The Raven and the Fox

Yennefer was sitting at her desk at the Rosemary and Thyme. She was aware of the fact that Dandelion insisted on calling the tavern with its new name, The Chameleon. Just as he insisted on calling it a cabaret and not a tavern.

"I worked so hard on turning this brothel into a place of art, where everyone who can appreciate the sound of a nicely played lute, or a song sung by a maiden's warm voice, is welcome. Where it doesn't matter where you come from, whether you're a lord or a peasant. The love of the art can warm everyone's heart at the Chameleon. That is why you must use its new name, my dear friends. Because of the hard work and dedication I put into this place."

That is how Dandelion had ended his speech that evening. While the raven haired sorceress smiled on the inside, Zoltan and Priscilla burst out in laughter. Priscilla cleared her throat and took a step forward. "Dandelion, you are the one who worked so hard for this tavern?" Her voice was still a bit hoarse after the attempt on her life, which she luckily survived. It was still not sure if she would sing again, but the most important thing was that she was alive and well.

Having a hoarse voice was a little price to pay considering she could speak again, which was something the doctor wasn't sure of at first. "Aye, Dandelion, mate, are you going to claim you did all the work on this tavern?" It was Zoltan who was talking now. "As far as I remember, you were nowhere to be seen when I returned to the Rosemary. All empty, except for those little shi ts that thought they could claim this place as their own. No, friends. It was Geralt who had to sniff you out like a bloodhound and then had to save your arse once again!" Zoltan's face was bearing a wide grin while he was staring at Dandelion.

"Ah, well, yes… That might be true indeed… But when I was back here, it was me who redecorated everything!" Priscilla raised one of her eyebrows. "Really? If I recall it correctly, it was once again Geralt who did that."

At this point Yennefer had left the company of her friends to go back to the room she was using as her own. After all, she was trying to find the location of Margarita. Saying that they would bring the Lodge of Sorceresses back was one thing, but actually finding her colleagues turned out to be much harder. Normally, she would have liked a challenge like this, but the clock was ticking. And if she wanted to protect Ciri in the upcoming battle against the Wild Hunt, her power alone was simply not enough.

She hated admitting that, even to herself. She had the feeling that she had let everybody down at the battle of Kaer Morhen. Her power turned out to be not enough against an army of the Red Riders. And even though she tried not to think of that, she hadn't been the only sorceress at Kaer Morhen. Triss Merigold was also there and had fought with all of her power as well. It had not been enough. So the Lodge was their only option, for Ciri's sake.

She looked at the list of names that was laying in front of her. Keira Metz, dead. Philippa Eilhart, location unknown. Sheala de Tancarville, location unknown. Fringilla Vigo, refused to help. Rita Margarita, location unknown. She had reason to believe that Margarita was being held at the Oxenfurt Prison, but she wasn't completely sure yet. And she had to be sure before she could risk entering that fort. A frustrated sigh escaped the lips of the raven haired sorceress. She was stuck.

Yennefer got out of the chair and walked towards the window. Leaning against the windowsill she looked at the streets of Novigrad. It was dark outside and the streets were starting to fill with nightlife. She let her thoughts wonder. Ciri wasn't something she was particularly worried about, she had complete faith in her and Geralt. She knew that the witcher would not let anything hurt Ciri. But still…

Since Avallac'h marched into the tavern with the message that Ciri and Geralt had left Kaer Morhen for a destination that was unknown to him, an unsettling feeling had settled down in her stomach. She knew she would only be able to relax again if her daughter was with her once more. And the witcher too, of course.

Oh Geralt… Thinking about those golden cat eyes send a shiver through her spine, though she would never admit that. Not to anybody, oh no. Her thought wandered off to a couple of weeks ago, when the two of them were on a ship on a mountain. When the two of them, together, made the djinn that was still bound to Amos var Ypsis undo Geralt his last wish. The last wish, that Geralt had made all those years ago, so he could save Yennefer's life. And with that wish, their life's got entwined forever. It had been the start of their immense complex, intense and complicated relationship.

And now that wish was undone. They were free from the djinn's power, but most importantly, their love was free. For her, nothing had changed. Nothing at all. She still loved Geralt with all of her being. Did she expect that? No. She expected to look at him and that he would be a stranger to her. But he wasn't. He was still her witcher. And then there was fear, what if things had changed for him? "Djinn mighta cheated us after all…" he spoke. She didn't understand what he was saying. "Why?" "Cause I don't feel that anything's changed, either. I love you Yen." It was like her heart jumped into overdrive when she heard those words.

She was happy, so happy, and so in love. But of course she didn't show that. She gave him one of her real smiles. The kind she kept hidden for everyone, except for her witcher. A knock on the door snapped her out of her loving memories. A warm feeling was still around her heart when she answered "Come in". She turned around so she was facing the door. It was after midnight already so she wondered who would disturb her this late.

The door opened, and as soon as she saw that fire red hair, she knew who it was. Triss. Triss Merigold. The warm feeling that surrounded her heart a moment ago instantly turned into ice. The bitch who betrayed their friendship. Triss was standing in the doorway, clearly unsure about what to do next.

"Hi Yenna…" Yennefer her face hardened when she heard that name. "Uhm, Yennefer I mean…" She stared at Triss with a cold and blank face. "I saw light coming from under the door so I assumed you would still be awake." She was still staring at Triss and didn't say a word. "Is it okay for you if I come in for a minute?" No response. Triss sighed, walked into Yennefer's room and closed the door behind her. She started pacing back and forth while Yen was still leaning against the window, her cold lilac eyes following the other sorceress's movements. She was like a black and white statue covered in moonlight. A furious and raging Goddess.

Triss stopped pacing and turned towards the raven haired woman. "Listen Yennefer. I know you probably don't want to see me.." "You got that right!" Yennefer snapped. "… and you probably don't want to hear what I got to say…" "Right again. You're on a roll Merigold." "… but I need to talk to you Yennefer. Please." For a moment, an uncomfortable silence was filling the room. Then the black haired sorceress started talking, her voice filled with hatred.

"Listen Triss. I really don't care what it is you feel like telling me. You only came here to make yourself feel better about what happened, not because you feel sorry. Your apologies won't be sincere. If you cared about me, if you ever cared about me, you wouldn't have done what you did. And now that I'm back in Geralt's life, now the last wish is gone and we know our feelings for each other are true, here you are like a defeated puppy." She took a breath.

"You had your shot with him Triss. You thought that I was dead, or at least, that's what you claim. Is that what you want to 'apology' for? For just assuming that I was dead, without trying to figure out whether it was true or not? Or are you 'sorry' for forgetting about my existence for two long years? Two years, Triss. While I was sitting in a Nilfgardian cell, you were fucking the love of my life. And not once did you mention my existence to him. Me, the person you used to call your best friend." Yennefer's lilac eyes were burning with a raging fire.

"But you know what, Triss? It doesn't matter anymore. You gave it your best shot, you tried to forget my presence, and you still failed. Geralt and I are together once again, he choose me over you anyway." Yennefer stopped talking abruptly. Triss had grown more pale with every word that Yen had spat towards her. She said nothing in return and sat down on the wooden bed in the room.

After a couple of silent minutes, Triss cleared her throat. "Yennefer, did you just say that Geralt has chosen you? What does that mean? That you are in a relationship again, but this time without the djinn's power binding you?" Her blue eyes stared into Yennefer her lilac eyes. "Yes." Was her reply. She was a bit surprised by Triss her question, she expected a rant about how she was so sorry about what had happened. But of course she didn't show that. "Your ugly game was in vain because you lost anyway."

Before Yennefer could say anything else, Triss stood up and looked Yen straight in the eyes. "Yennefer, stop talking." Instantly she closed her mouth, never had Triss talked to her like that. It surprised her. It was a pretty funny sight actually, if the circumstances would be different.

"Yen, the witcher said the same thing to me." For a second a confused look appeared on Yennefer her face, but it was gone just as fast. "Geralt said what, Triss?" The red haired sorceress took a deep breath.

"It was just after we managed to get all of the mages of Novigrad on the ship. We were just about to leave for Kovir. I was going to say my final goodbye to Geralt. Doing that hurt me like hell, but I made the conclusion that since he had found you, the two of you would probably be together again. There was no place for me in that picture. I know you will never believe me, but I really am sorry about what happened and what I did. It was never my intention to hurt you, and if I could change the past, I would do everything differently. Yes I have had feelings for him for a very long time, but hurting you, Yen, was the last thing I wanted to do." Yennefer her face was tense.

"You're drifting from the topic, Merigold." "Yes, you are right, I am, sorry. When I wanted to say goodbye, Geralt begged me to stay with him and not join the other mages. He said he loved me. And I did. I stayed with him and we spend the night at a lighthouse. In the morning he told me to go to Kaer Morhen. He said it was the only place where a witcher and a sorceress could be together." It was quiet in the room. In the background you could hear a drunken man sing a dirty song.

"Did the two of you talked after he went to Skellige?" Yennefer was the once asking the question. Triss nodded. "Yes, at Kaer Morhen. He thanked me for being there. Then he said that I didn't have to worry, that it turned out that he had always been in love with me and that he always will be." Once again there was a uncomfortable silence in the room. Finally she moved away from the window and sat down on the bed. "So he has been playing the both of us, at the same time." She mumbled.

Triss hesitated for a moment but then she also sat down on the bed, next to Yen. "Apparently, yes. But I don't understand. He looked so sincere when he said those things. How could he be lying about them?" Yen replied. "I'm not sure if he was lying actually. Maybe he has feelings for the both of us and he didn't know how to choose. So he thought he could have us at the same time. That way he didn't have to make a decision." Triss was looking lost hearing those words.

"I don't care what he was thinking, Yen. He told me that I was his only one, and he lied." She clenched her fists. "I want to make him pay, Yennefer. He broke my heart, I gave everything I was to him. I want to get revenge." Yennefer turned around so she could look Triss in the eyes. "It's so unlike you to say those things, Merigold. Normally you are always the one who wants to go for the kind and soft solution. I never took you for someone who would want to take revenge." "I know. I always believed that going for the friendliest solution was the best solution. I didn't want to turn out like Philippa is, cold and venomous. Now it seems to me that my beliefs have made me soft. I open my heart too easily and get hurt even easier. Look at what happened with Geralt."

Yennefer sighed. "Listen Triss, this doesn't change the fact that I hate you. I hate you for what you did to me. I am not sure if I will ever be able to call you my friend again, and frankly I'm not even sure if I want to. But I do want to get back at Geralt. I don't care whether or not he did it on purpose, he did it. And by doing it he embarrassed me and made me look like a fool. I won't have that, so I propose we put him through those same feelings." Triss looked interested. "What do you have in mind?"

The black haired sorceress stood up from the bed and started pacing, which was something she usually didn't do. After a couple of minutes of pacing back and forth the room, she walked to her desk, leaned against it and crossed her arm. "A trio." She announced.

Triss stared at her with a expression that wouldn't have been much different had she announced that she was actually a flying pig. Worry, confusion and disbelief were only a couple of emotions that you could read on the red haired sorceress's face. "Sorry Yennefer… but what?"

"Don't worry Merigold, I'm not proposing this because I actually want to bed you. Not at all. But we want to get back at the witcher for betraying our trust and trying to romance the both of us at the same time. And having a trio is the perfect way to achieve our mutual goal." Yennefer snapped back. "Listen, we won't be having an actual trio. Wouldn't dream of doing that with you. Enough pretty girls out there. No, this is simply about getting back at him. He broke our hearts, so we will break something of value to him."

Triss raised her eyebrow. "And what might that be?" "His pride." "And how?" "When he returns here with Ciri we will talk to him. We will tell him that we talked and decided that we don't want to fight over him anymore. That we all love each other after all. And since we have this huge battle ahead of us, we should make the most of the time we have together." Triss stood up and moved towards Yennefer. "You know, that might actually work…" "of course it will." "… but then what? Are you actually planning on having a trio with him? Can't imagine that his pride will be hurt by that, only that it will grow even bigger."

Hearing those words, Yennefer almost smiled. Almost. "No of course not. I have not sunken so low yet that I would consider having sex with you. No. We will tell him to go to the Kingfisher. He is to bring some good wine with him. We will be awaiting him wearing some sexy underwear and after teasing him for a bit we'll use some shackles to lock him to the bed. And then we open the bottle, enjoy a glass of wine, and leave him there for the night."

A wide mischievous grin appeared on Triss's face. "You know what, Yen, that will be a lesson he deserves. It will work. But if I may, I would like to add something to your plan. We should send Dandelion to free him in the morning. That will make the embarrassment even bigger." Yennefer smiled. For the first time in years, she smiled towards the red haired sorceress.

"You are absolutely right Merigold. I guess that makes it no longer my plan, but our plan." A moment of silence fell between the two sorceresses. And for the first time in years, the silence wasn't filled with a quiet thunderstorm. For the first time since everything between Triss and Geralt had happened, she wondered if she could rekindle the friendship she once had with Triss. At this point she thought that maybe they could. Maybe. Time would tell.

"Now if you don't mind leaving, I still have some work to do." Triss nodded in understanding. "Of course Yennefer, I am sorry for bothering you this long." Yen waved her hands, as if she was dismissing her. When Triss opened the door and was about to walk out of the room, she paused for a moment.

She took a deep breath and then said "Goodnight Yenna." Yennefer didn't respond and turned her attention back to the papers lying on the desk. A split second before the door fell in the lock, Yennefer whispered "Goodnight Triss".