Quick announcement. First, apologies for the wait. I'm about to finish my bachelors but my classes have been kicking my ass. Second, because of the virus I have a lot more time on my hands so for the next few weeks I will be updating this story once a week. I my even do this till the story is finished. We'll see. Anyway, hope you enjoy
Kaer Morhen
"Lady Yennefer. You look… well rested."
Harry tried to say something nice before he took in her appearance as she came down the stairs from her and Geralt's room. Unfortunately, he realized she was clearly wearing a robe without anything under it, her hair looked like a bird's nest, and she smelt very… Let's just say she had a particular aroma. She seemed to take some form of amusement from his sudden discomfort.
"Something wrong, your highness?" She asked innocently. He frowned even more as he temporarily avoided eye contact with the sorceresses. She knew he hated it when she called him that. It was like hearing your aunt calling you 'Sir'
"Nope, no problem whatsoever… Except for the name thing. Please stop calling me with a title unless we're in a formal occasion with people I have to intimidate." Harry said quickly.
"You're a King." She pointed out.
"I'm also a friend of your daughters. Mother's aren't supposed to be respectful to the boys that their daughters are friends with. It's unnatural, like watching a snake befriend a mouse it's supposed to eat." Harry had to keep himself from shivering at the imagery.
"I admit to not knowing everything that… conventional mothers do, but isn't that type of behavior reserved for boys that are trying to BED their daughters?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry closed his eyes and tilted his head in thought.
"This is one of those trick questions where no matter what I say it's wrong right? Man, I haven't had to deal with those in like a century." Harry said as he reminisced back to his first serious relationship. He frowned when he realized that it had been so long since he had even thought of Gabriella. He briefly wondered what happened to her before bringing himself back to the present.
"It is. Yet, I would argue it is still a valid question. Answering it may even get me to permanently stop using your title."
"Fine. I am not trying to bed your daughter!"
"Oh, is that so? How strange, considering Ciri is quite a beautiful woman as well as being descended from royalty. There's also the fact that she is insanely powerful. Most rulers would sell their arm or legs to have her yet you're… not interested?" Yennefer asked while putting her hands on her hips in a disbelieving fashion.
"I… am gay?"
"Really? Is that the best you can do?"
"… Yes."
"Strange. Ciri told me she kissed you several days ago and that you stood there frozen like some sort stunned baboon."
"Ahhh- Of course she did… Wait, there are baboons in this world? Where?"
"Stop dancing around the subject."
"I am uncomfortable with said subject so I will not." Harry shot back immediately. At this Yennefer actually smiled genuinely.
"Fine. It's not like I care, Ciri is grown and can make her own choices, even if they are seemingly skewed to a man at least fifteen times her age."
"One, how old do you think I am? Two… Did Ciri say something about me? Wait, what am I asking? Stop distracting me. I wanted to ask you something."
"Fine, we can move on. What did you wish to know?
"Oh, wait, you just used this discussion to distract me from the fact that you obviously just got done having sex with Geralt at… seven in the morning." Harry realized as he squinted at her.
"My, you are intelligent. I was so sure you would be too distracted to notice." She smirked.
"Now that I've said it out loud, I really wished I hadn't noticed. Anyway, how is reaching out to the Lodge of Sorceresses. Have any responded back."
"Well, Phillipa hasn't responded. Sheala said she would come if you ordered her too. I got in touch with Keira last night and she seems to be stuck in Velen. She seemed interested, but she wished to talk to you first."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Well, knowing her, I assume she wants to get something out of it."
"What do you assume she will ask for?"
"Well. She's in Velen and she's not in the good graces with Emhyr and she definitely isn't in Radovid's. If I know her, she most likely wants to get in your good graces to return to the high life."
"That's it? She could have just come to my Empire and made herself useful. I have literal laws making sure magic users are paid justly for their services." Harry replied.
"She's a member of the Lodge, that won't be enough. She will most likely ask to be made an advisor, more than likely yours."
"No offense, but… why would I need a sorceress of the Lodge or any for that matter to be my advisor? I am clearly intelligent enough to manage myself politically."
"I am just telling you what she will most likely want in return. You can decide how you want to deal with her."
"Fair, anyone else?"
"Ida Emean straight out denied our request… If you wish I could reach out to Emhyr and have him convince her."
"Not necessary. Ida Emean isn't necessary and I have no wish to force any to aid us… Except Phillipa because I do not like her and she needs to prove her level of trustworthiness so I can be convinced not to kill her."
"Wow, you really don't like her."
"No, I mean, obviously I can deal with selfish schemers, but even I have limits. I'm only a man!" Harry said with frustration.
"I suppose I can't argue with that. Anyway, Fringilla is imprisoned currently by Emhyr."
"Unsurprising. Well, I won't ask for her, but he may send her anyway. I did say he could and I am expecting a list from him any day now to tell me who he is sending. He may send her." Harry pointed out with a shrug.
"I see. Well the only other person unaccounted for is Margarita and she is imprisoned by Radovid in Novigrad." She told him.
"Wait, what about Francesca?"
"Well… she's royalty."
"That's fair. Though she does owe me."
"Francesca Findabair? The Queen of Elves owes you a favor? Do you mind if I ask how?" She asked.
"I didn't kill her annoying spy, she sent into my Kingdom and purposely allowed him to stay in my Kingdom long enough to gather some information to send back to her."
"I see… And she has said that she would honor that favor?" Yennefer asked him. Harry shrugged.
"She can accept the fact that she owes me a favor or she cannot. As long as she is ready to accept the consequences for doing either." Harry shot back.
"Right. I forgot, you're one of the most frightening people that currently exists."
"I mean… Not how I would describe myself but fair. Either way, let's get passed that and go back to Margarita. If she were free would she help us?" Harry asked.
"Margarita is certainly one of the more sensible members of the Lodge. She can most likely be convinced to help if we aid her in escaping. Although we will need your help with that."
"Of course, what would you need, of me."
"You will need to be able to retrieve her as well as heal her as quickly as possible."
"No problem. I doubt any of her wounds are from curses so that means I can stuff her with a few powerful potions to heal her in a few days. At least physically. She may need help mentally. Damn, if only my Psychological Health division was more trained."
"Psychological Health?"
"Health that concerns one's mental state. Things like anxiety, depression, etc. It was a much more studied field in my world and I had several books on the subject from beginner level to doctorate level."
"Doctorate?"
"It's the highest level of education on a subject. The equivalent is that of a master in a subject in this world. Actually, more so considering the time of education on the subject is longer."
"I see. Well, it sounds interesting. Perhaps I should study it at some point."
"You'll love it, I am sure. It's often used to learn to pick up subtle cues to discover personality points that can be used to reveal things about a person. You'd probably enjoy using it." Harry said with a smile.
"Noted. Well, Margarita is at the prison of the Church of the Eternal Fire at Novigrad. Do you have a plan to get in?"
"I figured I would just blow my way in and kill anyone who tries to stop me."
"Good plan. Well, is there anything else I can help you with?" She asked.
"No, that's all. I will go retrieve her later today. Thanks for the help… and maybe take a bath. You ARE currently in a castle full of people with extra sensitive senses of smell." Harry tried to suggest.
"Why would I get clean when Geralt and I are still not done?"
"Okay and that's the end of this conversation. Goodbye, enjoy the rest of your day. I will be back tonight with your fellow sorceresses." Harry said as he quickly walked away. Ciri had mentioned Yennefer could be blunt and sometimes gross with her total lack of shame, but this was the first time he had experienced it.
Several Hours Later
"What's this I hear about you breaking into the Temple Isle prison?"
Harry turned around and saw Ciri standing behind him looking down at the various bottles he was looking through.
"Yeah, about that. You talk to Yennefer about a lot more things than I thought you did."
"To be fair… You did look very funny after I kissed you."
"Because I wasn't expecting it! And now your mom knows about my most embarrassing moment in a century and a half. "
"THAT'S your most embarrassing moment?"
"Obviously! What do you think I've been doing since I got here? I've been a super badass. Super badasses don't have embarrassing moments. And they certainly don't have those moments talked about to other people."
"Oh, I am sorry. Did I hurt the ittle Super Badasses wittle feelings?" She asked in a baby voice as she mocked him.
"No respect from today's youth…"
"Whatever old man. So, what are you doing? Yennefer said you were planning to go on a prison heist tonight. Why are you looking at these bottles?"
"Well Margarita is most likely going to be pretty injured when I find her so I am picking out some potions I can give to her when I find her. Things to aid with pain and to help her sleep. That sort of thing."
"You're not going to give her anything to heal?"
"Yes, but not until we bring her back. She might be jostled a bit through apparition and that might interfere with an active healing process. I'll give her something for her pain and then something to knock her out to ease the discomfort of apparition. When I bring her back here, then I will get started on healing her.
"I have to be honest, I never thought you would get into healing, you seemed much more like a man of action back in the day."
"And I was, but at a certain point, I got sick of learning new ways of hurting or killing people and decided to learn how to heal them instead. It was actually much more interesting and I genuinely enjoyed the research I got to do while I became learned in the art of healing."
"I suppose you got to the point where you needed a change of pace. After you killed the Dark lord guy, did you still end up having to kill a lot of people?"
"Yeah, I would say so. Britain was one of the most bigoted countries in Europe, but it was certainly not the only one with issues that related to power hungry fools. Many wished to take up the Dark Lord's calling and I was often called to put them down."
"So, you just spent the time researching healing and killing people. What happened to your friends?"
"I stayed friends with them. I also made some more. You never knew her but there was a girl I met later named Daphne. She became one of my most loyal followers in the war against the Dark Lord as well as the things that happened later. We became close and she even named me the godfather of her children."
"Nice… So, what about you, you never settled down with anyone?"
Harry stilled at that. He looked back at her for a moment and eyed her. She was looking down at him as nonchalantly as she could pull off, but she wasn't making eye contact which certainly set off some warning bells that he needed to be careful with what he said.
"I… tried. You remember Fleur? Well, she had this younger sister. Later, when were both adults, I entered a relationship with her. She was… nice, lovely, and devoted. She never strayed and she was always supportive. She was a good woman and we were in a serious relationship for several years, but… I eventually had to call it off. I couldn't give her what she wanted and while I genuinely enjoyed her company, I just couldn't connect with her on a level the same way she did with me. I decided I could no longer lead her on and called it off. She understood and I think that made it hurt more when I did so. Before I left my world, I wrote her a private letter to say goodbye, I figured I owed her that much." Harry finished softly as he reminisced.
His relationship seemed almost like a lifetime ago and yet he could still feel an ache inside himself for what he had done to Gabriella. He truly wished he could give her what she wanted and what she truly deserved and it hurt that not only could he not, but that he also had to hurt her because of it.
"Oh… I am sorry. It must've been hard… for you and her."
"It was at the time. Though it has been decades since then and I, truthfully, rarely think about it these days. Gabriella was a wonderful person and I am sure she wound out finding someone capable of giving her everything she deserved."
"And what about you?"
"What about me?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. Ciri was now staring directly at him.
"What about your happily ever after?" She asked. He thought for a moment before smiling.
"I already had mine. Now it's time I make sure you have yours, right?" He asked in a teasing manner.
"Yeah… right." She said not sounding completely convinced.
"Hey, enough with the gloom. I've got a sorceress to save. If you're looking for something to do, you could always set up somewhere for her to rest once, she arrives."
"Ooorrr…. I could come with you to help rescue her." She suggested back to her normal more playful tone of voice.
"Really? Why? You going stir crazy or something?"
"That, and I have never gone into actual combat with you. I want to see how you fight." She said.
"You know I just throw spells everywhere for the most part right."
"And I cut people up with my sword. See? We cover each other's weaknesses." She pointed out to him.
"Well, I suppose you're right about that. Alright, sure. I guess you can come with me. Geralt or Yennefer aren't going to lecture me about it later, though right?"
"Probably. But you do know that technically you're the ruler of Kaedwen which means Kaer Morhen is technically within your kingdom."
"That can be argued as technically the borders of Kaedwen stop at the blue mountains and Kaer Morhen is within the Blue Mountains."
"Henselt went into the Blue Mountains all the time!"
"The Blue Mountains aren't owned by any one kingdom which means they are technically open for any to go into. As long as he didn't claim ownership and despite my personal disliking of the man, he technically did nothing wrong in that." Harry explained.
"Whatever, the point is don't worry about Geralt and Yennefer. I am an adult and can make my own decisions."
"Fine. You can come."
"Great! When do we leave?"
"Just as soon as I pack some of these potions. You should go get your weapon ready and oiled up. You're probably going to need it." Harry told her.
"Alright. Don't leave without me." She yelled before running off to prepare.
Harry watched her go before sighing. He picked the potions he wanted and put them in a small pouch on his side with size expansion charms on it to give it more room and several cushioning charms to make sure nothing inside of it broke. Once packed he grabbed his Basilisk-skin jacket that he used as a form of armor for the most part when he didn't have to worry about looking like a King. He then walked over and waited in the main hall for Ciri to arrive. It didn't take long as she arrived in her normal white blouse and brown leather bottoms. The only noticeable difference was the hood she was now wearing.
"You know we're not really going for subtly right?" He asked her.
"Obviously, but I wasn't sure how close you were going to bring us to the Isle and it's going to be night time so I didn't want to stand out. Especially since I was there quite recently and caused a ruckus."
"You have literal white hair."
"Which is why I am wearing this hood." She shot back smugly. He rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Are you ready?"
"Always."
"Well grab on and hold on tight." He told her as he held out his arm. She didn't hesitate as she grabbed on to him.
"Take a deep breath." Harry said. As soon as he watched her intake, he immediately pictured where he wanted to go and felt the familiar pull of apparition activating. He felt the squeeze he was so familiar with and suddenly a weightlessness. Then it seemed as if reality snapped back into focus as they suddenly landed heavily on their feet in a different place than they started.
"That was worse than I remember." Ciri said as she leaned on a nearby wall for a moment as she tried to catch her breath.
"Well, you haven't done it in a while. At least not while awake. It was bound to hit you harder. At least you didn't throw up this time." Harry teased.
"I didn't throw up! I just had something in my throat and had to spit it out!" She groused back at him, referencing the first time she had apparated when she had first come to his world.
"Yeah the thing in your mouth was throw up which you then spit out." Harry laughed at her.
"Whatever. Let's just get going. Where are we?" She asked as she looked out the alley, they were currently in.
"In an alley on the bridge leading to Temple Isle." Harry said to her. She nodded and looked around at the entrance for a moment.
"It looks like there are still people milling about. Should we be worried about that?"
"No. Like I said, we aren't planning to be subtle. We can do this calmly as long as we can get away with it, but let's not worry about that too much. We are going to go loud at some point and it doesn't really matter when they know we are here." Harry told her as they walked out of the alley together and started walking towards the cutoff island.
"The city looks... Tense." She pointed out as she looked around. Harry frowned as he noticed what she was talking about. People seemed to be glancing around even more than usual. Even further than that, there was not a lot of Witch Hunters out. In fact, he couldn't see any.
"What do you think happened?" She asked as they kept moving.
"Wondering what happened to all the hunters?" A voice asked. They both turned swiftly and saw an unscrupulous man looking at them with a yellow smile. Harry frowned, but did not sense anything overtly dangerous about the man.
"That depends. Is it going to cost us?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, come now good sir. Can't spare a few coppers to a man in need?"
"Not without seeing the value of your information first. So, if you want to get paid your info better be informative indeed."
"Hmph, fine then. Not like it ain't common knowledge at this point anyway. Couple weeks ago, the Hunters got their shit kicked in by some mage who came to town. He burned all sorts of their outpost and even damaged the church of the Eternal Fire. He also helped most of the mages escape outta Novigrad from what I heard. Hasn't been seen since. Ever since, though, Witch Hunters have been called to protect the church and Isle at night to protect the prisoners and the priest." The man said. Harry felt his mind spark as he remembered the damage he had caused here recently. He reached into his pouch and pulled out several orens.
"Here. Don't spend it all in one place." Harry said as he eyed the man. He almost wished he hadn't because the man smiled again revealing his uncared-for teeth.
"Oh, thank you good sir, kind sir. May the Eternal Fire bless you." He said. As he bowed and scraped in front of Harry.
"I'd rather it doesn't." Harry muttered as he turned away and started walking once more. Ciri was quick to follow.
"Know anything about what he was talking about?" She asked.
"Yep. He's talking about when I was here several weeks ago and laid waste to Witch Hunters and their resources galore." Harry told her. She looked at him in a way that suggested it would be a good idea if he explained himself a little more.
"We were initially here looking for you and when we didn't find you, I stayed here and helped Triss with her mage problem which involved me, causing a lot of destruction to the Witch Hunters and the Eternal Fire church." Harry explained.
"And you forgot about that before we came here?"
"No. I just didn't know they were still freaking out about it. I mean it's been weeks and I haven't been back once. Although I guess I should stop in and find Phillipa. Don't want her causing too much trouble out of my line of sight." Harry mused to himself as they continued and left the bridge and reached the stairs that led up to the church and prison entrance.
"You went to war with the city and didn't think it would have any lasting consequences?" She asked rhetorically.
"Oh, come now… It's Novigrad. The people here are used to the irregular." Harry pointed out. Ciri sighed.
"Yes, but there is obviously a limit. For example, killing a bunch of Witch Hunters and priests will cause you to reach such a limit rather quickly."
"Eh. I'm not worried about it." Harry said as he kept walking up the stairs and spoke as if he didn't have a care in the world. Ciri giggled a little at that before going silent.
As they reached the top of the stairway, they saw the gate into the main courtyard was closed and under guard by two witch hunters. Harry looked over at Ciri and tilted his head at them as if he were asking 'Do you want to take this one or should I?' She gave him a nod which he took to mean, 'I'll take care of it.'
"Evening gents," Harry began as they approached them. "Don't suppose you'd allow us to take a quick peek inside?"
"Piss off before we send you back down the hard way." One of the Hunters said back with some steel in his voice to show he meant it. Harry shook his head in exasperation.
"Well, that's a shame."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ciri had her sword drawn and executed a smooth and clearly well practiced spin with her sword extended out. The built-up momentum easily cleaved through both of the men's neck before they could even squeak in surprise. Both bodies dropped and Harry immediately cast a powerful banishing charm on them and launched their bodies off the nearby edge of the isle and down below into the sea.
"Nice move. I could never pull off the effortlessness you and Geralt seemed to have mastered with such movements." Harry told her as he moved over to the door and cast a simple unlocking charm.
"Well, it took years to master so I'd hope so." She said back lightly as she wiped the blood off her blade. Harry pushed the now unlocked door open as she did so before stepping through.
"I bet. I did practice after you left and became decent with the weapon, but I doubt I will ever be a master. A sword feels almost clumsy in my hands. I usually have to rely on my overwhelming strength and speed to defeat my enemies." Harry told her as he looked around and took in the defenses. There were several guards patrolling around the area, though none had noticed them yet.
"At least you made yourself at least somewhat proficient. Never know when a skill can come in handy." She said back casually as she too looked around. "What are you thinking? Should we just start cutting people down?"
"Hmm. No, we probably don't have to deal with these men in direct combat. I'll just conjure some friends for them to play with." Harry said as he waved his hand in a slow sweeping motion in front of him with his eyes closed in concentration. Several small lights made of magic fell from his hand in the motion he had made and seemed to sink into the earth.
"Should I take a step back?" Ciri asked.
"No need." Harry said as he didn't break his stare with the part of the floor where his spell had just sunk into. It only took another before the ground shift and objects started to break through the stone block pathway and emerge from the floor. They quickly took form until they looked like a strange cross between a wolf and a bear made from a weird mix of dirt, roots, and stones found in the earth.
"They're… big." Ciri said. Harry nodded at that.
"Big, vicious, and immune to pain. They are quite the adversaries. And, how unfortunate, it doesn't look any of these Witch Hunters have silver swords." Harry said as he watched his creations go bounding off.
"Well, while they are dealing with those out here, shall we continue?" Harry asked her with an over the top wave gesturing towards the direction they need to go. She simply rolled her eyes, but did indeed start to walk again.
"Which door?" Ciri asked.
"The third one imbedded into the outer walls." Harry pointed out. As soon as he told her, he heard yelling and screaming coming from another direction, much closer to the main church entrance. Harry ignored it and kept walking. Ciri did the same as she didn't even look in the direction of all the noise.
"This one right here?" She asked nonchalantly.
"That's the one. Will you do the honors this time?" He asked her politely.
"Gladly." She smirked before lunging forward and kicking the door in. Inside there was a stairway to the left where several men were running up, most likely trying to come up and respond to the noise they heard in the courtyard. Ciri once more drew her sword and in a blue flash, disappeared and reappeared directly in front of the first man. She stabbed him in his chest and pushed forward to enter a roll further down the stairs towards the next man who she swiped her sword at and left a deep gash diagonally through his entire torso which killed him before he could properly respond.
"Impressive. Let's continue." Harry said as he walked over the dead bodies that were now on the stairs and kept pushing deeper into the prison. The went down quite deep before they reached the bottom floor.
"Hmm."
"What?"
"I can sense the life force of the prisoners, there are several and they are all weak. I can also sense the guards. There are not nearly as many as I thought…" Harry said.
"Didn't you just get done telling me how you basically ran a one-man war against these guys. I assumed you killed a lot. How many would you normally expect to be down here after that?"
"… Good point, let us continue." Harry said as he opened a door that led to where the cells were most likely kept.
"Hey, who the fuck are y-…"
The guard who had seen them as they entered suddenly found himself cut in half as a spell collided with him at waist level. As he fell, another Hunter entered the room from a side room and saw his friend fall into two parts. His face morphed into one of panic as he immediately tried to draw his sword to retaliate only to find another to find a sword suddenly burst through his chest from behind. Harry's eyes widened. He hadn't even seen here disappear this time, which was impressive considering the telltale blue flash that accompanied her every time she did it. Ciri then pulled the blade out and the man fell to the floor.
"Man, that always looks so cool… Except for the people you're cutting up. Must be terribly confusing." Harry said.
"Cool to look at? It's cool to do it! Seeing the look of surprise on some cocky prick when I stick it in them is so satisfying." She said as she smiled only looking slightly demented due to the blood specks currently littered across her face.
"Right… Remind me not to piss you off."
"Oh, I am sure you're smart enough to remember on your own." She said back with her smile only growing.
"Hahaha, what a scary thing to say." Harry responded and he could almost feel a sweat drop starting to form on his brow as he tried to cover the fear, he was starting to feel setting in.
"We still have a job to finish, enough flirting." She said to him.
"That's what you consider flirting?" He muttered to himself as she disappeared into the next room only to soon be followed by terrified screaming. "Was that a man?"
Harry moved back into action and followed her into the next room. As soon as he entered the room, he immediately had to duck as a body came flying in his direction and through the door he entered through. He looked back and saw the man was still alive evident by his groaning yet he was most likely going to die based on the blood he was losing rather quickly.
"Geez. You aren't feeling very merciful tonight, are you?" Harry asked as he turned to see Ciri sheathing her blade with several other Witch Hunter's around her cut up on the floor.
"Not for them, I don't. I mean, look at this. Look at what they did to these people. And these conditions they are in. There are feces on the floor next to them. They don't even give them a bucket. It's deplorable." She snarled. Harry held up his hands in the universal motion of surrender.
"I am not disagreeing. Not like I have much room to talk anyway."
"… Ci-Ciri? Is… is that you?"
Both Harry and Ciri paused their speech and looked over in the direction of the weak voice. It had come from a cell in the room. This particular cell was situated near the center of the room and was clearly meant for a more "important" type of prisoner. Harry couldn't see whoever spoke well enough so he moved in closer and peered into the darkness. He lifted his hand and cast a simple Lumos and had it hover in the air near him to illuminate the room.
The woman on the ground was beautiful. Well, she would have been had she not been literally covered in injuries from head to toe. She wore a torn green dress that may have been considered both beautiful and eye-catching with the way it highlighted several of the wearer's features. It would have looked nicer if the features it was showing weren't rail thin and looked like they had been starved for months. The hair on the person was blonde though it was racked in dirt, frizzled, and went in several unnatural directions. Harry felt an unspeakable rage fill him as he realized that the woman in front of him was the person they had come here for.
Harry knew that she wouldn't be in any condition that could be considered 'good' but knowing that logically and seeing it with his own two eyes were different. There was also the matter that Margarita was one of the sorceresses of the Lodge he liked the most. He had never had any interaction with her, but he liked what he knew. She had stayed out of politics, not liking them and had chosen instead to be a teacher. She was known to care deeply for those under her care. If he was forced to choose any from the Lodge to be his advisor, it would be her.
"Margarita? Oh my god! What have they done to you?" Ciri gasped as she rushed over to the cage to look at the woman.
"Ciri… What are you doing here?... If they find you…. They will kill you." Margarita said continuously pausing as if it hurt just to speak.
"Stop talking." Harry ordered as he went to the cage door and wordlessly cast a spell that opened it. He entered the room and immediately went down to his knees next to her.
"Who are… you?" She asked.
"I said stop talking. You have several severely fractured bones, including several of your ribs. Ciri, go check on the other prisoners. Release them if they are well enough." Harry ordered. He did not know it at the time, but he had slipped into his Kingly voice at the time and a chill had seemingly appeared around him to show the seriousness of his words.
"Right. Just make sure to help her." Ciri said, looking concerned before moving away.
"Of course." Harry said as he cast several diagnostic spells on the woman. He frowned at what he saw.
"Forty percent of the bones in your body are broken. Of that forty, thirty percent are severe breaks. Here, drink this. It will help with your pain." Harry said as he pulled out a pain-relieving potion. He watched her slowly look at it with squinted eyes, not with suspicion, but in a way that suggested she could not see particularly well.
"How is your eyesight?" Harry asked.
"It's… been better." She said, flinching as she downed the potion before almost immediately relaxing.
"That's better." She said in relief, finally able to complete a sentence without a pain filled pause.
"Don't start moving. The potion only helped with the pain, the injuries are still there, you just can't feel them nearly as much. Nearly eighty percent of the pain receptors in your body have been suppressed. This will last for hours." Harry explained as he continued looking at her. He frowned when he realized her condition was worse than he expected. Apparition in such a state would be very risky. He would need to heal her, at least partially right here. Unfortunately, most of her injuries were… not in places shown in public.
"Margarita, my method of teleportation is not as smooth as portals. If I take you now it may injure you further, possibly internally. I wish for you to know I am a trained healing professional and am asking for your consent to heal some of the wounds on your torso. I may need to place my hands under your dress. Are you alright with this? Please only answer with short responses as I do not want to further aggravate your wounds." He asked her in a no-nonsense tone.
"… Yes." She answered, though she sounded hesitant. Harry nodded before laying his hands over her. For some of the lesser wounds, he could heal them with no physical contact as they were simpler and simply needed to be formed back together. The deeper and internal wounds would require a physical component as he would basically have to do something almost similar to a magical echolocation on her body to understand how to best heal it.
Luckily, he was able to heal many of the wounds he was concerned about to a manageable level to the point where apparition would hopefully not be too terrible. Unfortunately, there was a particular wound his diagnostic charm had brought up that would require touch.
"The last wound I need to heal will require touch as I mentioned early. A shard of bone is very deeply pressed into one of your lungs. If I jostle you too much it may puncture it and you will choke to death. I can't fully heal it right now, but I can move it away enough to move you. This won't hurt, but I wanted to let you know before I moved in." Harry said respectfully. She nodded and closed her eyes. Harry moved his hand under her dress and moved it to the right side of her chest and just below her breast. He paused for a moment as he located the shard he was worried about. He tried not to think that he was very close to cupping this woman's breast.
"I have found the shard. This won't hurt, but it may feel warm." Harry said before he started casting the spell. He started chanting in parseltongue which was just a series of low hisses that were barely audible to the rest of those in the room. A low, warm, golden glow radiated from his hand and seemed to settle for a moment as he chanted. After a full minute of this. The glow waned and he pulled his hand away.
"Okay, I have made sure you should be strong enough to make the journey at this point. That being said, I want you to drink this next potion. It will put you to sleep and make you easier for me to transport.
"Transport? Where do you wish to take me? And who are you?" She asked.
"I wish to take you to Kaer Morhen where several of your sisters are currently gathering. And I am Hadrian Black." Harry told her. Ciri eyed him but said nothing, by now she had returned from freeing the other prisoners. He had already explained the name to her that he primarily used when he came to this world.
"Hadrian Black… as in the King of the Avalonian Empire?" She asked disbelievingly as she looked to Ciri, as if to confirm what he said.
"That one indeed, yes." He said with a small smile. He loved introducing himself to people in informal settings. When Ciri didn't contradict him, she must have taken him at his word. She sighed and he wasn't sure if it was in exasperation or relief.
"Didn't think I rated that much of a rescue." She said.
"And you will have more time to ponder it once you have left here and are healthy." Harry told her.
"I suppose I don't have much of a choice." She said.
"Of course, you do. You don't have to come with us or if you do, you don't have to take this potion. If you don't come with us you will have to escape on your own. If you don't take the potion, but do come you will most likely further injure yourself." Harry told her.
"Very well, I suppose I have no reason to not trust my rescuers." She said as she gently took the next potion out of his hands and brought it to her lips. Harry watched her drink it and then she slowly gave him back his flask. She grimaced.
"I don't suppose that comes in other flavors?"
"Beggars can't be choosers." Harry said back to her. She smiled.
"Heh, I like that…" She said as her eyes fluttered close and her head tilted back showing she had succumbed to the effects of the potion.
"Is she going to be okay?" Ciri asked.
"Yes. Her injuries were serious in the sense that they could cause death, not that they can't be healed or dealt with. In a week she will be completely healed." Harry told her with certainty. Ciri nodded in relief.
"I can't say I knew her well, but I knew her well enough to know she didn't deserve this." Ciri said as she looked down at the woman.
"Very few of the people Radovid wants to imprison deserve what happens to them." Harry said darkly as he thought of the man.
"He'll pay for this." Ciri spat.
"On that, we completely agree Ciri. On that we agree." Harry muttered. With that, he scooped the sleeping woman into his arms and carried in a bridal style.
"Are you ready?" He asked Ciri. She grabbed on to one his arms and nodded.
"Good."
And with that, they disappeared from the legendary prison.