The Queen stretched her long, slim arm
and placed the amulet gently into
the Prince's right hand.
Though the Queen had
some insect-like features,
her beauty, like her dominion,
was singular, unto herself.
"Rest thyself," he heard her sing,
"For the trials and hardships the morrows bring."
The next light brought him wakening fresh
with a clear head and a heart
resolute and strong.
His guides saw him to
where the winds had dropped him.
With sword at his side he a waited wind's return.
The fog then formed and away he went,
from Nepenthe to that place had been before.
He fought his way back on the trail they had made;
He and his swordsmen, small though they were.
Return from Nepenthe was not what he desired
but duty called and he was every bit a prince
The path was true and he emerged
from the thickets and forest at the place he began.
"Has it been just a day or is time's passage that sweet
in Queen Vare's domain, the wondrous Nepenthe?"
He set his sword against the tree,
upon which he rested and gathered his thoughts.
His sword had scarce seen its scabbard,
since he had left his home, the kingdom of Deluca.
And there he sat, awaiting Pandora's return,
looking carefully at the talisman of Queen Vare.
"An artisan's best, with powers you need."
That he was told. That he did heed.
"'tis a pin on its side, tiny to see.
Press on it when the need comes to be."
The day grew warm on the station he kept.
Drowsy he was, and finally he slept.
He dreamed of Queen Vare,
and the beautiful land Nepenthe;
how on gossamer wings so quickly fluttered
it appeared as though she floated in mid air.
She led him on to the land's very edge;
it was not a cliff, as he thought it to be,
but the edge of the island
afloat in sky's sea!
She continued to tease
and lure him to the edge.
"Come fly with me, dear prince!
I will show you the wonders of this world,
a place man has never set eyes on before!"
"Riches never imagined are here in this land.
Come with me, dear prince
I will endow you with all of its gifts!"
He stepped off the edge in a pure act of faith,
and when he fell not he took more,
walking in the realm of birds and angels.
Fear of not flying jarred him awake.
Where was Queen Vare? With her I should be!
His dream quickly left for it was not Queen Vare
who before him hovered; it was Pandora.
As she flew towards him, he felt the fall.
He landed with a thump on his dream's ground,
next to the tree against which he had leaned.
He saw a pair of feet
in tall, black shoes
attached to a purple-adorned
gown of black
and a cape over all,
of a midnight's hue.
There she was, and his sword just out of reach;
it lay against the tree between Pandora and he,
gleaming uselessly in the post-noon sun.
Never had three feet been so long
as this no-man's land between he and sword.
She would just as easily get it as he.
To buy some time he engaged her in chat
as he felt for the amulet in his pocket.
He needed but a few seconds' distraction.
His mind raced as he feigned well his calm
He remembered Queen Vare's admonition,
not to look into her eyes,
the eyes that glowed amber,
in the shade of the great oak.
She raised her arms in a gesture of power;
A gust of wind came up,
and ruffled his hair onto his face.
Sand got in his eyes, bringing tears.
He saw the sword, glowing amber,
raise into the air,
and move point first towards him, stopping,
but an inch from his neck; in the air it hung.
"You are my property, dear prince.
No one else may have you.
I will see that you labor
in the deepest pits of the underworld,
before I leave you in another's arms!
As she screamed, the earth beneath him shook.
She looked up to the sky and waved her arms,
and a spiraling thunder cloud materialized,
and spat bolts of lightning,
that lit up the sky with brilliant light.
The prince fumbled in his pocket,
and got the amulet in hand,
but his calm had left him and it fell in the grass.
He patted the grass till he felt something hard.
Grasping rock or amulet, to his feet he sprang,
This is the only chance he would have,
there would be no other.
Her head was just coming down,
from looking at the heavens
and the wrath she had wrought
when then he held the amulet in her face
and pushed on the tiny pin.
The amulet open, as it was made to do.
A flash of light, then nothing more.
Pandora had dropped to her knees,
where she swooned and swayed,
then to the dirt she went, face first,
raising a puff of dust like a felled tree.
He sheathed his sword for what felt like the first time,
the first time in at least three days, he thought.
Lifting Pandora up on his shoulder, he departed.
After crossing the ravine, a place he vaguely remembered,
he climbed its bank to the other side.
Worn from the long journey was he.
The lady, Pandora, he almost lost
when he misstepped near the top.
Then he stopped to take a rest;
He had almost dropped his precious load.
Once again he assumed his sleeping burden
and continued the trek back to Deluca.
He came to a clearing, then stopped.
He had arrived where he had hoped he would,
at the wagon road, 'twas not far, but a short walk
to where he had met the lady, Pandora,
who now drooped over his right shoulder.
He had returned to where his adventure had begun.
He lay Pandora down on the side of the road,
, and lightly slapping her right cheek, said,
"Wake my lady, wake up!"
She moaned, then her eyes opened.
She awoke with a start and sat bolt upright.
The first words she uttered were,
"Where am I? Her mind was blank.
Only faint memories of her childhood
could she remember,
A child lost wandering around in the woods;
then something dark and evil - that was all she could remember.
He picked the lady up by the hand,
and together they walked
down the old wagon road
back to Deluca, his kingdom and home.
In Deluca they stayed but long enough
for him to give his throne to his younger brother.
Then he and Pandora
who was great with child,
departed for the land of Nepenthe.
Composed by Cynthia©
Thank you again for dropping by and taking a few minutes to read Part 3 of Pandora's Enchantment. I would appreciate knowing what your thoughts are on it. Thank you and have a wonderful Saturday.
✿ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿
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