Happily ever after,

The tale's finished and done.

By the knight, a princess saved,

By the princess, a kingdom won.

It never used to be,

This peaceful gentle way,

For the Princess' evil uncle

Had a plan one day.

In his mind was jealousy

For the king, his brother dear.

He killed the king and took his daughter,

For in his heart was fear.

In a forest not far from there,

Among the animals and fairy folk,

A young knight stood, his sword in hand.

To other knights, he was a joke.

His knees were knobbly, his balance wobbly,

His face still round with baby fat.

Yet he truly wished to be the best

The Tree Trudger would see to that.

A strange skinny creature with eyes of blue,

He had hair of leaves and skin of bark.

He told the knight, "You have potential,

All you're lacking is a spark."

By day the knight would train

With others, energy storing,

For later training in the woods

With the Trudger so alluring.

When the uncle came to power,

And his word was set as law,

All knights gave up, except for one;

A chance for glory is what he saw.

The Trudger did not like it,

For even experts would surely slip.

He was not ready to send his student

Into death's deleterious grip.

Yet in the night he did set out,

Under the Trudger's sleepy nose.

On a journey of danger and honor,

All the while facing foes.

When he reached the castle dark,

He heard the princess give a shout.

"You have to hurry," The lady cried,

"For your time is running out!"

An evil laughter sounded,

Resonating in the young knight's ears.

"Do you really think you have a chance?"

Whispered the nagging voice of fears.

Atop the steps said a man,

Ebony eyes alight with rage,

"You cannot save her, little fool!

It's time to enter a new age!"

The boy stood tall and rose his blade,

A fighting stance he was taking.

One thing betrayed his brave façade,

His clenched fist was violently shaking.

The evil man snickered, rather amused.

Did the boy not know he had already lost?

It seemed the child was determined

To save the princess, no matter the cost.

The young knight knew he stood no chance,

The evil man still had a grin.

The boy knew what he had to do,

Though his chance of living was very thin.

He charged the man, letting out a shout.

The evil man narrowed his shifty eyes.

Dark blade met flesh, yet so did light.

Darkness fell, never to rise.

The boy pulled a hand away from his chest,

His glove had turned the color red.

He fell to the ground, and the princess knew

The boyish knight was surely dead.

The kingdom gathered the next day,

To celebrate their homeland free.

Yet for the princess and grieving Trudger,

It was for his memory.

A figure watched with a tearful smile,

And although his story was rather cliché,

The kingdom was saved, and that at least,

Made him happy in a way.

There was no 'Happily ever after'

For the boy struck down in his prime.

Though he's not finished, in fact it's his

Once upon a time.