The Witcher: Story of the Black Cat

Ep. 5

Prologue

The four of them sit around a fire talking about themselves and how they've gotten to where they are now. Geralt tells how he came to be known as "The Butcher of Blaviken" and his child surprise.

"Well, that was just a damned mess, if you ask me," Jaskier slips in.

"No one asked you," Geralt retorts, "I wouldn't have been there had you not gotten yourself into your own damned mess." Jaskier quickly changes the subject and divulges his utterly offensive "earthly indulgences" with women he's had the pleasure of meeting. Married or no. Roz shares her dream, or what used to be, of becoming a bard or a scholar. Her endeavor growing to even become both. She sings a short song that she had written herself. Everyone stays silent when she's done. Everyone except...

"Well, I'm not that bad am I, Geralt?" Jaskier prods. Geralt cuts his eyes at him and answers,

"You're worse." Jaskier stutters as he tries to find his words.

"How many lemons have you had today, then?" Roz asks. Jaskier moves from defense to confusion.

"Lemons? I haven't had any—"

"Because you're soundin' quite bitter." Everyone laughs. Even Jaskier chuckles. Faiza confesses her past, but only so far.

"He killed her because she wouldn't kill me," Faiza explains.

"Why would he want to do a thing like that?" Roz asks. A question that never receives an answer.

Faiza looks over at Jaskier and Roz who've fallen asleep during the late-night bonding. Neither she nor Geralt able to sleep. No matter how hard they try. She lays on her back as she stares at the moon that sits brightly in the dark sky. He sits staring out at the river that flows near them. She walks over and sits next to him.

"Can't sleep?" He looks at her but doesn't answer. Slowly looks back at what had his attention before.

"Neither can you?" She shakes her head. He reaches out and pulls her medallion away from her chest. His fingertips unintentionally glide against her skin causing an unexpected sensation in her. "You were trained at the School of the Cat?" She turns to him and lightly nods her head as visions of her trials pass through her mind. He sighs pensively. "A Feline. So, you know Dragonfly?" Faiza goes into some thought.

"I know of her." Geralt smirks.

"Hm."

"What? Did you bed her too?" Geralt scowls at her remark but ignores it.

"Who trained you?"

"You wouldn't know him."

"And I thought I was the modest one." Faiza looks over at him and allows a light laugh to escape.

That was nearly eight years ago.

FIVE

Morning comes and Faiza wakes to Roz humming as she cooks a fish over a fire.

"Morn-in'." Roz looks at Faiza with a telling smirk on her face.

"What?" Roz shakes her head.

"Nothin'." Faiza ignores it and walks over to her things. "Well..." Faiza stops and looks over her shoulder. "I heard the name you were callin' last night."

"And?" Roz smiles.

"Oh. Nothin'. Nothin' at all." Faiza closes her eyes and rubs her temples. Geralt continued getting grumpier as the days went on because sleep was slowly eluding him more and more. Which of course made Faiza grumpy because she couldn't sleep well either. Jaskier likely running off with some woman he'd rekindled a relationship with no doubt. She thought maybe some distance between them all would help. Even at the cost of separating from her path and the man to whom she had begun getting so close.