The Girl Stays Too!

                                    

                                          
It's been three years since we had met the bard and the payment we received for the jobs changed just as much as the people's attitude towards us. Before the bard wrote his song we had received between 100 and 400 coins per job, but now most people gave us over 1000, sometimes up to 5000 coins. Geralt and I shared it according to the work each of us actually did during the job, generally I got about a third of our reward. 
                          
The people's attitude towards us though was a completely different story. Where people had feared the witcher and publicly hated on him, we were now welcomed with free ale and shelter for as long as we wanted to stay. And everywhere we went they sang the bard's song about the White Wolf. 
                          
Our life – or more the job - may not be easier through the existence of that song, but at least we didn't have to worry about money anymore.
                          
The town we were in now though either hadn't heard the bard's song yet, or they didn't believe what he sung – and to be honest, that kid didn't exactly tell the truth. Most of the people treated us with hostility, well, except for the whores that Geralt hired.
                          
For the first in a very long time we had rented separate rooms, because the witcher had, uhm, certain urges that needed attention, meaning that he needed to fuck. I didn't blame him though, but I also wasn't very fond of the sounds coming from his room next door. He had that girl screaming so loud that if I closed my eyes I would have thought they were doing it in my room. Keep it down, lady, you're not the only person in this inn. And they were on it for the fifth time in three days, and it was barely noon... 
                          
I waited for them to finish and went over, ready to give the witcher a piece of my opinion – I wasn't scared of him.  
                          
After three sharp knocks on their door I poked my head into the room.
                          
"Hey, uhh, I understand that you have...uhm, needs, but could you please keep it down a little? Some people are trying to concentrate..." I said, directed at the currently very naked and very sweaty witcher, who made a sound that was a mixture of huff and chuckle and rolled his eyes. Most women would have been flustered at that sight - I mean... sure he was handsome and incredibly well built – but I wasn't. After years of traveling together we had gotten used to the sight of the other being naked, otherwise sleeping in the wild for days, bathing in rivers and all that stuff would have been very awkward. No, nakedness was casual for us.
                          
The girl just looked at me wide-eyed. She either hadn't expected someone to burst into the room just after they had sex, or she was surprised with the way I spoke to the witcher. Nobody else dared to talk to him the way I did. Yet again, after by now five years of traveling with him, I wasn't scared of him and we often teased each other.
                          
Satisfied with the, well, more or less non-verbal, answer I went back to my room to continue reading. I sat down on my bed and picked up my book again, finally no noises coming from the room next door.
                          
 Shortly after we met the bard I realized that if I wanted to really help the witcher, I should know something about the creatures we were hunting. So I bought a book containing lore about all possible kinds of creatures of magical and non-magical nature; how to recognize them, where to find them, if they were cursed how to reverse the spell, and how to kill them. Soon enough, when the townsfolk weren't sure what was haunting them, I was the one to identify the creature before the experienced witcher even had the chance to open his mouth. Learning about lore was interesting and terrifying at the same time, on one hand you learned about all the creatures that were out there; on the other hand you learned what creatures were out there, and what they do to you if they got you, how they'd kill you.
                          
Noon became evening without me noticing, as I was too deep into my research when the sounds from next door started again, quieter now than the days before. Damn, I should have told them days ago... Once they were done the quiet talking of the woman could be heard, but the chatter and music coming from the tavern were too loud to understand what she said. 
                          
Then suddenly somebody knocked at the door of the witcher's room. "It's been three nights. Pay up or get out!" A voice shouted; the innkeeper. After no reaction from inside the room, he shouted again while repeatedly banging against the door. "You hear me? Witcher!" The man surely had had enough, because the next thing I heard was the door being burst open.
                          
 I knew it was time that we looked for a new job, and as Geralt couldn't pay for the room, he had spent all his coin on new gear and ... other things – let's just say the whores that he hired weren't as cheap as the girls in my old brothel. So I packed up my stuff and left the room, joining the witcher outside. He was talking to Roach when he turned towards the innkeeper.
                          
 "I'll be back with payment in a few days. Anything happens to my horse..." he said, a hidden threat.
                          
The innkeeper chuckled. "You don't scare me."
                          
Geralt just looked at him, stepped closer to the man until only a few feet separated them and stared him down menacingly. "Point me to Temeria," The witcher more or less ordered and the innkeeper complied, pointing in the direction of the kingdom that would be home to us for the job.
                          
As we turned to leave, leaving both our horses behind, the innkeeper called out "The girl stays too!"
                          
 Clenching my jaw I looked at the witcher, annoyed. "Do as he says," he told me. "And keep an eye on the horses." I hummed in surrender and annoyance. Turning to the witcher for one last time I said "Be save out there. I want you back here in one piece." I smiled, but hidden behind that smile was worry. I know he was experienced and used to hunt alone before he had met me, but this was his first hunt after five years that he'd have to go on alone. A small smirk graced the witcher's lips in the dim light. "I will," And with that we both turned and walked in the direction each of us had to.
                          
***
                          
The next days were uneventful. The innkeeper had me working off what Geralt owed him. I was allowed to keep my room, as I could pay for it, but that didn't mean I was in there during the day. At sunrise I had to start my work, cleaning the stables and brushing the horses. At least that way I could spend time with Roach and Vána, which was needed as Geralt's absence made Roach nervous, seeing that I was still there calmed her down at least a little, but all three of us were hoping for the witcher's quick return. 
                          
But my work didn't end there. The innkeeper also had me work in the tavern as waitress. The clientele was shady, so I always kept one or more daggers hidden on my body – just in case. I never had to use it though, luckily. During my shift I would sometimes hum or sing the bard's song about the White Wolf, hoping it would lower the price for Geralt's room or have the costumers tip me. The latter was the case, sometimes. People who had heard the song would join in.
                          
 My shift would end with the last costumer leaving the tavern, often in the early morning hours. Exhausted I'd go to my room and pass out the moment my body met the soft bed. 
                          
This went on for three days. On the fourth morning, just as I was brushing the hay out of Roach's soft mane, something big covered the entrance to the stables, casting a shadow over my working hands. I knew it was him. No one else of his statue could walk that quiet. Without looking up I greeted the witcher. "Took you long enough. What was it?" – "A striga," came the deep reply, the slight pain hidden in his voice causing me to look up at him. His leather armor was damaged on the left side of his neck, a bloodied bandage peeking out from under it. "I recall telling you to return in one piece," I teased, knowing how fest he'd heal. In two to three days he'd be as good as new. "I tried, but there's not much a man can do to defend himself from an angry, cursed princess, you know?" he teased back. I smiled at him, happy to have the witcher back, which meant we could finally leave this town and go somewhere where they might appreciate our presence. 
                          
Geralt paid what he owed the innkeeper, which wasn't too much after my work, and we left the town in search of a new job.