Three months after the fall of the last Crone, Ciri found herself walking into the village of Dalhurst and went straight for the notice board, where a particularly interesting contract caught her eye amongst all of the mundane postings of repairs, wood chopping services, a brutal rejection of a marriage proposal from a woman named Marija to a man named Petar, and a set of "gently used" carpets for sale.
To the good folk of Dalhurst,
Avoid drawing water from the wells and the river, for they are poisoned. Something lurks in the water and not even our herbalist knows what's wrong.
If a Witcher comes through, send him straight to the ealdorman.
A hefty coin purse will be given as a reward for fixing our problem.
- Silas, ealdorman
"Sounds like a job for me."
She pulled the document from the notice board before going further into the village and, after asking around, found the ealdorman by his hut. The old man looked concerned and Ciri was willing to bet that it had everything to do with the trouble he was having with the poisoned wells.
"What can I help ye with?" Silas asked once she was close enough.
"I saw the notice. Are the wells really poisoned?"
"Aye, they are. We must ride half a day from here to the next village if we want clean drinking water. This cannot go on for much longer."
"I should get to work, then," Ciri commented. "Wouldn't want anyone else to get sick."
"You? But you're a lass! What could you possibly do?"
"I'm a Witcher, plain and simple," she corrected with a scoff.
"Aye, but aren't Witchers male?"
"Usually, yes, but I'm the exception. Now, can I trust that you'll pay me for my work once I bring the beast's head? Or if you'd prefer to wait for someone else to handle your problem? If that's the case, then I wish you good luck because it could be quite a while before another Witcher walks through here."
"Alright, alright," the ealdorman conceded, "but don't blame me if you get yourself killed."
"I'm not going to get myself killed."
The old man directed her towards the three wells in the village and she went to investigate them but it wasn't until she approached the well located closest to the sea that the stench finally hit her and nearly knocked her off her feet.
"Oh, that's disgusting!" Ciri groaned in disgust, pinching her nose to spare herself the agony of smelling something so horrible but it was too late, for it had already entered her nostrils and was there to stay.
She had to endure the stench until she fulfilled her contract, which required her to shimmy down a rope to the bottom of the well so she could explore the tunnels beneath the village; of course, she needed a rope first and managed to procure one from the blacksmith, which she tied around the trunk of a nearby tree before she shimmied her way down until she found herself at the bottom of the well.
The stench was even worse down in the bottom of the well and as much as Ciri would have liked to go back up for air, it defeated the whole point because she would have to come back down anyways. Fresh air would have to wait until she killed the monster.
She couldn't pass up on the coin, either, and after having to fight the ealdorman for the right to take the contract and ensure she would get paid when she turned in the monster's head, there was no way she could stop now.
Still, she decided she would rather wade through muck and smelly sewers tainted by some horrible beast than sit on the uncomfortable Nilfgaardian throne as the figurehead monarch while Emhyr continued to run things from the shadows. Money was nice but it couldn't make her happy when there were a million strings attached - like being Emhyr's puppet - and Ciri preferred working for her gold rather than having piles of it sitting in a treasury.
With a burning torch in hand, Ciri carefully made her way through the pitch-black tunnel and gasped when she spotted a glint of yellow in the darkness that reflected off the light from her torch.
I found it, she thought. Now she just had to slay it and then she could collect her bounty.
The walls of the cave proved to be quite narrow and Ciri was able to touch both sides without having to fully stretch out her arms. She managed to bump her elbow against the cave wen she drew her sword, which left it aching, but she did her best to ignore the pain because now was not the time to nurse scrapes and bruises, not when she was in the presence of the beast she was tracking.
Perhaps fighting this thing will be a little more… claustrophobic than I expected.
"This doesn't have to be difficult. Just roll over and die-"
Ciri froze, crying out when she felt something slice her thigh, and her knees buckled beneath her weight as pain shot through her like an arrow, causing her to drop her torch and engulfing her in darkness as the fire went out.
She sensed the beast nearing closer and closer as it slithered along without making any noise - it was only the slight sloshing of water that tipped Ciri off to its location in proximity to her - and in a panic, she squeezed her eyes shut and imagined herself far, far away from Dalhurst before teleporting out of the well.
When she arrived at her destination, her eyes shot open just in time for her to see nothing but water beneath her before she took an icy plunge into the sea below.
As she came to, groggy and head pounding with an awful headache, Ciri felt cold, wet, and was in agonizing pain. She felt herself fading in and out of consciousness but her grogginess made it difficult to stay awake and it felt as if a heavy fog had settled in her brain.
Her thigh throbbed like she had been stabbed with a serrated blade and she wished she could sit up to assess her injuries but the sloshing waves only served to help lull her to sleep. She resisted the urge, telling herself over and over again that she might not wake up ever again if she allowed her eyes to close but before she could move, Ciri felt someone drag her out of the tide's reach and unceremoniously drop her on the shoreline followed by hands roaming her body as they searched her pouches.
Although her arms felt heavy, Ciri somehow managed to muster the strength and grabbed the person by the neck, hearing him gasp loudly in surprise, which sounded quite strangled thanks to her firm grip.
"Don't fucking touch me," she growled, squeezing as tightly as she could but the man managed to free himself easily enough, which tipped Ciri off to just how weak she was.
She must have spooked him because instead of fighting her or knocking her out so he could continue rummaging through her pouches, the man ran off as fast as his legs could carry him back towards wherever he came from.
Once she was able to sit up, Ciri noticed that her clothes were wet and she was covered in muck and saw blood on her gloved fingers when she raised her hand up to her face, providing confirmation that she was indeed slowly bleeding out from the wound at her thigh.
Her head pounded like she was being hit repeatedly with a hammer and adrenaline coursed through her veins even though the immediate danger was gone… but she still remembered the serpent and frantically glanced around, though was quite relieved to see that she was nowhere near the village of Dalhurst.
She was on a beach somewhere but with how foggy her brain was, it was quite difficult to make out the buildings in the distance, which all looked like one blurry blob to her. It could have been Novigrad, Kovir, or even Tir ná Lia, for all she knew.
What am I going to do? Ciri thought as she struggled to wrack her brain for a solution even though her mind felt swimmy and it was hard to think.
She couldn't go to Yennefer because it would only serve to worry her and by extension, Geralt. The last thing she needed was to have a frantic sorceress and witcher fawning over her like she was still a tiny child in need of protecting.
If she told her parents what had happened, they would flip the world upside down at breakneck speed to rescue her and just this once, she wanted to handle things on her own, at her own pace. She didn't need to be coddled or looked after like she was a defenseless babe; of course, she was well-aware that her parents still viewed her as someone they needed to protect at all costs, even though she was the Lady of Time and Space and could more than just handle herself.
And she very much could. She had just found herself in a bit of a predicament, that's all.
Then who could she speak to?
Well, there was… Avallac'h.
I suppose I don't have any other choice, she thought. It was either ask him for help or die a slow, painful death on this beach.
Ciri closed her eyes and with what little energy she had, she envisioned herself at Avallac'h's laboratory at Tir ná Lia and teleported herself there.
She landed in the middle of his laboratory and the shockwave caused by her teleporting sent books and jars and candles and furniture flying in every possible direction. Some items shattered from the impact, others suffered only minor damage, and if she had been more lucid, Ciri might have had it in her to feel a little more guilty when she heard two people shout in surprise at her sudden entrance.
"Zireael?"
Avallac'h was taken aback by the sight of her. Her ashen hair clung to her sweaty face and her usually vibrant emerald eyes looked glazed and far-off, like she was staring at something he couldn't see, and she looked so pale and sick, as if all the blood had been drained from her face.
"Zireael, what are you doing here?" he couldn't help but ask.
Ciri was sure she saw his eyes widen in shock but he did well to hide his concern with his usual mask of stoicism. At least, he tried. He could not hope to hide his shock as well as he thought and something about the unexpected display of emotion from the usually calm and composed elf comforted Ciri but also deeply worried her.
"I need your help," she gasped. "Please, Avallac'h-"
"Come here," he said, sweeping her off her feet because he couldn't stand to see her struggling to stand on her feet any longer and carrying her over to his bed so she could rest in comfort.
"I can see that she-elf is still keeping you company," Ciri couldn't help but remark.
Even in her current state, she couldn't hide her disdain for that horrible bitch and couldn't help but think how lucky the she-elf was that she was too wounded and sick to pick a fight.
"She does not matter, Zireael. Now tell me why you're here."
"I was poisoned by some kind of serpent," she explained weakly.
Blood had already soaked through the white bandages that had been tied around her thigh to staunch the bleeding and whatever feeling she had possessed in her leg had disappeared because she had pulled her belt taut to prevent as much poison as possible from entering her bloodstream. The poison likely would have killed her by now if she hadn't cut off her circulation but it still needed to be removed and quickly.
Avallac'h wasted no time, casting a spell to first ease Ciri's pain and then cast another so he could begin the process of extracting the poison from her body, hovering his hand over the wound while he used magic to separate the poison from Ciri's blood.
"I see you got the medallion back," he remarked. He'd noticed the wolf-shaped pendant hanging from a chain around her neck as soon as she'd teleported in.
"Yes, we did."
"We?"
"I asked Geralt to help me kill the last Crone."
"Ah, how is Geralt?"
"He still hasn't forgiven you for what happened after the battle with the Wild Hunt."
"After all this time?"
"You're lucky he didn't kill you right where you stood!" Ciri laughed like it was the funniest thing and even though Avallac'h didn't laugh with her, his heart felt warm and the corners of his lips quirked up into the slightest hint of a grin just from seeing her happy. She still looked sickly but if she was able to laugh, then it meant she would likely survive the poison and recover quickly from her injuries. "If given the chance, I'm sure he would have cut you down at Tor Gvalch'ca."
"You're fortunate that he didn't or else you might have died of poisoning by now."
"Oh, that's definitely true."
"Relax now," he reminded her.
The magic was slow to heal her because he needed time to suck out all of the poison and while the spell he had cast ensured that the poison wouldn't move any higher in her bloodstream, Ciri wasn't helping things by squirming around so much. He knew it wasn't her fault, as she was clearly in a lot of pain in spite of the spell he'd cast, but she would have to endure a while longer. Then, he could leave her to rest.
"May I ask you something, Zireael?"
"Of course."
"I know this occurred a while ago but would you happen to know anything about my lab being ransacked?"
"I've no clue," she laughed heartily like the mental image of his lab being destroyed was the funniest thing she'd ever heard of. Her favorite part was when Yennefer had scribbled a moustache and goatee onto the portrait of himself that had been hanging in the laboratory - not that she would ever admit that out loud.
Avallac'h was sure she was lying - after all, he could clearly recall watching from the ship as she and Yennefer disappearing into a portal when they were in Skellige and being interrogated by Geralt afterwards, specifically about the Elder blood chart in his laboratory on the Pali Gap Coast and of Eris, the very same she-elf who still insisted on keeping him company and had apparently said something deliberately cruel to hurt Ciri.
He never found out what words had been exchanged between them nor had he bothered to investigate further into the matter because he knew that Ciri would have bit his head off if he asked her about it. She would have become awfully snippy - he could already hear her shouting, "why do you care, elven Sage? Mind your own business!" - and Eris would have demanded to know why he cared about the feelings of the human she despised so much, a sentiment that Avallac'h quietly but firmly disagreed with.
He'd simply deduced from Geralt's words and tone that whatever Eris had said had been cruel and genuinely hurt Ciri but had resisted asking about it, knowing it would have been a bad idea now, when she was still teetering on a thin line between surviving this injury and succumbing to a painful death.
If she stormed off before he was done extracting the poison, it could still kill her and he could not allow that to happen. And it wasn't simply for the sake of preserving the Elder Blood in its only living descendant.
"Very well," he uttered, and the healing continued on in silence.
"Are you alright?" Ciri asked hours later. She had noticed Avallac'h's eyes hanging heavy like curtains, as if he was on the verge of falling asleep.
"I'm fine," he assured her as he forced his eyes open to look at her, his icy blue eyes locking with Ciri's emerald-green ones. "Just resting my eyes."
"Yes, it's called sleeping."
"I cannot, not until all of the poison has been removed from your bloodstream."
"Is there… anything I can do to help you stay awake? Perhaps pinch you? I heard that's effective," Ciri quipped, drawing out a low, rumbling laugh from Avallac'h.
"Will you tell me a story, like what you were doing before you were poisoned?" He didn't have much interest about the ins and outs of witchering but morbid curiosity had him wondering what Ciri had done to wind up in such a predicament.
He knew he should have been more concerned about the potential end of the Elder Blood but he just couldn't bring himself to scold her, not when she looked so frail that he genuinely felt sorry for her. Being poisoned was punishment enough, he decided.
"I took a contract for a monster that was poisoning the village's wells for weeks and it turns out it was a serpent. I found that out the hard way," Ciri grumbled.
"You ought to be more careful," Avallac'h scolded.
"Yes, yes… next time."
"You're fortunate that there will be a next time."
"I would have been fine on my own!"
"And yet, you are here," he pointed out.
"Only because I didn't have a choice!"
Within the next few hours, Avallac'h managed to finish drawing out the rest of the poison and then stitched up the laceration on Ciri's thigh without hearing so much as a gasp of pain from Ciri. He admired her for her grit and patience and was pleased to see that color had returned to her cheeks as well.
"I think it would be best if you took a few days to recover."
"But I need to kill the serpent. It's dangerous. It could kill someone."
"It can wait a while longer," Avallac'h commented. If the monster had been poisoning the wells in Dalhurst for weeks like Ciri said, then a few more days wouldn't make a difference.
"But-"
"Ciri, I forbid it. If you go to fight it now, it will kill you. You are weak. You need to rest."
"Fine," she sighed.
For once, she decided to take Avallac'h's advice without putting up any unnecessary resistance and get some rest, despite thoughts of the contract nagging at her in the back of her mind.
It felt as if she was betraying the people she had sworn to protect but she knew, deep down, that Avallac'h was correct… to a point. She wasn't going to take days to recover like the elven sage probably expected her to but was going to take the opportunity to rest for a few hours to get her strength back.
By the following morning, though, Ciri grew too restless to continue sleeping and decided she'd rested enough and managed to sit up without much difficulty.
She felt much better than she did yesterday and even though her legs felt a bit wobbly when she stood up, she wasn't dizzy nor did her wound ache; all she felt was a light throb when she moved but it was easy to ignore, especially thanks to the spell Avallac'h had cast to numb any pain.
"Where are you going?" the elven sage called from where he stood over his desk,
"For a walk. You can't keep me in here forever," Ciri snapped. It seemed she was already back to her usual self and Avallac'h was glad to see it.
"Some fresh air could prove beneficial. Do be careful not to strain your leg, though, or the stitches could come undone."
"Perhaps you're worried that I'll break my leg?"
Ciri's jagged taunts rolled off his back as he firmly told her "just be careful, Zireael" that left no room for argument, earning him a scoff from the lady of time and space in return as she hobbled out of his laboratory to get some fresh air outside.
"Why is she here?" Eris demanded before Ciri was even out of earshot. Her icy eyes had hardened from jealousy and her mouth was turned into a downward scowl that made her look quite ugly.
Avallac'h didn't comment, choosing to ignore her and focus instead on brewing together a potion to help ease Ciri's pain and speed up her recovery. Despite being injured, the witcher was determined to finish her contract and turn in the beast's head for her reward as soon as possible and Avallac'h knew he couldn't hold her back even if he tried.
Therefore, he had to do whatever he could to help her recover before Ciri decided she had enough of sitting around and teleported back to the village to finish the job she had started, with or without being fully healed.
"It's not just about preserving the Elder Blood, is it?" Eris accused knowingly.
Avallac'h, once again, ignored her. Why did it matter why he was helping Ciri? He had his reasons, but nobody - not even Eris - had earned the right to be privy to his thoughts.
He realized too late that Eris had been purposely loud, almost as if she had been hoping that Ciri would hear, and that Ciri had been close enough to the entrance of his laboratory - or some combination of those two factors - because the witcher came stumbling back in with a sour look on her face and all Avallac'h could do was shake his head as he sensed that a bloodbath was coming.
"Is there a problem?" Ciri scoffed as she crossed her arms and glowered at Eris. "Because if there is, just come out with it and say what's on your mind."
"Avallac'h does not want you here," Eris snapped. "Why did you even bother showing your face here, you degenerate half-breed? Did you think you would be greeted with open arms?"
"Oh, don't worry, the next time I'm poisoned, I'll make sure to roll over and die, if it pleases you," Ciri sneered.
"It would please me very much-"
"Eris, that is enough," Avallac'h snapped with a tone of finality that dripped with anger, showing just how fed up he really was with her.
Ciri was stunned to see such a blatant show of emotion from him, especially since he was normally very calm and composed, almost emotionless, and it took a lot for him to get fired up with anger. But the damage had been done, and didn't keep Eris from snapping back at him.
"Very well but I won't be back! Enjoy yourself with that degenerate half-breed!"
Eris stormed out of the laboratory but instead of feeling relief now that she had finally left, the tension in the room had become uncomfortable to the point of stifling.
It took Ciri a few moments before she was able to muster up the courage to look up and lock eyes with the elven sage for a brief moment, only to find herself unable to read the look on his face. Without having to say anything, the look on his face had told her everything she needed to know.
Before Avallac'h could call after her, Ciri turned around and disappeared in a burst of green light.
As Ciri materialized at the entrance to Dalhurst, she was nearly overrun by frantic, screaming villagers fleeing for their lives… and then she saw what they were running from and felt her heart drop into her stomach when the beast roared so loudly that the ground seemed to tremble.
As she ran up to it, she saw just how big it really was.
The serpent was as tall as the bell tower in Novigrad, covered in black, jagged scales and had teeth as long as swords and menacing yellow eyes, to boot. It was a genuinely terrifying sight now that she could see it in daylight but Ciri pushed back all fear and drew her sword.
She also did her best to ignore how shaky her legs felt, like they were about to buckle beneath her, and considered it a miracle that she was still standing.
She had thrown herself head-first into what was essentially a suicide mission because of what Eris had said to her, blood burning as she recalled the she-elf's cruel words and part of her still wished she could go back and smash her face into the floor until she regretted what she'd said. But there was nothing she could do about that now; she had a job to do and nothing else mattered besides killing this beast before it killed someone.
But that's stupid. I shouldn't be so angry about that, Ciri thought bitterly, scolding herself. Avallac'h didn't belong to her and she was a fool for getting fired up over him, regardless of whatever rude things his companion spewed at her.
Perhaps he was no better than her, if he continued to keep her around and saw no issue with the things she said. Worse yet, Ciri had been a fool for thinking he'd changed for the better.
Time to end this, Ciri thought with determination as she readied her sword, holding it in both hands before lunging forward for a strong attack and managed to bury the blade deep in the serpent's flesh, causing it to hiss in pain.
Unexpectedly, it swung at her with its head and knocked her back, though Ciri managed to teleport away to safety but realized too late that the serpent had been tracking her and lunged for her as soon as it saw her reappear. Ciri had no time to teleport away and lifted her arms to shield herself as she braced herself for the impact…
Only, it never came.
Ciri moved her arms away and eyes widened when she saw that a magical shield formed in front of her, protecting her from the serpent as it attacked, using its body to lunge at her. As the shield rippled from the shockwave, she realized that it could have killed her if the serpent had managed to land a blow on her.
"Zireael, what were you thinking going after that monster?" Avallac'h snapped. "You've put yourself in grave danger-"
"What are you doing here?" Ciri demanded as she hurriedly climbed to her feet while the shield was still active. Anger dripped from her voice and she would deny it if asked but she was genuinely surprised to see Avallac'h; then, however, she remembered why he even "cared" about her in the first place and her relief quickly turned into bitterness.
"Oh, it's because of my blood, isn't it-"
"Enough, we will argue later," he told her curtly.
Yes, we will, Ciri silently agreed before turning her attention back to the serpent.
She ran out from behind Avallac'h's shield as he allowed it to drop and reappeared high in the air, managing to slash just below the serpent's jaw before teleporting out of the way and found herself with her feet planted firmly on the ground once more.
Before the beast could recover and fight back, Ciri assumed a pattern of slashing at the serpent with her sword and dodging whenever it tried to shove her back using its tail or bite her until one final slash through the snake's throat sent its head flying, after which the witcheress fell to her knees with a satisfied sigh.
"It's over."
Before she could move to get up and drag the head to the ealdorman so he could see that she'd completed her contract, Ciri heard footsteps and looked over her shoulder in time to see Avallac'h standing over her with his arm outstretched. In his hand, he held a bottle filled with a green substance, which prompted Ciri to glower at him.
"Here, drink this potion."
"What's in it?"
"Something to help you recover." Avallac'h shot her a look when she hesitated and added, "don't stare, just drink it."
"Fine," she huffed, snatching the bottle from him.
The tonic tasted bitter and quite disgusting but she forced herself to down it despite grimacing every time the bottle touched her lips, reminding her of how she felt about Avallac'h. She was glad that she had something to occupy herself with, because she wasn't sure what to say to the elven sage that wasn't pure vitriol.
Once she finished the tonic, Ciri climbed to her feet with some difficulty and hobbled into the forest, ignoring Avallac'h as he called after her so she could gather up mistletoe and sowbread. She needed enough ingredients to enchant all three wells and had some spirit in her saddlebags that she could use to create an elixir to purify the drinking water, so that the peasants of Dalhurst could go back to using their wells as soon as possible.
But when she returned to the village, she realized that Kelpie was nowhere to be seen.
"Dammit! Where's Kelpie?"
Her horse must have run away in the chaos and there was no telling where she had disappeared to.
"Stay and rest," Avallac'h insisted. "I'll go find your mare."
Ciri watched him head north and soon enough, he returned, leading Kelpie by the reins, which allowed her to grab the bottle of spirit from her saddlebags and begin brewing the elixir over a fire she had managed to get going while Avallac'h had been away. Once the potion had turned an aquamarine color, thus confirming that it was ready, Ciri poured equal amounts into three glass bottles and poured the contents down each well before going to find the ealdorman to collect her payment.
She found the man cowering in the corner of his hut with a knife in hand that looked like a toothpick compared to her sword but once he saw it was her, he dropped it and hurriedly climbed to his feet.
"The serpent was the one poisoning the water but it should clear up within a few days and become drinkable again now that it's dead," she reported.
The concoction she'd brewed up and dumped into the wells was likely to help expedite the process and soon enough, the water would be safe to drink, almost as if the snake had never been poisoning their wells. Shock crossed the ealdorman's face as he looked out his window and saw the serpent lying dead in the middle of the village, almost like he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"That beast was living in our well?"
"Indeed. Seems it got so big that it couldn't live underground any longer."
"Well, then it's good ye came along when ye did!" Silas exclaimed. He reached into his pocket and passed her a coin purse. "You earned every copper!"
"Thank you, take care," Ciri said before she took her leave.
Once outside, she brushed past Avallac'h without a word, intent on ignoring him, but she stopped dead in her tracks when the elven sage said,
"Zireael, may we speak? I do not wish for us to part on bad terms."
Ciri paused, pondering his words. She hated that he still kept the company of that elf but that was his choice to make and she couldn't say she was surprised, either, for elves tended to prefer other elves and saw humans as ugly abominations. Any interest he had in her was likely because of the Elder Blood and it prompted her to say,
"Fine! So why did you bother coming to help me?"
"It was not just about the Elder Blood, if that is what you're thinking," Avallac'h insisted in that cold, aloof voice of his that made it hard for Ciri to discern how he really felt. "I did not want harm to come onto you."
"Really? If that is the case, then how is it that you're keeping that she-elf around?" Ciri snapped angrily.
"I asked her to leave, did I not?"
"Yes, but for how long? She'll be back, won't she?"
"It's unlikely, after the exchange you two had."
"Oh, I doubt that! You keep her around because you secretly agree with everything she said, isn't that right?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you."
"No, I suppose you don't," Ciri scoffed as she crossed her arms and scowled. "Though it would be nice to know what you're thinking sometimes! Because I just can't figure out if you hate me. If you do, say it to my face! Go on!"
"I do not despise you. In fact, I think you are quite exceptional, Zireael, in every way. Do not allow the opinion of one elf to upset you."
"Oh… um…" Ciri suddenly found herself at a loss for words, nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot as she pondered what to say in response to Avallac'h's words, which had taken her completely by surprise. "T-Thank you…"
Exceptional could not begin to describe Ciri.
She was also kind, willful to the point of frustrating stubbornness, and compassionate towards all of those who needed help and had even risked her life to try and lift the curse Eredin had cast on him despite her own life being in constant grave danger. She could have just abandoned him but she kept coming back, kept trying to break the curse by any means necessary for no other reason than that she didn't want him to suffer.
She had said so herself, he thought as he recalled back to when she had walked through the doors of Kaer Morhen with a fire to her step. And perhaps that was why she felt so hurt by Eris' remarks: because she thought that they were more than just two individuals with shared interests, that they were friends, or something very close to that.
"Did you truly believe that I hated you, Zireael?"
"I don't know what to think," she admitted.
"You don't?" Avallac'h echoed. Ciri couldn't help but feel irritated by what she thought was mockery in his voice.
"No…"
To say that she had felt gutted to hear such cruel words come from Eris when she could barely get Avallac'h to open up to her couldn't even begin to describe how awful she felt. She wanted to believe that Avallac'h hadn't simply been tolerating her this whole time but she was no fool, not anymore.
Plus, to be told that the only reason why he was able to tolerate her was because of her vague resemblance to Lara Dorren, though Eris' description of her - that her beauty was the equivalent of drinking water from a mud puddle - made Ciri's blood burn with rage.
The only reason why she'd never brought it up with the elven sage was because she knew it would have revealed her true feelings to Avallac'h… assuming he hadn't already figured out that she had been incredibly hurt by the awful things Eris had said.
"Tell me what you are thinking, then."
"What did you tell her? Because from what she said, it seemed that you despised wasting every moment… how did she put it? Oh, yes, that you were waiting for the moment that we could part ways because you were sick of traveling with me."
"It seems she twisted my words… terribly."
"What do you mean?" Ciri's heart skipped a beat. She didn't want to get her hopes up but was it really possible that Avallac'h didn't hate her like Eris claimed?
"I did not, even for a moment, feel as if I was merely tolerating you when we were on the run together. Was I concerned for your safety? Yes, I was. And did I wish that you didn't have to spend your whole life running and hiding from the Wild Hunt? Of course."
"I suppose… that clears things up quite nicely."
"Good," Avallac'h remarked, sounding satisfied.
"Well, I must go now," she admitted albeit awkwardly. There was more she wanted to discuss but after their discussion, Ciri felt that she needed some time alone to mull over everything she'd talked about with the elven sage.
"Do take care that you don't land yourself in a heap of trouble again," Avallac'h chided as if they hadn't just had an incredibly intimate heart-to-heart conversation a few moments ago. "But if you ever need assistance, do not hesitate to ask. You know where you can find me."
"So you do have a heart," Ciri couldn't help but tease. When she glanced over at him, she swore she saw the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
"Perhaps…"
He hoped that Ciri would be safe from now on and stood by as he watched her climb onto Kelpie before she rode off. Then, once she was gone, Avallac'h sought out a portal and returned to Tir ná Lia, where he came back to a quiet, deserted laboratory.