"Once upon a time," they say,
"There was a castle- far away,
And deep within its hallowed keep
A princess dreamed- fast asleep.
Lovely as the stories tell
Cast upon her, a dark spell
Robbed her of a life of breath
And kept her sleeping until death.
Now, far across the lands was spread
A tale of sadness, so they said:
She was a virtue, in disguise,
So lovely, fair, sweet, kind and wise.
The message reached receptive ears,
And Princes came- forgetting fear
But, crawling up the castle walls
They fell asleep within its halls.
Ah, Princes, still so vain and proud
You share her fate and break your vows!
Princes came- no Princes went-
So yet another message sent
Fell upon the now-dulled ears:
"The Princess has but one more year."
Now, no one listened to the tale,
The story grew both old and stale
Until, one day, in some far place
A maiden with a darker face
Learned of this misfortuned fate.
Without a word to kith and kin
She rode away without a friend
And traveled many days and miles
To reach the cursed place of trial.
Her horse, once hoof on cursed ground
Refused to move, she must dismount.
And this she did, with little sigh
There were signs a world could die
Across this black, and damn'ed ground
She went forth- without a sound.
The castle came a bit too soon
There was no light of star or moon
To guide her wandering eyes to see
The trappings of deep treachery.
And yet, within her heart came: "Stay"
And something shone to light her way
Illuminating gently came
A view of gate and bridge and lane
That drew her eye into the keep
"This is where the Princess sleeps."
She murmured into the still air
Her heart fell silent for despair.
And yet- the light, though slight and soft
Still shone to mark a single spot
High up on the castle wall
A window twinkled- far and small.
Now what could this slight maiden do?
Things possible were far and few-
Yet- undaunted by this distance great,
She sank to knees and prayed for Fate
To be a kind and loving muse
And show her paths that she could choose.
The night remained in silence deep,
And so the maiden fell asleep.
This was not of magic born,
But traveling the world alone
Exhaustion came and took her soul-
This night was long and dark and cold.
She dreamed of nothing great or grand,
But as morning came to land
Something grew within her heart
A truth that gently tore apart
The sorrow, sadness and despair
That had stolen all she cared.
She rose then, and straight-way (post haste),
She went deep within that place
Full of firm, sweet, true resolve
She climbed the stairs within cursed walls.
Princes lay upon the ground
Breathing deep, without a sound-
Yet- with all the strange things that she saw,
She paused or stopped then, not at all.
It almost seemed still, like a dream-
When she found the door that gleamed
Without an outward glittered face
This sparkle shone within a place
That, empty for too long now knew
What it was like to beat in two.
Her heart now beat within two breasts,
And just like this- she knew no less.
The maiden opened that dark door
And stepped a foot upon the floor
That, heavy with sweetest rose
Filled the room with sleep that flowed
Deep within the princess' soul
For there she was- asleep and whole,
Stretched upon a bed of lace
That ill befitted this dark place.
The maiden walked with halting step
Until there was no space left
Between her quivering, heart-torn form
And the bed that none had known.
She knelt then, there- without a thought
And stretched a hand to touch her not
But shake, a mere breath from the face
That no tale could ever make
More beautiful then it was, real and here.
This must have been all to be done,
For a deep breath came from the one
That now fluttered lashes deep,
Shaking off the vestiged sleep.
There were no words, no words would do,
But Princess stared at maiden true
And smiled then, a little space
Full of promises to make
A Happily Ere After true...
Love had come- and love would do.Our story ends then, just like this:
With their perfected, heart-felt kiss.
