As Helen gathered the willing villagers and even some smart knights Blue picked up a rack of training swords and a secret bag of guns that were hidden in the wardrobe in his old room.
As he stepped out he laid the sword rack down and opened the duffel bag of guns.
"Right, who here is a soldier, veteran soldier or a knight?" Blue called out as a group of ten people put their hands up. "Pick up a pistol, so that is like this small one, walk over to my colleague here, She's going to teach you how to use a gun."
The group followed Blue's instructions as they grabbed a pistol each and followed Park to the lower courtyard of the keep.
"the rest of you pick up a training sword." Blue ordered as he drew his sword, giving it a few pirouettes for practice. "We'll start with the basics."
Blue showed the people how to wield a sword without cutting their own heads off.
"Good, you know how to attack, but the best offense is a good defense. I'll show you how to block, parry and riposte attacks, each of you find a partner." Blue said as he called Palmerin over.
Meanwhile Park was teaching her group how to use a gun.
"Mind the recoil. Aiming down sights is always more accurate, take your time, learn to walk before you try running." Park said calmly as a wave of bullets hit the targets Blue had given her to use.
A knight turned to talk to Park while still holding the gun.
"Point your gun downrange!" Park snapped immediately as she disarmed the knight of the firearm and dismantled it in a heartbeat. "Go back up there to Blue and he'll teach you about swords because right now you're a danger to your friendlies with a firearm."
The knight was knocked off balance by the way Helen had reacted.
"The same will happen to anyone how doesn't heed these words now, never point the barrel of your gun at your friendlies, loaded or otherwise. I won't say it a third time."
Blue was in the middle of a demonstration when the knight reached him. Blue called a pause as he approached the knight.
"What happened?"
I turned to face her and she took the gun off me and dismantled it. Crazy bitch." the knight said.
Blue huffed out a breath.
"put your left foot forward." Blue commanded calmly, the knight did as he was told only for Blue's left hand to punch him in the jaw and knock him to the ground.
"Never insult my wife, go back to her and apologize for your lack of foresight when handling your weapon...NOW!" Blue snapped as he channeled his inner drill instructor. As the knight sulked away Blue turned to face the crowd of on lookers. "Back to it then, Palmerin, if you would be so kind."
The drills continued for both groups for the next six hours, Blue was giving the people a short rundown on how to wield swords while Park was covering how to use firearms. When food was served both Blue and Helen took a bowl and sat down at a table in the main hall.
"Did that knight apologize to you?" Blue asked calmly.
"Yes, he apologized for his lack of foresight when handling his weapon. Why did you hit him though?" Park said casually.
"He called you a 'crazy bitch', right in front of me...out loud, He's lucky it was me not you, you would have ripped his fucking head off." Blue said calmly, taking a small sip of the reserved Bourbon he had been keeping in his room draw.
"I'll choose to take that as a compliment." Park laughed as She took a sip of the Sangreal wine Anna had given them. "This wine is fantastic."
"It is normally reserved for the ducal family, Anna gifted me six barrels of it a long time ago, hopefully they've aged well." Blue smirked as Park gave a slight smile.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Do you still...you know...for Anna?" Park said awkwardly.
"Not in the way I used to, now she's...a friend, one of my best friends." Blue answered as he used his thumb to rub the palm of Helen's hand. "No need to worry, we flirt innocently every now and then but it's like what my mum and dad do, Yennefer would say something and Geralt would retort with another, they would continue until one of them couldn't think of anything."
"So how come I've only ever seen your mother use the abilities until now, you could have been anywhere we needed in seconds?"
"Helen, I know Anarietta told you what happened when I leave one reality. I didn't want to forget you, us. besides you know as well as I do that Hudson would chase me on the orders of his superiors to obtain my power...my fucking curse." Blue said calmly.
"So you use it to save Anna and expect me to not be suspicious?"
"Park, as far as the rest of our reality is concerned, Anna doesn't even exist okay, that means someone knows otherwise, meaning that Toussaint was in danger, now if Toussaint falls then an empire named Nilfgaard will try to reclaim it, assuming that the kingdoms like Redania attacked it, thus being an act of war, starting a large scale conflict all over again, the last one led to what you saw with Triss when I mentioned she had to flee with all the other surviving mages after a genocide, too many lives were lost in the last war that shouldn't have happened, believe me...I fought in it and managed to negotiate the peace that is currently keeping them from each others throats." Blue explained.
"How many mages died?"
"Too many. when my father helped Triss escape with the other mages there were around a hundred on the ship they left on." Blue said his shoulders slouching from the weight Blue felt burdened with at the current topic.
"Exactly how many?" Park insisted, Blue's right index finger began to tap his glass of bourbon.
"Can we change subjects please." Blue said calmly.
"How many?"
Images of the burning bodies of mages he had known flashed in Blue's eyes, his index began to tap faster on the drink glass as he gulped it down.
'No! Please help! Anyone please have mercy!' Blue heard an old friend screaming as he was forced to watch them on the pyres of Novigrad.
"Helen can we please stop talking about this." Park realized what she was doing, she was convinced she had caught Blue in a lie, now finding that he was telling the truth and had left out having to watch his friends burn while peasants cheered.
"I'm sorry...I thought you were lying about everything." Park said, her cheeks flushing red from shame. Blue stood up without a word and left to climb onto the outer walls of the keep, taking his bourbon with him.
'Bell, we got a job to do!' Adlers voice echoed in Blues head.
The memories Blue had been trying to keep buried in the witcher world had returned, there were more of them than there were Vietnam memories for Blue.
"Piss off Adler." Blue muttered as he took a gulp of his drink.
Meanwhile Park was in the room she and Blue were set up in, his old room from his time in Kaer Morhen. she looked through all the cupboards to find any reading material, finding only a bestiary with all the various monsters almost all of them were by the same person but the last few additions were made by Blue's hand, he had added some other creatures, adding pictures, names and descriptions including their strengths and weaknesses. She found the potions Blue used to have to take to avoid sensory overloads when he first gained his mutations. she found a set of armor that looked straight out of those star wars films she had seen on the picture-houses, along with weapons straight from the films, she managed to find a diary, opening the book she read Blue's handwriting from when he was seven years old.
"I bought this diary when me and Lady Yennefer when to the market a few weeks ago on a trip to the court where she works, she thought it would be a good Idea for me to use it to keep an account of happenings if I need it later down the line. entry #1:
Ciri seems worried about something today, she seems quiet, an unusual occurrence, normally she's very...energetic, I feel like I should ask her if she needs help with anything. Eskel and Lambart, apparently two other Witchers are returning to Kaer Morhen soon, It'll be nice to have more company, present company is nice enough but sometimes it can be a tad lonely here. I think it's been three weeks since I escaped the Organization, no sign they know my location, then again I barely know my location." the first page said as there was a sketch of Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt.
'Blue always was a gifted artist.' Park though to herself.
"Entry #2:
Lambart and Eskel arrived, Eskel is friendly enough but Lambart is an a$$hole, Geralt warned me about his 'sense of humor', but wow, he is incessant. I would never tire of punching him given the opportunity. I asked Ciri if she was okay, she dismissed it with a fake smile and a hum. Lady Yennefer gave Lambart a look today that explains why most people show her respect in the town, if looks could kill Lambart would be a small pile of dust. SCARY! training is going well, apart from my senses overloading every now and then, I miss Amy, I hope that Damien isn't giving her any grief." the second page said as there was a sketch of who Park could only presume to be Eskel and Lambart. Next to the picture of Eskel was a small thumbs up while Lambart's picture was next to a speech bubble saying 'I am a dick.'
Park gave a small chuckle at the drawings.
"Entry #3:
Yennefer and Geralt seem to treat Ciri like their own kin, not a complaint, just a note, it's like they...we're a family, they've been looking after me for a few months now, they have treated me like they do Ciri, like I'm one of their own. Managed to steal my armor from my old quarters in the Organization HQ, hidden it under the bed out of sight. Found out what's been upsetting Ciri last night, she had a nightmare, told me what she'd been through, poor girls seen shit I'd be scared of, I stayed up the whole night to keep an eye out for her, hell...I hardly sleep these days anyway. Can't stop thinking of Amy, hope she's alright, I owe her a lot. Lady Yennefer assessed me today on my court language. SHE KNOWS! luckily Yennefer covered for me when Ciri asked what the light off my ability was when she seen it under the door. Lady Yennefer seemed to recognize my ability to some capacity. I might ask her next time we go into town for her supplies."
Park was reading through the entries, learning more about Blue and why he is the way he is with each page.
"Entry #11:
Been some time since I had the chance to write in this thing, thought it would help clear my mind. Turns out Damien is my brother, he tried to destroy the Witcher reality by invading it, I managed to stop him, shot him in the head twice. I now have a girlfriend, a bloody duchess to be! Anarietta (Lady Anna Henrietta), I was given the duty of guarding her while Sis and Dad got to hunt vampires. Anna saved my life when they attack, and I hers. We managed to talk a little before all that and she taught me how to 'dance'. I managed to clean her duchy of most crime and solve why the vampires were attacking, it was great and all but...Damien is somehow alive. What. The. Fuck?!"
"Entry #22:
Stopped a dirty bomb in Toussaint and saved my relationship with Anna. H.I.V.E were behind it, meaning Damien is in play. I swear if I have yo fight him a million times to protect everyone I'll do it a million and one times gladly. Met that Triss lady, she helped me save Toussaint from the dirty bomb, thing would have wiped out half of the continent. Triss seemed nice enough, pretty too, though not as pretty as Anna. I was able to gather there was some tension between her and Mum. Speaking of Mum, I had to call her away from her vacation with Dad in another reality, she turned up in a bikini, god I'll never be able to unsee that, my mum in a bikini...eugh." next to the writing was a picture of Triss.
Park heard footsteps at the the door, turning to see Blue, he walked over and put the box of potions back in the cupboard without a word. He picked up the bestiary and put it on a shelf in the cupboard.
"Blue...I'm sorry, I should have believed you when you sai-"
"No, you were right to be suspicious, I exposed my ability and immediately threw caution to the wind as soon as I knew they were after...her. It's just, there's always that part of me from back then that thinks she needs me to save her...I got other people to take care of though. You. Park I want you to know that I would never lie to you in the manner that you thought, me and Anna, that's all the past, truly done, just friends." Blue said as he looked out of the window.
"I shouldn't be upset at you for acting like you did rushing off to save her, after all you and her had in the past regardless of if it's done or not it's only natural that you feel close to her still." Park said as she handed Blue his old diary.
"Keep it, thing has memories I'd prefer you knew about me but I left forgotten." Blue said as he remembered some of the entries.
"Entry #22."
"What about it?"
"That's were I was up to. Did you really survive the death match against bounty hunters in the star wars reality?"
"Yes, the Mandalorians, all sixteen waves, I was six and a half years old back then, I had nothing left worth living for so I fought with no rules. They gave me the armor out of respect of 'a fellow warrior'." Blue said as he remembered what happened in the fight.
"You...the diary never mentions how old you were when that happened."
"Yeah...you once told me we're not all proud of our scars, that's my scar. One of the many." Blue said, his voice laced with regret.