Romain Vallière
And they will still see us.. as monsters
Romain hadn’t closed the door completely, in fact, he never locked himself in, because he knew that whatever wanted to come in could come in... and that those who had respect would announce themselves. She stood close to the table, her hands calm, everything about her seemed... calm, introverted, even resigned, and Romain noticed it but said nothing. He put down the knife he had been sharpening and wiped the blade on his sleeve.
“They’ll find me,”
she said finally, her voice breaking at that moment, barely able to maintain the velvety softness and high tones she had trained herself to use over the years. Romain nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Possibly.”
She waited, as if she had expected more. When nothing came, she continued.
“...And when they ask who I am?”
He placed the knife on the table, and slowly raised an eyebrow.
“They.. they.. call me things I am not.”
Romain gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes.
She looked over at him, still appearing calm, but tears welling up in her eyes.
“I tried to accommodate them.”
Neither of them said anything for a while. The fire crackled, outside, they could hear something... or someone approaching. Romain knew his swamp.. he could tell the difference between humans and creatures, and he knew that humans were approaching... several of them.
“You don’t have to keep me here. I’ll leave if you want me to,”
she said quietly but Romain shook his head.
“I don’t want anything.”
He needed a moment to organize his thoughts, it was difficult for him to gather and understand the emotions stirring within him.
“....because you don’t hurt anyone, but those out there do.”
Her hands clenched briefly, then relaxed again.
“What if they force you to make a choice?”
Romain stepped to the window and looked out without opening it.
“Then they’ve already made their choice.”
The witcher turned around, his gaze remaining cold, the warmth he had to offer overwhelmed by the seething anger raging in his chest.
“You want to live...that’s not unusual... your soul is in a house that gives it a home... a strong body that has endured a lot, and yet I feel that this soul longs for another home.”
“And for that, you’re turning against them?”
From outside, footsteps were drawing closer and closer, drunken men shouting, wanting to find her... to do things.. unspeakable. Romain grabbed his coat, tucked a consecrated dagger into his pocket, and slowly turned to her.
“Stay where you are, don’t move... don’t say anything.”
He looked at her once more as his hand already rested on the door handle.
“And don’t change anything about yourself. You’re fine the way you are... and you’re fine the way you want to be. And I see you the way you want to be seen. I will protect you, because your soul... what lies within you, all the pain... you don’t deserve that.”
Then he opened the door a little wider and stepped outside. That night, the swamp swallowed five bodies, feeding on them... ending the perfidy of their lives. They would hunt him .. he knew that, they would linger near him, try to consume him, angry spirits... former monstrous humans. But he accepted that.