The forest is getting darker.
Jaskier dodges past a low hanging tree branch, frantically looking around as the shadows close in. There are no breaks in the trees, nothing to indicate that he's getting any closer to getting out, just fat clusters of snowflakes falling with a greater intensity partially obscuring his already limited vision.
Which becomes an issue when he misses a jutting root, catching the top of it and causing him to stumble into a tree, holding on to the bark as he regains his balance and catches his breath. He can't stop now. He needs to get to the road, to get to Geralt.
He grits his teeth and pushes off, leaving a smear of blood in his wake. He lets out a muffled cry as he puts pressure back on his bad ankle, knowing that he's making it worse but having little choice in the matter. Right now he'd rather suffer than die.
He limps a couple of steps, reminding himself of what's at stake, hoping that the children are far enough away now that even if he fails, they'll be safe.
A branch snaps in the distance, and Jaskier freezes. He listens intently, straining his eyes in the darkness that makes it impossible to see. He hears another snap, and it's all the encouragement he needs to start running again, veins filling with ice cold adrenaline at the thought of the man stalking him nearby.
It's getting harder to breathe now, making him gasp in the frigid air. The muscles in his legs scream for him to stop, even as the fear pushes him. But maybe- maybe he's almost there…maybe if he can just keep it up for a little while longer-
Something clamps down on his ankle hard as his foot makes contact with the ground, and he hears a metallic crash just as a new pain flares to life, all encompassing. He's moving too fast to stop, and hits the ground harshly as a chain is pulled tight, causing the teeth in his leg to dig in further.
He screams.
He screams until all of the air has left his lungs, starting back in short bursts even as he grapples at the metal of the bear trap. His hands are slick with blood, catching the sharp edges of the teeth and cutting his fingers as he tries to find purchase enough to pull them away. He gives up shortly, feeling his energy seeping away, and can only sob as he curls inwards, hands resting uselessly over the trap as all of the pain, the cold, the fear, fades into the darkness of the night.
"-found you."
Jaskier gasps awake, the sound muffled as a pair of meaty hands clamp over his mouth from behind. He doesn't think, just reacts as he bites down on the fingers hard enough to draw blood. He hears the man yell just as the hand wrenches away, then the next moment he's being grabbed by the hair and slammed into the ground. It stuns him and he chokes out a gasp as his vision is assaulted by swirling flashes a light.
He can't move, can only watch as the man dips out of sight, reappearing moments later as he leans over and hauls Jaskier up and onto his shoulder. The trap is still attached, the chain now free from the ground and dragging. He wheezes out a whimper as they begin moving, grasping at the back of the man's shirt weakly as if it will do any good.
"How long do you think I could keep you alive while I cut pieces from you? A few days? Weeks? How about we find out? Make this more worth my time."
The man hefts him up, jarring his leg and side and making him cry out. The ground slips by like a flowing river, dotted with spots of his blood and the line of the chain as it catches in the snow. Jaskier tries to focus on the line through silent tears, all the way until the mud turns to wood flooring.
He's thrown to the ground in a small room, the door slamming shut and locking him in as he huddles into a corner, seething and trembling in pain.
The snow whips at his face as Geralt rides, leaning forward and shifting his weight in a way that signals Roach to run with an urgency he hasn't felt since Yennifer put Ciri in harms way. His hands sit low on her neck and he catches sight of Jaskier's necklace- pendant flying in the wind where it hangs from his fist. He grunts in frustration at the wave of fear that hits him.
Not for himself, pretty much never for himself, but for Jaskier- the thought of what he'd done, what he could be going through.
He recalls what the child had told him after stumbling out of the bushes, looking back for a moment and nodding into the darkness as Geralt had come to a full stop.
He'd been frightened, holding the necklace like a lifeline and it hadn't taken Geralt long to notice the distinct shape of the tuning fork between those small fingers. It took everything in his power not to throw himself off of the saddle and charge at the boy for answers, instead dropping down smoothly and kneeling down to let the boy approach instead.
He'd been taken aback when the child had run into him, wrapping his small arms around him and crying. Geralt wasn't used to this, people usually feared him, but he'd done his best, awkwardly wrapping his arms around the boy and letting him cry.
Eventually he'd talked, being as descriptive as a small child could, of "the bad man that had hurt my momma, she stopped moving and she smells really bad" how he had "trapped me and my sister in his house." and of "the funny man that got trapped too, and got us out when he was still stuck" ending tearfully with, "are you his friend?"
Geralt had paused then, but only for a moment, gently grasping the boy's shoulders and pulling him away.
"Yes, I'm his friend…and I need you to tell me where he is so that I can save him."
Which is how he finds himself on the road again, having ensured safe passage back to the village before quickly riding back out, not willing to waste a minute.
Jaskier is at the edge of consciousness when the man returns, the effects of blood loss leaving him lethargic to the point that he barely moves his head to look when the door creaks open. He's still aware enough to feel fear, heart pounding in his chest as the man steps through with a neutral expression and of all things…and axe in one hand.
It wakes him up enough that he makes an attempt to scramble backwards, only then remembering the trap still stuck around his leg as it slams against the ground and sends shockwaves of pain through his leg. The action leaves him wheezing in pain, but he doesn't get a break when the man grabs at the chain and pulls, dragging him flat across the ground as he chokes on a scream.
"Don't want this getting infected so we might as well take the whole thing off." He says as if talking about some mundane chore, though he cracks a smile as he releases the trap from Jaskier's leg and elicits another cry. He straightens Jaskier's leg out and pins him to the floor, shaking him roughly when he tries to get away.
"No, no, no, gods no! Let go! Get your hands off of me-!" Jaskier loses it, jerking away and grappling with the man until he's backhanded so harshly that his head cracks against the wall and renders him completely unconscious.
There is no more fight as the man pulls him flat again, centering the axe above his shin and raising the blade above his head with a sadistic gleam in his eyes.
A/N: after marathon writing two other fics, and knowing full well my hyperfixation was going to circle back around...I'm back! For the time being at least, but hopefully I'll have this wrapped up before it fades again. As for the chapter...sorry but totally not sorry