The song Jaskier sings in this chapter is an adaptation of "Girl in the Tower" by Mark Seibert from the video game King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow.
Outside Brugge, 1241
Robin leaned against Jaskier, hugging him comfortingly. He was staring at the forest that stretched out in front of them.
"Home is just on the other side," he reminded her bitterly.
"I know, Jas."
"What do you think they would do if we stopped by?" he wondered, his voice more angry than sarcastic for once. "Welcome us with open arms? Me with my elven lute and you with your mutant man?"
"It's best not to dwell on it, Jas," she advised him. "They don't appreciate what either of us are or do. But that didn't stop us. We're free, living our lives. Take solace in that."
Jaskier sighed and scuffed the dirt with his boot. "I don't know how you're so calm about it. Father sold you, Robin. Sold you. And then told everyone you were dead, remember? How can you forgive that?"
"I can't, Jas," she replied patiently.
"So what? You're just going to forget it?" he snapped.
"Hardly, Jas," she assured him, not raising her voice.
Geralt sat down across from them, having finished with the horses. He didn't say anything, just watched Robin intently.
"Why aren't you more upset right now?" Jaskier asked in frustration. "Don't you want to march in there and show them how far you've come?"
Robin hung her head. "Of course part of me wants that, Jas," she admitted. "But what good would it do? They don't care, and you're never going to make them. Nothing that either of us has accomplished will ever impress them. I could have saved the world already and they'd sneer at me."
She sighed. "The best thing for you to do is focus on the people who care about you. The people who will support you. I know it's hard, Jaskier, and I know that for you it hasn't been as long since they betrayed you, but if you want to be happy, you have to move on."
"Your sister's right," Geralt chimed in. "You can't control how anyone else reacts, Jaskier. You can only control yourself, and search for people who are willing to accept you the way you are."
"Since when are you the reasonable one, Geralt?" Jaskier muttered.
The witcher shrugged, staring seriously into the fire. "I have a lot of experience in this area," he reminded the bard.
"I still don't understand," Jaskier persisted. "Father stuck you in a tower for a decade. In a fairy tale, that would make you a princess, but you really became more of a cautionary tale, at least for me. Don't disappoint your family, or else they're going to give you away."
"I escaped the tower, Jaskier. I found Geralt. I found you. Yes, I'm traipsing about the world hoping to save it from a dangerous magical plot, but there are worse goals to have. I know it seems odd, but I'm happy, at least for now. So the way I see it, there's no reason to dwell on what didn't work out. Just look forward instead."
Jaskier stood and walked to the edge of their camp. "I wish I knew how," he admitted before going off to be by himself.
Geralt convinced Robin to resist the urge to go after him. Eventually, he came back on his own.
He sat down across from them again and smiled. "Sorry I was so grumpy earlier," he apologized.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Jaskier," she assured him.
"I wrote you a song," he revealed. "Do you want to hear it?"
"Of course."
Jaskier nodded and started to play. The melody was slow and a little sad, and when he started to sing, his voice was haunting.
You seem so far away
And I just need to hear your voice
I just need to hear you say
If you would have me go or stay
He stopped singing, still strumming. "I don't know if it's me or Geralt talking," he admitted. "I haven't decided."
Then he started back in on what was obviously his chorus. Geralt tilted his head to the side, listening more carefully.
Girl from the tower
I'm reaching out
Please tell me what to do
Girl from the tower
I'm calling out
My heart cries out for you
Robin understood what he meant. The lyrics could easily be interpreted as a brother wanting his lost sister back, or a lover pining after someone.
She also objected to the use of the word girl. But when she opened her mouth to protest, Jaskier gazed at her pointedly and said, "Woman ruins the syllables. Suck it up."
She stuck her tongue out at him playfully, rolling her eyes and nodding.
I saw your face
And I felt our souls embrace
If it's not meant to be this way
Why do you haunt me night and day?
Geralt glanced at Robin, taking a deep breath and catching her scent. He knew fate worked differently than Jaskier said in his song. And even then, he thought it was a myth. Something convenient people invented to tie unconnected events together.
But sometimes it was hard to believe she hadn't been meant to find him, considering how they'd met.
Girl from the tower
I'm reaching out
Please tell me what to do
Girl from the tower
I'm calling out
My heart cries out for you
Girl from the tower
I'm calling out
Jaskier ended on a long, drawn out note. He smiled at them both, then went to his bedroll, carefully setting his lute aside for the evening.
Robin watched him until he fell asleep. Geralt kept his arm around her the whole time.
"He'll be all right. It will just take time."
She nodded. "I know."
"It was a lovely song, but don't tell him I said that," Geralt teased.
Robin laughed. "It wouldn't kill you to tell him he's good at it every once in a while," she chastised him.
"Can't go inflating his ego more than it already is," Geralt rumbled, kissing her cheek. "You need some sleep too."
She nodded and stood with him, turning and putting her arms around him. "Geralt?"
"Hm?"
"Can we... pass by Kerack and Bremervoord? Even if there are rumors of work there? I know it's a lot to ask, but..."
Geralt shook his head gently. "It's not a lot to ask, little mage. Of course we can."
"I might be ready to go back there one day, but... not now."
"I understand," he soothed her. "You don't have to explain yourself, Robin. I'm happy to take us in a different direction."
"Thank you."
She rested her head against his chest and he kissed the top of her head, holding her close.
"You're safe with me, little mage. Always. I promise."
"I know, Geralt."
He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroll they shared. She curled against him gratefully as he laid down and was asleep in no time.
Jaskier turned over and looked at Geralt. "She has you wrapped around her little finger and she doesn't even know it."
Geralt shook his head. "She does not. There..."
"Spare me your explanation of why bypassing Kerack and Bremervoord is a good idea. I don't mind at all. And it's just an excuse anyway. You're doing it because she asked."
He turned back over and started to hum. "It's definitely you speaking in the song," he decided. "If she was really trapped in that tower again, or any other, you'd scale it barehanded to get her back."
Geralt didn't bother to deny it. It was true. Just not for the reasons the bard thought.
Love was a foolish emotion, and one not meant for him.
Companionship was well and good. But love was messy and complicated, and he wanted nothing to do with it.
He closed his eyes, his heart beating slowly, and bent his nose to Robin's hair, smelling it as he fell asleep.