The Highlander and the Princess

Come gather round, my children.
Hear the story told!

The knight in battered, broken steel,
The girl who made his heart to steal,
,The fates that shape and break the world,
The winds of change against them hurled,
The tale the lovers weave.

With cold wind sweeping from the north,
The highlander came riding forth.
In distant land all drenched in sun,
The princess stood, and did not run,
When all around her fled.

Her dark hair flew free in the wind,
Her gaze so deep on him was pinned,
The northern knight, in tarnished plate,
Head bowed beneath his duty's weight,
His sight on the horizon.

The horde in blackened steel came on,
Their banners stark against the dawn.
He stood and waited the attack,
His mighty axe slung on his back,
She could not turn away.

They fell on him with fire and sword,
The steel and iron a vicious chord.
Against the knight the steel wave broke,
Ten men fell at every stroke,
The lady stood there, breathless.

The ancient axe in great hands swung.
She heard him cry in foreign tongue.
The highland man, beneath the sun,
Made the rivers red to run.
One man before the army.

The princess watched this titan fight
Through searing days and flame-lit nights.
She saw him tiring, rally yet,
his hard face lined with blood and sweat.
She knew the northman, somehow.

The war raged on and yet he fought,
In battle's web they both were caught,
Until the foe crept in the night,
And seized the girl of beauty bright.
He turned - he saw them take her.

Their eyes then locked, through all the strife.
Their gaze cut deep as any knife.
Their very souls they both did bare,
Through but one timeless, endless stare -
The world froze, for an instant

In his eyes, and there behind,
She saw reflected back in kind,
The awe she felt for such a one -
A kind that she had thought long gone.
He shivered - felt it too

He saw within her endless eyes,
The same that in himself did rise.
such feeling raw and turmoil sweet,
spark met with spark, and heat with heat.
They fell, within a heartbeat.

Even as the lovers fell,
The horde's steel struck an awful knell.
They loosed their bolts and spears at her,
The darts and bolts the air did blur,
She waited for the strike.

He moved as fast as lightning flew.
Before her he his body threw.
The wicked darts sank deep and hard,
He gave his chest up as her guard,
She heard him growl on impact.

They dragged the girl off through the trees,
She saw him beaten to his knees,
The bolts and blades his blood did spill,
She saw him stagger, fighting still,
His eyes stayed locked with hers

As the horde the girl did claim,
She cried aloud her northman's name.
He answered with a mighty roar,
Through the foe his great axe tore,
He swore he'd come for her.

They bound her eyes and cuffed her hands,
Took her off to far-off lands
They held her in a wicked keep,
In darkened cells where shadows creep.
She prayed he'd come each day.

The days rolled past, and she was brought,
Before their lord, and though she fought,
He'd take her, an unwilling bride,
One night drag her to his bedside.
She cursed him, screamed defiance.

The fateful night drew close to hand,
She gazed out on this evil land,
And prayed to see her highland knight,
Draw near, and save her from this plight.
Bound, stripped, she yet believed.

As the dread lord closer came,
She heard the shouts, the roar of flame.
The sound of battle clashing loud,
The northman's challenge ringing proud,
Her highlander had come.

The keep door shattered in his path.
The very air smoked with his wrath.
Through the halls and walls he strode,
Dealing death and justice owed.
He roared her name, she called him.

He came for her in love and pain,
Ripped away her ropes and chains,
He cast the keep and castle down,
Slew the king and crushed his crown.
He pulled her close, and held her.

He held her close, she clung to him,
Her highland knight in armour grim,
Looked in his eyes, and there she found,
The strings of love round his heart wound.
The strings, tied with her name.

Each scrap of love she answered whole,
With her heart and with her soul.
She loved this man who came for her,
Who with his gaze her soul had stirred.
They kissed, and all else vanished.

Starbursts, sparks, behind their eyes,
Their love and passion scorched the skies.
The lovers had each other found,
And with their love each other crowned.
They were lost in one another.

The time has come, my children
The story now is done.
The princess fair from sunkissed land
The highland knight who took her hand
The tale of battle, fate and strife
For such is love, and such is life.

They still live and love today.