Red- The Witcher

Free

Cirilla

"Somebody find Sage Anika!" I heard someone yell. "Sage Anika is wanted!" My face had been planted on the cold ground from the jump and I quickly got up, dusting off my clothes. Just like the other day, I woke the banshee up.

"Where are we?" her voice croaked.

My eyes panned around from the spot of hay we were in. They trailed up to the familiar castle and I gasped, "Cintra."

"Not anymore," she said. "It's being run by Nilfgaard and Elves."

"And... they're looking for you."

"What?"

"Yes, the town-crier just announced it," I told her.

"And I know well they'd want you too," she said. "I don't blame you for bringing us here, it's your only sanctuary." She took my hand and we turned out of the dark corner. Neither of us had hoods on so we had to keep our heads down.

"Where are we going?" I whispered, keeping up with her.

"To my son."

"I'm not going to him," I said, stopping. She halted and turned to me. "How do I know you're not going to choose him over me, again?"

"You don't," she breathed. "But you trust me enough to follow."

My eyebrows furrowed, hating that she was right and I clenched my fists and released them, continuing to go where she led me. We went up the castle steps, her taking a few guards out with a silent yet powerful scream to leave them unconscious and I felt useless without enough training.

At one point, a guard had attacked me from behind as we were running through the halls, and I drew his sword and punctured him through the abdomen. Sage stared at me as I looked at him and she grabbed me by the arm and we continued.

"Cahir!" she whispered-shouted. "Cahir!"

"Mother," he stated. "What are you doing here? They've just set out-" When I came into view, his face grew disgusted and he pointed at me. "No."

"Cahir."

"You've adopted an adolescent," he stated. "You know that the Emperor would kill me for aiding and abetting her. She is my quest."

"You don't even know what that man wants," she spat.

"You should not be the one talking," he began. "You lied to Francesca and now she wants your head."

"Then let her have it, she would go mad when I don't stay dead."

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why does the Elven Queen want you and what does the Emperor want with me? I've been set to be taken by someone else."

"The Emperor..." Sage whispered. "Emperor." Her face fell to sadness and a hint of overwhelming. I watched as her hair went a solid white and the tears in her eyes went gray, her skin shriveling up, and the only thing that looked alive was the tears that poured from her eyes. Her mouth fell agape and she let out a groan, loud and painful, and as her legs grew weak, Cahir and I helped her to a bed.

"What is that noise?" a woman's voice spoke. I turned to see the mage, Fringilla, standing at the doorstep and I quickly got up. "What the fuck are you doing here?! Cahir?"

"Fringilla, come inside," he said coarsely, closing the door behind her.

"Why are you protecting her?" she inquired. "Has your honor for the Emperor faded?" I noticed that at the sound of his name, Sage would make a noise. "What's wrong with her? Has Francesca put her in a delirium?"

"No, j-just," Cahir stuttered.

"Emperor Emhyr," I stated.

The banshee resurrected from her state. "Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, the White Flame is near. He is the King of Nilfgaard, orderer of the mercenaries, killer of-" she stopped talking when she snapped out of her trance, a deafening keen, escaping her mouth.

"Over here!" I heard guards yell. I was able to resist her voice and drag her off the bed. A portal opened in front of me and I saw Fringilla trying to close it but Sage's scream was too powerful. I pulled Sage in and I saw Francesca come in before I went through.

We landed in the dirt of the patchy grass and trees and I could still hear shouting. We had landed on the outskirts of Cintra and they had already seen us. Guards were already coming to us and I didn't have the strength to transport us again.

When a horse came to me, I got onto the back of the rider and to his sword, killing him. As I pushed him off, I could see Sage fending for her own horse and we took out the rest of the riders before galloping away. We took a narrow path, riding away from Cintra and out into the open. I could see the sun climbing the horizon as we rushed towards it.

At some point of our intense fleeing, I saw a jumble of fireflies come towards me; alive and beautiful. It made me smile and I began to chuckle, happiness rushing through me. Geralt, a mage, or a royal, like my Grandmother, wasn't around to tell me what I could and couldn't do and riding this horse made me confident and the sudden rush of wildness overcame me. For the first time, in a long time, I finally felt free.

With that sudden feeling, I felt it disappear when the fireflies came at me. I looked behind me to see if they had past but they didn't because I only saw Sage riding in the distance. I finally realized that I had consumed the bright light.

"Voleth Meir," Sage told me with sadness across her face. "We've set her free and now, she's in you."

I pulled the reins on the horse, slowing it down into a trot and Sage did the same so we could stride together. "I feel sad-angry, actually. I feel I need to seek for destruction; pain and suffering."

"I know," she said. "That's all she needs to be fueled."

"I want a monolith," the voice of the old woman spoke and my eyes enlarged.

"She's in me," I whispered. "I hear her."

"What does she want?" Sage questioned.

"A monolith," I stated. "I know where I can find one. I've felt this pull towards it."

"The tree in Kaer Morhen," Sage said. "I felt it too, especially in the dream." I nodded and we started a fast pace towards the sun where the Witcher hold was.