Hello, Gwynbleidd...

Chapter Five: Hell hath no fury...

Jordan sat staring into the distance, her eyes empty...

Ciri came to sit beside her on the hot stone, "What you said before..." she began tentatively, "...you're coming with us, then?" she asked cautiously.

"Not just going with you..." Jordan sighed, "I'll endure the trials...I'll become a Witcher...I'll find Geralt...and I'm going to help you and Jingles destroy the Wild Hunt," she declared in monotone.

Ciri frowned, "The mutations could kill you, Jordan. Why not just go and remain human...?" she asked in disbelief.

Jordan sighed, "Because the plagues, infections and toxins could kill me just as quickly as a blade or flame. If I'm going to go, I won't have a choice," she grimaced, rubbing a hand down her face.

"You really are a warrior," Ciri smiled wryly and Jordan laughed dryly.

"Even more dangerous than a warrior, Ciri," she smirked, "In my world we have a saying...Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned," Jordan quoted and Ciri bowed her head.

"That is a statement known to all men," Avallac'h spoke up, "Elf, Dwarf or Man," he said, "Come, there are preparations to be made."

They got to work...

***

They waited until high noon of that day before sending up flares, having laid a sheet over Ivana's body with a letter for both Ivana's and Jordan's families and Ivana's dog tags pinned to a makeshift cross, made out of scrap wood from the cave...

Jordan took Ciri's right hand, Avallac'h the other...

The Marine closed her eyes, but still felt the bright light of Ciri's power, then a feeling of weightlessness...

Before hitting the ground...

***

Jordan woke up on lush grass, the smell of lime scale and dust thick in the air...

When she opened her eyes, she discovered that she was in the shadow of a broken tree...

"What-...Is- Is this..." Jordan stammered as her head throbbed.

Cirilla came to stand over her, holding out a hand to her, "Come, we haven't much time here. Avallac'h had to carry you while I fought off the Hunt. We're in Skellige..." she grimaced as she helped Jordan to her feet.

Jordan grimaced, "I feel like a horse kicked me in the head... Did Jingles drop me or somethin'...?" she asked with a groan.

Avallac'h came walking out of a tent, "No, but you did hit your head on a rock when you crossed over to this world," he explained.

"Oh, that's just lovely..." Jordan sighed sarcastically, "Before we do anything, I have a favor to ask," Jordan said, unstrapping her gun belt, then taking off her Kevlar vest.

"What is it?" Ciri asked.

"I need this gun to be melted down, bullets included. No one in this world should have that power yet," Jordan said and it wasn't a request, "Least of all the Hunt," she added.

"Done. Anything else?" Avallac'h inquired.

"Burn my clothes. Even my boots. I can't go walking around in regs," Jordan said.

"I'll conjure something new," Avallac'h nodded, "In the mean time, you can take notes from Ciri while I ready your potions and mutagens...your trial begins tonight," the Elf declared and Jordan nodded gratefully...

***

Jordan took notes on potions and even got a map sketched up...

That night, as Jordan lay on a cot, Ciri sat outside- as instructed by Avallac'h- praying for her new friend to survive as her screams rang out in the night. All the while, Ciri burned her things...

The shrieks of agony were so sharp and stabbing that it even gave Avallac'h a nose bleed...

***

At dawn, when the screaming ceased, Ciri peered into the tent, her green eyes widening as she saw Jordan laying there on a cot, looking limp as a corpse...her once dark blonde hair bleached white by trauma and stress. Jordan lay only covered by a blanket...

Avallac'h meditated at her bedside, muttering an Elvish prayer to himself...

Ciri froze when Jordan's hand twitched, her hair falling out of the way of her face...

Then, the princess saw it...her eyes opened for the very first time as a Witcher...

Her piercing, cat-like...yellow eyes...