The Witcher One Shots

The Woman of Surprise (Request!)

A request for @xStef_26  I hope you like it! I got it finished a bit sooner than expected!

"My lady," the elderly maid shakes Princess Stef awake, "My lady!"

Stef wakes up in confusion, "What, what is it Lidia?" She mumbles, as she looks out her window, "The sun hasn't even risen yet."

"You need to leave," Lidia pulls Stef out of bed, and hands her a green cloak, "Now, the Nilfgaardians are here, they want you dead. The outer rims of the city are burning, Lance will get you out of the city, go!"

Sir Lance, a tall blond man wearing silver knight armor, takes Stef's hand and pulls her out of her room, and quietly down the halls of the dead quiet, dark, castle.

"Your mother told me to tell you to look for Geralt of Rivia, the white-haired Witcher. I have a letter from her, here." He tells Stef as they reach the stables. 

Stef reaches for the piece of parchment, as she hears the screams of villagers. Lance helps her onto her horse.

"Ride, as fast as you can into the woods, I'll find you again, I'll help you get to Geralt." Lance whispers.

"Are you not coming with me?" responds Stef, with fear and worry in her voice.

"I'm afraid I can't my lady, I'll only draw attention." He says, before he slaps the rear of the horse, causing the horse to run.

Stef takes the reins, and rides through the castle to the back gate, that would lead her to the outer villages, and into the woods. As Stef reaches the inner gate she gets hit with the smell of sulfur, smoke, and burning flesh. She gets through the gate as sees nothing but smoke, ruin and black and gold armor.

She gets her horse to run faster, trying to reach the final gate before the Nilfgaardians realize who's trying to escape.

~~~

The orange flaming atmosphere reflects off the puddles of the recent storm, giving off the smell of fresh smoke and clean rain.

Stef sits in the forest on a log, hidden behind a bush in case anyone comes searching in the woods. She cradles herself in her green cloak, quietly crying at the fall of her city, desperately praying she'll wake up from this nightmare.

"Stef! My lady!" Lance's voice echoes through the trees, giving her a bit of hope.

"Lance!" She stands, wiping the tears off her face.

"M'lady!" His voice breaks a bit with relief.

As they make eye contact and start to run toward each other an arrow pierces Lance's chest. Giving a shocked, afeared look, Lance falls into the greenery, letting Stef get a clear look at whoever sent the arrow. A Nilfgaardian archer. Stef whimpers, before sprinting away, making as many different moves as she can, narrowly avoiding arrows flying. Eventually Stef collapses at a clearing in the trees, after she's gotten away from the city. Crying into her cloak she curses under her breath, cursing the Gods, and Destiny. As tears roll down her cheeks, the trees start to tremble as the ground starts to shake. Stef's heart rate heightens as she fears what could cause this. Only to realize, it's her. She's making the ground quiver. She quickly opens the letter from her mother.

"Stef, I'd hoped I'd never have to write this letter, and that we could just ignore Destiny, but alas, we cannot, my dear, if you're reading this, Astra has fallen, along with myself. Your life has changed, and not for the better I'm afraid. The Nilfgaardians penetrated our walls the night of the ball. I wanted you to have peace before the storm. You must find Geralt of Rivia, a white haired Witcher, also known as the Butcher of Blaviken or the White Wolf. He saved our family a while back, and asked for the Law of Suprise, resulting in you. You are his destiny, and he is yours. Find him, find him and everything will be explained. Find him and you'll finally know your true story."