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"In the co weeks," Faile said, "ill have been e celebration" She folded her ared a meal on the blanket "In Saldaea, we celebrate the shanna’har each year in the early suether, another year with neither husband nor wife fallen to the Trollocs Young couples are told to savor their first shanna’har, much as one savors the first taste of a succulent e will only be new to us once"

The servants laid out a lass boith candles in them Faile dismissed the servants with a smile and a wave, and they retreated down the side of the hill Faile had obviously taken care to make the meal look lavish The blanket was embroidered, perhaps taken from Shaido spoils The meal was served on silver plates and platters, ham over a bed of boiled barley and capers across the top There was even wine

Faile stepped closer to him "I realize that there has beenMalden, the Prophet, that harsh winter But if these things are the cost for being with you, Perrin, then I would pay them freely a dozen times over

"If all ell, ould spend this nextour love, celebrating our first summer as husband and wife I doubt ill have the ht, but at least we should spend and enjoy this evening together"

"I don’t know if I can, Faile," he said "The Whitecloaks, the sky…Light! The Last Battle itself is almost here The Last Battle, Faile! How can I feast whileheld under threat of execution and while the world itselfto die," Faile said, "is this not the time when a man must take time to appreciate what he has? Before it is all taken?"

Perrin hesitated She laid a hand on his arm, her touch so soft She hadn’t raised her voice Did she want hiument and when she didn’t Maybe Elyas would have advice for hi Forhis hand on hers

She led him to the blanket and they settled down, side by side before the array of silver dishes Faile lit more candles off of the lit ones the servants had left The night was chilly--the clouds seemed to draw summer warmth away "Why do this outside?" Perrin said "And not in our tent?"

"I asked Tam what you do in the Two Rivers for shanna’har," she said "And as I feared, I learned that you don’t celebrate it That is really quite backward, you realize--we’ll need to change the custoardless, Ta he and his wife did Once a year, they would pack up a full ant as they could afford--and hike to a new place in the woods They would dine there and spend the day with one another" She snuggled up against hi was done in the Two Rivers fashion, so I wished this day to be after that fashion as well"

He s The food s Faile to sit up and take his plate and hand it to hi in He tried to keep hisday He found hih he tried to take care not to drip on the fancy blanket

Faile atewith that of her soap

"What?" Perrin asked, wiping his mouth She was lit only by the candles, now that the sun was fully down

"There’sthat he’d been licking his fingers He growled at hi them instead on a napkin As much as he liked wolves, he wouldn’t invite them to the dinner table with him "Too much of the wolf in me," he said