While on my journey through this land
I stayed the night at Castle Grand As soon as I had paid my fee
The tower room belonged to me
When in my room I heard the groans
The painful wails and tender moans
From deep within these castle walls
And heard them echo from the halls
My heart told me I should not stay
My captured mind would not obey
While void of form and featured face
I met the man who built this place
We walked the halls and crossed the lawn
And talked until the light of dawn
He told the tales of times gone by
Sometimes I'd laugh but mostly cry
I knew full well that I should go
But I must tell this tale of woe
I start to write as darkness falls
And Master Grand speaks from the walls
So now the mystery will unfold
This is the story that he told
"When I was young, I built this house
To woo and win my loving spouse"
"A child of beauty for my wife
I vowed to love her all my life"
"The joys we shared can not be told
For we were young and often bold"
With loving, laughing every day
We knew true love had come our way"
"And people came from every land
To parties held at Castle Grand"
"Then at the end of our first year
She blessed me with a son so dear"
"And soon another son was here
To fill our lives with love and cheer"
"So as they grew, our first son, Tom
Was just like me and loved his mom"
"But Ted was wild with selfish greed
And would not do just one good deed"
"And then one day when Ted went wild
We couldn't find our eldest child"
"But we both knew that Tom was dead
And knew that he was killed by Ted"
"We must protect our family name
And Ted must not take all the blame"
"My wife and I agreed to leave
And go some place where we could grieve"
(Three tickets to a far off land
Were purchased by the Master Grand)
"But Ted was wise and made his plans
To end our lives at his cruel hands"
"Our dinner wine was poison laced
In hidden graves our bodies placed"
"Our baggage he did have to burn
So from our trip we'd not return"
"It was time for Ted to make his stand
For now he owned the Castle Grand"
"The lady Kay would be his bride
And stand forever by his side"
"With eyes of green and raven hair
Angelic face and skin so fair"
Their wedding bed was free from stain
And she could see it would remain"
"Of married love she tasted not
She was so pure (or so he thought)"
"Although he knew it wasn't right
He gave his love to girls of night"
"Now Kay, he'd lock away at night
And free her with each morning light"
"She found a friend in gardner Joe
And his true love she soon would know"
(In time unfaithfuls will be caught
When they're not doing what they ought)
"When she told Ted she was withchild
The words he used was far from mild"
"His fairest maiden was defiled
The child not his and he went wild"
"Ted put a price on gardener Joe
And he made sure it wasn't low"
"Now to the dungeon room they flew
She was afraid what Ted would do"
"With awful tortures Ted was wild
The second day she lost her child"
"The days of terror, nights of pain
She hoped and prayed she would be slain"
"As Ted began to clear his head
He saw that Kay was almost dead"
"Now he would nurse her back to health
So she would live and share his wealth"
"She'd not forget the gardner Joe
A truer love she'd never know"
"But gardner Joe was on the run
He didn't know what Ted had done"
"As days went by and Kay grew strong
Ted knew to her he must belong"
"Now on the second day of May
Sad news of Joe had come her way"
"A drunken fool and striped of pride
It was in the gutter Joe had died"
"As Ted watched Kay it made him think
She was so sad; he took a drink"
The more he drank, the more he knew
And planned exactly what he'd do"
"He took her with such brutal force
It filled her heart with great remorse"
"It was at this time her mind went bad
She gathered all the strength she had"
"By having stood all she could bear
She turned on Ted; she didn't care"
"She dragged him to the dungeon room
For it was there he'd meet his doom"
"Now she was mad and feeling mean
She put him on the guillotine
"Then from the tower, hung his head
To show the world that he was dead"
"She dragged his body to their room
It was right for it to be their tomb"
"She then sat on their wedding bed
And shot herself right through the head"
I know this story must be true
I'll tell you now, what you should do
If you should roam through castle halls
Be sure to listen to the walls.
Chris Reynolds