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Night had fallen over Temeria and the king's guards stood before the abandoned part of the castle, where the striga took residence. Geralt and Caira had left Ostrit imprisoned in Adda's abandoned bedroom in order to get him to confess how to break the curse to let the striga free. Geralt and Caira wearily approached the guarded entrance, with their bags of tools in hand to help them capture the striga. Geralt rolled his eyes and set down his bags, withdrawing his sword. The guards reacted quickly, drawing out their own swords as well. But, before anyone else could act—Foltest appeared and shouted "oh! So quick to violence!" Chastising his men and Geralt. "Strange, considering what Miss Merigold told me about you two."
"And what's that?" Geralt grumbled.
"She told me to trust you." Foltest chuckled. Geralt eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he were falsely leading him into a not so amicable conversation. "Will this work? Answer honestly." Foltest asked, anxiously.
"I don't know." Geralt replied lowly, expressing his uncertainty for the future.
"Will my—will my daughter be normal?" Foltest stammered, afraid of what was to come.
"She'll need special care. She's lived as an animal. All she's ever known is rage and hunger." Geralt explained to him as gently as possible.
Geralt turned his eyes to look at Caira. Her eyes were glimmering under the moonlight, her brows slightly raised in a sympathetic way for the worried king. Her raven hair blew gently in the light wind. Geralt sensed security and trustworthiness with Foltest, then decided to put his sword away. He grabbed a small gift, a pendant, and handed it to the king. "For the princess."
"You don't expect to see morning." The king mentioned, solemnly.
"This isn't my first time trying to save a princess who others thought of as a monster." Geralt admitted. Renfri— Caira thought to herself, realizing that pendant must've been something that belonged to Renfri.
"What happened to that princess?" The king inquired, with a hopefully smile crossing his face.
"I killed her." Caira spoke up, hoping to soothe Geralt's already tainted image. She didn't want Foltest to lose trust with Geralt, and to most—she was nobody. She was merely a human, if Foltest knew he killed Renfri, he wouldn't have allowed him to proceed with saving his daughter and would've simply had another reason to hate the mutant. Foltest seemed taken aback by Caira's cuteness. So did Geralt, since he knew it wasn't true. He knew she was trying to cover for him. "I did try to resist, at first, with Adda. We both did. For all it brightens, love casts long shadows." Foltest turned to Geralt. "I envy you. To live and never have to fall in love."
Geralt looked down to the ground, refraining from responding to his comment. Caira picked up Geralt's things, handed it to him, then brushed through the dozens of knights into the castle, cueing Foltest to lead his men away for the night.
