The Price of a Rose

I wince as I skid across the cold, stone, floor

Powerless as an unwanted doll

The stone door slams closed

My breath billows out in white clouds before my pale face

What is the price for a single rose?

A father?

My own life?

The damp air seeps through my clothes

And the chill begins to ebb the warmth from my very core

As my body grows colder my anger burns brighter

My only request

A rose

Condemned for asking a simple gift

from a poor father

My actions should not be repaid as this

This is not my cross to bear

Days pass in solitary confinement

With only the glances of a terrible figure beyond the bars

A creature providing

Keeping me

The days grow longer

And my heart turns harder

Every rose has it’s thorns

Until one day

He comes for me

Treats me as a princess

As his bride

Courting me

Me disgust rises like bile in my throat

I could never love any creature with his heart

I stitch a smile to my face

I will leave this place

But not without deception

Just one wrong word

One wrong move

He flies into a vicious fury

Mistreating me

If he is the storm, I am the tree

All I need is one shot

An Achilles Heel

Stockholm has no place in my hardened heart

It comes to me at night

As I stare at the enchanted rose

A loathing fills my icy soul

The life symbol of this Beast

How obscure

That such a bold creature’s fate

Is firmly resting on such a fragile green stem

Twisted between my fateful fingers

Petals fall as drops of blood

His blood

His very life here in the fibers of a flower

Delicate as the snow

Atop his stark tower

So easy it is to pluck such petals free

And watch my freedom become my reality