Red- The Witcher

Eredin

Sage

I licked my lips and opened my eyes to see Cirilla staring beyond. Geralt had faced me, confusion on his face before it turned into a question, he was questioning me.

"Yes, Ciri, it's Duny," I nodded and I slowly turned around to see Emhyr. "But don't let him fool you, he's not the man you remember."

"Did you know he was alive?" she asked me.

"Only since the last time we were here," I said. "He goes by Emhyr, now."

"That's why you didn't tell me," her voice faltered. Duny opened his arm wide, expecting a hug, and Cirilla slowly approached him. I jumped a bit when she slapped him across the face, causing his men to draw their defenses but the Emperor calmed them. "You left me!"

"No-no-"

"Yes, you did! And then after many years, you take my home away from me!" Her voice was frail but she continued to shout with every pain in her body. "You should've stayed dead."

I began to think and I realized her screaming was causing chaos, it was disrupting something in the Continent. I quickly pulled her arm to drag her away from her father but she pulled back. When I saw Eredin marching across the ground, I pulled her again, this time, even harder.

"Geralt," I called out. "Take her and go!"

"Don't you dare take my daughter away from me!" Emhyr shouted.

"Shut the fuck up! You took my son and killed him!" I yelled back, pushing Ciri towards Geralt. He took her hand and got onto the horse, galloping away. I glanced at Yennefer who should've been going along with them but I knew she wanted to stay for the fight.

We felt heavy thuds coming from behind us and I turned to see Eredin picking up his speed and running. He sprinted across the field, leaping into the air, and pulled a sword from nothing using magic. On his way down, he struck the head of the horse, Roach, and tossed her body to the side, dismantling her riders.

"No!" I cried out. Yennefer opened a portal for us to save the distance of traveling and we landed in front of them. Eredin was about to strike Ciri's protector and the essence of Geralt's death was crawling up my shoulder and I couldn't afford to lose anyone else. I dove in front of Geralt and stretched my arm in front of the sword, letting out a keen.

As the blade kept coming, the direction of my voice shattered the metal into pieces and even tore through Eredin's mask. It broke in half, falling away from his face and he stopped moving, taking deep and normal breaths in front of me.

"Not him," I said, panting. "Not him."

His nose twitched before he pulled his composure and ordered one of his men, Imlerith, to take Cirilla. Geralt tried to fight for her but I prevented him to do so. My body grew heavy, my eyes sunken in, and I sighed, taking a deep breath, and fell against Geralt's chest.

I woke up to the sound of the floorboards creaking. My eyelids strained to open but when they did, I saw Jaskier walking back and forth. At my feet, Geralt was sitting on the bed and Yennefer was on the other side.

I finally made noise to show them that I was awake and slowly pulled myself up, resting my head on the backboard. When I looked around the room, I remembered everything: my son, Eredin and the Hunt, Cirilla. I thought it was just a dream, a surreal story cramped into my special mind, but unfortunately, it wasn't.