ACT ONE SCENE ONE THE GREAT HALL, MUR Y CASTELL, ARDUDWY In the far distance, the storm continues. Enter LLEW. Gwydion watches, unseen. |
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| Llew |
Rhagnell. Rhagnell! |
| Rhagnell |
I'm coming. |
| Llew |
Rhagnell! |
| Enter RHAGNELL. |
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| Rhagnell |
My Lord? |
| Llew |
Where's Blodeuwedd? In her chamber? |
| Rhagnell |
Her chamber? Ha! Never by choice. I saw her walk towards the river in the woods. |
| Llew |
Go to her, and tell her this: my gifts for Math are ready. We'll set out now while three hours of daylight still remain. Gwydion and all the soldiers shall accompany me. |
| Rhagnell |
And she's to remain here? |
| Llew |
Yes. She'd better hurry if she wants to say goodbye. |
| Rhagnell |
I'll tell her. |
| Exit Rhagnell. |
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| Arianrhod |
(Voice from off.) And you made him complete? |
| Gwydion |
I gave him everything he lacked. Why? |
| Arianrhod |
(Voice from off.) Why? You won't find a man more wretched In the whole of Gwynedd. Still inconsolable. |
| Gwydion |
Not so. I've given him happiness. |
| Arianrhod |
(Voice from off.) He's a man now. But still miserable. He'll grow old before he's known happiness. You've given him keys to doors But the world he wants refuses to open for him. Time's running out. |
| Gwydion |
Always so forlorn. I'm tired of your self-pity. |
| Llew |
Gwydion. Where have you been? We're ready. |
| Gwydion |
I saved you. Protected you. Gave you a future. You had three callous fates placed upon you Yet I undid each one. |
| Llew |
No one could have wished for a better friend than you, Gwydion. |
| Gwydion |
No. Yet no-one's been more badly rewarded for friendship Than me. There was my brother Gilfaethwy. I had to live Among the wild animals for years because of him, Not knowing my place in the world, one day male, The next female, creating a freakish family. And now you. Who knows what misfortunes You'll bring upon me. You whose own mother Would have destroyed you had I not intervened. |
| Llew |
A mother's loathing outweighs an uncle's love. |
| Gwydion |
How is that? Every ruse of hers was thwarted. When she Denied you a name, I construed your naming. She decreed that you shall not carry weapons, I tricked her into arming you with her own hands. She destined that you may never find a wife born of man: I spun for you from wild flowers a maiden Better than any eye has seen. |
| Llew |
But I still haven't escaped my mother's vengeance. Blodeuwedd isn't like other women. |
| Gwydion |
Indeed. In all my great span of spell making I've loved many a girl and beast – and never yet Did I find one woman to be like another. |
| Llew |
She won't bear my children. Isn't that so Gwydion? |
| Gwydion |
I can't remember Arianrhod's precise words. |
| Llew |
I can. "He won't have a wife of woman born, And won't have children of his own". Those words are chiselled in my memory. Is it a fate you can't circumvent? Will you fail? |
| Gwydion |
A child can be a mixed blessing. The last one I had... was a wolf. In every other way Llew, Blodeuwedd is perfection. |
| Llew |
I'll never forget that shimmering morning When I first saw her, naked as that dawn itself, The dew still glistening on her white breasts, Breasts as pure as a snowdrop's petals When the night furls their swell. She walked, The soul of that virgin spring in a flawless mould of flesh. I looked at her, and she at me. I clothed her nakedness with kisses And these arms, these awkward arms, Which had been empty so long, encircled her. But she was cold, so cold. I've never seen A trace of a blush upon her cheeks, only a pallid glow, Like that of the moon casting its random light On the world below. Her very blood is alien. She won't ever belong. To anyone. She's closer to the wild animals in the forest Than she is to me. That's her world. You know that. |
| Gwydion |
And I know both worlds. In these arms I've held a range Of females, and believe me lad, on a warm spring morning It's the same feel to the softest girl's skin and a hog's hide. |
| Llew |
One foul night of howling gales and sleeting rain, She ran from my bed and into the storm's rage. I followed - full of suspicion and anger Beneath my cloak a sword. But no one came to her. Not even the wolves were out on such a night. Yet there she was, dancing to the tempest's fury. |
| Gwydion |
You can't cleave a creature from its kindred. |
| Llew |
I was frightened and called out. But she didn't hear. And with the wind lashing trees and splintering boughs I was lost in a fearful world Where the only things that held their own Were rock and rain, the stormy dark, And her, Blodeuwedd... I ran after her, Shouted louder, grasped her arm... "You've caught me" she said, suddenly sad Like a child woken from some distant dream "You've caught me. Let's go home." And I saw, in that night's storm That I had no place in her life. Why does a heart of ice lie beneath a breast That excites desire like the first sun of summer. |
| Enter Blodeuwedd. |
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| Blodeuwedd |
I received your message. |
| Llew |
Yes lady, we must go. |
| Blodeuwedd |
And Gwydion too? |
| Llew |
Gwydion too. |
| Blodeuwedd |
The day's short, and soon it'll be night. Llew, stay here. I don't want To spend tonight without you. |
| Llew |
You won't be alone. You have your maid, and many servants. |
| Blodeuwedd |
I've never parted from you before; It frightens me, being left here. |
| Llew |
Since when? |
| Blodeuwedd |
My spirit's restless. Wait for tomorrow's dawn; The sun will speed your journey to Caer Dathl. |
| Llew |
No. Everyone's ready. We must go, Math the king expects us. |
| Blodeuwedd |
Magician – am I beautiful? Are you pleased with your work? |
| Gwydion |
I'll tell you this, my girl. Your beauty's unmatched. You're the masterpiece of all my magic. |
| Blodeuwedd |
But you did me a disfavour when you chained My free nature with flesh and sinew And placed me in this world Where favours must be asked of husbands And then not granted. And these codes That I can't comprehend. I should despise you And yet my instinct is to like you. You too spent summers beneath the leaves. You know the feel of earth on flesh And the sounds of nature's stirrings in the grass. |
| Gwydion |
Ssh. Don't talk about that here – it shames me. |
| Blodeuwedd |
I don't know what it is to be ashamed... Stay with me until my lord returns. Protect me. |
| Llew |
Come uncle, it's time to leave. |
| Gwydion |
Farewell my little petal girl. I'm old as oak. You'd soon tire of my company. The heady smells of spring surround you still, The blooms I beaded to form your features Haven't withered. Stay young, forever. Farewell. |
| Blodeuwedd |
Shall we three ever be together again? My heart's heavy. Farewell. |
| Exit Gwydion. |
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| Blodeuwedd |
Llew If you believed me you wouldn't go today. |
| Llew |
My life can't be ruled on a girl's whim. |
| Blodeuwedd |
I know the seasons better than you. I sense each change in wind and rain and sun. Why shouldn't I also read the seasons of a man? |
| Llew |
Don't be afraid. I'm destined That no harm will easily befall me. And you be wise. Don't stray too far from home. Don't let the woodlands tempt you out at dusk, But stay among my people here, Be your best Blodeuwedd. I'll only be three days. Farewell, farewell. |
| Exit Llew. Enter Rhagnell. |
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| Blodeuwedd |
He didn't listen. He doesn't see. |
| Rhagnell |
Three days, no more. |
| Blodeuwedd |
That's all it took to make me. How much less To unmake me. For me to become nothing again. Llew too fears the future. And he fears me. |
| Rhagnell |
What makes you say that, child? |
| Blodeuwedd |
Before you came to seek me, in the woods, I could hear them talking. |
| Rhagnell |
Him and Gwydion. From the woods? |
| Blodeuwedd |
I have a kestrel's eye, a bat's ear. |
| Rhagnell |
Don't tell me that you can fly as well. |
| Blodeuwedd |
In my dreams I do. |
| Rhagnell |
We all do that. Even me. Who's too old to run Or to even see my path as I used to. |
| Blodeuwedd |
Why did they give me you as a maid? |
| Rhagnell |
What I lack in steadiness I make up for with wisdom. Gwydion knows that. I have the knowledge that you lack. |
| Blodeuwedd |
Llew hates his mother. I know that. |
| Rhagnell |
No. But she resents him. And he despairs. |
| Blodeuwedd |
You know her history. Perhaps that's why Gwydion chose you. You're meant to tell me. |
| Rhagnell |
Her history is that shame begets shame. |
| Blodeuwedd |
How? I need you to tell me. There's a history behind my being. But I feel I've no past and no future. Who am I, Rhagnell? |
| Rhagnell |
You're woman, Blodeuwedd. That gives you enough past And future to carry with you. (She pauses.) I'll tell you about Arianrhod's shame. It will make you marvel at the world you've entered. Arianrhod and Gwydion grew up in the court Of their uncle, the Great King Math. So did their brother Gilfaethwy, an evil one, by all accounts. King Math had a foot maid. A young innocent. Gilfaethwy raped her. The brute. And apparently With Gwydion's help. Though I find that hard to believe. As punishment the brothers were banished to the woods, And turned into animals. I've heard it said They were forced to mate with each other And became father and mother to various beasts. After three years, their penance done, they returned to Math's court. |
| Blodeuwedd |
And Arianrhod? |
| Rhagnell |
Gwydion proposed her as Math's new foot maid. He accepted. But first, to prove her virginity Before the assembled court she had to step over a magic wand. Imagine her shock when during the test She gave birth to a sturdy boy. Math named him Dylan and he ran from the fortress Till he found the sea and swam away. In shame Arianrhod ran from the court but as she ran Something small dropped from her womb. Arianrhod didn't pause to look at it. Gwydion picked the thing up and secreted it in a chest In his chamber where it survived and grew. |
| Blodeuwedd |
And became Llew? |
| Rhagnell |
He did. Gwydion adopted him. In her anger Arianrhod cursed the boy and decreed He wouldn't have a name or weapons or a wife. |
| Blodeuwedd |
My part in this. |
| Rhagnell |
Yes, Gwydion has spent his life Righting the wrongs Llew suffered. Gilfaethwy died. No one mourned him. Arianrhod lives alone, outside society. |
| Blodeuwedd |
Poor Arianrhod. And that little foot maid. The women fared badly in this history. |
| Rhagnell |
Now Blodeuwedd, has that helped You forget your own small despair? |
| Blodeuwedd |
No Rhagnell. It's reminded me That I was made solely for his happiness. But now, I'll have time to dwell on my own thoughts. My lord has gone away! |
| Rhagnell |
Why should you be afraid? This is your fortress. These are your lands and here your word is law. There's no one here who doesn't love you. I would lay down my life for you if need be. |
| Blodeuwedd |
No. It's not men I fear But being on my own – this solitude. My lord has gone away! |
| Rhagnell |
What is this? I've heard you countless times wanting to flee And heard you curse the man who made you wife. Why this change? |
| Blodeuwedd |
You'll never understand my agony. You don't know the loneliness that gnaws. Your world's full – you've got a home. Loved ones, family, sisters, brothers, You're not an alien in this world. Wherever mankind walks, you have familiar paths And all of Gwynedd, where your forebears lived, Is your hearth. That's something I don't have. There's no headstone with a family name for me In this world I'm rootless, set apart. That's why I fear. What's that noise? |
| Rhagnell |
Someone far off hunting in the woods. |
| Blodeuwedd |
My lord's gone away. Between us There was never any passion. He knows nothing Of the dark desires woven into my nature And I know nothing of his nobility. His tame mind, his joy in friendships Yet without him and Gwydion I'm totally adrift and unanchored With nature's wild waves surging in my blood. God be my witness – I don't want the blame When this harm falls upon us. |
| Rhagnell |
That hunt's getting closer. You can see them now. |
| Blodeuwedd |
Yes. They're in full cry. Look! The stag's hooves are skimming the earth Like oars hitting spume. The scenting dogs Bound over the trail, and thundering horses Pound out the passing furlongs. Nature At its glorious best, full of breathless beauty. The hunter as one with the vibrant land – I could love a hunter – |
| Rhagnell |
Why d'you think they've stopped? |
| Blodeuwedd |
The horses are exhausted, the stag's escaped. They know that it'll soon be dark. Where are they from d'you think? |
| Rhagnell |
Shouldn't we offer them shelter for the night? They're looking at our fort. Turning their horses Towards us. Blodeuwedd? |
| Blodeuwedd |
Yes, offer them shelter. Food. Wine. I can't let my lord find fault with me For turning a nobleman away As dusk unseats the day. |
| Rhagnell |
Lady, this is how you should be, Full of warmth and welcome. I'll go And talk to their lord. You, stay light of heart Set sorrows aside. |
| Exit Rhagnell. |
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| Blodeuwedd |
My beating breast, has the hour come? Freedom, excitement; these are my real masters And my imperative is lust – the lust that drives the seed To prise through a shroud of earth to reach the sun. There's a shoot in me that seeks the light And wants to flourish and burst into fruit Without a blade to prune it back. I know That this huntsman is an emperor of passion; I know the music of a horn – it wasn't my husband's Thin lips that pursed to blow those lusty calls But stronger lips, swelling with blood red bloom, A much more fitting match for mine. |
| Rhagnell returns. |
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| Rhagnell |
Lady, Gronw Pebr, Lord of Penllyn Is the man. He waits to greet you. |
| Blodeuwedd |
How barren are those words. A brazen bugle Not a wench's tongue should announce that name. Let's go to welcome him. |
| Exeunt. |
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INTERLUDE |
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| CAER ARIANRHOD, ARFON Enter Arianrhod. |
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| Arianrhod |
Women take in strays and strangers. Offering solace, seeking love. I'm drawn to the wounded and the wanting. Perhaps to atone for failing my runt of a son. Gwydion found some softness in her heart And reared it. That was atonement too. It gave Gwydion purpose. But it gave me my weakness. I'm easily tricked. Gwydion and Llew came to my fort disguised and Stole from me weapons and a name And undid my curses. For Blodeuwedd now the danger Is not what might be taken from her, but what she finds. She'll feast on new fruit and hunger for more. |
| Exit Arianrhod. |