The Right Thing (The Witcher Netflix)

In My Time Of Need

Merrian had lived in the village for a few months now, it was almost as if she had lived there her whole life. Geralt hadn't come back to Badger's Hove since the day he left her there. Merrian had cried for days, afraid of the possibility of his death and her feelings of abandonment by the one person she thought could protect her.

Today, was one of the worse days. It was, of course, her birthday, and she was spending it scrubbing out wash basins and deep iron pots. She remembered the times when Lady Mari would give her a gift, simple yes, but it held a lot of meaning to her.

"Merrian, hows them tubs coming?" Eryk called out from the doorway

"I'm almost done with this one." she replied and scrubbed a little bit more before lifting it and handing it over to Eryk. He smiled at her kindly, he wasn't a young man by any means, an older, gray haired man with a scruffy beard but a good heart. He treated Merrian like any other employee, except for the fact that she had a room in the inn that she worked night and day for, despite Eryk saying there was no need. They had lived in a comfortable routine of Eryk running the inn and Merrian helping as best she could. It was not awkward between them, Merrian thought of Eryk as a fatherly figure, always caring for his employees and his customers. Making sure they were well cared for, and well fed. He was a good man in a world where good men were very few and far between.

Merrian's hands had been scrubbed raw from all the work she had been doing since dawn, it was now late afternoon. She wiped her hands on her dish rag and grit her teeth at the sensation, she was getting blisters and cracks all along her palms and fingers. She put all of her clean pots and tubs off to the side, stacking them carefully. Her back was to the door, she didn't hear anyone enter, but even though she didn't hear them, she felt their eyes boring into her neck, the small hairs standing on end. She paused and slowly turned her head to see a stranger in black robes staring at her sharply.

"I'm sorry but guests aren't allowed back here, you'll have to go back to the main room." The stranger did not answer Merrian's quiet request, only stared blankly. Merrian felt an overwhelming tingling sensation in the air, and on instinct dodged to the right as a bolt of lightning shot from the strangers fingers striking the freshly washed wooden tubs, they instantly burst into flames. The stranger then started to send volley after volley of lightning strikes towards Merrian who slid across the floor in fear, the magic seeming to swerve and curve around her. She quickly ran towards the far door and yanked it open dashing outside into the autumn afternoon. The stranger followed and continued to send magic strikes towards her.

"Leave me alone!" She shouted pushing her hands outward, a wave of magic shot from her palms expanding into an oval disk almost as big as a house. She opened her eyes to see the stranger being forced back by her wall of magic. She dropped her hands quickly and ran into the forest, branches and shrubs catching on her hair and skirt. She ran without stopping, running through the woods with no way of telling east from west or north from south. She ran for her life, away from the life she could have had, in the quiet and the peace of Badger's Hove.

Merrian had been running for hours without stopping, night had fallen and she could run no further. She collapsed in a small clearing, the moon just barely showing her pale face above the trees. Merrian pushed herself up onto her knees trying to catch her breath in ragged gasps, all she could hear was the quiet forest sounds of the night, and her own heavy breaths.

She felt a searing pain ripping through her body, doubling over in agony Merrian lay in the clearing biting her fist so as not to cry out and draw attention to herself. She could feel a thousand needles pricking her body from every angle, her skin a myriad of pinpricks and stabbing needles. She felt change overwhelming her, pain fogging her mind and giving her the impression that this is what death feels like. Agony.