Samantha drew a sigh of relief as they dismounted and found the right spot for the blanket. Faren took such care to lay out his dainties for them to eat. Her heart was touched as she could see the way the jelly had been applied to the biscuits that probably he had prepared this feast himself. Faren was so thoughtful, she thought, love for him welling up in her chest.<br/><br/>They sat on the blanket and he insisted on feeding her from his own hand and he wasn’t messy with it the way that Maric had been yesterday.  When the jelly smeared on her cheek, he was quick to kiss it off but when a morsel fell down the front of her bodice, she grinned at him, while blushing furiously and shook her head.<br/><br/>“You need to let me feed you now,” she said, trying to avert the attention from herself.  When she tried to feed him some of the jellied biscuit, he just ended up kissing her fingertips. Finally when the meal was over, with the exception of some of the dessert for later, he lay with his head in her lap.<br/>Samantha ran her fingers through his long, thick hair, playing at putting the ends up his nostrils until he would wrinkle his nose or sneeze. She giggled.<br/><br/>“I feel really safe in these woods now that you have driven out or killed those rough Viking invaders. They really need to just stay home and leave us alone, here in Britton.”<br/><br/>He brushed her cheek with his hand and she rested against it.<br/><br/>“Do you think Maric will build a castle here or will he move his family back home? If he stays here, will you stay or will you come back home?”<br/><br/>Samantha suddenly felt bleak that Faren would be gone from her life. She caught up his hand between her soft palms and pressed it to her heart, as if holding him close for perhaps, one last time.