Everything was quiet. Too quiet. It was as if the Griffin School turned into a graveyard, where no sound could be heard except your own breathing and occasional raven croaking in the distance. You, Y/N of Cidaris, were sleeping soundly in your bed when you heard something scraping the stone walls in the hall. Since you were only 7 years old, your curiosity was naturally piqued, and so you decided to quietly open the door and peek outside. There was no-one around. Everyone was sleeping in their bedroom, resting from the hardships of a Witcher's life.
Since you were very little, you have been training under different Witchers, who slowly but surely were shaping you into a deadly weapon - a force that was to be reckoned with, but you were indeed unique in your own way. You weren't the first female trying to join an order of monster hunters but you were certainly the only one currently training to become a Witcheress in your own right. Your only friend was Axel Dorne, a handsome looking man with quite the sense of humor, who looked after you as if you were his daughter by blood. Frankly, his witty and excited demeanor had grown on you, for you were often the one to leave others speechless with your innocent but at the same time witty responses. Unfortunately for you, you were only allowed to read books about various creatures that plagued the lands and watch sparring matches from afar. That made you a bit disappointed but you knew that in time you would learn all the secrets, combat techniques, alchemy recipes, and spells a Witcher had in his arsenal.
Once again the sound of scraping took you out of your reverie, and your eyes snapped to a bulky looking door, far at the end of the hall. You knew a lot about monsters for your age, but because you were still a little girl, you started to feel scared about what could await you behind that door. You quickly tiptoed to it and pressed your ear against the rough wood. Hearing nothing on the other side, you wrapped your tiny hands around the door handle and gently pulled it down. It was all your luck that helped you open it soundlessly. You were a bit bewildered when you saw nothing but darkness in front of you. Wanting to investigate further, you stepped down the stairs leading to the courtyard. Silently you prayed that no-one would catch you wandering the castle alone at night.
Finally reaching the end of the staircase, you started smelling something nasty and burnt in the air. Without a torch on you, you could easily spot something glowing in the far end of the courtyard. Your mind didn't want you to step any further and turn back, but your body seemed to have gained free will, for it started to bring you closer to the source of the glow. When you finally reached it, you saw the stables burning but no horses were inside, otherwise else you would have heard them screaming in pain. Water. You needed water but where could you get a bucketful of it when the well was closed with a wooden lid and an iron lock on it? Not being to think of something else, you started screaming for help, knowing that at least one of the sleeping Witchers would hear you from upstairs. Soon enough, all of them came running towards where you stood.
"What happened, Y/N?" said Axel with worry. You frowned and pointed to the still burning stables. His eyes widened and he turned to the others, yelling at them to open the well, and bring water. They nodded and ran off to do the task given to them. When the burning stables were splashed with water, the fire didn't extinguish but continued to burn.
"This is no ordinary fire! Water from the well will do nothing to it!" shouted the Head Witcher Santago.
"Does anyone in here have an idea how to deal with it?! If it's no ordinary fire, we should battle it with magic!" exclaimed one the younger Witchers. Almost everyone nodded. Axel didn't seem to exactly share their opinion.
"Do you see any sorcerers around?! We are Witchers, we do not wield magic like they do!" You saw the fire spreading to the nearby banners. It consumed them quickly, leaving only piles of grey and black ashes behind. You started to feel panicked and scared. Numerous lessons about magic and its uses didn't teach you how to stop magical fires. Axel seemed to notice your shaking figure, and without hesitation took you into his arms and started running back towards the keep. When the two of you reached the door to the keep's basement, he set you down on the ground. The look you gave him was full of confusion. He gave you a small but at the same time sad reassuring smile.
"Y/N, listen to me. When I open this door, you will run downstairs, take a torch from the wall, and run again towards the end of the tunnel in front of you. No delays and no wrong turns. Do you understand me, little duck?" You looked at the door leading to the basement, and then at him. You gulped but grimly nodded.
"I will, Axel, but what about you?"
"I have to tell Santago that you are safe. After that, I will run back to you. I'm not leaving you alone, not when you're so young!" You could only give him a brief hug.
"Please be quick!" He opened the door and gently pushed you in. There was only darkness before you. From what little spells you knew, you conjured up a small glowing sphere of light. It wasn't as light as a torch would be, but at the very least it would light up the staircase before you. Even though you were a dozen steps down, you could still hear the Witchers' shouts from above. You only prayed that they were all okay.
A few moments later you finally reached the big basement chamber. As the sphere glowed right beside you, you could only see a couple of tables with pots and knives in front of you. Turning back to the task at hand, you took one of the lit torches on the wall into your shaking hands and proceeded walking forward towards the tunnel as Axel had instructed. The smell in there was almost unbearable. You guessed that some of your fellow brothers butchered a creature in there and left it to rot. Good thing there were no bones littered on the ground for you to stumble upon. Reaching the end of the tunnel, you saw a portcullis blocking your path. Unfortunately, you weren't tall enough to reach the lever right next to it. You looked around and couldn't see anything that would help you reach. If only you knew the aard spell…
Narrator's P.O.V.
Axel ran back to the courtyard to tell Santago that Y/N was safe. He wondered what had happened those ten minutes before. Who burned down the stables with the horses inside? Some kind of horse-hater? No, he had to put these thoughts away for now. Reaching the Head Witcher was a top priority right then. From the windows in the hall, he saw the whole courtyard consumed with bright orange-yellow fire, burning everything it reached to the ashes. Witchers around screamed in agony because some of them had gotten trapped trying to save younger ones. The picture Axel saw in front of him was like a nightmare come alive. Never in his 35 years of life had he seen something so agonizing, so damn frightening...But he had to turn his gaze away and focus on finding his long-time friend and mentor.
"Goddammit, Santago! Where the hell are you?!" he screamed, the sound echoing off the walls around him. Soon, he spotted a wounded Witcher lying against the door of a bedroom a bloody sword in his gut.
"What happened, Karonel?! Where is ev-" he was interrupted.
"Listen to me, Dorne. Santago is dead. He tried to fight him but he got burned by the fire...The Night Watcher git away with the amulet…" the wounded man was struggling to finish the sentence because he had started coughing up blood. Axel was confused. What Night Watcher was he talking about? And Santago dead? This was truly a nightmare.
"If Santago is dead then...I should go back to Y/N, protect her." The Witcher smiled a sad smile.
"Our little Y/N, always so curious and cheery...Tell her that...I-no we are proud to have taken her in and known for as long as we did…" Axel took the dying man's hand in his. "I will, brother, I will…" With that, the man took his last breath and closed his eyes. He shouldn't have died that way, Axel thought. Witchers were immune against many things like diseases and infections but not against magic or fire.
Axel ran back to where he left Y/N and saw that the door was left closed. It meant that she was safe down there. He went downstairs with a lit torch, and then to the tunnel, he had mentioned to her before he left. She was sitting on the ground with her back against the wall.
"You couldn't leave your old man behind, now could you?" Axel joked a little. Y/N's little head snapped towards him, and a happy smile lit up on her face.
"You're back!" She hugged him with all her might.
"I am, little duck, but listen to me. Once we lift the portcullis, we will run to the wagon filled with books outside. I was supposed to bring them Vizima the next week, so I had filled it yesterday. Do you understand?"
"I do, Axel but what about the others? What about uncle Santago and little Kemstrel?!" He didn't know how to answer her question. For God's sake, she was only seven! He opted to tell her the half-truth.
"He can't come with us. He and Kemstrel need to protect the castle." Y/N didn't seem to have believed him in the slightest.
"They're dead, aren't they?" she said sadly. She was one the smartest people in here, even though she was very young. Axel couldn't help but be proud of her.
"I'm sorry, little duck. There was nothing I could do to save them."
"Yes, you're right. But we have to move now or the fire will consume us as well!" With that Y/N stood up and waited for Axel to pull down the lever. The mechanisms of the portcullis groaned and creaked but worked perfectly in the end. Soon, the two of them reached the aforementioned wagon with books in it. Axel took Y/N into his strong arms and put her onto driver's seat, and then sat right beside her. The journey into the night was sure to be a long one...