A folktale from Brittany, circa the Celtic period. Collected in Celtic Myths and Legends by historian and author Peter Berresford Ellis.
It bears some similarities to the story of Rapunzel, but a bit more dark and tragic. A beautiful maiden named Litavis is imprisoned in a tower by her despotic husband after refusing to sleep with him. She spends seven years pining away, with her cruel and wily sister-in-law Moravik as her only companion. One night she makes a wish after being visited by a talking bird; moments later a handsome warrior named Eudemarec (the foreign King Incognito from the title) flies into her chamber in the shape of a hawk, and they become lovers. Litavis' husband Avoez, suspicious of her newly perky demeanor, uncovers the affair and, with Moravik's help, hatches a plan to kill Eudemarec. Litavis escapes her tower and finds the mortally wounded body of her lover; before he dies, Eudemarec tells her she is pregnant with his child and gives her a magic ring to protect her from Avoez's wrath. Grief-stricken, Litavis returns to her tower to raise her son and let her revenge ripen on the vine...
Contains examples of these tropes:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Moravik and Avoez kill Eudemarec by affixing pikes to Litavis' tower window that have been sharpened to a point so fine as to be practically invisible ("even the wind's breath is cut by them").
- Ancestral Weapon: Eudemarec gives Litavis his ancient silver sword to pass down to their son when he's old enough. Ywenec uses it to avenge his death and (possibly) to claim the throne of Bro Arc'hant after the story's end.
- Ancient Tomb: Subverted. Avoez discovers Eudemarec's tomb and – hearing that it belonged to a great king – assumes it is centuries old and a remnant of a forgotten legend, when it's actually only about two decades old.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Avoez uses Litavis' father's many debts to strongarm her into marriage.
- Because Destiny Says So: The heroine's least sympathetic moment in the story occurs when she returns to her tyrant husband, for no other reason than that her dying lover told her "it is your destiny".
- Best Served Cold: Litavis waits eighteen years to sic Ywenec on Avoez to avenge Eudemarec's death and her own years of abuse.
- Bewildering Punishment: Because of the magic ring that Litavis is wearing, Avoez has no memory of Eudemarec's existence and certainly doesn't remember having him killed. His final moments when he is accused by Litavis (and subsequently slain by Ywenec) are totally baffling to him (albeit well-deserved).
- Bittersweet Ending / Downer Ending: Depending on how satisfying you find the revenge plot. All the main characters are dead, Ywenec is now orphaned and Walking the Earth, and the country has no legitimate king; but at least they don't have a tyrant king anymore, the Official Couple are Together in Death, and the Big Bad got what was coming to him…
- Damsel in Distress: Litavis.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Eudemarec dies in Litavis' arms after being mortally wounded by Avoez and Moravik's trap.
- Enter Stage Window: Litavis' tower does have a door, but only Moravik and Avoez can use it to get in and out of her chamber; Eudemarec always comes (and Litavis eventually escapes) through the window.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted. Avoez is demonstrably a terrible person – blackmailing, extorting, bribing, intimidating, and even drugging people to get what he wants – but he stops short of making love to his wife without her consent. However, this is stated to be more of an ego issue than a moral one.
- Girl in the Tower: Avoez imprisons Litavis in the highest tower of Lanaskol until she agrees to sleep with him. She lives there for seven years before meeting Eudemarec, and remains there even after becoming pregnant.
- Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: The story dances around the question of whether Litavis and Avoez's unconsummated marriage is fully legitimate (calling Litavis a "bride in name"); whether or not her and Eudemarec's affair is considered adulterous, it's unquestionably played sympathetically.
- I Will Find You: Litavis crosses the whole countryside looking for Eudemarec after he is fatally injured at the tower. Downplayed because she has help from The Fair Folk who get her there and back within one night.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Eudemarec gives Litavis a magic ring that will erase Avoez and Moravik's memory of their tryst and Eudemarec's existence.
- Love at First Sight: Avoez for Litavis (sort of); Eudemarec and Litavis for each other.
- Love Triangle: Avoez and Litavis are married, and Avoez wants Litavis, but Litavis is (eventually) sleeping with Eudemarec.
- Resolved (sort of) when Eudemarec is murdered by Avoez and Moravik, and Avoez believes Litavis' child to be his own (...even though he still hasn't actually slept with her? Must be that magic ring.)
- Manipulative Bastard: Avoez, who acquired all his wealth (and his wife, if not her consent) by blackmailing, extorting, and intimidating everyone in the surrounding countryside.
- Marital Rape License: Subverted; Avoez does lock his wife in a tower until she agrees to sleep with him, but he doesn't try to use any of the many other methods at his disposal. He spends seven years patiently taking "no" for an answer.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Litavis is 24 when she meets Eudemarec, and he is apparently The Ageless, having been King of Bro Arc'hant "since the time when day and night were not separated".
- No Name Given: Litavis' mother, who is the only person to speak out (albeit in vain) against Avoez.
- Shrinking Violet: Litavis, who meekly goes along with the demands of the other characters, only demonstrating a spine in her polite refusal to sleep with Avoez.
- Someone to Remember Him By: The fact that she's carrying Eudemarec's child is likely the only reason Litavis doesn't kill herself after his death.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: Moravik gives Litavis drugged wine to knock her out for a day and a night.
- Together in Death: Litavis and Eudemarec; she dies on top of his grave crying, "I am here, beloved, at last!"
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Eudemarec can transform into a hawk.
- Walking the Earth: Ywenec, in the final paragraphs, refuses lordship over Lanaskol and goes off to "seek another fortune". The narration speculates about his possible adventures, but his fate is unknown.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: Litavis.
- You Killed My Father: After learning the truth about his father and how he died, Ywenec beheads Avoez in revenge
