She’d
Play hide and seek
                          By day
Within borders of contentment
              Or knit words without sound

She stayed but one weekend
                           Over solstice
                        In a tree house
I never saw her wings
But she’d flown
Leaving only a slice of gingerbread cake
                        Settled under a rowan tree

The cold bodies rustled through the golden leaves of the forest as the young vampires Aleksandr, Lev and his sister Ana along with a handful of rogue vampires were searching for prey and the night was dark as the vampires hunted. They traced the prey’s scent until Ana raised her voice behind him, "Alek!", a lone werewolf lunged upon him as he opened his fangs to strike the werewolf with a fanged scratch to his muzzle, the werewolf then winced before vanishing into the woods as his brother Lev came up next to him and murmured “that was too close to the sun” as Ana agreed, “we were fortunate to have not killed the werewolf” and Aleksandr understood their words, for he knew that if he had slain the werewolf then the vampires and werewolves would enter war.

The gusts of wind had blown back Aleksandr’s long, wavy light ash blond hair as the group had returned to the cabin by the elder trees blanketed with green moss and were known by their branches that twisted, cascaded then descended as life and death itself. While the vampires spoke in the cabin, he walked out and started the path to the stream while his muscled arms lightly swayed to the music of the crickets in song. The stars shone as he reached the familiar waters, Aleksandr then heard the soft wings in flight approaching him as he witnessed his fairy companion Hilaera in flight towards him, he widened his scarlet eyes that sunk into the light of the moon as he smiled gently at her and called, “You have arrived at last, my beloved”.

Hilaera held her vampire close to her as he felt her scent of jasmine, wild berries and herbs, Aleksandr then ran his hand through her soft dark brown hair as her warm, magical light had floated upon them in their unity. As time had come to pass while the light of dawn slowly crept, Aleksandr sensed Hilaera’s flower-perfumed embrace in her kiss before she whispered to him “Often I muse, what do I mean in your heart, Alek"? The vampire glistened in his eyes and murmured, “You alone are love, that is the rose of beauty and thorns”. The two lovers felt the golden light falling upon the earth and Aleksandr was compelled to leave before he whispered to his lover, “Our goodbye is never forever” to which she returned in her magical voice, “Yes, for you are the moon to my petals as I am reborn in your arms” as they parted ways through the forest, for the sun awakens the earth and the moon lies in waiting for the lovers.

Not in a palace, but rather where purpose redeems,
Cinderella learnt the value of dreams.
She discovered her own brightness
amid the ashes—not by elaborate clothing, but rather with inner strength,  that's surely inspiring.

Despite the loud mocking from her step-sisters ,
she managed to rise above the superficial whispers.
Her inner personality was shown in deeds of kindness;
Her daily compass was patience and righteousness.

Her destiny wasn't sealed by the glass slipper, but it did highlight her great in  her ,
Since genuine magic exists in her heart
So bold that it sets her apart


Ler her path to encourage you to take a chance
It’s when you struggle you will find your stance
Let Cinderella's story be a reflection for you to see
That everyone of us has the ability to set ourselves free .

©Priyanka Bhagat

A muse will amuse herself with little interaction that spark the fires of artistic endeavor.

A muse will amuse herself with the poking and proding of the weather beaten beast that boasts of great skills in the caging of thoughts and feelings.

A muse will wither away in a place where there is nothing to amuse herself with...

Therefore she will search for that one hunter that can track down the wildest of ideas, the one that can take down the most dangerous experiences and tame them for the masses.

She will land on the shoulders of that one predator that can drag prey into the dwelling of the many and feed them all with the morsels of this glorious hunt.

So hunt on, dear hunter.
Hunt on and be the plaything of thine muse.

Fairies knit tales, but they don’t have tails, I don’t think.  
Dog’s do.
Long,
with an abrupt end – that’s usually moving,
while never escaping its tether.
Is that the idea? – that no matter how far the tail goes,
it will never get out of hand.
Unless it’s docked of course – that is the saddest tail,
a stump of a tail that still tries its best,
but is destined for a short and disappointing end.

If I were a dog without a tail, I think I’d think it was the end of the world.

If I were a fairy without a tale – I would be sadder still.

The End.

It's funny how people say for others
"Don't judge a book by its cover".
Honey, I've read the whole series -
I still want my refund,
Believe me, that story never got interesting nor pretty.
It was comfort when you're feeling down,
It was home when no one else was around,
It was fun, when you needed a good time to laugh.

Why I want a refund you'd ask?
The magic forest isn't just pretty fairies and unicorns, right?
So was this book.
Cover ain't pretty, but we don't judge it - we give it a try.
Yet, under all the magic,
there's something scary, that could make you lose your pride.
Ugly witches, goblins, trolls,
but isn't the forest also their home?
Story can't always be bright,
But when the dark consumes all the light,
the book is no longer your anchor.
The pages contain ungly spells that make you feel like you're reading something else.
One of the trolls probably tried to trick me - he succeeded.
Can't believe once I've said this book was everything I needed.

Could be the troll,
could be the narrator,
could be just me,
but the comforting fairy tale,
is no longer what it used to be.

And I believe you feel the same way as me,
as this was our first and last journey,
cause the story got way too ugly so we both decided that it's just not worth it.

So, you see, I didn't judge it before,
nor will I do it now.
Yet, I'd like to bring it all back,
wishing I've never read that series nor reach its finale.