The Healer and the General

Part 8

Eight years! Eric was barely keeping his rage in check. She had been shackled for eight years. The only reason he managed to keep a lid on his anger was because of Demi. He'd been severely surprised that she went by Demi, though it seemed right. He was even more surprised she had told him to call her Demi. When he questioned the Urans about her, they referred to her as Demetria, probably meaning she only told people she trusted with her nickname.

They walked quietly to her new tent. Eric had made sure Demi would have everything she needed, and that she was fairly close to his tent. Soon enough, they'd start building houses, and Eric would make sure she got one of the firsts. But for now, the tent should be fine. It was small and its fabric was a deep green. There was a single lantern inside, a small tub, a dresser with a mirror and brush on top, and a cot.

The cot had two blankets on top, that were actually from Eric's tent and the dresser was filled with clothes people had donated. When Demi had entered he could see tears come to her eyes.

"What? That bad, huh?" Eric half-joked.

Demi started laughing. "No, no. It's- It's perfect. Thank you." A few tears spilled over, but she quickly wiped them away. Eric finally realized that she'd probably never had something as nice as this before. Not that it was super nice, it was just what could be scrounged up quickly.

"Well, all the clothes were donated, probably from people wanting to get on the good side of their new healer." Demi laughed. Her eyes were still glossy, but no more tears fell. "And I noticed your lack of shoes earlier, and found these." Eric took out a pair of work boots. They weren't fancy and were fairly used, but it took hours to hunt them down. Her eyes went to the footwear and her smile instantly grew. Demi rifled through the draws and found a pair of socks, and started to put them on.

After successfully putting them on Demi stood up and walked around, "They're perfect. Just the right size actually." She said while rotating her ankles. Demi again started to rifle through the draws until she found whatever she'd been looking for.

When Eric saw Demi's smile grow to an unnatural size, he was slightly worried that he'd overwhelmed her. "What?" She showed him what exactly had made her so happy, and in her hands were a simple pair of black pants. Eric laughed loudly and uncontrollably.

"What?! I love pants and haven't been able to wear them for a long time," Demi said defensively. Eric just kept on laughing. He was happy that he could please his mate so easily. He also loved that she could appreciate the little things. Though a pair of pants didn't seem like a little thing to her.

"Well then," Eric started when he finally stopped laughing, "I'll let you get some sleep." He didn't want to leave, but he could tell she was exhausted. Tomorrow would be even harder, "Goodnight."

As he walked out he heard her murmur, "Goodnight."