Hi hello! I am here with a new drabble like a hundred years later! Heh, I thought I might as well post something before the year ends.

So a fellow reviewer of mine who goes by the name of Kai gave me the idea of having Taran and Eilonwy as adults and I thought that was pretty neat! So I attempted to write something close to that... and I added a little twist to it.. heh. Though now that I think of it, I think writing these two as adults might be something I can continue doing sometime in the future. We'll see what happens :)

Anywhoo, hope you all enjoy and happy holidays! :D

The Dream

A cool breeze swept through the air as the sun slowly hid behind the hills. The young, auburn-haired man watched as the sun disappeared before he continued making his way into the woods on his horse. After spending more than enough time away from his home, the former pig-keeper was much more than glad to finally be coming back to where he belonged.

After some time of traveling through the woods, it began to get much darker and colder, but that was no concern for Taran. Although he had been away for quite some time, he still managed to recognize his surroundings.

It wasn't long before he finally spotted a faint light out in the distance, which was a relief to him. As the young man approached the familiar cottage up ahead, he slowed down and dismounted from his horse. Quickly, he adjusted his cloak and took a deep breath as he walked forward. Then suddenly, the one person he was ecstatic to see immediately stepped outside the cottage door with a wide grin.

"Taran of Caer Dallben, I never thought I'd see you again!" Eilonwy quickly made her way over to Taran and embraced him tightly. Without hesitation, he returned the favor and remained in her embrace for a few moments.

"It's been quite a while," he said as he finally stepped back and looked at her with a delighted smile. Even in the faint lighting, Taran could see how much more mature Eilonwy seemed to him, as well as how beautiful she looked.

"Oh, far too long. Almost three summers! You are doing well, yes? You're not ill or any of that sort? I would hate to see you in such a state, especially in this cold weather." Eilonwy stepped back for a moment and looked over the young man. "And you've grown. Yes, I can see it now. Not only do you look taller but there's something that seems slightly different about you. I'm not quite sure exactly what that is, but I mean it in the best way, of course."

Taran opened his mouth to say something, but with Eilonwy's endless chattering, it was nearly impossible to say anything at all. Even though he found it bothersome to this day, it was something he missed. As she went on about how he had been faring, he only smiled and eventually took her hands in his.

Eilonwy stopped mid-sentence and looked down, then glanced back up to Taran with a curious smile. "Taran, is there something you would like to say?"

He sighed quietly and nodded, "Yes.. that is, if you would let me speak."

Eilonwy let out a small laugh and motioned for him to go on. However, Taran was at a loss for words. After a long amount of time spent away from Caer Dallben, he still couldn't believe he was finally home, standing in front of someone he truly cared for.

His smile slowly spread across his face as he opened his mouth to speak again. "It seems you have not changed much."

Not expecting him to say such a thing, Eilonwy pouted slightly, "I do hope you mean that in a good way."

Taran chuckled softly and nodded, "Most certainly.. I also thought you should know that I longed to see you again. Far more than anything."

"Oh Taran, that's-"

"And," he interrupted as he gently squeezed her hands, "I was wondering if perhaps you would like to come along on my next adventure, whenever that might be."

Eilonwy briefly raised a brow and laughed to herself as she shook her head, "That's not something you need to ask me, Taran. You know I would come along anyway!"

Taran grinned sheepishly and shrugged, "Yes, I suppose that's true." He remained silent for a moment, thinking Eilonwy would end up making some more remarks, but she quietly continued to keep his gaze on him. After a few moments, Eilonwy briefly bit her lip as her smile grew wider.

"Perhaps I was wrong," she began as she gradually inched closer to him. "Perhaps you're still the same silly pig-keeper I knew from before."

"Not quite," Taran mumbled. Without giving much thought to it, he leaned forward and slowly shut his eyes before he suddenly heard a faint sound. Then in an instant, everything blurred out and Taran heard the sound much louder, almost as if someone had been calling him.

"Master!" The voice called. Suddenly, his eyes shot open to see a furry face inches away from his.

"Wh- Gurgi! What on-" Shocked, Taran pushed the furry creature off of him and looked around the farm in confusion. Though, it wasn't long before he realized Eilonwy was standing right in front of him. Quickly, he stood up and nearly stumbled back down in the process. "E-Eilonwy! What.. what happened?"

"You were sleeping, that is what happened! I'm beginning to think you enjoy falling asleep much more out here than in your own bed. And if I do recall, you were constantly mumbling my name every so often."

While Taran adjusted his clothing, he immediately froze at the mention of him mumbling Eilonwy's name, which he couldn't quite recall himself. "I did? I-I mean, t-that is.." The boy continued to stammer and quickly felt his face redden.

"Master had dreams of pretty lady?" Gurgi wondered as he looked up to the pig-keeper with an eager grin.

Taran's gaze fell down to the creature staring up at him and pouted. "Most certainly not!" he retorted, crossing his arms.

Eilonwy's cheeks reddened slightly but she laughed nevertheless. "Oh Gurgi, that's rather silly of you to say."

Gurgi's smile widened and continued, "But Master called pretty lady's name! Yes yes! Gurgi is sure that Master had dreamings and gleamings of pretty lady!"

As the princess continued to laugh at Gurgi's ridiculous assumptions, Taran briefly bit his tongue before he quickly shook his head. "Oh, never mind that. Go on and find your munchings and crunchings.. o-or something of that sort."

At the sound of that, Gurgi nearly jumped on Taran, but the boy quickly stopped him before he did so. "There is nothing on me," Taran said, furrowing his brows.

The creature took a step back and nodded with a toothy smile. "Oh, Gurgi will be back then!" With that, Gurgi hopped away into the nearby bushes, leaving Taran and Eilonwy by themselves.

"Such a peculiar little creature," Eilonwy remarked with a giggle. She looked over to Taran, whose face was still glowing red. The princess gave him a questioning look, but decided not to be a bother about it, even though she was quite curious about what had been going through the boy's mind. But then again, she was sure she knew Taran well enough to know he was very likely having one of his silly daydreams once more. "Well.. I'll leave you to finish your duties. I'll be in the cottage if I'm needed."

"Y-Yes, of course," he nodded as he sheepishly rubbed his neck. As Eilonwy began to make her way over to the cottage, the boy glanced at her for a few moments before he turned back around and took a deep breath.

"What a strange dream..." he mumbled, thinking back to his hazy dream. He couldn't quite remember all of it, but he was certain about what might have happened if he had not been awaken. At the sudden thought of that, he flushed and quickly tried to take his mind off of it to focus on his duties.