the third novel in the series, reveals that this is really the Golden Pelydryn, a magical artifact passed through Eilonwy's family from mother to daughter. The events of that book bring Eilonwy back to her ancestral home, Caer Colur, and give her a greater sense of her ancestry. The Disney film depicts the bauble as a semi-sentient object that floats through the air under its own power, but in the books, it is described more like an orb of gold that must be carried. Further novels The fourth book in the series, Taran Wanderer, sheds light on the ultimate fate of Eilonwy's mother, Princess Angharad. Eilonwy herself never appears in this book, though she is referenced at various times. Taran makes this discovery while Eilonwy is being fostered at the foreign court of King Rhuddlum and Queen Teleria, learning to be 'a proper princess'. Whether he ever shared the information with Eilonwy is uncertain, though it seems likely that he refrained from doing so in an effort to spare her anguish. By this time Taran realizes that he's fallen in love with Eilonwy, but he is reluctant to act on it because, having been raised as a commoner while Eilonwy is a royal princess, Taran feels that he really does not belong in her world. On the other hand, Eilonwy herself seems to have grown rather fond of Taran by this point, even if she will not admit it. Taran and Eilonwy's feelings for one another are much more evident throughout the 5th and final book of the Prydain Chronicles, The High King. Although these feelings are never spoken of directly until the last few pages of the novel, Taran and Eilonwy's interactions with one another are noticeably different than in the previous books. Taran internally pines for Eilonwy, and fears for her safety in the midst of the escalating war. Eilonwy's change towards Taran is far more subtle, yet no less certain, and is experienced perhaps more gradually over the course of the entire series in contrast with Taran's very abrupt realization of his feelings towards the Princess in the first chapter of book three, The Castle of Llyr. At the end of The High King, Taran becomes High King of Prydain and marries Eilonwy. She must renounce her magical powers to be allowed to stay in Prydain, since all magical folk are leaving for the Summer Country. The