Affectation Hides Three Times as Many Virtues

Image from PsychVamp who is just the sweetest person in the world.

Yennefer didn't know what she was expecting to feel when she walked back into Lettenhove. For some reason, she thought there would be evidence of the fight on the stones or the buildings. She thought there would be splashes of Jaskier's blood soaked into the dirt that she could use to track him, but there wasn't. It didn't look like there had ever been a fight in this town. Triss was a little nervous as if she knew precisely what Yennefer intended to do. She wanted the Pancratz family to know that what they did was not going to be tolerated and would not stand for it. Yennefer couldn't remember the last time she felt this murderous, but it had been some time. Perhaps Sodden Hill, but even that didn't feel as personal as this did.

Eskel was the last person she expected to see trying to get into the manor, but it appeared that he had the same thought she did about where a good place to start would be. Yennefer wasn't surprised to hear that news of the battle reached across the continent. It's not every day that you see a Viscount and Viscountess begging for the life of their son as foreign invaders drag him away. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yennefer realized that if Vesemir knew what had happened then, Geralt and Ciri might know, and it would break their hearts, but she couldn't focus on that right now. Triss and Eskel were looking at something, but she was too focused on how she was going to get passed the guard.

"Oh, what?" Yennefer said, and she turned around. The first thing she noticed was that Lambert was walking toward her, and it was surprising to see both of Geralt's brothers in the same place. They usually avoided each other when it came to the rest of the year since having more than one Witcher often didn't end well for anyone. The next thing she noticed was that he wasn't alone, and her heart stuttered. Jaskier was wearing clothes that didn't quite fit him, and he had lost some weight in the intervening weeks. The colors were dark, but she could see the bloodstains on them. He had a new sword on his hips and a small pack on his hip that he could easily reach for. His eyes looked incredibly blue, and there was a burn scar the shape of a hand around his throat.

Yennefer didn't think about how it might look to everyone else when she began to run toward Jaskier. She didn't care that this was showing a level of weakness that she didn't like others to know about. It was one thing for all of the world to know that she enjoyed sleeping and being with Jaskier; it was another for all the world to know how much she cared about him on a fundamental level. He was running toward her as well, but he wasn't saying anything which didn't make sense. Jaskier always had something to say, and he didn't even grunt when they collided into a tight hug. Yennefer held onto him so tight that it must have hurt, but she didn't care right now. They both collapsed to their knees and just held each other.

"I thought I killed you, I thought I shoved you into that portal to die," she whispered so quietly that only Jaskier could hear. He shook his head, but he still said nothing, and now the silence worried her. Yennefer pulled back from the hug and shaped his face in her hands as she looked him over. "Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked. Jaskier took her hand away from his face and placed it on the scar on his neck.

Yennefer didn't have a lot of clear memories of the fight. After the herbs from Jaskier's parents settled in, her memory got a little fuzzy and strange. She remembered righting with Fringilla, and she remembered losing. She remembered Jaskier screaming, and she remembered pushing him through the portal, but the details weren't there. Yennefer kept hoping they would come back to her, and now she realized she must have missed an important detail. The hand-shaped burn on his neck was not just Fringilla being cruel. It was so much worse than that. Yennefer closed her eyes, and she could feel the magical wound on her bard.

Fringilla had burned Jaskier's very voice out of him.

Yennefer was shaking with anger as they helped each other to their feet, and she looked at Lambert, who was watching them with a strange expression on his face that Yennefer didn't entirely recognize. She thought he looked a little nervous like maybe he didn't trust precisely what he saw here, which was strange. The last time she saw Lambert, he was not hiding the fact that he hated her, and he might have hated Jaskier even more for asking for the medallion. Now he looked like he wanted to put himself between her and Jaskier, which was a fascinating development.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Yennefer asked as the three of them made their way over to Eskel and Triss.

"I was riding along the road when he appeared about a mile or so in front of me bleeding out like a stuck pig with no weapon and no money," Lambert said with a frown. "So I took him to this healer who basically saved his life and didn't kick me out of town when I showed up. She even let us work off our debt instead of taking coin. The fucking village had drowners, but no one wanted to pay a Witcher, so I killed them, and she saved him." It took all of Yennefer's self-control not to react to Lambert admitting he took something other than coin for a job. Jaskier squeezed her arm, so he obviously knew that this was not a small thing either.

"Did she give you these clothes and this weapon too?" Yennefer asked.

"No, you and the fucking bard owe me for those," Lambert said with a scoff. Eskel and Lambert greeted each other warmly, and he side-eyed Triss like he didn't trust her at all, which was a fair reaction. Jaskier dug into his bag and pulled out a tablet that Yennefer often saw children learn to write on.

'You can read me," Jaskier wrote, and Yennefer felt her heart stir. People didn't usually like the idea that she could read their minds, and she didn't read the people she cared about unless she was told that she could. Yennefer closed her eyes and gently reached into Jaskier's mind. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, and he thought in complete sentences, unlike most people that she read. He was saying over and over again how grateful he was that she was all right and safe, but it was what he wasn't asking her about that surprised her. Jaskier didn't seem concerned at all about the fact that he didn't have a voice anymore.

Yennefer remembered back in the cottage what felt like a lifetime ago. Jaskier had screamed his voice away from being tortured by Nilfgaard. He could speak, but he couldn't sing, and even then, he didn't seem to worry that much, and he never demanded that she fix it. It was one of the first things that Jaskier did that really impressed her because people always wanted and demanded more from her. Jaskier's entire livelihood depended on his voice, and he still was not worried. He was still so much more concerned that she was all right before even thinking about himself.

"Jaskier," Yennefer said, and he blinked as everyone turned and looked at her. "The guards refused to let Eskel into your parent's home, but they won't turn you away, correct?" Everyone always thought that Jaskier was the weak one, the one that didn't want to fight, the lover and not the fighter, but he was just as bloodthirsty as she was and much more than Geralt ever was. Jaskier was currently smiling like he was ready to kill anyone who got in his path. He pushed his way past Lambert, Eskel, and Triss and walked right up to the guards.

"Master Julian," one of them said breathlessly. "We didn't know--I mean, we thought that you were--" Jaskier couldn't talk, but Yennefer walked up to join him and watched as his eyebrows slowly raised with each stammered excuse. They glanced at Yennefer, and the brief look of terror in their eyes told her that they remembered her all too well.

"Gentlemen, it would be in your best interest to let your Master, myself, and our companions walk through these gates," Yennefer said. Most humans didn't feel magic unless she wanted them to, and judging from the way both Eskel and Lambert twitched, it was evident. The guards scrambled aside and let them through, and Yennefer took Jaskier's hand into hers as they walked toward the manor like they owned it. She could hear Lambert, Eskel, and Triss quietly wondering what exactly was going to happen here, and Lambert muttered something about getting bloodstains out of carpets that made Yennefer smirk. She didn't need to spill blood to accomplish her goals.

When they pushed the main doors open, it was evident that the Viscount and Viscountess had scrambled to greet them. They didn't look exactly put together, and they both paled when they walked in.

"Julian, you're alive," the Viscountess said, and she buried over to him like she had any right in the fucking world to touch Jaskier. He held up a hand, and she stopped dead in her tracks. "Julian, is something wrong?"

"You could say that," Yennefer said, and she saw Jaskier smirk at the pun she just made. "You see the sorceress that you willingly handed your son to decided that she didn't like what he was saying, so she burned his voice out of him. You heard him screaming, and now you know why." The Viscountess looked like she was going to be sick, and the Viscount narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two of them.

"Can you fix it?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, but even if I can, it won't matter to either one of you," Yennefer said as she took a step toward them. The Viscountess immediately took a step back, which was good. Yennefer wanted these two people afraid because what they did cannot and will not stand as far as she was concerned.

"And what does that mean, exactly?" the Viscount asked in a haughty voice that Yennefer knew from many years dealing with nobles all too well.

"It means that I'm never letting either of you see Jaskier ever again," Yennefer replied. "It means that you made the terrible mistake of trying to harm that which is mine, and I do not take kindly to that. You gave up your rights as parents the moment you decided that handing his over to Nilfgaard was the right decision."

"No," the Viscountess yelled out. "I was trying to keep my son safe! They said if I gave them you, then he would be safe!"

"And you believed them," Yennefer hissed.

"I wanted my son safe," the Viscountess said, and she wasn't looking at Yennefer anymore; she was looking at Jaskier. "You and the Witcher, you're the ones that are putting him in danger. He should be at Oxenfurt teaching classes or working in a King's Court or home with his family. It's you and the Witcher that put him in dangerous situations. If it weren't for the two of you, Nilfgaard wouldn't have wanted anything to do with my son. It's you, not me, that hurts him."

"Julian," the Viscount said. "You're upsetting your mother. This has all clearly gone on long enough. If you no longer have a voice, then you can't sing the songs of the Witcher or this witch, so you're not of any use to them. It's time to come home." Yennefer could feel her Chaos threatening to explode out of her at the mere mention that all Jaskier was good for were his songs. It enraged her, and she didn't think she had ever been so angry and so insulted on behalf of someone else before in her life. Jaskier touched her arm, and she glanced at him. He was projecting calm at her, but she could see that he was nearly vibrating with how angry he was too. Jaskier shook his head exactly once.

"How dare you assume that I have claimed this man because he's useful to me," Yennefer said lowly, and she could see that the Viscount and Viscountess both realize that they had made a terrible mistake. "How dare you insult him and me like this. I have burned people for far fewer grievances." The Viscount stood up a little taller like he had any power in this room, and Yennefer could feel the guards in the room tense up. Eskel, Triss, and Lambert were at her back, and she knew they would protect them if the worst happened, but she didn't intend to let Jaskier witness the death of his parents. Death didn't solve anything, but fear often got Yennefer what she wanted.

"You cannot threaten me like this," the Viscount said.

"I can't? Jaskier told me that his siblings are more than ready to take your titles, and as far as I know, they have no grievance with him or me. So why shouldn't I threaten you?" Yennefer asked, and she narrowed her eyes. "You would be wise to remember this moment because I am about to show you mercy. You touched and hurt what is mine. He has no voice because of the two of you. He is scarred and wounded and nearly died because of your actions and not mine. I can protect him, I have protected him, and I will continue to protect him long after your bones have turned to dust." Yennefer turned to one of the guards that were standing nearby and glared at him. "Go get our things, including his lute immediately." The guard was not an idiot and immediately ran off to find their things.

"Please--" the Viscountess begged.

"Julian, this is your last chance to come forward and leave this foolishness behind," the Viscount snapped. "If you walk out of this room, you can consider yourself disowned. I've been looking for an excuse since the day I found out you were a bastard, but if you allow this witch to talk to me like this, you can consider yourself a man without a family."

"He has a family," Eskel said from behind them, and Yennefer turned because she wasn't expecting the Witcher's to get involved. Both Lambert and Eskel walked forward and put themselves on either side of them and stood tall. Now the Viscount and Viscountess weren't just staring down an angry witch but two angry Witcher's. "And it is a far better one than the family I see standing before me."

"Also, his name isn't fucking Julian, it's Jaskier, and you would well to remember that," Lambert said, and he spat on the ground. The guard returned with all of their things, and something in Jaskier's expression softened the moment he put his lute case over his shoulder. Yennefer wasn't overly attached to anything in her bags, but she refused to leave a part of herself in this horrible place.

Behind her, Yennefer could feel Triss opening up a portal so they could leave. It was just a portal that took them to the local inn, but the point wasn't to be practical but to make a point. Eskel and Lambert both turned to walk through the portal, but the Viscountess shook her head with tears in her eyes. She grabbed a quill and a piece of paper and thrust them at Jaskier.

"Please, Julian, tell me you'll come home, please. You're my son, and I just want you away from these people that will continue to bring you harm," she said. Jaskier took the quill, and Yennefer watched as he wrote five words on the paper;

'My name is Jaskier. Goodbye.'

The Viscountess wailed like someone had hurt her, but Yennefer didn't care. She took Jaskier's hand into her, and they walked through the portal, leaving the Viscount and Viscountess behind them. Eskel and Lambert were already gathering their horses and their things like they needed to go, and maybe that was a good idea. Yennefer thought that the fear would be enough, but these were two people who drugged Jaskier and put him in a position where he could have been killed because they thought they were doing the right thing for him. She didn't put it past either of them to do something stupid like attacking a party with two Witcher's and two sorceresses and a former bard that looked like he's wanted nothing more than to fight.

"I think getting away would be in our best interest," Yennefer said, and she opened a portal to take them much further south and somewhere out of reach of Jaskier's parents. It took some coaxing from Eskel and Lambert to get their horses through the portal, but they eventually walked through. Triss followed, and Yennefer turned to see Jaskier looking back at the Lettenhove manor and his home. For a moment, Yennefer wondered if she had made some sort of terrible mistake in all of this, and Jaskier didn't want to come with her. She wondered if she was taking someone away from their home. Then Jaskier turned and took her hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed her palm. He smiled, and they walked through the portal. It closed, and Lettenhove was behind them.

+++

It didn't take Yennefer and Triss long to charm a man out of his home, so they had somewhere to stay. She wasn't in the mood to deal with innkeepers that might have something to say about Eskel and Lambert, and she was not in the mood to deal with other people. The large quiet house calmed her nerves in a way that was hard to quantify, and Yennefer loved it a little.

"Is this what happens when you travel with a fucking sorceress? No wonder you took them with you to Kaer Morhen," Lambert said.

"We didn't get a fancy house, but there was an enchanted tent," Eskel replied.

"Oh, those are very useful indeed," Triss said, and the thought of the Pancratz family seemed so far away from this place. Triss seemed to be getting along with Eskel and Lambert, which was good. Lambert, in general, seemed to be accepting them a lot more than he did when they were at Kaer Morhen. Jaskier had a way of endearing himself to people, and Yennefer could only assume that this was another example of that.

Jaskier collapsed into one of the large chairs and sighed heavily but silently. Yennefer wanted to look at his throat and see if she could get a better idea of what exactly Fringilla did to him, but it was getting late in the day, and she was tired. She didn't want to deal with a meal either, and when she glanced at Triss, her friend seemed to read her mind. Triss walked into the kitchen and began to make them some dinner. Eskel eventually joined her, and Lambert followed as he lurked in corners and seemed to think that someone was going to jump out at them any second. Yennefer appreciated his paranoia.

She climbed into the chair with Jaskier and wrapped her arms around him. He closed his eyes and leaned close to her. When they were close like this, it usually meant that they were about to have sex, but this time, it just felt so good to be close to him. Yennefer began to run her fingers through Jaskier's messy hair, and if he could speak, she knew he would practically be purring as she pets him like this.

"So Lambert found you," Yennefer said, and he nodded. "I have to wonder if I managed to do that on purpose. Of all of the places I could have sent you, I sent you right in the path of one of Geralt's brothers. Even if it was the brother that was much more likely to leave you bleeding in the middle of the road."

"Oi, I heard that!" Lambert said, and Jaskier grinned. He reached into his bag and pulled out his tablet to write on. She knew that she could take the words from his mind, but Jaskier's mind and body were already violated by magic before. She wasn't going to let that happen again, not on her watch.

'Once I woke up and saw who found me, I realized it must have been intentional somehow,' Jaskier wrote.

"So, the grumpy asshole took good care of you?" Yennefer asked.

"I swear to the gods--" Lambert said from the kitchen, and she was enjoying baiting him like this. Jaskier smiled and began to write again.

'Yes, he did, and he really did get me all of these things,' Jaskier wrote. 'Ask him to tell you how we met up with Nilfgaard again.'

"Lambert," Yennefer said as she went cold all over at the thought of Jaskier being anywhere near Nilfgaard. Lambert walked into the room and put his hands on his hips like a petulant teenager, but that wasn't what Yennefer was focused on right now.

"What now? Do you want to insult me some more, witch?" he asked.

"Jaskier just wrote that you ran into Nilfgaard again," Yennefer said. Lambert stared at her for a moment like he was debating on whether or not to trust her with something.

"He was bound and determined to find you," Lambert said as he sat down across from them. Jaskier tightened his grip on her a little, and Yennefer touched his hand to try and tell him that everything was going to be fine. "He thought you were captured and said that he was going to go find you alone if I didn't come with him. So I went with him because I didn't want to waste all of the coin I spent keeping his ass alive. I knew we needed help, though. There is this--" Lamber cut himself off as he tried to find the next word for what he wanted to say. "--he's a friend of mine. His name is Aiden, and he's a Witcher too."

"Wait a fucking minute," Eskel said as he walked into the room and stared at Lambert. "You went to the Cats for help?" Yennefer didn't know a lot about Witcher's, but Geralt had warned her years ago to stay away from Cat Witchers. They are apparently mad as hell and ready to kill someone at the drop of a hat. Yennefer didn't know why she was surprised that Lambert was friends with someone like that, but there was apparently more to it than that judging from the way that Eskel bounded into the room like it was on fire.

"I knew where Aiden was, and I had a pretty good feeling he could convince the others to help too," Lambert said with a shrug.

"You brought Jaskier of all people not only to the Cat Witcher's, but you brought him to the entire caravan of them?" Eskel asked. Yennefer could feel Jaskier shaking as he silently laughed at this entire exchange.

"The fucker is just as mad as the Cats and charmed every single one of them without being able to say a word. Nothing happened, and it was fine. Aiden agreed to help, and he got the other Witcher's to help too. We thought we would be facing an entire convoy of men plus a sorceress. It turned out we were a little over-prepared since someone had managed to break themselves out of prison."

"That I did," Yennefer said with a smirk. "So, this Aiden, did you sleep with him before or after the fight?"

"That depends, did you sleep with Merigold?" Lambert snapped, and he sounded legitimately angry now.

"We didn't sleep together, Jaskier," Triss called from the kitchen, and he waved her off as he continued to laugh at the antics of those around him. Eskel was eyeing Lambert but eventually threw his hands up in the air and went back to helping Triss prepare food. Lambert glared at all of them, but Jaskier was still smiling.

"Anyway, we attacked the convoy and got all of them except for that one asshole named Cahir. A portal appeared out of nowhere and saved him from Jaskier driving a sword through his throat," Lambert explained. "After that, we decided to keep heading north until we got to Lettenhove. If nothing else, Jaskier said he wanted his lute back, and it seemed like as good a place as any to try and figure out what happened to you. That's it." Yennefer wanted to ask more, but Triss called that dinner was ready, and they all went into the giant dining hall to eat. Jaskier was still smiling, and Yennefer wished she could hear him laugh.

+++

It was clear that they all had been through a lot in the recent weeks, so while the sun was just down and there was an entire cellar full of good wine, almost everyone went to bed early. Triss didn't seem to mind that she was going to bed alone and waved Yennefer off when she asked her about it. Jaskier was sitting on the large bed, his legs crossed, as he looked over his lute as if inspecting it for damage. Yennefer settled onto the bed next to him and silently watched as he worked. Eventually, Jaskier picked up the clay tablet that was lying close to him and began to write.

'I should never have doubted that Yennefer of Vengerberg could save herself,' he wrote.

"It was a sweet gesture, nevertheless," she replied.

'How did you do it?' Jaskier wrote.

"Once the drugs wore off, I made sure that we were in a place where I could unleash my powers and not worry about anyone else getting hurt. The cuffs were easy enough to pick the locks, that is a useful skill, and I appreciate you teaching me how to do it, and once I was free, I burned them all. Fringilla and I fought, and I hurt her very badly. She had to portal away, or I would have killed her. I was weak, though, and I needed somewhere to recover. So I all but appeared on Triss's doorstep, and she took care of me until I was strong enough to come and look for you," Yennefer explained.

'Triss is looking at you a lot,' Jaskier wrote.

"Yes, well, that offer you made about the three of us taking time together is something I think she would like to do, but she also understands that Geralt is Geralt and he might not like the idea if we did that without telling him," she said and smirked. "She did almost kiss me, and I did get to touch her a little." Jaskier grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, which made Yennefer laugh a little. It never failed to amaze her how light Jaskier made her feel. All of the relationships in her life felt like they were heavy and burdened by something, whether it was magic or destiny.

Yennefer reached forward and cupped one of Jaskier's cheeks and ran her thumb along his cheekbone. She was suddenly aware that she hadn't kissed him since they were reunited, and as she looked into his bright blue eyes, that was all she wanted. Yennefer closed the distance between them and kissed Jaskier softly. She heard him suck in a breath, but that was the only sound he made. She was used to him whispering into her ear about how good she felt, how good she tasted, taking the experience of being with him, and elevating with just his words that the silence seemed even worse.

She broke the kiss but moved closer to him. Jaskier watched her carefully as she moved his lute to the floor and out of the way. Yennefer set his tablet on the table next to the bed, and she pressed a kiss to the corner of Jaskier's mouth.

"You take care of everyone," Yennefer whispered into his skin. "This time, I want to be the one to take care of you. Is that all right?" She had to limit her questions to yes or no because she didn't want to use her magic to read his mind, and she didn't want Jaskier to have to write down his thoughts. He nodded, and Yennefer settled into his lap. Jaskier went to kiss her, but Yennefer ducked and began to press soft kisses along his jawline and his neck slowly. She loved to mark him, so everyone knew that Jaskier belonged to her. He always made the best noises when she bit him, and Yennefer missed them when she bit and sucked a bruise into the tender skin of Jaskier's neck. He sucked in a breath and tightened his grip on her, but he still couldn't say a word or make a sound.

After kissing the mark, Yennefer moved back to his lips and kissed the breath from Jaskier's lungs. It was too quiet save for the sound of their lips and her own breathless moans against his mouth. Yennefer wasn't as good with words as Jaskier was, but she couldn't stand this silence.

"You always tell me how good I taste," Yennefer whispered against his lips. "I suppose now it's my turn to tell you how good you feel. How I never really enjoyed kissing until I was with you. Even when I was with Geralt, we would kiss, and it was nice but with you. You taught me that we could lie in bed together and kiss, and it would be enough." Yennefer gently eased Jaskier back until he was lying down on the plush pillows and looking up at her like she was a miracle. "Did you know that?"

Jaskier shook his head as he watched her. He always looked at her like she was a goddess like she wasn't real like he was somehow lucky to be in her presence. Yennefer liked that look, it made her feel powerful, but she remembered their conversation at Aretuza. How the words of that bitch mage lingered in his mind and told him that he wasn't worthy and that he didn't have a place in this story. He did, and she very much intended to remind him of that tonight. Yennefer straddled his waist and looked down at him.

"You always look at me like you cannot believe that I'm giving you a moment of my time, did you know that?" she asked, and Jaskier nodded. "Do you believe that you're receiving some sort of gift that you don't deserve?" Jaskier hesitated, and she could see the wheels turning in his head. He could lie to her, and Yennefer knew that Jaskier was talented enough at deception that he could lie to her and get away with it. It took a moment, but he finally nodded.

"You want to know what I think?" she said. "I think all I wanted was to be important to someone, and when I realized that my feelings for Geralt might not be real, I thought I had lost the only person who would look at me like I was important. Then I stumbled into that camp, and you were there. You took off my dress when I was burning with fever and ran your fingers through my hair to comfort me even though it must have hurt so badly with your fingernails missing. You shared a bed with me and never tried to touch me." Yennefer leaned forward, so they were nearly nose to nose. "You never demanded anything from me even though your voice was gone. Men always demand more of me Jaskier, more of my body, more magic, more everything, but you accepted that I couldn't help you, and you never asked for more. Do you know how rare that is?" His hands were on her waist, and Yennefer hadn't even realized that they were lazily grinding against each other through their clothes. She was close, and all they had done was touch, talk, and kiss.

"That was the moment I knew you were different, Jaskier. You could have told Nilfgaard my secrets, but you didn't." Yennefer took one of his hands from her waist and guided it between her legs. Jaskier sucked in a breath when he touched her and could feel how wet she was just from what they were doing. "Can you feel what you do to me? We've hardly done anything at all, and I'm already close. Can you feel it?" Jaskier nodded and slipped a finger inside of her. Jaskier barely had to touch her before Yennefer was gasping against his mouth as she came.

She kissed him as Yennefer began to work on getting Jaskier out of his clothes so she could worship the body that was underneath. His extremely talented hands went from trying to drive her out of her mind with just his fingers to working on getting Yennefer out of her dress. She managed to get the ill-fitting doublet and chamise off and then froze. Yennefer knew that Jaskier had scars, but seeing three new ones hurt. The cut on his side was the one that could have killed him. It was deep enough that Jaskier could have quickly bled out. The wound on his shoulder could have been worse, but the scar was jagged and looked like it had been infected. There was a fresh cut across his chest that he must have gotten when he attacked Nilfgaard trying to save her. Jaskier and Lambert could have both died trying to save her when she didn't need to be saved, and she was too weak at the time to find him and tell him.

Yennefer didn't even realize that she was staring at the scars and not saying a word until Jaskier took her hands into his. He shook his head, and she knew that he was reading her. No one was better at reading people than Jaskier, and here he was seemingly trying to reassure her without words that he didn't have regrets. That these new scars on his body were not her fault even if she wanted to take that burden herself. It was enough to bring Yennefer back to reality and remind herself that she was making this about her and not him. She pulled off her dress and finished getting them both undressed.

She took Jaskier and watched his face as she moved her hand up and down. She watched the way his eyes rolled back a little and how he began to breathe harder. Yennefer thought he never looked more beautiful than when he was lying out like this, and she, to this day, did not understand how Geralt did not eat him alive two full decades ago. She shifted enough, so he finally pushed inside, and it was just as perfect this time as it was the first time they were together. Yennefer let her head fall back as she rode him, and Jaskier's hands were at her hips nearly hard enough to bruise.

"I will find a way to give you your voice back," Yennefer said and opened her eyes to Jaskier sitting up so he could wrap his arms around her. "I can't wait to hear you scream my name again, to hear you whisper sweet nothings into my ear while you touch me, to make me feel important in a way that many never have." They were so close they were nearly breathing the same air, but they weren't kissing; they were just staring into each other's eyes as they chased release. Yennefer could feel Jaskier's thoughts, and he was offering them so selflessly. "I won't take your thoughts from your mind unless you offer them to me freely. Do you want me to take them?" Jaskier nodded and pulled her into a harsh kiss, which was all the permission that Yennefer needed to take the thought that was the most prevalent from Jaskier's mind; it made her gasp against his lips.

The thoughts that most men had while having sex were about how the woman they were with felt or how good everything was and how they wanted to come. Jaskier was thinking about all of that, but he was also thinking about how beautiful she was. He was thinking about how he trusted her promise to give him his voice back, but even if she couldn't, he would stay. He was thinking about how lucky he was that she chose him, that she claimed.

Jaskier was thinking, very clearly, how much he loved her.

The feeling washed over her like a tidal wave, and Yennefer hadn't even realized that she came until Jaskier was coming with her. He loved her, and while he had that slip of the tongue at Geralt at Kaer Morhen all of those months ago, she never heard the words directed at her. Yennefer always knew on some level, but she hadn't heard someone say them to her in so long, with no strings attached, that it took her breath away. They were still connected in every possible sense of the word as she looked down at Jaskier. His eyes widened as if he realized what he had just revealed to her, and Yennefer couldn't stand to see him hesitate. She leaned forward and kissed Jaskier with all of the passion and love she felt within herself. Yennefer would not stand for him to doubt for even a second that she didn't feel the same way.

"I love you too," Yennefer replied as they both held onto each other well into the night.

+++

By the third day in the house, Yennefer knew it was time to move on. Eskel had told her that Vesemir, and by extension, Geralt and Ciri, knew that they were missing, and it must have been killing them to think they were dead or worse. She hadn't made any progress in trying to figure out how to save Jaskier's voice, and the two Witcher's were clearly getting antsy. They also hadn't heard anything about the Viscount de Lettenhove putting out a contract on their heads, but Yennefer wasn't sure if it would simply let Jaskier walk away like that. A good noble would have begged to keep his name, his title, but Jaskier continued to defy all expectations and walk away. It could be perceived as a sign of weakness on the part of the Viscount that Jaskier got away, and he might try and take him back. Jaskier seemed to agree with this when she told him her concerns.

'He was always looking for an excuse to get rid of me when he found out he wasn't my father,' Jaskier wrote. 'But having me walk away like this and in such a public way? It's going to get around; you know how nobles are.'

"I do, and that's what concerns me," Yennefer replied as she brushed some of Jaskier's hair out of his eyes. "I won't let him touch you, I promise." Triss walked into the room at that moment and eyed them both. They were wrapped up on the couch together, and Triss clearly enjoyed the image. Once Geralt forgave them for getting hurt, that was absolutely a conversation that needed to be had. Jaskier wrote on his tablet and held it up for Yennefer and Triss to see.

'Triss, Yen says that you are one of the best healers she's ever met, will you come with us and see if you can help me?' he wrote.

"Vesemir won't be thrilled to have another sorceress in Kaer Morhen," Eskel said as he walked through the house, gathering the last of his things.

"He'll make an exception in this case," Lambert replied. If there was one thing that amused Yennefer more than anything was the way Lambert acted like he didn't care about Jaskier or herself but still went out of his way to be nice to them. She enjoyed both of their companies and was going to be sad to see them go until the winter.

"You're a lovely singer, Jaskier, and I would love to help you get your voice back. If nothing else, undoing a spell that Fringilla did will be most satisfying," Triss replied, and petty spite can be quite the motivator. They all gathered the last of their things and bid farewell to Eskel and Lambert, who went off in separate directions. Yennefer took Jaskier's hand into hers, unwilling to let him be away from her for longer than a few moments right now, and opened the portal to Kaer Morhen.

It was time to go home.

Image from PsychVamp who is just the sweetest person in the world.

When Vesemir sat Geralt and Ciri down and told them that Eskel heard they were both missing, it felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. He knew that this was going to happen, he knew it, and he let them leave without protection anyway. Yennefer was a powerful mage, but Nilfgaard had their own mage, and there were plenty of sneaky ways to take down mages. Jaskier might have some elf blood in him, but he was more human than anything else. He was just aging slower, and he was all right with a sword, but a man like Cahir could kill Jaskier without breaking a sweat. They had both been captured and even tortured in the past, so he didn't know why he thought this was going to work. Geralt didn't understand why he let them into his heart and then let them leave again.

"I will make regular trips to Ard Carraigh just in case Eskel reaches out with additional information, but for now, we don't know if they're dead or alive. What I can tell you is the wrong is working, and the people think you're both dead, so you can't go looking for them," Vesemir said. Ciri was crying in a way that Geralt hadn't ever seen her do with these hugs gasps that sounded like they were almost painful.

"No, I knew this would happen, I knew it, we have to go look for them! We have to save them!" Ciri had said, but Geralt felt the feeling he embraced for so long settling in over him. He didn't need anyone, and he didn't want anyone, but he had to look out for Ciri, and letting her run down the mountain to get herself killed was not the answer.

"If we go down, they'll have died in vain," Geralt said evenly. "And they told us to stay here, no matter what, and we have to honor that." Ciri didn't take that response well and ran out of the room. Geralt knew he needed to follow her and told Vesemir to let him know if he heard anything. Ciri was already in her room and crying into the pillow when Geralt finally caught up with her. "Ciri, you know I'm right."

"They could still be alive," Ciri snapped. "They could be alive, and you're just going to let us sit here and do nothing? Don't you love them?" Geralt didn't know how to tell her that he couldn't put a word on what he felt for Yennefer and Jaskier, but love couldn't be it. He climbed into bed with her and let Ciri cry into his shoulder for hours. He ignored the fact that tears were silently streaming down his own cheeks because if he acknowledged them, that meant acknowledging a lot. Geralt didn't remember falling asleep, but there was food sitting on the table that had long since gone cold.

He touched his cheek, and Geralt could feel the remains of the tears. He didn't even know that Witcher's could cry, but apparently, this was a special case. He expected Vesemir to come in and tell him to get his shit together, but he never did. Vesemir left the two of them alone for a day until Geralt realized that this could be the thing to make Ciri stronger.

"Use your rage," he said as they trained. "Use that rage to make yourself stronger so we can go and get revenge." It was all the motivation that Ciri needed as she threw herself into the training. Geralt could see hatred clouding and dimming the light she used to bring to Kaer Morhen, but right now, he didn't care. He was angry too but not as much at Nilfgaard as he was at everyone else, including himself.

Geralt spent twenty years traveling with Jaskier, and while the bard meant something to him, he was always able to leave him behind when the time came. He missed him, but Geralt never thought he would get the chance to keep him. Jaskier was a free man who loved everyone that he meant. He was human, and he would age and die, and Geralt knew that keeping him far away was the right decision. Every winter, he would tell himself that this spring was it. He wouldn't meet Jaskier near Oxenfurt, and they wouldn't travel together. If he ran into the bard, he would tell him to fuck off, and they would be done. He wouldn't ever see him again because not only was that safer for Jaskier; it was safer for Geralt as well.

Yet each spring, Geralt found himself going to Oxenfurt to pick the idiot up. They would travel together for weeks or months at a time, and Geralt found himself caring a little more every single day. He would give Jaskier a bit more of the food because he needed it. Geralt started carrying salves for when Jaskier would get hurt and even an ointment that was supposed to help with the many blisters that Jaskier would get over the weeks and months. He carried an extra blanket so he wouldn't have to lie there and listen to Jaskier shiver through the night. Geralt realized a long time ago that he cared, but it wasn't until the djinn nearly killed Jaskier that he realized just how far his walls had been broken down.

Then Yennefer barreled into his life and tore them down even more. Geralt couldn't remember the last time someone so entirely captivated him whose name wasn't Jaskier. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted someone so much that it nearly hurt. Yennefer said that their attraction was built on a lie, but that wasn't true. Geralt wanted her from the moment he saw her, and his wish only amplified that. For a little while, it seemed good. They would see each other every now and then, and Geralt loved when they would fall into bed together.

Yet he should have known better than to want something with Yennefer. He shouldn't have bothered to even try because as soon as she found out about the wish, she walked away from him. In his own anger, he forced Jaskier to walk away, too, and then he was alone. He built the walls up again, and Geralt told himself that he didn't want anything anymore. Then Ciri happened, and those carefully constructed walls began to fall yet again. Then Jaskier and Yennefer at Kaer Morhen happened, and they fell completely. Geralt let himself want and need things, and now he was alone.

Geralt knew that resenting Jaskier, Yennefer, and even Ciri for making him deal with this level of abandonment and pain wasn't fair to them. Still, Jaskier and Yennefer weren't here, and Ciri would have to learn to deal with this sort of thing if she was going to survive. So he built his walls again and mentally swore that this was the last time. He had survived this long without anyone; then, he was determined to continue to survive without anyone. He would train Ciri to build these same walls, for when he inevitably lost her or she lost him, they could both survive it.

He had accepted this new way in life and was training Ciri when he felt something. The medallion around his neck came to life, and he knew that magic or a monster was nearby. Geralt raced to the front of Kaer Morhen and watched as a portal opened. His heart skipped a beat when he watched Yennefer and Jaskier stroll through hand in hand like they didn't have a care in the world. Triss Merigold, someone Geralt hadn't seen in years, walked behind them. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to this because he didn't know how he felt about this. They were alive, he was so glad they were alive, and he fucking hated them for being alive because now they could hurt him again.

"What's going on?" Ciri asked as she pushed by him and froze. Yennefer and Jaskier heard her, and they both turned to look at them. Jaskier looked thinner, and the clothes he was wearing didn't quite fit. His hair was too long, and there was a burn scar around his throat in the shape of a hand. There was an unfamiliar sword on his hip, and he said nothing when he saw them. Yennefer's dress was not as nice as the ones she usually wore, and she looked a little too pale like doing magic had taken too much out of her. Her hair was a little wild, and her purple eyes were wide.

"Ciri," Yennefer whispered. Ciri looked torn for all of half a second until she threw her sword down on the ground and raced toward Yennefer and Jaskier. She managed to throw her arms around both of them, and Geralt could hear her sobbing as she held onto them.

"I thought I lost you, I thought I lost my family again," she cried between sobs.

"I know, I'm sorry, I wish we could have avoided putting you through that," Yennefer said, and something felt wrong. Jaskier was holding Ciri, but he still wasn't saying anything. They eventually broke away from Ciri and looked up at him, and he couldn't handle it. Yennefer took a step toward him, but Geralt shook his head. She froze and looked sad as she looked at him. Geralt had worked hard to build his walls again, and they would keep him safe. If he let Yennefer or Jaskier anywhere near him, they would crumble again. He refused to let that happen.

Vesemir walked outside and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw them. Then he noticed that they were not alone, and there was someone else standing behind them. He didn't look exactly thrilled about that but, thankfully, did not address the fact that Geralt was not walking toward them.

"Yennefer, Jaskier, it's good to see you both alive. I feared the worst when I got your letter," Vesemir said, and he narrowed his eyes at Triss. "I would like to know why you thought it would be a good idea to bring another sorceress to my keep." Yennefer glanced at Jaskier, and he silently nodded. He glanced at Geralt and silently watched him with those big, blue eyes of his, and it was like Jaskier was trying to tell Geralt something.

"Vesemir, I would like to present a dear friend of mine, Triss Merigold. Triss is a fellow sorceress and very keen with healing and potions in particular," Yennefer explained.

"Why do you need someone who specializes in healing?" Ciri asked. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not, but I'm afraid that Jaskier is," Yennefer said, and Geralt felt his blood run cold. Jaskier was hurt, he was hurt badly enough that Yennefer didn't think she could fix the problem herself and needed to ask for help, and those fucking walls began to crumble yet again. "When we were attacked, a sorceress named Fringilla wrapped her hand around his throat and told him that she didn't appreciate the lies he was telling. We aren't entirely sure what she did, but she appears to have burned the voice out of him."

"What?" Geralt snapped without thinking. Everyone turned and looked at him. He dropped his sword and stomped up to the two of them, feeling more rage than he knew what to do with. Triss was the only one who seemed to have any sense as she took a step back from Geralt, but both Yennefer and Jaskier stood before a raging Witcher without a hint of fear in their eyes. "What do you mean, she took his voice?"

"He can't speak, Geralt, at all. He can't make any sound," Yennefer explained. "That's what the scar on his neck is from. She attacked him with magic, and nothing I've done so far has been able to fix it. I brought Triss with me because I thought perhaps if we worked together and with Vesemir's knowledge of potions, perhaps we could figure something out." Geralt didn't know what he wanted to say, there were too many things, and he was nearly shaking as he tried to calm himself down.

"Master Witcher, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work in your home," Triss said with a curtsy and a nod of her head. Vesemir glanced at her and eventually nodded.

"Very well, come with me. Ciri, come with us. I'm sure you can help Miss. Merigold find somewhere to sleep," Vesemir said. Geralt knew when Vesemir was telling someone to do something and not asking, and this was one of those times. Ciri looked like she wanted to argue but eventually nodded and walked with Vesemir and Triss into the keep. Geralt knew that Vesemir would be able to hear them talking, but he appreciated the fact that he got Ciri out of here. She didn't need to see this.

"I told you this would happen," Geralt said lowly. "I told you that something was going to happen, and you still left."

"You know why we had to leave," Yennefer said, but Geralt didn't want to hear it from her, and he couldn't hear it from Jaskier because his voice was gone.

"You both never listen. You're too fucking stubborn and arrogant and think that you both know what's best all the fucking time," he spat out, and Jaskier jerked like someone had physically hit him. Geralt felt his medallion vibrate with Yennefer's magic, and it was like every step forward they had made over the winter was gone. It was like the first time he saw them at Kaer Morhen all over again. Only this time, Jaskier wasn't going to say anything smart because he couldn't say anything at all because fucking Fringilla apparently burned the voice out of him.

"Geralt, you are getting dangerously close to saying something you're going to regret," Yennefer warned, but Geralt didn't care. If he chased them off again, then maybe he wouldn't spend the rest of his days in agonizing pain when he eventually lost them.

"So much for you being able to protect him or yourself, Yennefer," Geralt said, and her eyes widened. "And Jaskier, was it worth it? You've lost the only thing you were ever good at." Geralt blamed the anger for why he didn't see Jaskier's slap coming and why it took him by surprise. He reached into his bag and pulled out a clay tablet that children often learned to write on. The three of them stood in silence as Jaskier wrote and turned the tablet so Geralt could see what he had said.

'I know when you're lashing out when you're afraid, so kindly go fuck yourself Geralt, and you can come see us when you're acting like an adult,' Jaskier wrote. Geralt didn't know what he was supposed to say to something like that, but his silence seemed to be all the confirmation that Jaskier needed. He took Yennefer's hand and tilted his head toward Kaer Morhen. Geralt stood there, alone, trying to comprehend what just happened. He tried to lash out at Yennefer and Jaskier to get them to leave so he could protect himself from the hurt he would feel when he lost them, but Jaskier told him no. They weren't leaving, in fact, they appeared to be saying, so they could try and figure out a way to get Jaskier's voice back.

The last time Geralt wanted to push them away, it was easy, and they left without a word. Now they weren't taking his bait, and they were staying. It didn't make sense; those were far worse things than what he said to them on the Mountain, yet they didn't leave. It didn't make sense; they left and got themselves hurt without a word and refused to stay when he all but begged them to. Now Geralt wanted them to leave, and they were staying even though he said terrible things to them.

This was too much, and he couldn't deal with it. Vesemir would likely yell at him for running away like this, but he needed time and space to himself. Geralt picked up his sword, put Roach's saddle on, and rode off into the mountains without looking back.

+++

Geralt knew that he couldn't stay hidden in the mountains for the rest of the year or until Jaskier and Yennefer left again, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He could see how much Vesemir must be judging him right now but wouldn't let that get to him. What did get to him was the thought of Ciri feeling abandoned again. She had already lost so much, and the idea that he might become yet another person that didn't stay in the long run was probably the only reason that Geralt turned Roach around after the sun started to go down and went back to Kaer Morhen. He thought that everyone would be with Yennefer and Jaskier, so Geralt didn't know how he was supposed to react when he found Triss waiting in the stable for him.

"Geralt," she said. "No princess to save this time, I'm afraid. It seems that you've already done that part of the story with Ciri."

"She saved herself. I just helped," Geralt replied as he brushed down Roach and got her ready for a night in the stables. Triss didn't leave, but she also didn't say anything else. He could feel her watching him, and it set Geralt on edge. He knew her; he had met her before, and for all of Yennefer's fault, she did not suffer fools, and she wouldn't bring someone to Kaer Morhen that she didn't trust. That still didn't explain why Triss was standing in the stable and waiting for Geralt instead of inside Kaer Morhen trying to figure out how to give Jaskier his voice back. "What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask," she said with a smile, and fucking hell did Geralt hate sorceresses and their bullshit. "I was waiting for you. Yennefer and Jaskier came in looking worse for wear, so I sent them both to bed and promised that if you weren't back by the time the moon was in the sky, I would go look for you."

"I don't need anyone looking out for me," Geralt snapped. "They are the ones that need someone to look out for them."

"Do they?" Triss asked. "You don't even know how they managed to get captured. All you know is that they got hurt."

"What does it matter?" he said.

"It was Jaskier's parents," Triss said, and Geralt froze. He remembered Jaskier mentioning that he didn't have the best relationship with his parents, but the thought that they might resent him so much that they would throw him to Nilfgaard was a lot to take in. "They were careful, they even came to see me, so I know what precautions they were taking. They did separate sometimes but never for long, and Yennefer never left Jaskier anywhere where she didn't think he would be safe. The word of his song reached Jaskier's parents, and they invited him to come and mourn in a safe place."

"So they went to Lettenhove," Geralt said.

"Yes, they went to Lettenhove," Triss replied. "Jaskier thought they would be safe because it was far enough north that it wasn't near the frontlines. He thought that walking in with Yennefer would keep his parents from trying anything funny."

"Funny like what?"

"I don't know, he didn't give Yennefer specifics, and I never asked, but I got the impression that his relationship with his stepfather could get violent. Jaskier thought that having a powerful sorceress with him would prevent them from doing anything," Triss explained. "However, it seems that Nilfgaard must have gotten to them first. Jaskier's parents drugged his and Yennefer's food, so they were easier to capture. The deal the Viscount and Viscountess made was they would hand over Yennefer in exchange for saving Jaskier's life and keeping him home. Fringilla and Cahir did not keep up their end of the bargain. They wounded Jaskier badly, and Fringilla managed to beat Yennefer in a fight. Fringilla appears to have some idea that Jaskier's song was a lie and said she wanted to keep the songbird from singing anymore lies. So she burned the voice out of him while Yennefer and his parents were forced to watch.

"Yennefer managed to summon enough strength to all but shove Jaskier through a portal. Nilfgaard took her prisoner, but she managed to break herself out, injure Fringilla, and appear on my doorstep half dead. Jaskier, meanwhile, was portaled to the middle of nowhere but was fortunately found by your brother, Lambert, who took him to a healer to keep him alive," Triss continued as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Where would you have fit in to prevent that situation from occurring? How would your presence have changed anything?"

Geralt wanted to tell her a million different things that would have been different. That maybe he could have convinced Jaskier that going to see his parents was a good idea, but Geralt also knew that he was soft on Jaskier and would have eventually given in. He wanted to say that he could have tasted the herbs in the food, but there was no telling if he could because he didn't know what was put in the food. He wanted to say that if he'd been there, he could have fought them off, but a group of soldiers and a sorceress was too much even for a Witcher to fight off alone, and he would have been distracted the second either of them got hurt.

If Geralt was honest with himself, he knew that if he was there, he couldn't have done anything differently because Vesemir was right about him and how distracted he was by them. There was a chance he wouldn't be able to travel with them ever again without the risk to all of their lives because they took up all of his focus. That wasn't what Geralt wanted to say, and it really wasn't what he wanted to think about. He wanted to think that he could keep them safe and that Jaskier would be singing right now if it weren't for him being up at Kaer Morhen. He wanted to think that he could make some sort of significant difference when he really couldn't. Not in the way he wanted to anyway.

His silence seemed to be all the confirmation that Triss needed as she nodded and began to walk back to the keep.

"I care about Yennefer too, you know, and if I could do anything to keep her safe, I would. That doesn't mean I don't trust her to keep herself safe when she can. Sometimes, our enemies get the best of us, Geralt, you know that, so why is it so different when it happens to them?" she asked. Gerallt didn't have an answer for that, and judging by the way Roach was looking at him, anything he had to say wouldn't be good enough anyway.

Ciri was waiting for him in the kitchen and threw herself into his arms the second he walked through the door.

"I was afraid you left," she whispered.

"I just needed some time," Geralt said as he held into her. She felt warm and safe in his arms, and he wanted so badly to protect her from the pain that came from opening that big heart of hers. "I wouldn't leave you." Ciri nodded and went back to the table to finish eating. She seemed to be getting along with Triss just fine, but Vesemir was glaring at Geralt. He gestured to a room just off of the kitchen and walked away without a word. Geralt wasn't in the mood for a lecture, but he also knew when he deserved one.

"I know what you're trying to do," Vesemir said when they were alone. "And part of it is my own fault. I tried so hard to protect you boys from a world that would hate you that I didn't consider how vulnerable you would be when someone didn't." Whatever Geralt was expecting, it wasn't this.

"You did the best you could," Geralt replied.

"I heard what you said to those two, and I know you were trying to push them away because you're afraid of what's going to happen if they leave or if they get hurt again," Vesemir said. "And I know you're distracted by then, but you have to learn to channel these feelings into something else. You need to learn to use what you feel for them as something that makes you stronger and not weaker. You don't have the choice of being alone anymore, that little girl out there, and those two people asleep in their beds clearly won't let you, so you have to learn how to adjust." Vesemir patted his shoulder and left Geralt alone with his thoughts. If he listened carefully, he could hear Yennefer and Jaskier's heartbeats echoing throughout the keep. They were slow and steady to show that they were very much asleep and safe.

Geralt just wished there was a way to keep them safe.

+++

For the second time in less than a year, Geralt found himself standing outside Jaskier and Yennefer's room, trying to work up the courage to knock on the door so he could go in and apologize to them. It was nerve-wracking, and he seriously considered turning around and putting it off for the day when the door suddenly opened, and a sleepy-looking Yennefer was glaring back at him. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing a simple nightgown that came down to her mid-thighs and showed off her lovely shoulders.

"You think very loudly," she said and stepped aside so he could walk into the room. Jaskier was in a pair of well-worn pants that looked comfortable enough to sleep in, and a shirt that Geralt was about 70% sure was his. He also looked tired, and in the morning sunlight, the scar on his neck looked even worse than before. Geralt knew it wasn't his right, but he couldn't stop himself from walking forward and touching the scar.

"Does it still hurt?" he whispered, and Jaskier shook his head. Yennefer climbed into the bed and settled down against the pillows.

"I feel like we've been here before. Something about you coming into this room to apologize for being a fucking asshole on a mountain. Kaer Morhen is on a mountain, so at least you're consistent." Geralt wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to something like that, so he said nothing. All of the words that he needed to say failed him as he finally got a look at both of them. How they were both not as healthy looking, at the edge of a scar on Jaskier's shoulder that he knew wasn't there when they left for the spring, at the dark circles under both of their eyes. Both Yennefer and Jaskier were watching him silently, but neither of them attempted to start this conversation again. Once again, this was all on him to fix this, and he wanted to fix it.

"The thought of losing the two of you scares me so fucking much," Geralt finally said. "When Vesemir told Ciri, and I that you were missing, it was like a part of me died in a way that I hadn't felt since before the Trials. It hurt so much that I didn't want to feel anything anymore. I resented the two of you, even Ciri, for breaking down the walls I spent a lifetime building. You all made me want something for myself, and that is so dangerous for a Witcher. I thought that if I made you leave, I was protecting myself. That's why I said the things I said to the two of you. I wanted to be the one to chase you both off, so when you leave again and don't come back, I don't have to wonder anymore. I just don't want either of you to get hurt."

"What happened to us wasn't anything you could have prevented, Geralt," Yennefer said. "And even if it was something that you could prevent, that doesn't mean you have the right to tell us how to live our lives. We've talked about this; being with us doesn't mean you own us. You know that."

"I just want the people I care about safe, and when you told me that Fringilla took Jaskier's voice, it was the worst possible thing to hear." Geralt glanced at Jaskier, who was watching him carefully. "I know how much singing means to you, and I know that you'd be lost without it. I didn't want to think about you going through the world lost. You deserve more than that." Jaskier frowned and gestured to Yennefer. He pointed at his own head and then at her.

"You want me to translate your thoughts?" Yennefer asked, and Jaskier nodded. She reached forward and placed a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. Geralt could feel his medallion vibrate as Yennefer used her magic. "'Do you think this is the first time someone has taken my voice,' he says. 'The first time Yennefer and I met, she rescued me from Nilfgaard, and my voice wasn't gone, but it shredded from the screaming. I didn't beg her to fix it then, and I won't do it now. I'm more than my voice, and I have so many more uses than my ability to speak. Even if you never get my voice back, how could I be lost when I am wandering the world with the two of you?'" Yennefer removed her hand and smiled at Jaskier. "You are a ridiculously romantic man," she said, and Jaskier beamed. "I don't know why I love you."

Geralt tried not to react to hearing Yennefer use those words, but it wasn't fucking easy. On some level, he knew that they loved each other. It was obvious from the way they looked at each other, but to hear it out loud was something else. Geralt remembered Jaskier and Yennefer telling him and Ciri that they would be leaving and Jaskier's slip of the tongue about 'singing about the man I loved' that none of them ever addressed. Geralt wasn't sure if he had earned their love, but looking at the way they looked at each other, he wondered if he could. He wanted to be worthy of looks like that, which meant that he had to stop fucking this up, or he was going to lose them in a very different but just as shattering way.

"I know I have to keep coming up here and apologizing, but I really have no idea what I'm fucking doing when it comes to the two of you," Geralt confessed. "Every time I think I'm saying the right thing, I'm saying the wrong thing. So I understand if my 'I'm sorry' isn't enough this time, but I am sorry for being an idiot again. I was just so angry that you both got hurt while I was up here safe and sound."

"You're training Ciri and yourself," Yennefer said. "That is so important if we're going to beat these assholes." She glanced at Jaskier, and they seemed to be having a conversation with just their eyebrows that Geralt did not understand at all. Jaskier nodded and settled back in the bed. "We forgive you, this time, but you need to stop lashing out at us. We aren't your personal emotional, punching bags. Jaskier already put up with it for way too long as it is, and I won't put up with it at all."

"I promise to do better," Geralt replied because he couldn't make the promise that it wouldn't happen again. He was too stunted to not see these sorts of things coming, but maybe there was a way to hold them off at the pass. "Next time, I'll just leave. I'll go off on my own until I get my head on straight, and when I'm ready, I'll come to find you both. That way, I won't say something fucking stupid again." Jaskier reached over to the table and picked up his tablet. He wrote something down and turned it around so they could see it.

'You're always going to say something fucking stupid, Geralt, but that's why we love you,' he wrote. If Geralt could, he would have taken the tablet from Jaskier at that moment so he could frame those words forever. And Yennefer read the books and didn't correct him, which meant that he was speaking on behalf of both of them and they both loved him and how in the hell was he supposed to react to that. Geralt all but tackled Jaskier to the bed and kissed the breath out of him, and before Jaskier could get his barring, Geralt turned and did the same to Yennefer. He fell into bed with them and was reminded of how right all of this felt. How much like home it felt to be in their arms.

+++

For the next two weeks, Yennefer, Triss, and Vesemir poured over all of the information and knowledge they had between the three of them to see if they could figure out a way to get Jaskier's voice back. The burn scar was a constant reminder, and Yennefer confessed to Geralt, while Jaskier was out with Ciri, that she couldn't stand to even look at it. That it was a constant reminder of her own failures and that she couldn't protect him. Geralt held her close and knew how she felt all too well, but to have witnessed it must have been so much worse. She told him that Jaskier didn't hold it against her, but he should have, he should have been so angry, but he wasn't. The only anger he felt was toward his parents and the fact that he sort of wanted to go and burn his family home to the ground.

Geralt thought he would remember trying to talk a mute bard out of committing arson for the rest of his life.

They had to be careful with the potions because they didn't want to make it worse or cause some other form of damage. Vesemir was used to working with potions for Witcher's, and even though Jaskier had elvaan blood, that didn't mean he could stand Witcher potions without it killing him on the spot. They also didn't really know how much the elvaan blood was impacting him and made it even more difficult because a human dose might not be enough either. The three of them were locked in a room, and Geralt found himself in the library with Jaskier and Ciri. They were all reading, but Geralt kept getting distracted by the way Jaskier would stop to take note as he prepared a lesson plan for Ciri. He insisted that she know more than just monsters if she was going to be a functional person once they climbed down from the mountain.

The sunlight was catching his dark hair, and his eyes seemed to be getting bluer as the days went on. It was getting harder and harder not to see how inhuman Jaskier could look at times, which meant more and more people on the continent were going to notice. Geralt made me a mental note to talk to Yennefer and Triss about some sort of glamor that could keep him safe. For now, Geralt couldn't look away, and he felt the words on the tip of his tongue. They were words he had kept from Jaskier for well over a decade now, and if there was anyone in this keep earned them, it was him.

"Jaskier," Geralt said, and Jaskier looked up from his work. "I love you." Jaskier blinked once and then smiled one of the brightest smiles Geralt had ever seen on him. Jaskier placed a fist to his heart and pointed back at Geralt. He mouthed the words 'I love you, too' and by the gods did Geralt want to hear those words in his voice.

"You guys are so adorable," Ciri said, and she giggles when Jaskier rolled his eyes at her. Later that night, as Jaskier was going over history with Ciri, Geralt took Yennefer to the top of one of the towers so she could freak out without anyone seeing. This was the second time he had done this for her because she didn't want anyone to know that she couldn't find the answer, she didn't know how to bring Jaskier's voice back, and it was starting to get to her. Yennefer had just calmed down and was resting in Geralt's arms when he pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered into her skin. Yennefer smiled and pulled him into a rough kiss. The tower was probably not the ideal place to fuck, but all Geralt wanted was to push her against the wall and take her right then, but they managed to control themselves. Or Yennefer did as she pulled away with wide eyes.

"I have an idea," she said and turned to run out of the tower. She stopped just as she was about to go out the door and turned back to Geralt. "I believe it's real now, and I love you too." Yennefer didn't wait to see if Geralt had anything else to say; she raced out of the tower calling for Triss and Vesemir to get their asses up and into the magic room because she had an idea.

Jaskier looked a little confused as he came down for dinner with Ciri to find only Geralt waiting for him. He raised his eyebrows in a way that Geralt learned he meant to ask what was going on.

"Yennefer had an idea," Geralt said as he finished making them plates. The three of them sat around eating until Yennefer burst into the room. She had a huge grin on her face and a potion in one hand.

"I think we have it," she said and handed the potion to Jaskier. Triss and Vesemir also rushed into the room with various potions in their hand that made Geralt nervous.

"What are those for?" Geralt asked.

"In case it fails and tries to kill him, we can save him," Vesemir said like that wasn't the worst possible thing in the world that could happen. Geralt wanted to tell Jaskier that they should wait, but apparently, Jaskier didn't care because he tilted the potion back and drank it all. Everyone went still as they waited for something to happen. Jaskier winced and put his hand to his throat. Geralt felt like he was about to panic as Jaskier fell to the floor and opened his mouth in a wordless scream. Jaskier's heartbeat started racing, and tears were streaming down his face. Ciri fell to her knees and tried to touch him, but Yennefer held her back.

"Wait," Yennefer said like it was easy to watch Jaskier writhe in pain on the floor. Geralt waited and was about to tell Triss to fucking fix things when suddenly the scream wasn't silent anymore. Jaskier's voice was back, and he was screaming like he was in the worst pain in the world. And then the screaming stopped, and Jaskier went limp on the ground. Geralt fell to his knees just as Yennefer did the same; Jaskier was breathing, and his heartbeat was slowing down. "I'm so sorry," Yennefer whispered as she pushed his heat soaked hair from his eyes. Geralt carried him to bed, and Jaskier slept through the night and most of the following day. Geralt and Yennefer were sitting around him when he slowly opened his eyes.

"It works," he rasped. His voice sounded terrible, but he could speak, and the three of them spent the better part of the afternoon holding each other and feeding Jaskier warm soup and tea with lots of honey. Triss and Vesemir came to visit, and Ciri cried into his shoulder. It was a day where they didn't do much, but it felt like it went on forever.

"Yennefer of Vengerberg, I love you," Jaskier declared once they were alone again. "And Geralt of Rivia, I love you too. I'm so glad I got to say that out loud." The three of them sat in silence for half a second before that was the thing that broke them. Geralt hated these ill-fitting clothes and all but tore them off of Jaskier's body. He helped Yennefer out of her dress and watched as Yennefer and Jaskier kissed as Geralt paid particular attention to Jaskier's neck. The burn hadn't faded when Jaskier's voice returned, and Geralt was beginning to think it wouldn't fade.

They moved, so Yennefer was in the middle, and Geralt kissed her. He kissed her to show how much he loved her and how amazing she was that she fixed Jaskier's voice. Jaskier, who was kissing her shoulders with a hand between her legs saying how wet Yennefer was for them already.

"I want Geralt's mouth on me," Yennefer said.

"And what does Geralt want?" Jaskier asked; his voice was rough, but in a way that was making Geralt's toes curl.

"I want to fuck Yennefer while you fuck me," Geralt said, and whatever Jaskier thought he was going to say, it clearly wasn't that. Geralt didn't usually let men fuck him, but this was different. This was with the man he loved, and anything was possible. They all shifted again as Geralt fell between Yennefer's legs so he could worship her like the goddess that she was. He loved the taste of her, and it was something he couldn't ever get enough of. He was so distracted by her that Jaskier's probing fingers, slick with oil, took him by surprise. It felt so good as Jaskier stretched him, placing wet kisses along his spine and whispering dirty things into his skin. Geralt slipped two fingers into Yennefer, who arched, grabbed a fist full of his air and pulled hard enough that it hurt, and came against his tongue. Geralt kissed her thigh, her stomach, and slowly made his way to her mouth. "I'm ready," Geralt said.

Geralt pushed into Yennefer's heat as Jaskier pushed into him, and it was like being caught in something he couldn't put to words. It was so hot, and he hadn't ever felt so full and loved, and everything about this was so perfect. It took a moment, but they managed to move together, and it was far too intense for anyone to possibly handle. Geralt didn't know anyone could stand to be between these two beautiful and perfect creatures. Yennefer's gorgeous breathy moans and Jaskier whispering into Geralt's ear about how good he felt. It was destiny; it was fate; there wasn't any other explanation for how this felt this good. It had to be divine intervention because they all came together, and, for a moment, Geralt swore, he blacked out.

The three of them lay tangled up together, exchanging deep and slow kisses as the night went on. Yennefer came against Jaskier's tongue, and Jaskier managed to coax another orgasm from Geralt with his own talented tongue. Geralt pushed Jaskier between them and kissed him as Yennefer wrapped a hand around him, and Jaskier came one last time.

Somewhere, deep down, Geralt knew that they were going to leave again. It was only mid-summer, and there was still so much for them to do. They couldn't stay here but, for the first time, he wasn't thinking about keeping them. He was thinking about how good it would feel to have them in his arms when they came back. They loved him, and Geralt was sure of that now, and they would always do everything in their power to come back to him.

That was more than enough.

Image from PsychVamp who is just the sweetest person in the world.

Jaskier tried his best not to be frustrated that it took him several days to get his voice back wholly. It was stupid, he knew that he should be grateful that he was speaking at all, but now that his voice was back, he was frustrated by the slow progress. Now that he minded having Yennefer and Geralt dolt on him as they brought him too sweet honey tea and soup. It also meant a lot of staying in bed and convincing one or both of his lovers that staying in bed was the best possible idea. It meant that he got more time with Geralt than usual as Yennefer spent time with Vesemir making some potions that could help if this sort of thing happened again. Geralt pulled off his shirt and made a pained noise at the new scars on his body.

"Hey, I told you, no lingering on those," Jaskier said as he pulled Geralt down for another kiss. "If Yennefer isn't allowed to feel guilty about them, then you aren't either."

"I'm trying, but it's hard," Geralt said. Jaskier's first instinct was to roll his hips and make a crack about something else being hard, but Geralt was still a little raw from their fight and finding out that he was hurt. Jaskier was happy that both Geralt and Ciri took the announcement that Jaskier and Yennefer would be going out on the road again with a fair amount of grace. They weren't happy, but they seemed to realize that it would take a lot to keep them away.

"Yennefer is going to ask you something before we leave, and I know your first reaction is going to be saying no, but I think you should take a moment before you do," Jaskier said as he ran his fingers through Geralt's hair.

"I don't like the sound of that," Geralt said, but Jaskier pulled him into a kiss.

"I promise it's nothing bad, and if you really do say "no" and mean it, no one will bring it up again." Jaskier wanted to try and reassure Geralt some more, but Geralt was a very distracting man who decided now was the best time to try and kiss Jaskier into stupidity. It wasn't exactly a hard thing to do, and they were very wrapped up with each other by the time Yennefer walked into the room. The plan was to leave the next day for the road, and tonight was going to be their last night together. Jaskier planned to give Yennefer and Geralt some alone time in the morning, but right now, it was time for the three of them. They cuddled, made out until Jaskier couldn't feel his lips anymore, and had several mind-blowing orgasms before passing out to sleep.

It was a perfect night.

+++

Jaskier got up early and left Yennefer and Geralt alone so they could do whatever they wanted to do to each other and talk. Triss was sitting with Ciri and Vesemir, and they all stared at him when he walked into the room. Jaskier was about to ask why they were staring when he realized that his face was probably a little red from Geralt's stubble, and there was a dark bruise on his throat from Yennefer. He probably looked well and truly fucked out, which he was, but that didn't mean everyone else wanted to know that. If Jaskier had any shame, he would have blushed at the thought of all of them knowing exactly what he'd been doing hours before, but Jaskier didn't have any shame. So he sat down with a lecherous grin and ignored the rolled eyes.

"Do you know when Yennefer is planning on coming down?" Triss said. One of the things that Jaskier was glad to see was Triss becoming more comfortable with her scars. If there was a place where she didn't need to hide, it was Kaer Morhen, and he was pleased to see that she was wearing a dress with an open neckline and a lower cut. He knew about scars that couldn't be hidden now since there didn't appear to be anything they could do about the burned hand on his throat.

"She is, but I don't know when. I wanted to give the two of them some time together. They have something they need to talk about," Jaskier said. Triss narrowed her eyes like she could tell that he wasn't telling the entire truth but didn't call him on it. Yennefer joined them at the end of breakfast, and the two sorceresses hugged tightly, and Yennefer promised that she would come to visit with Jaskier soon. Geralt was eyeing Triss with an odd expression but thanked her for helping Yennefer and for coming up to Kaer Mohen to help with Jaskier's voice. Jaskier hugged her and thanked her for the hard work that she did. Then Triss opened a portal and was gone.

Jaskier thought that saying goodbye to Ciri and Geralt would be easier the second time, but it wasn't. Ciri was doing her best to look brave, and Geralt clearly wanted to insist that they stay more than anything in the world, but neither of them said a word. They all exchanged hugs, and Vesemir told the two of them to stop getting into so much trouble because Ciri and Geralt were impossible to deal with when they were sad, which was about as close to a "be careful" as he was going to get and Jaskier took it. Yennefer took Jaskier's hand, and the two of them walked through the portal and left Kaer Morhen, the man they loved, and Ciri behind them for the second time in a year.

To say that Yennefer was on edge would do a disservice to the very word. She was damn near paranoid as she insisted on checking all of their food, she warded every single door to the inn's they would stay in, and when they were traveling by horse Yennefer's eyes never stayed in one place too long. Jaskier was actually a little worried that the stress was going to get to her when they arrived at a town a month after they had left Kaer Mohen.

"Yennefer," Jaskier said as they sat down to eat some dinner. Yennefer had just finished checking their food and drink, twice, and was now glaring at anyone who got too close to their table for any reason at all. "You need to relax a little."

"We're being watched, and I don't like it," she said.

"We're being watched because you look like you're going to kill everyone in the room, and it's making people nervous, which is making you even more nervous," Jaskier explained as he reached forward and took her hand into his. "We're going to be okay."

"You're such an idiot," she mumbled, but she sounded fond, so Jaskier didn't take it personally. He performed that night, which paid for their room and even got them a discount on their food. Yennefer was still wound tight by the time they went up to the bedroom, and Jaskier decided there was really only one way to calm her down. He pulled her into a rough kiss and began to work on getting her out of her dress as quickly as possible. They hadn't been together save for a few kisses here and there since they had left Kaer Morhen, and Jaskier craved her body. When Yennefer reached for his clothes, he batted her hand away.

"Tonight is all about you," he whispered into her ear. "Let me take care of my brave protector, trying to keep my idiot self safe."

"You don't make it easy," Yennefer replied, but she closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side when Jaskier began to kiss along her neck. Jaskier knew dresses like this far too well, and Yennefer had started to wear things that were a little easier to get out of since they started traveling together mostly since the one time Jaskier gave up and ripped a dress right off of her. Now he pushed it off of her shoulders and lifted Yennefer into his arms as he carried her over to her bed. "Wait, what about the door? I should check the wards--"

"The wards were fine the last two times you checked them," Jaskier said against her lips. "I promise that we're safe for the night. Nothing can get by those wards. I know you spent some time testing them with Vesemir and Triss while my voice was healing." Yennefer blushed a little that she had been caught but did confirm or deny a thing. "We've never tested something," Jaskier said as he kissed down her body to her center. He sucked a bruise into the tender skin of her thigh, a place he could mark her where no one but him would see, and Yennefer moaned softly.

"What didn't we test? I thought you just insisted we were safe," she said.

"Oh, this has nothing to do with being safe," Jaskier said, and he looked up at her with a smirk. "I'm just wondering how many times I can make you come before I render you non-verbal." Yennefer opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but Jaskier chose that very moment to press his mouth to her. A hand slipped through his hair and pulled hard enough that it hurt a little, but Jaskier didn't care. He wanted her to relax, and if that meant getting his hair pulled, then he would do that.

Before he became a man committed to exactly one woman and one man, Jaskier worked on making sure he knew how to please his lovers with his mouth. There were plenty of women of the continent who thought they were saving their virtue if he only put his mouth on them and vise versa. That meant that Jaskier liked to think he was a master at bringing women off with his mouth, and he knew Yennefer quite well by now. So it didn't take him long to have her come against his mouth, but he didn't even give her a chance to catch her breath before he was slipping a single finger into her. It was enough to tease and maybe enough to bring her off again, but not until he was ready for it to happen.

"I hate you," Yennefer hissed as Jaskier worked her slowly to her second orgasm with his mouth and fingers. "I don't love you; I hate you, I hate everything about you."

"Then make me stop," Jaskier said. Yennefer didn't say anything, so Jaskier went back to work. She came against his mouth a second time, and a third on his fingers as he kissed her lips. She was digging her nails so hard into his shoulders that even though Jaskier was still wearing a shirt, he could feel her breaking the skin. "Has anyone ever found your limit?" he asked as he twisted his fingers in just the right way, and Yennefer came a fourth time. She had a dazed look on her face, and he was about to declare victory when she shoved him back and climbed on top of him.

Yennefer made quick work of his pants, only pushing them down just far enough to free, and she slid down in one smooth motion. Yennefer leaned over him, her black hair hanging down around him, interlocked their fingers, and began to ride him so hard that Jaskier thought that he wasn't going to survive. It was intense, like most of the time, they slept together, but it seemed that Yennefer wanted to render him just as speechless as he was trying to render her. Jaskier knew her tricks, and he twisted his hips in just the right way to make Yennefer come a fifth time. She looked like she wanted to collapse but managed to keep riding him until Jaskier followed moments later.

They both fell onto the bed, breathing hard, and Jaskier wanted to get out of his sweaty clothes, but he was reasonably sure that he couldn't move right now if he wanted to. Yennefer was holding onto him loosely as they both just touched one another with shaky hands.

"So is the number five?" Jaskier asked after they both managed to catch their breath, and Yennefer bit his shoulder in retaliation. That would leave one hell of a bruise, worth it.

+++

Jaskier knew it was only a matter of time before someone caught up with him, but if Jaskier were a betting man, he would have put his money on Nilfgaard, finding them first. Instead, they were cornered in a town by four men wearing the insignia of his parents, and Jaskier wanted to scream.

"Julian Pankratz, by order of the Viscount de Lettenhove, we are under orders to bring you home under any means necessary," one of the four men said.

"Oh? Did my idiot father bother to tell you who I was traveling with? Or what I'll do to any of you if you come a step closer?" Jaskier said with a hand on the blade that he stole from Nilfgaard that Yennefer personalized for him nearly a year ago. The men looked a little nervous as they looked between Jaskier and Yennefer and could see her purple eyes and the hum of magic in the air. "Go back and tell my father that four men won't be enough and that I meant what I said about not coming home."

"And tell him that I meant my threat when I said he wasn't ever going to see Jaskier again," Yennefer said. The four men looked very nervous now and then all turned and walked away. They didn't stay in town that night and instead found a spot in the woods and slept in one of Yennefer's warded tents. This time he was the uneasy one since it was him that these men were hunting and not both of them. This was his fault for being the type of son that had bounties put on his head.

A week later, four more men jumped them, and this time they had to fight. Jaskier didn't want to kill a bunch of men that were just trying to do the job they were hired to do, but he didn't have much of a choice. He needed to send a message that he was not going to take these threats lying down. Between Jaskier's skill with a blade and Yennefer's magic, they made quick work of the men but left one of them alive.

"Go back and tell him I let you live so you can tell him to back the fuck off," Jaskier warned. The mercenary, who was clearly not getting paid enough to deal with this, took off. Jaskier groaned and rubbed his temples; he knew that his father was mad about this whole thing, but he didn't think he'd be this mad. This might be something he could ignore. It was going to get to a point where he would have to either stop this or never go into town again. He needed to keep singing the song of Geralt and Ciri, he needed people to see him in mourning, and Jaskier couldn't do that if he couldn't go into town. The wanted posters were going to go up soon.

"I need to deal with this," Jaskier said the next night as he laid in bed with Yennefer. "I need to go deal with this, and I need to do it alone."

"If you think I'm letting you go into that town alone, you're completely insane," Yennefer snapped.

"I'm not, but I need to go into that house alone," Jaskier said as he rubbed his face and sighed. "We can't keep dodging the idiots my father hires on top of the people that Nilfgaard is going to send after us, and since we can't defeat all of Nilfgaard, we need to get my father to stop." Yennefer was silent for a long time, and Jaskier wondered if this was about to turn into a very nasty fight.

"I'm waiting outside, and if you're not out within an hour, I'm coming in, and I won't hold back," Yennefer said. Jaskier smiled, and the threat made him feel warm. He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Jaskier said.

+++

Yennefer portaled them directly in front of the main gate because she liked to say that he was the dramatic one, but she was really just as bad as he was. The guards looked like they nearly had heart attacks, and Jaskier put a hand on his sword and demanded that they open the gates immediately. Yennefer didn't follow and watched the guards carefully while examining her nails. She looked like she was counting the seconds until an hour went by, and she could break down the door and kill someone. Jaskier felt very loved by that threat of violence and death, which probably said something about him.

He opened the doors to the great hall and found both of his parents eating their lunch. His mother was on her feet in seconds and racing across the room to greet him. Jaskier wanted to tell her to stop but decided that being an asshole was not going to make things easier. So he let her hug him even if he didn't hug her back.

"Julian, you came home," she said.

"I came to talk to you, the two of you," Jaskier said, and they both jumped.

"You got your voice back?" his father asked.

"Yes, Yennefer and two other friends of mine managed to figure out how to bring it back," Jaskier explained, and he narrowed his eyes. "She is waiting outside for me, and if I'm not outside with her within the hour, she will raze this place to the ground to find me, so don't try anything funny."

"Julian, what are you talking about?" his mother asked, and Jaskier was not surprised to hear that she didn't know about the bounty. His father, on the other hand, stood a little taller and looked like he just bit into a lemon.

"Why mother, you didn't know? Your lovely husband put a bounty on my head, and I had to threaten and kill several men to get them to leave me alone," Jaskier said as he glared at the man who had raised him. "You're going to call the bounty off."

"You are going to stop being such a disgrace," his father snapped. "All of the continent knows about you running around with a witch while singing about being in love with a man. It's embarrassing, and we can hardly show our faces in court without everyone asking about our son's so-called adventures. Our son, who doesn't appear to be aging and who is getting more and more strange-looking as the years go on."

"Oh, is mother's dirty little secret out then? Should I stop pretending that I'm not half-elf for the sake of your reputation?" Jaskier asked, and his mother winced. At the end of the day, Jaskier knew that his mother loved him, at least on some level, but she didn't love him enough to leave the Viscount or love him enough to protect him from the Viscount's wrath. Jaskier walked away from his mother and got in his father's face. "Call the bounty off."

"Or what? You'll further disgrace our family by doing what? Becoming an actual whore?" his father said.

"I'll tell everyone about the lies you've been keeping for years. How you tried to pass me off as a true Pankratz when you knew I wasn't one. I'll tell everyone about the beatings and the whippings and everything else that you did to me when no one was looking. I'll tell them about your mistress and the bastard son that she has. I'll tell everyone every single dirty secret this family has because I couldn't care less if the world knows about it," Jaskier said, and he could hear his mother weeping behind him. He didn't like making her cry, and he didn't want her to find out about the mistress this way, but Jaskier needed to put his own needs first for once. "I have the Nilfgaardian army after me, and the last thing I need is your little bounty hunters trying to cash in on bringing me home. So you're going to call them off, or I will ruin you."

"You would do that, your siblings?" his father asked.

"I would sing their praises about how they tried to protect their half brother against the father that wanted him dead. I would make sure everyone knows that they tried to keep me safe when you didn't do a fucking thing. I would remake our name in their image alone and leave you to the dusty pages of history because that is what I'm capable of." Jaskier took a step closer, so he was mere inches from his father. "Do not underestimate me again. Call off the bounty or see everything you love and possess fall to ruin by my hand." The two of them stared at each other and Jaskier could vaguely hear his mother begging them to stop this, please, just stop this but Jaskier was in no mood to deal with this bullshit.

"I'm disowning you," his father said.

"Good."

"And stripping you of your title."

"I don't want it."

"And all of your inheritance."

"I'll get by just fine on my own."

"And I never want to see your face in Lettenhove again," his father smirked like this was going to be the thing to make Jaskier change his mind.

"Sounds just fine to me," Jaskier said with a smirk.

"Please, don't take my son from me," his mother begged, but his father didn't even look at her. Jaskier felt his heart soften a little because she was sobbing, she did love him, even if she loved her title and what her husband gave her more.

"We can meet in another town or city. I'm sure father would need some time fucking his mistress anyway," Jaskier said, and both of his parents winced. "Do we have an accord? Are you calling the bounty off?"

"Go live your degenerate life, Julian," his father said, and Jaskier smirked as he bowed.

"Happily, and it's Jaskier. Julian Alfred Pankratz is dead as of this moment." He turned and walked out of the room without a single guard trying to stop him. When he walked outside, Yennefer was still waiting for him. His parents were standing at the doors and watching him go. His father looked angry but resigned, but his mother was still sobbing. Jaskier didn't care anymore; he pulled Yennefer into a passionate kiss that wasn't really suitable for the public. He smirked at his parents as they gathered their horses and walked through a portal, leaving Lettenhove behind them.

+++

No sooner had the bounty on Jaskier's head get called off did Nilfgaard decide that it was their time to try and kidnap him and Yennefer for their own means. Jaskier wasn't that surprised; the bounty on his head issued by his father was probably something that Nilfgaard was going to sit back and watch what would happen. If they knew where Jaskier was, it was all the easier to take him, and it was pretty clear that his parents wouldn't exactly fight hard if they tried. Now that the bounty was gone, it was time for Nilfgaard to try and take the woman who burned them and the man who had killed them.

Yennefer needed to go to the frontlines, and she really wanted to take him with her, but Jaskier didn't think that was a good idea. Yennefer needed to focus on herself when she was that close to the battles, and if he were there, she would be worried about him. So Jaskier told her he would stay in the inn and keep to himself. He didn't play, and he hid his lute so no one would ask him to perform. The innkeeper fed Jaskier his dinner, and he watched and listened to the people around them. They were talking about the war and how it was too close. They talked about monsters and how they wished a Witcher would come by soon. Some of them even mentioned his song and how there was one less Witcher out there to keep the monsters. That was a good thing.

Jaskier finished his ale and made his way up to his room. The room itself was warded, and all he needed to do was shut the door, and the only person that could get in was Yennefer. The problem turned out to be getting to the room. He was paying attention, but there was only so much Jaskier could do when someone threw open a door he was passing and slammed something into his head. He stumbled and saw stars but didn't pass out. Jaskier pulled out his dagger and lashed out on instinct, but whoever was doing Nilfgaard's dirty work was a professional. He dodged and got Jaskier into a chokehold.

"Pass out bard, and maybe I won't break you in half," the man said.

"It would be in your best interest to let me go, or something bad is going to happen," Jaskier warned, but his voice was cut off as the man started to choke the life out of him.

"Nilfgaard doesn't care if you're in one piece, boy, they just want someone to break and someone to hang," the kidnapper said. Jaskier decided he had enough of this bullshit and stomped on the man's foot as hard as he could. He used his momentum to make them stumble back into the man's room and finally got himself free. Jaskier picked up his dagger from the ground and turned on the man who was also holding a blade.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jaskier said, and the man smirked.

"Fringilla has a message; she wants you to know that she's looking forward to reaching into your mind and breaking it in half. She's looking forward to taking your pretty voice again only this time she wants to hear you scream." The man charged forward, but Jaskier was trained. He knew how to move, and this man clearly underestimated him. Jaskier dodged and lashed out with his own blade. He sliced down the kidnapper's face in a move that would leave a nasty scar. Or it would have left a nasty scar if Jaskier was planning on letting this man live, but he wasn't. The wound blinded the man he stumbled, and Jaskier kicked him to the ground. He picked up the kidnapper's own blade and drove it through the man's shoulder, mostly pinning him to the ground.

The man screamed, but Jaskier slapped a hand on his mouth and glared down at him.

"Scream again, and I'll make it worse, do you understand me?" Jaskier asked, and the man nodded slowly. "Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you're going to answer them. If you don't, I'm going to hurt you, and if you answer them properly, I'll make your death painless. You will die here, that is not up for debate, but you control the manner in which you leave this world. Do we understand each other?" The man nodded again, and Jaskier grinned down at him. He could feel blood running down the back of his neck from getting hit, and his throat was going to have yet another bruise on it. "Now, you have a personal message from Fringilla for me, why is she so obsessed with me?"

"It's the song," the man said when Jaskier removed his hand. "Most of the army believes it, and she can't get anyone to come after you because they don't see a point. They don't want to bother. She thinks you're lying and wants to prove it. Her and Cahir, they want you dead, and they want you to die slowly."

"Of course they do," Jaskier replied, and he narrowed his eyes. "How many people are out hunting me?"

"Enough," the man said, and now he didn't look as afraid. Now he looked angry as he spat blood in Jaskier's face. "You're the one they want because they know you're the weak one. They know the witch will come running to save you." Jaskier twisted the knife in the man's shoulder and slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle the screams.

"Do I seem weak to you?" Jaskier asked. "So Fringilla thinks my song is a lie. I'll have to go and take care of that if I want her to leave me the fuck alone and maybe remind her that out of the three of us, I'm the most bloodthirsty." The man's eyes widened, and Jaskier smirked. "But, you won't be able to pass that message along because you're going to die." The man struggled, but Jaskier didn't hesitate as he slit the man's throat. "I won't be used by you or anyone else to bring harm to the people I love. I won't be used by anyone ever again." The man died silently, and Jaskier rolled his shoulders. There was blood on his hands, but that would be easy enough to wash off, but he didn't have much in the way of clothes. However, the black made most of the blood impossible to see, and Jaskier was beginning to understand why Geralt and Yennefer refused to expand their color palette.

Jaskier left the body in the room and went back to his own room to wash up. He was still getting rid of the blood underneath his fingernails when a portal appeared, and Yennefer walked through. She zeroed in on the bloodstains, the cut on his head, the new bruise in the shape of an arm around his throat, and looked like she was ready to burn the ground down. Maybe he lied when he said he was the most bloodthirsty out of the three of them, but the fact was that Geralt was by far the least bloodthirsty of the three of them.

"He's in the room down the hall and already dead," Jaskier said. "Just the blood from the headwound is mine, and the rest is his."

"I probably shouldn't want to fuck you when you're washing another man's blood from your hands, but I really do," Yennefer said.

"And as much as I would love to do that darling, I didn't just kill him. I got some information out of him as well," Jaskier said, and she raised an eyebrow. "First of all, they think I'm the weak one of our little trio, so I made sure he knew how wrong that was. They still want to take me to get to you."

"Of course they do," Yennefer said as she rolled her eyes. She walked over and took Jaskier's hands into her own. She admired the blood under his hands, and a quick spell made it all go away. There wasn't any getting rid of the blood on his clothes but was at least all gone from his skin. "Fringilla seems to think you can be used against me."

"Which I can, and you could be used against me, but they seem to think it'll be easy, and I don't plan on making anything easy for them," Jaskier replied, and he sighed. "Apparently, she thinks I'm a dirty, dirty liar, but the rest of the army isn't as keen to believe her. She's sent out who the fuck knows how many people out to try and take care of us. So, we need to figure out a way to convince her that I'm not lying."

"The only way she would believe you are if she can look into your mind," Yennefer said as she ran her fingers through Jaskier's hair. He winced when she touched the wound on his head but didn't try to stop her. "I don't want her anywhere near that beautiful mind of yours."

"Is there any way to fake it?" he asked, and Yennefer stopped petting him to stare. "Could you go into my mind and plant a fake memory of me seeing Geralt and Ciri die or seeing their bodies?"

"You would trust me to do something like that?" she asked, and Jaskier frowned.

"Of course," he replied like it was that easy because it was. "I trust you with every cell in my body, including my mind. If this is what we need to do to get them to think Geralt and Ciri are dead for at least a little longer, I'll do it. I know you wouldn't let anything happen to me." Yennefer was still staring at him like she was surprised that he trusted her this much. Jaskier was about to ask her what was going on when Yennefer yanked him into a hard kiss. It felt like she wanted to consume him, and Jaskier gladly submitted to it. He would let her do anything to him.

"Are you sure?" Yennefer whispered against his lips after she broke the kiss. Jaskier was breathing hard because Yennefer had a way of making him utterly breathless that no one else could.

"Yes, if that's what I need to do to keep them safe, I would do it. I would do it in a heartbeat," he said.

"They'll still come after us but for different reasons now. As long as you travel with me, you'll be in danger because they will always want revenge for what I did at Sodden Hill," Yennefer said as she began to kiss along Jaskier's jawline. It was an effective way to distract him, but Jaskier was pretty good at trying to keep his focus while in the presence of stunningly beautiful people that wanted to fuck him.

"And Cahir wants revenge for the men of his that I slaughtered when I was trying to find you and embarrassing him," Jaskier replied as he closed his eyes and didn't make a sound when Yennefer sucked a fresh bruise into his neck. "If that's what it takes to keep that idiot Witcher and that beautiful little girl safe, I'll do anything."

"Then let's get to work," Yennefer whispered into his ear.

+++

It turned out that planting a memory wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. After they got rid of the body in the inn and had some rather mindblowing sex, the first place they went to was Aretuza. This time, Jaskier kept his head held high and glared right back at any of the baby sorceresses that didn't think he should be there. Tissaia was less inclined to help them with their plan and also called them fucking idiots in that polite way that Tissaia must have learned from many years of being at court.

Triss was the next stop that Jaskier could tell that Yennefer was pleased about. They were gathering their things when he put a hand on her arm and looked at her.

"Did you ask Geralt?" he asked because if this was going to happen now seemed like a good enough time as any.

"Yes, and he was fine with it as long as we were," Yennefer replied as she leaned forward and kissed him. "He said something terribly romantic like as long as our hearts belong only to each other and to him then he couldn't control us. He said, trying to control us was like trying to control a storm or the sea. It sounded like something you would say, did you help him rehearse?"

"No, I think Geralt is secretly a poet and a giant sap; he just doesn't want anyone but us to know," Jaskier replied. They gathered their things and appeared right outside of the wards. Jaskier was ready to have the life choked out of him by Triss's defenses again, but this time nothing happened. He was pleased that he was apparently in the same column as Yennefer when it came to safe people she could trust. Triss walked out to greet them with a warm smile and a dress that showed off her scars. She was more comfortable, and Jaskier could see it.

"I know that look," Triss said as they walked up. "That look means you two have some sort of insane idea, and you seem to think I could help you with it."

"If by insane you mean implanting a memory in Jaskier's mind to convince Fringilla that Ciri and Geralt are both really dead, then yes we do have an insane plan," Yennefer said with a smile. Triss stared at them both, looked to the sky as if asking the gods themselves why she always got stuck with them and then opened her door so they could go inside.

They spent the evening drinking wine and talking about this apparently insane plan of theirs. Yennefer and Jaskier were curled around each other on the couch while Triss politely maintained her distance in another chair. Jaskier glanced at Yennefer, who was looking at Triss like she sometimes looked at him like she wanted to eat her alive. It was a good look, and Triss appeared to be doing her best not to notice it.

"You know, I spoke with Geralt right before we left," Yennefer said when there was a lull in the conversation. They were all loose from the wine, but they weren't drunk. Jaskier didn't want anyone to be drunk for this, and he knew Yennefer didn't either.

"I would think you would," Triss replied like she didn't understand what Yennefer was talking about. Yennefer pushed herself to her feet and slowly walked over to Triss without breaking eye contact once. She leaned over Triss's chair, and her low cut dress left very little to the imagination. Jaskier settled into the couch and watched a beautiful picture unfold in front of him.

"Yes, I told him how much I wanted you and how much I used to love sharing your bed," Yennefer said. "I told him how much I wanted to do it again and how I thought it would be fun if Jaskier joined us."

"And what did he say to that?" Triss asked her voice so soft that Jaskier could barely hear her despite her being right across the room. Yennefer smiled and closed the distance between them instead of answering the question. Jaskier liked to think he didn't fetishize women who slept with other women as much as other men did. This wasn't just about sex, but watching the way Yennefer and Triss moved against each other was art, it was beauty, and he would have been content just to watch if they didn't want him to join. Yennefer climbed into Triss's lap as their kisses got more sure, and Jaskier could see Yennefer slip her tongue into Triss's mouth. They were touching each other with the confidence of two people who knew each other extremely well, and it was stunning. They kissed until they were both breathless, and Triss seemed to realize that Jaskier was still in the room and watching.

"If you'd like me to join you ladies, I would be honored. If you would like a night to yourselves, I have no problem with that too. If you want a night to yourselves and would permit me to watch, I'd happily do that as well. Whatever you want," Jaskier said. Yennefer and Triss looked at each other and had one of the silent conversations that people who have known each other half a lifetime have.

"You can join us," Triss said. "Yennefer has spoken very highly of your talents."

"I'm sure she has," Jaskier replied with a smirk. The three of them nearly fell over each other as they practically ran toward the bedroom. Jaskier knew that he was the interloper here, and he placed himself as Triss's back as he began to kiss along her neck as Yennefer kissed Triss's mouth. Yennefer was clearly distracted, so Jaskier busied himself with getting Triss's dress off as he focused on the burns on her neck and shoulder. After her dress fell away, Yennefer cupped both of her breasts while Jaskier slipped a hand between her legs. She felt divine already, and he wanted to get his mouth on her, but he didn't know if that was what she wanted. Yennefer, as always, knew what he wanted long before he said anything.

"Let Jaskier put his mouth on you. He's got a silver tongue," Yennefer whispered. Triss nodded, apparently overwhelmed, as they all shed the last of their clothes and fell onto her bed. Triss laid down on her back as Yennefer curled up on her side, kissing Triss's lips, her neck, her breasts, and paying attention to the scar tissue in particular. Jaskier settled between Triss's legs and did what he did best. She tasted good, not as good as Yennefer, but still very good, and she let out breathy moans. Triss didn't pull on his hair the way Yennefer did; she gently guided him to where she wanted his mouth, and Jaskier was more than happy to give her what she wanted. She came twice against his tongue before begging for him to stop.

"As the lady wishes," Jaskier said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "And where would you ladies like me? I am your humble servant."

"Tell us what you want," Yennefer whispered as she sucked a bruise into the unmarked side of Triss's throat.

"I want to ride Jaskier while you ride his face," Triss and boy did Jaskier approved of that idea. They shifted again as Jaskier settled down on the bed. Yennefer leaned over and kissed him. She tasted like Yennefer, but there was something else that Jaskier chased with his tongue. He guessed that was Triss and Yennefer moaned against his lips, no doubt when she tasted Triss on his tongue. Jaskier was surprised when Yennefer moved away, and Triss leaned in for a kiss as well. He thought he was just an interloper here, but it seemed that Triss must have liked him at least a little. Her lips were soft, and Jaskier quite enjoyed the way she moaned when he bit down on her lower lip.

Jaskier liked to think that he had a rather large well of sexual experiences to pull from, and nothing could really take him by surprise after getting caught in Yennefer and Geralt's magical bond. However, when Triss lowered herself onto him, and Yennefer straddled his head Jaskier had to admit this was a new experience and one that he was determined to remember. It took all of his focus to stop from coming as soon as they started, but he diverted all of his attention to making sure his hips were angled the right way for Triss, and his tongue brought Yennefer to the brink. He almost felt like he failed when Yennefer only came once, but Triss came a third time, and that was enough for Jaskier to come so hard he nearly blacked out.

When he came to Yennefer and Triss were wrapped around each other and Jaskier settled himself against Yennefer's back. Triss was already asleep, but Yennefer whispered her thanks like he somehow did him a favor by sharing in this with her.

"I assure you, my lady, it was no hardship at all," Jaskier whispered into her ear.

+++

It took them nearly a month to figure out the right combination of spell and potion to implant the memory and then another week to make sure that they could remove said memory once all of this was done. In that month, they shared each other's beds in various different forms. Sometimes he watched Yennefer and Triss together, sometimes he went to bed alone, sometimes Yennefer joined him, and they had a night just the two of them, and sometimes it was the three of them again. It was light and fun in a way that Jaskier only remembered from his days in university and the early days of his relationship with Yennefer.

He should have been nervous about the implanted the memory, but Jaskier wasn't. He knew that this was temporary, and Yennefer was withholding the potion that would make it all seem real until they found Fringilla. He closed his eyes and let two sorceresses mess with his mind without looking back. It was worth it, they were worth it, and Jaskier refused to believe otherwise. They left Triss's cottage that day, and more or less went directly to the frontline. They made sure people knew they were there and waited in the remains of an abandoned inn in a burned-out town near Cintra for Fringilla to come.

When the wards Yennefer put up came to life, Jaskier took the final potion, and it was unreal. One moment he knew Geralt and Ciri were safe, and then they weren't. He was seeing them get torn apart with his own eyes. He looked down at their broken bodies, and this was real, this was so real, anything else wasn't possible. Anything else was a delusion brought on by his own mind, desperately wanting the man he loved to be alive. Yennefer held his hand as he tried to work through this, but it was hard even though it happened months ago.

Fringilla walked through the doors and sneered as she looked at the two of them.

"I thought you would make this harder," she said. "Yennefer, you're looking at lovely as ever and Jaskier; it's good to see that you got your voice back, but I'm glad to see that you'll carry my scar for the rest of your life."

"We're only here to prove a point," Yennefer replied. "Did you come alone as I asked you to, or is Cahir waiting outside?"

"I came alone," Fringilla said as she sat down across from them at the table. "I don't need that man to take you both in. Why do you think I'm going to let you walk away from this?"

"You think Jaskier's song is a lie," Yennefer said.

"I do," Fringilla replied.

"So look in my mind," Jaskier said, and she stared at him. "Look in my mind and see that I'm not lying. If you want to turn us in for killing your men or Sodden Hill, that's on you, but they are gone and have nothing to do with this." Fringilla narrowed her eyes as Jaskier stood up and walked around the table, so he was standing in front of her. "Your fight is with us, so see my memories and leave the Witcher's alone."

"Try and kill him, and the wards around this place will kill us all," Yennefer explained. "If you look in his mind, see what you need to see, and walk away, we can all get back to hunting each other. We loved Geralt, and we just want to see the Witcher's left alone for his sake. And you know I can burn us all if I want to, Fringilla."

"Do you expect me to be gentle, little bard?" Fringilla asked as Jaskier sat down and turned his chair, so he was facing her.

"No, I expect I'm about to scream my lungs out and relive a pain unlike no other I've experienced," Jaskier said as he tried to prepare himself for this. Yennefer would make sure he didn't die, and he believed that. "Do it anyway." Fringilla placed two fingers on his temple, and his entire world was nothing but pain. When Fringilla said she wasn't going to be gentle, Jaskier didn't know what she meant, but it felt like she was pulling apart his mind with her fingers.

He screamed as she looked at his first meeting with Geralt, the first time he admitted to himself that he was in love, meeting up with Yennefer, spending the winter with Geralt and Ciri in a mansion near the coast, them all going out on the path together, spending days camping and singing and being happy, feeling more in love and loved than he had ever felt in his life, Yennefer needing to step away to go to Aretuza but just for a few days, seeing the monster coming out of nowhere, how it took Ciri first and she died quick, how it came after Jaskier and tried to kill him but it took Geralt instead, begging Yennefer to come and help please Yennefer there's so much blood, Yennefer appearing and there was nothing she could do, they were gone they were gone, pouring his broken heart into a song, going to Lettenhove to mourn--

The pain ended, and Jaskier collapsed to the ground. Yennefer was by his side in seconds as she held him. His throat burned, and Jaskier wondered how long that took because it felt like a lifetime, but, in a way, it was good to relive such beautiful memories again. To see Geralt and Ciri's faces when they were happy, and everything was fine.

"Do you believe me now?" Jaskier asked. Fringilla stood over the two of them, her eyes narrowed, and he wondered if he had just relived all of this for nothing.

"I will still get my revenge for Sodden Hill, Yennefer, and you, bardling, will hang for the crimes you've committed against the Nilfgaardian people," Fringilla said. "But, your pain is real, and I have no desire to draw the ire of the remaining Witchers at least for now. I will withdraw my men who are looking for the Witcher and the Princess. I can divert them to look for you two instead."

"And I look forward to sending them back to you in pieces," Yennefer snapped. "Now leave." Fringilla sneered but didn't test Yennefer's wards and spells, which was good. Jaskier didn't think he could handle more magic. Fringilla formed a portal and walked through it. Yennefer immediately formed her own and dragged Jaskier back to the inn they were staying at in a town ten miles away. His head hurt, and he just wanted to lie down, but Yennefer pushed a potion into his hands. "Drink, please; you'll know why it's important in a moment."

"If you're giving it to me, it must be important," Jaskier said as he downed the potion. For a moment, he felt nothing, and then it was like a fog cleared in his head. The memories of Geralt and Ciri being on the road with them, the mansion by the coast, seeing them die, they weren't real, and that was the plan. Ciri and Geralt were safe in Kaer Morhen, and he just put himself through hell to keep them safe. Jaskier collapsed to his hands and knees as he tried to keep himself from vomiting. Yennefer rubbed his back until it passed. "Fucking hell, you and Triss make potent shit."

"So you remember everything?" she asked, and Jaskier nodded. Yennefer breathed a sigh of relief and pulled him to her. Jaskier realized he was crying, and he didn't know why. This was good; this was what they wanted because now Nilfgaard was entirely focused on them and not Geralt and Ciri. Now they just wanted revenge for the mage that burned them and the bard that refused to be afraid of them. Now Lambert and Eskel would be safe too, and no one would try to burn Kaer Morhen again.

This was what they wanted, and yet still, Jaskier sobbed.

+++

They spent the rest of the fall dodging Nilfgaardian soldiers and assassins and making their way toward Kaer Morhen. The more they ran, the more they learned that no one was looking for Geralt and Ciri. They just wanted revenge for Sodden Hill and Jaskier's new song that was all about how cowardly the Emperor was. There was power in words, and while Yennefer burned an army, Jaskier worked on making the continent unafraid of Nilfgaard. People began to fight back against the invading forces; they pushed back against the soldiers that tried to ruin their lives, as Jaskier's words empowered them.

Come the spring, Jaskier expected that he and Yennefer would be the two most wanted people on the continent, but it was what they wanted. It was worth it because Geralt and Ciri were safe.

They got lucky and found Eskel waiting for them at the base of the mountain and took the long way up to Kaer Morhen. It was good to see him, and he said that Nilfgaard never once bothered him. He said he spoke to other Witcher's including a Witcher from the School of the Griffin, Coen, and he said no Nilfgaardians bothered him either. Lambert was the first up the mountain, Eskel told them that he was waiting to go up with them, and said that Aiden also had no problems. Nilfgaard was leaving all Witcher's alone, it seemed, and Yennefer and Jaskier just smiled at each other.

They rode up to Kaer Morhen as the first snow fell, and Geralt, Ciri, and Vesemir were waiting for them. Jaskier took Yennefer's hand as they walked into the arms of the people they loved.

They were home.