Chapter 3: How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is, to have a thankless child."


Violet's newly-sharpened knife worked great, as did her newly-made wooden whistle. Violet put the finishing touches on the whistle, and her gaze fell once more on her father's scimitars. She really wanted to hold one, and he'd never even let her do that. Zaknafein had held Icingdeath last time. It wasn't fair. She was eight years old already – not some little kid! Well, she finally decided, he'll never know.

Some niggling little voice in the back of her mind told her that she really shouldn't disobey, but Violet stubbornly silenced it. She stuffed the whistle into her pocket and grabbed Twinkle's beautiful, jeweled hilt. The grip felt smooth and comfortable. A little thrill of nervousness went through her, but Violet glanced toward the back of the house and lifted the weapon. Tried to lift it. She could raise the hilt easily enough, but the long blade still rested on the bench. Kel'nar's scimitars were heavy. Heavier than they looked. Two hands then. Both fit easily on the hilt, but the curved tip of the blade fell to the ground as she dragged it off of the bench. Violet frowned. She'd wanted to slice it through the air. The weapons always looked so light when they were in Kel'nar's hands. What now? She propped the hilt against the bench and her frown deepened. How could she lift the pointy end and get it back up there? I'll say I accidentally bumped it and it fell off.

If the weapon was going to be on the ground anyway, playing with it a bit more wouldn't hurt. A slow smile spread across her face. Violet grabbed the hilt in two hands again and backed up, slowly dragging the long scimitar across the ground until she had lots of room. She began to spin in a circle, slowly at first, then faster. The blade lifted and all at once she was holding it straight out, cutting the air with a most satisfying whoosh! The sound was thrilling, and Violet twirled faster, everything a blur around her. She saw nothing but the shining scimitar, daring anything to cross its deadly path.

A sudden wave of dizziness slapped over her like an enemy's spell, washing away her balance and making her head reel. Violet slowed down and the blade tip plummeted, suddenly catching and dragging on the ground. She stumbled as the ground snatched the blade from her hands. Arms flailing she fell back, landing with a sudden jolt on her backside and a skinned left elbow. Ouch. Violet lay back, letting the ground cradle her until the sky stopped spinning.

When the world came back into focus Kel'nar was advancing on her, and he didn't look pleased at all.


Drizzt had rounded the corner of the house just in time to see Violet stumble and fall. It hadn't looked like the scimitar had cut her, but still his heart was in his throat as he rushed closer. No blood. The ranger blew out a long breath and slowed his steps. He retrieved his scimitar with his left hand and pulled Violet up with his right. A closer look revealed that she was fine, save for a scraped elbow. He closed his eyes for a long moment. How many fell creatures had he dismembered with a single stroke of this very scimitar? Drizzt's hands were trembling.

His daughter looked up at him guiltily, her blue eyes wide and apprehensive. Good! Drizzt could hardly believe that he had been so blatantly disobeyed like this – after all of their previous talks about respecting sharp blades. Not to mention obedience.

"Um, I'm sorry," Violet ventured.

Drizzt looked down at his willful daughter and ignored the perfunctory apology, still trying to slow his racing heart. Had she any idea how close she'd come to serious injury? He met her eyes, mouth in a thin line. "Bring me a green branch."

"Kel'nar..." Violet began to protest.

"Now."

Violet's face fell. She turned and trudged away toward the treeline.

Drizzt sighed and wiped the dust off of his blade, sheathing it. He'd inspect it later. He'd hoped they were past this stage already. Apparently not. He watched Violet enter the forest, never looking back. He retrieved Icingdeath as well, then sank down on the bench and put his head in his hands.


Cattie-brie smiled down at the heaping basket full of thornberries and wild mushrooms on her arm. These were going to be such a treat tonight, and there would be plenty of berries left over for tarts and jam. She popped a sweet berry into her mouth and sighed in pleasure as the tangy taste exploded on her tongue. Savoring the flavor, she rounded the last curve of the trail before home...and stopped short. Violet sat behind a large tree, knees drawn up to her chest, head tucked beneath one arm. She didn't make a sound, but her shoulders were shaking with sobs.

"Oh sweetie." Cattie-brie breathed. If her daughter heard, she didn't look up. Cattie took a few more steps down the trail to where she could see the yard. Drizzt was sitting on the bench, elbows on his knees, forehead resting on his steepled hands. What had happened now?

"Violet?" Cattie-brie took a few steps off of the path toward her daughter, dry pine needles and twigs crunching beneath her feet.

The girl looked up, red-eyed, and wiped her sleeve across her face hastily. She took a few deep breaths and stopped crying.

Cattie-brie wasn't surprised at this measure of composure from her stubborn daughter, young though she was, but it pained her that Violet tried not to cry in front of her. Cattie set aside her basket and knelt down with outstretched arms. Violet hesitated, then she blinked hard and stepped into her mother's embrace. "It's okay," Cattie soothed, rubbing her back. "It will be okay... Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Violet drew in another deep breath and let it out slowly, resignedly. Aside from her red eyes, she looked entirely composed now. "I'm in trouble," she stated flatly. She glanced down the trail toward the yard. "Father is waiting for me to come back."

Cattie-brie noticed that she did not use the more intimate "Kel'nar". She drew back and studied her daughter from arms' length, taking in the now-firm set of her jaw, deep frown, and what she thought was a glint of anger in Violet's icy blue eyes. "Why are you in trouble?" she asked. "And why are you out here?"

Violet looked away, her cheeks reddening. "I have to go back. He's waiting for me."

Cattie-brie sighed. "Sweetie, your father is very patient." She let a bit of firmness creep into her tone. "And I'd like to know what's going on."

Violet didn't want to explain and risk her mother's ire as well. "He'll think I ran away."

"I doubt it."

Violet squinted at her mother. "Why? Zak ran away once."

Cattie-brie smiled slightly. "You're too stubborn to run away."

"Am not!" Violet said, automatically contrary. She pulled away from her mother and returned to her tree, stooping down to retrieve the branch she'd already found. "I'm...supposed to bring a green branch." She kept her tone devoid of emotion, but she bit her lip.

"Oh." Well that was new. Had Drizzt wanted a minute or two alone? If he had to compose himself, it must have been serious. "What did you do?" she demanded at last. Her tone brooked no further evasions.

"I didn't obey."

"Clearly." Cattie-brie's patience was beginning to grow a bit thin with her daughter's evasiveness. Drizzt never used physical correction – except in response to disobedience. "I want you to tell me what you did."

Violet chewed on the inside of her cheek and swished the branch back and forth.

Cattie-brie glanced down, noticing then how thin and whip-like the switch was.

"I played with Twinkle after he told me not to, and I got caught." She crossed her arms and glared.

Cattie-brie's eyes widened, her pulse quickening. Drizzt's scimitars were sharp enough to take the head off of a tundra yeti. "You played with Twinkle? What on Toril would possess you to do something like that?!" Cattie-brie realized she was yelling, but she made no effort to quiet her voice. "You could've been sliced wide open, or...or lost a finger or something!"

Violet scowled. "I was careful."

Cattie-brie frowned too. "Your father's scimitars are too long and heavy for you, not to mention wickedly sharp! You should know better by now!" Her blue eyes were icier than Violets'. "There are reasons for the–"

Violet turned and stomped away.


It was so unfair! Violet wasn't going to wait around to hear the rest of the lecture. She'd get another one soon enough, of that she was sure.

"Violet, stop!"

Reluctantly she stopped, but didn't turn around.

Cattie-brie sighed. "That branch will never do."

"What?" Violet turned and squinted at her mother.

Cattie-brie didn't reply, just pursed her lips. She looked around for something more appropriate, retrieved the knife she'd been using to harvest mushrooms, and cut a green branch about as thick as her little finger. She thrust it into Violet's hand. "Take this."

The eight-year-old looked down at the branch, nearly three times as thick and the one she had chosen, and looked back up at her mother in disbelief. She had hoped for sympathy, but apparently now she was going to get a worse punishment instead. "You're so mean!" Violet blurted, her face darkening into a scowl.

Cattie-brie rolled her eyes. "Then take both. See which one he chooses."

"No!" She was already in trouble; how much worse could it get? "I'll just take the skinny one."

Mum's look was positively dangerous, and Violet felt her blood turn cold. "The skinny one will hurt more." Her mother spoke through clenched teeth.

Violet's frown deepened. "You're trying to trick me! I wish you were still out berry picking! I wish you hadn't come back!"

Cattie-brie threw her hands up, exasperated and hurt. She took a step toward her daughter and was both gratified and appalled when Violet took a step back. "Take the branches to your father now, or I'll use them on you myself!"

Violet turned and ran toward the house, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

Cattie-brie retrieved the berry basket and marched after her, face etched into a scowl.