The Boy from Rivia and the Girl from Oxenfurt

XIII

My head pounded, keeping me from opening my eyes.
"She's waking." An unfamiliar voice called to others. My eyes shot open, taking in my surroundings. The man before me was the man with icy blue eyes. His companion was the boy I always saw latched to his mother's side. My brother. 
I worked my hands. They were behind my back, tied around a post or something. As I worked to get the rope loosened, my brother leaned close to my face.
"Hello, sister." He laughed, "I've tried for years to have you killed. My mother before that. And now I finally have you." His face was filled with happiness and glee.
"I don't want your fucking throne." I yelled, snapping towards him. If my hands weren't tied, I'd pull him limb from limb.
"It doesn't matter. Father will never let me rule." My brother twiddled with a knife between my fingers. The man with the icy blue eyes stood at the back of the room, hand on sword.
"Peter, I will disappear. You can say I'm dead. I don't care. I don't want to rule. I want to live a peaceful normal life." I growled.
"Ah yes... With your witcher." He moved towards my left, motioning to a hooded figure I hadn't noticed there earlier.
"Geralt!" I yelled, seeing white hair peeking from under the hood. His body breathed but didn't move. He was alive. "Please, brother. We will disappear. I'll live in the woods like the witchers. I will never show my face in this kingdom." I cried, pulling at my bindings.
"I don't believe you. Who wouldn't want to rule." He scoffed again. He knelt next to me and pressed the knife up against my neck, drawing some blood.

"Me. I've never wanted to. I'm a swordsman and a witch. I hunt monsters and chop wood. I heal wounds of farmers. I'm not made for royalty." I stated. He pulled his knife from my neck and went over to Geralt. Peter pulled Geralt by the hair, making his head rise. Peter placed his knife against his neck.

"I don't care. If I kill you, I'll never have to worry about you. If you're dead, I'll never worry about my crown." He giggled evilly.

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Geralt's POV

The throbbing in my head was overruled by the voice of my love. Vivian was crying. My hair was pulled back and a cold piece of metal laid against my neck. My eyes snapped open. Vivian's eyes were wet and her neck was dripping blood. My body felt lifeless. I couldn't move. Poison. That little bitch poisoned me. I couldn't move or feel anything.

"I don't care. If I kill you, I'll never have to worry about you. If you're dead, I'll never worry about my crown." He giggled evilly. It was that little rat from the castle. Her brother. I watched Viv carefully. Her eyes flickered something. Something I'd never seen before. The brother ran his knife down my arm, cutting into my skin. My face twisted in pain, but nothing escaped my lips. Viv finally saw I was awake. New tears slipped down her face.

"I won't come back." She yelled. "Just leave him alone. He's done nothing to you." This only made her brother more eager to cut something. He finally released me. My body fell onto it side. I could still watch her. Within an instant, Vivian's face turned pale, veins popped under her eyes. It was like she drank one of my potions. She looked like a witcher on the hunt. Her binding snapped behind her back. Her body lunged from her seated position to her brother. She screeched like a monster Id faced before. Her hands pulled at her brother, spewing blood across the room. The man Id noticed in the corner of the room ran towards her, sword draw. I couldn't see this interaction but from his screams and the sudden silence, I knew he was dead. After some minutes, she returned to my sight, drenched in blood that wasn't her own.
"Geralt.... What-" She looked at her hands confused. "What am I?" The poison had begun to wear off. I still couldn't move but I felt my lips move.
"I don't know. But we will figure it out." I grunted, trying to watch her. She quickly untied me and pulled me into a seated position. She wrapped my arm with pieces from her skirt that were clean. I could finally see her brother and the other man. The man was not recognizable. His body unidentifiable from the way it was torn to shreds. Her brother on the other hand was. His chest was pulled open. His organs out for anyone to view. His throat ripped out. She was what her father said. A monster. A witcher but a monster. The mix of too much into one. An elf, a human, a witch, a monster. A witcher with the spirit of a monster. Viv saw my eyes looking over the bodies.

"I'm a monster." She cried, releasing my arm from her grip. "It's what my father hid." I could feel the movement coming back. She must have used a spell to pull most of the poison from me.
"No, Viv. You're not just monster." I sighed. "You're human, and elven, and witch. Your blood is mixed. You're a witcher." I explained. "But you don't need potions. I don't know exactly what you are. But I don't think you're a monster." This didn't seem to help her. But I touched her hand gently. "Help me up and let's go. We need to leave this place." She nodded in agreement and we left for the castle.

The king greeted us upon our return. He'd been worried about her safety. I briefly explained that Peter had kidnapped us, wanting to kill Vivian for her crown. I told him a monster attacked the home we were in and Viv mortally wounded it but only after it'd murdered his son and his guard. It wasn't an unbelievable lie, but it was a lie to protect Vivian. The queen cried loudly at the sound of her son being dead. The king wept as well.
"I'm not staying. I'm leaving with Geralt after we pack our things." Viv said confidently. The king didn't respond, only found his wife to cry more. I nodded towards Vivian as she pushed us forward and into the castle. I packed our things as she cleaned the blood from her body. She sat in the tub, holding her knees to her chest.
"Viv?" I asked, slowly approaching her. I finally made my way to her. She stared into the tub. The water was red.
"I killed them. I ripped them apart. Like a monster would." She muttered, her eyes unwavering.
"Vivian." I pushed her chin up so her eyes found mine. "I don't know what's going on with you. But I know one thing..." I smiled slightly, "You're not a monster." She nodded in response. "We will go to Kaer Moren. Vesemir will know more about what this is." I gently kissed her lips. They were soft, loving.