Both women stood, glaring at each other, their reserves nearly spent.
"Are we done? Or should I start digging graves?" Liam finally came out of his hiding spot and said.
"Tch. If I had just a little more power, I would've wiped that smug look off her face," Keira scoffed.
"And yet, you didn't," Triss shook her head.
"Well, that was entertaining. But unless you two plan on collapsing in the snow, I suggest you rest before you both fall over." Vesemir, too, had followed Liam.
Triss and Keira exchanged one last glare before finally relenting.
Liam ran a hand down his face, exasperated.
"Next time, let's just settle things with words. Or better yet—ignore each other."
"No promises," Keira said.
Liam would have to instill some sense of following the laws if he were to take them to his world. Fighting in the open would be fatal in any city, endangering normal citizens. Triss could be trusted, but not Keira. She was unstable at times.
As both of them staggered away from the battlefield that was once Kaer Morhen's courtyard, neither admitted defeat.
And so, the silent war began.
The tension in Kaer Morhen was suffocating. Days passed, and not a single word was exchanged between the two sorceresses. They avoided each other with an almost childish stubbornness, ensuring they were never in the same room for long. If one entered, the other left. If they happened to meet by accident, an icy glare was the only form of acknowledgment.
Liam's alchemy or magical learning stopped, and he was sure that if the outside world wasn't in turmoil, thanks to Liam, both of these women would have left. Both witches were well-known, unlike Natasha and Steve. Besides, both of them had decided to change their looks.
One decided to don a beard, while the other dyed her hair white.
Even at meals, the division was obvious. Triss sat at one end of the hall, Keira at the other. Liam, Vesemir, and Uma were caught in the crossfire, stuck choosing sides at every meal. Liam, unwilling to get involved in their cold war, rotated between the two tables, while Vesemir simply muttered about "foolish women" and ate wherever he pleased.
Liam had initially found it amusing. But by the fourth day, the novelty had long since worn off.
Vesemir, however, was the first to reach his breaking point.
On the fifth night of this ridiculous standoff, he slammed his mug down onto the table so hard that even Uma let out a startled yelp.
"Enough," Vesemir growled. "This is a damned fortress, not a royal court. Whatever nonsense the two of you started, end it now." Both Triss and Keira, sitting at their respective corners, refused to acknowledge him.
"Fine. If you won't settle this yourselves, I'll settle it for you." He turned to Liam. "You. Take them to your world."
"You heard me." Vesemir crossed his arms. "Neither of them will put their pride aside, so throw them into an entirely new world where they can't afford to ignore each other. Let them deal with something bigger than their own stubbornness."
"You can't be serious." Both Keira and Triss spoke at the same time.
"Oh, I am," Vesemir said.
"I think you all are misjudging something. My world has different rules, strict laws, and the way these two women are, people might get hurt," Liam said.
"You think I will harm civilians?" Triss seemed offended that Liam would think that.
"No, but people might get caught up in the crossfire," Liam reminded her. This made both of them silent. Keira wasn't a person who thought much about morals, and for her ambition, she would kill anyone.
To kill Radovid, she had even considered unleashing a plague. But it was not required, and in the original story, Geralt had been able to talk her out of it and send her to Kaer Morhen. So even if her morals were a bit skewed, she could be redeemed.
"Liam, do you think I will harm people just because of my anger?" Keira asked.
"I hope not," Liam replied.
"You think so lowly of me?" Keira seemed a bit hurt by Liam's bluntness, and now she really grasped why Vesemir had said Liam was kind of like a witcher.
"No. But you are ambitious. Way too ambitious," Liam said, laying out his cards.
"I only look out for my survival. I don't have any grand ambitions. Whatever I had, I have achieved," Keira said.
"What if there was a situation where any wish of yours could be granted—even making you a god? Would you not go for it?" Liam asked.
"That kind of thing doesn't exist. There are Djinns, for sure, but they can't make you a god," Keira said.
"And what if there was a Djinn who could do that?" Liam asked. There were too many things in Marvel. It might not be in the MCU, but in the multiverse, with such a long history, there was no limit.
"That is impossible." It was Triss who replied to that.
"If you think our world is all sunshine and rainbows, then you both are gravely mistaken. I know that Natasha and Steve assured you that our world was a safe haven for you, which is true. You will be worshipped as gods there if you save everyone, but as you know, not all humans are the same. Many of them will despise you—for your powers, your looks, your charms, everything. Those voices can be muted, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. And there will be some who will even try to steal your power..."
"Steal our power? Hahaha... As if magic can be stolen," Keira laughed.
"You know that, I know that, Master Vesemir knows that—but the general folks? They are ignorant. You have no idea how far common men will go to acquire power," Liam said.