After all this time.... (Page 15) (Part 1)

I've been waiting 6 days, and the guards are escorting a white-haired woman here. I haven't met anyone else with our hair color. The Baron wants to speak to her, and the little girl she brought with her, Ciri, saved her apparently. Philip Strenger doesn't know my relationship with Ciri. There are no extra rooms since he doesn't want to give up his wife and daughter's room. I guess we'll share our room just like at Kaer Morhen. I haven't been attracted to anyone other than Ciri because of the sheer focus on completing my task and her being the only girl on my mind.

I'm not expecting anything to happen between us. It'll be awkward though, what do I even say... I'm shirtless from getting covered in the rain. I had to take it off so it could dry. I was helping calm down the horses from the thunder. The scars covering my body are heavy on the eyes, now that I take a harder look after all this time. They're quite brutal. How did I survive some of these? I got my magic to thank for that. I hear the conversation in the other room while I wait for her to come.

~~~(POV Ciri)~~~

It's been a while since I had some good food. Being on the run makes it hard. I made a good getaway, and now I'm in the clear. As long as I don't teleport far, I won't have to rush anymore. The Baron has been talking about his family and how much he misses them. I miss my family too. I can't remember the last time Yen was truly happy... Not after Cera was... I can't even finish that thought without coming to tears. It tore me up when we couldn't find him.

Way more than I let others see, I don't even know if he's alive anymore. "You're welcome to stay here if you like... You'll sadly have to share a room with another traveler, though. It's the last room I have." Philip seems like a nice man. I hope he gets his family back.

I'm not fond of sharing a room with a stranger. I wouldn't normally even consider it, but I'm too tired and wet from the rain to really reject. It'll be the first time I've ever done it. I should make sure the person is at least decent. "You trust them?" I won't be sharing a room with someone unjust and vile.

Philip takes a swig of alcohol and squints his eyes slightly. "Yes... He's a good young man... Same age as you, I reckon, quite the warrior himself as well. They call him Emerald Death in the more distant parts of the continent. Pretty quiet, however. Only gives one-word responses most of the time. Said more the first time we met than in the six days he's been here." I've never heard of him. I've been running for a long time, so I would be out of touch with famous individuals.

I can stay here while I decipher Avallac'h's coded message. It should take some time. "I do wish to rest. I'll go to my room after I'm done eating. Thanks for the help, Philip." I approach him and give him a handshake. My feet hurt from running all this way. In heels, no less, I'd like to see Geralt do that.

He pulls away from the handshake and gives a smile missing some teeth. "Do take care, Ciri... I wish to play with you tomorrow." Gretka is a sweet girl. I wouldn't mind playing with her tomorrow. Still innocent to the evilest of creatures. I leave and head to my room.

~~~(POV Cera)~~~

I'm sitting towards the wall with my back to the door. I want to surprise her. I know she won't recognize me without seeing my face. I hear footsteps approach the door, and it opens. With the slight click of heels, she approaches her own bed. She takes off her boots pretty fast. I hear her voice.

It's gentle and feminine, has a sweet undertone to it too. With the same Cintranian accent she had as a kid. "Quite the scars you have there... The most I have seen on a man..." I can't help the nervous thoughts, mainly at rejecting the thought of me here. I have no idea how much pain she's been through because of me. She might resent me.

I say the first thing that comes to mind as all men do. "Yeah." That is all I can say. How much of a chicken shit am I? I've killed many horrible men and monsters, and I'm still scared of her.

~~~(POV Ciri)~~~

Philip was right. He's quiet. He sounds so familiar. I can't place it. However, the short white hair is distracting me. "So, what brings you to Crow's Perch?" I don't want to share a room with someone who's a stranger. I should know about the people I share a room with. This is a first for me, though. I've never been with anyone, but he probably won't know how I've been waiting for him for so long.

After a couple of seconds, he responds. To my shock. "To meet an old friend..." My heart takes a higher pace. I know that voice. I'm shaking like a hairless cat in the middle of winter right now. I feel like I'm going to throw up.

I ask a question that I gave up on ever getting to ask. "Is that you... Cera?" My shaky voice is pathetic, but I can't help it. He tenses up and sighs. His ripped body shifts to look at me. We make eye contact, and I know it's him.

I can't believe I met him here of all places. "Hey..." My anger quickly builds at his words. Wow, that struck a nerve I didn't know I had.

I get up in a fury and charge at him. Prepared to unleash physical pain. "Is that all you have to say for yourself!?! After all this time, all you say is 'Hey.'!!!" I'm rightfully mad right now. I don't know if I can calm down enough to stop myself from attacking him.

~~~(POV Cera)~~~

I shouldn't be surprised she's upset. I dropped the ball on that one. I fully turn my body to her, and she immediately rushes me and strikes my face. Pretty hard too. She hits me a few more times. Guess I deserve that. I catch her wrists as she struggles to get free.

She calms down after a couple more tries. "How could you just leave me like that?! I love you, Cera... It crushed me when you vanished!!!" She begins to break down into tears. I let go of her wrists, and she immediately tries to wrap her arms around my medium frame, having barely succeeded.

She holds me, and I gently wrap my arms around her, not knowing what to do. "Say something... If it makes me mad, I'll beat you up..." Tears in her eyes fall on my bare chest and stomach. Her head is buried in my chest as she cries.  She crushes me harder as if I would disappear again.

I don't know what to really say, so I should just start at the bottom of my heart. "I thought about you every day... Regretting that I left you like that... I did what I needed to do, and I'm here to stay..." She doesn't let me go for a good couple of minutes. I remove my arms and start to move backward. She's still hanging on tight as her face is buried in my chest and her toes drag across the soft wooden floor.

It's cute, in my opinion. "Please, Cera... I didn't think you were alive and safe... Just let me have this?" That's is a fair request. I would do the same in her shoes. 11 years is a very long time. I can't hold my happiness for this moment, and my tears start to fall on top of her head.

She lifts her head from my chest and looks up at me. "What happened to you after you left?" That question hurts more than my pride will admit. So much for being strong.

I don't know if I should tell her. The stories could provoke another violent outburst from her. "You wouldn't look at me the same if you knew..." She looks at me with pain in her eyes. She looks at my chest and body. She traces her hands over the biggest scars. Suddenly a shiver goes up my spine.

Now that wasn't what I was expecting. She notices that and begins to chuckle. "You really have changed..." I don't know what that means, but I raise my hand to her face and rub four fingers into her hair, and stroke her scar with my thumb.

Adds more beauty if I have a say. "Mmmmm..." Wow, I'm getting a lot hotter, and I think she's in the same boat as me. She unconsciously presses her whole body against mine. My god that feels so good.

~~~(POV Ciri)~~~

I can't believe he can do this to me after all this time. At this point, I don't care. Only he can make me feel like this. I want more so badly, and I plan to get what I want. I push him towards the bed, and we lose balance as I fall on top of him. I crawl with my clothed body dragging up his shirtless one. His muscles feel sooo goood.

I'm face to face with him. We both have half-lidded eyes and are taking deep breaths as the heat rises between us. I give another kiss to the boy who took my first and only ones. We move our lips together and are at a slow but hot pace. I lean up and take my shirt off.

I can't stop myself. I don't know what's coming over me. It's a force inside me, clawing to get out, and I can do nothing to resist it. I don't want to resist it. "You won't stop this..." My breasts are hanging out. They are small, in my opinion. However, I don't think he really cares with that amazed look on his face. I lean in, and we start kissing hot and slow as we rub each other's bodies against one another.

I can feel his erection pressing against my clothed thigh. He has a second sword down there. I wrap my hands around his neck and stick my tongue in his mouth good and slow. The pleasure goes sky-high as our tongues rub together in the slow hot heat. He enters my mouth as it passes undermine and circles back around. "Hhhmmm..." He sure does catch on fast.

Now it's time to take it up a notch. I'll make sure you know you are mine, Cera. I won't lose you to anyone or anything again. We are both 21 now, it's our decision to do this, and we will remember it for the rest of our lives.