The Witcher: Through the Worlds

by TheWitcherDom

This bards tale begins in the village of Claywitch. Where the Young Wolf, Dominik of Cintra, has accepted a contract from the local village elder. For years the young Witcher has traveled the continent, running from the ghosts of his failed past all while looking for his long lost love, Cirilla Fiona Ellen Riannon (Ciri x OC, rated M for language, violence, future sexual content)

28. An Old Flame

The Witcher: Through the Worlds

Chapter 28: An Old Flame

Narrator: After finally figuring out the location of Whoreson Junior's new hideout, Dominik and Geralt bravely assaulted the mansion. After fighting their way through Whoreson's men, the two Witcher's finally confronted the crime lord. They figured out that Ciri had bravely broken into Whoreson's first hideout and rescued our doppler friend Dudu. Ciri had escaped but was wounded. They also learned that the young woman had come to Novigrad to open a magical phylactery. So now knowing why Ciri came to Novigrad, and what happened to her at Whoreson's hideout, the two Witcher's planned to rescue myself, so I could tell that where Ciri had gone.

He didn't recognize where the dream had taken him this time. It was as if he was a bird, floating around the two people walking through the forest, flying around them both, eavesdropping on their conversation. The sun was high in the sky, its rays beating down through the tree's to cast their shadows over the ground. A salty smell was in the air, and a light sea breeze gently blew through the brush, blowing the leaves gently back. It looked absolutely beautiful, he guessed that it was somewhere on the Skellige Isles. The foliage, and large sea he saw in the distance was what gave it away. He had no idea why he would be dreaming of Skellige, he had never been to the Isles, and didn't know anyone who lived there other then the friend's and family Ciri had told him about.

The forest the two people walked through was absolutely beautiful, white, purple, and yellow flowers all littered the forest, and the girl he saw was smiling down at a bush of white orchids. The breeze blew through the girls hair, a long mane of straight, wavy brown locks. The sun casted her shadow out towards the sea. She and the man that was with her were on the forests edge, and right near a long dirt road, that whirled around the outskirts of the forest. To the right a cliff led down to the crystal waters, which churned violently in the sunlight.

"Aye come on little dove, we best be getting back," The man yelled from further down the road.

The man looked to be older, and withered, well into his fifties or possible even sixties. He was wearing a light white top, with a large brown hat over his bald head. A long grey brown beard went all the way down to his stomach. Despite his old age, the man was stocky and built, with a longsword strapped to his hip on his black trousers. His face, while withered with multiple small scars and a pushed in nose, was smiling at the young girl. The scars on his face and arms made him believe that the man could have once been a soldier.

The young girl seemed to be a few years younger than Dominik himself, perhaps eighteen. Her brown hair blew back lightly in the breeze, her eyes were sparkling almond shaped emeralds. Her nose was smaller, and her mouth was curled in a content smile, as she picked up one of the orchids and put it behind her ear, held in place by her hair. She wasn't wearing a dress or skirt, she had on tight black trousers, with a leather jerkin over a tight-fitting white top. She also had a longsword at her belt, she smiled one last time at the bush of white orchids before turning over to the man.

"Coming," She said with a smile, jogging through the edges of the forest to the man.

He didn't take his eyes off the young girls face. The alarm bells wouldn't stop, his heart thumped at an alarming rate. He knew this girl, but he couldn't place it. Her face was so familiar, however no matter how much he strained his brain he couldn't place it. If he had met a beautiful young girl from Skellige, he was sure he would remember. However for some reason the name just couldn't come to the forefront of his mind. Her voice was light and kind, and she smiled widely as she ran back up to the man.

The older man smiled at her, ruffling her brown hair, "We should be getting back now. Your mother will have my head if I let you stay out later."

She rolled her eyes as the two of them started down the path, winding along a set of cliffs, the sparkling ocean to their right, the wind blowing through their hair and beard. The girl sighed in content and looked up at the older man with an eye roll.

"I'm an adult now you know that right? I can take care of myself," She said with a small smile.

The old man scoffed and shook his head, "Not denying that! I'm the one to train you, seen what you can do. Your mother on the other hand well… she's still worried."

She sighed with a small shake of her head, "I told you both I'm fine. I haven't had an incident in weeks, I think it may finally be going away."

It was clear now the man was the young girls father, which was slightly odd to him given the man's apparent age. He looked like he could be the girls grandfather. His eyes didn't come off the white flower sticking up from behind the girls ear, and the bright sparkling eyes that she had. He had seen those eyes somewhere before, but the name and where he had seen her still escaped him and it agitated him to no end. It was as if the knowledge of who she was, was stuck in a trap inside his brain, and it was trying with everything it could to force its way out.

The man sighed and looked back down towards his daughter, "You still need to be careful little dove. I've seen many things in my years but… nothing ever like this. Your mother still thinks we should go to Kaer Trolde, speak with Jarl An Craite. Served under the man and his father for years, he'd be more then happy to help I know it. Perhaps the druids will know more."

An uneasy look appeared to the girl's face as she stoically looked out over the water. He could see the girl was trying to suppress something. Finally she turned back to her father with a sigh as they walked.

"I… I had another nightmare last night. The same as normal… the fires… the corpses, I… I still don't know what I could be dreaming of," She said slowly, her arms suddenly crossing as they walked.

The older man looked down sympathetically and wrapped an arm around the girl.

"Don't worry little dove. It may be your memories creeping back to you," He said to her, the wind starting to howl.

She fervently shook her head, "After all these years? Why is it finally coming back now? I still have no idea where I came from! All… all I remember is waking up amongst the corpses… and then the explosion… and then running. I NEED to know!"

Sighing the girls father removed his arm, looking slightly hurt at the words. He looked down at her, and Dominik could see the slightly frantic, desperate look in the girl's eyes.

"Your mother and I will always do what we can for you…. But you should leave your past in the past child," The man started, looking down to meet his daughter's eyes, "We've raised you as our own… love you like our own. The past is the past, the future is what should matter."

The girl stopped walking to look out over the water yet again, and the man stopped with her. The were still on the edge of some forests and brush, the sun slowly beginning its descent. He could see the girl's hands turn into fists as she sighed, her brown hair blowing behind her back. Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, as she finally turned back to her father, her shadow casting over him.

"I'm more grateful then you'll ever know… and I love you both but…" She started shakily, taking a few steps towards her father, "I NEED to know where I come from. Who I was and… I know it sounds like rubbish but… I have this… feeling. This feeling that there's someone out there. Someone that I must find… please father it… it's something I must do."

Her green eyes began to well as she looked up at her father. The older man sighed, looking down at the pleading look on the young girls face.

"Alright child… if it means this much to you, then aye I'll help," He said, gaining a smile from her, "We'll sail for Kaer Trolde in a few days. I'll talk to Jarl An Craite, I'm sure his mage, that druid Ermion may be able to help."

The young girl scoffed a smiled, and threw her arms around the older man's neck, hugging him tight. A smile came to the man's face as well, as he hugged his daughter. He could see the look of relief finally cross the girl's face, as she pulled back from the man.

"Thank you, father… and I promise no matter what, I'll always be yours," She said, making the old man smile yet again.

The tender father-daughter moment was soon interrupted. He could see the brush along the forests edge begin to move, he could hear the footsteps getting closer. Armed men, a group of at least ten all emerged from the brush, leading them was a taller man, with a long brown beard, wearing a red gambeson, with a horned helmet, and an axe resting on his belt. Several of the other men were dressed in similar fashions, wearing helmets and armor, carrying more swords and axes.

"Sorry to interrupted such a tender moment," The head man said in a deep booming voice, echoing off the cliffs nearby.

The girl was the first to noticed the men, she detached herself from her father and drew the longsword from her waist. Her father soon also realized what was happening, shakily drawing his own longsword. The man was built, but the stance he held with his blade made his hands and legs shake. It was clear that he was out of practice, but didn't back down, holding his blade out towards the head man.

"Aye, begone ye, I've heard from the village of you," The old man said, his voice growing dangerously low.

The man with the horned helmet laughed, "Baha and what is it you've heard old man?"

"You're the ones who have been terrorizing the villages along the coast," The girl said, keeping her sword leveled.

Unlike her father, she was in a perfect stance, her elbows bent, blade leveled, feet shoulder length apart, not flat footed. It was clear the girl was spry, nimble, and knew how to use the blade she was holding. Her green eyes grew dark, as she kept her blade leveled, watching the group of men begin to circle her.

"The red raiders you call yourselves… rubbish as names go," she said cheekily, the white orchid in her hair gently falling to the ground.

"Don't interfere," Her father quickly turned around and hissed to her.

Before the girl could react the leader of these men laughed again, "Bahaha, young wench is a fiery one. I am Shagga the Red, and we're here to rob you of everything you have."

The men all wore the same red gambeson, and clunked closer to the two of them. Axes and swords were drawn, but the girl wasn't ready to back down. She gripped tightly to her blade and kept waving it in a wide arc to keep the men at bay. She turned to her father, looking for directions, but the old man simply looked back at the leader, Shagga he had called himself.

"We don't have no coin on us, poor choice of targets. Begone now, go bother some other folk," The man demanded, trying for an intimidating tone.

"Father," The girl hissed, turning around in disbelief.

"Don't interfere, keep yourself calmed," The man spat back at his daughter.

A look of anger came to the girls face, and he could see something click in her. She turned back to the men surrounding her, her sword still raised, as she bounced on the balls of her feet, ready to lash out at a moment's notice. Her brown hair blew back behind her from the wind, as her fingers went white from gripping so tightly on her blade.

Shagga laughed from in front of them, before tsking at them both, "Well, well, well if you don't knows the rules let me explain. We NEVER pick wrong targets. You pay with coin, blood or…" He said, looking over at the young girl with a crooked smile, "Other things. Kill the old man, take the girl."

"I'll cut your fucking hands off," The girl quickly hissed as she swung her sword in an arc again.

"Oh my, this is going to be fun… TAKE HER," Shagga yelled from in-front of the older man.

The fight finally began in honest. All of the men around the older man and the girl rushed forward. While the old man seemed withered, he knew how to swing his blade. He knocked aside the first strike from Shagga's axe and engaged in an intense duel with the man. Again he knocked aside the axe head, before plowing his shoulder into the larger man making him stumble. The old man lashed out again and caught a piece of Shagga's arm before countering. He pushed the old man back to the side, away from the group of men.

Across from them, it seemed like the group of ten men were just toying with the young girl, but they soon realized their mistake. They tried to come at her one at a time, while the others stood back to enjoy the show. The first one tried to swing at her with an axe, but moving quickly and gracefully, she caught the axe's head on her blade and flicked the weapon from her attackers hand. She spun to the right slashing across his legs, making him fall to the ground before she jabbed her blade through his back. It clearly wasn't the first fight the girl had been in. She moved so gracefully, and parried so precisely, part of him thought she could be a Witcher. If he were to be born a girl instead of a boy, this young woman was what he imagined he'd be like.

He strained his brain for any memory of the girls face, but he couldn't. He had seen her somewhere, knew her from somewhere but it was as if a part of his brain was being locked off. The memory of knowing who the girl was, was in that locked off part, and no matter what he tried the lock wouldn't break. She watched the girl parry, spin, counter and feint, clearly having been trained by her father who fought Shagga besides her.

The old man fought until his arms began to shake. He parried and thrusted forward his blade. Shagga knocked it aside with his axe, before bringing the head of his weapon back slamming it into the old mans shoulder, blood erupting right away as the girl's father slumped to his knees, crimson blood beginning to slowly spew from his mouth.

The girl was to his right, she had just finished parrying and slicing across a mans chest when she turned and saw what had happened. Her green eyes went so wide they almost popped out of the sockets.

"NOOOOOO," She screamed, her back from the last few men.

One tried to charge at her from behind, but she heard the footsteps. Her eyes turned almost red, and the rage contorted her previously mischievous, smiling face into one of anger. She knocked the man's blade away and jabbed her own through his gut, quickly pulling it out and turning to run to where her father had been struck. Turning her back had been a mistake however, because one man rushed forward, seizing her blade hand. He grappled her arm, and the girl cried out from the force, dropping her blade to the ground.

"NOOO, FATHER NO," She screamed, trying to wreath out of the man's grasp.

The old man managed to slowly turn his head over to the girl. Blood spewed from his shoulder and neck like a volcano, slowly coming out from his mouth as well. He coughed on last time, his eyes not leaving the girl, until he fell to his knees, and then to the ground with a thud. His eyes remained open but lifeless, looking over at his daughter from the ground.

She didn't move, simply standing there looking at the corpse of her father. This gave the other men the opportunity. One came up and kicked her behind the legs, making her fall to her knees. She screamed and tried to kick out of the men's grip again, but it was fruitless. Another two rushed forward, one gripping her other arm, as another kicked her sword from her reach. One gripped behind her head, yanking back her hair, they gripped and pulled her until finally she was bound to the ground by the remaining men, as Shagga laughed, reaching down to pull his axe from the man's corpse.

"No… no, no, no…" She wailed quietly now, the tears starting to come down her face.

Shagga wiped the blood from his axe, before laughing and turning back to his men, who had the girl gripped down, unable to move. He bent down, getting face to face with her, smiling a crooked, toothless smile at her.

"He was a tough fucker, I'll give him that… now, we're going to need to do something about this fire you have girl," He said to her, running a hand gently along her face.

The girl's face finally tore from her father's lifeless corpse. Her green eyes grew darker, darker then he had seen on anyone before. He himself when he faced down Caleb Menge, Whoreson Junior or Nithral from the Wild Hunt, none of those times had his eyes ever become so enraged. As soon as Shagga's fingers touched her face, her head shot around and she bit down on the mans finger, so hard that blood began to immediately spew from the pirates hands.

"URGHHHH, you little cunt," The man screamed smashing his open hand against the girls cheek sending her to the ground out of the men's grasp.

A red mark formed on her face, and he almost forced himself to wake up from the dream, not wanting to see more, however then he saw the girls eyes.

She saw again the lifeless eyes of her father, his brown eyes open but not moving. He could almost see something awaken in her. Her eyes didn't move away from her father's corpse, that's when he began to see the power swirl.

"Take her, get her back to the ship's. Let's get off this fucking rock," Shagga said, holding his bloodied hands as he turned to walk back towards the forest.

His men began to rush forward, but they all stopped in their place when the girl spoke.

"NO," She yelled, but it wasn't just her voice, it was amplified as if she had shouted it out into a canyon. Her voice was so loud that the men stumbled, covering their ears.

He saw her face again, her eyes weren't emerald green anymore, they were completely taken over by a bright blue glow. She came up to her knees, and when her head shot around towards the group of men, a large swirl of blue energy began to churn like a tornado. The bright, sunny day ceased, as clouds began to cover the sun. The group of four men that were left, including Shagga himself all stopped, turning to see the girls eyes.

"Are you all daff!? Get the bitch now," Shagga yelled, tossing one of his men forward.

The man wailed and as he got closer, the girl screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO," She screamed, holding the yell, her arms going wide as the blue magical energy turned into a whirlwind.

Tree's from the forests edge almost bent completely in half. The water from below began to churn violently, waves getting so high that they hit the top of the road they were on. Shagga and his men clamped their hands over their ears, as he saw blood slowly began to drip from them all. The ground beneath the girls knees got hot and singed, as all of the men were dragged off their feet to the ground, being swirled to her in a giant whirlwind. Her father's lifeless body was picked up from the ground swirling around, all the men screamed as blood began to gush from their ears.

"NOOOOOOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO," She screamed loudly again, before her head shot upwards towards the sky.

The large *BOOM* erupted from the girl, sending all of the trees, swords, bodies and weapons that had been gathered in the whirlwind flying. The strength of the explosion was so great, that the whole entire island they were on seemed to shake.

After the explosion finally died, the girl's eyes didn't return to normal. He looked around and saw tree's blackened and singed. The bushes, the grass all singed and blackened, the spot around her now a small crater smoking with ash and soot. The bodies of her father, Shagga and all his men were thrown about. A few were impaled on tree branches some had their heads smashed to bits on rocks. Shagga himself had been smashed into the cliffs, a sharp stone pointing through his chest. Somehow, the body of the girls father hand landed right next to her. After the girl's eyes finally turned back to normal, the emerald green color that looked like his, her head weakly went down to her father.

She only had a short moment to reach her hand down, before she collapsed over him, alive but unconscious.

He thought the dream would end there but it didn't. He saw the death and carnage, the pure power the girl had exhumed. This young girl, who he knew that he knew, but couldn't place the name, she had destroyed what looked to be half the forest. He thought that it couldn't get any worse, but then the cold mist came.

Ice began to form on all of the dead bodies strewn across the scene. The tree's had small icicles all slowly begin to fall, the water stopped churning, replaced by ice as the must became thicker. A harsh snow began to blow forward, but from the ocean, just before his vision became white, he saw them.

The ships of the Wild Hunt.

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His head shot up from his bed, feeling as if the ice from the Hunt had taken over his body as well. The swallow pendant and his medallion both bounced on his bare chest, and their cold touch sent another chill down his spine. Despite the sun that was shining through his window at the crack of dawn, his room was cold, and he felt himself shiver. A cold sweat dripped down his chest as he shakily moved his legs off the side of the bed. His head went down to the floor, and when he blinked all he could see was the young girls face. Her terrified expression, her pure white rage, and the whirlwind of magical power she had emanated.

"Who are you…" He said quietly to himself, his head finally coming up to look out the window.

Who was she had to be the more appropriate question. If the Wild Hunt had attacked her, and she was only there to defend herself she surely must have been taken. A horrible thought crossed through his head… was the girl another child of the elder blood? Was she like Ciri, and had the ability to use immensely powerful magic, and open portals to other worlds?

The idea was quickly banished from his mind, the girl clearly didn't know how to control her powers fully, much like Ciri when they were younger. And if she had been a child of the Elder Blood, and the Wild Hunt had gotten her, they wouldn't have needed to go and chase after Ciri. No, the girl had to have been something else, a conduit for powerful abilities.

He thought all of this, but they all eventually got pushed to the side when the question kept reeling in his mind. Who was the girl, now where was she. The part of his brain that seemed to remember had stayed locked, and he still couldn't place who the girl was. She had looked so, so familiar but it was as if the more he tried to remember her face after the dream, the quicker it vanished. With his legs still shaking after the horrendous scene he saw in his dream, he stood up and proceeded to get ready for the day.

He gathered up his armor from the dresser and proceeded to pull on his black trousers and boots to begin. Shakily he sighed as the cold medallion and pendant bounced against his chest. He wanted to put the dream from his mind, but he couldn't. It was the first time in ages that his dreams didn't have Ciri, Geralt, Yennefer or his family in them. He didn't see a memory from his past, it was as if somehow, he had seen someone else's memories, this young girl who he didn't know the name of.

Carefully after he had gotten his armor put on and tied accordingly, he picked up his blade, slinging the sheath across his back. He had to know the young woman from somewhere, or else why would his dreams have showed her to him? Perhaps it was a sign, some type of clue for his journey ahead.

His thoughts were interrupted however, when a loud knock could be heard on the door of his room. He took in one last shaky sigh, before a loud yawn escaped him.

He walked over to the door and turned it, only to find the large frame of Faram of Undviik outside.

"Aye mate, sleep well, Geralt told us you had quite the last few days," His friend asked him, leaning against the doorway, fully dressed in his armor.

He reached his gloved hand up and rubbed his eyes, before looking up at the bear school witcher, "Quite the last few days is an understatement… could probably use a few more hours of sleep, but Geralt and I have some important stuff to do today."

Faram nodded in understanding, stroking his black beard, the sun from the window casting their shadows into the hallway. The bear school Witcher adjusted his swords and looked back down at him.

"Aye he's already awake downstairs. Told me more about what happened last night, how… how you feeling mate? I know you got more information about Ciri but still…" The larger Witcher started carefully.

His thoughts of the dream suddenly left him, as he felt his bones slightly ache. Last night had been a big night in their search for Ciri, when they learned about the true reason, she had come to Novigrad. He could feel their search for her getting closer and closer each day, and with each day they got closer, the more anxious he felt, the quicker he wanted to do things, the more he yearned to finally be able to hold her again. However, their business in Novigrad was still ongoing, and they wouldn't be able to figure out where Ciri went until they freed Dandelion, which would be helping another friend in the process.

So despite what he had to do the night before, and the fatigue he felt from the two days of non-stop fighting, he felt himself smile.

"I'm alright… thanks for asking. With everyday we're getting closer and closer, and that makes it all worth it," He said to the bear school witcher.

Faram laughed a smile and clapped his arm, "HA, I'm happy for you mate I really am. Also wanted to tell ya, Geralt was talking to me about how soon you'll be needing a way to get to Skellige."

"Yeah that's true," He said, remembering that Yennefer had gone there to investigate a magical explosion, "Yennefer is there on Ard Skellig, investigating one of our leads on Ciri."

Faram smiled again and looked at him with his arms crossed, "Aye it's perfect then. Need a few more days to get some coin into the right hands, hire enough crew, but soon I should be ready to sail. You and Geralt can come with me, no pirates will bother us with me on board."

He remembered what Faram had told him before. His friend was on a quest of his own, to go and slay the Ice Giant that had taken over his old home island of Undviik. The bear school witcher had manage somehow to get his hands on a ship, through what methods he didn't know, however he wasn't going to ask. A rush of excitement ran through him, not just at the prospect of being able to get to Skellige for clues about Ciri, but at being able to see Yennefer again. He had only been with his adopted mother for a short time. Only during the ride from Claywitch to White Orchard to get Geralt, and up to right after his visit with the Emperor.

He loved Geralt of course, but after weeks of traveling, just the two of them, he was eager to see Yennefer again. And now he'd even have his best friend to be there on the journey with him, and even more so, he could help the bear school witcher in his quest, as Faram had done for him.

"That means a lot Faram, thank you. Means we can keep training too, you know I think I'm getting the hang of this bear school stuff," He said, feeling a smirk come to his face.

Faram laughed and nodded, gesturing for him to follow, "Haha, you really are mate I'll give you that. Come on, what do you say we have a drink and get a session in before you and Geralt head out?"

Another smile came to his face as he nodded to the bear school Witcher. He was about to walk out of the room with him when the image from the dream popped into his head again. A thought raced through his mind as he looked up at his friend, the native of Skellige.

"Faram before we go one question," He said, making the larger witcher stop and turn back to him before he continued, "It's a random question but… have you ever heard of a group of pirates from Skellige… called the red raiders?"

Faram scoffed and nodded his head, "Bah, do I ever. Shagga the red, that was the bastards name. Heard about them about two years ago when I was back on Undviik for some business there."

His head started suddenly running a mile a minute with possibilities, "Do you… know what happened to them?"

His friend looked at him oddly for a moment but did answer him, "Aye finally met his match on Undviik about two years ago. It was odd though… when they found the bodies of him and his men they were destroyed. Limbs ripped off, impaled on trees. Half the forest was burned down, some folks say a dragon took them down. Little do they know there are no dragon's on Undviik… why do you ask about him?"

It felt as if the ice from the Wild Hunt's frost was freezing the inside of his chest. Two years ago that girl had used her powers to kill Shagga and the red raiders and shake Undviik to its core… before it was attacked by the Wild Hunt. Two years ago as well, Ciri had finally found her way back to the continent for the first time and had to use her powers to save Geralt and Yennefer from death, and then save Geralt from the Wild Hunt itself. There had to be some connection between the two events, it couldn't have been a coincidence.

The dream had been shown to him for a reason.

Faram must have seen the flustered look on his face because he narrowed his eyes at him, "You alright mate? What is it?"

He felt a cold chill run through his body as he looked up at his friend, "It's a weird story, come on I'll tell you and Geralt downstairs."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Come on mate ground yourself," Faram yelled, lashing out at him with another series of perfectly aimed strikes.

He deflected the first few attacks like Faram had instructed, keeping on the balls of his feet, but staying grounded to his spot. The first few were easy enough to deflect, but soon his friend lashed out with new vigor. Faram performed a three-strike combo which he deflected, but after he deflected the third, he saw Faram exposed on his left and went for a thrust. The bear school witcher however was expecting this and deflected the thrust before spinning and holding his blade at Dominik's neck.

Dominik sighed and turned around to face his friend and see the smirking Geralt leaning against the building.

Faram tsked and shook his head, "The first few attempts were bloody good mate, but the last few slipped."

He shrugged and felt another cold chill through his chest, "I'm sorry… just can't get my mind off that fucking dream."

Geralt took a step away from the building and walked over to the two of them. His adopted father's armor had been polished along with his blades, which the sun sparkled off of. It wasn't raining which made him happy, the sun had been out and about over Novigrad that day, with a light wind that kept the heat from becoming unbearable. Zoltan had plenty of business on the inside of the Rosemary and Thyme, but he still of course let the three witcher's outside onto the green in the back to train.

The first few attempts he had with Faram in his continued training in bear school tactics had gone well like the bear school witcher had said. He was managing to hold his own against Faram now, while he wasn't a master, he assumed the form could at least be passable for him now. However, after he had told Geralt and Faram both about the dream he had during a break, it was still in the forefront of his mind. The girl's sparkling emerald eyes turning bright blue as power erupted from her, it reminded her of when he saw Ciri unleash her own power.

Geralt looked at him curiously, "You really saw this girl destroy half a forest?"

Nodded he turned to meet his adopted father's eyes, the shadows of all three witchers dominating the green.

"Yeah, they… killed her father, and she lost it. But the worst part was the end… with the Hunt," He said to the older Witcher.

Faram slowly shook his head, "I'd like to believe if the Wild Hunt attacked somewhere in Skellige I'd have known. Why would they attack the poor lass?"

The terrible thought creeped to his head again as he looked over to Geralt, "Geralt the girl could she… could she be like Ciri? Elder Blood?"

He felt himself wash over with relief when Geralt shook his head. The older Witcher rubbed his beard for a moment, his white hair flowing back from the breeze.

"Don't think so. If she was, and the Hunt got their hands on her, well they wouldn't be after Ciri right now," The older Witcher started, and Dominik felt the breath finally leave his chest before the older Witcher continued, "But from what you described… sounds like that girl might be a source."

The word plunged into his heart like a knife. Looking back on it now, when they had learned that Ciri was a source, was the beginning of them being separated. He knew from being with Ciri through her younger years how hard it was for her to control the magical abilities she had. Ciri was even more powerful of a source due to her elder blood, and he remembered the times she had unleashed her raw magical power to save him.

The first time had been just after Cintra, when he was riding to save her from the knight in the winged helmet. The knight was ready to run him through, the point of his blade was right at Dominik's stomach after he had knocked the man from his horse. He remembered Ciri's scream, how his ears bled, and he fell unconscious. She had woken him up a few moments later, the knight was still knocked out, Ciri had drug Dominik to his feet before they ran into the woods, beginning their time on the run.

The second time was a few days before Geralt had found them. Ciri and he had just stolen the horses Clip and Clop and rode off into a swamp. The two of them were camping there for the night, trying to plan on how to make it to Skellige. They had been attacked by a group of refugees from Cintra that had recognized Ciri. Their attackers knew of the bounty on Ciri's head and tried to take her. He tried everything he could to stop them, but he was much too small at the time. They had beat him, almost unconscious until Ciri had unleashed her powers again. Just like the girl in his dream, Ciri's powers had killed them all, it had been a miracle he survived himself.

He knew how dangerous being a source was, and his heart panged for the girl he had seen.

Faram looked between the two of them with a confused look, "Alright wanna tell me what the bloody hell a source is?"

Geralt looked over to the bear school witcher, "Sources are people born with powerful magical abilities. Their difficult to control for the people who are born like it. Stressful and dangerous situations sometimes drag those powers out even if they're not trained…. An untrained source can be dangerous because if they don't learn to control their powers… well it can eat at their minds and drive them mad, which could lead them to unleashing that power."

"Ciri's a source," Dominik added quickly for his friend to help him better understand, "She started training to control them with our friend Triss when we were 12, and later Yennefer. Ciri's more powerful then most… thanks to her blood."

He said the second part quietly to let nobody overhear, but Faram nodded quickly in understanding. The bear school witcher also watched to make sure nobody was around before turning back to Geralt and he.

"Bloody fucking hell… this woman of yours mate gets more powerful by the minute it seems," Faram said in a slight joking manner, "But from what you said, lass in your dream was about eighteen. How'd she manage to go so long without training?"

Shaking his head he sighed, "Don't know… all I know is she must have got attacked by the Wild Hunt. It was two years ago… right when Ciri came back, it can't be a coincidence."

The idea hung over his head, that somehow this girl in his dream was important. Important for the future that was to come, or else why would she have been shown to him in a dream? His thoughts were interrupted by Geralt placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Just relax, it could be just a dream in the end, we don't know," The older Witcher said reassuringly, "Let's focus on finding Ciri first. Maybe along the way we'll figure out more about this dream."

Sighing he looked up and met Geralt's yellow witcher eyes. He knew his adopted father was correct. As much as the dream had begun to bother him, he couldn't take his mind off their goal. Ciri was still out there, with the Wild Hunt on her tail, closing in on her. He looked down and saw the silver from the swallow pendant sparkling in the rays of the sun. She was what mattered. He heard her voice ring through his head again, deeper, older, more mature, womanlier then the last time he had seen her.

He would have given anything to have just gotten a single glimpse of her face in the dreams Corinne Tilly had given him.

"You're right, Ciri's what matters. Maybe we'll find something out more when we get to Skellige," He started, looking up to meet Geralt's eyes before continuing, "Are we all set to go see Priscilla?"

Geralt smiled and nodded, "Yeah should be. She should be able to tell us-."

"Look alive mates," Faram suddenly said cutting them off and making them both face him, the bear school witcher pointed towards the streets, "Looks like trouble is heading our way."

The three witchers all turned to see where Faram had been pointing. It was just now reaching the early morning when most people flooded the streets to begin their days. Outside of the Rosemary and Thyme, the streets of Novigrad began to fill with all sorts of folk going about their business. The gentle breeze combed through his brown hair, and a pleasant chill went down his spine. However, his spine had a jolt sent up it soon after when he saw the group of Redanian soldiers all making their way towards them. All of them wore plate armor over red gambesons. Two carried halberds, while the others all had blades and shields. The one in the lead was a balding man with stringy brown hair, with his nose so far in the air it was pointing towards the sky.

"Let me do the talking," Geralt said to the both of them, as the soldiers clanked towards them.

The captain at the center of them came to a stop, as the soldiers with halberds and swords filed out around them. He felt his hands twitch as alarm bells began to clang in his head. Next to him, he heard Faram crack his knuckles so loudly, one of the men took a step back in freight.

The captain cleared his throat, looking at Geralt, "Geralt of Rivia? The Witcher?"

"I am…" Geralt said slowly, looking at the men surrounding them, "Who's asking?"

The man didn't deign to give an answer, "His majesty King Radovid now requests your presence, after you completed your business with Whoreson Junior."

"He already knows about that…" Dominik said in disbelief from next to Geralt.

Geralt sighed, and looked at the captain, "And what does his majesty want from me?"

The captain shook his head, "Only that we bring you to him now, and only you. His majesty specifically stated your… boy is to stay here."

He felt a hot anger rise up his back, he went to take a step towards the man, when Geralt held his arm out. The older Witcher looked down at him and slowly shook his head.

Sighing Geralt turned back to the man, "Fine… I guess we shouldn't keep his majesty waiting," He said with his famous sarcasm.

"Geralt, what about what we-," He started, before his adopted father's head shot back to him.

"It'll have to wait… don't want Radovid as an enemy right now, I'll see what he wants and be back in a few hours," Geralt said quickly, cutting him off before he could say anything further.

Once again, he knew the older Witcher was correct. The last thing he needed currently while he was trying to find Ciri, was the rulers in both the north and south to want him dead. It would be impossible for him to finally find her with both Nilfgaardean's and Redanian's both on his tail. He had pissed of Emhyr already during his visit to Vizima and was going to anger him further. If Ciri didn't say that she wanted to go back to see him, he had absolutely no intentions of taking her back to that man, he would die before he forced her to go to him. If he added Radovid to the list of king's and emperor's who wanted him dead, there wouldn't be anywhere safe for him to currently go.

Sighing he looked up and gave Geralt a quick nod.

"Good," Geralt said quickly, reaching into his bag, and carefully pulling out the phylactery and handing it to him, "Take this to Triss, and see what she needed from us while your at it. I'll come find you in a few hours."

Carefully he took the gold and black box in his hands, and slipped it into his own bag, careful not to let any of the soldiers see it. He gave Geralt another nod and the older Witcher smiled lightly before turning back to the captain. Without another word the captain of the squad raised his hand and led them all from the backyard of the Rosemary and Thyme. He watched as Geralt looked back at him with one last reassuring nod before disappearing out the nearby gates with the group.

Sighing he felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. It was another day that Dandelion would have to rot in a dungeon now, and another day Ciri would get further out of their reach. However, the idea of going to see Triss, helping her with whatever business it was that she had gave him some small hope for the day. The last time he did see the sorceress, she had been severely shaken after her torture in the Witch Hunter's barracks. Also, it was his hope that she could tell him more about the phylactery and possibly what was inside, along with why Ciri would be so intent on getting it opened.

He turned to see Faram carefully watching over the streets, the bear school witcher scowled and turned back to him.

"Feel like coming with me? Could use the company, and you can finally meet Triss," Dominik asked his friend.

Faram sighed and shook his head apologetically, "Can't today I'm sorry mate. Need to head down to the harbor, need to gather a few more crew members for the voyage. Should be around harborside, near the crane, gonna earn myself a few new crew members, if you really need me though."

"Where are you getting all the coin for this," He asked, wondering the answer for a while.

Faram tossed his head back and laughed, "BAH I don't use coin to hire most of them. Some of them I kill monsters for, go collect debts for, others I challenge to a fist fight, plenty of ways to earn loyal crew members."

He felt himself scoff out a laugh before sighing, "Well… guess I'm on my own for the day then. Don't wanna go see Triss right away, wanna wait a bit for the streets to clear."

The bear school Witcher laughed and clapped him on the back, "Ha, don't worry mate. I'm sure you'll think of something to keep yourself occupied."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Faram had been right to a degree, he was able to keep himself busy for a short while. He thought it would be a bad idea to go and see Triss at the busiest moment of the day. If he, a man who had been seen in the company of other Witcher's was seen skulking around with a woman that had a hood, he was afraid he could draw unwanted attention to Triss and himself. So during the early morning, when most people were out for their day, he decided to get some errands done.

The sun was high, but the cool breeze from the morning kept his body relaxed. His brown hair gently blew through the air, as he walked through the bits. The streets had slowly started to empty as the day went on, and he was getting dreadfully bored by window shopping. He had gone to the armor in Hierarch Square to get his armor polished and oiled. The wolven armor sparkled in the sun now, and it couldn't help but make him feel slightly better. He also got his sword and dagger sharpened, before visiting the halfling herbalist. The halfling had given him the ingredients he needed, and he brewed a few oils and more bombs.

The herbalist had been so impressed by his skill that he even offered Dominik a discount on future goods to help such a promising alchemist. Little did the man know becoming an expert on bombs and oils was the only way he survived through the years. He was always careful when selecting his contracts during his time alone, needing to make sure he had the right oils and bombs to deal with whatever monster was prowling. After finally getting more oils and bombs made and tucked away on his belt, he decided to go to the barber. He shaved his beard so that now instead of patchy stubble, he was clean shaven.

He had done all of that and it was still barely midday.

His hands twitched as he walked through the bits. The dream that he had seen with the young woman on Skellige had driven him mad all day, that along with the realization that another day where they could be on Ciri's trail was being squandered thanks to Radovid. He pulled up his sleeve and the sun reflected off the swallow that was now tattooed on his arm. It reminded him of her voice from the dream Corinne Tilly had gave her.

"Whatever you were doing… I hope you're safe," He said, looking down at the swallow on his arm, and the pendant around his neck as he walked.

The sun beat down on his neck, but the breeze kept him cool. People stared at him from the ground as he walked by. He assumed that the people of the bits weren't used to people who were dressed and looked like him walking through.

He was close to her. Dandelion would know why she was here to the specifics. Perhaps she had told him what the curse was, or the thing he was wondering most. Was she trying to lift, or cast a curse? And if she was trying to lift it, who was it off of, was it off herself?

The bits were a slum as he had heard, the idea that Triss was forced to live there made his skin crawl. He was navigating his way through the narrow streets when he heard a voice.

"Let me go you fucking clowns," He heard screamed from nearby.

His eyes tore away from the swallow's and his ears perked up. A large towering, rundown town house was too his right. On his left were multiple alleyway's and people now screaming and running. His hands twitched and went up to his blade, as he scanned the streets. A few people ran and tripped past him, but he saw where the commotion was coming from. In the streets to the left, he saw a group of Whoreson Junior's men. The surprisingly pleasant yet aggravating evening he had been having, turned sour. He remembered Whoreson's lair from the night before, he had no idea what his men were still doing out on the streets, but a horrible idea came to him. Had Geralt and he killing Whoreson set them loose?

The group that he saw was about eight large, they were all carrying swords, maces and blackjacks. The largest one of the group, a towering man with a longsword at his hip, was dragging a blonde-haired woman by the leg into a small alcove leading to an alley. The woman wasn't going down without a fight, she kicked her foot at the larger man, smacking it into his hands which made him drop her. She tried to get up and run, but the other men quickly grabbed her arms and yanked her back down to the ground.

The woman wasn't wearing a dress or skirt. She had on long brown trousers and black high boots. Black gloves were on her hands, and she wore a white shirt underneath a tightly strapped black gambeson, a large brown bag slung over her back. Something tickled at the back of his brain as the woman looked familiar. He was trying to figure out what he knew her from, but quickly stopped when he saw her being dragged down into the alley.

"You better pray that I don't get out you fucks," She screamed louder as they drug her through the mud out of his view.

He moved his hand to the hilt of his blade and took off in a run towards the alcove. The alcove led to a large alley, where he could see the footprints and drag marks in the mud from where they had taken the woman.

Witcher's saved people. That was something that he and Ciri had always believed back in Kaer Morhen. They killed monsters, saved villages and people. However, as he knew sometimes men were the monsters, and he would continue to save people from monsters whenever he could. There had been plenty of times that he had taken a contract on what villagers thought was a monster, but it turned out to be groups of bandits. It never made a difference to him, he would help people whenever he can, just like how Ciri and he planned to do. Just like he knew Geralt would.

Geralt would never leave the woman to the mercy of Whoreson's thugs. And after how he saw their old boss treated them, neither would he.

He gripped tightly to his blade and followed the tracks down an alley between two buildings. One way went straight out to a far street, but the tracks veered off to the right, which led out to what seemed to be some shop's backyard. Scaffolding, old wood, barrels, crates and other random goods all stacked about. When he peered his head around the corner, he saw the group of men, they tossed the blonde woman to the ground, and all stood around her as she sprang up from the mud, no weapon in hand but still looking as if she would try to fight her way out.

"Let me go, right now," The girl yelled, turning back and forth, facing every man, "I swear I'll kill every single one of you."

He watched the situation unfold; the larger man scoffed from behind his clown mask.

"Will you shut your fucking mouth you dumb wench," The clown yelled, shoving the woman back to the ground when she tried to throw herself at him with a fist.

"We sure she's the one," Another clown yelled in a nasally voice next to the first.

The larger clown seemed to narrow his eyes towards the woman again, "Yeah… has to be. Blonde hair, yay tall… yeah should be. Reward was awfully high."

The woman scoffed again and picked a large rock up from the ground. She threw it with all her strength towards the largest man, smacking him in the head. The clown man hadn't been looking so he stumbled back grabbing his now bloody eye. He yelled before turning back to the woman.

"OWW, you dumb BITCH," The man yelled, looking back towards all the men surrounding the woman, "She's wanted alive, but not whole, get her lads!"

The woman's tough act finally seemed to show cracks, she whirled around to the men enclosing her. She went to punch one man but was grappled. She screamed and he finally felt himself move. He tore off from the wall, his sword drawn and rushed out to the group of men, just as two of the men had gripped the woman by her arms.

"Here's what's going to happen," He yelled in a loud, demanding voice. There was no way he was going to let Whoreson's men cause anymore trouble.

All of the men turned to him, the woman stopped screaming, her arms still gripped up by the clowns. He got a quick look at the woman, long curly blonde hair, and eyes the color of the bright sky above them. The woman's eyes went completely wide when she saw him, but he didn't focus on her then. Eight against one, he certainly had face worse odds before, however he knew he couldn't be too careful. Two men kept the woman bound by the arms, while a few circled around him. The largest of them all stood in front of him and turned around just as he was about to strike the woman again.

He felt his blood begin to race even faster again, none of the men were heavily armored as he expected however he needed to focus on getting the woman to safety.

After he had their attention, he spoke up again, pointing his sword towards the men.

"You're going to let that woman go, and walk away… NOW, that's option A," He started, making a few of the men shift and other's sneer, he locked eyes again with the larger man, the leader of them, "Or you can pick option B. You can continue doing what you're doing. We'll fight, and I'll slaughter you all just like I did to Whoreson."

He put extra emphasis into his voice, and at the mention of their old bosses name a few of the men began to faulter. The sun beat down, casting all of their shadows over the yard, as his voice echoed off the building surrounding them. He thought for a moment that his intimidation might actually work, however the largest of the men sneered and spit in his direction.

"I recognize you, saw you leaving the estate last night. You and some other bastard were the one's who killed Whoreson," He spit out, the anger rising below his clown paint and mask, "You'll pay for what you did. Who the fuck are you anyway!"

Their leaders words seemed to slightly reinvigorate the men around him, as they all finally drew swords and maces. Turning back around to the leader, he gently placed his hands around the wolf medallion. He held it out for the men to all see, knowing that the idea of fighting or angering a Witcher frightened some men.

"See this medallion, know what it means!? If you do, then I suggest you take option A. Drop the woman and fuck off, now," He said, his voice growing darker as some of the men did seem to recognize the wolf head.

The last person he expected to recognize it, however, was the woman who was still being held by two of the clown men. He saw her eyes go wide as she shook her head.

"No way… absolutely no way… it's really you," She said slowly, looking up to meet his eyes as she was restrained.

Her voice got his attention, he turned to her and their eyes locked for a moment. He felt a tingle go down his spine, a bomb explode in his stomach, and his heart begin to pump at a more alarming rate then it ever had. He remembered now where he had seen the woman. It was clear in his mind now. Her hair had gotten longer, her face more defined and shaped, but her eyes still shined the same sky-blue color. He knew the eyes, he could never forget them, they had looked down at him for months in Ellander all those years ago.

"Freya…." He said, his voice slightly breaking, not wanting to believe what his eyes had seen.

Freya didn't have time to say anything else, because the large clown man in front of them shouted.

"Come on boys, kill'em! For Whoreson," He shouted, pulling the longsword from his belt.

He was about to lunge forward to meet the man, but before any of them did anything Freya sprang into action. She stamped her boot onto the foot of one of the men holding her. The clown man wailed, and his grip loosened just enough for her to move her arm. She elbowed the one man in the gut, before smacking her head backward into the head of the second man holding her. She was finally free and reached down to the waist of one of her attackers and yanked his sword from his belt. She twirled the blade quickly once before jabbing it into the man's stomach. He died instantly, and Freya spun back around to slice across her second attackers chest.

He barely had enough time to scoff, completely amazed before a voice rang behind him. Whirling around he saw a man charging at him, he sidestepped and sliced across the man's back, before spinning to his next set of opponents. Two came at him at once, he parried strikes from all angles, before ducking under one strike, and slicing his blade across a mans legs. That man fell to the ground, he took the advantage and spun, swinging his sword with both hands to the man's neck, lopping his head clean off. He continued his spin, coming up to parry another blow. Moving with perfect footwork and spinning once more and cut across the back of the mans neck and ended him.

Over to his right, he saw a blonde whirlwind fight off more of the thugs. Freya raised her smaller arms and parried a series of strikes from one man, kicking the first attacker in the knee to send him off balance. She then spun gracefully and parried a strike from a man coming behind her. Looking over to the left of the woman, he saw the larger man charge towards her. He saw that she didn't notice the larger clown man, so he charged himself. Thrusting his blade forward he stabbed through the man's side, just before he could strike at Freya. She parried a blow and turned to see him, her blue eyes wide with shock.

"What are you doing here," She hissed at him, turning to parry another series of strikes from two attackers.

Not many were left but they all converged on the two of them, now they were both back to back, fighting side by side. He parried two blows and spun to Freya's side, blocking another strike coming for her.

"I was trying to save you," He reasoned with the woman, deflecting another set of blows from a man.

Over the clanging of steel, he heard Freya scoff, "I don't need saving. Especially not from you!"

He watched as the woman parried a strike, before ducking another, getting low and cutting her blade across a man's stomach. The second man that had been attacking her spun back around to swing a mace at her. She caught the heavy iron head on the blade of her sword, pushing her attackers weapon upwards, before going under his arm and stabbing him through the back.

Again he almost had his head smashed in because he was too busy watching. However, he heard the man's footsteps steps and turned back around. He parried the last man's mace, and spun around him, bringing his blade up and cutting it across the man's throat. He finished his spin, and came to a stop, ending up face to face with Freya.

In a dank alleyway in the bits of Novigrad, was the last place he ever expected to see Freya again, if he ever saw her at all. Freya Kaminski of Ellander, was the only woman who ever made him break his feelings for Ciri. She was startlingly beautiful, tall, and slender, with her long curly blonde hair, and eyes the color of the clear blue sky above them. It would have been the dream of any man to be with a woman such as her, beautiful, kind and intelligent, the doctor's assistant in Ellander from when she was very young.

She had helped the doctor in Ellander keep him from dying when he was seventeen, after Geralt had carried him there. He had just fought and killed a bounty hunter that had come looking for him, demanding information about Ciri's location. Dominik had managed to kill his attacker, but was severely wounded, luckily Geralt who had been looking for him, found him and took him to Freya and the doctor.

He was bedridden for weeks, and for those weeks Freya had tending to him. She learned everything about him in that time. From what happened to him in Cintra, to his training at Kaer Morhen, and even about his search for Ciri. She had been a source of comfort, she listened, understood, knew when to ask for more details and when to not. It was during this time, his third year searching for Ciri, his second year completely alone, that things had begun to turn even worse. The loneliness, the longing, the need for a type of companionship.

Freya had kissed him the day he went to leave… and he ended up staying in Ellander for many more months until just after his eighteenth birthday. For those months he found comfort in her, going on walks, picking flowers, brewing new potions, laying by a fire, watching stars. She had been one of the most tender, caring, and sweet people he had ever met in her life.

However, when he saw her then, five years later, she looked far from happy to see him.

"It… it's you, it's really you…" He said, his mouth hanging open, feeling the hair on his arms stand up, and his heart race a mile a second. It wasn't often that he got nervous over the years. He had been nervous to go and see Geralt again, he had been nervous to meet the Emperor of Nilfgaard.

He had never felt his blood race that fast, his gut swirling so hard. Until he finally found Ciri again, this was going to be at the top of the list for the most nervous he had ever felt. An idea crossed his head to ask Geralt how he did it, face the woman who you'd been intimate with before. Freya and him had never been intimate, despite the fact they had come close, but his heart still swirl, as his intestines felt as if they were being stabbed by multiple needles.

Freya scoffed, the sun shining off her blonde hair, casting her shadow over him.

"Yes Dominik it's me, now pick your jaw up off the floor," She said with an eye roll, reaching down and wiping the blood from the sword off on the dead mans clothes. After she was done, she slid the sword into her belt and turned around to face him, her arms crossed.

His voice was almost lost to him. He remembered during his years searching for Ciri, he would make an annual trip to Ellander on her birthday, to be in the last place they had been together. During these visits he would normally see Freya, but she simply meet his eyes before disappearing. It came to his mind that in the last two years he hadn't seen her. He thought that she perhaps got married, moved off somewhere else. He often thought what he would say to her if he ever saw her again, after leaving her so suddenly.

All plans had gone out the window when he opened his mouth.

"Um, how… how… uh… have you been since I last saw you," He asked her, carefully sliding his sword back onto his back.

Freya laughed heartily, an actual laugh as she tossed her head back. She tossed her blonde hair behind her shoulder's and turned back to him with a sarcastic smile, walking towards him with her arms crossed.

"Oh so you want to know how I've been? Let's see," She said, slowly walking in a circle around him, "After you spent almost half a year, telling me you were falling in love with me, kissing me, holding me, and spending so many romantic evenings with me, only for me to see you were going to leave in the middle of the night without so much as a word, I've been just peachy."

He felt his eyes widened as the needles began to stab deeper into his stomach, the hair on his body standing up, "Freya you don't understand I'm so sorry for-."

"Oh but you wanted to know how I was doing didn't you," She said sharply, cutting him off and whirling around to meet his eyes. He tried to formulate a response, but when he couldn't she continued.

She laughed sarcastically again, "So, after you tried to leave me without telling me, I completed my training with Old Eustace for the next two years. I went to the academy in Oxenfurt to study, only to have my education interrupted by this fucking war."

His blood began to get even colder, as Freya began to pace around him again.

The woman scoffed shaking her head, a look of fiery fury appearing in her blue eyes, "I was yanked from my lessons only months before I could've gotten my degree to open my own practice. I was thrust onto the front lines against the Nilfgaardeans as a battlefield medic. I was forced to cut off limbs, sew guts back together without using potions or anything that could be considered magic!"

He couldn't think of anything to say. The fury that she exhumed almost made him back up, but he saw her eyes fall. For a moment he saw the eyes of the girl he had thought he was falling in love with all those years ago. She turned back to him, and her blue eyes met his, he could see the horror inside of them.

"I…I was forced to sit by, while I watched my unit hang and burn alchemists, soothsayers, herbalist, pellars… some weren't even magical," She said, her voice getting lower, as she looked down at her hands, the sun casting her shadow over the wall, "Some of them were just accused by neighbors they had pissed off… but did they get a trial? A chance to defend themselves? NO, they were burned anyway, and I had to sit back and watch!"

"Freya… I… I'm sorry-," He tried to start saying, but then she cut him off with a glare.

The fire returned to her eyes as she finally turned back to meet his gaze, "Finally I got sick of it, so I ran, I deserted. On my way out, my commanding officer caught me, tried to rape me, so I stabbed him, and ran. Now, I'm a wanted criminal on the streets of Novigrad. I was just almost captured and raped AGAIN, by a group of clowns."

He couldn't figure out any words to say to her. She had seen the horrors that the war had brough, the violence, the rape, the death, the burnings. He remembered Freya from when he first met her, she was kind, gentle, caring, always willing to do whatever she needed to make him feel comfortable. It was a part of the reason he had thought he'd fallen for her. However, now she seemed angry, regretful, and tired.

She sighed deeply, before giving him a large fake smile, "I'm broke, my ONE friend who I escaped with is missing, I've no idea around this fucking city," She started, before looking deeply into his green eyes, "And now I've seen you again. The one man who I ever fell in love with, and also the first to break my heart. So to answer your question Dominik, I've been fucking fantastic how about you?"

After listening to her story, he felt himself sigh. She was still angry, even after all of the years. It had been one of the many things he had regretted over the years, how he had left her. It was as she said, he was going to leave in the night. He realized the truth, that he was just using her. She had just been the temporary medicine he was feeding himself, to patch the wound that had been left by Ciri disappearing. He had used her to heal himself, but eventually it stopped working. He couldn't kiss her, hold her or lay with her without yearning, wishing for it to be Ciri next to him.

She had caught him about to leave. They screamed at each other, she told him that she loved him, begged him to stay, but he couldn't. She had left his room crying that night, and it was at that moment he realized. Realized that no matter what women he met, how beautiful, how wonderful they were, nobody would ever replace Ciri for him.

It didn't mean however he didn't still care for Freya, want the best for her.

Sighing, he felt his stomach calm as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that…. And I'm sorry for leaving like I did. I…I never meant to hurt you," He said slowly, not taking his eyes from hers.

The sun shone between them both, both of their shadows intersecting. The mud eagerly lapped up the blood pooling from the dead thugs around them, and the breeze blew through their hair.

Freya laughed and shook her head, clapping her hands together, "Oh you never meant to hurt me? Well, fuck I guess that makes it all better then!"

He felt himself sigh as he shook his head, "I know that-."

"No you don't know, you don't fucking know," She hissed at him quickly, crossing her arms and looking at the ground for a moment. She let out a loud huff before looking back up at him, "Despite what happened… I guess I should thank you. Probably wouldn't have ended well for me if you hadn't shown."

Her eyes lightened up a small bit, not as hard as before. Letting out a shaky sigh, he ran a hand through his brown hair. He looked to meet her eyes again and he nodded.

"You're welcome… I'm glad I could help," He said to her, trying to not sound as nervous as he felt.

She nodded her head, before adjusting the strap on her bag and reluctantly meeting his eyes, "Well, I don't want to lie and say it was a pleasure seeing you… but again thanks for your help. I need to get going, before more people come looking for me."

An alarm bell went off inside his head, he remembered what she had said about herself being wanted, and Whoreson's men had intended on going to collect a bounty for her. He knew firsthand how dangerous the streets of Novigrad could be. Reaching he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, which she quickly shook off, turning back around to face him.

He shook his head, crossing his arms, meeting her eyes again, "Listen… it's not my business to pry I know-."

"But you're going to do it anyway aren't you," Freya muttered, crossing her arms over her gambeson as she looked at him.

His initial shock at seeing her was finally starting to wear off. He sighed, finally feeling his regular voice come back to him, "You said you're wanted. So how come you haven't left Novigrad yet? Even without much coin, it's still dangerous to be here."

Freya scoffed at him, "And why do you even care?"

A small twinge of anger flared up inside of him as he met her eyes, "Because despite what you might think, I don't want you to get hurt. Novigrad's dangerous, why haven't you left yet?"

The woman's tough act faltered for a moment, but she kept their eyes locked, "If you must know, I didn't desert alone. A friend helped and came with me, Damien. He said if we headed to Novigrad, he had some friends who could help us get coin in our hands. More coin that could've helped get me back to Ellander, and him back to his home in Kaedwin."

He remembered something else that she had said to him when she was telling her story. Crossing his arms he nodded, "Yeah… but you told me your friend was missing?"

For once she didn't scoff at him, simply looking down at the bloody mud below them and nodding.

"Yes… we had enough coin scrapped together to get rooms at the golden sturgeon," She started, before turning up to meet his eyes, "Two nights ago he left. Told me he was going to meet some of his friends, once that could get the coin into our hands. I…haven't seen him since. I was going to the spot near harborside he said they were supposed to meet when those clowns grabbed me."

Nodding he crossed his arms again. The sun was just nearly reaching its apex at that moment, signaling just around midday. There was still plenty of time for him to go see Triss, he didn't want to leave Freya alone. After seeing her attacked, he at least wanted to help her find her friend, someone else who could look after her. It was the least that he could do for her, after what he had done.

"I could come with you if you want. I'm a pretty good tracker if you remember," He said carefully, not wanting her to start screaming at him again.

She gave him a fake scoff, "Oh my how noble of you to offer your aid! I'm sure all the women you've met over the last five years have just loved that noble side of you."

He felt something stir up in his chest, an agitated feeling hit him as he scoffed at her, "Well you know, it wasn't the smartest idea wondering Novigrad yourself. I just wanted to offer my help."

"I can take care of myself," She hissed back at him, "I don't need you… not anymore. I won't throw myself at you, begging for your help, I won't do that again."

The words hit him, and he felt himself sigh again. He had done a horrible thing to the woman, he had broken her heart, hurt her. It had never been his intention, he just realized that he could never love someone other then Ciri. However, he decided that in that moment he would try and make it up to her.

Shaking his head he met her eyes, "I'm the one offering. Come on, it'll be dangerous for you walking around alone. I know you can take care of yourself I just want to… well…"

Freya realized what he was trying to say and laughed again, "Ha, you want to make it up to me? You think helping me find my friend will make me forget what you put me through?"

Quickly he shook his head, "I don't think it will. Freya, I understand what I did hurt you, I really do and… and I'm sorry, you may not believe me but I am. Please, I'm a Witcher, tracking is part of my job. Let me help you find your friend, and after we do, I'll leave you be."

He meant every word he had spoken. It was truly only his intention to help her, to try and put his mind at ease. Also he could see the desperation in the woman's eyes when she spoke. He could see that desperate situation she was in. If he was in her shoes, he'd want someone to help him.

And despite what she thought he did care for her, he wanted to help her.

His words seemed to finally strike a chord with the woman. Sighing, she reached back and tightly tied her hair into a ponytail. The curly blonde locks fell down her back as she sighed, adjusting the new sword on her belt.

She turned to him before sighed, and nodding her head, "Fine… I guess I could use some help. Don't have nothing to pay you with though. Isn't that part of your Witcher's code?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, before meeting her blue eyes and shaking his head, "Normally yes but… I don't want any kind of payment. You're in need and… well I just want to help."

Freya fake gasped in surprise as well, "Again such a noble gesture! Again you must have been so popular with the ladies on the path. The noble young Witcher!"

The comment again sparked something inside of him. Little did she know, he hadn't been with any women, besides her during his time alone. After what had happened with Freya, was when he realized he wouldn't ever want anyone other then Ciri. However, he didn't respond and only shook his head.

"Where was your friend due to meet these people," he asked her.

She adjusted the straps of her gambeson, and tied her brown bag tightly around her body, "In an alley near harborside, said they were some old friends who could buy some of the thing's we collected from battlefields. I know where it is, he described it in detail."

Nodded he adjusted the strap of his sword around his back and gestured for her to move, "Alright, come on let's get moving."

Rolling her eyes at him one last time she waved for him to follow, "Alright… just try to keep up."

He followed her as they two of them began to walk back towards the streets. A deep sigh of relief came from his chest, as they got into the streets without drawing too much attention. Faram had truly been right when he left the Rosemary and Thyme. He certainly had found something to occupy himself.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"So, I wanted to ask," He said carefully, as the two of them maneuvered the streets. She looked back at him for a moment and he continued, "Where did you learn to fight like that? To be honest you're the last person I would've guessed could take a man down like that."

They had walked to harborside mostly in silence. Freya hadn't looked over at him, keeping her eyes on the road as he followed. Whenever they walked past a group of guards, she'd looked down at the ground and lower her head. The streets had finally begun to slightly clear as the sun slowly continued its cycle. The day had grown even hotter, and the sun's rays shone off of Freya's blonde hair. They had gotten to harborside just as it seemed to be around 2 o'clock, and the waves gently crashed into the docks. The salty sea air hit his nose as they passed stands selling fish and other goods from trade routes.

Freya laughed, finally ending the silence between them both, "Ha, I didn't always live with Eustace. My father was from Skellige, had a sword in my hand as soon as I was old enough to hold one."

He looked at her curiously. In his months in Ellander with her, he had been under the impression that Eustace the local doctor was Freya's guardian, since she stayed at his house when she didn't spent the night with him at the inn.

"To be honest I… always thought Eustace was your guardian," He said to her, as they passed by the Golden Sturgeon.

She rolled her eyes but managed a laugh, "Ha… Eustace wasn't. My mum and dad lived in town. I visited them often, I just lived with Eustace during my apprenticeship."

"How come I never met them," He asked her, as they got closer towards the docks.

The words he chose were the wrong one's because Freya stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he could see the anger, the fury flare up again… but could also see the sadness glossed over in her blue eyes.

"Because, the first boy I brought home when I was fifteen, my father nearly smashed his head with a mace," She said, her tone low, a mixture of emotions as she met his eyes, "I was in love with you. Didn't want to bring you to see them and have him scare you off…. Turns out my decision not too was a good one."

Again he felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He knew that in the end it had been the right thing to leave Freya, to stop using her. However, the way he had gone about it when he was younger had been a terrible thing to do. Sighing he looked and met her eyes.

"Freya… I'm sorry, how many times do I have to say that," He said, his tone almost pleading.

She scoffed, but this time she didn't seem angry. Her eyes looked up and met his, and he could see a shame, a sadness to her eyes.

"I laid everything out for you… I would have left to travel with you. You were the first one I ever gave my complete heart too," She said, turning from him for a moment and sighing, before turning to meet his eyes again, "None of that matters now. You moved on I'm sure."

The words hit him again, and he shook his head, "Freya you don't understand… I was using you. I… I tried I really did but… but it was just-."

"I know, I remember trust me," She said, a tinge of bitterness to her voice, "A great excuse it was… I'm sure that you never stopped looking."

"Freya, I didn't-," He tried to fire back right away, only for her to cut him off by turning around, gesturing down another alley.

"Damien was supposed to meet his contacts here, come on," She said, walking away from him down the alley.

He stood there as she walked, thinking of what she said. It had been true, he never stopped looking, but Freya clearly didn't believe him. He had told Freya about Ciri of course, but never really explained the full nature of their relationship. All he had told Freya, was that Ciri was his best friend who had been lost, and that he was looking for her for the years he had been on the road. He didn't tell her he was in love with Ciri until he had tried to leave.

Looking back on what he had done now, he could see how suddenly telling Freya he was in love with Ciri, could have been seen as an excuse. He had made many mistakes in the last eight years, separating from Geralt to travel on his own. Welling in his own despair, not putting everything he had into the search for Ciri, only traveling and lamenting the fact he had lost her. All of those things had been mistakes. However, one he regretted highly, was how he treated the relationship Freya and he had. She was such a kind, and understanding person, if he been honest with her from the beginning, he knew she would have understood.

His thoughts were interrupted by her screams. He heard them come from down the alley and his head shot down where she had walked. Drawing his sword from his back he rushed down the narrow pass to where she was standing.

"Freya! What is…. Fuck…. Fucking dammit…" He said softly after he saw the scene, coming to a stop next to her.

The alley led to another enclosed one like where they had fought earlier. It was filled with old barrels, wood, and other materials for construction and building. It was enclosed except for the alley they had come down, and a large wooden gate that he assumed led to the opposite street.

"Damien! No…." Freya managed to yell, falling to her knee's next to the body.

Blood covered the yard. Five bodies all were littered about. Blood covered the walls, the barrels, the wood everything in the area. A few of the bodies were missing limbs, arms ripped off, legs cleaved in half. One man was impaled onto a piece of wood sticking out from an old scaffolding. Another lay impaled by his own blade against the wall, his chest sliced clean open, while another was missing both arms, his lifeless eyes wide open in fear in the middle of the yard.

The man who Freya knelt next too seemed to have gotten it the worse. He was a larger, stockier man, with a head of greying brown hair, and a bushy mustache. One of his legs had been separated from his body, laying just inches from him. His stomach had been ripped open, his guts spilling out onto the grass. He was wearing only a white cotton top with brown trousers. Whatever had killed him, he had stood no chance against. He lay up against an old barrel, his head slumped to one side, his eyes were open, completely lifeless. Around his neck was a golden pendant, with what looked like a gold flower at the end.

Freya held his hand, unable to take her eyes off the man's lifeless ones. The rough, tougher girl he had been talking too for the last hours or so, finally cracked. She sobbed, the tears finally starting to stream from her eyes.

"No… no, no…. god's please no… Damien," She said between sobs, squeezing the man's lifeless hand.

He had encountered situations like this plenty of times before. A wife would ask him to go find her missing husband in the forest… and he'd have to come back to her, to deliver the unfortunate news that he had been killed by a monster. Many times he had to take the widow, or the man to their lovers, or their child's corpses in the woods to confirm it was them. Every time it hurt him on the inside. Witcher's were supposed to save people, they were supposed to protect the populace from monsters. Geralt had told him in Velen, that sometimes you just couldn't save everyone. It was a hard lesson but a true one.

However, he felt his eyes sting, seeing Freya so distraught, over the body of her friend. He blinked a few times to keep the tears back before he carefully knelt down to his knees next to the mans body. Freya paid him no mind, her head falling as tears continued to stream down her face. With every sob he heard from her, he had to blink. Carefully he reached his hand over to Damien's face, and ran his hand down the man's head, closing his eyes.

"Freya…" He said softly, but the girl didn't look up at him. She continued to sob, and he sighed before continuing, not taking his eyes off her, "I… I'm so sorry…"

She sobbed one more time, looking back up at him. Her blue eyes were turning red underneath, as she quickly raised her hands up to wipe the tears from her eyes. She tried to compose herself, but he could see her lip quiver. Sobbing again she shook her head.

"It's not fair…. It's not fucking fair," She said, her voice growing hard through the tears, "He's not even Redanian! He's from Kaedwen, he ran a flower shop before they chucked him into the army after Radovid invaded!"

He felt his fist curl at the mention of Redania's mad king. As much as he despised Emhyr and the Black Ones, Radovid had sewn just as much pain and misery across lands. Freya sniffled a few times before looking up at him again.

"I… I had to treat him after a battle where his shoulder was nearly ripped open," She started again, her voice growing harder, "I… didn't know how else to save him, so… I brewed a potion, would've probably gotten hanged if they found out. He… he looked out for me after that, stopped some of the men from ogling, and trying to make passes at me."

"He… sounds like he was a great man," He said quietly, trying for a calming voice.

Freya sobbed one more time and let out a shaky breath, using her hands to wipe her face again. She shook her head and met his eyes again, "One of the best I ever met. He… he told me that I reminded him of his daughter… her name was Rose. He was going to go back to them after we left."

He felt his own stomach begin to churn. Whatever had happened in the alley had been a complete massacre, and he was certain of one thing. No person had done this, no man or woman had killed Damien and his friends. It had to have been a monster, he didn't need to be a Witcher to determine that.

It was a monster, and he was going to find it.

Freya shakily let out a breath. He looked over and saw her gently reach around the lifeless man's neck, removing the golden flower chain. Carefully she let out another shaky breath and pulled her bag around to her front. She squeezed the chain one last time, before dropping it into her bag. After she had closed it, she reached down and grabbed Damien's lifeless hand once more.

"I'm going to bring this back to Molly and Rose… I promise, but first," She said, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. She reopened her blue iris's and he could see them filled with a new fire before she spoke again, "I'm going to find whoever did this… and I WILL kill them."

He was about to say something, when her now fiery blue eyes turned over to him. The sadness and the tears were now gone and replaced by a fierce determination.

"Dominik… I know I've been a bit of a bitter shrew since I've seen you but… will you help me," She said, her voice hard and dangerous.

Slowly he nodded his head, meeting her eyes, trying for a calming look, "Of course I will. First off, I can say this for certain… no man or woman did this. It was definitely a monster."

Quickly she nodded, her eyes not leaving his, "I guess it was a good thing I ran into you then. Can… can you figure out what it was?"

He racked his brain, trying to think of a clue. The scene had caught him off guard, he didn't have the chance to really check anything yet. However, there was plenty of evidence, and had figured out a monster's identity with less. Just a few weeks before in Claywitch there had been far less clues then there were then.

He nodded to Freya and spoke in a calming tone, knowing she was a powder keg waiting to explode.

"I think I can yeah, I've had less to go on before and was still able to," he said, being careful when speaking his next few words, "Freya… I know it's hard but… I'm going to have to examine Damien's body."

He expected some sarcastic or snarky retort, but Freya quickly nodded, letting go of Damien's hand gently, and nodding towards his corpse.

"Do what you have too," She said, moving her hands from the body.

Letting out a deep breath he nodded to her, before turning to Damien's body. It hadn't been the worst body he had ever seen. There had been times where he quite literally found people torn to little pieces by werewolves or other beasts. The first thing he looked at was the stomach, where the mans intestines were strewn onto the ground. He gently moved over bits of the man's guts, and saw more of his chest and stomach, before noticing the wounds.

Gently he pointed towards the man's chest, which had also been slashed.

"Deep horizontal cuts across the chest…" He said slowly, carefully running his hands over the mans chest cavity.

"Sword wounds after all," Freya asked hopefully.

He looked over to her and slowly shook his head, "No… normal man with a sword wouldn't be able to cut this deep. Whatever cut him… it had immense power. It feels like it cut clean across his ribs, collapsed them onto his lungs."

Freya audibly shook and he quickly looked up to her, "Sorry… didn't mean too-."

"No," She said quickly, cutting him, "I want to know everything, go on hurry up."

Nodding he quickly turned back to the body. He examined closer towards the mans stomach, and carefully ran his hand over the mans back. Sure enough as he expected, he found an exit wound on his back, with more of the mans guts spilling out there. Whatever had killed him had punctured clear through his stomach.

"Stabbed clear through the stomach," he said, pulling his hand back and looking to Freya, "This was definitely the wound that killed him. Beast cut him across the chest first, then pierced through his abdomen…. Freya can you look away, I hate this part."

"What is it, I told you I don't-," She started.

"Just please do it," He said quickly, always dreading the part he had to do next.

Freya looked at him skeptically one more time but turned on her knees to face the other way. The hot sun beat down on his neck, and the flies had begun to buzz around the dead, attracted to the smell of the corpse.

He knew whatever killed the men had immense power. The first monster he thought of was a werewolf, remembering that there had been a full moon two nights prior. Signs could point to one, but he needed to perform one more step to make sure.

"Sorry about this Damien…" he said to the corpse, before plunging both of his hands into the man's strewn out guts.

He moved away the intestines and the smell almost made him gag. If it was a werewolf that had killed the men, then the liver would more then likely be missing. While he searched for the liver, another thing made him take notice. The blood or lack there off. Very little blood was seeping out and staining his black gloves. Another idea trickled into his head, and it was all but confirmed when he found the mans liver still in his guts. Quickly he tore his hands out and took one quicker look at the body.

Freya had gotten up and he could see her examining other parts of the yard. He looked back to the body again, and he noticed one more peculiar thing. Dried blood had trickled from the mans ear. With what light there was from the sun, he could see congealed blood in the mans ears.

"Gotta be some kind of vampire… good thing I made those oils," He said to himself, taking one last look at the corpse of Damien, before standing up.

He took a quick second to look over the other bodies and saw similar injuries in all of them. Another thing he noticed, was that it appeared as if they had all died quickly. Two of the men had swords on their belt but weren't drawn, indicating they indeed died quickly, unable to defend themselves. He was just about to look for any type of trail when Freya yelled to him.

"Dominik come here check this out," She yelled to him, making him turn to her.

He jogged over to where she was standing near the gate. The large oaken gate was shut, and more than likely led out to the opposite street. Freya had been standing right at the center of them, careful not to be too close. He came up to her and she turned to him, meeting her blue eyes with his.

"What did you find," He asked her, the sun beating down on their necks.

"Look at this it's blood… I'd know the smell anywhere," She said, pointing a faded print on the center of the door, and then she pointed down towards the ground, "And this down here, prints it seems."

Freya took a step back and he knelt down to examine the print. It was definitely human sized, and the toe was pointing outwards towards the exit. Carefully he stood up and looked at the handprint as well. The gate wasn't very heavy, so a man wouldn't have had to put too much force on the door for it to swing open. He turned around and gave Freya a small smile.

"Good eyes, look at this," He said, kneeling down again and pointing towards the prints, "Print is heading outwards towards the street, and from the hand print up top… looks like someone might have escaped."

Freya suddenly turned to him, her blonde ponytail whipping around, meeting his eyes, "Then that means they could tell us more about what happened. Did you managed to figure out what kind of monster attacked them?"

He nodded and quickly pulled his blade from his sheath and went into the bag on his waist. While sifting through the collection of bombs and oils he had in vials, he looked back up to meet Freya's eyes.

"I examined the bodies, Damien's it… was drained of blood. His liver was still there so it rules out a werewolf. No drowner or necrophage could do that type of damage," He started, finally finding the correct vial of oil before continuing, "It had to be a vampire, only thing that makes sense."

Freya watched him with curiosity, as he pulled out the whetstone from his bag. He sat cross legged and carefully laid his sword out over his legs. Carefully he poured the red vampire oil over the steel. A pleasant hissing sound hit his ears, before Freya finally spoke up again.

"Okay, I know you're a Witcher and all but… how can you be sure," She asked him, her arms crossed.

He carefully greased the blade and sharpened it with the whetstone, looking up to speak to Freya while he did.

"Most of them died with their eyes open, weapons weren't drawn, means they got taken by surprise, taken out quickly," He started, looking down to see the red oil become imbued with his blade. Satisfied he stood and met Freya's eyes again, "If we're lucky it's a Fleder, or an Ekimara. Ekimara can turn invisible, explains why they got taken by surprise, Felder's they dive from above, could also explain why."

He had taken plenty of contracts on Fleder's, Ekimara's, Garkains, and other forms of lesser vampires in the past. Their weaknesses and strengths were burned into his brain, and as long as he was swift, used his bombs and oils correctly he could take them down. On the other hand, he tended to avoid contracts that could look like they were higher vampires, like Katakan's or Bruxae.

The only time he had ever taken contracts on a higher vampire confidently, was when he traveled with Faram, having the backup there to help him. If he had realized earlier that the beast terrorizing Claywitch was an Alp, he more then likely would have turned down the contract. Alayna the Alp had almost killed him in the end, if not for Yennefer he surely would have been dead.

He slid his blade behind his back, and heard Freya scoff, "You said if we're lucky one of them…. If we're not lucky?"

Sighing he looked up and met her eyes, "If we're not lucky, it's a Katakan, or a Bruxa. Only fought one of those myself a couple times… not an easy fight."

Freya slowly nodded her head, before sighing. She looked one more time over to Damien's body that lay lifeless against the barrels. Turning over to him, she slowly looked up to meet his eyes.

With her arms still crossed she let out a breath, "I… know that I haven't been very welcoming."

"You have good reason," He quickly added, not moving his eyes from hers.

For the first time since they had met an hour earlier, she let out a genuine laugh, "Ha, well you are right but… I wanted to say thank you for helping me."

His chest pumped faster as it warmed. A sigh of relief left him, and the nervousness he felt from meeting her earlier had seemed to finally fade. He managed to meet Freya's eyes for the first time without feeling a sense of shame wash over him.

He managed a laugh as well, and a smile, "You're welcome, I'm a Witcher it's what I do. Besides… I'll always help the people I care about, no matter what it is."

She stuttered for a moment, and for a split second he saw a red hue come across her face, before she quickly shook it off. Sighing, she gave him a small smile before gesturing towards the gate.

"Well, come on then. I'm no Witcher, but I think the next step is following those tracks right," She asked, her hands going to her hips.

He scoffed at her and crossed his arms. The sun sparkled off the sword she picked up earlier from the group of thugs, and she quickly tightened her black gambeson, before crossing her arms back at him.

"I don't think so. This thing, whatever it is, is extremely dangerous," He said to her, not leaving her gaze, "I'll follow the tracks and find where they lead. Find the vampire, kill it and come find you when I'm done."

Freya scoffed right back at him, looking offended, "Not a chance! I'm coming with you, whatever this vampire is, it killed Damien, I'm going to either kill it or help you kill it!"

"Freya it's too dangerous, this thing could kill you," He stressed to her, his arms remaining crossed.

"Could kill you too," She shot back at him right away.

He rolled his eyes at her, "Yes, but I'm trained for this."

"Yes that's true, but you were trained when you were seventeen too, and I still had to save your life then," She said indignantly.

His face got hot with embarrassment, "I was seventeen! I fought and killed a highly trained bounty hunter!"

"Yeah you did, and I had to help Eustace sew your shoulder back together. You're telling me that bounty hunter was more dangerous then a vampire," She asked, a smirk coming to her face.

He felt his face continue to get even hotter as he finally sighed annoyedly, "Were you always this stubborn?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him, "Always yeah, you just left before you could figure out just how much."

Sighing in defeat, he looked back over to her. He could see the clouds slowly starting to roll in over the sun, hiding both of their shadows. Biting his lip, he met her shining blue eyes, that shone in triumph.

"Fine… you can come with me, but you need to promise that if we find it, and I tell you to hide, you'll hide," He stressed to the woman, not taking his eyes off her.

Freya smirked and scoffed, "Oh come on. I'm not the same defenseless, innocent young girl you met in Ellander those years ago. You never know, maybe I'll have to save you this time."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The sun had been covered by the clouds now. It hadn't taken the two of them long to follow the tracks. He found more bloody handprints on the sides of buildings, and the footprints finally led him to what seemed to be a warehouse. It was a large whitewashed building, with a set of large wooden doors. To their left was the docks, the waves eagerly lapping higher and higher with the sun finally covered. A storm was coming, that much he could tell from the clouds. It was still relatively early in the day, and he mentally rolled his eyes at the prospect of another rainstorm.

"Does it end here," Freya asked him, carefully looking behind them to be sure they weren't followed.

The tracks were faint, but thanks to the rain from the last dew days, a lot of the ground was mud, making it easy for him to follow the prints. They indeed led right to the warehouse door, but the warehouse itself while large looked abandoned. Cobwebs and other old run-down crates and barrels were outside. He felt his senses begin to tingle, he didn't know why yet, but the place had worried him.

He slowly reached behind his back and drew his blade, the steel still red with the vampire oil. Carefully, he reached forward and found that the door was indeed open.

Turning back to Freya he met her eyes, "Stay close do you understand? We don't know what's in here."

She carefully nodded her head, and he turned back to the door. Slowly but surely, he pushed forward, and the brown wooden doors came open. After he had finally gotten inside, a musty old smell hit his nose. The inside for the most part was completely darkened. The warehouse looked like it went on for a mile longer, with no windows or candles for light further down. He didn't see anything that resembled shelves for a warehouse and assumed that it was indeed abandoned.

The only bit of light they had was from when they first entered. After the door closed behind them, he could only see about twenty-five feet ahead of him. The door behind them had a large metal latch that barricaded the door that was currently up, he kept that in mind, knowing that if they needed to escape, they could make it quick. He leveled his blade towards the darkness and felt every alarm in his body going off. If they were searching for a survivor of the attack, they'd have seen them. Either them or their corpse.

"This place does look abandoned… why did the tracks lead us here then," Freya said behind him, slowly drawing the sword from her belt.

He turned to the left and saw where the light was coming from, "Not quite so abandoned after all it seems…"

The front corner of the room looked like someone had been living there, and recently. A small feathered bed was in the corner, with a long dresser along the wall. A bookshelf stood tall next to it, while a bathtub and multiple small buckets were next to it. He felt his medallion slowly begin to hum around his neck. Lowering his sword in his hand, he slowly walked over to the buckets, while Freya went over to the bookshelves and dresser.

The smell of the oils hit his nose as he got closer. He had never seen anything like it before but remembered learning about what the substance was from Yennefer when he was younger. It was some type of magical, enchanted concealer. It helped one hide their true appearance, but the more you used it, the more dangerous it became. He dipped his finger in the oil, and the strong smell of lavender it exhumed gave him horrible flashbacks to Claywitch.

"Lavender… I think that Alp ruined my liking for it," He muttered to himself, wiping his fingers on his armor.

Hearing himself mention the Alp, suddenly flipped a switch in his brain. The strong claw marks, the human shaped foot and handprints, he knew the creatures could change their appearance, but concealer like the ones in front of him could allow them to look like different people.

"Um… Dominik… I think you should see this," Freya said from behind him.

Slowly he turned, his blood beginning to race even faster as he slowly walked over to the blonde woman, who was standing at the bookshelf. He could see a shocked look in her face as well, as she stepped to the side when he approached. Seeing what made her call him made his stomach drop. Along the wood on the side of the bookcase, were long deep claw marks into the wood. All around the side of the case the marks ran up and down, deep into the wood, and he was sure if the beast wanted, it could have torn the shelf in half with one blow.

"Freya… I think-," He was cut off when a loud insistent chirping was heard.

His heart nearly leaped from his chest as he whirled around, nearly slicing Freya's arm. She moved out of the way however when she slowly walked over to the dresser. The puzzle pieces for the contract all finally were starting to float together in his head. The wounds, the footprints the concealer… the blood that had came out of Damien's ears. When Freya finally turned around and he saw what was in her hands, it was as if the bells of Beauclair had gone off inside his head.

"I wonder what this little guy's doing here…" She said, holding a cage with a small red bird.

"Fuck," He screamed turning around quickly to the dark, and then back to Freya, "Freya you need to get out of here, now," He said quickly grabbing her arm, making her drop the cage.

He dragged her by the arm towards the door, but just before he could exit, she pulled away looking at him frantically with wild eyes.

"What are you talking about!? I told you I was going to come with you to kill this thing, it killed Damien I can't-," She started to reason, but he silenced her putting a hand over her mouth.

He locked his pleading green eyes with her blue ones, "Don't argue with me and just listen! Follow the harbor until you find the crane, around there you should find another Witcher. Tall, with black hair and a beard you can't miss. His name is Faram, get to him, tell him I sent you and what's going on tell him-."

A loud *clang* cut him off, and both he and Freya's head whirled back around to the door. The large metal bar had fallen in front of the door with a clang, locking it in place. He felt his chest begin to thump even harder. If it was just he in there, he would have readied bombs and his blade, but he needed to get Freya out. The creatures were too fast, and he didn't want to take the chance of it catching her.

Freya squeezed his forearm when she saw the door slam and turned back to him, "Dom… what is it? Why did the door close?"

He turned back around to the darkness, trying to use his trained eyes to scan for any signs of movement, but he saw none. Keeping hold of Freya's arm, he ran with her to the door and turned back to her.

"It's a Bruxa, listen do what I said, go and find-," He was cut off by the laughter, the deep dark, demonic laughter of a woman, coming from further inside the dark warehouse.

Freya turned around with him, her hand not letting go of his forearm. His ears perked up, he heard the pattering footsteps, as the laughter got louder and louder. It was as if the warehouse walls were echoing the sound even further.

"Dom… what… what is it-," Freya started to say next to him.

As the laughter got louder, he realized what was happening, he wrapped his arm around Freya's waist and pulled her close to his body.

"COVER YOUR EARS NOW," He yelled, thrusting up his hand, the yellow Quen shield rising up around him.

Freya did as she was told, just as the piercing scream from the Bruxa ripped through the warehouse. He could feel Freya shaking in his arms as she clamped her hands on her ears. The ripples of sound blasted off his shield, but the longer it lasted the harder it was to hold, the sound started to leak in even louder, and just before it became too powerful for him to hold the shield the scream finally ceased, and he let the shield down.

As soon as he did, he felt his legs crumple beneath him. Freya knelt down to help him up, just as the patter of footsteps could be heard ahead, along with more laughter.

"Are you alright, what happened. I… I've never seen you use magic before," Freya said, helping him to his feet.

"Witcher signs," He said, groaning as he got to his feet, "Geralt… Geralt taught them to me when we met up to start looking for Ciri together…"

"Wait… what," Freya said breathlessly, but before she could say more, was cut off by the laughter getting louder.

Both of their heads shot up, and he finally got his view of the Bruxa. Like all Bruxae the high vampire had pale leathery skin. She was completely naked with her long, sharp, bone like claws extended. Standing on her toes she was covered in dried and fresh blood, all the way from her neck, down to her legs. For a moment her face was that of a young, beautiful black-haired woman, but he could see her true form behind the demonic brown eyes.

The beast stood there; all her claws extended. Dominik finally felt his strength, return and scooped his sword from the ground. He leveled it at the creature, and Freya, despite the fact her blade wouldn't do any good, leveled hers as well. Her bravery was beginning to amaze him, he saw the hard look in her eyes, as she faced down the creature that had killed her friend.

He expected the beast to lash out, but the Bruxa simply raised her claws to her mouth and laughed in an amused tone.

"Well, well, well! Did I interrupt your romantic stroll? Were you two planning a romantic outing together in an abandoned warehouse," She said, her voice dripping with amusement.

Freya to his surprise was the one to speak up before him. He could see the fire return to her eyes as she stepped forward, pointing her blade, "SHUT YOUR MOUTH! We're here to kill you, and we WILL!"

He took another step to be next to Freya, not wanting the girl to get too close to the beast by herself. The Bruxa seemed to only be amused even further, it cackled again, the demonic laugh returning.

She looked back over at Dominik now, her eyes falling to the wolf medallion around his neck. The creature smiled at him, and it made his skin crawl as if an ant colony had made its home there.

"My, oh my… a Witcher? Not the Witcher I was hoping to meet but…still a handsome one to boot," She said, before turning back to Freya, "I learned so many interesting things following you two today…. My dear…why did he leave you? Were… you not good enough for him? I mean… you did give him everything after all."

"SHUT UP," Freya yelled going to lunge for the beast, but Dominik caught her around the waist and pulled her back next to him.

She kicked and thrashed in his arms, but he got her back next to him, raising his blade up back towards the beast.

"Yes, I'm a Witcher. You know what that means, you won't be killing anyone else," He said, trying to muster his confidence.

If he had been by himself, he knew it would have been an extremely tough fight, however he had managed to kill a few Bruxae before on his own. It hadn't been easy, and each time he almost died, but he had done it before. The thing that worried him, however, was having Freya next to him. He knew that if he left her unwatched for a moment, a Bruxa was quick enough it could kill her in one blow.

And he wasn't going to let her die.

The vampire laughed again and kept her eyes trained on him, "Oh yes I know what it means. I also know you Dominik of Cintra… I must say, I was hoping for that… dashingly handsome Geralt of Rivia..."

He felt himself scoff, "And how exactly do you know who Geralt and I are!?"

The question ate at his mind as soon as she mentioned it. Surely if a Bruxa had been following Geralt and he around, they would have been able to sense it. The creature however laughed, and simply shook her head.

"You're a smart young Witcher… magic concealer works wonders when you can conceal your magic output, followed you and the girl without you seeing," The beast said, slowly pacing in front of them both, "I know of course of Geralt of Rivia, many Bruxae have died in recent years to his blade. Naturally when I heard he was in the city… I needed to follow him… and the handsome young man he had with him, see if the stories were true! If I were to taste the blood of the famous Geralt of Rivia… oh what a triumph that would be."

"His reputation proceeds him," He said sarcastically, keeping his dripping blade leveled.

Again the vampire laughed, "Ahaha, it most certainly does. I planned to ambush you both but… then I began to hear your story, and it touched me so! Tell me Dominik of Cintra… do you truly still seek the Lady of Worlds after all these years? The beautiful Cirilla Fiona Ellen Riannon?"

It was his turn to lash out. He leaped and spun in midair, going for an attack that would have cleaved clean through the beast. The Bruxae's laugh could be heard as she dashed away from his attack. He whirled around to try and find where she had went but couldn't find any traces.

"DOMINIK," He heard Freya scream.

He whirled around with his blade leveled only to see Freya with a claw at her throat. The Bruxa had dashed behind him, and gripped up Freya, holding her long talon out under the girl's chin. He felt his heart begin to race even further, and his eyes go wide as he leveled his sword.

"LET HER GO NOW," He yelled at the creature, as Freya whimpered, the claw slowly raking under her throat.

The Bruxa laughed and looked at him curiously, "Oh my, such fierceness in your tone… why do you care so much for her? You… couldn't love her after all, you left her… after she gave you everything she had. You… must truly, truly love Cirilla. Why bother with this girl then?"

The words cut through him like a hot knife through butter. The answer however was obvious. He cared for Freya, because she was kind to him, saved his life, and had helped him through one of the most tumultuous times of his young life. A plan formed in the back of his mind, and for a moment he met Freya's blue eyes. Her eyes were filled with fear, as she looked at him, pleading, begging him to help.

And he was going too.

He looked to meet the monsters eyes, and slowly lowered the point of his sword.

"You're right," He said to the Bruxa, making both her and Freya look over to him wide eyed.

The Bruxa kept gently rubbing her claw against Freya's throat, but looked at him curiously. Feeling his plan slowly begin to work he took a step closer to the Bruxa, keeping one hand raised.

He met the creatures eyes, speaking with sincerity.

"I've love Ciri, since I was eleven years old, from the moment I met her. When… when we were separated I… I nearly lost it. For years I looked and looked, first with Geralt, then by myself. After three years I… I truly was lost. The loneliness, the longing… the need to just have… someone. That one person I could confide in, trust, and have, I… I NEEDED that, losing Ciri had cut me so…so deep that I was ready to give up… end it all just to make the pain go away. But I… found someone, someone that helped me heal in more ways then one," He started, finally feeling the words he had been trying to say for so long spill out.

He looked over and saw Freya's eyes going wide, the claw inches from her jugular, and he knew if he said one wrong word, there was no way he'd be able to do anything to save her. Carefully he took in a shaky breath, looking at the Bruxa again.

"Freya Kaminski of Ellander… saved me in more ways then she knows," He said, looking from the Bruxa over to Freya herself, "She… she was patient, she listened, she knew when to pry me to talk more and when to listen. I… had finally found someone, someone I could trust, someone I could confide in. And… and for a time, I really did believe that I was falling in love with her."

The Bruxae's head tilted so far, it was almost upside down as she listened to his story, her claws gently stroking Freya's throat. Freya herself didn't peel her eyes from him, her blue iris's looked down at him with shock, anger, sadness, relief, she almost seemed as if she was going to cry again.

He saw the Bruxa taking even greater interest. It was clear she was a vampire who was particularly interested in human behavior. So, he took in another deep sigh and kept looking between it and Freya.

"I… should have told her about my true feelings for Ciri from the start. I… I didn't because, I thought if I kept saying that Ciri had just been a friend, that… that maybe I'd believe it myself. Maybe the sting, and the wound from her disappearing would finally go away, and… and it would help me truly learn to love Freya," He said, closing his eyes, remembering the conflicting nights he had, before opening them again, "But I was fooling myself. I… I was never going to truly love anyone the way I love Ciri. The two of us… the bond we have, it was more than just childhood love, it was something more. That… that's when I realized I was just using Freya."

Freya looked like she was about to say something more, but as soon as she did the Bruxae's claw dug deeper into her throat, and she kept quiet. The candlelight illuminated their faces, the light from outside non-existent. He could see Freya's eyes widen and not come off him. The Bruxa seemed more and more invested in his story. He cleared his throat and met the monster's eyes once again.

"I… I was just using her. I was trying to patch the hole inside me that had been left by Ciri. She… she deserved more. Freya is one of the kindest, most caring, compassionate, and amazing people I've met, and she deserved more…. She deserved someone who could actually love her back," He said, looking over to meet Freya's eyes now, and the girl stared at him, her iris's glowing. Sighing he kept eye contact with her and continued, "So… I decided to leave. I couldn't stop looking for Ciri, and… and I couldn't use her anymore. I was going to leave without a word, I… I thought that would be what would hurt her the least. I… I was wrong, and for that… I'm so, so sorry."

Freya let out a long breath but didn't dare say anything with the Bruxae's claw at her throat, and the creature's other hand firmly gripped on Freya's hands, holding them behind her back at an awkward angle. The Bruxa almost seemed moved by his words, but he could see her fangs begin to sharpen in her mouth, as she looked ready to finally kill Freya and attack him.

Quickly he took another step forward, keeping his sword pointed to the ground.

"You ask me why I still care about her, why I'm bothering to try and protect her? The answer is simple," He said, looking over to lock eyes with Freya, "I know she gave me everything, I know I hurt her, I know that she probably hates me but… I still care about her. She saved me in more ways then one. I know if I had told her about everything right from the start, she STILL would have supported me, and care for me. So that's why I'm doing this now."

He looked down at his blade and tossed it to the side. As his steel clattered to the ground, he heard Freya yelp.

"Dom, no what are you-," She tried to say before the Bruxa hissed, holding her claw deeper into her throat.

She turned and hissed at him, "My oh my, what a lovely tale Dominik of Cintra. A tale of love, rejection, and compassion… but I must ask… how do you plan on saving her without your blade?"

He sighed and felt his inside shake. His plan was crazy, and may well get him killed, but he couldn't doubt himself now. Gently, he held out both of his hands with his wrists up.

"Like this, I wanna make a deal," He said, talking slowly and meeting the Bruxae's eyes, "If you let Freya go, you can have me."

"ARE YOU CRAZ-," Freya yelled, before the claw silenced her again.

The Bruxa snarled and he could see the fangs get inches from Freya's neck, before the beast turned to him, "And why would I do that boy!? I could simply kill you both here. What do I get out of this deal?"

He gave the Bruxa a fake smirk, showing her his hands again, "You could kill us both you're right but… if you take my deal you get something more. Spare Freya and take me captive. I can lead you to what you want… I can take you to Geralt."

He remembered the Bruxae's words from earlier about wanting to taste the blood of the famous Geralt of Rivia. Her words must have been true, because the vampires eyes went wide, and she stood up straight, her claw not leaving Freya's throat. It was his hope that the vampires desire to stand apart from the others, and desire to taste the famous Witcher's blood were as high as they seemed to him before.

"And how do I know that I will get to… taste the blood of Geralt of Rivia, how do I know he won't simply kill me," She questioned him, her claw stroking up and down Freya's jugular.

He scoffed and shook his head, "If you've been following us, then you must know. Geralt's my adopted father. He'd do anything for me. Bring me to him as a prisoner, and he'd do just about anything to save me. Think of it… you'd be the first Bruxa to taste the blood of Geralt of Rivia… and to survive."

The beast finally removed her fangs from Freya's throat, but held the girl still, gripping both her hands behind her back. He felt his hands twitch, ready to spring forward at a moment's notice if need be. It felt as if a boulder was dropped down into the pit of his stomach. The Bruxae's head finally shot to him, and she pointed her long, bony talon towards his belt.

"You have a deal Dominik of Cintra, but first… that silver dagger on your hip, remove it," She hissed, gripping tighter on Freya's arms.

He heard the girl yelp from the pain, and he quickly pulled the dagger from his belt and held it out in his hands. The Bruxa nodded, and finally a rush of relief ran through his chest, when she threw Freya forward, finally releasing her. Freya almost stumbled to the ground, but he managed to catch her. When she did, the blonde looked up at him, her blue eyes welling up with tears again.

She threw her arms around his neck and gripped him tightly, "I… I'm so, so sorry that-."

"Shhhh," he said, gripping her waist with one hand, the other keeping the dagger visible for the Bruxa, he pulled back to meet Freya's gaze, his green eyes meeting her blue, "It's alright… everything will be alright."

He slowly said the words, gently letting her go, but slipping the dagger right into the girls hands. Freya turned as he slowly walked towards the Bruxa, his hands up, weaponless. The vampire hissed, and quickly took a position behind him. Slowly she reverted back into her human form, but he could feel the claws right against his back. All she had to do, was thrust them forward, and his spine would be severed.

"Come now Dominik of Cintra… let's visit the White Wolf," She said, slowly walking him towards the door.

"Yes… lets do that," He said, looking back and seeing Freya standing there, staring at his dagger and then back to him.

He winked at her, before turning around to see they had reached the locked door. Carefully, he took in one last long drawn out breath. He didn't cast the sign often, only during training, but if he couldn't produce it now, it would mean the deaths of both he and Freya.

"Well!? Open the door boy," The Bruxae hissed behind him.

Slowly he nodded and reached up to lift the bar that was barricading the door. He went to lower the bar to the ground, but just as he did, he summoned the power to his hand. Slamming his fist into the ground, the purple sign erupted to life as he dove to the right. The glyph of Yrden appeared right around the Bruxa, and he turned to see her slowly reaching out to slash through his with her claws from the right. The sign had done its job, but despite the Yrden slowing it down, it still moved swiftly. Bruxa moved so fast you couldn't see them normally, so the Yrden slowed down what was the fastest monster he'd ever face. He thought about Freya, who'd be dead if he couldn't succeed now, he felt blood race through his veins and his arms move faster than he'd ever felt it move before as he channeled all his power into his palm. He was just able to get his Quen shield up in time, and the shield was hit with such force it exploded, sending the Bruxae smashing into the door, the magic power that erupted from the shield was greater then he'd ever seen himself produce.

"DOM HERE," He heard Freya yell behind him.

He turned and the girl had thrown his sword back to him from the ground. Catching it in his hands, he twirled it to a reverse grip. He charged towards the Bruxae, and just before he could cut through it, the beast dashed away, turning completely invisible. His eyes caught the buckets of oils spilling and saw the footprints she left in her wake. Freya ran over to his side, and he reached into his bag, pulling out one of his favorite bombs.

He lit the moon dust with Igni, and fire towards the bookcase where he saw the footprints leading.

"There you are," He yelled, seeing the Bruxae still disoriented.

Leaping forward with another spin, the first attack from his sword was blocked by one of her claws. The beast became visible again, as she steamed from pain, the silver from the bomb seeping into her skin. She thrusted her claw forward, but he managed to knock it aside with his blade, and with speed and strength he never knew he had, he executed the quickest spin he ever had, and slice upwards cleaving the Bruxae's arm clean off. It wailed in pain, and fell to the ground, trying to crawl towards Freya at the entrance.

His eyes went wide, and he leaped forward, trying to stab his blade down to end the beast. However, just before it pierced her back, she disappeared again, for a second, he tried to find out where it was, but screamed with he felt something pierce the right side of his stomach just below his armor. He felt the beasts fangs sink into him, and he screamed, feeling her suck the blood right from his veins.

He turned, intent on blasting the beast with a sign, but just before he could the Bruxa screamed out louder then it had before. Freya had leaped forward and plunged his silver dagger, hilt deep into the vampires back. The Bruxa smoked, and fell from his body onto the floor, slowly its claws retracted, its fangs became teeth again, and it looked as if a normal woman lay dead on the floor.

Freya stood next to him, breathing heavily, her hands shaking. He had enough time to meet her eyes, and scoffed, feeling a smile come to his face. Freya her hands still shaking looked back up at him as well. Their green and blue eyes met, and they both managed to laugh in amazement, as the body of the vampire smoked.

"That… that was fucking amazing, I… I UGHHHHHH," He winced, feeling his side flare up in pain. He quickly placed his hand over his wound to staunch the bleeding, as Freya rushed to his side.

"Are you alright, I… I saw it bite you and-," She started, gently guiding him to sit on the bed that the Bruxa had in the warehouse.

"And you saved it from being a lot worse… good thing I brought you after all," He said sarcastically, as he leaned back in the chair, wincing at the wound.

It certainly wasn't the worse wound he had ever received. He assumed he would be able to patch it up easy enough before continuing with his day, however in the moment it flared up in pain. Freya scoffed at him and knelt down to his side, gently reaching for the bottom of his armor, and lifted it up to see his bare skin.

He heard her wince and laughed.

"Ha, is it bad? Because I don't feel a thing," He joked, feeling his breathing start to return to normal.

Freya carefully placed his armor back down and looked up at him, "Well it certainly isn't good but…I've seen worse… and I'm sure you've certainly had worse."

Looking down he met his eyes, and he couldn't help but laugh, "Oh yeah, gotten bit worse by other vampires too."

She stood up in front of him now, and offered him a hand, "Come on tough guy. You saved my life… the least I can do is patch you up… and I kind of want to have a talk."

He felt his blood begin to race again, and his chest pump faster as he reached for Freya's hand. She helped him up to his feet, and he winced almost falling over again. Catching him, she helped to steady him upright, and for another moment they both locked eyes.

"Freya I… I meant what I-," He started, before she quickly cut him off by shaking her head.

"I know… there are some things I want to say too…. And I also want to ask you some things. But I should patch you up first, doctors orders come on," She said, gesturing for him to follow her.

A small smile came to his face, as he scoffed, "You know you handled yourself pretty well. You'd make a good Witcher, got something to fall back on if the doctor thing doesn't work."

He could see she was trying not to laugh, but one escaped her lips as she looked up to meet his eyes, her blue one's full of mischief.

"I wonder if Cirilla loves your stupid jokes like I do… come on, I need to patch up that wound," She said, gesturing for him to follow again.

The mention of Ciri made his own face turn red. He slowly nodded and followed Freya towards the door. He had thought that day would end up being a waste, however he knew then he was wrong.

He had another friend now… another ally for the fights to come.

A/N: WOW, that chapter was long. I was NOT planning on making is this long, but I really had fun writing that second half, and that first dream sequence. So, Geralt has gone off to see Radovid, leaving Dom alone for the day and what does he get up too? He hunts a Bruxa with his ex. (A Bruxa that has been following him) I think this has been my real favorite chapter to write, I really enjoyed it.

A couple important things happened this chapter. That first dream sequence this chapter will end up being one of the most important scenes in the entire book. What did you guys think of it? Who's the girl? What is her importance going to be?

Also, we meet Freya Kaminski of Ellander, the one girl through his travels that made Dominik break his loyalty to Ciri. We learn more about what their relationship was like, and what she's done since. Just like the rest of Dom's friends we will meet she'll have a big role to play down the line. What did you think of Freya? Are you looking forward to seeing more? What about her and Dom's relationship what do you think? She's been one of my favorite characters to write, so I'm interested to know what you all think.

Also quick note, I based Freya in this story off of the beautiful and talented Freya Allan. For those of you who don't know she's the wonderful actress who plays Ciri in the Witcher Netflix show. So if you wanted a sort of faceclaim for her, someone to imagine while you read her parts that's who it is Freya Allan.

I thought it would be cool to base Dominik's one ex off the actress who plays Ciri, because in a way now Dominik has always been with Ciri.

(Also I will state this now, NO. There is zero chance Dominik ends up with Freya at the end of this just incase anyone was wondering lol)

So what are your predictions now that Freya is in the story? What about the dream that Dominik had in beginning? Next chapter we'll have a nice chat with Dom and Freya, before Dominik goes to see Triss. When Geralt and she go to the Vegelbug Party… we'll have another quest for Dominik… and I am so looking forward to it.

The continued support has been so fantastic, thank you all who's reviewed, favorited and followed, the story is really going to pick up now. If you have any questions review or PM me and I'll always respond! See you all soon, stay safe.