Anielica

Elena

Geralt had been right about the scenery. He had told her that this part of the country was called Angren. He also said that it was one of his favourite places to come, even though it meant having very little trade.
She could see why he enjoyed it. The wild countryside stretched on and on endlessly. A vast, green sea that contained so many new and wonderful smells and sights. Many miles in the distance she could see mountains. Geralt had called them the Mahakam Mountains.

Khron's temple was in the kingdom of Aedirn, and it would take five days to get there.
Geralt had promised she would have her own horse as soon as they reached the first market. She rather liked sharing Roach with him though. She enjoyed the feel of his arms around her as held the reins loosely. He mostly used his legs to guide the horse, squeezing them together to press gently into the horse's flanks. He was a great rider.
Elena was leaning back into him now, the top of her head coming just below his chin. He smelled strongly of woodsmoke, leather and a scent that was entirely his own. It wasn't a bad odour- it was oddly comforting. It made her think back to last night, when he was shirtless in her bed. What's gotten in to me?
Elena had never felt things like this before. She was shocked at they way her body was responding to him.

Geralt suddenly pulled sharply on the reins, and Roach came to an abrupt halt. "Geralt? Wha-" Geralt hushed her before she could finish. She closed her mouth obediently. Geralt was sitting extremely still, listening intently to what Elena could only describe as silence. But there was something disconcerting about the silence that made the hairs on her arms stand on end. She shuddered. Something was wrong.
In one swift movement, Geralt was on the ground. Something was very wrong.
Elena glanced around nervously, looking for any signs of danger. She watched as Geralt focused his attention to the thicket of woods to the left of them.
"Get down. And do it quietly," his voice was clipped and commanding. She dismounted as quietly as she could manage. She felt even more nervous on the ground. "Get beside me," he was still facing the woods. "Slowly!" He threw her a sharp look as she half ran to him. "Sorry," she mouthed. Scared to make a peep.

The feeling of unease grew stronger as they slowly moved towards the trees. Geralt stopped dead in front of her. Half a second later, he grabbed her and half carried her towards bushes to the right of them. Her feet barely touching the ground. "Geralt?" Elena could hear the panic in her voice. She swallowed hard and tried to slow her pounding heart.
He turned her sharply by the shoulders to face him. He was looking directly into her eyes, he was crouched so his face took up her entire view. The ground seemed to shake and rumble beneath them. "Elena, I need you to to run," each syllable short and snappy. "I need you to run north. Don't go any other direction. Keep running until you see a lake. Do not stop until you get there." The ground was definitely shaking, the rumbling sound was coming from where there were standing a few seconds ago.

Suddenly, the earth spilt open and a huge creature crawled from its depths. Elena could feel a scream building in her chest.
"Fuck," she heard Geralt hiss but she couldn't look away from the creature. It was hideous. It stood ten foot tall, it looked like a heavily armoured spider. It's long legs were armed with sharp, deadly spikes. It opened its fanged mouth and roared. The sound made her blood freeze in her veins.
Geralt grabbed her by the shoulders again, and barked an order at her. She didn't hear it.
"Elena!" He was shaking her shoulders roughly, making her head snap back to look at him. "Run! Now."
"Maybe I can help... My powe-"
"Dammit Elena. Run now! I can't protect you," he snarled. She watched as his  pupil expanded to take up the whole iris. All his gold had been taken over by the black. For the first time, she found herself afraid of him.

She cast one more look at the creature and took to her heels. She didn't look back.
She heard the creature screech wildly and felt it move across the earth. She didn't dare look to see if it was following her. She just kept running. She'd been running for some time when suddenly she remembered Roach. Should I have taken her? She couldn't turn back now.
She kept running until it felt like her lungs would burst. Where is the lake!? What if she'd went the wrong way? She pressed on, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She could still hear the creatures screams in the distance.
How could Geralt over power that thing? He was going to die. Her eyes were blurred with tears, she couldn't see where she was running to.

Finally, she collapsed on the ground. She caught her breath at last, tears streaming down her face. She dashed them away with the back of her hand, clearing her view. Up ahead was the lake Geralt promised. The sight of it filled her with fresh vigour. She got to her feet and ran towards it. Here, she would be safe. Here, Geralt would come for her. He had to.