"Everyone grab the rope!" Yennefer commanded.
Without hesitation the witchers charged forward and seized the magic rope: the last bond they had with their lost comrades. Muscles tensed at the sudden forward pull.
"We have them!" Ciri cheered through the straining. Her emerald eyes growing larger in anticipation.
Little by little they took ground. The rope tense under the strain began to reemerge back into their realm. Inch by inch they took back what was theirs.
"How much farther?" Lambert groaned, catching another foot of rope around his arm.
"I can see something emerging now," Triss replied enthusiastically. Her auburn curls bounced from the effort and strain.
Indeed a dark mass had appeared on the other side of the bright barrier: albeit slightly distorted. No one could make heads or tails of who it was.
"Pull!" No one cared who called out the commands. Their minds had only one thing blazing through them.
Then the reward became more evident. A hand, as if pushed against a foggy glass. Then another.
"Pull!"
Dark leather arm wraps. Studded leather. Then a torso became more visible. Large and built -- a mans.
"Pull!"
A second figure began to show more detail. They were clinging to the first figure. Their face obscured.
"I swear if that bastard of an elf somehow-"
"Shut up Lambert!" Geralt chided. "We'll deal with that after."
Before Lambert could send back a snide retort the silvery rope gave a final tug and burst. The sparks of magic that bound it together shot out, fizzling to nothing but air. A solid wave of energy pushed out, which for normal humans would have toppled them immediately, however they were not ordinary people. The witchers braced themselves and shielded their eyes from the bright burst: their cat pupils narrowing to the extreme. Triss ducked behind Yennefer's aptly timed shield spell, with Ciri and Avellac'h simply bracing against the shockwave behind a toppled wooden shelf.
The burst's electric pulse was stark contrast to the now deathly silent room.
All went still.
Two bodies lay in the remains of the spell circle. Both were positioned as if they were sleeping: prone and unmoving. Both bloody and ragged.
As the final mist from the spell faded away to reveal the figures hands were interlocked.
"Cass! Eskel!" Triss rushed forward only to be beaten by Ciri a half-second earlier. "Can you hear us? Are they even alive?!"
Ciri placed a hand on Cass' arm. "I -
"Come on old man don't just lie there." Lambert gave Eskel's boot a rough kick.
"Lambert that is enough." Vesemir frowned, displeased in the younger witcher's calloused manner.
Ignoring Vesemir's lecture Lambert gave Eskel's boot another good one. "We just brought your sorry ass back from oblivion. The least you could do is get up."
A soft groan left his lips. "I feel like I've been through 'the killer', and I mean before my training. Go a little easy on me would yah."
"You son of a bitch you're alive," Lambert laughed.
Yennefer tutted at his antics while Geralt placed a sneaky arm around her cinched waist, which received him an overly sensual sideways glance from the enchantress.
"Shhhhh, five more minutes." Cass slid closer to Eskel's large frame. "Sleep good. Moving bad."
"That's nothing a little healing magic can't fix," Triss said with pearly tears at the edges of her crinkled eyes. "Give me a few minutes and you'll both be mobile. As for the rest of you."
She turned to face the large gathering of witchers and mages giving them a look.
"I agree wholeheartedly," Yennefer gestured to the damage. "Now that all is done we ought to take a moment to breath after stopping total destruction in a better location."
"Assuming you're all waiting to be transported back to your needed locations," Avellac'h sighed, "might I suggest a brief repose in the gardens first. Hopefully the exterior of my manor is less mutilated than this."
The chard remains of the glorious room still smoldered in several spots. Tattered tomes littered the cold floors only adding to the stress lines now forming between Avellac'h's brow.
"Exactly, and we can make arrangements for group portals there." Yennefer slid closer to Geralt and gave him a warning glance making his wandering hand return to her waist.
"I will return shortly to send you home Miss Cassiopeia." Avellac'h gave a curt nod and proceeded to investigate the damage to his exterior gardens and the rest of his home.
"Take care of them both Triss," Lambert said rather calmly as he patted Triss' shoulder.
Giving those gathered a quick nod of the head, Yennefer led Geralt and by extension the rest of the party out of the wreckage leaving Triss to revive the battered duo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, I guess this is really the goodbye then." Although healed, Eskel leaned against a makeshift wooden crutch, the wood groaning under his frame. His twisted facial scars stretched to cover his deepening frown.
Avellac'h had reopened the portal to send Cass home, the lazy blue swirls danced in soothing patterns as Cass glanced between her home and Eskel's face. All the others had given them their leave, and now the moment felt all to real. How had she not expected this. Or planned sooner on what to say, or do. She didn't expect things to happen the way they happened, and certainly not what happened in the garden.
His warm eyes fixed on her made a bright feeling bubble within her, but it was quickly overshadowed by the knowledge that it was over. This was all over. They, if there was ever a they, were over. Then the word vomit began.
"We've been through a lot, and honestly Eskel, I wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for you. I think I'm speaking honestly when I say that I don't know what I'll do without you back home."
Just rip it off like a band-aid girl! Say goodbye. What more can come from dragging this out. Only pain, that's what you'll get. What is there for you here? Eskel has a life and a job that requires life and death choices. He can't have some girl hanging onto him at every turn -- holding him back.
What is at home is familiarity and a simple life. Cass, you can just go back to where you started, and live life to the fullest. I just need to end it and go or I'll never... Cass grimaced at her own inner thoughts. I can never... DAMMIT! Clutching her Azalea necklace, hot salty tears began to flow across her cheeks. Her still healing scars tingled, and her heart cracked.
Her voice quivering and low was barely audible. Were Eskel not a Witcher he would never have heard her final words. Small and pained. Soft and broken.
"Live your life, and forget me."
Eskel opened his mouth but the words stopped dead before they could go any further. Cass had already turned and leapt through the rift only to have it snap shut behind her. Only the faintest scent of cinnamon and berries lingered before being swept away by a light breeze.
As the last trace floated away, so too did a piece of his heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fresh pine filled my nose and the cold earth at my back left me soaked. A loud roaring echoed in the distance. Water? A river.
Something large snapped nearby. Large and getting closer. Cold. I was cold. Where am I?
"Over here! We found her! Everyone over here!"
"Call the Air Ambulan-----"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So she's gone."
Lambert strode in, flicking the cork off of an expensive looking wine bottle that Avellac'h had certainly not willingly shared.
Without turning Eskel leaned more into his crutch. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Hey cheer up there'll be a million more," Lambert began, slapping Eskel heartily across the back. "Forget about it Eskel. Have a drink on me."
Pushing the bottle away, Eskel glared down the younger witcher to no avail. Instead with purposeful steps Eskel made for the door. Lambert was not having it, and skirting the edge of a fallen beam followed after and continued.
"Common, don't be all moody, that's Geralt's thing. Tell you what! Why don't we go out, drink a shit ton, get piss drunk and visit the local whore house."
Eskel's hand clenched tightly around the crutch. The longer Lambert droned on the more Eskel could feel something burning up from inside. Ready to explode.
"Dammit I'll even buy you a whore, no no two whores tonight to cheer you up. How about one with extra large tits! And maybe an elf too. Geralt wont join as Yennefer has him by the balls tonight, but-"
Red. Grating. Hot. Rage.
"I said I want to be left alone!" Launching the homemade crutch at Lambert's head it arched, missing the other witcher by a hair. "Dammit Lambert, piss off! I'm heading back. Alone."
Storming off was not Eskel's style but he had had enough. Was it really rage he felt. Then in the moment yes, but now... no, not rage. Not anymore. It wasn't pain either. That was something he was use to. This was different. It left him cold and tired. Dull.
Empty.
And the best way to fill emptiness was with work. Especially if that work was deadly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A blur of bright lights and noise blasted from every angle. People. Chatter. Lights. Loud wailing? No, sirens? Whooshing, like thunder.
"Ma'am can you hear us?"
"I need 50 cc of ---"
No matter how hard I tried everything wouldn't focus. Spots danced across my vision. People loaded me onto a large bed. I couldn't move. My arms and legs were they broken? No, I could wiggle them. Toes too.
"How did she get there?"
"I heard she fell over the falls and must have washed ashore... I suppose, but it looked off to me."
A soft weight pressed on my chest. Silver. I knew it was silver.
"How so?"
"When they found her she looked like she fell out of a tree-"
The conversation was lost in a sea of rocking darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next few weeks felt surreal. I was back in my own world: complete with wifi and indoor plumbing. I could eat food that wasn't an odd brown color, and yet it was a bland ordeal. My first warm bath in a long time almost sent me into paradise. But getting back to sleeping alone felt odd. Not waking in the night to take watch felt wrong. No monsters tried to eat me, so that was a bonus.
I was in the hospital for a few days, and from all the tests it only looked like a mild concussion along with a few bonus scars. Doctors and nurses said I was lucky to be alive, but I heard them talking when they thought I was out of earshot. Rumors about what had really happened. I had been found in the woods far from the river, in a medieval dress, and moaning about excel. I chuckled at the last one... but of course they would gossip.
A soft clatter brought me back to reality. Turning from my now 20 pages of scrawlings on my time with... him, I grinned back at my dotting aunt. The savory smell of her herbal tea wafted up from the antique cup atop the small tray, along with an assortment of my favorite cookies. She always knew how to cheer me up. Freeing an arm from my overly fluffy blanket I reached out for the tea. A single deep sip and I felt the warmth fill me up from my tongue to my toes. Sighing into the cup, my aunt pulled up a small stool and pulled my desk chair around so I had no choice but to face her. This was how we always talked about things she deemed very important - that I was ignoring.
"Cassiopeia, my star child." Wrapping my hands with her calloused and wrinkled hands she pushed on. "Talk, please. You've been a sighing wreck since you came back from the hospital."
"But I-"
"Don't deny it, I know." Her gray brow furrowed in the same lecturing look I got as a child, but this time it held more worry than I'd ever seen.
"I've heard you up at all hours of the night. Tossing and turning, and heaven knows I've seen this before. The way you hold that very delicate necklace and kiss it when you think I'm not looking."
Meeting her gaze fully I realized I hadn't noticed how man new wrinkles there were, and how gray her once midnight hair had become. According to the reports I'd only been lost in the mountains a few days but Auntie looked like it had been a few years. A small piece of my heart quaked at the thought of her panic. The call late in the evening that I had been lost, possibly dead. Now I was home, but shutting her out.
A sigh of acceptance left my chest. I nodded slowly and let my hand wrap around the silver necklace.
"Azaleas," her deep brown eyes twinkled meeting mine, "you must have been important. A flower of many meanings, but primarily both for remembering your home and new romantic passions."
"...well it doesn't matter now. I chose home, I can't go back."
"Tell me about it," she soothed. "I promise I wont judge, or laugh, or -"
"I'll never see him again," I interjected. Then all hell broke loose.
My quivering lip began to slip. Deep shuddered turned into wracking sobs despite my own attempt to stop it. I rocked and let everything fall out. Coughing and gasping between breaths, I rubbed my red burning eyes. The tears fell soaking my lap. I curled into my aunt's open arms. Her soothing words of comfort slipping between my sobs and settling across my heart.
Than it all slipped out. I didn't care if she thought I was crazy. I had to tell someone. All the ups and downs fell into place, the monsters and the journey. The whole story, from the mountain to the magic I could do, to Volyon and whole universes collapsing, but I casually left out the moment I had in the garden alone with Eskel. Even my aunt had limits.
As the the last sniffle died away and my adventure came to an end I wiped a sleeve across my damp eyes. My aunt, to her honor, didn't laugh or scoff. Instead she sat across from me, silently and with a most perplexing look in her wrinkled face. Her eyes were strangely soft.
Without another word Auntie stood up and left the room. Her colorful sundress swaying in time to her uneven steps. I was left alone and speechless: my emotions run dry.
Even Auntie thinks I'm crazy. Just great now I may as well check into a looney bin. How could I have just unloaded all that onto her. I just told her the most unbelievable story of all time.
Slamming my fist into the desk only sent the china clattering, and a half eaten cookie onto the floor. "Even Auntie think I'm insane. What is fucking wrong with me."
"Nothing is wrong with you, but watch that language young lady. Cassiopeia you know I don't stand for crude language in my house."
"Sorry Auntie," I mumbled, embarrassed by my sudden outburst. ' So WAIT you don't think I'm crazy?!"
"Tutt tutt, we're all a little cray here. Now I have something to show you."
Auntie gave me a mischievous grin as she slide back into her chair. A small box inlaid with mother of pearl clutched in her weathered hands. Tenderly she traced the intricate pattern along the top and gave it a nearly invisible squeeze before lifting the lid.
"What's that?" My curiosity had gotten the better of me. Leaning closer I tried to peak over the top of the lid and into the box, only to be scolded back in place.
"This my nosy star child, is my treasure. Call it a piece of my own crazy."
Slowly and as if to increase my tension she pulled a long silver chain from the box and at the end was something I thought I would only ever see in my dreams again - a silver wolf's head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well people asked me to continue so I did... honestly sorry I left it at a cliff hanger, but I got a wee bit distracted with classes and being a depressed bum for a few weeks. I promised myself I'd finish this so I will. Just remember though yall asked for this
Much love to you fantastic readers you. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. :-)