I go by the name Haley. I am twenty one years old. I work alot, read alot, write alot and love to cook. My favorite kind of music is metal. I prefer folk/viking, black, goth, death and power metal.

~A Queen's Journey~

Would you like to hear a story from long ago?
Of a place and time and of people that you do not know?

A tale about a woman so fair and so true,
one with long golden hair and armor of steely blue?

One who was consumed with emptiness and had traveled far from her land.
To seek a prophet of wisdom, guidance, to offer her a helping hand.

So it was that she set sail on the seas all alone,
charted a course that took her to waters new and unknown.

And when she finally landed on this distant, new and exotic shore,
she strode forth confidently, as the rain fell relentlessly in heavy downpour.

And sitting there in my cottage near the beach i did see her form,
I beckoned her to me to dry, while by my fire she warmed.

Thus stood before me a warrior maiden clad in iron and mail.
Her strength and skill so evident, she was one who clearly did not accept to fail.

And she looked at me as she stood by my fire, and she spoke,
the power of her voice climbing ever higher,

"I have travelled from lands quite far,
so kind sir, do tell me who you are."

Obligingly i looked her dead in the eye, and i said unto her,
"My lady i am he who will one day in this spot die."

And she smiled and spoke now softly,
reaching out her hand as i offered her some coffee,

"So my fellow with hair of gold, i see you are a poet,
your presence here was to me foretold.

And yet over your mantle i spy a knightly longsword,
so it seems evident that you too were once a mighty battle lord."

And as I chuckled I nodded ever so slow,
"Tell me my lady, what is it you wish to know?"

And she spoke to me as my face she read,
in a voice more pure than any songbird, this is what she said,

"Friend with eyes of blue, i seek advice, and i hope that it is true.
For i have fought in many battles and slain countless enemy dead,
but i feel so empty, and at night when i close my eyes,
the cries of they i've felled echo in my head.

I cannot help but wonder what is my purpose here,
for my gods they do not make such things very clear.

It is for my now forgotten lands and righteousness that i fight,
but all around me i am surrounded by darkness, cold, and night.
Can you offer some wisdom, some words to make it all seem right?"

And so i looked at this proud warrior queen,
one trapped in a land of horrible waking dreams.

For many hours i considered her plight,
pondered carefully to make sure my words were right.

And after some time and her expressions i'd read,
I leaned forward and in a whisper i said,

"To stand in the light, fair maiden,
this is all that is required to bask in it's might.

Mighty mistress, who has come to the land of the North,
I see what you seek, what has brought you forth.

You are filled with crushing pain and regret,
but dwelling on such things does only more hurt beget.

Hopelessness and remorse, these things fade if a maiden stays her course.

To be lost, rudderless and blue, I also have known this pain,
for my lady when the sky is grey and I taste the rain, I feel it too.

What would you give to move to the light,
to feel a sense of belonging, of pride, to at last feel right?

Would you risk your heart, your body and your soul,
would you offer these things to someone who could make you whole?

Does it eat at your mind to feel so lost,
would you do anything to end it, no matter the cost?

Tell me my lady, but take your time,
what would you give if these things you could find?"

And the maiden sat by my fire, and she pondered a long while.
And so it was for many days that she was lost in a trance,
seeking the answer, abandoning denial.

And at last on the fifth day she looked at me with eyes so blue.

And it was at that moment i realized i had never seen such beauty,
i tell you this now, for it is true.

Her voice sprang forth softly, and of course the words that would follow i already knew,

"Great king from whom i've come to from the South,
i have wandered endlessly, but yet always sought your house.

And now that i have at last found you here,
and pondered your questions, my destiny is unerringly clear.

When i asked you earlier to tell me who you are,
you responded with a riddle, so that your shroud of mystery you did not marr.

So i say to you now, 'He who will one day in this spot die,'
now that i've found you my heart soars and my spirits climb high.

For i am she who will in this spot die beside you,
that i belong to you, somehow, i have long known to be true.

It is fate, destiny, which has brought me here.
To be at your side, with you, to have you always near.

And so long as you are near me i shall never fear,
for i know you will protect me from all the world's demons, that much is clear."

And i looked at this fine maiden, she who would soon be my wife, and i knew that i had been sitting here waiting in this very spot for her arrival for all of my life.

And i looked at my love, and spoke to her in a voice so gentle,
as if she were the most delicate dove,

"My Queen i shall be your King, and you shall forever be safe from evil and harm,
and i will hereafter protect you under my caring arm.

And at night when you sleep i will guard you from all the evils of the land, and in the morning when you wake i will be there, always, to hold your hand.

And one day, when we both close our eyes at last, and our time on this earth has past, we shall fly into the skies on the wings of angels rising fast.

And as we enter the kingdom of everlasting life, i will look at you one final time, and i will thank the gods and know that you will be forever my wife.

So my lady this is all i wish to say,
and the gods know it to be true...

I will always love you.

~Billy, 2010 (revised)