Not just from the world outside, but him as well. Perhaps not truly comfortable, but safe nonetheless.

“I feel ridiculous wearing a wedding dress.” She sighed as she walked down the hallway and greeted him where he was waiting for her in the living room. He was just standing there idly with his arms limp by his sides. “I wish you had something different for me to wear.”

He tilted his head at her, which she was beginning to understand conveyed curiosity or thought.

“If you do not like any of the clothing, you are welcome to change them.”

She pulled on the skirt of the long dress and peered down at it. She was surprised that he didn’t mind, but she knew it wouldn’t matter.

“They’d still be white, though.”

“I have plants that can be used as dyes. They will not be strong, nor do I have many colours, but I’m sure we could find something that will stain them enough to your liking.”

He lifted his hand and covered his snout while tapping it with a forefinger. “No one else has asked to change the colour, but I think I would appreciate the difference.”

“Yes, please!” she nearly squealed, bouncing on the spot as a bright smile spread over her lips.

I want to wear anything but the colour white! To no longer feel like some sacrificial virgin maiden.

His glowing orbs swiftly changed to purple at her smile, and a tiny flinch twitched her features. It was the second time she’d seen them turn to that colour, but she didn’t know what it meant.

When her joy faded, his eyes turned back to blue, and he made a sound as if he was clearing his throat. He turned away from her to head into the kitchen, reaching up high to open one of the cabinets she wouldn’t have a hope in the world reaching unless she climbed the counter.

After grabbing a large ceramic pot and a crudely made metal spike, he retrieved a key from his jacket pocket and unlocked the front door. Reia was both apprehensive and giddy about following.

The inside of this log cabin house was strangely beautiful as it held nature and trinkets within. She was curious to know what it looked like from the outside as well as to see this garden he apparently had.

“You must remain close to me until I have finished the circle, but once I have, you are welcome to venture within it.”

Her feet found a distressed wooden porch, and she poked her head out of the doorway hesitantly.

Made of wood, it had a railing where the corners had beams that held up a roof. The dill bundled ornaments with the rope, berries, bone, and bells hung from both corners.

“What are those?” she asked as she pointed to them.

“Minor protections that shield Demons from entering the house. They are weak as they can break under the wind, and once the living aspects of them have started to wither, the ward decays.”

She nodded in understanding before her eyes swept over the forest as she followed behind him when he started walking down the three porch steps she’d blindly walked up the day before.

Yep. It’s as gloomy as I’d thought it’d be. There was a grey mist smoking between all the trees, making the area appear ghostly and surreal. The further in she could see, the bluer and blacker it seemed within the shadows.

She was thankful it was quite a fair distance as the cabin was in the middle of a large clearing of short grass with patches of dirt.

“If you like, you can assist me in the future with making them as they do not require magic. They themselves create a bond with the world once tied together. Even humans can use them for protection.”

“I didn’t know we could make items like that.”

He shrugged as he brought her closer and closer to the forest border. A deep emotion lanced her chest.

“Control your fear,” he told her sternly, his head turning so he could look at her from over his shoulder. “I would not have allowed you out here with me if I could not protect you.”

She believed him, and felt that spike of anxiety lessening.

“However, stay behind me.”

Then he knelt onto the ground and shoved the metal spike into a groove already present. He sliced it sideways, following it as he carved it deeper. Once he’d spanned about three feet, he placed the ceramic pot on the ground, pulled the lid off, and began sprinkling a white powdery substance into the groove.

“What is that?” she asked while watching him with interest.

“Salt. It acts as a barrier.” He pointed to the carving line he had yet to dig into. “I only do this when I have one of you humans here. It helps to keep the Demons out. However, not much needs to be done to erase it. Simply throw dirt over it and that section is able to be walked through.” He stood, walked over to where he’d pointed, and started carving into it as well before sprinkling more salt. “The weak ones are stupid and have never figured it out.”

“I don’t understand, though.” She frowned as she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward to watch him better. “Why don’t you just use the same protection ward you used in the village when you took me?”

“I can only have one of those cast at a time, and it requires the blood of a human to do it.”

A smirk cruelly pressed into her lips as it curled them.

“I give you my permission to take my blood and cast it here now.”

You forced me to come here, and I will gladly take away your protection. The village people could die for all she cared for how they had treated her over the years.

His head peeked at her over his shoulder, tilting it like he found what she said as odd, before shaking it. It made that subtle rattling sound that once creeped her out because it reminded her of the noise Demons made, but she was beginning to become accustomed to it from him.

“The bargain has been made. I can only cast it once every decade, which is why I only ever come for an offering then. I cannot do it again until the allotted time is over.”

Reia pursed her lips together. Well, that’s a pity.

It took him nearly an hour to move halfway around the house on his knees as she stood behind him to watch, but she lost her interest when something else stole her attention.

They eventually came close to the garden he’d been speaking of.

Oh wow! Surrounded by a small fence of wooden stakes and slotted in horizontal logs, was a long and wide garden of varying plants.

She didn’t know how to farm, since the village never allowed her to walk anywhere near their food as if she’d cast a disease over it, but she thought she may know what a handful of the plants were.

Cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, and pumpkins were easy to tell since they grew above ground. She thought she saw the familiar stalks of radishes, onions, and carrots. The blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries were easy to pick out because of their colours within the bushes.

There were no tree plants like apples or oranges, other than the hazelnut tree – which was relatively small.

There were also many more herb plants she couldn’t identify besides the dill and mint, and a handful of flower bushes that weren’t budding because it was still too close to winter, though it appeared they were trying.

He said the temperature in the Veil is well controlled.

Warmer winters, cooler summers, which seemed like the perfect environment to grow plants. Especially since the sun was fading into the afternoon, but she could still see a sliver of its light haloing one last shrub over the tops of the forest trees.

I was right. I did see sunlight in the yard. She walked over to it so she could greet it, holding her hands out and wiggling her fingers as though it was tangible and she could touch it. She felt the warmth that cascaded over her hands before she turned her face up to it. I bet it showers this garden completely.

How... beautiful. There was a place of light in the Veil.