Polyanna: A Witcher's Mage

20 | Of Southern Regions & Times Long Ago

The sun helped.

It was warm against her skin as Euphemiya lolled her head on her shoulders, trying to enjoy the comforting heat from every angle. 

She expected her thoughts to be full of him, but all she could think about was the sun and the people passing by her. The locals greeted her warmly, familiar with the mage; holding no spite. Toussaint was home for her for a multitude of reasons, one of them being that it was her birthplace; one of the few things she knew of her origin. 

She twirled her finger, her Toussiant red stirring itself as her other hand reached for one of her sliced pears, given to her on the house by the kind patron. Her wolf medallion laid on the table, trembling as her witcher attempted to contact her. The locals paid the magic around her no mind, as the Toussaintois held no contempt for her kind.

"Bad day, my dear?"

As ill-mannered as it was, Euphemiya didn't look up to acknowledge him. She stared at the trembling medallion, unwilling to touch it. 

"Now, now, don't be angry with me. You won, didn't you? Outsmarted me!"

"Your actions were rude and careless," Euphemiya finally said, still not looking at him. "And I did not deserve that treatment, not only in front of my loved ones, but also regarding your respect for me."

"Hm,"

"I have done nothing but listen and train. I have done everything you have asked me to do. I received a vicious attack in return. You owe me an apology."

"You were born in Toussaint,"

"I am aware,"

"Your mother's name was Gabrielle. She was a florist, living and working in San Sebastian," he continued at Euphemiya's astonished expression. "Your father, Cielo, a professor teaching foreign languages."

"And they abandoned me, as you said,"

Gaunter looked at her with pity. "You exhibited magical properties during your infancy. Your mother believed you born possessed; your father, never having seen your magical outbursts, believed your mother was seeing things,"

"And then?"

"You terrified your mother on a particular night. And so she took you out into the woods and laid you, wrapped in a blanket, on the forest floor. You might have been there for only a few minutes before I found you,"

"Was this your way of apologizing?"

"You need to understand where you came from in order to fully harness your powers. It is not a curse, nor a blessing; it is a part of you that needs control before you decimate the world as we know it,"

Euphemiya took a small sip of her wine. "So my outburst, until now, have been average?"

"They have been insignificant. Should you truly lose your way, I will have no choice but to-"

"Kill me," she finished, disregarding how impolite it was to interrupt someone. 

"Yes." Almost tentatively, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I do not want to, my dear. It is the last thing I want even. We do not know what the future holds, nor can we control our destiny." He paused, almost as if hesitating. "I apologize for my actions in Kaer Morhen, but it was necessary." 

An apology with a 'but' is not an apology, Euphemiya thought but she refrained from telling him that. She was exhausted enough from this day and she was in need of a moment alone. 

"Furthermore... Refrain from disappearing from your loved ones. You might never know when you will see them last."

Her eyes passed stayed focused on an unnaturally etched piece of stone in the middle of the square. While strangely etched, the locals seemed to love it; they said that stepping on it would bring good fortune for those who did. 

"Please heed my advice, my dear," Gaunter said. Euphemiya nodded solemnly. He squeezed her shoulder and then, once more, disappeared from her sight. 

Euphemiya averted her gaze from the square and continued her staredown with the medallion on the table. She was so used to the necklace constantly lightly trembling near her chest, that she felt on edge without it. 

__________

A bright brown gaze stared at the courtyard of the fortress of the School of the Wolf. Countless boys of all ages were scattered across the courtyard, all of them with a weapon in hand and sparring with another. The older boys, the teenagers, were more proficient at it, while the younger boys spent more time trying to hit each other's butt than crossing swords.

"Something funny, Euphemiya?" 

She looked up to the witcher standing by her side. He wasn't looking at her, but at his students below. Vesemir's tone was playful, despite his serious expression. As if to encourage her to speak, he glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow. 

Euphemiya hesitated in her answer. On one hand, she didn't want Vesemir to put the boys on cleaning duty. On the other hand, she really wanted to share how funny those boys were being.

"I finished my studies. Did you know that baby rabbits are called kits?" 

" I did, and I don't believe that is part of your studies now, is it?" 

Euphemiya shook her head. " No, I read about flora manipulation." 

A silence fell. Euphemiya's eyes briefly met someone else's; a muscled teenage boy with a short stature. His expression didn't change as she looked at him. The emotionlessness unnerved her to a great extent. 

"Well?" Vesemir nudged her lightly. 

Euphemiya looked at him, unsure of what to say.

"Well, tell me more," he continued to encourage. "Tell me everything." 

She faltered. "Everything?" At his nod, she smoothed out her dress and cleared her throat. " Okay." 

One might say that Euphemiya naturally grew up to be a talkative person; someone who spoke with countless commas and multiple sentences all in one breath. She read a lot of books, spoke to many travelers, did her own share of travels, and lived through many, many events. She, simply put, contained a lot of information. She wanted to share this information through exciting stories, or while simply getting to know someone.

Additionally, one might also say that Vesemir encouraged this trait of hers.

Whoever had this thought was entirely correct.

Euphemiya was still talking when the day reached lunchtime. Vesemir, bless his kind soul, listened patiently and asked his fair share of questions; not only to test her knowledge, but also out of pure interest for the young girl's thought. While the nine year old girl spoke, the witcher was not surprised at how well articulated she was; courtesy of her previous studies at Aretuza. 

He nodded and hummed as he filled his plate with food and, instead of sitting with the leaders, he decided to sit at the table with the young girl instead. He was aware that she had no problem whatsoever making friends with the students and so she never sat alone, always surrounded by a gaggle of boys that were curious about a girl, a mage nonetheless, studying alongside them in the same castle. He would have to keep a strict eye on them, he thought to himself. But today he noted that no one else joined them at the table. Exactly what he needed, a proper conversation during his breaktime. 

"And this was actually in the book! It said that you can't hum when you hold your nose. It was in the author's note- Not in the front of the book, but at the end. There were two! It was in the author's note and he was telling a funny anecdote-" 

"Master Vesemir!" 

The little mage and the witcher looked away from each other, the former pausing her words to allow Vesemir to acknowledge the boy standing in front of them. She met the boy's eyes and her mouth ran dry 

"Meet one of my students," Vesemir started. His strict eyes focused on the young boy in front of them. "Well? Introduce yourself." 

The boy, who hadn't averted his gaze from hers ever since he arrived, straightened his posture. "My name is Geralt!" 

Euphemiya smiled. "My name is Euphemiya."