alluring {𝖌𝖊𝖗𝖆𝖑𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖗𝖎𝖛𝖎𝖆} WATTYS 2022

chapter six

"Don't trust words, younglings, but trust actions instead. Let your eyes find trust."

-unknown

WHY DID AMELIA FEEL SO RELAXED? She had woken from her nap just in time for Geralt to stop at a tavern for food. She blushed at the thought of falling asleep in the witcher's arms and profusely apologized.

"How improper of me. Nathaniel would've been mortified. By the gods, Joseph would kill me if he found out," she scolded herself as Geralt secured Roach. "Father would have my head impaled on a pole. Mother must be rolling in her grave, rest her soul."

Geralt made a noise that took Amelia a few moments to realize it was a laugh.

"Geralt." His beautiful amber eyes turned to look at her. "Did I just make you laugh? Is that what just happened?"

"I don't laugh." He replied shortly, but she just beamed at the witcher and fell into step with him as they entered the tavern. It was when they stepped inside, she realized that Traven wasn't like any other kingdom.

It also hit Amelia that she had never left her kingdom in the entirety of her life. When she walked into a place back home, she knew everyone there. Now, she knew no one besides the handsome witcher she stood next to.

Geralt ordered food and drinks for them but sensed something was off with his new travel companion. She followed as Geralt got a table in the very corner of the tavern, his back to a wall. Geralt had handed ale her in silence.

"Amelia." Her name coming from Geralt's lips is something she very much enjoyed, she had come to learn. Geralt met her eyes. "Is your arm hurting you?"

Her brows scrunched in confusion, shaking her thoughts from her head. "No, I'm feeling fine." She glanced down at her bandage. "Why? Is it bleeding through?"

"No." The witcher studied her face and Amelia raised a hand to her cheek.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked, letting out a nervous laugh.

"You're nervous," he stated then quickly his eyes scanned the tavern, a slight murderous edge in his gaze. "Is it someone here that is making you nervous?"

"No, no, nothing like that." Amelia chuckled. "I've never been outside of Traven before. I've been on battlefields on other lands, don't get me wrong. I just knew who were my enemies and who I needed to kill."

"You feel nervous because you don't know who to kill?" Geralt's voice was laced with curiosity, which made Amelia raise a brow.

"You look surprised," she teased, but then her eyes cast down to her pint. "It's more than just nervousness, it feels like paranoia. I don't even really know if I should drink this ale because someone may have poisoned it."

"Hm." Geralt hummed, then leaned over her, grabbing her pint and taking a swig. "Wait for a few minutes and we'll see if it's poisoned."

"Geralt." Her jaw dropped in both amusement and disbelief. "You can't just do that!"

He drank his own ale, then stated simply: "You were nervous."

"And now I'm nervous for you, you big oaf." Amelia shook her head while pushing Geralt's arm playfully. "But I see what you're doing and I appreciate it. Thank you."

"So, me drinking the ale in question that may or may not be poisoned helped?" A slight smirk tugged at Geralt's lips as laughter spilled out of Amelia's mouth before she could catch it.

"Take the compliment, for god's sake." Amelia shook her head slightly as she got out her and Geralt's maps. "So after this, if we keep riding we can make it at least three towns over before needing to grab an inn for the night."

"We have to think about Roach as well. She can't do this pace for the next few weeks." Geralt grumbled, leaning closer to Amelia and looking at the maps. His breath tickled her neck and he smelled like the forest in the most attractive way.

"You're right." She pointed to a town closer to the tavern they were in. "Maybe choose a tavern closer to here? Full night's rest for us all?"

Geralt grunted his approval and then returned back to his original seating position. He was not a man of many words when they first met, but he seems to be becoming more and more chattier.

Amelia left him to his silence until the food came and Amelia handed the woman who put the food in front of them a few coins in her palms. "Thank you, miss."

A blush rose in the waitress's cheek at the sincerity in Amelia's voice and the glint in her blue eyes along with her lingering touch. Amelia smirked as she scurried off and Geralt cast her a glance.

"Quite popular, princess." Geralt lifted a brow at the group of men by the bar that was gawking at Amelia.

"I haven't the slightest what you mean." Another smirk twitched Geralt's lips. She lifted the pint to her lips and took a cautious sip of the ale. Wordlessly, Geralt took a small bite of her food and then went back to his own plate.

The smallest of smiles played on the edges of Geralt's mouth and Amelia reflected the expression and waited a few moments before eating.

"You know I was poisoned once," Amelia spoke after a few moments of silence. Geralt's eyes flicked to her in surprise. "I suspect from my brother, Erik, but I couldn't prove it. I barely made it alive."

Geralt stayed silent for a beat as he swallowed his food. "He's the one who you gave the cow balls to."

Amelia smiled pleasantly. "You remembered."

Geralt let out a scoff. "Hard to forget." The duo ate their food silently until it was Geralt who broke the peace. "You never ate with your family."

Amelia's eyes flicked up to Geralt's and nodded. "I usually prepare my own food then eat it on my own. I haven't dined with anyone in years." The rest of the meal was silent, but it was pleasant.