Kyana Of Cintra

87

It took six hours for Geralt to finally stir. Kyana had been nursing him the entire time, her legs sore as she sat on them for hours on end, never resting and never stopping. She had dosed him with Swallow at least six times; every time she made another batch, she was pouring it down his throat. Geralt groaned, the first sound he'd made after he'd collapsed. Kyana's head snapped up from watching his chest rise and fall to his eyes as they slowly fluttered open. 

"Geralt?" She called, dropping the ingredients she held and taking his face into her hands. He began to sweat, undoubtedly his body attempting to expel the fever. Geralt gazed at Kyana with clouded eyes, blinking and opening his eyes wider to try and recognize her. He knew those eyes that stared at him, and immediately was sure he would be just fine. Blinding pain shot through his leg, causing him to hiss through his teeth. "Geralt, can you hear me?" Geralt's eyes shifted to her again, nodding weakly. His mouth moved, but no sound emitted from his lips. 

"I don't like the look of this mist, Kyana. It's not natural." Yurga said suspiciously, although she wasn't really listening, instead loading her crossbow and shooting it in the direction of the invisible foglet running after them. It landed right between the eyes, taking care of the monster as it crippled onto the floor, becoming visible once again. Yurga noticed Geralt starting to stir, placing his hand over the cart divider and onto his shoulder. "Hey, careful now. Easy does it." Kyana removed Yurga's hand from Geralt's shoulder, pushing Geralt gently to lie down on the bags. 

"I told you not to touch him, Yurga. His body fluids could be infected, and he's sweating." Kyana said, dabbing a cold wet cloth over his brow gently as his head thrashed back and forth. "You've been bitten, Geralt. Do you remember?" He nodded again, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Kyana inched closer to his side, unafraid to touch his skin when she knew he could transmit the poison. "You're entering the delirious stage." Kyana informed him, stopping him from sitting up and forcing him to lie down. "Be still, you must rest." 

Geralt looked down to the binding Kyana had soaked in Swallow around his thigh, up to her face again, before his eyes rolled and his head fell to the bag beneath it. "We're goin' to my farm. Just as soon as these poor old horses can take us there." Yurga informed him, hoping to give him a reason to stay awake. 

Geralt looked sickeningly pale, the dirt that covered his face stood out like a sore thumb. Kyana was worried, Geralt could tell that much from her face. "I need you to stay awake. Stay awake, Geralt." Kyana insisted, watching his eyes blow wide as hallucinations took over his mind. "Whatever you see, you must stay awake." Her voice grew fainter and fainter with every second in Geralt's mind. Kyana sighed and rolled up her sleeves, preparing for the inevitable as his eyes closed. "I have to wake him from inside his mind." She said, removing his shirt and gently pulling it from under his body. It was soaked in sweat, something Kyana worried about. She placed the shirt in the bucket of cold water Yurga had given her, draping it over his body in order to cool him down. "Do not interfere. If you do, both of us could die." Yurga nodded in seriousness. 

Kyana placed her hands on either side of Geralt's temples and concentrated, entering his mind and into his hallucinations. Kyana opened her eyes in the corner of a barn. It was dark, but clean, taken care of by someone capable. She heard a young boy crying out "Ma?" multiple times, asking for his mother. Kyana observed from the corner, watching a young brunette boy with a bucket on his head take up a stick and pointing it like a sword into the growling shadows.  "Back, you beast. I'll kill you and take your treasure. Do not fear, Princess." He cried enthusiastically, swinging the stick into thin air. Kyana smiled at the innocence of the child, stepping forwards in hopes the young boy would see her. He didn't. Kyana frowned, waving her hand in front of his face. Still, she was invisible to him. 

A woman came from the shadows, her golden dress swaying around her ankles. She had beautiful red hair and dark green eyes that glistened in a familiar way, as though Kyana had looked into those eyes before. Kyana wasn't seen to her either;  only the boy she presumed was her son. "Dinner time." The mother called, bringing the boy forwards to place food on the table. 

They moved swiftly into the dining room, which was illuminated by the light of either the sun or Geralt's memories. Kyana smiled at the young boy sitting on the bench before her, who's brown hair would some day be white, who's green eyes would be a golden swirling display of his soul. "Someday I'll make you a necklace of dragon teeth. The prettiest necklace ever." Young Geralt said to his mother, kicking his feet under the table. 

"No. We must live and let live." His mother said, placing numerous plates of food onto the small table. It surprised Kyana; surely someone who could afford to put this much food on the table for every meal could afford a nicer home? Better clothing? Toys for her child? As confused as she was, Kyana remained quiet and listened to the mother teaching her son the opposite of what he'd do in the future.  

"What's that mean?" Young Geralt asked in confusion, placing his stick on the bench next to him and removing the bucket from his head. Thick, tamed curls were revealed, a trait Kyana found unbearably adorable when Geralt's hair had become so straight and ill kept. She awed quietly behind her hand, smiling at the image of her tough, built fiancee as a scrawny, innocent child. 

"It's our code. We have to cling to something." The mother said, placing a plate of pies in front of her boy. "If we don't, the world descends into chaos." Kyana nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. The stark difference between mother and son was unbelievable; Geralt was reserved, while his mother was opinionated. Geralt was brave and daring, while his mother was calm and gentle. It pleasantly surprised Kyana. Kyana looked around the room in hopes of finding something to ease Geralt awake. 

"Wise words." She commented to no one in particular, hoping to get Geralt's subconscious to pull him from his hallucination. Boy Geralt was eating happily, having not heard what Kyana had said. 

"Thank you." The mother answered, freezing Kyana in her steps.