~WRITERS' NOTE:
Greetings, MoreBonesPlz! We're happy to receive your regular reviews and are thrilled to know your thoughts. Thank you for sharing, it means a great deal.
It's true as you noted that Kain and Yennefer still have different views on some things, but yes, both are willing to not focus on such for Ciri's sake. Kain is not fond of Yennefer's habit of doing literally anything, no matter how grave, for those she loves, but he understands it, while Yennefer hasn't yet had a chance to fully grasp Kain's character. But well, the story isn't over yet.
Ciri's past life remains mostly a mystery for both her "parents", except for things she told Geralt and Yen separately, which wasn't too much. The part about her being Falka is still not something she likes to recall and talk about, so what is happening now to her moods and powers worries them all a lot. Kain, given his ability to sense people and with things she has told him privately about her story, knows there's still a dark side she hasn't worked through. Geralt and Yen know it, too, and fear there's not much they can help with. Indeed, if we look back to everything the girl has endured, it's amazing how she can still fare rather well. She's had no chances to work through her traumas and heal yet - in the books it simply seems to be brushed under the rug, but it feels a little too much to just skip over. So we shall see what happens. Thank you for being on this ride with us! We appreciate it a lot.
Thank you all who still reads, enjoys and comments! We realize it's becoming a quite huge saga, but there's so much goodness yet to be explored and discovered, we can't stand the temptations to indulge. We have no words to describe how happy it makes us that the story is loved. ~
They walked in silence a while. It was a nice day with the sun shining and birds singing from the treetops. And for a little while, Ciri felt like a normal girl with a normal boy doing something, well, normal.
"Nenneke seems to know you well. Have you been here many times before?"
"Just a few times over the years. First time as a witcher - my friend needed help. And later - with groups of elves from Brokilon in need of temporal sanctuary."
"I don't remember there being many people looking for refuge when I lived here," Ciri said. "Yennefer was the talk of the temple even months after her arrival. Nothing else exciting going on."
"The priestesses stayed away from us, aside from bringing food and tending to the wounded. I didn't spy on them to find out whether they discussed us. Mostly I talked to Nenneke about her herbs and druid magic. She never asked about anything personal, nor did I."
"Most of them are too scared of Nenneke to do anything she would consider inappropriate. Visiting a man's bedchamber would be exactly that," Ciri snorted.
He couldn't help a laugh. "Did she tell you that? It's not true. She has never limited any priestesses in their desires. Each of them knows how to prevent unwanted consequences. I believe Melitele doesn't forbid pleasures, nor does Nenneke."
"Just me then?" Ciri arched one brow. "She forbade me from seeing the one boy who resided at the temple when I did. And she tried avidly to kick me out of your room while you were unconscious. As though worried I wouldn't be able to help myself and would mount you right then and there."
"I don't think it was her worry when it came to me. As for that other boy - I can't know. You were much younger back then, if I'm correct? Her minding your purity made sense, she was taking care of you."
"My purity." Ciri couldn't help but laugh. "Do all men think women filthy if they are not virgins?"
"I can't speak for all men, now, can I."
"So what do you think?"
"I don't know," he muttered, uncomfortable, and rubbed his neck. "Filthy is the wrong word. But as for... a loss of certain innocence - that's fair for both women and men, I guess."
"The loss of innocence is from growing up and leaving childhood behind. Not sex." At least, Ciri believed it to be that way.
She eyed Kain, trying to decipher the expression on his face. She found she couldn't. "Are you angry? Because I insisted to be the one to warm your bed rather than a priestess?"
"I'm not. How can I be angry at something I wasn't aware of?"
"You're aware of it now."
"But it's in the past. It happened when I was unconscious - I couldn't have felt any anger then, and now it calls for no reaction because I still can't remember."
She watched him, brow furrowed. "Your mind works so differently from mine," she mused. "I don't always understand you."
It amused him a little. "What can't you understand? That I feel it's useless to judge something of the past?"
"Yes. It's strange." She paused, simultaneously stopping their walk. "Don't get me wrong, Kain, I am glad you are not angry. But your lack of reactions continues to puzzle me."
"Now I don't understand," he frowned lightly.
"You're so in control of your emotions at all times. At least it seems that way. Always level-headed and cool. I don't think I have ever seen you angry."
Annoyed, yes. Lots of times during their first days together at Skellige. But never truly angry.
"I don't imagine I will ever be able to contain myself like you do."
Kain thought of Yennefer and that deeply rooted satisfaction he had felt when he'd punished her.
He felt a bit sick and averted his eyes.
Child of Elder Blood, the Crone's voice rang in the back of his mind. Naughty, naughty child! Cackling. That knowing cackling.
"I'm not always in control," he said. "You merely don't know me that well."
"No. I suppose I don't."
Ciri felt for that stab of disappointment for that realization. It should have appeared in the pit of her stomach. But there was nothing.
Maybe she was growing as a person? That felt good.
Kain sensed, however, that her response hinted of some sort of disappointment.
He sighed. "We're just different, you and I. In how we respond and react. You... You're like fire, you can burst into flames from the tiniest spark sometimes. Your anger, as well as other emotions, are always on the surface waiting for that spark.
"And I can keep mine back for longer, until at some point it gets too much, and it bursts through the locked fences. I'm not perfect, Ciri. I just had longer practice at keeping a mask on and swallowing anger back."
"Like fire, hm?" Ciri couldn't help but smile. "That makes me sound...passionate." She reached out, resting one hand on Kain's cheek. "And you look pretty perfect to me."
He smirked bitterly. "I don't even look it. A half-blood stuck between two worlds that won't fully accept him. Not human enough and not elf enough. Not everything is how it seems, princess."
"Well, as I am sure you have noticed we're a band of misfits. Witcher, sorceress, dwarf, and whatever Dandelion is." Ciri grinned. "You fit in just fine."
"For as long as you know I'm far from perfect."
"If you say so." Ciri didn't believe that for a second. "Want to head back with me? I could do with some of that spiced wine."
Kain didn't mind heading back. He felt no appetite for wine, however.
"You don't know that," Yennefer said, unwilling to fall into the hole that there could be nothing she could do. There was always something she could do. Always. "You can't know that it's final. For decades, we believed a golden dragon to be nothing but a myth meant to marvel children and adults alike. And it's not. We've seen it with our own eyes. There is a balance in nature, Geralt, it's a matter of finding the right one to even it out. And if it comes to it, if it means to protect her, I will find it."
He was silent for a long moment, either brooding or just being numb. Eventually, he raised his head again, and he looked rather worn out.
"Avallac'h is the only competent one on this matter. He's been studying Lara's genes for centuries. He should know the most of what is possible to know about it."
"And you think, given what he wants from her or wants to do, that he'd likely share such information for free? The only person he talks to is Ciri. Unless you have a rapport with him?"
"I don't. But I can find ways to make him talk. If I really have to."
Yennefer smiled slightly.
"I'll leave that up to you. I fear my diplomacy only extends to Kings, nobles, and common men, and even that has its restrictions."
He pondered for a bit. "Did you ever... peek in her head?" he asked, and was sickened at the hope in his voice. "Did she ever know about it?"
"She only ever knew when I told her," Yennefer said. "But she was also only a child back then and had no idea how to force me out – let alone that she could. I could try, I suppose."
He looked at her with doubt. "Have you never tried it after we got her back? Only back when she was a child?"
"Of course I've done it since she's been back. I had no problems. I'm surprised you'd suggest it because it's never been something you've enjoyed me doing to you."
He gave a helpless shrug. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone, especially her, but it might be our only chance to find out whether she's all right or not."
"If it's needed, I'll do it."
He gave her a grave look. "If she finds out, it might not end well. Be careful, Yennefer. We can't lose her trust. If we do - we lose her."
"She expects me to be intrusive at times. I need only to play my part.'
The Witcher kept staring at her, dead serious. "Be careful. Whatever she's been before, she might react differently now. Play your part, but play it safe."
Yennefer smiled lightly to assure him.
"Kain seems to have healed. When will we be returning to join the rest?"
"We don't know what's wrong with Ciri," he stated, irked. "I don't think going back right away is a good idea. I want to know more before we do."
"How are you going to clarify that to her? Kain's the reason we stayed this long to begin with, and Kain has said he is fine a numerous amount of times. Ideas?"
"We'll worry about it when she argues," he said, getting up from the chair, and headed for the door. "Better not waste time and rather spend it with her."
They found Ciri and Kain in the garden, strolling the paths between the flowerbeds.
"Where does Nenneke keep the wine?" Ciri asked Geralt and Yennefer, squinting against the sun. "I could use a drink."
"We're guests here," Geralt reminded. "If you ask, they'll bring you some."
"Or we could take a walk down to their cellar and help ourselves," Yennefer suggested, smiling brilliantly at Ciri before starting off in the necessary direction.
"They'll bring you some," Ciri corrected Geralt, a mischievous smile claiming her mouth as she darted off after Yennefer.
"Do you do this every time you're here, Yen? That might be why Nenneke doesn't like you."
"I'm afraid it's only one of many reasons," Yennefer responded, flashing a smile.
The cellar was as orderly as Yennefer remembered and not a single cobweb lingered in the shadowed corners, the bottles stored there wiped down as if brewed that very day. Nenneke hardly allowed for idle hands in her temple, making sure that everyone had something to do between their prayers and teachings and that her guests only received the best.
She scanned the handwritten labels upon the shelves and snatched up what she knew was of Nenneke's finest wine.
"Will it do?" Yennefer asked, handing it to Ciri to inspect.
Ciri eyed the label but had no idea what to search for to identify a decent wine. She shrugged. "I'm not picky."
So, yes, it would do.
"I am willing to risk Nenneke's wrath in order to drink this out in the sun. Come on."
"It seems as if from the moment we got here, that you've been more than willing to test Nenneke's limits. I assume you've yet to exchange words?"
"No, we've spoken."
Ciri frowned. "I'm not testing boundaries. I just want autonomy over my own body. And Nenneke sometimes challenges that."
"You can't blame her. It's taken us all a lot to realize how much you've grown—changed."
Yennefer's right hand came up, and within a second a golden glow had engulfed the both of them, depositing them in a place not too far from the temple that they'd found years ago during their practises searching for magic pockets within the invisible walls of nature.
There was no magic in the spot, apart from the memories it had housed and the healing it gifted them in the past. It hadn't changed much, except that it was overgrown with forestry, thick and thin branches looming over the hot milky water like a canopy, dotted with delicate white flowers charged by the slices of sunlight that snuck through its intricate web.
Beautiful.
If things were different for Geralt and Yennefer she could have brought him here.
The love they could have made.
"I hope you don't mind, I thought us girls could use an hour to ourselves," Yennefer mused, popping a few buttons on her top, slowly shrugging out of it to hang it on the nearest branch clear of the water.
Ciri didn't mind. In fact, she was rather delighted by the change of scenery and the chance to spend some alone-time with Yennefer.
"It's our secret place," she remarked with a smile, remembering how Yennefer had brought her there as a child when they needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of the temple. "I forgot."
"Then you're in definite need of reminding," Yennefer said softly, moving to take the wine from Ciri so that her daughter could undress.
Yennefer set the bottle at the base of the tree close to the water's edge, wedging it in the dirt so it wouldn't fall over, and stripped the remainder of her attire before slowly wading into the water.
She'd taken only one or two steps before the water was waist-high, and another until she was floating, her arms lightly churning at her sides.
Ciri undressed with none of the reservations she had felt as a child, leaving her clothes in a pile on one of the rocks before descending into the water. It was warm. Not quite as scolding as a bath could be, but still highly pleasant.
"Do the priestesses know about this place?"
"Never asked," Yennefer replied honestly. "I'd be astounded if they didn't. Hot water – this water in particular contains a lot of natural healing minerals." Yennefer splashed her lightly. "Soak it in." A reach, but maybe, it would help temper that mood.
Ciri obeyed, lowering herself fully, even her head, beneath the surface. She emerged a few seconds later, sweeping her wet hair from her face to eye Yennefer speculatively. "Did you receive word from Novigrad?"
"None that I've seen. I'll check our room again once we return to the temple."
Yennefer swam over to the water's edge, using the mud beneath her hands to anchor herself, reaching for one hand to grip the bottle, the cork popping free of its neck as though she'd sprouted an extra set of invisible hands.
She brought the bottle to her lips and then returned to Ciri, keeping it well above the water to offer to her since it was part of the reason they'd come and alcohol had a tendency of weakening one's psyche.
It would allow Yennefer to slip into her head easier – perhaps even unnoticed.
"If there is no message, perhaps we should assume the worst and go back immediately," Ciri suggested, taking the bottle offered to her and having a generous sip.
"No need. If trouble was on the horizon or on our doorstep, Triss will make sure we get the message. She is many things, but… she does care. How'd your heart-to-heart with Nenneke fare?"
"Unless she is prevented to do so by, say, death," Ciri said, taking another sip before handing the bottle back to Yennefer. "Nenneke? It was fine. Promised me I always have a sanctuary at the temple."
"Did you two discuss anything else? Like Kain, perhaps?"
"Only Kain. And what we could do to heal him." Ciri lowered herself under the water again, watching Yennefer curiously. "Why do you ask?"
"I know you seemed to have a problem with how she was dictating your presence in his room. I was wondering if you broached the subject with her – that's all. You're older now… adult."
Yennefer took a large sip of the wine bottle, offering it to Ciri in case she wanted a little more. With the heat, the alcohol would only cut into their systems quicker.
"I didn't. Doubt I could change her mind either way."
Ciri took the bottle again, waiting to drink until she'd found a place in the spring where she could perch.
"I'm surprised she allows you and Geralt to be alone together."
"It's not about changing her mind, it's about being able to speak about what bothers you. You're not a child anymore, Ciri, and although we're staying under her roof temporarily, that doesn't mean that you need to roll over and show your belly." Yennefer chuckled softly, opting to stay where she was, floating. "She doesn't and didn't allow us to be together. We just were."
"I told her with actions rather than words," Ciri said, shrugging. "And Geralt doesn't mind? He always seems so... respectful of Nenneke's wishes."
"If we want to be together, we'll be together. For that reason alone, Geralt and I are both willing to adapt as is needed to keep the peace while Nenneke heals. Not to mention that he hardly remembers me, and what he does remember, he doesn't actually know what to do with."
Yennefer sighed and disappeared beneath the water. When she surfaced, she gently wiped the water from her eyes and swam the short distance to join Ciri on her perch.
"Geralt tells me you snuck into Kain's room last night…"
"He did, huh?" Ciri wasn't all that surprised. Geralt had seemed quite traumatized after the incident. "We've slept next to one another many times. I didn't think it would cause such an uproar."
"In the nude?" Yennefer asked.
"Almost." Ciri's eyes narrowed. "Do you find that to be a problem?"
"Should I?"
"I think that would be quite hypocritical."
"It would be," Yennefer agreed. "I didn't know you and Kain progressed to getting naked when you sleep together?"
"I did it to give him warmth. Nenneke's orders. Only she wanted a priestess instead of me.
"But it was nice. Made me feel close to him. I wanted to feel like that again."
"And that was all?" Yennefer asked softly. "You weren't expecting to or wanting to… couple?"
"Expecting? No, absolutely not. Kain has never shown any interest in that where I am concerned," Ciri said. "And if it was ever to happen, it would probably not be when he has just started to recover from great physical trauma."
"Men don't plan their interest. Sometimes it arises when you least expect it. Were you hoping?"
"That night? No." Ciri drank, frowning. "Did Geralt tell you to ask me all these questions? He doesn't actually think I meant to lay with him, does he?"
"No," Yennefer asked with a laugh, reaching for the wine she'd left untouched for a while to take another generous sip. "It's just my own curiosity. But even if he thinks that, is it really that fanciful to think that you might want to lay with Kain?"
"It's not. And I've been fairly open about that. But it doesn't matter as long as one party is not willing."
"No, it doesn't matter. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean that when you come to Kain's bed naked, that it wouldn't be the first thought to come to Geralt's mind. You forget that if you were anyone else, Geralt himself might have welcomed the intrusion and perhaps even given in to it himself."
Yennefer took another pretend sip and then extended the bottle toward Ciri to take again.
"We're not judging you, Ciri."
Ciri frowned again, not understanding. "What is your point? That I must not go to Kain's bed in case Geralt might have taken his place?"
"No, there is no point. I asked because I was curious. You already answered the question. I was explaining Geralt's side." Yennefer twisted around, stretched, and set the bottle down in the dirt at the water's edge. "You seemed… defensive about it."
"Yes," Ciri murmured as if it was obvious. "Because you keep asking questions."
"Since when do you have a problem with questions from me?"
"I just don't know why I have to explain myself all of a sudden."
Yennefer said there was no judgement but it certainly felt like there was. And Ciri couldn't tell whether that came from her or Geralt.
Ciri rose and made to get out of the water.
Yennefer scowled slightly as Ciri made to get out, letting the magic take hold to probe her mind, to see how she was feeling and why she was suddenly so prickly with a conversation she wouldn't otherwise have worried about.
Ciri froze her progress out of the water when she felt a familiar nudge to her mind. Yennefer had done this to her before, often when Ciri had been under the sorceress' tutelage, but usually, the act was close to imperceptible.
This time Ciri felt it. And she felt horribly invaded.
Just like Yennefer had taught her, Ciri slammed her mental shields shut.
"Not satisfied with my answers? What exactly are you looking for?"
Yennefer's eyes fixed on Ciri, stunned by the force of the magic within her, and the fact that she'd been able to knock the sorceress from her head with such ease. That hadn't happened in the past, or since she'd returned. Despite what she'd told Geralt, there had been a number of times where she'd ventured into the girl's head for a closer look.
"A meaning to understand how I've affronted you," Yennefer fibbed, unapologetic and relaxed.
"Then ask," Ciri said firmly, climbing out. "You're good at that."
She wrung water from her hair once she was back on her feet again, turning to face Yennefer with an exasperated expression.
"I made a mistake, alright? A miscalculation. Won't happen again. So let us just leave it."
"I would have if I felt you'd have answered me directly," Yennefer said.
Even with the short touch of minds, Yennefer had picked up on the influence of heavy magic. But there was no absolute way to know if it was a possession or merely her magic as of today. There would be no clear way to tell unless they physically saw it or her personality altered completely.
"You're arguing with me as if I've scolded you, Ciri."
Yennefer moved toward the same edge she was, picking up the bottle of wine as not to tip it over into the pool of hot water.
"That's not the case. You're a grown woman, with adult feelings. At breakfast this morning you seemed to accept that with all the glee of a child and a kiss, and now…"
Yennefer had no idea what to make of it or her quick changes in attitude. Was it just that she was unsatisfied and feeling inflamed in areas? Yennefer could understand that as when she'd been without the affections of a man for a certain amount of time she longed for that fulfillment, too.
"Well, this morning no one was asking me intimate details about my lacking sex life," Ciri retorted. "Can't I have anything to myself? Must everyone dig and have an opinion before I even truly know what is going on myself? What happens between Kain and I is between the two of us. Our business. Not yours, not Geralt's, not Nenneke's, or Avallac'h's. Not unless I decide to open up about it." Ciri went for her clothes to pull them on, unmindful that they would get wet. "And right now I don't want to."
"Then don't," Yennefer said and trailed her to the rock, setting the wine down at Ciri's feet, her voice softening to try and soothe the offense she'd caused. "Would you feel better if I ask forgiveness?"
Ciri sighed. "It's not necessary. There is no forgiveness needed."
She struggled to get into her leather trousers, the material clinging to her wet skin and refusing to let go.
"I'm not a child anymore, Yennefer. Total transparency can no longer be expected. My thoughts are my own, as are my deeds, until I share them with you. Which I probably will eventually, but... in my own time. Alright?"
"All right," Yennefer agreed, touching a hand to Ciri's naked hip, letting the pulse of warmth charge through her until she was thoroughly dry and could pull her leather pants up unhindered. Yennefer smiled slightly when the task was done, repeated the trick with herself and proceeded to walk over to her own clothes.
"Was it as you remembered?" Yennefer asked, taking her time to dress.
Yennefer's trick helped greatly, Ciri had to admit. She now dressed without problem.
"My feet can reach the bottom now. That's different. But other than that, yes. It seems this place has not changed at all in our absence."
Ciri's body hadn't rejected her hand or touch of magic, so that was a good sign. Another means in which Yennefer might have picked up on anything meant to war against her. She was glad there was none.
"Once we've taken care of the Wild Hunt, hopefully, we may return to make use of it again in celebration."
Yennefer pulled on her clothing in record time, did the laces on her boots, and when she was done, summoned the portal she knew Ciri didn't need and patiently waited on her to use it, before doing so herself.
"So, you don't think it's possession?"
Kain gave a subtle shake of his head. "Unfortunately, it's very hard to tell for sure, Geralt. All that anger and rage she put into that attack is what she openly admits to harboring."
"What about the... pleasure of the kill? Have you experienced the same?"
"No," Kain said, and pondered briefly. "Satisfaction from killing some particular scums of men - yes, there was that sometimes. But the kind of pleasure she got from it - no. Never happened to me." He thought back to the dark spark of glee he felt with Yennefer, and there was another prick of shame.
Geralt didn't like the uncertainty he read on both Yennefer and Kain. It was impossible to find a solution when the problem was unknown. He regarded his brother. "You two are supposed to be alike through Elder Blood," he insisted. "Are you not?"
Kain gave him a bewildered look. "I don't know what to tell you, truly. Even our powers manifest differently. She jumps through space and worlds with ease while I still feel as if it's out of my reach. She has those trances that are so unlike mine where she loses control and can destroy everything around her. She busts people and creatures with her power while I've never done that."
"It's more like you use your powers differently," Geralt suggested. "It's habit rather than the power itself."
"Maybe. Though..." He paused, conflicted.
Geralt perked up, both hopeful and dreading. "What?"
Kain sighed. "That anger... I do have it. I just control it better - but then comes a moment when it bursts out. It's hard to control myself then."
Geralt chuckled softly. "You're exaggerating now. It's a flaw in every man. We all get angry. We all can get violent." His face changed faintly as if a new idea dawned on him. He peered at Kain hopefully. "Maybe it's just that. She got scared for us, for people, she had it all pent up with Novigrad threat and Oxenfurt attack. And when she saw them, it all burst through. Whatever else she got from that - she's a young woman with no outlets for her lecherous needs, as Yen put it. It all simply came together at that moment and mixed with her magic."
"Sounds plausible," Kain said, but his frown wore doubt. "I truly hope it is that."
"She told me that Avallac'h used to explain her temper with Elder Blood," Geralt added, feeling better the more he thought about it being simpler than they feared. "He's the most competent of us all, so it should be true."
"If we presume all things he tells her are true."
Geralt winced. "Nevertheless, it makes sense."
"You think it's wise to push the blame for anger issues onto the Elder Blood? It frees from guilt and any boundaries, and it's a dangerous road, Geralt."
"How would any more guilt help her?" Geralt argued. "She carries enough as it is."
Kain narrowed his eyes, "Remember that man with a crossbow on the Bald Mountain? She lamented his death, sure, but she got over it rather soon."
"You prefer her crippled with self-loathing?"
"No. I'd prefer her to remember how grave the consequences of her power can be and how there is a grand responsibility that comes with a power like hers."
"She knows that!"
"I've hurt Yennefer," Kain reasoned, his gaze hardening. "I didn't have to and she meant no harm aside from caution and her own curiosity, but I didn't stop myself. I didn't want to. I wanted her to pay, and I made her pay for invading my space and imposing her presence when I craved to be alone. And I loved it. I felt that satisfaction I'm ashamed of now. And I regretted it then, I still do, and I wish to never forget that so it would guide me to make a better choice next time someone annoys me."
Geralt was silent for a while, reflecting on it with a deep frown. Then he nodded curtly. "You will do fine. So will she." He regarded his brother. "We're debating her morals here but those Riders she killed were monsters who want her for no noble causes. They are the ones who took her from me for long years we could've had. They come here uninvited and wreak havoc and death everywhere they ride. While judging her actions and cruelty here, we're forgetting that they deserved what came to them. Every bit of it."
Kain studied him while mulling it over. He could've said it was a dangerous path to deem oneself a judge of who deserved what fate and torment; and that playing judge could lead to more violence and death and widening that vicious circle instead of breaking it.
He chose to keep it in.
Ciri reclaimed the bottle once they were back in temple grounds, allowing herself a deep swig before focusing on Yennefer again. "Will you check for messages now?"
"Yes," Yennefer replied, heading off in the direction of their lodging. "I'll find you if it says anything of importance."
"You better," Ciri murmured, watching Yennefer's retreating back before disappearing into the garden again.
The table was still there, but all the food and dishes had been cleared away. Ciri took a seat and placed the half-empty bottle on the table.
She'd always craved a time of rest with her family, but now that she had it, it felt off. Because the threat of The Hunt was still looming over them all. They couldn't forget.
Would it be possible, Ciri wondered, to grab Eredin the next time she saw him and jump him away? To drop him before they entered a new world, leaving him in that space in between, forever floating or falling into the abyss of eternity?
It was a good thought. One that made her smile and fiddle with her dimeritium bracelet, toying with the idea of taking it off and luring the King into a trap...
The room was as she'd left, only the bed was made, the floor swept and any sign of the sorceress's presence there was non-existent. This was the first time she'd travelled without her usual paraphernalia. Yennefer scanned the room, checking the floor in case a note might have dropped and been lost under the frame, beneath the pillow and the little table between the two single beds that held the candles. Also on the table was parchment, a quill with ink and the book she'd been reading since her arrival two days ago. She leafed through the pages, checking to make sure that there was nothing tucked inside before conceding to the inevitable.
She returned to Oxenfurt, to the same room she'd been sleeping in when she'd been called away to help her family. Only there was someone else in her bed.
Triss.
Her eyes were closed, the dress she was wearing was spotted with dirt and her chestnut hair was messily fanned upon her pillow. She looked paler than usual. Her eyes opened and she stared up at Yennefer.
"You're back," Triss murmured, scrubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. She blinked a few times and then slowly sat up. "Where's Geralt? Ciri? Kain?"
"Safe," Yennefer retorted, scowling softly, feeling the heat radiating off her friend. "Are you sick?"
"I seemed to have contracted something from one of the wounded I've been healing," Triss explained. A common consequence with healing. Sorceresses had it easier than human physicians, only Triss couldn't use the typical methods to heal herself as she was allergic to elixirs and potions.
"Is it bad?"
"Fever—my throat scratches…" Triss explained. Yennefer could hear the distinction in her tone. "I've a bit of a cough. Nowhere near as bad as it was."
She coughed as if the mere thought was enough to make her do so.
"It's why you didn't respond to my letter?"
Triss nodded, her eyes dipping to her clasped hands. "I didn't have the strength," she apologized.
"We need you strong," Yennefer agreed, aware that if Triss had caught some kind of disease, that it was undoubtedly infectious. Yennefer began to pace slowly.
"Margarita and Shani are making sure I stay that way. How's Geralt?"
"Concerned."
"About?" Triss asked.
"The Wild Hunt," Yennefer responded.
"We all are," Triss amended, sinking back down, straightening out beneath the covers so that she could close her eyes.
Yennefer peered out of the window to get a better look at the view it offered of the town. There were no screams or cries for help.
"When will you be returning?" Triss asked.
"As soon as Kain is fully healed."
"Care to explain what happened?"
"The Crones physically and psychically wounded him."
Triss made a sound of apprehension and then rolled over onto her side, staring at Yennefer's back considerately, her eyes slowly sweeping closed.
"Why were they even out there?"
Yennefer shrugged lightly and pivoted around to face her.
"Unfinished business."
"A bit reckless…" Triss murmured, voice cracking, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she coughed.
"It's done," Yennefer retorted.
They said no more and Triss had already begun to nod off. Yennefer stopped her before she gave into the call of sleep completely.
"If anything happens—and you can't—make sure Margarita sends me a message. All four of us should be back in two days."
"Two?" Triss echoed softly as if she had to test the number.
"Two. Be well, friend," Yennefer said, waiting until Triss had nodded and then casually summoned up on her portal and headed back to the temple.