But she flitted away, as she had done before from the knights. Again and again, though he could get nearer and nearer to her, he failed.
Then the baffled king cried out, in despair, "O maiden fair, for the sake of him whom thou lovest, stay for me."
Evidently the lady, who lived in the time of castles and courts, did not care to be wooed in the style of the cave men. Such manners did not suit her, but with a change of method of making love, her heart melted. Besides, she was a kind woman. She took pity on horses, as well as on men.
Sweet was her voice, as she answered most graciously:
"I will stay gladly, and it were better for thy horses, hadst thou asked me properly, long ago."
To his questions, as to how and why she came to him, she told her story, as follows:
"I am Rhiannon, descended from the August and Venerable One of old. My aunts and uncles tried to make me marry against my will a chieftain named Gwawl, an auburn-haired youth, son of Clud, but, because of my love to thee, would I have no husband, and if you reject me, I will never marry any man."
"As Heaven is my witness, were I to choose among all the damsels and ladies of the world, thee would I choose," cried Powell.
After that, it was agreed that, when a year had sped, Powell should go to the Palace of the August and Venerable One of old, and claim her for his bride.
So, when twelve months had passed, Powell with his retinue of a hundred knights, all splendidly horsed and finely appareled, presented himself before the castle. There he found his fair lady and a feast already prepared at which he sat with her. On the other side of the table, were her father and mother.