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It was a bright, warm, wonderfully sunny day in fall when Jaskier ran into Yennefer of Vengerberg. They bumped into one another quite literally. Jaskier had an apology on the tip of his tongue before he saw who it was. He bit the inside of his cheek as he saw recognition pass over Yennefer’s face.
“Bard,” she said.
He replied in the same tone, “Witch.”
“I see you’re without Geralt for once. Did he leave you behind? I can only hope you’ll be safe without your big, burly protector.”
“You’re still absolutely delightful. Is that a torn silk dress I see? Hmm. I thought mages like yourself had better… taste.”
Yennefer looked down to herself. In surprise, she noticed she did, indeed, have a tear in her dress. With a quick wave of magic the clothing was repaired. She smugly looked back up to the bard.
“That’s a neat trick,” he remarked, thoroughly jealous. “Does that work with all threads?”
“It does. A fairly simple thing, too.” She eyed him with an inspecting gaze. “Why are you here, Jaskier? This is a fishing area– they make their own music with shanties and the like. Bards aren’t needed here.”
“I was hired to go on a boat,” he announced gleefully. He tapped his lute in excitement. “I’ll be boarding the Marilyn–”
“Marilyn Monsoon,” she finished.
They stared at one another in slight horror.
Jaskier felt his fingers tremble. “Are you– are you going on the boat as well?”
“It’s more of a ship.”
“So, are you?”
Yennefer crossed her arms. With a sigh, she admitted, “I was hired to protect them as they made their way across.”
Jaskier suddenly felt very, very scared. He asked in a higher than normal voice, “Protection from what?”
“Vodyanoy.”
“What the hell is that? A monster? I’ve never heard of them.”
Yennefer gestured to the great big sea. “They’re fish people, to put simply. They attack ships for supplies, food, and entertainment.”
“Fish people,” he repeated. It sounded so foreign. He’d heard of merpeople and sirens, but perhaps that was only because of the romance behind them. He blinked repeatedly, eventually settling on, “Do you promise not to throw me overboard?”
“I’m sure you’d be a horrid snack.”
They walked down the rest of the dock together. Yennefer stuck out her foot which Jaskier then tripped on. He was only saved when Yennefer tugged him back up. He looked back at her like a disgruntled kitten. She laughed at his expression then walked onto the ship first. Jaskier followed behind with a huff.
Annoyingly, Yennefer was right. Jaskier was surrounded by people who already liked to sing, dance, and play. He felt a bit unneeded as he provided backups to the crew. However, they also had some great songs. He wrote some down to remember but knew that most of the songs he could never play in front of a court.
Things went fairly well the first week. Jaskier had only vomited once, which was a record for him concerning ships, boats, and other water vessels. He even caught sight of a siren. As soon as he pointed it out, the captain decided to sway a different direction so they didn’t get too close. It seemed they knew to stay away from strange beings on rocks or climbing up from the deep.
It was in the second week that Jaskier was woken by a yell of, “Sorceress, do your damn job!”
Jaskier left his lute and bag in his makeshift area down below and climbed up to the top. He was greeted with the crew running around. A small group was dragging a net of fish up as quickly as they could as another group grabbed spears. Meanwhile, in the middle, was Yennefer.
She had magic flying around her– Jaskier could feel the Chaos in the air. Yennefer was holding them off with wind attacks that made Jaskier’s hair fly around.
The odd fish people Yennefer told him about, the Vodyanoy, had finally showed up. Jaskier didn’t realize how large they’d be. They were human-sized, mostly covered in green or off-blue scales, and had the largest eyes Jaskier had ever seen. He also didn’t expect them to have large muscled arms and legs.
Jaskier rushed to the area where the spears were. He was handed one immediately. He stabbed at the Vodyanoy with the other crew members as Yennefer blew them away. They succeeded in holding them off for long enough that the creatures returned to the deep unable to breathe. The captain took that as a great time to let down the sail and getaway.
Jaskier set down his spear. He inspected it to find a glob of flesh covered in scales. He busied himself by separating the scales from the flesh. He put the scales in his pocket and threw the flesh overboard. He then put his spear into a tub that it originated from. With the threat gone, the crew members relaxed but still looked anxious as they picked back up to their fishing.
He overheard one of the crew members marveling at the sorceress’s power. Jaskier bit his tongue so he didn’t say anything too improper. He still had another week on the ship and didn’t need to get into a fight with a woman who could literally kill him at any moment. Instead, he ransacked the kitchens for any sign of sweets.
That was how he was found by Yennefer some time later. Jaskier sat on the counter, swaying just slightly every time there was a rough wave, eating a sticky honey candy. He waved at her then gestured for her to come closer. She did so with a calculating look. With a grin, he offered her one of the honey candies.
“You’re a child,” she said.
“Do you not want it?”
Yennefer took the candy. Jaskier grinned at her face. It was one of the sweetest things he’s ever tasted. It was a nice change of pace from the rations on board and the smell of fish and salt.
Jaskier tapped his foot in the air as he asked next, “What are you doing once we reach Cintra?”
“I’ll be traveling to a herbalist I know before leaving for Nazair.”
“You know, the Queen doesn’t like mages.”
Yennefer cocked her head to the side. She drawled, “I know, bard. Every magic user does. She only keeps that druid around because it’s a must. Every other magic-user is on a tight leash. I’m hoping to only be in her land for a few days at most, so I don’t draw any attention.”
“Ugh. At least you get to leave.”
Yennefer peered at him with a question written across her face. “Why are you traveling to Cintra? This job was cheap and mainly served as an easy gig and free travel.”
“My sister.”
That was news to Yennefer. “You have a sister, bard? Is she like you– rebellious, loud, and terrible at most things in life?”
Jaskier groaned. He did not want to bond with Yennefer of fucking Vengerberg. “I, uh, she’s not like me very much. She’s definitely a romantic–” Yennefer snorted, “–and has impeccable fashion taste, but she’s… proper. She wants to stay in one place and build a life.”
“Not an adventurer, then,” she commented stalely.
“Yeah. Not an adventurer.”
“Visiting family is offly domestic of you, Jaskier. Last I heard, Geralt didn’t even know where you hailed from. Cintra’s a nice enough place, I suppose.”
Jaskier chuckled, sad and low. “I fucking hate it.”
“Then why go back?”
Yennefer could admit she was curious. The bard was always on the move. He never stayed in one place for very long, which made it hard to track him and Geralt down. Oxenfurt during the winter was her best bet for the bard. She didn’t have a true family – that’s why she was always on the move searching for more – so she didn’t understand why Jaskier was leaving behind his.
“My sister’s pregnant,” he admitted softly. Yennefer perked up just slightly. “I was there for the betrothal but I haven’t been back since. She’s almost due so I’m waiting until I meet my newest family member.”
“Are you on good terms?”
“With my sister? Yes. She’s the reason I stayed around when I was a kid. The rest of my family… not so much. I think they don’t completely hate me, but I didn’t live up to their expectations, like, at all.”
Yennefer hummed softly. Jaskier looked over to her. He couldn’t tell why he was speaking about his family with her. They never got along all that great. Geralt was a sore subject for the both of them in each other's presence. Jaskier tried not to think about that as they swayed on the counters of the ship.
“I want a child,” whispered Yennefer.
Jaskier met her eyes with bright blue hopeful ones. “I think you’d be great at it.”
Yennefer twitched– almost like a recoil. “You think so?” she said in a soft tone, like she was waiting for Jaskier to laugh in her face.
“You’d totally be able to fight them during their teenage years. Oh, Melitele, let me tell you about my sister. She used to be nice, you know. I swear, the last time I visited half of my moisturizers disappeared. When I sent a letter about it she claimed they fell out of my bag– and don’t get me started on how snippy she used to be. She was the sassiest thing alive.”
“Your sister’s a teenager? You’re the older sibling?”
“There’s about a 5-year difference. I think I was an accident and my sister was planned. I didn’t exactly amount to anything, either, so it was a win-win for our parents.”
Yennefer stewed on that. After a few silent moments, she asked, “Do you know what happens when a person is trained in Chaos like I was?”
Jaskier shook his head. “I know that Geralt… he’s sterile due to his mutagens. Is it the same for you, sweetheart?”
“I, uh,” she paused at the pet name, “it's the same in the way that when we gained power, we were forced to lose something as well. I cannot have a child, just as Geralt can’t.”
“And yet you crave a child.” He looked down to his hands. “I never wanted one. I… I just wanted to be free. I think I saw a child as a hindrance to that. Geralt, uh, he sees me as a hindrance half of the time. I don’t think he wants a child either.”
“You’re not a hindrance, Jaskier, and neither would a child be. A child would give a new kind of freedom. It’s like–” she thought about a good metaphor, “–you and Geralt, you go together– you benefit one another in different ways. A child would fix a part of me that is broken, and I hopefully would fix a world for them to live in.”
Jaskier let himself fall down to the floor. He stood on the swaying wood shakily. He said with a small, tight, sad smile, “You’re not broken, Yennefer.” He slowly left the kitchen space to retreat back to bed. He’d probably fight off the sugar but he needed to rest.
The next week passed quickly. Jaskier had never been so happy to see the shore of Cintra before. He bid Yennefer goodbye as they went their separate ways. He only made it into the nearest town by the docks before a carriage sought him out. He climbed aboard and to the estate that he detested in order to meet his newest family member.