You lowered your weapon and hid it behind your back.

There was light crawling from under the slit under the door.

Someone was in the library.

A shadow danced with the flame of the chimney.

You frowned.

"Who's there?", you asked, one hand already on the wooden surface of the door to sense the power of the intruder.

A cool shiver crawled down your spine.

You flinched.

Whoever it was, their magical abilities were beyond what you knew.

Every creature on this planet and behind had a source of magic that burned inside their bodies like a flame. But this one was different. It was more like a wildfire.

You couldn't even imagine what this person was capable of doing with this amount of magic.

If you remembered correctly, the only beings with this much power were unicorns or dragons.

The shadow on the other side of the door froze.

Your heart started to beat wildly inside your chest.

With bated breath and your fingers tightly wrapped around the metal, gave the door a gentle push.

Painfully slowly and loud, it swung open to reveal a room that was stacked to the ceiling with all kinds of books and papers.

Warmth stroked your cheeks. It smelled of a campfire.

"Long time no see.", a female voice said with a smirk.

Forcing yourself to be calm, you glanced to the side.

A pair of sparking green eyes met your (E/C) ones.

You knew those kinds of eyes, sharp and confident yet filled with some sort of wisdom that only the fewest of people were able to acquire.

A long, deep scar stretched across the left side of her face.

"Cirilla?", you frowned.

The white haired woman smirked.

"It's been a while, (Y/N).", she said and leaned the sword she held against the fireplace. "What happened?"

Unsure what to think about her sudden appearance, you tilted your head.

"What are you doing here?", you asked. "I remember your father wasn't... a friend of my family."

A smirk tugged at the edge of her lips.

"True.", she let herself fall into the green armchair that your mother had used to love. "But times change."

"Your father doesn't.", you joked and leaned against the frame of the door, arms crossed.

She chuckled.

"Also true."

The sound of crackling fire filled the room.

Orange shimmers danced over the young woman's face.

Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon of Nilfgaard was barely a few winters younger than you, yet she looked so much like a grown woman, raised by war and endless travels through dimensions.

As a child you had always envied her for the abilities her mothers blood had passed on.

But now that the two of you were all grown up you only had pity left.

She's never had the possibility to find a path of her own, to live for herself.

All her life she had been a pawn in the fame of fate.

That only made you wonder more why she was here.

"So?", you asked after a while, one eyebrow raised. "What are you doing here?"

Her eyes wandered around.

"This used to be your families winter residence.", she noted.

A sigh rolled from your lips.

"As you said, times change."

She looked at you.

"For the worse?"

"Neither worse nor better. It's just different."

Understanding, she hummed.

"I heard about your parents.", her tone softened and a sorry expression lit up on her face. "My condolence."

You pulled a face.

"I don't remember you being the sentimental type of princess, little snowflake.", you replied as a joke, but it sounded awfully bitter and hurt.

Ciri leaned back in her seat.

"You didn't call me that ever since we were little.", she huffed.

You hummed.

"Well, we're all grown up now, aren't we?", you took a seat opposite of her. "But you'll always be the little princess I grew up with. Loud and grumpy all the time. Yet you had an amazing ability to get whatever you wanted from a man who doesn't know anything but war and success."

A shadow crossed her face.

"My father has changed just like time does.", she said.

One of your eyebrows rose.

"Really? How can a man like Emhyr change? The last thing I heard about him was that he rages war. Again."

"He needs someone to take the throne."

You froze.

For a moment, you needed to eye her from top to bottom.

"He wants you on the throne?", you asked, both eyebrows raised in doubt. "I always took him for the kind of emperor who had to be assassinated to hand over his crown to someone else."

And again, she couldn't help but show how amused she was about your honest yet unbothered opinion.

Ever since the two of you had been children you had acted as some sort of older sibling to the young princess. The two do you had grown up so close that even your parents had considered her a part of the family.

She had a loose mouth for someone of her high birth. Most of it was your fault since you had taught her your sense of honesty.

And yet, she never managed to speak her mind the way you did. Her father had made sure that she was at least polite about it.

Ciri took a deep breath.

Her eyes flickered shut for a moment.

As she fell into a state of rest, you could sense how her magic seeped into every corner of the room.

She truly was as powerful as your father had always praised her to be one day.

"I declined the crown.", she said. "I'm a Witcher. Not an empress."

All of a sudden, pride made your chest fluster.

This was just the girl you had helped to raise.

"Then I assume this is supposed to be a final goodbye?", you asked. "I'd offer you teak and feast, but those days are long gone."

She shook head head.

The white of her hair seemed to melt with the flames.

"I came to ask for a favour.", she asked. "My father needs an ally."