Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the witcher. Those are property of Mr Sapkowski and I am using Netflix series canon mixed with the books, but this is an alternate take of it.

Warning : Violence (some graphic - blood). Anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, rage, hallucinatory dreams. Emotional and physical whump

Notes :
The starting point is another take of the arrow scene, where Jaskier got wounded in the Baptism of Fire. Of course it will be a (very) hard whump this time. I step away from the book canon this time, making up what happens to him from that point to the point where they are reunited in Lady of the Lake. I will skip Anna Henrietta story and of course include Radovid instead.

Radovid dreams are disjointed in time but we follow his timeline and we discover what happen to Jaskier in the order he sees it. The time stamps correspond at the real passage of time for Jaskier. The dream POV is in italic.

Chapter 1 : Dreamers
(day 0)

###

Radovid was playing cat and mouse with Philippa. The sorceress was a con master and, the weeks passing by, he began to properly hate her. More and more negative emotions were bubbling in his head and in his heart. He was feeling the changes and the shift in him, but he had one anchor to the light : his love for Jaskier.

There was not a day he didn't think about him, there was not a night he didn't dream about him. The deep longing was hurting him but in the same time it nourished his will to take back what was stolen from him : his freedom. He would take Redania out of Philippa's claws and himself with it !

The last few days, nightmares had almost stopped and most of the time, he fantasised being with Jaskier, on the road… anywhere. He escaped reality that way. He appreciated the change too but it turned almost to an obsession. Some of those dreams were clearly just phantasms and a continuation of the only night of love they shared. Some were more grounded in a day to day life. A life where he wasn't a king.

But, his little fantasies didn't last long. That night something changed.

Radovid was in the dark, alone, afraid. It was the first time he dreamed of being in an empty space.

He called for help but his voice echoed like in an empty room. He began to walk, trying to find an exit but soon stopped as the space had no border, no reliefs and seemingly no end.

But then, in the middle of nowhere, a man appeared, shaping himself from a milky cloud. He was tall and slender, middle aged - maybe older it was hard to give him a precise age - with greyish hair and an aquiline profile.

- "Greetings, Red Rose." Said the man politely.
- "Who are you ?" Radovid didn't feel threatened per se but he felt odd.
- "An ancient creature." His eyes glowed briefly in red. "And a friend of your little flower."

The man looked down and Radovid did the same. At their feet laid Jaskier. The king fell on his knees instantly, his heart missing several beats, when he saw his lover badly hurt. His torso was heavily bandaged, especially his belly area, red patches wetting the fabric in some places. His body disappeared in a smoke when the king tried to reach for him.

- "What happened ? Where is he ?" He cried. The old man kneeled too and put a hand on his shoulder. It seemed too real to be a dream.
- "What you saw is the past, Red Rose, but his condition is not in any way better. I plunged into his dreams to find something he could hold onto and I found you. A strange memory hidden in metaphors of his own psyche."
- "What are you talking about ?"

Radovid had difficulties to understand. The vision of his lover wounded had shaken him badly. But the old man didn't give him much time to absorb things.

- "Listen to me carefully, Red Rose. The Wolf has broken a promise he shouldn't have, and your Wildflower needs you."
- "What ?" His voice cracked. "Which promise ?"
- "Don't blame the Wolf. It was a hard decision to make. Leave the flower behind hoping he would survive. He had to break something precious to achieve that. Jaskier doesn't know yet, but, if he survives his ordeal, he will find out and I know for sure this could have the most disastrous effect on him. He has already too many thorns in his heart."
- "If he survives… Why are you telling me this ? I am a prisoner of my own castle, wherever Jaskier is I cannot reach him… Are you… Are you the one that creates those nightmares in my mind ? Are you making all this ?" He asked suspiciously and angry.
- "I am not. Destiny is. But Jaskier's dreams are filled with visions of the Wolf and you, Red Rose. This is how I found you. He is trying to reach you somehow."
- "He dreams of me ?"
- "Yes. In a metaphorical way, as you are of him. You are both flowers."

The old man looked down again. Red petals appeared in the dark, covering an invisible ground. A blue pansy grew in the middle of it but only to partially wither.

- "It is really him, then ?" The old man nodded. "I thought it was just a construction of my mind, to help me through hard times. Get inspired…"
- "Dreams are powerful, especially for destined ones or for those who gravitate around."
- "Jaskier is destined ? Or am I ?"
- "No, but the Wolf is and Jaskier has chosen his path a long time ago. You linked yourself to him, therefore you share a part of his fate. You are still far from the blade so you can choose to step away or embrace your love."
- "Blade ?" Radovid was growing scared.
- "The sword of Destiny has two edges. It is a powerful ally and a deadly force. Death follows its path. Jaskier has been caught by the dangerous side of it. He is a collateral damage. Your history can be written with or without him. It is still your choice to make."
- "But I have no choice. As long as I don't regain my freedom, I have none…" His voice cracked. "And if I am seeing his past, then I am even more powerless. I couldn't protect him and…"

The old man's expression changed slightly. He was suddenly more cold and distant.

- "Yet he needs you or will. Find your way, Red Rose."
- "Where is he ?" Asked softly Radovid, looking at the blue pansy.
- "The garden lies half way through you and him. Not were he lies. You are linked to your poet, Red Rose. Your roots are digging in the same soil to nourish your mind. Find him. Find your way." Said the old man before vanishing.

Radovid woke up panting and sweating, the dream still pregnant in his mind.

###

Regis woke up from his trance. He was holding Jaskier's hand. He looked sadly at the bard. The healer they found had done all she could to save him. It was basically up to him and his capacity to endure the ordeal now. He had lost too much blood, and the strong infection had taken his last drops of energy. Heavily bandaged, he was breathing in fast shallow breaths and shivering from deep shock. Her healing enchantment was repairing the internal damages very slowly, to give him a chance to get through but this was the paradox. It was too slow to save him but making it faster would kill him for sure as the healing was using his own regeneration abilities to work and he had almost nothing left, except an incredible will.

Outside, Geralt was waiting for him with the others. He was ready to leave, and Regis knew that the last leg of the journey would be hard, if not the hardest.

I hope you like this beginning.
I gave Regis some psychic power. I hope you don't mind :)

See you soon. Probably to finish Bloebheris.