Maeve

Seated on her throne, she is a dark queen
Shadows splayed behind her in a semblance of blood, cloth
Her eyes have scanned the stars for the signs of her salvation
But it will not come in time
She is her only hope

The warrior inside her wakes
A cruel creation of the vital fluids
She has bathed in it since she was a child
A sword in her hand
A spear
A blade

Tendons cut like meat
Bones broken with pale white chips
Flung to the heavens
The hearts that ceased to bleed

She’d hoped that he would come
He could have saved her enemy
His way with words, he could have swayed them
But he has not come
And she cannot wait

So her fate is sealed

She will wipe them from the earth
And the others will kill her for it

“I am betrayed by those who say they are friends
And should I defend myself,
I will not only be turned away
I shall be turned against”

But she will not yield

The warrior inside her makes her stand
The shadows pull with her
A dark, dark cloak
But it gives her some comfort
This reflection of the night
Hanging off her shoulders

The warrior has waited for blood
Poised inside her
Crouched

The years came alive in her head
Memory for memory
The masters that had trained her
The methods she had learned

Her skills would be challenged now
She’d had little use for them before
But this was new
The warrior exhilarated
This was war