Kyana Of Cintra

20

Time had passed quickly since the famous ballad was composed. Jaskier was more than happy to leave the two Witchers for a short amount of time to work on his newfound success, on the premises that he could keep in contact with Kyana, who agreed wholeheartedly.

After their ordeal with Filavandrel, Kyana's face was slightly scarred. A small, thin line drew across her lips, from the left of her cupid's bow to the base of her bottom lip, where they had been split. Kyana's ribs had healed pretty well, with the help of Geralt, who possessed better alchemy skills to heal her. Kyana's left eyebrow had been split, causing a slightly thicker line to run through her eyebrow where no hair could grow, resorting in a slit eyebrow. Geralt, who had endured far less, was perfectly fine, killing monsters whenever they crossed his path with little difficulty. 

Geralt and Kyana traveled along a main road up a mountain in Temeria, their breath cold mist that spiraled in the air. Silence surrounded them, par from Kyana's quiet whistling, as they pulled up next to an old, wooden building. It looked damp and smelled like the back end of a donkey, but at the same time, it was warm, offered light and shelter. A stout, slimy man came waddling towards them, as bold as brass. 

"What do you want?" He demanded of them, speaking directly to Geralt as he dismounted. Kyana dismounted after him, landing gracefully in the snow with light steps.

"What is this building used for?" Geralt asked. The man gave a slimy smirk, patting Geralt on the shoulder as though he had known him for years.

"Whore house, you look like you need to get in." Kyana rose an eyebrow at his impertinence, but it soon fell when Geralt turned to look at her. Geralt shrugged the hand from his shoulder.

"Give us a moment." He demanded. The man waved a hand, waddling back into his filthy establishment while grumbling under his breath. Geralt looked to Kyana, who knew exactly what he was going to say.

"I don't want to, but maybe one of them has information-" He said, attempting to reason with her. Kyana was upset, but she tried her very best to hide it from Geralt, and it clearly worked.

"Go, Geralt." Geralt was surprised with the calmness of her words. She didn't seem upset and angry at him, even with her past with brothels. Her acceptance threw him off a little, to a point where he couldn't quite gather the words to reply.

"I-" Kyana plucked her purse from her pocket and placed it into his palm. She grabbed onto Pegasus and Roach's reigns, leading them to the stable next door without a complaint, just running her fingers through Roach's mane.

Geralt was shocked, but also annoyed with himself for even asking. The more he thought of it, the angrier he was getting towards Kyana. She didn't even have to say no; the thought of disappointing her left him feeling empty and disgusting. Storming into the house, he didn't even glance at the man, who smirked at him knowingly. Every step Geralt took into the house made him feel filthier, but angrier still, at himself this time for feeling like this. He was never like this, he'd been to dozens of brothels, why was tonight any different? Approaching a door with a vacant woman inside, long brown hair and a naked back facing him, Geralt decided to throw all logic out the window, including his feelings. He entered the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Kyana settled on the ground between the horses, surprisingly clean hay surrounding her like a cushion. Pulling out a piece of paper from her satchel, she opened the yellow pages delicately, the cheap material ripping at the edges. Jaskier's most recent letters told her tales of lands far away, included songs he had written, spoke of plays he had seen and women he had met. Unfolding the paper, Kyana began to read the letter for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Dear Kyana,

You wouldn't believe how beautiful it is over here, I'm just outside of Rivia, and the feel of this place is brilliant. You told me the next village you'll visit was somewhere not far from Temeria, and I apologize for not remembering the name. Your letters remain safe in my bag, although most have taken some sort of water damage, and this one was the worst.

It's been around two weeks since my last letter, and a week since you wrote, three days since I got your newest letter. Just so that you know I'm not ignoring you, I couldn't find paper, and the blasted idiot was charging an arm and a lute for some extremely cheap crap more orange than yellow.

Kyana smiled, her fingers drifting up to her lips to bite her fingernails while she read.

I miss you. Your insight and just your company has been proven to be worth a lot more to me than I had thought. I know your birthday is coming up, will you please just tell me when it is? I really want to see you on your birthday, even if I have to travel for a few days. 

I'll see you soon, keep in touch,

Jaskier

Pulling another piece of paper from her bag, Kyana tried to drown out the sounds that were emitting from the house. Her hearing was just as good as Geralt, so every slip of sound that was louder than a usual speaking voice, Kyana heard. She blocked it out by whistling to herself, tapping her fingers on her knee in tune to the melody. 

Dear Jaskier,

I'm so very glad to hear you're enjoying yourself in Rivia. I think I'll drag Geralt there when we're near. Right now, we're close to Temeria, which I would love to visit, although I doubt Geralt will want to. Your next letter I'm sure will find me in Temeria's city central. 

I miss you dearly too, my friend. Your ballads are all I am hearing across every town, to which I'm most grateful in hearing your words. The tales of the White Wolf and the Sapphire Snake are far surpassing the tales of the Butchers of Blaviken, which I'm extremely grateful for Jaskier, thank you.

At this very moment in time, I'm sat between the two horses, cold as the day I was born, if I say so myself. Geralt is in the brothel next door. I have no wax so I'm going to be stealing some from the candle hanging above me. I have no idea where in Rivia to send this. I'll send it to the last location, which hopefully you're close to.

Please, don't feel obliged to be here for my birthday. I'm okay with celebrating being old internally, you don't have to make such a tedious journey for one day. Besides, by the time you'll get this, my birthday would already have passed. 

I'll see you soon, my friend.

Kyana

Kyana folded the letter, and true to her word, stole some wax from the candle hanging from the iron holder above her. She held the melting wax above the peak of the envelope, sealing it shut until Jaskier read it. She addressed it to Jaskier, placing it in her bag to pass on later. 

Having done her task, she sat, in the hay and the mud, humming her song in the cold, alone on her birthday.