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 and my twisted version of the lore.

Notes : This is maybe one of the rarest current chapter to have no real warning applied to it lol. I mean, it is softer in a way. We continue to explore Geralt's feelings there.

A little sacrifice - Part 3

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###

There was a small crowd of fifteen, maybe twenty people, outside the building, near the back exit. Geralt and Jaskier stayed at distance, waiting for the fans to go. They were in the shadow of the street light, leaning against a wall. He was following his friend for this. He didn't really want to meet the artist now. Jaskier was observing the scene, waiting for the good moment to move forward.

Essi Daven got out with two huge security men and spoke a little bit with the people gathered around. But he noticed she was looking in their direction, probably searching for them. Jaskier would have told her they were coming tonight. His friend got slightly out of the shadow and made a sign. She smiled and talked to one of the vigils who came their way.

He showed them a paper with an address on it, asked them to memorize it and told them that the singer would find them there later, before returning to his guarding task.

- "What is that ?" Asked Geralt while they were returning to Roach.

- "I don't know but this doesn't look like her."

They went to the place indicated and the singer arrived half an hour after them. This was a fine hotel in the city center. They waited in a private lounge in big blue armchairs. Geralt was feeling uneasy by the minutes. And seeing Jaskier quite uncomfortable with the situation too, double his nervousness.

They both stood up when the door opened. The blond woman entered the room alone and seemed a bit shy, but Jaskier broke the ice immediately. He went directly for her. To Geralt's surprise, despite a first discreet entrance, she literally ran toward his friend and jumped in his arms.

- "That's my Poppy !" He said, making her almost fly around.

Geralt noticed her discreet perfume of verbena, as she was spinning in his friend's arms. She seemed delighted. As soon as her feet touched the ground she hugged him strongly.

- "I missed you so much, my Dandelion." She said, her voice muffled by the embrace.

Geralt frowned at the names they used, but it didn't surprise him that it was about flowers.

- "What is it all about, Essi ?" Asked Jaskier after they separated. "There was a time when he just met in the most random bars or inn. Guards ? Secret rendezvous ?"

- "Well since my last tour in Temeria and a tribute where I spoke in favor of elves, I had received intimidating letters from a group of anti non-humans. In Vezima, I was intimidated physically and they now follow me from time to time. I have to take precautions, especially after a representation." She looked over Jaskier's shoulder, directly toward the witcher. "And you are the famous White Wolf ?" She asked.

- "I am indeed. But call me Geralt." He replied, saluting her in return. She smiled.

They all took a chair and began to talk quite freely. It seemed natural and the nervousness was shaken away rapidly. Geralt was at ease with Essi. She had the same qualities as Jaskier for the interactions. He had the impression she was already part of their group for a long time. He, who didn't like to chit-chat much, was finding himself participating more than usual.

He learnt how they met a long time ago at Bleobheris during a festival. She was a bit older than she looked, just only a few years behind Jaskier. They laughed at some old souvenirs. She was quite cheeky and Geralt found in her someone to share similar love for the bard and enjoyment in annoying him.

- "Why do you call him Dandelion, though ? Jaskier means Buttercup. And it fits. Tiny and poisonous." Said the witcher smirking, caught in the general uplifted mood.

- "Oh shut up already !" His friend protested.

- "Well, Dandelion is more accurate to me. Wild, can grow on every ground, and is extremely hard to get rid of once implanted."

- "Oh yeah, now I see it." Geralt was smiling now.

- "I am gonna make you pay." Jaskier was squinting at them.

Essi laughed and that was somehow soothing his heart. She definitely had something attractive and he was beginning to feel something. He noticed soon that the more the conversations were going the more she seemed to find him charming. Like those comments of Jaskier's Nomee about his smile. It felt weird.

- "Why are you here ?" She asked finally, when the madness of their laughs slowly vanished.

- "Work. I have an appointment with the Duke Agloval tomorrow. I don't know what the hunt is but I have an idea." Replied Geralt.

- "The hunt…" She frowned. She didn't like this word. "If this is the mermaid, there is nothing more to do than what has already been done."

- "You know about her ?"

- "Everyone with some functional ears and eyes, and a brain attached to it, knows. Agloval had her captured and secured in a tank, probably for a future display. The date is unknown though."

- "Yeah, I saw her this afternoon. But captured is not a word I would choose to describe the situation. She is not there against her will, or so she said, which I find strange too, to be honest."

- "She told you that ?" Essi was surprised.

- "Yes." He replied naturally. The woman frowned and seemed to assess some inner conclusions she didn't share with them. Jaskier was smiling now. "What ?"

- "Nothing."

Essi focused on them again and blushed suddenly, understanding certainly something he didn't and the conversation moved on the next thing.

They left Jaskier's sister very late that night - or very early in the morning - and they returned to their hotel to rest.

###

Geralt and Jaskier went together at the rendezvous with the Duke Agloval the next morning, which seemed like a good idea at first. Jaskier handled the first part quite efficiently as he knew how to navigate bourgeoisie but soon the Duke triggered some deep Julian resentment and he had a hard time to keep the façade. Geralt was not at ease either but for other reasons. This was due to the similarities of the Cintrian palace to a low extent and from the evening with Essi. She sort of awakened some feelings in him, way more than his desperate fumbles looking at people randomly, searching for the spark of attraction.

Agloval's office was not in his residence but it was everything that he could think of for a Duke. This was a huge old and rich building surrounded by old fashioned black metallic fences, a very cold and symmetrical garden in the front - and they discovered later in the back too.

The inside was similar to the outside. Big, cold, official. The office was outrageously pompous and glorifying the Duke, from a wall size portrait to even a white stone sculpture in the corner.

Agloval was a handsome man, it had to be said. He was probably in his late twenties, sporting a fit physique and canonical human beauty traits. He had the same confidence in his physical appearance as Jaskier, and quite the same way of wearing clothes, which was a bit unusual for a noble man. But having both of them in the same room made Geralt uncomfortable. Not because he was suddenly attracted to both of them for absolutely no identifiable reason but because he was witnessing the odd take of the inside beauty adage, and this was making Jaskier somehow desirable. And that weird trigger of the Passiflora incident was worse than the insufferable Duke himself.

Jaskier was wearing a very simple outfit. He had the bon goût of not bringing back his pink atrocity with the flowers. He had a simple pale blue shirt with the same pants from the day before. Agloval had a similar vibe with a white shirt, equally provocatively opened larger than it should be in such a place. But Agloval's beauty was spoiled by a very misplaced arrogance and disdain. The way he judged them entering the room. The way he was constantly using derogatory formulations. The way he was openly repulsed by the idea to ask a witcher for help. And finally the amoral request itself.

- "So, you want the White Wolf to convince the mermaid hidden in your famous aquarium to love you back and agree to take a potion you had already have made make for her, so she could have feet instead of a tail and give her an acceptable appearance to be your wife ? Or ! You will display her as she is to the public in a new attraction of the aquarium to make money of your broken heart." Summed up Jaskier, crossing his legs elegantly in his chair. "All respect due to your status, sir, I never heard something that stupid, uncaring and..."

- "Jaskier !" Warned Geralt.

- "Don't tell me you agree with him ?"

- "I don't. But don't make it worse."

The singer looked away. He clearly wanted to pester more but was restraining himself for him.

- "I don't care about your opinion. I don't have to take moral lessons by a stupid celebrity who is a fucking love rat. What do you know about true love ?" Exploded Agloval.

- "My answer is no for the potion. But we may help with communication." Cut Geralt, seeing the flash of anger in Jaskier's eyes. "And, true love or not, I suggest that you free her. Mermaids are part of an underwater ecosystem and civilization that humans should not approach. Your trophies in the aquarium suggest already that humans went too far. Keeping her locked away from her people could create a major incident. And you don't want the sea people to retaliate."

- "On that subject…"

The next subject infuriated both of them. Jaskier did his best not to explode to the face of that man and Geralt never felt the need to punch someone in the face so hard before.

Agloval presented them in a long exposé the nature of the problem. Bermervoord's aquamarine fishers were regularly under attack from last year's counting. And the Vodyanois' raids around the Dragon Fangs had forced them to use weapons to defend themselves. He showed them photos of damaged boats and wounds inflicted on some divers. There were also some shots of the dead monsters killed during some altercations.

- "We are just collecting stones. Those stupid creatures attack us for no reason." Concluded Agloval, lifting an angry fist at them when Geralt tried to explain the problem through a different angle.

- "Vodyanois are far from stupid, sir. And they are strangely very measured for the moment. They haven't taken human lives yet. But that won't last if you persist in violating their territories."

- "Aquamarine is the main resource of this city. We just can't stop, a lot of jobs are at risk and our long term prosperity with it."

- "Why didn't you try to negociate with them ?" Asked Jaskier almost innocently, which made Agloval laugh.

- "Have you tried to speak to a fish ?"

- "Not yet. But you did. So please share your experience with us."

Geralt smiled discreetly. He wanted to laugh so bad, but that would just add to the frustration of the Duke who did catch the reference and was already trying to counter.

- "I'll try to see what the problem is with the Dragon Fangs area and my friend will help with fish communication."

- "Will I ?" Jaskier looked back at him, with an offended expression.

- "Yes you will. Mermaids speak a derivative of elder. I am certain you will help to connect the Duke with his precious catch and help him to understand the situation better. And see that as an opportunity to see another incredible creature."

- "Fine. Let's see your mermaid."

Agloval hid his happiness very poorly. He didn't understand that Geralt didn't meant to help him the way he intended. This only added bad cards to his personality.

They left the official building together. The Duke was walking with a fast pace that Jaskier and Geralt didn't match on purpose. On their way out, Jaskier whispered to him.

- "Why are you asking me to translate things to that twat when she actually speaks common language ?"

- "Because if she didn't speak to him already, there should be a reason. An interesting one. She is playing by her own rules there. And for the moment, this mermaid is the only thread to a heart that we have for this man. He doesn't listen to reasonable things. Maybe love could make a difference."

- "Oh this is new."

- "Shut up."

- "Right."

Jaskier smirked.

###

They followed Agloval's car and security to reach the aquarium. The surprise was to find Essi, waiting on a bench with her own security guards, near the building's entrance. She was wearing a more formal outfit, with pants and a simple t-shirt.

- "You ?" Said the Duke with an intonation that clearly didn't please both singers.

- "What are you doing here, Essi ?" Asked Jaskier nonetheless.

- "Well, after our discussion yesterday, I was curious to see what you would do about the Duke's peculiar problem. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to alter your decision but he asked me certainly the same thing he asked you and I was willing to see what kind of men you both were. I refused to help a man segregate a woman, and justify his action calling this true love. I am sad to see you there though."

- "We did not agree." Geralt said.

- "But you are here."

- "Maybe you should come with us for what is coming next." He proposed.

- "I don't care if she comes or not but if she tries to sabotage the meeting I will personally make sure you'll end up in a prison, lady. Is that clear ?"

- "Very !"

Essi replied with unhidden sarcasm. She told her guards not to follow, giving the argument that there were already the Duke guards and Geralt to protect her inside.

They all entered the aquarium and they took a private door that led them directly from the entrance hall to some dark corridors leading to the mermaid's tank room. Geralt recognised the last one. The Duke guards were asked to stay outside.

When they entered, the mermaid was swimming slowly in circles inside in her artificial environnement. The light was playing iridescent colors on her skin and the larger scales of her tail. She noticed them discreetly approaching. Agloval came closer naturally and put his hand on the glass. The mermaid followed his gesture and put her hand at the same place, from the other side. She smiled, discovering her sharp teeth underneath but it was tender and charming. Her hair was floating around her forming almost a scary web but it was adding to her strange beauty.

- "Don't tell me there is nothing there." The Duke said, turning toward them with some shiny eyes from contained tears. "I love her and I want her to know it. I guess she knows but we never could really speak."

Everyone was surprised by the demonstration and Agloval's emotion, but Essi seemed the one that took it strongly. She approached the tank.

- "I don't understand what I am witnessing. Are you in love with that man ?" She asked almost rhetorically to the creature.

The mermaid looked at her and emitted a sad musical wail, followed by frantic clics sounds. And she then pronounced words in the sea people version of elder.

- "He doesn't hear". Translated Jaskier, almost absently but with a strange intonation. He was fascinated by the creature. The mermaid looked back at him. "He doesn't even know my name."

- "What is your name ?" Asked the Duke.

"I will tell him when he'll be able to hear it. He doesn't hear."

Geralt knew what was coming next. And that was the reason he insisted for Jaskier to do the job. On many occasions he had seen the spectacular talents of his friend with languages and communication. He first saw it with Torque at Posada and after that with many other humanoid monsters whose language is more complex than it seems. This was the trance. Even Essi was looking back at him surprised. Maybe she never witnessed it.

Jaskier had mechanically translated the elder but he was analyzing everything else. The wail, the clics. He probably was hearing the musicality of the mermaid's voice and in a few minutes this will be spectacular.

The mermaid swimmed toward him and spoke again.

-"Who are you, human ? What are you doing here ?"

- "I am the link between you and Agloval."

Jaskier was still aware of what he was doing for the moment so he translated back and forth, and what he would tell the mermaid also.

- "Tell her I love her." The Duke insisted, poking Jaskier's shoulder.

The mermaid replied something intertwined with a melody. Everyone could hear the song that kinda stretched every syllable, making the words incomprehensible. Jaskier stayed silent for a longer time, closed his eyes and began to hum something.

- "Oh this is brilliant, my Dandelion !" Essi declared, finally understanding what he was doing.

She hummed with him, finding harmonies. The mermaid joined, with her weird language filling the blanks with percussive clicking and melodic wailing. Agloval looked at the scene amazed and scared at the same time. Jaskier added elder words to the song and the mermaid replied the same way. And then everything stopped, leaving the room with a painful silence and the discreet buzz of the machines working in the tank.

- "What did she say ? What did you say ?"

The melody came first. Jaskier hummed it. Geralt knew his friend was having a bardic inspiration, as they called it between them. There would be a song. The answer of the mermaid couldn't be anything else anyway. Then he answered, leaving the words floating in the air, like lost notes on a piano, singing softly.

- "For if your goal be paradise. A life with your true love. Ponder all your wants in life. And make a little sacrifice."

To the last words, he broke, falling in tears into Essi's embrace next to him. The words touched Geralt very deeply too, probably as much as everyone else in the room. But they all had a different story attached to it. For Agloval this was the seed that might grow into something more for his mermaid. For Essi, Geralt couldn't tell, because he didn't know her for long. For Jaskier this was his grim future. The sacrifice was already made and there wouldn't be any paradise for him. For himself, this was Yennefer's journey. Maybe for the first time he saw that he was more than the monster he thought she was ashamed to be with, but more the sacrifice she had made to reach her paradise. And this changed everything.

"You are the one I will always love, my beast. I swear."

She loved him. This was true love. And he stepped away angry because he was hurt. His heart constricted in his chest painfully. And Jaskier's tears were just too hard to handle. Because this was too real.

They both chose to pretend everything would be fine because their tomorrows were reduced to almost nothing by the blind hatred of a man, and they didn't want to think about it. Sacrificing his freedom to be human was echoing painfully the choice Agloval was asking to the mermaid to do.

- "Love doesn't just mean taking, one also has to be able to give up things, to make sacrifices…" He said to Agloval who was still processing. "She knows that you love her. She loves you dearly, or she wouldn't be there."

- "She understands us ?" The Duke looked back at the mermaid who smiled.

- "Of course I understand you." She replied in the common language.

-"But why didn't you speak to me ? This could have been so much easier."

- "Because you are not listening and not watching, my dear human. Mermaids do not speak their love. I wanted you to find that inside of you so I could trust your words."

-"And I have failed, right ?"

- "Yes. But that's not the point." She swimmed toward him and pressed herself against the glass. Agloval did the same. "Prove me that you love me, my dear human."

He reluctantly moved away and passed the exit door.

- "What do we do now ?" Asked Jaskier, separating himself from his sister and drying his eyes.

- "We wait." Geralt replied. "I can still hear him, Agloval is somewhere near the tank, behind it. He is not gone."

A few minutes later they heard a splashing noise and saw the duke swimming down the tank. He reached for the mermaid who welcomed him with a kiss. Bubbles formed around their joined mouths as the mermaid was sharing oxygen she generated in her lungs. Things slid rapidly into something more intimate though, so they stepped away discreetly this time.

Essi had a million questions for them. Jaskier answered most of them on their way out of the building. Geralt understood that he was keeping his talents and his life mostly secret, even to the woman he called sister and real family. She was discovering a new facet of him and a new aspect of the witcher's life. But he understood why quite soon.

She turned often to look at him with eyes, full of respect, admiration and… maybe love.

###

- "So what are you planning to do next ?" She asked, full of hope and anticipation. "A hunt ? I would be very pleased to see how it really happens. Your approach to the mermaid issue was brilliant and I wanna…"

- "I don't take any humans on hunts, except Jaskier. It took years before I was sure he knew what to do and when. I cannot risk your life out of pure curiosity. But be sure we will tell you in great detail how it worked after."

- "So we are going to see each other soon ?"

- "Yes."

She seemed very pleased with that perspective. Geralt smiled. To be fair, he was looking forward to this too somehow.

###

- "She likes you." Said Jaskier with a tired voice, as they were laying in the dark on their respective beds, at the hotel.

Tomorrow, early in the morning, before the sunrise, when the tide would be at its lowest, they would go to the Dragon Fang to see what was happening with the Vodyanois. They needed to rest early.

- "Don't be ridiculous." Geralt scoffed.

- "Don't be blind. And don't lie."

- "And what do you want me to do about that ?"

- "If it is reciprocated then don't wait. She is like me but even more sensitive, in a way. She needs to understand quickly if she can open up more or not."

- "And you wouldn't mind if we were…"

- "The only thing I care about is her happiness and yours. The rest is up to both of you. We are all adults there. There is no reason to hide behind pudibond behaviors."

- "I think I like her too." Geralt said after a long pause. "But…"

- "But ?"

- "Why didn't you tell her how we work and what we do ? She seemed to discover something with your linguistic skills today and even more about me and the hunts."

- "Because, I didn't want her to see you through my eyes. I am proud of what we do and I believe my songs are enough to understand everything there is to get. If she didn't get it, it was for the same reasons as Agloval with Sh'eenaz."

- "Who ?"

- "That's the mermaid's name." Jaskier looked at him and smiled. Only he could see it in the dark.

- "I see. We all need to listen better."

- "Good night, buddy." There was a silent "I love you" floating in the air.

- "Same to you."

Geralt closed his eyes, and let his mind drift to strange places. Usually scary places for him. But not exactly today. He was accepting love differently. Maybe he was ready to listen.

Next chapter we have the "hunt" and the Vodyanois.

I hope that the threads I left all along, from the first story to this one, begin to make sens and that my Geralt's journey through feelings is an interesting one.

See you soon.