Chapter Thirteen – Revenge

Light enveloped him, calling to him. He shook his head weakly, refusing to give in to death – into the Abyss. He refused the soft call.

But, it was so wonderful, beckoning and calling him to the gentle peace and quiet there . . .

But what about his Cat?

I have to get her back from that asshole, I won't let him harm her.

He couldn't leave her alone . . .

I won't go, he thought, struggling against the hold the darkness was taking on him.

I won't leave her . . .



The first thought that flittered through his conscious mind was that someone or something was moving him and that he was bumping around with his stomach on something warm. Pain burned in his shoulder and he moaned softly in pain as he opened his eyes, only to find himself looking at the ground.

And it was moving . . .

Startled, but still hazy from the hard knock to his head, Drizzt looked sideways; only too look at the sideways profile of the part-unicorn that he had bought for the journey to Silverymoon. He swallowed thickly, thanking the horse in a way that only a ranger could. Moaning in pain, he righted himself on the horse slowly, leaning forward to rest lightly against the horse's neck. After a few moments, the darkness once again caught up with him.



Guards moved along the paths that were on the high walls that surrounded the city of Silverymoon. So far, it had been a peaceful day. One of the two elves that was marching just over the archway noticed something strange down below and notified his companion immediately.

Both of them watched in horror as the unfamiliar site of the familiar drow ranger slipped from his horse, falling limply to the ground. Another horse followed the one that the ranger was riding and both knew immediately that something was very wrong indeed.



Lady Alustriel, the ruler of Silverymoon, looked up as a servant ran out into her study, panting heavily and eyes wide. Startled and surprised, she stood and looked at the servant, asking softly what he was doing there.

"Its Ranger Do'Urden, milady." He said breathlessly, giving a short bow as he looked into her silver eyes. "Guards marching along the entrance found him unconscious and badly wounded. They watched as he fell from his horse, as limp as death. Another horse followed his, but there wasn't a rider on the horse. He is in desperate need of medicinal help, and the arrow that pierced him is enchanted so that if any magic is used on the wound, he will die."



Warm air danced lightly across his face as he opened his eyes slowly. Birds were singing other places in the glade, along with the delicate smells of the flowers that surrounded him. It had been so long since that fight with the drow . . . since Catti-brie had been taken. With sudden realization, he opened his eyes and sat up, looking around at the clearing that he was in.

It was all to familiar, just by looking at the trees and the wild flowers that grew in the glade. The eternal autumn was in the air and the breeze of a warm fall afternoon played across his black skinned cheeks as he fought to figure out why Lady Forest had brought him here once again.

Standing, he continued looking around, still wondering about how he had gotten there in the first place. Tears fell down his cheeks as he wondered over towards the stream, trying to quench the thirst in his throat. His thoughts turned to seeing his Catti-brie, trapped like that, with now possible escape without placing irreversible harm on both her and the child that she carried inside of her.

Not to mention seeing that it was the spirit of his beloved father that was holding her hostage against him – seeing those amber eyes for the first time in months.

He knelt besides the stream, running one hand over his face and trying to hold his emotions inside and not let them show. He knew that they could be used against him – but he hadn't realized that before he had asked Catti- brie to marry him.

Drizzt jumped as he felt a hand graze his shoulder – unexpected to the tense drow. He regretted the move immediately when he saw who it was. Taking a deep breath, he bowed his head slightly in respect.

"My apologies, Lady Forest." Mielikke knew that he felt horrible about his reaction – she could tell by the title which he had addressed her with. "I did not mean to show displeasure at your touch."

"It's not your fault, Ranger Do'Urden." She said softly, replacing her hand on the shoulder that she knew to be injured. It had been long since he had addressed her by her name, and not the proper title used by priests and priestesses. She knew that he was in deep emotional pain and yet she could do nothing to stop it. "You have been through a lot and there was nothing that I could do to stop what happened. The wizard that is with them is indeed powerful and even some of the other gods couldn't stop what happened. His magic was touched by a deep evil that none could touch except for Lolth."

The drow sighed softly and looked down into the waters that flowed through the tranquil surroundings. He watched as he reflection turned smoothly into that of his father, a few of the features not changing at all, like the shape of the eyes and the sensual curve of the lips, but some of the other only aging slightly. The eyes swirled from their brilliant violet to the radiant amber that belonged only to Zaknafein.

He watched the scene that had played before happen again and again as he saw his beloved Catti-brie struggling against the man that had taught him so much when he was young. She probably hadn't even realized that it was his father until Kelnozz had revealed that information. But, remembering how smooth the transformation between their faces had been, and how the features on his face hadn't exactly changed very much, he realized that she probably would've assumed that they were at least related in some way or another.

Tears fell down his face as he remembered his captivity – and that how his wife and unborn child were now at their mercy. He clenched his fist in anger, trying to stop the fine trembling that had spread to his entire body. He should've been able to stop all of this from happened, but he hadn't.

Mielikke watched as he slammed his fist into the water, spraying drops of the cool liquid over both of their faces and bodies and shattering the reflections dancing upon the smooth surface. Locks of his hair fell over his shoulder, hiding his face from her view – but she could see his shoulders shaking and knew of the pain that he felt inside his heart. His soft words were hissed through his teeth and the Goddess of the Forest had never heard such guilt coming from a single being before in all of her immortal life.

"Its my fault that she was captured. If I had been paying more attention to what was happening around her, she wouldn't been taken by him." Mielikke sighed, knowing immediately what he was talking about. "She would've been safe and so would our child. I should've told her to run while she could, and none of this would've happened."

"Are you sure of this, Ranger Do'Urden?" She spoke quietly, trying to look into the eyes that were hidden from her view. "Are you so sure that it was you that they were after?"

He seemed to stop and think about that, realization setting in. They would've found another way to capture her, even if the original plan had failed. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of this before. He couldn't believe it! He should've been able to see right through this façade and had been able to keep her safe from any harm. Sighing, Mielikke sighed softly, taking her hand off of his shoulder. She knew that she was the one that had to convince him that it was up to him to save his beloved.

"Ranger Do'Urden, I must tell you, our time here is limited." She spoke these words softly, catching his attention quickly. "If they are the same group, with the same leader, than they are bound to bring her to the same location. Find out where they are going to bring her and follow them. That is the only way that you will be able to save her. And you'd best learn to fight with weapons that can be more easily hidden."

Drizzt looked at her curiously, wondering what was going on as the form of the Lady Forest slowly disappeared. Light around him slowly became brighter as he realized that he was opening his eyes into the real world.

[A/N]
Hey people! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long! The plot bunnies had abandoned me for a while there. Please review! Thank you!