The Handmaiden

Her hair was silky, shiny strands of spun gold

Her skin was pale and delicate like a fragile porcelain cup

Her eyes resembled rivers,

Or the darkening sky

They moved like rainstorms, but sometimes

Shone like the stars

On only the darkest of nights

She was a princess

Named after the cinders in which 

She used to lay

I was her handmaiden

I lived by her side day by day

And I loved her

More and more with every passing hour

Long ago she thought the prince would save her

But the prince was cruel

And their marriage turned sour

He left her locked in a cold, dark tower

Where we would sit, watching the world

The whistling trees, the soaring birds, and the beautiful flowers

I would hold her soft hand in mine

While she kissed the corner of my lips 

And sang sweet lullabies

We dreaded the dark

When I was forced to hide in my chamber

And he would return to inflict his mark

On her body, on her soul, on her heart

Yet this night was different

Together, Cinderella and I fought

The disastrous monster

That threatened to tear us apart

We ran down the stairs

And with his keys 

We tore through the locks

Crying as we ran

Out in the world that we dreamed

Gripping each other's hands

Finally free

Following the stars

Chasing the horizon and the sun

We stopped 

To smile at each other

One of her shoes was lost

Her eye was bruised

Her lip was cut

She was never more beautiful

Than as we walked through the fields of flowers and frost

Laughing, and in love, and finally ourselves.