The Sun Shines Differently

Geralt and Renfri

The medallion on his chest is still and quiet, and it's only the rustle of feet through the leaves that warns Geralt of someone approaching.

"You've met with Stregobor."

"I have, Renfri." Her hands are by her sides, not quite going for the sword or the dagger but readying for it. His eyes catch on the asymmetry of her hair, like there's a snarl right against the skin of her scalp on the right side. He waits for her to ask but when the silence stretches on and her hands twitch and there's an answering twitch from the medallion on his chest, he says, "As it happens, Templars are not in the business of taking orders from court mages."

She laughs, an explosive, joyless sound like a log bursting in the fire. "No?" Then she corrects herself, "No. No, they didn't either. What did he tell you, Templar? That I was an abomination? Do you not care? I don't think they cared either."

"It's our job to care," he says, and gets another laugh. His medallion trembles as the light bends just a little around Renfri, like heat haze.

"If I'd had magic back then don't you think I'd have used it?"

He says, "Even a trained mage would struggle to defeat a pair of Templars."

"But I did. Did he tell you that? That I killed them both. Only an abomination could do that. Isn't that right?"

He waits. The medallion stills.

She takes a step forward, a step back. Then she twists her head and parts her hair to show the brand on her right temple. "They thought it would be a waste to kill me. They'd never had a princess before. And once I was a Tranquil no one would know I'd ever been one. But neither of them knew what they were doing. He couldn't manage to both hold me down and hold my head still. Is that why it didn't work? If I let you do it properly-"

"No."

"Too late for that?" She bares her teeth. "That's what my friend said. That they could never burn my will to ashes if I made myself the flame."

"You're possessed, Renfri," he tells her quietly.

The leaves around her feet smoke. His medallion shakes. "Stregobor said I was born a demon but I never heard a whisper before they branded me. Is that why Nohorn came when I screamed? Because I was already a demon myself? Is this your proof?"

"You're possessed," he repeats. Light rolls under her skin like sunlight in a clear stream. "That's all. It doesn't make you an abomination. You're still in control. If you come with me to the Circle-"

The sword she draws ignites as it leaves the scabbard.