My Favorite Poem Is...

Footprints in the Sand


        One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
             Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
                  In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
                       Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
                           other times there were one set of footprints.

                                  This bothered me because I noticed
                                that during the low periods of my life,
                             when I was suffering from
                         anguish, sorrow or defeat,
                     I could see only one set of footprints.

          So I said to the Lord,
      "You promised me Lord,
         that if I followed you,
             you would walk with me always.
                   But I have noticed that during
                          the most trying periods of my life
                                 there have only been one
                                       set of footprints in the sand.
                                           Why, when I needed you most,
                                          you have not been there for me?"

                                 The Lord replied,
                          "The times when you have
                  seen only one set of footprints,
          is when I carried you."
                                                   Mary Stevenson


This is my favorite poem, because I am a very religious person and this poem came to me at a time when I most needed it. It reminds me that the Lord is always there for me, no matter what I may do or what may happen.

A Royal Legacy-Excerpt

Alexia-Chapter One

The crowd around me cheered for blood. The blood of the last royal as she made the lonely trek towards the guillotine. He long black hair was dirty and hugged pieces of leaves and twigs close. Her green eyes held the smoke of a fire recently put out. She looked at me briefly, before turning her head upwards towards the leader of the revolution that demanded her death. I followed her gaze and gripped my younger brother, Jammy’s hand tightly. Dad had told us not to come. That we weren’t allowed. But we came anyway. Our leader looked down on her with cold eyes that broke my heart.

“Any last words?” the executioner asked. She continued to look up into the balcony seat where our leader sat.

“I love you!” she shouted. Her voice was carried away by the screams of the people around me. She kneeled and placed her head under the blade. I turned my brother around, hugging him to my chest tightly, and covering his ears. I looked back up to our leader. I could see his will cracking as he suddenly stood and gripped the railing of the balcony.

“No! No, stop!” he yelled. His voice was ignored as the blade dropped. With a sickening sound, the deed was done. I grabbed my brother’s hand and ran through the crowd back home. Tears were in both of our eyes as we weaved in and out of people, desperate to get back to the safety of our house. No one noticed us and we made it back quickly.

“Well? Did you see?” Grandma asked from her chair by the fire. Her gray hair was pulled  back into a tight bun and she looked at us with sad brown eyes. I nodded, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. Grandma opened her arms to us. Jammy went running to her and sobbed against her. I remained where I was.

“I’m going to my room,” I stated, before running there. I locked the door behind me and sat on the bed. Grabbing my pillow, I hugged it close to myself and cried. I looked down and noticed a stack of papers that were bound together. With a shaking hand, I reached out and grabbed them. On the front, in elegant script were the words, “The Last Royal.” I flipped the page open and began reading.


A note from Erza: This is an idea that I've been nurturing for quite a few years. It started when I was learning about the French revolution and I came up with the idea of an Anastasia like Princess set in a French culture in a fictional world. It's only recently that I've decided to start from Alexia's point of view. I'm really excited to continue writing this and hope you, dear readers, enjoy it.