To Thaw A Frozen Heart

~ chapter 2 ~

As I awoke the next morning, my head pounded. Stjepan didn't hold back in the celebrations last night, calling me his hero-(it was only a wolf, but one would swear I had driven off a kikimore!). The celebrations lasted until the early hours of the morning, which, now addressing the throbbing pain in my left temple, was probably not a good idea.  Something shifted beside me, and I froze.

"No...No no no..." I whispered as I slowly turned around around to face my mistake. 

Sure enough, there, in my little bed, lay a man so hairy my comb would break if it even SAW him. I cringed, and slowly tried to leave the bed, bringing my sheet with me. Big mistake. Then I REALLY cringed. I quickly averted my eyes, said a prayer of forgiveness, got changed, and left for work. Thank the Gods I hadn't slept in the inn last night or Stjepan would have lost his mind. The man was like a father to me, and even though I had lived through 26 winters, I was not about to let him know the ins and outs of my personal life.

As soon as I opened the door to the tavern, I was met with the leftover's of last night's party. The tables were all over the place, and the chairs might as well have been on the roof. Luckily, it was a few hours before opening so I had time to clean up.

I let out a huff and went upstairs to my room to change. As I opened the door I was met with the sight of a naked buttocks. 

"OH my Gods I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" I squealed as I covered my eyes with my free hand.

"Oh jeez, right yeah - so, listen, I'm in a teeeeensy little bit of a pickle at the moment" his unusual accent spoke with a hint of humor. "I seem to have misplaced my bottoms..."

I let out a chuckle, before apologizing. 

"Um, okay. Well, look I'll grab you a spare pair from the store - just - stay there, okay?" I replied, not uncovering my eyes.

"No, I intended to parade around the city, showing my bare arse for all to see. Yes, I'll stay here." he said with a recognizable hint of sarcasm.

I returned with a pair of pants and threw them at him. Once he assured me he was dressed, I uncovered my eyes. He had large blue eyes, and lips that seemed to hold a constant smirk. His brown hair was swept to the side, and his clothes - well, they were colorful.

"Greetings, good day, and how do you do gorgeous?" he said as he did a curt bow and stood with a smile. "My name is Jaskier, and I am but a humble bard. Who might you be, beautiful?"

As adorable as I thought he was, it was the 'awh, look at this puppy' adorable, not any other kind. My immediate reaction to him was like walking outside on a warm summer's day.

"My name is Antea o-of Oxenfurt. This is my room" I said awkwardly, not wishing to force him out if he had nowhere to stay.

"Oh! Well dear I am terribly sorry about the confusion - I would apologize, but I'm afraid I didn't know this was your room - I don't even remember how I got to be here, actually..." he said, a confused look appearing on his face as he looked around.  "We're in Oxenfurt, you say?"

I nodded. "Yes, you're in The Alchemist, - it's an inn."

He descended the stairs and I carefully followed. His eyes widened at the state of the tavern below, and I quickly explained the events of last night to him. He bid me farewell, and I got changed and got to work.  Stjepan came in shortly after, pleased that I had begun to clean already.

The day passed by regularly - it was a little busier than usual, probably people who had heard of the previous night's party looking for a good time. It was late evening when the hooded figure entered. I noticed him from the corner of my eye. he must have been at least three heads taller than me, with broad shoulders and two very scary looking swords strapped to his back. 

I approached him, jug of ale in one hand, the other on my hip.

"Ale, sir?" I asked politely.

He looked up, and his eyes met mine. The bright yellow was almost hypnotizing, and I felt a jolt of electricity  shoot through me, before looking away and calming myself. I met his eyes again, and he was looking at me skeptically, like he was trying to read  my mind, before raising his brows and mumbling something that sounded like a 'yes', so I poured him a mug of ale, and excused myself to use the bathroom. As my gaze met the small, dirty mirror, I realised my eyes were glowing the brightest green they had glowed before. Shit.