The Surprise of a Lifetime (Part 1) (Page 44)

Ciri is ready to tear Jaskier a new one. She's holding him by the collar with her left hand and pointing right at his nose with her right. "I'll break this if you interrupt what I'm about to say." She's always been the one to do that type of thing too. "I'm only saying this once, Jaskier. Keep that whore away from us. If you don't, I'll kill her." Ciri keeps her word, no matter what.

She's serious about making sure Jaskier gets the idea and keeps Priscilla away. "Okay, Ciri, I can do that. Please... Just don't hurt her..." The man is pulling the friend card to protect someone he really likes. Ciri releases a sigh... She relents in the end and nods her head in confirmation. "Thank you so much! I'll leave you guy's to your plans for today!" He quickly leaves before Ciri can do anything else. She turns to me and walks over to the couch to sit down.

She's still limping from our activities last night. "We have a lot to do today. We can talk to Jaskier about the plan to get the magic item fixed after we're done today. For now, we're heading to Brennen's to tell him where we're living." She moves over to me, and we're shoulder to shoulder. She leans her head on me to relax.

I truly enjoy this moment between us. Relaxing alone together, enjoying each other's company. It's a nice feeling. "Let me know when you are ready to leave, Cera. You're the one carrying me." I don't mind at all. Now that I think about it, we have been going and going since Crows Perch. I forgot to ask her an important question that we've been avoiding.

She moves in closer as I wrap my arm around her lower back. It's nice to have solitude with the one I love. "Do we know what we're going to tell Yen and Geralt? I feel the longer they're in the dark, the madder they'll be." Yen would be furious that I got married without her being here for it. She'll punish me by lighting my ass on fire.

Ciri laughs at my question. I'm glad she thinks it's funny that we're going to piss them off. "That didn't stop us from having fun, did it? I recall neither of us worrying about them when you explode in me." She brings up a great and slightly sexual point. We haven't tried to really do anything. We have no way of contacting them.

Ciri is easily lifted since she's so light, and I carry her with me to the balcony. The city is much worse than I remember, sad to see it fall so far because of a mad king. It's hard to see which is worse sometimes.

Nilfgaard and The Northern Kingdoms are a dilemma in choosing the lesser evil. "Do you think that when our journey is over, we can retire to a farm or remote keep like Kaer Morhen together?" Thinking about growing old with Ciri is something that I could only dream of. Now it's a possibility after all this is over.

She tightens her grip around me as we both enjoy the view, for what it's worth. "That sounds like the best idea ever, Cera... Not having to worry about our enemies and having the days to ourselves..." They won't stop looking for her, and they'll find out about me... If they haven't already... We get closer to our goal every day, and the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little bit brighter.

We have important people and things to do today, so leaving is perfect. "Time for us to go, just relax, for now, Ciri. It's a long walk." She hums into my ear as she gets comfortable and leans her head on my shoulder and the side of her head on mine. I carry her outside the Minstrel, and we make our way to Brennen first.

The lady lives a bit closer to the woods than the city, unlike Brennen. We should get back by nightfall, if not later, after everything is taken care of. There is a long walk ahead of me, but we can also see about the rings. Brennen seems like the type of man to have a wife. Hopefully, his wasn't taken because of this war.

After 2 hours of slow walking, I make out a familiar house with stained glass windows. "Ciri, we're almost there..." My gentle whisper causes her to slowly awake, but she doesn't respond. Taking a nap while I carry her... Talk about a nice way to spend the day... "Ciri, it's time to wake up... We made it to Brennen's..." She shifts a bit, and she lifts her head slightly to take a look as well.

She leans back down on me and sighs in comfort. "I fell asleep... Sorry about that..." She wipes drool from my shoulder as she says that. I would sleep too. That's the best way to recover from injuries... We won't be so rough next time. That was a bad idea now that I think about it. We arrive at his doorstep, and I knock. We hear someone walk over and open it.

Brennen looks at us with a smile. Guess he wanted visitors today. People get lonely after isolation like this. "What are you two love birds doing here?" I hope that he isn't having any trouble working on the rings. They were complicated and intricate designs to do by hand. Mages would just enchant something to do it for them, but it doesn't come out very good when they do that.

He welcomes us in, and I bring Ciri to the couch so she can sit down while we talk. "We came by to tell you that we moved to a different place. It's called the Rosemary and Thyme on Glory Lane." He looks at us with a knowing smile. He knows that place is being turned into something men fancy. As I sit next to Ciri, we unconsciously hold hands. It has become second nature to have some sort of physical contact when we're together.

He walks over to his workbench and pulls out the two rings. "I finished them last night, so no need to deliver them now. They're my best work. You're lucky. I've got a boost in my work as of late." My shock is evident looking at the beautiful rings. They match perfectly with the rings we chose. He hands me Ciri's, and he hands Ciri mine. I know exactly what to do at this moment.

Without hesitation, I get on one knee. We may be engaged, but we never got to have a moment like this together. Her eyes are slowly getting wet. I feel like tearing up too... "Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon. Will you marry me, Cera Riannon Dorren Amavet?" After I utter these words, she breaks down. She lunges into me and squeezes the life out of me.

She pulls away from me with smeared makeup she just fixed earlier today. "Yes! I'll marry you, Cera!!" I slide the ring onto her left-hand ring finger and stand us up. She does the same to me. We stare at them. We take turns hugging Brennen for this amazing surprise. This is the best day of my life!! It's now official! Ciri and I are going to be husband and wife!!

We head out for the next meeting we need to get to after saying goodbye to Brennen. I'm carrying Ciri once again as we continue. She hums a pleasant melody into my ear, expressing her happiness. I'll do whatever Brennen requests to repay him for the lovely rings he's given to us.