"Silk sheets and fine wine? You and I remember Posada very differently."
It does sound like a yes, but a very hesitant one. Geralt is still having doubts, Jaskier can tell, and his suspicions are confirmed when the topic switch comes. Part of him wants to call out the bullshit, but he decides against it - this can be used in his favor. A nod.
"In a way. As you may imagine, a bard isn't exactly allowed to mingle with a princess. But I've introduced myself to her, offered the mandatory courtesy. I sang at her birthdays. I don't think she knows I'm your bard, however. Queen Calanthe had forbidden any mention of you after the betrothal. I wasn't allowed to sing about the White Wolf while in Cintra, not even the ballad I wrote for Dunny and Pavetta."
Your bard. That's what the entire Continent thought of him, which is something that bothered him the past year, but he's adopting back so easily now. Geralt truly has him wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he? He should be bothered by the thought, because the concept does sound like the kind of shackle he would hate - but sharing his life with Geralt has been nothing but freedom.
Is Cirilla able to feel that? A newfound freedom? She probably still misses her grandmother - Jaskier wouldn't blame her, he still misses his own after more than two decades.
"It'd be my honor to help you with your Child Surprise. I can share my own experience with her - I may not understand what losing everything feels like, but I can offer her comfort and a guiding hand to the scary world outside palace walls. Someone may need to help her with her hair, too, because I don't trust any of you with it, silly witchers."
A little joke, but he also means it. Jaskier remembers what a shock it was to start living in the real world, his bones still carry the memory of the first time he slept in an inn. Whatever Cirilla may need to transition into this new life, he can offer, even tutoring lessons that don't include swords and potions.
"I'd like her to know she doesn't have to give nice things to be a witcher, unlike someone I know." His tone is teasing, but his eyes are kind - being on the Path shouldn't have to equal not enjoying fine wine and aromatic oils, a lesson he's been trying to get into Geralt's head since they met. "Unlike her, however, I've already gone through my rite of passage. I made a choice, Geralt." A shivering hand is raised to grab Geralt's chin, and Jaskier's voice becomes more determined than ever. If mentioning his childhood doesn't show how serious he is about this, nothing will. "When I was her age, I chose not to live in luxury every day of my life. And I do not regret it. I still enjoy the finest pleasures of life, and I won't give them up entirely. But I can survive without them for a season, just like I was able to survive sleeping on the ground and eating squirrels for-- however long we spent on that spooky haunted forest in the east."
If they never go there again, Jaskier will find it a blessing.
"I ask you, my dear witcher, to make a choice too. Forget about food and wine, forget for just one moment about your brothers and your daughter. I want to go with you, and I choose to follow you. Do you want me to spend winter with you?"
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It does sound like a yes, but a very hesitant one. Geralt is still having doubts, Jaskier can tell, and his suspicions are confirmed when the topic switch comes. Part of him wants to call out the bullshit, but he decides against it - this can be used in his favor. A nod.
"In a way. As you may imagine, a bard isn't exactly allowed to mingle with a princess. But I've introduced myself to her, offered the mandatory courtesy. I sang at her birthdays. I don't think she knows I'm your bard, however. Queen Calanthe had forbidden any mention of you after the betrothal. I wasn't allowed to sing about the White Wolf while in Cintra, not even the ballad I wrote for Dunny and Pavetta."
Your bard. That's what the entire Continent thought of him, which is something that bothered him the past year, but he's adopting back so easily now. Geralt truly has him wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he? He should be bothered by the thought, because the concept does sound like the kind of shackle he would hate - but sharing his life with Geralt has been nothing but freedom.
Is Cirilla able to feel that? A newfound freedom? She probably still misses her grandmother - Jaskier wouldn't blame her, he still misses his own after more than two decades.
"It'd be my honor to help you with your Child Surprise. I can share my own experience with her - I may not understand what losing everything feels like, but I can offer her comfort and a guiding hand to the scary world outside palace walls. Someone may need to help her with her hair, too, because I don't trust any of you with it, silly witchers."
A little joke, but he also means it. Jaskier remembers what a shock it was to start living in the real world, his bones still carry the memory of the first time he slept in an inn. Whatever Cirilla may need to transition into this new life, he can offer, even tutoring lessons that don't include swords and potions.
"I'd like her to know she doesn't have to give nice things to be a witcher, unlike someone I know." His tone is teasing, but his eyes are kind - being on the Path shouldn't have to equal not enjoying fine wine and aromatic oils, a lesson he's been trying to get into Geralt's head since they met. "Unlike her, however, I've already gone through my rite of passage. I made a choice, Geralt." A shivering hand is raised to grab Geralt's chin, and Jaskier's voice becomes more determined than ever. If mentioning his childhood doesn't show how serious he is about this, nothing will. "When I was her age, I chose not to live in luxury every day of my life. And I do not regret it. I still enjoy the finest pleasures of life, and I won't give them up entirely. But I can survive without them for a season, just like I was able to survive sleeping on the ground and eating squirrels for-- however long we spent on that spooky haunted forest in the east."
If they never go there again, Jaskier will find it a blessing.
"I ask you, my dear witcher, to make a choice too. Forget about food and wine, forget for just one moment about your brothers and your daughter. I want to go with you, and I choose to follow you. Do you want me to spend winter with you?"