Moment of Peace

Moment of Peace - A Jaskier One-shot

The noise never seemed to stop. Every corner she turned, every lodging she found, and every moment she may have had to herself, the noise was there. She could never escape it; it was a constant in her life, but unlike with most constants she never grew accustomed to it. It never found a way to annoy her less. In fact, as the days turn into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years, the noise found a way to annoy her more. Today though, she noted, the sound had not pierced her ears as if to mimic the scream of a Banshee. Today perhaps, she thought, would be different. She nearly smiled at the thought, tipping her glass back to swallow a drink of her final beer of the night. And yet, just as the cool glass touched her lips -

"Toss a coin to your Witcher,

'O Valley of Plenty!"

There it was. The most offensive of all sounds Elaeria of Lyria had the displeasure of hearing in the years she had been alive. Never ending, never letting her enjoy a moment of peace. Whether he was singing, or his lips were endlessly flapping with unimportant babble, Elaeria could never escape the voice of the bard, Jaskier. She tipped her glass back again, closing her eyes as the liquid slipped down her throat, not willing to allow him to ruin a moment of peace for her. To her displeasure, however, the noise persisted.

As if he could sense her thoughts had wandered to him, Jaskier bounded to where Elaeria sat in her happy loneliness, leaning against the table to sing in her direction. This was something he, annoyingly, did to the young Witcher frequently, and something she had grown accustomed to taking as her sign to retire for the night. As such, she made hastily finished her beer and stood to take her leave, grabbing her sword and the sheath that contained it in a swift motion, almost as if it were an action that was second nature to her. It occurred to Jaskier in that moment that she had true grace, and perhaps if she allowed herself any fun would make a lovely dancer. The thought brought a smile to his face.

"Whatever you are thinking about, replace it with something else. Anything that brings that smile to your face is sure to be followed with more displeasure for me, bard."

With a laugh Jaskier halted his song, smiling at the female Witcher that had recently crossed paths with himself and Geralt of Rivia. Geralt, who normally minded every presence that wasn't his own, seemed perfectly unbothered by the white-haired woman, and in fact seemed indifferent to her joining his travels. Jaskier certainly did not mind that the woman had joined in their adventures – despite the fact she was only half Geralt's age, she had been trained well and provided plenty of additions to his tunes. Jaskier found though, much to his dismay, that Elaeria was a harder nut to crack than even Geralt, which made his desire to win her over all the more intense.

"Tomorrow we hunt a dragon, Elaeria! For this night, what will perhaps be the last night we share, will you let yourself have fun? Do you know the word, fun? We can drink and dance and sing and I can tell you how beautiful you are-"

The bard's words were silenced by the golden glare of the female Witcher before him. Despite her small stature, he knew that whatever her glare fixed upon was the unluckiest of things, and decided he would not push his luck, just for this once. If she desired a night alone before the day that would follow, he would not deprive her of that. While Jaskier found peace providing entertainment for the lost souls that adorned the pubs the trio found along the way, he was not ignorant to the desires of the two Witchers that, ultimately, provided him with safety.

She had taken his silence, a rare treat, as her opportunity to retire for the night. She needed her rest, after all, if she were to provide any assistance in the fight the next day would surely contain. Once in her room, and with a final glance in the mirror at the woman before her, Elaeria allowed herself to slumber. And yet, as she lie in silence for the first time that day, the bard's words calling her beautiful echoed in her mind as she drifted.