Anielica

Geralt

It was a cool, calm morning.
Geralt was walking through a very old forest. He hadn't been in this part of the woods for over forty years. Not much had changed in that time.
The willows were older, taller but the sun still shone through the leaves, in that magical way he remembered. A fresh north wind blew through their wide branches, sending large leaves soaring to the forest floor. His boots crunching softly over the green carpet they made.
The birds had taken up their morning symphony. Further away, he could hear the telltale babble of the brook. Geralt sighed, contentedly- thankful for the peace being in the forest always gave him.
This one was especially beautiful. No humans- or monsters- for miles. Just leagues of undisturbed nature.
He tuned his hearing towards the brook and began to walk. "Come on, Roach," he called gently over his shoulder. The large, brown mare snorted, tossed its head and followed obediently.

Geralt luxuriously stretched and flexed his stiff muscles as he walked. Being on the road and sleeping on the hard forest ground for weeks, left a cold ache in his body that didn't want to leave. Stretching like this helped take the edge off but what he really needed was a warm bed or some strenuous exercise. He had expected to encounter at least one monster on his travels, but his journey had proved unfruitful so far.

They hadn't been walking for long when an unexpected clearing made Geralt come to a halt. Roach also stopped beside him.
In front of him was a large gap in the trees he hadn't seen before. He reached out with his enhanced senses and felt... nothing.
"Hmmph," he sounded, his eyebrows furrowing. Surely he would have remembered this part of the forest from his last visit.
The clearing itself didn't look man made, it was a meadow. It was circular and about half a mile in size. The meadow was littered with wild flowers, varying in species and colours.
It would have looked completely natural, if it weren't for the small stone cottage that lay on the meadows outskirts. Now that definitely wasn't here the last time.

Geralt began his approach to the cottage slowly. Roach, trailing behind him faithfully.
He had got about half way when a sound made him stop. He had heard movement in the cottage. He sent all his power to his ears and listened.
He heard a steady heartbeat, light breathing. Humming? It was a woman's voice. The rhythm of her heartbeat told him she was human.
He relaxed his senses and made his way towards the cottage, deliberately making his movements slower, and somewhat louder.
He was almost at the cottage door, when suddenly it opened and out stepped the woman.
She stopped humming when she seen him, and he stopped moving.
She was small- no taller than five foot he calculated. At first he had thought she was a girl. Her small, round face was framed with long brown hair that fell in waves to her narrow waist. Her eyes were slightly slanted, and blue. Her prominent cheekbones were flushed, the same colour as her full lips. The bottom slightly fuller than the top.
Her frame was slender but he could see the curves of her breasts through her white dress. This was no girl.

They just looked at each other for some time. Geralt was about to speak, just as the young woman was also about to speak. She smiled shyly at him, showing two rows of perfect teeth. "Hello," she said in a quiet musical voice.
Geralt couldn't tell what age she was. Her voice and face gave the impression of a young girl, but her body was that of a woman.
"Good morning," he said, "I'm Geralt."
"Who's your friend?" She asked, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Roach.
Geralt felt a smile pull at his lips and turned to his horse. "This is Roach," he said. The mare tossed her head playfully as if introducing herself.
The woman laughed prettily. Geralt felt himself smiling in response. She looked at him for a moment, studying him, before saying, "Would you like to come in? You look like you need some food and rest."
"I would like that very much," replied Geralt. It came to him with a shock that he meant it.
She gave him the same shy smile, as she stepped aside, making room in the doorway.
"Please," she said beckoning him with her hand, "do come in."