the white wolf and the runaway princess

Geralt didn't smirk at the prince's look of terror but he knew that would cause more issues than it was worth at the moment. Instead, Geralt simply straightened his back and squared his shoulders as a look of pride settled on his features. He raised an eyebrow but the moment that Fiona turned toward him, Geralt's entire attention was focused solely on the woman that had turned toward him. He paid no mind to the king when he stood, only concerned with Fiona's reaction. If she demanded he leave, Geralt had no clue what he would even end up doing. Would he try to reason with her? He couldn't in front of everyone. His worries were washed away the moment that Fiona spun toward him and all but shoved Geralt's hand against her side. It was only then that a little smirk settled on his features.

Starting about the room, Geralt was sure that he surprised the princess and most of the people in the ballroom. He was a witcher - he was meant to be all hard edges and blood and murder. But the thing that most didn't know was that most knew how to dance. It was taught to them not because they needed it for anything but because it helped with footwork. If you couldn't keep up with footwork, you wouldn't be able to even hold a flame against the weakest of monsters.

"I heard there was a ball taking place... knew how much you didn't like them. Had to see how you were fairing amongst all the nobles," Geralt's voice was low so that the dancing people would overhear him. "Suppose it's a good thing since someone was making you uncomfortable," he muttered, his eyes searching the crowd for the offending prince. "What do you think your father is thinking right this moment, hm?"

"Probably wondering how to get you tossed out without causing a huge scene." Fiona was surprised as Geralt spun her around the floor. "After how I left you last time, you thought you'd just walk right in the castle and see how I'm fairing?" The princess couldn't help but tease him. She hated the mixed feelings he sent her. The last time she had seen him, he had made her feel like she was nothing, like he didn't care for her at all, and now... He was making her feel so special.

It didn't make sense to her.

Fiona looked around the floor, until her eyes landed on the prince she had ditched, seeing him sulking by the stairs. No doubt embarrassed that the princess chose to dance with a witcher over him. Fiona would never thank Geralt, but he had shown up at the right time. The prince had been trying to get her to disappear off to somewhere much more quiet and secluded, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"You do seem to show up at the right times, though." Fiona stepped closer to Geralt, pressing herself against his chest, laying her head on his shoulder. She knew how this worked, he'd be gone before she could even beg to him to stay. So regardless of how angry she had been at him, she wasn't going to let that ruin this moment for her.

@ castle.

Geralt couldn't deny the guilt that he felt when Fiona started talking about the last time that they had met. Nothing specific was spoken but it was still clear as day that Fiona was hurting from that time. He'd never meant to hurt her. In fact, everything that he had done had been in the name of protecting Fiona. He hadn't managed to at all, it seemed to him. He bit down on the inside of his lip, looking down to her with a slight frown. There was so much that he wanted to say but it had to remain unspoken because Geralt could only imagine the trouble it would cause if he spoke up.

"He was making you uncomfortable. I could have his head for it," Geralt grumbled, his eyes narrowing as the prince continued to sulk by the staircase. He looked back down to Fiona and smirked just slightly. "I could spin it that you told me he'd done something so reprehensible that there was no other option than to immediately avenge your honor. Maybe then your father would stop staring at you as if you'd grown a second head."

"If the princess commands it," Geralt said. He was mostly just teasing Fiona but he also knew that what he spoke was the truth. Geralt would do it if it meant that it would make Fiona happy even just for a short while

"Why are you concerned with what makes me uncomfortable? You said so yourself, I have to marry a prince. They're all the same." She watched as Geralt fought with his expression, trying to keep an emotionless face, but he was failing. "Maybe I'll marry this one." Fiona watched as Geralt's face twisted, only a confirmation the princess that the witcher had to feel some certain way towards her. If waltzing into a ball on his own accord wasn't enough, the way he couldn't control his emotions now certainly was.

The princess was casually guiding Geralt to the opposite side of the ballroom, where she knew there was a hall, hidden out of sight from her father, that ran under the staircase they could disappear into. Of course, she wouldn't want him alone.

Fiona had no desire to marry any prince, still she thought about running away. For a moment, she wondered if Geralt had only shown back up to make sure she hadn't. The princess held the fabric of his shirt between her fingers, unable to keep her hands off of him. It was like she had found her way into a fairytale and Geralt was her prince charming, even if before he had assured her he was no knight in shining armor. "I'm glad you've returned." She whispered, a pink blush rising to her pale face.

@ castle.

Geralt let out a low growl at the mere suggestion of Fiona having to marry this particular prince. It sent his blood boiling in a way that he was sure wasn’t a good idea. The thought of Fiona marrying a prince that had clearly made her so uncomfortable when he was supposed to be courting her, it just made his head and his heart ache. He wished for a brief moment that he led a different life but for a Witcher of his status, Geralt knew there would never be anything else. And his life wasn’t meant for a princess. No matter how much she may have hoped it was.

He hadn’t even realized what Fiona was doing until she practically pushed him into the hallway beneath the staircase. His brows rose and he glanced toward the entrance, wondering just how long they had until someone came looking. People in castles were so very nosy.

“The last time I saw you, a princess mentioned running away. Had to make sure you were still safe,” Geralt said simply. He shrugged because to him it was as easy as an answer that he could give her. He didn’t want her thinking that there was more to it, even if there was. Fiona’s heart would be broken and the guilt would lay only on his shoulders. “What have you been up to since I left?” He promoted, his hand having dropped from hers but the other still lingered on her hip.

Fiona looked at Geralt, an eyebrow raising as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Mhm," she chuckled, not believing a word. The princess saw right through him, knowing it was more than that. "Oh, well for starters, I know my way around one of these now." She loosened her arms and trailed her fingers up Geralt's chest until she lifted her hand off of his shoulder and poked the hilt of his sword.

"Full of surprises." She had been training since before their last visit, almost for a full year now. "How many monsters have you slain in the meantime?" Fiona stepped closer, pressing her body against Geralt's. One thing she regretted all this time was that she had never even at least stole a kiss from him. It seemed more and more reasonable to believe that Geralt would always make some sort of a return, but one day would be there last seeing each other ... She didn't want to hold this regret for the rest of her life.

The princess let her eyes flicker down to his lips, her hand finding it's way down to cover his hand that was held against her side. Without a warning, Fiona rose on the tips of her toes and pecked the witcher on the mouth, only letting herself linger there for a moment before she quickly stepped away. She didn't want to give him enough time to push her away, just in case that was his reaction.

"I've wanted to do that for a while." There was a heavy blush across her face as she held her arms behind her back, hoping he wasn't too angry with her.

@ castle.

Geralt scoffed at Fiona's words. There was no way that she knew her way around a sword. He wrote it off as a little fantasy of hers because to him, the idea that a princess would be able to wield a sword effectively was completely outrageous. Before he could even begin to question Fiona's tales, her lips were pressing against his. His body tensed and on instinct alone, Geralt was read to push her away. He'd known this was an awful idea to come here and see Fiona again because it would only give her false hope for something that he could never hope to provide her. But she pulled away before he could even react.

He wanted to whisk her away from this and show her that she didn't need to live a life that she was miserable in but he couldn't. Geralt could only imagine the sort of trouble that would cause for the two of them. He knew that he wanted to be angry with her but he couldn't bring himself to be. He studied her, his brows pulled together as he reached up to brush a strand of hair that had come loose, behind her ear.

"I've slain my fair of monsters. But those don't matter right now, do they?" Geralt asked. His eyes flickered to the hallway that they had come through. It was only a matter of time before people came looking for them. "Dunno when the next time I'll get to visit Aedirn is. You might be whisked away to somewhere else that I have no way of doing," he huffed, not liking the idea of not knowing where Fiona would be one day. She could end up hurt or needing him for something and he wouldn't have anything in his power that he could do for her.

Fiona's eyes scanned all over his face, searching for even just a little tiny flash of emotion, but the only difference she could discern was his voice dropping quieter, he seemed to grow a bit more agitated. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach helped her decide it was time to come clean. "You're right, I won't be here next time, so there's no reason for you to return." The princess chewed on her lip as she stepped back against the wall opposite of him. Maybe she had felt a false sense of hope, or something, when she saw him on the ballroom floor, but being alone in this hallway, she remembered just how out of touch with his emotions he was. He had scoffed at her when she mentioned her sword training, and even now he showed no flicker of shock, confusion, or even anger when she had kissed him.

"I have been training this whole time that you have been gone with the best knight in my father's army. My father has given me a limited amount of time before he's going to pick my husband. I'm not letting that happen." The princess was finding it hard to stand her grown, feeling Geralt's stare burning a hole into her. She could already imagine how angry he would get. "And I don't want to hear you try to tell me I'm stupid, or don't know what I'm getting myself into, because I would rather anything the world could give me than what that prince outside would do to me."

Fiona finally looked up at Geralt, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip so roughly that she broke through the skin. The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth and her whole body tensed. Fiona hoped her words wouldn't piss him off enough that he would leave. She had to kiss Geralt when she had the opportunity because she knew this would be their last time meeting, and she didn't want it to end just yet.

@ castle.

{i didn't have this alert in my alerts. i'm sorry }

Geralt had just been about ready to argue with Fiona that she wasn't ready for what the world could offer because he was damn sure that she probably wasn't. She was a princess raised in a life of luxury. She didn't know what it was like to go hungry or to have to sleep under the stars because you didn't have the money to pay for a room. Geralt opened his mouth to point these things out but then Fiona was talking about the prince in the ballroom and his eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Your father wants to wed you to him?" Geralt demanded in a low voice. He scoffed, shaking his head slowly. Geralt lookeed from side to side before turning his attention back to Fiona. "I can get rid of him. Then you can worry about finding a worthy princess. Fiona, you aren't ready for the world out there. You.. what're you going to do when you go days without a proper meal? A place to rest your head?" Geralt breathed. He was clawing at any reason he could think of because Geralt knew that if Fiona refused to listen to his reasoning, he wouldn't let her going around on her own.

"I'm a witcher. I can just... do it as many times as needed," Geralt added with a small laugh. He was only half kidding - if Fiona took the offer, Geralt would whole heartedly do it. "Then you don't have to worry about food or a place to rest."