She sighed. "Six years ago. Seven, technically, after my birthday passes this year. There was a bad winter when I was younger and they gave as much of their own food as possible to guarantee the kingdom would survive it."

Eilonwy idly swung her feet and then crossed her ankles, fidgeting a little. There had been a funeral, she remembered that as much as she remembered what they had been like. "They were mourned afterwards, but their efforts did help."