Geralt instantly scowled as he stared down at this small town member, he was in no way pleased with the fact that this monster was a vampire. He especially noticed that Jamie had grown very nervous as she laughed awkwardly.
"Geralt?"
"No." He said instantly, "I won't accept your coin." With that he got up and had every intent of getting the hell out of this town.
But he stopped as he felt her hands wrap around his arm, having to use both to fully grab him, "Geralt-"
"The answer is no, Jamie."
"But why?" Jamie stood firmly, despite her small stature she was still somehow able to do this unflinchingly, "These people are obviously scared, Geralt. They need help. You're going to not only help but get paid. And come on, I've been with you long enough to know you care enough about people."
Geralt released a long sigh through his nose, "You won't let me live this down if we leave, will you?"
"I won't." She says with a snicker, she brought her arms behind her back with a cheeky smile on her face. Which almost made Geralt crack a smile. "If we leave now, I will forever bring this up and use it to make you feel terribly guilty. So?"
Geralt stared down into her eyes with pure amusement, but he didn't have that same feeling of irritation when he first met her, "Fine."
"Thank you, witcher. Thank you-"
Instantly, Geralt shot a look down at her, "You're staying here."
He watched as her face dropped, "What? Why? I want to help, Geralt." She followed behind him like a little puppy, "I can help. You just need to tell me what to do-"
As to teach her a lesson, Geralt grabbed hold of her and flipped her easily, but made sure to carefully drop her to the ground. A long groan left her mouth, which made Geralt's jaw tense up. He pulled his sword out and pointed it down at her so she wouldn't get up.
"That wasn't funny."
"Wasn't meant to be." Geralt says calmly while retracting his blade, reaching down to help her up, "You come out with me and you will easily die."
"I- Well, I-I wouldn't say that. I mea, I haven't died yet when I'm with you-"
"You were just lucky." Geralt, in no way, wanted her anywhere near vampires. He couldn't just think about protecting her with a vampire around, "Stay."
"Stay." Came her mocking voice, he watched as she twirled her back to him. Her body was tensed up, clearly a little aggravated.
Geralt watched her go for a couple of seconds before he released a sigh, "Jamie."
Jamie barely turned around before he tossed a small coin bag at her, "What-" She caught it easily but stumbled from not expecting it.
"Get a room. I'll get you once I'm through."
Geralt wasn't so sure about leaving her alone, but whenever she was around him during something dangerous she was always somehow in the middle of the situation. Despite seeing how she was able to handle the elves, Geralt was still wary. She was pretty young and small, Jamie could easily get hurt if he wasn't too careful. And with a vampire as well. Geralt didn't know what kind of vampire he was dealing with so there was no way he would let her come out here with him.
He paused after making it out pretty far into the forest. Geralt was following this strong scent of blood. He stopped at the end of an entrance to a small cave, barely able to fit himself inside due to his height and stature. Geralt had to bend his back just to get inside. While he stared at the mess in front of him, he noticed something similar in every victim so far.
They were all female. Feminine clothing was discarded on the ground, most soaked in blood. Kneeling down, Geralt picked up some of the cloth noticing traces of hay and alfalfa clinging to the soaked fabric.
"Hm." Geralt figured there were very few places in this town that could have these mixtures. Following his gut, which was usually correct, Geralt found his way to an old farm. Long abandoned, either due to the owners being murdered or fleeing of fear of the vampire.
"Oh, damn-" A distorted female croak sneared from within as he stepped inside, his sword already out, "I was hoping you'd arrive after I'm through." Her skin was an ashy pale grey, winked in some areas and she was completely bare. Her finger was in her mouth and had blood dripping down her chin, "She tastes pretty good, by the way. Wasn't the flavor I was expecting at all."
Geralt finally tore his stony gaze away from the vampire to see Jamie's body in the hay, but her chest was still moving up and down. He felt himself react before he could even think. His eyes had widened for a split second before he just went after the vampire. He had no clue how long he fought her but in the midst of it the fainted voice appeared.
"Geralt?"
The vampire twisted her head to the side at the noise, shrieking loudly at Jamie as she stood up. Her form wobbled a little bit, with one hand pressed down hard against her neck. Due to Geralt getting distracted by Jamie waking up, he was thrown back by the vampire.
With a grunt, Geralt got up and glared darkly over at the vampire, he picked his sword up and as the vampire clung to Jamie, tearing her open once again, he threw his blade. Slicing off the very arm that was holding onto Jamie. He was furious, irritated even. He heard the screams from the vampire, he followed the vampire out of the bard.
And after dealing with the vampire the way he knew best, Geralt came running back into the barn. Covered in blood as he dropped his sword onto the ground, "Damn it, Jamie!" He knelt down and lifted her up in his arms, helping her sit up.
She only released a tired laugh, making him roll his eyes because even at this time she was still somehow smiling at him, "I've been telling you to train me."
Instead of responding to her Geralt ripped part of Jamie's shirt off to tie around the wound on her thigh. He didn't even care about dealing with the vampire's body, he needed to get Jamie fixed up. He wasn't sure how long she'd make it while bleeding out like she was, even if he did believe she had some sort of magical tendencies. He even used one of his potions on her, making sure that she would heal faster than normal, in addition to seeing how her body would react to it.
"Are you mad at me?"
Geralt didn't look at her as he helped her stand, "No."
"But you're upset."
His eyes connected with her, his scowl deepening, "What kind of person would I be if I was not upset over you being injured?"
"An asshole." Again, she had a grin on her face, making Geralt twitch uncomfortably, "Which isn't what I'm saying, by the way. I was just saying... are you upset specifically with me."
"No."
"That's a good thing. I don't know, I was honestly going to get pretty upset with you if you were upset with me."
This piqued his curiosity, "Why?"
"I did nothing wrong." She mumbles with a long and soft groan, Geralt feeling her body tense against his, "I made conversation... and she like... attacked me. I didn't know she was the vampire."
Geralt did not say anything to this, he just scowled to himself. Because if he didn't leave her side, or forced her to leave his she wouldn't have been in this situation. The danger of her being alone was higher than anything now. And it was also because he refused to train her to at least protect herself long enough for him to know that she was in a dangerous position.
Getting her to a doctor, Geralt set her down and watched the male doctor closely as he cleaned her wounds. His arms were crossed over his chest, overly intimidating for no good reason. Jamie didn't really notice because that just felt like normal Geralt. But the doctor was definitely pretty nervous.
He had probably heard Jamie exclaim "Ow" about twenty times while the doctor stitched her up. Her cheeks were puffed out as she tried her best to refrain from complaining about the pain, which in turn made her look very childish. Though, Geralt was pretty shocked at how well she handled it all.
The doctor sat back once he was done, his eyes shifting right over to Jamie, "There-" He set a type of poultice over it and then bandaged her leg up, "What about your neck?"
"It's fine." She responded quickly, her voice full of breath.
"It's stopped bleeding, just slap a bandage over it. Let it scab on it's own." Geralt informs the doctor, watching as the man shifted a little uncomfortably, "Is there a problem?"
"Well, it was a vampire-"
Geralt was sick of people always assuming things about monsters, especially when people were incorrect, "She's not going to turn. Bandage her."
The doctor listened to him, too afraid to interject anymore. And despite the fact that Jamie made it very clear she wanted to be the one to walk; Geralt picked her up in his arms. She overdramatically threw her head back to look at the sky, wincing in the process due to the pain in her neck.
"Can I ask a question?"
"You'll ask if anyway, won't you?" He knew this by now. She didn't exactly refrain from asking him questions at all, she rarely got answered but she's still bringing them up to him.
"Guess that's true." He caught the small and very genuine grin on her face, "Uh, when... What does the saliva do to a person?"
"They make you have nightmares." Geralt answers her, eyeing her for a moment as he watched her scowl, "Did the vampire do this to you?"
Pondering for a moment, "I think so... It's supposed to be a nightmare right?"
"Yes." Geralt studied her for a moment, having to take in the fact that she had been under the influence of this vampire, "What happened?"
"I saw my home..." Jamie whispers softly to him, bringing herself up on the bed slowly, dropping heavily down on the pillow despite her wounds. But her eyes were still connected with his, "I woke up... at the last moment that I was there. That I just had some bad headache and I never came. I got to see my friends again, it felt like no time had passed at all. Then I got to go home, see my mom and my little brother." She had a sad smile on her face, "But the second I realized something wasn't right... they all began to yell at me. To hit me. So I don't-"
Geralt shifted where he stood when she covered her mouth to block a sob.
"Don't-" She sat up, wincing at the quick movement, holding her arms out reassuringly to Geralt, as if he cared or was offended by her words, "Don't get me wrong I-I'm not saying I don't want to be with you or around you. You're my friend and my family here. I wouldn't want to change that, I just... I miss them..."
He had always seen her smiling and happy. With a smile on her face, but here she was continuously wiping her eyes to get rid of the tears. Geralt shifted again, he didn't like it. Slowly, Geralt tugged his armor off, discarding it all on the ground. He was just as dirty and bloody as Jamie. He wiped at the dirt and blood on his face before he crossed to the bed.
He watched as Jamie grew confused, sniffling loudly and wiping her nose, "What are you doing?" Her head tilted to the side at the sight of him getting on the bed, "Geralt, what-"
Geralt just pulled her into his arms, forcing her up against his chest with a long sigh. She was small but at the same time she somehow just fit with him.
"What..." Jamie's voice was full of absolute confusion, "What's with the hug?"
He already felt wrong doing this. It was foreign of him. "Just be quiet."
And she listened to him. Geralt felt her adjust herself so she wasn't so uncomfortable, but he felt how her body was against him. And despite having the intention of just wanting her to feel better, he couldn't stop his mind from traveling to the fact that she was not a child. In his thoughts, he heard her breathing settle down, meaning she had fallen asleep.
Geralt sat up, staring at the roof as he listened to Jamie's breathing. He glanced down at her, moving his hand up to brush her hair was his hand. He had this overwhelming feeling in his chest, one that he wanted to ignore and not feel. The second she started to talk about her home he felt it. He felt it when she said that he was her family here. He knew he felt it.
And he had even decided to downright ignore the feeling. He didn't need this nor did he want to deal with it whatsoever. But here he was holding her anyway because she was crying in front of him. Because she was sad.
Shifting a bit, very carefully, Geralt set her down on the bed and got off. He glanced back down at her, brushing her hair back from her face. His fingers lingered for a moment before he withdrew.
He felt like something was wrong. He didn't just withdraw from her face, he retracted like he was scalded. Geralt had known Jamie for a few days, almost a week or so. And he was only now realizing how attached he was to her. And he was more worried that he was feeling this way due to the fact that he wasn't used to someone caring for him like this.
Geralt walked back and fell on the extra bed, staring at Jamie's sleeping form. He needed to sleep this off, wishing that it would just disappear with rest but now he was aware of it all. He dropped back onto the bed himself and fell asleep after a few minutes.
He shifted, noticing now that Jamie was sitting up. Meaning, he must have been asleep for a while now. His eyes connected with hers, now both of them knew the other was awake, "How are you feeling?"
"You know-" There was that optimistic lop-sided smile she always had on, "Pain, but that's fine. Since I'm not dead." He was actually happy that she was all smiles again, but he'd probably never tell her.
"I'm having a sword made for you." Geralt says calmly, shifting on the bed so that they were now facing one another. "But for now, I'll show you with my own."
Jamie perked up but released a groan as the pain hit her, "You're gonna show me how to fight?" Her voice was even bright and ecstatic, "I'm so ready."
He knew this kind of happiness, but Geralt needed her to know that this wasn't going to be what she thought, "It's not as easy and fun as you think, Jamie."
"I know that." She tapped her feet on the ground, almost like a tune, "I'm just happy I'll be able to do something to help soon. Thank you, Geralt."
Geralt didn't say anything yet, his eyes locked onto her smiling lips and he rolled back over so he was no longer facing her, "Get some rest, Jamie."
"Sir, yes sir."
He breathed in deeply and shut his eyes, he needed to see Jamie as that child again because now his mind was wavering to things that shouldn't.
Well, this is something. I kind of like writing in Geralt's p.o.v. Especially now that he can't unsee Jamie as a woman and not a child. And tell me why I am so stuck on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? Like, I am borderline obsessed now.
Well, thanks for listening to my rambling notes here at the end. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.