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

Warning : Blood, anxiety, depression, sickness. Emotional and physical whump. Love scene. Soft content nothing graphic.

Notes : Some flashbacks but this is quite straightforward this time. Also I am half lore compliant here. I took some liberties to satisfy my alternate version.

Chapter 7 : Them
(many months later)

###

Radovid was walking in the garden. His favorite bench near the rose parterre wasn't giving him much comfort anymore. But he stopped nonetheless. The bushes were in early bloom as the spring had just began. He closed his eyes a minute, listening to the birds and the winds playing in the leaves. It was peaceful in many ways. Soft chitchats were coming from somewhere in the bushes maze. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the queen walking between the hedgerows with two of her maids. She smiled at him. He saluted her politely.9

A lot of things had changed in a few months. Queen Elois was from Temeria. One last gift from Philippa, that turned out to be a real gift in the end. She tried to force an alliance between Redania and Temeria, but it happened to be the key to get out of the owl claws. The neighbours were equally pissed off the sorcerers and mages stranglehold. And, despite her young age, Elois happened to be a very clever person who helped him to set up the trap that would make Philippa run away.

A large scale witch hunt had even started from the liberation of the two strongest kingdoms in the north, contaminating the others. He knew that one day or another, he would hear from the many reports he had every day that the sorceress was dead, and he would feel a little bit freer.

Dijkstra had been sentenced to death for high treason and hanged publicly a few days after Philippa deserted. So the last chains he had was the crown on his head and the ring on his hand.

He got up and walked back to the castle. Elois joined him on his way, taking his arm. She was talking of platitudes he didn't care about but she was playing the role as much as he did. She didn't love him either but she respected him. It was a bit long but they were getting to the point were they were becoming friends more than just allies. She actually helped him a lot overcoming the deep depression he had fell into after the link between him and Jaskier had been severed. Of course he never spoke about what happened to him and let her believe his mental state was due only to his brother's death and the machinations of Philippa and Dijkstra. He never quite healed but he found a balance.

While they were walking, a servant came and slightly bowed.

- "Your majesty, there is someone waiting for you in the throne chamber."

- "I am expecting no-one." He replied dryly. "Who is it ?"

Radovid heart missed several beats when the servant told him that person waiting for him was a bard named Jaskier. He was trying not to run to the throne chamber. Maybe it was a deceit, a sick game played by someone. A part of him was trying very hard not to hope that was true, to prevent new pain. It had been months since the link between them was severed and he hadn't fully recovered.

He was still dreaming of the bard, sometimes in a very intimate way, which would make blush anyone. Sometimes he was reviving the moments they shared in the garden or in the void. There was love. Always. But this was not as real as it happened to be while he dream travelled. It seems hollow and everything was fading as soon as he woke up.

They quit the garden. Elois was now silent by his side, certainly feeling his inner struggle, so she matched his slightly rising speed.

Those intimate dreams he made were what started everything. Philippa, the new alliances, Elois. He was lucky that his queen was her.

He remembered the dread he fell from the announce he would have to marry a woman. Philippa had moved in the dark, spying on him again. First from afar and since the dream traveller never came back, she became more and more intrusive. In his poor state of mind, he realised that too late.

It was an abstract dream he had awoken from, but with a lot of flesh involvement. He was crying as everything was fading again and the absence was devastating. This is when he had sat up that he noticed the owl perched on his chair near the door.

- "What are you doing here, witch ?" He spat.

The white bird changed into the sorceress, dressed in a very suggestive outfit. She approached his bed with an almost feline way and she sat lasciviously on his bed.

- "Your dreams are fascinating, my king." She was almost purring. "The red rose and his wild flower. I couldn't imagine when you two met that you would fall in love with the bard. How touching." She said, tilting her head. "You make very sad and dramatic dreams. I preferred the wet parts, though, which surprised me as I first found those annoying." She added giggling. "But you don't lack imagination, I can give you that. "

- "You have no right to look at my dreams." He said, outraged.

- "Haven't I ?" She smiled devilishly. "You are my little puppet, Radovid." She whispered coming closer. "And I do what I want." She pushed herself up and walked slowly away. "In a few weeks, your little fantasies about your bard won't matter much anyway. Let the flower die and ground yourself, Radovid. Redania needs a strong lineage, and this is the time your seeds serve a higher purpose than wetting your royal sheets."

- "How dare you…"

Philippa giggled and vanished in a whirling portal, leaving Radovid ashamed and enraged.

The sorceress had taken advantage of the deep depression he had fell into to take everything from him. But Elois was the bad seed she didn't anticipated and a benediction to him. Well kinda... She was better than him playing the strings of politics, so there was always the possibility that she could change her mind later on, but if things were simpler he would gladly just give her the throne and run away. For now he didn't feel any bad side to her. They were playing the same game with intelligence.

They were walking in the corridors of the castle. Each step, Radovid believed his heart would burst out of his chest. There was fear and so much anticipation. Gards were opening the doors before them. He felt the hand of Elois on his arm, squeezing him slightly as to give him courage. She knew.

Of course she knew... Not who but what. And now she had connected two dots.

She understood pretty quickly that he was not attracted to women at all. As king and queen they had the duty to have a heir. This was the part of Philippa's plan he couldn't escaped from publicly. And for many reasons this question was put up front quite early. But the problem came out pretty obvious. Communication had been the key that locked them in a good couple after some disastrous tries. They gave themselves some times to focus on other burning subject and leave this part for later.

Now she was guessing probably than this Jaskier announced by the servant was a man he loved and, in his position, everything was complicated. But she had no idea how much it really was. So he took the little strength she gave him to summon the courage to face whoever was there,

###

The throne doors opened and he saw him, leaning back to a wall. His luth was on a chair given to him, with his red leather coat on, covering it partially. His beard had grown but he was well groomed, contrasting with his hair. It was longer, not quite well combed and falling over his eyes in long locks as he was looking down. He had some new clothes, very similar with what he used to see him in. Bouffant shirt in a waistcoat and travel boots and trousers. This was his Jaskier not anyone else.

The bard raised slowly his head when they entered. If he hadn't to keep his composure, Radovid would have cried of joy when their eyes met. He was really there. He was alive and he had came. For a moment he forgot everything else. Pain and sorrow were a souvenir. It was like all the suffering he had been through had found an end. I was feeling alive. His heart was beating so fast, so strong.

- "Hello your majesty." The bard said without emphasis, but with the slightly chanting voice of his. "Still not sure if I have to bow or curtsy but forgive me if I don't try."

The joke made Radovid smile until Jaskier walked towards him. The limp was blatant. The bard stopped a few steps away, keeping a reasonable distance not to make the guards nervous.

- "Hello, Jaskier." My love was what he wanted to say when he met his cristal blue eyes. Jaskier looked at the way the queen was touching him. "May I present you, Elois, my wife." Radovid felt the need to clarify.

The words were burning his throat. He saw a glimpse of a sad smile running on Jaskier's face. He understood very well the situation.

- "Your highness. A pleasure to meet you." The bard said next nonetheless, saluting the queen with a simple gesture. "I am sorry if I skip some protocols. It's been a very long time I didn't navigate such high circles. I am a bit rusty."

- "I don't mind. Don't worry. We are not very regardant on the protocols with friends." She said with a corner smile. The way she emphasised the word friend made clear that she knew what was hidden between then and she was accepting it. Radovid had tears in his eyes, he saw that Jaskier too. "I am going to retire in my reading room, my love. I'll wait you there."

- "Very well. See you later, my dear." He replied, giving all he had to hide his emotions.

- "She is a very classy lady." Said Jaskier who had clearly noticed that she had guessed the nature of their relation.

- "Very." He smiled nervously. "Please follow me to my office." He indicated to Jaskier the door on the left near the throne.

The bard returned to grab his belongings before stepping where he was told to. Elois was leaving the room in their back. Radovid made a gesture to tell the guards to stay away and he followed the man he loved to his private room.

When he closed the door, he didn't face the bard. His forehead against the wood, his eyes closed, he locked the door. He realised the symbolism in what he was doing and that was something Jaskier hated. Cages. But he didn't want anyone to disturb this moment. This cage was theirs and every second belonged to them.

- "Tell me this is real. Tell me you are real." He whispered, trembling slightly.

He heard the sweet fluttering of the fabric as Jaskier came closer and he felt his arms closing around his body, his face plunging in his neck. His beard brushed his cheek. He shuddered.

- "I am real." Came finally the soft answer.

Radovid began to sob. He felt arms pulling him away from the door and hands slowly turning him around. He didn't look up but he didn't resist either when Jaskier took his chin to reach him for a kiss. Instincts responded to that simple contact with his lips and while still crying he just dove blindly into the embrace and fell for the passion that burned back in his cold body.

He pushed Jaskier until they reached the desk side. With trembling hands he just began to undress the bard who wasn't fighting him nor helping him very much, but he stopped when he finally saw him.

- "This was real too... I am sorry to break it into you."

Radovid's fingers flew over his lover's body, barely touching the sensitive skin from the heavy scars revealed by the partially removed shirt. It was worst than he remembered.

- "Are you afraid ?" Radovid shook slightly his head. His sobs doubled nonetheless. Jaskier looked down at his own body before looking back at him." Are you disgusted then ?"

- "No..."

- "So why did you stop ?" The bard pulled down his shirt a little bit to reveal more, as a clear invitation.

- "I don't want to hurt you." He moaned, his eyes running from scar to scar.

- "You can't hurt me more, I am afraid. There is not much left of me and I am sorry that this is all I can give you. Just... take it... or free me."

Radovid understood that this was not about the locked door he was talking about. His blood ran cold. He finally let his hand land fully on his lover's chest, daring to touched the mangled flesh. Remembering how he pushed when they were open wounds, trying to keep the blood inside a little bit longer. He smiled behind the tears.

- "We didn't go through all this hell to abandon now." He said. "There is not much room for us here, but this can be enough if you want to try. I know that I do, even if this is the last think we do."

The bard nodded slowly. Radovid's heart was beating so fast and hard.

- "Then take what has been always yours." He said.

Jaskier first removed the crown on his head and put it on the desk over the important files of the kingdom, behind him. Radovid did the same with his ring, that he left in the crown circle. Jaskier detached his furs to let them fall on the ground and then he opened the heavy doublet to free what was under. Then I took what was his. And against all mindful precautions they could have taken to make their meeting unnoculous, he made it last forever

They stayed locked in this room for far too long. They mutted pleasure screams and moans but they didn't really hold back. They composed with the bard's condition who couldn't do everything they initially fantasised but his growing frustration against his own body became what made the whole thing an experience like they never had before.

Instinct, breathy words, silent directions with touches and kisses, was all that they need. They offered themselves to each other without restrictions. They cried. They smiled. They lived in each other synchronising their heartbeat and breath. They were one more than once. They were locked but they were free. They were sharing the same dream, feeding their soul and heart to the same soil, as flesh connected in a love dance. They owned the time, they owned everything.

###

Naked in the royal office, Jaskier and Radovid were laying on the carpet decorated with the redanian eagle, fingers and legs intertwined.

- "You are bringing me back to life." The king said, whispering. He freed his hand to caress his lover's face. He was already burning up again with desire. He giggled. "I feel like I discorver love for the first time of my life with you."

Jaskier smiled.

- "I exist with you." He said.

Radovid knew the bard wanted to say much more but it was too early. The ugliest scars were hidden and for some reasons he believed that Jaskier was playing his last round in a battle he had already lost. One look was all he needed for confirmation.

There was a lot of love and passion in his insanely blue eyes but he couldn't hide the pain that lingered deep down. He wanted to know what happened after their dream connection broke but he had to be careful. They were both on the first steps of a healing ladder they had the opportunity to climb together, but Jaskier was starting from a very low point and more than ready let it go. They were the only thing he had to hold onto.

- "I am glad you came." He said. "It's a dream come true."

- "Exactly." The bard smiled and kissed him.

From touches to another, their body locked into each other and they let the time flew by a bit more.

This is a short chapter but it is used as a transition for the end. I am not sure if it can be done in one or two chapters yet. I have dropped the draft for the chapter before this one and I changed the way I initially made my ending.

I don't feel very safe to sharing things for the witcher fandom anymore but I really want to finish this story and Bleobheris. I don't want to be the "I don't finish stuff" person. So this is where I will focus my efforts for now.

On a bright side, I may find confidence back at some point. I have materials for stories. I have a 9k words draft for this one with the incomplete chapters and those I dropped. One part is an OS and one other could become one too. So who knows...

Note : I chose to name the queen Elois to step away from the game canon who has a Temarian link possible too.