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When Rhiannon was small and had just learned to read, her mother brought her into the hall one day when her father was on campaign, and led her to the large table upon which a great map of their lands lay. She instructed Rhiannon to read the words of the landmarks: castle, road, mountain, forest, village. The young girl touched words inscribed over a place where trees met craggy peaks. __hat does that say, my love?_ her mother prompted. __ere be dragons,_ Rhiannon answered, glancing up at her mother. Her mother nodded, smiling. She knelt down in front of Rhiannon so they were at the same height. The lady__ hazel eyes sparkled as she whispered, __ have a secret to share. But I can only share it with a little girl with red and gold hair,_ she pulled playfully on Rhiannon__ braid,_ who knows how to read._ Rhiannon giggled. __re you a little girl such as this?_ Rhiannon nodded eagerly, and her mother laughed. She stood up and gestured at a tapestry on the wall. __ome, child, the dragon guards our treasure._ Hand in hand they walked to the tapestry of the sleeping dragon. __our great-great grandmother wove this tapestry when she was an old woman. It took her a long time to complete, with her hands gnarled so, like the twisted oak by the drawbridge._ The dragon was curled up in front of a turret, with stone dolmens in a semi-circle behind it, interspersed with trees and a mountain peak in the background and bright blue sky above. The dragon__ scales were crimson and woven through with glittering gold thread, and its curved horns and talons were gold. As they paused in front of the large tapestry, Rhiannon looked closely at the eyes of the dragon; she thought perhaps she could see a slit of gold, as if the dragon were only pretending to be asleep. Rhiannon__ mother stood on tiptoe and moved part of the tapestry to the side, revealing a slit in the stone wall. With her free hand she reached in and drew out a large leather-bound tome. She motioned her daughter to come sit with her on one of the benches that lined the walls. __ook and listen well, my daughter,_ she said, and ran her fingers along the smooth cover, __his book is our special treasure, and it contains many secrets within its pages. I am going to teach you how to read them._ She opened the book as Rhiannon snuggled closer to her, her mother__ loose red-gold hair falling over the girl__ shoulder and brushing the crinkly parchment pages of the book which she turned until she came to the picture of a girl.