Artwork by AkiDragonManga (DeviantArt)

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the books by Andrzej Sapkowski and the game series by CD Projekt Red. I do not claim ownership to any of these characters and have written this fanfiction for entertainment, not financial gain.

The vineyards were flooded with incandescent light which made the luscious green leaves and fat, juicy grapes even bolder and more vibrant in colour as though the landscape had been plucked right from a picture.

"We thank you again for the invitation, Master Geralt. It is both an honour and a delight to have a taste of some of Corvo Bianco's wine." Said Guillaume de Launfal turning in his saddle to face the Witcher, armour clanking ever so slightly.

"Indeed, your wine is fast becoming the talk of Toussaint. I dare say there isn't a vintner out there who wouldn't give you piles of gold to know the secret behind your success. To have the vines recover so quickly and so well is a miracle in itself but to be able to produce a bottle of wine in a year is unimaginable." Added Lady Vivienne de Tabris, gently stroking the mane of her horse.

"Well, if anyone were to ask me, all I can say is that you need an incredibly beautiful Sorceress." Said Geralt smiling at the woman rising alongside him.

Colour wise, Yennefer stood in stark contrast with the plants growing around them. A white strapless blouse with short sleeves hugged her shoulders and spilt out slightly over the black and white corset accentuating her slender waist. Underneath it was a long black skirt divided into four long slits to reveal her knee-high boots and black stockings. Lascivious outfits were the only way the Sorceress could cope with the heat. Not that Geralt, or indeed most male passer-by's, minded.

"Mmmm is that so." She said, catching his eye.

"Well, that's what it looks like to me." He said. Yennefer smiled at him tilting her head ever so slightly to one side as though internally rolling her eyes at his oddly endearing compliments.

"So, magic is Corvo Bianco's special ingredient?" Pondered the knight thoughtfully. "That would, of course, explain a lot. I can see why you keep your success a secret, I dare say some of the other vintners would go to great lengths to acquire your magic."

"Seems you have some competition on your hands Geralt." Said the Sorceress mischievously. "I wonder, just what are you willing to do to keep me?"

"I-"

He stopped dead on the path, abruptly reining in Roach and turning away from Yennefer to stare out over the fields holding a hand out for silence, the others following his lead. It took them several seconds longer than the Witcher to register.

A humungous form burst from the ground about two hundred metres to their left, right in the middle of one of the vineyards sending a shower of dirt and grapes over the nearby workers. The Giant Centipede hissed menacingly as its prey scattered.

"Shit! Guillaumeget everyone to safety." Yelled Geralt as he spurred his horse forwards. "Yen-" He was forced to stop as a figure shot past him as Yennefer disappeared into the vineyard. "Yen!" He cursed before racing after her unsheathing his silver sword.

In a few seconds, the gentle lull of bird songs encompassing the fields was replaced with terrified screaming. The centipede had disappeared back giving them a precious few moments to prepare as it circled beneath its intended target.

There was another explosion of earth as the insectoid sprang up to the surface practically underneath one of the terrified workers, knocking him prone giving the monster the opportune moment to strike. As it flicked its back end out of the ground, diving down on its helpless victim a stream of purple lightning struck the side of its chitinous shell the force pushing it to the side where it soon vanished into the ground.

The worker frantically scrambled backwards too deafened by the sounds of his heart beating in his ears to notice the hooves churning the earth nearby until he saw a woman jump off her horse right before his eyes as she muttered some unknown language and blue light flooded from her fingertips. The ground vibrated again as the Centipede shot straight for her. She didn't even flinch.

The monstrosity curled up around itself on the floor as it smashed against the barrier encaging it taking only a few seconds to recover before going back underground only to find its way out blocked once more.

As the insectoid desperately churned up the earth Geralt nodded at Yennefer and the light flickered briefly as he stepped inside his footsteps sending waves through the ground. He waited. He listened.

With expert precision and timing, he rolled to the side as the Centipede sprang from the ground right over his head and as he did so the tip of his silver sword dug into the soft, exposed flesh on its underbelly sending gruesome and bloody contents over the fertile soil. The thing screeched in pain, curling up before ceasing to move at all.

As the monster's lifeblood fled from its body Yennefer and Geralt took one quick glance at each other, unheard questions and unheard answers passing between them in the brief second, before the moment of unseen intimacy ended and their attention was once again thrust upon the situation at hand as they knelt down beside prone worker.

"Sovad. Soavd! Can you hear me." Said the Sorceress shaking him gently. When he gave no answer, she slapped him across the cheek. There was still no response. Then, she saw it.

There was a gash on his midriff, just above the hip on the left side. The wound itself was a trivial thing. The issue is what had caused it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Geralt sniff the air around him. His face wrinkled in disgust.

"Poison." Said Geralt under his breath as some of the other workers tentatively came over to them, Vivienne and Guillaume among the crowd.

Yennefer didn't comment. The grim look on his face told her all she needed to know. She didn't need to look at the black liquid oozing from his side, didn't need to see his deathly pale skin nor hear his slow heart beat and shallow breaths. She didn't need to ask if there was any hope.

"Daddy…"

By now a small crowd had gathered around them, heads bowed in respect as a mournful silence hung in the air until the small plea dared to break its hold. The small figure emerged from between the many legs and vines towering above her, arms tightly hugging her sides as tears began to well in her eyes.

"Matilda." Said Yennefer softly walking over to the girl. The last of her resolve crumbled.

She flung herself into the Sorceress' embrace burying her unrestrained cries in her chest as she desperately sought comfort, but even Yennefer's affectionate hushes and caresses did nothing to lessen the pain.

While the congregation continued to look on Geralt found his gaze drawn to the raven-haired woman sitting on the floor a little across from him, a child held tightly in her arms. It was only he who recognised the way her features altered.

"Matilda, look at me." She said gently after several moments, peering down at the girl clinging to her as though her life depended on it. Slowly her bleary eyes looked up. "I need you to be strong for me, can you do that Matilda? For me, please."

The girl sniffed audibly, her face itching from the tears streaking down her face and dripping off her chin which the Sorceress delicately wiped away with the handkerchief Vivienne offered to her. Matilda made an indistinguishable murmur.

"Speak up my dear."

"I'll, I'll try my utmost to do so, Lady Yennefer." She answered quietly.

"Good. That's all I could ever ask for. Now, listen carefully Matilda because I'm going to be honest with you and I need you to understand what I'm about to say." She nodded. "There's something I can try, but it might now work. I can't make any promises but I'll try to save him, Matilda. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes Lady Yennefer, thank you." She replied giving her a meek smile and holding her head up a little higher.

"Good. Now stand back and don't come any closer until I say do."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this idea?" Said Geralt grumpily as he returned to Yennefer's side after pushing the crowd back to a safe distance. Her silence was putting him on edge.

"Because you won't." She answered candidly, without looking at him. "It's a spell I've been working on for a while now, I can use it to extract the poison. I felt it would be something useful to have, given the lifestyle of both you and our little Empress. But, the spell is…hmmm how can I say this in a way you'd understand…let's just say that the spell is imperfect. It's unrefined and in such a state there could be…side effects."

"Who for?"

"Me." Geralt sighed. Of course, he thought morbidly.

"What sort of side effects?"

"I don't know."

"Yen…"

"Geralt!" She snapped irritably glaring at him. "This isn't the time nor the place. I've made up my mind. I see no reason as to why the spell shouldn't work so I'm going to use it and I'll accept whatever consequences there are." He sighed.

"Geralt," she said tenderly offering him a small but sincere smile, "I know you dislike it when I endanger myself with spells and if there was another way, I'd take it, but this is all there is. I promise that this won't be like last time, whatever happens, I won't try and hide it from you. Then you can play Mother Hen to your heart's content. Okay?"

"Okay."

As Yennefer turned once more to the man lying at her feet, Geralt took several steps back but not enough that he couldn't reach her in time in case she passed out. He knew what she was like by now. But this wouldn't be like last time. Nothing could be like last time. He was wiser to it now.

"Galwaf ar y poen yn edrych" Bright blue tendrils of light began to fall from Yennefer's fingertips as she began the spell, wrapping themselves around Sovad who was still resting, unmoving, in the dirt "drwy'r gwythiennau hyn i'w dynnu o'r gwaed ac i lanhau'r corf."

Every blood vessel in the man's body seemed to radiate the same calming light as Yennefer's magic surged through his blood purposefully searching for the poison ravaging his body and pulling it towards the surface, back towards the wound. After about twenty minutes several drops of black liquid began to seep from the cut.

"Rwy'n galw chi allan a'ch gwahardd!"

More corrupted liquid began to pool on the floor around him as its colour changed from a dark black to a more diluted grey until eventually clean crimson blood was flushed from his body which eventually died down to nothing more than a small trickle.

"Geralt, check him." Said Yennefer quietly as she closed her eyes and put a hand to her temple.

The Witcher nodded and took several steps towards the worker kneeling on the ground beside him. He could hear that his heart beat was already slowing back down to its normal resting pace and that his breathing had become more even while some colour was beginning to return to his skin as his eye fluttered open. He groaned loudly and tried to sit up.

"Easy there Sovad, take it slow." Said Geralt, helping him up into a sitting position. "That was a close call you had there."

"What…" He muttered in confusion before his eyes fell upon the carcass lying several metres away and his hand instinctively shot to the small gash on his side.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Matilda, after a nod from Yennefer to show her approval, ran full speed towards her father as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Shhhh, there there Matty, don't worry everything's alright." He said reassuringly, stroking her hair.

"I thought I was going to lose you too, like Mummy." Whimpered the small girl through small sobs but she was smiling broadly nevertheless as she turned to Sorceress. "Oh, thank you, thank you Lady Yennefer."

She smiled in gratitude, rolled her eyes, and fainted.

In the few seconds it took Geralt to reach her, Yennefer had already come back round but still seemed more than a little out of sorts as the Witcher knelt beside her propping her up against him to support her as they sat in the dirt.

"Hmmm, that was a little unexpected I'll admit, but not particularly bad as far as side effects go. Guess you've missed out on a chance to act Mother Hen, Geralt, much to my delight." Said the Enchantress running a hand through her hair to remove some of the locks obscuring her face.

"Yen, your nose is bleeding."

"Is it now."

She brought her hand up to her face, catching a few red droplets on her finger before wiping them away with another of Vivienne's handkerchiefs. Apparently, it was custom for Ladies in Toussaint to carry an infinite supply.

"Only a few drops Geralt, nothing to get excited over. Now let's get inside before this sunlight gives me a migraine, I-"

Yennefer bent over double sending raven locks tumbling over her shoulders as violent coughs racked her body.

"Yen…"

Gingerly Geralt pulled back some of the hair which was shielding her face from him and he saw that the handkerchief she had automatically brought up to cover her mouth was now coated in blood. A lot more than several drops. As his fingers brushed her face he could feel the heat emanating from her skin which was growing deathly pale before his very eyes as she continued to cough up blood eyes shifting in and out of focus as she went limp in his arms.

"Someone get me a horse, now!" Shouted the Witcher as he scooped Yennefer up off the floor as though she was made of air, her head lolling ever so slightly before she rested it against his chest, muttering something very quietly in a croaky voice.

"Guess I spoke too soon."

Notes

Hi guys, long time no see! Here's the first chapter of this little short story, some nice fluff to tie us over until The Realm of Glass and to make up for certain…things… that happened in Promises of Love, and Death. Hope you like it and sorry the chapter is short, I'm just pushed for time still with work and getting ready for university, should be an update every other week at least 😊

PS: If anyone is wondering about the 'last time' I've been mentioning, all I can say is that it's a reference (and a sneak peek) of one of the events set to happen in a story I'm working on (mentioned on my Tumblr) called 'Let Me Worry', because I imagine that all my stories are set in the same universe. If you're interested I've also created a timeline for my world on Tumblr :)