The Lay of Princess Lune (III)

THE ICY WOOD (lines 101 - 194)

This is the third instalment of the lay; here are the other published instalments, in case you’re up to a different one:

I. PROLOGUE

II. THE PRIEST

(you are here)

IV. THE CASTLE

V. THE MADMAN

VI. THE MONSTER

FINALE

---

Craigellachie (2024).

III. THE ICY WOOD

The night had come, the wind was cold;
In western clouds, the thunder rolled;
The faerie moon, above, away,
Made shadows on the road at play;
The knight set out upon his quest
Into the icy, darkling west;
Ere long, the town was lost to sight;
Into the woods then went the knight.

A few steps in, the glow was blocked
By branches high and interlocked.
But head bowed low against the breeze,
The knight's one thought was not to freeze.
And so it was a few long hours,
Wandering beneath the boughs,
Before he thought of what the priest
Had given him -- to wear, at least.

He pulled the shroud out from his bag,
And heard a distant, laughing hag.
He wrapped the cloth about his head,
A hood and scarf, and onwards tread.

The echo of that wicked laugh
Did twist and curl upon the draught,
And in those icy woods, the knight
Began to see an odd green light;
A silken voice came from a mist
That hung about the light -- a kiss.

'Why do you fear to wander here
With head and neck uncovered, Dear?
It was so nice to see a slice
Of skin so flushed with knightly feist.
You look forlorn, damaged and torn,
When that bedraggled shroud is worn.
A knight should look a knight, and brook
No fearful, dull commands from crooks.
Your shoulders square; wind in your hair;
Make ladies stare and demons flare.'

'I have been warned to wear this hood
Just while I wander in this wood.'
The knight did pause a moment though
And question why it should be so.

'Come now, my knight, don't lose to fright
The virtue of your station's might.
Come now, and see, you can be free
To walk, head high, and honest be ...
Still wondering what it might bring?
I'll make a deal, that's just the thing.
I'll step out from the mist, my knight,
And once I do, you must not fight.'

So saying, she then left the mist
And stepped out on the road -- what bliss!
The light came from her emerald eyes,
Which were so full of lust and lies.
The knight began, without a thought,
To dismantle the hood he'd wrought.
He rushed to meet the alluring creature,
Entranced, spell-bound, by every feature.

But as they met, she bared her teeth
And bit his throat, a thirsty thief.
From blood-loss, cold and lust, he fell,
And scrambled back to break the spell.
But even as he drew his sword,
The dryad cried, 'Have mercy, Lord!'

She fell upon her knees and wept;
The knight went still, and silence kept.
'This wood is cursed, we dryads thirst
For blood to push away the worst
Of endless dark without a dream,
So hopeless does our waking seem.
The monster, in his darkling lair,
Has tarnished all this realm, once fair,
And with the king's own daughter's blood
Commands this realm with thirst to flood.
I'm sorry, I could not resist.
Against my will, the thirst insists ...
But slay me now with sword most bright
And end this God-forsaken night.
And keep that shroud about your head;
No dryad wants one who seems dead.'
The lady then did cease to speak,
And for the sword did her eyes seek.

'I shall not slay you,' said the knight,
And donned the shroud, this time quite tight.
'But tell me, is there poison in
This bite upon my neck -- it stings.'

The lady wailed and nodded once.
'The thirst will soon, my knight, confront.'

'I see,' intoned the knight, at length,
'Then pray for God to give me strength ...
Indeed, stay not a moment here
But run now east till skies are clear,
And find a place of solitude,
And pray my task will well conclude.'

She rose and fled then through the dark;
Upon his throat, she left her mark.

---

---

TO BE CONTINUED …

The knight knew he must hurry now
To slay the loathsome beast somehow [...]

Click here for the next instalment.

---