[Chapter Size: 2300 Words.]
Third Person POV
Skellige.
...
...
Ciri's laughter echoed through the mouth they arrived at, while the girl cheerfully walked through the small streets of the city, leading something.
The city was still quite busy — ships docked at the port, sailors moving their cargo or fish to the decks, while other people checked the quantity and authenticity of the goods and food.
Others were already offering to buy, shouting prices and arguing right there, while the sounds of seagulls echoed through the place and their shadows passed over the port as they flew above it.
Meanwhile, the townspeople chatted among themselves as they strolled through the streets, passing by the city market, which was filled with people who came from outside, from the local farms, bringing fresh things from their lands to sell among the people — mainly farmers who brought what their farms produced in carts.
Ciri liked to bring Madara to the city often, which was a contrast to what they usually did together: fighting, solving problems — Ciri always said she liked to have moments like these too.
"So Triss is finally leaving?" Madara asked, still following a cheerful Ciri.
"Yes, she's leaving at the end of the afternoon. She said she'll have business in Aretuza, and also the king of Temeria is summoning her..." upon hearing that, Madara narrowed his eyes; Ciri understood what that look meant.
"I don't think she'll say anything about us. You trust her, don't you?" Ciri asked carefully. Triss was a dear friend, and although she already knew of Madara's caution, she wanted her husband to trust Triss as well.
"Yes, she's already proven that," he said at last. "But she will be questioned. As long as she doesn't speak of our greatest secret, there isn't much to hide." Madara shrugged. Their marriage and life in recent days were public knowledge.
Either way, they kept walking, entering the main street after leaving one of the alleys.
"The princess! I see you're walking with your husband once again! What a blessing to see you together on this day!" said a plump woman laughing as she saw Ciri holding Madara's hand.
"Yes, we're taking a walk!" Ciri replied cheerfully as people greeted them.
It had already become a common sight to see them walking through the city. The people of Skellige had been very welcoming and, at this point, all the islands already recognized their presence — not only because they had a marriage granted by King Bran and publicly announced as the future king and queen of Cintra, in addition to the help Madara provided in Undvik, the eastern island, but also because he sent clones to all the other islands, solving several problems.
Except for one in the north, where Geralt was a bit bored and asked to go hunting on the northern islands.
The reputation Madara had built for everyone there was enviable — not only as a powerful warrior who, even though he had failed Cintra, later destroyed and took revenge against the Nilfgaardian Empire — but also for helping the people of Skellige themselves.
Ciri had the reputation of being a princess and heir of Cintra, a friend of Skellige for many years, and having the brother of King Bran as the king consort of Cintra.
But Ciri had also been winning everyone over with her beauty, joy, and kindness, just as people often said after meeting her.
Moreover, her strength and speed with a sword made many people blink several times, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing before them when she fought — as she had been doing while fighting and hunting monsters alongside her husband.
Her nickname in some places and for some people was warrior princess.
Many said she was like Calanthe, but in truth, she was much deeper — and Ciri was far more powerful than her grandmother. There was no doubt about that fact. Even so, people said this to Ciri herself, who loved being compared to her grandmother, whom she had always admired in the past.
Expectations for them were high, especially after the wedding, as people asked about any sign of a baby coming — after all, they expected a great warrior to be born when he would have a mother and father like Ciri and Madara.
"Look who's here! The most famous couple in Skellige!" shouted a sailor with a crate on his shoulder as he saw them passing by. Ciri just smiled.
After passing the sailor, people were already looking at them and greeting them. They should have guards to prevent that, but they knew how to handle the situation very well, walking through the city until they entered an alley. Then, Madara grabbed Ciri and jumped up onto the rooftops, while a group of children arrived at the alley moments later looking for them.
"We have to start avoiding the main shops like this. The adults aren't even the problem, but now the children run after us," Madara muttered, while Ciri laughed in his arms.
"I guess we weren't even thinking about our last experiences in the city. Wow, this is getting a bit annoying now. All the islands know us. We won't be able to go out like normal people anymore," Ciri murmured, pouting.
"It's not like it wasn't something to be expected, right? Either way, let's avoid it," he said, quickly leaping from rooftop to rooftop until stopping at one of the city's taverns.
They landed behind the place, and Madara pulled two cloaks out of one of the scrolls, making him and Ciri put them on to hide their faces before entering.
The place was somewhat crowded, and they headed to a corner, sitting down as they waited until a woman — the tavern keeper's daughter — approached them.
"How can I help you?" she asked, looking curiously at the two hooded figures. Some people always did that, wanting to avoid being recognized for countless reasons, but the folks of Skellige always looked at them with a certain suspicious gaze.
"We'd like the pork knuckle of the day," Madara ordered, and the woman nodded.
"All right, one for each of you?" she asked.
"Yes," said Ciri enthusiastically. They always came there to eat pork knuckle — it was a very tasty meal served twice a week at that place. Ciri particularly loved it.
The woman went to the kitchen to take the order and then brought two mugs of dark beer for them.
Ciri made a face after taking a sip before putting it down.
"You seem to be changing your tastes," Madara said.
"I think so," Ciri murmured, though there was uncertainty in her voice. She had to agree. She used to like dark beer — at least, she used to.
"It would also be good for you to stop drinking something like that," Madara said.
"I know, I'll keep that in mind. But I can't deny I have some cravings," she said.
"And that's why we're here," he said, obviously referring to the pork knuckle — her favorite dish in the city, without a doubt.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. No more alcohol," she said, taking Madara's hand, and he nodded.
It took about twenty minutes while they talked about Geralt having taken Dandelion to hunt monsters in the north, since the bard had insisted — Zoltan had gone too. They had returned two days ago with many stories of Dandelion being rescued.
Madara spoke a little about the conversation he had with Yennefer. Ciri and Triss had enjoyed spending some time together, and Yennefer always joined them, while Madara was training when he wasn't spoiling his pregnant wife like he was now.
Madara also mentioned that he went to see the dwarf blacksmith from Cintra, who had settled in the south of the island after they arrived. Although the dwarf didn't particularly enjoy Madara's visits, he still provided services for him, since the shinobi needed to replenish some quantities of kunai, shuriken, and throwing stars.
When the meal was brought, Madara and Ciri ate while still chatting, as a glass of orange juice was brought for Ciri.
"Madara, I was thinking... we could explore the sea. Mousesack showed me a lost map in his laboratory," she said suddenly.
"He showed you, or did you just take it?" Madara asked, raising an eyebrow while Ciri gave a shy smile.
"Well... he made that potion that Yennefer and Triss had recommended for me to take, to avoid some problems with our child. And I was bored, so I looked for something to do and found the map in his library while he was making the potion. But Grandpa didn't get furious — he just acted normally and talked about a treasure, about a powerful mage who had his ship shattered. Can we check it out?!" she said excitedly, eating a piece of her meal with delight.
"Of course," Madara nodded. They were already used to having that kind of adventure.
They finished their meal and left the tavern still wearing the cloaks, to enjoy the city without drawing as much attention as they had at the beginning. It was already becoming quite unbearable — to the point that they could hardly walk without being noticed.
"You two... I feel something," someone suddenly said. Madara and Ciri turned to look at an old woman with white, disheveled hair sitting in a corner of the street, with a pot of coins in front of her.
"What do you think she's going to say about us this time?" Ciri murmured, laughing.
She was an old acquaintance — a woman called a witch by the people, who used to make predictions. The townsfolk even asked for her prophecies and advice. Every time Ciri and Madara passed by her, the woman said something, but it was never taken seriously — it was always something rather comical, in fact.
"The seed that grows in the girl may make you unable to bear her... and the demon will take advantage of that. You will need to be careful. You must not fall before the tongue of that demon," she said, pointing at them, while people around looked horrified and outraged by what they heard.
"Well... that was strange," Madara murmured, trying to hide his discomfort, while Ciri also lost her smile completely. The woman usually made predictions about the weather or trivial things, like reminding them of something they might have forgotten — things that generally didn't happen — but never anything as macabre as those words. What was also disturbing was the fact that she knew Ciri was pregnant.
That ended up dampening the couple's mood a little, while Ciri bought some fruit at the market.
"Let's go to the sea. It'll be more fun than staying here," Madara said at one point, while Ciri bit into an apple and nodded.
They left the city and went to a part of the island, heading toward the water.
"Madara... do you think she might have said something serious?" Ciri asked, her gaze a bit cautious.
"I don't know... I'd rather she didn't. But she wasn't wrong about some things," Madara said finally, while they were over the sea water, moving toward the spot. Madara carried Ciri on his back, walking on the water by channeling chakra through his feet.
"I'm scared, Madara. She said the seed will bring trouble... Will our child have some problem? What did she mean by demon?" Ciri almost sounded hysterical.
"We'll find out soon," Madara simply replied. He knew as little as she did, but there was no doubt that the word "demon" made him think of a certain person — or being — who had their eyes on them.
At the same time, the concern made him wonder whether Mousesack might not have been so sure that Ciri would be fine with a baby growing inside her womb infused with chakra. Perhaps that could harm her.
Either way, he pushed that thought aside, opening the map Ciri had taken from Mousesack.
"Well, let's forget all that nonsense. We'll get through this together, right?" Ciri pulled herself together and said after a while.
"Of course," Madara replied.
"Then let's finish this, find the treasure, and go back to the castle. Our child must be waiting for us — he gets quite anxious when we're not there," Ciri said, laughing and trying to lighten the mood, referring to the unicorn's foal she called their "son." Madara didn't share the same attachment to the animal, but he let his wife believe it.
Either way, they dove a moment later. Ciri cast a bubble spell, as she had learned from Madara himself, imitating the same jutsu he was using at that moment, shaping the chakra to create air and forming a bubble around her nose and lips.
Then, they moved through the sea until they found the broken ship a moment later. Half of the ship had been shattered, and it was clear that magic had been involved, since the seafloor was also affected — there was no longer any sign of the other half of the vessel.
Searching the area, Madara moved much faster than Ciri, but she could still move efficiently using magic.
Upon entering the sunken ship, Madara found some piles of gold. However, what truly caught his attention was a fragment of a stone with carvings — and upon seeing it, he immediately remembered what that ship was, recalling the story.
It was the very ship Yennefer and Geralt had once searched for, in pursuit of the djinn, to break the bond they had shared for years — a bond created by a wish. Madara was about to tell Ciri this and explain that it was quite possible the ship had been dragged into the middle of a frozen mountain when he turned and saw Ciri struggling.
His eyes widened as he noticed her clutching her belly, feeling a sharp pain.
That made him forget completely about the stone, the ship, and everything else before he quickly rushed to the surface.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!
I hope each chapter has provided incredible moments. If you like my work and would like to support the continuation of this fanfic, consider becoming a patron with plans starting at $2!. As a token of gratitude, I offer access to more than 210 extra chapters with 7 active fanfics at the same time, along with other exclusive benefits on my profile, such as images and significant decisions for the stories.
Even if you are not a patron, I am making chapters available a few hours earlier here, so become a free member on the platform!
🌟 RaccoonLeague | Patreon🌟
Visit our Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/RaccoonLeague
Extra Content Already Available:
🏴☠️ One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 30 extra chapters!
🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!
🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 30 extra chapters!
⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 30 extra chapters!
Except for One Piece with daily chapters and DragonBorn once a week, all fanfics are updated 3 times a week, there's just a pause in updating in the week, only to create drafts for the week's chapters.
In addition to the extra chapters, daily chapters are posted and 25 chapters per week!
Your support is very important and makes all the difference in keeping these stories alive.
Thank you very much for being part of this journey! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and that it brings even more joy to your life!
Visit our Patreon for more!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆