The two spent quite a bit of time sitting quietly just enjoying each other's company. At one time or another they would comment on something, sometimes about the house or something about the time the demon had bought that piece of land, he didn't particularly seem extremely comfortable talking about it, so Artemisia didn't dwell on it. She tried to ignore her growling stomach, after hearing all that story from the shopkeeper, which was actually the book Leonore had picked up that morning, the young woman wondered if she really needed to eat human flesh. She had already understood that she was far from one, but she was still uncomfortable eating the flesh of a creature she believed herself to be. As much as the demon had explained to her the difference between eating human food and eating human flesh, Artemisia was beginning to really doubt everything here. She was certainly not human, that was obvious to everyone as well as the sunrise, finding out about all that past life really m
The lights had been out for at least an hour, the windows were so tightly closed that the moonlight was forbidden to enter. Artemisia had never experienced a silence like that, it was as if life around that house knew that those who were occupying that space were two beings who were far from being human. The silence seemed to be a response to fear, it was comfortable, the young woman never thought that one day she would be in a place like Geon's house. The idea of having peace, truly having peace, in that mansion was as illusionary and childish as the books that Artemisia read when she was still a child, so the young woman abandoned that ideal life little by little. What good was it to dream of living in a place where the sun was the first to arrive, where flowers lived all year round, and peace was the monarch? It was so useless to poison yourself with those stories. Since her father's death, Artemisia had decided to face the reality of being herself. It was funny how such a young
Geon's chest was slowly becoming the best place to relax, as strange as it was not to hear any heartbeats, Artemisia didn't care about it. His skin was too soft for her to think of anything else, it still had the soft touch of the demon, making small circles on the young woman's back. That was all enough for her to care only about Geon's cold breathing, which brushed the skin of the young woman's face. It felt good, having that lull hugging her tightly, being away from the mansion was the most pleasurable thing Artemisia had done since early spring. "Can't sleep?" Artemisia lifted her face, feeling the demon's chest vibrate as he spoke. "I don't think I'm sleepy." She replied as she traced her finger down Geon's forearm. The demon was hugging the young woman, in a way that felt more like he was trying to stop her from getting out of that bed, that cozy little place in the cottage. It was a little strange, but Artemisia could understand. Perhaps Geon was afraid that another nig
Artemisia had a vague memory of moments she spent with her mother. They were simple memories blurred with time, almost as sharp as a window in the middle of winter, but they were there, they existed in that small, repressed space reserved for childhood memories. There was no way the young woman could not keep that, they were moments so unique that if she forgot, perhaps she would feel the cruel cold that the forgetfulness would bring her. In any case, that moment etched in the young woman's mind was just a winter, one of the worst that Artemisia had the displeasure to take advantage of. It was the first winter that the father of the little child was not at home, it was still far from the first winter period without the father, it happened when she was still only five or six years old. It was a helpless child without the only figure she felt would protect her no matter what. It was Georgino who was helping the girl when the nightmares made her scream at the top of her lungs for the w
If someone told Artemisia that one day she would wake up in the middle of winter, she would believe it. Which might be surprising, but even then, the young woman would trust the words of the person she told her that. It didn't need to explain in more detail, to say how one day the sun burned and the next day it was cold as a curse, the young woman would believe it. It was funnier that way. What's more, so many things had happened to the young woman that this would be just another normal day. Artemisia was willing to ask Geon again if he was hiding anything from her, it was clear as a crystal, at the moment the night before she had asked the demon, his expression could not be the best. Something inside the young woman said he was lying. She could call it something over-suspicious, perhaps. Artemisia went to sleep with Tinea's voice explaining to her about the flower that insisted on keeping in her life, but carrying an extensive secret like an apron, the young woman also woke up he
The moment Artemisia left that eye-filled place, the cold of the sudden winter hit her like an arrow. The whole green field that the young woman had seen through the window was now a white immensity. The story Tinea told her the day before sounded again, all over again, it was already starting to irritate Artemisia. She just wanted to live miserably well, she didn't want to have to go through it all and know that when she finally got rid of that life, the young woman's soul would still beg for death for the last life. She could be absolutely sure that everything would be repeated again, from the days in the snow to begging an immortal woman for the gift of being reborn. The young woman looked for somewhere to sit, some corner that wasn't fully covered in snow, which was a somewhat impossible request. The white robe doubled in size with each passing minute, Artemisia could feel the skirt start to get hard and icy, no longer able to have the same movements as a normal skirt. But she w
Maybe having followed that entity was a bad idea, but giving up in the middle of that situation seemed a bit extreme to do. Artemisia looked at the white immensity as she walked with that being, each step made her regret her decision even more, it was a bad choice.And then there was the fact that she was the one who wanted to find out more about the family curse, abandoning that would be an extremely shameful sign of cowardice. The only one to blame for being in that situation was Artemisia, the creature being there or not was just a curious part of the consequence.“You've heard his whole story, haven't you?” a creature asked as they stopped in front of a flower bed full of tulips."Yes." The young woman smiled, looking closely at the small flowers that grew amidst the blanket of snow. She had heard of these things before, flowers that bloomed during the winter, growing through the snow and into the dim sunlight. Artemisia didn't know how to explain it very well, but that vision ma
“Oh, you are here.” The demon spoke when he finally saw the young man in the middle of the living room. "I went to let Leonore know we're here, I wouldn't want to have an angry witch running after me." He turned away from the window, heading towards the couch.There were a few suitcases occupying the piece of furniture, Artemisia was quick to recognize them as they were the same ones she had used when moving into the mansion, theoretically several weeks earlier, in what would have been the beginning of spring.The young woman wanted to laugh about it, minutes after listening to the creature's whole lecture about the weather, she would be seeing the suitcases she had used to store some things before leaving her mother's house, it would be winter again, as it had been a season before.“I'll prepare lunch for you, apparently your body can't go too long without food. Try to find something warm to wear, Leonore's clan is looking for what could have caused this regretful winter.” Geon said