A/N: ***Warning, there is some hints of dissociation episode from Jaskier. Take care of yourselves! Without further ado, happy reading!

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Chapter 4
Someone who inspires

Jaskier fidgets on the grass poking his back, trying to find the right position to gaze at the twinkling stars above him. Once the first one starts shooting across the sky, all discomfort is forgotten.

Weaving across the dark sky a story sang to him.

A moonlight, shimmered hair figure dashed through the rivers of stars before raising their bow. Another star streak across the field of celestial bodies and pierces many hunters that tried to catch a running boar. A calm respite falls once the last hunter fades away leaving only the archer and the boar. Said boar bows in reverence to the archer.

Before the archer does anything, stars circle around them for a moment then everything breaks.

Jaskier sits up abruptly and the ground disappears under him. A distant triumphant laughter echoes as the confusing fall whips around him.

Unsure of when or how he'll land, Jaskier curls up and clasps his hands in prayer as if protecting something inside them. Just as he felt something forcing them open, the laughter chokes in mid curse and a disconnection is smooth away with a hint of lilac and gooseberries.

" -leep. "


Yennefer had felt the urgency once Triss was fully present and no longer floating who knows where to locate the bard. Fortunately with Yennefer letting her borrow some of her Chaos, the amethyst eyed sorceress was able to finish the scrying that Triss had been actively using when she was with Geralt within the link with the bard.

Because of this, not only found the fortress, but how many guards were there and their position.

So it wasn't much of a surprise after they both entered the portal of the bard's location, Geralt hisses at her darkly.

"What is the meaning for this?!"

Yennefer coolly stares at him, knowing what he meant, but not saying it outright, "We are at the forest near your bard's location."

"Yennefer!" she ignores the threat in his words. And knowing him, how panicked and worried he became. She almost felt guilty for it.

"I am not your puppy bard, whom you can kick every time you have an emotion," growls Yennefer.

"You wouldn't do this if it was Triss in trouble," his grips on his unsheathe swords made his knuckles white.

Yennefer snorts and opens her mouth for a snark reply before returning her attention back to the direction where the fortress that was keeping the bard imprisoned.

Then looks down at her hands, remembering how despite not being able to be physically with Triss who was losing her Chaos at a faster rate during the scrying, the overwhelming despair of being so close and yet not able to do anything, but pray everything would work out played on Geralt's face.

"…true, but one of us must be focused," her violet eyes narrows and looks up from the hand she used to keep Triss grounded whenever she faltered during the earlier scrying, "Not to mention, you have a lot to make up for."

"Stop speaking riddles," thankfully, Geralt calmed somewhat, possibly realizing his panicking was going to be no help. Not like he noticed she was also worried about the bard.

"We are near, just so you know, but we cannot rush in a guarded fortress like it is empty. You'll get your bard killed before you even make it through the door."

They began their walk to find a good spot to spy for any look out guards. Once they found a good hidden spot, Geralt turns focused like in a hunt, calculating the best route to enter.

After a quick whispered planning, they decided to attack in half an hour during the middle of the next shift of guards when said guards are tired and ready to call it a day.

As they waited, Yennefer bumps her shoulder to the witcher to snap out of his brooding.

"After all these years, not once have I seen you relaxed as the time I caught the two of you alone not even after our tumbling under the sheets," Yennefer wistfully smiles.

Geralt stares at her in visible confusion, realizing how much the other has changed.

"Cherish those moments and don't deny the vulnerability that leaves you. If anyone you can trust is the one who is there to face your crazy tantrums for the last decade or whatever time you've both been walking that Path of yours and supporting you when everyone hates and distrusts you."

Letting the words wash over Geralt, Yennefer turns inward as well.

Triss always sends reports of leads to her of any project Yennefer just off-handedly mentions during their talk through the xenovox. She never judged, but did call her out when she went too far.

And her beaming face when Yennefer unwittingly made a joke was something Yennefer loved to reminisce.

When Tissaia de Vries mentioned how heartbroken Triss was when she left the Aretuza before the Sodden mess, Yennefer felt her breath leave her. More so to find out her lashing out hurt the one person she would have never harmed.

So technically, Geralt is not the only one who hurt someone they cared about. But by her magic, she will do what must be done to show Triss she does care and so relieved to find her alive for another chance.

Geralt's grunt snaps her out of her reverie. Glaring amethyst eyes meet with impatient ones that nod toward the fortress.

It was time.

With an annoyed huff, Yennefer steps out of the trees while building up her Chaos.

The now playing Gwent guards paid no heed to her appearance only until she summoned her sleeping curse to descend upon them. As much as Geralt and herself wanted to slaughter them, she cannot afford the screams. At least not this early in the rescue.

Once the bard is in Geralt's desperate arms, blood will paint the walls. Especially Fringilla Vigo. That witch wannabe is going down for not only being part of the Nilfgaardian army and betraying them, but indirectly hurting Triss and Cirilla.

Also hurting the bard , she thought as an afterthought.

Speaking of Geralt practically figuratively portaling himself to the other side of the first floor. Idiot witcher, he is rather fortunate she is powerful enough to extend her sleeping curse ahead of him fast enough before the intruder alarm could go off.

Being in the middle of the night helps too.

She is barely able to catch up to the now feral witcher two floors below the entrance and feels Fringilla's magic. Before Yennefer could warn him to think before plunging into a very hostile and delicate situation, Geralt rips the door open.

She first smells then sees the bard and that is a lot of blood.

The bard is annoying and amusing at best when Geralt wasn't around to mix up her feelings, but being chained up like some kind of dead carcass in the middle of the room like that, dripping blood everywhere, was not okay even with her.

She doesn't need to imagine how Geralt must feel. That would be because the witcher slams into the sorceress, crashing into the wall hard. Her screeching was abrupt cut off, but Yennefer pays no heed. While ignoring the new wave of blood seeping under her boots, Yennefer carefully places her fingers to the sides of the bard's unfocused face.

"Sleep, " she whispers with soft power, letting the bard slacken in his chains. She quickly made the chains disappear when Geralt appeared beside her. Fortunately Geralt catches the bard from falling to the dirtied ground, distracting Geralt from falling into a shock of despair.

"Lets go before someone else decides to show up and waste our time when we have other important things to do," Yennefer waves her hand, exhausted, yet knowing the time is the essence.

She turns again to see the bard for anything she can ease the healing that Triss would no doubt perform when they return.

The bard's back was bloody, no longer can one see where a line of what she suspects being a whip begins or ends. His hands were covered in many bruises that hopefully none of his fingers were not broken permenantly.

Geralt carefully shifts the bard in his arm, such a parallel as the day they meet. Only this time, hopefully Geralt doesn't deny what he truly feels for his bard.


Geralt sits with his back on the chair that was set out for Ciri waiting for Jaskier to awaken.

Currently she is out training with Yennefer or at least getting redirect the excessive energy of her worry over Jaskier. Geralt volunteered to stay to keep an eye on Jaskier as Triss was forced to eat and rest before doing another check up with Jaskier.

Silence was once his preferred company, but of course the bard ruined it forever for him.

The witcher sighs. Then again, he is willing to apologize from here to the heavens and beyond to hear Jaskier chatter over everything under the sun and more once again.

Without realizing it, Geralt enters in a meditation state, barely feeling his medallion vibrate.

In a blink, he stands in a fog, distantly he hears singing.

Oh fishmonger, oh fishmonger
Come quell your daughter's hunger~!

He follows the ballad through the fog, searching for those colorful clothes, bright blue eyes, smirking smile who dances between the tables of Cintra's awed audience.

Yet as he gets closer, the singing isn't getting fainter, but more undistinguishable. He runs faster passing nondescript faces, passes the table of the old Cintran queen and her blurred dining companions.

The only reason he abruptly stops was when a giant door reveals itself through the fog. Growling, he pushes and steps into a dark landscape. Narrowing his eyes, his golden eyes roam around the new area and finally finds him.

"Jaskier," he says in relief.

The bright colors might be duller than he remembers, but it could be the dissipating fog making it hard to see.

Realizing now how the hard grip in his heart finally loosens itself to find him, he whispers, "I was looking for you."

While Jaskier has his back turn to him, the bard doesn't turn around.

Doesn't he know he is safe now?

"Please look at me, Jaskier."

The bard's shoulders rise up and an overwhelming fear, despair and fury surrounds him.

"How dare you use those same lines, which you had fooled me once before. You truly believe a second try would work despite already breaking the spell from a better sorceress than you," hisses Jaskier, not once turning around, "Know this, I would not speak or do anything to break my loyalty!"

Geralt stares at the fuming bard, unsure of how things just escalated and knows he has to stop whatever this is before it's too late. Yet nothing came into mind.

"It doesn't matter if you leave or not, I will end it here!" At the shout, Jaskier lifts his arm perpendicular to his body and drops an item with a silver glint only for Geralt to be shaken awake.

"What?!" he growls.

He looks around and sees Ciri staring at him with furrowed brows. Turning to Jaskier who was still laying on his stomach, was Triss standing by.

"The spell was activated again," Triss bites her lip for a moment, "But he tried to destroy the item. I don't understand what could have triggered it. This should not have been possible."

When Yennefer arrives, Triss is muttering a spell, leaving Geralt torn between joining Triss or standing by Ciri who looks on in worry.

"What happens if the token broke?" he asks after the silence became too much once more.

Triss frowns and keeps muttering to herself. Yennefer scowls to her side and responds, "His mind would have been in the same state; broken to the point of beyond any magic to restore."


"We only have one more chance to convince him. The way he went about it, he's destroying himself," Triss whispers without looking up.

"How much time do we have?" Geralt asks, tensed by Ciri's side.

"In actuality, there is no set time, only when one of us enters his mind. But I prefer sooner than later, so as of now we must figure out what is his item and recreate it to resonate the broken one."

Ciri frowns, frustrated that how she had hoped this nightmare is over, it only became worse. While everyone talks about what it might be, she looks around.

Must be something very special to him…

She catches sight of the lute where it is placed in a half-closed case at the other side of the room where Jaskier slumbers on. Ciri carefully opens it up and pulls the lute out.

Geralt's punching something, surprising the girl to almost dropping the lute. In her scrambling to tighten her loose hold, she bumps into the case that falls to her feet.

"Fuck!"

Her face burns at the sudden attention and ensuing silence.

For a moment she waits for Geralt's admonishing of her language when she notices him staring at the ground.

"That was the sound I kept hearing and it was small enough to fit in his hand..." Geralt turns to Triss, "I know what it is."

On the ground was a worn coin, the same one Jaskier kept playing with whenever she caught him alone staring out the window. He always had this strange fond smile she had seen when her grandfather watches her grandmother do court and cuts anyone down who dares to undermine her.

"Of course! It was his first coin as a traveling bard!" Triss whispers in relief, "He mentioned how he can never spend it since it was extra special."

Geralt looks away almost bashfully, but Ciri isn't going to say anything, especially get another hypocritical lecture of watching her language. More so waste time in saving Jaskier, for real this time.