Chapter Twenty-Two – Revenge

Drizzt whispered soft words into her ear, soothing her as best as he could as he held her tight. He never wanted to let her go, not if it meant that this would happen again. The tunic that he had wrapped tightly around her small frame barely covered her. She was shaking and trembling so badly from exhaustion and relief that he was reluctant to move her, though he knew that they needed to leave now or never, from what Zaknafein's fingers were flashing from the doorway. The drow had retrieved the knives and stiletto that his son had dropped. He would question the boy later, but now they needed to leave.

He pulled back enough to look into her face, gently wiping the tears from her eyes. "Cat, we have to leave before the others find us. We don't have the resources to fight another group of them."

Catti-brie nodded slowly, and tried to stand with his assistance. He kept one arm around her waist and the other moved her arm to rest across his shoulders. Her knees buckled underneath her and she cried out softly. Drizzt looked at her through worried eyes. She leaned heavily against him, tears pouring from her eyes, frustrated that she was weak.

"It's alright, Cat." He voice was soft and comforting. "I'm going to get you out of here."

He carefully moved one arm behind her knees, the other behind her shoulders. She started violently when he lifted her bridal style into his arms, but settled against him, her head on his shoulder and her arms wrapped shakily around his neck.

Drizzt moved easily across the room, following his father. She was amazed that he could carry he like this – he just didn't look to have the muscle needed to be able to do that. Zaknafein walked down the hallway, stepping over the bodies of the slaughtered guard without even looking at them twice – not even seeming to think them out of place.

Catti-brie's eyes widened and she hid her face from the carnage against her husband's shoulder. Dead drow, eyes wide in death and pain, littered the hallway, an hour old at most. The blood had yet to congeal and the still warm liquid made wet dripping sounds from some of the corpses with splatters that sent shivers down her spine.

They moved silently down the hallway, back towards the way the Drizzt had gotten into the underground cells. He wished to fetch back his dark grey cloak, as he was uncomfortable wearing the piwifwi that he had nicked off the guard he had slaughtered. He had also thought to use it to keep Catti-brie warm, though he knew that her shivering was from more than cold.

After retrieving the item, they made their way through the dungeon and out of the exit. She kept her face pressed against the warm curve of his shoulder, fighting back the memories of the chamber. She lifted her eyes when Drizzt stopped on the outside, sighing and whispering gently.

"Udos yorn inbal ulu vier nindolen har'olen. (We will have to seal these tunnels.)" He was speaking to someone, and by the language he was using, it was likely his father, but a different voice responded.

"Uss'tan yorn xun ji xuil ussta glenn. Serenity'sfeithin whol dos a l'k'lar.(I will do so with my soldiers. Serenity's waiting for you at the campsite.)" Catti-brie looked up from her husband's shoulder to see Gabriel standing their, speaking with both Zaknafein and Drizzt. The Luchiélt High Lord added, in the common tongue, noticing the she was listening. "Serenity will help clean her wounds and be there for comfort, if she needs it."

She felt Drizzt nod, and they started moving through the trees. He said naught a word as they continued through the darkness. She kept her head resting against his shoulder, exhausted and weary.

Fire light soon became apparent through the trees and Drizzt made his way towards them. He could still feel her shaking in his arms, and he knew that she was shivering from memories of unfamiliar, unwanted flesh on hers. A shudder slid through his slender body at the memories of what had happened to him flitted through his mind.

Serenity looked up from where she sat, facing the fire as they entered into the clearing. Her son slept peacefully against her back in a sling, his tiny fists curled in her pale hair. Her face was serious as she noticed the woman wrapped in a tunic and cloak in his arms. She had already laid out a blanket for her to lie upon, next to larger, earthenware bowl filled with warm water and a clean white clothe. Fresh bandages and a small wooden bow filled with packages of dried herbs and little bottles of liquid herbs had also been set out. Serenity smiled slightly as Catti-brie looked over at her from where she was in her husband's arms, curled against his chest.

"She doesn't look as badly injured as I thought that she would be." Her voice was soft as she watched Drizzt kneel and lay her down carefully on the blanket. "And I think that we can be grateful for that. It'll take less time to heal physical wounds." Serenity watched quietly as the ranger leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the brow of his beloved.

"I'll be back soon to check on her. I'll be helping to seal the tunnels with your husband and the soldiers."

He walked quietly between the trees, not looking back. Catti-brie watched him, swallowing thickly as she watched his retreating back. She had been able to read the pain in his eyes as he had left her there. It was as if it pained him to leave her behind, as if he was afraid that something would happen to her again. She knew that he was worried about her, and had probably been through a lot in the last month.

"Here, I have some clothes that you have left in Silverymoon before." She turned to the Luchiélt woman who was offering her a pile of neatly folded clothing. "And Lady Alustriel thought that you would be comfortable in these. After you have finished dressing, I will help you with your wounds."

Catti-brie nodded, and allowed Serenity to help her to sit up. Tears fell down her already wet cheeks as she found that she couldn't dress herself and needed the Luchiélt woman to help her. She bit back sobs. She didn't want to be this weak, and she wanted to get away from here, away from the memories. Every movement sent shocks of pain through her awareness. Adrenalin had kept the worst of the pain away, but since things had settled down, the adrenalin had left her system, leaving her in a world of pain. Serenity held her close, comforting her with soft, foreign words as she broke into sobs. She hated being so weak and pitiful!!

When her sobs slowed and became mere hiccups, Serenity looked down into her friends blue eyes with sympathy and understanding glinting from within her own green orbs. Her voice was soft. "If you're feeling a little better, at least emotionally, I'll help you with your wounds. I'm as well trained as Gabriel is, so there should be nothing to worry about."

Catti-brie nodded and laid stomach-down on the blanket as Serenity helped her to remove her tunic, exposing the unsealing lashes on her tender back and sides. She laid her head on her arms, closing her eyes. The Luchiélt woman took one the clean clothe that rested next to the bowl of warm water. Ringing it out, she ran it gently along the length of the young woman's back, eliciting a small cry of pain. She winced, not enjoying the sound in the least. She apologized softly as she continued to clean out the wounds, wincing every time she heard a cry of pain from the young woman. When she finished, she carefully helped Catti-brie to sit up, wrapping the bandages gently, yet tightly around her torso. The young woman was trembling so badly that it was difficult to even come close to the notion of dressing on her own. When that was finished with that, she replaced her tunic.

"There is one more thing that I need to ask of you, Catti-brie." Serenity's voice was soft and hesitant. Her eyes looked at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. The young woman could tell that it was difficult of her to ask this. "Did he use any of his, well, toys, on you?"

There was pain in the green depths of her eyes as she watched her reaction. Catti-brie swallowed thickly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Yes." Her voice was almost inaudible, and choked with emotional pain. "Is it supposed to hurt this much?"

Serenity shook her head, pulling another vile from the tiny box. "It does hurt, and it does damage if we don't do anything about it." Catti-brie looked at her curiously, the tears still falling down her pale, thin hollow cheeks.

"What kind of damage?" Her voice hesitated over the question. "What kind of damage can happen?"

Serenity looked into those jaded blue eyes, sighing. "Without treatment, you can get an infection. If we, as a result, don't do anything about the infection, you may never be able to have children of your own."

Catti-brie was quiet for a few long moments, her eyes on the ground. "How do you know this?"

The Luchiélt woman paused for a few moments, quiet. "You remember me telling you that it took Gabriel and I nearly two decades before we were able to create a child together, right?" Catti-brie nodded. "Well, the men who took me, all those long years ago, they used the same tools that Kelnozz did. I was hurt, badly by them, and, at the time, neither Gabriel nor I realised that we would need to treat the wounds from those" – she shuddered violently– "toys. Because we didn't realise this, the infection caused that terminable damage, and the fact that Adrian was conceived, that he was even born, was a miracle all on its own." She looked up at the young woman with her startling green eyes. "I do not wish for that to happen to you, Cat."

After long moments of thinking, she turned to the Luchiélt healer and spoke softly. "Can we do this quickly, before the men come back?" Her voice shook as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "I-" she hesitated, "I don't want Drizzt to find out about this."

Serenity nodded slightly and dug through the box of healing herbs. After a few moments, she pulled a poultice from the box and handed it to the woman. Catti-brie took it almost reluctantly, looking at the Luchiélt woman, eyes asking for help.

Half an hour later, the soldiers filed quietly into the clearing, noting that the two women were curled, sleeping, near the fire, and began setting their bedrolls out around camp, though a few, including Zaknafein, left, on patrol of the area. Drizzt's lavender eyes swept over the restless, sleeping form of his wife. Sighing softly, he rolled out his own bedroll behind hers, though staying a cautious distance away. Closing his eyes, preparing for sleep, he reached out and carefully placed one hand on her shoulder, rubbing her arm lightly as he drifted off to sleep.

He opened his eyes, thinking to see the morning sun, and the Luchiélt preparing to make camp and start heading towards Silverymoon. Instead, the drow ranger looked around the clearing, kneeling besides the river that rested in Mielikke's Glade. The goddess herself, tall and slender, stood just on the other side of the clearing, carefully grooming the silken white mane of the unicorn that stood faithfully at her side as a constant companion.

"Good evening, Ranger Do'Urden." Her voice was soft as she turned to smile at the ranger that had entered her glade only moments ago. "Am I correct in guessing that you may have questions about what happened earlier this evening?"

His brow furrowed, his white eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "I do not know what you are talking about Lady Forest."

She turned, her green, green eyes boring into his own intense lavender orbs. Drizzt turned away first. "The violet fire, the marks, the horned vines," her voice was soft. "How can you not have any questions, Ranger Do'Urden?"

He paused, studying the fine lines on his hands, and not meeting her eyes. His soft voice held the leftover traces of anger. "What happened to me, Lady Forest? I became a monster. I remember the fear in Catti-brie's eyes when she saw what I had become."

The goddess Mielikke knelt before her faithful follower, her fingers deftly lifting his chin so that she looked into his pale eyes. Her eyes held a fire all their own and her voice was stern. "What happened back in those tunnels was something that did not transform you to a monster. What happened then was that your powers awoke, and at the time, only your anger and your emotions could control them."

He looked startled for a moment, wondering what the goddess might have meant by that. "What do you mean my powers?" He asked, hesitantly.

Mielikke sighed. "I have been watching over you from the moment you were conceived, Ranger Do'Urden. I knew then, that you would become one of my many followers, and one of my most faithful. When you were born, the gods, myself included, bestowed upon you, gifts, or powers, that would aid you in your role in the world, and in the making of the future."

Drizzt's curiosity peaked as he listened to her speaking. "What kinds of 'powers,' or, 'gifts,' have you given me? Surely what happened in those caves cannot be all that I can do!"

The goddess smiled slightly. "You were given many gifts, though a curse was laid upon you as well. From many of the god, you were given the gift of quick-learning, agility, strength, endurance. From myself, the ability to know what an animal is thinking, your ability to read your surroundings, and your honed instincts. I too, gave you the ability to turn harmless faerie fire into something deadly, and o be able to use the nature around you. If you try hard enough you could also create a snow, wind, thunder, or rain storm. Lolth laid the curse of the hunter upon you."

He looked at her in surprise. "What kind of a curse is this that you talking about?"

Mielikke looked at him, with a glint of something unfamiliar in her emerald eyes. "The Hunter." Drizzt looked away, knowing what she was speaking of. "She placed this curse around saying that if you are away from those you love for a long period of time, a dark, drow-like instinct will take you over, and cause you to fight and kill any around you. It is also what causes you to be so fiercely protective of your friends and loved ones, especially dear Catti-brie, though most of the time, you seem to deny that urge to protect them completely."

"Is that why I nearly killed Gabriel, High Lord of the Luchiélt people?" he asked quietly, pulling his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees. "Is that why I started to become so dependant on my fighting skills? Why I was so desperate to get Catti-brie from the clutches of my enemies?"

She nodded. "Of course." Sighing, she stood, "now, all we need to do is figure out a way to help you control your new-found abilities . . ."

A/N
Well, I hope this chapter clears things up a bit about what happened in the last chapter! (had a helluva time writing it too)T-T I must, however, thank everyone for their reviews! And I know that it's been a long time and I'm sorry, but I could update so sooner! With hockey and the manga my friend and I are working on, and ungodly amounts of homework, and hockey practices/games every day (except sunday) it's a miracle that I've have time to shower everynight. Well, at least Winter Break starts friday afternoon, so I'll have a lot more freetime. Two Weeks off of school !! WOOHOO!! and the plot bunnies will stop running rampages all around me! T-T Anyway, gotta be going now, as i have to go to bed. Byebye! and please review! flames aren't welcome, but helpful hints are! Danke schon!
--RangerDo'Urden