To Thaw A Frozen Heart

~ chapter 28 ~

3rd person POV

"So?" Antea answered, shrugging, "I always have fun in a good fight. And my eyes always go green, Geralt. You should know this by now."

He stood in silence for a moment, before shaking his head, and frowning, "They weren't green, Thea. They were red."

"Red? They've never gone red dont be silly. I probably had blood on my face or something. Forget about it okay? Let's look around." She brushed his arm, before walking towards the scene.

Geralt followed closely behind, and focused his Witcher senses. The trio found some scraps of high quality clothing, covered in blood.
A wealthy victim.

Geralt knelt down and rooted through some netting, "Lots of blood. Guardsmen pulled these ets out of the water, then cut the mutilated body free..." He glanced quickly over the body of water in front of him, and the trail of blood leading from it, "Gonna dive in - make sure they didn't miss anything."

Geralt unloaded his gear and walked into the water, quickly diving under. It was quiet for a moment, but then Milton spoke.

"So, you are a mage?" He said hesitantly.

"Yes, of sorts," Antea replied, "Mostly working with nature - I never went to a school, so I haven't been taught anything impressive."

"Impressive? Ha! You kid yourself my dear. What I have just witnessed must have been the most impressive thing I have seen in a decade!" He chortled in response, holding his large belly to stop it from shaking as he laughed.

"Thank you, Sir, that is most kind."

"Hmm, yes. You are quite lovely dear, but you parade yourself around with this Witcher. You are courting, correct?" He pressed, and Antea suddenly felt herself heat up.

"Um, no, sir. Not... officially. We're partners, treasure hunters, fighters. But, yes. I mean- at some point..." Antea stuttered over her words, which brought a grin to the brightly dressed man next to her. He laughed once more,

"Oh my dear, you are in love, yes! I can see it in your eyes now." He swooned at the thought of a love affair.

"NO! No - I'm sorry, Sir, but in that regard you are mistaken. I am not - I do not... I don't..." Antea began, but scrunched her brows, thinking.

"Of course, my lady. I must have been mistaken. Well in that case, there are many eligible sirs here in Toussaint, if they take your fancy!" He raised his eyebrows at her, but before she could respond,

"They won't." Geralt spoke as he emerged from the water, clutching something. He was dripping wet and looked agitated, as he eyed the pair in front of him. "A handkerchief, monogrammed D.L.C - a nobles accessory. We need to comb the bank." He gruffed to Antea.

The three of them walked slowly along the shoreline surrounding them, among the rubble and lost items.

"Anything taken by the current ends up in these shallows?" Geralt looked to Milton for confirmation.

"Yes, the stench is uh - fierce." He replied.

"Look - a boat was launched here. Guards must have loaded the body parts onto it - taken them somewhere. We ought to find out where, right?" Antea pointed at some tracks heading into the water, and showed them to Geralt, "Yeah, we should look at the corpse before it starts to decompose."

"The Inn," Milton began, turning, so that we could see the small structure in the background. It was placed on the edge of the water, on a bridge,m with some of the building overhanging the river. "The patrons must have seen the guardsmen - which direction they took. We should ask there."

As they viewed the building, Geralt noticed that there were many people looking down at them, but only Antea noticed the hooded figure.
"Seems we've got ourselves an audience." Geralt looked over to Milton,

"You think this surprising? The locals will tell the children of children they do not have yet 0 of the day a quartered corpse was pulled from the river!" He said with emphasis. Antea presumed something like this had never happened - it did seem like a usually peaceful area.

"One other thing..." Geralt began, as they started to walk towards the Inn, "Found a handkerchief in the water, labelled 'D.L.C' - mean anything to you?" He addressed Milton.

"De La Croix?" He pondered, "It cannot be... Was it he the beast slew?" He looked to Geralt, who nodded, "He is someone I knew, long past. We were close friends, once. But, our paths diverged. He was a man of extremes, standing by his companions, no matter the odds. Fighting his foes to the bitter end. Ah, Geralt, you've struck a raw nerve. Memories of a long past, to which I'd rather not return now..."

"I understand," Geralt began, "Lets go to the tavern."

Milton began to walk away, and Antea followed him. Suddenly Geralt grabbed her arm, and whispered, "Keep an eye on him. These 'foes' could have something to do with this - and Milton was never one to stray away from telling his drama before. Why now?"

She nodded, and went to walk away again, but Geralt's arm remained wrapped around hers. She looked at him in confusion.

"Anyone else asks you if we're courting, you tell them yes. You're mine." He spoke, before walking away.

Goddamned enhanced hearing.