To Trust a Witcher

The Pendulum

I cough into my hand, and when I withdraw it, I see blood. 

Fuck.

I smear it away on my trousers so the two Witchers won't see it. I'm not done with the pendulum yet.

"Is that all you've got?" Lambert jeers and taunts, laughing. 

"Come on, Ciri. Let's go back," Coen says, the sane one of the three of us.

I push myself to my feet, ignoring the way my entire torso screams in pain. I climb up to the stand and watch as the pendulums swing.

Based on my previous experiences, I conclude that evading the first one is easy. The second one becomes more tricky, but every once in a while, I succeed. The third one is where I'm stuck on. I'm so focused on overtaking the second, the third crashes into me every time. 

I'm scared it will hit me again, but the last thing I want to do is catch fear, so I don't listen to my mind. I throw myself forward as soon as the first passes by. The second one is going to hit me- I can see it. Still, I push off the beam and surge by, and I feel it barely graze my shoulder, as I pass it.

There's a short-lived cry of victory in my mind. 

The third one smacks me, and I plummet to the ground, landing hard on my side.

I hold in a groan of pain, knowing that it will give Lambert inspiration for new taunts.

"Is that all you've got, princess?" Lambert chuckles.

My hands are shaking from the effort of pushing myself back up to my feet. I wince as standing causes pain to bloom along my side.

I can't give up. I can't fail my family, my people. All I did was run when Cintra was attacked. I want to get rid of this guilt of not having done anything. I need to face my fears. That will be the only way I can defeat the black knight.

I will train, fight, and harden until I am perfect.

Until I will have the guts to swing my sword at the Black Knight.

It hurts to climb up to the stand, but I do it anyways. 

I clutch my side as I see the pendulums swing back and forth. There's a strong taste of blood in my mouth. I feel something wet along the side of my lip, and I wipe it with my hand.

More blood. I don't have many tries left before I can't move anymore.

Every part of me feels like its on fire. But there's no point in stopping. I'll be covered in bruises tomorrow from head to toe either way. Might as well make the most of it right now.

"Scared, princess?" Lambert yells as he sees my hesitation. "I expected as much. I knew you were just a sheltered, pretentious princess as soon as I set eyes on you. Nothing more than that."

I bite my lip to stop me from crying. He's right. Lambert is so right. I am nothing, but I am trying to be enough. I am trying.

Taking a deep breath, I try to calm down my mind. The world silences around me. I can't even hear Lambert's jeers anymore or the way the obstacles slice through the air. 

I only hear my controlled breath as I exhale. 

It's just me and the obstacle course.

Jumping forward, I dodge the first pendulum. Then, I cross the second one. This is where it gets tricky. Instead of throwing myself forward, I land in a crouch between the second and the third, focusing on keeping my balance on the beam which is difficult, since I come in with such momentum. Being small has its advantages, I realize as neither obstacle can hit me. As soon as the coast for the third one is clear, I lurch forward and land on the opposite stand on my hands and knees.