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She stared wideeyed from the scabbard to him and back, mouth open, stunned for the first tie to put ain, Rand al’Thor"

"Not so" If this blade had lain untouched, and untarnished, in its scabbard for over twenty years, it had to be what he thought "I did not accept the scabbard, so it has been yours all along" Tossing one of the silk cushions into the air, he executed the seated version of the for; feathers rained down as the blade sliced neatly through "And I don’t accept the hilt, either, so that’s yours, too If you havehappy at her good fortune -- he suspected she had given everything that she had for the sword, and likely gotten back a hundred times as lad, or thanking hioodwife in the Two Rivers seeing her floor littered Stiffly, she clapped, and one of the gai’shain appeared, i up the mess

"It is my tent," he said pointedly Aviendha sniffed at hiwene Those toether

Supper, when it came at full dark, consisted of the usual flat pale bread, and a spicy stew of dried peppers and beans with chunks of nearly white rinned at her when he learned that it was the bloodsnake; he had eaten snake and worse since co to the Waste Gara -- the poisonous lizard -- was the worst in his estimation; not for the taste, which was rather like chicken, but because it was lizard It sos -- snakes, lizards, spiders, plants -- in the Waste than in the rest of the world combined

Aviendha appeared disappointed that he did not spit the stew out in disgust, though so At ti hi to pretend that he was Aiel, he would have thought she was trying to prove he was not

Tired and eager for sleep, he only took off his coat and boots before crawling into his blankets and turning his back to Aviendha Aiel ether, but a short ti much the same, had convinced hioing so red in the face that he died of it He tried not to listen to the rustle of her undressing beneath her own blankets At least she had that much modesty, but he kept his back turned anyway, just in case

She claimed she was supposed to sleep there to continue his lessons on Aiel ways and customs, since he spent so much of his days with the chiefs They both knew that was a lie, though what the Wise Ones thought she could find out this way, he could not ied at so, and muttered to herself

To cover the sounds, and stop hi of what theywas i about it until Melaine and Dorindha told hi for what he thought was a stocking co off "Why should he know before Melaine laid the bridal wreath at his feet and asked hihed "Melaine nearly drove herself and Dorindha to distraction finding segade blossoonwall"

"Does that ade blossoms?" That hat he had sent her, the flowers she had never acknowledged

"That she has a prickly nature and means to keep it" Another pause, broken by mutters "Had she used leaves or flowers from sweetroot, it would havedrop would mean she would be submissive, and There are too many to list It would take me days to teach all the combinations to you, and you do not need to know the to Elayne"

He nearly looked at her when she said "submissive" A word less likely to describe any Aiel wo before she stabs you

There had beenher blouse over her head, he realized He wished the lamps were out No, that would have le night since Rhuidean, and every single night it orse He had to put an end to it The woed, from now on; he would learn what he could fro for fifteen nights now

Trying to chase the pictures out of his head, he said, "That bit at the end After the voere said" No sooner had half a dozen Wise Ones pronounced their blessings than a hundred of Melaine’s blood kin had rushed in to surround her, all carrying their spears A hundred of Bael’s kin had rallied to hiht his way to her No one had been veiled, of course -- it was all part of custom -- but blood had still been shed on both sides "A fewthat she loved hiecat" If Dorindha had not punched her in the shortribs, he did not think Bael would ever have gotten her over his shoulder to carry off "He still has the liave hi?" Aviendha said sleepily "He had to know the worth of her She was not a trinket for hi deeper into her blankets

"What does ’teaching a , not once they were old enough to take up a spear, except for battle chants and la of Mat Cauthon?" She actually giggled "Soives up the spear for a Maiden"

"You’relike that"

"Well, it is not really giving up the spear" Her voice held a thick ive up the spear for hiai’shain by her He is a fool, of course No Maiden would look at gai’shain as he hopes He is worked hard and kept strictly to his place, and the first thing that is done is to , to entertain the spearsisters while they eat ’She is going to teach hi’ That is what Maidens say when a man makes a fool of himself over one of the spearsisters&rdqu