"You have the courage of a warrior."—Ryko from Eon, by Alison Goodman.

"Stupid girl."—Ryko from Eona, by Alison Goodman.

Mr. Morality
Mr. Righteous
Mr. Honorable
Mr. Duty

Mr. Insanity is more like it.

They think you're brave and heroic and courageous
They think you truthful and trustworthy
They think you're a victim

I know better.

Destroyed my hip
For you
Was beaten and battered
For you
Was degraded and spit at
For you
Buried my identity
For you
Battled on one leg
For you
And loved you straight from the very beginning.

Drained my energy
For you
Collapsed
For you
Nearly died
For you
Stood on trial
Guilty as charged
Headed to the gallows
Laid my head down before the guillotine
For you
For your mistress
For your life
And still went on loving you.

You stood by my side when I was your Eon
And now we're singing a different song
My choice was taken from me
Far before you even knew how to spell it
Sit down
Kneel down
Choice only matters when it applies to you

You yearn for the traditional days when
All women had to sit back
Hands in their laps
Keeping their mouths shut
Just looking pretty
Never going anywhere near
The dragon magic
Forget about it
Step aside
Times have changed
I am a woman and I am a Dragoneye
Whether you like it or not

And now your mama's rubbing your struggles in my face
When you never even gave a thought towards mine
The first few years were torture
Salt in the air
Death in the air
She died right before my eyes
Death was a familiar acquaintance
Before I even knew there was a chance

And I took it.

I'm sorry you don't like that
I'm sorry it intimidates you
You had a life handed to you on a silver platter
My earliest days were nearly inescapable
While you lay in the glory of the one you love
And the duty you're proud of
I had to crawl and claw my way to the top
Until my hands and knees were bleeding and bruised
Perhaps that's not your fault
But your ignorance sure is

Because nothing says "Trust me" like publically demeaning me
Because nothing says "Trust me" like twisting the facts
Because nothing says "Trust me" like hating me for ensuring
That you even got another chance to talk at all
One minute it's "My Lady"
Then it's "Stupid girl"
Then it's back to "My Lady"
You're giving me mixed signals and signs
You grabbed me and thrust my back
Against the wall
You're a predator, you're an animal
Ready to feed
Sure, I'll trust you
After falling off the highest steepest cliff and rotting into the earth
I'll trust you

Everything you accuse me of
You are guilty of ten times over
If you would shut your mouth for one solid second
And let me take the torch
You'd see
If your brain was as big as your ego
And your honor-obsessed pride
And your hungry need for glory
You'd know you were wrong

You didn't want me to explore myself as a boy
You didn't want me to explore it as a woman
You seized control over all of my friendships
It wasn't enough that you took yours
You are a dirty thief, prowling in the night for the next moment to strike
It wasn't yours to take
It didn't belong to you

You're the reason I was hiding.

I'm the same as I've ever been
You're the one who changed
Call me the liar yet you conspire behind my back
To destroy everything I spent years building
You're allowed to be angry
You're allowed to whine and moan
You're allowed to be the ringleader
And turn everyone against me
So you can feel like a man
The length of your deceit makes up for
What you lack down there
But dare I express a single emotion
I am the evil one
Because women aren't allowed to feel anything
Like you are

You have the luxury of purging
While exacting control over my emotions
She placed that curse on me
In which I cannot feel angry at you
Or I'm the bad guy
Then I evidently owe you
I just love how you manipulate the situation
To paint it like you're the victim

She says you want to save me
But how can you save me when
You're the one I need saving from?

I sacrificed myself for you
I befriended you
I trusted you
I saved you
I apologized to you
I thanked you
I loved you
I urged you
To be together
Even after you both used each other
To hurt me
And I carried on hoping against hope
But none of it will ever be good enough

The honor you claim
Is as real as a plastic sword
Say I'm becoming like Ido
But better to be more like him
Than more like you
Glorifying your vicious ways
By placing a cheap label on it
Honor
Romanticizing the hell out of war
Justifying your vileness

Honor.

There is nothing honorable about jealousy.