The Two of us Together

Triss was on her way back to the dormitory, after attending dinner in the dining hall. She had been in Aretuza quite a while now, but she still found it hard getting used to having dinner in a loud and noisy room filled with chattering young girls. The older sorceresses chose to have dinner in their own rooms after all. And Triss could absolutely understand that decision.

She hadn't really been hungry this evening, so that's why she had left the room a lot earlier than the others. Her thoughts had been with Yennefer of Vengerberg the entire time. She didn't really know the woman, but she found her very intriguing. She never smiled, never joined the other girls in fun activities. It was like she lived on her own island.

Of course Yennefer was a lot older then her, and most of the older students were on their own quite often. Still, with her it was different. It was as if there was a storm around her, and anyone who would try to get close to her would get hit with lightning and burn to the death.

Triss had just turned around a corner when she heard a strange noise. She stopped walking and concentrated on the sound. Crying, she concluded after a minute. It was a woman who was crying. It was not a strange sound to hear at Aretuza, a lot of the young girls cried themselves to sleep for the first couple of months. Triss had to admit, with shame, that she too had been one of them.

But what was strange, was that this sound came from a bathroom. She moved towards the door and put her ear against it, trying to hear more. "Worthless, that's what you are. Even after all the magic that Tissaia put into you you're still fat and ugly." Triss couldn't believe what she heard.

She knew that the girl in the bathroom probably wanted to be left alone, but she couldn't. She couldn't just turn her back and walk away. So she took the door handle in her hand and pushed the wooden door open. And when she saw who the owner of the voice was, she gasped.

Yennefer of Vengerberg was sitting on the floor, her face wet with tears. Her body looked skinny and frail and had an unhealthy pale color. She was more bones than anything else. It's was quite obvious to Triss that the woman sitting on the floor before her hadn't eaten in a very long time.

Hearing the door open, Yennefer her face snapped towards Triss. The look she gave her was one filled with a raging fire. "What are you doing here? Leave!'' she commanded, not bothering getting up on her feet. She assumed that her rage would be enough to make anybody go away.

And at first it did, Triss started to turn around when she stopped in her movements. She simply couldn't. "No." she whispered. Yennefer looked at her quite surprised. "What?" "I said no. I am not going away." Triss entered the room and closed the door behind her. She took a few steps towards Yennefer, but seeing the look in her eyes she stopped.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. The other woman got on her feet and placed her hands on her hips. She had a sarcastic look on her face. "Oh I don't know, enjoying some quality time on my own. What do you think, novice. Getting away from annoying students like you who won't leave me be." Triss swallowed, Yennefer her voice was filled with poison. "My name is not novice, it's Triss. Triss Merigold."

Yennefer of Vengerberg just looked at her, and didn't say a word. Triss didn't know what she had to do next, maybe it had been better if she had left when Yennefer had told her to. But then, suddenly, she knew what to say. "You are not fat nor are you ugly, Yennefer."

These words clearly surprised the sorceress to be. Her cheeks turned even more pale then before, and her lips turned into a narrow line. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Triss." She spat. Triss took a few steps towards the black-haired woman, stopping when there was only a meter left between them. "You're right Yennefer, maybe I don't. But I heard you crying and I heard you talking. You are not fat, and you are absolutely not ugly. You are one of the most beautiful sorceresses I have seen, and it's quite common that they are beautiful. And fat, I have no idea where I should look for any fat on your body." Triss spoke, calmly and softly.

Yennefer didn't reply. Instead, tears welled up in her eyes. Triss did not expect this reaction and she didn't know what to do. So she did what her instincts told her. She crossed the last meter between them and pulled the black-haired sorceress into a hug. "It's okay Yenna, I'm here..." she shushed her. "I am here for you and I will help you through this."

First Yennefer's entire body tensed up, but after a couple of seconds being held by her she relaxed and laid her head against Triss's shoulder. "We can do this together Yenna... I'm going to help you get better, I promise." She whispered towards the woman. "But you need to eat, you feel as if I could break you to pieces just by holding you." Yennefer pulled her head back and gave her a weak smile.

"I will try... Every time I see food I hear those voices talking to me, telling me how fat I am and that I don't deserve food..." Triss pulled Yenna back into her embrace, stroked her hair and whispered: "Shhht, it's okay. We can handle this, the two of us together."