TWENTY-TWO | HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Geralt and Caira rode out of the abandoned Cintra on horseback. A week had passed as they travelled, and they caught up on the month of being apart. Geralt had reunited with Yennefer as they hunted a dragon's egg, and they found a rare kind of dragon on their adventure. The story took up a whole of three days, and the rest of the four days, they filled up the time loving on each other or Caira telling him about her trip back to Astoria. She told him that she felt like her mother approved of her, and that she'd like Geralt—in a way, they were somewhat similar. They both had trouble expressing their affections.

Meg and Roach trotted at the same pace out into the dark woods, where dozens of abandoned tents were left behind by escaping Cintran civilians. On their way out, they spotted an old man dragging the hundreds of dead bodies into a single pile in the woods. Geralt and Caira halter to a stop. "I'll winds follow grave robbers." Geralt spoke aloud as he tried to decipher what the old man was doing with the dead bodies, his brows knitted together.

"If I was a robber, I'd be taking their belongings, Butcher." The old man hissed. Caira cringed at the nickname she had started.

"If I was a butcher, you'd be amongst the corpses." Geralt retorted.

"I was going home to my family when I came upon these poor souls. Cintran refugees. Dead at least a week. Now they're a feast for the crows." The old man spoke as he continued to haul bodied into one singular pile.

Geralt listened to the silent night, buzzing with crickets and flies flying around the dead. "They're not crows." Geralt informed the man.

"Wolves?"
"No."

"With the hands of three, I could move quicker." The old man proposed they helped.

"The only thing you should do quickly is flee," Geralt warned the man, "come on, back to Kaer Morhen." He clicked his tongue to signal Roach and Meg to continue riding.

"Don't leave! Look at these people! Innocent people, killed for what?" The old man shouted as they left him behind. "So Nilfgaard can have more land? We owe it to them to do better."

"I'm not better." Geralt mumbled as they rode along. Caira looked back at the old man as they continued, but, once they were out of the man's view—Geralt stopped them in their tracks once again. He hopped off Roach and told Caira to "stay here." Of course, she didn't listen, and hopped off Meg to sneak behind Geralt and watch what he was going to do.

Just as Geralt approached the old man, the old man was attacked by undead monsters who from from the ground. They clawed at the man's legs and Geralt began to run toward him to save him. Geralt chugged a vile of black liquid as he hurried up to the old man, triggering his Witcher form, and slashed his sword across the monsters' heads. Killing them instantly. "Go home." Geralt ordered the man.

"I can help."

"One bite will kill you." Geralt informed the very mortal man. That was exactly the reason why he told Caira to stay on Meg. But, she was stubborn and still lingered behind a tree to watch him as he saved the old man. He was truly a kind hearted person, but he didn't like to show it.

"Or you!"

"Go... home!" Geralt growled.

"All right." The old man scurried away onto his wagon as Geralt took a glance around the forest, smelling the air. He smelled Caira's sweet scent reach his nose and he turned around to see her poking her head around a nearby tree. "I told you—" Geralt began to chastise her.

She waved him off, leaving her hiding spot from behind the tree and approached Geralt. "I know, I know." She unsheathed her sword—Fireheart—and held it by her side as she stood close to Geralt, feeling his warmth in the cold night. His blackened eyes looked down at her, and somehow, even in that form, he still managed to look sweetly and longingly at her. Caira recalled that the first time she had seen him, he was in such a form.

Geralt refocused to watch for anymore undead monsters crawling out the ground while the old man prepared to leave. Caira tried to listen intently, too, despite the fact her hearing wasn't nearly as good as Geralt. Still, the monsters managed to make a loud enough howl as they charged in on Caira and Geralt to have them react at the same exact moment. Caira took the beast to the left as she swung her sword at the fleshy thing jumping at her. Her sword shined as it flew through the air, and just as it was about to hit the monster's skull, it lit on fire. The sword wedged itself between the monster's eyes and she used her foot to unskewer it from her flaming sword. "Woah." Caira was shocked to see the magic her sword possessed. "Fireheart." She breathed, realizing the meaning behind the name of the sword.

Even Geralt was taken aback by her sword, seemingly in awe of it at he took a moment to gasp at it before returning to slaughtering monsters charging at him from the ground. One monster crawled underneath the soil toward Geralt, and he skewered his sword into the Earth to kill it. However, another monster to that as it's opportunity to charge at Geralt and tackle him while he was temporarily swordless.

Caira was distracted by her sword, suddenly feeling powerful. She swung her sword this way and that, feeling like a dancer as he dodged and slaughtered the monsters. Their eyes glowed yellow and were sunken deep into their emaciated skulls. Their jaws opened wide to reveal a rotten tongue and cracked teeth, likely from chewing on the bones of dead creatures. Though their body was very human like, it was lanky and thin. Nevertheless, they were fast and strong. Whatever supernatural forces that had bestowed life on them, had also bestowed a hunger for food which made them incredibly fast and powerful.

The monsters snarled as they charged at both Caira and Geralt. They managed to take over Geralt, climbing all over him. All the while, Caira kept them at bay as she partially scared them off with her flaming sword and killed dozens of them within a couple of minutes. Geralt grunted. Caira snapped her head over to him and saw him losing to the monsters. She threw a dagger at the one climbing on top of his head and she charged at the others, managing to take out a couple in one swipe. She pulled his sword from the ground and tossed it over to him, he caught it effortlessly. They managed to rid themselves of the rest of the monsters hastily after that.

And once they were done, Caira twirled her sword in her hand and the fire went out. She beamed over at Geralt, who's eyes were tracking his thigh as he grunted in pain. Caira's eyes followed his and she gasped as she saw the bite mark on his expose thigh. The damned monster had bit through his leather pants. "Fuck." He cursed, as he looked, sadly up to Caira. He dropped to his knees.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She frantically dropped her sword and grabbed his shoulders. He leaned his body weight on her, and she held on so he wouldn't fall. He breathed heavily, his brows furrowed. Her hands met his face and she forced him to look her in the eyes. "Do not close your eyes, Geralt!" She screamed through gritted teeth. Her eyes began to well up with hot tears as she saw the energy leave his eyes.

"Please, please, please." She buried her head in his chest.

"Not a happily ever after, after all." He tried to chuckle the severity of the situation away.

She felt his entire body weight slump onto her. "I love you, Caira." Was the last thing she heard him say before he blacked out completely.

She let out a gutteral scream. Her heart tore to pieces. She had heard him when he had said a single bite could kill the old man, and even himself. She began to sob hysterically, shrieking and crying as she stared down at Geralt's still body.

The old man returned as he had heard her screams. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, you're okay." He assured her, as he lifted her off the ground. She blacked out after that, the pain she was enduring was too much for her heart to handle.