The hero stood adorned in royal armour near his queen

basking in the victory of such a wondrous scene

a battlefield so full of soldiers he alone had slain

for the noble cause of his exalted monarch’s reign

She looked at him with pride and praised him for the work he’d done

in her praise he felt a warmth more soothing than the sun

he held a sword she’d given him and shouted to the sky

“I will swing this sword for you until the day I die”

In that moment, he knew he could never be more free

the smiling face of his new queen was all he wished to see

but for a moment when he saw his precious holy sword

it looked just like a shovel, but his sight was soon restored

He gently put his blade away and turned to face his queen

and found himself before a banquet like he’d never seen

the prince proposed a toast to celebrate their royal guard

smiling at the hero, then he signaled to the bard

A song rung out throughout the banquet hall so grand and fine

and everybody sang the hero’s song and poured his wine

after they had honoured him and all their praise was said

the feast began, but on his plate was only cheese and bread

He looked around at all the other plates before each guest

on each plate the finest food was served, the very best

awkwardly he took the cheese and stifled his complaint

but when he took a bite the flavour nearly made him faint

It tasted of nostalgic feelings, gentle, warm, and fair

but when he went to take another bite, it wasn’t there

he looked around to see if it was taken, but instead

he was in a prison cell upon a feather bed

He stood up and he smelled a dungeon’s stale and putrid scent

every stone and metal bar to torture and torment

he kicked the bed away and summoned magic in his hand

and struck the walls so many times the dungeon turned to sand

Through the sand a river ran which then he walked along

coming to a forest’s edge where he could hear a song

looking back again he noticed someone staring back

a ghostly figure in the sand, a silhouette of black

He felt it staring deeply at his soul and so he ran

deep into the forest, too afraid to think or plan

when he realized that he was lost with no way out

something grabbed his legs but in his fear he couldn’t shout

Looking down he saw two shackles binding both his feet

chains that bound him to the forest, glowing red with heat

he ran toward the sound of water running desperately

when he reached the river though, he fell in clumsily

It tossed him over rocks and plunged him deep into the cold

as the chains dissolved away the rapid current rolled

the dirty water filled his lungs and helplessly he flailed

feeling less alive with every hopeless breath that failed

As he thought of drowning he was cast upon a rock

sitting in a clearing of the forest, still in shock

then he wondered for the first time if this was a dream

as little fairies flew around him, faces all agleam

“Look at this, a pirate still in chains, it makes me sad”

“watch your tone, you wouldn’t want to make a pirate mad”

the fairies laughed and mocked the man who thought he’d lost his mind

“here I’d thought for all these years that we were hard to find”

“Don’t be silly, he’s not here, not in the flesh at least”

“now I see it, honestly, he’s such a bumbling beast”

“both of you be quiet, no one comes here free of fate

help him with that curse before he’s stuck in such a state”

A fairy sighed and with reluctance came to see the man

“this is fairly strong but sure, I’ll do the best I can”

the hero tried to swat away the fairy but was weak

he couldn’t raise his arms or find the strength to even speak

Another fairy came to check the progress of her friend

and nodded to confirm that very soon the dream would end

“it’s alright, we’ll help you on your way, so sit and wait

you can blame this crazy dream on all that cheese you ate”

The hero was confused but this was something he had seen

the fairy’s smile was even more bewitching than the queen

but when she looked a little closer at the hero’s eyes

her happy little face was struck with terror and surprise

“Tell me quick, before you go, what is it that you’ve seen

there’s a darkness in your eyes that’s evil and unclean”

the hero thought about the figure watching from the sand

a fairy meant to read his thoughts and touched his feeble hand

Suddenly the fairy screamed and flew away in haste

and soon the rest were fleeing as if they were being chased

confused, the hero looked around and felt the forest freeze

a ghastly shadow smiled and said, “go on now, wake up, please”

He opened up his eyes and that horrendous thing was gone

but still he felt the shadow’s eyes were somewhere, looking on

he wondered if it really was a dream, then realized

the collar on his neck had cracked, and he’d been hypnotized

He ripped the collar off and felt the queen’s dominion break

he knew she’d be aware soon, and lamented his mistake

the time he’d spent intoxicated by the collar’s curse

was blurry in his mind now, but he feared it could be worse

Like his dream, the day’s events would not come into view

either way, escaping was the only thing to do

with all the guards outside he couldn’t hope to sneak away

he’d have to cause some chaos with a fire and force his way

He’d make a scene and disappear before the queen arrived

he’d live to be a hero freely once he had survived

but when he made his way to leave the inn and start a war

a girl with brilliant emerald eyes was waiting at the door