Disclaimer: I don't own The Witcher 3, CD does.
The whole plot unrolls itself months after the ending, and it settles in a world in which: Geralt and Yennefer are back together at Kaer Morhen, the place is as active as it gets, and Ciri is a resident; there to finish up her Witcher training and help out as a new unit in case of emergencies.
I've re-written this chapter and I'll do the same with a few others that I find myself too childish at the time to read them through again.
—
It had been a long night.
The spectre of a widow's sorrow wasn't something she had expected to find when she first went and took the only contract available at a downright half destroyed town somewhere deep inside Velen.
"They said they'd heard a girl screaming, not a monster" She scowled at the lowlifes that had lied to her in order to pay less for more.
The town seemed poor enough, and the residents looked desperate, but that didn't give them the right to lie to her about something as important as a high tier spectre.
She wouldn't have asked for a lot of money anyway, but they had instead decided to lie.
If it hadn't been her that had stumbled against the abomination, something else than the ghost would've died that night.
Now she was exhausted, low on money and on a search for a close town or inn that would let her stay the night for a couple of crowns. Kelpie seemed quite ready to take a huge nap in the middle of the road, and Zirael looked as if it was just about to snap.
So now she needed an inn, and a blacksmith.
Grumble.
And some decent amount of food.
But the road was as dark as it could get and even though she's travelled this land countless of times, the darkness made it hard for her to move around.
Even then, she knew the closest town was a day away from her location, if not more, and that the night only seemed to get darker as the minutes went by.
She needed to find shelter for the night, or else she would've to pull an all nighter, and given the fact that she's done this for the last three nights in a row, it probably meant going delusional.
Geralt wouldn't bat an eye at the idea…Although it probably would mean a lot of mutagens that she couldn't even withstand.
"Gods, if only Yennefer had agreed to teach me portals last time I was in Kaer Morhen" But the sorcerer had stated how much her surrogate father, Geralt, hates portals and that if she were to teach her, it'd be when they had more time so she could master it before she messed Geralt or herself up again.
According to Geralt, last time Yennefer made him take a portal, he ended up in a troll's cave.
She wasn't about to risk her neck like that.
In an instant, her magically enhanced senses picked up something welcomed.
Warmth.
She could sense it, the sound of wood cracking against high temperature could be heard a little ways from the road, and even though it probably was bandits, it meant food and, after a boring fight, a shelter.
So she galloped towards the sound, not once turning her alarms off against any monster or thing that could jump at her inside the woods until she found it.
A campfire, a hanging cooking pot and the smell of delicious rabbit coming out from it.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Oh, and of course.
A young, auburn haired boy sitting in front of the fire.
"So you are Cirilla...Fiona Ellen-uh…" Ciri rolled her eyes amusedly, "Rionna…?" She nodded, "And you are a—a Witcher?" He questioned her again, with a curved eyebrow.
"That I am" She said and smiled.
"And you need shelter for the night…?" She nodded again and tried looking hopeful, "Well, I mean, you can stay here if you want, but I've only got one roof" He gestured to his handmade small shelter.
"It's okay, I can sleep while sitting" She stopped talking for a second, "Let's make it a deal, you let me stay and I'll guard up this place, how's that sound?"
"I mean, you are the Witcher. I couldn't stop you even if I tried to…" His eyes turned slightly panicked even though Ciri had done nothing to warrant the suspicion, and she frowned in return.
He'd offered the place first!
"I'd never do that. I wouldn't hurt you or murder you without reason. You just hit me as someone who wouldn't mind helping a stranger in need" She rationalized, "Not all Witchers are heartless monsters, Y'know?" The ashen hair tried again and finally he reacted, his eyes filled with shame.
"Sorry! I know that's not the case, it's just…well, I'm a little weary is all. My bad" He sighed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly without making eye contact, "You guarding up would be a bliss, I wouldn't need to built up sound traps for the night" He still sent her another apologetic look, and all her annoyance dissipated. His brown eyes were filled with
"Don't worry about it" She waved it off, took a glance at him and licked her lips.
He was young, for sure. Not incredibly (or sickly) young, but at that age few people were found nowadays. Either you died a kid to a disease or you were older; the youngsters all died at war a year ago. It was a fresh view, to see someone—probably, her own age.
"So how old are you?" She inquired flirtily, wearing a playful tone she hadn't used in years. It was nothing serious, and nothing to go back to the way she was before, but some habits were merely a part of her.
It was obvious that the playful tone went past the guy's ears.
"Twenty, ma'am" He answered politely and she giggled. Now that was funny.
"I'm not old enough to be called ma'am yet, boy" She shrugged off the laughter daring to come out of her mouth while the man questioned with his eyes, "I'm twenty three, er, almost twenty four" He coughed in surprise and took a second to reply back.
"You look way younger" Shockingly, he went for a small compliment, and even though it contradicted the point of calling her ma'am, she smiled wholeheartedly at him.
"Why thank you, mister…?"
"Name's Leon" He grinned, and she nodded back to him. He skipped his last name, "And I ain't no mister" She chuckled.
"I ain't no ma'am either" Ciri retorted back and the auburn haired guy hummed in agreement.
"Understood" He remained quiet for a second before looking up to see her eye to eye, "I caught a rabbit some time ago, and I know it ain't much, but would you like to share it?" Her stomach made a sound she would later berate herself for, and she eagerly nodded at his suggestion of sharing that delicious rabbit inside his cooking pot.
"Yes, please. It'd be my pleasure" She agreed with puppy eyes and a hand on her stomach.
"Nah, the pleasure is all mine, Cirilla" Leon answered before opening the pot and letting the smell fill both his and her nostrils.
"Just Ciri is fine, everyone calls me that way" He smiled and shrugged.
"Aye, no problem, Cirilla" The guy continued, and she stared at him daringly for a second or two before giving out a small chuckle.
"Okay, I shall allow it" She stated with a tone of superiority and smiled at him.
Leon for his part merely laughed and saluted in soldier-fashion.
"You talk like a princess" He commented, changing the topic.
"Well I could've been a princess, y'know?" This time it was her that shrugged, "In another life, perhaps" And the auburn hair was all questions inside his eyes. She gave no reply, and he didn't press further.
"Well, you certainly have the looks of a princess…" He muttered out without much thought and blushed, "Sorry, that was not supposed to get out of my head" He apologized and laughed nervously, his cheeks burning red and cute. Ciri didn't need to enhance her ears to hear the hard beat of his chest, probably his heart was about to burst.
She couldn't feel more flattered.
"It's okay...and thank you" They both stayed silent, and Ciri tried looking for a way to break that ice wall he had unintentionally built, "So you made this whole camp yourself?" She inquired with peaked interest, and hoped that he would just carry on without feeling shy.
"Ah...yes, I did" He scratched the back of his head adorably, "I was travelling to the west, looking for a small district nearby, but I got lost" She spent a second pondering where he was travelling.
"So that's Velen, or rather, you're inside Velen, but you're probably looking for the town on the edge of the region" She summarized and Leon's eyes snapped open, nodding dumbfounded, "It's closest town is a day away from here" That seemed to cheer him up, "At least by horseback…" But as she turned around to see her surroundings, she realized that the guy didn't own a Horse.
Of course, Ciri, not everyone has the luxury of a horse.
"It's okay, at least I know I'm heading in the right direction" He tried relieving her from her mistake but she shook her head in denial and relaxed.
"I can take you there" He shook his head.
"I've got no coin" He lifted up his hands in mocked defeat.
"It's free service" Ciri winked at him and he coughed loudly, bringing up a small smirk of triumph on her face.
"That—uhm, I mean…" She actually laughed at his stuttering tongue and he smiled shyly, "If you're willing, I can't see why not" She nodded her head towards him.
"It's a deal, then" She smiled at him, sending off sly signals, but he seemed to be oblivious. She tried forcing an eye battle, but he didn't even register it and just turned his head around, probably flustered.
And thank god he seemed oblivious, for her belly just made the worst sound Ciri's has ever heard.
"I see that someone is hungry" She scoffed. A comment like that hasn't been expected.
So he could detect her hunger for food, but not for him.
"I might be, just slightly" But her stomach disagreed with her and it might've been the first time someone saw Ciri blush except for Geralt and Yen.
"Well we've got two rabbits in the menu today, Milady" he playfully offered one rabbit on a stick and she gracefully took it, acting as if he was a servant and her, a princess.
"Why thank you, my honorable servant" She could barely hold the laughter from leaving her mouth.
"It is my pleasure" He sit back on his wooden log and took his own rabbit sick, eating away with bliss.
It didn't take her long to join him.
—
The internal clock inside Ciri woke her up just at the time she had aimed it to, right after sunrise. The night had been a long one, and between flirting failures and interesting stories, she couldn't tell who fell asleep first. She remembered Leon offering to guard up the whole night, but after a long time bickering about how Witcher training helped her detect dangers various meters away from them, he had instantly fell asleep on the grass.
Or so he made it seem, but it was pretty obvious that he fell asleep on the open wild to let her use his shelter.
Her chest tightened once she realized that, and for the rest of the night she kept her ears up to any cracking sound, any leaf being crushed, any heartbeat.
It surprised her a lot to see Leon waking up after she made sure to make silent steps in order to let him sleep as much as possible.
"G'day!" He greeted her as he stood up, yawning and stretching as hard as his body allowed it, "Tis a fine morning"
"Morning" She greeted him back and stared at him.
Now that he was up and flexing she could notice his lean complexity. From the arms to the torso, everything was lean muscles and healthy physique. A scar here and there, meat where there should be and nothing lacking.
His skin seemed well taken care of, and his hair, albeit a little messy, seemed bright with energy.
She darted her eyes away when Leon turned his gaze to meet hers, feeling a little stupid after doing that. She'd been attempting to flirt with him last night, and now she couldn't let him catch her staring?
Dumb.
"Are we ready?" He questioned her with eagerness and she nodded.
"As long as you are," Ciri commented jokingly and he laughed.
"I sure am ready to leave this place" Leon replied back and crossed his arms, "So, how're we doing this?" Ciri pretended to be in a thoughtful state for a few seconds, humming as she did so.
It was her horse. Did he really think he'd have the chance to ride it, or was he being a gentleman?
"Do you have any experience with horses?" She inquired, and he looked at her with confusement in his eyes.
"I had my fair share of lessons" He nonchalantly replied and she gave him a smug look.
After a minute of pondering, she realized Leon was not being either stupid or a gentleman. Riding a horse took energy and it was hard on the back and neck; deciding who'd ride was only a wise choice to make,
"Then I offer you ride, what with that manly pride and all that" Ciri finally decided, and smiled carefully at him, shrugging against his still confused eyes.
She was aware that he wasn't that kind of man to begin with, but it was fun nonetheless,
"Does that really matter?" He sighed, "It's your horse, if you wanna ride it, then ride it" And she was about to reply with an out of place comment, but instead shook her head. She'd gone out of hand for a bit, apparently, if his confused frown was anything to go by.
"You can take the leash first, I'm pretty sure we'll stop somewhere along the road, so we'll switch each time we stop, how's that?" She offered and, after a second or two, he agreed.
Ciri motioned her hand towards Kelpie with elegant fashion and Leon nodded at her.
He approached Kelpie without a second thought and brought his hand to the horse's nose, greeting him and, apparently, silently asking for permission.
She knew Kelpie had no trouble riding with other people, but it was just astonishing how fast Leon managed to earn the horse's trust.
A moment passed and Leon was already waiting for her on Kelpie's back.
He offered a hand and she eagerly took it, smiling at their first physical connection and he pulled her, giving her some time to adjust on the already small enough saddle.
"It's been a while since I last rode" He commented off hand, perhaps only for himself to hear.
"I've had my fair share of lessons…" She mockingly tried as she placed her hands on both sides of the saddle, not quite trusting herself to hug his torso instead and not make things awkward.
He turned his head to look at her, staring deeply into her bright, emerald eyes before he winked.
"What's properly learnt will never be forgotten" He commented wisely and softly pulled at Kelpie's leash, urging it to move forward with ease. Soon they were back on the road, and it was a most pleasant experience.
The road was silent, and so were them for a couple of minutes; both just enjoying the dear opportunity of sun and breeze, until Leon broke the ice.
"Wanna know why I stopped riding?" He questioned her without turning his head, just staring at the road.
"Sure" She replied and lifted up her hands from the saddle, feeling sore.
"I stopped my riding lessons, which were at that moment slightly advanced if I may add, because of the methods" He said rather sheepishly, with a grin on his face that she couldn't quite see but could sense it, "I was never quite fond of hitting the horses" She remembered the fact that he hasn't even kicked Kelpie this whole time, "My father would always urge me to kick them, to make them do what I say, but I disagreed" He chuckled, "I'd instead pat them, or ask them to move forward, to run, to gallop" He listed the things he would ask the horses to do before sighing, "It was never an efficient way of treating horses, but it hurt my soul a little less in a way" He chuckled again, "And now you're thinking I'm just a softy" She giggled as well.
And placed her arms around his torso.
"I don't think you're a softy" She said as she rested her cheek on his back, almost chuckling at the speed of his heartbeat, "I think that's called having a Golden Heart" He nodded.
"Well this Golden Heart is gonna end up getting in my throat" She hummed in response.
He went silent as he waited for Ciri to come up with something to say.
"And why're you not with your father?" She asked, "I mean, you're old enough to travel, but is that all there is to it?" She didn't mention the fact that he hadn't offered his second name.
"Well…" She felt guilty as she glanced at his saddened face, but as soon as it came, the sad face left and Leon turned back to normal, "my dad…had a few issues with the Duke in our town. Something about money—er, I'm not sure, but it was important. Dad failed to deliver and the Duke just happened to be on a bad mood" He laughed cynically, "We're still at war and being barbaric is kind of a norm around the region nowadays…he wanted us whipped off the map" Ciri brought a hand to her mouth, looking horrified.
"And you are the only survivor?" She tried and he shrugged.
"I don't know" He sighed, "I wasn't there when it happened. My father had sent me to hunt dinner as a punishment for not hitting the horses… I was only there for the aftermath"
Ciri looked mortified.
"Old Man Gregory was the one that warned me to run away and never, ever come back" He sniffed, but shed no tears, "I did just as I was told and ran, so I don't know if there were others than survived" He lifted up his punch, "I really think that my sisters actually survived, but I don't know about my father or my mother"
Ciri's eyes snapped up and she straightened herself, moving her hands from his torso to his shoulders.
"Then you should go looking for them!" And he snickered.
Well, as a witcher, she should've thought it better.
"So that's why you're heading to Velen!" She guesses and he grinned, this time turning to see her.
"Well, not quite, Velen is only the first step" He chuckled, "In truth, I'm trying to look for a place in specific I know my sister went to…"
"First step?" She questioned him, "What else is there after Velen?" He grinned.
"Why of course, nothing else other than my sister's favorite legend" He looked ahead and smiled proudly at Ciri.
"Kaer Morhen"
—-
And that's it folks, this is like a short teaser, or one shot, if you want a whole story just tell me in the reviews.
Hugs and kisses - PawsLover