed flat and squeezed of its contents, and it would take ages and meticulous precision to repair every torn artery and blood vessel, bringing them back to the little heart that now beat beneath a clock's intricate system.
It was Queen Elsemere who ended up sewing and rethreading the organs back together, which seemed to take the longest night in Underland's history. Time had fallen unconscious, and so the evening itself had drifted to a slow halt, the sky outside as black as ebony, save for the rainbow stars in endless colours that twinkled in the sky above. When the Queen had finally completed the task, King Oleron gently carried the clockwork boy in his arms to the courtyard outside, his tall red-robed shoulders dragging against the thorny branches of the rose bushes.
"Why are you bringing the timekeeper outside?" asked the Queen, following close behind, her long pale skirt flowing behind her, glimmering in the soft white moonlight.
King Oleron glanced up at the dark sky, watching the gray clouds drift in. "You'll see," he replied, "but come and sit with me, dear Elsemere. We rarely get the chance to be alone together anymore, just the two of us, without any royal obligations. With this world of ours so boundlessly chaotic, how could we? Beautiful Elsemere, do you know that the land where I found Time is as consistent and guided by rules as I've ever come across in my travels?"
Queen Elsemere scowled. "That all sounds so restrained, Oleron! Your family, for so many generations, always wanted to establish a timekeeper, but where did that obsession stem from? Surely Underland is more uninhibited without a sense of time at all!"
"That's what I'm afraid of," the King sighed, shutting his deep brown eyes. "Our darling daughters, in the chaos of our timeless realm, could grow up in a mere instant, just like that!" He snapped his fingers for emphasis, making the Queen jump. "At least with Time on our side, we can live knowing what to expect, how many years we have left, how many days, how many nights until… until Mirana and Iracebeth have slipped through our fingers like sand in an hourglass."
"What's an hourglass, Oleron?"
"A device for telling the time, Elsemere. In my travels, I've seen hourglasses and sundials and calendars and clocks, all things that our world has no use for yet, but we will. As Iracebeth and Mirana grow up, you may think Time a thief, but I brought him here to help Underland, not to cause us grief. You'll understand, my Queen."
It wasn't until the pale moonlight fell across the still clock in Time's chest that it began softly ticking again, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking around the starlit courtyard, shivering in the brisk breeze that cast dry brown leaves across the cobblestones. Standing, only to fall to the ground, lying stiffly on the stone walkway, the first words he spoke were, "I have to apologize to Princess Iracebeth."
"Whatever for?" asked the King in surprise, dragging the clockwork being back to his feet, putting an arm around his shoulder so he wouldn't collapse again.
Time shivered. The crisp night air was making him terribly cold, and he wasn't sure whether it was the evening or the morning. It's three o' clock in the morning, and fourteen minutes, he realized, although he hadn't the faintest idea how he knew.
Queen Elsemere laid her hand against the side of Time's pale face, gazing into his bright blue eyes. "Dear timekeeper," she said, smiling, "what could you possibly have to be sorry to Iracebeth for?"
"I told her that we couldn't be friends," Time explained, his voice shaky with guilt.
King Oleron nodded his head. "That's probably for the best," he advised, "all things considered. You can apologize to Iracebeth, if you wish, but you have no reason to. She wants to be your friend out of childish whimsy, and nothing more, I expect. She thinks that you're interesting, like one of her little dolls or ornaments. You have more important concerns to worry about… but this will all be explained to you tomorrow, of course."
"September the 29th," Time replied.
"What was that?" asked Queen Elsemere, raising an eyebrow.
"That's… that's tomorrow," said Time drowsily, leaning into the King's arm. He didn't want to answer their many questions. He only wanted to go back to sleep.
