Chapter Nine
Drizzt was not in the best of moods. For one whole week, he had hardly bothered to get out of his bed, he only ate when someone forced him to and sleep alluded him completely. He hadn't spoken at all since he broke down.
Not even Catti-Brie could get him to break his silence.
There was another problem coming up that had everyone nervous. The full moon. Tarathiel decided that to be on the safe side, he would lock himself up in a steel cage in the dungeon. Drizzt hoped the elf had not been afflicted with Lycanthropy.
Shifting slightly in the bed and sighing, he got up and headed for the bathing room. A bath was made for him every day, but this was the first time he would use it.
Walking very slowly and fighting the urge to get on all fours and crawl there, it took him three doors before he found the right one.
He had forgotten clean clothes. Shrugging out of the dirty clothes he was in, carefully making his way to the bath and gently lowering himself into the water, he let the scented and bubbled water do its work calming him.
He had sat in the water for a good half-hour before he even bothered to wash himself of the dust, dirt and grime of a week that was clinging to him.
After cleaning himself, he had to admit to feeling better. He even felt up to a small walk, something his legs needed as to start working properly again, as the small trek to the bathing room adjoined to the bedroom had been hard enough on his unused legs.
Getting out of the bath was a whole lot harder than getting in. He was wet, his grip slipping constantly, while he was trying to stand to get out.
After a few long minutes of trying he finally succeeded, but now he was exhausted.
"My walk can wait for later," He muttered to himself as he slowly made his way back into his bedroom. He immediately collapsed onto his bed, before realizing how filthy the bedsheets had become. Getting back up again, he decided that regardless of exhaustion, he needed to find a clean bed to sleep in.
Moving slowly around the room, he was glad that the first door he came in contact with was the door out of his rooms. He didn't remember the passage from his room to Lady Alustriel's to be so long though...
He was what he thought to be close to her room when he heard a gasp behind him. Spinning about, he realized the reason why...he had forgotten to put clothes on and was wandering about the palace in nothing but a towel.
"I see that you finally got out of your bed." Alustriel said, moving close to the drow and wrapping her arms around him. "Though if you want to go wandering around the palace, might I suggest some clothing?"
Drizzt fought hard to stop himself from blushing fiercely. "I was trying to find your room to ask if there was a clean bed I could sleep in..."
"All you have been doing is lying in a bed. This small walk of yours will do you the world of good."
"Maybe, but I have not slept...I guess my bath was enough to calm my senses. I am extremely tired."
"Well, you should realize then, that you walked right by my door."
Drizzt's smile faded at that. He should have realized! "Please say you can help me?!"
Alustriel's grip tightened a little before she let go. "Of course I will try to help you. You have friends here too and they will try to help you all they can."
Sighing, Drizzt nodded. "I feel horrible for the way I have been acting...I just...I needed time alone." He shifted from foot to foot for a while before confessing his feelings.
"I am scared. I am so afraid that this will be permanent. What will become of me if it is? I know I can still fight, but my other skills...that night I broke my arm, I just went for a small walk. I wasn't worried about becoming lost, because to me tracking is like second nature. I was good at it. When I turned round to go back and found myself staring at the darkness that should have so easily shown my own steps I panicked and..."
"You ran off." Alustriel finished for him, placing a hand on the arm he had broke and squeezing it gently. He only then realised it had been healed. "It is alright to be frightened, just as it is alright to cry. Now, I'll lead you to a guest room and will have your sheets cleaned for tomorrow night."
Drizzt smiled in the Lady's direction. "Thank you. For everything."
"Sometimes you need to talk of your feelings to feel better. Sometimes you need time alone, you will talk to the others tomorrow won't you? They are worried."
Drizzt nodded. "Yes, I will. I feel that I owe everyone an apology and explain why...if I can."
Alustriel smiled at that before leading him to a guest bedroom closer to the quarters his friends were staying. Helping him to the bed, watching as he crawled beneath the covers and discarded the towel, she made sure he was comfortable before speaking again.
"I will always be near if you need to talk." She said, glad to see a sleepy but true smile on the drow's face.
"Thank you." Drizzt mumbled. "For the room and for the talk. It helped..."
Alustriel smiled down at him as seconds after the words left his mouth he was in a deep sleep.
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Someone was nudging him. Rolling over, he pulled the sheets right up under his chin and ignored whoever it was. Still the nudging persisted and he gave a great sigh as he realised there would be no more sleep for him that day. He pulled the blanket down to his chest, stating he was awake.
"Ok I am awake!" He grumbled, still half asleep. Another nudge, this time to his exposed face, was followed by a wet tongue. He smiled as he realised that someone had let Guenhwyvar into his room.
"I'm sorry, Guenhwyvar. I should have let you roam about the material plane for a bit. I...have been ignoring everyone. Please don't be mad at me." With that, he threw his arms around the cat and hugged her close.
He knew as he felt her move a bit, that she was licking one of her gigantic paws. He chuckled slightly at this. "I knew you would forgive me."
The slight movement of the licking stopped and the weight of the wet paw was draped around his shoulders.
He heard the slight noise of the door moving and quickly looked in that direction. A chuckle was heard in the general direction of the door.
"So, he's talkin' again. I be hearin' it with me own ears." Came the annoyed voice of Bruenor.
"I am so sorry." Drizzt said quietly, head down with shame.
"Ye got nothin' ter be sorry about. Ye didn't know how to cope with all ye was feelin' and ye did what yer body wanted...to have a time-out from everything for a bit." Catti-Brie called from behind the dwarf.
Drizzt closed his eyes. While that was probably true, it didn't sound truly....right to his ears. "I should have talked to you when you were talking to me..."
"Could ye hear us?" Bruenor asked.
Drizzt shrugged. "Yes...though I could not reply, even if I had wanted to. I guess what Catti-Brie said was true...my body shut down to..." He stopped there, lost on the right word to say. Cope didn't sound right, although that could be his pride talking.
Shrugging, he gave up trying to find the word he was looking for. "I am still sorry."
He heard the light steps of Catti-Brie walk towards him, even as the heavy tread of Bruenor faded away, closing the door behind him as he left. There was a short, uncomfortable silence before Catti-Brie walked the rest of the space to the bed.
"Ye will get through this, Drizzt Do'Urden, even if it is permanent. Ye will just have to learn to do things on yer own again. Maybe we could even find ye an animal companion to help ye walk about more easily."
"Guen..."
"Guenhwyvar is a good friend, yes, and an animal, but she cannot be by yer side all the time."
Drizzt sighed again. He was beginning to think that was one of the only sounds he could make apart from talking, he did it so often nowadays. The heavy paw lifted off his shoulders as the cat in question decided to make herself comfortable by laying on his lap.
"I be thinkin' somethin' more along the lines of Colt."
"A wolf?"
"Yes. They are dogs, and rather intelligent animals." There was a slight pause before she continued talking, changing the subject entirely. "Wulfgar and Regis will be visitin' ye later on this morning. I'll let ye rest a bit more if ye want."
Drizzt smiled and lay back down, his legs getting sore from the weight of the panther strewn across them. "I am awake now, but I think I will stay here for a bit longer."
"Ok." The woman replied, before reaching over and kissing him gently on the mouth. "See ye when yer up and about then."
With that, Drizzt heard her leave the room, giving him time to be alone with Guenhwyvar who was demanding attention. A smile was on his lips and stayed there until Regis and Wulfgar entered the room to talk.
All of a sudden he felt a whole lot better.
A/N - I had no idea how to finish this chapter and, if you ask me, it shows..the first part though, hehehe, I just thought it would be very funny to see a blind Drizzt running about the palace with nothing but a towel wrapped around him.
Anyhoo, thanks go to Lillian and Lime, LirielMe, ChichiX, Dark Elf, LunaLillium, carlin Robertson, Lady Cinnibar, and she-cat. You people are the best * hands out cookies to reviewers *. Hope you all enjoy this chapter too, it was hell to write, suffered a little case of Writer's block.
Drizzt was not in the best of moods. For one whole week, he had hardly bothered to get out of his bed, he only ate when someone forced him to and sleep alluded him completely. He hadn't spoken at all since he broke down.
Not even Catti-Brie could get him to break his silence.
There was another problem coming up that had everyone nervous. The full moon. Tarathiel decided that to be on the safe side, he would lock himself up in a steel cage in the dungeon. Drizzt hoped the elf had not been afflicted with Lycanthropy.
Shifting slightly in the bed and sighing, he got up and headed for the bathing room. A bath was made for him every day, but this was the first time he would use it.
Walking very slowly and fighting the urge to get on all fours and crawl there, it took him three doors before he found the right one.
He had forgotten clean clothes. Shrugging out of the dirty clothes he was in, carefully making his way to the bath and gently lowering himself into the water, he let the scented and bubbled water do its work calming him.
He had sat in the water for a good half-hour before he even bothered to wash himself of the dust, dirt and grime of a week that was clinging to him.
After cleaning himself, he had to admit to feeling better. He even felt up to a small walk, something his legs needed as to start working properly again, as the small trek to the bathing room adjoined to the bedroom had been hard enough on his unused legs.
Getting out of the bath was a whole lot harder than getting in. He was wet, his grip slipping constantly, while he was trying to stand to get out.
After a few long minutes of trying he finally succeeded, but now he was exhausted.
"My walk can wait for later," He muttered to himself as he slowly made his way back into his bedroom. He immediately collapsed onto his bed, before realizing how filthy the bedsheets had become. Getting back up again, he decided that regardless of exhaustion, he needed to find a clean bed to sleep in.
Moving slowly around the room, he was glad that the first door he came in contact with was the door out of his rooms. He didn't remember the passage from his room to Lady Alustriel's to be so long though...
He was what he thought to be close to her room when he heard a gasp behind him. Spinning about, he realized the reason why...he had forgotten to put clothes on and was wandering about the palace in nothing but a towel.
"I see that you finally got out of your bed." Alustriel said, moving close to the drow and wrapping her arms around him. "Though if you want to go wandering around the palace, might I suggest some clothing?"
Drizzt fought hard to stop himself from blushing fiercely. "I was trying to find your room to ask if there was a clean bed I could sleep in..."
"All you have been doing is lying in a bed. This small walk of yours will do you the world of good."
"Maybe, but I have not slept...I guess my bath was enough to calm my senses. I am extremely tired."
"Well, you should realize then, that you walked right by my door."
Drizzt's smile faded at that. He should have realized! "Please say you can help me?!"
Alustriel's grip tightened a little before she let go. "Of course I will try to help you. You have friends here too and they will try to help you all they can."
Sighing, Drizzt nodded. "I feel horrible for the way I have been acting...I just...I needed time alone." He shifted from foot to foot for a while before confessing his feelings.
"I am scared. I am so afraid that this will be permanent. What will become of me if it is? I know I can still fight, but my other skills...that night I broke my arm, I just went for a small walk. I wasn't worried about becoming lost, because to me tracking is like second nature. I was good at it. When I turned round to go back and found myself staring at the darkness that should have so easily shown my own steps I panicked and..."
"You ran off." Alustriel finished for him, placing a hand on the arm he had broke and squeezing it gently. He only then realised it had been healed. "It is alright to be frightened, just as it is alright to cry. Now, I'll lead you to a guest room and will have your sheets cleaned for tomorrow night."
Drizzt smiled in the Lady's direction. "Thank you. For everything."
"Sometimes you need to talk of your feelings to feel better. Sometimes you need time alone, you will talk to the others tomorrow won't you? They are worried."
Drizzt nodded. "Yes, I will. I feel that I owe everyone an apology and explain why...if I can."
Alustriel smiled at that before leading him to a guest bedroom closer to the quarters his friends were staying. Helping him to the bed, watching as he crawled beneath the covers and discarded the towel, she made sure he was comfortable before speaking again.
"I will always be near if you need to talk." She said, glad to see a sleepy but true smile on the drow's face.
"Thank you." Drizzt mumbled. "For the room and for the talk. It helped..."
Alustriel smiled down at him as seconds after the words left his mouth he was in a deep sleep.
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Someone was nudging him. Rolling over, he pulled the sheets right up under his chin and ignored whoever it was. Still the nudging persisted and he gave a great sigh as he realised there would be no more sleep for him that day. He pulled the blanket down to his chest, stating he was awake.
"Ok I am awake!" He grumbled, still half asleep. Another nudge, this time to his exposed face, was followed by a wet tongue. He smiled as he realised that someone had let Guenhwyvar into his room.
"I'm sorry, Guenhwyvar. I should have let you roam about the material plane for a bit. I...have been ignoring everyone. Please don't be mad at me." With that, he threw his arms around the cat and hugged her close.
He knew as he felt her move a bit, that she was licking one of her gigantic paws. He chuckled slightly at this. "I knew you would forgive me."
The slight movement of the licking stopped and the weight of the wet paw was draped around his shoulders.
He heard the slight noise of the door moving and quickly looked in that direction. A chuckle was heard in the general direction of the door.
"So, he's talkin' again. I be hearin' it with me own ears." Came the annoyed voice of Bruenor.
"I am so sorry." Drizzt said quietly, head down with shame.
"Ye got nothin' ter be sorry about. Ye didn't know how to cope with all ye was feelin' and ye did what yer body wanted...to have a time-out from everything for a bit." Catti-Brie called from behind the dwarf.
Drizzt closed his eyes. While that was probably true, it didn't sound truly....right to his ears. "I should have talked to you when you were talking to me..."
"Could ye hear us?" Bruenor asked.
Drizzt shrugged. "Yes...though I could not reply, even if I had wanted to. I guess what Catti-Brie said was true...my body shut down to..." He stopped there, lost on the right word to say. Cope didn't sound right, although that could be his pride talking.
Shrugging, he gave up trying to find the word he was looking for. "I am still sorry."
He heard the light steps of Catti-Brie walk towards him, even as the heavy tread of Bruenor faded away, closing the door behind him as he left. There was a short, uncomfortable silence before Catti-Brie walked the rest of the space to the bed.
"Ye will get through this, Drizzt Do'Urden, even if it is permanent. Ye will just have to learn to do things on yer own again. Maybe we could even find ye an animal companion to help ye walk about more easily."
"Guen..."
"Guenhwyvar is a good friend, yes, and an animal, but she cannot be by yer side all the time."
Drizzt sighed again. He was beginning to think that was one of the only sounds he could make apart from talking, he did it so often nowadays. The heavy paw lifted off his shoulders as the cat in question decided to make herself comfortable by laying on his lap.
"I be thinkin' somethin' more along the lines of Colt."
"A wolf?"
"Yes. They are dogs, and rather intelligent animals." There was a slight pause before she continued talking, changing the subject entirely. "Wulfgar and Regis will be visitin' ye later on this morning. I'll let ye rest a bit more if ye want."
Drizzt smiled and lay back down, his legs getting sore from the weight of the panther strewn across them. "I am awake now, but I think I will stay here for a bit longer."
"Ok." The woman replied, before reaching over and kissing him gently on the mouth. "See ye when yer up and about then."
With that, Drizzt heard her leave the room, giving him time to be alone with Guenhwyvar who was demanding attention. A smile was on his lips and stayed there until Regis and Wulfgar entered the room to talk.
All of a sudden he felt a whole lot better.
A/N - I had no idea how to finish this chapter and, if you ask me, it shows..the first part though, hehehe, I just thought it would be very funny to see a blind Drizzt running about the palace with nothing but a towel wrapped around him.
Anyhoo, thanks go to Lillian and Lime, LirielMe, ChichiX, Dark Elf, LunaLillium, carlin Robertson, Lady Cinnibar, and she-cat. You people are the best * hands out cookies to reviewers *. Hope you all enjoy this chapter too, it was hell to write, suffered a little case of Writer's block.