It had been two days since Eilonwy awoke with Taran at her side and that silly Pig Keeper had yet to say more than a dozen words to her during that whole time. Sometimes she would start to wonder if she imagined the whole thing, then she would bump into Taran and his face would turn beet red as he murmured some nonsense about weeding the garden. In the winter . Honestly, did he think her a fool or was he so foolish that he simply spit out whatever words came to mind?

As she prepared the evening meal (a task she found she strangely enjoyed) on the second night of him ignoring her, she decided she'd had enough. After all, he was the one who came to her that night, was he not? It wasn't her fault. She merely suggested he stay for a while and the silly boy spent the whole night! Yes, she was decided; she would end their silence. She had no one else to talk to therefore the Pig Keeper must overcome whatever strangeness he'd decided to go through.

Dallben, Coll, and Taran assembled around the table as she set the last of the food upon the wooden surface, steam rising from the clay dishware.

"Thank you, Eilonwy." Dallben smiled through his beard.

"Yes, thank you, dear." Coll echoed. The warmth of his grin and shiny bald head always made her smile.

Tara said nothing. She began to fume.

"Well," She sniffed, her fine nose pointed upwards. "At least some of you are grateful."

"Oh!" Taran looked up from the table. "Thank you, Eilonwy." He stammered. "I meant no disrespect. I-I was lost in thought."

"Hmpf." She lowered herself onto her seat with all regality of her bloodline; like a princess among peasants.

Taran again felt the weight of unworthiness on his young shoulders. For months now he's sat across from a princess every night, and each night he seemed more and more the fool. What he wouldn't give to seem a man in her eyes. But the eyes of her Highness were sharp, and the heart our Pig Keeper, impatient.

Coll spoke of the coming spring, how best to ready the animals and soil, his favorite methods for winter to spring preparation; Dallben was quiet as usual save for irregular comments such as, "The crows are restless today", or "The river aches to flow beyond the heaviness of ice." every once and awhile. Eilonwy tried not to smile at these outbursts for she knew they meant a great deal, but they often sounded so silly it was hard to keep a straight face.

Taran said nothing since thanking her for the meal and she could feel her cheeks warm with emotion as she grew more frustrated with him. At least pretend things are normal , she thought.

"Taran." She practically shouted over Coll's voice. Taran's eyes leapt to hers. "Anything interesting happened to you lately?"

Coll, who had been rudely cut off by this outburst, stared back and forth from the two of them in befuddlement. Dallben glanced over casually before gazing off at distant things only the sacrosanct could see. Taran, for his part, looked like a fish gasping on land.

"Well, I-" He swallowed his mouthful. "I suppose nothing of consequence. Hen and I did see an odd bird today. It had blue wings with silver feathers underneath. I've not seen one of those before."

"I say," Began Coll. "Did it-"

"Birds are lovely and all," Eilonwy cut in. "But anything else? Something more strange perchance?"

"I-I don't believe so." Taran's expression looked lost and trapped; a man with no road to choose. She almost felt sorry for him. But not quite.

"How fascinating." Her glare could cut through steel but to the credit of our Pig Keeper, he met her gaze with a resilience that sent her heart to the stars and shivers down her spine. She would never tell him such things of course and her lofty gaze revealed no secrets.

Coll looked more confused than ever. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he seemed to think better of it. Dallben, by now, had become utterly lost in higher things.

"Perhaps you have something you wish to share, princess?" Taran's words hit her like a fist. Did he actually challenge me back? She wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She lifted her head high up to look down at him. "But maybe it's you that has something to share."

"Eilonwy, I assure you I don't know what you're asking." His voice was almost level. Almost.

"Taran of Caer Dallben, why won't you just admit it?" She threw her chair back and stood up. "Stop playing silly games!"

"Why won't you admit it, you silly girl?" He lurched up as well, his fingers spread flat on the table as he leaned forward towards the raging royalty that now glowered at him for all she was worth.

"Agh!" She shrieked and, spinning on her heel, stomped from the room, a cloud of fury boiling in her wake.

"You can't just storm away when things aren't going your way, Eilonwy!" Taran thundered after her. The winter chill bit through the small room before he slammed the door closed behind him. "Eilonwy, you have to speak!"

Only the whisper of winter's night answered him. He huffed in annoyance, his footsteps heavy as he tramped through the snow after his princess.