Meeting my savior and making a new friend (Page 6)

Everything is bright. I open my eyes and see that I'm not home anymore. I lift myself from the bed and look around. I'm in a castle or at least a keep. I walk over to the balcony, and I'm barely tall enough to look over. White-capped mountains and snowfall everywhere. The sun is barely coming through the clouds. Snow and sun at the same time, I've never seen that before. I look at the surrounding forest and trees to see a lake off in the distance to the right.

I remember what happened to my parents and Mar... My eyes water up, and I cry tears like no tomorrow. I never would've thought that my parents would die like that... Especially this soon... I thought I'd have them till I was their age. They died because of me. I've lost everything that I love because of this power. I'm sorry, mom and dad. I should have listened to you more.

I dry my tears and look for a way out of this place. There is a door to my left, and I try to open it. It's locked good and tight. Well, a locked door can't get in my way anymore. I use my power, and once on the other side, I immediately almost fall down some stairs.

I throw my arms, trying to regain my balance. "Whoa!! I should've taken a better look before teleporting through the door..." I steady myself and start my descent down the stairs. I hear voices talking to each other—two men, a woman, and what sounds like a young girl. I find my way to a giant room and some scattered tables. There's a big kitchen from the looks of it too.

I see the people who are talking, and the men look like they are old with their hair white, but they aren't old on closer inspection. The black-haired woman is very pretty. I look and see the girl I was hearing. She looks like a similar version of one of the white-haired ones and the black-haired lady. Maybe she is their kid? I wonder how I got here. This looks nothing like the forest and mountains around my home. Maybe whoever brought me here can use my magic too. Mar said my magic is special, so maybe not...

~~~(POV Yennefer)~~~

I look over and see a child similar to Ciri. I look to Geralt and Vesemir and give them a look to tell them the conversation is over. The best way to find out what happened is to ask Cera himself. I have no clue as to what happened to his family other than some leftover frost.

He'll tell us what we need to know. "I'll ask him what happened. I don't want you two scaring him. Ciri, you go finish your food." The two witchers give a knowing nod. However, Ciri isn't too happy about having to finish burnt food from bad cooks.

I approach the boy and see he just got done crying. It's never easy to lose parents. I can only guess what happened there. Everything was gone when I arrived, and at the center was Cera. I slow down and put my hands on his shoulders as I kneel in front of him.

He gives me a sad look. One that I've seen too many times in my life. "Where am I... The last thing I remember was my mom dying..." His voice is low and sad. Knowing what I have to do next doesn't make it better.

I don't take pleasure in asking these questions, especially to a child. "You're at a keep called Kaer Morhen. I brought you here after I found you at your old home. I was wondering if you could tell me what happened?" I try and make him feel safer, but this is an unfamiliar environment to him. I have become better with kids ever since Ciri came into our lives.

Despite my improvements because of Ciri, I feel it's going to be harder with Cera. "Oh..." He weakly responds as if already knowing. The kid really needs some comfort. I give him the best motherly hug I can give. He wraps his little arms around me and puts his head in my neck. I feel his tears running down my shoulder.

I pull him away and ask him again to tell me what happened. "Mar and I were walking in the forest while mom and dad had a fight... It was about me and my magic..." He pauses to remember what else happened.

He looks me in the eye as he continues. "A really cold air came through. It was so bad that plants and water froze at its presence. Mar and I headed back home to warm up. As we got closer, the cold got worse." He stops suddenly as tears well in his eyes.

I hug him again and try to make him feel better, a pain that I'll never know. So this is the best I can do. "It's okay, your safe here. Nobody can hurt you." I hope he will continue. It's obvious he is scared. Whatever happened is bad enough to leave a mental scar like this.

The more he tells me, the more I'll understand. "I saw black-armored soldiers. They were really tall. Their armor was covered in frost, and the ground beneath them was frozen from the cold." I know exactly who he is talking about.

If they are after him, then they will also come for Ciri. "The leader said I had come just in time, and he ordered his soldiers to grab me... Mom yelled for me to run, but I tried to save them with my magic... It didn't work how I wanted it to... Soon Mar and dad were dead. Mom tried, but she was also killed." He finishes with tears coming from his eyes. Barely keeping a normal voice.

I wipe his tears with my thumbs and fix his white hair slightly. "You were very brave, Cera... Go over to that table. I'm sure you'll be fast friends with her. Introduce yourself just like your parents taught you, okay? I need to talk to my friends now." He hurries off to Ciri's table. He has to be pretty hungry. I hope he likes burnt meat and bread.

I walk over to Geralt and Vesemir to talk about the conversation I just had with Cera. I don't have to fill in the details because they heard. We do, however, have to talk about the enemies that were after Cera.

It's pretty common in our group that run-ins with the Aen Elle happen. "So, you have the same idea as me?"  Geralt has the most experience dealing with the wild hunt. So he'll know or not.

He looks over to the boy and sighs slightly. "He definitely had a run-in with The Wild Hunt... He described them perfectly without even knowing who they are..." I look to Vesemir and ask the question that I have been avoiding.

Cera needs a place to stay, and he can't stay with me. Not right now, at least. "Will you let him stay here? I know the witcher's code, but can you make an exception for him?" He's the owner of this keep.

I could just make him, but that will cause even more tension. "Hmmm... I don't see the harm. We are the last witchers anyway... Not like we are making any more of us. He can stay here." I thank him, and we continue on how we are going to hide both Cera and Ciri.

~~~(POV of Ciri)~~~

I'm eating this horrible food as the boy from earlier comes and sits across from me with food just like mine. He stares at it for a while, and I stare at him. He finally looks at me, and I notice we have very similar eyes. I won't lie. He's a cutie.

As I finish my thought, he finally speaks. "Hi." He must be embarrassed or shy. It's like he's never talked to another person before.

I take control of the situation since he sucks at talking. "Hi, my name is Ciri. What's your name?" I ask him with energy that hopefully makes him energetic too.

He fiddles with his fingers and answers in a small voice. "My name is Cera... It's nice to meet you..."  He doesn't sound shy but sad instead.

I may be overstepping my bounds, but he looks like he needs a friend. "Why are you sad? Is it because of the food? That would make anyone cry." This food is truly terrible. I'm definitely sad I have to eat it.

He shakes his head and looks to the side. Avoiding eye contact. "No... Well, yes, a little... But that isn't why I'm sad." He dances around my question.

Maybe I can help cheer him up. "How about we go play in the snow outside? That always makes me feel better." It would be nice to have a friend to play with around here.

He looks up at me with a tiny cure smile. "Yeah... That sounds like a good idea. Dad would always beat me in a snowball fight. Maybe I can actually win against you." Well, that sounds like a challenge to me.

I stand up full of energy. "Ha, if you think it'll be so easy, then your wrong. I'm going to wipe the floor with you." He smiles brightly for the first time, and it makes me smile brightly back at him.

He leans against the table and looks me in the eyes. "Well, we won't know till we try, now won't we?" We run outside and start to have fun. We don't know who won or lost, but I guess that doesn't matter. Soon Geralt and Vesemir come out.

They know just when to spoil the fun. "Alright, I think that's enough fun for today, you little hellions. It's getting really dark, and we have to get up early to train." As much as I hate training in the morning, getting good rest is important.

Since Cera will be staying here, that must mean he's going to train with us. "Does that mean Cera will train with us as well?" I see the all too familiar look on his face.

The happy expression of Vesemir would make anyone a little creeped out. "Of course! We can't have someone live here and not train." I look over to Cera and see that he is happier now.

That's good. You won't be tomorrow. "Ciri, do you mind if Cera sleeps in your bunk tonight? We don't have a room set up for him yet." Geralt asks me. I don't see why not.

I can tell him what to expect tomorrow. "Yeah, that's fine. Come on, Cera, I'll show you your room for the night." I grab his hand, and we take off.

~~~(POV Geralt)~~~

I look at the retreating form of the kids, and I look to Vesemir and ask the obvious question. "So, do you think the plan will work?" What we have is a loosely constructed plan that may or may not work.

Not to mention it's very passive. "If we get help from the lodge, then yes. I'll be the one to train Cera. You focus on Ciri." It seems like my old master has taken an interest in Cera. I feel bad for the kid now, excluding what's already happened to him.

Vesemir sees my look and understands what I'm trying to ask. "He reminds me a lot of Ciri. She had nowhere else to turn, and neither does he... We can hide Ciri from The Wild Hunt since she can't use her powers yet, but we can't hide Cera. If he uses his power to do long-distance teleports, they'll know he's here. That's how they found him in the first place. At least, that's what Yennefer told me." I have a feeling it's going to get a lot busier around here.