Chapter Text
Cirilla wandered the deserted road with no particular goal or direction. She had left the Rats behind weeks ago, disgusted with their treatment of a young child they had kidnapped. It was mid-spring, and the air had a small chill but the flowers were beginning to bloom on the trees she passed. This would normally make her smile, but now it only caused a squeeze in her heart. She missed her family, Geralt, Yennefer and even Jaskier. She knew that if she made herself known, they would find her, but her very presence was poison in their lives. The little blue wildflowers growing in patches along the road reminded her of Jaskier’s eyes and when she really let herself feel the poignant loss, she could almost hear the strumming of his lute on the breeze, accompanied by her mother's laughter and her father's gruff voice.
Stopping to take a drink from her water skin under the shade of a large tree, a prickling sensation rose up the back of her neck. It was not something she had felt before but it had her immediately on edge and gripping the hilt of her dagger. Despite the sun shining forcefully in the sky, she noticed a yellow glow had begun to shine through the shade of the forest near the road. As she stared at it, the pricking on her neck became a ringing in her ears and waves of power crashed into her like nothing she had ever felt, trying to push her back towards the road. With small and quiet steps, she walked towards the mysterious pulsing light. She rounded a large tree to see a glowing crack in the air, just large enough for a person. It crackled and spat out sparks as it writhed in place. Ciri had never seen anything like it. Could it be a portal? If it was, it was unlike any portal she had ever seen while training under Yennefer. As she stared, it rapidly began to glow brighter and widen, sending out a blast of light and power that almost knocked Ciri off her feet. She raised her hand to protect her eyes from the overwhelming brightness and felt a wave that nearby bowled her over; it had a heat to it, and Ciri felt it push her hair and clothes back with the force. The ringing in her ears was almost deafening now. Before it reached an ear-splitting pitch, it stopped without warning before she heard a loud thud and a groan ‘oof’.
When she dropped her hand again, the light was gone. No strange cracks in reality or pulses of power. Sprawled out on his stomach on the forest floor was a young man. Older than Ciri by at least a few years, but still relatively young. His manner of dress was unlike anything Ciri had ever seen. His trousers were blue but not in a fabric she recognised, and his shirt was a dull red and cropped close to his body in a fabric so thin she could see the outline of his chest underneath it. Certainly nothing that a respectable person would wear, but the colours were vibrant, like on the richest fabrics worn primarily by nobility. It was an anomaly.
The boy groaned a little before he wobbled onto his hands and knees, taking a few deep breaths before standing slowly and brushing the leaves off himself in the process. He hadn’t seemed to have noticed her. Ciri drew her knife in alarm. Random boys falling out of the air could not be good. The movement must have caught his eye as the boy turned to face her with a smile.
“Oh! Hello! I’m Jack.” The man said happily, sticking out his hand for Ciri to shake. She only stared at it and did not respond. He lowered his hand slowly with a slight frown, like someone had kicked his puppy and Ciri couldn’t help the stab of guilt that ran through her. “Sorry if I scared you. I think I’m a bit lost. Could you tell me where I am?” The strange man, apparently called Jack, asked.
Ciri paused for a moment before answering, “Redania, near the Pontar.”
Jack looked around at the trees that surrounded them before looking at her. He scanned his eyes over her form with a calculating gaze, like a puppy trying to ascertain its own reflection.
“And what….. year is it?” He asked slowly.
Perhaps he was injured? What kind of person doesn’t know what year it is unless they’ve had a very nasty bump to the head? “1266.” She replied shortly.
Jack blinked slowly at her, processing what she was saying. “Oh. That’s not good.” He put both his hands up onto his head and began to pull at his hair as his voice rose in panic. “Cas is going to kill me.”
Tears began to well in his eyes and his breathing began to hasten. Ciri’s first thought was to go and comfort the distressed boy, pull him into a hug like her family did for her when she was panicking and upset. But she refrained.
“Where did you come from?” Ciri finally asked the question that had been buzzing through her mind since this boy had appeared.
“Kansas. Lebanon.” He answered without elaboration, as if she would know where that was. She had never heard of Kansas.
“What was that light?” She asked more forcefully. If this boy was a danger to her, she had to know.
“A portal. I was trying to see the Black Forest in Germany, but I think I got a bit lost.” He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.
“Germany?” Ciri questioned; she’d never heard of such a place and she was well educated in geography as a courtesy of her royal upbringing.
The man looked at her quizzically before muttering quietly to himself. “Germany should have existed by now. Where is it? Why doesn’t she know? Oh. Oh no. Oh no no no no!” He began to utter as he sat on the forest floor and closed his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Ciri asked.
“Concentrating. I need to open a portal home! They’re going to worry!” He said forcefully, as if it was obvious.
“Where is home? Maybe I can direct you?” She added, trying to be helpful to this distressed and strange man. Something about him told her that he was no threat.
“You don’t understand! I’m not from here! This isn’t my world. My world is not like yours and I have people waiting for me.”
His words confused her. “You’re from… another sphere?” She guessed.
“No! Another dimension. Another world altogether, unrelated to yours.” He clarified without looking at her, instead staring at the spot where the light was as if willing it to reappear.
A small spark of yellow light fluttered twice before dying in the shade of the forest and the man pushed his palms into his eyes in frustration. Ciri sheathed her blade with a soft sound and Jack turned to look at her, surprised.
“Oh. You’re still here. You can go. I’ll be okay. I just need to rest, I’m all out of juice.” He smiled at her.
Ciri glanced nervously at the rapidly darkening forest around them. This man had no pack, no warm clothes, no supplies, nothing but the clothes on his back. He didn’t even have a weapon by the looks of him, she would surely be able to see a knife through such thin material.
“Come with me.” She said before her brain had time to think. “You will die out here like that. We will find a way to send you home.”
Jack lit up at the suggestion. “Really?! Thank you!” He cried and stood up from the floor. His face was so painfully earnest and sweet. For a second, Ciri thought he might try and hug her but he remained a respectable distance.
“Sure. Maybe you can tell me about your world.” She said with a smile as the two began to walk down the road.