Once upon a time,
A starry night,
A forgotten world.

Once upon a time,
Laughter heard,
Smiles traded.

Once upon a time,
Timeless reality,
Clock ticking obliviously.

Once upon a time,
Damsel in distress,
A fearsome dragon.

Once upon a time,
A Prince Charming,
All shining armor.

Once upon a time,
Timeless love,
Endless happiness.

Once upon a time,
A promise broken,
A clock rewound.

Once upon a time,
The spell of ages,
Heavily obscuring.

Once upon a time,
An open window,
Tendrils of smoke.

Once upon a time,
A fiery beauty,
A timid monstrosity.

Once upon a time,
Love forbidden,
Lives forsaken.

Once upon a time,
She fell in love with a dragon.

My love,
I pray you forgive me for this.
By the time that this letter is received,
I would have found peace in my
childbed.

Please, have mercy on my handmaid, Hui.
I insisted that she compose and deliver
my final words to you herself...

As one of the proud flowers of
your golden garden,
I braced myself but I was still
unprepared for the chill of regret,
and winters of loveless eternities.

I will forever love and appreciate
the warmth you provided me.
I know your love is a true promise,
never one made on illusory grounds.
But what is the point of love if it is
shown yet true thoughts remain unsaid?

Before you, I am a mere moth,
and I prayed I never have to face your regal ire...
And though my heart bleeds greatly for the losses
of our twin fruits, it weeps even more
so for the loss of my sisters.

Meihua was kissed by her blade.
Yuyan was caressed by wine of gold silkworms.
I will not deny that Yuyan was proud
but she too had the dragon's blood,
it was expected of her to be so fierce.
But I never doubted her affections for you.

Forgive me if I impose but
I pray you forgive the frost of her words,
and not take them to heart.
Such thorns are born from a place of great anguish,
and it pains me so much to see you racked with it...

Even more so now because the Gods saw it fit
to take back our son and daughter both.
As the nights grow longer for me, and the days
more painful, I simply ask that you do not
take out your pain on the Second Prince.

None of us are perfect, my love.
Yuyan had fire, perhaps even too much of it...
And for that, she reduced Meihua and herself
down to embers.

Sister Yan's thoughts of Sister Han
were hot and biting, and I cannot say what
truly happened between them,
to the point that it resulted in so much bloodshed...

But I beseech  you, please do not take out
the sins of the mother on your son.
Hong'er is such a sweet and smart boy.
I imagine he has came to beg you for his mother's
mercy. That cannot be faulted, he is still a child.

Though I failed in my duty of bearing your
regal dragonseeds, I love all your children
as if they were mine own...
And soon, I will be with our ill fated children,
Our sweet son, Bai and gentle daughter, Ding'an...

I beeseech you, please, please do not blame Hong'er.
Your son needs you more, now more than ever.
Please give him all the love and support he needs
from his father now that his mother is gone.
Such a sweet child should not live a life alone...

Please promise me that you will try, that he will not be
left alone. And, if I may be so bold, confess it
to my body while it is still warm.
I may not respond, but I assure you that I will hear it.
And I will be watching of you and yours as
I tend to our babes in the Heavens,
Provided my soul is accepted and clean enough
for their Gates...

I pray you forgive me,
I am naught but a feeble, weak woman
who has failed her family, her sisters,
her children and now her husband.
Forgive me for adding more onto your grief.
But know that I am watching, with the
lotus fan you gave me many Summers ago
on my breast...

I pray that you will come through this storm
unscathed, and that you will soon know peace,
my dear Dragon King...

                            Yours cordially,
                                             The Lotus
                                                                ­    Taihe ✾

My King,
I am light in the shade, and no slave to sin.
The charges upon me and mine name are false,
but naught can be done as you have decreed that
my kith and kin be stripped of their birthrights
and slain...

My grief knows no bounds to the injustice,
but the only assurance is that I will reunite
with them once I am free from the bonds
of this mortal coil.
The world of women is harsh and hard,
even more so as we tend to our gardens.
to be fragrant for you. To be fresh for you.
To be righteous. For you.

We are sold to carry our family names
on our shoulders and dragonseeds on our
backs.
All while living in a luxuriously guilded cage.
I am a one of many flowers you so tenderly,
proudly plucked and yet,
I am left drowning in nothing but
cold tears and everything I am scattered
to the wailing wind and raging rain.

As I take my leave of this world,
I pray you shall be of great health
and live for ten thousand years more.
You came into the world under the wings
of a storm of destiny
When the winds howled
and the seas roared

As the people paid sacrifices
to the Gods to still their rage.
Only with your loud cries did the storms
pass away and then all things became light.
The passion we once shared bore sweet fruit,
to our dear Second Prince who is carved
in your image.
He is me and he is you and he is he,
a son of the God who walks this earth.

You say you hold the Mandate of Heaven
in your claws, and all you do is mourn that
wretched sour flower with such affection,
not even seeing how my love withers in
the heart of your golden palms?
Do you truly believe that Meihua is without fault?
Without sin?
She only remained so white and youthful
because she bathed in the blood of those
she so willingly, wilfully, wrongfully spilt,
yet all you see is her aura of eternal
spring flowers?

...How I pity you...

Under her gaze was the guile far more
venomous than any krait.
I only wished for you to see the truth,
to tear her hypocritical mask of
innocence, and be your ***** friend.
As I still do!
But I see now that all my cries, my pain
our love, our history have fallen on mute ears...

I love and loved so fiercely.
I love and loved so purely.
And with the Gods as my witness,
as foolish as it may be, I love you still!
I kept myself clean from the touch
of man and have been naught but
a loyal, patient and caring wife to you
and our brood.

Meihua truly has you bewitched and
has bested me and my sisters, as she is so fang-deep
in your heart. Seeing how you will not accept
the truth, I pray that one day that it is seen.
My only wish is that you spare our child
and that he tastes only sweetness in this harsh life.
I commend my soul to the Gods,
devote my life to the stars...

And leave my heavy heart and memory
on the foot of your conscience.

For those who spill the blood of an
anointed line will see the karmatic deliverance
And not even you can halt what you
have long since set in motions.
I have resigned myself to it all.

Let the vipers lay claim to my titles,
my riches, my lands, my position,
but they will never pry the crown from my
hand nor the heat from my heart.
I will be watching all from the Gates of Death.

I have been wronged, so very wronged...

The wine of gold silkworms shall be the greatest
of comforts.
For that is sweet.
And you.
YOU are the poison which I refuse to
consume again...


                                         Yours once and never again,
                                                      Yuya­n

A cold, cold winter.
City sleeps and I'm awake,
During that summer.

www.soundcloud.com/nethersky/my-dragon

I'm looking at myself through the mirror in my bathroom
I glance up on the shelf and see a box that's painted green
I look inside and find an egg that glowing oh so pretty
I take it to my room and place it on my pillow gently

That night I fell asleep and dreamt of dancing magic mushrooms
and then I woke to see my precious egg was cracked and broken
As bright as two sunrises in the middle of my room these eyes were glowing
what a beautiful surprise I see a baby dragon smiling at me

Do you feel alone in an ocean full of people
Have you always known that earth is not your home
We are both the same together we'll be happy
in a magic place a world we call our own

With one swoop of her wings, she flew above me
then let out a stream of fiery rings
is this happening to me?
This is a gift for a king and queen
am I lost in a magical dream
is this happening to me?

(Chorus)
I ride my dragon through space and time
together we will shine
in a world beneath the ocean
under the nether sky
My dragon you are my friend
together we will fly
to a world of magical wonder
under the nether sky

Have you ever wanted someone you can call a friend
depend on them no matter what
a good companion
always there through thick and thin
My dragon is the only friend
that will be with me to the end
and when that day comes she will lift me
far away

(chorus here)