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It was a rather strange moment. Well, at least for her it was. Just two nights prior, this idea was still the best one she had ever had but now she started to doubt everything.
Světlana calmed her breath and looked at herself in a mirror. She focused on her face and made sure that this unsure expression would not come back later.
The room she was staying in smelled of exotic spices, a gift from her stepdad. The perfume he had given for her graduation, was for the lack of better words, magical. It made one pleasantly relaxed and at the same time passionately sensitive. Not a fragrance you want to smell on your child, but to Karl's offence, he probably just bought what was popular with the Nilfgardian nobility right now, in a way to make Svetlana feel more like home in the South - without knowing what the product was. She did not wear it outside, it was not a scent she wanted to be associated with daily, but right now, Světlana felt like she needed the help.
When Eskel told her, while they were getting drunk at the Swollen Mare the last time they have seen each other, about his path, she had a feeling that the tale about one particular succuba, was not performed in its whole glory. That her pretty friend was lying, or just not telling the whole truth.
Every time their paths met, she always felt like she could fly like this was a moment when she did not have to pretend. Moments with the witcher were her private and most treasured times. Outside of dealing with the family matter, the cases she had to take care of at her job. Eskel made her feel safe, peaceful, and lightheaded. How do you repay someone for feelings like this?
All of this fluttering in her heart made this whole thing happen. That's why she was staring at herself in a mirror, calming herself down. That's why she commissioned the best Toussaint sculptor to help her make a crucial part of this costume.
"Screw it! I am gonna die before he gets a single silver hair! It's now or never!"
***
It has been almost a year since he has seen her last. In his memory, she smiled at him, and those ashen eyes called to him to stay for a little bit longer. But he had to go. If he stayed just for a little bit, he would not find the strength to leave later. Not that he ever stayed for the night.
She has sent him a letter with a location he followed her wish. This time, finally, they had a location and a place settled. This was not a random run-in. This felt different.
When he got off of Scorpion he let him to the stables. The Oxenfurt inn was looking the same way it did when Svetlana brought him there for the first time. It was the first time they talked and got to know each other at least a little bit better.
His brothers would tease him about what he and Světlana had If they knew. He let this little secret to himself. All those stares, light touches, unspoken words. It was precious. It was just his.
The innkeeper send him to the room at the top before he could order a drink. So no beer, then?
The door creaked as Eskel open the door. The first thing that hit him was the scent - heavy and sensual. He quickly looked around the room, expecting Světlana only to not be able to spot her so easily. She was hiding behind the curtains in the corner of the room. Suddenly he wasn't sure if he should speak or wait for her reassurance.
"Come in." She says in a way he has no other choice but to listen - not a command but an offer.
When he sat down the bed cracked under his weight as the old wood acknowledged his presence. Eskel felt unsure, this weird silence building an atmosphere tantalizing the unspoken, soothing his doubts. He could see Světlanas silhouette behind the curtains made from delicate and thin beige fabric. Candles lit around the room made the shadows dance the same way they were flickering in the wind from an open window, and Eskel with a breath, he till now did not realize he was holding, watched as Světlanas silhouette reached for something on a desk by their side. The Silhouette's hands lingered on the object, unmoving, doubting - just for a moment.
"Do you remember the story you told me last time we met? The one with the cave that smelled of dried flowers and ripe fruit?"
Eskel felt puzzled at her question. What does she mean? "I am not sure..."
"The one about the contract that you did not finish in the end. The one where the beautiful and kind creature lived to see the next sunrise?"
He listened and thought - realization flashing behind his eyes. "Yeah, I remember."
"It got me thinking, wanting to try something."
"To do something."
"But only if you want to the same way I do." Her hands finally grabbed the object on the table out of his sight and placed it on Světlanas head. The silhouette facing him now, unseen eyes piercing him awaiting an answer.
"I do" Two simple words were all she was given. Yet they were more than enough.
***
When she stood before him and stared him down into the mattress, he knew that he never truly met this woman. Or rather, this part of her. She was wearing a short green dress that hugged all her curves, but what caught Eskel's attention was what was Světlana wearing on her head. Two curved horns, meticulously sculpted, sat on a headdress made out of wildflowers while Světlanas brown hair lay unbound by the tie she always wore. She looked beautiful, Eskel thought.
Světlana looked into his eyes with the type of confidence she showed only to those she was not representing. The confidence that devoured, those who dared to approach. And yet he wanted to become her prey to succumb and be swallowed whole.
And then he saw it, a little crack in the mask of the persona she crafted for this occasion. "Don't you want to take that off?" She said, pointing at his heavy jacket, nervousness seeping throws the cracks.
"All by myself? I am not sure I know how." Eskel did not smile often. Or laugh in front of others, yet his lips were now turning up without his permission. Let me tease her a little bit.
"Stop laughing! I am serious." Světlana was furious, but not really. Just more nervous as she began to smile. She smiled, sweetly, and adoringly, then loudly.
"Were you trying to put me under your spell?" Eskel extended his gloved hand and waited for Světlana to catch it.
"Was it not working?"She accepted his hand, coming closer to him. She stood between his leg and placed her hands on Eskel's shoulders, looking into his eyes. Eskel looked back into hers, watching the storm of emotions behind Světlanas ashen eyes. She was nervous, curious, and a little fearful.
Eskel placed the palm of his hand on Světlanas cheek. She laid into the touch, smiled at him back, and with a smile, some of the worries disappeared.
"I think it's working just right." The playful tone of his voice gave her the confidence to continue what she started. "I am glad to hear it, Master witcher. What would poor little me do without my charms."
Světlana lowered down just enough so their lips were mere inches apart. So close and yet so far apart, Světlana felt a great ache in her chest, where her heart should be and breathed in before finally speaking again.
"You are so beautiful." This feeling was so precious she never wanted to let go. The pain which brings pleasure, making her unable to breathe freely, holding her breath.
Eskel did not have enough time to process what he heard come out of Světlanas lips before his own were all over hers. Eskel could smell the exotic perfume on her, rich but not overpowering her natural scent. He wished she would smell of nothing but that. I have to get the unnatural aroma from her.
A sweet sign escaped her mouth when their lips parted. Not for long. The moment Eskels lips left hers, she missed the feeling, the warmth.
"Stay with me tonight." Eskel breathed out without thinking. He had a problem with that tonight.
"In this room, I rented for both of us? Sure I will stay." A sweet toothy smile shined the same way her eyes drank into him and the pleading look he was giving her. "If you are not leaving, I am not going anywhere. I still want to know all the details from your little succuba story," she added.
"I will happily tell and show everything you want to know."
Now it was her lips that found his scarred ones first.