Tissaia opened the heavy doors leading into a very worn-down tavern. The women had pointed her in this direction, and for their sakes, she hoped they hadn't led her astray. Yennefer better be here...
"Yennefer? Are you here?" Tried Tissaia, there was no response.
"Piglet!" She hissed. "You would do well to respond, It's been a rather tiresome day..."
"You don't need to yell, I'm here," Yennefer replied, sounding unconcerned with the arrival of her former teacher. Almost like she expected her to come.
"Where? Tell me this instant," replied Tissaia. Not getting a reply, she tried again. "I am not against tearing down every door until I find the one you are hiding behind." She hoped that it wouldn't come to that, she didn't need the locals talking about a crazy witch tearing down doors.
"Calm yourself, rectoress, I am upstairs in bed. I will not bother to come down, it is all too comfortable here. I would rather you not come up either, I am not proper at the moment. I would rather if you just left. There is no need for you here."
"I am coming upstairs, Yennefer," was Tissaia's reply, her voice hard and unyielding, ignoring Yennefer's wishes.
Once again, no response.
Tissaia was growing tired, not even five minutes spent near Yennefer and she already felt a headache coming on. She started making her way up the stairs of the tavern, the steps creaking as she stepped on them. Water was dripping on the floor, some poor maid was going to have to clean that up. She made it upstairs before realizing that she didn't know which room Yennefer was in, groaning to herself she briefly considered asking, but decided not to. Looking around, seeing only seven doors, she concluded that locating Yennefer wouldn't be too difficult. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before uttering a few words. One of the doors furthest away started glowing. That was it. Walking past all the other doors, briefly wondering what kind of people it held, she continued until reaching her destination.
She didn't bother to knock, she simply opened the door and walked in. There was no protection, no barrier of any sort, which was unusual, to say the least. It wasn't even locked, which baffled Tissaia.
Yennefer was laying in bed, her dirty dress not taking away from her beauty. Still, it made Tissaia eerie, it didn't take much to get out of a dress, which meant that Yennefer was exhausted, or worse; hurt.
"Why are you being this careless, Yennefer? There is no protection here, you didn't even bother to lock the door," asked Tissaia, her voice calm and controlled.
Yennefer looked over at her former mentor, she looked like shit. Her normally beautiful dress was soaking wet, traces of sand visible. Sand? She wondered. Where in god's name had she been? Did she take a trip to the beach and fall into the ocean? One could even argue that Tissaia looked even worse than Yennefer, her hair sticking out of her bun in all directions.
"Did you have a beach day? It's rather cold outside, don't you think? Still, what do I know, maybe that's how you uphold your cold demeanor and no-nonsense attitude?" Yennefer replied with a laugh.
"Also, I must say your voice sounds as lovely as ever, Tissaia. It's quite nice to hear it in person, not just in my head," she added. Yennefer changing the subject was nothing new, but Tissaia had no patience for it now.
"Just answer me, please." sighed Tissaia, shaking her head, choosing not to comment on Yennefer's change of subject.
"Fine. I am not feeling all that great. I seemed to somehow have managed to get pierced by a flying knife whilst teleporting, that might make you feel like shit, you know?" Yennefer answered, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"What?" Worried eyes scanned Yennefer, before walking with fast strides towards her. She sat down and instantly began examining her. She found the wound, it wasn't life-threatening, but she had lost a lot of blood. That was no doubt the reason that she was hiding in this shithole of a place, she couldn't portal away, she was stuck here.
"You have lost a lot of blood, Yennefer." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"Yes, you are as perceptive as always, rectoress, but there's no need for worry, I will be fine. I was never in any real danger, you know that right? You didn't need to come here." Replied Yennefer, her voice gave nothing away. She didn't feel the need to tell Tissaia how all of this was making her feel, it would do neither of them any good.
"You must have learned by now that you cannot lie to me, Yennefer," Tissaia said whilst eyeing her former student carefully, shaking her head at the attempted lie.
This must have upset Yennefer, the atmosphere in the room changed. Yennefer was no longer looking as playful and uncaring as she had just a few moments ago, she looked furious. It took Tissaia by surprise, was it that easy to upset her these days? Tissaia was sure she was thinking about conjuring up a portal and send her on her ass back to Aretuza. She probably could, had she not lost all that blood.
"Why even bother asking then? If you are just going to force yourself into my mind and take the information as you please? why even bother?" Yennefer spat out, looking straight at Tissaia. Her beautiful lilac eyes shining darker than usual, seemingly filled with hatred for her former mentor.
"I did no such thing, you let me in, you always have. Consciously or not, you opened your mind to me."
"Fuck you!" Yennefer spat out, looking Tissaia dead in the eyes.
Tissaia raised her eyebrow but said nothing.
"Fuck you," echoed Yennefer, frustrated by the lack of response from the woman who stood in front of her.
"I heard you," she answered calmly.
"Fuck you, and to hell with your fake calm demeanor. I know you're mad, I can tell." Yennefer couldn't tell, but Tissaia didn't need to know that.
Tissaia chose to ignore her childish outburst, It was not the first time Yennefer decided to throw insults at her, it happened rather frequently when she was her student. Tissaia found it incredibly frustrating to deal with her. Still, when thinking about it, really thinking about it, she realized she wouldn't have it any other way. When she first came to the conclusion, it took her by surprise. Deep down she knew Yennefer was more to her than just her student, but she couldn't admit it to herself, not when she was still her student. She wouldn't have been able to do what was necessary, to make sure Yennefer had what it took, had she failed, Tissaia would've never forgiven herself.
"You are injured, exhausted and upset. I will let this slide, but only this once. I suggest you get some sleep, we can continue this conversation in the morning. Good night, Yennefer." Tissaia turned around, leaving no room for further argument.
Yennefer stared at her, mouth wide open, she wanted to continue arguing, but she had no words. She had tried to get a rise out of Tissaia, but the woman was as in control as ever. Yennefer would never admit it, but Tissaia was right, she was exhausted. She needed to gather energy, then she would fight back, she would not give in to her, not anymore. Too much time had passed for Yennefer to give in to Tissaia's every command, she was not the girl who was taken against her will, the girl who tried to kill herself, she had power now. She intended to use it.
Tissaia walked away from Yennefer, heading for the door.
"I will get a room for myself, there is no need for us to share. I will see you in the morning," she opened the door and left. Yennefer looked at her walking away with a smirk playing at the corner of her lips, did she actually think that Yennefer would remain here like some nicely behaved puppy? No, she would rest a few hours, then she would leave. She was not interested in another lesson or scolding from Tissaia, she's had enough of those for a lifetime.
She closed her eyes, sleep taking a hold of her almost instantly. She dreamt of her childhood, her pain, hopes, she even dreamt of Tissaia. The woman who saved her life, not only once, but multiple times.
-
She came to, groaning in pain. Both of her wrists ached like crazy. She started moving and fumbling around frantically, wondering how she was still alive. Her hands were bandaged, but she could still see the blood. She let out another groan, louder than the first, desperate. It almost sounded like a cry, like a wounded animal in distress. This was not a dream, she was alive. She had failed.
"It did not work," a woman said, sitting on a chair next to the bed Yennefer was laying on. "It did not work," she repeated. "Not because you did not try, you cut yourself deep, accurately. You should be dead, you would have been, had I not intervened."
The woman was beautiful. Her dark hair was tied up neatly in a bun, thin lips pursed, not in disgust or irritation, she was focused on the task at hand, focused on Yennefer.
Yennefer stared numbly at the ceiling, ignoring the woman for now. She was thirsty, so very thirsty. Her lips felt like sand, but her pride would not allow her to ask for water. She used her tongue, trying to wet her lips, to get some relief. It helped, if only for a second.
"Look at me," said the woman. Yennefer reluctantly did as she was told. She looked hard, searching the woman's face, looking to see if she was like everyone else, they all found her disgusting. After staring at her for quite some time, longer than she probably should have, she came to her conclusion; this woman was different.
"I will take care of you, Piglet," the woman said, surprising Yennefer, who had the realization that she didn't doubt what she said, not even for a second. Her voice sounded more sincere than anyone she had ever met, and she had met a lot of people.
"It won't be easy, I must be as hard on you as everyone else, perhaps even more so. Do not think for a second that I do it out of spite, everything I do has meaning, do not question it. Do you understand?" the woman spoke, radiating power and authority, Yennefer nodded her head quickly.
"Going forward, a verbal response will be expected when I ask a question. However, I will let it slide this once, only once." The woman stood up to leave. "Who are you?" Yennefer asked quickly, her voice dry and quiet, making her unsure if the woman had heard her.
"Tissaia de Vries, rectoress of Aretuza."
Tissaia de Vries. Yennefer wasn't sure why, but she suddenly had the urge to please her, to prove herself worthy of her affection, which was odd considering the woman had just bought her for less than half the price of a pig. Not to mention the fact that she didn't know her. Still, should affection not get her the attention that she so desperately needed, she would have to resort to a different tactic. Maybe she could act out of line? Get in a little bit of mischief? Having Tissaia angry with her, even as terrifying as she was, had to be better than not getting any attention from the woman at all.
-
Yennefer woke up, tears making their way down her cheek, no doubt caused by the dream she just had. It had been a while since she had that particular dream. She used her left hand to wipe the tears away, feeling pathetic whilst doing so. She got up, her aching body protesting against the movement, still, she kept moving. Making it to the door only for it not to open. What the hell? She thought, had Tissaia cast some sort of barrier around the room? Locking her in like some sort of princess in a tower? Or a misbehaving child? Yennefer tried wiggling the handle a few more times just to be on the safe side, but the door remained locked.
She then tried chanting some incantations, hoping she had regained enough energy to undo whatever Tissaia had done. No such luck, she gasped in pain and sat down on the floor. Tissaia would pay for this, she had no right. She chuckled to herself, she should've known better, Tissaia was too smart, she wouldn't leave her unguarded, she knew her too well. Realizing that she was stuck, she saw no other option besides going back to sleep. She made her way towards the bed, furious with herself for even bothering to get out of it in the first place. Almost in reach of the bed, she tumbled forward, her body hitting the mattress with a soft thud. She closed her eyes, exhaustion making her fall asleep instantly.
A few doors down, Tissaia was finishing up her bath, feeling better now that she was clean. She suddenly froze, noticing a strange presence outside her door. Whoever it was, they radiated of anger, she could feel it through the door.
She quickly waved her hand, the now clean dress reappearing on her body. Not even a second later she heard a loud thud which was quickly followed by another one. When the third one didn't come right away, she thought that whoever was on the other side had given up. Maybe it was just a drunk man, or woman for that sake. No such luck, the third thud was even louder, and the door came crashing down, revealing who was on the other side.
Tissaia's eyes widened in shock.
Shit