To Trust a Witcher

The Rescue

It takes him a mere second to take note of the situation. He glances over to me, finding a red bruised face and neck and a boy holding me down. Then, his gaze moves over to Rascal, who is hunched with one hand on his broken nose and the other holding the knife. 

There is no hesitation in his movements as he swings his sword out of its scabbard and leads Roach towards Rascal. 

Rascal doesn't even have the opportunity to comprehend what is about to happen before his head is detached from his body. 

Johan screams.

It's so loud, it makes me want to cover my ears. 

But I can't. His hands are still wrapped around my wrists and have only grown tighter. His untrimmed nails slide into my skin, and I flinch and try to get out of his grasp.

In a blink, the weight on my stomach is removed, and so are the hands off my wrists. 

I look to the side to see the Witcher with a sword deep inside Johan's chest, the same sword he killed his father with. There's blood trickling down the side of Johan's mouth as he stares at Geralt in disbelief. 

I feel a tinge of remorse after witnessing their deaths. We've killed an entire family today, only because they wanted to steal Cobalt.

And to murder me, I remind myself, and try to shove the feeling of guilt away.

Geralt slides his sword out of Johan's chest and lets him collapse to the ground. Johan's pale blue eyes meet mine. 

His fingers splay out towards me, as if he wants to reach me, but then they drop lifelessly, and his eyes become glossy and unfocused. 

Only now do I realize how fast I'm breathing, but despite how much air I'm breathing, it still feels like I'm suffocating. Geralt approaches me. A shiver runs down my spine as I see his sword trailing a path of red towards me as it scuffs the floor.

"Ciri," Geralt drops to his knees before me. He reaches out and holds my cheek in the exact opposite way as Rascal did, briefly checking the damage, and then my neck as well. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

His mouth is pressed in a thin line, and his brows are slightly lowered. Eliminating the two hasn't completely killed the lividness inside of him. He must be angry with me as well. 

I feel a burning pain at my wrists, so I glance down at them. He catches me doing so and follows my gaze. 

I had been right. They are red, and bloody, and torn. From the rope to the nail in the wall to Johan's hands, they've amassed quite some damage. 

"I'm okay," I say, but this time, I can't keep the tremble out of my voice. I ignore it and push myself up to a sitting position, "Geralt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Please don't be mad."

Now that they're gone, all the tears that haven't fallen yet are making a strong comeback, and I don't have it in me to fight them. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." 

I clench my eyes shut and put my face into my hands. I don't want to see the expression on his face. I don't want to see the utter disappointment. 

I'm sure he regrets convincing me to stay, that time where I wanted to leave. Maybe he will even send me away, and I'll be all alone again. 

I don't want to be alone, but I would understand! I would understand. I've become and unexpected burden- from monsters, to my stubborn attitude, to my stupid nightmares, and to getting myself in trouble all the time. It's not worth it.

I'm not worth it. 

"Ciri, it's okay. Ciri-" I feel his hands on my arms, careful not to touch the skin of my wrists, and trying to tug them away from my face.