Day 5 of 30. This is my least favorite piece thus far, but I work a 12 hour shift today and know that I will not have time to write later, so I used my only free hour this morning to bust this out. Set at the end of the Witcher 3. Thanks for reading!

Yennefer paced back and forth liked a caged panther as she waited to be able to advance through the wall of energy before her. Her lips were pursed and her eyes glowed with absolute rage. If Avallac'h had done anything to her Ciri she was going to kill her. Perhaps she should kill him anyway; he had been nothing but a pest and a nuisance with his half truths and hidden motives. They had finally gotten Ciri back, they had won, and he ripped her away from them once more. She growled in frustration and hurled a fireball at the energy barrier in frustration. To her surprise it began to crumble, but she knew it was mere coincidence. A hole appeared just large enough to squeeze through and she pushed her way through before tearing off. Yennefer crawled over chunks of debris and scrambled up ledges, growing more impatient by the minute. As she neared the steps that would carry her up the rest of the way, she could hear voices floating down to her, but none of them were series. With one last burst of speed she flew up the steps and froze as she entered the circular room. Something was wrong, something had happened.

Her first clue was that Geralt was waiting; he was sitting against the wall, his swords discarded off to either side of him. His knees were pulled up slightly and he had his head hung, a look of utter defeat upon his face. Avallac'h had her back to him and she could see that his arms were crossed as he stared out at the endless sea. She reined in her rage and turned her attention back to Geralt and couldn't help but feel a surge of relief that he was alive. And then she felt a stab of pain for Ciri; Geralt was not one to wait around and do nothing. He would meditate, he would sharpen his blades or jot down notes in his journal, but he did not simply wait. His head raised suddenly and he met her eyes, his own full of grief.

"Where is she?" Yennefer's voice shook. "Where is my daughter?" Geralt slowly climbed to his feet but before he could respond, Avallac'h turned to Yennefer with a sneer of his face.

"She is hardly your daughter, you half witted sorceress. Unlike you, Zireael knew that there was more at stake than a family reunion."

"Would you like to repeat that?" Yennefer asked calmly as yellow energy arced across her palms.

"Yenenfer," Geralt warned, stepping towards her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down."

"Calm down?" Yennefer snapped at him, her violet eyes blazing. "How can you be calm? We raised her like our own Geralt and now this elven twat has sent her to gods only know where!"

"Because it was here choice to go." Geralt said softly as he placed his other hand on her shoulder. He held her in place, his eyes intense on her own. "You know how I feel about her as well Yen, but hear me out for a moment."

"Yes, please get a leash on your bitch." Avallac'h was only spared from Yennefer's spell due to Geralt pinning him against the wall, his face inches from his.

"You helped Ciri and for that I'll let you live, but your welcome is overdue. You've lied to us and would have left us all for dead if Ciri would have allowed it. I believe it is time for you to leave. You have no more interest to Ciri and you have no claim to her."

"Bah!" Avallac'h spat in his face. "You are all beneath me! Your knowledge is nothing more than a child's. You pretend to know what you are doing, what the world is doing, but you know nothing."

"I said leave." Geralt turned him lose, pushing him towards the stairs. Avallac'h spat one final time before whipping his cloak around himself and marching towards the stairs. A portal opened at the base and he stepped through it, disappearing from view.

"Geralt, what is going on?" Yennefer demanded. "Where is Ciri?"

"She went to try to stop the White Frost." Geralt sighed and sank to the ground once more. "She asked Avallac'h to help her open the portal. She wanted a chance to stop it for good."

"That is suicide! And you didn't try to stop her?"

"No, Yennefer. This is her destiny. It has been her destiny all along. She had to try to stop it to protect our world, but more importantly she was trying to protect us. Would you have not done the same for her?"

"I mean yes, but that is different! We…." She trailed off with a sigh and sat down beside Geralt, leaning heavily into his side. "You are right. I would have done the same. And she could have done nothing to convince me otherwise."

"Letting her go…it was hard. I finally got her back and had to watch her walk away." Geralt wrapped an arm around Yennefer's waist and shivered, thankful for the warmth. Snow began to fall in thick flakes that drifted in lazily through the open ceiling. Yennefer muttered a spell and an orb of blue fire appeared, throwing off heat. It settled in front of them and Yennefer closed her eyes as she rested against Geralt.

"What did you tell her, before she went?"

"That I believed in her."

"And did you?"

"I still do. She'll be back Yen. She is strong."

"I feel ridiculous for worrying so."

"Isn't that what mother's do?" Geralt chuckled.

"You heard what Avallac'h said." Yennefer muttered. "He wasn't wrong."

"I think Ciri would beg to differ." Geralt gave her a squeeze. They fell silent for a long time as they watched the snow fall into the grey sea. The blue fire blazed brighter as the sun began to set and the temperature dropped.

"Do you remember the time she was staying with me in Vizima?" Yennefer asked suddenly.

"She snuck out to go ride and you were sure she had gone off to meet some boy." Geralt laughed. "How could I forget? I'll never forget that letter. 'Dear Geralt, you simply will not believe what your mad sorceress did to me!'."

"Mad sorceress." Yennefer rolled her eyes but smiled. "In hindsight, I may have overreacted."

"You, overreact? Never." Geralt grinned at her. "You know, I was surprised- she is so grown now, so mature, yet she is still our Ciri. Did she tell you we had a snowball fight at Kaer Morhen?"

"She did." Yennefer smiled. "She also mentioned a fist fight in Skellige." Yen raised a brow and Geralt shrugged.

"What can I say? I've always had a hard time telling her no."

"Oh, believe me, I remember that much!" Yennefer began recalling a tale and they continued to recall their favorite memories as the hours rolled by. Their conversation began to slow and then cease as the fifth hour passed and Ciri still did not appear.

"Yen…" Geralt said slowly.

"Don't say it." Yennefer closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know it has been a long time."

"Do we go down? Or?..."

"The other's will want to know what has happened." She said at last. "I was certain that she-" Her words were cut off a portal suddenly rippled to life in front of them. Ciri stumbled out, her eyes wild and her clothes disheveled. Thick frost clung to her skin and clothes and she was pale as a ghost.

"Ciri!" Geralt sprang to his feet, his reflexes far faster than Yennefer's. He caught the young woman as she fell and slowly lowered her towards the ground.

"Yen, Geralt." She managed weakly, offering them a small smile.

"Hush dear." Yennefer waived her hand through the air and the blue fire moved to them. She pulled her cloak off and wrapped it around Ciri's shoulders before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked at the girl for a long moment and hastily swiped away the tears that began to fall.

"Why are you crying?" Ciri managed through her shivering.

"Because you came back."

"You made me promise I would, remember?" Ciri smiled. Yennefer sat next to her and Ciri moved close to her, resting her head against Yennefer's. "It is never wise to keep your parents waiting up at night."

"Are you alright?" Geralt smiled as he crouched next to them. "Are you hurt?"

"No, just damn near frozen. You'd never guess it, but the White Frost was a little frosty." She grinned at him and he reached over to ruffle her hair. "Ugh, don't. I'm not twelve anymore." She wiggled away from him with a laugh.

"No, but you are my sparrow still." He rose to full height and looked out at the horizon. His face grew serious and he turned back to them with a frown. "We are about to have company."

"Who?" Yen frowned.

"Emhyr's men. I'm sure your father is dying to know what happened to you."

"More like what is going to happen with the throne." Ciri snapped. "And that he not my father." Her chin rose defiantly. "He did not raise me. He did not teach me the skills or knowledge I posses. And I am damn tired of being a pawn in everyone else's games. I am tired of others trying to control my destiny." Her first hit the ground and she scowled.

"Welcome to the world of politicians." Yennefer grumbled. "I could teleport us away from here."

"He'd just come looking again. He'd hire someone else…and then he would send hunters after you two for betraying him. No…" Her eyes suddenly met Geralt's. "Go to him. Tell him I died. Tell him I went to stop the White Frost and never returned."

"You'd be sentencing yourself to a life of solitude. You'd have to lay low, cover your tracks. You'd never settle down in one spot…that is a hard life Ciri." Geralt's voice was one of experience rather than warning.

"Then I'll walk that path with pride. Teach me, Geralt. Teach me everything you know. Help me find my own destiny, one that I have chosen."

"Ciri, don't be rash-"

"You know we've discussed this before! Even Yen and I have talked about it, right?"

"We have." Yenenfer said softly. Her eyes met Geralt's and she brushed against his mind. "Trust her, Geralt. You haven't doubted her yet. Trust that she knows what she wants."

"This life Yen, I've lived it. I am living it. It is hard, it is lonely."

"And it is what she wants. To be free, to make her own decisions, to control her own fate. Does that sound so unlike you? I know what you are thinking- we could not stay with her even if she was in Emhyr's halls. It is time to let your sparrow fly, Geralt. Stop worrying and let her spread her wings."

"Were you not just fretting and threatening to blast Avallac'h off this tower?"

"We aren't talking about me." She grinned at him.

Ciri looked back and forth between them and knew they were having one of their silent conversations. As annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for the pair. When she had nothing, they had been there. When she needed them, they had came. She thought back to the woods, to the first time she met Geralt. And then to her lessons with Yennefer; the long nights spent studying, the endless books and hours of practice. Where would she have ended up without them? The thought made her shuddere.

"Ciri." Geralt turned to her. "Tell me what it is that you want then. Set your destiny in motion. Speak it into existence."

"Teach me to be a Witcher."