After five months by Zoe's count, she felt deeply depressed. She loved being with Azriel but she missed a lot of other things she used to do; like go outside, using a computer, having some alone time. Being around Azriel so much was too much she needed some space.
"Azriel." She said one day after diner during their nightly talks. "I need some more space." She said bluntly but looked at him gently. "Alright." He said nodding.
"Alright?" Zoe asked looking at him carefully. He laughed lightly. "Zoe I cannot expect you to want to be around me all of the time. Everyone needs some me time. I am glad you enjoy my company, but if you want to spend the day doing something else just tell me. Anything you want?"
"A computer connected to the internet I kind of miss the world."
"That can be arranged, I really should have thought of that before. What else?"
"I want to go outside." Azriel bit his lips on this one.
"That one may be hard to do. You see I am not the only demon, and you are protected from other demons that are not so nice by being in this house. You will have to give me time, and I will see what I can do. Is that okay?"
"Well I guess I can live with the computer for awhile." She said with a grin. "I'll wait to be able to go outside." She then got up and kissed him soundly."Thank you" She said resting her head on his. "Azriel...I..." She had wanted to tell him she loved him but the words would not form.
Zoe bit her bottom lip in frustration, and then sighed. "I am going to go to bed." She left without waiting for his response.
Azriel sighed in disappointment, he knew she wanted to tell him something else, but could not; the frustration was painted on her face. In time he hoped she would tell him.
*****
Fall turned to winter, and true to his word, Azriel gave Zoe a computer with a few games, that was connected to the internet. Zoe was not allowed to tell people where she was, not that they would have believed her anyway, but beyond that she was welcome to do anything she desired.
It was a clear day when Azriel led a blindfolded Zoe through the hallways. "Are we almost there?" Zoe asked with excited, and an impatient voice. "Yes." He said stopping, and pulling her close as he ripped away the blindfold.
Zoe blinked a few times trying to make her eyes adjust faster, when they did they widened. Before her was a sliding glass door, and just outside of it was a large dome of glass letting in the rays of the sun. Inside the dome was a large garden covered in snow.
"It's beautiful." She exclaimed breathlessly.
"It's all yours." He replied smiling down at her. "It's magical so that whatever the season is on Earth, it will be reflected here and in the Spring you will see hundreds of flowers bloom, and there is even a small pond."
"This is amazing!" She said turned in his arms and throwing her arm around him tightly "Thank you." Azriel smiled and put his arms around her. "Anything for you my dear."
They stayed that way until Zoe picked up her head and looked at the snow. Azriel smiled, letting her got to open a small door next to them and pulled out a dark navy blue winter jacket. "Mittens and hat are in the pockets." Zoe let out a squeak of joy, and quickly donned the jacket, with the hat and mitten, then opened the door in one move running out into the virgin snow.
Azriel laughed loudly following her closing the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked close, a wet slushy snowball hit him in the head. His blue eyes darted to Zoe who was holding in a laugh.
Azriel growled playfully, and started to scoop up snow, when another snowball hit him, this time Zoe did not hold back her laugh. "Laugh now little girl." He growled with a smile as he compiled a snowball together.
Zoe let out a yip and ran into the garden, weaving through the various statues and evergreen bushes. Azriel gave her a few seconds then went after her.
Zoe ran hard knowing he could follow her trail. She looked over her shoulder, she did not see him so she stopped running, putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Then she fell.
Azriel followed her tracks with ease. A small smile on his face, but all traces of his smile vanished when he saw the tracks stop in the middle of the pond.
Zoe did not hear the ice break, but she did feel the ice cold water swallow her up. Then darkness took her.
Azriel did not waste a moment when he saw the broken ice. He dove into the water its coldness not bothering him. His keen eyes spotted Zoe quickly, he swam to her, gripping her tightly he pulled her to the surface. Cold air hit his face, as he swam to shore, his arm tightly around Zoe.
He pulled her cold, body onto the shore, and instantly saw she was not breathing. He cleared her airways, and started CPR. "Come on Zoe." He said in a frantic voice as his pumped his hands against her chest. Finally Zoe gave out a rough cough, as she gasped for air.
Zoe opened her eyes and saw blurs of shapes. Then they closed as her body shivered violently. Azriel picked her up in her arms, and quickly took her to her room. He knew she he had to get her warm.
He started to strip off her wet clothes. As he pulled off her shirt, he stopped for a moment as his eyes fell on angry scars across her stomach. He growled in anger and vowed to seek penance on whoever touched his mate in such a way. He peeled away the rest of her clothes and her set her under the covers. Then he quickly stripped his own clothes, and slipped in next to her. As he shared his body heat with her, unanswered questions flowed through his mind.
*****
Zoe woke with a groan. Every muscle in her body hurt, her lungs burned, and her throat was raw.
The only thing that felt good was the warmth that surrounded her, and the soft blankets caressing her skin. It was in this instance that she realized she was naked, and gripped that blanket tightly to her.
