Chapter 203: She Disappears
As night fell, the two found a sheltered spot and lit a bonfire.
Lynn took out food and a water bottle from his enchanted leather pouch, sharing them with Syanna.
The surroundings were silent, save for the crackling of the burning bonfire.
Lynn took a large swig of water, washing down the somewhat coarse whole-wheat bread.
He could feel a gaze fixed on him from the side.
"What is it?"
He deliberately turned his head slowly, giving the little girl time to avoid eye contact.
"No, nothing..."
Lynn chuckled, watching the ducal lady lower her head, not daring to meet his gaze.
Despite her cooperative attitude throughout the past half-day, Lynn didn't believe for a second that she would genuinely and obediently follow him north.
She was different from Ciri.
Ciri had no other choice and came from a poor background.
But she was...
"Eat up and get some rest. We'll have to get up early tomorrow to travel."
With that, Lynn pulled a blanket from his enchanted leather pouch and tossed it over.
She murmured an "oh" and dutifully pulled the blanket over herself, lying down by the bonfire.
An hour later.
The small figure bundled in the blanket suddenly stirred.
Syanna cautiously peeked out from under the blanket.
She looked towards the Witcher sitting by the bonfire.
Lynn's eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady.
He looked as if he were fast asleep.
Syanna's eyes widened, staring unblinkingly at Lynn.
It wasn't until a long while passed that she slowly, carefully, extracted herself from the blanket.
She tiptoed to the Witcher's front.
Holding her breath, she stretched out a hand and waved it in front of the Witcher's eyes.
No reaction.
Lynn seemed to be sound asleep.
Syanna still dared not breathe a single sigh.
Her eyes remained fixed on the Witcher as she slowly retreated.
Until she reached the edge of the firelight...
The Witcher remained perfectly still, in the same position.
Syanna finally let out a long breath.
Then, like a rabbit, she turned and slipped into the darkness, disappearing.
At that moment, however, Lynn opened his eyes.
He looked in the direction Syanna had vanished.
He had known all along that Syanna wouldn't willingly follow him out of Toussaint.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, she was still a ducal lady. How could she possibly agree to wander the world with a Witcher, sword in hand?
But this was for the best.
Verbal lessons were never as effective as real-world experience.
Once she recognized the harshness of the world and realized that staying by his side was the safest option, then even if he told her to leave, she wouldn't
....
Under the dim night sky, Syanna ran for her life, panting.
She kept glancing back over her shoulder.
She knew very well that she was just a child.
She couldn't compare to an adult in terms of stamina or speed.
Let alone a Witcher.
If that Witcher roused from his meditation and found her gone, he would surely give chase.
Syanna had heard people say that Witchers' eyes were like cat eyes, allowing them to see in the dark just like cats.
Moreover, every Witcher was a master tracker.
He could easily follow her footprints.
If she were caught, she'd likely get a severe beating.
Such experiences were not unfamiliar to Syanna, a girl who had been burdened by the Black Sun curse since childhood.
But thankfully, her worries never materialized.
She estimated she had been running for about half an hour, and the Witcher still hadn't appeared.
This finally allowed Syanna's spirits to relax somewhat.
It even sparked a bold idea in her mind:
"Perhaps... perhaps that Witcher won't even notice I'm gone until morning."
Although Syanna didn't know what meditation was, and she had never seen anyone sleep while sitting upright...
Still, people always harbored a bit of hopeful thinking.
With this thought, Syanna's spirits relaxed even further.
She hadn't even considered that her escape plan would go so smoothly, succeeding on the first try.
"Next, move on to phase two of the escape plan:"
"First, find a populated area, then reveal my true identity to them, and have them send me back to Toussaint."
"Once there, I won't return to the Beauclair palace immediately. Instead, I'll go directly to Lady Fringilla and ask her to hide me."
This was a plan Syanna had conceived ever since she learned she wouldn't be taken by the Brotherhood of Sorcerers but would instead be entrusted to a Witcher's care.
Regarding the Black Sun curse she bore, Syanna had once believed herself to be a child of disaster, destined to bring about the world's end.
Until she and her sister were rescued from The Edge of Nightmare by Lynn and Fringilla, and were told they would have to live with a Witcher from then on...
Syanna developed a question.
If the Black Sun curse truly possessed world-ending power, was it really alright for her not to join the Brotherhood of Sorcerers?
Conversely, since she wasn't needed, did that mean the so-called Black Sun curse was just superstitious nonsense, like "seeing a comet causes a slight dip in stability"?
She had been uncertain until now.
It wasn't until she was truly taken in by the Witcher that her suspicions were confirmed.
This meant she truly wasn't a child of disaster; she was simply being sent away for the sake of domestic stability.
Therefore, while traveling with the Witcher, she devised a plan:
She had read knightly tales, knowing that the protagonists of such stories, often illegitimate children of kings, would be hidden by loyal old knights to prevent harm.
So, her plan was to go back to Fringilla, and have the sorceress hide her.
Once things blew over and turned a new page, she would find a way to reclaim her identity.
As for the Witcher?
He could go cool his heels somewhere else; who the hell wanted to be a Witcher!
And so, Syanna walked on and on across the dark grassland.
The surroundings were so silent it felt as if she were the only person left in the entire world.
Until, in her vision, a faint glimmer of light appeared.
This invigorated Syanna.
Firelight meant people.
She knew at least that much common sense.
"At this hour, anyone still out in the wilderness can only be travelers or merchants."
But her face slightly darkened.
"Though it could also be bandits... No choice, I have to risk it. I definitely can't get back to Toussaint by myself."
Syanna took a deep breath and walked towards the glimmering light.
....
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