III

...

The dream began as it always had. She woke in the stable of Kaer Seren where she and Henri first made love shortly before their Trial of the Medallion. It was recreated perfectly, down to the slight smell of manure and the scratchy feeling of straw on her back. It was even the right stall they'd sneaked in on that night. Henri was standing with his back to her and looking out of a window. That had always struck her as strange. There were no windows in the stables. He wasn't the gangly and awkward sixteen year-old boy with a charming accent any more. His tanned skin was marred by years of healed scars and his shoulders were slumped in exhaustion.

She shouldn't feel guilt. Not anymore. It had been four years since that fateful night on the border of Dyadra and she'd done just fine on her own, terrible dreams be damned. But she did. She always did. Once again she was forced to confront the fact that she had been a fool, and had continued to be a fool, by leaving and not seeking Henri out. She wanted to apologize so badly. She wanted to explain herself. She wanted to scream at him, tell him to just stop fucking tormenting her already. All that came out was a stifled sob.

Henri sighed and began speaking in his melodious Toussaintois accent, "You left me, Anna."

She tried everything in her power to retort. Turn away. Something. Anything to forestall or prevent what was about to happen. She couldn't. There was a long silence. The scent of sea water drifted in from the window. It reminded her of home. Real home. It reminded her of running the mountain passes and late nights studying. Those same nights spent in this stable, giggling like a schoolgirl with the only other person who truly understood her. Not these winding roads where trusting the wrong person meant a knife in your back. Not here, where the air stank of death and rot.

"I had to kill a werewolf. Had you been there, you would have made me find some way to lift its curse. You were always so good at that. You have such compassion, Anna."

Don't call me Anna. Don't compliment my compassion. Please just let me wake up. I can't take it anymore.

Another silence. Then he spoke again. "Why, Anna?"

Because I wanted freedom. Because I was tired of being around the same man day after day, doing menial bullshit for a monarch that considered us tools rather than people. Because despite the fact you made me feel like the most important woman in the world, I still hated myself. Because despite the fact I've known you since you were five and we can read each other's minds, I still see you as a stranger. But I can't just say that, because you wouldn't understand. You can't understand. Because you're a witcher. And I'm a witcher. And I love you so much. But I don't feel like I deserve being loved back.

Then it felt as though the air pressure dropped in the stable. She knew what came next and braced herself for it. Henri turned his head toward her, revealing eyes black as the void, crying obsidian tears. "You. Must. Find. Me."

She was awakened with a swift kick in the stomach. She was left gasping for air around a cloth gag. She tried to tear it off, but found that her hands were tied with hemp rope. The familiar weight of the swords on her back wasn't there. "Gods above, dh'oinne, shut up! You keep mewling like a sick dog."

She tried to steady her breath and searched the room for her assailant. The room was entirely stone, smelling of mold and stagnant air. A single torch hung on the wall. A lithe she-elf with black hair cropped short walked over to a chair next to the door and sat in it, clearly exasperated. She tried to call out, but the gag was tight. She grimaced. Nothing much else that even a witcher could do now but wait. She didn't have to wait long.

After a few minutes, a light shone in the stone archway that led out of the room. It was white and didn't resemble a torch's warm orange glow. Her griffin medallion vibrated slightly. The guard stood, hands on her hips and spoke to whoever was out there in hushed tones. Annalise couldn't make out the words, but she could tell that the other voice was another woman. The guard stepped aside and let her in.

Upon seeing who stepped in, Annalise groaned and hit her head against the stone wall she was propped up against. The woman who stepped in was a tall, slender, and exceedingly beautiful elf. In that way, she was like most other sorceresses. A white ball of magical light hung beside her, showing the utilitarian shirt and pants she now wore instead of the elaborate gowns she once preferred. Her long blond hair was in a braid across her shoulder, and her stunning blue eyes widened at what she saw.

"Va, Listredd," she said authoritatively.

"Aeonweth..."

"Now!"

The guard gave Annalise one long look, then departed, leaving her and the sorceress alone. The sorceress' face was red. She waved a hand and Annalise's gag and bindings vanished. "What," she said, fuming, "Are you doing here, vatt'ghern?"

"I could ask you that very same question, Aeonweth. What is an elven sorceress with the Lodge doing with a bunch of Scoia'tael?" She replied, "And don't call me vatt'ghern. You know my name, so use it."

"When I heard Listredd had taken a human prisoner, I thought it had been one of the Black Ones. Not," she turned up her nose, "You."

Annalise found herself wishing it had been the fiend that had found her rather than Aeonweth. "Gods damn it, Aeonweth. What did you want me to do? Tell the incredibly powerful sorceress that it just wasn't going to work out?"

"Shut it, you. Listredd! Bring me an extra seat and my brandy! I know this prisoner!"

The guard from earlier, Listredd, came back with a chair and a bottle of very fine brandy as commanded. She shot Annalise a dirty look before leaving. Annalise, whose back hurt from sleeping on the stone floor, gratefully took the proffered seat. She politely declined the brandy offered to her. "What's her problem?"

"Humans."

"Ah." She supposed she should have known the answer to that question anyway.

"Oriandil is dead," Aeonweth blurted, sipping at her brandy, "He'd lived in that village for, what? Seventy years? Then suddenly some priest of the Eternal Fire comes around preaching about the immorality of nonhumans and those damned peasants go and..." She put her head in her hands. It took her a long time to compose herself.

"I'm sorry, Aeonweth." She did not know Oriandil, personally, but Aeonweth spoke about him a great deal during their time together. Oriandil was another elven mage, one that specialized in veterinary science and healing magic. He took it upon himself to be the doctor and veterinarian of a small farming village in Kaedwin. Apparently, he and Aeonweth had been friends since childhood and she admired him greatly.

"Sorry." She spat, bitterly. "The man who tied the noose brought his own son to him to be healed when he caught smallpox. I wonder if he's sorry."

There was a long silence. Aeonweth looked almost as tired as Annalise. Eventually, Aeonweth spoke again with ice in her voice.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"The Nilfgaardians are on to you. They've noticed their patrols going missing and they sent me to investigate."

"I see. Well, you're a witcher and we're not monsters, so you can be on your way."

Annalise shook her head. "Not if there's a fiend nearby, I'm not. Have any of your people gone missing lately?"

"What? A fiend?" A look of recognition flashed across Aeonweth's face. "Ah. Of course. Filandil and Iarenen haven't come back from their hunt yet. It's been a few days, but I just assumed..."

"You won't find any prey animals within several miles of here. Fiends scare them off." Annalise rose. "You need to move, anyway."

Aeonweth pursed her lips. "Out of the question. We have sick and wounded here."

"Nilfgaard isn't like Cintra or Kaedwin, Aeonweth! They will throw as many men as they need to wipe you off the face of the earth! Barring that, they may just burn the forest down so there's nowhere to hide. Your presence here, specifically, can be tracked with remarkable accuracy. Magic leaves more traces and brings more dangerous hunters than a ragtag collection of forest guerillas. For the love of whatever gods you recognize, cross the Yaruga and get out of Cintra! There's nothing for you here anymore!"

Aeonweth scrunched her face up in the way she always did when she was deep in thought. "Fine. I can't promise the others will follow, but I will be going."

"I'm gonna bring that fiend's head to the Nilfgaardians. That'll give you the time you need to get everyone out of here. Wherever the hell here is."

"The ruins of Caed Drelch."

"Right." Annalise said, waving a hand dismissively. "In any event, I need my swords to do that. Have any idea where I can find them?"

"Listredd has them," Aeonweth said, draining the rest of her tumbler and standing, "Come."

Aeonweth led her into a large cavern where sick and wounded nonhumans of all stripes were being tended to by a single frazzled looking elven healer. Listredd leaned on a large stalagmite on the fringe of the crowd, looking concerned. Upon seeing them approach, she stiffened.

"Listredd, make sure the witcher gets her swords. She's free to go." Aeonweth said.

Listredd flicked her eyes between the two and nodded sharply, waving for Annalise to follow. She made to follow, but Aeonweth grabbed her by the arm before she could. "Anna?"

She froze. "Don't call me that. Please."

"You spent six months with me in Carreas, Anna." Annalise felt the darkness in her mind start to smother her. "Why do you have to create this distance? Why can't you let anyone inside that head of yours?"

That horrible thing that made it impossible to think straight had her in its grasp. Annalise didn't know how to respond, so she went with the first thing that came to mind. Rage. She tore her arm from Aeonweth's gentle grasp and pointed a finger in her face. "Once again, Aeonweth, you stick your nose in a place you are not wanted!"

"Anna, please-"

"Don't. Call. Me. That." Annalise said, her voice dripping venom. There was a very long silence. Even the general din of the wounded and sick had gone quiet except for the occasional cough. Tears fogged Annalise's vision.

"I," she said, voice breaking, "Am so, so, tired Aeonweth." She steadied her breathing, turned, and began to walk toward Listredd, "If you send out another patrol and they disappear, leave the area immediately. Young fiends like this one tend to expand their territory very quickly."

Aeonweth said nothing as Annalise followed Listredd out of the caverns. Coming to the mouth of the cave revealed an early morning. She heard the sounds of insects and birds, smelled the morning dew on the grass. Listredd withheld her weapons for a split second before saying, "I am to understand you're hunting the beast that killed our people?"

"Yes. I need those to do that." Annalise said, holding her hands out for her swords.

Listredd dropped them into her hands. "Good luck, vatt'ghern."

"Good luck to you too, Listredd. You'll need it."