Chapter Text
Your horse whinnied as he slowly clopped up the mountain trail, pulling to a stop at the gentle tug you gave the reins to halt him. You lightly stroked his mane as you glanced up at the fortress of Kaer Morhen, still as tall and imposing as it was all those years ago when you last saw it.
It had been years since you had been back here. You had just spent the last few days in Novigrad catching up with Jaskier over the years you had missed out on, and the numerous adventures by the sounds of it (though you were certain he still used his usual embellishments, so you knew better than to believe everything he said), before setting out for the mountain path. You had been getting the urge to go back for the past few years, but this year it was really strong. So you decided it was high time to head back to spend the winter with whoever was left at the school. You wouldn’t ever admit it out loud, but you did miss them. Even Lambert.
You clucked your tongue and spurred your horse forward, who gave out a mildly annoyed snort before continuing to plod up the trail. The weather was starting to get a bit cold, even for the mountain air, though thankfully there was no wind to give you a bone-deep chill just yet. And despite some of the scars from some of the battles fought in these hills over the years, it was still a beautiful hike up.
The hoof-beats shifted from silent to slightly echoing as your horse finally trotted through the front gate, and you let out a soft sigh as you passed through the entryway and into the large courtyard beyond. The nostalgia hit you in waves as long-thought forgotten memories shifted to the surface, so much so that you almost missed the older, gray-haired witcher tending to some of the horses nearby. Almost.
“Vesimir?” You blinked, though when he turned his head up, you had no doubt it was him.
“Y/N?” He laughed as he somehow recognized you immediately. “By the gods, woman, it’s been years.”
“I know.” You carefully slipped off the saddle to the ground near him, and quickly wrapped him up in a long overdue hug. “How are you?”
“Well enough.” He pulled away. “But I should be asking you that.”
You chuckled. “You’ll have plenty of time to, since I plan on spending the winter here.” You playfully frowned. “Unless there’s no room left for me…”
“Girl, you know damn well there’s plenty of room.” He lightly patted your shoulder, beckoning you to follow him. “Come on. The others will be happy to see you.”
“I should hope so.” You joked. “If they even remember me.”
You followed Vesimir through the courtyard, chatting softly at the noticeable disrepair from the courtyard as he led you to the keep itself. It was an old place, and a bit too much for just one older witcher to tend to.
“I’ll be happy to help you, if you’d like. I don’t mind offering a second pair of hands.” You offered.
He chuckled. “I had forgotten why I had considered you my favorite. Thank you for reminding me.” He glanced over towards the tables on the far side of the room, where you could already see two familiar heads drinking something. “Eskel! Lambert! Come look at who’s joined us!”
Both of their heads turned up, and Eskel shot you a brief grin while Lambert laughed.
“Well well well, look who finally decided to come back.” Lambert teased with his usual snark.
Eskel just nudged his shoulder. “Hey there Y/N! Welcome back.”
“Nice to see you two haven’t changed.” You mused as you walked with Vesimir to meet them.
However, as you got closer, you noticed that it wasn’t just Lambert and Eskel there. In the corner near the kitchens was Geralt, leaning down a bit to speak quietly with a young ashen haired girl. At the mention of your name, or perhaps having finally moved into each other’s peripheral, his eyes shot up to meet yours at the same time yours did his.
He went frozen like a statue, eyes fractionally wider, and your smile was wiped clean off of your face.
You felt your jaw clench silently, and you pointedly turned your head back to look at Vesimir. He seemed weary, so you could only assume he knew something, though he always preferred playing the truly neutral path when he could.
You cleared your throat and pointedly tried to ignore the eyes peering into the back of your head.
“What room can I use? Mind showing me?” You asked.
“Of course.” Vesimir nodded, mercifully picking up on the odd air between you both. “Come. Most of us are sleeping in the tower.”
“That hasn’t changed then.” You muttered, casting a mild wave at Lambert and Eskel as Vesimir led you past them and up the long winding staircase of the tower. Geralt was still watching you, as was the young woman he was with, but you paid neither one of them any attention.
Vesimir was nice enough, thankfully, to give you a room as far away from Geralt’s as he could, and showed you to a room near the base of the tower.
“This will do, I trust?” He raised a brow as you stepped inside the mostly bare room, furnished with a bed and chest only, a touch playfully.
“You could have given me a pile of straw and a half-chewed blanket, and it would do.” You waved him off with a slightly teasing look.
Vesimir snorted. “If only the others were as easy to please.” He took a step away from the door. “I’ll leave you to get settled, then.”
You nodded. “Thank you, Vesimir.”
He gave you a curt nod before he stepped away and headed off back down the stairs.
You listened until you couldn’t hear his footsteps on the stairs anymore, before you sagged down on the bed and sighed heavily.
Damn it. A winter with Geralt… It was far too late to turn back down the pass, otherwise you might attempt it… Double damn it.
You gave yourself a few minutes to unclench your jaw and somewhat relax, counting backwards from a hundred, before you set to unpacking the few things you had brought in your pack with you. It wasn’t much, given that you traveled light. A few pairs of clothes, some books, and a few journals that you had kept over the years from your travels. Sorting things out and putting them away really helped to calm you down, though not enough to where you wanted to go back down there. You needed some more time to yourself before you were around everyone again.
You had scarcely made that decision when you heard cat-like footsteps on the stairs.
After kicking your bag under the bed, you turned just as Eskel leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed.
You narrowed your eyes at him and bit back the urge to cuss him out.
“Well, hello to you too.” He uttered sarcastically.
“You lied to me.” You growled quietly. “I wrote to you months ago, Eskel, asking if he would be here, and you told me no.” You crossed your arms. “You lied to me.”
“Y/N, come on.” He sighed, straightening up. “Don’t you think this whole thing between you and Geralt has gone on long-”
You closed the distance between you in a blink, and jabbed your hand in his chest. “Do not. Go. There.” You snarled, anger started to overflow you. “You don’t get to dictate how long I stay angry at him. Now get out.”
Eskel wisely held his hands up in surrender, and took a step back.
“Fine, fine. I’m going.”
You glared at him as he slunk away back downstairs, relaxing only a smidge now that you were alone again. This time, you loudly slammed the door shut to ensure your privacy, and plopped yourself down on the bed with an exasperated grunt.
It may have been years since what happened happened, but you hadn’t forgotten and you sure as Hell didn’t forgive him.
This was going to be a long winter…