After the Darkness

"Taran! Oh, Taran!"

Eilonwy's voice rang out over the peaceful greenery of the meadow. Taran's face brightened just at the sound, causing Hen Wen to smile up at the assistant pig keeper. "Here, Eilonwy!" The red haired boy called in response. "Alright, dry off now, you," he told the pig, still smiling at him from the wooden washtub. Hen Wen bounded happily out of the bath water and trotted over to her little shelter. Taran stood and straightened up as Eilonwy reached him, all smiles and blonde hair and the smell of fresh bread wafting around her.

"How are you enjoying yourself, Eilonwy?" Taran asked, taking her hand. The melodic sound of Fflewdder's harp as he plucked out a tune circled the house and Dallben's fields.

"Very well. Oh, Taran, it's all I ever dreamed of!" Eilonwy answered happily, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad," Taran replied with a smile and a chuckle. "I'm also glad everything's over and I can get back to being an assistant pig keeper. " That got a giggle out of the blonde girl at his side. Taran surveyed the field and the forest for a moment. "But, Eilonwy, don't you have anyone to go back to? You can't want to stay here at Dallben's cottage forever."

Eilonwy frowned and turned to look at him, a touch of concern in her eyes. "I can't?"

Taran immediately rushed to correct his error. "N-No, I mean, you can, if you want to," he said hurriedly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But don't you have, you know, a home? A family?"

Eilonwy shifted her gaze to the soft ground as the continued to stroll. "My mother and father died when I was small," she said. "But I do have three brothers. Oh, Taran, if I go see them- you will come with me, won't you?" she asked with a grin.

Taran couldn't help but smile back. "Of course, Eilonwy." The boy pulled her onto a log at the edge of the forest. "But, Eilonwy, I have a question for you." He said.

The girl nodded. "What is it, Taran?"

Taran paused for a second, tracing circles on the wood of the log with the hand that wasn't holding hers. "Back at the castle, when we were captured . . . the Horned King called you a scullery maid." He said. It wasn't really a question, but Eilonwy knew its meaning.

Her face fell. "I told you I was a princess." She sighed. "But I am a scullery maid. My brothers gave me to the king- not the Horned one- and he gave me to his daughter, the princess. The Horned King brought his horrid flying dragons and stole me. He thought my bauble would help him find the cauldron, remember? And then I met you and Fflewdder and Gurgi." Eilonwy tucked a bit of yellow hair behind her ear and Taran thought she was going to finish. But she turned away.

"I knew you wouldn't love me, now that I'm not a princess." Her voice trembled. For a moment Taran thought she was going to run away crying, but he squeezed her hand and turned her face toward his.

"No, no of course not, Eilonwy!" He answered softly. "I just wanted to know. It doesn't make any difference to me whether you're a princess or not. After all, I'm just an assistant pig keeper." He laughed. "I'm not a warrior, I'm not fit for a princess anyway."

Eilonwy's saddened face softened "Do you really mean that, Taran?" She asked.

Taran nodded, his brown eyes staring unwaveringly into her blue ones.

For a moment, both of them wondered if they would kiss, but that was before something dropped from the branch above them onto Taran's head.

"Master! Princess! Gurgi is told to say that it is time for munchings and crunchings!" Gurgi reported excitedly. "Hurry master, Gurgi's stomach is rumbly!" He took Taran's arm and pulled him up and off the log that he and Eilonwy shared.

Eilonwy laughed at Gurgi's impatience and jumped up as well. "I suppose we should tell Gurgi I'm not a princess," she suggested, grinning.

Taran shook his head as they watched the furry creature lope back to Dallben's house, tired of waiting for them. "You're still a princess to me, Eilonwy," He answered.

Eilonwy laughed again, like silver bells. "And you're still my warrior, Taran," She thrust a branch into his hand, a pretend sword. "The greatest warrior in all Prydain!" Both of them smiled and laughed before running after Gurgi to where Dallben, Fflewdder, and food awaited them.