The Dragon Princess’s Private Reply
Verse I
They crowned me in the morning light,
Gold heavy as command,
The realm intact, the banners still—
Exactly as you planned.
They praised my calm, my steady gaze,
The way I did not break…
No one asked what strength demands
When there is no one left
To take it from.
Refrain
I did not cry when they named me queen,
Nor when the bells were rung,
I had already learned that day
How silence weighs on lungs.
You gave your life so I could rule,
So I gave the world my face—
But there are things a crown cannot hold,
And this is one
It cannot replace.
Verse II
You stood where vows are made of bone,
Where fire decides the end,
And chose the throne I had to keep
Over the life we might have spent.
You never asked me what I wanted—
That was your final flaw,
You loved me like a guardian,
Not like a man
Who could have asked.
Refrain
They say you died for duty’s sake,
For order, peace, and law,
But you died because you would not let
The world
Take more
From me
Than it already had.
And now they kneel before my seat,
Unknowing, unaware—
That every judgment I pass here
Still asks
What you would dare.
Bridge (spoken, breaking)
You thought sparing me the choice was kindness.
You were wrong.
You took my grief…
But you also took my answer.
Verse III
I wear my crown the way you taught—
With patience edged in steel,
I let the realm believe I’m whole
Because the realm must feel
That someone stands between the fire
And everything they fear…
But when the hall is empty, love,
You are the only voice
I hear.
Final Refrain
I will rule as if you’re watching still,
As if you might return,
I will love no one the way I could
Have loved you
If the world had learned.
And if the gods keep anything,
If fire remembers true—
Then know this wasn’t sacrifice alone…
It was love
That chose the realm
Over
You.
Outro (barely written, never sung)
They say the flame endures.
They’re wrong.
It doesn’t endure.
It remembers.
And so do I.
AelorynAshmere
