#geralt x iorveth x roche

[stophatevernonciri]

To your stupid iornon, the whole toxic fandom is being drawn by art, fan fiction is being written, a ton of admiration is being written. Why doesn't Roche/Ciri deserve at least a little of the same? Why did you kill him? Because I was trying to protect him from you and your friends? And you killed him anyway.

[lunarbreaksblog]

The Witcher x Witch!F!Healer!reader

Geralt of Rivia

He wasn't going to go near you, never trusted witches really but like he never trusted them, he was compelled to you like a moth to a light.

When he saw that you could heal people, he knew you were a rare being. Witches never dabbled in health and healing. But you did.

He asks you why, you simply say that you wish to help people. This is the start a grand friendship between you and the Witcher. You help him and he helps you.

You always laughed at his dry jokes. You didn't have much company really, you were shy and kept to yourself. Knew to keep yourself away from the village near by

Yennefer of Vengerberg

Becomes quite jealous of you when Geralt talks of you to her, she felt that you were going to manipulate or take Geralt away from her.

However, those assumptions quickly diminish when she sees you. Then to hear that you are a healer that makes you quite a rare thing to be treasured in the continent.

She decides that she'll take you under her wing, not to teach magic but to teach you how to handle yourself since she could see that you were bad at human interaction.

You would be dead if you had to be a royal mage to a king.

Maybe she'll ask Geralt if they could both take you to bed. She just knows you'll be even more beautiful.

Triss merigold

Absolutely adores you! She's only seen a handful of healers in her life so far. You, though, are the most greatest healer so far.

You have compassion which is suprisely rare for healers.

Her and you get along quite well. You too have regular meet ups to talk about everything that's going on in the continent. She helps you also get better at your people skills.

Iorveth

He's not one known to be gentle with humans, especially magic wielding humans. In his lifetime, all magic wielders have been egotistical. However, you are different.

It agitates him to no end to see you healing his troops, he feels like his manipulating you but he can't shake off the feeling that maybe you are the one manipulating him actually.

It's kinda like a one-sided angry staring match and with you being very uncomfortable.

Vernon roche

Like Iorveth, he doesn't trust you at first but after you make him some herbal tea that reluctantly drank thanks to Ves. He eases up on you.

Somehow you made his back not have that ache that's been bothering him for a while.

Starts looking out for you and just generally helps you when you need it

You've wormed yourself into his heart but he won't show it

[iorwethsimp2137]

yeah

[greenapplespider]

He’s a little sleepy 😪 who should be at the tavern with him? Geralt or Iorveth?

CIRI

I’d rather Roche end up taking a big ol’ fat one once they’re done drinking, so to speak, and sadly Ciri can’t really provide that in the same way Iorveth or Geralt can. I think I’ll end up having both Geralt and Iorveth spend the evening with Roche- maybe even write a little fic about it to go along with the illustrations.

Anyway here’s what I got so far (as you can see i haven’t touched this wip in a minute)

[merlot-and-chardonnay]

A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 45

Masterlist

Chapter 44

--------Flotsam Tavern-------------

Aemond stormed into the tavern, anger in his eyes as he thoroughly searched the establishment for the target of his ire. He looked over at the patrons, who had looks of concern and some fear, sat there silently, hoping the prince's tirade would end.

"Where is he?" Aemond demands of the patrons, "where is the bard?"

"My prince!" Criston runs in.

Aemond pulls away, scanning the room, seeing if any of the patrons looked like they were hiding something. Seeing no signs of Jaskier or the dwarf he was hanging out with, Aemond clinched his fist, turning around so as to take a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as he could in this situation.

This is not how things were supposed to go, Aemond thinks. He was supposed to he the one to find Aemma, he was the one who was supposed to rescue her and bring her back home. She was supposed to come back with quietly and willingly.

In hindsight, Aemond should have known things were not quite going to go according to plan. For as long as he could remember, Aemma had a tendency to go and do her own thing, not giving much regard to the rules, even when those rules were there for her own safety.

At this point, Aemond blamed himself for that; he recalled that time he learned Aemma had snuck out of the Red Keep to go to the docks even though his mother had forbid her to do so. And when Alicent had saw fit to question Aemma about her activities, Aemond was the one to step and cover for her, allowing Aemma to skirt off without suffering the consequences.

Had Aemond been more vigilant, had he been more insistent that Aemma follow his mother's rules...had he actually told the truth to his mother, than maybe Aemma would've been more inclined to listen both to him and Alicent more. She could've grown more into a woman and an upstanding lady instead of running away and becoming as she is now with wearing boy clothing and carrying a sword on her back.

Maybe if he done all those things, she would've stayed in King's Landing, had never set foot on the Continent the first time around...if she had stayed, the two of them would've eventually married when Aemond came of age.

"My prince," Criston gets Aemond's attention, "we need to find a boat and follow that barge. If that elf bastard lays a hand on the princess again, her and Ser Ivan-" "she ran off with him," Aemond tells him. "What?" "....Aemma was not abducted this time, she ran off with that elf of her own volition," Aemond elaborates, recalling the way she swam onto the barge after jumping out of the burning building with Geralt and the elven women they rescued with Ivan. He saw how Aemma climbed on the boat, accepting Iorveth's hand when he pulled her and everyone else onto the barge as it set sail.

"I don't understand? Why would she go with the same people that meant to harm her?" Criston frowns a bit. Aemond knew why, "She's gone off to find her mother."

Before Criston could ask for more, Roche stormed into the tavern, shoving Criston aside and pushing Aemond against the wall, dagger in hand as he pressed it against Aemond. Criston was about to draw his sword, but was stopped by Ves, knife pressed against his own back.

"I should have known," Roche sneers, "I should have fucking known, the more your family got involved, it was going to go to shit. Now that whoreson Iorveth has escaped, and YOUR bloodkin had a hand in that. And since my shit spy of a bard is currently absent, someone has to pay."

"I had no idea my cousin had such plans," Aemond insists. "Horseshit!" "I swear on the Seven!" Aemond insists, "She never said a word! We were supposed to go back to Westeros, back to my mother the Queen, that was the plan. She never told me otherwise. Princess Aemma has always done things her own way, she was...she wasn't exactly the docile type, even when we were children. It has clearly gotten worse with the time she's spent away from home. It was clearly nurtured by outside forces, I didn't know how bad it had gotten."

Roche looked into Aemond's eye, trying to find any hint that the prince was lying, "If you need someone to take the blame for your prisoner's escape, than I will do so without protest." "Prince Aemond-" Criston tries to intervene, but Ves stopped him again. "I didn't know Aemma was planning the escape," Aemond continues, "but I do have an idea where they are going." "Where?" Roche demands, keeping the dagger in place. "A town called Vergen. I don't know why, but Aemma mentioned about wanting to go there. That is all I know."

"If you release the prince, we will do everything in our power to rectify this situation," Criston speaks, hoping it would placate Roche enough to sheathe his dagger. After some consideration, Roche steps away, sheathing his weapon, giving both knight and prince a stern, and rather dangerous look, "don't make me fucking regret this," he says in a low tone, "should I find out you have been lying about not knowing, let me make clear there will be hell to pay....all seven of them..."

---------------meanwhile--------------

"Laredo escaped," Geralt informs Iorveth as soon as he and Aemma and the elf women climbed aboard.

"He'll not live long," Iorveth assures, "If the local folk don't hunt him down, someone else will. Anyway, it's meaningless. You rescue our women, you and the princess and the in'heid as well. We are indebted" "No thanks to you," Aemma sneers, to which Iorveth ignores. The Scoia'tel commander was looking at the bigger picture in that moment, something he felt required sacrifice.

Ivan, however, was not about to let this go. As soon as he wrung out the excess water, he confronted Iorveth head on by shoving him back. "Ivan!" Aemma exclaims in shock. "Indeed was no thanks to you," Ivan sneers, "the women were screaming for help as everything burned around them, and you were prepared to let them do so!"

Iorveth only gave Ivan a slightly amused look before speaking in a serious tone, "I don't expect you to understand, boy, it is clear you have not communed with your elven brethren as much as you should. True, you have to hide your ears in order to pass as d'hoine, but I can see you never truly had faced hardships the way the full blooded Aen Siedhe had." To drive his point across, Iorveth reached for Ivan's headband and yanked it off, revealing his ears. Ivan shoved the elf back once again in response. "You don't know a fucking damn thing about me," Ivan glared, "Flotsam was my home, until my mother and I were forced to leave. We escaped to King's Landing, and we lived in near destitution for much of my childhood, and I was living on the streets after her death. So don't you dare say I had faced no hardships just because of my human blood. Maybe if you had stuck around, such things would not have happened! If you had stayed you would have known about my hardships!"

Iorveth only gave Ivan a confused look, having no idea what the half elf was implying.

"Ivan-" Aemma placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder, but the man pushed it away, turning to storm away to silently stew elsewhere on the barge.

Iorveth still had that confused look on his face. Aemma pondered if she should say anything, but thought against it; she may have told Ivan what Cedric told her, but she did not feel it was her place to disclose this information to Iorveth, not until Ivan was ready to say anything.

Still, the princess couldn't help but recall the memory she acquired from Iorveth months back when she was held captive by the Scoia'tel. The memory of him and this mystery woman, whom Aemma realized had to have been Ivan's mother. She recalled how very much in love the two of them looked when they shared that kiss. She wondered how they had met...and how they had parted ways presumably before Ivan was still in his mother's womb.

"We are going to Vergen still, yes?" she decides to ask, to which Iorveth nods. "Help us find Triss and the kingslayer, consider the debt repaid," Geralt adds in.

"Hold up!" Jaskier's voice catches the group's attention as he and Zoltan show up on deck. "Uncle," Aemma was the first to speak, "did you and Zoltan stowaway?" "Hardly call this stowing away, lass" Zoltan snorts in amusement, "given the current circumstances."

"You didn't think I was just going to let you leave, and leave me out of the action, now did ya?" Jaskier interjects, looking both at Aemma and Geralt, "how else am I supposed to find inspiration for my ballads. Also," he places a hand on Aemma's shoulder, "if you what you just told is true...I don't exactly want to miss out on that bit especially."

Geralt gave a confused look at Aemma, who only nodded at her uncle.

"Unfurl the mainsail!" Iorveth orders his men. The barge gained more speed up the river as soon as this was done. Aemma looked over to see the village slowly disappear from view. She wondered if Aemond and Criston would try and catch up with her...or if they would simply give up and leave her to her devices. She was not overly confident in the latter possibility, especially given Aemond had professed to her before she jumped into the burning building.

Aemond still cared about her, even after all these years. That's why he came to find her.

"Looks like we're going to make it," Geralt states, standing next to Aemma. "and this is only just the beginning," Iorveth quips in, standing next to Geralt, "you chose the right side and I'm pleased." "...wish I could be so sure," Geralt admits.

"So do I," Aemma quips with a sigh. "Are you thinking about your cousin?" Geralt asks, which Aemma nods. "I don't know if Aemond will forgive me for this," she admits, "this wouldn't be the first time I ran off somewhere without him. He didn't appreciate it last time I ran off to the Continent without him. He admonished me for it even. And here I have done it again." "Given how adamant he was to find you before, I think he might come around," Jaskier quips in with confidence, though Aemma still wasn't confident in that statement.

"If I may ask," Aemma turns to the elf, not quite fully certain she could trust him, "what does Saskia want with me? I realize you never answered that part of my question." "I am not so certain myself," Iorveth admits, "if I could venture a guess, perhaps she is in want of more allies." "She wants my family's dragons?" "Not likely," Iorveth shrugs, "Saskia earned her reputation from single-handedly slaying a dragon, I do not know why she would recruit dragons in her cause."

Aemma's eyes widen a bit; she knew Saskia was a warrior and one who meant to establish a free state for humans and non-humans alike, but she had no idea Saskia also had a reputation as a dragon slayer. Part of Aemma now had some concern if Saskia had any intentions to make an example of the Targaryen dragons, especially if her own had decided to fly back to her rider.

In that moment, Aemma felt her vision begin to distort slightly. She saw trees from the view of a flying bird- no, not a bird- a dragon. Aemma felt her vision move side to side to see the black and gold wings. "Cirillia?"

"What was that?" Iorveth's voice brings Aemma back to the present.

"Nothing," she tells him, "Iorveth...if you are the one to bring to this Saskia. When you introduce me to her, can...can you do so with this name?"

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

The voyage upriver to Vergen took about two days.

During this time, Aemma got to know Geralt, Jaskier, and Zoltan a little more. Though Geralt himself, could not remember much of his life from before, Jaskier was able to cover much of that ground.

Aemma, remembering her time at the docks of King's Landing, seeing that play, she had asked her uncle about that story. Jaskier, who had a look of disbelief upon hearing about the play (even though that was his song to begin with, the same song that brought both him and Geralt to stardom on the Continent), so he decided to tell Aemma the real story about what happened at the Edge of the World.

Aemma listened intently during those times, wanting to soak up more of what she could learn about her mother and the life she led before her time in Westeros.

And, much to Aemma's surprise, the princess found herself having bonding moments with some of the Scoia'tel as well. It is worth mentioning that right around the time the prison barge departed from port, right after successfully commandeering the barge and getting some distance from Flotsam, Iorveth found another Scoia'tel prisoner in the cells. His second in command, Cieran, his beaten and lifeless body laying in the middle of the cell. Iorveth had said nothing during this time, merely closing his comrade's eyes and holding him close, speaking final words to Cieran in his native language. 

The Scoia'tel had a funeral of sorts for their fallen comrade, electing to bury his body in the river, bidding him farewell. Despite the sadness of it all, no tears had been shed during the service. Aemma had to wonder how many lives the Scoia'tel had lost over the years, decades, centuries even.  How much have these people have had to harden themselves to the harshness of the world. She felt a certain level of empathy from all this; death was the one thing that did not discriminate, it came for all, no matter who they were or where they came from. She knew this better than most.

Aemma had to admit to herself, many of the Scoia'tel were actually pleasant to be around when they weren't busy holding her captive. Jaskier had admitted that the Scoia'tel did make him nervous, but they were definitely someone one would want on their side in times like this.

During the evening time, the elves would gather around, telling stories and regaling tales of their youths. The young ones would get a little restless, to which Jaskier resolved by playing jigs on his lute. Aemma would join in on the singing, finding she and Jaskier could create quite the duet (Jaskier did find himself tear up during those times, realizing how much of this reminded him of his sister).

Try and imagine Aemma and Jaskier singing this on the barge with the elves for just a moment:

Iorveth surprised Aemma even more when he would join in on the music by pulling out his flute and adding to the music.

Ivan kept to himself mostly, though some of the elves tried to engage in conversation with him. The half-elf kept his headband off during this time, though he felt somewhat naked without it. Ivan had kept his headband on for most of his life for fear of being singled out in King's Landing, but as far as he could see, he wasn't treated too differently here. The elves already could see his mixed heritage, it didn't make a difference right now if he wore that headpiece or not.

It did baffle him, also, the way he saw his supposed father join in on the music and merry making in the evening. The flute Iorveth possessed looked familiar; in Ivan's childhood in Flotsam, he recalled his mother having a similar instrument in her possession. The carvings looked similar too. That same flute, Ivan also remembered, was left behind during the first pogrom.

Eventually, after some convincing from the other elves, Ivan joined in on the merriment. He wasn't really much of a dancer, he never had to learn, but he picked up on certain steps real quick. It wasn't too different from his sword training.

After two days, the barge eventually made it close to Vergen.

Having inquired more of the situation during the voyage, Aemma learned Vergen was in the middle of building up its defenses in preparation for Kaedwen's invasion into Upper Aedirn and the Pontar Valley.

By the time they actually made it to the Dwarven town, a strange looking mist could be seen in the distance.

Walking past the town, Geralt, Jaskier, Aemma, Ivan, and Zoltan make their trek towards a groups of dwarves conversing with one another. One dwarf looked over their way upon hearing the sounds of the group's footsteps; said dwarf had a look of joy on his face the moment he made eye contact with Geralt.

"By the milk of Mother Creatrix's tits. Geralt of Rivia!" the dwarf greets, before eyeing Jaskier, "and in the best company to boot!" "Yarpin Zigrin!" Jaskier greets back, welcoming the dwarf with open arms. Yarpin then turned to Zoltan, giving him a hug as well. "It's been years, ye old prick," Zoltan greets, "it's great to see you in good health."

"Aye, same as yourself," Yarpin says before turning to see Aemma, "and who's the lass?" "Ah," Jaskier steps in, "Allow me. This is princess Aemma Targ-" "Silverlark!" Aemma interrupts, Jaskier giving her a confused look, "that's...that's how I want to be known as for the time being," she shrugs, "it's what the Cedric called me before he..." "..alright then," Jaskier nods before continuing, "this is Aemma Silverlark. The daughter of my late sister."

"Your sister? The Lady of Lark?!" Yarpin's eyes widen before taking another look at Aemma, and then laughing in response, "Ah, I see the resemblance. The Lady Lark herself was a real beauty. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, princess," Yarpin shakes Aemma's hand, "I was sadden to hear what became of your mother. She was a true jewel if there ever was one."  "I appreciate the kind words, Yarpin Zigrin," Aemma nods.

Yarpin then turned to see Ivan standing near, "Ah, I remember you!" "From where exactly?" Jaskier questions. "Ran into him at the Seven Cats Inn in Novigrad," Yarpin explains, "Well, more like he ran into me. Lost me ale to that oaf. It's all in the past now. How are you faring lad?" "Quite well, thank you," Ivan nods, "It's good to see as well, master dwarf." "Call me Yarpin." "Ivan, then."

Yarpin turned back to Geralt, "Geralt- starin as if ya seen a ghost! Come muster a hug for an old friend." Geralt only gave a confused look in response. "Geralt's head isn't exactly on straight these days," Zoltan explains.

"Hah!" went Yarpin, "Meaning he truly did Foltest in then. Fine by me. Foltest was a ploughing bastard. You did right, Geralt."  "Not the point," Jaskier explains, "Geralt has lost his memory." "And he wasn't the one who killed Foltest," Aemma adds, "it was another witcher that did the deed." "Right, right, what's the difference?" Yarpin shrugs, "Someone did. But we've bigger problems now."

Right on cue, Iorveth and the Scoia'tel come onto the scene. "Where's Saskia?" Iorveth demands. Yarpin makes his displeasure at the elf's arrival. "Aye, what's this butcher doing here?" "I've come with a hundred archers-the best in the world," Iorveth explains, "here to aid your cause." "Well you'll need to wait," Yarpin spits, "Saskia and Prince Stennis went off to parely with Henselt." "The king of Kaedwen?" Aemma asks. "Aye," Yarpin nods, "me and the boys are waiting. Case something goes wrong."

Once more, on cue, Geralt looks to the sky, seeing something was going wrong. "That can't be a good sign" Aemma notices. "The sun has gone dark," Yarpin exclaims, "Call the sorceress!"

"What does it mean?" Aemma asks, sense of panic setting in.

"Not sure," Geralt admits, though he knew something like this to happen was usually not seen as a good omen. "Come Geralt. Silverlark," Iorveth gestures for the two to follow.

The trio ran towards where the mist was concentrated, seeing several Kaedweni soldiers flee the scene. A woman with long gold hair and dressed in armor was left tending to a man who looked as if he had just fallen in battle. Iorveth, Geralt, and Aemma run over to help.

The moment was cut short when the sky darken some more and dark creatures materialized in the form of undead fallen soldiers.  Aemma knew this had to be wraiths of some kind.

The wraiths attack, but Geralt and Aemma were able to drive them away with their silver swords, giving everyone else the chance to get away.

The group was silent as they made the escape back to Vergen, but Aemma had a feeling the woman that was part of this was the one who wanted to meet her in the first place. "Are you Saskia?" she asks. Before the woman could answer, a snowy white owl flew over their heads. Yarpin showed up to greet the group when they made past the Vergen gate, right at the moment the owl transformed into another woman.

"I hate flying through fog," the sorceress mutters before turning to the gold haired woman, "Saskia, are you alright?" "It's just a flesh wound," Saskia assures, "You and the witcher, we owe you our lives, Phillipa. And..." Saskia turns her gaze to Aemma, "this young woman as well." Phillipa looks to Aemma and then turns to Iorveth, "So it looks as if you had heeded my words after all." Iorveth turned away with a scoff, "welcome to our little club, princess Aemma Targaryen," Aemma addresses, "We've been hoping you would join our cause." "Thank you," Aemma nods, "but I would prefer to be called Aemma Silverlark for the time being." "Well then, Miss Silverlark," Phillipa says, "you are still welcome all the same. I am familiar with your family. I was there when your father's family was hosted by the king of Redania himself." "You...I don't recall my father or sister mentioning a court sorceress in their letters," Aemma admits. "I am rather surprised at this," Phillipa admits, "I found an admirer in your sisters. Princess Rhaena especially, we had many interesting conversations during meals."

Phillipa turns to Geralt, "And you, witcher?" "I'm after the kingslayer who kidnapped Triss Merigold," Geralt tells her. "And brought her here?" Phillipa asks surprised. "Is this an interrogation?"

"There are warrants on your head from Kaedwen, Temeria, and Redania," Phillipa points out, "and I'm responsible for Saskia's safety."

"That's enough, Phillipa," Saskia speaks up, "You told me yourself you thought him innocent."

"Saskia, the folk are riled up," Yarpin quips in, "firs the sun went out, then the Squirrels arrived, and now this fog...it's too much for the common folk." "True," Saskia agrees, "Summon all the commanders to the meeting hall. Iorveth, give me some time. I must prepare them for our arrival," she turns to Geralt and Phillipa, "you two must be there as well. I wish to here what we can expect from this anomaly and how we might be rid of it."

"And...what about me?" Aemma asks, a little scared to find out the answer. Saskia turns to the princess before answering, "follow me, Silverlark. I wish to talk to the princess alone for now."

"Saskia-" "Worry not, Yarpin," Saskia assures the dwarf, "the legendary White Wolf and the equally famous Phillipa Eilhart should have a remedy for several hundred rabid wraiths." Phillipa made eye contact with Geralt, seeming to agree to work with the witcher for the time being.

Saskia orders the town's alderman to shut the gates and then gestures for Aemma and Prince Stennis to follow. Stennis keeps a certain distance so Saskia could converse with Aemma.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Aemma Silverlark," Saskia tells her, "I only wish it were under different circumstances. I heard of you. A young woman of silver hair who was traversed the Continent in search of her mother, the Lady of Larks. Last I heard, however, your mother perished in the pogrom in Rivia six years ago." "I thought she had," Aemma discloses, "but it turns out that may not be the case." "Oh?" "It's kinda difficult to explain, but I know she survived and is still out there. I spoke to the elf Cedric. He told me in order to find my mother I had to come here to Vergen."

"...I see," Saskia nods.

"I have heard of you as well, Saskia," Aemma continues, "I heard you have been wanting to meet me. But as to why, that I do not understand. I heard you defeated a dragon in battle. I don't imagine you wish to use my dragon, or any of my family's dragons in battle, so why this desire to meet me of all people?"

"...I had asked to see you...with hopes of a proposition," Saskia admits, "I heard a story of a silver haired woman traversing the Continent with a silver sword sword strapped to her back, one who stood up against a band of men who were intent on causing harm to non-humans in the establishment for merely being."

"Oh," Aemma realized, "yes, I remember that, it was two years ago." "You put your life on the line for this less fortunate, even though you knew not who they were," Saskia continues, "when I learned who you really were, I knew I wished to have by side for when we secure the Pontar Valley for the non-humans." "Who I am," Aemma repeats, "you mean a Targaryen." "A daughter of the Lady of Larks," Saskia corrects, "she too had put her life on the line in similar situations, the last one costing her life. It seems her sense of goodness was passed onto you."

"But I still don't understand why it must be me," Aemma says, "I am only one person. You have the dwarves of Vergen, Iorveth and the Scoia'tel, you have a sorceress and a witcher now, I don't why you sought me out of all of them."

Saskia makes a small knowing smile in response, stopping when they came closer to the meeting hall where the commanders were waiting.

"I don't know how much Iorveth has told you, but we have plans for this place, for the Pontar Valley. It will need someone to govern once the new free state is established. A leader...and an heir to succeed them afterwards."

Aemma's eyes widen at her meaning, "An heir? You want....you want that heir to be me?" Saskia nodded in response, "I know this is a lot to take in, and it is all so sudden. Believe me, I wish we had more time. I will understand if you need a moment to consider this proposition. You can take the time during the meeting with the commanders if you must."

"Me...an heir," Aemma mutters to herself, "excuse me, Saskia."

Aemma turned and ran off past Saskia and Stennis back outside the hall. Aemma felt herself start to hyperventilate, so she took deep breaths to calm herself.

An heir. The heir to this new free state. Aemma couldn't believe what she was told. This really was all so sudden. Aemma never imagined herself as heir to anything. In Westeros, she was a princess of the realm. The closest she ever got to that position, as it turned out, was when she was betrothed to Aegon, when Alicent made it known that meant Aemma would be his queen consort. But when the betrothal was called off, Aemma made her peace. She knew quickly that her cousin Rhaenyra being made her father's heir, despite her gender, was the exception to the rule of Westeros, a society that valued sons over daughters. It did make her realize that despite being her father's oldest child, any titles or lands he ever would possess would be past to his male heirs, not her or her sisters. Hells, Baela and Rhaena were older than their cousin by several months, yet Lucerys was seen as heir to Driftmark.

The Seven Kingdoms were not like Dorne, where the firstborn inherited everything, regardless of their gender.

Now here Aemma, a woman, was given an opportunity to be an heir to something, anything. Yet, at the same time, it all felt so much, almost like a burden placed on her shoulders. She was nobody in this part of the world, nobody of importance anyway, and what did she truly know about ruling, she was never given the tools to learn such matters.

Surely this could not be what Cedric meant when he told Aemma her destiny awaited her in Vergen. There had to be more to this. But what if it was?

What if this how Aemma would finally find her mother? If she joined Saskia and her cause, then maybe she would somehow find the Wild Hunt, and in turn, rescue her mother from its king.

The consideration was bluntly interrupted the moment Aemma saw Jaskier run over to her in a state of panic. "Uncle? What is it? Has something happened?"

"Aemma, thanks the gods," Jaskier huffs out as he catches his breaths, "you are unharmed." "Why would I be harmed, uncle?" Aemma asks, confused.

"There is commotion in the hall right now as we speak," Jaskier explains, "Saskia has been poisoned. She's dying..."

Shocked, Aemma runs back to the hall, Jaskier following behind her.

Chapter 46

[virgin-iorveth-causa-salutis]

the witcher + eurovision 2023 music videos

it's eurovision season!

i accept no responsibility for any psychic damage inflicted proceed at own risk.

[pinkatron]

Players join the game and Geralt begins to see that the mess Dragfa is in is deeper then he could have ever imagined.

“I work alone.” Geralt said adding, “I have a contract which shall be paid upon completion no matter who makes the final blow. I am not doing this for the reward, I am doing it because I will be paid to do so. You can have whatever it is you wish.”

“Dangerous words, but now I am even more intrigued.” The man looked at him and eyed him up. “You are right, I do wish for the reward, but I am more interested in seeing the man myself, bringing him in if I can.”

“Do you know who he is? After all you asked a second question, and such I am owed the answer.” Geralt looked to him and the man grinned again.

“Oh, what fun you are, clever man.” He laughed. “Men like the one we seek are clever too. A name I do not have, for if I did, it would make this far easier, and I would know where to look. Any other information you likely have, he is a mage of some sort, he has been hidden from the eyes of the powers that be, and he has not been cruel to his victims, nor does he take pleasure from the murder he entreats them to. All of the girls have been drugged with Either, they do not know their deaths.”

[batmanqa12]

"I am so, so sorry, Iorveth." started the witcher "I didn't suspect it would come out like this-"

"Ugh, just say what you need to and get out of my forest, Gwynnbleid. I've got somewhere to attend to." the elf replied. He liked Geralt for his honesty and bluntness however this time he couldn't get the witcher to say some quite important looking info.

"Vernon Roche is dead." yellow eyed man replied. "He... he died protecting Ciri. If only I could change time..."

"Stop. Just stop." said Iorveth, he smirked even though he didn't feel like doing so. "I couldn't care less about his death. I may be a little bit irritated, after all I was supposed to kill him, but well, shit happens. Now, off you go, mourn him." however before turning back to Geralt, he looked sincerely in his eyes and asked. "Did you... Did he say something? How..."

"He used himself as a shield to protect my daughter from the arrows. As the last word he said your name, that's why I am here."

The elf disappeared. He couldn't let the tears to drop in front of the witcher. He couldn't let anyone to know that he actually cared.

He stared running, running away from everyone and everything. He didn't think he had a heart anymore, it was torment apart instantly when he'd heard about... about him. It could'nt be the truth.

[lif3lessb0dy]

iorveth headcanon; you're Geralt's adoptive daughter and have a birthday

well, you're almost 100 years old but for him you're a little child

he found you fighting for your life in a street arena

and decided to take you with him (well, he just saw magical necklace and wanted to show that Triss)

when Geralt had amnesia you were looking for him and finished up in Flotsam. you were in the wrong place at the wrong time so you met Iorveth by accident.

firstly he was surprised that you went here unnoticed by his guards.

well, you two are like grumpy x sunshine, enemies to friends to lovers ig

when Vesemir said that you're going to have a birthday party in Kaer Morhen you immediately thought about Iorveth

did they invite him?

yes. you were on a mission just like Iorveth so you two arrived at different times

everything was ready for you, as soon as you crossed the gate, happy Ciri ran out to you

"come with me, it's nice to see you"

you entered the main chamber and saw all of the witchers + some friends of you and Geralt

yup, Vernon Roche was there. You didn't know why Geralt invited him but you hoped that he wouldn't make troubles

and then you saw a red scarf

you greeted the witchers and sorcerers, all that while looking at the place where you saw the scarf

"hello (name), you didn't expect me here, do you?"

"well, to be honest, you are always near me"

"to be honest can you just shut up?" said Lambert

Keira, Triss and Yennefer in the same place at the same time... That can't end up good

of course Jaskier must have said something about Roche and Iorveth which make Vernon angry

Iorveth wasn't very comfortable because it was his first meeting with your, ekhem, "family", ekhem.

well, he found that Vesemir and Eskel share common ground with him

you mostly talked with Ciri, because you two really haven't seen each other for a while

while means sth like 10years?

the first person who started singing birthday songs was ofc Jaskier

all the time Ciri shoved Iorveth towards you "by accident".

Geralt was like a typical father. He stared at Iorveth when he tried to hug/kiss/do anything to you.

Lambert was kinda like an older brother who wants to kill anyone that touches her little sister but didn't show that as much as Geralt

Yennefer had enough with those mf

Triss was happy to see you but every Geralt x Yen scene makes her drink even more alcohol (she really wants to recover after her unrequited love)

Eskel had tried to talk with Iorveth before you arrived, but they both were stressed and awkward towards each other (Iorveth was too serious when Eskel tried to joke. He really wanted to make the best first impression but... But kinda failed. Well, even so, they became friends)

at the end of the day every one of you was exhausted

THE CAKE!

well, Yennefer wanted to do purple cake and Triss green.

surprise! You have two cakes!!

[sebdoeswords]

you rb something from my art account and mentioned some marina, and not to be nosy but who the hell is that

oh boy, strap in for a loooong story. I was gonna answer this privately because i just know she can sniff her name out in a crowd and will come for me, but I saved it as a draft and because tumblr is such a marvel of technology now there's no option to answer privately anymore so 🙃 Gonna put this under a cut. Fandom drama ahead.

Basically Marina is a a user who has been involved in a lot of fandom drama (that she keeps starting). She ships Roche with Ciri, and I assume she's a monoshipper (or whatever you call the opposite of multiship) because she can't get it into her head that other people ship different things. She insists that Ciri is the one true partner for Roche, and has been going around harassing people who ship Roche with other characters, mostly Iorveth, because that's the most popular pairing for him, but I've also gotten some flak for shipping him with Geralt. On the other side she goes around to people who ship Ciri with other characters as well, most prominently whenever people have wlw ships for her (Marina is homophobic, it's clear from some of the asks she sends).

Lots of people are uncomfortable with Roche/Ciri (Or VernonCiri, as is the ship name she uses) because of the big age gap, and more specifically the fact that Ciri is only barely out of her teens (I've got some age gap ships myself, since that's just a thing that happens in a fandom with characters that reach supernaturally high ages, but where I get uncomfortable is when characters that aren't quite settled into adulthood are involved, and Ciri is shown throughout especially the third game to still be quite immature in a lot of aspects)

Anyway, this aversion some people show really grates on Marina, and she keeps insisting that people's refusal to ship something equals harassment and "throwing shit" at her ship, when really I've not seen many instances of people actually talking badly about her ship outside of trying to explain why they don't ship it.

Marina has a habit of stalking the tags of Roche and Ciri, as well as rorveth, cirys, vesiri, many of the ships she doesn't like, and then sending hate to the people who post things she doesn't like. I assume this is what happened on your art blog, since when i went down it and found the old ask she sent you, you'd posted a picture of Roche and Iorveth before that, and I think she just assumes it's ship art whenever those two are shown together, regardless of context. She'll often say things about ships not being canon (funnily enough neither is hers, but whatever), Roche or Ciri not being gay, or asking why X ship and not VernonCiri. She also keeps insisting that her ship is not pedophilia, which none of us ever claimed it was, so.

She's also sent explicit modded screenshots of her ships to people unprompted (and by explicit i mean nsfw), has taken credit for other people's mods, as well as plagiarised a friend of mine's edits by recreating the set of images exactly except with the models swapped out, with no mention of any "inspiration" or credit. Over on twitter she quote retweeted a fic summary i'd tweeted, copied the summary and swapped out the character names, then blocked me so I couldn't see, and when called out for it tried to claim that wasn't plagiarism and that I shouldn't take it so seriously.

This whole thing got to the point my friend made a callout post because there was just so much harassment going on across so many different throwaway blogs, anon messages, and even different platforms. If you want to see everything she's done (or did up to the point that post was made) here's a masterpost with all the receipts.

I've left out a huge chunk of happenings, but if you wanna know more, or want to chat, feel free to DM me. Also sorry you got involved in all of this 💀

[metalgearwitcher]

What I WILL write: Fluff Angst Hurt/Comfort Gender Neutral reader Fem Reader Male Reader MLM, MLW WLW Platonic (all underage characters are auto-platonic) Smut Pregnancy dark topics (suicide, murder, death, sh etc) canon typical violence ( there is a lot of it in these franchises, they are anti war stories afterall maybe not depicting some of the things that happen in canon it but I can still reference them )

Will Not Write Non-con Yandere Underage "disturbing" kinks (usually meaning involving noncon partners, violence or bodily functions, mostly) feel free to ask if your kink is ok or not) Character x Character AUs ( sorry not my thing)

I will not judge you at all for any kinks or personal interests - do not be afraid to message me with any questions you have

will some detail with the requests like a prompt, but not so much that I'm just writing your OC

am a slow writer. I might take a while to finish a request

If there is a character that isn't on the following lists, ask about them to see if I write for them

character list below the RM

Metal Gear

I'm not familiar enough with metal gear rising to write for those characters but most of the others are fair game

MGS character list

Solid Snake

Big Boss or Naked Snake

Revolver Ocelot

Otacon

Meryl Silverburgh

Johnny Sasaki

Sniper Wolf

Zero

EVA

Para-Medic

Kazuhira Miller

Strangelove

Cécile

Venom Snake

Quiet

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

The Witcher Iv only gone through the Witcher 3 so I'm not familiar with the previous games, so I will do research to write for some of the more popular characters like Vernon Roche and Iorveth

This is based on the game version the characters not the tv show. I still like the show I just think there should be more content for the game characters ( though I might make an exemption for Jaskier I love him too much to exclude)

I'm not finished with the book series yet but I may included details from it and reference book only stuff or use characterization if there isn't enough detail for them in the games, I will probably add more characters when I'm finished with the books, like Milva

Witcher character list Ciri

Geralt of Rivia

Dandelion

Jaskier (TV)

Triss Merigold

Shani

Vesemir

Yennefer of Vengerberg

Eskel

Lambert

Vernon Roche

Iorveth

Cerys an Craite

Regis

Ves

[justleaf]

Welcome to my forest.

I'm currently on a hiatus because of carpal tunnel syndrome, so any updates will be few and far-between for the foreseeable future.

Here is the masterlist of my written works.

PLOT-FOCUSED

Always [ongoing] Iorveth x Roche | M | 36k | Read it on AO3

It Took Years Iorveth x Roche | E | 66k | Read it on AO3

Something Soft Iorveth x Roche | G | 8k | Read it on AO3

Bonus: Cut Content Collection Iorveth x Roche | G | Varying | Read it on Tumblr

~

CRACK

Here be Tiddies Eskel x Geralt | T | 2k | Read it on AO3

All His Heart [google translated version] Geralt x Iorveth x Roche | M | 1k | Read it on Tumblr

Getting Together Multiple Couples | M | 0.4k | Read it on Tumblr

~

SMUT

Stay the Night Iorveth x Roche | E | 2.2k | Read it on AO3 | Sequel on Tumblr

Words Geralt x Iorveth | E | 2k | Read it on AO3

Relentless Iorveth x Roche | E | 2.4k | Read it on AO3

Could Last Forever Iorveth x Roche | E | 5.9k | Read it on AO3

All His Heart Geralt x Iorveth x Roche | E | 3.1k | Read it on AO3

Constraints of Time Multiple Couples | E | 11k | Read it on AO3

The Yellow Skies Lambert x Ciri | E | 3.3k | Read it on AO3

Where He Least Expected [abandoned] Scoia'tael x Roche | E | 10.7k | Read it on AO3

Free Room & Board Multiple Couples | E | 11k | Read it on AO3

~

DRABBLES

You can find my collection of drabbles by clicking the eponymous tag below.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Undoing Byleth x Seteth | E | 2k | Read it on AO3

Hades: The Video Game The Luckiest God Hypnos x Zagreus | T | 3k | Read it on AO3

Original Work The Rain Has A Voice [abandoned] Original Characters | T | Read it on Wattpad

[merlot-and-chardonnay]

A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 40

Chapter 39.5

Masterlist

------------King's Landing: several months earlier-------------

"Where is Aemond?" Alicent frantically questions guards and servants. She had not seen her second born son in the Holdfast since this morning and now she was becoming concerned as no one else has seen him either.

She had initially contemplated if he had stolen away to ride Vhagar like he usually does, but he would've informed her beforehand so she wouldn't worry of any sudden disappearances. Aemond was not Aegon, he was not one to slip away into the city to seek temporary pleasure in the brothels, nor was he one to sneak into the cellars to drown in his cups.  This was concerning.

Alicent then went to Aegon and Helaena's apartments, hoping perhaps Aemond decided to visit his sister and her children. When she walked in, she did not find Aemond, but she did see, much to her surprise, Aegon sitting in a chair rocking his youngest son Maelor who had just fallen asleep in his arms.

Aegon looked up in shock by the way his mother had rushed into the apartments with a sense of urgency. "Mother?"

"...Aegon," Alicent greets briefly before looking around the apartments, "where...where is Helaena?" Aegon frowned a bit, wondering what his mother was thinking; she clearly wasn't showing much concern for him, "she went for a walk in the gardens," he answers, "with the twins." "And...Aemond? Is he with them?" Alicent asks, "I haven't seen him since this morning."

Aegon internally sighed; of course his mother would be more concerned with his brother, the Golden Child. "...no, not that I'm aware of," he answers in an almost whisper, wondering what was going on. He knew Aemond enough to know this was not in character for his younger brother; he was the perfect son after all, Aemond was the one who did everything right, paid attention to his lessons in history and philosophy, who trained every day with the sword and kept up with the political and economic matters among the nobles and Royal Family. Even Aegon's claim to Sunfyre was eclipsed by Aemond the moment his brother claimed Vhagar six years ago. 

Had Aemond been born first, he would've been far more suited to be king then Aegon could ever hope for. Meanwhile, Aegon could never do anything right in either of his parents' eyes. No matter how much he tried, there would always be another sibling for him to be compared to, be it his oldest sister whom his father favored over his other children, or his younger brother whom his mother dotted on every second of every day. Hence, the reason why Aegon barely tried anymore these days with anything. There was no reason to if it was never going to be good enough for his mother, father, or grandsire, and if it was never going to be enough to earn either their love and affection. 

Sure, he had a wife and children, but even that didn't seem to fill the void that was left in his heart. Helaena, he wasn't entirely sure was capable of loving him just as his brothers weren't, and his children...well Jaehaera and Jaehaerys preferred their mother and even the nursemaids over their father, as the two would barely speak a word to Aegon when he made the effort to visit them in the nursery. Jaehaera was a little more receptive compared to Jaehaerys, but there were times when Aegon felt he was losing his daughter's affection. Maelor could still be comforted by Aegon's warmth when he would hold the boy in his arms, but who knows how long that would last. When Maelor takes his first steps? Says his first word? However long it would take, Aegon could only prepare for the day his youngest would start to distance himself from his father in favor of his mother or anyone else that wasn't Aegon. While contemplating his miserable life, Aegon was shaken from the way his mother frantically searched the rooms, looking for her favorite son, ignoring her eldest. Aegon sighed a bit, recalling the times his mother had nagged him for not spending enough time with his family and rather drown in his cups and slip away into the city to do the Seven knows what. Yet, seeing him holding and rocking Maelor clearly wasn't enough for even so much as a word of recognition.

On the other hand, this was still an interesting development; even he couldn't help but wonder where his perfect brother had gone off. It certainly couldn't be the Street of Silk, Aegon knew full well Aemond had no interest in such places, despite his best efforts to 'educate' Aemond on what pleasures could be found there. It couldn't be the docks either, Aemond hadn't set foot in that place since....

Aemma, is what Aegon starts to think. He did have to wonder what became of his cousin, ever since hearing from word of mouth that the young princess disappeared six years ago after the events on Driftmark. Part of Aegon believed Aemma may have slipped away back to the Continent, he remembered how obsessed she was with those lands, how that same obsession was compounded by the loss of her mother. If that were case, Aegon considered Aemma to be fortunate; she was free from the constraining duties that came with being part of this family, and she was certainly free from the burden of being betrothed to him.

Aegon now began to wonder if Aemond had finally left to go find Aemma. Those two had been close as children, and he knew Aemond was always infatuated with her. Would Aemond, however, been bold and rogue enough to drop everything and leave what he knew behind to fly off to parts unknown just to rescue someone he had grown to disdain all those years ago?

------------Flotsam tavern: Present Day---------

After making brief eye contact with the White Wolf, Jaskier slipped into the tavern to join Roche, Ves, and the Westerosi trio. He looked around, and saw Zoltan wondering outside the tavern, "Zoltan," Jaskier calls out in an almost whisper, "hey do me favor, can you keep Geralt occupied, or at least make sure he doesn't set foot in the tavern." "Whatever for?" Zoltan asks, feeling confused by this request. "I'll explain later, just please do me this favor." "Alright, whatever you say," Zoltan shrugs and does as he was bid.

Jaskier walks into the tavern and takes a seat next to Roche, not bothering to touch the drink that was brought before him as he needed to be sober enough to keep a sharp eye on the newcomers. Even though Aemond had assured the Bard that he would take Aemma away against her will, he was still not confident.

"So, Commander Roche," Criston speaks, "what is the plan?" "We need to get to find a way to get us and the Blue Stripes out of Flotsam and into the forest to face the Scoia'tel before Laredo tries to interfere," Roche proposes, drawing lines on a piece of paper, "this is Flotsam," he explains, "this is the forest. Between the town and the forest is a barricade Commandant Loredo has just built around the town ever since word spread of the death of King Foltest. As of now, no one goes in or out with the Commandant's knowing. We need to develop a ploy to keep his attention off of us while we sneak past the barricade." 

"And how do you propose we do that?" Ivan question. "The quickest way?" Ves speaks up, "live bait."  The trio was a little confused by that plan. "I don't think the rest of us follow," Criston admits.

"We need someone to go and distract the main guards while the rest of us sneak out of Flotsam," Roche elaborates, "preferably someone who is good at garnering enough attention as well as being able to improvise on the spot." 

The table went silent as Roche and Ves turn their gaze towards Jaskier, with Ivan, Criston, and Aemond following suit. 

"...I'm sorry, where you suggesting that...I go be the bait? You're not serious are you?" "We need a diversion, and you already got into some trouble with the Commandant, as evident that you and your dwarf friend were about to get the hanging the moment my party arrived. If anyone could get under Loredo's skin and direct his attention away from the Blue Stripes, it's you." 

"Pfft, alright," Jaskier scoffs, "well, what exactly do you want me to do? Don a woman's frock, sneak into the barracks, and sing all 12 verses of the Maids of Vicovaro?...Because I will."

"Maybe nothing that extreme," Roche says, "just keep their attention off us long enough so we can climb over the barricade without being spotted.

"Why were about to get hanged?" Aemond asks. "Ah, a good question," Jaskier says, "well let's just say the Commandant had some....disagreements over how I choose to conduct myself in the dead of night. Never mind that man has been known to do the same thing behind closed doors. He didn't really care, we all know Loredo is hardly a pious man, this was all more about a show of force, to remind people who is 'the Law of the Land' in these parts. Nevertheless, I'll do my part and keep him and his lackeys distracted enough that we could smuggle a rock troll into Flotsam."

"Right, then it's settled," Roche agrees, "We leave at dusk."

"And what are we to do in the meantime?" Aemond questions. Right on cue, men from the Blue Stripes walked in and ordered drinks, laughing and conversing with one another. "I say...we have a drink," Roche suggests, standing up to join his men.

"Excuse me, I have some business to take care of outside," Jaskier says, standing up to leaving the tavern.

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

Sure enough, the moment Jaskier walked out, he saw Zoltan conversing with Geralt. Jaskier ran over to his friends. "Zoltan, Geralt, hello, good to see you again," the Bard greets nonchalantly. "You have some explaining to do, Bard," Zoltan crosses his arms.

"Yes, I do," Jaskier agrees, "but not here, we better talk elsewhere."

Jaskier then gestures for the two to follow him somewhere a little more secluded before he explains the new development in the form of three Westerosi men who had come all this way to find Aemma. "So Aemma's family has gotten involved then," Zoltan says, "the side with the dragons that is. Melete help us." "Well no, just the one, her cousin," Jaskier corrects, "I haven't even seen any dragons yet. But that's not quite the main concern here. He and the knights he brought with him, I fear will want to take Aemma away...whether she wants that or not." "Has the lad given any reason why that might be the case?" Zoltan asks. "Well, no not yet," Jaskier admits, "frankly he strikes me as someone with a stick up his arse...which is saying a lot considering his age. Really, he's just so...serious. But in some ways, he does remind me of his uncle, I have this gut instinct he'd do anything to get what he wants in the long run."

Geralt, while listening to the conversation, feels himself having a flashback, showing remnants of his past that he could remember. He began to remember being in Westeros, in King's Landing, with the Lady of Larks, their daring escape from the Red Keep with Jaskier and baby Aemma, and a certain man with blonde hair getting in the way. The memory then changed to the part where Yennefer came in through a portal and rescued the three of them, only to have (y/n)'s daughter yanked from her arms at the very last moment.

"Aemma..." Geralt says in an almost whisper. "Geralt?" "Princess Aemma, she was (y/n)'s daughter," Geralt says, "I...I think I remember her when she was a baby. (y/n) came to Kaer Morhen when she was pregnant with Aemma." "Do...do you remember anything else? Any specifics?" Jaskier presses. "No," Geralt shakes his head, "nothing else. But I think I understand better why Aemma was looking for her mother's family. Why she wanted to learn more of her mother...because they were separated when she was still a child." "So...you remember THAT part," Jaskier says in a somber tone, remembering that sad day.

"That was the day, wasn't it?" Zoltan speaks up, "the day when Aemma was ripped from her mother's arms at the hands of her father. Yes, I remember she spoke of that time when she finally joined our little party on the way to Nilfgaard, the sadness in her eyes. Poor thing was determined to be reunited with her again, much similarly to how you were determined to be reunited with Ciri, Geralt." "Yes...Ciri," Geralt nods, having some vague memories of the girl in question, those particular memories being more detailed then what he was able to remember of anyone else that was part of his life. 

"Cedric the elf had already confirmed that Aemma was taken by the Scoia'tel," Geralt points out, "more evidence that she is somewhere in this forest."

"What's the plan then?" Zoltan questions. "We need to get Aemma away from the Scoia'tel before this Prince Aemond and his men do," Jaskier says, "Geralt, you know how to navigate the monster ridden forest if anyone can do it, it's you." "There's still the matter of the Kayran to deal with," Geralt points out. Jaskier thinks on this predicament, "Well, we won't enact the plan until dusk. Can you rid the village of that best before then?" "I think so,"Geralt nods, "I already have the materials needed to prepare. I just to need to meet up with Sile and we'll be ready to slay the monster."

------------time skip to dusk-----------

It took the better part of the day, but with the help of the mage Sile, Geralt was able to defeat the Kayran and thus save Flotsam's trade and commerce. There was even spare time to follow Triss to the prison barge in hopes of questioning an imprisoned Scoia'tel, who was Iorveth's second in command, to extract information regarding these elves.

Upon learning that the witcher Letho had doubled crossed the Scoia'tel, there was also the matter of Tris proposing a solution to restore Geralt's memory with the roses of remembrance. As much as the White Wolf so badly wanted to remember again, he couldn't afford a detour at the moment; too much time had been waster enough as is, and who knows what the Scoia'tel were doing to Aemma at this moment.  "The roses will have to wait," Geralt informs Triss, "We have to save Aemma first." "I understand," Tris nods, "Alright, I'll get a head start and try and locate the Scoia'tel encampment, try and make sure they haven't harm Aemma in any serious way yet.

With that out of the way, the witcher returned to the town, waiting for Jaskier's signal.

Meanwhile, the Bard in question, with the help of Zoltan, kept the Westorosi lot and the Blue Stripes occupied by buying rounds of drinks and conversing.

Or at least he tried. Roche seemed to have found a kindred spirit with Criston and the two bonded over certain things in their lives, one of them being have to scrimp and scrap to earn the things they had in this word while those same things had been given freely to others. Criston still had some misgivings about Roche, but he seemed like a decent man who worked hard for what he had, and it was something the man could appreciate.

Ivan struck up a conversation with Zoltan, whom seemed to speculate what the half-elf was hiding behind his headband, but he wouldn't say anything, knowing the stigma half-elves faced in this world and would respect Ivan's desire to keep himself hidden.

Aemond barely spoke a word during this time, preferring more to observe; actually if the prince had his way, he would want to spar some with Criston and Ivan in preparation for what was to come. Aemond saw the way the Blue Stripes were behaving during this time, and he wasn't all that impressed by what he saw; their vulgar words which became more frequent as the drinks kept coming, and the way they would try and seduce the barmaids who came with the drinks. When a couple women from the local brothel stopped by, the men would try and proposition them. The Blue Stripes were a complete contrast to their Commander, Aemond thought; he recalled his grandsire once telling him you could judge the quality of a man's character by the company he keeps. Roche seemed to be an honorable man with no taste for depravity, but his men seemed to not follow their commander's example. Only time Roche would step in is when they would get a little rough with the servers, but that was it. It was a little confusing for the prince. So far, none of the men, Aemond noticed, tried to proposition Ves, despite her goods being out for all to see.

"You weren't exaggerating about that prince," Zoltan says to Jaskier, nodding towards Aemond, "he really does have a stick up his arse. So serious. Repressed I would dare say. A little concerning for a lad his age." "Makes me wonder if Aemma had turned out like that," Jaskier admits his concern, "given that they were both brought up by the same family."

Once dusk had settled, Jaskier slipped away after informing Roche that he was going to get ready for the distraction.

He and Zoltan head around back of the tavern to find Geralt standing by, "we're about to ready position," Jaskier informs, "you ready, Geralt?" Geralt nods, frowning a bit when he sees Jaskier pull out a wig with long hair, "uh, what are you doing?" "I'm the distraction," Jaskier sasses lightly as he dons the wig, "Zoltan, my good man, do you have what I requested?" "Surprisingly yes," Zoltan nods, handing the dress to Jaskier, "had to extend the skirts a bit, but you and the she-dwarf I was supposed to wed are roughly the same size. I have to say, I didn't think you were serious about this." "I never joke about these things," Jaskier feigns offense, "and besides, reason Loredo sentenced us to the hanging in the first place was a sense of 'pious justice' from the 'good' Commandant. If we're lucky, this might actually give him a stroke."

"I get the feeling this isn't the first time you've done something like this," Geralt states as Jaskier gets the dress on, "I do recall regaling you of my time at Oxenfurt," Jaskier says, "the little troupe I was part of for a time, the one that involved a lot of drag performance. Yeah, this is not my first time, and it certainly won't be the last. I even had a stage name for this particular persona, whom I called...," he gets the straps of the dress over his shoulder and speaks in a falsetto voice, "Juliana, troubaritz extraordinaire. How do I look?"  "The prettiest troubaritz I've ever seen," Zoltan complements, also eyeing the stubble, "if you had a full beard, you would be the Dwarven Bell of the Ball."

"Excellent," Jaskier, er I mean, Juliana says with a smile, "alright, time for me to head to the barracks to stir a moral panic. Wish me luck."

-----------------Meanwhile----------------

"Leaving so soon, princess?" Letho asks as he stands calmly yet menacingly up to address the escaped princess. 

Aemma was about to reach for her sword, but remembered she had left behind in the Scoia'tel camp. She didn't have her mother's silver dagger. The only thing she did have was the knife she swiped from that elf, the same one she used to cut her bonds back the camp which allowed her to escape. 

But now it looked like she wouldn't get far. 

"We don't have to fight," Aemma tells him, "you can just look the other way and I can go home." "I'm afraid I can't do that," Letho tells her, "business is not yet finished." Aemma quickly takes this moment to scan her surroundings. She also regarded the witcher before her; she saw his silver medallion, signaling that he came from the witcher School of the Viper. She remembered what Vesemir told her about that school, how it was known for producing would-be assassins, and Letho certainly lived up to that reputation. But, as a witcher, maybe he could be persuaded by other means to let her pass by without conflict.

"You're working for the Scoia'tel, yeah?" Aemma reasons, "they must be paying you pretty penny, I'm guessing. To kill the king and to bring me to them. I'm a princess of House Targaryen, if you let me go, I can persuade my uncle the king to pay you for allowing me to return to my family unharmed." "You honestly believe this has anything to do with coin?" Letho scoffs, "No...no. As I've said before. This, dear princess, is personal." "...I don't understand." "The Scoia'tel are not the only ones who hold a grudge against your father, the Rogue Prince," Letho explains, pulling out a sword, "they're not the only ones seeking justice."

Eyes wide, realizing what this meant, Aemma stood her ground. Armed with only a knife, and also disadvantage physically, the princess would need to rely on her wits to get her out of this situation. "Before you take me back to the camp, I do have a request," Aemma says, "...can I have a cup of water?"

While the bulky witcher frowned at this odd request, Aemma took this opportunity to take this mud and fling it at Letho's eyes. She then turned and ran off. Letho growls and rubs the mud off his eyes, "you can't run from me, forever, princess! I will find you!" 

Aemma ran through the forest as fast as she good, seeing a stream and following it upwards in hopes that it would lead her to a town or village or maybe even a hut. She runs for a time and and then jumps into the stream, knowing about witchers' special senses and hoped doing this would keep her scent hidden.

She hides under a giant tree root that hid her from view. She grabbed some mud, making quick work of hiding her blonde hair. While doing this, she heard a rustle in the bushes, making her go still. Thinking it might be Letho having tracked her down, Aemma pulled out her knife, preparing to get the jump first. If she could stab the man in just the right spot, it would give her the chance to finally escape.

She takes a breath, ready to time her attack. She jumped up from her hiding spot and tackled the would-be aggressor to the ground. The person in question pushed her off. Aemma pointed her knife at this person; it wasn't Letho, but with the cloak concealing their face, he may as well be a bandit. Before the would-be bandit could draw his sword, Aemma charges him again, and the two wrestle each other, rolling the ground.

Aemma tries to stab the person, but he grabs her wrist and tries to get the knife away from her. He was almost successful, but Aemma pulled away. The cloaked individual turned her around, getting her on her back and tried to grab her knife again. Aemma managed to move her leg and knee the guy in the groin, then pulling his cloak back before getting him on his back, knife to his neck, and panting heavily from the struggle.

Eyes wide, the man narrowed his gaze onto the princess, as if he were studying her face,

"...Aemma?" 

"Who...how did...?"

Aemma took a proper look finally noticing this person's long blonde hair much like hers and the eye patch covering over one eye, but failed to conceal the scar...the same scar that...

"...Aemond...is that you?"

Chapter 41

[blackberrywars]

Requests for Witcher Ficlets!

What: Me taking requests for 500-1000 word witcher ficlets because I’m home for the holidays and I need something to do!

When: 12/27-1/10

Rules:

Most game/show characters and ships  are welcome! As a fair warning, I don’t know a lot about book canon, but I will do my best to research and deliver on any requests from that angle

Modern/Alternate AUs are accepted and appreciated!

I will take up to 3 requests per person! Please flood my ask box, for it is barren as a desert and dry as my mouth at 3am.

NSFW requests are welcome! I will write a wide variety of kinks, but it is case-by-case, and there are some I won’t do. Still, don’t be shy, my anon is available, and I will answer any respectful questions via ask/PM

Limited Dead Dove. Acceptance will be case-by-case, but I will do canon-typical types of violence, whump, and taboos. Rape is off the table as far as an actual scene, but references are allowed

Recommendations: I am very excited to branch out of my comfort zone with this, so feel free to go buckwild, but if you want recommendations of stuff I’m more practiced at, I have a masterpost over on my page. The following is a list of stuff I’ve posted, drafted, or am otherwise really into.

Fem!Lambert x Fem!Aiden (it’s my brand and my specialty)

School of the Cat/Dyn Marv (group dynamics + partners)

School of the Wolf (both brotherly and romantic)

School of the Bear (particularly Arnaghad, Ivo, and Junod)

Nenneke (bamf and milf supreme)

Witchers & Whores (as allies)

Iorveth x Roche (I’ve seen a lot of content for them recently, and go absolutely wild over the fics/art where Roche is revealed as a half-elf)

Ves (she’s so hot and she loves knives and I wanna be her)

Previous Fills: I’ve done this thing exactly once before, and it was a blast, so if you want to check out what you can expect, these are the two prompts I received last time

Waltzing Wolves: a Super-soldier Spy AU for Gereskel + Jaskier, where Geralt drools over Eskel waltzing like a suave gentlemen, with ART by the amazing original requester, @whyzowl!

Kitten Shenanigans: Guxart learns a way to manage his unruly kittens while also developing their skills. Vesemir is only a little horrified. Done for my dear @halehathnofury.

I will accept requests from now until midnight on January 10th, 2023! Ficlets will be posted as soon as I get them done because I have zero self-control.

[windflowerofskellige]

Philippa straight up lying to Dijkstra about all of her motives vrs Dijkstra slowly figuring out "hey! Wait! She's using me and everyone else around me and killed our King!" vrs the irreparable damage done to Radovid.

Like i joke that Phil and Sigi are Radovid's divorced parents a lot but like... The events and everything around Dijkstra's leaving Redania and such is a very similar situation to a divorce where one parent gets full custody and the other isn't allowed to see them again. Except Phil was the one who got custody and the objectively worse parent.

Radovid absolutely 100% felt abandoned by Dijkstra. He was absolutely one of the few stabilising forces in his life and Philippa, controlling as she is, got rid of as much of that support system as she could. He doesn't know why Dijkstra left, realistically speaking Philippa played into the "he abandoned you" narrative.

I've said it before I'll say it again and I'll keep saying it til I'm dead. Reason of State would not happen like that! He would not fucking say that! Dude why the fuck do you think Dijkstra came back from Zerrikania? He didn't NEED to be in Novigrad to be a criminal boss and shit. He could've done that in Zerrikania. And Dandelion and Dijkstra's Gwent journey implies he gets back around 1270 which! Hm! When does Radovid become King? Oh right! 1270! You're going to tell me he came back and waited two years to kill a kid who he mentored and cared about? I'm going to have to press X to doubt on that buddy.

The only person in Reason of State acting in character is Philippa who's lost use of Radovid and after Loc Muinne has an even more personal vendetta against him and 100% would not feel any remorse killing a teenager.

Dijkstra would sooner kill Philippa than let her kill Radovid. I DON'T KNOW WHY VERNON IS THERE??? LIKE??? ANAÏS IS YOUR BEST HOPE FOR TEMERIA AND UR OUT HERE LIKE "nope gotta kill Radovid the only stabilising force for the Northern Realms because the well known traitorous bastard Emhyr says we could be the next toussaint" HE'S NOT THAT STUPID. LIKE DID VERNON GET A TASTE FOR ROYAL BLOOD AND JUST GO OFF THE RAILS DUDE WHAT THE HELL IT REALLY DOESN'T ALIGN WITH HIS GOALS FOR TEMERIA. Geralt would not get involved. Especially not with Ciri and the Wild Hunt and everything. But like just generally Would Not get involved. But Reason of State is literally there because Emhyr does Not win the war if Radovid lives which is like objectively hilarious in such a pathetic way. I am a supporter of Emhyr being ides of march-ed by Nilfgaardians you can fucking quote me on that. They don't even want to fight this fucking war!!! But if Emhyr doesn't win the war no empress ciri which is like such a stupid ending to begin with I will not get started on it because this post is already so long.

I think honestly it'd make more sense if Reason of State's questline was Dijkstra and Roche double crossing Philippa (or Philippa and Iorveth who should've been there I'm so mad about that and he has ample reason to want to kill more dh'oine kings) and the moral choice still falling on Do You Kill Radovid? Because it fits with the themes of The Witcher 3 better. And it makes more sense. And they can still have their stupid empress ciri ending.

I'm literally just rambling but I'm thinking about this again and SO mad about reason of state

[persimmontartkisses]

"I don't even dislike your OTP, I'm just indifferent to it" It would be better for you to be indifferent to your stupid Iornon than to consider VernonCiri worse and less interesting than them. And you are simply too stupid a heterophobic for them, considering ships without a rainbow flag to be bad.

At this point I'm not sure you can read 😭 I don't know much about Roche and I don't know a single damn thing about iorveth. I don't read it. I see fanart of it by happenstance sometimes then move on cause I don't really care. Geralt x Yennefer is in my top 3 Witcher ships and that's hetero. Also, why send all these anonymous when I know it's you, and why not just DM me all this shit?