Our Fairy Tale

Once upon a time

In a far-off land

There lived a fair princess

And a prince who sought for her hand.

The two were as perfect

As couple could be,

And they often walked together

Along the shores of the rolling sea,

Staring into each others' eyes,

Holding hands and holding hearts,

And making vows to each other

That they never would part.

She was a beauty,

With hair of gold,

And he was quite brave,

As were most heroes of old.

But their love could not last,

Not as perfect bliss,

For there was another

Who jealously watched each sweet kiss,

And his heart was filled

With envy and crime,

For the princess was the loveliest

Creature of that time.

And he began to plot

And maniacally plan

A way that he, instead,

Might gain her fair hand.

Thus on the eve

Of the feast of All Saint's,

He caused her mother, the queen,

To fall in the deepest of faints.

All royals in the land

Flocked to her side,

For she was their pride,

And they feared that she'd died.

As they were occupied,

He caused the princess, too,

To sleep peacefully

As only the greatest sorcorers could do.

He rode away

With the girl on his horse,

With nary a map,

For he well knew his course.

He set off for a mountain ,

High in the sky,

Where he and his bride

Would soon together lie.

As he went,

Behind them rose

A forest

Such as now cannot grow.

Every branch was covered in thorn,

Not a blossom could be seen,

All twigs were black;

There was no green.

This wood grew tall

As it spread out wide.

Any soul desiring to pass

Would soon be lost inside.

* * * *

Asleep still was she,

As they rode up the mount,

And the miles flew by

With no one to count

How far they'd gone

Since the palace they'd left.

For the princess slept as though dead

And the sorceror was deft

At covering his trail

And knowing how far

He had yet to go

Before they reached the farthest star.

Beyond this star,

On the highest mountain peak,

Sat a castle of gold,

Bright as the tears glistening on her pale cheek.

Here she was laid,

'Til in a fortnight she'd awake

And discover herself alone,

For envy's evil sake.

* * * *

We leave her there now

And return to her prince.

It did not take long

For the king to convince

The boy (who was dear)

To rescue his love,

To again bring her near,

To remove her white glove,

And kiss her pale hand,

And kiss her red lips,

No matter how long

Or how many the trips.

* * * *

And so he set off,

With nary a guide,

To find where the Evil

His precious love did hide.

Armed with his sword

And his courage alone,

He set out in peace -

'Though the wind continued to moan.

The night was black

As he rode on,

And he began to wonder

If he was as good as gone.

As he rode

He though only of his love's fair face,

And her heart so pure

It put the saints in their place.

Thus he came

To the forest of black.

Frightened he was,

But still, he began to attack

The trees filled with magic

With evil inside

Until, truly, he wished

He could run and hide.

The forest was endless,

And so sharp were the thorns

That tore into his flesh

Like a million bulls' horns.

His face became scratched,

Blood poured down his cheeks

And he began to get dizzy,

And fell down in the brush like he'd been there for weeks.

Just when he thought

He almost was done

There tore through the brush

A beast on the run.

* * * *

It's eyes were flamed red

And it swung its great head

Towards our hero and then!

With a slash of his sword, it fell down dead.

Its great body shriveled at once

And the prince gasped, for lo!

There lay the sorcorer,

His greatest foe!

Rather than red,

The blood that streamed from the wound

Gleamed, obviously black

In the light of the moon.

The blood seaped to the roots

Of all the great trees,

And the prince was soon able

To cut them with ease.

He came to the castle,

And climbed a tall stair

To find the princess,

Mournfully weeping tears of despair.

And as he approached,

The stair made no sound,

Nor did his foot

Fall heavily on the ground.

She knew not that he approached

And she gasped with fright

As he kissed her pale cheek,

Then she laughed with delight

And cared not what blood

Stained her elegant dress

As she kissed away tears

And fondled each tress.

She bandaged each wound

Using strips of the lace

That she'd lovingly sewn

Caring for naught but to see the love on his face.

* * * *

Soon they returned

To the happy land by the sea,

Where the kingdom rejoiced

To see her and he.

They swiftly were wed,

And all of their life

They cherished the tale

Of how they became man and wife.

~ November 3, 2008 ~