The Healer and the General

Part 5

Demi had no clue what was going to happen to her. She was barely aware of her surroundings, her mind finally reeling back in. Whatever happened she'd get through it. She always did. She was a survivor, always had been because of her father. Pushing those thoughts away Demi tried to focus on the cell she was in.

The ground was covered in dry hay and nothing else. Well, there could've been something else, but Demi couldn't see very well in the dark. Bars were all around her, making it feel more like an animal cage than a cell. The bars were iron, which made her question whether they knew she was a witch or not. If they did that meant she would most likely die in the next few hours.

Not that Demi minded. She was prepared for death. As long as it was quick. If they were going to draw out her pain, she'd find a way to end it. Demi had always toyed with the idea of suicide but had never truly considered. As a healer, it was her job to save lives, not take them. Even her own.

When the sun had started to come up, two identical men came up to Demi's cell and opened it. She guessed that they were twins, though she had only heard of such occurrences. After she compliantly exited, Demi followed the taller one, who took the lead, while the shorter one stayed behind her. They didn't even attempt to shackle her, which was very strange.

Demi didn't say anything as they led her to a large blue tent. Refusing to look at her surroundings she kept her head down. Her ankles hurt a lot from all the movement and she had begun to limp. The chains and the lack of shoes were expertly covered by her long dress. Her feet were freezing. If they didn't kill her now, it was more than likely she'd die in one of the oncoming chilly nights.

Somebody cleared their throat, making Demi look up into a pair of brown beautiful eyes. She took an involuntary step back when she saw the man's, no, the male's, ears. They were perfectly and delicately pointed, which meant he was fae. So were the rest of the people in the room. Fae were worse than humans when it came to halfbreeds and their stereotypes. She was definitely going to die here.

Even with fear coursing through her blood, she still found the brown-eyed man quite handsome. His hair was a darker brown and was messy, a few strands covering his forehead. He had eyes like freshly tilled soil with specks of gold, and they were warm and kind. He smelled of earth and nature, and rain, like everything Demi, had been kept from for the past 8 years. Home.

When she finally snapped out of it, she found the male studying her just as she had him. "What's your name?" He asked. Well, to Demi it sounded more like a command.

"Demetria," she answered. When Demi didn't finish he raised his eyebrows. "Viitor. My name is Demetria Viitor." She used her mother's maiden name. She refused to even consider using her father's surname. If these fae were northerners it would only cause trouble.

"Well, Demetria, I'm General Ericson but most people call me Eric. This is Doyle," he gestured to the male on his right that was very large but had a surprisingly warm smile on his face. "And behind you are the twins, Logan and Parker." Demi glanced back at them. They both had strawberry blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Parker smirked, while Logan just smiled apologetically, presumably because of his twin. It was clear who the trouble maker was.

Demi only nodded. She didn't know why the male was telling her this. "Why did you heal the man that had a knife to your throat?" Eric asked. She was surprised by the question. Why did it matter to them?

"Because I'm a healer." She stated simply.

"The man was willing to kill you, but you saved his life. Why?"

Demi took a deep breath. It was perfectly simple to her and didn't know how to explain it to this strange male. "Because it's my job. I'm a healer. I don't take lives, I save them. I almost killed Noah, and if I hadn't done anything I would've killed him. I would've felt no guilt if he had died while I was trying to save him, because I was simply defending myself, in a way it would've been his fault." Demi paused and looked for the right words, "But if I had stood by and watched him bleed out, while I knew perfectly well I could do something, then I would've been a murderer. It would be my fault that he died because I refused to do anything to try and save him." Demi may hate the Urans, but she was no killer.

For, what felt like minutes, nobody said anything. Eric just looked at her as if she was a puzzle. "He's going to be executed." He said simply, "You saved him just to die later." Eric looked to see Demi's reaction.

"Well then, that's not really my fault. Is it? His actions have damned him and I can't do much about that." The males in the tent probably thought Demi was loyal to Ura, judging by their shocked expressions. Yes. She was a healer. But she could only save lives that had problems she could control. Like illness and injuries. She wouldn't defend a man that had tried to kill her and gave her multiple beatings over 8 years, but she'd heal him because she could.

Again there was a stretch of silence. Demi shifted on her feet, making the shackles clank silently. Eric's eyes instantly went down to her feet. It looked as if he was seeing right through the thin material. Before she knew what was happening the male grabbed her right arm and exposed her forearm.