Hours passed quietly in the cabin. Venera spent most of it in the room she was given while Geralt prepared dinner for her and her butler. He had to put extra effort into making it because of the status of the person he was hosting.
At the same time, his eyes remained on the window outside. There was no trace of Rize yet. He knew that he had given him a week of time to make it back. Still, a feeling of unease remained in the back of his mind. He had trained the kid, and he knew his capabilities, but the forest was no joke.
It was filled with monsters that could easily kill him, and if the boy was to survive, he had to rely on his intuitions, innovation, and his ability to adapt to all kinds of situations. These were all things that can't be trained, and they simply come with experience. So, Geralt was worried that the boy was truly not ready for such a massive task.
However, what had happened had happened; all he could do now was wait for him and see. The sun slowly moved beyond the horizon as the world turned darker and darker as time passed.
Geralt walked upstairs to the princess' room and knocked. "Your Highness, dinner is ready. Would you like to eat?"
"I will be there in a moment." She said.
Geralt nodded and walked down the stairs as he sat down. A while later, Venera walked out wearing different, more comfortable clothes. Seeing that, Geralt realized something…
'She came here expecting to spend the night…' He frowned. 'As expected of Her Highness.'
He didn't even know how she came to know of such a secret plan. But the king was clearly underestimating how much info Venera was capable of getting purely on her own.
'She's the hope of our kingdom and the reason we're still at the top of the world. Perhaps as she grows up, her star will shine brighter than any ruler who has ever come to the throne of this nation.'
With that, Geralt served her dinner and sat facing her.
"So, what is your plan for him from now on?" Venera asked.
"Well, he still has a lot to work on, precisely his fighting intuition and his mastery over his sword technique. He also needs to work on his survival skills and a plethora of other things. Safe to say, he won't be ready until it's time to leave this forest."
"When?"
"Nine years from now."
"Nine years, huh?" Venera stopped eating for a second. "So, you aim to get him ready for the entrance ceremony?"
"That is what we hope for."
Venera nodded her head and didn't add another word as she finished her dinner. Then, instead of walking back to her room, she decided to go out and practice a bit while enjoying the cold breeze of the night.
It was completely quiet outside. She walked to the middle of the field and stood there, basking in the feeling of the wind.
Then, she put her hands forward with nothing in them. Her eyes turned from calm to focused as she imagined a blade in her hand. Then…
*Swish*
She swung her hands, and with them, the imaginary sword moved. She started attacking the air in front of her with fast and precise moves. Her movements were incredibly honed and experienced.
"Hah!" She exhaled as she tried to bring her arms back and push them forward. Her steps moved in all directions. Slowly, she found herself completely focused on her movements, turning it almost into a lethal dance of sorts. Each move chained into the one after perfectly. They were all so perfectly cohesive and intentional.
"Hah!" She yelled again as she swung the sword horizontally. For a second, the air around her changed completely. Her movements became slightly more aggressive, and her eyes flared with an odd light.
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
Each swing felt like it was targeted at someone, and Venera found herself lost in it. A feeling of anger rose in her heart, and she channeled it into her sword technique.
'Die… Die… Die!' She thought in her mind.
Then, as she swung her sword to the side for God knows what time, she suddenly heard a rustle in the bushes that snapped her out of her daze. She instantly aimed her sword at the bushes with a wary look.
'Something is there.' She thought to herself as she waited silently. The bushes rustled again before something emerged from them.
A silhouette walked out of them, hidden in the darkness of the night. Venera instantly put her guard on, feeling threatened for a second. The silhouette appeared dark and eerie. But before she could even react, the silhouette suddenly dropped to the ground, motionless.
"..." She stared at it, a bit taken aback. Then, she slowly put her sword down as something struck her mind. "Could that be?"
Quickly, she rushed toward the silhouette. Leaning down, she was surprised to see that it was indeed a young boy. She put her hand near his neck, only to feel a sticky, warm substance.
"Blood…" She rubbed the substance before she tried to sense for a pulse. "He has a pulse… But it's so weak."
With no time to waste, Venera stood up and rushed inside. A few moments later, Geralt came out with her. The two rushed to Rize.
The man inspected his body only for his expression to darken visibly.
"He has suffered really bad injuries… And they're all infected. He's also very dehydrated and starving." He muttered as he picked him up and rushed inside. Venera followed him, staring at the boy's face carefully as if she was studying it.
"Is he going to make it?"
"I need to use a tier 3 healing potion on him, or he won't make it. He had suffered too many brutal injuries." Geralt replied as he manifested a bottle in his hand. The liquid in it was shiny, giving a mysterious feeling. Then, he carefully made Rize drink it all.
The boy felt the drink and swallowed it instinctively. Instantly, it spread all around his body, starting the healing process instantly. The gruesome injuries started healing in real time as the infection disappeared.
At the same time, his dehydrated, sunken face started regaining some color. Watching carefully, Geralt exhaled a sigh of relief.
"He will be fine." He replied. "But if he was just a bit late… He would not have made it. He actually finished the test three days before the intended time…" He muttered to himself, unable to even fathom what he just said.
Venera listened to him while staring at Rize's face. He was extremely handsome, far more than what she expected. His face was so unique and eye-catching. She could only keep staring at him silently.
"He needs some rest, and he should be fine in the morning. My apologies for this unsightly condition, your highness. I wished for you to meet him at a better time."
"No. It is fine." She replied as she snapped out of her daze. "Let's let him rest."
"Roger that."
Then, Geralt turned around and walked out while Venera gave Rize one last look and closed the door behind her. Something in the back of her mind told her that this might not be the simple person she expected to meet.
Something about Rize was odd… Very odd. But she couldn't tell what it was.