Disposable Hero Ch. 03 Pt. 02

He said, "I can dislocate her shoulder, or just keep feeling her up. Belar can tell you I have a nice touch, right?"

Belar had a huge grin and said, "Yes, you do but then again I have never been in that position with you either, maybe we could try that one. You know she is a priestess and can just heal her shoulder so she won't give in? That was a nice move to keep her from the spell she was readying. It would have been interesting to see how much that would have affected you."

Henri smiled a twisted grin and looked at both of them as he said, "So I can break several bones and she will be fine?"

They nodded and Dirzune said, "The bone will reset but she will be sore and weak for about a day while it heals fully. I could try and heal her fully but she doesn't know such things."

He asked Dirzune, "So, should I hurt your child, or let her go? If I hurt her, will you heal her?"

Dirzune said rather coldly, "Hurt her and she will know you are strong, let her go and she will take it as a sign of weakness that is our way. I won't heal her; she has to learn that humans can be dangerous. If my child is dumb enough to get into a fight with a survivor of the pits she deserves whatever you dish out to her."

Henri's mouth was agape he couldn't believe how cold these people be, even after all he had been through he thought all parents would try and protect their children.

Henri let go of her arm and helped her up saying, "Just because you people are fucked in the head doesn't mean I am."

Rikton not wanting to see his child hurt said, "Thank you for not hurting my child, she is just doing what she was taught is right and I cannot blame her for being that way."

Henri walked away, lay down and looked up at the stars. He saw two moons in the sky and the largest was starting to rise into the night sky. It was a not so gentle reminder that Henri was not on Earth as a small part of him had hoped. Still it was an impressive and tranquil sight he thought as he yawned and curled up to sleep. With that they all settled in for the night. As Henri slept, Ethev was planning and waiting for her chance to get even.

***********

Over the past few weeks as Belarbreena's pregnancy grew so too did her magical abilities. It seemed that carrying a child was doubling her spell casting. She found that she now had three forms of rest and not two like most Drow. She could still go into reverie, she could go into commune with her child in a dreamlike state and finally she could sleep like humans do. She had found that the more she communed with her child the more she had a desire to be around Henri. Tonight was no different, again she felt the urge to be near him and be touched by him. It made no sense to her, but it felt like this desire came from much deeper. She could no longer stand it, and when she saw Henri head to bed she was going to satisfy this urge and walked over to Henri. As she got closer Belar could feel the urge growing stronger. She cleared her throat to get Henri's attention.

Henri rolled over and asked, his voice full showed he was both sleepy and lost over her reasoning, "What is it Belar? Ever since you got pregnant you have avoided me. Hell you have avoided everybody. Are you having second thoughts about keeping our child?"

She pawed at the ground like a shy school girl, ignored his question about their child and said, "Do you remember what you said about us when we were in the Foreverdark?"

Henri thought for a second about some of their conversations and the only thing he could think of was his comment about being a woman first and asked dumbfounded, "Are you saying you want to be my woman?"

She stood speechless and could only muster a nod, although she was not too sure what "being his woman" meant. He took her hand and guided her down to the ground and his bedroll. Where she sat awkwardly, not sure how to react, or even how to proceed.

Henri put his arm around her and suggested, "How about we just cuddle, get used to each other and go from there?"

She looked at him lost and asked, "What is cuddling?"

He was pleasantly surprised and said, "It is a way of being intimate without sex. I will lie down on my back. You can rest your head on my chest and I will hold you while we get some rest." Henri lay down and did as he had said he would. To watch a Drowess try and get comfortable with anybody was almost funny, if it wasn't so sad. Finally she rested her head on his chest looking like she was ready run in an instant if he tried to pull anything.

After a minute or so looking only slightly comfortable she said, "Now what do we do?"

He looked her in the eyes and could see how uncomfortable she was. He leaned in and kissed her gently savoring the softness of her lips, seeing her relax Henri said, "Get some sleep the sun will be up before you know it."

The look she gave him was comical; she must have thought cuddling was something very elaborate. He wondered if Drow men and women had such things but guessing from how Belarbreena was reacting he didn't think so.

She tried to say something but he shushed her and said, "Do you feel my heart beating?" She said yes and he continued, "That is what you listen to and know that that is the sound of someone who cares for you very deeply. That is the sound of safety; you will always be protected when you hear it that loudly."

Belar closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep in Henri's arms while listening to the strength of his heartbeat. Being with him like this felt so right to her. On top of that, the nagging desire for closeness with Henri was gone. It was replaced by warmth that seemed to radiate from Henri. This sort of thing wasn't done in Drow culture. Once pregnant the sire was not needed, or desired, to be around their child, let alone how this sign of closeness would put him in the crosshairs of anybody who wanted to hurt the Drowess. Despite all of that she could see how something like this can feel so good. She had always liked Drow males but felt that this is something that could never be incorporated, no matter how much she liked it.

She quickly fell asleep in Henri's arms and started dreaming. In her dream she was standing on a hill. There were vineyards as far as the eye could see. She heard a sound behind her and spun to see a large house with a very young drowess playing in the dirt. She approached the child, closely looking for her matron. The child turned, looked up at her with deep blue eyes and smiled at Belar. The little girl rose and brushed the dirt off of her dress, she held up her hand looking into Belar's eyes. This was a very strange Drow child or maybe it was her parents who had made her that way. Belar knew that no Drowess would show that kind of affection for any of their children. She debated whether to hold this child's hand or not.

The child finally spoke and said, "Fear not. No one will see us. You can take my hand, I won't tell."

Belar noticed she had the same accent as Henri not to mention his deep blue eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

Those deep blue eyes seemed to look through her as the little girl said, "I am she that is not yet."

That was a big help to Belar who looked around and felt the warm breeze rustle her long white hair, this brought a different question to mind as she asked, "Where are we?" As she waited for the answer, she relented and held the little girl's hand.

The smiling child dragged her to the other side of the house and said, "We are in my favorite place. This is Papa's family's home. He is hoping that mommy and I can live here peacefully. I hope so. Isn't beautiful?"

As Belar looked down the hill she saw two humans walking up the hill talking to each other in a language she didn't understand. She went to grab the child and run for cover as the child said, "Don't worry they are my aunt and uncle, besides they can't see us because we are not really here."

Belar didn't like this, whoever this child was, she was playing with Belar and that was going to stop not. Belar asked, "What do you want?"

The little girls smile disappeared as she heard the harsh tone and said, "I wanted to spend some time with you and to say thank you for touching Papa." Belar's eyes got wide as the little girl said, "You were afraid to touch him but I need to be touched by him now."

She saw the two walking towards them and said, "Those are members of Henri's house? Is she the matron?"

Her daughter giggled and said, "No, mommy she is his little sister. Papa would be the head of this house not her, you could be matron of this family as his wife."

Belar looked at her child and said, "Why would I want to be the matron of a bunch of humans? No male can be the head of a house."

Her daughter floated up to look her in the eye and said, "Mommy, do you hate me because I am part of them?"

Belar looked at her and said, "You look nothing like them and nothing like Henri except for those eyes. What do I call you? I haven't given any thought to your name"

Her daughter said, "Is this better?" As she morphed into a mini Henri with a dress on and said, "I am an image of what you want and you want a Drow child not a half-breed. Father wants to call me Lumiere, which is French for light. He sees me as a child of light so I think I like Delharde'lumiere. Mommy, you didn't answer my question, do you hate me because I will be part human?"

Belar understood now her child was scared of her and wanted to be comforted by Henri. She said, "Lumiere, that sounds nice. I am angry with my sister for doing this to me, I hadn't planned on being a mother. Yes, I am not thrilled about having a half-human child. I will outlive both you and your sire and that is a strange enough thought."

Lumiere said, "If auntie Shynta hadn't done that you wouldn't be here now. Have you forgotten how much stronger your magic is because of what Papa is now."

Belar asked, "Just what is Henri now?"

Lumiere said, "You were right when you said he is not human any more. He is many things, the guardian, the dragon, Papa, and if you let him, the man that makes you happy till the day you die."

Getting annoyed with the conversation Belar probed, "What do you know? You are just a dream that I will forget all about in the morning. I am Drow and hated by the surface people. Keeping you is a mistake, we have to keep moving keep hiding and if found run. Do you really think your sire will help us, me, or for that fact you? No, he will run and save his own ass, or betray us the first chance he gets; he is not so different from us. How my mother put up with this I don't know, but this conversation is over!"

Lumiere retorted, "You are wrong and you will see, Papa will always protect us. He thinks nothing like you, he is a good man, a good human. I think it is you who will run, who wants to run. He is different and I am different as well. Ask grandma, she will tell you she did not talk with you just to get feelings and power from bond, she can still have if she rebuilds your bond."

With that Belar drifted out of her dream and awoke to a soundly sleeping Henri. She got up and walked away to rejoin her people going against the longing from her child to remain. She had much to think about and didn't want to be influenced by him, or anybody else , she just wanted to be alone.

***********

In Undermountain, Halisstra sat in prayer. She had the kind of piety for her god that most Paladins on the surface have for theirs. She believed that her faith was why she had never lost a battle in her life and after seventy victories without defeat she gave all credit to Lloth. In her chambers, a messenger climbed on the walls and began to spin the message on the wall for Halisstra. Not once did the drowess move from her prayers and once finished placing the message on the wall the messenger climbed down and onto her hand. Still not moving from her prayer, she felt a pain her hand and saw a spider biting her hand. As the poison worked through her body she turned to see a message from Lloth herself. The message "read come to Intra'minynda you have honored me greatly and now I wish you to lead my armies once more here, and again at renewal. I await you, do not disappoint me. Halisstra rose and ordered that her things be made ready for her to leave for Intra'minynda at once. As she walked off to grab her armor and weapons she was glad that her goddess had chosen her. She mounted her lizard and headed to the gate wondering what Lloth had in store for her.

***********

Mica and Shynta had been sent to a special part of the Demon Web. In this demi-plane they say several male demons lived, mostly of the fiend variety. This was to be expected, what could be worse than torture by a male of any kind to a Drowess? Along the walls in chains, or in many cases in the walls were Drowesses. Shynta recognized many of them as members of her own house including her two sisters who fell in the assault. The others she assumed were those that fell assaulting her home. The sight of those who took part in the battle sent a chill up her spine. Shynta was certain that Lloth was going to do something beyond the normal torment that all Drow expected.

Her thoughts were cut off when Lloth entered with her handmaidens. She sauntered up to Shynta and said, "Do you know the best part of your soul being here is?" Shynta could only shake her head in the negative as Lloth continued, "I can do whatever I want to this form and you will regenerate. So I could burn you to ash and watch as you scream in pain as your body heals feeling every last ounce of pain. This is what I am going to do to you and Mica before I send you back." Her smile was that of pure malice that told Shynta and Mica that Lloth had much more planned for them than she was saying.

They endured having their spiritual hearts removed and replaced on the other side of their bodies as they screamed in pain as they were gripped by heart attack after heart attack and their hearts moved back to the proper place and move back into the correct position.

Lloth smiled at the screams coming from them, she even taunted Shynta saying, "Still think I have no way of torturing you?"

She showed her an image of Henri and Zilvra on the surface. Shynta could see that her baby sister was very happy there and Lloth said, "Does that look like they are mourning you? Henri looks so broken up that you are gone. You have studied the humans and you know they are very weak when they lose those they care about. Does Henri look weak to you, because he doesn't to me. Maybe he just didn't care for you at all, or maybe he is more Drow than you are."

Lloth smiled and watched as her handmaidens removed Shynta's spine, broke her ribs, pulled her ribs out from the back, and tossed her lungs over her shoulders. The pain was beyond belief as Shynta's lungs moved back into her body, her spine growing back, and her ribs moving back into position and healing.

Lloth whispered in her ear, "Soon I will give you back to Henri. You will be trapped in your body and forced to watch as you kill your sisters, matron, sire, and even Henri. See I'm not so bad, I am giving you back to your love." Lloth chuckled as she left the demi-plane. She was enjoying Shynta and could see that Mica was almost ready as well. She would soon have her revenge.

*****

This tale would not be possible without the incredible team. My rough editor Anubismark who gets to see my awful rough drafts and makes them understandable. My continuity editor Traff who helps me keep to the story. My finishing editor BunLover who helps put the final and often embarrassing finish on my work.

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Thank You

Bokhun