Spring Blooms
Malifain watched Lilithia as she slept soundly in the guest bed of his small cottage. She looked almost angelic, the tresses of her soft white hair tumbling down over her ebon cheeks. He brought his chair closer to her side, reaching out with one cautious hand to touch her long ear and the tiny diamonds that seemed to be embedded along the edge. He knew she had enchanted them, he’d heard of it before. He didn’t notice as she stirred, the gentle brushing of her ear having caused her to shift onto her side. Lilithia carefully opened her eyes to glance at him, slowly smiling as he continued to take in her beauty.
“You seem not to be so afraid of me…” She murmured, yawning and sitting up. Malifain nearly fell off his chair trying to give her room, blushing red at being caught. “That felt rather good Malifain, but I am not going to ask. I am as curious about you as you are of me.” She said, standing up. Not one to be overly modest, she slept nude when given the comfort of a bed. She gathered her clothing up, slipping into breeches and her loose tunic, the black cloth corset fitting on neatly over the ruffled shirt. She slipped her feet into the soft leather boots she had before sitting on the edge of the bed. Malifain was still cherry red, stammering now.
“I know you don’t intend to treat me like your sister.” She stated, her wily smile a fair warning of what she knew. She had some type of clairvoyance, but it was weaker when her amulet was gone. And the trick was that she could only hear the thoughts if the thinker had in some way wanted her to or if they were about her directly. The best way was to touch them to open both sides of their minds, a telepathic conversation.
Malifain’s thoughts were quite explicit at seeing the drow maiden completely nude just for a moment, and Lilithia had seen it all. She just laughed softly, shaking her head.
“Soon enough, you have to wait the time it takes for it to come about.” She said, her eyes seeming to be far away. Malifain understood and nodded, offering his hand to her from where he stood.
“It’s time to introduce you to the family.” He said, smiling and flashing the hint of a charming grin. She knew elves to be quite handsome, but Malifain seemed to be almost godly, his softly bronzed skin and his eyes like pools of fresh spring water.
“They will not be hostile?” She asked, laying her hand in his as she stood and glanced back at the bed. Her weapons were under the bed! Malifain did trust her, quite explicitly she now knew.
“Thanks.” She said, nodding at the returned weapons. She was tempted to call Poison and
“My older brother is wise, he is the magistrate of Riverdale. Under our guidance, you will be most welcomed. Your deeds have been forgiven.” Malifain explained with a smile, pressing his lips to the back of her hand. He noticed the light perfume she wore, something that reminded him of Lady Alustriel. Spring blooms, the blue and white flowers of the Riverdale meadows.
“It’s the most I remembered of Riverdale after I left. It was a birthday gift from Lady Alustriel.” She said, wiggling her black fingers. Malifain smiled and breathed the scent deep into his lungs. There was something more to the scent, something of her skin, an earthy scent.
“So the Lady welcomes you. Drizzt is your father, so I would hold no doubt that she treats you well.” Malifain straightened up again to regard her curious expression.
“She and my father tamed me.” She said, shrugging away the rest of the long story. Malifain heard a knock at his door and half turned to go answer it, but then he looked back to Lilithia.
“Stay here.” He instructed as he rushed off to receive the message. His brother would be visiting soon, and he wanted Lilithia to be out in the yard, to ‘study’ her knowledge of drow magic. Malifain dismissed the messenger and returned, sitting next to her on the bed.
“Solanil is coming.” He said, looking to her worried. Lilithia shrugged and reached for her weapons.
“I heard the messenger. I will prepare but… if he demands a battle, I cannot promise to be an easy target.” She firmly reminded Malifain. He knew, he was a ranger and he could tell her senses were honed. He knew she would fight to the death if Solanil challenged her, because she was not the one to initiate a fight. Not for no reason. Malifain shook his head, amazed how this girl could have ever been the ‘Blood Queen’ that had murdered his younger sister Aya for sport.
Lilithia left quickly, walking out the door and into the small grassy yard before the cottage. Malifain joined her, sword scabbards strapped to his hips where she had not seen any. She gave him a curious look as she pulled Poison and
“I will not harm you.” She said as he gave her a frightened glance. She tapped the flat of her sword against his scabbard but he didn’t jump, pulling the blade out with a smile. He turned and pulled out a second blade, two fine elven swords. Lilithia could hear the dying screams of Aya somewhere the distance but she pushed the away, determined to overcome her past. She lunged at Malifain, driving him back against the short white fence surrounding the yard. He viciously parried, pushing her back on her heels. Solanil was not very far away, watching the magnificent display from beyond the trees in the village grove. He had heard her thoughts, and knew she’d heard his. She would put an example in to keep him at bay, but he would not cow at this. This wasn’t the Blood Queen, she would have tried to gain the upper hand through trickery.
Solanil watched as she dropped a ball of darkness over Malifain, but she was grinning as she stepped in, the ring of metal on metal coming in cascades of heavy flurries. And neither fighter had broken a sweat. Drizzt stopped aside from Solanil on the pathway, curiously glancing at the globe of darkness then to Solanil.
“Too bad you couldn’t see her. She has been tempered into a better fighter.” He said, listening for the crescendo. But the ring of metal on metal had ceased, and they knew why as Lilithia forced the globe of darkness to fade away and reveal the two locked together, their swords twisted into a steel puzzle that kept their hands locked in by the wrists. Drizzt laughed and shook his head as Lilithia gave him a helpless look, Malifain chuckling as he looked to Solanil.
Drizzt came forward, walking the few yards of distance to help untangle his daughter as he handed her the amulet and the wand. She fastened the amulet over her neck and brushed her hand over Drizzt’s, knowing that her thoughts would convey to him clearly. She put the wand away as she awaited a reply in the form of a hand on her bare elbow, for him to return his own thoughts. She nodded when he did, licking her lips and replying aloud.
“The same things could be learned if I was to sit wit Solanil at a table in good company. Why does he insist on a fight?” She said, looking more to Solanil than to Drizzt. Malifain made to step between the two rivals, with Solanil’s bitter frown at the open insult. Solanil pushed past Malifain and in an uncharacteristic move for a goodly elf, he smacked Lilithia across the face. But before his hand was near her, her blades were up and protectively shielding her face. Solanil looked to his hand, touching a small, paper thin cut across his wrist to heal it.
“How dare you!” He growled, pacing forward. Drizzt stepped out wide, the fight wasn’t his to be in, it was for Lilithia to choose her course. Malifain, understanding as well, stepped out with a cautious look at Lilithia. Lilithia’s face was stoic, no anger portrayed on her fine features, though she felt it inside.
“How dare you, driving me back and trying to create an anger that is nothing but a distraction,” She hissed, her tone venomous like the fangs of a black widow, “To get me removed or yet, killed.” Solanil stopped at that, backing off and reaching for his sword. Before he could pull it from the sheath, she had one scimitar holding the blade’s crosspiece down and the other under his chin, pulling his gaze up.
“Now, Solanil… I will give you a fair warning. If you intend to hunt me for what I have done, I will not let you slay me in the dark of night.” She said, her kind smile belying the way she could have just splattered his blood over the dirt. “You will kill me in front f all your kin. I have never known elves to be so… hateful. Agiven, you are not an elf. You are half.” She said, putting her blades back into their sheathes and crossing her arms over her bust..
Solanil rushed at her, drawing his blade and holding it with both hands as he went to plunge it into her chest. Malifain and Drizzt jumped forward, both drawing their swords and scimitars. Lilithia reached and with the flick of her hand, the front of her tunic fell open and she stood there, her eyes open and staring back into Solanil’s.
The sword fell over her shoulder from his hands as he slammed his hands down onto her shoulders. Lilithia’s knees buckled but she kept her face stoic and her eyes open when Drizzt and Malifain pushed the man away.
“Can’t you see that?! She is… she is under magical influence!” Solanil roared as Malifain turned him away. Drizzt turned to her, and she shook her head, standing and buttoning her tunic again. She could feel the heavy bruises that her shoulders would have, though she did not complain.
“You did well. But why does that one… Solanil,” He corrected, “Hate you so much?”
“I do not know. Malifain has forgiven me for Aya’s death, but it was wrong of me to call Solanil out on his half human heritage.” She said, turning to him as Malifain and Solanil turned around a bend on the path. If one did not know Riverdale to be on this very spot, they might have passed right through, for the avenues and the houses were hidden in the forest itself. Later, when Malifain returned, his expression looked worried. Lilithia stood from the tree she had taken to sitting beneath, walking up behind him as he passed without a word. She touched his ear, the only bare skin on his person. Malifain jumped and spun, though Lilithia was grinning.
“What of Solanil? And his ire?” Her thought impulse whispered, her very voice carried into his thoughts. Lilithia never required a private room for private conversation, she could merely hold the hand of the person she intended to converse with, and wearing the amulet, she could converse in complete silence. Drizzt understood all of this and sat still under the same tree where she had been, closing his eyes in the late morning sunshine.
“He has calmed, though he is intent on having you exiled from the valley completely.” Malifain spoke into her return thoughts as he touched her palm where it was at her side. She held her hand out, palm up under his as she smiled, liking how quickly Malifain caught on.
“My apologies. I never intended to harm him.” She said, her slight frown concerning him.
“Be careful around that one,” Malifain warned, shifting from one foot to the other as he spoke aloud and removed his hand from hers. “He’s not as wise when angered and though he is but half elf he can sometimes be worse than the tempest of the Gods.” Malifain stated gravely. Lilithia nodded and smiled, looking to her dozing father.
“Before he wakes, let’s go out in the woods where we might have the privacy… so that I may show you what I know of the dark magic of Menzoberranzan in peace, and in safety.” She said, her voice barely a whisper against the summer breeze that blew into his face. Again, the scent of spring blooms assaulted his senses, and she noticed the glitter in his twinkling blue orbs.
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