A/N: Hello all, I really do look forward to these Wednesday updates. Listening to all your thoughts on each chapter really does spur me on with this monster of a story. I hope you aren't all too mad with about the last chapter? Whoever said love was an easy thing. ;) I hope you enjoy these next few chapters, got a lot of drama and relationship stuff to get through before the adventure resumes. As always my lovely readers, read, review and enjoy! :)

Chapter 22

Two days after the fishing trip, Ellie could still taste him on her lips. After fleeing from the lake, she had returned to the keep and hid in the cells below. It was the only place she could think of that they wouldn't look for her…and she had been right. She'd cried harder than she had in a long time, alone in the dark. The memory of his hands, his lips, his body against hers torturing her through her unsleeping existence.

But this was her choice, she kept telling herself as she rocked. The tears blurring her vision, the hole in her chest which he had filled so easily in one afternoon torn open anew until it felt like she was dying all over again. Why had she gone with him? Why had she been so weak? She was a monster that hurt everyone close to her, and witchers killed monsters.

Two days after the fishing trip, Ellie sat in the darkness. The tears had stopped but the hole throbbed still. She had lost most other feeling in her arms and legs from the cold, having come down in the wet clothes she had been in. She was startled out of her miserable stupor by a voice calling her name. It was rough and filled with desperate concern, and for one fleeting moment she felt a dread settle over her. Then the smell of rosemary hit her nose and she felt some of the tension leave her.

Eskel was still calling her name when he appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She could only see him vaguely in the shadows, light not being high on her list of priorities right now. His eyes glowed slightly in the dim light and she heard him curse before a light flared up, suspended above his hand for a moment. He lit the dormant torch sitting in the sconce and glanced around wildly. The cat like pupils of his eyes blown wide as they flicked frantically around the grim dungeon. They spotted her tucked far in the corner of the cell she had originally been put in, the mouldy straw tucked around her like a blanket.

'Ellie, thank the gods.' He said, his voice a breathy rush of relief as he shouldered his way into the cell. The door screeching loudly in protest. Squatting down in front of her, his wild eyes scanned her, searching for some kind of injury or clue as to her general state. 'What are you doing down here? We've been looking for you for two days.'

She raised her head, not quite meeting his eyes. 'A keep full of witchers and it took you two days? Sounds like you need some practice.' The humour she had intended didn't quite reach her voice, and Eskel only looked more worried as she gave him a weak laugh.

'El. What happened? We thought you'd got lost. Lambert said you disappeared after you went fishing.'

'Did he?' She said, her head tilting forward to stare at the worn leather on her knees.

'Yeah, he searched for you for the rest of the day and a good way into night. We nearly had to send a search party out for him too.'

Ellie felt her face heat up and her eyes sting with the threat of new tears. 'Did he say what happened? On the lake?'

Eskel's eyes narrowed. 'No. He wouldn't. Just cursed at us and told us to mind our own business.' His tone became serious. 'What did happen?'

She bit her lip, not wanting to burst into ugly tears in front of her friend. He didn't miss the strangled whimper that came from her despite her best efforts though. He reached out a hand to grip her arm; it was firm but not harsh. 'Ellie? Did he hurt you?' When she didn't answer the grip tightened. 'I swear to the gods if he hurt you, I'm gonna-'

'He did nothing.' She said quickly. Eskel gave her an incredulous look, unconvinced.

'You don't have to defend him. Lambert is a jackass, we all know it.' She reached up and carefully pulled his hand away from her arm.

'Honestly Eskel. I was the one that hurt him.' Withdrawing his hand, he rested them on his knees.

'Now I have to know what happened? Did you punch him? No, you capsized the boat. He loves that thing.' A small smirk worked its way onto his scarred face. She let out a sigh, certain he wasn't going to drop his line of questioning. This was exactly why she had hid in the first place, but there was only so long she could deny the truth.

'We kissed. And then I ran away.' His eyes widened for a beat, then his expression took on that searching quality, the one that made him look like he'd give all the coin on the continent to know her thoughts.

'Huh, the idiot actually did it.' She frowned at him, but before she could decipher the meaning behind his words he let out a snicker. 'He was that bad a kisser you ran away?'

In normal circumstances she would have laughed at his joke and brushed it off. In her current state of distress however, she found herself blushing harder, ducking her head down to hide her mortification. 'He wasn't a bad kisser.' She mumbled into her knees. 'I just…I can't…being with me is bad for him.'

Eskel's derisive snort made her lift her head. 'Of all the things you are for him, bad is definitely not one.' She swallowed thickly as she looked up into his familiar amber eyes, the hole in her chest throbbed.

'How is he?' She asked weakly.

He sighed. 'Not good. The foulest I've ever seen him. He won't talk to me or Geralt about it and has spent the last few days out of the keep. I assumed he was looking for you.' She nodded in response, her mood sinking with every minute. Eskel leant towards her, his expression softening. 'Whatever is going on between you, I'm sure it will sort itself out. He doesn't deserve your guilt though. Come back up with me.'

His voice was soothing, like a balm on her wound. He reached out again and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. As his fingers swept along her cheek, she felt a comforting warmth blossom beneath his touch. Eskel's eyes briefly flared with something hotter than friendship and she felt her stomach tighten, although not in a good way. Apprehension flooded through her and she broke the contact by slowly standing up. He followed suit. The fleeting look already gone, his usual friendly demeanour back in place.

'You think he'll ever talk to me again?' She asked, determined to forget the odd moment they had just shared.

'Sure he will. He just needs time to get over his own ego and admit not everything's about him.' He grimaced, running a hand through his hair. 'Although, it'll be Imbaelk and then some before he admits that.'

Her ears pricked up at the foreign word, it was the same one Lambert had said to her a month ago at the pass. As they walked out of the damp cell she shot the witcher a sideways look. 'What is Imbaelk?'

'It's a celebration most have when winter turns to spring. People gather to eat and drink, welcoming the longer days and new growth.'

'Huh. Sounds a lot like Christmas where I'm from. Except that happens near the start of winter and is about the birth of someone from thousands of years ago that most people don't believe in anymore…'. She trailed off under Eskel's puzzled look. 'It's a religious thing. Main point is people get together with their families to get drunk and eat turkey. Presents are involved at some point as well.' She smiled at him, feeling a little foolish. Why was she babbling about Christmas? The last time she had celebrated it was before she'd lost her family. The demons certainly didn't participate in it.

'Sounds…nice.' He said kindly. They lapsed into silence as they walked up the narrow stairs, their shoulders brushing in the cramped space. Ellie's thoughts were far away by the time they reached the main hall, so much so that she didn't notice Yennefer approaching them until the sorceress was right on them.

'I see Eskel sniffed you out. Hiding in the dungeons was clever, no one would have expected you to willing go down into that foul-smelling place.' Her nostrils flared and she recoiled slightly. Ellie was pretty sure she stank of mouldy straw and rat droppings at this point.

'Not foul-smelling enough it would seem. The witcher still got me. I'll have to improve on my hide and seek game for next time.' She shot Eskel a smirk and he returned the favour. That funny warmth spread through her and she quickly turned away.

'Your recent foray into the cells and your current hygiene wasn't the reason I came to talk to you.' Yennefer shot an irritated look at Eskel, then waited expectantly. Ellie shook her head.

'It's okay if he hears.' The sorceress raised a perfect eyebrow before turning her attention back to her.

'Very well. I recently got back from one of my…fact finding missions, and have brought interesting news. Triss and I detected a powerful magic somewhere off in the far reaches of the Continent. It would have gone unnoticed if we hadn't been looking for something similar to what you can do.'

'What was it exactly?' Ellie asked, her interest piqued.

'A storm appeared out of nowhere. Sunk an entire fleet of Nilfgaardian brigantines. No one can detect who or what was responsible, but whatever it was, it was certainly powerful.'

'A vaedermakar maybe?' Eskel said. Ellie flicked him a confused look, unfamiliar with the word. He noticed and gave her a lopsided smile. 'A weather druid. They can manipulate the weather, much like you.'

Yennefer shook her head. 'No vaedermakar alive could have summoned a storm like this so quickly. No, we suspect something else, a magical being of some kind. A djinn or-'

'Another demon?' Ellie interjected. Yennefer gave her a hard stare.

'Potentially. Are you able to sense them?' Ellie chewed on her bottom lip, unsure if this was information she should share.

'I can…although they have to be near to me.' She glanced between the witcher and the sorceress now looking at her inquisitively. 'I can sense when one is close by usually. It's how we track each other outside of Purgatory.'

Yennefer tilted her head a fraction. 'And you haven't felt one near you since arriving here?'

Ellie shook her head. 'No.'

'Hmm.' Eksel said, in a stunning imitation of his brother. 'You think another demon is stopping her from leaving?' The sorceress shrugged.

'I'm clutching at straws here. The phantom storm is the most unusual thing to happen since we started looking, but it could have nothing to do with her problem. Even if it is connected, we still have no idea of motive. Any thoughts on why something would want to keep you in our world?'

'None. Although another demon would explain how it's only my gateway opening ability that is cancelled out.' Eskel frowned in an unsaid question. 'I can still summon lightning and use most of my other powers as far as I'm aware.'

There was a long pause as Yennefer seemed to think about what she'd said. 'As far as I can see we have two options.' She held up a perfectly manicured finger. 'One, we lay low and hope whatever or whomever this is loses interest; my bets are on this not being the case.' She added another finger to the first. 'Two, we draw it out. Find out what it is exactly, and what it wants with you.' She gave them both a haughty smirk. 'This would be my preferred option.'

'How do you suggest we…draw it out?' Eskel said in a low growl. There was something protective in the way he had suddenly angled himself so he was partially blocking Ellie's view of the sorceress, that made her blood pound in her ears.

'She may not be able to detect other demons unless they're close, but this thing, whatever it is, can definitely detect her. It can sense when she's trying to leave, so by that reckoning it should be able to detect her doing other things as well, or any powerful use of magic. If we get you to use some of your other powers a bit more, make a few waves of your own, maybe it will become interested enough to come pay you a visit.'

'Maybe. Or maybe it will watch from a distance and strike when we're not ready for it.' Ellie mumbled, feeling a nagging feeling in her gut at the thought or luring a potentially powerful demon to the keep. Eskel snorted at her comment, and gave her a sideways look.

'We're a keep full of paranoid witchers and even more paranoid sorceresses El. We're always ready.' Ellie felt her brow lower at his blasé dismissal of her fears.

'And none of you asked to be involved. It wouldn't be fair if I brought down a supernatural horror on this place and forced you all to fight on my behalf.' At this the witcher turned to look down at her properly.

'It's what we do. If we don't fight now, it'll just be another day, another reason down the road. Lambert made the decision for all of us when he brought you here, and if you won't let us fight for your sake, then let us for fight for his.' Ellie's chest clenched uncomfortably as the subject drifted dangerously close to the dark haired, arrogant witcher.

'Let me think about it.' She said. Eskel and Yennefer regarded her for a second then the sorceress inclined her head.

'Of course. I'll be in my room for the next week or so. Got some things that are better done in the safety of this keep.' With that cryptic end she spun around in a flurry or skirts and black hair, and strode away from them purposefully. Eskel and Ellie stared after her for a moment before the witcher blew out a slow breath.

'Mercurial as ever that one. How Geralt manages still baffles me.' He flashed a grin at her and she tentatively responded. Her mind still distracted by everything she had just learnt.

'I always meant to ask…what is up with Geralt, Triss and Yen?' Eskel blinked owlishly down at her before his grin stretched wide across his scarred face.

'Oh ho. After the real intel now?' He began to walk through the main hall as he continued to talk. 'There's a lot to unpack, let me just boil it down to this. Triss and Yen both love my brother, and he loves them both…but in very different ways.'

Ellie kept pace with the witcher. 'That doesn't tell me much Eskel. But thanks anyway.' Eskel let out one of his booming laughs, it filled the hall with sound. They carried on walking out of the main hall and through the doors to the yard outside.

'Love is a complicated thing.' Eskel finally said after a lengthy pause. She kept her eyes strategically trained forward, staring out across the snowy courtyard, letting her eyes adjust to the drastic change in light. There was a weighty silence between them, as if Eskel wanted to say more, but much to her relief he sighed before changing the subject.

'The keep really does look a lot better since you arrived. It's almost back to how it was when I was a trainee witcher.' She felt him shift next to her, half turning to face her. 'One thing we used to do when I was growing up here was celebrate Imbaelk. It's been a long time since the last one but I reckon I could persuade Vesemir, especially as you haven't seen one before. I think we could all use a break for once.' Ellie was still processing their proposal of luring a potentially devastating force to everyone here, not to mention her still tumultuous feelings towards Lambert, but Eskel's idea sounded…good. When was the last time she had celebrated anything? Too long, she thought and if her time in this strange, yet fascinating world was limited, might as well make the most of it.

'Sounds good to me.' She said, smiling up at the witcher. 'Maybe I can add some things from my Christmas as well, seeing as it's winter.'

Eskel grinned down at her. 'Excellent. I'll go ask Vesemir now.' He walked a few steps then turned to look at her, still stood on the steps of the keep. 'Oh, and don't worry about Lambert. Like I said, he'll get over it.'

Eskel strode off across the yard, intent on completing his new mission. Ellie watched his retreating back and wondered how she always managed to make things so complicated. There were times she wished she had just died in the woods next to her brother. At least then she wouldn't have left such a wake of destruction behind her. Sometimes literally, but most often it was the people she cared most about she destroyed.

The impromptu Imbaelk/Christmas celebration gained traction faster than Ellie would have thought possible. As soon as Vesemir had admitted it sounded like a good idea – he was in an uncharacteristic good mood according to Eskel – then it seemed everyone else became involved overnight. Having completed most of the work to be down outside the keep, she turned her attention inside and started tidying the parts of the keep they would use most. Namely the main hall and the kitchens. The benefits were twofold; it gave her something to look forward to, it had been a long time since she'd had cause to celebrate anything, and the second was that it distracted her from a certain dark haired witcher and the risky plan Yen and Eskel kept batting her way.

She understood their thinking but the idea of luring whatever had brought her here and was now keeping her in place made her stomach sour. She was only one gatekeeper and even with a fortified keep full of witchers and sorceresses she wasn't sure what would be coming for them. It also made her feel like a sitting duck waiting for hunting season. So yes, the impending Imbaelk celebration was a welcome relief from her less than peaceful inner thoughts.

Since Eskel had found her hiding in Kaer Morhen's dungeon she had run into Lambert only twice. The first time had been quite literally, as she was hurrying out of the keep to go find a tree for the main hall – she had convinced Vesemir that this was a key part of Christmas much to his reluctance. She had collided, quite forcibly with a solid wall of leather.

'Oof, sorry. Wasn't looking…' She said flustered, her words trailing off as she saw who she'd run into. Lambert stared down at her, his mouth pressed firmly together as if he were supressing its movement.

Then he answered in a lazy drawl, one eyebrow arching sardonically. 'Clearly you weren't. Where are you dashing off to in such a hurry? Someone else kiss you?'

Ellie felt her cheeks heat up and her fists clench. Her excitement at finding a Christmas tree evaporating instantly.

'No. If you must know I was going to get a tree.' Lambert's arrogant demeanour shifted to one of confusion.

'What the fuck you getting a tree for Blue eyes?' Her chest constricted at the easy use of her nickname, but she was already irritated past the point of caring.

'It's for the celebration.' She said bluntly. His confusion only deepened.

'Never known Imbaelk to require a tree indoors. Is this some weird demon bullshit?'

'It's what we do for Christmas. We bring a tree inside and decorate it with lights and baubles and shit, and then we put presents under it, okay?' Ellie's passionate outburst ended with her blinking owlishly up at the witcher. 'Actually, now I've said it out loud it does sound like bullshit, but it's my bullshit so…fuck you.' Without waiting for him to snipe back she marched past him, the way he had been blocking the door forcing her to skirt infuriatingly close to his broad chest. Refusing to look at his stupid face a second longer she had bolted off not even glancing back. If she had, she might have seen the witcher still stood in place, watching her with thoughtful eyes.

The second time she had encountered him was a few days later. She was in the kitchens, making something called honey cakes, which Eskel had suggested once he figured out her sweet tooth. She was so engrossed in the process of mixing the batter, whilst also trying not to eat the entire contents of the honey jar, that she didn't hear him approaching from behind. It was only when a hand appeared next to her on the counter top that she let out a strained yelp, and leapt an impressive distance in the air.

Spinning round, she clutched the bowl she was using to her chest protectively. Amber eyes and an arrogant smirk met her, and she felt her cheeks heating without any other provocation.

'What's going on here then?' Lambert said in an amused drawl.

'Making honey cakes.' She said. He regarded her for a second, his eyes flicking to the bowl in her arms, the half empty honey jar set on the counter. There was a ghost of uncertainty on his face and the silence between them grew heavy with unsaid things. Was he going to insult her? Tease her? Dismiss her? Ellie honestly couldn't tell. All trace of the open, honest and vulnerable witcher from the lake were well and truly gone. He had pretty much reverted back to his annoying, insulting self that she had originally met. That was what came from being rejected she guessed. The walls had slammed up the moment she had chosen to run from him. They still hadn't mentioned the kiss or its aftermath since that day.

Lambert seemed to dither before he brought his hand up and offered something awkwardly to her. 'I found something I thought you could use.'

Uncurling his fingers slowly, he revealed something shiny nestled in the palm of his hand. Ellie felt the air catch in her throat as she looked down at the perfect sapphire pendant winking up at her. It sparkled beautifully, and was the deepest, richest blue she had ever seen. 'It's beautiful.' She breathed out. Afraid that if she were too loud it might vanish like a dream.

The witcher shrugged nonchalantly. 'I got it as a reward for killing a giant on some rich fucker's land. Been gathering dust since as I've never had anyone to give it to, and trying to sell something like this is more trouble than it's worth.' He thrust his hand forward, offering the jewel to a bewildered Ellie.

'You want me to have it?' She asked, all thoughts of their previously uncomfortable interaction forgotten at such an unexpected gift.

'Figured you could hang it on that stupid tree for the celebration. It is a bauble after all.' Ellie had to press her lips together to stop the laugh coming out.

'That's not the kind of bauble I meant. Besides, it's too grand for a Christmas tree. Cheap and tacky is the name of the game.' She said, smiling to make sure he knew she appreciated the thought. Lambert let out an impatient huff, then without warning he gripped one of her hands, still hugging the bowl, turning it palm up. He dumped the sapphire necklace into it and closed her fingers with an air of finality.

'Well, you can still have it. Wear it to the celebration maybe. It matches your eyes.' A stunned silence settled over them both, and she felt her skin heating up with that familiar burn from his touch. Before the situation could become any more dangerous Lambert cleared his throat, snatching his hand back. 'I don't care what you do with it, but it's your problem now.' He swivelled sharply on his heels and stormed back out of the kitchen leaving her frozen in place, the sapphire warm from his hand held in her own.

She hadn't wanted to read too much into it. He hadn't been exactly nice when he gave it to her. Still, she made sure to fold the sapphire carefully away in her belongings. Wrapping the luminescent stone in the remnants of her old shorts. It matches your eyes. When he had said that she couldn't help remembering the way his mouth had felt on hers all over again. She made sure to always have someone else present when he was around from then on.

An air of excitement began to take over the keep, and even the usually stoic Geralt could be seen helping Vesemir with some of the Imbaelk traditions. It appeared it had been a long time since the witchers had anything to celebrate about as well, and it went some way to making Ellie feel a little less guilty about her imposition. It was the day of the impromptu joint festival that she finally revealed her masterpiece. A thirty-foot pine that she had located and insisted on getting herself; although Eskel had not listened to her protests and had dragged it back up the hill to the keep with her. It stood, pride of place in the main hall which she had cleared, with Vesemir's supervision of course.

She had spent every night for the last week decorating the monstrous tree, carefully covering it before anyone was up so as not to ruin the effect. Now, she stood, smiling proudly at her achievement, arms folded as everyone entered for breakfast that morning. She'd had to get creative with her decorations as this world didn't exactly have a one stop shop for Christmas stuff. Most of the 'baubles' on the tree were made out of random junk she had found around Kaer Morhen. As she had told Lambert, cheap and tacky were the best. She had hung pieces of silver cutlery from twine, scraps of metal she had found in the armoury, even empty potion bottles which did a fantastic job of refracting the light from the hundreds of tiny candles she had placed on practically every branch. She had remembered someone saying that was how the Victorians had lit their trees, before the invention of electric lights. She had to admit, they had been on to something, as there was a magic quality to the soft orange glow of the flickering flames as they bounced off the bits of rubbish she had found. Transforming them into the finest sparkling trinkets. It made the whole thing seem ethereal and nostalgic at the same time.

Vesemir was first into the main hall as always, closely followed by Eskel. The scarred witcher let out a low whistle and nodded approvingly. 'Impressive El. Looks like it was planted here by faeries.'

Vesemir grunted, but she could see the admiring twinkle in his eyes from here. Triss, then Geralt and Yen followed and all of them uttered noises of awe and surprise. Finally, Lambert slouched in, his face set in its characteristic scowl. Ellie held her breath. She was delighted at all of their reactions so far, but secretly it was his she had been most nervous about. Lambert had a way of cutting deep with his sarcasm and scorn if he wanted, she knew he'd be her toughest critic. His eyes were fixed to the stone floor at first, then as he noticed the others gathered in a haphazard group in front of him he stopped and looked up.

Ellie had a lot of regrets in her life. Many of them deeply rooted in who she was. However, in that one moment she never regretted anything more than saying no the man in front of her. The scowl dissolved like tissue paper in water, his amber eyes widening until she could almost see the reflection of the tree blinking back at her in them. His mouth, which was so used to twisting into expressions of distaste and anger, turned up into a bright grin, and his face lit up with it. In that moment, she saw the man that had opened up to her on the boat, the one that had made her laugh, the one who had kissed her. She saw the man she had grown to love, against reason and judgment, and the one she had hurt by rejecting him.

His eyes eventually drifted down from the tree and came to rest on her. Suddenly, it was just the two of them in the room. Ellie felt herself smiling back at him. A silent apology for all she had done. He nodded, his grin softening into a sad smile. Geralt said something and Eskel's booming laugh brought them both crashing back to reality.

'We should invite a demon here more often if it means a party every winter.' Eskel walked over and wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulders, giving her a friendly squeeze. She didn't miss Lambert's muscles tense suddenly, his mood darkening in a blink of an eye as he gave his brother a narrow-eyed stare. She swallowed thickly and ducked out of the other witcher's hold easily. Eskel blinked down at her but didn't say anything as he continued to talk.

'I'm telling you, I'm going to get as drunk as a sylvan in a vineyard tonight. Shame we won't have any entertainment.'

'Well…you say that.' Yennefer said, a crafty smile spreading across her face. 'But I was thinking I might invite one more guest to our little gathering. If that's alright with Vesemir?' She glanced at the old witcher, her question hanging in the air. It was more than obvious she didn't expect an answer and no matter the outcome she was going to doing whatever it was she had planned. Ellie had to admire the woman's brashness. It rivalled even Lambert's.

'Do I have a choice?' The ever astute Vesemir asked tiredly. Yennefer's smile widened and Geralt shifted nervously beside her.

'What you got planned Yen?' He asked. She patted his arm affectionately.

'I'm only going to invite an old friend of yours to play for us. I hear he's the best on the Continent.'

Geralt let out a low sigh of exasperation. 'And how do you intend to get Dandelion all the way here from Novigrad?'

'By portal of course.' Yen's smile turned wolfish and Ellie felt a spike of dread shoot through her veins.

'Not that I wouldn't be happy to see the stupid bastard, but wouldn't that draw a lot of eyes to the keep? Portals are a very potent type of magic.' Geralt had the tone of someone who had spent a long time trying to navigate the complexities of a relationship, but Yennefer was a force of nature and from what Ellie had seen of her, uncontrollable.

'Exactly my love.' Her gaze flashed to Ellie. So, this was it, she was forcing her hand. There was no decision anymore, Yennefer was going to try and draw the entity to responsible for all this here herself. Suddenly, Ellie didn't feel like celebrating as she looked at the people gathered around her. The witchers who she had all grown to love in their own ways, the two sorceresses who she had learnt to respect in her brief time with them. After tonight they could all be in terrible danger. Her eyes came to rest on Lambert, he gave her a guarded look in return. She might as well try and enjoy the peace while she could.