Red- The Witcher

Dyffryn

Cahir

Blood had drenched my armor and I tore it off because it was getting heavy. My mother, whom I hadn't seen in decades, lied in front of me. Dead.

The march towards the North was over from the blazing fire and the aftermaths were catastrophic. It was morning now, and the mages who had helped defeat my army were searching the hill for the rest of us who were alive.

I stood and dragged Mother's body and put her atop a horse. I held her tightly just as she once did with me and I took a secret path to stay away from the mages. As my horse galloped, I looked off to the distance to see the Witcher had returned. Cirilla was with him and I assumed they had returned for Mother. Mother was more important than any quest the Emperor gave me and I knew I'd find the girl later.

Once I made sure we were south of Sodden, I stopped the horse in the trees. I barely remembered picking flowers in a terrain like this and I knew it would be the perfect place to burry her. I dragged her body off the stallion and placed her in a ditch. I made her comfortable and covered her in the prettiest shrubs that matched her beauty.

"You found me," I said. "And now... you're free." With those words, actual tears came from my eyes and I tried to stop them but it wouldn't work. I tore her body from the ditch and cradled her, regretting the fact that I never returned home.

After I gained my nobility and power, I should've went to her. I knew the powerful banshee, Sage Anika, was and I never sought out for her. It was foolish of me to pretend to forget her after being torn from her hands. I remembered hearing her cry out for me as I was taken away by my father's men.

I finally stopped crying when the horse neighed. When I set her body down, I noticed the fiery red from her scalp consume her hair. The gray veins faded and her skin returned to normalcy and she almost looked alive. Even though I had seen Cirilla break the monolith, Mother's transition was the greatest anomaly I had ever seen.

I began to wonder if the banshee inside of her had subsided now that I was here. It came when I was taken and would disappear when I had been found.

I brushed my tear that had fallen on her cheek and covered her once more. I stood, keeping my eyes locked on her. Once I turned around, I had to build my composure on my way back to Nilfgaard. I got onto my horse and just as I was about to ride back, I heard a gasp.

I slid off my horse and rushed to Mother who was coughing out blood that had lodged in her throat. Her throat had healed, her skin sealed as if nothing had ever happened.

"Mother!" I cried out, holding her. "Mother!" She let out a dry scream that rang in my ears, proving that she was still a banshee who was recouping her power.

"I'm fine," she said faintly, her voice course like an old woman's. "I'm fine."

"Just stop talking," I told her. "I'll find you some water. I'll be back." I tore the torn cape from my back and rushed further into the trees in search of a stream.

I knew I was out for hours when the sun was starting to get low in the sky. Luckily before dark, I found the running water and filled it into a pack. It took me some time to return to the spot in the night but when I saw the red hair in the dark, I knew my internal compass was right.

Mother was lying against a tree, her eyes closed but when I came close, she awoke. I passed her the water which she immediately drank, coughing a little, as I gathered wood to build a fire. It lit up the night and brought warmth, and I sat on the dry ground.

"You look the same," I said. "That was twenty years ago."

"It was the banshee that kept me alive," she said clearly. "Now and over the years."