The Fourth Ballad
A monarch reflects on what she has done
And the price of a duel unfairly won
Foremost the curse, that must be understood
From one denied justice and motherhood:
The wine red and long dead previous queen
O hear me, you villain, you unfit heir
Until a legitimate queen sits there -
Let the throne of the Sky Kingdom be cursed
That was her vengeance, those haunting last words
Now they poison the mind of the Mad Queen
She laughed once, thinking then that it was wrong
For every sky dragon sang proud her song
Back then her future seemed brilliant, bright
All thoughts of her mother's fall were quite slight
Now that's weight on the wings of this sad queen
A chill down her spine as she recollects
Her heart thuds, she gasps, she longs to forget
First her beloved, the SkyWing king, died
The curse of the castle stirred as she cried
But that was not the end for the bad queen
O the Queen, recalling her past disgrace
Paces the gardens with grief on her face
Here a red rose bush, there those secret woes
This is where she fell, yet no dragon knows
Walking unseen, remembers the Mad Queen
His name was Buzzard, a plain palace guard
She flew with him and was forever marred
She gave him a scarlet bouquet one night
Reluctant, he held her, thought all was right
Their time made an egg, laid by the Mad Queen
That forbidden egg was hidden away
Knowing what would come and what she would pay
The Queen prepared there to make its death brief
But then doubled over with guilt and grief
I cannot kill my child, thought the Mad Queen
She banished him, threatened to strike him dead
Then studied this egg made from two unwed
Still she could not kill it, her instincts warred
Feeling ill, she keeled, so distinctly torn
Was this the worst of the curse of the queen?
'I shall wait and see,' said she hopelessly
To that tapestry that hung grotesquely
The woven eyes leered, knowing and serene
Kept alive somewhere, the egg so obscene
'Reviled child,' whispers the withered Mad Queen
Though the Mad Queen's heart was dark and hardened
In the silence of the SkyWing gardens -
Perhaps a quiet, quick sob went unheard
As her grief circled her like a buzzard
She would see her princess as the next queen