I do not own Witcher or any of the characters.
Passage
Eldin ducked outside of the man's fist, driving his own into the man's jaw and dropped him. The men gathered around him cheered, but when Eldin looked around, he saw that several were beginning to crowd Aralyn. He turned, shoving his way through the crowd of spectators and caught the lead man's hand as he reached for Aralyn, Aralyn stopping herself from killing him just as she drew the first inch of her knife.
"Unless you want me to take your hands off, keep them to yourself," Eldin growled.
"What, is this your whore?" the man asked.
Eldin turned sharply, snapping the man's wrist before slamming his other palm into his solar plexus, also putting himself between Aralyn and the others just as she yanked her dagger out, stopping her from killing them. "You need to learn to watch your mouth. Not every woman who's not married to you is a whore. Just because your wife is one for any man who's not you, doesn't mean that's normal for all women."
The other men snickered, but the man who Eldin had insulted after breaking his wrist snarled angrily and pushed himself up. "We're not through. Next time you see me, I'm going to kill-"
Eldin drilled his fist into the man's nose, knocking him out instantly. "How're my winnings looking?"
"A hundred orens," the man managing the brawlers' winnings said.
Eldin held his hand out and the man tossed it to him. Hunter took his shirt and dragonskin tunic from Aralyn and they left town, stopping at a river for him to wash the sweat and other men's blood off before continuing on their way.
The massive tree whipped out at him rapidly, only for his burning sword to slice off the branch. Then, he charged forward, three roots shattering against his armor before he drove his sword into the living tree's heart. As the entire tree ignited, he sheathed the sword and returned to Aralyn. She held out his satchel, now filled with the eyes, hearts, and claws of Nekkers from the group that had attacked them, and he thanked her before they mounted their only horse together, Aralyn casting her freshly killed horse a mournful glance before wrapping her arms around Eldin as he spurred the horse forward.
Eldin stared at Aralyn as she lay back in the grass, smiling softly to herself. He suspected it had been a very long time since she'd smiled like that. A peaceful, contented smile. A happy smile. At minimum, in the few years they'd been traveling together, he'd never seen her smile like that. His own lips curled slightly. She really was beautiful, especially when she smiled.
"It's so beautiful here," Aralyn said, looking over at him and meeting his gaze.
"Yes, it is," Eldin said, taking a moment to actually look around the clearing at the flowers and the wall of weeping willows surrounding them. His eyes returned to hers before he spoke again. "Beautiful."
Aralyn's smile grew a miniscule, almost imperceptible amount. "Thank you for keeping your word to my father. I know I never said it, and I certainly didn't act grateful at first, but I really am. Despite how I treated you, you've been nothing but kind to me, and you've always defended me, whether from men who think I'd be an easy target or from the trouble I'd cause myself by killing them."
Eldin nodded, smiling. "It's been nice having a companion. Thank you for staying."
Aralyn nodded and closed her eyes again, turning her face back to the sky, Eldin's eyes lingering for a few more seconds before he tore them away, lest he try to do something that would hurt her.
Eldin raised his eyebrows as the redhead watched him silently. Her hair was in a pair of loose buns, her black and dark blue shirt was open to almost her navel with its hood down, her black pants were skin-tight as always, and her brown boots clearly bore the marks of the road; wear, mud, and scratches. Finally, Eldin gestured to the empty chair at his and Aralyn's table. After a moment, she sat down, offering a drink to both. Aralyn declined, but Eldin drained his.
"Triss Merigold," Eldin identified her. "I haven't seen you since..."
"The Coven," Triss remembered. "Dirty job, as usual. Looking for work?"
"Depends on the job," Eldin said. "Triss, this is Aralyn. Aralyn, Triss Merigold."
"It's nice to meet you," Triss smiled.
"And you," Aralyn said politely, though Eldin had his hand on top of hers, which was holding the hilt of her dagger.
"I need an escort," Triss said. "Nothing super dangerous. Just heading home to Aretuza, but I could use company on the way. And, of course, I'm paying a blanket protection fee per day."
Elden stared at her. "Protection from what, Triss?"
Triss sighed. "I'm hurt that you don't trust me. But you're right. There have been rumors of attacks of one form or another along the road. I don't know what it is, so I'd like a Witcher's protection."
Eldin sighed. "Aralyn?"
"Let's charge her extra for every monster we have to kill," Aralyn said.
"I'm right here," Triss said, though she looked amused.
"You heard the terms," Eldin said. "Blanket escort fee, but if there's more than twenty monsters, or one particularly powerful one, we'll charge extra."
Aralyn and Triss both nodded.
"When would you like to leave?" Eldin asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Triss smiled. "One more day to rest first."
Eldin and Aralyn both nodded, and Triss bought Eldin another drink before heading to her room. Eldin sipped his drink slowly, watching Aralyn as she contemplated the table.
"What are you thinking?" Eldin asked finally.
"She's not telling us something," Aralyn said.
"I agree," Eldin nodded. "But she usually pays well, and she won't put us in any excessive danger. Even if she knew about my armor, and paying for our protection, she'll take the safest path she can to get home."
"Unless getting home isn't her real purpose."
Eldin considered, nodding slowly. "We can tell her we changed our minds."
Aralyn glanced at him, considering, then shook her head. "She's a friend of yours, right?"
Eldin shook his head, smiling wryly. "You and Geralt are the only friends I have."
"Geralt?" Aralyn frowned. "That Witcher you fought when you rescued me?"
Eldin nodded. "Our friendship is complicated sometimes, depending on who pays us for what."
Aralyn nodded. "But not friends with Triss?"
Eldin shook his head. "I don't typically trust any sorcerer or sorceress, even Triss. Triss seems more honest and trustworthy than others I've met, but plenty from her order have given me reason not to trust them. I've been betrayed by sorcerers before, and I've been used as a weapon or an intimidation tactic by them before, but I've also been saved by them. The first time I met Triss, she saved my life."
"How?" Aralyn asked.
"I was on a job, got too focused on my target, and got ambushed by Giant Centipedes," Eldin said. "They poisoned me before I could react, and after I killed them all and finished my job, Triss treated my wounds and the poison."
Aralyn nodded. "I see. Do you think we can trust her on this escort job?"
Eldin hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe. She didn't seem like she was lying about wanting to go home. Although, she seemed set on the path that's had attacks, which is odd. Normally, if there was a path where people have been attacked, you'd avoid it, right?"
"Unless it's along a stretch where there's only one path, like just before Aretuza," Aralyn said. "But can't she teleport there?"
Eldin nodded. "Which is another reason it doesn't make sense to take a dangerous route. She could make a portal there easily, if she thought it was dangerous to travel." He shook his head, frowning. "Whatever the threat is, it's either bad enough that she needed to resort to misdirection to get someone to deal with it, or there's something special about it that she wants."
Aralyn nodded. "So, she's definitely lying."
"Hiding something, at least," Eldin nodded. "Once we're out of town, we'll work it out of her."
Aralyn nodded, and Eldin finished his drink before they headed up to their room. Eldin bolted the door and locked the window, as he always did when they were at an inn, since Aralyn didn't feel safe staying in human settlements, then began to strip out of his clothes and armor in favor of his night clothes, Aralyn doing the same. This was also common. At first it had been a little uncomfortable and they'd taken turns using the bathroom, but after several years traveling together and having Eldin treat any injuries Aralyn received, few though there were, they'd given up seeking privacy to change and had grown accustomed to changing in front of one another. However, even if it was common and they had grown accustomed to it, Eldin still struggled not to stare at Aralyn. He couldn't help it. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, bar none, so every so often, he'd find himself staring, as he was now. He tore his eyes away, finishing changing, then glanced around, finding she had also finished. Whereas most nights she'd be wearing a nightdress, however, tonight she seemed almost determined to make him struggle not to stare. In place of her nightdress, this time she wore a black top that left her midriff exposed and was cut low on her chest, and a pair of underpants that covered nothing more than what would be inappropriate to have exposed. This time, Eldin wasn't able to tear his gaze away from her before she noticed.
"Is this alright?" she asked. "It's a bit warm here, so..."
Eldin nodded mutely. She was right about it being warm, warmer than where they had been the last few months, but he wasn't entirely certain the warmth he was feeling was due to the weather alone, so he simply nodded and forced himself to turn away. He climbed into bed quietly, Aralyn climbing into her own bed as well, and silence fell for a few moments.
"Good night, Eldin," Aralyn said finally.
"Good night, Aralyn," Eldin replied, managing to keep his voice steady.
Unseen by Eldin, who had his eyes closed to resist the temptation to look again, Aralyn smiled slightly before closing her own eyes and drifting off to sleep.
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A.N.: I wasn't sure about what anyone in the games/TV show/medieval times wore to bed, assuming they weren't sleeping in their clothes or doing entertaining things before hand, so I made do.