Note: I'm back from my hiatus! Just a reminder that this and my other two stories "Companions of the Old Tales" and "Fathers and Sons" will be updated at a slower pace than they had been previously because I am working hard at my original novel series, but I should be able to update at least one fic every week.
Also Note: I am contemplating a fourth fic. Not sure what it will be about yet although I am leaning towards a 'marooned on a deserted island/planet/whatever' trope. I know I want the fic to have Drizzt, Legolas, Dinin, Fili, Kili, and perhaps Berg'inyon and even Entreri in it. I have been reading the Sellsword trilogy, just started the second book and I am really itching to include Entreri somewhere. So yeah, I'm not sure about the plot or setting just yet but something is definitely brewing. Let me know what sorts of stories you might like to see with the mentioned characters. I definitely think it will be another Drizzt/Ellifain Tuuserail pairing like "fathers and sons" but we shall see.
Dinin moaned, his face scrunched in pain as he lay in the sickbed. The elven druid knelt over him, his fingers roaming the drow's bare chest, concentrating on the deep wound in his side. The drow could only moan and whimper pitifully as the elves attended him.
"This paralysis spell is powerful," the druid spoke softly as another druid propped Dinin's head and shoulders up. Helping him to drink an elixir, she gently poured down his throat. Much of it dribbled down his chin as he coughed weakly.
Catti-brie glanced at Drizzt, who knelt beside the sickbed opposite the druid. The woman wasn't even sure if her friend had heard the druid's words. His gaze remained fixed on the suffering drow beneath him.
Catti-brie sat on her knees in between Drizzt and Ky'lor. They had been brought to this room of healing soon after arriving in Amandir, and after the initial adversity to the dark elves, the druids had welcomed them while Legolas had been taken directly to meet with the lord of the city.
The head druid was an older elf wearing a long robe. His hair was white, and he walked with a slight limp. He was perhaps the oldest elf Catti-brie had ever seen; she'd never seen an elf show their age before. Around him, the room was attended by many druids and druidic apprentices. This one elf had no doubt taught all of them their healing craft. He had called himself Filverel.
"Can you dispel the effects?" Catti-brie asked the druid when Drizzt failed to respond. Her friend sat slumped beside her, his posture tense as he watched his brother. The intuitive young woman could see clearly the many mixed emotions etched on his face.
For all of Dinin's past deeds, for all the taunting and mocking that they had had to endure since meeting him, Catti-brie only had to gaze down at Dinin's pained face as he incoherently thrashed his head back and forth and muttered words none could understand, to see how frightened he was. Catti-brie had a hard time seeing a ruthless murderer, but saw a vulnerable and suffering dark elf in the throes of agony.
"I believe so," Filverel spoke, bringing Catti-brie out of her musings. "But it will be a lengthy process and I believe it would be best for him if you were to all leave the room during the procedure."
Drizzt flinched, hesitating as he glanced down at his brother. Dinin didn't have the strength to speak more than a mumble, but the two brothers' eyes met and Catti-brie could clearly see the plea there. Dinin didn't want Drizzt to leave. His hand twitched, his face betraying his frustration that his body wouldn't cooperate with him.
"I won't be far away," Drizzt assured him before rising to his feet. Catti-brie and Ky'lor did the same.
"This counterspell is quite skilled," Filverel commented, glancing up at them, his eyes falling on Ky'lor, noting the young drow's wizard robes.
"It was done in haste," Ky'lor replied. Filverel waved his hand at the drow's modesty. "He was struggling to breathe."
"It saved his life without a doubt," Filverel insisted. "He would not have survived the journey here without it."
Ky'lor bowed humbly at the compliment and the three of them were led out of the sickroom by a pair of elf soldiers. The pair had escorted the drow here and had been assigned to shadow them while they were here.
They were taken to a large bedchamber. The simple decor and the cushions lining the floor, and the bed rolls stacked on one side of the room, all seemed to convey a sense of comfort and ease. There were chairs and a table in the center of the room. There were sweet scents in the air as incense burned from an overhead oil lamp, and the window beheld panoramic views of their treetop location.
Off to the side of the room, there was a large washroom with a deep, inviting hot pool bubbling with water. It looked quite inviting to Catti-brie, as her sore and exhausted muscles would certainly benefit from the healing soak. The woman surmised that this room helped the sick or injured recover in ease and comfort.
"This will be your chambers while you are all here," the soldiers explained. "You will not leave it without an escort and you will all have to share it for we do not have other accommodations for guests."
The soldiers were curt and to the point. They left the trio in the room. Their last glances implied they would be nearby should their visitors decide to wander.
Once they were alone, Catti-brie turned to Drizzt. The ranger let out a sigh and lowered himself into a chair and braced his arms on the table, pressing his head into his hands. Catti-brie glanced at Ky'lor and the young wizard frowned, sensing that his presence was not particularly welcomed at the moment.
"I will ask the guards to escort me to where they have taken Legolas," Ky'lor spoke quickly before making a hasty retreat out of the room.
Catti-brie pulled out a chair and sat down beside Drizzt, reaching across the table to rest a hand on his arm. After a lingering pause, the drow finally turned to face her. "I don't know what to think," he admitted softly. "Surely Dinin deserves death for all the blood on his hands. Surely it would have been so much easier to leave him where we found him, let the worms feast on him. Why should I feel such fear and worry over a brother who would have left me to rot if our roles were reversed?"
"Because that is not who you are," Catti-brie spoke calmly and with conviction. After all, she had known Drizzt most of her life and there was no other in the world whom she understood the most. "Never in a thousand years would Drizzt Do'urden leave any living soul to suffer. Especially when they cry for his help."
Catti-brie understood the moral dilemma that Drizzt was wrestling with right now, but she squeezed his arm then. "Is Dinin truly evil?" she asked. It wasn't really a question to be answered, but one to ponder. "Sure, he's committed evil acts, but maybe, truly, there is a chance at redemption. And as you said to Legolas, perhaps this one act of compassion, can show him the way."
Drizzt seemed to ponder that for a moment. He frowned at the mention of Legolas. "In some strange twist of fate, I would not exist if it weren't for Dinin. Though he wasn't thinking of me when he stabbed Nalfein through the heart on the day of my birth. But just as that deed was committed, Malice was putting a blade to my heart. Dinin did it for his own purposes, to become Elderboy."
"Regardless of his motives, he saved you," Catti-brie pointed out. "And now you have the chance to return the favor."
Drizzt let out a long sigh. An exhausted, emotionally strained sigh betraying his feelings of despair then. "I don't want him to die," he decided then. "I know what he has done and I don't know if any of this will make a difference to him. Perhaps he will think I am weak for my feelings, but I can't allow him to die."
"There has been too much of that in our lives," Catti-brie agreed and winced as she heard her own words and the weight behind them. She thought of Wulfgar and Drizzt winced at the thought as well. The grief of his death was still raw for the both of them, but Catti-brie couldn't help but wonder about something that had been on her mind since before he died. She felt guilty for even contemplating it, but she couldn't deny the warmth she felt whenever she and Drizzt met eyes.
She met those eyes now. There was so much emotion, raw emotion, coursing through both of them. Fears and sorrow and uncertainties. Would it be so wrong?
Drizzt blinked and shook his head, denying them both as he sat back in his chair. "Now is not the time for such things," he concluded softly, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. "We cannot allow emotions to cloud our judgement."
Catti-brie scoffed at that, feeling deflated. "Don't tell me I'm not the only one between us who has had such thoughts."
"Could we live with ourselves if we gave into them?" Drizzt didn't deny having those thoughts, but Catti-brie understood his meaning and the feelings of guilt that settled in the pit of her stomach threatened to overwhelm her.
"There has been something between us for a long time," she admitted. "And I think Wulfgar knew it. I don't know if I could have truly given myself to him and I don't know if I can forgive myself for it, especially now that he's gone."
Drizzt only responded by standing up, pulling Catti-brie out of her seat, and pulling her close, enveloping her in his arms. She let out a slow breath, feeling the warmth of his embrace as she buried her face into his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut for a few precious moments.
"We have a long road ahead of us," the drow reminded her. "If we gave into our feelings now, how would we even be able to look at one another afterwards?"
Catti-brie lifted her head to gaze at him. They were nearly the same height, the drow only an inch or two taller, and his arms felt warm and safe. She couldn't help the words that fell out of her mouth then. "Maybe I'm willing to take the risk," she surmised. She knew she was walking a line here, her heart speeding up as she locked eyes with him again.
They both knew the dangers, they both knew the risks, but when Drizzt leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, suddenly none of it mattered. Catti-brie closed her eyes, letting the world stop, relishing in the softness of his kiss, the gentle embrace of his arms. She wanted to give herself to the passion that threatened to take control of them both.
But with perhaps the most self-control either of them could muster, they both pulled away, reluctantly, to look at one another in the eyes.
"Now is not the time," Catti-brie whispered, echoing Drizzt's earlier words. She took in a breath, steading herself, calming herself as they both backed away.
They'd resisted, but Catti-brie realized that she needed to sort out her feelings soon because she knew that they'd be put to the test again and she was quite sure there would be no way for either of them to resist. And the woman couldn't help but think of Wulfgar and feel guilty when she realized she was looking forward to the day they gave into their passions and to the nine hells with the consequences.