Mercedes Lackey - Threes

Deep into the stony hills
Miles from town or hold
A troop of guards comes riding
With a lady and her gold
Riding in the Center
Shrouded in her cloak of fur
Companioned by a maiden
And a toothless aged cur

Three things see not end
A flower blighted ere it bloom
A message that was wasted
And a journey that was doomed

One among the guardsmen
Has a shifting restless eye
And as they ride he scans the hills
That rise against the sky
He wears both sword and bracelet
Worth more than he can afford
And hidden in his baggage
Is a heavy secret hoard

Of three things be wary
Of the hungry hunting cat
The shepherd eating mutton
And the guardsman that is fat

From ambush bandits screaming
Charge the pack train and its prize
And all but four within the trade
Are taken by surprise
And all but four are cut down
As a woodsman fells a log
The guardsmen and the lady
And the maiden and the dog

Three things know a secret
First the Lady in a dream
The dogwho barks no warning
And the maiden who does not scream

Then off the lady pulls her cloak
In armor she is clad
Her sword is out and ready and
Her eyes are fierce and glad
The maiden gestures briefly and
The dog's a cur no more
A wolf swordmade and sorceress
Now face the bandit core

Three things never anger
Or you will not live for long
A wolf with cubs
A man with power
And a women's sense of wrong

The bandits growl a challenge
And the lady only grins
The sorceress bows mockingly
And them the fight begins
When it ends there are but four
Left standing from that horde
The witch the wolf the traitor
And the women with the sword

Three things never trust in
A maiden sworn as pure
The vows a kings has given
And the ambush that is sure

They've striped the traitor naked
And they've whipped him on his way
And to the barren hill sides like
The folk he used to slay
They take a thorough vengance
for the women he's cut down
And then they mount their horses
and they journey back to town

Three things trust and cherish well
The horse on which you ride
The beast that guards and watches
And the sister at your side