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Hide in the Midnight	By : Rainsong Category: A through F > Forgotten Realms Views: 5296 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Forgotten Realms series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Drizzt sat at breakfast with the others pushing his eggs around the plate with his fork. Wulfgar and Cattie- brie were relating how they had caught the horse Firefoot, but he wasn’t listening. Anne’s behavior disturbed him it was a sharp contrast with the vibrant, confident person who had written the journal. Her actions were uncertain, withdrawn, and almost timid. Her responses were only pronounced when he had intruded in the cocoon that enclosed her world. She turned inward everything she was not directly engaged.

He brought a piece of egg to his mouth but didn’t eat it, his mind elsewhere. Something had broken inside of Anne and she was slowly bleeding to death from a wound soul deep. Such a wound could not be healed by magic. He felt the need to help Anne heal the void that Kensin had left behind. But first he needed to find something to occupy her mind before she sank too deeply into her grief.
“Drizzt!” Cattie-brie said shaking him.
He shook himself clearing his mind. “Huh?”
“What’s with ye woolgathering?” Bruenor grumbled.
He poked his eggs in thought before replying. “Something’s wrong with Anne.”
“Anne? Who’s that?” Regis asked around a mouth full of jam covered toast.
“The drow woman, she became very upset when I called her Antunia.” He laid down his fork and pushed his plate away only half-eaten. “She assumed the identity of Anne when she came to the surface. From what I can gather from the snippets not written by her but by Elress and Kensin; Antunia is for Anne what the Hunter is for me. A creature stripped of the veneer of civilization, a perfect, cold, killing machine. Kensin called it the ‘blood spattered goddess’; Anne hates this persona with a fiery passion.”
There was a silence that seemed to echo with his words. Bruenor and Wulfgar stared into their mugs blankly. Cattie-brie gazed at her hands her face obscured by her hair. Dolly chewed her lip thoughtfully and Regis just sat there his appetite gone.
“Grief has caused Anne’s wounds and no magic can heal them.” Drizzt said quietly.
“She’s never truly admitted Kensin was dead until she received a package from Elress a few months ago with letter telling her that they had found his body that her quest had been for naught.”

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Anne hissed softly as she slid into the water of the hot spring. She poured some soap on a sponge and slowly kneaded it between her hands. She dragged the soapy sponge down her arm with a sigh of pleasure. She bathed slowly but thoroughly. She dipped her hand into the soap and scrubbed her hair until the scalp was tender before rinsing and repeating the process. She scrubbed at her skin again until it stung. Anne carefully placed both hands on the stone lip; she inhaled deeply before heaving herself out of the water.
She slowly pulled on the white cotton robe she had placed on the bench by the cabinet full of bathing supplies. She left the bathing chamber heading towards the hearth were a fire crackled merrily. Anne frowned at the flames as she folded her long legs beneath her. She had time now to think and she didn’t wish to face the things that haunted her waking or sleeping. She stared down at the comb she had grabbed on her way to where she now sat. Its dark wood reflected the fire’s rosy glow so different from her thoughts. She ran her slender fingers over the leaping harts carved along its handle.

Kensin laughed and tugged on her wrist leading her deeper into the forest. She followed along behind him like a confused child. A shaft of light touched his hair for an instant as he turned to look back at her. She smiled at him and he returned her smile before increasing his gait.

He pulled her into a sunlit clearing and stopped. Anne looked around. A cloud of butterflies flinted across the clearing drifting in and out of patches of shadow. Spongy moss carpeted the ground at their feet. Kensin moved in front of her.
“Do you like it, love?” He asked eagerly.
“Yes, it’s lovely.” She said smiling.
He held her face in his hands and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. He studied her face like it was one of his musty tomes. She turned and kissed his palm while watching him from the corner of her eye.
“Marry me.” He whispered.
She turned away hugging herself. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled the back of her neck lovingly.
“I can’t, Kensin.”
“Why not?” He held her tighter.
“I’m drow it’s not safe for you.”
“And being your lover is safe? I love you and when I’m a better mage I’ll help you be whatever you desire. Then it won’t matter. Besides we don’t know how much longer we have together so we might as well make the most of it.” He murmured into her neck.
“But I’ll outlive you. It’s not fair to you.”
“And you could die tomorrow. Let’s make the most of the time we still have.”
Anne chewed her lip. She turned in his arms and pressed her face into his shoulder.
She felt him dig around in his robe pocket.
“Here,” he said holding up a small square box.
She stared at it in puzzlement before taking it.
“What is it?” She asked balancing it in her palm.
“A very special gift from the group that may change your mind.”
She frowned but opened it. Inside nestled in red velvet was a simple silver ring. Kensin plucked the ring from the box. He lifted her hand by the wrist and with his teeth pulled off her black leather glove. He slid the ring onto the third finger of her left hand and spoke a command word. Her skin tingled and she jerked away in surprise. The tingling stopped as her sudden movement removed the ring. She stared at him in surprise.
“It’s a self-maintaining illusion ring. Almost as good as Polymorph.”
“Did you make it?” She whispered touching the side of the ring.
“Sadly, no. Drogo contracted the mage who did.”
“Is it safe?”
“Elress tried it first just to make sure.”
Anne threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck. He held her in silence for a long moment.
“Please marry me, my dark lady,” He whispered.

She pulled away just enough to gaze up at him.
“Are you sure that you want this?” She asked hesitantly.
“Always and forever.” He whispered fiercely before kissing her gently, tenderly.

Anne clenched her teeth together to stop the wail that lurked behind them. Her chest tightened painfully as sobs not voiced built within her. Her comb fell from her numb fingers and she covered her face with her hands. She trembled with the effort not to show her grief and pain. She was stronger than this she told herself. But another part of her whispered that she deserved this pain. Her back bowed towards her knees, broken sobs issued from her lips. Tears drew salty paths down her cheeks. A sob was drawn from her throat as she gasped for breath. She lay down on the shaggy rug and buried her head in her arms and wept. She wept hard no longer able to silence her sobs.

“My fault, my fault he’s dead!” She gasped between sobs. “My love kills!”
A soft squeak sounded behind her as the door swung open. Faint footfalls approached her as she fought to dash the tears from her lashes. She sniffed and rubbed her face roughly with the back of her hand. She struggled slightly as pulled her back into a sitting position; Drizzt’s concern face looked down at her. She looked behind him and saw two human women had come with him.
“What’s wrong, Anne?” He asked almost urgently.
“Nothing!” She snapped.
He frowned at her in disapproval and she felt guilty.
“Everything.” She whispered staring at her lap.

“Come on let’s get you out of the floor.” He murmured gently as he hauled her out of her self-pitying heap on the floor and into a chair.
“This is Dolly, my friend Wulfgar’s woman and this is Cattie-brie another friend of mine.”
Dolly bobbed as curtsy and hurried into the bathing chamber. She returned a moment later with a warm rag and handed it to Anne. Anne scrubbed her face roughly. After she finished her hand hung limply over the arm of the chair. Drizzt took removed it from her limp fingers and handed it to Dolly.
“Wulfgar and Catt found Firefoot and the rest of your equipment.” He said gently trying to distract her.
She said nothing. Her eyes stared blankly into the fire.
“Why don’t you get dressed and join us for lunch.”
“Okay.” She said almost too quietly for him to hear.
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Elress Silverleaf paced restlessly across width of his studio; he racked his fingers through his gold hair. His mind was consumed with worry for Anne. He paused at his desk to check her letter for the thousandth time and discovered that he had once again buried it under sheet music. After much digging he uncovered the wrinkled slip of parchment.

‘Elress, brother. I will return home on the twelfth. You’re right it’s time to abandon my pipe dream. Kensin is truly dead. It’s time to do as I had planned to do so long ago. I would like for you to accompany me to Luskan after my bankers route me the appropriate funds. Love, Annie.’

He growled under his breath. It was nearly evening on the twenty-fifth. Anne was only ever late by a couple of days at most. Elress chewed a thumbnail in worry. He couldn’t decide if he should wait or go find her. He winced when in his frustration he bit through the nail. He spat out the piece of nail before stomping downstairs to his bedroom to begin packing. He knew that he would find no rest until he found her.
Elress dug under his bed for his packs sneezing as he stirred up a cloud of dust. There was an urgent pounding at his front door he answered it packs in hand. His youngest sister stood there a small message tube in her fist.
“What is it Brightstar?” He asked fondly.
“It’s a message from Anne.” She exclaimed excitedly.

He snatched it from her and ripped it open. His brow furrowed when he realized that Anne hadn’t written it, a stranger had. A strong, masculine hand had written it.

“Dear Elress Silverleaf. I am Drizzt Do’Urden. Your friend Antunia is a guest of Clan Battlehammer at Mithral Hall. Yes, we are aware that she is drow as am I. I wish to assure you that she is quite safe; Antunia is a guest not a prisoner. Antunia has been gravely injured and has suffered massive blood loss. She was injured by a group of bounty hunters who were under the impression that she had stolen a horse. These men are being held securely until their employer can be found and punished. You may at you’re earliest convenience take her home. Thank you, Drizzt Do’Urden.’
The parchment fluttered to the floor, the color had drained from his face. He swallowed convulsively at the sick feeling that arose in his gut.
“Oh, gods!” He murmured as he ran a hand over his face.
“What’s wrong? Is Anne okay? When is she coming home?”
“Anne was almost killed.” He whispered.
Brightstar covered her face with her hands, tears in her eyes.

“Do they know?” She whispered in horror.

“Yes.”

“I can be ready to leave in an hour.” She said fiercely.

“Do that.” He said bending to retrieve the scrap of parchment. “Could you tell Laucian and Silaqui on your way home?”

She nodded curtly and hurried away in a swirl of skirts to tell their siblings. Elress turned to return to his packing kicking the door closed behind him.

TBC
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Hide in the Midnight