A/N: four months and two dozen other witcher fics later, i got round to more of these two ! literally just let little julian run loose here...


Ch.9. Blissful Blue


"You didn't tell me your town had more than one mage," Yennefer accuses Lord Ambrose as soon as they get back, recieving a nervous shuffling in response.

"Lying is bad," Julian adds, his voice oddly serious for such a small child.

(She loves him for it.)

Lord Ambrose frowns before shaking his head. "I didn't think it was relevant since one of them died two winters ago."

Yennefer takes a second to consider this, letting him think she's just surprised as she tries to work out whether he genuinely believes that or whether he's lying through his teeth. Julian answers her question for her, looking up and nodding his head ever so slightly.

A moment later, she nods. "I can accept that. I'll need to stay and investigate myself if I'm to make sense of this."

He nods even before she trails off. "I'll have a room ready within the hour. You're free to come and go as you please, just… just help us?"

"She will, she has magic!" Julian says proudly.

(She doesn't remember the last time anyone was so selflessly proud of her.)

"Of course," Lord Ambrose agrees easily, leaving them in his office as he goes to organise everything for their stay.

"Yenny?" Julian asks as soon as they're alone.

"Hm?"

"I don't like it here," he says, his voice small. It's the second time he's said exactly that and she's starting to think he's onto something that she isn't seeing.

(It's not often she feels like she's missing something.)

She picks him up, sliding her arms around him and waiting until he's settled properly around her waist before asking, "What don't you like?"

He shrugs, his arms looping around her neck. "Feels bad."

She doesn't understand exactly what that's meant to mean but she stops herself from saying so because she doesn't want to worry him. And instead of dwelling on why she's worrying about his feelings, she just nods. "Bad energy?"

"Bad energy," he agrees, relief evident in his voice.

(She's unreasonably glad to have been the cause of his relief.)

"We'll have to stay here for a few days, will you be okay with that?" She asks gently, almost surprised to realise she'd genuinely be willing to change their plans if he were to say no.

"Stay with you," he mumbles.

"Stay with me," she whispers back, once again filled with the desire to never let him leave her side, regardless of whether it's more for his sake or her own.

(It's the most innocent desire she's ever had.)

He ends up falling asleep in her arms and she's almost surprised that he weighs very little. Although she doesn't really know how heavy children are meant to be so maybe he's the norm and she's just not used to it.

"Oh, you're still here."

Yennefer turns to Lord Ambrose sharply, raising a questioning eyebrow, satisfied when he visibly steps back and clears his throat, chuckling awkwardly. "I thought you'd have left for business or…"

"My business is wherever I choose to be. Is the room ready?" She asks, not really bothering to fake a polite smile.

(It seems only Julian makes her genuinely smile nowadays.)

Lord Ambrose nods. "Of course."

The room isn't bad, it's just not the best. She carefully places Julian on the bed before making her away over to the window, assessing how much information she can get simply from watching the view - it's more than enough to form initial theories.

"Yenny?" Julian asks, his voice thick with sleepiness.

She turns back to him before she can really think about it, smiling. "Did you have a nice nap, little one?"

(A part of her loves that he looked to her as soon as he woke up.)

He nods, springing upright as his eyes widen. "A mattress! Did you bring your mattress here?"

She laughs, ruffling his hair. "No, Julian. Every bedroom has a mattress."

"Bedroom?" he echoes, frowning.

It takes her an embarrassingly long minute to figure out how to answer him. "Yes, bedroom. It's the room where you sleep and... keep your favourite things. It's… It's somewhere you go to be comfortable."

(She'd never really had one of her own but he doesn't need to know that.)

He nods at her as if she's telling him the secrets of the universe. "Bedroom. But here isn't where we keep our things."

"No, we're just borrowing this one while we're here," she explains, making a mental note to give him a proper house tour when they're done here.

"So all the things in here belong to someone else?" he asks, his voice oddly small, something like guilt in his tone.

She pulls him close, allowing herself a small smile when he wraps his arms around her, seeking her comfort. "We're helping this town so Lord Ambrose decided to offer us his spare ro- his spare bedroom while we're here. He's being polite."

"Even though you don't like his decorations?"

(The idea of him trying to remember everything she says makes her heart swell.)

"Yes, even though I think he could improve the appearance of his home. Why don't you, uh, take a look around?" She asks, hoping that's enough to distract him from his confusion.

"Can I touch things?" Julian asks, even though the curiosity laced in his tone suggests that he's about to do so regardless of what she says. By the time she nods, he's already made his way over to one of the shelves.

She watches him as he makes his way through the small objects on the shelf, nodding as diplomatically as possible every time he happily runs back over to show her what he's found, from a book to an apple to a hairbrush and anything else inbetween.

(She's never appreciated shelves so much.)

"Yenny, this one is like a river!" Julian says excitedly.

Yennefer frowns when she finds him holding a mirror. "That's a mirror, Julian."

"Mirror. The mirror is like a river!" he corrects, but that doesn't really help him prove his point because she can't think of how such different things can be alike.

Glancing between him and the mirror, she raises an eyebrow. "How is it like a mirror?"

He giggles. "Because I can see me in it! And-" he holds it up facing her so she's looking at her own reflection- "you can see you in it!"

(She can see a version of herself she barely recognises in it.)

After a moment, she makes a small show of gasping and raising a hand to cover her mouth in mock surprise. "I suppose you're right, little one, a mirror is like a river after all."

"Told you so!" he giggles again, returning to his exploration of the shelf. She lets him continue to have his fun because really, it suits her just as well to spend an afternoon watching the guards and visitors from the window before starting to search for the second mage.

When Julian finally flops into her lap with a yawn, the sun has started to set. "'m tired," he mumbles, curling around her.

(Her chaos automatically curls around him in return.)

"Rest, then," she whispers, running a hand through his soft hair.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" he asks, only really half awake. She really hates it when he asks that, only because she always wants to stab whoever's responsible for giving him such a fear and there's no way she can do anything of the kind.

Exhaling softly, she puts her other arm around him. "Of course. You're safe with me, Julian."

"Thank you," he replies quietly, his eyes closing before the words even finish leaving his mouth.

(He deserves better than to think something so effortless requires gratitude.)

"My pleasure," she says, and she means it.


idk if anyone reads witcher fanfic on here (i haven't crossposted so many fics and idk if i should) but if you are, hope you're doing well in these chaotic times :)


thanks for reading ! toss a review? xx