What if you look down,
There will be a dawn.

Your eyes sparkle in the night,
How can thet shine so bright?

Come, let me sing into your ear;
Those dancing days are gone,
All that silk and satin gear;
Crouch upon a stone,
Wrapping that foul body up
In as foul a rag:
I carry the sun in a golden cup.
The moon in a silver bag.

Curse as you may I sing it through;
What matter if the knave
That the most could pleasure you,
The children that he gave,
Are somewhere sleeping like a top
Under a marble flag?
I carry the sun in a golden cup.
The moon in a silver bag.

I thought it out this very day.
Noon upon the clock,
A man may put pretence away
Who leans upon a stick,
May sing, and sing until he drop,
Whether to maid or hag:
I carry the sun in a golden cup,
The moon in a silver bag.

when i was younger i begged time to go faster
i wanted to grow up right then and there
but now that i know the horrors of growing older
i wish i could've stayed young

it hurt too much to bear

i feel for a blade
hidden in a trusted place

i felt it on my wrist
cold and sharp
thirsty

i feel my tongue under my fingertips
as i went deeper
purging

i felt both my hands
knuckles deep in my hair
pulling

then i felt nothing

nothing but a stinging wrist
a burning throat
and a sore scalp

but at least my soul was numb

for now.

The Fairy Tale of the Warrior Prince

Once upon a time, long, long ago, far, far away there lived a Warrior Prince at the edge of the Magic Forest. The Warrior Prince once rescued the fair maiden Shelby and the fair lady Di, Shelby’s grams, from the Evil Mystical Wizard who lived on the far side of the magic forest. After settling the fair maiden and the fair lady into his castle where they would remain safe until his return, he set out to do his one and only job; guard and protect the magic forest.
He liked guarding the forest during the day because it was quiet and peaceful. But in the dark night, the great magic came to life and even his trusty horse became on edge. The bushes and trees took on eerie shapes that seemed to move. The night noises were loud and frightening. It was not like the beautiful forest noises of the day. At night the trees became witches and the bushes became trolls and animals. They would claw and scratch at his legs as he rode his horse through the forest.
It was at night when the largest magical creature appeared. It wanted to take over the magic forest. That creature’s whole purpose was to steal all the magic from the Magic Forest. The creature had been made that way by the Evil Mystical Wizard who wanted all the magic in the land for himself. That is why he kidnapped the fair maiden Shelby and the fair lady Di in the first place. He knew of their magical powers. The fair lady Di had the magic of touch. She could feel if she knew a person from another time and if they were good or evil by the touch of their hand or by looking into their eyes. She could see if love had ever found a home in their heart. The fair maiden Shelby had the greatest magic of all; the magic of sight. She could see into a person, see their life and what was to come. These magical powers coupled with the powers of the forest would make the Evil Mystical Wizard unstoppable.
The warrior prince had no magical powers of his own but was highly respected by the magical world because of his willingness and ability to protect them. He thought of them as family and would fight to the death for them. The love in his heart was a pure light of goodness. He knew if the Evil Mystical Wizard took over all the good magic in the world, everyone he loved would suffer greatly to the end of days. He pledged to fight for them to the end because of his love for them. It was his greatest power.
One night as he rode his beautiful horse through the magical forest, he heard the fair lady Di cry out in grief. Riding toward the sounds of her cries, his heart sank with the visions that flooded his mind. The fair lady Di had been restless and not able to sleep so, as many nights like this before, she went for a walk in the magic forest. The forest had always been a place of calm for her. It was a place where the hurts of the world would quiet and fade away. She could feel the love of the magical world around her. She could still the fears in her heart.
On this night as she walked along the forest floor she came upon a beautiful unicorn. It was waiting to bless her with his own magic of love. As they stood and stared at each other, she could feel the magic of his love flow into her heart and settle deep into her soul. She knew he was giving her his magic of love but didn’t understand why. When the transfer ended, she stood in awe as he bowed his head and told her, “You are the keeper of love. You always have been and always will be. My time is ending and my magic needs to live on. It will live in you and you will do great things with it.” Fair lady Di started to ask, “Why me?”… when the wind started to blow.
The clouds moved across the moon and lightning struck a tree somewhere deep in the forest. Just as the moon peaked around a cloud the thunder crashed and the creature was standing in front of them. The fair maiden Shelby was in her bed and could only sit up in fear as she watched the sight play out before her eyes. She saw the creature inch closer to her grams saying the words “Love must die.”
The fair maiden Shelby could only do one thing. She sent her sight to the magic of the forest hoping the forest would see that if love died, the world died too. As she watched, she saw two small magical creatures of the forest pull her grams back and away from the fight that played out before her. The creature moved forward and the fair lady Di thought her night would end. She closed her eyes and felt the wind blow through her. She let go ready to float away to a world without pain. As the crashing noises grew louder and the wind blew harder, she felt unknown hands pull her to safety.
The fair lady Di opened her eyes and watched as the unicorn fought with everything he had to save her from the terrible creature of magic who only sought to end love, to end her. The fight was long and hard but in the end, the beautiful unicorn stood no chance against the powers and strength of the terrible creature of magic. As the unicorn fell to the ground and his breathing slowed, the fair lady Di ran to him. All the creatures of the forest tried to stop her but she pushed them away. She had so much love for him and needed him to only feel love as he floated away to that world where there was no pain.
As she reached him she laid her body across his and poured out every ounce of love. Through her grief and pain, she gave love as his last breath left him. She cried. The wind blew, lightning flashed across the sky and the thunder crashed high in the heavens. Just then, the Warrior Prince came through the forest walls into the small opening of the forest center. He pulled his horse to a sudden stop at the sight in front of him. His blood began to boil. There was the Magic Dragon with a cruel evil grin on his face. He stood over the fair lady Di with her face buried in the mane of the lifeless unicorn. She was crying and pouring all the love she could into him.
The fair maiden Shelby watched with her inner sight and knew what she must do to save them all. She emptied her sight to the whole magical world and focused it into the center of the Warrior Prince. She showed him all the good he had ever done for the ones he called family and those he loved so dearly. Through the magical world he touched in so many ways, she showed him their respect for him, their gratitude for all that he had done for them and their unconditional love for him. Through her sight, he found the strength to fight the greatest fight of his life: The fight against the Magic Dragon who was there to destroy them all.
The Warrior Prince wasted no time as he pulled out his sword of courage and truth. He fought long and hard but, even close to death himself, he would not give up. With each swing of his sword the evil he so feared died a little more. Swing after swing until he pierced the heart of the great beast. Upon the death of the beast, the magic of the world returned the magic of the fair maiden Shelby to her. The magical world knew only one willing to give up her powers to save those she loved could be trusted with such power.
Very battered and bleeding, The Warrior Prince walked over to the fair lady Di, held her close and let her pour her grief and pain into his heart and soul. When she calmed, he lifted her onto his horse and brought her back to the castle where the fair maiden Shelby waited for their return.
When the Warrior Prince slayed the Magic Dragon and ended the magic that had been instilled within him, it also weakened the Evil Mystical Wizard. For the wizard had given all his power into the dragon and was confident the dragon would succeed in taking over all magic in the world. By the Warrior Prince destroying the dragon, it also ended all and any magic the Evil Mystical Wizard had or ever would have again. The Magic Forest, The Magic of The World, The Magic of The Fair Maiden Shelby and The Magic of The Fair Lady Di was finally safe. The Warrior Prince, he also learned he had a little magic of his own and had only needed to look inside himself to find it.

Writing Copyright © All Rights Reserved
2017 Brianna Love/SA/DBMA