Chapter 36:

In the beginning, said a Persian poet Allah took a rose, a lily, a dove, a serpent, a little honey, a Dead Sea apple, and a handful of clay. When he looked at the amalgram it was a woman. - William Sharp

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.O.V Switch: Mousesack

1 Day Prior:

Current Year: 1261

"So you're telling me…" The queen said with a tone of complete condescension. "Harkon was allowed to leave… on his own, mind you,… and Ciri, the nine year old that she is, escaped from a heavily guarded castle to chase after him?"

"Yes, your grace…" I responded meekly. I was beginning to sweat under her majesty's intense stare.

"Why?" Calanthe asked with a tone of ice. I don't actually think I've seen her this angry before. I suppose if my family was missing in a place as dangerous as Skellige, I'd be upset too.

"What do you mean, Queen Calanthe?" I asked the obvious.

"Why, my oblivious advisor, was Harkon allowed to leave at all? Do you not see a problem with someone in his position going off on his own? How, I might add, could you ever let Ciri, my granddaughter who was in YOUR care, escape? " Calanthe said while gripping her chair to the point that her knuckles were turning white.

"I-" I tried to respond before I was interrupted.

"How many of Cintra's secrets do you think that apprentice of yours managed to learn during his time here?!" The Queen started to scream while bursting out of her chair in anger. "He sits in on a majority of our advising sessions, Mousesack! Which, I'll remind you, you requested of him to do so in the first place. Do you not see the problem that would pose to the security of this country if he were to ever be captured?!"

"My liege, I only want-" I tried to say once more.

"I"M NOT FINISHED!!!" Calanthe yelled while slamming her fist into the table. I'd be lying if I said I was devoid of fear at the moment.

"Ciri… is missing" Calanthe said while slightly calming herself for a moment. "I want my granddaughter back, Mousesack. I don't care if you have to drag her back kicking and screaming."

"O-of course, my liege." I replied while bowing my head forward. "I will return at once and rejoin the search party."

The queen looked at me very coldly for a moment before sitting comfortably back down in her chair. I took that as my cue to leave and humbly began walking towards the exit. My whole body was currently fraught with sweat. I almost had my palm on the handle to the door when the queen spoke once again.

"Oh, and Mousesack…" Queen Calanthe said from her sitting position.

"Y-yes, your grace?" I said while turning my head to face her for a moment.

"Place a bounty on the boy. Six thousand Ducat, dead or alive, should be enough." The Queen replied while interlacing her fingers together.

"B-but your grace, he's innocent!" I said in a pleading tone. I didn't want Harkon to be given such a harsh punishment for something he never even did.

"It doesn't matter." Queen Calanthe said resolutely. Her eyes told me that her mind was already made up. "I will not allow a scandal like 'the princess of Cintra running away for a witcher' to ever be heard by anyone. I will send fifty men to Skellige, that little amount of troops won't threaten our alliance. They should arrive there within a few days… Once they do, you will hunt that boy down and bring him to me. If he doesn't die first, I will allow him to live the rest of his life in dimeritium chains within the dungeon."

"Your grace, is there no way we can resolve this? Harkon has been a loyal servant of Cintra these past few years… He's even friends with King Eist!" I beseeched the queen to reconsider.

"My mind is made up, Mousesack." The Queen stated, her speech unwavering. "Do you intend to disobey my order?"

I flinched for a moment at the question. My head emotionlessly dropped down to stare at the floor in shame. This is the same situation that she put me in years ago… She asked me to kill my friend… My best friend, whom I've known since I was a child. Sure we go years without even seeing each other, but Geralt was my friend. There's no doubt about that. She asked me to kill him years ago, but she withdrew the order before I could follow through with it. I had a feeling this wasn't going to be the same situation this time.

"No, Queen Calanthe. I… I will head up the search once your men arrive." I replied with reluctance. I then bowed my head once more in respect.

"Good, leave me now. Either find my granddaughter, Mousesack, or do not bother to return at all. Also…" Calanthe sternly proclaimed. "Tell Jarl Crach it's his head if he she is not returned in one piece."

I nodded once more and then quickly shuffled my way out of the queens quarters. As soon as I made it outside the door, I let out an incredibly intense sigh. I… I really didn't want to have to do this. Asking me to kill my apprentice in cold blood or capture him so he can spend the rest of his life inside a dungeon is just too cruel. I just hope that Harkon realizes what's going on and escapes before we get there…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.O.V Switch: Harkon

A Few Moments Later:

Current Year: 1261

"YOU FUCK!" I screamed out while a blade dug deeply into my right thigh.

I immediately headbutted the man who had done the deed. It stunned him, but it didn't do much more than that. I immediately let out a vicious front kick to his sternum. The blow hit him hard and he fell to the ground while wheezing. I know for certain that I broke at least two of his ribs. I heard the cracks. I Immediately rushed over to my downed opponent and briefly struck down the tip of my sword into his eye. My blade smoothly went through my adversary's skull, killing him instantly.

It seems Sven's little group were a bit more competent than I originally gave them credit for. It made sense… in a way. Almost every single able bodied man on Skellige is a raider or has raided at one point in time. It's almost considered a rite of passage around here. Skellige is a nation that is led by the warriors. Only the real killers hold any form of power. Even Crach is not exempt from that rule. His clan and him frequently raid the mainland and other Jarls when the opportunity presents itself. He's no fruitcake when it comes to killing, despite how nice he appears to be.

As I was thinking these thoughts, I noticed their archer knock another arrow. He released his hold on the string and let the arrow fly through the air. I saw the projectile making its way towards me and immediately brought up my sword. I frantically swatted the arrow away from me with a swift slash.

I didn't have time to be proud of my achievement before another one of Sven's men came running at me with an axe. I blocked the overhead strike coming from the 'warrior' in front of me. I admit, I am starting to get extremely tired. Even with the Tawny Oil affecting me, I've lost a lot of blood. That Leshen clawed me good earlier and I can still feel blood flowing down my back. The recent injury to my thigh and the arrow in my shoulder weren't helping out too much either.

I formed an Igni sign with my free hand and aimed it right at the man I was currently locking blades with. I didn't have the stamina to be using any high level spells, this was all I could do at the moment. The man's face became covered in flames as he broke our blade lock and tried desperately to extinguish the fire.

"AHHhhhahHHHAAAA" The Skelligan warrior in question screamed in absolute agony. He dropped to the grass to try and put out the raging Inferno that was encompassing his skull, but it was to no avail. He keeled over and went into shock. I imagine that he would die from his injuries soon enough.

"PLOUGHING MUTANT!" Sven, the leader of this little brigade, yelled out a fierce battle cry while running over to me.

"You fucking fool Sven!" I screamed out as Sven finally reached me and we engaged in a fierce clash of blades. "Because of you, your whole village is never going to be free of this monster!"

"You wanted me to exile my lover! You're no better than the monster you damn mutant!" Sven angrily replied while we continued to engage in our fight. This guy clearly isn't as wise as he would be in the future. He actually exiled her without any problems if you choose that route in the real timeline.

I admit though, Sven is a better warrior than I originally gave him credit for. I suppose you have to be when you're the 'pseudo' lead of your own village. He obviously wasn't as good as King Eist, but he could hold his own.

As Sven and I were engaging in our duel, I heard another distinct whistling sound of an arrow shoot through the air. A painful sensation quickly made itself known near the back of my left calf.

"Fuck…" I grimaced while almost allowing myself to drop to the floor.

Sven noticed my weakened state and began picking up the pace. He began switching up his attack pattern with blows coming from the left and right. He could feel that victory was within his reach and was really pushing himself faster and faster.

I managed to block his blows, but my vision was starting to get a bit blurry. God… I am so tired. If Ivar was here… he would probably be extremely pissed at me. More than four injuries in the commencement of one battle… That was an almost shameful display. Well, this one battle was 'technically' turned into two, but that's all in the details. If Ivar was here… What would he do? I have no more stamina, no more chaos, and the rest of my bombs are still stored inside my 'trinket'... What else do I have that can win me this fight?

I didn't have much more time to ponder on what my mentor would do before Sven knocked my sword out of my hand during our last exchange. That was alright with me, I hadn't even had the strength to hold the blade for much longer anyway. My arms felt like they were made of lead and barely responded to my commands any longer. Twelve year olds, even mutated half-elven twelve year olds, like me have their limits. My blade was on the ground and Sven's was coming right at me. I didn't even have time to dodge.

"Take this you fuck!" Sven screamed out while driving his blade straight through my flesh and into my lower left abdomen. I felt everything as the blade penetrated my armor and dug its way into my colon. It thoroughly penetrated my large intestine and probably tore right through my left iliac, but I would need to examine it to make sure. Not that I would get the chance too.

"... Y-you… you ignorant piece of human fil-" I tried to finish my sentence, but I wasn't able to do so. A large amount of blood welled up and came rushing out of my mouth. My head keeled over slightly and I drenched both of our boots with the bright red color of my insides.

"...This...This is what you deserve… for trying to make me turn on me own, mutant!" Sven said while out of breath. Despite my weakened state, I still put up a hell of a fight.

Sven tried to pull his blade out of my torso, but I didn't let him. I grasped onto the hilt of the blade tightly with both of my hands. Despite my fatigue, I was still able to hold it with quite a grip. Sven kept trying to pull away, but I held him to his position. If he moved the sword around too much I'd bleed out...

"Just keel over and die already!" Sven stated while he got upset that he could not retrieve his sword. "The Naglfar will take you away soon enough, mutant!"

"Sven…" I quietly intoned while releasing one of my hands to rest it on his shoulder. I threw up some more blood while I did so. "You… You are a piece of filth that… that doesn't even know what the consequences of his actions will be. Y-you're a fucking fool, but despite that… There's no one else to hear them and you've beat me so...So will you? Will you hear the dying words of the child you're about to kill? From one warrior to another?"

More blood kept leaving my lips, unwillingly I might add, as I continued to speak. Sven was clearly angry at my comments, but he was about to die so he didn't put too much stalk in them. I had proven myself to be a capable adversary and no Skelliger would ever, and I mean EVER, dishonor a duel with another capable warrior.

"And You… you are a deceiver without any honor. You actually wanted me to exile the woman I love… But… I will. Tell me your dying words, mutant. You were a worthy opponent." Sven spoke, albeit stubbornly.

I moved my head over towards Sven's ear in order to say my goodbyes. As I neared him, I paused for a moment in contemplation. Absolute anger flooded my system that I was going to be killed by this unimportant little human from this backwater village in the middle of nowhere. I can't believe this was going to be the legacy I was going to leave behind in this world…I haven't even truly gotten started yet!

'Stop thinking so much!' I could almost hear Ivar's voice say to me. 'If you have time to think, you have time to win!'

With a sudden burst of energy that I didn't even know I had in me at that point, I suddenly moved my head faster than the eye could see. I moved my teeth over towards my enemies neck and viciously chomped down. My canines met flesh and I suddenly jerked my head back and tore away a majority of flesh from Sven's jugular.

"Kk..ehkkee" Sven tried to mutter something as he released the grip on his sword and desperately grabbed the open wound that made itself known on his neck.

Sven fell to the ground, moving erratically and grasping at anything he could to try and save himself from the pain. He writhed around for a few seconds before he stopped moving entirely. I was glad he was dead. I spit out the bits of man flesh that made themselves known in between my teeth. The action of me spitting also caused me throw up another sizeable amount of blood. However, there was still a sword running through my abdomen and I was on the verge of passing out. I dropped to my knees in exhaustion, careful not to move the blade inside me. There was still a chance I could live through this if I received medical attention right away.

Just as I thought I was in the clear. I heard the sound of an arrow being knocked. I looked up from my sitting position to see the archer from earlier peering out from behind a tree. He stood stoically in the background and had an angry expression on his face. I would be angry too if someone had just killed all of my friends, but whatever. I wasn't the one who started it, this is all on them.

"Well then…" I said while puking out some more vicious red liquid. "I guess… I guess this is how it ends…"

The archer in question looked resolute for a moment. He drew the string on his bow back a bit farther and then he took aim at me. Well, at least it had been an interesting second life…. Hopefully my third would at least be a bit more enjoyable. Living in the witcher world isn't as fun as you would think. I closed my eyes and lowered my head to the ground in acceptance.

While I was busy accepting my fate, I heard a large squelching sound come from ahead of me. I briefly looked up for a moment to see… The archer… falling to the ground… with a small knife sticking out of his neck.

A small petite looking ashen haired girl made her way out of the tree line. She glanced at the deceased archer for a moment before falling to the ground and puking out all the contents of her stomach. She was holding her head in her hands and looked to be somewhat panicking. I wasn't really able to tell, my vision was almost shut off and my ears were ringing incredibly loud. I continued to try and watch for a few moments, but my fatigue finally overtook me. I let myself fall to my side and drift off into the not so pleasant world of dreams. I would worry about everything else when I wake up… or rather, 'if' I wake up.