Monastery (Part 4)

She was breathing hard, trying to suppress the high rate of heartbeat and supply muscles with enough oxygen after a prolonged jog. Walking up the slope, her body gradually relaxed and adapted to the rhythm of footsteps.

It wasn't anything new. Such exercises were just a warm-up back in Kaer Morhen and now it's no different. She was ready to further train swordsmanship after getting back to Ellander monastery, however, there was a thing to do first.

A girl with big forest green eyes showed her tongue at a squirrel. What the latter did to her is a question.

"Tch.. morning prayer.. how annoying." - she mumbled, remembering the worst part of her day. She didn't mind sweeping the yard or even doing laundry, but sitting in the chapel for half an hour not daring to even breathe loudly? Oh, girl, now that is pure torture for the adventurous mind and young able body craving for action.

The girl entered from a back door. Mother Neneke was kind enough to grant her a key to it, albeit with some conditions. And one of them was to never be late or absent during prayers.

"What's the commotion all about?" - she just walked inside the inner ward where most of the girls usually assembled for a morning headcount and saw most of them gossiping about something.

"Ciri! Oh, but you won't be interested, right? You have Jarre already!" - smiled a girl. Her name was Molly and by some inexplicable reason, she always was the one to say irritating things. Like the one right now.

"What do you mean I have him? We are just friends." - Ciri rolled her eyes at the company of nuns, who were nothing like an image of an untainted servant of Melitelle and flung a strand of her wet hair to the side. After years they grew to the middle of her back and she liked to wear them in a ponytail or let them loose. - "So, what I won't be interested in?"

"Oh, nothing." - Molly turned to the side. She didn't want to tell. In her eyes, Ciri was a pretentious witch, just like milady Yennefer. - "You know nothing about men, anyway. Have you ever done it? You are just a little kid, while I have some experience. So what if you know? You can't win against me! He is too good for you, hmph."

Ciri stood flabbergasted, not knowing what to say, but felt very irritated for some inexplicable reason. It was true, she didn't sneak out during Beletein and never even kissed a man before.

"Someone visited the monastery?" - Ciri turned to another girl.

"Yes, your teacher is back, and she is not alone. She brought a young man back." - smiled Katje at her. She was a local daughter of a farmer from Ellander and sometimes her parents bring groceries to the monastery. While at it they will gift berries to them and Ciri liked to it sweet strawberries.

Her parents are sympathetic people.

"Yennefer is back?" - Ciri grew excited and didn't listen to anything else, immediately passing through the crowd. But before she could run inside, her body bumped into someone.

"Ciri, it is time for prayer." - she rose her eyes in dread and saw the worst enemy of every young nun here – caretaker Willa. To put it nicely, she was a strict maiden of the old school. To put it bluntly – Willa was one hell of a bitch you don't want to cross paths with.

"Erm.. can I be excused?" - Ciri tried to look cute and harmless with all her might.

"Can you?" - asked Willa unimpressed.

"It always works on Jarre, why doesn't it work on her?" - mumbled Ciri under her breath and with great reluctance followed the crowd inside the chapel, while giving looks of longing at the door behind.

She missed Yennefer and wanted to know who came with her.

'You just wait, this morning prayer will soon end and I find you.'

* * *

"You are so young, how can you hurt yourself so much. And where were you looking at that moment? Look at this wound! What can even inflict it, I never saw something like this before." - a plump old woman complained without a reserve in front of Yennefer, while inspecting a cut, that went through half of the body by the side of a stomach.

She was horrified seeing it at first because in her tens of years of nursing and healing practices there was not a single soul that can survive that. Yet, the boy in front of her not only walked, but he also didn't even show signs of pain as if this horrendous injury on his body was merely skin deep cut.

But for her defense, one must admit that it shocked even Yen speechless when Alan removed the bandages. The sorceress bit on her lower lip, noticing dark veins of cursed power surrounding it and constant bleeding that wasn't stopped until now.

Let alone fighting. She didn't even know how Alan could ride the horse in the current condition.

"My dear, you don't feel pain?" - the head of the monastery was a kind, old lady. She wasn't tall, with a plump figure, yet aside from the visage of a caring elder she had that regal aura and steel glint deep within the eyes.

"No, I feel. But it is bearable." - answered Alan patiently.

Neneke fiercely glared at Yennefer, and the latter, to the astonishment of the former, looked somewhat unsettled.

"I didn't notice." - she said in an even tone, but her lilac eyes locked with Alan's gaze. There was some guilt in them and reproach as if she was complaining to him and asking why he didn't tell her.

"You..." - Neneke frowned deeply. - "I thought you changed, but you can't even see? How couldn't you notice after weeks of travel? Weeks, Yennefer!"

"Can you heal him?"

"Now you know how to ask?" - Neneke said with anger. - "Even if I can't, I will do my best even without your begging."

Yen sighed. They just never get along well.

"Give me a knife." - Alan felt unsettled, angered even, at the attitude Neneke showed in front of him. He knew Yen better and wasn't ready to let others badmouth her in front of him. - "Look in my eyes, headmaster Neneke. Look and tell me what you see."

He took a knife and cut a part of the wound open, removing damaged flesh. It fell to the floor, spreading dark mana around.

Yet Neneke saw nothing. Even his pupil didn't constrict.

"If I want to hide pain or injury, no one can notice it. I get used to the worse long ago." - he said simply while throwing the knife to the side. - "Now, can we get down to business? Actually, I only need rest. It is healing, although slowly. In a couple of months, I will be fine."

Both women froze and had a multitude of thoughts running through their heads.

Yen sighed and frowned deeply. Her face was very dark.

"I need to go. Take care of him, Neneke. Please..." - she said in a tired and cold voice. It was so cold that even mana around trembled on the water spectrum, lowering the temperature. Sometimes, in a fit of emotions, mages can influence surroundings like that.

Yen was barely holding it together.

She went out and found her way to her temporary dwelling. It was neat with obvious luxury in contrast to the overly simple interior of the rest of the monastery. Yen didn't like poverty and any discomfort in long-term living conditions, so she organized her room lavishly.

Her eyes found a desk. That letter should be inside.

She read through it again and cursed herself under her breath for not paying close attention to the underlying meaning before. It was so obvious. So close and on the surface, but she just brushed it off.

Simply because she disliked Triss.

It was a letter about Alan. And now she finally understood why Triss stressed her to take better care of him if they are to meet. It was not nagging. It was because Alan seemed to disregard himself too much for his close people, to the point of not minding injuries or even life.

Let alone pain.

"What have you been through, Alan? What can make you like that?" - she whispered while cramping the paper in her hands. - "Damn it. I was careless. I should have paid more attention."

Yen sat by the desk and took out a blank piece of paper.

She wrote a simple reply with a brief question, but didn't expect to have an answer.

She wanted to know Alan's past, yet feared to ask in person.

"Still, I need to have a proper talk with him soon. That is unreasonable!" - Yen didn't notice that Alan and Ciri both changed her. If it was her ten years ago, she would have laughed it off and went to another high society gathering to lift her mood.

She just sat there, deep in thought.

* * *

"Prayer is over. You can..." - Willa wasn't able to finish when a certain gray-haired girl jumped from her place and made a back flip to escape the row of benches, crowded with people.

"Ulala!" - she sang with uplifted mood, and under the flabbergasted stare of the nun disappeared in the hallway like a gust of wind.

"C-CIRILLA!" - a roar came from behind that the girl disregarded with great satisfaction. Still, she knew that she will have some trouble. However, Yen arrived, so this little mischief was nothing.

She ran through the first floor and entered the principal building, but after a couple of steps, her entire body froze, because she noticed a young man, sitting in meditation pose in the middle of Neneke room, however, the head nun was not there.

The door was open, so Ciri saw him. He was dressed in usual black training clothes, that showed perfectly trained body with lines of muscles. He was taller and looked more mature than before. Ciri noticed a scar across his eye, but it only added some mystery and attraction to him, giving his face sharpness of a warrior.

He looked like a true witcher and a man.

'Alan! Hehe... now you will see how strong I am! Hehe, I'm not the little Ciri years ago! Now I will ride you terribly, as I promised! Very terribly! Hehe! You won't be able to stand straight after I'm done with you!'

After that mischievous idea in her mind, Ciri thought something was wrong with her thinking, but disregarded it the moment later. Who cares? The ride is a ride!

After a moment of silence, she smiled. It was a happy and warm smile.

She didn't even notice how her body moved on instinct and was already in front of him.