The End of the War

Serena shuddered under his gaze and looked down. She bit her lip, indecisive.

If I choose the mages, I can easily kill Emhyr. But if I choose him, I have the entire sorcerer society as my enemies, and Nilfgaard's, she thought sadly. I know what I have to do.

She looked back up at him and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But for the best interests of Nilfgaard, I will not make the Brotherhood of Sorcerers Nilfgaard's main enemy."

Emhyr looked saddened by her choice, but understood her reasoning.

"Very well then, sunshine."

Serena watched as he pulled out his sword. She did too, knowing that her poor skills made her at a disadvantage.

"No tricks?"

"No tricks, no magic," she promised and smiled ruefully. "All's fair in love and war, am I right?"

He nodded and made the first move. Serena immediately went on the defensive, parrying each of his calculated attacks. Her whole focus went into ensuring that she did not get cut by his blade. But then, she timed a turn wrong, and his sword slid against the soft skin of her upper left arm.

"Ahh," she gasped.

Biting her lip, she ignored her bleeding arm. Serena kept her promise and didn't use magic to heal herself. Instead, she kept clanging metal against metal.

Thank the Sun Valentin showed me more than just the basics, she thought. Otherwise, I'd have been dead by now.

Serena quickly grew wearied, unused to the heavy labor of a sword, and battle in general. Also, the lightning stunt had taken more out of her than she had expected and soon, she collapsed to her knees out of exhaustion. Her head fell back as she felt the tip of his blade at her neck. Serena looked up at him.

"Why do you hesitate, Emhyr?" she asked quietly. "Upon this battlefield, I have committed serious, treasonous acts. You have every right to kill me here and now. Yet, you hesitate. Why?"

He looked down at her. "I remember seeing a innocent young woman at a ball six years ago. You were like a bright ray of sunshine, against my dark, greedy desires for more power and land."

"And now?"

"I don't see her anymore, and it saddens me."

"A half of her died with my father, and the other with my mother. I am not that woman anymore, Emhyr. And I never will be again."

She watched as his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. A sudden rush of fear coursed through her. The knowledge was setting in that she could possibly die here, in the middle of the forest, with no one knowing where she was.

They probably think I've betrayed them, Serena thought.

Her eyes followed his sword as he moved it from her neck. She swallowed, knowing he meant to either cut off her head or slit her throat. Either way, it was a gruesome way to die.

A single tear slid down her cheek as she closed her eyes, preparing for death. But no contact came. Then, she heard a thud. Confused, Serena opened her eyes to see the sword sticking up, out of the ground, right in front of her eyes. She looked up to see Emhyr looking down at her.

"I, I don't understand, sire. Why? Without me, the mages lose a valuable part of their plan to win. You could take Aretuza, and the mages wouldn't be able to stop you. Nilfgaard would be undefeatable."

"I've already lost many men to you today, Serena. I will not lose anymore."

She caught onto his meaning.

"You're calling a retreat?"

Serena watched him swallow and nod.

"I will leave soon, and you will return to the mages, saying that I'm dead."

She stared at him in shock.

He continued on, "That way, we both leave here today with our lives."

She hung her head. "I'm sorry, Emhyr. For even trying to..."

Serena couldn't finish her sentence. She looked up at the man she had married, tears brimming in her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered.

"Goodbye, Serena. I hope you live a good life."

He turned around and began to walk away from her.

"Wait!" she called. "Your sword!"

Swiveling his head towards her, he smiled sadly.

"I can get another. Take it back to your mages for proof."

"Emhyr, the blood."

This time, he turned all the way back around. He held out his hand. She handed the sword over to him and gasped, unable to stop him before he drove the sword into his thigh.

"Emhyr!" she cried.

He pulled the sword out and threw it to the side. Despite everything, Serena's first concern was her monarch. She dropped to her knees in front of him.

"What was this for?"

"Believability."

Realization dawned on her. Serena immediately placed her hands over his wound and murmured in Elder. She knew there was a price to pay for what she was doing, but at the moment, she didn't care. Using magic, she healed Emhyr's wound and felt the toll of it on her. Chaos didn't come from nothing, after all.

Her eyelids fluttered as she nearly passed out. She checked to make sure his wound had fully healed before going limp against him.

"Serena!"

Then, everything melted to darkness.

When she woke back up, Serena heard a collective sigh of relief. She looked around and saw Tissaia, Yennefer, Valentin, and Geralt who was more in the corner of the room.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I found you at the outskirts of the woods, with Emperor Emhyr's bloodied sword," Valentin said. "You were unconscious though."

"I exerted myself more than I thought," Serena murmured. "I passed out from exhaustion."

"So," Yennefer began. "The Emperor of Nilfgaard is dead."

Serena looked at her, swallowed, and nodded.

"Yes, he is. The war with Nilfgaard is over. We've won."