Down Bandit

“Down bandit!  To your knees!”

Am I not a warrior?  Am I not the scourge of the southeast?

But I fall to my knees regardless.  There’s nothing left for me.  Yes.  Ready to die.

He strikes me.  My vision goes dark.  Blood spews from my face.  And I fall.
Fall to the depths of the pool.

                Please let me die.

She’s watching, her little hands pressed to her mouth in fear.  Tears mark her face. 

                I love you, she whispers.

Who dares love me?  Who dares beg me not to die?

                Live, she cries.

Is love enough to save me?