Epilogue
In the spring, Ælfwynn and Ceinwen sat in a glade on a star-strewn night. They were not alone, for the
fae folk were gathered with their queen for a night of revelry. The two women had been accepted into the
gathering just as the noble king, his gentle-hearted queen and their friends had been so long ago.
When there was a lull in the music, Ælfwynn stood up and bowed to the wise queen, "Your Majesty, if I
may. It is my Lady Ceinwen's birthday this evening, and I have a present I would like to give her."
The beautiful elf queen smiled happily and bid the bard to bestow her gift.
Ælfwynn spoke directly to her love, "As I have given you every year since we were five, I have written a
song as your present, My Love."
Tears of joy and love fell from the autumn-gold haired princess as Ælfwynn sang....
To a place she'd never been.
Seeking out new stories
But finding only winds.
Winds which shrieked in fury,
Moaning out their despair;
Angered at the queen
Who'd forgotten how to care.
Up to darkened castle
Rising 'gainst the sky
The weary bard approached
And shouting out, did cry,
"Oh let me in your walls,
Give me shelter from the storm.
I'll play long in the night,
I will sing until the dawn."
The mighty, ancient walls
Did not answer yea or nay.
When the bard walked in,
She found darkness dank and grey.
In the castle's great hall
A lady clad in green
With beauty charmed the bard,
Who at once began to sing.
"Lovely lady queen
Sitting high upon your throne,
You have won my heart
Though you are only stone.
Let me play my music
And tell you how I feel.
For one brief moment let me
Pretend that you are real."
The queen had long been cursed
To live in stony sleep
Until her heart could melt,
And she once again did weep.
In deserted castle
With cobwebs all around,
The years passed by until the day
She heard the bard's sweet sound.
The music sounded boldly,
Ringing long and clear.
The queen remembered sadly
A bard she held most dear.
The curse was finally lifted
As tears fell down her cheek.
She knelt before the singer
And soft these words did speak.
"Oh lovely lady bard
I heard all of your words.
And though I lost my singer,
I know her soul is yours.
How could I fail to love you,
Sweet melter of my heart?
I swear to you that from this day
We'll never be apart.?
The End
