The Witcher: Fire & Blood
…
Chapter 6: Clean as Dandelions V
The Witcher's sleep was fitful and filled with visions of things he had not seen; a woman with olive skin holding him to her bosom, a man with silver-gold hair playing a harp and singing some strange song, and a young girl with coal black eyes with cracks of amethyst leaking through the coals. Then the blurry vision of a city being burned filled the Witcher's dreams followed by a blizzard where the form of a tall man with skin pale as milk and holding a long sword made of ice and an icy crown of thorns on its head glared balefully with glowing blue eyes before reaching out with a bone white hand.
The Witcher gave a startled gasp and bolted upright and into the arms of Katarina who, though surprised, embraced him gently. "It's alright, it's alright. You were dreaming, it's over now," she said in his ear soothingly.
Draco panted heavily, his breathing erratic as he reluctantly wrapped an arm around Lord Van Tassel's daughter, feeling some measure of comfort that his night terror was over. "Yes… just a dream," he muttered in a low voice.
"What were you dreaming of?" Katarina asked him.
"Things… Things I'd never seen before," the Witcher replied. "People I have never met or known, yet feel as though I have," he then said as he moved back in the bed a little to sit against the headboard of the bed. His hand then reached to touch his face and he winced as felt the raw and tender wound he had received fighting the Dullaghan.
"You were badly wounded," Katarina informed him. "Doctor Lancaster put some ointment and stitched up your face as best he could, but he did say that you will have a scar from now on," she said.
"Got lucky then," Draco muttered before he looked at Katarina mournfully and said to her, "I tried to stop him. Brom, I mean. Had he not attacked the Dullaghan…?"
"It's alright. I don't blame you for Brom's death," Katarina said to him in a kind sweet voice. "Brom was a brave man, but he should not have fought something mortal men have no chance against," she added.
"It was my job. And I failed it," Draco said bitterly. "I should've done more!"
"You did all you could."
Draco shook his head and said, "No. I didn't. I could've done something to stop the Dullaghan from killing Brom or claiming more victims."
"You shouldn't blame yourself," Katarina implored him.
"Someone will blame me for not doing enough," Draco muttered. "I can already hear the esteemed reverend rousing the locals to build a pyre to burn me," he said grimly.
"I shan't let them near you," Katarina said to him with a gentle smile.
"I shouldn't have come here. Should've refused the job and moved on elsewhere," Draco muttered to himself.
"Will you take nothing from Slumbering Hollow?" Katarina enquired sadly.
Draco looked at Katarina for a moment before saying, "A kiss, perhaps? From a young woman who did not know me nor saw my face when she did so." His face fell and he said, "I'm sorry. I talk of kisses, and you have lost your brave Brom."
Katarina cast her eyes down onto the bed covers and replied, "I have shed my tears, but my heart is not broken." She looked up at Draco and asked him, "Do you think me wicked?"
Draco gave a faint smile and said, "Perhaps there is a little witch in you after all, Katarina."
"Why do you say that?" Katarina said in confusion.
"Because you have certainly bewitched me," Draco admitted in response.
Smiling softly, Katarina leaned forward and kissed Draco on the lips. Draco stayed still as he felt the young woman's soft satin lips press themselves to his own dry and chapped ones. The kiss was sweet and gentle as Katarina moved to straddle the Witcher, holding his face in her hands as she started to kiss him more firmly. The soft sighs and pants echoed in the room as Draco started to kiss Katarina back, his hands moving to her narrow waist, pulling her closer to him.
Katarina's breaths became ragged pants as her hand moved to trail down the Witcher's muscled chest and found its mark, resting in his lap where it took hold of something long and hard.
Draco tensed and his eyes went wide; what was he doing? Pushing Katarina away from him a little, he said, "Wait! We can't!"
Katarina's face looked flushed and lovely, her lips slightly contorted and her hair coming undone as she looked at the Witcher with wide confused eyes and asked, "Why not?"
"It isn't right," Draco told her. "You've lost your Brom, and while your heart may not be broken, it wouldn't look good doing this," he said.
"But I want to," Katarina said to him in protest. "And I think you want to as well," she added as her hand gave a firm squeeze eliciting a small groan from the Witcher.
"I do, but I can't," Draco said to her as memories of a certain sorceress from his days training at Kaer Morhen came to him; of fiery red hair and green eyes and a warm smile that made the Witcher feel lousy and lovesick. Damn the memories that entered his mind.
"Why will you not?" Katarina asked him gently although she did not loosen her grip on him. Instead she gave a mindless stroke of Draco's manhood making him grunt and shift in the bed.
"You… you are Lord Van Tassel's daughter," Draco said trying to think of a reason he should not be doing this with his employer's only child. "I'm a Witcher. A freak of nature that has business with a lord's daughter," he then added.
"My father isn't actually a lord," Katarina corrected with a sly smile as she sped up her strokes.
"Even so, I cannot taint my employer's daughter's virtue," Draco managed to say.
Katarina only smiled as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the Witcher's lips. Her tongue swiped across his lips, as if asking for entrance. All the while, her hand gently kneaded and stroke the rod of rigid flesh. Pulling away, her cheeks red as roses, Katarina Van Tassel looked the Witcher in the eyes, her human blue ones into his viper-like amber gold orbs.
"Please?" Katarina whispered almost pleadingly. Draco then reluctantly nodded, having a feeling that the young woman wasn't going to let up or let the matter go. Smiling in triumph, Katarina moved to undress the Witcher, her hands deftly pulling off the simple cotton shirt before moving to remove his trousers. Draco proceeded to remove Katarina's own clothes, removing her dressing gown to reveal the nightgown underneath. With a simple movement, Draco lifted Katarina's nightgown over her head and cast it to the floor and his heartbeat raised slightly as he saw the pale skin of her nearly nude body save for a pair of lacy white panties. Her breasts weren't really big, but neither were they tiny or flat; they looked to fit her body perfectly.
"Katarina? This is your last chance; are you sure you want this?" Draco asked as a warning, hoping that she might heed the danger and go back to her own chambers. Katarina gave a smile before pouncing on him like a cat would a mouse, peppering his face with kisses, rubbing her breasts against his hard battled honed chest.
Draco then stopped caring as he kissed Katarina back, his hands roaming all over her skin eliciting tiny gasps and moan of pleasure & delight.
…
Hour later, Draco awoke and he realised that Katarina was not with him and sitting beside th bed was Lady Van Tassel. "Ah, Lady Van Tassel?" the Witcher said in surprise. Lady Van Tassel smiled warmly and replied, "You sleep like the dead."
"Katarina? Where is she?" Draco asked as he prepared to sit up.
"She watched over you until dawn," Lady Van Tassel told him as she took up a knife and an apple and proceeded to cut the fruit in half.
"I did not expect to be served by the lady of the house," Draco remarked dryly.
"Nor would you be, I wager," Lady Van Tassel said. "But the serving girl has vanished." Upon the questioning look from Draco, she added, "They're all leaving in fear of the Dullaghan."
Draco nodded, having surmised as much. After slicing the apple, Lady Van Tassel rose from her seat and prepared to leave the room, just as Young Maspeth came in with a pitcher of water. Draco sat up on the bed, touching his fresh scar with one hand before speaking. "Well, Young Maspeth, I am fit enough to face the day, for at least a mortal adversary," he said as he stood to his feet and dressed himself.
Half an hour later, Draco was dressed in a simple linen shirt, trousers and boots. On a table scattered about were all the notes the Witcher had taken since he took on the contract.
"Reverend Steenwyck. Doctor Lancaster. Notary Hardenbrook," the Witcher read off the names on pieces of parchment before picking up another and said, "And Magistrate Phillipse, who tried to cut and run and lost his head for it." Setting the names down on the table, Draco paced about, his hands behind his back while Young Maspeth sat in a seat in the corner.
"Four frightened men, arguing the night Phillipse was killed by the Dullaghan," Draco stated. "What is the secret that unites them all? What has them so frightened?" he asked.
"The Dullaghan?" Young Maspeth ventured hesitantly.
"The Dullaghan is a tool," Draco dismissed. "A frightening and effective, but a tool regardless. It's the master we should be looking for," he said as he rubbed his hands together in front of him. "There is a conspiracy in this village and the town elders are a part of it, but who is the mastermind behind it?" he asked.
Taking out another piece of parchment and a ink laden quill, the Witcher said, "We must make a list of all the citizens of this village, starting with its chief citizen; Lord Van Tassel!" He then wrote the name down on the parchment.
"Aye, I suppose Lord Van Tassel is the chief citizen now that Old Man Van Garrett and Junior are dead," Young Maspeth said.
Draco nodded at this piece of information and said, "Yes… the Van Garretts. I'd almost forgotten about them." Thinking to himself, the Witcher then began to put on his Witcher armour and affix his sword to his back, saying to Young Maspeth, "Come with me. There's something I need to confirm."
"Where are we going?" Young Maspeth asked.
"To Notary Hardenbrook's," the Witcher replied. "Old Man Van Garrett had to have had a will he left behind and who better than the town notary to have it?" he said.
Soon after, the Witcher and his apprentice entered the village where the villagers and residents were all packing whatever they could onto wagons and horses. Doubtless, they intended to flee before the Galloping Nilfgaardian could claim them as victims. Finding the notary, Draco and Young Maspeth entered the establishment. It was dimly lit with the smell of candle wax, inky, old parchment and dust.
"No-one's here," Young Maspeth observed. "Do you think he's fled the village?" he asked Draco who focussed his superhuman senses. The outside noise of the village preparing to flee almost had the Witcher confused, but after a moment, he tuned them out to focus on the interior of where he was. He could Young Maspeth's breathing and heartbeat, but there was another heartbeat the Witcher could hear; it was beating rapidly as though the owner was panicking.
As the Witcher began to look around, Young Maspeth suddenly noticed something on one of the nearby shelves. "That's my father's satchel!" he exclaimed. "What's it doing here?" he asked as he moved to take the satchel from the shelf.
Draco however was following the heartbeat he had heard and found it beating through the door of a wardrobe. Flinging it open, Draco set his mouth in a firm line as he gazed upon the occupant. "Notary Hardenbrook, I presume?" the Witcher asked caustically.
"Leave me alone!" the withered old man protested, wringing his hands in front of him as he moved out from the wardrobe to sit in a nearby chair.
"Just as soon as you show me the last will and testament of Old Man Van Garrett," Draco replied.
"The will leaves everything to his son," Hardenbrook said as though it cut and dried.
"Who died with him!" Draco retorted. "So the estate passes onto the next of kin," he said for added effect.
"Naturally," Hardenbrook agreed. "All legal and above board," he said.
Young Maspeth opened his dead father's satchel and found something inside. "Sir? Look at this!" Young Maspeth held up in his hand a folded piece of vellum. Hardenbrook had a horrified look on his face.
"I'm a dead man!"
Draco took the vellum from Maspeth and said, "The Van Garrett seal. Broken," he noted as he opened the vellum and began to read the information on it. "Looks like Old Man Van Garrett made a new will just before he died," he remarked. His eyes scanned the words and he found what he was looking for, "Seems he left everything to Widow Winship and her unborn child, likely his," the Witcher said noting the signed named of Widow Winship on a dotted line.
"And here, a marriage certificate," Young Maspeth said to the Witcher as he found a stiff piece of parchment in the satchel. Draco took the marriage certificate, scowling as he did so before he looked at Hardenbrook who held his head in his hands.
"I see. It all makes sense now," the Witcher began slowly, his voice becoming more of a growl as he spoke. "The four town elders, drawn into the plot…"
"We did not know it was a murdering plot! We were drawn in against our will!" Hardenbrook wept.
"The parts you all had to play," the Witcher continued. "Old Man Van Garrett married the widow and gave her a child. Reverend Steenwyck knew the secret because he performed the marriage. Lancaster attended the pregnant widow and Phillipse gave protection of the law," he said. "And you Hardenbrook were tasked with concealing the documents!" he accused and Hardenbrook cowered in his seat upon seeing those piercing amber eyes glaring at him.
"The Dullaghan was summoned to kill Old Man Van Garrett and Junior. Up pops a widow with a claim to the fortune; off with her head!" the Witcher then said. "But murder begets murder; there was a witness to this will and testament," he added as he found a name on the witness line. "Your father's signature, Young Maspeth, it was his death warrant I'm afraid," he told the boy.
"But who would stand to gain this fortune?" Draco then wondered aloud as he though he were lecturing a class. "Someone who knew where to dig and summon the spectre of a headless knight to act as their agent of death… it can only be Lord Van Tassel himself, the next of kin!" he declared.
Hardenbrook could only weep as the Witcher and his apprentice left the shop and headed for the Van Tassel Estate. "We need to find the Nilfgaardian's skull. The will and marriage certificate is not proof enough of Van Tassel's guilt," Draco said to Young Maspeth.
"But why would Lord Van Tassel hire you to slay the Dullaghan in the first place?" Young Maspeth enquired. "It's rather strange," he added.
"Perhaps as a means of being seen doing something about the spectre?" Draco offered. "Sometimes the guilty party will hire a professional as a way of throwing others off their scent," he said. "Right now we need to find the skull of the Nilfgaardian. My best guess is that it may be kept close by Lord Van Tassel," he added.
"Should we search Lord Van Tassel's quarters and study?" Young Maspeth asked.
"Yes, but we must do it discreetly away from prying eyes," the Witcher told him. Night began to fall as Draco and his apprentice approached the estate. Then suddenly, Draco spotted a light float through the darkness away from the estate. Putting a finger to his lips, the Witcher motioned for Young Maspeth dismount and the pair followed the floating lantern light. Draco quietly took a bottle of Cat out and downed the contents, giving a quiet groan of discomfort as his pupils widened to almost unnatural size. Everything suddenly became more illuminated in shades of black, white and grey. Where the lantern was, Draco could see a hooded and robed figure.
The Witcher and his apprentice followed the hooded figure into the nearby grove. The light of another light indicated that there was someone waiting for the hooded figure. Keeping to the shadows, Draco and Young Maspeth spied what was happening. To the Witcher and his apprentice's surprise, it was Lady Van Tassel naked, coupling with Reverend Steenwyck. Draco grimaced and he had to clap a mouth over Maspeth's mouth to stop the gasp of surprise. Draco and his apprentice then saw Lady Van Tassel draw out a long knife and cut her right palm. Bright red blood bled out from the wound drawing a grim look from Draco who quietly left the scene with Maspeth before either Lady Van Tassel or Steenwyck could notice them.
Once they were far enough away, Draco gave a sigh before he looked at Young Maspeth and said to him, "Well… that wasn't expected, but can't say I'm surprised by Steenwyck."
"The Reverend? And Lady Van Tassel? How could they?!" Young Maspeth exclaimed in shock, disgust and disbelief.
"Compared to what most priests of the Eternal Fire do, Steenwyck is fairly tame by comparison," Draco said to the boy. "Still, have to wonder how long this has been going on?" he mused.
"Should we tell Lord Van Tassel?" Young Maspeth asked in a small voice.
"Maybe, but it may also be that his lordship knows this has been going on and lets it continue to keep Steenwyck loyal to him," Draco replied. "Right now, we have to search Lord Van Tassel's quarters and study for the Nilfgaardian's skull so we can put an end to this," he said.
The pair then headed for their horses before heading for the Van Tassel estate to begin their search for the skull of the Nilfgaardian knight.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Sixth chapter of this story is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed it and I do apologise for this being left on a cliffhanger, but I kinda ran out of steam and decided to post this chapter before I ended up rambling and meandering and just blacking out.
*Sigh* Anyway! In other news I'm working on a Super Smash Bros/Elder Scrolls Self-Insert story where the Self-Insert (AKA Me the Author) ends up in the Smash Bros universe as the Dragonborn/Dovahkiin from Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. Reason being that in Smash Bros. Ultimate there is a Dragonborn costume for the Mii Swordfighter character and I thought I could use that as the platform. Now, I've never really played Smash Bros before, except for the OG Nintendo 64 game, but that's about it, so it'll be some trial and error for me to write a Smash Bros crossover.
With that in mind, I've set up a romance poll for the idea on my profile of some lovely lasses SI-Dragonborn/Dovahkiin could end up with and it isn't limited to just the female Smash Bros characters as there's ladies from other franchises/fandoms such as Fallout, Witcher, Mortal Kombat, even the fan-made creations Bowsette and Boosette which for my idea will be hybrid clones of Princess Peach using Bowser and Boo's DNA respectively. So, feel free to cast your vote if you'd like or any ideas you want to suggest leave them in a review or PM them to me.
And that's about all I have right now, so I'll leave this here and catch you all next time.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.