"Please tell me that wasn't the last of the wood."

Katherine ignored Elijah as she fiddled with her cloak.

"Katherine?" He drawled in frustration. After resting for hours, Elijah rose from the couch to stretch his legs. He went over to the fireplace and stoked it with a poker. When he went to grab another log to throw on it, he noticed...it was the last one.

"I'm sorry, Elijah, did you say something?" She asked with feigned confusion.

Elijah limped in her direction until he was standing in front of her. "You heard me, Katherine. Was that the last of the firewood?"

"Yes," was her reply at Elijah ran his hands through his hair. "Look there was so much going on when the attack happened, I had to hurry to get you inside. The snowstorm had already started so I grabbed what I could."

Elijah collected his thoughts for a moment before answering her. He wasn't frustrated with her, he was frustrated with their current situation; and the fact that, the longer he was away from home, the more he dreaded going back.

"I'm not upset with you, Katherine, I'm in pain and a little stressed out." He gestured to the fireplace. "This isn't going to last the whole night."

She tightened her cloak before heading to the door. "I'll go get some."

He grabbed her gently by the elbow, forcing her to stop and turn towards him. He felt the oddest sensation at her touch. Uncomfortable with the foreign feelings, he dropped his hand.

"Don't be ridiculous, Katherine. You can't go out there right now." She would freeze to death out there. Not to mention, it was pitch dark now.

She gave Elijah a frustrated expression. "Then what are we going to do tonight?"

Elijah glanced at the fireplace before he looked around the cabin. "I'm sure we can find some things around here to keep the fire going till morning."

"Okay. I'm going to look around. Hopefully whoever lived here prior left something edible."

Elijah continued to stoke the fire while Katherine went and searched for food. He grew more anxious as time passed. He was worried about the snowstorm and if it would let up in time for him to make his...wedding. The more he thought about it, the farther away from home he wanted to get.

He understood it was his duty and it was apart of being a "duke". But what about what he wanted. The few times he met with Lady Elizabeth, she had been quiet and standoffish. Elijah had tried to make conversation with her but she didn't seem interested. It was as though she didn't want to do this either.

"Elijah, did you hear me?"

He turned towards the back of the cabin where he heard Katherine's voice. She had a smile on her face and was holding up two bags with unknown contents.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought. It looks like you found something after all."

"Yes," she replied as she made her way towards him. "It appears the previous owners were hunters. There's a bunch of dried meat back there. Not to mention and ax an other tools."

Elijah smiled and gestured to the blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Would you like to join me for dinner, Katherine? It would be my honor."

"I would be happy too," she said with a smile as she sat down next to him on the blanket.

They started eating and after a few minutes of silence, Katherine said, "Elijah, is something troubling you? I mean, besides our unfortunate situation."

Elijah met her gaze and let out a long breath. "Yes, but there's no need to bother you with it."

She laughed and waved her arms around the cabin. "Look around, we've got nowhere to go and nothing but time. I'm willing to lend you an ear. It may help unburden you."

Elijah pondered her invitation for him to confide in her. He really did want to get some things off of his chest. The only person he could talk to about stuff like this was currently at the castle pretending to be him. Maybe it would help him to get some outside advice.

"My father died last year."

"Elijah, I'm so sorry." She said.

Elijah kept his gaze on the fire as he continued, "Since he died, my mother wants me to live my life a certain way. She wants me to... do certain things. Make certain choices."

"How does that make you feel?"

Elijah met her eyes and spoke the truth. "Like a prisoner. I feel as if I have no free will anymore. It seems impossible to do anything for myself. Impossible to do things that will make me happy." He scoffed before he added, " I feel like I'm living my life doing others' bidding."

Katherine was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "May I offer you my personal advice?"

"Please do." At this point, Elijah was desperate for anything that could help ease his troubles.

"I know I'm just a maid, well technically I'm not even a maid yet, but I will tell you what my mother told me. She always told me that our lives are what we make them; that our choices define us. You only have one life, Elijah. You should have the choice to make it the life that you want." With a small smile she added, "Everyone has the right to be happy."

Katherine sat quietly as Elijah digested her advice. She heard the pain and sorrow in his voice and wished there was more she could do for him. She had no idea what his mother wanted him to do, but it didn't seem right.

"Thank you," Elijah said. "For your honesty."

What an odd thing to be thankful for, Katherine thought. "Do people often not tell you the truth?"

He made an unfriendly smile at her question. "They tell me what they think I want to hear."

In a teasing tone, she said, "Well, if it's any consolation, I vow to always be honest with you."

He gave her a kind smile when he replied, "And I you."

Something seemed to pass between them in that moment. Katherine didn't know what it was exactly and that made her nervous. She looked away at the same time Elijah cleared his throat. Perhaps he felt it too, she thought.

Scared to think about it further, she got to her feet and smoothed out her dress. "I'm going to see if there's anything that can salvage this fire."

"Do you need assistance?" Elijah got to his feet and grimaced; putting his hand to his wound.

Katherine smiled and shook her head. "Yes. I need you to assist me by lying down on that couch and getting some rest. I'll clean the wound when I get back."

Elijah seemed reluctant to do as she asked, but eventually he went and laid down.

Katherine started looking for something, anything, to keep them from freezing tonight. She headed to the back of the cabin where she found the dried meat and tools; hoping there was wood back there.

Katherine grew frustrated when the search turned up nothing. She stood in front of the back window and peered into the darkness. The snow was still coming down hard and it continued to blanket the ground. Is that? She squinted harder into the distance. It looked like there was a crate of wood just outside the door. She eyed the falling snow. I can slip out, grab the wood, and slip back in, she thought.

She opened the door as quietly as she could and stepped out. She pulled her cloak closed in an attempt to keep as warm as she could as she made way in the direction of the crate she saw from inside. She looked around in a panic.

"Where is it?" She turned in place, unable to see anything around her. She tripped over something, perhaps it was her own feet, before she felt a sharp pain. In the next instant, she fell into the snow and lost consciousness.