Reincarnation ➵ The Witcher

xlvi.

"ENJOYING yourself?" Edith teased to the white haired man playfully, and he hummed in response. They watched the boisterous atmosphere of the hall commence, and a smile stayed plastered across her face. Geralt's face remained frozen, but Edith's eyes glittered as she watched the hall in an uproar.

"You don't look very happy." Edith pointed out plainly, and she attempted to alter her words to fit the truth, "Well, it's not like you ever look happy anyway." Geralt's gaze drifted to her own, and at his silence Edith continued with her ramble in attempt to gain a single ounce of his feelings, out of a sheer moment of desperation.

"Have you ever felt happy?"

Yes. He seemed to ponder her words silently, and his golden orbs diverted to the ground in thought. Edith watched the shadow of the candle light sweep across half of his face, but the sounds of the crowd didn't seem to falter. A deep longing sat across Edith's chest - and for what, she didn't know. A sea of emotions untangible to even her acted as a blockade, and after a few moments Geralt had mustered the short, appropriate reply.

"No." He rasped, and for a second a small, barely there pain entered her chest at the sign of a slight rejection. She covered it easily with a fake, bitter, laugh, hidden behind a painfully sweet smile. Geralt didn't question it, too busy questioning his own answer to a question he didn't know the answer to. They were both stepping on eggshells around one another, which did little to stop the growing tension.

She mustered the courage to reply, "Sounds pretty boring." Geralt's gaze changed back onto the crowd without a response, and Edith was left gazing at the side of his face in dejection. Her mind wandered into the territory of self doubt, and an argument sprouting from the crowd haltered the course of the venom.

A brown haired man stood up abruptly, and the harsh sound of a cup slamming against the wooden bench echoed throughout the loud hall, "You lie, you little shite!" An accent hung heavily on his words, and Edith watched as a smaller man mirrored his aggressive stance.

The taller man clad in golden clothes continued harshly, "You've never faced so much as a bad meal in your life, never mind a manticore."

A cup of ale hung in Geralt's hands casually, and Edith could see hin watching the events unfold from the corner of his golden irises as the smaller man attempted to defend his words.

"I've had manticores thrice as fat and ugly as you perish under my steel!"

"Under your bullshit, more like. How many stings has it got, then?" The man questioned, attempting to present the lie hidden beneath his words. The Queen of Cintra watched the events unfold silently.

"Two."

The man let out a short laugh of disbelief, "Hah! Go away and shite! It's five. I know. I've actually killed one."

Edith rolled her eyes at the useless brag, and a sigh escaped her lips as she watched a small brawl break out between the two. Yelling began from the crowd, and the Queen chose a suitable time to step in.

"Enough!" She yelled, and the shouting ceased immediately. The pair watched as she began making her way down the small set of stairs, "We have a renowned guest here tonight."

Men turned and glanced back at Geralt at her words, and she continued without pause, "Perhaps he can declare which esteemed lord is telling the truth."

Geralt's hardened gaze did not falter, "Neither."

The taller, bearded man kept his glare pointed to Geralt, but he refused to glance at him. Edith did that for him, as plain and as obvious as can be, but this did little to stop the man retorting to Geralt's declaration.

"Are you calling me a liar, old man?"

Well, he certainly isn't calling you a truther, is he?

"Aah!" The opposing man he once argued against also attempted to disprove Geralt's words, "The Butcher of Blaviken bleats utter nonsense."

The crowd laughed quietly, and Edith watched both Geralt and Jaskier share a quick glance with the latter shaking his head slightly. She watched Geralt pursed his lips slightly in an attempt to bite his tongue from retorting against his favour. His gaze stayed away from the men, slight mocking forthcoming into his words.

"Perhaps the lords encountered.. rare subspecies of manticore." He forced the sentence out, and Edith could read the distate on his face as clear as day.

"Aye." The man agreed, and the crowd murmured at his words quietly.

GUYS IM SO SRRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN LIKE, A WEEK, IVE BEEN BUSY W WORK AND WHEN I HAVENT BEEN WORKING IVE BEEN BINGE PLAYING LEAGUE and rewatching Star Wars for the 1000th time 😂, so im srry ily tho