To Heal A Lonely Heart

On The Road Again

"Don't cause any trouble while we're gone," Geralt warned our son before pulling him into a tight hug.

"I won't, dad, I promise," Crevan whispered, voice muffled by his father's arms, but still I could hear the lump in his throat, like every time the witcher left. And sure enough, when they parted, the little fox had tears in his eyes.

"Oh, no, dear, come here," I cooed, holding out my arms, which, within seconds, he accepted, pressing himself close against me. "We'll be back soon, my dear," I murmured, stroking his hair, "Be good for us, will you?" I pulled back and kneeled down in front of him, so we were on eye-level. Crevan nodded and I cupped his cheek, wiping a stray tear with my thumb. Quickly, he used his sleeve to dry the others. "I'll miss you too, my little fox," I whispered, pulling him in for another tight hug, and he too clung on desperately.

When Crevan pulled back, he gazed at Geralt, eyes wide with question. "When will you come back?"

"I can't say. Few weeks."

Crevan bit his lip and nodded, casting his eyes downward. Saying goodbye was always the hardest part about leaving.

"Ana will take good care of you," I smiled, glancing at the woman, who stood in her doorway, "We'll come back before you know it."

The little boy looked up at us. "Come on, Crevan, let your parents leave. The sooner you let them go, the sooner they come back," Ana's voice rung from the doorway. Geralt nodded at our son reassuringly, as did I. Slowly, he started to turn, took a few stops towards the house, but ran back to us seconds later. Geralt and I both wrapped our arms around him, whispering reassuringly that we'd be back soon, that he was safe here, and that we'd miss him, too. Tears were shed, but after a few minutes, Crevan was finally ready to let go. With one last squeeze, we parted and Crevan rushed over to Ana, who held him in her arms instead. Geralt and I mounted our horses and waved at our son from their back, telling him again that we would only be gone for a few weeks.

And before we could change our minds, we rode off, galloping along the road to fight the temptation to stay with our child. Only after an hour, we slowed, our heavy hearts now catching up with us.

"You can go back..." Geralt had offered, but I only shook my head. Crevan was safe, Geralt on the other hand, wouldn't be; wherever we may be going, we were looking for a creature to fight and slay.

"No, I'll stay with you."

And with that, we ride on, in silence at first, until we leave the main road.

"Careful now," Geralt muttered, but I couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"This is not the first time I'm out here with you." Nevertheless, I kept my eyes open and my ears alert; every noise, every movement could mean a threat.

There were no creatures to encounter in the parts of the forest we rode through, apparently, and we also didn't find any posters when we returned to the road. It was getting dark and even though I told Geralt over and over again that it wouldn't be my first time riding through or sleeping the forest at night, that he had been there every time I had done it, he insisted we'd find an inn to spend the night at. Shortly after nightfall, then, we reached a small village.

While Geralt led the horses to the stables, I went inside the tavern, approaching the bar.

"What will it be, dear?" asked the woman behind it, smiling widely at me. Huh, that was a change; people being nice...

"Dinner and a room for two, please. Oh, and two horses in the stable," I smiled back at her, but when I heard the door open behind me, a chill went through the warm, cheery room.

The woman's eyes widened slightly and her smile disappeared. She leaned in to whisper, "Be careful around that folk. No no, don't look now, but they are dangerous," she warned.

Jaskier could sing as much as he wanted, he would never manage to change the people's minds about witchers, not completely. Sure, when they heard Geralt's name, they'd recognize him, but without, he was just another beast that hunted other monsters.

I shook my head at her as I heard heavy footsteps approaching, stopping right behind me.

"That won't be necessary, he's with me," I just told her and shrugged as she paled, staring up at the hooded witcher. Swallowing heavily, she finally tore her gaze off Geralt and turned, grabbing our plates and pushing them towards us on the bar.

"You'll pay when you leave," she stated, and I nodded, smiling at her.

After dinner, we went up to our room, both of us silent. It really was hard, being away from Crevan, so much harder than I had expected.

"My love, are you alright," Geralt asked as he shed of his armour, eyeing me with concern as I sat at the foot of the bed wrapped in a blanket, staring into the fire. I flinched slightly, his deep voice ripping me from my thoughts.

"Yeah," I sighed, "It's just... I didn't think I would miss him this much. I know he's safe, but still."

"You can go home, if you want," Geralt offered, pulling me in a tight hug, but I shook my head.

"No, I feel like you'll need me here," I mumbled into his chest, his scent calming me a little. "Is it always like this?" I whispered after a moment, "When you leave."

He pulled back, held me at arm's length, looking at me intently. "Yes. Nienna, I didn't want this for you. I've learned to live with it. If it's too much, please, go home, because I hate to see you like this."

But again, I shook my head. "No, I'll stay with you. I... it'll go away, eventually. And I want to stay with you. We wanted some time alone, remember?" I chuckled weakly.

That caused Geralt to join in to my chuckle, pulling me to sit on his lap, leaning into his chest sideways. "I would have no problem with taking you at home," he shrugged.

"What!? No! We can't do it at home, not with Crevan's senses! He caught us once, I don't want to have to explain him a second time." But I couldn't help but giggle as he slowly kissed up my shoulder.

"All he did see was my back," the witcher muttered against my skin.

"And how you were holding me..." I blushed at the memory. "We can't even sneak away," I sighed, "He'd find us."

"Not if you could keep quiet for once," he teased, nuzzling his nose against my neck.

"Oh, so now I'm the loud one?!" I gasped, turning abruptly to face him, catching him grinning, "As if you don't turn into a wild animal, huh?"

"So you want to bet, hmm?" Geralt growled as he lowered himself to kneel on the floor in front of me, hands coming up to my knees and pushing them apart. He kissed, nipped and licked a wet trail up my inner thigh, making me gasp.

"Yeah, ah, but," I put my hands on his shoulder just when he was about to tease me through my underwear, "Not tonight, minne. Let's just sleep, okay?"

A flash of disappointment washed through his eyes as he got back up and sat on the bed. I understood, it had been a long time since we had some time for us alone. It was hard for us, the both of having a pretty high sex-drive; but with a very curious child at home, even sneaking away was risky.

"Okay," Geralt rumbled and leaned close to me, capturing my lips in his in a sweet kiss as he scooted us up the bed, lying us down, wrapped up in each other.

"Thank you," I mumbled against his lips, shuffling a little closer into the cocoon of his warmth, "Good night, minne."

"Good night, my love."