When last we left the lady, she had a choice to make.
The life of her beloved and her own soul were at stake.
Will she sacrifice herself to save the one she loves,
Or will she yet prove selfish now that push has come to shove?

She stands and thinks—and hesitates—can this all be real?
It's so bizarre she isn't sure in what way she should feel.
Better that her lover had been caught with her and killed
Than that he should have to face the ire of the folk below the hill.
The room spins about her as the knights begin to quarrel.
Which has better value: The fighter or the girl?
And she longed for adventure with her love, not endless woes—
Now should she save herself or save the stallion and the rose?

It snaps together in an instant—she knows what she would do,
She speaks and draws the notice of all men in the room.
"The safety of my father's lands is paramount to my own,
So I will go to Adwain's aid and they'll swiftly send him home."
"But I need you to curry favor in the house of pine and boar—"
"Your favored knight, or marriage contracts—which one matters more?
I know my value to you, father, is more than you'd propose,
And you're better off not surrendering the stallion and the rose."

There is no more arguing—she has said her piece.
She will go to save her love, and suit the sidhe's caprice.
With no lack of trepidation, she oversees the maids
Who pack up her necessities to send her on her way.
The day comes all too quickly when she sets out with her guard
To spend a fortnight on the highway, pushing, pushing hard.
And finally the night arrives when she must pay the debt she owes,
And enter lands unknown to save the stallion and the rose.

The world of mortals fades away beneath the twilight sky.
Reluctantly the lady bids her former life goodbye.
Although she fantasized of leaving her sheltered life behind,
She never dreamed she'd one day be the captive of the faerie kind.
She looks to see what master now claims her for his own,
And hopes her lover makes it safely back to his fair home.
But there is no cruel elven lord to threaten or impose—
Instead there stands Sir Adwain of the stallion and the rose.

His face is free of worry and his raiment very fine.
He looks more like a noble lord than a prisoner confined
To dungeons of some alien lord for the last four weeks or so,
And his eyes allude to secrets she is not prepared to know.
"I welcome you to Faerie now, my love from the world of men,
And hope that you will stay with me and never leave again.
I'll share with you a confidence no other mortal knows—
'Twas the elven lords who begat the house of the stallion and the rose.

"I have lived among your kin for decades this time around,
And while I watched and studied them, your gentle love I found.
Since we could never marry there, I organized this ruse,
And hope a life with me is the one that you would rather choose."
Through his confident façade, she sees his worry plain,
But there's no doubt within her mind with whom she'd rather stay.
She smiles at her lover, and her youthful visage glows
As she falls into the loving arms of the stallion and the rose.