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Drizzt
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Forever will the memory of the first time I held my daughter be etched in my mind. For the rest of my life, when I wake up, it will be the first thing I see. The chaos around me was dampened by my own grief, my wife's corpse lay inches from my fingers, still warm. Healers were subdued, knowing they had failed and the midwife was busily cleaning the crying infant. Her shouts rained over me, I felt them throughout my body. I turned to the midwife bundling my child and reached out to her. Her handed me the baby. "Here's your daughter, sir." She said softly. My daughter.
Her face was red and swollen, bunched up as she wailed in my arms. I was then I realized that when newborns come out, they do not cry, they scream. They are terrified of what is happening to them, of this new world they so suddenly, so unexpectedly find themselves in. I squeezed her gently and pressed my face to hers, and cried silently. At that moment I was the closest I had ever been to another person. Her screams of absolute terror was what was ripping through me inside. On the inside, I was screaming too. I was terrified. I took a deep breath and kissed her soft hair, "Don't be afraid, little one, we have eachother." I whisphered, looking into her small face, holding her small hands.
She settled down shortly, falling asleep as the midwife cleaned around me. Bruenor soon came into the room. I could see the red rim around his eyes and Regis's, who had followed after him. "What is it, drow?" He asked gruffly, looking Catti-brie face.
"A girl." I replied, watching her sleeping face. My voice was strained and choked. Regis wandered closer and peered down at her. His face was torn between complete grief and tender joy when he saw her.
"She's lovely." He murmered softly, looking once at Catti-brie and then again at the baby before backing away. Bruenor turned to me slowly and held out his arms hesitently.
"Let me see her." He said, his voice still rough. In that moment I paniced, I insinctively griped her tighter. She was my lifeline, my last resort, my reason for not colapsing competely. I took a deep breath and handed her over to her grandfather, who held her gently, lovingly. The baby fussed silently, shifting until she was comfortable. I was simply concentrating on breathing. Right there, that tiny little life form, was my daughter, mine and Catti-brie's. Catti-brie was dead. She was all I had left of Catti-brie.
After what felt like an eternity Bruenor placed her back in my arms. I held her close to my body and stood slowly. She fussed slightly when I moved but then calmed again. I looked for a long time at the now covered body before turning and walking out of the room.
x-xox-x
I had made a small, nest like bed against the wall on my own bed. The baby slept peacefully in it, her body pressed to my thigh. I slept sitting up, when I slept at all. I mostly watched her. The bassenet Catti-brie had had made was sitting unused on the other side of the room. Nahoro Silverworker, the wetnurse for the child, was constently trying to convince me that it was safest for the child to be in it's own bed. I could crush the baby or sufficate it. Her husband, Dey Silverworker, tutted her and shook his old head, "Leave him be!" He would scold. Though, I was not blind enough to not see the concern in his own eyes.
I was sitting with my daughter one night, watching as she looked around the room silently, thinking about baby things. "What, my little girl, could you possiblily have to think about? Are you hearing things I cannot? Seeing things I've lost the innocence to see? What do you think of, darling girl?" I mused, stroking her cheek with the tip of my finger. I stopped and titled my head, gazing into her purple eyes. "You are going to need a name I suppose" I thought back to when Catti-brie and I had discussed names for our child, deciding Zaknafein for the boy easily but arguing over the name for a girl. Catti-brie and insisted it be named Kaylu. I hadn't been fond of the name and pressed for Larra. We had agreed on Eika. "Kaylu..." I tested, her small head turned to the sound of my voice and she smiled brillantly. "Yes, Kaylu. My baby girl, my Kaylu." I murmered and picked her up gently. She watched me silently as I held her out from my, under the arms. This lasted only a few moments before I craddled her to my chest again.
x-xox-x
That's it for chapter one -- a short chapter!
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