The ship rocked beneath Lilith's feet as she stared into the distance, the sea wind catching her curly hair. Geralt walked up behind her and placed a bowl of something that didn't even look edible on the railing next to her.

"You need to eat. It's been two days." He said gruffly, pushing the bowl towards her. Lilith glanced down at the bowl and then back at the Witcher.

"I just lost my best friend, Geralt. I haven't seen Ingrid since her passing, so it makes me wonder if she's gone because Seraphina's gone." Tears rose in her eyes again and she quickly blinked them away. "My best friend and my daughter…" The words drifted up towards the sails of the ship, making Lilith sigh.

"Do you realize how many people I've lost?" Geralt asked, leaning over the railing to join his companion, "I have lost more than I can count."

She flicked her gaze back to him and then back out to the water, "You're a Witcher though. It's expected."

"I can say the same for you and your kind." He responded, "Look, I just came over here to get you to eat, but if you're going to insist on being stubborn…"

Lilith grabbed the bowl from the railing and wolfed it down, allowing the sludge to run down her face and shirt. She then took the bowl and threw it into the waves where it promptly sank. With that, she turned on her heel and stormed away from Geralt, "Lilith!" He yelled after her as she walked towards the stern of the ship, "Come back."

"Leave me alone, Geralt," She threw over her shoulder as she descended into the belly of the ship to the quarters that had been so graciously given to her by the crew. 'He doesn't understand,' Lilith thought to herself, her mind running around in circles as a wave of hatred for the Witcher washed over her. Without thought, she burst into the room where the familiar owl waited for her, watching her intently. Lilith's shoulders sagged and she sat down on the bunk, running her hand through her hair as she gnawed on her bottom lip. With a whisper of feathers, Ingrid perched on the handrail next to her, cocking her head.

"It's just you and me now, mon chere." Lilith whispered to herself, allowing the hot burn of unshed tears to build up behind her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and stroked Ingrid's wing, her gaze holding fast to the owl. "I'm sorry I never took you to Toussaint, Ingrid. I never wanted for you to see it like this." She whispered, her bottom lip quivering. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the rocking of the ship and the crash of the ocean waves moving them further south. "I'm a failure," She finally said, her face crumpling into tears as she threw her hand over her face and began to weep. "I'm a damn failure. I can't be a mother right; I cannot even be a sorceress right. What else am I good for?"

A sharp rap on the door made Lilith look up, snot dripping from her nose, "Go away!" She rasped; her throat raw from sobbing. The owner of the fist paused for a moment as the door opened and Geralt poked his head in, a look that shadowed pity on his face.

"I couldn't help but overhearing you in here. I think half of the ship heard you to be completely honest." He coughed out a horse chuckle that did nothing to break the awkward tension in the room, "But I want you to come out here."

Lilith took a deep breath, took one look at Ingrid and then back to Geralt, "Very well, Witcher. What games are you playing?"

"You are not a failure." Geralt said calmly, "You just do not wield the knowledge of the old swordsman of Toussaint."

Lilith cocked her head to the side, "The Guild of the Golden Blade?"

Geralt walked around behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, guiding her to the steps that would lead her towards the deck, "The exact ones. I ran into one during my time in Toussaint maybe…twenty years ago. Asked if she could train me like one and she agreed."

Lilith paused, "There were no female masters of the blade. You are surely twisting my arm."

Geralt smirked as they emerged in the salty air, "That's what she told people, of course. Once her masters realized that a man could not move in the ways that she did, they found her out and banded together to exile her. She offered a counter: allow her to remain as a man in the rosters so that she could continue learning from The Golden Blade. They agreed, but once she left, she took up a mantle of a new guild that allowed all who met her expectations would be trained. Last I heard, she was living at a monastery somewhere."

"Geralt…you say this was twenty years ago. I know Witchers live long lives if not for their unfortunate occupation, but how old are you?"

He arched an eyebrow, "Old enough to know better. Now, come here."

Geralt led her to a rounded pole on the deck and picked it up, offering it to her. She could see that the edges had been beveled at the end to allow for some room to form a protective shield around her hand. The thing was heavy and awkward between her fingers and she tried to fix it to make it more comfortable. Geralt walked over and picked up a longer pole, watching her carefully.

"Now, I want you to attack me." He said simply. Deckhands and sailors alike had stopped to watch the woman with one arm attack a Witcher.

"How?" She asked, trying to raise the sword, but finding that her arm was too weak. Her own staff that she had left behind was far lighter and even then, she had always had Seraphina to keep any wandering marauders off her trail. She was, unfortunately, weak. "I can't do this, Geralt!"

"Any way you see fit. Now, come on! Attack me!"

With a frustrated yell, Lilith ran at Geralt and attempted to use an undercut to disarm Geralt but he easily batted her away, the "sword" skittering across the deck, "Again!" He barked as Lilith went to pick up her sword, "Attack me again!"

With another half-hearted cry, she tried to raise her sword, but found Geralt again slapping hers away. With a disheartened wail, she dropped to her knees. "Geralt, I can't!"

He walked over to where her sword lay and picked it up, offering it to her, "I never agreed to escort a damsel in distress to Toussaint. I expect there to be heavy resistance and we no longer have Seraphina to guard us. Once we even are within the country's borders, the likeliness of us both having our heads on spikes goes up exponentially. I want to see you ascend to what is yours and not have you die on me." He dropped it in front of her and waited, "Now, pick it up and attack me." The ship had gone eerily quiet, so Geralt turned to see each member watching them intensely, waiting to see what would happen. When they noticed Geralt watching them, they turned to, busying themselves with tasks.

"Fine," She snapped, standing back up and lunging at the Witcher. Instantly, his blade came up to meet her own, but instead of it going flying, it remained securely in her hand.

"That's good! Now, swing to the left…"

She did as she was instructed and Geralt's makeshift sword connected with her own, sending a delightful clack across the deck, "Very good, Lilith. Now, come back."

She did as she was instructed and pulled back from the battle, "I want you to look at my feet as I do this," Lilith watched as his feet practically danced across the deck, dodging an invisible enemy. As Geralt showed her the steps for what he just did, someone cleared their throat behind them. They turned around to see Silas standing there, his eyes passing back and forth between the two.

"I have not asked either of you questions up until this point," He began, "But we are two days out of port. I must know why a Witcher ran from a Griffon…with a woman in his arms? And you," He said, nodding to Lilith, "You wept as that Griffon passed. Who are you?"

"I am Geralt of Rivera, and this is my traveling companion Lilith Dupont of the Noble House Dupont. We sought safe travel after the untimely death of Bastian Northwood's wife. My companion was unfortunately wrongly accused of the murder and she must return to seek safe refuge in her father's house."

Silas's eyes widened as he again looked back and forth between the two, "But…No, the rumors cannot be true. They said that the Marquee's one and only child had been killed…This is impossible."

He turned to Lilith and sized her up, "You…you must be an imposter!"

"I have the paperwork to prove my identity. Only those who belong to the house receive one."

Silas merely shook his head and allowed a sharp whistle to escape his nose, "Your father really has lost it in these last few years. There is a chance he won't even believe it's you with those papers, little girl."

Lilith shook her head, "My father would recognize me anywhere."

The man let out a sharp laugh that made Lilith's hair stand up on end, "The last I had heard, the old man was funneling his coin into lavish parties and gatherings. Doesn't know who's coming to them, but there are people in and out of the estate on a daily basis."

"How do you know so much about my father?!" Lilith demanded as the man sighed and shook his head.

"I run supplies all up and down the coast, little girl. I know my buyers and I hear the stories from the docks. Housemaids and cooks running down to the piers to buy fresh caught fish…a man can hear quite a bit."

Lilith shook her head in disgust, "You're lying!"

"I cannot confirm or deny these rumors, girl. I hardly make that far east. I'm sorry to be the bearer of your father's health."

His eyes flicked back to Geralt and he pursed his lips, "And as for you. A Witcher who did not attack a Griffon? I had friends on those docks, Sir."

"The Griffon was the only reason we escaped," Geralt said calmly, nodding at Lilith, "She controlled it to aid our escape from Boughbright possible."

"I meant no harm to your friends and I am sorry that they got caught in the crossfire, but it's not our fault. Northwood's men…"

Silas held a hand up to stop her, "I know of the Northwood family, little girl. I know what Lord Northwood did to your father and the grief he's caused him. Yet, the Marquee continues to call him brother, even though by all rights, you are dead and he has no ties left to their family. He covers his eyes to Northwood's coming and going and I believe is the reason that he has fallen so far into his demise."

With a little nod he turned on his heel and walked from the conversation. Lilith shook her head and then began to pace the deck.

"This is impossible! It's only been ten years since I saw him last!"

"Grief makes the mind do strange things," Geralt replied, helping her to her feet, "I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

Lilith sighed and dropped her head in defeat, "Why should anything be easy at this point, Geralt? At this point, our best bet is to take Bastian's men head on and fight our way to my father." With that, she looked up at him and gave him a wry smile, "I want to be able to fight through them, Geralt. At least attempt to if push comes to shove."

Geralt's lips turned up in a smirk as he nodded, reaching down to pick up her blade to hand it back to her. She took it with gusto and then took several steps back, readying herself for the battle."

"And…again!"