I do not own Witcher or any of the characters.

New Companion

Aralyn stepped out of the washroom, finishing drying herself before pulling on her night clothes, the small top and underwear she'd taken to wearing since meeting Triss. The room she and Eldin were sharing this time had only a single bed, and a fairly small one at that, but she neither of them minded that. They'd shared a bed countless times in the years they'd been traveling together, and he was always polite enough to face away from her unless she had a nightmare, that way he wouldn't make her uncomfortable. Sure enough, he was lying facing away again already, having cleaned himself before her, and she lay down on her side of the bed. Except, the bed was smaller than she had expected. Even with both on their sides and their backs pressed against each other's, they were both on the edges of the bed. Aralyn glanced back at Eldin, then sighed, sitting up.

"Eldin, lay on your back," Aralyn said gently.

Eldin glanced at her, then rolled, and Aralyn lay herself back down along her side, resting her head on his chest, trapping his arm under her. He hesitated, then wrapped that arm around her, and Aralyn smiled, wrapping an arm over him as well. Eldin let out a breath almost slow enough to mask it being a sigh, and Aralyn looked up at him, seeming to study him for a long few moments.

"What is it?" Eldin inquired, watching her interestedly.

"I've...been thinking about something for a while," Aralyn began hesitantly. "Since we escorted Triss a couple of weeks ago."

"What is it?" Eldin asked.

"Are you..." she hesitated, seeming unsure about how to voice her thoughts. "Could we...What are..." she shook her head. "I'm not really sure how to say it."

"Take your time," Eldin said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Aralyn nodded, smiling. "I know, it's just...I've never talked about anything like this before."

Eldin's eyebrows rose curiously.

"Maybe..." Aralyn hesitated again. "Maybe there's another way for me to ask."

"Alright," Eldin nodded.

Aralyn hesitated again, her eyes dropping away from his face for a moment before returning, her expression more unsure than ever.

"You don't have to say it if you-"

She lurched forward, kissing him so suddenly and with such force that their teeth clicked together painfully, but when she pulled back to apologize, he followed, sucking in a breath as he did and wrapping both arms around her, holding her tightly. Aralyn let out a shuddering breath, hands tangling in his shirt. For several minutes, they remained joined at the lips before Aralyn finally pulled away, taking another shuddering breath to try and calm herself.

"Why didn't you..." Aralyn began, barely more than an exhale.

"I couldn't say anything," Eldin explained. "After everything you've been through, I was terrified of reminding you of it all and hurting you."

Aralyn shook her head. "None of it was your fault. You saved me from it all."

Eldin smiled, but it was as pained as it was relieved. "But I'm still human."

Aralyn smiled, shaking her head. "But you're proof that not all humans are like the ones from that kingdom, or the ones we met after it. You're the best man I've ever met."

Eldin's smile relaxed slightly, and he kissed her again, more gently this time. "I love you, Aralyn."

"I love you, too," Aralyn smiled. "I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

Eldin shook his head. "I'm glad you took your time. If either of us had rushed into anything, it could have hurt you. I'd have never forgiven myself."

Aralyn smiled, reaching up and pressing her lips to his again. They remained there for a long time before finally separating, Aralyn setting her head down on his chest again. Eldin smiled, closing his eyes and squeezing her for a moment before both drifted off to sleep. A few hours later, he stirred, realizing Aralyn was gone, and opened his eyes, looking around just as Aralyn finished taking off her bedclothes. His breath caught in his throat audibly, and Aralyn spun, gasping and covering herself, only to smile sheepishly.

"Sorry," Aralyn apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Eldin shook his head. "You didn't." He rested his hand on his amulet. "This did."

Aralyn's eyes widened, and Eldin climbed out of bed, struggling, and failing, to avoid glancing at her bared skin. Aralyn's face darkened slightly, but she lowered her arms, allowing him to look. He inhaled slowly, his gaze lingering more deliberately before walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. She smiled, kissing him, and he returned it in kind, every bit as gently as the night before, though with the definite edge of hunger running through it. After several moments, he pulled away as his amulet pulsed warmly against his skin again.

"Time to go to work," he sighed.

Aralyn sighed, nodding, and both dressed themselves quickly, Eldin taking only a few seconds longer to don his armor and clothes both than Aralyn did to dress herself in her usual outfit. Both strapped on their weapons as they walked outside, but there was no monster anywhere near them as they got outside. Instead, they found Geralt walking toward the inn, a young girl walking alongside his horse.

"Oh, it's you," Eldin realized.

"So that's it," Geralt sighed, his hand dropping from his own medallion. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," Eldin nodded, glancing at Geralt's horse, Roach. "Kikimora?"

"Yeah," Geralt nodded. "I'm on my way to this city's wizard to see if he needs anything from it for his potions."

Eldin nodded. "We just got done selling him a bunch of Nekker pieces, so he might be a bit short on coin."

Geralt grunted. "Figures. How is it we always wind up competing with each other, even if we don't know the other is around?"

"Well, when you keep following me, that's bound to happen," Eldin shrugged.

Geralt rolled his eyes. "Sure."

"Oh, fair warning," Eldin said. "He's a degenerate."

"What?" Geralt asked.

"You'll see," Eldin said. "I recommend leaving the girl outside."

Geralt glanced at her, then nodded. "Thanks. You sticking around?"

"For a bit, I suppose," Eldin nodded.

Geralt nodded. "I'll see you at the tavern, then. As memory serves, that's your favorite place to spend your coin."

Eldin smirked and shrugged. "When you find something you enjoy..."

Geralt nodded, and continued on his way, and Eldin and Aralyn headed to the tavern. They sat at the bar, but the barkeep merely flashed them a glare and made no move to serve them.

Eldin rolled his eyes and dropped one of his numerous coin purses on the bar, this particular one containing dozens of Crowns, the currency of the country they were currently in. The barkeep eyed the pouch hungrily, but still turned away.

"Oh, would you put your racism away for at least one day?" a woman a few seats along the bar said, brushing her short, wavy brown hair out of her brown eyes. "Twice in a day, you've refused to serve someone just because they're a Witcher."

"Even if he weren't a Witcher, we don't serve her kind," the barkeep spat, glaring at Aralyn.

"Do you value your tongue?" Eldin asked.

"Excuse me?" he grunted.

"I said, do you value your tongue?" Eldin repeated.

"Yes," the barkeep growled suspiciously.

"Then maybe you should keep it behind your teeth and serve my companion without hurling insults," Eldin snarled. "Otherwise, you'll be a very silent barkeep from now on."

The barkeep snarled angrily, then picked up a pitcher of beer and slammed it down in front of Eldin, slopping nearly a quarter of the contents over the side. As he reached for the coin purse, however, Eldin caught his hand.

"If this beer was worth the whole lot, it would have to be liquid gold," Eldin growled. "Especially after you spilled so much." He took the purse back, dropping a single crown on the bar. "Bring us food as well."

The barkeep glared him for a moment, then walked away. The woman who'd spoken on their behalf, who looked to be mid to late twenties, passed them a pair of mugs, and Eldin nodded, pouring them both a mug.

"Sorry about him, he's a real ass sometimes," the woman apologized. "I'm Renfri."

"Eldin," Eldin grunted, taking a long drink.

"Aralyn," Aralyn introduced herself as disinterestedly as Eldin.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Renfri asked.

"Actually, we would," Eldin said. "We appreciate you speaking up for us, but we're not particularly interested in meeting new people."

"Alright," Renfri nodded. "Sorry for bothering you."

"What do you want?" Aralyn asked.

"What do I..." Renfri frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You're not being generous, you're leading," Aralyn said. "What do you want?"

Renfri sighed, smiling resignedly. "Not bad. There's someone I want. A wizard named Stregobor. I owe him a debt that cannot be ignored."

Eldin surveyed her face. "And what is this revenge born of?"

Renfri's eyes narrowed slightly. "What makes you think it's revenge?"

"The hungry, furious expression in your eyes," Eldin said. "I've seen it before. I've worn it before. I've been the demon who seeks the blood of another to the exclusion of all else. But that doesn't matter. Right now, your answer determines mine. So, what did he do?"

Renfri hesitated, then gestured for him and Aralyn to follow. They both drained their drinks and stood, following her out of the tavern and away from the more populated streets. Finally, she told to them, sighing, and began her story.

"I used to be a princess, but I was born under a black sun, an eclipse. Stregobor declared me one of Lilit's Daughters and sent a man after me into the woods to kill me. Instead, Stregobor's man raped me and robbed me. So, I killed him with my mother's antique brooch. But I couldn't go home, because I'd be killed if I did. So, I wasn't a princess anymore. I ran away. I stole rather than starve. I killed rather than be killed. Eventually, I met Nohorn and the others, and they saved me. They'll be by my side when I take my revenge, but if you do it for me, it'd be cleaner. Minimal bloodshed."

"We're not murdering for you," Eldin said. "And you don't have to kill him."

"What would you know about it?" Renfri asked.

"He'd know almost as much as me about it," Aralyn said. "He saved me from it. When we met, I was imprisoned for murdering the men who raped me, and I was being raped even more while there and scheduled for execution. He slaughtered everyone who got in the way of him rescuing me. All of them. The guards, the soldiers, the king. Everyone who stood in his way died. And when I treated him with the same hatred and contempt that I treated all humans, he was patient and kind. He went out of his way to protect me and to ensure I was safe. And he taught me that there was another way. He became a demon to save me, and then taught me that the demon doesn't have to be who he is, and I didn't have to be a murderer. He taught me to let go of my past, to move on from what had happened to me, and become something better."

"And what would I become?" Renfri asked. "It doesn't take a wizard to see that the two of you are lovers. Would I be expected to be another of his lovers?"

"You could become whatever you want," Eldin said. "You don't have to be anything specific, but you also don't have to be a murderer."

Renfri scoffed. "You say that, but you murdered the men tormenting her. And she killed those who tormented her before that."

"Yes, and do you know what tormented me at night?" Aralyn asked. "What still torments me at times? It's not the rape. It's not that I was almost killed. It's the murders. My murders of those who raped me first, and the demon who came to save me. The deaths haunt me more than the rape. Revenge solves nothing, Renfri. It only makes your pain worse. Has hunting Stregobor truly done anything to ease your suffering? Or has it only kept your suffering, your pain, fresh in your mind?"

Renfri hesitated, then shook her head. "I'm going to kill him. If you won't help, then I warn you to stay out of my way. I will kill anyone who gets in my way."

She turned, walking away, and Eldin sighed, shaking his head.

"What do you want to do?" Eldin asked.

Aralyn raised an eyebrow at him. "Why me?"

"You know her pain," Eldin said. "You could sympathize with her, if you wanted to."

Aralyn sighed. "You're right there. Let's go talk to Stregobor about her. He probably knows plenty, and no two sides of a story are the same."

Eldin nodded, and they headed to Stregobor's home, ignoring the illusion of the dozen nude women around them, of the apple trees and the grass. Instead, they walked over to Stregobor, who was admiring a pair of women who, unlike the rest of the women who were tending to the trees, were instead tending to each other. After a moment of Stregobor not noticing them, Eldin cleared his throat. Stregobor glanced back and hurriedly stood, the two illusionary women disengaging from each other and returning to tending to the apple trees.

"You're back," Stregobor greeted them. "I was just...uh...how can I help you?"

"What do you know about Renfri?" Eldin asked flatly.

"Oh," Stregobor said, his mood darkening. "Her. I just finished speaking to the White Wolf about this, but the job remains open, if you'd like it."

"Killing her?" Eldin guessed.

"That's right," Stregobor nodded. "I assume she told you about how she was wronged, and how she'd been hunted her whole life. But I delivered her myself. Her and the others who were born around the Black Sun. I investigated all of the others. Locked them in towers for their protection, but they all died. And I discovered terrible, internal mutations that-"

"Hold on," Eldin interrupted. "Locked them in towers? Internal mutations? You imprisoned, killed, and autopsied these innocent women to prove your own suspicions about some insane theory about them being evil just because they happened to be born around an eclipse?"

"That Black Sun was long prophecied-"

"So because some supposedly all-knowing sorcerer claimed that an eclipse was a sign of evil, without any proof, I'd wager, you decided to imprison and murder innocent women?" Aralyn asked. "No wonder Renfri wants you dead. And what about the assassin you sent after her?"

"That...wasn't the wisest decision," Stregobor admitted. "But did she tell you how she killed him?"

"With her brooch," Eldin answered.

"Yes," Stregobor nodded. "With her brooch. She drove it into his ear in order to pierce his brain. It was far from a painless death."

"Well, considering he raped her rather than kill her, I don't blame her," Eldin said.

"I'd have done worse," Aralyn agreed.

"Oh?" Stregobor asked. "And what of the mountain of bodies she's stacked up since? While she was a thief? While she went from town to town, wetting their streets with blood?"

"Living on your own isn't easy," Eldin said. "If someone tried to rape her, yes, I'd imagine she died. If someone tried to kill her on a promise of your coin, I'd imagine that they also died. Stealing rather than starving when you have no other way to make coin is also not something that makes one inherently evil."

Stregobor narrowed his eyes. "So, what then? You won't kill her?"

"No," Aralyn said. "And you're lucky we don't kill you here and now and take her your head."

Stregobor's hand closed more tightly around his staff, but Eldin and Aralyn both turned, walking out of Stregobor's home, returning to the tavern. After several hours of Geralt not returning, they went to bed. The next morning, they headed to the market. They needed to buy some supplies before leaving Blaviken, and they had agreed before going to sleep that they wanted to try one last time to save Renfri from herself before condemning her to whatever fate. However, what they found at the market was the aftermath of a bloodbath. Geralt stood among the scattered corpses of several men, which Eldin assumed was Nohorn and his men.

"What have you done?" Eldin asked.

"You're late," Geralt said. "They attacked first."

"Geralt!" a girl off to the side screamed, the same as had been with Geralt the day before. "Geralt!"

"You chose," Renfri breathed, her red blouse covered by grey leather armor, and a black, double-edged shortsword with a small opening in the center of the base of the blade, in place of a fuller, held to the girl's throat.

"No," Eldin said. "They told Geralt to choose a side, and then attacked him before he could. And we just got here."

"Then what do you choose?" Renfri questioned.

"Let the girl go, Renfri," Eldin said. "She did nothing to you."

Renfri watched him for a moment, then removed her blade from the girl's throat, allowing her to flee. Eldin nodded, walking forward with Aralyn.

"You haven't been to see Stregobor yet," Eldin guessed.

"He refused to come out, even for the girl and all the people of the city," Renfri said. "He said that even if we slaughtered everyone in all the villages around Blaviken as well, he still wouldn't come out of his tower."

"That sounds like him," Eldin nodded. "He's a sorcerer, and they so love to think of themselves as more important than anyone else. I could have told you this plan wouldn't work."

"Then what would you have me do?" Renfri asked. "Give up?"

"For now, at least, yes," Eldin said. "I understand you can't give up on your revenge, but at least put it on hold for now. At least give us a chance to show you a better way to live first, and if, after giving us that chance, you still can't let go, then we won't stop you from facing Stregobor, and we'll help you reach a position to face him without having to massacre a town to draw him out or hold a little girl at sword point. Can you at least agree to that?"

Renfri considered for a long few moments.

"Let us try to save you from yourself," Aralyn said. "Let us show you that you don't have to live as the monster they claim you are, that you don't have to let them win and control your entire life. They've took your life from you before, and you've allowed them to control your life since by living according to your hate and your desire for revenge. But they don't have to control the rest of your life. You don't have to give them your future as well. Give us a chance to show you that." She held out her hand. "Please."

Renfri narrowed her eyes, then looked to Geralt, who had his left hand's finger's placed together over his palm. "Magic doesn't work on me. Silver does, though."

Eldin looked back, then jabbed two fingers at Geralt, blasting him with Aard and hurling him backward. "If magic doesn't work on you, then you know that we aren't manipulating you. You hesitated. You considered our offer. You know our offer was genuine."

"Please, Renfri," Aralyn pleaded, hand still extended. "Trust us. We're not Geralt. Please let us help you. As Eldin said, if we can't help you move on, we'll help you get to Stregobor without excess bloodshed. That's a better option than this, isn't it? Better than slaughtering countless innocents, and becoming the monster they claimed you were, and still not getting to Stregobor in the end?"

Renfri stared at them both, then finally lowered her sword, loosening her grip. "How long?"

"Give us a year or two," Eldin said. "Long enough to show you that there's a better way."

Renfri frowned but nodded sheathing her sword and taking Aralyn's hand. "So what life am I in for?"

"For a while, at least, you'll be helping me hunt monsters," Eldin said. "So, you'll be needing a silver sword to match that steel one."

Renfri nodded, then looked to Geralt. "Goodbye Geralt. I'm glad they were here. I didn't want to have to kill you."

"You wouldn't have," Geralt said, pushing himself up finally. "But I'm glad they were here, too."

"We're leaving," Eldin said. "Ensure Stregobor doesn't send anyone after us."

Geralt nodded, and Eldin and Aralyn led Renfri out of the city. Once they were away from the city, they climbed onto the pair of horses waiting for them, Eldin and Aralyn sharing Eldin's horse and allowing Renfri to take Aralyn's. Renfri turned her head, staring back toward the city for a long moment before looking to the other two and nodding. Eldin flicked his reins and spurred the horse forward, and Renfri followed in silence, leaving the city behind, but not without glancing back again before it was out of sight through the trees, and even long after it was.

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