"I was hoping you could help me, Val" Yennefer went straight to the point, the nature of her relationship with the sorcerer allowed her to be that direct without offending him. The level of intimacy of their relationship also allowed her to call him for his real name when everyone else just knew him as Istredd.
"Anything you need, Yenna." She saw Istredd's magical image projected by the megascope smile handsomely and she knew he was honest; they knew each other for too long and too well, she knew he would do anything for her selflessly.
"I need information about Genies. You were Roedskill's apprentice," said Yennefer playing nervously with her necklace, "and Roedskill was close with Herbert Stammelford, who according to the legend successfully trapped a D'ao."
"And you want to know if the stories are real," successfully guessed Istredd entwining his fingers under his chin. "And I am curious why you would like that kind of information, because it is the truth, at least to some point. Stammelford did have an earth genie under his command. Which is very impressive not only because it demands a great amount of power to dominate one, but also because they are very rare. Where did you find a genie, my love?"
Yennefer felt relieved that he did not know about her disastrous encounter with the Djinn, so she told him what happened in Rinde, leaving aside some details, especially those about Geralt.
"So, you want to undo a wish made to a genie. Their magic is very powerful, Yenna." She saw him smile triumphantly. "I have inherited Stammelford's journals from Roedskill. If you wish, you could come here and we can study them."
Yennefer had been dreading the invitation since she decided to ask him for help. She knew he loved her deeply and she also loved him, but not to that point. From time to time when they were together, she had to decline his offer to permanently move with him, and last time they were together was no different. As soon as he proposed to her, Yennefer escaped as far as she could.
She took a deep breath discretely calming herself, as she had no other option.
"Thank you, Val."
Travelling with portals was fast, however long distances were extremely demanding to cover and involved conjuring many portals, so Yennefer emerged exhausted from the portal on Istredd's tower, who was waiting for her smiling. He took her hand and kissed it, however he did not let go of it.
"I'm so glad to see you, Yenna. It has been so long," he said pulling her close to him. Yennefer aware of his intentions turned her head so his kiss landed on her cheek instead of her lips.
"Val, no…"
"Yenna, I'm sorry," he said looking disappointed. However, he did not move apart from her, still holding her close to him. "I've missed you."
Yennefer looked at his clever grey eyes, they were normal, too normal. She felt his warm body against her. She felt his regular pulse and she realized that she missed Geralt's slow cadenced heartbeat, which calmed her no matter what. She longed for Geralt and only him.
"I have missed you too, but not like this," she said pushing him gently. Rejecting him, she realize, was easier than she expected.
He let her go and walked to his desk forcing a smile. "We should start then"
Yennefer sat across him and he handle her a couple of books with elegant leather covers. "Fortunately, Stammerlford was an enthusiast of writing his thoughts and memories, so there is plenty from where look."
After hours of turning the old dusty pages, Yennefer was feeling frustrated and tired, her eyes and neck hurt. She stretched and sat back on the cushion chair. "Did you find anything interesting?"
"Nothing. However, I found out how close Stammelford and Roedskill were," Val chuckled getting up. When he leaned to serve Yennefer more wine, he lingered close to her. He gently pushed Yennefer's black curls aside, exposing her neck. The familiar touch of his skin on hers made her shiver and she took a deep breath.
"Please, Val. I do not want to."
"I love you," he whispered kissing her neck softly. "And you come to me so beautiful, more beautiful than ever, it makes everything so difficult. It is hard for me to be away from you Yenna, but I wait here and I'll wait for you, no matter how much time it takes. You know that, that is why you always come back."
"Val… I came to you because there is nobody I trust more than you," whispered Yennefer running her fingers gently over his cheek. "I love you, and you know it. You also know, however, we cannot be together… nothing has changed from the last time we saw each other."
"No. Something changed," he straighten up and looked at her very serious, "there is someone else."
Yennefer hesitate for a moment. "Nothing has changed about how I feel for you. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
Val smiled sadly, walked to his desk and picked up one of Stammelford's journals from the pile where they were putting the ones they already examined.
"78th page. Only a genie can undo the wish conceded by genie." He handed her the diary he had read hours ago. Yennefer looked at him feeling heartbroken and disappointed. She got up and conjured a portal. She walked away from him without looking back.
"Yennefer…" He said and she stopped right before entering the portal, without looking back, "what you are planning is not going to work. Because what you feel is not a consequence of any kind of magic and deep inside you know that. That was not the wish. Genies are literal about the wishes, and you know that."
The sorceress sighed softly. He had read her mind. He had read everything. She was an open book for him.
The house was dark and empty when she arrived. The heavy rain made it seems it was later than it really was. Yennefer was feeling exhausted and nauseated from the effort that magical travelling a distance that long required.
Even though her encounter with Istredd had answer many of her questions, she paid for the price bitterly.
She entered the dark library and sat down in the soft armchair. With the sound of the rain she did not heard the light steps of the witcher.
"Yen?" She hear him say and she jumped out of her thoughts.
"You startled me. Can you please light up the lamps? I'm too tired to use magic and unlike you I cannot see in the dark."
He quickly lit up the oil lamps and sat across her, in front of the chess set, "what is wrong, Yen?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," she lied and forced a smile, "I'm just exhausted. How was your talk with the alderman?"
"Apparently and contrary to my initial thoughts, there is a big amount of work for a witcher on this region. That is, if the complaints are more than just tales."
"I'd not dismiss that possibility if I were you. The folk from around here are very superstitious. In the other hand, I do not recall ever seeing a witcher around here."
"Superstition is good. In a world with no superstition, we would have no place."
"I think you are right. Even if both our professions depend on logic and facts, they are based on superstition," said the sorceress playing with a black pawn from the chess set, "Do you think everything is a matter of logic?"
"I'm sure you, just like me, have seen things that logic can't explain. Sometimes logic is defied. Sometimes I wonder to which point the common superstitious folk are right. But then, maybe, they never are. I find peace believing that everything, even the strangest things can be explained somehow and that explanation is simply out of my reach."
Yennefer observed him closely. "Can everything be explained? Can you explain us then, my dear witcher?"
Geralt picked up a white horse and examined it, "It is a beautiful set."
"It belonged to my father," Yennefer placed back the black pawn she had being playing with. "It is the only thing I kept from him. It is so beautiful I did not have the courage to get rid of it. However, I have no good memories from it. My father never let me play with it. He never wanted to teach me how. When I was I child there was nothing I wanted more… once I sneaked into the library and he caught me with playing with the pieces…. Logically, I'd should had been traumatized or have all the interest lost. Instead, when in Aretuza I learned how to play chess, because it was always on the back of my mind. And when my parents died and I decided to come back here I kept this set, because it is beautiful. I guess sometimes the decisions we make defy logic more than the strangest thing present in the nature."