Crunch!!
I cringe as I watch King Foltest messily devour a piece of pork. Pieces of pork and its juices smothered all around face, making his already greasy face more greasy. Which kinda reminds me of Lambert when he eats, making me wanna puke I return my gaze back towards the window. Currently we were in the kings dining room, with the King eating away, while me and Geralt stood on the side. Him standing behind the witch, while I sat on the windowsill looking down at the frosted kingdom. Our cloaks were gone showing our armor, Geralt in his classic black leather armor with silver studs embedded into the leather. While I wore my black leather armor with my brown corset that was lined with silver studs. My raven hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail with a few framing pieces down my face, showing my ruby red eyes in view. As I looked out at the snow covered kingdom, all I wanted was to cure this creature as soon as possible and leave. A bit worried for Scout since I just left her in front of the mine, and when we were being escorted our she was gone, I hope shes fine.
"Miss Merigold, you were dispatched to settle a family affair, not to enlist mutant mercenaries for a game of sleuthing." the Kings commander, oh sorry captain, states. Making me scoff at the word mutant, at least call me a beautiful one.
"This is no game, Captain. Tonight is a full moon, Negra and Geralt has already proved themselves to be invaluable. We believe we can cure the creature." The witch argues, while the king continues to eat.
"You say she's a girl. Then you will refer to her as Her Royal Highness." The Captain inquires. In which the prick from last night walks over.
"Segelin, I believe urgency warrants flexibility in court decorum." He slithers into the captains ear like a snake.
"The witcher's theory is nonsense. Princess Adda was the people's angel. Who'd wish to murder her?" The captain quesitons.
"What about her lover?" I ask from the windowsill, causing eyes to be on me. While I look at the king and see he stops eating for a moment. Staring down at his food as if hes about to throw up. I look at Geralt and he looks at me, silently agreeing to what I saw.
"Seditious rumors. Idle courtesans trading out boredom for jealousy." The captain defends, making me scoff.
"Perhaps if you called off your guards, if we were able to search the abandoned castle, could find clues as to who cursed her." The witch pressures, I look over at the king again and see him fiddle with his food and his chair. Clearly uncomfortable with this talk about his now discovered niece, or maybe daughter?
"Except this witcher would kill the princess as she sleeps, and collect the miners coin." The Captain states again, making me groan at his annoyance.
"Call her a princess. Call her a unicorn if you'd like to. She grew inside Adda, feeding on her petrified womb" Geralt starts aiming to get a rise out of the king, to see his reaction. Causing me to smirk a bit, jumping down from the windowsill to stand next to Geralt.
"have you no respect?" the captain started but I cut him off as I made my way towards the king slowly.
"Mutating. Growing for years till she got so hungry, she was forced to slither out. Rotten muscle" I started to list off, in which Geralt does the same. Us listing off back and forth
"Bent bones."
"Two spidery legs."
"Claws dragging in the dirt"
"An overgrown abortion."
"Enough" the king cracks, his form shaking makes me smirk. Got him! He then orders us to leave, in which Geralt and I began to make our way towards the door. Geralt looks down at me, I nod knowing what he was planning. Geralt opens the doors, letting the witch and the prick in first, while I sneak behind the captain. When the captain stops to let Geralt go first, I kick him in the arse. Forcing him out onto his ass, in which Geralt quickly slams the door shut and locking it. With the guards shouting for the door to open, it was just me, Geralt, and the Greasy king.
Walking over to the dining table, Geralt places his arm on top of a chair, while I did the same on the other side. We look over at the greasy king, who is still eating, and tilt our heads in curiosity.
"Who's the princess' father?"We ask at the same time, aw just like old times.
"My men will kill you, Witchers." He threatens. In which Geralt walks towards a table by the window, before leaning against it. His muscles showing through his armor, dammit not now Negra.
"hmm. It's funny. You learn that your sister was murdered, and you didn't even flinch." I started walking over to the other side, where Geralt was, leaning on the table with my hand.
"but the moment she mentioned the girl's father. Why were you never married?" Geralt finishes. The King leans back into his chair, puffing his chest out to make him larger.
"You are speaking to a King." he states
"That is exactly our point. Why not produce your own heir? Why not kill the striga and avoid this revolt? why drag this all out?" Geralt questions, Foltest growing more and more tense. He wants to tell us, but something stops him.
"Between you and us, your majesty, Who is the Strigas father?" I ask softly, my face softening trying to get him to trust us. He twitches here and there, fiddling around trying to avoid the question. Before standing up from his chair and beings to talk.
"I remember hearing stories about witchers when I was a child. Is it true what they say? That the mutations that grant you your... abilities also erase your emotions." He asks, causing me sigh, here we go again with the theories and the stories.
"Must be. Cause only a man devoid of all heart could accuse a brother of bedding his murdered sister. While urging him to kill her." Foltest snarls walking up to Geralt, while the guards burst through the doors with swords reading. But Foltest stops them.
"Leave Temeria. Never return." The king commands, Geralt looks at me and nods towards the door. In which I do and he does as well. When we made our way out, I pull out a piece of bread that I took from the table while Foltest was focused on Geralt. Geralt looks down at me and gives me a judgmental look.
"What?" I ask as we continued towards the exit.
"He had a whole pig sitting there! And after getting up in your face, hey payback is a bitch." I defended myself taking another bite of the bread.
"Cmon Wolf! we've got a castle to investigate!" I yelled back at the witcher, as I left the castle to meet the cold air.
**
The cold wind blows past us as we sat against a stone wall, looking up at the entrance of the old castle. Watching the Guards grow tired and tense of standing guard of the old and creaky castle. Geralt and I were still in our attire from the meeting with the king, though I brought my cloak to keep myself warm. Since Geralts body was naturally warm, he could stand the cold, while mine is the exact opposite.
"you were told to leave Temeria." We here the witch state behind us, turning around we give her a sarcastic smile.
"But cmon" Gerlat started
"These views" I finished before turning our attention back to the guards.
"Are you going to kill her." The witch asks, causing me to sigh.
"We don't want the miners' coin" Geralt states, looking back and over my shoulder to look at her.
"Or mine apparently. What is this girl to you? Why do you care?" She asks, Geralt thinks for a moment before firing back for her to go first. Causing a smile to grow on my face at his sarcasm.
"I saw how Foltest and his boy spoke to you. Why help those who won't listen?" The witch ponders for a moment, before changing the topic.
"I'm sure someone as legendary as you two, has already figured our several ways to get past Segelin's guards." I smile at her, before leaning across Geralt to grab a large rock. Stepping aide before throwing the rock against the wall, causing a loud bang noise to echo from the castle. In which the guards scurried out of their post and towards the castle. Dusting my hands off, I give the two my best smile before making my way towards the haunted castle.
"Well cmon you sissies, we don't got all day."
**
Walking through the abandoned castle, or abandoned anything, always gave me the fucking shivers. The way the wind causes the structure to creak and moan, makes me wanna turn around and go back to the castle. Hearing a silent chuckle, I turn my head towards Geralt to see him with a small smile growing on his face. Making me hit him upside the head, making him almost show his teeth. Knowing full well that I hate ghosts.
While Geralt and the witch was trying to see if any of the rooms would open, I turn my gaze towards a sibling painting. Guessing it was Foltest and his sister, all innocent and presious, making me envy them a bit. Growing up with servants and the finest clothes, eating the finest food. Don't get me wrong growing up in Kaer Morhen was amazing, but it did have its moments. Especially the trials.
"Temeria reeks of secrets. I could sense them. Just like I could these bodies before we entered. I imagined you sense them too." The witch comments looking at the bones of what I imagined were either servants or bandits. She stands beside me looking at the picture.
"Foltest and Adda. What happened to them? Not answering question is a pillar of your brooding charm" She states sarcastically towards Geralt as he looks at the picture as well.
"No, that's just him. His brooding charm is ignoring you exist, all together." I state walking off down the hall. Leaving the two behind to asses the relationship of the two siblings.
Walking up the grand staircase, I open the door to what looks like a royals quarters. A fallen chandelier laid in the middle of the room, with everything covered in dust and spider webs. With a queen side bed on the other side of the room, covered in dust and webs. The covers all ripped and old as time settled and made its course. Geralt walks towards a dresser looking over everything in the room.
"do you think he cursed her? Foltest?" the Witch asks walking over to a chest opening it. While Geralt looks up the fireplace looking for any evidence. While I walked over to the old bed, smelling something foul coming from it. Taking another big whiff, letting the smell from the bed enter my nose to my head. Making me cringe instantly at the thought of something that happened on this bed.
"Geralt, come here." calling Geralt over, and pointing at the bed to have him confirm my thoughts. He takes a big whiff, before looking down at me confirming my thought, making me feel disgusted. We started at each other for a bit, until a creepy tune played causing me to jump. Looking over, to see the witch play with a music box, making me become annoyed. I want to leave this castle.
"Geralt." she calls over to Geralt. Well at least we know her favorite, I'm here as well thanks bitch.
"Letters. From Queen Sancia, Foltest and Adda's mother." She reveals, peaking my curiosity. Walking over to her and grabbing the letter, reading them over. So Foltest is the strigas father, looking up from the letters I look at Geralt.
"You owe me a Drink."
**
After finding the letters of Foltest and Addas affair, we made our way back to the witches chambers and brought the kings advisor. AKA the prick. We gave him the letters and allowed him to read it over. While I sat on a desk, looking over an enchanting rock from the witches stuff of magic.
"A Queen Mother cursing her own children for their affair. This could destroy the throne." The prick states placing the letters on the table.
"Sancia wanted Adda to get rid of the child." Geralt states leaning against a pillar that was next to the desk I was sitting at. With the witch on the across from him.
"It seems she refused. Repeatedly." The witch states while I fidget with the rock.
"And now she's taken that curse with her to the grave."
"You've served the family for decades. Was Sancia involveed in dark sorcery of any kind?"
"No. Of course not." The prick answered making me smile a bit.
"What was your relationship to Adda?" I ask looking up from the rock waiting for his answer.
"well, I like to think that she saw me as a confidant. And protector, even. We use to talk a great length about her troubles. She could be very Naive." He answers making me nod my head.
"She ever mention her brother?" Geralt asks calmly, even though I can tell he was getting annoyed fast.
"Certainly not like this." the Prick states back at the letters before turning back to us.
"or she was frightened. What if the relationship was not...consensual" He proposes, making it impossible to not laugh. Geralt hmms.
"You think he raped Adda, then cursed the child to cover it up?" Geralt asks, pretending to fall for his lie.
"Well, kings have done more for less." He states making me and Geralt look at each other and sigh.
"True." we say together, before Geralt sighs and approaches the Prick. Making me excited to confront the perv.
"There's only one wrinkle, though." He starts backing the prick into the table looking down at him with a piercing glare. One that I recognize when me and Lambert would but hair dye in his wash. Ahh good old days.
"Your scent was on her sheets." Geralt reveals, causing the witch to come in shock. While turned my gaze back to the magic rock, tossing it in the air and catching it.
"Old ones, and new ones." He states, making my skin crawl as I imagine it. I think I'm going to throw up.
"What would I be doing in a dead girl's bed?" the Perv asks looking nervous where he stood. fiddling with his feet, as Geralt leaned over to his hear so only he could hear him.
"I smelled what you were doing." And just like an egg, he cracked. He looked at Geralt with rage and sadness, knowing that he had been caught.
"Foltest had no right!" He yells, with anger in his voice. I turn towards the witch and hold out the rock with curiosity.
"What does this do?" I ask, to which she doesn't answer me. Just focusing on the crippling man as he begins to ramble.
"He seduced Adda, Abused his position, he was always nagging her for attention. Always nagging, but he didn't love her! I did." he confesses.
"Seriously what is this for." I muttered bringing the rock up to my face.
"you cursed the woman you loved." The witch states
"I cursed Foltest, not her." He excuses. Which doesn't makes sense at all.
"Countless are dead because of your jealousy."
"Countless are dead because of Foltest! He spoiled Adda with his seed. He refuses to kill this striga. He lies to his people, and yet you wag your finger in my face." He continues, while I hop off the desk and stand next to Geralt. The rock still in my hands.
"If you wanted him to suffer, you could have just exposed the affair."
"And hurt Adda? Never. Her memory will not be sullied, not while I'm alive to protect it." The prick states, making me groan.
"And yet you decided to curse her unborn child and turn her into this beast. What kind of man curses an innocent child, a child that was born from love? I'll tell you one. None. you say this was you protecting her, but no this was your jealousy and ego." I said walking up to him, looking at him straight in his eyes. He steps back into the desk again trying to get away from me as I look at him with death in my eyes.
"Tell us how to lift the curse." I demanded, hearing his racing heart beat as my voice turned low.
"No. Foltest will watch, as Temeria turns against him. Just as he turned Adda against me." I scoff at him before taking the rock in my hand and hitting him in the head Hard. To which he falls to the floor knocked out. The witch gasps as the body falls looking at me with a ridiculous look. Holding up the blooded rock I looked at Geralt and smiled.
"So that's what it's for. How fun."