《Hero's Song - A Novel in Verse》Chapter 58 - The Indebted
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The prince stood up and with a quiet rage looked at his friend
“your actions are beyond the likes of which you can defend
keep your fairy tails inside your head where they belong
it’s too late for the songs you taught this empire to be wrong”
The hero flinched while sitting in the shadow of the prince
every word the prince had spoken made the hero wince
it was hard to tell now why the hero was so weak
but all he had the strength to do was listen to him speak
“You led the human race into a war without an end
and now you’ve come back home to make a fool of your own friend
while you were gone we struggled on a battlefield so wide
that trying to defend this empire left us stupefied
Your own family is now in hiding far away
I wish I could promise I knew where they are today
such has been the cost of war that every man has paid
even foreign kingdoms are now starting to invade
Did you understand how many demons waited there
did you fear the endless war, or did you even care
for this war is no longer good and evil, wrong or right
this will only end when one side can no longer fight”
The hero’s face was pale but still his purpose there was clear
and so he spoke despite the growing sensation of fear
“but they are not the demons after all, they’re like ourselves
they’re much less like demons than they are like us or elves”
The prince’s fist came down upon the desk he stood behind
“you think such knowledge wasn’t easy for a prince to find
call them what you like, their enemies of this empire
so as always, call your foes however you desire
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My father is in hiding and our walls are weakening
if the capital should fall, then we’ll lose everything
stories of their mighty hero kept some hope alive
you will fight to save us all if we’re both to survive”
“I thought I told you I would not be bound to any war
you still have no right to tell me what I’m fighting for”
the hero looked with new suspicion at the prince he served
being bound to fight was something no hero deserved
“You will fight with us because there’s nothing else to do
a hero brought this war to us, and it will end with you
if you have an ounce of honour, see it to the end
you’d have met my sword by now if you were not my friend”
Like his strings were cut, the prince fell back into his chair
for friendship mattered more to him than he had been aware
“before this war I thought you were a selfish, evil man
but now I know you’ve born a weight that no one else here can
Did you know they started calling me a hero too
it began when I was learning how to fight from you
now each battle rests on the illusions I create
showing them the confidence they all anticipate
Even with your strength, how did you do it all these years
just a word from you is all it took to ease their fears
that is why I will not question why you’ve grown so weak
but I can’t help you if a fairy tale is all you seek”
“I don’t know how you found out I was cursed, but it is true
right now I may be as weak if not weaker than you”
“if you had half the strength you did before you ran away
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I can’t imagine you’d have heard a word I had to say”
Is this something you can fix, or are your powers lost
were your powers always something you’d one day exhaust”
“I do not know when they’ll return, but I am still a knight
if the capital is threatened, I will stay and fight”
The hero bowed his head as both his hands began to shake
he longed for this to be a dream, but he was wide awake
how had he once more become a slave to his own sword
hadn’t his heroic deeds earned him some great reward
The prince looked down in pity at the powerless hero
“the heavy ache of helplessness is something we all know
welcome to the realm of men whose fate is not their own
take solace that at least in war you would not die alone”
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