Act V
Cassano was troubled by Thaliela’s words,
And he was feeling very confused,
Was this charming queen trustworthy,
Or perhaps was he being used?
Petrio advised him to avoid the fruit,
Yet Thaliela said it would be delicious,
He was enticed by Inferno Island,
Though Petrio said it was really pernicious.
But what ultimately caught his attention,
Was what he felt deep down inside,
One person was characterized by selflessness,
The other by puffed-up pride;
Thaliela’s presence was very exciting,
But a nagging agitation wouldn’t cease,
Meanwhile, Petrio’s words of wisdom
Filled Cassano’s heart with harmonic peace.
Then he remembered Petrio’s warning:
That he would face a very severe test,
He wondered about Thaliela’s intentions,
For she seemed to be very obsessed;
The candle and the scroll she wanted --
This much was crystal clear,
She was ready to pounce like a wildcat
If ever he would let her near.
Instead of doing what his passions craved,
He decided to do what he ought,
So he dropped the fruit, and chose sides for the
Battle that was finally ready to be fought;
He ran over and found Petrio’s candle,
Which had a signet seal on each side,
One was a cameo of the respected King,
The other was of a beautiful bride.
Thaliela was frozen with incredulity,
As she watched Cassano light the candle,
She spied him through her looking glass,
And it was more than she could handle;
At first the candle’s flame barely flickered,
And it was really very, very small,
But ever so gradually it grew much larger,
Until it became exceedingly tall.
It slowly hardened into a sword’s blade,
Of a bold bright dazzling gold,
Cassano fell to his knees in sheer wonder,
And was awed if the truth be told;
The golden sword gleamed with brilliance,
Almost like the noonday sun,
The Dark One was filled with fanatical
Fear, for he was about to be undone.
Then gradually a luminous orb appeared,
Over the glowing magical sword,
And rays of light from within its center
With dazzling brightness poured;
The fuzzy form of a woman appeared,
In the midst of this mystical vision,
Then there was a blinding burst of light,
As if two stars had had a collision.
Cassano squinted his eyes, as the brightness
Very gradually began to subside,
And standing before him was a beautiful
Woman who was regal and dignified;
Her aquamarine eyes were fully alive,
And their goodness melted his heart,
Her smiling red lips were full of joy,
Piercing his being like a delightful dart.
Her long, light-brown hair, cascading over
Her shoulders, was like a lovely waterfall,
And she wore a very beautiful white gown,
As if she were attending an elegant ball;
This woman had a slender physique,
And was brimming with poise and grace,
But what struck him most was the feeling he had
When he looked at her compassionate face.
“Do you know who I am?" she asked,
Almost as if she were feeling sorry,
Cassano replied, “Without a doubt, you are
The honorable Lady of Stellamare”;
To affirm that he had spoken the truth,
She nodded with a very sweet smile,
Never before had Cassano met someone
So completely free from guile.
As Cassano looked at this Lady’s face,
It most certainly made him start,
He noticed it was the same one carved
Into the candle with such art;
The Lady said, “Let’s try to move quickly,
For the Dark One is on the alert.”
She knew that danger was approaching,
And she didn’t want Cassano to get hurt.
So she gripped the sword in her hands,
And took her stance in the ready position,
Her face showed no signs of fear,
For she was ready to complete her mission;
Then Thaliela appeared with her maidens,
Which assembled in a very large pack,
They totally encircled the two of them,
And awaited the signal to attack.
Thaliela had become very wild-eyed,
With her left eye swirling black and red,
It looked like a hypnotic hurricane,
And Cassano was filled with dread;
This same black-and-red hurricane
Spun also in the maidens’ left eyes,
Cassano had no doubt whatsoever
That Thaliela spoke nothing but lies.
Then Thaliela, like a threatened animal,
Madly screeched a beastly battle cry,
And the volcano exploded with a deafening
Blast, so that the lava was shooting high;
At that instant Thaliela’s hair transformed
Into fanatical fiery flames,
He realized this island was insanely evil,
As indeed the prophet Petrio claims.
Meanwhile, molten lava rained down
Like meteors from the maniacal mountain,
There’s no doubt that this vicious volcano
Was now a convulsive, fulminating fountain;
The magic maidens were seething with
Hatred, and forward they frantically rushed,
It truly appeared as if Cassano’s great
Hopes were finally about to be crushed.
The Lady horizontally swung the sword,
Its golden blade flashing bright,
And shooting out from it were pearl-like
Orbs of sizzling, crackling light;
With strength and swiftness, she spun
Completely around, athletic and alert,
Thaliela knew that danger was near,
So she very abruptly hit the dirt.
As the magic maidens rushed forward,
They were speared by the hot beads of light,
Then, black and red, their blood gushed
Forth before having the chance to take flight;
The Lady saw her opportunity, so she
Quickly took Cassano by the hand,
Then speedily they ran side-by-side
Toward the beach’s burning black sand.
Like multitudinous meteorites, molten
Rocks crashed and exploded all around,
They revengefully ripped open the island’s
Flesh and terrifyingly tore into the ground;
For Thaliela things were not proceeding
According to her insidious plan,
So faster than the speed of darkness,
With flaming hair she obsessively ran.
She tried to overtake the escapers, for
She wanted possession of the candle,
And the painful thought of it eluding her
Was more than she could handle;
As the Dark One’s favorite servant,
She was given special magical powers,
But now that she’s losing the battle,
Her mercurial disposition really sours.
When the Lady reached the beachfront,
She carefully removed each sandal,
Then she waved her hand over the sword,
And it transformed back into a candle;
With patience and poise the Lady lit it again,
So Cassano could reach his ultimate goal,
Then she sweetly smiled at him, asking
Him to loudly read the magical scroll.
It was in a melodic yet mystical tongue,
Full of guttural sounds and trills,
As the evil Thaliela rapidly approached,
The sound of it gave her the chills;
White smoke gradually materialized,
And rose up from the ancient scroll,
It became a cloud most dazzlingly bright,
Though the night was as dark as coal.
The delightful fragrance of this cloud of
Incense made Thaliela cough and wheeze,
Then the little cloud gradually disappeared,
In a magical, mystical breeze;
Thaliela looked around quite puzzled,
For her enemies had taken flight,
Through the King’s unconquerable power,
They had victoriously vanished from sight.
Thaliela and her maidens wailed in pain
And their hatred grew and grew,
And at that instant the volcano burst
Open and was totally torn in two;
The vanquished volcano was wounded,
And its bloody red guts poured out,
Truly the Dark One had been outwitted,
Of this there was certainly no doubt.
When Cassano awoke, he was blinded,
By a dazzlingly brilliant light,
He desperately needed some assistance,
In order to regain his sight;
Then the Lady touched both of his eyes,
With the candle’s flickering flame,
Without even feeling the slightest pain,
Perfect vision to Cassano soon came.
Then above, he saw rippling white clouds
That looked like waves in the skies,
Below, the blue ocean sparkled so bright,
Like millions of starry fireflies;
Glancing to the right, he saw great grandeur:
A palace of glittering gold,
Like the lovely tips of a towering tiara,
Its diamond spires were a sight to behold.
The city streets and sidewalks were paved
With the most precious of elegant pearls,
And at the entrance to the main gate,
The kingdom’s flag peacefully unfurls;
The people contentedly walked about,
At a relaxed and comfortable pace,
They all seemed so cheerful and happy,
With not a frown in the entire place.
Surrounding the palace, along the coast,
Was the striking city of Paradise Bay,
The people’s houses were made of gems
That gloriously gleamed during the day;
With twelve varieties of colorful stones,
The city’s splendid skyline was very pretty,
Truly Cassano had never yet seen
A more breathtakingly beautiful city.
There was red jasper, flaming gold topaz,
And sapphire of a brilliant blue,
There was luminous lavender amethyst,
And the most elegant emerald too;
There was caramel-colored sardonyx,
And an attractive aquamarine beryl,
Twelve in all lined the magnificent streets
That were made of the most precious pearl.
Then he saw his beloved wife Chiara
Under two blooming magnolia trees,
She was holding the most exquisite rose,
And her brown curls blew in the breeze;
When they both recognized each other,
Time almost seemed to stand still,
He exuberantly and rapidly ran to her,
And they embraced atop a hill.
Then he cavalierly took her by the waist
And quickly swung her right around,
Cassano had thought she was gone forever,
But what was lost had now been found;
Giddy with joy, they toppled right over,
And rolled to the hill’s very base,
As he looked into her deep dark eyes,
The happiest of smiles was on his face.
Cassano felt a serenity like never before,
Experiencing an incredibly beautiful bliss,
He caressed Chiara’s cheek with his hand
Before giving her a loving kiss;
The Lady knelt down before her King,
Returning the candle and the scroll,
Cassano finally found his long-lost wife,
So the Lady had accomplished her goal.
The King nobly nodded in approval to all,
For the fulfillment of his master plan,
Cassano had bravely proven himself,
More like a knight than just a man;
Cassano listened to wise Petrio’s words,
Of this, truly, he was never sorry,
He was grateful to a very special lady,
The magnificent Lady of Stellamare.