Fire cracked in the hearth, giving not only heat, but also light to the litttle hut. Three pairs of eyes were watching the dancing orange-red flames – one was brown and loving as the mother earth, withtiny little wrinkles round them that showed their bearers laughed easily and often. One pair of eyes were grey, distant and dreamy like a cloudy morning. And the last ones were green, and if you looked deep into them you could see playful yellow spots around the pupil.
Three women lived in the little hut that stood in the glade in the middle of the vast forest. One of them was old; the other two sometimes thought her to be as old as the hills, as old as the forest itself. They were, on the other hand young, very young compared to the old woman – it was only that summer that they reached 17.
The three of them were sitting in front of the fireplace, sewing. The girls were listening to their grandmother's tale. It was cold, very cold outside; it had been snowing all day, but as night came, it stopped, and you could see a million stars glittering outside.
"And that was how Angharad the Fair first came to see Madoc, first of his people. They fell in love immediately, but her father, who was a great king, did not want a mere hunter for her daughter's husband. He got a tall tower made, and there he shut Angharad, his daughter, in order to keep Madoc away. But he was brave and restless, and every night he came to see his sweethart, and every day he was searching for a way to get her out. And in the mean time, Angharad cried a lot, and all her tears turned into pearls as soon as they reached the ground. And finally, Madoc found a herb he picked, and when he touched the stone of the tower, a door opened where had been thick wall, and so they eloped."
"But how could all this happen?" asked now dreamy eyed, fair-haired Eirlys.
"Those times were different, child, and so were the people. Magic ran in their veins, for they were of the First Race, and for them, many things are possible. But those times are gone, or at least vanishing slowly, yes, yes..." she mumbled.
"Well, I would have never let my father lock me up in a tower!" said the other girl, Rhosyn fiercely. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes reflected the flames as she continued. "I would have told him I loved Madoc, and wanted nothing but him. Or else, in the tower, I would have never cried!"
"Even if you and your true lover were parted?" asked Eirlys surprised.
"Even so! I would have thought of a way to escape as well, or would have helped him! Tears are good for nothing."
"Well, then you would have lacked the beautiful pearls Angharad came to posess!" chuckled the old woman.
"And what happened to them afterwards?" asked Eirlys, still absorbed in the tale.
"When the old king discovered his daughter was missing, he sent soldiers after the lovers, of course. But by wit and a bit of magic of course, Madoc and his bride escaped them. They built a beautiful castle on the seashore, and had eight children; seven sons and a daughter. But that's an other story, children, and these old bones are tired now. Let's leave something for tomorrow as well. But look – the fire went out, there are only a few embers left. Whose turn is it to get firewood?" she turned towards the girls.
"Mine" said Eirlys not very happily. "But it's dark outside, and I have a bad feeling. Could both of us go this time, Gwenda?" she asked.
"This time, but this is the last one. You're a good girl, Eirlys, but too faint-harted. You have to learn not to be afraid, girl. And that's through knowledge, my child. If you know something, you can't be afraid of it anymore."
"But I'll happily go with her always" Rhosyn added. In truth, she has never been afraid outside, no matter of the dark.
"And you, Rhosyn, you also have to learn something, and that's patience" snapped Gwenda at her. "But enough of words for now, or the fire will truly die out."
So the two girls went out, hand in hand, to gather some firewood. As soon as they reached the shed, they realised they had no wood left in there, so they started for the depths of the forest to gather some twigs. Now that her sister was with her, even eirlys was not afraid. After all, she knew the path, she knew the trees and bushes they passed by, and just as Gwenda told them, they were not frightening at all once you knew them. It was only that bad feeling that bothered her, but it almost disappeared.
Soon they reached a suitable place where they found several twigs and branches. They started to fill the two sacks they brought with them, without words. They tried to be as fast as possible, for the night was very cold, and they wanted to be in the warm cottage again as soon as possible.
As they were working silently, however, her bad feeling reappeared. It was like being watched. She kept looking back, but could see nothing. When she heard a shrub rattle, she jumped and let out a small cry.
"What was that?" she asked in horror, but Rhosyn laughed.
"What, what! A hare, most likely, my brave sister, a fluffy little bunny that you frightened away with your cry!"
But in the next second, an enormous black dog appeared.
It was horrible. It came slowly and silently. It did not growl, only bared its teeth hungrily, and then, with a single leap, it landed in front of the two girls. Stream was coming out of its mouth, and his yellow eyes gleamed horridly. Now Rhosyn was afraid as well. Never in their entire life they had seen a wolf, or anything that fearsome. From time to time, Gwenda mentioned something about the forest not being as kind as it may seem, but until today, the girls saw nothing of it. They picked flowers, played with the roes and rabbits they met, but knew nothing about the dark and misterious things that were hidden there.
I must not be afraid. It would feel it, and then attack. It is said so in the books and tales. She reached out and grabbed Eirlys' hand, who was as white as the snow at their feet. Then she started to recede, eyes fixed on the wolf, dragging her sister with her. The wolf stopped, and sniffed into the air.
"Run!" she shouted and they both turned and ran as fast as they could, through the shrubs, bushes. Braches scratched their faces and tore their clothes, but they didn't even feel it. They heard the wolf's steps and pant behind them, and it was getting closer and closer with every step. It would not take long, we're gettting tired Rhosyn realised, and in this very minute, she tripped and fell on her face.
"Rhosyn! Rhosyn!" her sister stopped, even if she knew she should keep running. But she simply could not leave her sister there.
The wolf stopped as well, only about ten steps away from them breathing deeply. Then Eirlys saw in slow motion as Rhosyn stood up, and in the same second, the wolf flexed all his muscles to fling them with a final leap. Unable to move, she closed her eyes and heard –
A long, deep roar. Looking again, she saw a giant bear appear out of nowhere, and before the two girls could even understand what was happening, a terrible fight developed between the two beasts. The bear was a great deal larger that the wolf, but a great deal slower as well. The wolf danced around him easily, and hopped away at the first sign of his giant blows. Eirlys and Rhosyn watched their danced frozen with terror. It seemed for a while that none can take over the other, but then, when the bear lost his balance when reaching out for the other beast, it scraped him that he groaned in pain.
This sound made the girls move at last. They reached the hut within seconds, and almost broke the door in haste to get in. Gwenda was still sitting in her chair in front of the fire. Most of the embers died out as well, the room was almost totally dark.
"What took so long. And you've brought only one sack of wood." She observed, but then she noticed their frightened faces. "What happened?" she asked, not unkindly.
It was hard to understand the story they were so much out of breath, and kept cutting in each others words. At the end, Gwenda murmured something like "Strange, very strange indeed" and then sent them to sleep, and went to bed as well.