The Princess & The Dragon

There was a princess long ago,
As pretty as could be.
She was charming and so polite,
All craved her company.

She lived within a forest in,
A manor on a hill.
And tended injured creatures there,
With herbs and gentle skill.

One day a stranger came to see,
This princess of renown,
He begged her to return with him,
To aid those in his town.

Her people urged her not to go,
They feared their heart they’d lose.
The strangers words had moved her so,
Now she could not refuse,

They sent a mighty escort with,
But they returned alone.
Not one recalled abandoning,
Their princess on her own.

The stranger was a mighty mage,
Who snared them in a spell,
It harmed then not made them forget,
The roads they took as well.

The mage and princess travelled on,
Far from the lands she knew.
And he assured her as they went,
“I did not lie to you.

There is a creature in my land,
Has lost its mind to pain.
I beg you help and heal it so,
It is itself again.”

At last they stand before a mount,
Crown wreathed in gouts of flame.
“A dragon lives atop the mount,
And Garkath is his name.

A band of heroes came to take,
His treasure from his cave.
They wounded him quite badly ere,
He laid them in their grave.

This dragon was a gentle beast,
Who kept our foes at bay.
The hoard on which he slept he earned,
Each gem and coin his pay.

But now his wounds have left him crazed,
He knows not friend from foe.
All those who offered aid he slew,
Now none will dare to go.

That’s why I came to you Princess,
To beg your healing art.
And now you know my cause is just,
Please answer from your heart.

These blasted lands once green with life,
The only home we know.
The few of us that now remain,
Have nowhere else to go.

Please save our friend if save you can,
Our lives are in your hands.
Please heal his soul, restore his heart,
Bring peace back to our lands.

The Princess weighed this thing he asked,
Heard Garkath’s distant scream.
Her heart was moved by kindness then,
His soul she would redeem.

She took her bag of medecines,
Left all else with the mage.
Then set her feet upon the path,
To face a dragons rage.

Now as she climbs the slopes are bare.
Thick ash upon the ground.
The roaring of the suff’ring beast,
Is soon the only sound.

Although she cannot hear herself,
Still as she climbs she sings.
Of gold and gems and serpents old,
With mighty, leathery wings.

She climbs and sings, then sleeps, then climbs,
Then climbs and sings again.
And all the while, the dragon screams,
She weeps to hear it’s pain.

Now suddenly the screaming stops,
Of her he is aware.
Her song has eased his dreadful pain,
And now he sees her there.

“Who dares set foot in my domain?”
He roars into the night.
With embers drifting from his jaws,
He makes a fearsome sight.

But the Princess she does not see,
A dragon filled with hate,
She only sees his dreadful wounds,
Prays she’s not come too late.

She starts to sing of healing herbs,
He stares in disbelief.
It’s clear this one is more than just,
Another common thief.

And as she sings she mixes herbs,
And as she mixes weeps.
Soft tears fall in that medicine,
Work magic as it steeps.

Garkath has come much closer now,
Her song has brought him near.
The scent of what she mixes soothes.
And helps to ease his fear.

“What magic have you wrought in me,
That stays my righteous wrath?”
“The tears that I have shed for you,
While climbing up this path.”

“I know the wrongs, the awful hurts,
You’ve suffered at their hands.
But they were few and scores have died,
Across these once fair lands.”

Now Garkath casts his senses out,
And sees the waste he’s made.
The ruin of a kingdom there,
His excesses displayed.

He feels ashamed for all he’s done,
To those he once called friends.
The Princess and the Dragon plot,
How he can make amends.

Now finally their talks are done,
The plans are firmly laid.
And as his thoughts turn from the dark,
His wounds begin to fade.

Back down the path they come at last,
To tell the mage their plan.
Garkath s great hoard will pay to build,
Anew the realms of man.

“I can’t return the lives I’ve cost,
Would give mine if I could.
But gladly give all that I have,
If it will do some good.”

The Mage now cheers and weeps with joy,
To have his friend restored.
He hugs the princess asks her what,
She’d ask as her reward.

“There are no dragons in my land,
Garkath will bear me home.
To teach my people of his kind,
And then be free to roam.”

The people of the Princess’ realm,
Rejoiced to have her back.
And more so once they realized
Garkath would not attack.

The moral of this story is.
The message of the dove.
No problem is too large to solve,
If you start out with love.

Cheers, Winston