under your spell

Usually when Geralt found himself asking how he got into situation like this, Jaskier was almost always the root cause. A courier had found Geralt in the mountains of Temeria, had been imprisoned on counts of stealing from the crown. Now, the witcher was in the throne room of the palace, having to offer up all of his coin to free the little prick. "Well, it's very sweet you'd offer to pay your friends bounty, but his sister already paid the balance."

Geralt cocked his head to the side, his face showing just how confused he was. "Hmm? A sister?" Geralt blinked a few times, before looking over his shoulder before turning around. He began to leave the grand hall without even nodding his head to the king, grumbling under his breath about how long it had taken him to travel here and in the complete opposite direction he had been headed.

The witcher waited in the courtyard outside of the dungeon gates, knowing they'd toss the bard out the closest exit. His back was pressed firmly against the stone wall, his eyes shut tightly to block out the sun. Oh boy did Jaskier owe him something for wasting his time. He imagined the bard's crime now, the naked man trying to steal jewels from the princess as he escaped out of her room, being caught by the guards. Pathetic.

"Oh, Geralt, you came! You do care about your dear old friend!" Geralt furrowed his brow, hearing the rattling of the gate as it was opened. He stepped forward, away from the wall before he opened his eyes. His friend came stumbling out of the darkened hall, his clothes tattered and covered in dirt. He stumbled towards Geralt, grabbing him by his shoulders.

"Don't touch me." Geralt hissed, swatting his hands away and take a few steps to the side. "I got your message, but I see it was forwarded along to someone else." Hearing the footsteps drawing closer to them before Saskia could appear from the shadows behind Jaskier, Geralt let his eyes linger over the bard's shoulder, waiting to lay his gaze on the stranger. "Do you know how much time you've wasted me?" He barked at Jaskier, continuing to speak until the girl came into his view. The witcher ground his teeth together, his hands balling into fists by his sides. He found himself instantly growing silent when the woman approached, surprised that he found himself attracted to Jaskier's sister.

Moving around the bard, whose mouth was now gaping open in fake shock, Geralt stepped forward to meet the stranger. Geralt's golden eyes ran over her from head to toe, unable to place why she seemed so... inviting, almost overwhelming. Something seemed... a bit off about her at the same time. The wind blew through her chestnut hair gently, slightly lifting it up as it fell over her shoulders. The way the sun reflected in her eyes reminded him of pools of honey. Finally finding the will to speak, Geralt cleared his throat.

"You know, Jaskier never mentioned a sister."

Saskia wanted more out of life. There were many a time that she spent her days wondering if she could find a witcher before the demon that plagued her nights figured out what was going on. But the first few times she had tried, Saskia's nights turned worse than she could have ever imagined. Each night that she killed or otherwise caused problems for someone, she was awake. She knew what she was doing and yet she had no power whatsoever over her actions. She knew the demon enjoyed that just as much as the actual killing.

But she tried to live her days as normally as Saskia could. Most days, she was left to do odd tasks whenever she could. If she could manage to work in a bar for a few nights, Saskia did. Whether it was selling her body to grungy men who needed to warm their beds or working behind the bar, Saskia only did what she needed to to survive. She didn't have the wealth that she had grown up with and she knew that there was no way to get it back. Every so often, Saskia managed to land a job that lasted for a bit longer and this time - she'd had a job for nearly three months. Saskia had managed to save up a fair bit of coin. She had no real plan in mind for what to do with it but then she heard about her brother and that had been all it took. Saskia left the tavern and departed, knowing just how much trouble her brother could get into on his own.

She hated him for abandoning her. Saskia was so sure that Jaskier had to know about what had happened to her that she didn't think it was possible he wouldn't. He was her older brother, he was supposed to protect her! And yet, Saskia hadn't seen him in years. This trip to help him would be brief and then they would disappear from each others' lives all over again. Saskia longed to be able to have a family, a life to live but she knew that there was no escaping this.

Saskia stood tall as she made her way out of the dungeons, her eyes narrowing in on her brother's back. He hadn't even so much as thanked her and that had been all the confirmation that she needed. They weren't family any more - even if she had just given her coin to pay his bounty. Saskia didn't say a word to her brother as she moved to step around him. Already, her mind was racing. She wouldn't have a place to sleep tonight but that hardly every mattered. The demon would want to come out to play, after all.

When Geralt spoke, Saskia stopped in her tracks. She gave him a rueful smile as she shrugged her shoulders. "Jaskier likes to pretend I don't exist, witcher. It's easier for him that way," she uttered, not even glancing back to Jaskier. She wanted to turn to him and demand answers, an apology, something - she wanted to tell him how badly she missed him but if she let him close, if he even wanted to, Saskia was terrified the demon would end up hurting Jaskier and she would die before she let that happen.

"He hasn't so much as thanked me for my coin. Maybe it was an invisible being who paid his bounty. Or if he really wants, you can take the credit. If that'll make him feel better about himself," Saskia said with a dry laugh. "Careful though, witcher. He'll disappoint you when you need him most. Can't rely on him for anything." With that, Saskia moved to step around Geralt. If she was going to find coin, she needed to find something now.

Geralt found himself going through a range of emotions, first, confusion as he looked from the woman to her brother. He narrowed his eyes at Jaskier, wondering why he always seemed to be stepping into something. Though, the witcher never thought he'd find himself in the middle of a family feud. Next, he could only find himself laughing. He turned on his heel and pointed towards Jaskier, "Him? Well, duh, look at him." He knew his reaction was harsh and even out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jaskier clasping a hand to his chest as if he had just been shot by an arrow, but instead, it had just been Geralt's words that hurt him.

"Your brother has gotten me into more shitty situations than I care to count." Geralt wasn't even sure why he was talking. Normally, he would let a man or woman, speak to him in passing and be on their way. There was nothing he needed to say to her, but yet, he found his tongue betraying him regardless. Geralt often found himself contemplating why he got mixed up in the affairs of men, of normal people. It never ended well for him and he always seemed to be promising himself that the last time was definitely the last time. But there was no last time when Jaskier was involved, it seemed. "And now," Geralt turned back to the bard, feeling his face heat up in anger, "You've wasted me a whole day's ride. I've probably lost my job, another witcher will most certainly deal with my wraith tonight. Do you know how much coin you've cost me, bard?" Geralt barked in his face, finding his hands curling into fists at his side.

Jaskier threw his hands up into the air, backing away from the witcher until he was caught by the wall behind him. "I wasn't sure if you'd come! They allowed me to send out two letters, I didn't know who else to call for!" Looking over the witcher's shoulder, towards his sister, he found himself losing all courageousness to speak. It had been years since the man had seen his younger sister and to him, it felt like he was just starting at a stranger. She looked so different... He could barely remember what she looked like as a kid before she... Before she just left him. His sister had abandoned him with their horrible parents, he had been forced to sing and dance like a monkey in village and kingdom streets, strangers throwing scraps and copper at him.

He felt abandoned and still, the hurt ran too deep for him to even try to thank her.

Cursing under his breath, Geralt moved away from the bard, his loose white hair being blown around by the wind. Running a hand through it, he turned back to his sister. "If he won't thank you, I will. I can only imagine the insufferable whining I would've heard on parchment had he been stuck to rot inside that cell." If the couriers could even find him, that is.

@ castle.

Saskia's shoulders pulled together when Geralt addressed Jaskier. She spun around, her face hardening into a deep scowl as she glared at her brother. "So you call for the sister that you haven't spoken to in years because you thought she would help? Tell me, bard, if roles were reversed. Would you have done the same? Or would you ignore it and carry on with your life as if nothing was wrong? As if your little sister didn't need you?" Her words came out in a heated rush and she knew that she was being ridiculous but she didn't know when the next time that she would see Jaskier would be. If she would ever see him again.

Now that she knew Jaskier had a witcher for a friend, Saskia found herself on edge. She knew that there was nothing wrong with what she did but the demon that possessed her knew full well what witchers were capable of. He'd slice Saskia's throat and call it a day if he realized the sort of monster that she was forced to be. She would never come to his aid again and she certainly would never see him again because she would do everything in her power to avoid him.

Saskia felt like she was going to be sick as she looked toward Jaskier for the first time in... in she didn't even know how long it had been. She blinked rapidly to rid herself of the tears that threatened to fall. Instead, she replaced them with a dry smile. "Might want to be careful that you don't get into trouble like this ever again because you don't have to worry. I won't bother you again, Jaskier," his name was forced out, venom-filled her tone and she wasn't the least bit sorry about it. She glared at him for a moment before she turned, starting away from the castle.

Saskia was angry and hurt, she didn't think that was ever going to change. She was never going to get back the family that she had lost, she was never going to have a connection to Jaskier and she would be alone for the rest of her time on Earth. Long ago, Saskia had realized that. Perhaps the worst part and the most recent development was that she hoped that death would come soon.

Geralt stood between the pair, his shoulders slumped and a look of complete confusion scribbled across his face. He watched Saskia begin to stomp off, completely determined to put as much distance between herself and her brother. Turning back towards Jaskier, Geralt remained silent but with an annoyed look on his face until his friend grumbled and started to kick dust. "Do you want to maybe?" Geralt started to question, pointing over his shoulder towards his sister.

Jaskier looked embarrassed, shameful and confused himself. "Didn't need me?" He wasn't even truly paying attention to the witcher either, instead, shoving past him once he came to his senses. "Saskia, what do you mean? I thought you were busy with our aunt! You didn't need me? You left me!" The bard started running after his sister, feeling his mouth drying up from how nervous he was. His sister had spoken as if he had been the one to abandon her, which wasn't the truth that he knew. Was there something he hadn't known when they were children? Even if there was something he was oblivious too, what would he have done?

Geralt watched as the bard chased after his sister, shouting things about their parents and their aunt, and then questioning more of what she meant. Geralt looked to the sky, cursing under his breath. How do I find myself in these situations? He knew he needed to get back on the road, he was losing what little daylight was left and he didn't have enough coin to buy another room. It looked like he'd be sleeping out under the stars tonight and he needed to get to his horse and be on his way. Geralt's feet seemed to ignore his thoughts because the man found himself following after Jaskier and the mysterious lady.

He followed closely behind, wondering if his sister would even stop and give him the time of day. "This is one dysfunctional family, isn't it?" Geralt called out to her, seeing the worry and guilt that was beginning to show on his friend's face. Jaskier seemed completely clueless about everything his sister had said to him. Knowing it would be better to just keep his mouth shut and stay out of it, Geralt also couldn't just stand by and not help his friend. So instead, he tried to grab the girl's attention, in hopes, it would stop her and force her to talk to her brother.

@ castle.