After several weeks on the road, their environment had become much more mountainous. Despite not having been in the area for the better part of a decade, Geralt would recognize the familiar mountain chains instantly. It was as if they had been etched into his brain - centuries might pass but he would never forget them, the memory as steadfast as the mountains themselves. A weird mixture of anticipation and homesickness had been taking hold of the witcher ever since they had passed Ban Ard two days ago. Kaer Morhen was nearly in reach. They would spend the night in a small village that Geralt had passed through countless times in days past, before they would enter the final stretch of their journey.
The weeks on horse had done them both good: Kit was finally not plagued by soreness anymore and had bonded with Nugget in a way that she would have never had they stayed in Toussaint. No more white knuckles from holding onto the reins for dear life, instead she trusted the horse, sometimes let go of the reins altogether relying on Nugget to understand her commands through shifts of her posture and minor movements of her muscles. Riding was becoming less of an ordeal to her and more of an acceptable necessity. Geralt on the other hand had noticed that, even if their journey was uncomfortable at times, Kit did not seem to mind. She accepted everything that was thrown in their way with a shrug of her shoulders, sometimes a raised eyebrow. Geralt learned that his fears of her coming to hate his way of life were unfounded. Naturally, she had told him so before but it was a source of great relieve to him to experience it and have his doubts shattered.
Geralt had always had the impression that they knew each other much longer and better than they actually did, despite their apparent differences, and the feeling had only intensified during their trip and their undisturbed time together. There was something between them that he could not quite put his finger on that nevertheless made them more compatible than he had thought possible. Neither one had a complete idea of the other's life and circumstances. But Kit empathized with him easily enough and Geralt was getting better at filtering out the information he really needed to understand her.
The formerly taciturn witcher had even learned to just go along with the nonsense Kit came up with – to her great amusement.
"And how do you propose we get flowing water into the house?" Geralt asked. They had once again talked about indoor plumbing and the magic that were water taps.
The sounds of the horses' hooves reverberated from the walls of the small canyon, one of many in the area they were riding through. The horses were trotting at a leisurely pace next to each other.
"I was thinking we could make use of the stream next to the house. The source is located higher than the ground level. All it would take is a pipe that is slanted towards the house. It gathers the water from higher up and gravity will do the rest. We'd just have to create a little opening in the wall for the pipe and could have the water run directly into the tub. I just need to figure out a mechanism to open and close the pipe so the water isn't running constantly. And the tub would need a little hole on the bottom, closed with a cork maybe? Then you could simply let the water out once you're done. Maybe we should use another pipe to route it back into the river." She cocked her head. "I think that should work. It's not the most graceful solution but I'm not an engineer."
"I like the idea." Geralt had never really thought about whoever was tasked with filling the tub. But since it was fairly big, the poor sod who had to deal with it had to do quite some running and carrying.
"While we're at it, maybe turn that section into a proper bathroom. You know, with a door. Have the tub fixed in place. Maybe even tile the room." She laughed and shook her head. "Soon it'll be a year and I still cannot get over the fact that houses don't have bathrooms." Geralt had never given much thought to the way Corvo Bianco had been built but he had to admit that he was intrigued by the idea to add a simple touch of Kit's modern world to their home, not least because that seemed like anchoring another part of her personality to his world.
"Sorry, I'm getting carried away already," she sighted. "It's just an idea. It's your house after all, your decision. God, I'm addicted to remodeling things. And now I don't even have youtube anymore to watch other people do it to satisfy my addiction." She laughed again but to Geralt her laugh had an undertone of desperation.
"It's our house," Geralt corrected her, not looking at her. "Not mine."
Kit smiled. "It's lovely that you put it this way, but it is yours. And I'm happy to stay with you in your home."
"That's something I've been wanting to talk to you about," he sighted, scratching his head. Wanting was a rather strong euphemism in this case. He had dreaded the moment since he had a fairly good idea how it would play out. "It really is our house." He assumed a serious expression. "I had a last will drawn up. If anything ever happens to me I want you to return there, it'll be yours then. Understood?"
"What?" she squeaked, eyes widened in shock. He could her how her heart missed a beat. "Geralt… I don't understand." She and Nugget had stopped moving. "You're not planning on something happening to you?" she asked a moment later, her body stiff all of a sudden but her voice quavering all the more.
The fact that instead of taking note of his gift she instantly worried about him, nearly made his heart beat faster. In a fluent motion he jumped from Roach's back and walked towards her, leaning against Nugget, resting one hand on her calf. He looked up to her, taking in her stressed expression with a smile.
"No, I'm not exactly planning on having anything happen to me. But you never know. I was not going to go on this journey without making sure you had a home to go back to. Of course, BB would have never questioned it but now it's legally binding and that lets me rest easier."
"Please don't talk like this. I don't even want to think about it." Her expression faltered, her heart beating frantically now.
"It is what it is." He grabbed her by the hips to lift her out of the saddle. "And that aside, I wanted to make sure you knew without a doubt that it is our home and not just mine. I want you to know that you have a place that is yours, that you can always return to, where you can live as you please." If someone had told him a year ago that he would utter these words, he would have laughed.
Kit's desire for a home had always been evident but it had taken Geralt a while to see. At first, he had thought she was just befriending everybody who she worked with but there were a few people she now shared tighter bonds with. She was building a family for herself, he had come to realize. Anais, whose wedding they had been to, had grown to her like a sister, the two of them initially bonding over Kit's dress and then meeting constantly over the summer, discussing things too intimate for Geralt to hear, and finally separating in a tearful goodbye once Anais and her husband went back to the city until the next summer.
Rita Bernard, who had been working for Geralt ever since he had taken over the property, had assumed the role of the wise grandmother, always giving advice to Kit and listening to her problems, teaching her a little about the local flora and showing her other things. Luckily, not all of that knowledge stuck and Kit had never attempted to make reed baskets again. Her first attempts Geralt had secretly disposed of, never having the heart to tell her how awful they looked.
And while they had never seen each other again since their initial meeting, Geralt knew that Kit and Regis were writing letters frequently. Every time Regis sent a letter, a crow would patiently wait perched on top of Reginald d'Aubry's head to receive Kit's answer. She had once mentioned that the vampire reminded her of a science-prone uncle she used to have.
Once Geralt had noticed it, he could not ignore it any longer: She needed to grow roots because that was simply who she was. And while home in her case did not necessarily mean a place but rather the people she surrounded herself with, it did not hurt to give her a physical space to tie herself to.
On top of that, he felt it was only right that she should have a claim to the vineyard. Geralt clearly remembered the night he found her, how he was plagued with worries that all he owned could be taken away from him in a heartbeat if someone were to make accusations against him – which he was certain would have happened sooner or later due to people's aversion against witchers. But then Kit came and, without intention, changed how the people of Beauclair saw him, simply by loving him. She had given him the security he had been lacking. That alone was reason enough for him to want to share with her all that was his.
Geralt took a little joy out of seeing her still confused expression and her struggle to find words.
"I don't know what to say. You shouldn't have done that. It's way too much. I can't… I don't want… I…" She breathed before she started scolding him: "You cannot just give your property to any random world and time travelling person from another dimension! What's wrong with you?" She punched her fist lightly against the leather breast plate of his armor. Her expression was flicking between horror, disbelief and something that looked like it was going to end in tears. Geralt however considered sharing his property with the woman he loved to be at the low end on the scale of foolish things he had done in his life. After all, the last time he had been in love he had tied his destiny to that of a stranger. He felt like he had greatly improved when it came to this rash decision making.
"You are the first random world and time travelling person from another dimension I have ever given anything to," he justified himself. "Besides death. That I have given to a whole pack of world traveling elves. You definitely got the better deal."
"You are unbelievable."
Geralt smirked, ignoring further protests. "I wanted to have your name in the papers properly, to have you registered as owner. But you'll be pleased to hear that women's rights actually do go far enough for me to be unable to simply make you the owner of my property without your agreement." The lack of equality was something that Geralt knew irked her on a regular basis. "I would have asked you to come with me to the notary to give your consent, but…"
Kit shook her head, still struggling to string together the necessary words. "But what?"
"I knew you were just going to refuse it."
"You are a smart man, Geralt. Evil, cunning, smart," she admitted, a hint of admiration in her voice.
Geralt sighted. "You are the first woman to ever call me evil for giving a gift."
"Yes, because it's unfair! You are giving me all these things, things that belong to you and… I can never pay you back for that," she exclaimed. "You told me yourself that Corvo Bianco is the first home you ever owned, that it's the thing that enabled you to change your life. You shouldn't give any part of it away." A little quieter she continued: "Thank you. It's too much but… thank you. For being so considerate. But are you sure? After all, we haven't even… It's only been… We've only been together for such a short time," she finally stammered getting quieter with every word. "When did you even arrange all that?"
He raised one corner of his mouth into a smile. "Shortly after you told me you wanted to travel the continent. When was that? January?"
"Back then already?"
"I've been thinking about it for much longer actually. Life's awfully short sometimes."
Geralt pulled her to his chest when she started shaking a little. He had first mentioned the idea when Dandelion had still lived with them sometime in October which had gained him a "fucking, lovesick idiot" from the bard, followed by "I'll never talk to you again if I'm not the one who sings at your wedding".
"Since I have no intentions of letting you go, I might as well bind you to me in any way I can." While he had realized early on that he wanted to keep her in his life indefinitely, even before he had learned about why she had ended up in his world, he was afraid that his gift would have put her on the spot, would have forced her to be with him even if his way of life turned out to be unsuitable for her. But their trip and their time together had shown him that his fears were unfounded. Hence, it was only now that he felt comfortable sharing his secret with her as he did not fear that his well-intended gesture would pressure her into anything.
"And here I am," she whispered, looking a little defeated, "feeling stupid because I've been thinking for a while if it makes me look too clingy if I tell you that I love you. Meanwhile, you just gave me an entire… place."
"Silly woman." As so many times before, Geralt was not quite able to follow her train of thoughts. Was it not obvious that he wanted nothing more than to be with her?
Kit shrugged. "It's just not how it's done in my world." She shook her head. "But this is not my world, I keep forgetting that." She looked up to him. "This silly woman loves you. So much. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner. I hope you don't think it's just because of the house. I would hate it if that's how this is coming across." Geralt smiled and caressed her cheek.
"Silly woman." While she had never said the words in question until now, she had found a surprising amount of ways to convey the same meaning, sometimes even without saying anything at all. Her lovely caresses, the way she fought for him whenever someone badmouthed him, the worries she had expressed, the longing… "Not gonna lie, it's nice to finally hear it." It made him breathe easier to know for a fact that she felt for him what he felt for her. And, naturally, it made him happy and proud to have captured the love of someone he desired more than anybody else.
"That's what you needed me to do but couldn't tell me," she suddenly realized, remembering their conversation in the guesthouse in Glennville. Geralt nodded and bent down a little to kiss her.
"In case it isn't blatantly obvious," he whispered, his lips pressed to her ear, "I love you." He could practically feel how her heart jumped in her chest.
"Just so we're clear," she huffed. "I don't want the place if you're not in it. So, don't… die or do something stupid." Her stern expression nearly made him laugh.
"Can't make any promises on the stupid, but I'm trying my best not to die. So far I've done a pretty good job at clinging to my existence, don't you think?"
"That's debatable. Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately?" Her fingers ran across the leather on his chest, tracing the scars she knew were beneath.
"I've done an acceptable job," he corrected himself.
He kept her in his embrace for a while longer.
"When I came here, I could have never imagined that this is how things would go. The length I went to for you to just touch me at that stupid wine festival... It feels like that happened in another life," she mumbled.
"The length you went to? What are you even talking about?" He looked at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Don't you remember how I forced you to pretend that we were a couple? How I made you touch me at any opportunity that I could think of?"
"You really think you had to force me?" The corner of Geralt's mouth started to twitch into a smile yet again. It seemed even after all this time she did not fully understand the power she had over him.
"You said… I don't remember your exact words, but you said something about wanting to be left alone by all those women. Which really isn't what you want to hear when you've just decided that you want the guy," Kit pouted.
Geralt rolled his eyes. "The other women. Not you." He gave her a skeptical look. "How could you even think that after I did my best to get you undressed after the party?"
"First of all: That wasn't your best. I know that first hand," she smirked. "Secondly: I was confused, insecure and horny. Nothing made sense to me."
"We wasted valuable weeks."
"Talking about wasted time… Did you drive me into this corner so I wouldn't be able to escape you when you dropped that house-thing on me?" Kit nodded in the direction of the path ahead of them.
"What…?" Geralt turned around to only realize then that the aftermath of a landslide was blocking their path.
"Shit. That wasn't here before."
"That's kind of a very prominent characteristic of landslides…"
Geralt was not quite sure how he had missed the blockade about 200 meters in front of them. Probably my stupid excitement about telling her how she's never going to get rid of me, he thought.
"A detour it is, then," he shrugged.
"Probably no real bed for me tonight?"
"I don't know. Whenever I went to Kaer Morhen coming from the south I went through here. Not sure if there are any other villages on the way."
"What a tragedy!" Kit exclaimed with pretend-horror "Now I own a house and yet he makes me sleep in the streets."
"On the path, my dear. There are no streets here. But I'm sure you'll survive."
They turned the horses around and went off to find another way. The closer they came to the outside of the canyon riddled landscape, the more the forest took over. First there had been single small trees, defiantly growing out of the hard ground, their roots splitting small rocks even.
It was early evening by the time they found a signpost. The ground beneath them had turned into soft earth, the small path they were riding on was covered in leaves and needles. They had been wholly swallowed by the forest.
Kit squinted her eyes. "Can you read that? It's so weathered."
Geralt looked at the sign which was partially overgrown with moss, the wood beneath rotten to a degree that he estimated a simple touch would break it.
"Not a chance. I wonder if whatever it is pointing towards is still standing." He had been noticing for a while now that they had not met anyone and that there were hardly any prints, neither of humans nor of horses or pack animals. Even the size and age of the trees around them seemed to indicate that this patch of land had been left alone for quite some time. For all Geralt knew, the signpost was pointing to a village or an old mill that had ceased to exist long ago, deserted for one reason or another. It would not have surprised him. Especially smaller villages were prone to be relocated if their source of sustenance was gone. A mine that was left barren, a river that had dried up – there were plenty of reasons for people to move on.
They continued to follow the path for a while.
"Geralt, look at these flowers! Aren't they pretty?" Kit pointed to some flowers that grew next to the trail. "They look oddly exotic. I would have never expected to find them in a place like this."
Now that the sun was setting, the foliage appeared to be even thicker and darker. The flowers that Kit had pointed out popped out from behind the murky background. Their colors were unusually vibrant for the area: purples, pinks and blues, the colors sometimes fading into each other on the petals. Their stems bright green, speckled with red, some thorny, others covered in thin hairs. The further they went, the more flowers they came across. There were red ones that were shaped like fluffy spheres on sticks. Others had leaves bending in a way that gave them the appearance of pursed lips.
"Unusual," Geralt murmured. "I've never seen these before. In no part of the world that I've been to." He let his gaze wander over them not sure what to make of the unusual sight.
"If I had to guess, in my world you would find these in the rainforest." Geralt did not have to spell his question out, Kit continued with an explanation at the mere sight of his raised eyebrow. "Rainforests grow in a wet and humid climate. My people have become pretty good at dissecting the planet but everybody's best guess is that there is still a huge variety of undiscovered species living in those forest. The flora and fauna are completely different from what you'd find elsewhere. Everything is much more colorful, too. And pretty much everything is poisonous."
"Have you ever been there?" he asked.
"No, unfortunately not." He was not surprised by her answer as he had learned that there were many ways in Kit's world to visit a place without actually going there.
"But you know about it because of, what was it, Dee Vee?"
"TV. Yes. There are tons of documentaries on rainforests. I wish I could show them to you. It's a feast for the eyes."
The rumble of thunder vibrated in the background and in the air around them. Geralt turned on Roach's back to see dark clouds approaching on the horizon behind them. "Not good. I think we might not stay dry tonight." He looked around. "Maybe we can find shelter somewhere under the trees."
"Are you insane? Never stay under a tree during a storm. I'd rather get wet than electrocuted."
And so they moved on.
Suddenly the path in front of them opened up and became wider and wider. And as the path expanded, the number of flowers increased. Their heavy smell hung in the air like the afterthought of a strong perfume. A mere few minutes later they finally learned that the signpost they had discovered previously had indeed pointed towards a village which unfolded itself on a clearing in front of them.
But it was the strangest village Geralt had ever seen.
"What is this?" Kit got off Nugget and took the horse by the reins, cautiously walking into the clearing, her eyes wide, her head swiveling in every direction.
Geralt felt uneasy. His medallion had started to tug on his neck ever so slightly once they had noticed the first flowers and was now humming on his chest constantly.
He would not have needed his magical indicator to realize that something was not quite normal. Apart from the fact, that the village was covered in all sorts of strange and exotic looking flowers, it was also completely deserted. The houses were overgrown with ivy, twines and other creeping plants, their roofs covered in thick layers of moss. The last light of the day only added to the magical atmosphere by letting the colors of the flowers shine in front of looming shadows. The view was absolutely idyllic - that is if you did not mind the small bush-like trees that were growing all over what must have been the center of the village.
"Is this some kind of art installation? Do you guys do art like this?" Geralt saw the confusion on Kit's face.
"This is a strange place for art, don't you think?" he replied looking at the odd trees – all of them shaped like people.
"They look like they are about to move. Whoever did this is a genius. Reminds me of a sculptor from my world, Rodin he was called. He was very skilled at making his statues look like they were about to come to life - no, Nugget, don't!" Kit exclaimed when the horse tried to snatch a couple of leaves from a human shaped tree nearby. Kit turned to face the horse. "Repeat after me: Art is not food! No touching, no nibbling, my dear, okay?" Nugget looked at her, giving her the only expression a horse was able to.
Kit was right, Geralt thought. The trees, their stems and branches and twigs were all bent into distinctively human shapes – walking around, some holding hands, some children, some adults. Some looked like twirling dancers. The leaves and blossoms on what could be considered their hair, moved gently in the soft breeze, giving them even more resemblance to something that was actually living. They all appeared to be frozen in time, as if just a moment later they would resume their movements. It was beautiful, haunting, and gave Geralt chills.
"And that one small cherry tree over there!" Kit pointed at a tree that was located in the middle of the clearing, right next to a well. "It looks like a woman who just sat down on the edge of the well." Kit approached the tree. "The whole of Japan has nothing on this one," she said as she admired the pink petals. "What is all of this?"
Geralt shrugged. "I have no idea. Would love to say it's the work of a gardener with too much free time, but my medallion says it's magic." He was careful and while the sight was eerie, nothing struck him as dangerous or hostile.
"Do you think anybody is living here?"
He shook his head. "No, nothing indicates that people go through here on a regular basis. The grass is high because there are no animals feeding on it. No human smells. And by the way the houses are overgrown and by their state of decay, I would guess that nobody has been here in decades. Maybe half a century or more."
"In that case… Nobody will mind if we spend the night in one of the houses, don't you think?"
"Mh." He looked around. The black clouds were approaching fast, the sun had nearly set. The air, while agreeably warm, seemed charged with the electricity of the lightning in the distance. The storm was going to catch up with them. Maybe it was smarter to stay in the village. Storms so close to the mountains had a habit of getting very nasty all of a sudden – unexpected drops in temperature combined with rain or hail had cost many unprepared wanderers their lives.
"Honestly? I don't like it here. Something is wrong with this place and I can't tell if it's simple gardening magic or something more serious. But I like that storm even less." Geralt figured that, if anything happened, they could still leave.
"I know what you mean. This place is strikingly beautiful but, at the same time, deeply unsettling. I don't think I'd stay if I was on my own. Too creepy." Kit shuddered.
Geralt chose a small house at the far end of the village that seemed to be in relatively good condition and had some shelter for the horses attached to its back.
They left the horses with their bridles and saddles on, just in case.
"These two," Kit fed them each a few apples and carrots, "seem very relaxed." Geralt had noticed it too and it calmed him a little. Roach was a nervous one but she did not even so much as flinch.
Entering the house turned out to be not as easy as roots had grown over the door. In the end, they managed to open a window barely big enough for Geralt to fit through. And even that he had to wedge open using a dagger to remove some pesky greenery.
What they found on the inside surprised him. While everything was covered in layers of dirt and dust, and moths had eaten away at curtains and sheets, the room looked rather tidy save for some water damage in one corner. The beds were made, most things were orderly stored away and a cupboard still contained some glasses with something that once might have been jams and pickles. In fact, it looked like nothing at all was missing. There were several half-burned candles all over the room as well as some unused ones on a shelf. In the corner hung a dress, probably once rather nice, now dusty and riddled with holes. Pooled on the floor beneath it were some more clothes that had slipped off their hangers sometime during decades past.
"Whoever lived here, they didn't take anything when they left." By the dilapidated carpets and wall hangings Geralt could tell that the former inhabitants of this place, judging by the clothes a family of three, were somewhat affluent – at least for a village so small. "It's strange. People usually try to take as many things with them as they can. Makes me think they left in a hurry."
Kit, lost in thought, ran her fingers over the dusty surfaces. "What do you think? For how long has this place been deserted?"
Geralt shrugged. "Hard to tell. 50 years, maybe longer? I wonder why they left." He guessed that this village used to be one of hunters. In the midst of the thick foliage its location was ideal. A stack of pelts in another corner of the room seemed to confirm his suspicions.
"Close the blinds, I don't want anyone to see that we are here." He lighted up some candles for them as they cautiously sat down on the smaller one of the two beds to eat their dinner.
"It feels so weird, being in a stranger's house, in their bed, not knowing what happened to them. Being surrounded by tree people adds a certain charm to it," Kit said not without irony, more to herself than to anyone else. She removed the perforated, dusty sheets from the bed. "Well, this doesn't look too bad. But I don't trust this sorry excuse for a pillow," she said as she took it to put it to the side, just to find a small leather-bound book beneath.
Geralt eyed it curiously. The engraved leather looked expensive.
"Damned cursive," Kit cursed as she opened it and flipped through the pages. "It's a diary I think. It's hard to read, the ink has faded a lot."
"I'm surprised anybody here knew how to read and write. That's not exactly common for people in small villages in the middle of nowhere."
"Now that you're saying it – look. The writing changes throughout the book. In the beginning it looks like the writing of someone who's just learning it and closer to the end – all elegance and scrolls. Definitely the handwriting of a woman."
"Maybe the daughter of the couple who lived here? Not sure why someone would bother with an education though."
"To marry her off in a favorable match perhaps? Isn't that what people do around here?" He noticed the edge in her voice. To say she was not happy about the current state of women's rights was an understatement.
"Could be." Geralt spread their bedroll over the small bed and made himself comfortable, watching Kit as she tried to decipher the writing.
"Lydia is her name. She's the daughter of the head of the village. 16 years old and someone named Cassius is teaching her how to read and write. He gave her this book to practice." Kit shut the book. "I shouldn't be reading this. It's not right."
Geralt eyed her curiously. "Why? The girl might be long dead. What harm comes from reading her diary? She's not coming back to get it." It occurred to Geralt that he had never even given a second thought to the privacy of the deceased when he was hunting for information while working on one of his cases. They are probably handling things differently in her world, he thought.
"I admit, I would like to know if anything in this diary can tell us about what happened here," she confessed hesitantly, her inner struggle showing on her face.
Geralt beckoned Kit to sit on the bed and lean against him. While she opened the diary back up with a sigh and started to read, sometimes silently, sometimes aloud, he removed the leather tie that held her braid together, like he would do every night. It was another one of their rituals where he would comb through her soft hair, run his fingers over her scalp and neck just like she often did with him. Finally, he would tie the band around her wrist so she would not lose it.
Geralt pulled her hair to the side to kiss her neck repeatedly, burying himself in her warmth, until he earned a soft purr from her.
For a curious place that smelled of a strange mix of mildew and exotic flowers, the situation was pretty comfortable, he decided.
The storm had finally reached them. At times they felt the ground vibrating beneath them, heard the thunder rolling and raindrops hit the walls of the houses. But most of it was drowned out by the howling of the wind. For hours Geralt listened with utmost concentration but if anybody was outside, he would not have been able to hear it over the sound of the wind.
"Cassius must have been some sort of teacher. He offered Lydia's parents to teach her, made gifts to them even. I wonder why?" Kit lay next to him on her stomach reading while he was on his back staring at the ceiling.
"Maybe he owed the family a favor? The real question is: Why is someone with an education and who is affluent enough to make gifts stuck in a desolate village?" Geralt pointed out.
"Good question. Any guesses?"
"Whatever the reason, it's probably nothing good. It never is in my experience."
Kit just nodded. Geralt had told her enough stories for her to understand why he was weary. Jealousy, greed or hate were often the motivators behind the cases he had investigated, no matter how harmless the issue had seemed initially.
Kit flipped the page only for a dried flower to fall onto the bed. "Arenaria, isn't it?" she asked as she picked the flower up and examined it.
"Quite common around here," he confirmed.
"Maybe a gift from Arvid?" Kit mumbled.
"Who's Arvid?"
"A boy from the village who Lydia was crazy for. That's my guess anyway. Besides her teacher, he's the only one she actually bothers to name."
"And from that alone you reason she likes him?" He raised his eyebrow.
"You know, I've been a 16-year-old girl at some point in time and space. I know how this works." She sighted. "Oh, the joys of puberty."
Kit fell asleep eventually, the diary still propped up open in front of her. She had not gotten very far in deciphering it. All they had learned from the book was that this village was indeed one that had survived on hunting and that Lydia had liked to secretly meet with Arvid to hold hands. He would give her flowers every time they met. Other than that, she only described their festivities and things she had been taught by Cassius.
Geralt listened into the night, even when the last candle had burned down, however the only thing he perceived was the howling of the wind. Kit slept uneasily for a while but just like the storm, eventually she, too, calmed down.
He only fell asleep shortly before dawn, as always nuzzled up as close to her as possible.
When he woke, the sun was already up and somewhere birds were chirping aggressively. Kit, who must have been awake for a while judging by how far she had read through the diary, had her nose poked into the book again.
"I was right."
"Right about what?" Geralt asked drowsily while yawning and stretching.
"Lydia was supposed to marry someone - Cassius. She had a fallout with her parents about it because, guess what, she didn't want to." She put the book aside. "On the last page she's talking about her plans to run away with Arvid, even made a list of things to take with her."
Kit handed Geralt the diary.
It is outrageous! Father and mother have arranged for me to marry Cassius. Why would they do that? Give me away to this old man? While he looks like 40, his mind is that of a person who has lived for 200 years and has not experienced a day of joy.
I refuse. I will not be given away!
Oh, how disappointed I am. I was told he was merely my teacher. Father said he was to instruct me in the arts of reading and writing so that I might be considered suitable for a man from the city. How proud I was – the first person in our family to read and leave this desolate place behind!
All lies. He is not from the city but lives even more secluded than we do in our small village.
But it is irrelevant now. Even if he was what my parents had claimed, I have no desire for likes of him. Arvid is who I belong with. He has promised that tonight he will flee with me. We will leave this life behind, go somewhere where nobody knows us. We will get married and that will be the end of it.
I have already hidden some of my belongings in the trunk of a dead tree outside the village. Once my parents are asleep, I will leave.
Father, mother, I don't know why you betrayed me. Is it because of the gifts Cassius bestowed on you? Do these matter more to you than your daughter's happiness? I'm leaving my diary for you – you cannot read of course but I needed to say goodbye.
I hope that one day you will regret what you tried to do to me.
Lydia
"Something tells me it didn't end well." Geralt put the diary aside, stretched and then grabbed Kit in a fluent movement, making her squeal as he pulled her into his embrace. While it was not at all true that witchers had no emotions, he had gotten out of the habit to give much thought to the dead – it would only drag him down. And especially now he had no interest in wasting his time with the dead when all he wanted was right in his arms.
"Parents can be such a nuisance."
"I wonder what yours would have said if they had met me," he wondered aloud, pressing his lips against her ear as he knew she liked the feeling of his beard tickling her skin.
Kit pondered for a moment, her eyes closed, clearly distracted by Geralt's touches. "Per our customs probably something along the lines of: hello."
"No comments about me being an old man?"
"Maybe a few confused looks but they would have never said anything. They're too polite for that. And besides I think I might have a thing for older man." She smirked.
"And here I'm thinking I need to be afraid of a young one snatching you away from me but it's the old ones I need to keep an eye on," he quipped with an eyeroll.
"What can I say? It seems white hair and crow's feet are just my thing." She wiggled in his grip to kiss the light creases next to his eyes.
He felt like melting whenever she looked at him like this. The love and adoration in her gaze were nearly too much for him to take in. It was beyond him how and why this beautiful creature had chosen him of all people. He pushed her down into the mattress and kissed her because, as was so often the case, he had no words for what he wanted to say to her.
When they had packed their things and left the house, the village looked unchanged. The ground was still wet, squelching under their feet. Leaves, some moss from the roofs and a bunch of broken off twigs were the only reminder of the storm that had blown through the place.
"How odd. All the flowers are unharmed. You'd think at least some of them would have gone with the wind," Kit remarked when they walked around one last time. The human shaped trees looked like they had not been touched at all.
"Mh," Geralt hummed. "Something is not right." He was standing in front of the cherry tree woman at the well. It did not take Kit long to understand what he meant.
"Holy shit," Kit started.
The tree had changed it shape. The woman was not sitting anymore, she was now standing up, one branchy arm stretched out ever so slightly as if trying to grab something. "Do you think it was the wind?" Kit asked, sounding like she herself did not believe this was an option at all.
Carefully, she reached out to touch the tree and gently tuck on its branches. "Nothing is loose, it's all still firmly in place. Ouch!" She pulled her hand back quickly.
"What?"
"Don't know, something pricked me? Or maybe a bug bit me?" She looked at her hand.
"I think we should leave," Geralt grumbled. He took Kit's hand in his to examine it but found nothing wrong with it and let it go after he breathed a kiss on her palm.
"Yes, we should," Kit agreed with one last curious look at the beautiful, odd tree.
Back on their horses, Geralt took one last look over his shoulder, hoping he would never return to this place.