Sitting in a dungeon, chains upon his hands and feet
waiting for his trial, and understanding his defeat
when he slept he dreamt about that wretched captain’s face
one day if he could he’d like to teach that fool his place
All he had to eat were bits of bread inside his cell
trying to ignore an ever nauseating smell
the dungeon had no windows but a torch was always lit
filling up the room with smoke that made him cough and spit
One day just by chance another criminal was jailed
claiming he had tried to steal a neighbour’s cow and failed
“maybe when I tried to take it, someone might’ve died
they can’t prove the knife was mine though, someone must have lied”
The thief was in the cell beside the hero’s for a week
talkative at first but soon too sick and tired to speak
the hero didn’t like the man, but loneliness set in
he asked the man if he had heard about the hero’s sin
“You’re a big celebrity,” the laughing thief had said
“no one in the kingdom will be happy til you’re dead”
the hero didn’t ask another question after that
quietly he wondered on the future where he sat
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The thief was later taken to be hanged for what he’d done
once again alone, the hero longed to see the sun
days turned into weeks, and then he heard a jailor say
“for crimes against the kingdom, you’ll be tried and hanged today”
The prisoner was led before the royal court to stand
to answer for his crimes, the very worst in all the land
they accused him of so many crimes that he lost count
most of them relying on the victim’s own account
Due to his assault on their own prince’s royal ship
meant to forge a treaty on a diplomatic trip
endless war had only gotten worse in recent years
not a widow in the land would ever dry their tears
Then the final verdict was delivered by a judge
every word he spoke to carry every person’s grudge
“by this pirate’s sword a son was taken from our king
there can be no mercy now for such an evil thing”
The boy could only guess that it was true what they had said
if the prince had fought him then, the prince was truly dead
still he tried to justify the life he had to live
surely his was still a crime that someone could forgive
But every voice he heard at trial was full of rage and spite
endless hours of accusations echoed left and right
the only silent person was the king who sadly sighed
looking at the princess full of anger by his side
Since she was a young girl she’d been longing for the sea
like the queen, the child was kind but stubborn as could be
when he told her she could join her brother, like a fool
how could he have known that she’d return so cold and cruel
The princess didn’t show a shred of mercy at the trial
watching that boy suffer was the only time she’d smile
it seemed like any moment she would kill him then and there
then the court was shocked to hear the king himself declare
“This pirate took my son from me and stole our kingdom’s gold
and brought our royal servants to an auction to be sold
he brought my daughter back, perhaps to ease his guilty mind
but to this pirate’s act of mercy, I’ll respond in kind
Pirate, if redemption really is what you now seek
maybe you shall find it on a battlefield so bleak
you pirates stole our chance of diplomatic means for peace
so go and fight the way you like, until the battles cease”