Terri Stansfield
The Wraith
Part 1
I stand before the magistrate
Awaiting my sentence
And my mind goes back
To ponder the events that have brought me to this
And I know that given the opportunity
To go back to the beginning
My actions would be the same
There was no choice to be made
Not really
I did what had to be done
And regardless of what fate awaits me
I have no regrets
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
Part 2
I was living the life of a titled lady
Comfortable in my country estate
Seeing to the needs of the people on my lands
With my parents dead, and my brother away at war
The well being was my responsibility
And one I took quite seriously
We were having a very prosperous year
And all were happy and content
When word happened to reach me of royal unrest
Of course, living so far from the city
And the excitement of a life at court
I was always eager for news of any kind
But I hardly saw how this bit could affect me
Or my people
Oh, how very wrong I turned out to be
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
Part 3
For a short while thereafterwards
Life went on as usual
And it was oh so slowly that the changes came
At least, they were slow to be noticed
My people had long made the journey to the city to sell
their goods
With good relations between themselves and the city
dwellers
But now, there was haggling
And not of the good natured kind
My people were waylayed
Robbed of their goods, and their dignity
Harassed by the constabulary
Until finally, I forbade them to make the trek
We had sufficient supplies to fulfill our needs
And any luxuries to be obtained from the city
Would just have to be forgone
The safety of my people was more important
I could protect them here, on my lands
Or so I thought
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
Part 4
As time passed, the situation only grew worse
Greater unrest and discord
Rumors of rebellion
Still, I didn't see how it could affect my people
As long as we remained within our borders
Perhaps I didn't want to see
Ultimately though, I was given no choice
In the middle of the night
There came a pounding on my door
I reached the portal at the same time as several of my
servants
As we wrenched it open
A young lad fell into my arms
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
This part mentions an attack upon women and a murder,
but is in no way graphic.
Part 5
After we had seen to his needs
He told me his sad tale
He and his family lived on my border's very edge
As they'd sat down for their evening meal
Soldiers had burst through the door
Killed his father before he'd even had a chance to rise
Attacked his mother and sister before killing them as
well
The boy had managed to hide
And remain undetected
The soldiers took anything that was of worth
And set fire to the buildings
Then rode away
As soon as they were gone, the lad ran to me
I had never dreamed it would come to this
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
Part 6
I sent word for my brother to return immediately
But even with my fastest courier
It would be weeks before he arrived
I gathered all of my people in as close to the manor as
I could
I enlisted as many men as possible in a call to arms
And scheduled sentries around the clock
And so we held our own awaiting my brother's return
I received reports from scouts
All of my holdings on the outer boundaries were taken
Buildings burned, crops destroyed, livestock killed
And yet, what could I do?
I was but one person, and a woman at that
I prayed for my brother's speedy homecoming
And finally, my prayers were answered
Or so I thought
In the distance I saw my courier and my brother's squire
As well as a few others approaching
My heart was filled with joy
To at last be able to place this in his capable hands
But as they neared, my heart filled with dread
My brother was not among them
And the message they bore was clearly written on their
faces
Oh Sweet Heaven, my brother was dead
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
Part 7
And so it was that I truly became liege
And all who had looked to my brother
Now looked to me
My brother's squire, and the others with him
Had gone to the city before returning home
In order to inform the prince of my brother's death
And it was from them that I learned the truth of things
The prince had been taken with a mysterious illness
And his worthless brother now sat on the throne
T'was only a temporary arrangement
As soon as the prince recovered
He would once again assume the throne
But no one had been able to see the prince
Or speak to him
Since he'd fallen ill
And his brother was taking the entire kingdom to ruin
T'was rumored, though none could verify
That the prince's illness was from causes not natural
Thus, I determined I must find out for myself
And since I was well known to the courtiers
Though it was rare indeed that I attended court
A disguise was called for, and a plan
And so was born The Wraith
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/13/2001
Part 8
My men, for so I now thought of them, and I
Entered the city under stealth of night
The walls, once well guarded
Were deserted, save for two sleepy sentries
And we slipped inside unnoticed
The castle was guarded not much better
And we made it inside without detection
We reached the prince's quarters
And there, we found the guards
Alert, and at the ready
There was but one way to gain access
And that was through them
It took but a moment for the decision to be made
And with a shout, we attacked
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 10
He was so weak, he could barely speak
But his plea was clear
He wanted me to take him away from the castle
This was not what we had planned
And yet, how could I refuse
And so, when we left the city that night
The prince went with us
Barely clinging to life
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 11
After that night stories ran rampant
About the wraith that had spirited the prince away
The guards told wild tales
About my band of phantom soldiers
And how they'd strike and then disappear
Of how I'd simply walked through the walls
And taken the prince
How were they supposed to defend against such as that?
And so, the legend was born
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 12
We used the stories to our advantage
Spreading and adding to them ourselves
We took every opportunity availed to us
To cause misfortune to the prince's brother
We intercepted supplies meant for the city
Intervened in the attempts of the soldiers to collect
taxes
On occasion we would even creep into the castle
Our purpose being to keep abreast of the happenings
But while there, we would be sure to make our presence
known
There was a reward out for the return of the prince
And even larger one for the capture of The Wraith
We made it our mission to cause as much chaos as
possible
Until the prince was well enough to reclaim his throne
And he grew stronger every day
But he had been at the very door of death
And his recovery would yet take some time
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 13
I tended to the prince myself
At first he was too weak to do much more than sleep
But as he grew stronger
We began to converse
And I found myself falling in love with him
He was brave and noble
And he made me laugh
Something that was very rare for me in these times
I was fairly certain he was acquiring feelings for me
as well
Though we never spoke of such things
His recovery was slow, but steady
And he grew stronger every day
But between seeing to his needs
And living the life of the daring Wraith
The time flew by
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 14
My men and I were on one of our forays into the city
Word had reached us of increased activity in the castle
We feared that the prince's brother, filthy scoundrel
that he was
Was preparing to pronounce himself ruler
And with no word from the prince himself
Who was to stop him
There was no one
Save us
And so, we made our way into the castle
Straight into an ambush
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 15
We had reached the great hall
When, seemingly out of nowhere
Soldiers were upon us
We were greatly out numbered
Though not out skilled
And we managed to open a route of escape
As my men, one by one, made their getaway
It became apparent that with no one to hold the
soldiers back
They would only pursue us
And so, I held the soldiers back as my men made good
their escape
And even afterwards, for as long as I could
Until finally, I was overpowered
And taken into custody
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 16
And that is how I came to be here
Awaiting the judgement of the magistrate
There was great consternation to discover the Wraith was
a woman
The word witch began to circulate immediately
Even though I had been held in the highest esteem
previously
I had been held in the dungeons for two weeks
I think, in the hopes my men would attempt a rescue
Resulting in their capture as well
But there was no attempt
And so, the mockery of a trial was held
With the would-be prince as judge
I was, of course, found guilty of treason
Though he gave the task of sentencing to the magistrate
I was sure my sentence would be burning at the stake
They had tried to "persuade" me to divulge the
whereabouts of my men
But I told them nothing
Nor would I
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 17
I stand here with the wood piled around me
My hands tied behind my back
I had refused the blindfold
I would stare so deeply into that devil's eyes
The the look would be burned into his black soul
The fire was lit, and I could feel it licking at my
boots
Soon it would devour my flesh
But I would not cry out
I would never give them the satisfaction of that
Just then, there was a disturbance at the city gates
And my men burst through
Though their number had greatly multiplied
And leading them was the prince, himself
The fighting was intense
But the soldiers loyal to the devil spawn soon
surrendered
The others had laid down their swords as soon as they
recognized the prince
The fire that was to consume me was quickly doused
And the would-be prince was taken prisoner
And when the people saw the true prince, alive and well
A huge cheer rang through the city
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 18
Once again, I found myself standing before the throne
Though this time, there was no dread in my heart
The prince had sentenced his brother to a lifetime in
the dungeons
And he had already started to right all of the wrongs
committed on his people
Now I, and my men, stood before him
He praised us for our efforts to foil his brother
And returned to me all of my lands and holdings
Then he asked me a question I found most strange
Did I consider myself a loyal subject to the throne?
What was I to say, but, of course I do
And as such, would I obey any decree coming from the
throne?
Again, I said, of course I will
And then smiling, he said
"By royal decree, you My Lady Wraith, are ordered to
marry the prince."
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001
Part 19
Conclusion
And so, in a rather short span of time
I have gone from being just a titled lady
To being the daring Wraith
And finally, to being a princess
Though I mourn the loss of my brother
And when I think of how close my prince came to death
The very blood in my veins turns cold
I would not change the events of my recent past
For they combined to bring me to this place
And to the love of my life
And after all, think of the stories I shall have to tell
my children
Of the daring Wraith, her phantom band of fighters
And the noble prince who stole her heart
Terri Lyn Stanfield
1/14/2001