Music by Rachmaninov.
Welcome again, dear readers. Thank you for reading.
This chapter features sexual content.
Hope you enjoy! Treat yourself to a nice warm drink <3
Part six:
I felt much better after scrubbing myself clean at the herbalist's hut. The kind herbalist saw me come in with a tear in my dress and a busted lip and asked no questions. She gave me a healing salve, which I gladly made use of. It numbed the area surprisingly well. That same evening I stitched up the tear in the dress, it was a pleasantly calm activity. I refused to take payment for the herbs I had gathered, since she probably needed it more.
The next day Geralt came to retrieve me at dawn. My body felt sore all over, concentrated mainly in my abdomen and legs. My lip was throbbing and swollen, but it seemed otherwise fine.
He took the reins of Roach, who was grazing near the hut. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows in question. "What is this? Who has done this to you? What happened yesterday?"
"Ehm, in short: I was tricked by some bandits and O'Dimm came to the rescue, so I earned myself some more marks." This seemed to suffice as an explanation, but he gestured at my hand and I revealed the full scope of the branding. I winced at the sight of it.
"Sorry I wasn't there to help."
"Don't apologise." I said. "Can we go? I'd rather not talk about it." Or that I cried myself to sleep the night before. "Oh, but I did get us some coin, stolen from the bandits."
He smiled slightly, nodded curtly and helped me up on Roach's back. "That's something at least. I'll make sure something like that won't happen again."
"Thanks." I said and we chatted about which monster he'd killed. He was almost unscathed, although that might be because of his faster healing and Witcher potions.
We reached Oxenfurt in relatively little time. I felt a slight fear in my gut upon seeing the city in the distance. Sleeping under the stars was less oppressive than in a murky town. And I felt safe with Geralt, who was always aware of his surroundings and a more than capable swordsman.
Oxenfurt was bustling with activity, much more so than the small towns we previously visited. A nice change of pace. I went to rent a room in the inn while Geralt checked the notice board for contracts in the area.
On the second day in Oxenfurt, I met a scholar from the academy in the market square. I asked if he knew any jobs for travellers, he said he could use a hand for an experiment of sorts. I agreed. Where I'm from, participating in experiments is often good coin for little work. It turned out I only had to hand him the right vial or read something aloud from some dusty books when he had his hands full. His assistant had given up on the project, so he was left to complete it on his own.
We chatted and I had fun. His name was Edmund. A handsome young man, delicate and graceful, not rugged from years of hard work. Edmund's experiment aimed to find a reagent to make gold a stronger metal, but instead he discovered how to make it melt quicker, which wasn't useful at all. It was fun to be back in an academic environment, as I previously was a philosophy student. Edmund didn't mind my soft melancholy and promised to show me around the art gallery and the other, more attractive parts of the Oxenfurt Academy. It was an impressive building. I marvelled at it, and at how impossible it was I was here, instead of at home.
He paid me well and treated me to dinner in the inn, where I met Geralt again.
"Hey, Geralt, how's your day been?" I asked as I sat down in front of him. Edmund seemed surprised at my joviality with the Witcher, who must look more menacing in the candle light of the inn and with the brand on his face, beside his usual scarring.
"It was fine. Killed a couple drowners near the bridge. And you? Who's your friend?"
"I'm Edmund." He quickly said, extending his hand. Geralt didn't take it, instead continuing his dinner. "We- uh Annabel helped me with an experiment today."
Geralt simply nodded. The innkeeper set plates of steaming baked potatoes and green beans in front of us. I delighted in the strong smell of nutmeg. I thanked her and we started to eat. Edmund was quite the contrast with Geralt. He had a thin, lean frame, a softer face and brown curls that fell in his eyes.
"Edmund said he'll show me the art at the academy later." I shared a look with the Witcher and he knew at that moment what was going on. "Are you going to visit Shani before we leave?"
"You know about Shani?" Geralt asked. "Maybe I will."
We ate the rest of the meal in relative silence. Geralt finished first, leaving the table with a nod and a "See you later, have fun."
As soon as he had left, Edmund became more talkative. "So you know him, a Witcher?"
"Yeah, we travel together."
"And that's all... you do?" I knew what he was implying and debated whether or not to play dumb.
"He's helping me break the curse." I pointed to my wrist and took another bite of potatoes.
"Yeah, I noticed that mark. What kind of curse is it?" Edmund looked at the mark curiously. He reached out and almost touched it.
"I can't find my one true love." I replied, in a more dramatic tone than was necessary. "It doesn't hurt though, you can feel it if you want." He did, softly tracing the pattern with his index finger. He shifted a bit closer to me, I could smell wine and smoke on his breath.
"Sorry to hear that." He put a hand on my shoulder, staring at me with his kind brown eyes. "Is there something to be done about it?"
"Who knows. You spoke of art, earlier?" and with that, we left. I had forgotten how nice it was to, however shallow, go on a date.
Edmund took me to the gallery first, and I admired the many great portraits and battle scenes. We sat down on a stone bench, surrounded by marble statues, in the courtyard of the academy. Chatted about music and beauty. There was a decorative alcove in the back of the garden, overgrown with vines and surrounded by rose bushes. He led me there, pulling me by my hand. The moon was half this night, and stood high and proud in the night sky. As he pulled me in, he twirled us around and with a gentle push, my back was against the overgrown wall of the alcove.
He whispered something sweet in my ear, then kissed me passionately, deep, full of longing. I tugged on his beautiful curls and he lifted me up to wrap my legs around his waist. This was truly my most romantic night here. I loved it. He kissed my neck, groaned as I slid my cold hands underneath his doublet.
"You look stunning in the moonlight." Edmund said against the tender skin of my neck. "I want to feel you so bad."
I only whimpered in response and rotated my hips to meet his groin. My nails dug into his back as he sucked on my neck and gathered up my skirts. I withdrew one of my hands from under his doublet and guided his face to mine, kissing him deeply, hungrily.
We both panted as he fumbled with his pantaloon. Then he entered me, I felt so full and gasped out his name.
"You feel so good..." he was barely able to control himself and thrust with a sense of urgency. We were too out of breath to kiss and I clenched his head to the nape of my shoulder. I let one of my hands slide down to stimulate myself and grasped his curls with the other. The heat in my core build up quicker than I expected.
Then I spotted a figure in the courtyard, an orange tunic and a bald head. I gasped, a white-hot pressure made my head fall back and my eyes clamp shut. Edmund saw this as encouragement to thrust deeper, faster. At the moment I came undone so harshly, throbbing and clenching, a sharp stinging in my left hand made the sensation even more intense.
It was after Edmund slid out of me and gently put me down, my legs wobbly, I realised it was the mark O'Dimm put on me. With a nervous gaze, I looked around the courtyard, but he was nowhere in sight, although I could've sworn I saw him just before...
"Are you alright?" Edmund asked. "That was amazing." He pulled me into another deep, more satisfied kiss. Slowly the burning in my hand and wrist faded.
I nodded, smiling at him and cradling his face between my hands. "Yeah, really intense."
"Do you want to sleep over or..."
"That would be lovely. Do you live nearby?"
I hope you liked it. Don't forget to let me know what you think <3
I'll be back soon with the next part.