“But I’m hungry,” Hornswoggle muttered.

Daisy banged her head on the bulkhead in surprise. Hornswoggle the Protector had lightning fast speed, but terrible timing. With an angry nod, Daisy reminded her protector that the ink blackness of Captain Blood’s watery dungeon was no place for tomfoolery. Hornswoggle’s stomach grumbled in reply. They continued army crawling to freedom. No point in rousing the entire ship of cutthroats. Captain Blood’s crew had kidnapped them to force Daisy to reveal the secret hiding place of the Robber Pearl. With his razor claws, Hornswoggle had unalived the guards, but there was just no time to eat them.

“Daisy, breakfast and you had better be awake,” Mum called up from the bottom of the staircase.

Daisy tossed aside her pink striped comforter as her stuffed protector snickered from beneath the bedding. Despite his sassy attitude, Hornswoggle was Daisy’s boon companion. He’s been a gift from one of daddy’s business trips. Daddy called the plushy reptile a cheap giveaway but that seemed an awfully silly name for a turtle. From pirate capers to outer space adventures, Daisy could always count on her protector to have her back.

It had started with the nightmare people, shadowy blobs that only moved when you closed your eyes. Daisy had done all she could to stay awake against the nightmares. But she’d always wake up to scratches from their pointy teeth. Then she would cry so hard running to her parents’ bedroom. One night Mr. Giveaway offered to take care of Daisy’s problem. She was so shocked he could speak that she couldn’t response with more than a squeak.

“No worries, darling, the name’s Hornswoggle and I’m a little peckish,” Hornswoggle said from beneath her bed.

Daisy was up for hours listening to Hornswoggle crunch and munch her enemies. She was never bothered by the shadow men again. Gone were the creaky ceiling footsteps, the dirty laundry goblins, the water closet witches: nothing could withstand Hornswoggle. From her protector, she learned the ancient ways of the monster. She learned there were good guys and bad guys and how to tell the difference. Daisy didn’t understand all the things Hornswoggle said but his gruff voice in her ear was her lullaby.

From that lucky day, Hornswoggle had pride of place on her Sleeping Beauty pillow sham. Each night Daisy held Hornswoggle while Mum checked her windows for intruders. Daddy said that Daisy was becoming a little basketcase. But Hornswoggle explained that Daddy had pronounced empathy issues. Fortunately, Mum said that as long as they were getting to sleep all was right in the world. Daisy knew her mommy was one of the good guys.

Hornswoggle was allergic to light, boredom, and broccoli; he could see in the dark, was an expert at knot tying and knife throwing, and could turn invisible. Because of his sensitivities Hornswoggle was a house-only friend. He taught Daisy how to rewrite her dreams to create delicious adventures so home was more than enough. As Daisy shrugged into her school clothes she thought about the secret of the Robber Pearl. Pirates were so much more fun than regular people.

Daisy could hear the house coming to life down below. Any minute now, Mum would be yelling about grits and eggs. As she fuddled over her shoelaces Hornswoggle looked over from the dresser, smirking. Daisy’s nights were smooth but her days were becoming something else. April had started tugging Daisy’s ponytail on the bus ride to school. The old lady bus driver just said sit down. Daddy said to toughen up buttercup. And Mom told Daisy to make friends. It’s hard to make friends when your head hurts.

If only I had my protector, Daisy thought. Settling back on the pillow sham, Hornswoggle tossed her a wink that said it is awful hard to pull someone’s hair after your little arms are eaten off.

“Young lady if I have to call you one more time!”

Inspired, Daisy crammed a giggling Hornswoggle into her backpack. It couldn’t hurt just this once to break the rules. His stomach rumbled all the way down the stairs.