Kyana Of Cintra

72

A few hours later, Kyana and Geralt dressed and packed up the tent into Kyana's bag, meeting Yennefer outside. She gazed off into the mountains, a longing in her eyes. Kyana's smile dropped at the sight of her misery, stepping away from Geralt to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "At a quick pace, we can make it back to the Pensive Dragon before sundown." Geralt informed Kyana, buckling his sword around his waist. Kyana didn't mind turning back, although Yennefer very much did. 

"What are you talking about? We're almost at the top." Yennefer protested, turning to face him. "I came here for a reason, Geralt. Kyana may have given me a backup plan, but I'm not leaving till I've killed that dragon." His jaw tightened in irritation. 

"Yen." He warned. "No. What will it solve?" Yennefer scoffed, reaching down to pick up her bag. 

"It will solve everything." She countered, freezing in her actions and staring down to the dwarf camp. "Wait." She paused, her voice softened with bewilderment. "Where's those fucking dwarves?" Kyana followed her gaze, and sure enough, the dwarves were gone. They had left only the small shelter they had made and a sleeping Jaskier, who snored contentedly. Yennefer took off after them, following the faint path up the mountain to keep them from killing her prize. Kyana picked up her backpack and followed, leaving Jaskier safely under the shelter until he woke. Geralt grumbled, but followed, unwilling to let Kyana go into a dragons den just to protect a newfound psychopathic murderous friend. 

The rocks they ran on were loose, some even falling under their feet, yet the Witchers pressed on, keen on following the Mage. They followed a long winding path just a few feet in width, passing the dwarves Yennefer had frozen in place with her magic. Running past them, Geralt and Kyana didn't look back, instead staying on their guard when approaching the dragons den. 

Inside, Yennefer held a pathetic little dagger, something which could never penetrate the skin of a dragon. Kyana nearly screamed at who was with her. Téa and Véa, as if they had never even been near death, stood proudly before her, protecting a dead green dragon and a huge egg. Stunned, Kyana couldn't find the words, instead copying Geralt's actions and approaching them, bag in hand to toss easily. 

"How." She demanded, expecting an answer pretty quickly. Swords pointed to Kyana, keeping her at a distance from the dead dragon and the egg. 

"He's dead." Yennefer realized, pain and heartbreak flashing in her violet eyes. Téa gave her a pained look, shaking her head with watery eyes. 

"She is dead." Above them, an earsplitting roar that almost deafened the sensitive Witchers echoed through the den. A golden dragon, bigger than any creature Geralt and Kyana had ever seen before, climbed its way down into the cave, dropping heavily before them and kicking up a wave of dust. Geralt pushed Kyana a little backwards with his hand, intending to protect her with his body as a shield. He stared up in awe at the dragon, having declared its golden scales a myth. Geralt was the first to approach it, followed by Kyana and Yennefer. No one's gaze left the dragon for a second, taking in his beauty and fine scaled skin. 

As if a challenge for the dragon to become even more mesmerizing, a low, gentle and familiar voice emitted from him. "Sir Witcher and his Lady Witcher, Sorceress." Greeted a kind voice. "Hello again." Kyana's mouth dropped open, gaping at the dragon before her. 

"Borch?" Kyana whispered, her voice cracking with both relief and fury. 

Geralt lightly shook his head, a disbelieving streak of horror across his eyes. "Impossible." He denied, his facial expression similar to Kyana's. 

"When the dragoness was injured, her cry was heard by Villentretenmerth." Téa started to explain, allowing her fellow Zerrikanian to respond.  

"But the egg could not be moved, or the life inside it would die." Véa interjected, fear of what Kyana must think of her smothered over her pretty face. 

"That's why the dragon attacked." Geralt realized, thinking back to the huge scorch marks across the mountain that had been burnt to a crisp. Now that he knew that she attacked to defended herself, he wasn't sure if he wanted to kill the dragons anymore. By the look on Kyana's face, she most certainly would not be harming her friend. 

Yennefer's eyes filled with unshed tears of longing, her voice softened and understanding. "She was protecting her baby." She said quietly. Yennefer made a choice, a choice she now regretted. In exchange for her looks, she must give her fertility, and a childish, vain part of her needed it more than a womb. Now that the roles were reversed, that she was beautiful yet could carry no child, Yennefer never, ever wanted to be deformed once more as much as she did now. Her heart audibly shattered, the dagger slipping softly from her fingers. 

"And then we heard .about the King's hunt, realized we had to keep our enemies close." Téa continued, the resentment lacing her tone telling the Witchers it had not been her idea. She wasn't much inclined to like anyone, although Kyana, who welcomed her with a warm heart and a plentiful smile, was simply someone she could not resist befriending. 

"So I came to find you." Dragon Borch said, inclining his head towards the Witchers, yet it was only one he looked at in particular. "The female Witcher with hair of sapphires, the bastard queen who was taught to save dragons instead of kill them, a woman who wore not a crown of blood, but of gentle righteousness." Kyana's eyes widened. He came looking for her, not Geralt. Kyana had been mostly unknown before Geralt, yet now, somehow, people from everywhere knew her name, looked for her service, and not his? He was calm and kind too, but because his kindness was subtle, masked behind a stoic facade, he was less than her? 

"Then you are lucky, Borch." She answered, her hand clasping at the hilt of her sword with an irritated, iron grip. "Had you found me alone, without Geralt, I would not be here and you would be dead." if Borch could look surprised, Kyana was sure now would be the time he did. 

"Hold on a minute, you're a bastard queen?" Yennefer demanded, her eyes burning icily into Kyana's. She nodded once reluctantly, answering the question that was bestowed on her. Yennefer scoffed and huffed a humorless laugh. "Oh, you fucking liar."