Chapter 21: The First Days
POV: Adam
The forest stretched around them like a green cathedral built from ancient wood and desperate hope, its canopy filtering morning light into patterns that danced across ground still damp with dew and the memory of tears. Adam crouched beside the cold remains of their fire, watching Ciri sleep fitfully against a fallen log while her face cycled through expressions that spoke of nightmares playing behind closed eyelids.
Day one of the rest of our lives. If we're lucky enough to have lives.
She whimpered in her sleep, a sound that cut through him like a blade between ribs. Her body jerked with movements that suggested she was running from something in dreams that probably weren't dreams at all—just memories dressed up as night terrors.
Everyone she loved is dead. Everyone who defined her world. And I'm all she has left.
The weight of that responsibility settled onto his shoulders like armor made of lead and desperation. Thirteen years old—both of them thirteen years old—and suddenly he was the only thing standing between the most important person in this world and the forces that wanted to use her power for purposes that would destroy her soul.
Find food. Find water. Keep her alive. Keep us both alive.
Adam rose with careful movements that wouldn't wake her, his body protesting the abuse it had absorbed during Cintra's fall. The healing potion had closed the worst wounds, but exhaustion lived in his bones like a permanent resident that demanded payment for every action.
Rabbit tracks. Fresh ones.
The Air Sense technique had grown more sophisticated during weeks of practice, allowing him to read atmospheric disturbances like a hunter reading spoor. Small animals displaced air in predictable patterns, their movement creating signatures that trained perception could follow through forest that might otherwise hide them completely.
There. Twenty meters north. Sitting perfectly still.
The rabbit died without knowing danger had found it, Adam's Air Blade cutting through fur and flesh with surgical precision that left the animal intact for harvesting. Clean kill, minimal suffering, maximum utility.
Protein. Ciri needs protein to recover from what she's been through.
He cleaned the rabbit with efficiency born of necessity rather than experience, his knife work improving through repetition that he wouldn't have chosen but couldn't avoid. The meat would keep them fed for two days if rationed carefully.
Fire without smoke. Can't risk giving away our position.
Airbending made starting fires trivial—concentrated air pressure could create friction and heat without requiring flint or steel that might not be available. But the real trick was managing combustion to minimize visible smoke while maximizing heat output.
Small, hot fire using dry wood. Burns clean, gives off minimal signature.
The cooking process gave him time to think, which was both blessing and curse. Planning their route south toward Temeria where Geralt might be found. Calculating how long their stolen supplies would last. Trying not to think about the hollow expression in Ciri's eyes when she'd asked about her grandmother.
Movement. Human movement. Coming from the north.
Air Sense screamed warnings that made his blood turn cold, atmospheric disturbances that spoke of multiple people moving through forest with the deliberate pace of soldiers following orders. Adam extinguished the fire with focused air manipulation and moved to wake Ciri.
Patrol. Nilfgaardian patrol searching for survivors.
"Ciri," he whispered, his hand gentle on her shoulder. "We need to move. Now."
She came awake instantly, training and recent trauma combining to eliminate the confusion that usually accompanied waking. Her green eyes found his face, reading danger in his expression without requiring explanation.
Hide. Deep cover until they pass.
They melted into the underbrush like ghosts made of flesh and fear, Adam's expanded Air Sense tracking the patrol's movement while Ciri pressed against him with trust that felt like the most precious thing he'd ever been given.
Six soldiers. Professional spacing. They know what they're doing.
The Nilfgaardians moved through the forest with competence that spoke of experience hunting fugitives in hostile territory. Their leader paused near the abandoned campsite, studying signs that Adam prayed weren't clear enough to follow.
Please don't see us. Please don't find the trail.
Minutes stretched like hours while the patrol searched the area with methodical thoroughness. Adam felt Ciri's heart beating against his chest, her breathing carefully controlled despite fear that painted her face pale as moonlight.
Moving on. They're moving on. We're safe.
The soldiers disappeared into deeper forest, their presence fading until only birdsong remained to mark their passage. Adam and Ciri stayed hidden for another hour, neither willing to trust that danger had truly passed.
[System Mission Alert: "Evade Pursuit"]
[Objective: Avoid detection for 7 days]
[Reward: 150 XP, Stealth Training]
[Progress: 1/7 days completed]
A mission. Good. Structure helps. Goals help.
They ate the rabbit meat in silence, both of them processing the reality that their old lives were gone forever. No castle walls, no royal privilege, no safety nets except what they could create for themselves.
"Tell me about your family," Ciri said eventually, her voice carrying the forced casualness of someone trying to fill silence that felt too heavy to bear.
My family. The family that doesn't exist because I'm not from this world.
Adam shared the cover story he'd constructed during his first days in Cintra—merchant parents who'd died in a plague, leaving him with basic education and enough inheritance to survive until he could find work. Lies built on half-truths and delivered with enough genuine emotion to feel authentic.
She needs normal. Something that feels like the conversations we used to have.
"What about you?" he asked, though he knew the answer would hurt her.
"Everyone's dead," Ciri said simply, her voice carrying acceptance that felt too mature for someone her age. "Mother died when I was young. Grandmother and Eist... yesterday. Mousesack... yesterday."
Yesterday. The fall of Cintra was yesterday. It feels like years ago.
"I'm sorry," Adam said, meaning every syllable with desperate intensity.
"I know." Ciri leaned against him, seeking warmth and comfort that he was pathetically grateful to be able to provide. "At least I'm not alone."
Not alone. Never alone as long as I'm breathing.
Night came with temperature drops that spoke of autumn transitioning toward winter, their single blanket insufficient for two people trying to stay warm in open forest. Adam arranged their camp with paranoid attention to defensibility—clear sightlines, multiple escape routes, positioned so any approaching threat would have to expose itself.
I'll take first watch. She needs sleep more than I do.
Ciri settled against him with the easy trust of someone who'd learned that his presence meant safety in a world that had suddenly become much more dangerous. Her breathing deepened as exhaustion claimed her, trauma and physical stress demanding unconsciousness despite the nightmares that waited there.
She's depending on me completely. Her life, her safety, her future—all of it rests on my ability to keep us alive.
The weight of that responsibility should have been crushing, but instead it felt like purpose. For the first time since arriving in this world, Adam understood exactly why he was here and what he needed to do.
Protect her. Whatever it costs, protect her.
Stars wheeled overhead, cold and distant and beautiful in ways that reminded him how small they were in the scope of everything that was happening. Somewhere to the north, Cintra still burned. Somewhere to the south, safety might exist if they could reach it.
Day one complete. Six more days to avoid the patrols. Then we start looking for Geralt.
Small victories. In a world where kingdoms could fall in a single night, small victories were the only kind that mattered.
[Experience Gained: 25 XP (survival, hunting, evading patrol)]
[Level Progress: 11 (15% toward Level 12)]
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