It was a fine summer evening when they reached Arberth. It was still light outside, for the sun would not set for another hour or so. There was time for Rhiannon and Gwen to visit the bathhouse before showing themselves at the gates of Caer Tir.
The bathhouse contained four bathing rooms, four steam rooms and a large common room. The floor was tiled in creamy sea green with a latticework of wood set between each tile. There were cupboards and shelves filled with towels, robes, and jars of creams and herbs.
After they had bathed Gwen sat as still as she could while Rhiannon combed out her long, blond hair, teasing the tangles out gently. As she smoothed her daughter’s bright hair she marveled, “It’s the exact shade of your father’s.”
“Do I look like him?” Gwen asked anxiously.
“You’ve his golden hair and blue eyes. Now, let’s get you dressed.”
Rhiannon pulled out a fine, blue gown and a long linen shift of lighter blue. Gwen put on the shift and Rhiannon threw the gown over her head and helped settle it into place. The light blue shift showed at the top of the laced bodice of the gown, and the tight-fitting sleeves of the shift showed beneath the looser sleeves and at the hem. The gown was embroidered with silver threads at the hem and neckline.
“You look very fine, my Gwen. Very, very fine.”
“Do I?” Gwen asked anxiously.
“Missing something though. How about this?” She clasped a necklace around Gwen’s neck, a small sapphire, set in a circle of silver dangled from a thin silver chain.
“Your Da gave this to me the day you were born.”
“Oh, you should wear it!”
“No, I wear my Dewin’s torque. You wear this.”
Rhiannon put on a fine, pearl-colored shift beneath a gown of emerald green. Tiny pearls dotted the hemline. Around her neck she clasped her Dewin’s torque. Then she pulled out a lovely hair band of emeralds and pearls and set it over her hair.
“Oh, Mam,” Gwen breathed. “You look beautiful.”
As she examined herself in the mirror she thought that there might be something to that. The jade hue of her gown and the emeralds in her hair made her eyes appear greener than ever. Her long, wavy, black hair hung rich and full to her waist. The pearl color of the shift gave her skin a lustrous sheen.
She turned to Gwen, and was horrified to see tears in her daughter’s eyes. “Oh, Mam,” Gwen breathed, “I’m afraid.” Having said it, the words began to tumble out, and the tears began to flow. “I’m afraid. There will be so many people there and I’ve never been around other people before. I’m afraid I’ll do something stupid. And they will laugh at me. Maybe Da won’t like me. Maybe—”
Rhiannon took Gwen into her arms and patted her, all the while speaking in soothing tones. “Cariad, I know you’re scared. But you are Gwenhwyfar ur Rhoram var Rhiannon. You are a Child of the House of Llyr. That alone commands respect from all you meet. And remember, your Da is a good, kind man. He wants to see you more than anything in the world.”
“How do you know?” Gwen asked tearfully.
“I know him,” Rhiannon replied firmly.
“But it’s been so long. Maybe he’s changed.”
“Some things never change. Now dry your eyes and take a deep breath.”
“You’ll stay right next to me, won’t you? You won’t leave me?”
“Of course I won’t,” she said without hesitation, pushing the truth to the back of her mind, so Gwen would not see it in her eyes.
THE GATES OF Caer Tir were still open, but the courtyard was nearly deserted, for most of the inhabitants of the fortress were gathered in the Great Hall. As they walked their horses through the gates Gwen stopped to stare at the snarling wolf’s head, outlined in onyx with emerald eyes that was carved on the golden doors. She swallowed hard.
Suddenly a deep voice spoke, “Do not be afraid of the wolf, child. Those of the House of PenBlaid, the Head of the Wolf, know he is their ally—not their enemy.”
Wildly, Gwen looked around as a man who stepped out of the shadows by the gate. He was of average height, with short, brown hair, and brown eyes. “Welcome back to Caer Tir, Rhiannon ur Hefeydd. Welcome back, Gwenhwyfar ur Rhoram var Rhiannon.”
“Tallwch,” Rhiannon said with a smile. She held out her hands and Tallwch took them and kissed them lightly.
“I knew you’d come back, one day,” he said.
“Oh, you always did know everything.”
“That is exactly what Gwydion ap Awst said to me when last he was here.”
“Did he?” Rhiannon said coolly.
“He was looking for you. I take it he found you.”