Woman of Flowers, Blodeuwedd

Ciw-restr ar gyfer Blodeuwedd

(Llew) {Clapping his hands}
 
(Llew) That excites desire like the first sun of summer.
(1, 0) 101 Lord, I received your message.
(Llew) Yes lady, we must go.
 
(Llew) Yes lady, we must go.
(1, 0) 103 And Gwydion too?
(Llew) Gwydion too.
 
(Llew) Gwydion too.
(1, 0) 105 The day is short, and soon it will be night.
(1, 0) 106 My Lord, stay here. I do not wish
(1, 0) 107 To spend tonight without you.
(Llew) You won't be alone.
 
(Llew) You have maids, and many servants.
(1, 0) 110 I've never parted from you before;
(1, 0) 111 Being left here frightens me.
(Llew) Since when?
 
(Llew) Since when?
(1, 0) 113 My spirit is restless. Nothing good will come
(1, 0) 114 Of your going today. Await tomorrow's dawn;
(1, 0) 115 The sun will speed your journey to Caer Dathal.
(Llew) No. Everyone is ready, we must go,
 
(1, 0) 119 Magician – am I beautiful?
(Gwydion) Your question conceals some deviousness.
 
(Gwydion) Your question conceals some deviousness.
(1, 0) 121 No deviousness. No device.
(1, 0) 122 You captured my essence from between green leaves.
(1, 0) 123 Tell me – are you pleased with your work?
(Gwydion) {Staring at her}
 
(Gwydion) You are the masterpiece of all my magic.
(1, 0) 128 Why then, when I beg of my husband
(1, 0) 129 The only favour I've ever asked
(1, 0) 130 Does he not grant it me?
(Gwydion) The only favour, my niece?
 
(Gwydion) The only favour, my niece?
(1, 0) 132 The only one.
(Gwydion) Then you have been a fool to yourself, Blodeuwedd.
 
(Gwydion) Then their fatigue yields favour after favour.
(1, 0) 138 Yes. Peasant women know more than I about men.
(1, 0) 139 Gwydion, you did me a disfavour
(1, 0) 140 When you chained me with flesh and sinew;
(1, 0) 141 I should despise you
(1, 0) 142 And yet my instinct is to like you.
(1, 0) 143 You too spent summers beneath the leaves.
(1, 0) 144 You know the feel of earth on flesh
(1, 0) 145 And the sounds of nature's stirrings in the grass.
(Gwydion) Ssh. Don't talk about that – it shames me.
 
(Gwydion) Ssh. Don't talk about that – it shames me.
(1, 0) 147 Ask my soul what shame is. I don't know
(1, 0) 148 What it is to be ashamed...
(1, 0) 149 Stay with me
(1, 0) 150 Until my lord returns
(1, 0) 151 Be my protector in his absence.
(Servant) Lord, your retinue waits,
 
(Gwydion) Farewell.
(1, 0) 164 Kind lord
(1, 0) 165 Shall we three ever be together again?
(1, 0) 166 My heart is heavy. Farewell.
 
(1, 0) 168 My Llew
(1, 0) 169 If you believed me you wouldn't set forth today.
(1, 0) 170 In my bones I feel that this portends some ill.
(Llew) My life can't be ruled on a girl's whim.
 
(Llew) My life can't be ruled on a girl's whim.
(1, 0) 172 I know the seasons better than you.
(1, 0) 173 I sense each change in wind and rain and sun.
(1, 0) 174 Why shouldn't I also read the seasons of a man?
(Llew) Don't be afraid. I am destined
 
(Rhagnell) Blodeuwedd, answer me.
(1, 0) 190 My lord has gone away!
(Rhagnell) What of that? It's for three days, no more.
 
(Rhagnell) He'll soon be back.
(1, 0) 193 Rhagnell, you don't know
(1, 0) 194 What fear grips my heart.
(Rhagnell) Hush mistress. Why should you be afraid?
 
(Rhagnell) I would lay down my life for you if need be.
(1, 0) 200 No. It's not men I fear
(1, 0) 201 But being on my own – this solitude.
(1, 0) 202 My lord has gone away!
(Rhagnell) What is this?
 
(Rhagnell) Why this change?
(1, 0) 207 You'll never understand
(1, 0) 208 My agony. Not you or anyone.
(1, 0) 209 You don't know the loneliness that gnaws.
(1, 0) 210 Your world is full – you have a home.
(1, 0) 211 Loved ones, family, father, mother, brothers,
(1, 0) 212 You're not an alien in this world.
(1, 0) 213 Wherever mankind walks, you have familiar paths
(1, 0) 214 And all of Gwynedd, where your forebears lived,
(1, 0) 215 Is your hearth, a dwelling place passed on
(1, 0) 216 By the generations of your father's fathers.
(1, 0) 217 You're at home among kith and countrymen
(1, 0) 218 As in a snug bed made comfortable
(1, 0) 219 By familiar and loving hands.
(1, 0) 220 I, however do not possess a home or hearth
(1, 0) 221 Not any place in man's domain. Search Gwynedd
(1, 0) 222 And Britain too – there's no headstone
(1, 0) 223 Bearing my name. This world is cold
(1, 0) 224 And alien to me, without a friend's comforting
(1, 0) 225 Or a nation's bonds. That is why I fear.
(1, 0) 226 I fear my freedom. I'm like a ship without a rudder, lost
(1, 0) 227 On mankind's treacherous seas.
(1, 0) 228 Listen – what horn sounds there?
(Rhagnell) Someone far off hunting in the woods.
 
(Rhagnell) Someone far off hunting in the woods.
(1, 0) 230 My lord has gone away. Oh. Between us there was never any
(1, 0) 231 passion. He knows nothing
(1, 0) 232 Of the dark desires woven into my nature
(1, 0) 233 And I know nothing of his nobility.
(1, 0) 234 His tame mind, his joy in friendships
(1, 0) 235 That have nurtured him throughout the years.
(1, 0) 236 Yet amongst men he's the only one
(1, 0) 237 I have as kin. The single link I have
(1, 0) 238 With human bonds, bonds
(1, 0) 239 Which equate honour with ancestry. Without him
(1, 0) 240 I'm alone, anchorless in their midst
(1, 0) 241 With nature's reckless surging in my blood.
(1, 0) 242 God be my witness – I don't want the blame
(1, 0) 243 When this harm falls upon us.
(Rhagnell) What harm lady?
 
(Rhagnell) Of this storm that surges through you.
(1, 0) 248 Listen.
(Rhagnell) Yes. The hunt is closer.
 
(Rhagnell) Yes. The hunt is closer.
(1, 0) 251 Rhagnell, where is your heart? Oh – as hidden
(1, 0) 252 As the oak's stout heart in wettest weather.
 
(1, 0) 254 Listen woman. The hunting horn. They're in full cry.
(1, 0) 255 The stag's hooves are skimming the earth
(1, 0) 256 Like oars hitting spume.
(1, 0) 257 The scenting dogs
(1, 0) 258 Bound over the trail, and thundering horses
(1, 0) 259 Pound out the passing furlongs.
(1, 0) 260 Oh, there is nature
(1, 0) 261 At its glorious best, full of breathless beauty.
(1, 0) 262 The hunter as one with the vibrant land –
(1, 0) 263 I could love a hunter –
 
(1, 0) 265 Go, go woman,
(1, 0) 266 Ask who that horseman is who hunts there.
(Rhagnell) Lady, the hunt is over, and the huntsman
 
(Rhagnell) As darkness is descending?
(1, 0) 272 Describe him to me.
(Rhagnell) Young, and supple in the saddle
 
(Rhagnell) Like a hawk gliding on the air.
(1, 0) 275 Bring me
(1, 0) 276 Golden goblets, and the wine I tasted
(1, 0) 277 The morning I was created. Bring fruit,
(1, 0) 278 Cherries and red apples.
(1, 0) 279 Receive this young knight.
(1, 0) 280 Allow him to change, giving water
(1, 0) 281 For washing, then lead him to our hall,
(1, 0) 282 For tonight we'll fete this stranger
(1, 0) 283 Lest my absent lord finds fault with me
(1, 0) 284 For turning a man away as dusk unseats the day.
(Rhagnell) Lady, this is how you should be,
 
(Rhagnell) And all who look upon you will love you.
(1, 0) 293 Be silent now my beating breast, your hour has now come...
(1, 0) 294 A year's bowing to the court's customs
(1, 0) 295 And man's imperatives is now to be lifted from me.
(1, 0) 296 Freedom, excitement; these are my masters now
(1, 0) 297 And my imperative is lust – the lust that drives the seed
(1, 0) 298 To prise through a shroud of earth to reach the sun.
(1, 0) 299 There's a shoot in me that seeks the light
(1, 0) 300 And wants to flourish and bear copious fruit
(1, 0) 301 Without a blade to prune it back. I know
(1, 0) 302 That this huntsman is an emperor of passion;
(1, 0) 303 I know the music of a horn – it was not my husband's
(1, 0) 304 Thin lips that pursed to blow those lusty calls
(1, 0) 305 But stronger lips, swelling with blood red bloom,
(1, 0) 306 A much more fitting match for mine.
(Rhagnell) {At the door.}
 
(Rhagnell) Lord of Penllyn waits to greet you.
(1, 0) 310 How barren are those words. A brazen bugle
(1, 0) 311 Not a wench's tongue should announce that name.
(1, 0) 312 Give me your arm – let's go to welcome him.
 
(1, 0) 317 Have you had enough?
(Gronw) Of food and drink, yes.
 
(Gronw) Of food and drink, yes.
(1, 0) 319 What else is there?
(Gronw) Don't ask, Lady.
 
(Gronw) Don't ask, Lady.
(1, 0) 321 Are you afraid of saying?
(Gronw) I don't fear anything
 
(Gronw) Except for losing honour and reputation.
(1, 0) 324 Fear never caught a stag, or woman.
(Gronw) Lady, is there a way from here tonight?
 
(Gronw) Lady, is there a way from here tonight?
(1, 0) 326 Yes. Over the hills where loping wolves
(1, 0) 327 Howl their hunger at the moon on high.
(Gronw) Is there a servant who could show us the way?
 
(Gronw) Is there a servant who could show us the way?
(1, 0) 329 No on would dare do that. Except me.
(Gronw) You?
 
(Gronw) You?
(1, 0) 331 The night and I are cousins
(1, 0) 332 And wolves don't hunt the scent of flowers.
(Gronw) Is it true you were conjured from wild flowers?
 
(1, 0) 335 Do you see these – how still they are.
(1, 0) 336 You could imagine their beauty eternal,
(1, 0) 337 And yet they'll die. They were plucked
(1, 0) 338 And placed some time ago as this hall's decoration.
(1, 0) 339 Arranged to stand sweetly, like this – but without root.
(1, 0) 340 Their life ducts are already speared with decay
(1, 0) 341 And those stems are dying. Soon they'll wilt
(1, 0) 342 And drop these wings of vibrant colour to the floor.
(1, 0) 343 They'll pale and fade and die before their time...
(1, 0) 344 Lord, would you say I'm beautiful?
(Gronw) The world's rose.
 
(Gronw) The world's rose.
(1, 0) 346 Yet, I too am fading.
(1, 0) 347 I have no root nor earth among men.
(1, 0) 348 A drop of water can ease these flowers' drooping
(1, 0) 349 And stay their death – but I was wrenched
(1, 0) 350 By an uncaring hand and put here to die
(1, 0) 351 Without one soothing element to save my bloom.
(Gronw) What do you want?
 
(Gronw) What do you want?
(1, 0) 353 Tell me your secret
(1, 0) 354 Then I'll tell you my desires.
(Gronw) From the moment I saw you, I loved you.
 
(Gronw) From the moment I saw you, I loved you.
(1, 0) 356 And is that why you want to leave me?
(Gronw) You are already married – and at your husband's table
 
(Gronw) Duty bound to respect his rights?
(1, 0) 360 And now?
(Gronw) Oh, I'm so lost in my lust for you,
 
(Gronw) Where I wish to anchor my lusty youth.
(1, 0) 369 And no more talk of leaving?
(Gronw) No, never again.
 
(Gronw) No, never again.
(1, 0) 371 And your noble peers, your own good standing
(1, 0) 372 Within your family, and their code of honour?
(Gronw) They are forgotten.
 
(Gronw) They are forgotten.
(1, 0) 374 No – don't forget anything
(1, 0) 375 In case they return one day to prey upon you,
(1, 0) 376 To still your blood and douse the fires of lust.
(1, 0) 377 But, choose between us, between them and me.
(1, 0) 378 Their sober morals, honed by civilisation;
(1, 0) 379 And my unfettered kisses and my lust.
(1, 0) 380 And think before you choose. From them
(1, 0) 381 The security of lifelong friends, a future partner
(1, 0) 382 Perhaps, to share your estate and life,
(1, 0) 383 Traditions and expectations to smother you,
(1, 0) 384 An honourable burial in your forebears' vault
(1, 0) 385 And dutiful children to carry your coffin.
(1, 0) 386 With me there's no security beyond the present
(1, 0) 387 He who loves me must love danger, and tread
(1, 0) 388 The lonely road to freedom. In his life
(1, 0) 389 He'll have no friends, nor children to nurse him
(1, 0) 390 To his grave. Only this wild cascade of hair
(1, 0) 391 To swamp his senses, and these, my breasts
(1, 0) 392 To give him hidden moments away from worldly care –
(1, 0) 393 And these seconds shall be his heaven... You choose.
(Gronw) Who knows his future.
 
(Gronw) Your will is now enthroned to rule my soul.
(1, 0) 403 My whole will is desire's decree.
(1, 0) 404 Listen, my lad. The day that I was caught
(1, 0) 405 And made captive to the court and bed of my husband
(1, 0) 406 Gwydion gave me a strange and heady wine
(1, 0) 407 Stolen, so it's said, by Prince Pryderi from the Underworld.
(1, 0) 408 This I tasted, then hid away, promising myself
(1, 0) 409 That I would not taste of it again
(1, 0) 410 Until I revelled with a man of my choosing
(1, 0) 411 The pitcher's long been locked
(1, 0) 412 Away, and often I was tempted to taste of it.
(1, 0) 413 But today, at dusk, I heard the horn call
(1, 0) 414 In the woodlands, its sound a kingly command
(1, 0) 415 To end my months of subjugation. I knew
(1, 0) 416 That the mouth which sounded that far urging
(1, 0) 417 Would drink with me from love's cup tonight.
(1, 0) 418 Drink Gronw – my seal is on the rim.
(Gronw) I'll drink and pledge to you undying love...
 
(Gronw) I'll drink and pledge to you undying love...
(1, 0) 420 No, dearest, don't pledge me anything.
(1, 0) 421 Leave oaths to other men
(1, 0) 422 Who guard fragile feelings with the rites
(1, 0) 423 And frightened rituals of their religions.
(1, 0) 424 What would oaths signify, except
(1, 0) 425 That this moment's bliss does not itself suffice?
(1, 0) 426 No more talk on this, the tenderest night,
(1, 0) 427 No thoughts of what may follow.
(1, 0) 428 Nature's powers swell within me now, to sate you.
(1, 0) 429 And unless I tire, you shall not ebb.
(Gronw) Let this cup, where your lips have touched
 
(Gronw) Rather than wake without you in some tomorrow.
(1, 0) 434 Rhagnell. Rhagnell...
 
(1, 0) 436 Prepare my bed tonight
(1, 0) 437 In the crystal chamber. Place on it
(1, 0) 438 The whitest, finest linen, as before
(1, 0) 439 When I slept that first night of all.
 
(1, 0) 441 Friend – what did you see to make you like me?
(Gronw) Who can tell... Your face, your form, your walk
 
(Gronw) And your body's beauty burning through your dress.
(1, 0) 444 And nothing else? Didn't you witness
(1, 0) 445 The wonder of my awakening? Before you came
(1, 0) 446 This body was a prison round me
(1, 0) 447 Like a dead husk trapping a chrysalis;
(1, 0) 448 You came like a spring to breathe verdant life where I lay
(1, 0) 449 To give my flesh its wings, my blood its surge.
(1, 0) 450 I'll no longer be lonely among families;
(1, 0) 451 This relationship will form my roots. It allows me
(1, 0) 452 To belong among men. The same nature
(1, 0) 453 Courses through sap and blood – no feeble morals
(1, 0) 454 Nor judgements can chain the heart that hears
(1, 0) 455 The pounding of love within. Come lover,
(1, 0) 456 We lay claim to life – and to make love is to be free.
(Penteulu) Rhagnell, where's my master?
 
(Gronw) Go to them. I'll join you presently.
(2, 0) 484 Must you go?
(Gronw) Or stay here and be killed.
 
(Gronw) Or stay here and be killed.
(2, 0) 486 No my love. If there's to be a kill
(2, 0) 487 It won't be you that's killed.
(Gronw) His men are here all around.
 
(Gronw) He himself returns today.
(2, 0) 490 Yes. Go. Don't delay. His name tolls
(2, 0) 491 Like a death knell in my heart.
(2, 0) 492 Do you know, in the woodlands in June
(2, 0) 493 When the golden seed adorns the blackbird's beak
(2, 0) 494 And the leaves' murmuring is louder than the sound of the stream...
(2, 0) 495 Then, suddenly, all becomes still.
(2, 0) 496 The sweet piping stops, the hedgerows silent.
(2, 0) 497 And in the roots and stems the sap's rise is arrested...
(2, 0) 498 And in that moment the leaves grow old
(2, 0) 499 As the summer bears down
(2, 0) 500 On the bushes. And spring dies. So too for me
(2, 0) 501 That in the first steps of love's dance
(2, 0) 502 I'm suddenly reminded of him.
(2, 0) 503 His name, his being, and I stumble to a halt.
(Gronw) Was it for this, Blodeuwedd,
 
(Gronw) With expectations dashed, and us divided?
(2, 0) 508 I tasted joy like a piercing in my breast,
(2, 0) 509 The exquisite bite of burgeoning love
(2, 0) 510 And this, my body, once a prison,
(2, 0) 511 A lifeless form – has now become a perfumed garden
(2, 0) 512 Full of my spring's intoxication.
(2, 0) 513 A new world struck open by your wand
(2, 0) 514 Brimful with new blessings. You, friend,
(2, 0) 515 Not Math nor Gwydion, have created me.
(Gronw) And do you know all that's in your world?
 
(Gronw) And do you know all that's in your world?
(2, 0) 517 Our bodies are inexhaustible. O, Gronw,
(2, 0) 518 The real wonder would be to delve into their riches, all of them.
(2, 0) 519 To awaken the mysteries of the senses;
(2, 0) 520 The season of our stillness, the peace of sleep
(2, 0) 521 In a loved one's arms, breathing in unison.
(2, 0) 522 Love has the gift of grafting bodies together
(2, 0) 523 And from the two create a new and greater one
(2, 0) 524 In which men can shut their minds to the dull
(2, 0) 525 Ache of humdrum being, and sport freely
(2, 0) 526 In the arena of love's passion. To me you are
(2, 0) 527 The portal to this paradise. And without you
(2, 0) 528 Nothing awaits me but tears welling in the night
(2, 0) 529 As I watch, asleep, beside me, there,
(2, 0) 530 Some strange, cold, rapist.
(Gronw) Do you want
 
(Gronw) This day to mark the end of our love?
(2, 0) 533 I want to live. Love and living are one.
(2, 0) 534 With you I saw love's sun rise. I want now
(2, 0) 535 To see its moon.
(Gronw) And Llew Llaw Gyffes?
 
(Gronw) And Llew Llaw Gyffes?
(2, 0) 537 Why do you say his name? Isn't it enough
(2, 0) 538 That he stands between us and the path of love
(2, 0) 539 Like some dark despoiler.
(Gronw) We must look upon our fear
 
(Gronw) And name it – that we need not fear.
(2, 0) 542 Is there a cast or trick, to deceive Llew?
(Gronw) Yes. Come away with me. This morning, now.
 
(Gronw) Yes. Come away with me. This morning, now.
(2, 0) 544 Where?
(Gronw) To my fortress.
 
(Gronw) From my battlements we'll brave his roar.
(2, 0) 550 You don't know
(2, 0) 551 His strength. With him comes Math
(2, 0) 552 And the massive might of Gwynedd
(2, 0) 553 And Gwydion the sorcerer. No earthly fortress
(2, 0) 554 Can repel them. And I don't want
(2, 0) 555 To be caught like some doe in this lion's claws,
(2, 0) 556 My flesh ripped to shreds.
(Gronw) Blodeuwedd, what's a court
 
(Gronw) And give us sanctuary.
(2, 0) 561 I'll never go.
(2, 0) 562 I can't impose myself unbidden on strangers.
(2, 0) 563 It's easy for you to trust in new allies.
(2, 0) 564 You are, like them, a man. I have no common bond
(2, 0) 565 Nor cause to trust their word.
(2, 0) 566 I fear all things strange.
(Gronw) Man is more caring than you credit.
 
(Gronw) Man is more caring than you credit.
(2, 0) 568 To his kind. But as I am outside
(2, 0) 569 Their pack, why should they venture their trust?
(2, 0) 570 Nor will I trust them.
(2, 0) 571 Unless he is tied to me by love
(2, 0) 572 Everyone is my enemy... My only brother,
(2, 0) 573 Don't take me away from here.
(Gronw) What shall we do?
 
(Gronw) What shall we do?
(2, 0) 575 Kiss. Forget. And farewell.
(Gronw) Is that your advice?
 
(Gronw) Is that your advice?
(2, 0) 577 I know no better.
(Gronw) Can you forget all this so easily?
 
(Gronw) Can you forget all this so easily?
(2, 0) 579 Forgetfulness is a skill that's quickly learnt.
(2, 0) 580 It grows easier by the day.
(Gronw) I can't ever forget.
 
(Gronw) I can't ever forget.
(2, 0) 582 We're all loath to learn new disciplines
(2, 0) 583 At first.
(Gronw) Do you want to forget?
 
(Gronw) Do you want to forget?
(2, 0) 585 Do you?
(Gronw) I'd rather die.
 
(Gronw) I'd rather die.
(2, 0) 587 Kiss me, my lover... Before long
(2, 0) 588 He'll claim again the homage of these lips
(2, 0) 589 His hands will grasp at these shoulders
(2, 0) 590 And mark out his demands on this white flesh.
(2, 0) 591 I wish there were a poison in my teeth,
(2, 0) 592 That like a serpent I could coil about his neck,
(2, 0) 593 Constricting him, crush him in an embrace
(2, 0) 594 Like this... like this...
(2, 0) 595 My fangs would finish him.
(Gronw) That's the only way. We must kill him.
 
(Gronw) That's the only way. We must kill him.
(2, 0) 597 How long it's taken you to read my mind.
(Gronw) I wouldn't wish him dead, unless it needs be so...
 
(Gronw) I wouldn't wish him dead, unless it needs be so...
(2, 0) 599 It needs be, it must. What place is there for him
(2, 0) 600 In a world that knows the tempest of our passions?
(2, 0) 601 He stands like a withered trunk
(2, 0) 602 In the path of a mighty whirlwind.
(Gronw) Is there a way to kill him?
 
(Gronw) Is there a way to kill him?
(2, 0) 604 It won't be easy. He's fated
(2, 0) 605 That no one else shall know the manner of his death.
(2, 0) 606 He's the sole possessor of that secret.
(Gronw) Is fate itself the enemy of our love?
 
(Gronw) Is fate itself the enemy of our love?
(2, 0) 608 Love is a rare bloom. It grows
(2, 0) 609 Up on the cliff of death. Some snatch at it.
(2, 0) 610 Others graze upon it gently.
(Gronw) How beautiful scorn is upon your lips.
 
(Gronw) Tell me, how do we discover the secret of his death?
(2, 0) 616 Leave that to me. These slender fingers
(2, 0) 617 Can play his hungry body like a harp,
(2, 0) 618 Can lull him, lure from him
(2, 0) 619 The secret sealed inside his heart.
(2, 0) 620 His temper is a child's tantrum.
(2, 0) 621 He'll return today, lonely and restive
(2, 0) 622 And I shall kiss him.
(Gronw) And prise from him the greatest mystery he possesses.
 
(Gronw) And prise from him the greatest mystery he possesses.
(2, 0) 624 A soul for a kiss,
(2, 0) 625 Is the price too much?
(Gronw) This moment
 
(Gronw) Like a moth to a flame I'd fly to you.
(2, 0) 629 Yes. My spirit is a flame that burns.
(2, 0) 630 He who first lit that fire
(2, 0) 631 Shall be consumed by it. What's our plan?
(Gronw) Leave that to me. If a man's hand
 
(Gronw) I must go.
(2, 0) 644 You'll keep your word?
(Gronw) Do you doubt my fidelity?
 
(Gronw) Do you doubt my fidelity?
(2, 0) 646 Gronw – what does your fidelity mean to me?
(2, 0) 647 Will you still want me? Desire is what holds
(2, 0) 648 Man's will a slave and keeps its arrow true
(2, 0) 649 When fidelity's bow has rusted. Look at me,
(2, 0) 650 Feast your lips upon this kiss
(2, 0) 651 And fill your nostrils with my scent... Now go.
(Gronw) Shall I hear from you tonight.
 
(Gronw) Shall I hear from you tonight.
(2, 0) 653 Before nightfall.
(Gronw) This parting is my nightfall, and now my sunset.
 
(Rhagnell) He'll soon be here.
(2, 0) 660 What did you say?
(Rhagnell) Where would you like me to prepare supper?
 
(Rhagnell) Where would you like me to prepare supper?
(2, 0) 662 For whom?
(Rhagnell) For you and your lord, your husband.
 
(Rhagnell) For you and your lord, your husband.
(2, 0) 664 In a grave.
(Rhagnell) Is this the strength you talked about
 
(Rhagnell) And greet him at the gate.
(2, 0) 669 Yes, go. Tell him all my secret.
(Rhagnell) Do you think I'd betray you?
 
(Rhagnell) Do you think I'd betray you?
(2, 0) 671 You're born of a woman's womb, like him.
(Rhagnell) {Kneeling at her side.}
 
(Rhagnell) And I'm also your maid for as long as I draw breath.
(2, 0) 674 No, no. You shan't mock me. I know
(2, 0) 675 My looks can turn a young man's head
(2, 0) 676 And make him wild, a slave to my will.
(2, 0) 677 But you're a woman and I can never chain you.
(Rhagnell) A different chain ties me.
 
(Rhagnell) A different chain ties me.
(2, 0) 680 Yes, you have your chains. Woman, you
(2, 0) 681 Are fair. Your flowing hair
(2, 0) 682 Is a golden tress cascading on your nape
(2, 0) 683 As soft as silk. But... why don't you
(2, 0) 684 Wear it like a torque around your throat,
(2, 0) 685 A golden torque. A present from your mistress,
(2, 0) 686 A reward for your loyalty. Wear it tight,
(2, 0) 687 Tight enough to choke you, Rhagnell.
(2, 0) 688 You can lie for ever more... wise and mute,
(2, 0) 689 The perpetual guardian of my secret.
(Rhagnell) You're hurting me. Do you want to kill me?
 
(Rhagnell) You're hurting me. Do you want to kill me?
(2, 0) 693 I want to tie up this fragile neck
(2, 0) 694 With this silk, so that not one
(2, 0) 695 Traitorous utterance shall pass through these pale lips
(2, 0) 696 That used to kiss my hand each night...
(2, 0) 697 You've waited on me countless times, sweet Rhagnell.
(2, 0) 698 You've soothed me to sleep. Now I
(2, 0) 699 Can tend to you, and rock you
(2, 0) 700 To a deeper sleep than I've experienced ever.
(Rhagnell) {Again without moving.}
 
(Rhagnell) Alive or dead, I won't betray you.
(2, 0) 703 You won't get that chance, my dear;
(2, 0) 704 I'll lock your tongue within these lips
(2, 0) 705 Away from all temptation.
(Rhagnell) Here's the Master.
 
(2, 0) 715 Here I am.
(Llew) My fair, my flawless wife.
 
(Llew) My fair, my flawless wife.
(2, 0) 717 You journeyed safely?
(Llew) Today the wonder of your beauty is the same
 
(Llew) Until I felt the loss.
(2, 0) 723 You never been away from me before.
(Llew) Nor will I again until I die.
 
(Llew) Nor will I again until I die.
(2, 0) 725 Pray that be true.
(Llew) What did you do while I was away?
 
(Llew) What did you do while I was away?
(2, 0) 727 Ask Rhagnell. Tell him, woman.
(2, 0) 728 Here's your chance.
(Rhagnell) Master, since Blodeuwedd first came to Ardudwy
 
(Llew) Allowed to come to know you before.
(2, 0) 742 Put aside past doubts. Let this reunion
(2, 0) 743 Seal a new marriage between us.
(Llew) I believed you cold, uncaring.
 
(Llew) Why did you keep from me till now this tenderness?
(2, 0) 748 I was given to you my Lord as bounty,
(2, 0) 749 As a captive, without choice or say.
(2, 0) 750 You didn't learn to love me before you took me
(2, 0) 751 Or worry about winning me over. In this fort
(2, 0) 752 You have weapons and suits of burnished armour
(2, 0) 753 That cost you battles and blood to win.
(2, 0) 754 You look at them. You remember the each occasion
(2, 0) 755 Of their taking. Each one a token of your prowess
(2, 0) 756 And the pain they cost you. But me?
(2, 0) 757 I cost you nothing, not a second's sacrifice
(2, 0) 758 And that's why you've never sought
(2, 0) 759 To see the dents, the scars that line my heart
(2, 0) 760 Nor the marks of battle beneath this breast.
(Llew) You are my wife. I hope through you
 
(Llew) What greater love than that could a man dream of?
(2, 0) 765 I was a wife to you before I was a girl.
(2, 0) 766 You demanded the fruit before the flower opened
(2, 0) 767 But I am the woman of flowers, Blodeuwedd.
(Llew) Woman of flowers, teach me then
 
(Llew) Why do you keep yourself from me?
(2, 0) 783 I don't my love, I have never
(2, 0) 784 Kept any part of me from you.
(Llew) You gave our body, but kept your soul.
 
(Llew) You gave our body, but kept your soul.
(2, 0) 786 I gave you my trust. You're the only one
(2, 0) 787 Whom I have upon this earth. What would I do
(2, 0) 788 If you were killed, leaving me without a mate?
(Llew) Was it true what Rhagnell said about you weeping?
 
(Llew) Why don't you answer? Tell me, are you well?
(2, 0) 793 The day you left me
(2, 0) 794 Despair almost broke my heart. I feared
(2, 0) 795 That never again would I see you alive.
(Llew) Was your love for me so great?
 
(Llew) Was your love for me so great?
(2, 0) 797 I have no family but you.
(Llew) Half my soul, now I know your love,
 
(Llew) I'll be your kith and kin. And unless I'm killed...
(2, 0) 810 If you were killed?
(Llew) My sweetest, don't be sad.
 
(Llew) Is unlikely by the hand of any man.
(2, 0) 815 You're reckless and neglectful.
(2, 0) 816 These details often slip your mind
(2, 0) 817 But my care for you makes me ever mindful.
(2, 0) 818 Share this secret with me, that my heart
(2, 0) 819 Need never again be weighed with worry.
(Llew) I'll tell you gladly. A full year must be spent
 
(Llew) Of Sacrifice at Sunday Mass.
(2, 0) 824 You're certain of this?
(Llew) Quite certain.
 
(Llew) I could be killed.
(2, 0) 832 Let God be praised. Such a fate
(2, 0) 833 Should be easy to avoid.
(Llew) Many a time, Blodeuwedd,
 
(Llew) For love's rule is unassailable.
(2, 0) 844 Is there anything of Man
(2, 0) 845 That can't be changed or challenged?
(Llew) Passion wanes, because it is fragile
 
(Llew) I've found at last the meaning of a wife's loyalty.
(2, 0) 869 Rhagnell, I tried to kill you.
(Rhagnell) Yes Lady.
 
(Rhagnell) Yes Lady.
(2, 0) 871 Then why didn't you betray me?
(Rhagnell) You're a woman lady, so am I.
 
(Rhagnell) Another woman's secret is safe with me.
(2, 0) 874 I can't understand mankind. Men seek
(2, 0) 875 To be defined by traditions,
(2, 0) 876 Fellowship, family, community, creed...
(2, 0) 877 The bonds of belonging... Do you love me?
(Rhagnell) You're innocent, like a child, lady.
 
(Rhagnell) As long as I live I'll be loyal to you.
(2, 0) 883 Forgive me. I know you're wise
(2, 0) 884 And you have all the knowledge granted to woman.
(2, 0) 885 Me, my only wisdom is to want
(2, 0) 886 And seek with all my skill whatever pleases me.
(2, 0) 887 Will you be my messenger to the Lord of Penllyn?
(Rhagnell) I'll go, lady.
 
(Rhagnell) I'll go, lady.
(2, 0) 889 Tell him this:
(2, 0) 890 He's to make a spear of steel and poison
(2, 0) 891 And its fashioning must coincide
(2, 0) 892 With the Sacrifice at Sunday Mass.
(2, 0) 893 He must take a whole year in its making.
(2, 0) 894 When that year is up he is to return here
(2, 0) 895 And meet me at the foot of Cyfergyr hill.
(2, 0) 896 Go, hurry, that no one see you.
(2, 0) 897 Give him this signet as a token.
(2, 0) 898 :
(Rhagnell) {Taking the ring.}
 
(Rhagnell) Is that all?
(2, 0) 901 That's all.
(Rhagnell) If he asks about you?
 
(Rhagnell) If he asks about you?
(2, 0) 903 Tell him
(2, 0) 904 How happy my Lord is, and that today
(2, 0) 905 We're to feast and dance
(2, 0) 906 As if it were a holiday.
(2, 0) 907 Go, and don't delay.
(Gronw) I've come, Blodeuwedd.
 
(Gronw) I've come, Blodeuwedd.
(3, 0) 915 To the minute, brave soldier.
(3, 0) 916 Before the sun breaks over Cyfergyr hill.
(3, 0) 917 Don't hold me, Gronw.
(Gronw) Beautiful bloom
 
(Gronw) And you tell me not to hold you.
(3, 0) 922 The Llew's collar still grips,
(3, 0) 923 I've come here now straight from his arms.
(Gronw) And into mine?
 
(Gronw) And into mine?
(3, 0) 925 Across his corpse.
(3, 0) 926 While he lives, don't touch me
(3, 0) 927 In case your aim should falter. Is that the spear?
(Gronw) I worked on it for a year, on Sunday after Sunday
 
(Gronw) A soul's perdition lies in her point.
(3, 0) 931 Do you fear that? There's the route home to Penllyn.
(3, 0) 932 A man's fate is not like the course of a river
(3, 0) 933 Nor a woman made of flowers. You can choose.
(Gronw) Don't mock me woman. Your fierce beauty
 
(Gronw) Honed the steel of this spear.
(3, 0) 946 Gronw, you had an easier year than I.
(3, 0) 947 You indulged your craving, gave your longing lease
(3, 0) 948 Without having to bite back sobs
(3, 0) 949 And stifle tears. My heart
(3, 0) 950 Lived in hiding night and day.
(3, 0) 951 I detested the weight of his flesh
(3, 0) 952 Pressing on my breasts, erasing your impression.
(3, 0) 953 I'll say no more; I'll talk tonight –
(3, 0) 954 Tonight, tomorrow and every other tomorrow,
(3, 0) 955 And I'll be free! But now's the time to strike.
(Gronw) What's your plan?
 
(Gronw) What's your plan?
(3, 0) 957 Is that your Captain?
(Gronw) Penllyn's Captain of the Horse.
 
(Gronw) A hundred horsemen awaiting this man's command.
(3, 0) 961 Brave Captain,
(3, 0) 962 On this trough shall Llew Llaw Gyffes be killed.
(3, 0) 963 Go to your horsemen. Be ready. The minute
(3, 0) 964 He's killed your Lord's hunting horn will sound.
(3, 0) 965 Ride to the fort. Rhagnell will open the gates.
(3, 0) 966 Only one or two soldiers stand guard there.
(3, 0) 967 Then we'll unite Penllyn and Ardudwy.
(3, 0) 968 You, Rhagnell, go, tell my Lord
(3, 0) 969 That I await him on the bank of the Cynfael
(3, 0) 970 Under Cyfergyr hill, by the goat's watering place.
(3, 0) 971 And here, as I promised him last night
(3, 0) 972 I shall share some news with him.
(Gronw) Will he come?
 
(Gronw) Will he come?
(3, 0) 975 Why shouldn't my loving husband
(3, 0) 976 Come to his wife?
(Gronw) And what was last night's promise?
 
(Gronw) And what was last night's promise?
(3, 0) 978 A hint that will bring him scurrying here.
(Gronw) How shall I kill him?
 
(Gronw) How shall I kill him?
(3, 0) 980 It won't be hard.
(3, 0) 981 I'll hide you here below the riverbank.
(3, 0) 982 He can't be killed whilst his feet are on the ground.
(3, 0) 983 He must be standing on a water trough
(3, 0) 984 Positioned beside a river. When you see him here
(3, 0) 985 Standing proudly, on top of this trough, rise
(3, 0) 986 And spear him through the back with the poisoned barb...
(3, 0) 987 Sound the hunting horn, and seize your prize.
(Gronw) Will you get him to climb the trough?
 
(Gronw) Will you get him to climb the trough?
(3, 0) 989 Don't fail with your blow; And I won't fail
(3, 0) 990 To get him on this trough.
(Gronw) My blow has been aimed this last year
 
(Gronw) The years that are left to live.
(3, 0) 999 How interesting it will be
(3, 0) 1000 To remember this day in a year's time.
(Gronw) Will Ardudwy accept a new lord quietly?
 
(Gronw) Will Ardudwy accept a new lord quietly?
(3, 0) 1002 Why not? Violent means, executed quickly
(3, 0) 1003 And cleanly, yield the easiest spoils.
(3, 0) 1004 :
(Gronw) I heard that he's popular with his people.
 
(Gronw) I heard that he's popular with his people.
(3, 0) 1006 You kill him. His wake will become your welcome.
(Gronw) Not one of his men will wish revenge?
 
(Gronw) Not one of his men will wish revenge?
(3, 0) 1008 Tomorrow, make them terrified. After that
(3, 0) 1009 They'll run like little pups to lap your hand.
(Gronw) You've learnt the craft of ruling already, lady.
 
(Gronw) You've learnt the craft of ruling already, lady.
(3, 0) 1011 You'd find the ruling instinct in a flea.
(3, 0) 1012 She and I just want to follow nature.
(3, 0) 1013 Quick, hide yourself my hunter. The Llew comes.
(3, 0) 1014 Join your will with mine, to urge him
(3, 0) 1015 Up on this stone. Then the final deed.
(3, 0) 1016 And afterwards we'll laugh, and live as we like.
(Llew) You're up early, lady.
 
(Llew) You're up early, lady.
(3, 0) 1020 The sunrise shimmered white this morning.
(3, 0) 1021 Its sweet light drew me out
(3, 0) 1022 Like a rabbit to lap at the dew.
(Llew) And like a rabbit you ventured out barefoot.
 
(Llew) And like a rabbit you ventured out barefoot.
(3, 0) 1024 A husband notices such things. And would you
(3, 0) 1025 Make me a shoe, as you did for your mother?
(Llew) My mother wouldn't brave the outdoors barefoot.
 
(Llew) She sent servants with her foot measurements.
(3, 0) 1028 Is that the time you killed the wren
(3, 0) 1029 With a spear?
(Llew) Not a spear. No one could transfix
 
(Llew) With that I did.
(3, 0) 1033 A needle of course. How stupid of me.
(3, 0) 1034 Tell me how you killed the wren. Tell me.
(Llew) Gladly. But first, shouldn't you tell me
 
(Llew) Why you summoned me so early from my bed?
(3, 0) 1037 The wren's story first.
(Llew) No. Your story first.
 
(Llew) Why did you call me here from the fort?
(3, 0) 1040 And then the tale of killing the wren?
(Llew) I promise. So what is your secret then?
 
(Llew) I promise. So what is your secret then?
(3, 0) 1042 You're so impatient. Didn't I tell you last night?
(Llew) You told me that you'd keep some joyous news
 
(Llew) Of my return from Math's court.
(3, 0) 1046 Your imagination is slow to wake this morning.
(3, 0) 1047 Have you been happy this last year lord?
(Llew) How could I not have been? Your trust
 
(Llew) No longer a wild bird trapped in a cage.
(3, 0) 1051 You still fear wild things, my Llew?
(Llew) My mother was wild. She persecuted me.
 
(Llew) I've not feared a traitor's dagger in my back.
(3, 0) 1060 Now you've confounded all your mother's curses.
(Llew) Each one she named. There was another.
 
(Llew) Each one she named. There was another.
(3, 0) 1062 What was that, my friend? You've had a name;
(3, 0) 1063 Despite her you've had weapons; you've had a wife.
(Llew) When my mother decreed that I
 
(Llew) I still know that I'm not free from my mother's wrath.
(3, 0) 1072 I understand. But tell me, when will you
(3, 0) 1073 Be free of that curse?
(Llew) When you give me the best news of my life.
 
(Llew) When you give me the best news of my life.
(3, 0) 1075 And that news?
(Llew) The glorious news
 
(Llew) That through you I have a son and heir.
(3, 0) 1078 And that would break your mother's hold on you?
(Llew) My mother tried to kill me. In that she failed.
 
(Llew) In being a life-giver. In fathering a future.
(3, 0) 1097 Without that you won't be happy with me?
(Llew) Without that, I'll be content. With that
 
(Llew) My love and gratitude would ring a serenade around you.
(3, 0) 1100 But that wouldn't be a song in my honour.
(3, 0) 1101 Just a serenade of triumph over your mother.
(3, 0) 1102 It hurts me Llew that you can't once look at me
(3, 0) 1103 And say – "You, you are enough for me."
(3, 0) 1104 If you said that –
(Llew) I'll say it when a boy rests in your arms.
 
(Llew) I'll say it when a boy rests in your arms.
(3, 0) 1106 What fateful words! Listen to my secret.
(3, 0) 1107 I have an heir for you, here.
(Llew) You know for certain?
 
(Llew) You know for certain?
(3, 0) 1109 As every woman knows.
(Llew) Oh, my queen! Let the fates make it a son.
 
(Llew) Oh, my queen! Let the fates make it a son.
(3, 0) 1111 He is a lad, I swear it.
(Llew) I never dared to think
 
(Llew) I'd not begrudge it!
(3, 0) 1116 Death strike now? Aren't you charmed against
(3, 0) 1117 Any attempt your mother might make to kill you?
(Llew) My mother's wrath counts for nothing if I have an heir.
 
(Llew) What will he be like? Imagine it my love.
(3, 0) 1120 Keen in his kissing. I can see him now,
(3, 0) 1121 His lips eager for my lips.
(3, 0) 1122 A hunter. His horn will startle the stags
(3, 0) 1123 And Ardudwy's halls will echo with his dancing.
(Llew) I'll teach him his father's skill at games.
 
(Llew) I'll teach him his father's skill at games.
(3, 0) 1125 Will you teach him to throw a spear, and a needle?
(Llew) And how to row and how to make a shoe for his mother
 
(Llew) So she doesn't have to go barefoot in the dew.
(3, 0) 1128 And will you tell him the story of shooting the wren?
(Llew) I can picture him now, a three year old
 
(Llew) With his story of our boat outside Arianrhod's keep.
(3, 0) 1133 Tell me that story, as if I were your heir.
(3, 0) 1134 Let's pretend that this trough is the boat.
(3, 0) 1135 Where did Gwydion stand?
(Llew) Here, mid-deck,
 
(Llew) Peering down at my mother's foot.
(3, 0) 1138 And you, the nameless youth
(3, 0) 1139 Stitching the shoe leather, where were you?
(Llew) There in the stern.
 
(Llew) There in the stern.
(3, 0) 1141 Did your mother look at you?
(Llew) Yes. Long and hard with lips pursed.
 
(Llew) Yes. Long and hard with lips pursed.
(3, 0) 1143 But without recognising you?
(Llew) Gwydion had woven a spell.
 
(Llew) Upright, and proud, a princess.
(3, 0) 1147 Like this? Facing out to sea? And then?
(Llew) It was spring. Ten yards offshore
 
(Llew) Then came to rest on the boat's prow.
(3, 0) 1153 Here? Show me how it stood.
(Llew) Look, like this...
 
(Llew) The needle weighted in my fingers...
(3, 0) 1164 A needle, not a spear...
(Llew) I aimed at him...
 
(Gronw) Is he dead?
(3, 0) 1171 He shuddered, struck his head
(3, 0) 1172 Twice on the ground, and then was still.
(3, 0) 1173 There's no sign of life.
(Gronw) The poison won't fail. Not even Gwydion
 
(Gronw) {He blows his hunting horn. The sounds of horsemen riding off}
(3, 0) 1177 Come, the new heir...
 
(3, 0) 1179 He is a lad, I swear it.
(Gronw) I never knew a better ending to a story...
 
(Gronw) Yes, he's dead.
(3, 0) 1182 A man dies so easily.
(Gronw) Look, the sun's upon the hill.
 
(Gronw) Look, the sun's upon the hill.
(3, 0) 1184 Let's wait a minute.
(3, 0) 1185 I can't believe his death happened so simply.
(Gronw) Let's go take the fortress.
 
(Gronw) Let's go take the fortress.
(3, 0) 1187 A scream, then gone.
(3, 0) 1188 Will it be like this when it's my turn?
(Gronw) Come Blodeuwedd. This isn't the time to ponder...
 
(Gronw) Come Blodeuwedd. This isn't the time to ponder...
(3, 0) 1190 I never saw death before. What shall we do with this?
(Gronw) I'll send soldiers to bury him this afternoon.
 
(Gronw) I'll send soldiers to bury him this afternoon.
(3, 0) 1192 I heard a sound in the trees, like armour jangling.
(Gronw) Those are my men.
 
(Gronw) Those are my men.
(3, 0) 1194 They've gone to the fort.
(Gronw) Perhaps they left someone on guard.
 
(Gronw) Perhaps they left someone on guard.
(3, 0) 1196 Has his spirit flown to the woods in fury?
(Gronw) His spirit wouldn't sound like jangling armour.
 
(Gronw) His spirit wouldn't sound like jangling armour.
(3, 0) 1198 He fell like a broken flower.
(3, 0) 1199 Is that how you'll die?
(Gronw) Come girl. You sound like some old owl,
 
(Rhagnell) There's news, mistress.
(4, 0) 1317 Happy or sad.
(Rhagnell) Is it happy or sad that Llew Llaw Gyffes lives?
 
(Rhagnell) Is it happy or sad that Llew Llaw Gyffes lives?
(4, 0) 1319 Lives? Who says that?
(Penteulu) I saw him yesterday.
 
(Penteulu) I saw him yesterday.
(4, 0) 1321 Ha! The day's come. I've been expecting this.
(Penteulu) You've been expecting it, lady? Since when?
 
(Penteulu) You've been expecting it, lady? Since when?
(4, 0) 1323 Since a year ago this day. Since I saw you
(4, 0) 1324 Frown as you hesitated by the gate.
(4, 0) 1325 The day that Penllyn and Ardudwy were united;
(4, 0) 1326 Your expression mocked the celebrations.
(Penteulu) I never did you wrong, lady.
 
(Penteulu) I never did you wrong, lady.
(4, 0) 1328 You stayed silent – that silence was a lie
(4, 0) 1329 And a malice against me, a plot
(4, 0) 1330 To fell and smash my fragile joy –
(4, 0) 1331 You didn't bury Llew.
(Penteulu) I did not.
 
(Penteulu) I did not.
(4, 0) 1333 Gwydion took him.
(Penteulu) How do you know that?
 
(Penteulu) How do you know that?
(4, 0) 1335 I know that wizard's ways. Who but he
(4, 0) 1336 Could snatch beasts and men
(4, 0) 1337 From the Underworld's jaws, and save
(4, 0) 1338 Their souls. He'll come here today?
(Penteulu) Gwydion, the Llew and three hundred soldiers.
 
(Penteulu) Gwydion, the Llew and three hundred soldiers.
(4, 0) 1340 Let them come. I've had my day.
(Penteulu) What do you advise lady? Time is short.
 
(Penteulu) What do you advise lady? Time is short.
(4, 0) 1342 Should I advise someone who's happy to betray me?
(Penteulu) I'll swear –
 
(Penteulu) I'll swear –
(4, 0) 1344 – That your escape is already planned.
(Penteulu) A mere forty retainers can't defend this fort.
 
(Penteulu) A mere forty retainers can't defend this fort.
(4, 0) 1346 Saddles strapped on the horses, sunlight glinting on shields.
(4, 0) 1347 Jangling armour, clattering hooves...
(4, 0) 1348 An avenger stalks the woods.
(4, 0) 1349 Ready to spring, to reclaim his land.
(Penteulu) I've placed guards on watch.
 
(Penteulu) I've placed guards on watch.
(4, 0) 1351 You've arranged to escape before he comes.
(Penteulu) Gronw must make his escape, yourself too.
 
(Penteulu) Back in Penllyn we are rooted and strong.
(4, 0) 1355 Are the soldiers to decide for their lord?
(Penteulu) What's worse? To follow soldiers' wisdom
 
(Penteulu) Or be a woman's slave?
(4, 0) 1358 It's easy to get you to voice your traitorous
(4, 0) 1359 Feelings and spit your poison, Penteulu.
(Penteulu) It's not worth arguing – our enemies are almost upon us.
 
(Rhagnell) Gronw Pebr's here now lady.
(4, 0) 1363 Did you hear Gronw?
(Gronw) I heard everything.
 
(Gronw) I heard everything.
(4, 0) 1365 Your captain urges us to flee to Penllyn.
(Gronw) What does the enemy number?
 
(Gronw) To face the Llew when he returns to his lair.
(4, 0) 1401 Gronw, why need you?
(Gronw) Go, Rhagnell, hurry
 
(Gronw) To collect your mistress's things for the journey.
(4, 0) 1405 You'll come too Gronw?
(Gronw) No, I shan't come.
 
(Gronw) On my inheritance.
(4, 0) 1411 Let's escape to Dyfed then.
(4, 0) 1412 Math's enemies will welcome us there.
(4, 0) 1413 They'll offer sustenance and security.
(Gronw) If we did that, Math would spit
 
(Gronw) Don't tarry – go.
(4, 0) 1431 Gronw, my Gronw –
(Gronw) Don't touch me woman. The hour's come.
 
(Gronw) We must part. You have a journey ahead of you.
(4, 0) 1434 I won't leave here without you.
(4, 0) 1435 I won't leave you alone in Gwydion's hands.
(Gronw) Your husband lives. He'll be here now.
 
(Gronw) You cannot stay.
(4, 0) 1438 I can't go to total strangers.
(4, 0) 1439 They'll kill me without you.
(Gronw) Brave captain. I've given you my estates.
 
(Gronw) Hurry, Blodeuwedd. Where's your maid. Rhagnell?
(4, 0) 1447 Rhagnell left the fort a while ago.
(Gronw) Left? To go where?
 
(Gronw) Left? To go where?
(4, 0) 1449 I'm not sure. Towards the river.
(Penteulu) This isn't the time for anyone to seek a grave.
 
(Gronw) You can't wait for her.
(4, 0) 1452 I must wait.
(4, 0) 1453 Don't ask me to leave without you.
(4, 0) 1454 Blood has united us – we can't be parted.
(4, 0) 1455 I stood with you by the goat's watering trough.
(4, 0) 1456 I watched you aim the spear. I saw the killing.
(4, 0) 1457 I'll stay to face him again.
(Gronw) And why not?
 
(Penteulu) I'll leave two horses for you in the courtyard.
(4, 0) 1471 They've gone Gronw.
(Gronw) And turned this fort into a prison.
 
(Gronw) And turned this fort into a prison.
(4, 0) 1473 There's no one staying behind, but us.
(Gronw) We won't be alone for long. We'll soon have company.
 
(Gronw) We won't be alone for long. We'll soon have company.
(4, 0) 1475 I wish Rhagnell would return.
(Gronw) I wouldn't be too surprised
 
(Gronw) To see her arrive with Gwydion.
(4, 0) 1478 I'm frightened.
(4, 0) 1479 She was never devious.
(4, 0) 1480 She was our go-between, remember?
(Gronw) Remember? Too well. There's no pain
 
(Gronw) Like failing to cast out a waking nightmare.
(4, 0) 1483 Why do we have to stay here? Why Gronw?
(Gronw) You needn't. I must. It's my fate.
 
(Gronw) You needn't. I must. It's my fate.
(4, 0) 1485 You don't even have your weapons, Shall I fetch
(4, 0) 1486 A sword, a shield? Don't you want to fight?
(Gronw) It's not my turn to strike. Not this time.
 
(Gronw) It's not my turn to strike. Not this time.
(4, 0) 1488 And you'll fall to your knees in front of him?
(4, 0) 1489 He can't forgive. I know my Llew.
(Gronw) I can forego his mercy. I'll settle for
 
(Gronw) The stab of his spear.
(4, 0) 1492 Do you want to die?
(Gronw) How long it's taken you to read my mind.
 
(Gronw) How long it's taken you to read my mind.
(4, 0) 1494 What do you think you'll achieve by your death?
(Gronw) A final hour of freedom.
 
(Gronw) A final hour of freedom.
(4, 0) 1496 I don't understand you.
(4, 0) 1497 Over there are horses, ready, saddled to go,
(4, 0) 1498 And freedom in their stirrups. Why don't we go?
(Gronw) Freedom's here. Here with you.
 
(Gronw) Freedom's here. Here with you.
(4, 0) 1500 I understand, or my heart does, that "with you"
(4, 0) 1501 I feared earlier Gronw, but no, I see now...
(4, 0) 1502 Your freedom is us dying in each other's arms
(4, 0) 1503 And we crown a short life's love with this last defiance.
(Gronw) My freedom doesn't lie in your arms.
 
(Gronw) And in choosing death, your sister, before you.
(4, 0) 1507 Reject me, would you? Blame me
(4, 0) 1508 For making you a murderer? Plead before Llew
(4, 0) 1509 That a woman's wiles were to blame for what you did?
(4, 0) 1510 Is that how you'll gain your freedom?
(Gronw) You needn't worry. I don't expect your death
 
(Gronw) It's in that choice that I find my freedom.
(4, 0) 1516 Now your freedom is to escape from me?
(Gronw) I can't escape from you except through death.
 
(Llew) Take him. Hold him until this afternoon.
(4, 0) 1590 My man of magic, you've travelled far today,
(4, 0) 1591 May I fetch some food and drink for your both?
(Gwydion) Your husband's already tasted your poison.
 
(Gwydion) Your husband's already tasted your poison.
(4, 0) 1593 You needn't fear. Rhagnell will be back soon.
(4, 0) 1594 She'll prepare the food – I'll serve it.
(Gwydion) Rhagnell is back already. There she is.
 
(Gwydion) Rhagnell is back already. There she is.
(4, 0) 1597 Is this your work? Did you drown her?
(Gwydion) We found her body in the river near the goat trough.
 
(Gwydion) We found her body in the river near the goat trough.
(4, 0) 1599 She was a sister to me- the only one
(4, 0) 1600 Who didn't want to use me. She reached out a hand
(4, 0) 1601 And forgave. She goes to her grave
(4, 0) 1602 Without reproach. Do you want to drown me now?
(Gwydion) I told you. We didn't drown her.
 
(Gwydion) I told you. We didn't drown her.
(4, 0) 1604 She was always the quiet one.
(4, 0) 1605 Now she's gone without a sound.
(Gwydion) As befits a wise servant, she pre-empted
 
(Gwydion) Her punishment.
(4, 0) 1608 And what I have I done to deserve punishment?
(Gwydion) Poison, treachery, mayhem, luring a husband to his death.
 
(Gwydion) Some such little details that are not to everyone's taste.
(4, 0) 1611 Am I the first unfaithful wife?
(Gwydion) I'm not saying that. Your sort is one of many,
 
(Gwydion) I'm not saying that. Your sort is one of many,
(4, 0) 1613 You're a sorcerer Gwydion, steeped in learning,
(4, 0) 1614 Strong and bold enough to challenge nature
(4, 0) 1615 To toy with it and battle with the power
(4, 0) 1616 Hidden in the rocks. Why?
(4, 0) 1617 To satisfy your lust? You had a nephew
(4, 0) 1618 Whom you loved more than your own offspring.
(4, 0) 1619 I understand that. You chose him as your heir
(4, 0) 1620 And sought to make him worthy
(4, 0) 1621 Of Math's own throne, a future king of Gwynedd,
(4, 0) 1622 And father to a line of princes.
(4, 0) 1623 Bt his life was weighed down by conditions,
(4, 0) 1624 The chains of fate made him an outcast.
(4, 0) 1625 There are such men, exiled men,
(4, 0) 1626 Cut off from every generation. But you,
(4, 0) 1627 The oak wizard, master of creation's code,
(4, 0) 1628 You couldn't accept your heir's derisory condition.
(4, 0) 1629 You had to bend fate's course, to challenge
(4, 0) 1630 Nature, to satisfy your pride and standing.
(4, 0) 1631 Defying fate you put a spell upon the sea
(4, 0) 1632 And raped the woodland to flesh him a wife
(4, 0) 1633 So I became your captive and his slave-girl
(4, 0) 1634 Given this form to breed, to give him children,
(4, 0) 1635 To soothe away his cares, help him forget his birth-lot.
(4, 0) 1636 Tell me Gwydion, wasn't that your grand design?
(Gwydion) Is it a violation to ask a wife
 
(Gwydion) To bear her husband a son?
(4, 0) 1639 Thank you, wizard. It was fated that Arianrhod's son
(4, 0) 1640 Should never have a wife of woman born
(4, 0) 1641 Nor sire a son. He wouldn't submit to his fate,
(4, 0) 1642 Not him, nor you. I was caught, a weapon,
(4, 0) 1643 A tool in your tinkering, to trick his fate.
(4, 0) 1644 Is it wrong of me at least to be true
(4, 0) 1645 To my instinct? I begged of him,
(4, 0) 1646 This youth not meant for love, to look at me
(4, 0) 1647 And take me once for what I was.
(4, 0) 1648 But he struck a song of jubilation for his son
(4, 0) 1649 And told his last story to his heir and hope;
(4, 0) 1650 He wouldn't leave his dream of tomorrow
(4, 0) 1651 To share the today of my empty heart.
(Llew) Gwydion, it's true. She has been wronged.
 
(Gwydion) Do you say that? I don't believe it!
(4, 0) 1655 Gronw has chosen to die. Rhagnell is dead.
(4, 0) 1656 Why should I live?
(Llew) I came here bitter intending for you
 
(Llew) That you've always been a creature to pity.
(4, 0) 1660 You fought against your fate, I against mine;
(4, 0) 1661 We've both battled against what must be.
(Llew) There are musts in every human marriage.
 
(Llew) There are musts in every human marriage.
(4, 0) 1663 Different imperatives lie at the root of my passion.
(Llew) That's why I can forgive you.
 
(Llew) No rational soul could love like you.
(4, 0) 1666 One tried. I gave him to you as your heir.
(Llew) And he chose death to escape from you.
 
(Llew) And he chose death to escape from you.
(4, 0) 1668 And your jealousy needs to claim his life.
(4, 0) 1669 Because he could love, and set my love alight.
(4, 0) 1670 What will you do without me, poor husband,
(4, 0) 1671 Since you'll have no other wife of woman born?
(Llew) I'll accept my destiny
 
(Llew) And make a nest of my sorrows.
(4, 0) 1674 I hear your mother's triumphant laugh.
(Llew) You don't hear her sobbing in the night.
 
(Llew) You don't hear her sobbing in the night.
(4, 0) 1676 You hearth will be arid, your bed ever cold.
(Llew) We're all exiles. The world's a cold hearth.
 
(Llew) I'll join the army of bitter souls.
(4, 0) 1679 It's your destiny that you'll never know love.
(Llew) The love I could achieve, I gave to you.
 
(Llew) The love I could achieve, I gave to you.
(4, 0) 1681 A small residue of your copious self pity.
(Llew) I put my life in your hands. You betrayed it.
 
(Llew) I put my life in your hands. You betrayed it.
(4, 0) 1683 So I could gain a life myself.
(4, 0) 1684 Take your revenge.
(Llew) I can't. You may walk from here, freely.
 
(Llew) I can't. You may walk from here, freely.
(4, 0) 1686 How gracious is my lord. I may go freely –
(4, 0) 1687 To my family? To my loved ones? To my lover?
(4, 0) 1688 And where will you go? To your mother?
(4, 0) 1689 ;
(Llew) This afternoon I'll go to the goat trough.
 
(Llew) Will you come with us to laugh as before?
(4, 0) 1693 Gladly, my heart. I didn't know you could be so frivolous.
(4, 0) 1694 I'll go to the woods till then. Fare you well.
(4, 0) 1695 Good day uncle.
(Gwydion) Yes, my niece.
 
(Gwydion) In daylight will you show your face.
(4, 0) 1709 I'll fly to Arianrhod's fort. From your sister
(4, 0) 1710 I'll receive a rare welcome for a daughter in law.