The Witch and the Prince

Chapter 1

Demi gasped as she woke, drenched with cold sweat and the memory still holding her mind in its talons. It didn't help that the air in her small house was as cold as the river was all those years ago. The memory was the worst of a dozen that had begun to plague her since she'd revealed the truth to Eric. That was three whole weeks ago, yet he was still ignoring her.

Demi sat up and let out an irritated huff at the male's childishness. She wouldn't say he was angry, just bitter that she hadn't told him. And now, the two only exchanged niceties at breakfast and dinner. The only real conversation they'd had was when they argued over Demi moving into her newly built house. Demi had said she would only take a house when all families had one, but he insisted after she had gotten sick two weeks ago. Now she was completely moved into the small wooden cabin, complete with a few windows, a fireplace, and her little dresser. It was all Demi needed.

A noise in the far corner momentarily distracted her from her thoughts of Eric. Demi grabbed a candle and lit it to investigate. Moving carefully, as not to make the floorboards creak, she found that the noise had come from her sleeping apprentice, Anna.

Anna had lost her mother to sickness at a young age and then lost her father three weeks ago during the battle against three of the southern clans. She had come to the tent and asked to be put to use before she was sent back to the capital. As Anna was about to be sent back north, Demi had interrupted and asked for her to stay as her apprentice. The girl had gratefully taken the position . Demi quietly backed away from the sleeping girl, and towards the dresser.

After quickly dressing in fleece-lined leggings, a sweater, and heavy boots, she headed towards the mess hall, which was in the middle of construction. Demi wrapped a blanket she had taken around her shoulders tightly. It had gotten colder, and the lack of sun wasn't helping. If Demi remembered correctly, though, Helia Cobalt was about to set, which meant sunrise was about an hour off. Maybe then it'd warm up.

"Doubtful," Demi muttered to herself, watching how her breath clouded around in front of her like smoke. For some reason it always fascinated her. In Ura she hadn't had the time to notice, but now that she did, everything about winter intrigued her. The plants shed their leaves, turning to skeletons, frost grew like moss on the trees, windows, and just about everywhere else, and of course, her breath fogged in little clouds when she spoke.

The whole camp seemed to be asleep, keeping warm in their homes like she should be doing. But alas, her nightmarish memories drove her outside earlier and earlier every day. The lack of sleep was going to get to her eventually, but for now, Demi was happy watching the sunrise over the woods every morning in silence.

When she came upon the mess hall, approaching a large tent, she took a second to study the construction lit by wavering torches. Materials and tools were scattered about, giving off the appearance of disorganization and chaos, but Demi knew that everything was where it should be. All that had been completed of the mess hall was the frame and foundation. After that had been finished, Eric had moved the builder's focus to replace the healer's tent. Demi didn't really agree since she enjoyed the tent with its high ceilings and light filtering in through the fabric, but she didn't feel like arguing with him or speaking to him in general.

Carefully avoiding all the materials laid out, Demi finally made it to the makeshift kitchen behind the massive tent. The heat of the big stone ovens hit her immediately, warming her frozen cheeks. The ovens were one of the first things built apparently. They were huge, and ugly, but they got the job done. From them also came a loud crackling noise that reminded her of the sound of breaking bones. Paired with the usual buzz of the kitchen staff it left her reminiscing on unhappy memories.

"Demi?" An exasperated voice asked from somewhere in the kitchen, successfully diverting her attention from her recollections. "What did I say about being up this early?" She assumed it was Eva since she had cooking duty the entire week.