[A/N] Yea, thx She-Cat for sending the drow dictionary, it really helped a
lot with my last chapter! ^-^ Anyway, I thought that I owed you this
chapter for not updating very fast on the last one. Enjoy!
Song is 'My Immortal' by Evanescence.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Anguish
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all of my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Because your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
Tears fell freely down her face as she sat next to his bed, listening to the soft, shallow sounds of his breathing. It had been only a few hours since they had arrived in Silverymoon with Gabriel and Raliën. Catti-brie had remained at the drow's side ever since they had arrived. She watched as Gabriel, kneeling at the head of the bed, frantically mixed miscellaneous bottles of liquid together with ground up bits of roots and leaves that Catti-brie couldn't even begin to identify.
He had been working hard since they had arrived, trying to find something that would lower Drizzt's unbelievably high fever. Catti-brie had kept the clothes on his forehead and the back of his neck cold, trying to help him. She couldn't believe that now, after having been through so much, and having survived the torture and abuse from his drow captors, he would die.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just to much that time cannot erase
Gabriel would look over at Catti-brie every once and a while, to see how she was holding up. So far, it had been farely well, with the exception of the tears running down her face. He hoped that he could heal to valiant ranger. He owed that to Drizzt, for having risked his life to have his beloved Serenity released from her captivity. He had seen the selfless spirit in the ranger that followed Mielikke faithfully in his own way and respected him.
He continued working long through the afternoon and morning, trying his hardest to try and lower Drizzt's unbelievably high fever and illness. As the sun moved west-ward across the sky, his hopes began to diminish. Maybe the infection was too much for the much-loved ranger of Mielikke.
Maybe their prayers wouldn't be enough.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I've held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
It was nearly sunset when Gabriel fell heavily against the bed in exhaustion. He had been trying his hardest all day, and the drow yet remained in a feverish, restless coma. He had tried everything to remove the infection. The fever had only lessened slightly. Catti-brie looked at him, fear and anxiety in her sapphire eyes. She had a feeling about what Gabriel would say. She had tried to keep the fever down besides him, trying to keep the drow she loved alive.
"What's wrong?" Catti-brie asked, praying the news would be good but her heart telling her it would not be so. "Something's wrong and you're not tellin' me."
Gabriel sighed, avoiding her piercing eyes. "Catti-brie, there is nothing more I can do." His melodic voice was soft. "I have done everything that is in my power, and all I have succeeded in doing was allowing him to live until the sunrises tomorrow morning. He would've died this night, but I have extended it. The only hope we have now is if he himself decides to join the world of the living, and not make his way into the Abyss."
Sapphire eyes closed, Catti-brie placed her face in her hands. She knew that he had tried everything, the Lady Alustriel was still in her private rooms, looking to do something of her own to help Drizzt. If what Gabriel said was right, all they had left to do was watch as his condition either deteriorated or improved.
All they could do was hope.
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
But I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
The sun had finally set, and Catti-brie yet remained at Drizzt's side. He hadn't improved or deteriorated. She held his hand in both of her, lightly kissing the knuckle every now and then, tears running in a steady stream down her face. Her eyes were either locked on her face or the unicorn shaped pendant hanging on a fine silver chain around his neck. All she had left was hope that he would return to her.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
* * * * *
He opened his eyes slowly, consciousness and thought coming swiftly back to him. He was surprised to find himself lying in the middle of a forest clearing, the grass soft underneath his body. He felt as if he had slept a long, peaceful sleep, through the entire night. The drow ranger couldn't remember how he had gotten here, though he guessed it was better waking up here than in a cold dungeon in the Underdark.
Drizzt sat up slowly, looking around the clearing for any sign that he could use to recognize this place. The trees were all brilliant shades of green and gold, the bark healthy and a dark, dark brown. The sun shone on his face, making him smile at the familiar warmth. Birds chirped and sang around the glade and there were beautiful and brilliantly colored wild flowers all over the place.
A stream ran through the center of the glade, the low, bubbling sounds seeming cheerful. The water was clear and cool, making the ranger realize how warm and thirsty he felt. As he knelt to drink, a familiat purr sounded next to him. Startled, he looked over to find a wonderful sight indeed!
Guenwyvar growled at him before pouncing, knocking the slender black elf to the ground. Drizzt laughed for the joy of it, wrestling with the panther he hadn't seen in the longest time. Gods! It felt so good to once again look into those intelligent green eyes and see the one of the first friends he had ever made.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made him look up, and Drizzt's lavender eyes widened when he saw who it was.
It was a half-elven woman with almond eyes the color of the forest after a storm, a deep, dark green. An intellegence and wisdom sparkled within those eyes that he had never before seen in another being. Long, dark gold hair fell in a thick braid down to her knees. She was tall and delicately slender, yet also very beautiful. She carried a bow over her shoulder and a falchion at her waist. A brilliant white unicorn stood at her side, nudging her shoulder gently. She smiled at him, chuckling softly.
"Guenwyvar is a wonderful companion, Drizzt Do'Urden." She said, her green eyes glittering. "And she has missed you much for the last days and has been worried about you."
Drizzt looked at her curioiusly, standing in front of her. "How do you know my name, lady?" His lavender eyes shone with bright flames. "And who are you?"
Her smile widened and she held her arms out at her sides. "Well, my faithful ranger, I am Mielikke, and, of course, I know the names of all my loyal followers."
Drizzt's lavender eyes widened, and he quickly knelt before her on one knee, bowing his head and closing his eyes respectfully. His had never expected to meet the goddess herself. "I am sorry for being rude, Lady Forest. I mean no disrespect. I was just curious, was all."
He looked up instinctively when she lifted his chin, raising his gaze to her face. She was still smiling down at him gently. "I know why you asked, Ranger Do'Urden, for I have seen what your enemies have done to you over the last weeks. You had every right to be cautious, after what happened. Rise, you are safe here, and there is no one to harm you."
"Where are we anyway, Lady Forest?"
"Please, Ranger Do'Urden, there is no need to call me by a fancy title." She watched him stand. "You normally don't anyway. We are in my glade, far away from any population of people." Mielikke's face slowly became serious. "I had brought you here for a reason, my faithful ranger, and I am betting that you are curious why."
"Yes, Mielikke, I am."
Smiling, she held out her hand to him. "Take my hand and I will lead you there."
Gingerly, he took her pale-skinned hand. The scenery around them changed and he found himself in the private chambers he normally occupied whenever he was in Silverymoon. His eyes widened when he saw Catti-brie haunched over the side of the bed, she slender shoulders shaking with sobs and her voice broken as she spoke to whomever was lying on the bed. Drizzt looked to Mielikke, surprised etched upon his ebony face.
"What is happening in here?" He asked her, looking into the goddess's intelligent green eyes. "Why is she crying? Why doesn't she realize that we are here?"
"No one can here or see us, Ranger Do'Urden and you may see for yourself why Catti-brie is weeping."
Slowly, Drizzt walked so stand by Catti-brie's side, curious as to what was going on in the room. His eyes widened when they took in who he saw on the bed. It was himself, barely alive and unconscious, muttering soft words in his native tongue under his breath. Catti-brie was clutching his hand as if it were a lifeline, and she had nothing else left in the world. Her words both terrified him and made his heart break.
"Please Drizzt," she was saying, lightly kissing his knuckle. He felt the ghost of the touch on his hand. "Don't be leavin' us. We be needin' ye here. All of us, yer friends. Ye mean too much t' us t' be leavin' now, not after livin' through all the damned drow did t' ye just t' see us again.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I've held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
"We all need ye Drizzt." Her face was shining with tears and her shoulders shook with sobs. "I need ye. I love ye and I be needin' ye with me. After all these years of knowin' that ye were there for me whenever I be needin' ye, it just wouldn't be the same without ye there. Please, please, come back t' me, t' all of us. I love ye, please, come back."
Tears fell down his black-skinned cheeks as Drizzt reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, to try and comfort her. His hand only passed through her as if he were a ghost. He looked back at Mielikke, who was watching him steadily.
"Why did you bring me here?" Drizzt asked her quietly, looking into those intense green orbs. "What reason do you have to bring me here? And why is my body lying there while I am here, with you?"
"Your wounds became dangerously infected while you were traveling." She said quietly, looking at the sobbing woman and the deathly still figure on the bed. "While Gabriel was trying his hardest to relieve your body of the infection, your spirit became separated from your body. If your spirit doesn't return to your body by the time the sunrises than your body will die. It is your decision, Ranger Do'Urden, will you remain separated from your body, or will you return to the world of the living?"
Drizzt was quiet for a long time. He though about all that had happened since he had been taken captive all those weeks ago. He shuddered as he remembered the pain of the whips, the stretching of that damned machine, and the vile touch of that red-haired human on his flesh. After all that had happened, he hesitated in going back. The memories were still painfully fresh in his mind, yet he wanted nothing more than to be with Catti-brie. Looking back at where she sat, sobbing into her hands, her arms resting on the edge of the bed she knelt at.
Looking again at his goddess, Drizzt nodded slowly, seeing the pink tinge in the sky.
* * * * *
Catti-brie felt despair take complete hold of her as the sun began to rise, beginning to fill the small room with its soft light. She shut the black curtains tightly, throwing the room into darkness. A small, nearly runout candle was the only source of light in the room. She sobbed when she felt Drizzt's suddenly cool skin. His breath rattled and she knew that he was near his last minutes.
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
And though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
Tears welled in her eyes as she took out a small dagger from where she had hidden it in the mattress. She held it her to wrist as looked at the deathly still body of her beloved drow ranger.
Her eyes widened as the pendant around Drizzt's neck began to glow with a soft lavender light. His face seemed to fill out before her eyes and he suddenly looked stronger than he had in weeks. His face lost the bright red flush that fever had given it and his skin was hot, but it was the warmth one receives after sleeping deeply during the night. His breaths deepened and evened out until Drizzt seemed only to be very deeply asleep.
Catti-brie lightly touched his forehead, and she sighed in relief when she didn't feel the burning fever that had been there all through the night and day. Crying softly, she buried her face in the hair by his neck, the hand that had dropped the knife lying forgotten on the ground.
Catt-brie raised her head to look at his face when she felt him move his head only slightly. She watched as his eyes fluttered, then opened. Drizzt looked slowly over to where he could feel her breath warm against his face.
"I love you Cat." He sat up slowly, his back still hurting from the deep welts. It hurt to talk, his throat was so dry. "I just couldn't leave you, any of you."
She smiled slightly, cupping his face in her hand. Catti-brie wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his thick hair. It took him a few minutes before he realized that she was still crying softly. He wrapped his arms around her, whispering soft, soothing words to her. After a while she pulled back to look into his face. Catti-brie could still see faint scars from his month of captivity, but she mainly just looked into this eyes.
"I thought that I'd lost ye." She said quietly, resting her head against his shoulder. It felt so right, sitting there, wrapped in his arms.
"But I'm here now, Cat." His lightly kissed the top of her head, burying his face in her auburn hair. "I'm here now."
* * * * *
[A/N] O-O Wow. Long chapter. **reads it again** OoO AAHHHHH! Sappy chapter too! **sob** not another!! **scowls at plot bunnies** They made me!! Honest!! **gives puppy dogs eyes** please review chapter!!
Song is 'My Immortal' by Evanescence.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Anguish
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all of my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Because your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
Tears fell freely down her face as she sat next to his bed, listening to the soft, shallow sounds of his breathing. It had been only a few hours since they had arrived in Silverymoon with Gabriel and Raliën. Catti-brie had remained at the drow's side ever since they had arrived. She watched as Gabriel, kneeling at the head of the bed, frantically mixed miscellaneous bottles of liquid together with ground up bits of roots and leaves that Catti-brie couldn't even begin to identify.
He had been working hard since they had arrived, trying to find something that would lower Drizzt's unbelievably high fever. Catti-brie had kept the clothes on his forehead and the back of his neck cold, trying to help him. She couldn't believe that now, after having been through so much, and having survived the torture and abuse from his drow captors, he would die.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just to much that time cannot erase
Gabriel would look over at Catti-brie every once and a while, to see how she was holding up. So far, it had been farely well, with the exception of the tears running down her face. He hoped that he could heal to valiant ranger. He owed that to Drizzt, for having risked his life to have his beloved Serenity released from her captivity. He had seen the selfless spirit in the ranger that followed Mielikke faithfully in his own way and respected him.
He continued working long through the afternoon and morning, trying his hardest to try and lower Drizzt's unbelievably high fever and illness. As the sun moved west-ward across the sky, his hopes began to diminish. Maybe the infection was too much for the much-loved ranger of Mielikke.
Maybe their prayers wouldn't be enough.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I've held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
It was nearly sunset when Gabriel fell heavily against the bed in exhaustion. He had been trying his hardest all day, and the drow yet remained in a feverish, restless coma. He had tried everything to remove the infection. The fever had only lessened slightly. Catti-brie looked at him, fear and anxiety in her sapphire eyes. She had a feeling about what Gabriel would say. She had tried to keep the fever down besides him, trying to keep the drow she loved alive.
"What's wrong?" Catti-brie asked, praying the news would be good but her heart telling her it would not be so. "Something's wrong and you're not tellin' me."
Gabriel sighed, avoiding her piercing eyes. "Catti-brie, there is nothing more I can do." His melodic voice was soft. "I have done everything that is in my power, and all I have succeeded in doing was allowing him to live until the sunrises tomorrow morning. He would've died this night, but I have extended it. The only hope we have now is if he himself decides to join the world of the living, and not make his way into the Abyss."
Sapphire eyes closed, Catti-brie placed her face in her hands. She knew that he had tried everything, the Lady Alustriel was still in her private rooms, looking to do something of her own to help Drizzt. If what Gabriel said was right, all they had left to do was watch as his condition either deteriorated or improved.
All they could do was hope.
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
But I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
The sun had finally set, and Catti-brie yet remained at Drizzt's side. He hadn't improved or deteriorated. She held his hand in both of her, lightly kissing the knuckle every now and then, tears running in a steady stream down her face. Her eyes were either locked on her face or the unicorn shaped pendant hanging on a fine silver chain around his neck. All she had left was hope that he would return to her.
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
* * * * *
He opened his eyes slowly, consciousness and thought coming swiftly back to him. He was surprised to find himself lying in the middle of a forest clearing, the grass soft underneath his body. He felt as if he had slept a long, peaceful sleep, through the entire night. The drow ranger couldn't remember how he had gotten here, though he guessed it was better waking up here than in a cold dungeon in the Underdark.
Drizzt sat up slowly, looking around the clearing for any sign that he could use to recognize this place. The trees were all brilliant shades of green and gold, the bark healthy and a dark, dark brown. The sun shone on his face, making him smile at the familiar warmth. Birds chirped and sang around the glade and there were beautiful and brilliantly colored wild flowers all over the place.
A stream ran through the center of the glade, the low, bubbling sounds seeming cheerful. The water was clear and cool, making the ranger realize how warm and thirsty he felt. As he knelt to drink, a familiat purr sounded next to him. Startled, he looked over to find a wonderful sight indeed!
Guenwyvar growled at him before pouncing, knocking the slender black elf to the ground. Drizzt laughed for the joy of it, wrestling with the panther he hadn't seen in the longest time. Gods! It felt so good to once again look into those intelligent green eyes and see the one of the first friends he had ever made.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made him look up, and Drizzt's lavender eyes widened when he saw who it was.
It was a half-elven woman with almond eyes the color of the forest after a storm, a deep, dark green. An intellegence and wisdom sparkled within those eyes that he had never before seen in another being. Long, dark gold hair fell in a thick braid down to her knees. She was tall and delicately slender, yet also very beautiful. She carried a bow over her shoulder and a falchion at her waist. A brilliant white unicorn stood at her side, nudging her shoulder gently. She smiled at him, chuckling softly.
"Guenwyvar is a wonderful companion, Drizzt Do'Urden." She said, her green eyes glittering. "And she has missed you much for the last days and has been worried about you."
Drizzt looked at her curioiusly, standing in front of her. "How do you know my name, lady?" His lavender eyes shone with bright flames. "And who are you?"
Her smile widened and she held her arms out at her sides. "Well, my faithful ranger, I am Mielikke, and, of course, I know the names of all my loyal followers."
Drizzt's lavender eyes widened, and he quickly knelt before her on one knee, bowing his head and closing his eyes respectfully. His had never expected to meet the goddess herself. "I am sorry for being rude, Lady Forest. I mean no disrespect. I was just curious, was all."
He looked up instinctively when she lifted his chin, raising his gaze to her face. She was still smiling down at him gently. "I know why you asked, Ranger Do'Urden, for I have seen what your enemies have done to you over the last weeks. You had every right to be cautious, after what happened. Rise, you are safe here, and there is no one to harm you."
"Where are we anyway, Lady Forest?"
"Please, Ranger Do'Urden, there is no need to call me by a fancy title." She watched him stand. "You normally don't anyway. We are in my glade, far away from any population of people." Mielikke's face slowly became serious. "I had brought you here for a reason, my faithful ranger, and I am betting that you are curious why."
"Yes, Mielikke, I am."
Smiling, she held out her hand to him. "Take my hand and I will lead you there."
Gingerly, he took her pale-skinned hand. The scenery around them changed and he found himself in the private chambers he normally occupied whenever he was in Silverymoon. His eyes widened when he saw Catti-brie haunched over the side of the bed, she slender shoulders shaking with sobs and her voice broken as she spoke to whomever was lying on the bed. Drizzt looked to Mielikke, surprised etched upon his ebony face.
"What is happening in here?" He asked her, looking into the goddess's intelligent green eyes. "Why is she crying? Why doesn't she realize that we are here?"
"No one can here or see us, Ranger Do'Urden and you may see for yourself why Catti-brie is weeping."
Slowly, Drizzt walked so stand by Catti-brie's side, curious as to what was going on in the room. His eyes widened when they took in who he saw on the bed. It was himself, barely alive and unconscious, muttering soft words in his native tongue under his breath. Catti-brie was clutching his hand as if it were a lifeline, and she had nothing else left in the world. Her words both terrified him and made his heart break.
"Please Drizzt," she was saying, lightly kissing his knuckle. He felt the ghost of the touch on his hand. "Don't be leavin' us. We be needin' ye here. All of us, yer friends. Ye mean too much t' us t' be leavin' now, not after livin' through all the damned drow did t' ye just t' see us again.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I've held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
"We all need ye Drizzt." Her face was shining with tears and her shoulders shook with sobs. "I need ye. I love ye and I be needin' ye with me. After all these years of knowin' that ye were there for me whenever I be needin' ye, it just wouldn't be the same without ye there. Please, please, come back t' me, t' all of us. I love ye, please, come back."
Tears fell down his black-skinned cheeks as Drizzt reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, to try and comfort her. His hand only passed through her as if he were a ghost. He looked back at Mielikke, who was watching him steadily.
"Why did you bring me here?" Drizzt asked her quietly, looking into those intense green orbs. "What reason do you have to bring me here? And why is my body lying there while I am here, with you?"
"Your wounds became dangerously infected while you were traveling." She said quietly, looking at the sobbing woman and the deathly still figure on the bed. "While Gabriel was trying his hardest to relieve your body of the infection, your spirit became separated from your body. If your spirit doesn't return to your body by the time the sunrises than your body will die. It is your decision, Ranger Do'Urden, will you remain separated from your body, or will you return to the world of the living?"
Drizzt was quiet for a long time. He though about all that had happened since he had been taken captive all those weeks ago. He shuddered as he remembered the pain of the whips, the stretching of that damned machine, and the vile touch of that red-haired human on his flesh. After all that had happened, he hesitated in going back. The memories were still painfully fresh in his mind, yet he wanted nothing more than to be with Catti-brie. Looking back at where she sat, sobbing into her hands, her arms resting on the edge of the bed she knelt at.
Looking again at his goddess, Drizzt nodded slowly, seeing the pink tinge in the sky.
* * * * *
Catti-brie felt despair take complete hold of her as the sun began to rise, beginning to fill the small room with its soft light. She shut the black curtains tightly, throwing the room into darkness. A small, nearly runout candle was the only source of light in the room. She sobbed when she felt Drizzt's suddenly cool skin. His breath rattled and she knew that he was near his last minutes.
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
And though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
Tears welled in her eyes as she took out a small dagger from where she had hidden it in the mattress. She held it her to wrist as looked at the deathly still body of her beloved drow ranger.
Her eyes widened as the pendant around Drizzt's neck began to glow with a soft lavender light. His face seemed to fill out before her eyes and he suddenly looked stronger than he had in weeks. His face lost the bright red flush that fever had given it and his skin was hot, but it was the warmth one receives after sleeping deeply during the night. His breaths deepened and evened out until Drizzt seemed only to be very deeply asleep.
Catti-brie lightly touched his forehead, and she sighed in relief when she didn't feel the burning fever that had been there all through the night and day. Crying softly, she buried her face in the hair by his neck, the hand that had dropped the knife lying forgotten on the ground.
Catt-brie raised her head to look at his face when she felt him move his head only slightly. She watched as his eyes fluttered, then opened. Drizzt looked slowly over to where he could feel her breath warm against his face.
"I love you Cat." He sat up slowly, his back still hurting from the deep welts. It hurt to talk, his throat was so dry. "I just couldn't leave you, any of you."
She smiled slightly, cupping his face in her hand. Catti-brie wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his thick hair. It took him a few minutes before he realized that she was still crying softly. He wrapped his arms around her, whispering soft, soothing words to her. After a while she pulled back to look into his face. Catti-brie could still see faint scars from his month of captivity, but she mainly just looked into this eyes.
"I thought that I'd lost ye." She said quietly, resting her head against his shoulder. It felt so right, sitting there, wrapped in his arms.
"But I'm here now, Cat." His lightly kissed the top of her head, burying his face in her auburn hair. "I'm here now."
* * * * *
[A/N] O-O Wow. Long chapter. **reads it again** OoO AAHHHHH! Sappy chapter too! **sob** not another!! **scowls at plot bunnies** They made me!! Honest!! **gives puppy dogs eyes** please review chapter!!