Doesn’t everyone just love Taran/Eilonwy? I always find myself staring up at my ceiling thinking of these books. Lloyd Alexander was a master at light romance. He lets you image a lot of the romantic the road of his characters. This next part is strictly written out of pure hate that there are only 5 books of Taran/Eilonwy and pure love for the romance written in those short books. The setting is mainly between the 2nd and 3rd books.

Disclaimer: I do not own these books; they all belong to the Grand Master of Fantasy.

Taran beat on the metal before him. He tried to force it slowly into the shape of a horse shoe. The heat wrapped around his brow, ready to threaten him. Soot climbed up his arms and smothered his face. The day outside was temperate and fairly warm, but Taran had insisted on making the horse shoe. Coll was utterly surprised, but allowed Taran to try. All winter Taran had tried to create the shoe, but every time the solution was a miserable failure. Taran had also refused to let Coll talk him through the process.

He hit the metal again. The sound of the impact filled the room and reverberated slightly.

Eilonwy stared at the pieces of metal hanging from the walls of the room, “Taran, what do you need this for? All I can make of it is another object to get lost in Gurgi’s hair.”

Taran continued to work over his metal. He glanced up at Eilonwy once, and then returned all concentration to his work.

“Well, if you do not use it for anything of importance, why do you keep it? It is like making a journey with a horse on your back. This place is so hot, Taran! How do you stand to continue with that horrid hammering? You’ll work your arm off there, and then you will only have one arm for everything. Then if one arm gets tired, you will have to keep using it because it is the only arm you have,” The Princess pranced by and by, examining everything.

“My arm is not going to fall off because of the heat, Eilonwy,” Taran huffed.

“I did not say that,” She said matter-o-factually, “I said you will work your arm off.”

Taran turned the piece. He smiled at the shape, now forming at his hands. The metallic sound flew once more.

Taran pulled down apples one at a time. The red fruit slowly filled the bucket Taran had brought with him. The sun stared out of the leaves of the apple tree and began to set in the west. Light was dimming and Taran continued picking the apples.

“Taran!”

He looked over his shoulder to see Eilonwy walking up the hill. She looked to her right, searching for something. Her hair was loose and the gold shone brightly with the sun breathing behind it. Eilonwy looked forward, “Oh! Taran! There you are. Do you know how it is to look for someone with out the slightest hint where they might be? Exasperating.”

Taran chuckled at her words. Always so practical. He reached up for another apple. This one was round and ripe. He turned it in his hands carefully, watching for bruises or warms. This apple was clear and smooth. He laid it in the bucket lightly. He didn’t notice that Eilonwy had stopped to watch him do so. Her eyes followed the apple half the way, and then she looked at Taran, “You handle them so gently…Like they are each little hearts being put to rest.”

He turned to her and smiled and Eilonwy smiled too.

Taran stopped and looked at the horse shoe. This one was really in shape.

Taran held up his horse shoe proudly. He had worked all day on it and was ready to show some one.

“So that is your horse shoe you have been working on all day?” Eilonwy asked.

“Yes,” Taran said.

“The very one you worked on without rest?” She asked.

He nodded, “The very one.”

“The horse shoe you refused to leave and just had to work on without talking to anyone or eating their food?!” Eilonwy hissed angrily.

Taran dropped his arm to his side, “I didn’t intend-”

“Of course you ‘didn’t intend’! You never think about your actions! I baked all yesterday because I wanted you to have a descent meal, and you ignore it! I will not comment on your horse shoe!” She yelled, folding her arms and turning her head away from Taran.

“I am sorry, Eilonwy. I didn’t believe I was hurting you in any way when I worked…,” Taran said trying to cajole the princess out of her grimace.

Eilonwy’s eyes softened and she looked back at Taran, “Well…The horse who wears that shoe must have disfigured hooves.”

Coll walked in and glanced at the shoe, “Well done.”

Eilonwy had been talking the whole time Taran ate. He felt her words weight down on him. She mumbled on about how the dinner was hard to cook. Taran didn’t think he could take another second of it. She’d talked on about how hard she worked in the scullery, and how Taran did this or that wrong.

“We don’t need you to cook the supper.”

It was just Taran and Eilonwy at the table. They sat across from each other and now Taran stared down at his food while Eilonwy stopped puzzled and offended.

“What?”

He looked up at her, “We don’t need you here.”

“Take that back, Taran,” Eilonwy gasped.

“All you do is talk your time away and cause us worry. We don’t need a prissy princess here,” Taran hissed.

Eilonwy stood. Tear threatened, “You- you do this to me, Taran!” she yelled as tears started to roll, “You never care!”

She ran from the room. Taran sat back down to eat his food in silence.

The feud had gone on, they yelled at each other for about a week. Every time Eilonwy ended up in tears and Taran even angrier. Taran lay down the shoe and walked from the room, leaving a confused Coll behind. He wiped the sweat from his brow. The sun beat down on him happily. Taran walked across the field looking every which way. He finally found Eilonwy walking along the sunflowers. The golden light sang to the flowers. She ran her finger along the steams, smiling at the yellow petals. Taran walked up to her.

“Oh,” Eilonwy whipped her head around when she heard foot steps, “Taran.”

“I wanted to say something,” Taran said.

“Well then, say it,” said Eilonwy going back to her annoyed state.

Taran took a breath, “When I said we didn’t need you here, I- well, I didn’t mean any of it. It is really the opposite. We –I mean- I need you here, Eilonwy.”

He closed his eyes and waited for a smart comeback. Eilonwy placed her hand on his cheek and kissed the other. Taran’s eyes opened in surprise. Eilonwy smiled softly, “I know.”

xXx

Now, I know Eilonwy wouldn’t kiss him here, but it was a surprise! She can be quite unexplained. Thank you.

~*Leal*~