The Goddess of Fire || The Burning Witch Book Two || The Witcher

Chapter 3 - True Faith

Perhaps worst of all was Geralt knowing that the last interaction they had was so quick and he knew, he knew that she hated him, that looking at him, Hestia felt nothing but anger. And he couldn't blame her, he should have talked to the woman face to face, opened his heart and told her in detail about the situation, he had made a mistake, thinking that she wouldn't know how to handle the situation, she was smarter than him after all, thinking that only a poorly placed letter, now lost in the darkness beneath the rubble of what had once been his home next to Hestia, would be enough to calm Hestia's heart and make her understand his side. But he had to have faith, he had to believe that she was alive, that there was still salvation, that they had a chance, even if it was minimal. In fact, his real focus was to have Hestia alive, even if he had to give his life for it, to dedicate the rest of his days to find her, even if it meant that the two of them would never be together again, because Hestia's well being was more important than him and his desires.

So that night he filled his backpack and grabbed his weapons, taking a shot in the dark, with the intention of finding an old friend who might have Hestia's whereabouts, she was the only idea Geralt had in his head, the only chance he could see at that moment, since he didn't have a single clue, nothing but his imagination and the theories he created in his head. It can be expected that the news was not well received by the girl with the white hair and the fury of a thousand suns directed at Geralt. It was never easy to argue with Ciri, the girl was always stubborn and self-assured, often what Geralt said went in one ear and out the other, he tried to be as empathetic as possible, but he was the opposite of the girl, she being so sentimental, attached and even a little dramatic, Ciri was moved by emotion, by feeling, when Geralt...well, Geralt felt, of course he felt, but not one percent of how strong Ciri did. The girl had an easier time expressing her thoughts, her emotions, she could talk for hours and hours, argue for twice as long, she always had an answer on the tip of her tongue while Geralt was almost monosyllabic, since he was learning to be more verbose with Hestia, she did make him feel comfortable enough to talk, to express himself, but now that he didn't have her by his side, he was more and more closed, his words every day more scarce, as much as he had so much to say, he simply couldn't. Another thing that didn't help his discussions with Ciri was the girl's powers.

Ciri was an extremely powerful young woman, not only for being from an influential family, for having royal blood in her veins, but Ciri really had powers, she was like an explosion, she could make everything around her fly in a matter of seconds, she could also play with time, she was simply phenomenal with magic and Yennefer was doing a great job in potentiating all of Ciri's abilities, while Geralt took care more of the swords and fighting.

 Her powers were phenomenal, a pity he suffered so much at the girl's hands when they fought, sometimes he flew out the other room and couldn't judge the girl, sometimes he really sounded insensitive, but he didn't know how to change, it was as if he had regressed, all the progress thrown away the day Hestia left and the guilt overwhelmed him.

He missed the days when Ciri was little, the day she made him laugh for the first time falling into the river while practicing alone with a wooden sword, he often wondered what had happened to the little girl who had nightmares about her past, about the fall of Cintra, about Hestia disappearing covered blood, he could still smell the rosemary...burning...and Ciri could feel it too. He remembered like it was yesterday how the girl screamed in his nightmares and he had to wake her up, reassuring her that everything was okay, and then she would sleep in his arms, not letting go until deep sleep took her. It was in one of these nightmares that Ciri's powers first revealed themselves, causing Geralt to fly away with her touch. Since then, training began, and she was getting stronger and more powerful every day. 

But she was still just a child, at least that's how Geralt saw her and inevitably Yennefer did too, so he couldn't take her, he had told Yennefer and not Ciri, he would go after Serena, the Clairvoyant, to ask the woman to try to get some vision involving Hestia. He would tell Serena about his dream, go into detail about what Hestia had told him about her past, maybe then, just maybe, he would get some direction to go on. Yennefer was not happy at all to be the one to carry the news that Geralt had left and not said goodbye to Ciri, and worse, that he had gone after Hestia and not taken Ciri. For this reason he would not tell Ciri, face to face, that he was going after Hestia, for this reason he would do the same thing he did with Hestia years ago, leave in the dead of night, without warning, without a trace or explanation, the only difference being that now he had Yennefer to help him and also Vesemir, who had made himself available to train Ciri while the White Wolf searched for his beloved.

Finally back with the company of Roach and his sword, Geralt climbed onto his horse in the middle of the night, the starry sky lighting his way. He had said good-bye, in his own way, to the girl, leaving her favorite sweet, a sweet made with honey and rosemary, by her bedside, kissed her on the forehead, and then, with a heavy heart, decided to go on his journey. From his horse, Geralt took a last look at the house where he had lived the last years, Yennefer, arms crossed, leaning on the stone wall of the entrance, staring at him with her violet iris, her serious expression, before nodding, giving him the "blessing" to fulfill his journey and find Hestia, whatever the cost.

And with a heavy heart and a mind full of doubts, Geralt went on his way, leaving Toussaint behind, along with his dear Ciri, on his way to the last location Serena had given him, the famous city of Novigrad. All he needed then was to follow the light of the Goddess of Fire and well...to have true faith.

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