Polyanna: A Witcher's Mage

18 | Of Avoidance & Familiar Settings

Euphemiya wiped the flour from her face before she set her hands on her shapely hips, grinning widely at her creation in front of her. She had been up since dawn, despite her need of sleep, but she finally finished.

The dinner table was littered with a variety of food, from dumplings to sandwiches to herb toast and from apple juice to raspberry juice. There was a blueberry pie in the oven and freshly picked flowers greeting them. She opened the doors leading up to the bedrooms and it didn't last long before the witchers were roused from their sleep by the intoxicating scent of breakfast.

"Marry me, I'll give you a good life," Lambert proposed with a mouthful of pork rillette. Euphemiya giggled as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Oh, please, as if you could," Keira bullied, swirling around her apple juice. Lambert ignored her in favor of a honey croissant.

"Is Geralt still asleep?" Euphemiya wondered after debating whether she should ask about him. No one knew what happened in the forest yesterday; the group hadn't even noticed that Geralt and Euphemiya had suddenly disappeared.

The two sat in the forest for a good portion of the evening, only returning when the nightlife woke up and when Geralt became hungry. He had taken her hand in his and they had slowly made their way back to the castle, all in complete silence. His gestures allowed her to believe they were on the same page about their relationship, much to their relief. She didn't want to be unsure about it, especially after witnessing how tumultuous the relationships of Geralt had been. She would have to ask him what he wanted to do about Yenef-

"No, he left with Ciri," Eskel notified.

The sound of glass shattering on the stone floor made everyone pause. Near Euphemiya's feet were broken plates, all broken into many tiny pieces. 

Keira whistled. "There you go,"

"Where did he go?" Euphemiya asked, her hands clenching and unclenching by her sides.

The witchers glanced at each other and shrugged. "Dunno,"

With a swipe of her arm, the glass repaired itself back into dinner plates and set itself on the table. Euphemiya's hands were a little too weak to be holding plates at the moment.

"So he just left?" Euphemiya frowned. 

"All is good. You'll see him in Novigrad, won't you?" Vesemir reassured but Euphemiya was less than assured.

Did yesterday mean absolutely nothing to Geralt? Why would he leave so suddenly after their new relationship, or whatever it was right now. Was he desperate to get away from her that badly, that he would leave without saying goodbye? Even before the kiss, he would always tell her goodbye when he left; he had woken her up to say goodbye, looked high and low for her once, and even pushed back his leave when he heard she wasn't in town once. And now, during a significant moment in their relationship he just leaves?

Numbly, she sat down at the table, piling up her plate with whatever was in front of her. She leaned her head on her hand and sadly began to eat her extensive breakfast.

_______________________________

The travel to Novigrad wasn't particularly tedious, but it was nerve-wracking; Euphemiya hadn't been to the city since her outburst. O'Dimm had said that no one knew of it and that the plaza was as normal, as if there hadn't been multiple explosions, and that the murdered people had simply disappeared. The Novigrad officials called it 'The Blackout of Hierarch Square'. Nothing had been done with it, though, and it was very likely that O'Dimm had an influence on that.

Keira had decided to stay at Kaer Morhen with the witchers. She decided it wasn't her battle to fight anymore and stayed there for safety, she said. So it was only Euphemiya and Zoltan making their way back to the city.

"Ya alright, poppet?" Zoltan asked gruffly. He was helping her get settled in her room in the Rosemary and Thyme, a brothel given to Dandelion by the previous owner. Despite Euphemiya's insistence, Zoltan had carried all her bags up to her room. 

"Yes, completely," she confirmed with an airy nod. Although she felt bad for lying to Zoltan about her feelings, she didn't want to tell anyone about the kiss and her feelings. She didn't want to make anything awkward for anyone. 

The opening and closing of a door sounded through the building. 

"Ah, that should be Geralt 'n Ciri," Zoltan said and he started walking towards the door. "Comin' with?"

Euphemiya fluttered around. "Um, well, no, I-I think I'll be taking a walk!"

Zoltan looked at her in confusion. "After'll the travelin'?"

Euphemiya nodded hastily, thinking of a place she could teleport to. "Yes! See you soon!"

And with that, Euphemiya teleported to the first place she could think of: the closet cupboard of the Seven Cats Inn. She landed with a squeal in the tiny cupboard, unceremoniously rolling out of it when it was pulled open.

"Ah, I thought ya was a rat!" The barmaid, Dionne, laughed before helping her up. Euphemiya wiped the dust from her yellow dress, her cheeks blushing a soft red. "What did I deserve to get da pretty counselor woman here?"

The mage cleared her throat and noticed their proximity; Euphemiya's height caused Dionne's breasts to be right in her face, causing her to flush even further (especially when she remembered her and Dionne's past trysts). 

"Well, I-" Euphemiya interrupted herself with a squeal when Dionne lifted her onto the counter behind her, leveling them up a little but there was still a dramatic height difference between them. "Dionne!"

"Ah, couldn't help it." Dionne grinned and she unexpectedly leaned forward to suckle on Euphemiya's neck before she could say something else. However, Dionne stopped and laughed loudly. "Woah there! That ain't mine!"

Euphemiya was now brighter than a strawberry when Dionne pulled back. The barmaid continued to laugh as she pointed at Euphemiya's neck.

"Hey! Ya replaced me!" 

"What?" Euphemiya gasped, both her hands feeling around her neck. "What? What is it?"

Dionne continued to laugh as she gripped one of Euphemiya's hands and led it somewhere. Her eyes widened when she felt her fingertips ghost over a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. Oh, how could she have forgotten? She couldn't escape Geralt even if she wanted to, especially not now that he intentionally marked her in the forest yesterday.

"C'mon, counselor, ya leave and ya find yaself anothe' babe?" Dionne frowned, mocking her childishly. "Or d'ya meet the love of ya life?" Euphemiya's eyes widened and so did Dionne's upon seeing the mage's shocked look. "Oh shit, ya did."

Euphemiya nearly whimpered on the spot. "I-I'm gonna go now,"

Dionne tried to hold in her grin at Euphemiya's predicament. "Righty,"

"I'll see you soon,"

"Righty,"

"Good-goodbye!"

And as the same color as raspberry juice, Euphemiya teleported her way out of the Seven Cats Inn.