When he hears the sudden commotion outside and Yennefer shouting 'Run', Jaskier lets the wooden spoon he is using to stir the egg fall from his hand. It clatters to the kitchen floor. He pushes the pan to the side, away from the stove - stupid, how can he even think of something so unimportant like burning their breakfast in an emergency like this? - and sprints over to the window. Pressing his body to the wall, he cautiously peeks out. He cannot see much due to the ivy and vines. However, what he sees, makes his skin crawl and his heart sink to his boots. Soldiers, the Redanian eagle emblazoned on the breastplates of their armour gleaming in the late morning sun. Fuck! They are advancing on his beloved cottage. Even worse, they are advancing on his witch. And it is all his fault. He should never have gotten involved with Dijkstra and his Redanian Intelligence. Now they have found him and there is just one person standing between him and unimaginable torture. Luckily, this one person is none other than the most powerful sorceress on the continent. Jaskier's heart bounces when he sees the soldiers blasted to the ground by this incredible female. Dijkstra will not be happy, he thinks with a smirk.
Jaskier is just about to turn away from the window and run out of the kitchen beaming with joy to hug his saviour, when he sees the other sorceress arrive. In a very spectacular manner. If it was not his and his friend's hide she is out for, this would be great material for a new ballad. A barn owl that transforms into a stunningly beautiful sorceress in mid-flight, long white dress and all. He has never heard of it before and, probably, nobody would believe it. However, this is hardly the time to compose a new song. The sorceress looks no less formidable than Yennefer, and the soldiers on the ground are not dead, Jaskier notes, much to his regret. They are scrambling back to their feet as the sorceresses are talking. Through the closed window he cannot understand what the erstwhile owl is saying - she is too far away yet, which is certainly a good thing - and only bits and pieces of Yennefer's replies. Has she just said that the other sorceress has to go through her if she wants him? A fuzzy warm feeling spreads through his chest. At the same time, though, he is mortally afraid. What if something bad happens to Yennefer? He would never be able to forgive himself. Well, that is if he gets out of this alive.
A blue jet of light shoots across the glade. Then back toward the house. Shit! Jaskier just so manages to duck, his arms clutched protectively over his head, before the window pane explodes in a rain of a thousand tiny shards of glass.
"Fuck!" he yells, feeling some of the pointy, minute missiles painfully embed themselves in the skin of his hands. Bloody hell, this could easily have been his face, even his eyes. Obviously not a good idea to stand so close by the window during a magical duel.
Hunched over, Jaskier sprints toward the kitchen table, knocks it over and hunkers down behind it, his back toward the wall. Essi will not be thrilled about the broken window. Hopefully this will be the only damage to his fellow bard and good friend's beloved creative retreat. And not the very last time she lets Jaskier use it. Damn it, what is he supposed to do now? Don't be yellow-bellied, Jask, he tells himself, Yennefer is out there risking her life for you! However, cowering in the relative safety of his make-shift cover like the damsel in distress would be what she wants him to do, what makes most sense in the current situation. As, with no door, not even a window in the back side of the little cottage - except for the loo one which is far too narrow, he would totally get stuck in it - there is no way for him to get out and run. He could try to play the hero, but, honestly, where would that get them? Yennefer would be distracted, worried out of her mind about his safety. And what could he even do without a weapon of any sort besides getting them both killed? Improvise? In a tight spot like this? Talk or sing the attackers to death, perhaps?
No, Yennefer would manage to get the upper hand eventually and all without him interfering, Jaskier is suddenly sure of it. She always does. She has to. Only it is so fucking frightening not to see what is going on. Are they still battling for him, the bard? Judging from the sounds of powerful magic drumming against the walls of the cottage, they definitely are.
Suddenly Jaskier remembers his beautiful new lute, the almost magical instrument the mysterious time-stopping, shape-shifting elven storyteller gave to him the other day. Fuck. It is still out there, most probably in the direct line of fire. Even if he cannot really help Yennefer, maybe he can at least sneak out quickly, grab the precious musical instrument and disappear inside the cottage again? It would not take more than half a minute, the lute is leaning against the bench just the length of an arm away from the door. If it is still there and in one piece. Gods, how would he ever be able to explain to the scary elven mage that he has lost her invaluable gift scarcely more than a fortnight after having received it?
Having made up his mind, Jaskier heaves a deep sigh, then scrambles to his feet. The backs of his hands are stinging unpleasantly and at least a dozen drops of blood have appeared on his skin where it is riddled with the tiny splinters of glass. He stares at the minuscule red beads. Well, this has to wait. Yennefer can easily take care of the annoying but luckily superficial and far from grave damage once she has defeated the attackers.
Slowly and cautiously, Jaskier sneaks toward the kitchen door, his back pressed against the wall and the furniture, respectively. When he has reached the narrow entrance hall, he stands still for a moment to listen to the noises of the fight. The frequency of magic impacting the wall has gone down a little. However, is that a good or a bad sign? For the cottage it is certainly a positive development, but for Yennefer?
Still as flat against the wall as physically possible, Jaskier moves further toward the half-open cottage door. Very carefully, he takes a look outside. The enemy sorceress is standing at the edge of the glade, smirking.
"You are slowing down, Yennefer. High time to give up." Damn, that's what he feared. Yennefer is using up too much of her chaos. He knows how dangerous this can be for a sorceress. Or, maybe, it is a ruse? Yennefer is not only tremendously powerful, but also smart as a fox. Perhaps she wants to lure the other sorceress into believing that she has exhausted most of her chaos and would be easy to overcome, but then, with a sudden boom, Yennefer would be back, as powerful as ever? And totally quash her opponent? Right, that must be it.
"I'm in a generous mood today. I'll give you one more chance to back out. A very last one," the sorceress continues.
Yeah, you wish, stupid bird. Aren't owls supposed to be wise? Jaskier scoffs - inwardly. He knows Yennefer. She never backs out of anything. It is just not her style. Moreover, she would never sell out a friend. And, although it was not always the case, he is pretty sure he is firmly logged in this category by now.
"Stick it up your avian arse!" Bravo, Yennefer, exactly the answer Jaskier expected, and nicely worded, too. Avian arse. He chuckles, but quickly becomes serious again. As Yennefer would not do it, perhaps he ought to end this fight here and now? By giving himself up? Then his friend would be safe.
Before Jaskier can do anything, though, Yennefer hurls another mighty blast of magical energy at the attackers. The soldiers fall and are pinned to the ground with force, as is the other sorceress. For a split second, Jaskier believes they have won. He launches into jumping through the door to hug and congratulate his friend on her victory, only to stop dead in his tracks. The owl woman has risen to her feet. She uses both her hands to perform some kind of magic and throws it at Yennefer. Then she leaps into the air, transforms into a barn owl and flies toward the cottage at high speed.
If she does not come to a halt in time, she will crash into the wall of the house! Jaskier thinks in alarm. But hell, what does he care? She can crash and die as much as she likes, if you ask him, as long as she does not bring down Essi's cottage in the process. The important thing is that Yennefer is alright. But is she?
Gingerly, Jaskier leans through the opening of the door to peek around the corner. Where Yennefer was standing just a minute before, all Jaskier can see are the last remnants of a portal disappearing into thin air. Fuck.
At the other side of the glade, the Redanian soldiers clamber to their feet ...