THE WOMAN WANDERED THE WOODS, ECHOES OF THE SCREAMS OF BLAVIKEN RINGING INSIDE HER HEAD.

She held her side, trying to put pressure on her wound, "Stupid girl." She muttered under the hood of her cloak,

The woman paused and leaned against a tree to lift up her shirt to reveal the wound underneath. It was deep, went all the way through her side and out. She was lucky it didn't hit any organs.

But she was beginning to feel cold. She has never felt cold in her life, even in the middle of a snowy winter in the mountains.

"Need some help?" She looked up to see the Witcher approaching her, guiding a horse behind him,

"I'm fine." She growled out.

He tied his horse up to a tree and grabbed his pack before motioning to a log, "Sit."

She watched as he walked around, gathering sticks and logs before putting them in a pile. He started a fire before glancing over at her, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" She grunted,

"Protect me. Stick up for me. You didn't have to." The Witcher stated,

"And you were only doing what you were paid to do. The wizard was the real monster." She spat.

The Witcher placed a small blade into the flames. She watched as they danced across the wood.

"I'm Geralt."

She stared at him for a moment before responding, "Faina."

He stared at her for a moment, "Am I going to meet the face to the name, or continue to look at the hood?"

Faina rolled her eyes, "You're going to have questions that I cannot answer if I do."

"Well, what if I assure you that I won't ask them?" The Witcher questioned,

With a sigh, Faina reached up to let down the hood slowly. Geralt watched as she revealed the smooth, pale skin of her neck and face. Then, when the hood was fully lowered, he realised why he would question her.

Thick, snow white hair fell down to the middle of her back. Not dissimilar to his.

Questions filled his mind, but he knew he could not ask them. It was not everyday you see a girl with white hair.

Geralt cleared his throat, leaning down to grab the blade that was now glowing, "Show me your wound."

Hesitating, Faina lifted her tunic to reveal the bloody holes in her side. The Witcher pressed the blade down on the exit wound. He glanced up at her, expecting her to be wincing in pain.

Instead, she held a straight face.

Either she didn't feel it, or she was a lot stronger than she looked.

Geralt lifted the dagger and placed it back over the flames. He grabbed a cloth to clean her skin but she pushed it away, "It's fine, just do the other one."

He watched her face as he brought the blade back up to close the wound on her front. But before he could place it on her skin, he noticed the different shades within her blood.

The Witcher dropped the blade before moving to look her directly in the eyes and cupping her face,

"What are you doing?" Faina narrowed her eyes at him,

"You're freezing." He stated,

She tried to push him away, "So?"

"We're in the middle of summer." He noticed how dilated her light eyes were, "Where's the weapon that stabbed you?"

"Back in Blaviken." She answered, "Why?"

"It was laced with poison." Geralt stood and grabbed a strip of cloth from his pack before tying it tightly to her waist, "We need to find a medic."

"We can't go back to Blaviken." Faina muttered, watching as he strapped his pack onto the horse,

"We'll go to Ghelibol." He responded, walking over to her to help her onto the horse,

"Wait." She reached out weakly to stop him, and looked into his amber eyes, "Why are you helping me?"

"I repaying my debt to you." He responded, lifting her onto the saddle,

"I have done nothing that requires a debt to be payed." Faina told him,

"Maybe to you," He paused for a moment, letting out a grunt as he hopped onto the saddle behind her, "To me, you went out of your way to help me."

"I didn't do anything to help. I just gave you a chance to go before they decided to throw things worse than stones." Faina replied,

"Not many would stand up for a Witcher." With an arm wrapped around her to keep her steady, he urged his horse to run down the main road towards Ghelibol.