A/N: Hello everyone, wow so many new readers. I really do love to see all your thoughts and opinions on this crazy journey that is writing. Thank you for following along on it and I hope you are all enjoying it. With this chapter we finally reach the end of part one, what will the next part of our story bring to our couple? We shall see. As always, please read, review and enjoy! :)

Chapter 12

Three witchers and a demon sat around a small fire, all cross-legged and silent like they were conducting a séance. Ellie and Lambert had just finished recounting their tale of leshens, water hags and mercenaries to the other two; Lambert's contributions containing a high percentage of swearing but Ellie was used to that now. As the silence stretched on Geralt and Eskel shared one of their infamous looks, the white-haired witcher raising an eyebrow at his friend.

Eskel let out a long, low whistle, breaking the uncomfortable quiet. 'That's quite an adventure Lambert. You, of all people, would be the last one I'd bet on to get tangled up in a mess like this.'

As they had sat talking Ellie had noticed that the term 'brother' wasn't just a way of referring to fellow witchers, it was very true in the case of the three men sat with her. Eskel and Geralt were like the older brothers to Lambert's slightly distanced little brother vibe. Whenever he talked the other two would share looks and smirk, provoking the younger witcher to get aggravated. However, for all their teasing and cajoling of Lambert there was a bond, a friendly banter that made his usually sharp retorts a lot less barbed when talking to his friends.

He gave Eskel a narrow-eyed stare now, his full mouth pulled into a disdainful line. 'When you're quite done laughing at me, might I remind you of the seriousness of my situation. Who knows how long it'll be before Gaetan's back to claim her, and our names will certainly be on his shit list now.'

Geralt gave a small shrug. 'He doesn't know who we are or what she is. Besides, he's just one witcher and there are three of us.'

'It won't take him long to figure out who we are, not with your fucking bard friend singing about your blowhard exploits from here to Skellige.' Lambert cast a sour look into the fire. 'Besides, I don't really want to start killing other witchers if we don't have to. There are too few of us as it is.'

A sombre mood fell over the group and Ellie watched the men curiously. The more she learnt about this world, the monsters and men that inhabited it, the more she wanted to know. The similarities between her world and this one were more numerous than she had previously thought, and maybe if she looked hard enough it might hold the key to why she had been brought here.

'You think taking her to Kaer Morhen is the best idea?' Eskel asked. 'Vesemir might not like it.'

'Fuck that old coot.' Lambert said abruptly, and both his friends sat a little straighter, their expressions disapproving. 'She won't hurt anyone and if she does…well, like Geralt just said, there are three of us.' He gave Ellie a sideways look, the firelight dancing in his eyes and a slow, ominous shiver ran up her spine. It was in that moment, sat in a dark clearing with three pairs of cat eyes on her that she really felt the threat if being in the presence of professional monster hunters.

'We take the demon to Kaer Morhen then.' Geralt said, his look a little more intense than the other two. Ellie raised a finger, her throat drier than she would have liked.

'Half demon.' She replied tentatively.

'The equation doesn't matter.' Geralt said, his stony expression never shifting.

'Yes, it does.' Lambert said curtly, surprising them both. He gave his brother a long, hard stare. 'It matters.' Ellie gave him a confused, but grateful look. He returned it with an enigmatic glance, too brief for her to see what he was thinking.

'We'll travel with you. We were headed that way anyway.' Eskel said, breaking the weird tension that had sprung up between them. He gave Ellie an apologetic smile and she decided he was definitely her favourite.

'Fine, if it'll stop your nagging. Now, if you ladies don't mind, I'm going to get some rest before we set off.' Lambert rose and headed over to his bed roll, laid out away from the fire. Eskel rubbed his neck, rolling his shoulders as he did.

'Me too I think. You got first watch Geralt?' The white-haired witcher nodded solemnly and repositioned himself so he was kneeling. As she watched, he unsheathed his swords and laid them on the ground in front of him. Then, with one last suspicious look at her he bowed his head and let his eyes close, his hands resting lightly on his thighs. Eskel waited for him to finish before glancing at Ellie. 'It's okay. He can sense anything approaching us like that. You can get some shut eye too before we leave.'

'Don't bother. She doesn't sleep.' The snarky comment came from the turned back of an apparently sleeping Lambert. Now it was Ellie's turn to give an apologetic smile to Eskel.

'He's right, I don't sleep. But thank you for your concern.' Sleeping Lambert gave a loud sarcastic snort and Eskel grinned, flashing a wink at her. Ellie stifled a chuckle.

'We won't be out long. Want to get on the road as soon as possible. Keep her company Geralt.' He said amiably, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Geralt let out a low, 'Hmmm.' Not even bothering to open his eyes and Eskel went to his own bed roll. Ellie waited until the two men were emitting sporadic snores and breathing the deep breaths of sleep. She examined her silent camp fire partner curiously. He looked like he was meditating. The position too uncomfortable for him to be asleep too. Plus, there was an awareness about him, similar to a spider seemingly oblivious to the fly hovering around its web until it was too late…for the fly.

Figuring she wasn't going to get any riveting conversation out of her new companion, she gave a quiet sigh. Readjusting her own position, Ellie rested her hands on her crossed knees, the palms facing up. Then closing her eyes, she sank into her own state of unconsciousness.

'If you keep getting distracted you'll never do it kid.'

Opening her eyes slightly Ellie looked up at Solomon, his wrinkle lined face fixed in an expression of disapproval. She leant her head back, letting out a groan.

'But I've been trying forever and I can't even get a hinge to appear.' He gave her a reproachful look, his hands resting on his hips as he stared down at her. She was sat cross-legged on the floor, her hands resting palms up on her knees.

'Summoning a door from nothing takes, skill, patience and, most importantly…practice.' As he spoke Ellie mouthed along in perfect synchronisation to his words. She'd heard it enough times. Solomon gave her a sharp slap to the back of her head, causing her teeth to rattle inside her mouth. 'I see you sassing me again and I'll give you more than a slap.' His voice was layered with warning and Ellie sobered quickly as she rubbed the back of her head, her eyes landing on one of his deadly six shooters holstered beneath his coat.

'Now…close your eyes again and try to clear your mind of everything but the door.' She obeyed her mentor, although the stinging pain now radiating from her head wasn't doing her any favours. She let out a long breath and focused on nothing in particular. The hard-stone floor beneath her faded into nothing, along with the distant sounds of the other Gatekeepers training somewhere in the complex. Solomon's imposing Shedu presence dissolved into the shadows too until it was just her, floating in space. Finally, she began to separate her mind from her body. Allowing her senses to zero in on the thin veil between worlds, pinpointing its weakness. Without using her physical hands, Ellie felt along the veil for that tell-tale snag that indicated where there was a door; a gateway between the worlds.

Don't force it, don't force it. She repeated, letting her senses brush against the silky-smooth texture of the veil. There…an imperfection, a snag. Ellie latched onto it, grasping it with her mind. Slowly, and carefully she began to pull on it. Her actual hands rising from her knees, her thumb and forefinger pinched together as if holding something. Gradually she lifted them higher, pulling the invisible something as if out of a bag.

Gently, gently. The snag grew, becoming wider. The door began to take shape in her mind. It was an old fashioned, panel fronted door. Similar in design to ones she had seen in old stately homes when she was a child. Memories of her parents dragging her through the historic buildings, looking at wax dummies set up to look like the past occupants. The furniture smelling strongly of must and disinfectant. She had never liked those dummies, they had stared at her with vacant eyes. Lifeless beings without a soul. Ironic really. In an instant the door slipped from her grasp. One minute it was there, a ghostly apparition hovering before her. The next it vanished.

'You were closer that time.' Solomon's voice broke her out of her trance. Frowning, she stared down at her empty hands, the spot in front of her where the door had been similarly vacant. 'You let your memories muddy the waters again, didn't you?'

Ellie looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. 'It's not something I can control. I see the door and it reminds me of things.'

Solomon shook his horned head, she could see his tail flicking in frustration from beneath his long coat. 'You're trying to force the gateway kid. At this stage just getting a door is enough, don't worry about the location.'

Ellie gave him a confused look, the difference in heights hurting her neck. 'But what's the point in making a door if I don't know where it's going.'

Her mentor laid a fatherly hand on her head, ruffling her hair. 'Most of the time we don't know where it's going, we've just gotta' trust it'll take us to where we need to be.'

She was sat cross-legged, her eyes closed. A perfect parody of Geralt who was meditating opposite her. Her hands were placed upwards on her knees, the thumb and forefinger of each pinched together as if she were grasping something. The strange, branded glyph on her wrist was glowing ever so slightly. A faint blue hue that crackled with an unseen energy. Lambert's medallion shivered in response to it.

Cautiously he stuck out a foot and prodded her knee. 'Hey Blue eyes, wake up.'

Without opening her eyes, she murmured at him from the corner of her mouth. 'I'm not sleeping.'

'Then open your fucking eyes and get up. We're moving out.' He retorted, turning to his brother. 'You too white wolf. Up and at 'em.'

He heard Geralt let out a low sigh from where he knelt on the ground, but he was already walking away to deal with Whoreson. He hadn't slept for long, and what little he had got had been plagued by some very disturbing dreams. He had been running through a dark wood, not from something but towards it. His legs tired and slow to move, his lungs burning but the thought of stopping had sent the icy hand of fear curling around his heart. In the distance he could hear shouting and someone screaming, and although he had never heard her make the sound in real life, he knew it was Blue eyes. With his sword in hand, he had sprinted in her direction, but no matter fast or long he ran, he never got to her. He had woken just after dawn, his ears still ringing with the sound of her screams.

His already surly mood souring by the second he checked his mount's saddle and tried not to look at the girl getting ready behind him. He could feel Eskel occasionally glance at him but he ignored his friend's obvious concern, he didn't want to tell anyone about his subconscious fears. Strapping his bed roll to the back of his horse, he swung himself into the saddle, surveying the progress of the rest of his party.

Geralt was also mounting Roach, the bay mare shaking her head lazily. Eskel was putting out the fire and giving their camp one last sweep, whilst shoving the last of his meagre breakfast into his mouth. Lambert suddenly felt his heart drop as one of their group appeared to be absent. His eyes flashed around the clearing and he twisted in the saddle searching behind him. He found her stood in the shadow of the abandoned farm house, her hands clasped in front of her, an awkward look on her face. Nudging his heels into Whoreson's sides he moved over to her, his temper fraying from his sudden scare.

'What you doing hiding over here? We need to go before half of Novigrad is after us.' She looked up at him with those infuriatingly blue eyes, that little crease appearing between her eyebrows.

'I was thinking. Maybe I should try going back to my world again. All I seem to do is bring danger and trouble down on you, I don't want to be a problem anymore.' Lambert pulled on his reins, stilling his mount's dancing hooves. Frowning down at the girl he felt that tugging in his gut once more.

'You do. But what if you can't get back and then Gaetan comes to find you, or someone else. You really want to be stuck here for eternity, just to keep me from a bit of trouble? I'm a witcher Blue eyes, trouble will find me with or without you.' He held out a hand to her. She looked at it and for one horrible moment he thought she was going to take off into the woods instead. The echoes of her screams from his nightmare bubbled up to the surface. Then with a deep breath, she said something so low he had to strain to hear it. It sounded like, 'It'll take us where we need to be,' but he couldn't make sense of it before she had placed her hand in his and he was pulling her up into the saddle with him.

This time they were prepared for the uncomfortable sensation that came with being so close. Even so, with the sharp eyes of Geralt and Eskel now with them Lambert was very aware of how his heart rate picked up the moment her back pressed against him. His palms becoming clammy as the intense smell of her hair hit his nose and the exposed skin of her legs flushing as his arms encircled her to grab his reins.

'Ready?' He asked hoarsely. Geralt's eyes snapped to him. Blue eyes shifted a tiny bit, attempting to give him more room but only serving to rub her rear against his groin in the process. He cleared his throat as he felt his stomach constrict, and she responded with a high pitched, 'Sure.'

It was hard to tell from the direction he was facing but he was certain he saw Eskel sniggering next to a very interested Geralt. Clenching his jaw, he kicked Whoreson to a steady trot and led the group away from the farm house and back to the main road. If he stayed out in front he would hopefully be able to hide the effects the girl had on him. Gods, this was so fucking stupid. If this were any normal circumstance, and she were any normal girl, he would have taken her to bed already and got this out of his system. But this wasn't any normal circumstance, and she most definitely was not a normal girl. He had seen her fight a water hag off with her bare hands, seen her tame a griffin with nothing but a kind word and some cloth, and now he had seen her send a witcher flying by shocking him with some unknown lightning power.

As they arrived back at the town, Lambert gratefully turned his horse away from Novigrad and the fishing settlement on the Pontar. Taking off into the wilderness with his brothers in tow. A few of the locals cast glances at the procession of witchers travelling by, with a young, scantily dressed girl sat astride one of their horses. No doubt tongues would wag, and rumours would circulate but he intended to be far away by the time they reached the ears of Gaetan or any other curious parties.

Once clear of the town Lambert spurred his horse into a canter, tightening his hold on Blue eyes as he did, so she didn't slip from the unexpected motion. In a moment of weakness, with the sun on his back and his brothers behind him, he used the change in pace to lean forward. His chin brushing against the side of the girl's face, her smell increasing as his nose skimmed her ear. He fully expected her to flinch away from the contact, but for a brief moment she leant into him, her cheek pressing firmly against his chin. She took in her own deep breath, smelling him like he had her, then before he could process what was happening or how fast his heart was currently beating she pulled away. It wasn't a harsh movement, as if she were repulsed by him, it was slower, more decisive. He was just wishing she would come back, the place where their skin had touched tingling, when the sound of approaching hoofbeats made him straighten up resuming his proper riding position.

'Oi, where's the fire Lambert? You're not planning on galloping the whole way are you?' Eskel appeared at his side, his scarred mouth pulled up into a grin. Lambert shot him a dirty look, his interruption not appreciated.

But where would it have led to, idiot? Best to ignore the attraction, not feed it.

'No, I just want to get some distance between us and that shitty town.' He answered finally, although he did slow Whoreson back to a brisk trot. Eskel did the same to Scorpion, and after a beat Roach came barrelling up on Lambert's other side, an ever stoic Geralt regarding them both.

'Race over now, is it?' He said, his tone unusually sarcastic. Lambert muttered under his breath, keeping his eyes on the road and not on his irritating brothers. He was grateful for their help in escorting his troublesome passenger, but he'd rather they were not so observant.

'So, what's your name? I'm guessing it's not 'Blue eyes'.' The girl turned her head to look at Eskel, causing her hair to tickle his chin.

'No, my name's Eleanor, but you can call me Ellie.' He saw Eskel tilt his head in his peripheral vision.

'Odd name for a demon-sorry, half demon. Seems a bit…ordinary.' Blue eyes let out a light laugh, the sound jarring to Lambert. He had heard her chuckle a few times but this was different. It was carefree and joyous, the sound automatically making him feel happier inside. He felt his jaw tense. Why of all people had it been Eskel to make her laugh like that?

Because you're a bitter, rude asshole, that's why. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and tried to keep his temper over their innocent exchange.

'That's because my human parents named me. If I was born a demon I'd have had another name, something more biblical maybe. All the demons I know are called things like, Enoch and Callous and…Solomon.' As she spoke her usual gibberish there was a slight pause before she said the last name that roused Lambert's attention. A note of pain in her voice, like it hurt her to even speak it.

'You're very…honest for a demon. I'd have thought you wouldn't want to share so much with us.'

'Why not? You're helping me, the least I can do is answer your questions.' Eskel chuckled in response.

'That reminds me, I meant to ask, how did you do that lightning thing?' Lambert sat up a little straighter at this question, and he could see even the normally aloof and cool Geralt lean closer to the conversation taking place. Blue eyes paused for a moment, and he half thought she was about to go back on her promise of answering every question; then she spoke. Her voice a tad more cautious than a second before.

'I'm half demon, but I'm half Shedu specifically. That's a type of storm demon. I can control the weather to a certain degree, although I specialise in lightning.'

A beat of silence settled on them as all three witchers processed the information. Lambert had never heard of any storm demons that controlled the weather, and he sure as shit had no idea what a Shedu was. But if what she had said was true, there was a whole lot more to the girl sat in front of him that he had previously imagined.

'Why did you never tell me this?' He suddenly said, his voice sharp and tinged with jealousy. Lambert was proud and the fact Eskel had weaselled that nugget of intel out of his prisoner had seriously pissed him off. She twisted slightly in the saddle to look up at him, and he tried not to concentrate on what her bare leg brushing against his did to him.

'Because you never asked. You know a civil conversation sometimes wouldn't kill you.' Now Eskel properly laughed. The sound grinding on Lambert's nerves like a whetstone on a blade.

'You've got him there. See Lambert, being nice once in a while might be worth your while.' The glare he threw his brother was enough to wither a leshen, but Eskel only laughed harder. From his other side he heard a quiet, disapproving, 'Hmmm,' and it took every ounce of his strength not to blow his top. If that wasn't enough he could see Blue eyes looking up at him still, a wide grin on her face. Oh, she was enjoying this was she? He'd see how long that lasted when he made her run behind him again.

Eskel was still going as the road they were on began to weave into a small patch of birch trees. The track narrowed and they were forced to reform in single file. Lambert took point again, but he could hear Eskel chortling behind him.

'Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up clown. I still get more action than you do in a year.'

'That's because you pay them jackass.' Eskel managed to quip back through wheezes. Lambert was just about to launch into an all-out insult war with his friend when he felt a firm hand grip his wrist.

'Stop.' Blue eyes said abruptly. The serious edge to her voice made him immediately pull Whoreson to a halt. Eskel's laughing cut off suddenly as he saw Lambert come to a dead stop in the middle of the road.

'What's up?' He asked, but Lambert was focused on the girl sat in front of him. She was staring intently into the trees, her blue eyes wide and alert. Instantly he looked in the same direction, scanning the woodland for any sign of danger. He couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary, only birdsong and the breeze through the leaves. Something had spooked her however, as she began to try and disentangle herself from his arms so she could dismount.

'What do you see Blue eyes?' He asked, locking his arms so she couldn't bend them and escape. Instead of answering him her attempts became more frantic, until with a hefty shove she manged to lift his arms high enough to slide out from underneath.

'Hey! Don't, it could be dangerous!' He yelled, already dismounting Whoreson to follow her. He watched with a slight twinge of panic as she ran off into the trees. This was his nightmare coming true. He checked his swords were in place on his back and was about to sprint off after her when a hand landed on his shoulder. Looking at its owner with a fierce glare, he was met with the stony face of the white wolf of fucking Rivia.

'Steady Lambert. We don't know what's out there.'

'Exactly,' he said, shrugging out of Geralt's hold. 'And that's why I need to go because, in case you hadn't noticed, my passenger just booked it into those trees.'

'Did you see what made her do it?' Eskel asked, coming up beside them, his sword already drawn.

'Funnily enough I was too busy trying to stop her getting away.' He replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

'Enough.' Geralt said as he started to walk slowly in the direction the demon girl had gone. 'We'll get her back.'

'Oooo, you're such a badass. I bet the ladies swoon for it.' Lambert said as he unwillingly followed his brother. The three witchers walked cautiously though the spaced-out birches. All of them looking for signs of what might have provoked their demon charge to run without stopping to explain. Lambert found the pace Geralt set excruciating. He was waiting for the sound of screaming to start, to really complete the nightmare. After what felt like an age to him, but in reality was around five minutes, he caught a whiff of a very familiar scent on the breeze. His brothers caught the same scent at exactly the same time, all three stopping in their tracks and glancing to one another.

'Griffin.' Eskel said in a low voice.

'Smells like it.' Lambert stated. He wouldn't admit it to them, but his heart was beating faster than its usually languid pace.

'It's too quiet.' Geralt added, pulling at his beard. As much as Lambert loved to disagree with the older witcher he had a point. Even a nesting griffin would be marking its territory by calling, but there was nothing. Only the birdsong and the damn breeze.

'Fuck this, I'm going.' He said, his patience finally wearing thin. He heard Geralt's low curse and Eskel's sigh but he no longer cared. Keeping his footsteps light he moved quickly through the trees until the stench of griffin was at its most intense. It was then that he smelt the blood. Hot and metallic, fresh. For a brief second his heart grew cold, then he saw the body of the beast and the much smaller figure of a girl stood beside it.

The griffin was dead. This much was obvious to him as he walked towards it, mainly due to it not having a head. The cut was clean and precise. Made by an extremely sharp blade, probably made of silver. He could see the corpse had several slash wounds to its chest and flanks, all long, diagonal cuts typical of an exceptionally agile fighter. There were also a few burn marks around the mane, as if someone had shot fire at the beast. It didn't take him long in his assessment to summarise this was the work of a witcher.

Blue eyes was stood near the rear of the monster, her head bowed as if in prayer. He marched over to her, his relief morphing seamlessly into anger. 'What the fuck do you think you're doing? You can't just run off on your own, not with a contract out on your head and witchers in the area.'

She didn't look up at his tirade. Her cheeks glistened with something wet, as if she had been crying and suddenly Lambert wasn't sure how to react. Why was she stood in the middle of a wood crying next to a griffin corpse? Girl didn't make sense.

'Is that who killed her?' She asked, her voice thick with tears. He blinked at her, taken aback by this sudden out pouring of emotion.

'Killed her?'

'A witcher. Is that who killed the griffin?' She asked, anger seeping in amongst the tears now.

'Well, yeah. It looks that way.' He rubbed a hand over his beard as he tried to figure out what was going on.

'And that's why…'. She swallowed, her words struggling to get out. 'That's why the head's missing?'

'He would have taken it as proof that he killed the monster.' As he was trying to fathom what was happening, he heard Geralt and Eskel reach them. They thankfully stayed a respectful distance from them, the last thing he needed was those two muddying the waters further in this bizarre situation.

'She was only defending her eggs.' Blue eyes said finally looking up at him. Her eyes were rimmed with red but the blue of her irises was a deep, shimmering sapphire. Caught somewhere between the navy of anger and the sky blue of joy that he had come to recognise. 'She didn't deserve to die.' The words caught in her throat and with an angry motion she wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. She glared up at him for a moment longer before walking towards the headless end of the corpse. As she moved, a flash of white caught Lambert's eye and his attention was drawn to the beast. Wrapped around one of its rear, cat like legs was a tattered, bloodstained piece of cloth. He turned to watch her walk to where the bloody stump of its neck lay in the dirt. A dark pool beginning to stain the ground. She knelt down and laid a hand on the matted, partly singed mane of the griffin.

'Fly high my friend. May your soul sail safely to Purgatory.' She said before straightening, her expression unreadable as she stared down at the slaughtered monster. A strange quiet settled over the woods, the breeze seeming to die down, the birds pausing in their song. A shiver ran up Lambert's spine and he glanced at his brothers to see that they were similarly affected. Their eyes alert as they looked at the demon girl mourning the dead griffin.

In that moment Lambert knew what she was thinking as she looked down at the corpse with a mixture of sadness and anger. There was a high chance that Gaetan had been the one to end the griffin's life, and in a different set of circumstances, in a different timeline, she would have been the one lying headless in the dirt. In her eyes the griffin and her were one in the same, kindred souls fighting to survive in a world that didn't understand them. If only she knew how similar the fates of those that killed these beasts was to theirs, maybe she would look at him and his brothers in a different light.

'Blue eyes.' He said, his voice quiet and as gentle as he could make it. She looked up at him, her eyes darker now. The righteous anger burning in them, a cold fire. 'We need to go…I'm sorry.'

His apology seemed to break the spell. The sound rushing back to the woods like a dam being lifted. She blinked, a few stray tears escaping down her cheeks as she did. Wiping them away she nodded and began walking towards him in a daze. He placed a hand on the small of her back as she reached him and gently steered her towards the other two, watching them curiously. She looked back only once at the monster she had saved and then prayed for, before they returned to their horses and continued their journey to the keep of Kaer Morhen.