Scene the 3^rd

The curtain rises on an almost empty stage, the three women are in a cave, there is only enough light to see them.  The sisters are awake sitting up and leaning on a couple of large rocks, Rhiannon is still unconscious and laying on her back, with her head in Eillaine’s lap.

EILLAINE: singing softly Heart of my soul, 

The God with in us 

Calls to holiness, she sobs lightly

Beyond

Understanding.
My soul leaps when it hears your voice, 

As a child within

Its mother’s womb. 

When my eyes behold you,  her voice is almost chocked

It as the thirsty pilgrim sees the oasis rising

From the red and burning sand, 

As the wandering lost seek their

Home in God, 

In the

ONE WHO IS, speaking the One who betrayed us, left us here. begins singing again

So does my soul reach to you, speaking O dear Rhiannon

Please don’t be dead, we should never have fought, begins singing again

For in you he saw that which was lost so long ago 

That time has long forgot that once it was. Speaking again

Listen for an Angels voice;

Find me when I cry, 

For then I will need you…

Decker, we need you now.  Desperately, we three smart immortal goddesses are powerless, trapped, and we have no idea where.  Rhiannon, please waken, you can’t be gone from us.  Decker needs you, we need you.  Your birds are keening for lack of you.

LAURAL: Aeons of jealousy, who said it “How could such base emotions dwell in such noble heads?”  Through time and space you two have fought over one poor mortal, now we’re as powerless as he was.  Powerless in the hands of such unspeakable evil.  How could Jack allow such evil in his kingdom? 

EILLAINE: We thought the Nameless One was the enemy?  Poor spirit, before his rebellion began, soul dead, stripped of all his being, left tortured and dying in the empty apartment by such a force of evil 

LAURAL: How is Rhiannon?  Any better at all?

EILLAINE: She still breathes, and that’s all.  If she hadn’t turned her head just as the blast hit she probably wouldn’t have survived.  I’ve never seen such a manifestation of pure ugly evil in all of eternity.  I still can’t identify it.

LAURAL: This place has allowed us to remember who we are, at least.

EILLAINE: And we should call that a blessing?? God’s daughters trapped worse than any mortal, holding the comatose body of the High Queen?  We have no idea where we are, how we got here, nothing.

LAURAL: The last I remember was turning and seeing the unicorn trying to awaken you and then Rhiannon.  It looked at me with such sad eyes, then left, and I must have fainted as well. 

EILLAINE: At least, so far as we know, Decker still lives and with Jack’s help may yet survive, even if we don’t.

LAURAL: It has occurred to me, dear one, that we too might die.  What irony, we came to save Decker’s soul, and stand to lose our very being.

EILLAINE: If the force was so powerful as to destroy the One With No Name, God’s own angel, what chance do we have?  We are but adopted daughters after all.

LAURAL: Would that we had never come to this miserable place.

EILLAINE: Would that Rhiannon and I had never fought.  Would that I had simply taught him what he needed, then stood back and left him to her. 

LAURAL: Eillaine, what would happen if Decker sat in the “Devil’s Brew” now, without you or Rhiannon, or even No Name to affect his thoughts?

EILLAINE:  He might remember his past, or some of it at least, but which? 

LAURAL: Is there hope there-in?

EILLAINE: Depends on who emerges, it’s a slim hope, but the only one we have…and if Jack helps him, we might.  Rhiannon, please wake up?  Please?  But against this evil, even at his mightiest I doubt he could over come.  No, if a force is so strong as to hold the three of us, who could Decker recall that could save us?

LAURAL: I fear you’re right sister.

Rhiannon stirs slightly and moans, but then goes back into her coma.

EILLAINE: Sleep, Lady Rhiannon, sleep.  There’s nothing to be gained by waking now.  We have all been fooled and trapped, by we know we not what, but hopelessness is our lot, so sleep sweet Queen of Annwn, sleep and may your dreams be of our happier days, when sang the joyous birds of Rhiannon.  She breaks into tears, her head slumps forward.  Laural looks downward and silently weeps as well.  None see a small “bird” flying slowly in, it sings softly.  It lands on Rhiannon’s breast.  Eillaine sees it.

EILLAINE:  Poor little one, have you come to die with your mother?  She begins to sing, almost crooning

Can you miss her?   

You birds, the birds of Rhiannon,

You who wait outside her portal,

Holy, pure and white.

Don’t you miss her when you sing?

Your songs, so pure, a cleansing shower, for the heart. 

Do you know she’s almost gone, you lovely birds?

You singing birds of Rhiannon

Do you miss her in  your hearts?

Can’t you come and sing her back to life?

Rhiannon, don’t you hear them when they sing?

Your birds  Rhiannon will sing you awake

Call you from you from your slumber deep,

Summon you back to your pain

Ending sleep’s solace o so sweet.

Lord Pwyll’s voice is heard off stage, powerful, rich.  Somewhat like Decker, but stronger, more assured.

PWYLL: Don’t you listen when her birds sing?

The beautiful birds, the birds of Rhiannon wait outside her portal,

Holy, pure and white.

Why don’t you listen when they sing?

Their song is a cleansing light for the soul.

Do you hear them now, her  sweet birds?

Can’t you listen when her birds sing?

The birds of Rhiannon call you from your bed,

Call you to her bed,

Summon you from your doubts,

Bring love’s affections o so sweet.

Pwyll enters the cave, singing.  Eillaine and Laural join him, Laural stands.

ALL THREE: Will you not listen when her birds sing?

My birds of love, the birds of Rhiannon sing

Outside your true love’s door.

Holy, pure and white.

Why won’t you listen when my darling birds sing?

Their pure sweet song is a healing for your love torn  soul.

And a  cleansing shower for your heart,

A healing light for your shattered soul,

Their singing, their love filled singing,

Will make you whole again,

Fill your joyless  soul again,

Cleanse your pain filled heart again,

Bring life renewed again,

Set you free again.

How hard it is for you to listen

When the birds of Rhiannon sing.

While my sweet  birds sing inside her loving chamber,

Outside her portal, pure and white,

Why must it be so hard for you to listen to singing of the birds?

The birds of Rhiannon that call you from your loveless sleep,

Lift your heart, fill you with new love’s joy.

Can you not put down your pride when the birds of Rhiannon sing?

From where she lies, on Eillaine’s lap, Rhiannon begins to sing, softly, weakly at first, but gaining strength with every note.

My loving birds,

My precious birds,

My darling birds?

The birds of Rhiannon are calling you,

Calling you home,

Home from your labours deep,

Home to her bed,

Home to your true love’s bed]

All four voices

Can’t you hear their soul lifting song, the song of my birds? 

My life filling birds, the birds of Rhiannon wait outside my portal,

Holy, pure and white.

Is your heart closed to magic?

Can’t you listen when my dear birds give song? 

Their singing, is  pure, a cleansing rain upon the heart. 

Do you hear them now?

The singing birds of Rhiannon?

You must hear them with your heart.

Please listen when my birds sing.

The birds of Rhiannon will call you home,

Call you from your labours deep,

Summon you from your pain

Bring love’s solace o so sweet.

Rhiannon stands alone with Pwyll, they look lovingly at each other and sing the following as a duet

Now will you listen when the birds sing?

Rhiannon’s birds, the life giving birds

The birds of Rhiannon wait outside love’s portal,

Holy, pure and white,

Now will you listen when my birds sing?

Their song  is a healing light for the soul.

Will you hear them now, my lovely birds?

Now will you listen when my birds sing?

The birds of Rhiannon call you to your true love’s bed,

Call you from your empty bed

Sing you from your sleep of loveless death,

Summon you from your doubts,

Bring love’s true affections o so sweet.

Will you hear them now, my birds?

Do you hear them now, the birds of Rhiannon?

Can you hear the heart of Rhiannon beating now?

Will you hear the soul of Rhiannon weeping now?

Do you hear my birds now?

Can you hear with your soul now?

Will you hear with your heart now?

Do you hear how they summon the dead to life?

Can you hear the birds of Rhiannon now?

Will you hear their joyous song of love.

Do you hear them now,

Can you hear the messengers of the gods--- and love?

Will you hear them now and dare to love?

Do you hear how they summon the dead to love?

Hear the birds of Rhiannon,

And dare to live reborn

And dare to learn to love.

RHIANNON: Deck, no, my Lord Pwyll, thank the Gods.

PWYLL: Only, I’m afraid until we exit here.

Jack Patch emerges from back stage.

JACK PATCH: Which, I suspect may be a longer time than we might desire.  The spell on this cave is designed as a weir.  Easy to get into, hard, if not impossible to escape.

PWYLL: With all the powers here?

JACK PATCH: It feeds on our immortal natures.  It draws strength from the very nature of godhood that we emanate in this cave. 

EILLAINE: So,  until you two arrived it kept Rhiannon too weak to waken?

JACK PATCH: I take it my Lady was the worst damaged when you found yourself here?

LAURAL: She took the brunt of the evil blast that hit the apartment.

PWYLL: Then I know the surest way out.

RHIANNON: How so, husband?

PWYLL: Rhiannon, do you love Decker?

RHIANNON: Is not he the same as you?

PWYLL: Would that he were, but he is not me, nor am I him.  Still, I have always vowed that I would die for you, were it needed, and it does appear so.

RHIANNON: My lord?

PWYLL: Take my sword, Rhiannon, and strike me hard direct to the heart.  Kill me swiftly, that you might live.

RHIANNON: I can not kill you, Pwyll, nor can I bear to watch you die for me again.

PWYLL: Jack, would you be so kind?

JACK PATCH: I can not.  I will not shed such pure blood in this evil place.

There is the sound of running horse’s hooves, the unicorn appears, and before he can be stopped, runs his golden horn through Lord Pwyll’s heart.  It withdraws it horn, bloodied and looks sadly at the corpse, then at the women.  A voice can be heard speaking.

VOICE OF THE UNICORN: I tried to warn you, to warn you all, but your godhead ears were too full of yourselves to see, to listen, now Lord Pwyll lies dead for all of time.  But your savior wakens from his remains.  You no longer have the luxury of your selective amnesia either.  The time of deciding has begun. The unicorn shakes his head and the blood from Pwyll’s body spatters them all, then it leaves.  As it exits Decker stirs on the floor and then sits up. No one attempts to wipe of the blood, rather they let it stay and stain them.

DECKER: What the hell?  Where are we?

JACK PATCH: In an unspeakable place, Decker, but don’t worry, you’re really asleep dreaming.  You’re in bed with Rhiannon at home.  But to get out of this dream you have to lead us all out of this cave.

DECKER: Dreaming?  I must be.  But what cave?

As he says that, the “walls” disappear and they find they are  in a small copse.

JACK PATCH; What cave indeed, Decker, what cave in deed.  Very well done.

Aside to Rhiannon  Pwyll loved you very much my dear, cherish this one as dearly if you can.  Remember too, we still have the matter of who did that to you in the first place.  But for now, take him home and rest him well.

RHIANNON: aside to Jack, Though I fear that the clouds of war that slowly grow now will make this night’s battle ground seem  a walk in the park, and Lord Pwyll’s sacrifice I dread is but the second of the many deaths heaven and hell will see, yet you are right, rest is what we need.  She reaches over and embraces Decker, and they walk off stage.

DECKER: This is all a dream?

RHIANNON: Hush love, yes it’s a dream, and soon you’ll forget it all in my love’s embrace.

EILLAINE: Never have I felt this weak.

JACK PATCH: Strengthen yourself then, and quickly.  While the two of swords hangs over us we have time to prepare.  But war, full out I fear rushes at us and at all mankind.

LAURAL: I too feel the chill of the on coming storm.  Come sister let us find shelter and strength while we may.

All exit, the curtain falls.