178 Toussaint (Part 17)

Ciri was bored, so bored that she nearly died from boredom right on the table of the room. But can bored Ciri follow the rules and stay indoors?

Everyone who knew her can easily answer that question. Ciri remembered the last talk with Alan and cases that they ought to investigate. Her petite finger knocked at the wooden table with clear rhythm.

"I can't do much about the dead infants. We lack as much as a single clue about the culprits for me to look into. Alan had a hunch and he will find out the origins of the symbol, but what about that creature, the revenant?"

She frowned. Knocking rhythm of her finger accelerated slightly.

"Fresnes said something about the hunting party. Should I speak with the knights from it? How will I even find them? And I doubt they will meet me just like that. My status is a secret. I need to be untraceable. Uncle Vesemir once said that witcher wins the fights before they even happened. Preparation is the key. Yes, yes... preparations. So... what should I prepare? I have a sword... that should be enough! I will not fight the monster, but talking with knights should be fine. What is there to fear?"

With an understanding of that fact, Ciri reassured herself about the future and smiled.

Finger halted on one point of the table and the girl decided to do something helpful.

So she didn't even try to make the futile attempt of exemplary behavior and went straight for her usual performance.

What can happen? She is a witcher and a sorceress. She can handle herself, right?

"Library... what so good in library, when you have such a fine lady near you? Blockhead Alan. Now I will go, have fun... I mean investigate... yes, yes, investigate them all! Hmph, I'm not taking Alan with me. Let's see his face when I bring a new lead to the monster. Hehe... he will reward me, yep! Cookies... drinks..." - she fantasised with a dreamy look. Then her fantasies went astray, look became red and embarrassed, then a smirk appeared on her mesmerizing face and Ciri nodded, coming to some sort of decision. - "Yep, that's the plan." - she smirked with evil light deep inside her eyes and walked out of the inn.

But her great plan was ruined right from the start.

Near the entrance, by the tree, stood a young knight. He was about her age, definitely younger than her companion. His naive face lacked refined air and wise gaze that attracted her in Alan. Forest green eyes didn't linger on the youth, as if he was a background.

But the same can't be said about the clumsy knight. He experienced an immense shock after noticing her beauty, awkwardly tried to straighten his back and made a loud step forward.

"My lady! Wait a moment, please. I need to talk to you!"

Ciri turned her head and wondered, how can anyone fight in all this. She found dozens of openings and tens of ways to knock him out in mere seconds.

"Go away. I'm not interested."

"But, my lady, this is a matter of life and death of your closest person!"

Ciri immediately halted her steps. Her hand reached for the scabbard behind her back, feeling the sword with the fingers.

'Is Alan in danger? Who is that blond guy?'

"What's happened?" - she asked after a moment of observation. Her charming eyes narrowed and forced the young knight to lose breathing for some reason.

"I need to confess my feelings to you, my lady! I saw you and it is love at first sight! It is love for entire life!"

Onlookers stopped and looked at the duo with interest. A knight made a vow in front of the lady. That is a tradition many people held dear in Toussaint. The street went silent.

"You said my closest person is in danger!" - Ciri frowned with worry in her eyes.

"Of course! Me! I'm your future husband and a lover!"

Her face turned dark, very dark. She traced a scarf with her fingers. It was cool to the touch and soft. People always paid attention to two things when they looked at her. Large forest green eyes and that scarf. But sometimes Ciri thought they were looking at something lower than her neck.

Right now was the same. This young knight stared at her eyes for a moment, then his gaze went lower.

'What is he looking at? It's just a normal shirt, hasn't he saw it before? And why his face turned red suddenly, is he ill or something?'

Then she smiled.

With the kind of smile, one can find only on one person aside from her.

Yennefer.

When the latter is ready to castrate someone or use some gruesome way of killing she will smile like that. The tempting and sweet smile, signifying upcoming destruction.

"Oh, really now... and the matter of life and death is?"

"Naturally, my confession! It is a matter of my honor! Be the heron, I need to confess, or I won't be able to sleep at all and die, eventually!"

"Have you ever tried to stay awake for at least three days? No? Then try it. Believe me, let alone your stupid confession going wrong, even if a giant started to dance tango right on the roof of your house, you will still be sleeping like a log!" - said Ciri with angry voice.

"What is tango?" - asked the youth with a flabbergasted look on his face.

The guy was a naive fool and didn't mean any harm. The girl sighed heavily.

"You don't even know what is tango? Hmph. My man should at least know that! I know what tango is." - she raised her nose to the sky proudly.

"What is it?"

"Not telling you." - smirked Ciri with great satisfaction and decided to have a walk on the streets for fun.

"My lady, wait, don't go, let me escort you whenever you go!" - the knight in steel armor followed. His awkward movements told stories about experience in wearing armor. The crest was blue and gold, however any person will be hard-pressed to understand what was the image. It resembled a poorly made a map for street renovation with roads and many dead ends.

"No need." - she waved him off.

"But, my lady, by the heron you are the one for me and my heart will not waver! Please, give me a chance! I, Guillaume de Launfal, hereby vow to defeat the strongest monster and win a hundred duels to prove my love for the lady... erm... what is your name, by the way?"

Ciri sighed heavily and stomped on the ground with irritation. After a brief contemplation, she devised a plan and smiled.

"Zirael." - she said. The knight immediately shined like a sun in the sky. - "So, you said you love me, right?"

"Yes, my lady! Are you ready to reciprocate my feelings? I'm honored, thank you... from now on..."

"Hold on. I'm not available." - she stepped back from the approaching young knight.

'And never will be. Not for you at least, hmph. What so good about you? Your hairs are not black, your eyes are not purple, you don't have two swords, you never gifted me this scarf, you suck at fighting and don't have awesome cookies. Pfff, this lady isn't willing to be with you.'

Ciri stood proudly in the dirt of the street, showing off an independent character.

"But I need a guide to show me some places in Beauclair." - then she suddenly remembered one detail and stared at the youth. - "What is your relation to sir Palmerin, the bald uncle?"

"Oh, you met my uncle already! Seems like fate itself brought us together!"

Ciri snorted. If he knew that she met Palmerin when the latter wanted to save his succubus lover, he won't call it fate. It will be the shame of his life for sure.

"Yeah, whatever. Fate it is, then. As long as you are helpful. Let's go."

"Where would you like to go, my lady?" - asked the young knight who never knew what is coming next.

"I need to find some people to have a chat." - Ciri said and started to walk down the street.

Eagle circled somewhere high in the sky over her head all this time.

* * *

Several hours later at the inn. Nightfall.

"So, was it fruitful?" - answer came from the side just when Ciri carefully opened the door to her rented room. She detected him beforehand only because of the winged necklace. Otherwise it would have been impossible to do.

"Not really." - she tiredly sat on the bed and stretched her back like a cat.

"Explain." - Alan took a sit by her side. Ciri didn't waste time, immediately finding her favourite lap pillow very comfortable.

"I met only one knight from the hunting party, but he was very irritated by my questions and even scared. He was hiding something. I noticed that he was lying when I asked about what they did and whether or not they were alone."

"Hmm."

"I tried to do it like Vesemir taught us. Well, you know, coming back to the same question later, asking it in another way and the like. He gave me slightly different answers or grew angry."

"What exactly did you find out?"

"Are you not angry with me?"

"About your initiative? I knew you won't be able to idly sit and wait for me. In fact, I don't have time to solve both cases, so I thought we should split the investigation between us. But not the actual fight with the monster. Revenant is a very dangerous creature, we can't afford carelessness here and I will take care of it."

"I want to fight too, I'm not a little girl."

"Yes, you are. No, Ciri, don't even try your pouting face and pleading look. I'm not letting you fight it. Revenant is unknown to us. All I know is folktales and some notes. There was no documented occasion of successful killing of it. We don't even know its weakness."

"But you will fight! Why not me, too?"

"Ciri..." - he sighed and patted her head with rare gentleness deep within the purple gaze. - "Just don't, okay? Listen to me this time."

"I'm always listening to you, no? Hmph... fine, but I expect some proper reward." - she shifted from pouting face to a bright smile and stared at Alan with eager look.

"Whatever you want. Continue. What else have you figured out?"

"Remember the doctor kids of the orphanage spoke about? His name is Estebal. He was with them back then. And by the look of it, not on voluntary terms."

"So, Morivaldi in his grief punished the one he found responsible for the death of his child and wife. And that was a doctor? Sounds like an explanation. But to give birth to revenant, one has to burry the body in a place of power and curse it. Hmm, we need to investigate the forest first. Perhaps we can find a grave there and some clues."

"Yep, yep. So, how was I? I'm helpful, right?"

"Reckless." - said Alan and Ciri grumbled something under her nose. - "But helpful, yes."

The girl beamed with a smile and closed her eyes. She was really tired from all the running around.

"And you found yourself a nice admirer."

"Don't mention him. Next time I see this fool, I'll kick him flying! Wait, how do you know even that? Oh... it is you, right?" - she turned her head to the side, where a proud eagle took large space on a windowsill. It looked at Ciri with schadenfreude and flapped the wings, sending a gust of wind around the room. - "I knew it. Spying traitor."