Avallach and his family and servants were conducted along a seemingly endless series of corridors which led at last to an open atrium across which were apartments on two tiered levels. "Yours are the upper rooms, Sire," explained the chamberlain. "The lower rooms are for your retainers. My quarters are there..." He pointed to a doorway off to one side. "Want for nothing while you are here. Your desires are mine to fulfill." So saying, the chamberlain conducted them to their rooms and quietly withdrew.

Charis was accustomed to luxury and fine furnishings, and yet the appointments of her room made her gasp with delight: the cool sheen of silk and the rich, warm l.u.s.ter of sandalwood and teak met her eyes wherever she looked. She whirled through the room, arms outstretched, touching everything, and arrived at the white marble bal.u.s.trade of a small balcony. "Oh, look! Mother, have you ever seen such a wonderful garden?"

Briseis joined her on the balcony to survey an immense green expanse in the height of its flowering splendor. Shaded pathways wound along streams fed by softly splashing fountains filling cool, flower-edged pools. "Simply wonderful," agreed her mother. "It is even more lovely than I remember."

"And look," said Charis, "a staircase of rny own so I can go down to the garden any time I want." She looked out across the garden park to the great swell of an enormous shining dome rising above a grove of acacia trees opposite her balcony. "What is that? The High Temple?"

"No, that is the council chamber where the Great Council convenes."

"I want to go see it! I want to see everything!"

"We will see it all soon enough," laughed Briseis. "I have no doubt you will find enough to keep you busy for as long as we are here. Come now," the queen motioned her daughter back inside, "we must leave exploring for later. It is time to wash and change so that we are ready when the usher comes for us."

Charis walked slowly back inside, brightening again when she discovered that her room possessed a small bath, and that it had been filled with scented water in antic.i.p.ation of her visit. She quickly undressed and stepped in. "Oh, it-it is magnificent!" she said as she slid into the warm water.

"Enjoy your bath," her mother said, "and I will send Ilean to dress you."

"I can dress myself," Charis said, splashing at a floating blossom.

"You are getting your hair wet!" warned her mother. "We will be dining with the High King in the presence of other kings and royal families; you must look your best. Ilean will dress you."

Charis was still wallowing in the water when the maidservant came in. "If you please, Princess, stand up and allow me to wash you," Ilean said as she seated herself on the marble ledge.

"I have already washed," Charis replied, standing up. "I am ready to be dried."

Charis stepped from the bath, and Ilean wrapped her in a large linen towel. "The queen has chosen your blue gown for this evening."

"I prefer my green one."

"The queen has instructed me otherwise."

Charis shrugged haughtily and allowed herself to be dressed in the pale blue gown. Her hair was curled and combed and blue and white silk ribbons affixed to the tresses. A garland of tiny white flowers was hung around her neck and new white sandals placed on her feet. Charis looked at her reflection in a large mirror of polished silver. She saw a slender girl with hair like pale sunlight, a high, smooth brow, and large green eyes. She practiced a greeting smile and tweaked her cheeks to bring some color to them.

The usher arrived a few minutes later and led them to the banquet hall. As Avallach entered the hall, trumpeters signaled his arrival with a fanfare, and the herald called loudly, "King Avallach of Sarras, his wife Queen Briseis, and the princes and princess!"

The hall was bright with the light of a thousand lamps and filled with people, all talking so loudly that Charis wondered if anyone heard them announced at all. But someone did, for no sooner had they stepped across the threshold than they were intercepted by a waiting monarch who swept Avallach into a firm embrace.

"Belyn!" cried Avallach. "It is good to see you. When did you arrive?"

"Yesterday. Was your journey enjoyable?"

"Tolerable... It is so dry. We traveled with Seithenin."

Belyn lowered his voice. "Is he with us?"

Avallach nodded. "Solidly."

"Good." Belyn clapped Avallach on the shoulder and turned to the queen. "Briseis, I did not mean to slight you."

He leaned close and they exchanged kisses. "I am delighted to see you too."

"Do not apologize, Belyn. It is too late to change who you are." She glanced at Avallach. "You are just like your brother."

Belyn laughed. "We are found out, Avallach. The woman knows us too well."

"You are not alone, Belyn?" asked Briseis, gazing out over the milling throng. "I do not see Elaine. She is here, I trust."

"Ah, sadly she must remain in her room this evening."

"I am sorry to miss her. Is she feeling well?"

"Well enough. In truth, I tried to discourage her from coming. She insisted, though the birth is imminent. She said that she would benefit more from fresh air and stimulating company than from sitting alone in a stuffy palace awaiting my return. If she births the baby in a field beside the road, so much the better-so she tells me." He gave a helpless shrug.

"Tell her I will call on her tomorrow. Perhaps she would enjoy a walk in the garden-if that would not tax her overmuch."

"She will welcome it." Belyn turned to the others cl.u.s.tered around. "And who have we here? Kian, Maildun, greetings; Eoinn, Guistan, what young men you have become. I'm glad all of you have come; we will have to spend some time riding together, eh? Perhaps tomorrow afternoon." The princes chorused their approval of the plan at once.

Belyn's eyes fell on Charis. "And Charis, my little dove." He hugged her and tugged on a ribbon. "Not so little anymore, I see. Watch her, Avallach; she will be stealing hearts before this night is through."

Charis thought this jovial banter odd, considering Belyn and Elaine had visited only days before they had left for Po-seidonis. Before she could remark on it, however, their usher returned to lead them to their table, saying, "The High King will be making his entrance soon... Would you like to be seated?"

"Yes, go on," said Belyn, "I am going to my table now. We will talk tomorrow."

Avallach and his family wound their way through the tangle of guests to a raised table-one of nine which were set aside for the kings and their immediate families. Charis, sitting next to her mother, who occupied the place at the king's right hand, listened as her father named the others gathered in the hall.

"There is Hugaderan of Hespera... He stares this way but pretends not to see me; I expect as much from him," said Avallach. "And over there sits stony Musaeus with his advisors; I have never once seen him smile." He shifted his gaze. "Oh, and Itazais of Alilia, looking bored and out of sorts-as if it were beneath him to appear in this company. Next to him, over there, Meirchion of Skatha; now there is a man who knows how to listen to reason."

Avallach paused and swiveled around. "I do not see Nestor anywhere; surely he does not intend arriving after the High King has entered."

"Perhaps he will not attend tonight," said Briseis.

"Ah, Seithenin has just come in. I tell you, Briseis, I am liking that man more and more. Given time, he could become a second brother to me."

A few moments later, the trumpeters blew a high, dazzling fanfare and the herald announced loudly, "King Ceremon, High King of the Nine Kingdoms, and his wife, Queen Da-nea."

The room fell silent. The kings and their parties stood as the High King entered, the queen by his side. They were arrayed alike in fine alizarin silk, with gold embroidery at cuffs and hem. Ceremon wore a short gold cloak and gilded boots, and on his head a golden circlet with a sun disk over his brow. Danea wore gilded sandals and a simple circlet of gold; her auburn hair was pulled back and the braid bound with gold rings. Her sleeveless cloak trailed after, its gold-worked border sweeping the floor.

They walked slowly through the hall to their places at the high table, greeting others as they pa.s.sed. They came near to Avallach's table and Avallach bowed courteously. "Welcome, King Avallach," said Ceremon, inclining his head. "Queen Briseis, I am glad you chose to accompany your husband. We have not had the pleasure of your presence in the palace for some time. Welcome, all of you."

The High King made to move on, when his gaze fell on Charis. He paused and turned to her. "And who is this? Avallach, I did not know you had a daughter." He reached out a slender hand and raised her chin. "What is your name, bright one?"

"Charis, Sire," she answered.

Ceremon smiled, his eyes bright and hard. "Charis... a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Welcome, Charis. I hope you find time to see our great city."

Charis bowed, and when she looked up again the High King was gone. She saw him walking slowly away, erect, slender, cloak shimmering in the light, and thought that she had never seen anyone so regal, so commanding. "He is a very G.o.d," she whispered to her mother.

Brriseis glanced at her daughter but did not reply. Charis became, embarra.s.sed then and blushed crimson. The banquet proceeded-served by hundreds of servants bearing platters of food and drink, circulating continuously throughout the hall-but Charis did not taste a bite. She stared at the High King and his wife and imagined herself in the queen's place, looking as serene and majestic as the High Queen herself.

There was entertainment after the meal: a swarming army of musicians performed traditional songs while a chorus sang. Charis was certain she had entered a dream. The resplendent hall, the dignified guests, the formal music welling up and up, and the imperial presence of the High King-all combined to give the banquet a dreamlike quality. So much so that Charis was surprised and distinctly disappointed when it came time to leave.

It seemed as if the evening had taken wings and fled in an instant. Dazzled Dazzled and entranced by her experience, Charis all but floated back to her room. In a daze she readied herself for bed and slipped beneath the crisp linens and drifted off to sleep, the High King's voice still falling in her ears: "Charis... a beautiful name for a beautiful girl..." and entranced by her experience, Charis all but floated back to her room. In a daze she readied herself for bed and slipped beneath the crisp linens and drifted off to sleep, the High King's voice still falling in her ears: "Charis... a beautiful name for a beautiful girl..."

CHAPTER TEN.

Elphin's wedding feast continued the next day, and the next. On the fourth day the casks and skins began going dry, and by evening the food was running low as well. Many of the guests took their leave then; those who lived further distance stayed one more night but left early the next morning, so that by midday all the visiting guests had departed and the feast was over.

The following morning Elphin rose, dressed quickly, and strode from the house. He called the men whose labor his father had promised him and led them to the place he had chosen for his house. He paced off the dimensions of the structure, gave orders, and the men began digging-halfheartedly, for they disapproved of Elphin's choice of plot for his house and begrudged the whole project, thinking it unnecessary and, most likely, unlucky.

Toward evening, when they had finished, they called Elphin to inspect the work. He took one look at what they had done and said, "This is not what I told you. It must be bigger!"

The next morning they went back to work and at midday called him again. When he saw the size of the hole, he frowned and shook his head. "It is still not big enough. Since you will not listen to me, I will show you. Look here" He took a wooden stake and drove it into the ground, and then another, enlarging the square to a huge rectangle. "This is how I want it."

The men grumbled to themselves but went back to work. "What does he he need with such a big house?" they muttered when he had gone. "There is only one lord in this caer, and it is not Elphin." need with such a big house?" they muttered when he had gone. "There is only one lord in this caer, and it is not Elphin."

"Perhaps he hopes to make himself lord by building a big house," remarked one disgruntled worker.

"Ha! It'll take more than a big house to make him him lord," replied his companion. lord," replied his companion.

By evening they had nearly completed the excavation for the house. Elphin surveyed their efforts and approved. "Now, then, the firepit will be here," he said, pointing to a spot in the center of the hole.

"Dig it yourself," growled one of the workmen. "You want such a big house." The man threw his shovel at Elphin's feet.

"Very well," replied Elphin, dropping into the hole. He retrieved the shovel and walked to the place he had indicated. There he scratched out the dimensions of the fireplace and dug the first shovelful, pushing the wooden blade into the dirt with his foot.

But the shovel hit on something hard and stopped. "An old root," someone said with a snicker. "Better make the firepit somewhere else."

"That is no root," said Elphin, sc.r.a.ping away the dirt. "It is a stone." The stone had an edge to it, and Elphin sc.r.a.ped around it to discover that it was a large, square piece of flat slate. When he had cleared the dirt away, he pried up the edge of the black stone and saw a sc.r.a.p of coa.r.s.e-woven cloth.

"What is this?" he said, stooping. The filthy rag fell apart as his hand closed on it, but under the rotten tatters he saw a glimmer of yellow. The others watched curiously as Elphin dropped to his knees and began sc.r.a.ping at the dirt with his hands.

"Look at him," they laughed. "He thinks he is a dog."

Elphin ignored them and took up the shovel again, thrust it into the soil, and withdrew it. And there, dangling from the end of the wooden blade, was a golden tore.

The workmen ceased laughing. Elphin took the tore and held it in his hands, brushing away the clinging soil. It was as thick as three braided chains, and on the ends were the carved heads of animals: a bull on the right, and a bear on the left. "See what I have found!" he cried. "A golden tore, a king's tore!"

Elphin raised his voice in a shout, and soon almost everyone in the village-including Gwyddno and Hafgan-had gathered around the excavation. "See what I have found," said Elphin in a loud voice, holding the tore high in the air for all to see. "A tore of gold-buried right where I have set my hearth."

There were murmurs of amazement through the throng. "Let me see it, if you will," said Hafgan, elbowing his way forward.

Elphin placed the tore in the druid's hand and stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Hafgan studied it carefully, turning it this way and that. He took the edge of his robe and rubbed the tore until it shone with a bright l.u.s.ter. "Did all of you see this take place?" he asked.

"We saw it," the workmen admitted reluctantly.

"Does anyone doubt?"

They shook their heads. "Elphin found it as he said," one of the men replied, and explained how they had refused to dig the firepit and challenged Elphin to dig for himself. "He took up the shovel and struck the stone; the tore was under it."

Gwyddno clapped his hands. "This is a fortuitous sign!"

"Indeed," Hafgan replied. "Most fortuitous. There is little doubt that this tore once adorned the neck of a king. It was found in Elphin's home, beneath an ancient hearthstone."

"What does it mean?" asked one of the workmen.

Hafgan hefted the tore in his hand. "The meaning is clear: where is the king's hearth?"

"Why, in the king's house," the man answered.

"And who lives in the king's house?"

"The king himself," answered Gwyddno grinning broadly.

"It is so," said Hafgan. He held out the ornament to El-phie saying, "Do you claim the tore, Elphin ap Gwyddno?"

"I do claim it," replied Elphin.

"Then wear it," said Hafgan. At this the people murmured in surprise, for by this the druid indicated Elphin's worthiness to succeed his father.

Elphin took the tore and carefully spread the ends, raised it to his neck and slipped it on, then pushed the two ends together. The cool weight of the tore felt good on his shoulders.

"Here is the third treasure that Elphin has found," said Hafgan, speaking to all gathered there. "He has found a son of virtue, a n.o.ble wife, and now the tore of a king. Who among you will call him unlucky?"

No one stirred; who could speak against such evidence?

"From this day, let no one disparage the name of Elphin, for to do so will bring dishonor-not upon Elphin, but on the speaker. You have all seen that Elphin's luck has changed and his fortune is now as great as his previous misfortune." He raised his staff over them. "Here is the evidence that all I have foretold is coming to pa.s.s. Hear and remember."

They all dispersed, and Elphin climbed from the hole to show Rhonwyn his incredible find. Rhonwyn, unlike the others, expressed no surprise but merely raised her hand to finger the tore and said, ' 'When I first saw you, I saw a tore of gold about your neck. Now here it is. This is but the first of my husband's many glorious achievements."

That same night Elphin lay in bed, Rhonwyn beside him with the infant at her breast. It was late and the hearthfire burned low, and although it had been a busy day he tossed this way and that, unable to sleep. sleep. After a few minutes of his thrashing, Rhonwyn said, "What is the matter, Elphin? Are you troubled?" After a few minutes of his thrashing, Rhonwyn said, "What is the matter, Elphin? Are you troubled?"

"No," he said, "yet sleep eludes me. I cannot rest."

"It might help to walk a little."

"Perhaps you are right." He rose quietly, pulled a calfskin around his shoulders, and stepped outside to a night alive with stars. He stood contemplating the sky bowl for some moments, the crisp air making his breath a silver mist in the starlight.

"This is a night for enchantment," he thought. "On such a night as this, great deeds are done for good or ill."

The thought was still in his mind when he heard a sound- a shrill keen in the night like a nightbird's call. And though he listened for the sound to come again, all he heard were the nightsounds of the caer. Curious, he walked down through the center of the caer, pa.s.sing the great oak and the dark houses of his kinsmen, moving toward the palisade. At the gate he climbed the inner rampart and looked out over the palisade to the cattle pens beyond. It was dark and quiet beyond the enormous timber circle of the fortress. As he turned to retrace his steps back down the rampart, he caught a glimmer out of the corner of his eye-like the gleam of starlight on a naked blade.

He looked again and it was gone. But now he was alert. Standing there, staring into the darkness, he made out dark shapes moving in the main pen. He felt a tingle in his flesh and without thinking threw off the calfskin and raced back through the caer to his father's house. He dashed inside and shouted, "Gwyddno! Get up! Our cattle are being stolen!"