The Long Road to Novigrad (Part 4) (Page 26)

The fire has kept us warm. I can feel the sunlight come through the trees as the morning rises. I feel a weight and pressure covering my entire abdomen. Ciri has her upper body on top of mine. One leg is brought up to my waist. Her knee is bent, making it comfortable for her. Her other leg is parallel to mine. I'm up before her again. She really did lose the habit of getting up before me. Did it come with age? I know that we'll make it to the border today. It's only half a day's ride there.

I could just let her sleep in. It's not like we won't make it there. I think that she deserves the extra sleep too. I feel the dry grass and chilly wind. Rain will be a problem on this journey. It shouldn't bother us in Novigrad. If it does rain on our journey... Let's just say I don't have magic for that. Gaunter would. He would keep us dry sometimes. If he had to tag along with me, sometimes the contract would demand something like that. He made some crazy deals, but he got what he wanted in the end. I still never found out who he really is. I never bothered asking him. It might have saved me since I didn't.

I feel movement on top of me, and I can feel her rub her body against mine. I have a moment of ecstasy and clear my mind fast. "Mmmmm.~..." I don't think she has the same thoughts as me. I feel her left hand move up and brush my face. She looks up at me with only one eye open. "You make a wonderful bed.~..." I'm strangely happy about that. A thing that love does to you. I wonder what she was dreaming about? I didn't have nightmares this time, which was nice.

I want to get moving soon. I shouldn't rush this nice morning, though. "You have a funny use for a bed. I didn't know they could make you sound like that." She reaches under my shirt and gives a gentle twist. It was a bad joke. I can't help it, though. It was one of the things that kept my mind together in the worst parts of my journey with Gaunter.

She twists a little bit more and sighs. "You're an idiot, Cera... I love that about you, though... Reminds me of Kaer Morhen..." I didn't know that. It makes sense since she puts up with it. I can see the horses are also awake now that we've made some noise. I don't want to think how long this journey would be without the Baron's horses.

I lean up with her still wrapped around me. "C'mon, Cera.~... I don't want to leave just yet. I want to relax with you..." I'll have to deny that request. I should let her have what she wants soon. She'll get tired of me saying no. You gotta listen to the one you love if you want it to work.

I pick her up and carry her to the horses. She wraps her arms around me and leans her head into my chest. "We gotta go, Ciri. When we get to Novigrad, we can take a day for a break." She hasn't let go. What am I supposed to do here? I hold her for another 10 minutes. It's easy because she's light. She lifts her head and unwraps her arms. She's getting off now. She rubs the gunk out of her eyes, and I get a look at her beautiful face without makeup. "Wow..." She's more beautiful without the eye shadow. I keep staring and staring without hearing her.

~~~(POV Ciri)~~~

He's staring at my face. He looks like he's in a different place. He was rude in saying that after seeing me without makeup. "You got a problem, Cera?" He's still silent and just staring at my face. I'm getting mad at this behavior. I slug him hard in his shoulder, and he looks at me with a red face. "I didn't know you hated my face without makeup..." I feel like I found a horrible quality about him.

He looks at me with eyes not of hate or disgust but shock. "You're really beautiful without your makeup on, Ciri! I like you more this way..." I feel my chest get tight, and heat travels to my face. I didn't know that... I applied makeup to ease the scar on my face. Cera likes my scar, though...

I feel embarrassed... I don't think he heard my question now that I think about it. "Oh..." That's all I can say in response to his thoughtful words. However, many would see me differently than Cera does. I can't count the number of times people stared at my scar. It made me change things about myself. "You need to be careful about what you say to women when I am not around Cera... Promise me that you won't say something like that to another... " A very large part of me wants to make sure this part of him is hidden. I will not lose him to another woman who is captured by his sweet words.

He looks at me, confused. "Yeah, Ciri... I promise, I really think we should get going..." Relief comes over me. I walk to my horse and apply makeup anyway. I still need it on for other people. I know most won't look at me the way Cera does. Men either want to have me or try to force me, much to them losing their lives. Women ignore me, acting higher than me. Cera just sees people and me for who they are. A smart girl like me would see him and want him. Not happening while I'm around. I'm like Yen at this moment. She always kept Cera and Geralt in check. More so, Geralt, I wonder what she would think of Cera now.

We hop on our horses and head to the border. After many hours, we can see the line of people coming and going. Guess that means the border is open. We approach the entrance and are held up by a guard. "State your reason for crossing into the Northern Kingdoms." I look to Cera, and he has a poker face on. I know he has a plan.

I hear him answer. "We're monster hunters. Nilfgaard is making it hard for us to make a living. Figured the Northern Kingdoms would be easier." Always quick on his feet. He got that from Yen. I took a lot more after Geralt. I hope I get to see him again soon. It's been many years since I last spoke to him. I hear the guard call over his commanding officer.

The short man walks over, and I snicker a little. It goes unnoticed. "Monster hunters, you say... You ever taken care of griffins?" Griffins, more than one. I like a challenge, but that could prove difficult. Cera looks at me. I get what he's getting at.

Cera gives them an answer. "For the right price, taking on more than one griffin is hard. We can do it, but it won't be cheap. 440 for each one." My, that is a lot of money. The guard captain looks displeased. However, he doesn't look like he'll turn it down. How did he know that he wouldn't turn it down?

The guards look at each other. "Fine, but you'll only get paid after. They're residing in the forest next to Ursten. If you bring other monsters back dead too, we'll compensate you for those too." I'm thoroughly surprised. I didn't think it would work so well. Geralt always had a hard time getting paid. Sometimes, he never got anything for his work.

We pass the border, and we're on our way to Ursten. I look at Cera. "How did you know they'd accept?" I have to know. I wouldn't have been able to pull that off. I want to know his secrets in finding weaknesses in people's minds. He's used it on me in playful fun only. This could prove a useful skill if I learn it.

He looks at me with a smile. "The guard's hands." Bollocks, that is absolute bollocks. There's no way that he knew all that from looking at the guard's hands.

I look at him and snort. "That's a load. If you didn't want to tell me, you could have just said so." I'm not going to believe that for a second.

He laughs at my response. Glad you find it funny, you sneak. "They were covered in human blood. Likely their allies trying to take care of the beasts. Add that to them asking, and you have everything you need." Well... Damn... I never picked up on that. Cera was always great with the things Vesemir taught him.

We make our way to Ursten and look around and find an inn to sleep in for the night. Cera pays for our room, and we make our way into the room. He wanted to rest and make sure the horses got food. They're my only solution to my aching feet. We enter, and I see the big bed. It seems I get to cash in now. I turn to him and give him a look that says everything.

He looks at me with a smile. "I did promise, didn't I... Let's bathe first, shall we?" This inn has a bath too. We put our swords on the nearest chair and take off our shoes. I still can't get over how tall he's gotten.

I grab his hand and squeeze it. He squeezes back. "I hope that you aren't tired, Cera.~... I want to have you all of you.~..." He blushes at that. It's cute how he can be that way with me. We make our way to the bath to clean up and have some fun.

[I added an Inn and a bath to Ursten, hope you guys don't mind. I never understood why it didn't have those since it was so close to the border and people would travel through often.]