New Episode: 3.10 - "Harmony" - part 1
Disclaimer: This is a fan-produced creation and is not affiliated in any way, shape or form to the official TV show Legend of the Seeker. Neither the characters nor the universe belong to us, and we are making no money from this whatsoever.
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Previously on Legend of the Seeker:
Episode 3.01 - "Tremors"
Episode 3.02 - "Restoration"
Episode 3.03 - "Madness"
Episode 3.04 - "Found"
Episode 3.05 - "Night"
Episode 3.06 - "Choice"
Episode 3.07 - "Doubt"
Episode 3.08 - "Trust"
Episode 3.09 - "Instinct"
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Episode 3.10 - "Harmony"
(all songs and lyrics: here)
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In the heart of the tavern, mugs clanked together, then crowded at the edge of tables as they battered a thunderous tempo against the wood. Waves of coherent, drunken song flowed from the noise, and then broke down into indecipherable chatter again. A bard's voice guided the raucous crowd, spinning lyrics of the Seeker's bravery along the strings of his lyre harp.
Richard was the last to escape the crowd. As he disappeared up the stairs, he heard the patrons call for another song, and the bard slurred to a quick beat, "A hero cleped by Sword of Truth, one thousand years have passed..."
As he walked down the hallway, the music faded to the back of Richard's mind. He passed an open door, pausing when he saw Cara. She was standing next to one of the beds, tugging her gloves off by the fingertips. With her eyes idly fixed across the room, she didn't notice Richard, and blindly tossed the red leather onto the vanity table. He moved closer, leaning in to look inside.
Kahlan was sitting on the other bed, hunched over while she removed her boots. She set them aside before turning to Cara, ready words on her lips; her teeth clicked shut when she saw Richard standing in the doorway.
A heartbeat passed in silence.
Kahlan recovered first, graced the room with a warm smile. "Good night, Richard," she said.
Richard returned her smile, but his brows were knit together. "Good night," he replied, his eyes searching hers with unexpected intensity. Kahlan's smile faltered.
"Richard," Cara said lightly, not quite a question. It drew his attention, broke his concentration just enough. "See you in the morning. Sleep well." She sounded like she meant it, and calmly endured the same searching gaze for her efforts.
Listen on Youtube: Shota's Lullaby
Shota stepped away from her scrying pool, far enough that she couldn't hear the rest of the exchange. Not that it mattered; there was little else to overhear. The shimmering image of Richard walked to the room he shared with Zedd, shoulders slumping once he was out of sight of the two women. The wizard was already slumbering, rendered unconscious early in the evening by a long day of travel and a hearty meal, an immovable log under his blanket. Richard quietly readied himself for bed.
The witch woman raised her hand, revealing a black, rune-stitched bag, no bigger than a coin purse. She took her time untying the knot of twine, and a pale blue light began to emit from the opening of the bag, twinkling despite the darkness of the cave. Shota's attention was elsewhere as she watched Richard fidget as sleep eluded him. She dipped her hand into the bag, pulling out white dust between pinched fingers. It glowed, small specks escaping her clutches, falling back into the bag like magical hourglass sand. She quickly cast her hand across the scrying pool, showering the surface of the water with a spray of glimmering stars. The dots of light sank into the pool, drifting down until they lay scattered across both Richard and Zedd. Neither of the men stirred.
Richard's eyes shut with slow heaviness. He didn't fight it-couldn't fight it, and sleep claimed him quicker than any sword-wielding foe.
"You call yourselves defenders..." Shota spoke down at the scrying pool, her voice coming out a scorning melody. The sorceress didn't worry about the Seeker hearing her. "... of light, you play the part..."
Her lip curled, disdain in her eyes. A twitch of her fingers and the image in the scrying pool began to dissolve, colors swirling toward the edges, gathering until Shota could see smooth stone through the water. She traced a circle in the surface of the water with the tip of her index finger; only once, but the water kept gathering momentum until a whirlpool was swirling at the very center, drawing inky veins of color into its current. The image of the sleeping Mother Confessor and Mord'Sith blossomed as the colors came together, clouding out as if someone was pouring a painting into liquid canvas.
"But your quest is naught but lies..." Shota reached into the bag, the cave illuminating briefly as she cast the dust again, "... when you just defend your heart."
The tiny glimmers-settled on blankets, hands, skin, between the cracks of clothing, lost in strands of hair-slowly lost their luster as the Seeker and his friends slept on.
**
ROLL CREDITS
**
Despite the rowdy night, several of the villagers managed to see the Seeker off in the morning. Richard stood outside the inn, shaking hands with the bard who looked a little worse for wear, but not nearly as hung over as expected. The bard swayed uneasily, and Richard's good reflexes let catch the bard by the elbow. Zedd pointed him out to Kahlan as they walked past, amusement between them, and Richard couldn't help but laugh at his predicament. He propped the bard up against the wall, a wary hover when he let go. The bard spouted an ill-tuned, "I stand, Seeker! I stand!" He looked a bit sick for a moment before the wave of nausea passed. "I shall... tell the world! The legend of the Seeker!"
Laughing, Richard caught up to Kahlan, caught a smile on her lips. "You're in a good mood," he remarked.
"I am," Kahlan agreed, as if it had already been on her mind. "There's something about waking up in the morning, being able to look over and see the people you love still alive."
"It is a wonder, considering all that we've been through," Zedd said loudly, announcing their feat of survival to empty air, no need for an audience.
Cara had already walked halfway out of town. Everything in the way she stood spoke of impatience, as if she had been standing there waiting for hours instead of minutes. She deliberately caught their eyes before turning on her heel and keeping a quick pace ahead of them.
"It's a beautiful day, and more importantly, I'm alive to enjoy it." Kahlan made a show of casting her shoulders back, filling her lungs with fresh air. She held her breath, caught it deep in her chest. "I'm savoring the feeling."
Richard gave her a succinct nod. "Fair enough."
Kahlan drifted to the side of the road, grace in her steps; not quite like a dancer, but with footwork that came second nature to a blade fighter. She reached a hand out toward the tall grass, tips scratching across her palm and the underside of her fingers. She closed her eyes, tight enough to feel that pleasurable burn across her lids. Face turned up, she basked in the warm sunlight tingling across her cheeks. It was a simple pleasure, and it revitalized Kahlan like a flower that had been wilting after an unexpected frost. Their lives were constantly upturned, tumult after tumult more important than any one person, quests drawings lines between duty and love. Peace of mind was a fleeting feeling.
Kahlan's eyes fluttered open, emotion building within her that nearly made her shake as she exhaled. She began to whisper, "From path to path..." she paused with a smile meant only for herself, for it had been much too long since she had last sung, "... to wayward pine. Between the castles and the fortresses."
Her steps took her past the remains of a small camp, a shoddy little thing on a small patch of dirt, the tall grass bent and broken from being used as makeshift bedding the night before. "We find our clearings, marked by fire rings," Kahlan couldn't help but smile at a sight she had seen countless times in her travels, and there were yet countless more.
"And every day we fight for life," Kahlan looked over her shoulder at Richard and Zedd, but then she skipped ahead, arms casting out to encompass the vast space around them. "Every day that we're alive!"
Zedd's fingers swept from side to side, and magic rolling off his fingertips, barely visible flurries of air that had the brush shuddering and sighing to a beat. His face was filled with laugh lines, the musical conductor of a thousand blades of grass.
"This is how we survived," Kahlan's voice continued to soar, her arms were at full wingspan, face upturned to that bright ball of light that was at once small and too large to comprehend. "This is how we've made our lives."
Kahlan's eyes were nearly grey as they dared to look upon the sun until its sting pricked tears out of the corners of her eyes. Only then did she look away, blinking against the slide of her finger as she gently wiped them away. She felt a touch on her arm, and dropped her hand to reveal Richard's smiling face. She floated on the tips of her toes, a dancing swirl around him.
"Stay, stay, stay..." her voice was all around him. Zedd continued to meander ahead of them, a little sway in each step. "Oh, stay, stay, stay by me."
Kahlan grabbed Richard's sleeve and tugged him along the path. "Despite our troubles, and despite the tides, I can't imagine not having you to walk beside."
Kahlan reached for Zedd's hand, turning on her toes so she faced both of them, walking backwards. She didn't missing a beat. Lifting their hands above her, she twisted around and stepped between them, leaving the two men clinging to each other's hands instead. They looked down, laughing, and playing along, their hands swinging between them.
Kahlan skipped by Cara who stood just like a statue encased in leather. Cara tilted her head at Richard, shooting a look at the Mother Confessor. Did he notice that Kahlan was singing at the top of her lungs? She shook her head, seemingly the only one bothered. She could go along with it, like that birthday.
Cara must have huffed a little too loudly, because Kahlan doubled back immediately. Cara began shaking her head for a different reason, but didn't resist when Kahlan plucked her hand from where it was planted on her hip. She managed to drag Cara a handful of stunted steps with the Mord'Sith staring at Kahlan, horrified into inaction. Kahlan laughed, smiling in a way that made Cara dig her heels in, and try to reclaim her hand.
"Stay," Kahlan pleaded, pulling Cara in a way that asked more than demanded. "Stay, stay..."
Cara couldn't withstand the siege of Kahlan's infectious nature, and Kahlan seemed to know the moment she had Cara's compliance, laughing and pulling at Cara's hand with more vigor. The Mother Confessor led them into a field of red daffodils, peppered with swathes of yellow and white. They followed a trail that cut through the color like a bright beige vein.
"Stay by me, to walk beside." Kahlan didn't let go of Cara's hand, her voice fading from the last notes of her song. Cara had her head angled down, her hair hiding most of her face, but the green of her eyes was too bright between the strands, locked on the woman ahead of her.
Kahlan stopped in the middle of the field. Cara looked away when she turned around.
Cara sneezed. She rubbed her nose with her knuckle, glaring at a grinning Kahlan. "Flowers don't agree with Mord'Sith," she murmured.
"It's called hay fever," Kahlan said.
"I know what hay fever is." Cara brought her hand down, jutted her chin a bit. "And I have no such thing."
Kahlan ducked her head to the hide the shine in her eye that said more than her smile. When she looked up, eyes still twinkling, she tugged at Cara's hand and began leading them out of the field, one step backward at a time. She chuckled while she said, "Let's get you out of here then, for the sake of all these flowers."
Cara was certain Kahlan was teasing her, but she pursed her lips, refraining from remarking, and allowed herself to be pulled along.
Richard and Zedd walked at their own pace, merely enjoying the rest of Kahlan's impromptu singing.
"Do I spy the Mother Confessor trying to get a Mord'Sith to play in a field of flowers?" Zedd said with a mischievous grin, matched with a lyrical lilt, tickled by his observation. "Not a sight I thought I would ever lay eyes on."
Richard glanced toward Zedd before his eyes settled on Kahlan again. He was frowning, watching the pair ahead of him. He couldn't hear the two women, but he could see Kahlan smiling without restraint, her cheeks flushed with happiness.
It hurt.
Cara's gaze followed the line of Kahlan's shoulder, drifting as she spied movement in the trees. Kahlan twisted around to look behind herself, brows twitching down as Darken Rahl and his retinue approached. Cara jerked her hands free, fists clenching briefly before she forced her fingers to unlock and hang nonchalantly at her sides. Kahlan whipped back around, but Cara avoided meeting her gaze.
Darken watched them closely as he approached. "I suppose I should thank you for the warning that you were on your way," he said dryly.
"You insisted on staying out here in the forest," Richard said, catching Darken's comment as he walked up. "The village inn was very comfortable, if you wanted to know."
"I prefer subtler traveling methods," Darken replied smoothly. "And considering last evening's celebration, I doubt I would have been a welcome guest."
Cara turned wide, affronted eyes at Richard. "You told me that we didn't want to be seen with him," she accused.
Richard smiled, shrugged without apology. "That was part of it."
Cara huffed through her nose and restrained herself from throwing her hands up into the air. She caught a pair of amused grins from Zedd and Kahlan, and glared at the three of them. Tension filled her shoulders when she turned her back to them, as if she was about to take her frustration and storm off with it instead, but she settled for grumpily crossing her arms.
Darken cleared his throat, everything in his expression belying an undercurrent of irritation. "I think it also unwise that you let an entire village know your whereabouts. If the Fold is searching for us, and you can certainly believe they are, they will find the information they need from those people."
"He's right." Eight sets of eyes turned on Kahlan.
"I think you're unwell," Cara said in a poor excuse of a whisper. Kahlan didn't appreciate the concern, lips pursed tight. Cara's brows jumped. "I'm serious."
"So am I."
"The people need to see us," Richard said, confident in his choices. "They need to know that we're actually helping them. They can't believe in someone they can't see."
"They can't betray what they don't know." Kahlan was looking at Darken, who seemed to be taking great pleasure in the turn of conversation. Kahlan continued, "And if Tobias Brogan intends to hunt us down before we can gather forces, he'll be willing to hurt anyone who stands in his way."
"You agree with my... with Rahl?" Richard asked, finally struck with disbelief by Kahlan's stance. "Even Cara disagrees."
"I didn't say that," Cara shot quickly.
"Yes, I do," Kahlan said, responding to Richard. "We should be moving quickly, and not laying down a path for anyone to follow. We've put those people in danger."
Richard grabbed Kahlan at the elbow, pulling her away from everyone else.
"I thought you'd agree with me on this," Richard said to her. They bent their heads together but looked for from intimate.
Kahlan seemed unwilling to budge. "Not if it puts us or our task in danger."
"The people," Richard said emphatically, "are our task. We do this for them, not ourselves."
"We do them no good if we're dead."
Richard and Kahlan felt like they were going in circles, arguing about everything, and never finding a solution for anything.
"You've changed, Kahlan... Changes..." Richard said first, dragging out the last word in a clear, melodious note. "I don't know how to explain."
Kahlan followed, her voice fitting well into the harmony of his, "Changes... "
"Suddenly, a rift between us," they both said in perfect synchronization.
"Stop!" Cara's voice was loud and clear, slamming Richard and Kahlan into silence. They stared at her in surprise. They had been so caught up in the sudden swirl of emotion that they hadn't realized what they had begun to do. "You're... singing," Cara said in utter disbelief. Many strange things had happened in her travels with the Seeker, but this pushed boundaries that Cara didn't know she had. "Please. Stop."
"Oh, if only you could," came Shota's smoky voice. She was standing behind everyone, though nobody had heard her approach. Everyone turned, shifting uneasily, but there wasn't a Mord'Sith without a predatory gleam in her eye.
Zedd was scowling, though he never seemed to be doing much else in Shota's presence. "This had an air of mischief about it. You're toying with us again, Shota."
"Yes, you're exactly right, Zeddicus," Shota replied slowly, an obvious answer for an obvious question. Cara drew her agiels, earning a disdainful sneer. Shota found Darken giving her a calculating sweep of his eyes, his trio of Mord'Sith looking eager to get their hands on her.
"We don't have time for your games, Shota," Zedd said impatiently. "We need you to help, not you hindrance."
"You're 'quest" is nothing but folly," Shota replied with narrow eyes, treating Zedd like the uninvited guest. "You'll find that I'm doing you a favor. You've been traveling with a catastrophe of emotions that have done nothing but cause you distraction." Shota aimed her next words at Richard, Kahlan, and Cara, "You won't be able to stop the songs inside you, but I advise you to listen well to the words. Today, you'll speak the truths which burden you, and find out how easily they can be used against you."
"I do not take well to being played with, witch woman," Darken said coldly, a deadly warning from behind his three Mord'Sith.
Shota showed greater patience to Darken, but she was no friendlier. "Fear not, you and yours are untouched. This lesson is for the Seeker and his friends," she said distastefully.
Cara gripped her agiels tight, straining the seams across her knuckles. "You're talking about the singing."
"Yes!" Shota cackled wickedly, and pointed a long, bony finger at Cara. "Remember, each and every lyric that falls from your tongue speaks truth."
It was too much for the Cara. One of her arms lashed out, but the tip of the agiel only pierced a ghost of an image. Shota disappeared, fading away with an ugly mark where Cara had swiped it through the air. Shota's laughter still echoed in the air, lingering and taunting.
"This is ridiculous!" Cara complained, spitting fury. She turned immediately to Zedd, waving an agiel recklessly. "Where is she? Take me to her now."
Zedd took a cautious step back.
"That illusion spell can only be cast from within a certain distance," Nicci leaned in her saddle to tell Rahl. "She'll be close by. Your Mord'Sith should be suitable enough to handle her."
Rahl peered at her silently, trying to gauge her intentions. Nicci gestured with her head in Richard and Kahlan's direction. Seeker and Mother Confessor stood rigidly, staring at each other as the tension continued to mount between them.
"Did you mean what you said?" Richard looked uncomfortable asking.
Kahlan looked at him strangely. "Shota's only trying to create problems. You know better than to buy into her tricks."
"It doesn't mean she didn't speak the truth about the spell," he said defensively.
"Half-truths," Kahlan corrected him.
"Can you just answer the question?" Richard asked harshly.
"You have changed, Richard," Kahlan felt the words burst forth even though she hadn't meant to say them, but she felt the truth of it, and couldn't bring herself to take the words back.
"Hey, guys?" Cara interjected, waving to get their attention. The smile on her face was forced. "I don't think now is the time."
Richard brought a hand up between them, blocking Cara from his view. "Stay out of this, Cara."
Cara's neck snapped straight, lips tightening into a small circle that held back a slew of retorts. Richard must have felt her eyes on him with her staring so intensely. He gave her a side-long glance that
"Your value always has a place at my side," Darken offered, smooth and sarcastic.
"Your value can choke on a Shadrin's-"
"Cara!" Zedd interrupted loudly, hand and fingers splayed open in a peaceful presentation. "I have need of your wise counsel."
"Torture it, and then kill it," she bit out, punctuating her words with vicious stabs of her finger. It seemed to help, if only that she stopped glaring at everyone. Zedd wisely fell silent.
"Excuse me," Nicci cut in, pointing. She looked bored. "But the Seeker and the Mother Confessor have just run off."
Everyone else whirled around to see that it was, in fact, true; Richard and Kahlan were stomping away from the group, and away from each other.
Listen on Youtube: Kind Kings and Queens
Richard walked through the forest with little care, his step falling heavy and loud. He kept glancing over his shoulder at Kahlan, seeing flashes of her dark leather between the trees, and every time he had to rip his eyes from her as soon as he spotted her.
"Changes," Richard began again, quieter, more tentative than the first loud outburst.
Kahlan's head turned, hearing his voice, but she didn't slow. She echoed, "Changes..."
The sound of their voices, ringing the same words, made them flee faster from each other. They ran until they couldn't hear each other any more and stopped seeing movement every time they glanced over their shoulders. They pushed themselves, rushing with the relentless beat of their blood, pulsing to the song that wanted to flow unimpeded from their veins.
Kahlan felt the tug of magic like a tickling vine of thought playing at the edges of her mind, a nagging sense that left her feeling no doubt in which direction Richard had taken. Even if she spun herself in circles, her disoriented mind could point toward him. She walked the other way, until she came upon a creek where the shallow water could be crossed with a couple well placed steps on the scattered stones protruding above the surface.
"Why are we fighting, why am I crying..." she sang as she started following the flow of water, reaching a hand up to brush the tears that had escaped down her cheeks. "I thought I knew us like a well worn map."
"But the edges tore, ripping right through to the very core," Kahlan's voice threatened to break, and she looked down at her hands as if they had done the metaphorical tearing.
Richard was out of breath when he found the game trail. He wiped his sleeve across his brow, searching the forest to see if anyone had followed him. When he felt privacy encompass him, he sang, "I tried pretending, to dodge this ending."
"It seemed too perfect to ever break." Richard's eyes picked up the marks of deer and rabbit. Mindless, he plodded along, not noticing when he came upon a fork; he followed small tuffs of fur, singing under his breath, "But it doesn't matter, now that my dreams have shattered."
Kahlan ducked under a low hanging branch, and Richard found himself emerging from the forest at the peak of a hill. Kahlan sang to the gurgling creek while Richard cried into the open air, "We had our quests, we had our love. Thought we'd be happy, and watched love blindly."
Richard walked along the ridge of the hill as Kahlan stopped where the creek dropped off, creating a small waterfall. "Like kind kings and queens, such sweet dreams, it seems... good thing never last forever."
Kahlan carefully picked her way down beside the waterfall. "I've touched the people of this land,"At the bottom, she leaned against the rock, and reached out to let the falling water run over her hand. "Their hearts unaligned and divided minds," she sang softly, pulling her hand back against her stomach. She wandered away from the waterfall, following where it led. "They're all just a little lost, leaving me just a little... lost."
Her words moved quickly into the chorus, and she knew somewhere Richard was singing the same, "We had our quests, we had our love. Thought we'd be happy, and watched love blindly."
Richard stood overlooking the forest. He could faintly see the village they had left in the distance, and he had a good idea of where Kahlan and he had left their friends. From here, he thought he could hear Kahlan's voice molding with his own. "Like kind kings and queens, such sweet dreams, it seems... good things never last forever."
"I left my home for an unknown world," Richard belted out. His eyes caught a flash of movement in the trees, and a little tug inside him knew Kahlan was close. "Saw love in your eyes, but now it's not quite right," Richard closed his eyes tightly, a shiver racing across the surface of his skin, "Slicing at me like a thousand knives."
Richard began making his way down the hill. "We had our quests, we had hour love," Richard could hear Kahlan clearly now, her voice carrying through the trees. She was singing the same words as him, "Thought we'd be happy and watched love blindly."
"Like kind kings and queens," their blended voices finally began to come to a close. Kahlan couldn't see Richard yet, but she could feel him approaching. She waited by the creek as the last of the words washed over her, "Such sweet dreams, it seems..."
"...Good things never last forever."
Richard hesitated when he saw Kahlan, finding her well after they had finished their song. Defeat was a downward curve in their shoulders.
"What happened between us?" Kahlan asked, soft and vulnerable, looking into the water like it held the answers.
Their anger had drained away once they had time to think.
Richard stepped forward and embraced Kahlan. "I do love you, Kahlan," he whispered into her hair.
Even with his arms around her, familiar and strong, lines of worry creased across Kahlan's face. Her hands rose hesitantly, cautious in the way she rested them against his back, but the moment she felt the rough fabric of his shirt, her hands fisted, pulling him against her tightly.
"I love you too," she said, nose pressed into his shoulder. He pulled away too soon, and seemed to garner strength from the distance he put between them. She swallowed. "This feels like goodbye."
"I'm not leaving." Richard bent down, picking up a flat, round rock. He didn't look at Kahlan as he flipped it over and over in hand.
Not knowing what to do with her hands, she crossed her arms, and tucked her hands against her sides. "But this is still goodbye."
Before answering, Richard turned to the creek, and tossed the rock with a side-arm throw. It skipped across the flat of the water, nearly making it across the creek but struck a larger rock.
"I don't think we want the same things any more," he said once the rock disappeared into the creek. He began to walk along the edge, meeting Kahlan's eyes as he passed her, a gleam that dared Kahlan to say otherwise.
Kahlan frowned as she followed him. "Is this about Caddock?" she asked, an edge in her voice.
"Yes. No," he amended himself when her eyes narrowed. "That's only part of it."
The answer only made Kahlan bristle with frustration. "You're not being very clear."
Richard ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture. "You're in love with someone else," he tried to say casually, but the strength of his voice collapsed on the word "love" as if his breath had been ripped from him.
Kahlan came to a dead halt, blinking furiously. She shook her head. "You don't think I'm," she gestured at the air, grasping for words between the confusion and the rebuilding anger, "actually having some sort of affair?"
"No! No, I don't think that." Richard stopped to face her fully. He reached out to her, but she dodged his hand by stepping past him. "It's just," he said as he retracted his hand, and his mouth set in a hard line. "You are in love with someone else. It hurts me just as much to say it, but it's the truth."
Kahlan felt her teeth grind with the pressure of her clenched jaw. She spun back around with swift denial, hands coming to a clench at her side, and her hair whipping across her neck. "Who, exactly, do you think I'm in love with?" she said harshly. Names rolled through her head, but they left as quickly as they came. They had never stayed anywhere long enough, never spent enough time around anyone else, growing to know the people well enough to develop feelings for them. There was only Zedd. And Cara.
Her mouth moved, formed Cara's name. Kahlan felt the truth of it ringing inside her head, could see her name in Richard's eyes now, in the very way he stood. Frustrated, pained, but more than anything else, he stood a man already defeated.
"You're in love with Cara," he said, but it came out much harsher than he intended. He was unable to stop the wave of pain that shadowed his eyes, and filled his voice.
"She's my friend!" Kahlan said with fiercely defiant tones, instantly defensive. "Of course I love her!"
In the face of Kahlan's growing anger, Richard grew calmer. "You used to hate her."
The back of Kahlan's throat clenched painfully against her tongue. "And you should know as well as I how much she's changed, how far she's come, and especially how hard it was for her."
"I do, Kahlan, more than you know. I believed in her from the very beginning. I forgave her past so she knew she had a place at my side. I was the one who believed in her," Richard's voice was thick, passionate. "And she didn't need to prove herself to anyone else. Not to Zedd and certainly not to you."
His words reached for the truths that Kahlan had always felt, but had never truly acknowledged. "What's that supposed to mean? That she should love you instead, love you more?"
Richard gave her a piercing look. He wondered if Kahlan was aware that she didn't deny that Cara loved her. "She changed for you, Kahlan. Not for me." Richard sighed, running a hand across his face, fingers applying a relieving pressure against his eyes. "She would die for you, you know."
"I know that," Kahlan said, a raspy response filled with emotion.
"Do you?"
Kahlan had never shared with Richard the details of being trapped in a tomb with Cara. "More than you know."
The silence was thick, only one thing left unsaid. "I think we shouldn't be together anymore," Richard said in a quick rush of breath. "At least, until we both figure out what we want."
It sounded as if Richard already knew what he wanted, but Kahlan kept that comment to herself, she didn't feel the same way. "I don't know what I want anymore," Kahlan sighed out. "I thought things were okay between us."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not even sure I know what I want anymore either."
Kahlan didn't know what this would mean for the group, but she didn't want to lose anyone. "We still have to take care of Tobias Brogan," she murmured. It was as close enough to a peace offering for her.
"I am still the Seeker," Richard agreed, nodding his head. "And you're still the Mother Confessor. That hasn't changed."
Kahlan's chest heaved silently, and felt the prick of tears at the corner of her eyes. "Yes," she said, managing not to choke on the word. She shuffled a few awkward steps away, and held a hand out to stay Richard from following her. "Just give me a few minutes, please."
Kahlan had already turned, weaving through the thick of the trees, wanting to get a head start back to the group. Richard nodded to her anyway, and waited. He gave himself a moment to close his eyes, taking several slow, deep breaths. After a few minutes, he began his own return.
**
Cara paced around the group, predatory eyes snapping toward anything that moved. Darken was whispering something to Berdine, Raina hovering close. Dahlia's eyes were careful, watching everyone, flickering over to Cara when her attention was elsewhere.
Darken peered into the forest, the pad of his thumb brushing through the sparse, coarse hairs of his beard. "To think the Blood of the Fold might find their victory through the distraction of song and dance."
His bellowing laugh and the responding ring of Mord'Sith laughter carried over to Cara's ears. She was standing with Zedd, her back to her former family. Her arms were crossed, and her fingers tapped an impatient beat against the leather pulled taut across her biceps. The tall wizard nearly mirrored Darken's stance, looking clear over Cara's head, though his searching gaze was filled with suspicious curiosity.
Cara cast her green eyes up at Zedd. "I really don't like that I agree with him right now," she whispered for their ears only.
"We need to find out how to fix this problem," Zedd mumbled distractedly.
As if he had overheard, Darken made his way toward them. "I believe the best course of action would be to leave those under the effect of the spell behind while another group continues on to find the witch woman," Darken explained. Clearly, he had thought this through. "They'll return once we have her compliance."
"And I suspect that you're generously volunteering to lead this other group?" Zedd asked with false enthusiasm.
"I do admit my reason is to spare my ears of your squawking." Darken Rahl's shoulder shook minutely, unable to hold back a chuckle.
Cara stepped closer. "I'm coming with you," she stated strongly, booking no room for argument.
Dahlia slid herself between Darken and Cara-closer to Cara, their buckles scrapped against each other. Dahlia leaned in close, lips ghosting across Cara's cheek. She lightly gripped Cara's upper arm to prevent her from moving away.
"We don't want to hear it," Dahlia whispered, trying to keep the rough anger from her voice. She swallowed the hard edge back, and added gently, "and you don't want us to hear it."
Cara glared at her for moment, clicking her mouth shut. "Fine." She jerked her arm free, and returned to Zedd.
Zedd didn't even try to disagree, more than happy to avoid Shota as much as he could. Let Darken Rahl handle her tricks and traps. The two groups parted ways eagerly.
**
Zedd and Cara had made camp in a small clearing, a cracked and fallen tree providing an angled length of sitting space. A fresh fire was lit in the center, more smoke than flame. Kahlan returned first, only briefly meeting their gazes before sitting away from them. She said nothing, feeling the subtle prod of Zedd's concerned curiosity and Cara's intense gaze, piercing for secrets.
"Rahl has gone after Shota, to break the spell," Zedd ventured.
Kahlan only nodded a small acknowledgement. She busied herself with mundane tasks, rummaging through her pack aimlessly. She wasn't looking for anything in particular. Her hand pulled out a strip of dried meat, and Kahlan nibbled at it without true hunger, eyes on the fire, nothing else. Zedd had no further words, not until Richard returned.
"Where's Rahl?" Richard asked as soon as he saw who was missing. Zedd repeated his report. Richard hung his head wearily. "I would have rather gone with him." His eyes flickered to Kahlan, but the Mother Confessor gave no reaction.
"I think it's for the best that we didn't," Zedd said with slow patience.
"Rahl was eager to get away for a reason," Cara said, dry and bitter. "I don't blame him."
Heavy silence fell over the camp. After months and months of easy companionship, even the worst of their arguments and bickering had never left them in such an air of uneasiness.
As Cara stood, Richard's eyes snapped toward her-sudden, angry Seeker eyes, as if he expected her to do something that he disapproved of. Unbidden, it occurred to Cara that Richard had never looked quite so much like a Lord Rahl as he did just then. Fierce and powerful, he stood like a man who expected people to follow him, listen to his words whether they were orders or not. But Cara had spent too much time as a free woman, bound by love above duty. Without knowing the purpose for Richard's sudden ire, she merely raised a brow. Not quite a challenge, but defiant all the same. Richard blinked, surprise crossing his features as if he had just realized what he was doing. His gaze skittered away, looking a little more lost than he had before.
Cara felt her ire rise, though it wasn't necessarily aimed at Richard. Zedd caught her eye, shaking his head. Leave them to their brooding. Cara managed to affect a loud harrumph without making a sound.
"I'm going hunting," she said, picking up the wrap of cloth that held her bow and more. She ignored everyone else, setting herself to the task of stringing the twine.
It would be a while before Darken returned, and the next few hours were looking to be incredibly uncomfortable. "Zedd, take a walk with me?" Richard asked.
Zedd stopped fiddling with the fire. "Of course, my boy," he said, patting his hands against his robes.
They left the camp, trading idle talk. Richard's brother and the rest wouldn't be back until the sun was close to setting. They walked far enough to be out of earshot in case either began singing.
"Zedd, I have something to tell you." Richard scuffed a rock with the heel of his foot.
"I gathered as much," Zedd sighed warily. "You've been scuffing your feet about so much, you look like you're tap dancing," he sniffed, "And not well at that."
Richard glanced at the surrounding rocks, finding many with tell-tale marks. Richard sighed at himself, but for Zedd, it was refreshing to see Richard betraying his youth.
"I ended things," Richard said finally, looking at another rock like it needed a good scuff.
"You ended things," Zedd repeated.
"Between Kahlan and me."
Zedd did not repeat that. "Oh, I see."
Richard's shoulders slumped, and he looked at Zedd from behind the curtain of his brows. "That's all you have to say?"
"No, but I had my suspicions," Zedd shrugged his hands when Richard looked betrayed.
"You couldn't have given me a warning?" Richard asked helplessly.
"What was I supposed to say? I could see the pain on your face, plain as day," Zedd faced Richard fully while he pleaded his defense. "I couldn't bear to add to it."
Richard let loose a ragged sigh. "I don't think I can stop loving her."
"I would be surprised if you did, my boy," Zedd rumbled with age-old advice. "But you're young, and love can change with time, if you're willing to let it."
"Is that a Wizard's Rule?" Richard asked, sadness sparking against his melancholy.
"No, just a rule of life."
**
Listen on Youtube: Dead Men Walk Free
They stepped in sync, a gravel rhythm-except for Nicci. She glided more than walked, the flutter of her robes marking her apart. Berdine and Dahlia held torches that lit the cave tunnel just enough. Every so often, one of the Mord'Sith would flick a hand through the air. Sparks of light glanced off their fingers, magical traps breaking as the Mord'Sith came across them.
Darken Rahl led them with confidence.
"Let me tell you what haunts me is when my father said to me," Darken sang to his right. Berdine dutifully leaned forward, paying close attention to his words. "My very first prophecy, he said, 'Your baby brother, he will kill you in the year that he turns twenty-three. Yes, he will kill you in the year that he turns twenty-three.' "
On his right, Berdine quirked a brow, looking appropriately scandalized for a Mord'Sith, and more than a little amused. Next to her, Raina mirrored her smirk.
Darken chuckled, leaned a little further, and said conspiratorially, "But let me tell you what's really haunting me. Before my baby brother, ever killed me." Darken straightened, staring defiantly into the darkness ahead of him. "The Keeper didn't want me, threw me back into the sea."
He brought his hands up, clenched his fingers into fists. "He made me a baneling, let this dead man walk free."
Darken slowed one of his steps, bringing him shoulder to shoulder with Dahlia. She had been staring into the depths of the cave without interest, and was surprised to suddenly find him looking at her. He narrowed his eyes at her inattention disapprovingly. "So I plotted and schemed until everything seemed it was going my way," Darken sang as if it was a warning, slowly pulling his gaze away from Dahlia. She made sure to keep a careful awareness of him.
"But lo and behold, when your soul is what's sold," he held the note, meeting Nicci's eyes. She sent him a seething glare. Darken turned away with a fresh smirk on his face. "He let this dead man walk free."
"I'll tell you what haunts me," Darken repeated, again and again. "Not a single thing."
The light of the torches flickered sinister shadows across Darken's amused eyes.
Darken stepped into an open area, larger and more spacious than the tunnels he had been walking through. He immediately saw Shota standing next to her scrying pool. Berdine and Dahlia entered behind him, their torches casting enough light to see the spell tools on a rock ledge behind the sorceress.
"I don't recall casting any magic on any of you," Shota greeted them. She didn't seem surprised to see them.
"I can sing better than my brother," Darken replied absently, eyes drifting off into thought. He showed a little, satisfied smile that disappeared when he snapped them back to Shota. "Now undo the spell."
Shota's lips pinched in distaste. "That's not how it works."
The tip of an agiel flashed across Shota's vision, and the witch woman jerked backward only to find another Mord'Sith hovering close. She looked up into deadly blue eyes. "Make it work," Berdine said, licking her lips.
Shota wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Knowing better, she met Darken's eyes. "The spell will reach its peak at sundown, where the twilight will render the magic useless."
A streak of darkness lurked behind Darken's eyes, but Nicci gracefully stepped closer, looking as if she was gliding. "What did you use?" she asked, ignoring the way Raina watched Rahl, waiting for any sign that Nicci was stepping out of line.
Darken made a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, eyes pinned on Shota all the while. The Seeker's disgustingly high morale fiber demanded that Darken Rahl behave in a certain way while they travel together, but he was eager to get past this business.
Shota finally smiled, too satisfied. "The dust of Night Wisps." She looked into her scrying pool then, but it was clear of any image. Whatever she saw, it was only in her mind. "Their inherent magic pulls forth truth as easily as a Night Wisp knows your true emotions. I merely focused and directed the magic. The power itself will burn brightly. Then burn out."
Nicci nodded, hummed appreciatively. "But the magic that resides in the dust fades after time," Nicci looked at Rahl, pinning him with blame, "If I recall correctly, you recently attempted to destroy the entire race, isn't that right?
Darken chuckled. "Attempted?"
"I should thank you then." Shota shot at Darken Rahl.
The corner of Darken's mouth twitched. "You're welcome. But I'm not fool enough to believe you didn't already know that."
Shota didn't deign to answer that. "It's usually incredibly difficult to gather such a large amount, but you made it easy when you burned down their entire forest."
"Berdine." The Mord'Sith grabbed Shota by her hair, wrenching her head back. Darken held his hand out, staying Berdine's agiel an inch away from the Shota's thin neck. "Why stay here then, when you knew we would come for you?"
"Because I have seen a new prophecy," the witch woman said in a low, menacing voice. "And I know the Seeker will do everything in his power to prevent this prophecy from coming to pass."
"So you tell me instead, the Seeker's sworn enemy. Surely I, of all people, would listen?" Darken rumbled. He paced a few shorts steps away, then stopped, and spun around. He raised his brow, and flicked his hand at Shota impatiently. "The prophecy."
Shota jerked against Berdine. Darken nodded her away, and the tall Mord'Sith released Shota with a shove. Shota had the gall to glare, despite knowing her powers were useless against the Mord'Sith, but she was smart enough to shirk away when Berdine looked ready to bite instead of bark.
Shota held both hands out above her scrying pool. She touched her Han-everyone knew; Darken and Nicci well accustomed to magic, and the Mord'Sith were on edge, feeling the crackle in the air. A soft breeze arose from the surface of the water, but Shota was the only one affected, tiny wisps of her hair wavering in the air.
Magic suddenly surrounded Shota, an invisible hand that held her in an eerie stillness. A ghostly image of Kahlan Amnell rippled in the water. Kahlan was dressed in her white Mother Confessor dress, hands bound behind her back. Two armored men in red cloaks pulled her forward, using both hands to grip each arm. Kahlan jerked against their hold, but they held fast. She fell to her knees in front of a chopping block, and the guards dragged her into the proper position. She didn't look at the wood beneath her neck, stained nearly black with countless ancient executions, but out into the gathered crowd with desperate, searching eyes.
"The one in white," Shota said in a raspy whisper, monotonous and disembodied, "must be offered to her people, to bring joy and peace to the land." All eyes were transfixed on the scrying pool.
An executioner stepped up to Kahlan's side, and shifted his massive axe off his shoulder. The bobbing sea of heads roared in approval. Someone gasped when the execution's axe fell. The Mother Confessor's head rolled. Zedd was overlooking from the back of the pavilion, bowing his head, and closing his eyes.
The prophecy released Shota. The scrying pool became clear again, and the witch woman calmly leaned back, standing straight while she waited for their reactions. Nicci was unfazed, but staring into the clear water with an inscrutable expression. Berdine and Raina were still on edge, eyeing Shota with a new wariness. Dahlia seemed the least ruffled; this was only another brush with powerful magic amongst the growing list.
Darken shared a smile with Shota, for now they shared a secret. "No, I don't suppose the Seeker would like that prophecy at all."
The image in the pool changed once again, this time, the shadowy figures in eerie red capes were closing in on Cara and Kahlan, sitting in silence around a fire.
"The Blood of the Fold are about to ambush the Seeker and his friends. Their task is to kidnap the Mother Confessor, and nothing more. They'll take her to their general, and her execution will buy peace throughout the land," Shota watched her guests closely as she explained. "They must succeed."
**
continue to Episode 3.10 - Harmony - part 2
*~*~*~*~*~
Previously on Legend of the Seeker:
Episode 3.01 - "Tremors"
Episode 3.02 - "Restoration"
Episode 3.03 - "Madness"
Episode 3.04 - "Found"
Episode 3.05 - "Night"
Episode 3.06 - "Choice"
Episode 3.07 - "Doubt"
Episode 3.08 - "Trust"
Episode 3.09 - "Instinct"
*~*~*~*~*~
Episode 3.10 - "Harmony"
(all songs and lyrics: here)
*~*~*~*~*~
In the heart of the tavern, mugs clanked together, then crowded at the edge of tables as they battered a thunderous tempo against the wood. Waves of coherent, drunken song flowed from the noise, and then broke down into indecipherable chatter again. A bard's voice guided the raucous crowd, spinning lyrics of the Seeker's bravery along the strings of his lyre harp.
Richard was the last to escape the crowd. As he disappeared up the stairs, he heard the patrons call for another song, and the bard slurred to a quick beat, "A hero cleped by Sword of Truth, one thousand years have passed..."
As he walked down the hallway, the music faded to the back of Richard's mind. He passed an open door, pausing when he saw Cara. She was standing next to one of the beds, tugging her gloves off by the fingertips. With her eyes idly fixed across the room, she didn't notice Richard, and blindly tossed the red leather onto the vanity table. He moved closer, leaning in to look inside.
Kahlan was sitting on the other bed, hunched over while she removed her boots. She set them aside before turning to Cara, ready words on her lips; her teeth clicked shut when she saw Richard standing in the doorway.
A heartbeat passed in silence.
Kahlan recovered first, graced the room with a warm smile. "Good night, Richard," she said.
Richard returned her smile, but his brows were knit together. "Good night," he replied, his eyes searching hers with unexpected intensity. Kahlan's smile faltered.
"Richard," Cara said lightly, not quite a question. It drew his attention, broke his concentration just enough. "See you in the morning. Sleep well." She sounded like she meant it, and calmly endured the same searching gaze for her efforts.
Click to viewListen on Youtube: Shota's Lullaby
Shota stepped away from her scrying pool, far enough that she couldn't hear the rest of the exchange. Not that it mattered; there was little else to overhear. The shimmering image of Richard walked to the room he shared with Zedd, shoulders slumping once he was out of sight of the two women. The wizard was already slumbering, rendered unconscious early in the evening by a long day of travel and a hearty meal, an immovable log under his blanket. Richard quietly readied himself for bed.
The witch woman raised her hand, revealing a black, rune-stitched bag, no bigger than a coin purse. She took her time untying the knot of twine, and a pale blue light began to emit from the opening of the bag, twinkling despite the darkness of the cave. Shota's attention was elsewhere as she watched Richard fidget as sleep eluded him. She dipped her hand into the bag, pulling out white dust between pinched fingers. It glowed, small specks escaping her clutches, falling back into the bag like magical hourglass sand. She quickly cast her hand across the scrying pool, showering the surface of the water with a spray of glimmering stars. The dots of light sank into the pool, drifting down until they lay scattered across both Richard and Zedd. Neither of the men stirred.
Richard's eyes shut with slow heaviness. He didn't fight it-couldn't fight it, and sleep claimed him quicker than any sword-wielding foe.
"You call yourselves defenders..." Shota spoke down at the scrying pool, her voice coming out a scorning melody. The sorceress didn't worry about the Seeker hearing her. "... of light, you play the part..."
Her lip curled, disdain in her eyes. A twitch of her fingers and the image in the scrying pool began to dissolve, colors swirling toward the edges, gathering until Shota could see smooth stone through the water. She traced a circle in the surface of the water with the tip of her index finger; only once, but the water kept gathering momentum until a whirlpool was swirling at the very center, drawing inky veins of color into its current. The image of the sleeping Mother Confessor and Mord'Sith blossomed as the colors came together, clouding out as if someone was pouring a painting into liquid canvas.
"But your quest is naught but lies..." Shota reached into the bag, the cave illuminating briefly as she cast the dust again, "... when you just defend your heart."
The tiny glimmers-settled on blankets, hands, skin, between the cracks of clothing, lost in strands of hair-slowly lost their luster as the Seeker and his friends slept on.
**
ROLL CREDITS
**
Despite the rowdy night, several of the villagers managed to see the Seeker off in the morning. Richard stood outside the inn, shaking hands with the bard who looked a little worse for wear, but not nearly as hung over as expected. The bard swayed uneasily, and Richard's good reflexes let catch the bard by the elbow. Zedd pointed him out to Kahlan as they walked past, amusement between them, and Richard couldn't help but laugh at his predicament. He propped the bard up against the wall, a wary hover when he let go. The bard spouted an ill-tuned, "I stand, Seeker! I stand!" He looked a bit sick for a moment before the wave of nausea passed. "I shall... tell the world! The legend of the Seeker!"
Laughing, Richard caught up to Kahlan, caught a smile on her lips. "You're in a good mood," he remarked.
"I am," Kahlan agreed, as if it had already been on her mind. "There's something about waking up in the morning, being able to look over and see the people you love still alive."
"It is a wonder, considering all that we've been through," Zedd said loudly, announcing their feat of survival to empty air, no need for an audience.
Cara had already walked halfway out of town. Everything in the way she stood spoke of impatience, as if she had been standing there waiting for hours instead of minutes. She deliberately caught their eyes before turning on her heel and keeping a quick pace ahead of them.
"It's a beautiful day, and more importantly, I'm alive to enjoy it." Kahlan made a show of casting her shoulders back, filling her lungs with fresh air. She held her breath, caught it deep in her chest. "I'm savoring the feeling."
Richard gave her a succinct nod. "Fair enough."
Kahlan drifted to the side of the road, grace in her steps; not quite like a dancer, but with footwork that came second nature to a blade fighter. She reached a hand out toward the tall grass, tips scratching across her palm and the underside of her fingers. She closed her eyes, tight enough to feel that pleasurable burn across her lids. Face turned up, she basked in the warm sunlight tingling across her cheeks. It was a simple pleasure, and it revitalized Kahlan like a flower that had been wilting after an unexpected frost. Their lives were constantly upturned, tumult after tumult more important than any one person, quests drawings lines between duty and love. Peace of mind was a fleeting feeling.
Kahlan's eyes fluttered open, emotion building within her that nearly made her shake as she exhaled. She began to whisper, "From path to path..." she paused with a smile meant only for herself, for it had been much too long since she had last sung, "... to wayward pine. Between the castles and the fortresses."
Her steps took her past the remains of a small camp, a shoddy little thing on a small patch of dirt, the tall grass bent and broken from being used as makeshift bedding the night before. "We find our clearings, marked by fire rings," Kahlan couldn't help but smile at a sight she had seen countless times in her travels, and there were yet countless more.
"And every day we fight for life," Kahlan looked over her shoulder at Richard and Zedd, but then she skipped ahead, arms casting out to encompass the vast space around them. "Every day that we're alive!"
Zedd's fingers swept from side to side, and magic rolling off his fingertips, barely visible flurries of air that had the brush shuddering and sighing to a beat. His face was filled with laugh lines, the musical conductor of a thousand blades of grass.
"This is how we survived," Kahlan's voice continued to soar, her arms were at full wingspan, face upturned to that bright ball of light that was at once small and too large to comprehend. "This is how we've made our lives."
Kahlan's eyes were nearly grey as they dared to look upon the sun until its sting pricked tears out of the corners of her eyes. Only then did she look away, blinking against the slide of her finger as she gently wiped them away. She felt a touch on her arm, and dropped her hand to reveal Richard's smiling face. She floated on the tips of her toes, a dancing swirl around him.
"Stay, stay, stay..." her voice was all around him. Zedd continued to meander ahead of them, a little sway in each step. "Oh, stay, stay, stay by me."
Kahlan grabbed Richard's sleeve and tugged him along the path. "Despite our troubles, and despite the tides, I can't imagine not having you to walk beside."
Kahlan reached for Zedd's hand, turning on her toes so she faced both of them, walking backwards. She didn't missing a beat. Lifting their hands above her, she twisted around and stepped between them, leaving the two men clinging to each other's hands instead. They looked down, laughing, and playing along, their hands swinging between them.
Kahlan skipped by Cara who stood just like a statue encased in leather. Cara tilted her head at Richard, shooting a look at the Mother Confessor. Did he notice that Kahlan was singing at the top of her lungs? She shook her head, seemingly the only one bothered. She could go along with it, like that birthday.
Cara must have huffed a little too loudly, because Kahlan doubled back immediately. Cara began shaking her head for a different reason, but didn't resist when Kahlan plucked her hand from where it was planted on her hip. She managed to drag Cara a handful of stunted steps with the Mord'Sith staring at Kahlan, horrified into inaction. Kahlan laughed, smiling in a way that made Cara dig her heels in, and try to reclaim her hand.
"Stay," Kahlan pleaded, pulling Cara in a way that asked more than demanded. "Stay, stay..."
Cara couldn't withstand the siege of Kahlan's infectious nature, and Kahlan seemed to know the moment she had Cara's compliance, laughing and pulling at Cara's hand with more vigor. The Mother Confessor led them into a field of red daffodils, peppered with swathes of yellow and white. They followed a trail that cut through the color like a bright beige vein.
"Stay by me, to walk beside." Kahlan didn't let go of Cara's hand, her voice fading from the last notes of her song. Cara had her head angled down, her hair hiding most of her face, but the green of her eyes was too bright between the strands, locked on the woman ahead of her.
Kahlan stopped in the middle of the field. Cara looked away when she turned around.
Cara sneezed. She rubbed her nose with her knuckle, glaring at a grinning Kahlan. "Flowers don't agree with Mord'Sith," she murmured.
"It's called hay fever," Kahlan said.
"I know what hay fever is." Cara brought her hand down, jutted her chin a bit. "And I have no such thing."
Kahlan ducked her head to the hide the shine in her eye that said more than her smile. When she looked up, eyes still twinkling, she tugged at Cara's hand and began leading them out of the field, one step backward at a time. She chuckled while she said, "Let's get you out of here then, for the sake of all these flowers."
Cara was certain Kahlan was teasing her, but she pursed her lips, refraining from remarking, and allowed herself to be pulled along.
Richard and Zedd walked at their own pace, merely enjoying the rest of Kahlan's impromptu singing.
"Do I spy the Mother Confessor trying to get a Mord'Sith to play in a field of flowers?" Zedd said with a mischievous grin, matched with a lyrical lilt, tickled by his observation. "Not a sight I thought I would ever lay eyes on."
Richard glanced toward Zedd before his eyes settled on Kahlan again. He was frowning, watching the pair ahead of him. He couldn't hear the two women, but he could see Kahlan smiling without restraint, her cheeks flushed with happiness.
It hurt.
Cara's gaze followed the line of Kahlan's shoulder, drifting as she spied movement in the trees. Kahlan twisted around to look behind herself, brows twitching down as Darken Rahl and his retinue approached. Cara jerked her hands free, fists clenching briefly before she forced her fingers to unlock and hang nonchalantly at her sides. Kahlan whipped back around, but Cara avoided meeting her gaze.
Darken watched them closely as he approached. "I suppose I should thank you for the warning that you were on your way," he said dryly.
"You insisted on staying out here in the forest," Richard said, catching Darken's comment as he walked up. "The village inn was very comfortable, if you wanted to know."
"I prefer subtler traveling methods," Darken replied smoothly. "And considering last evening's celebration, I doubt I would have been a welcome guest."
Cara turned wide, affronted eyes at Richard. "You told me that we didn't want to be seen with him," she accused.
Richard smiled, shrugged without apology. "That was part of it."
Cara huffed through her nose and restrained herself from throwing her hands up into the air. She caught a pair of amused grins from Zedd and Kahlan, and glared at the three of them. Tension filled her shoulders when she turned her back to them, as if she was about to take her frustration and storm off with it instead, but she settled for grumpily crossing her arms.
Darken cleared his throat, everything in his expression belying an undercurrent of irritation. "I think it also unwise that you let an entire village know your whereabouts. If the Fold is searching for us, and you can certainly believe they are, they will find the information they need from those people."
"He's right." Eight sets of eyes turned on Kahlan.
"I think you're unwell," Cara said in a poor excuse of a whisper. Kahlan didn't appreciate the concern, lips pursed tight. Cara's brows jumped. "I'm serious."
"So am I."
"The people need to see us," Richard said, confident in his choices. "They need to know that we're actually helping them. They can't believe in someone they can't see."
"They can't betray what they don't know." Kahlan was looking at Darken, who seemed to be taking great pleasure in the turn of conversation. Kahlan continued, "And if Tobias Brogan intends to hunt us down before we can gather forces, he'll be willing to hurt anyone who stands in his way."
"You agree with my... with Rahl?" Richard asked, finally struck with disbelief by Kahlan's stance. "Even Cara disagrees."
"I didn't say that," Cara shot quickly.
"Yes, I do," Kahlan said, responding to Richard. "We should be moving quickly, and not laying down a path for anyone to follow. We've put those people in danger."
Richard grabbed Kahlan at the elbow, pulling her away from everyone else.
"I thought you'd agree with me on this," Richard said to her. They bent their heads together but looked for from intimate.
Kahlan seemed unwilling to budge. "Not if it puts us or our task in danger."
"The people," Richard said emphatically, "are our task. We do this for them, not ourselves."
"We do them no good if we're dead."
Richard and Kahlan felt like they were going in circles, arguing about everything, and never finding a solution for anything.
"You've changed, Kahlan... Changes..." Richard said first, dragging out the last word in a clear, melodious note. "I don't know how to explain."
Kahlan followed, her voice fitting well into the harmony of his, "Changes... "
"Suddenly, a rift between us," they both said in perfect synchronization.
"Stop!" Cara's voice was loud and clear, slamming Richard and Kahlan into silence. They stared at her in surprise. They had been so caught up in the sudden swirl of emotion that they hadn't realized what they had begun to do. "You're... singing," Cara said in utter disbelief. Many strange things had happened in her travels with the Seeker, but this pushed boundaries that Cara didn't know she had. "Please. Stop."
"Oh, if only you could," came Shota's smoky voice. She was standing behind everyone, though nobody had heard her approach. Everyone turned, shifting uneasily, but there wasn't a Mord'Sith without a predatory gleam in her eye.
Zedd was scowling, though he never seemed to be doing much else in Shota's presence. "This had an air of mischief about it. You're toying with us again, Shota."
"Yes, you're exactly right, Zeddicus," Shota replied slowly, an obvious answer for an obvious question. Cara drew her agiels, earning a disdainful sneer. Shota found Darken giving her a calculating sweep of his eyes, his trio of Mord'Sith looking eager to get their hands on her.
"We don't have time for your games, Shota," Zedd said impatiently. "We need you to help, not you hindrance."
"You're 'quest" is nothing but folly," Shota replied with narrow eyes, treating Zedd like the uninvited guest. "You'll find that I'm doing you a favor. You've been traveling with a catastrophe of emotions that have done nothing but cause you distraction." Shota aimed her next words at Richard, Kahlan, and Cara, "You won't be able to stop the songs inside you, but I advise you to listen well to the words. Today, you'll speak the truths which burden you, and find out how easily they can be used against you."
"I do not take well to being played with, witch woman," Darken said coldly, a deadly warning from behind his three Mord'Sith.
Shota showed greater patience to Darken, but she was no friendlier. "Fear not, you and yours are untouched. This lesson is for the Seeker and his friends," she said distastefully.
Cara gripped her agiels tight, straining the seams across her knuckles. "You're talking about the singing."
"Yes!" Shota cackled wickedly, and pointed a long, bony finger at Cara. "Remember, each and every lyric that falls from your tongue speaks truth."
It was too much for the Cara. One of her arms lashed out, but the tip of the agiel only pierced a ghost of an image. Shota disappeared, fading away with an ugly mark where Cara had swiped it through the air. Shota's laughter still echoed in the air, lingering and taunting.
"This is ridiculous!" Cara complained, spitting fury. She turned immediately to Zedd, waving an agiel recklessly. "Where is she? Take me to her now."
Zedd took a cautious step back.
"That illusion spell can only be cast from within a certain distance," Nicci leaned in her saddle to tell Rahl. "She'll be close by. Your Mord'Sith should be suitable enough to handle her."
Rahl peered at her silently, trying to gauge her intentions. Nicci gestured with her head in Richard and Kahlan's direction. Seeker and Mother Confessor stood rigidly, staring at each other as the tension continued to mount between them.
"Did you mean what you said?" Richard looked uncomfortable asking.
Kahlan looked at him strangely. "Shota's only trying to create problems. You know better than to buy into her tricks."
"It doesn't mean she didn't speak the truth about the spell," he said defensively.
"Half-truths," Kahlan corrected him.
"Can you just answer the question?" Richard asked harshly.
"You have changed, Richard," Kahlan felt the words burst forth even though she hadn't meant to say them, but she felt the truth of it, and couldn't bring herself to take the words back.
"Hey, guys?" Cara interjected, waving to get their attention. The smile on her face was forced. "I don't think now is the time."
Richard brought a hand up between them, blocking Cara from his view. "Stay out of this, Cara."
Cara's neck snapped straight, lips tightening into a small circle that held back a slew of retorts. Richard must have felt her eyes on him with her staring so intensely. He gave her a side-long glance that
"Your value always has a place at my side," Darken offered, smooth and sarcastic.
"Your value can choke on a Shadrin's-"
"Cara!" Zedd interrupted loudly, hand and fingers splayed open in a peaceful presentation. "I have need of your wise counsel."
"Torture it, and then kill it," she bit out, punctuating her words with vicious stabs of her finger. It seemed to help, if only that she stopped glaring at everyone. Zedd wisely fell silent.
"Excuse me," Nicci cut in, pointing. She looked bored. "But the Seeker and the Mother Confessor have just run off."
Everyone else whirled around to see that it was, in fact, true; Richard and Kahlan were stomping away from the group, and away from each other.
Listen on Youtube: Kind Kings and Queens
Richard walked through the forest with little care, his step falling heavy and loud. He kept glancing over his shoulder at Kahlan, seeing flashes of her dark leather between the trees, and every time he had to rip his eyes from her as soon as he spotted her.
"Changes," Richard began again, quieter, more tentative than the first loud outburst.
Kahlan's head turned, hearing his voice, but she didn't slow. She echoed, "Changes..."
The sound of their voices, ringing the same words, made them flee faster from each other. They ran until they couldn't hear each other any more and stopped seeing movement every time they glanced over their shoulders. They pushed themselves, rushing with the relentless beat of their blood, pulsing to the song that wanted to flow unimpeded from their veins.
Kahlan felt the tug of magic like a tickling vine of thought playing at the edges of her mind, a nagging sense that left her feeling no doubt in which direction Richard had taken. Even if she spun herself in circles, her disoriented mind could point toward him. She walked the other way, until she came upon a creek where the shallow water could be crossed with a couple well placed steps on the scattered stones protruding above the surface.
"Why are we fighting, why am I crying..." she sang as she started following the flow of water, reaching a hand up to brush the tears that had escaped down her cheeks. "I thought I knew us like a well worn map."
"But the edges tore, ripping right through to the very core," Kahlan's voice threatened to break, and she looked down at her hands as if they had done the metaphorical tearing.
Richard was out of breath when he found the game trail. He wiped his sleeve across his brow, searching the forest to see if anyone had followed him. When he felt privacy encompass him, he sang, "I tried pretending, to dodge this ending."
"It seemed too perfect to ever break." Richard's eyes picked up the marks of deer and rabbit. Mindless, he plodded along, not noticing when he came upon a fork; he followed small tuffs of fur, singing under his breath, "But it doesn't matter, now that my dreams have shattered."
Kahlan ducked under a low hanging branch, and Richard found himself emerging from the forest at the peak of a hill. Kahlan sang to the gurgling creek while Richard cried into the open air, "We had our quests, we had our love. Thought we'd be happy, and watched love blindly."
Richard walked along the ridge of the hill as Kahlan stopped where the creek dropped off, creating a small waterfall. "Like kind kings and queens, such sweet dreams, it seems... good thing never last forever."
Kahlan carefully picked her way down beside the waterfall. "I've touched the people of this land,"At the bottom, she leaned against the rock, and reached out to let the falling water run over her hand. "Their hearts unaligned and divided minds," she sang softly, pulling her hand back against her stomach. She wandered away from the waterfall, following where it led. "They're all just a little lost, leaving me just a little... lost."
Her words moved quickly into the chorus, and she knew somewhere Richard was singing the same, "We had our quests, we had our love. Thought we'd be happy, and watched love blindly."
Richard stood overlooking the forest. He could faintly see the village they had left in the distance, and he had a good idea of where Kahlan and he had left their friends. From here, he thought he could hear Kahlan's voice molding with his own. "Like kind kings and queens, such sweet dreams, it seems... good things never last forever."
"I left my home for an unknown world," Richard belted out. His eyes caught a flash of movement in the trees, and a little tug inside him knew Kahlan was close. "Saw love in your eyes, but now it's not quite right," Richard closed his eyes tightly, a shiver racing across the surface of his skin, "Slicing at me like a thousand knives."
Richard began making his way down the hill. "We had our quests, we had hour love," Richard could hear Kahlan clearly now, her voice carrying through the trees. She was singing the same words as him, "Thought we'd be happy and watched love blindly."
"Like kind kings and queens," their blended voices finally began to come to a close. Kahlan couldn't see Richard yet, but she could feel him approaching. She waited by the creek as the last of the words washed over her, "Such sweet dreams, it seems..."
"...Good things never last forever."
Richard hesitated when he saw Kahlan, finding her well after they had finished their song. Defeat was a downward curve in their shoulders.
"What happened between us?" Kahlan asked, soft and vulnerable, looking into the water like it held the answers.
Their anger had drained away once they had time to think.
Richard stepped forward and embraced Kahlan. "I do love you, Kahlan," he whispered into her hair.
Even with his arms around her, familiar and strong, lines of worry creased across Kahlan's face. Her hands rose hesitantly, cautious in the way she rested them against his back, but the moment she felt the rough fabric of his shirt, her hands fisted, pulling him against her tightly.
"I love you too," she said, nose pressed into his shoulder. He pulled away too soon, and seemed to garner strength from the distance he put between them. She swallowed. "This feels like goodbye."
"I'm not leaving." Richard bent down, picking up a flat, round rock. He didn't look at Kahlan as he flipped it over and over in hand.
Not knowing what to do with her hands, she crossed her arms, and tucked her hands against her sides. "But this is still goodbye."
Before answering, Richard turned to the creek, and tossed the rock with a side-arm throw. It skipped across the flat of the water, nearly making it across the creek but struck a larger rock.
"I don't think we want the same things any more," he said once the rock disappeared into the creek. He began to walk along the edge, meeting Kahlan's eyes as he passed her, a gleam that dared Kahlan to say otherwise.
Kahlan frowned as she followed him. "Is this about Caddock?" she asked, an edge in her voice.
"Yes. No," he amended himself when her eyes narrowed. "That's only part of it."
The answer only made Kahlan bristle with frustration. "You're not being very clear."
Richard ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture. "You're in love with someone else," he tried to say casually, but the strength of his voice collapsed on the word "love" as if his breath had been ripped from him.
Kahlan came to a dead halt, blinking furiously. She shook her head. "You don't think I'm," she gestured at the air, grasping for words between the confusion and the rebuilding anger, "actually having some sort of affair?"
"No! No, I don't think that." Richard stopped to face her fully. He reached out to her, but she dodged his hand by stepping past him. "It's just," he said as he retracted his hand, and his mouth set in a hard line. "You are in love with someone else. It hurts me just as much to say it, but it's the truth."
Kahlan felt her teeth grind with the pressure of her clenched jaw. She spun back around with swift denial, hands coming to a clench at her side, and her hair whipping across her neck. "Who, exactly, do you think I'm in love with?" she said harshly. Names rolled through her head, but they left as quickly as they came. They had never stayed anywhere long enough, never spent enough time around anyone else, growing to know the people well enough to develop feelings for them. There was only Zedd. And Cara.
Her mouth moved, formed Cara's name. Kahlan felt the truth of it ringing inside her head, could see her name in Richard's eyes now, in the very way he stood. Frustrated, pained, but more than anything else, he stood a man already defeated.
"You're in love with Cara," he said, but it came out much harsher than he intended. He was unable to stop the wave of pain that shadowed his eyes, and filled his voice.
"She's my friend!" Kahlan said with fiercely defiant tones, instantly defensive. "Of course I love her!"
In the face of Kahlan's growing anger, Richard grew calmer. "You used to hate her."
The back of Kahlan's throat clenched painfully against her tongue. "And you should know as well as I how much she's changed, how far she's come, and especially how hard it was for her."
"I do, Kahlan, more than you know. I believed in her from the very beginning. I forgave her past so she knew she had a place at my side. I was the one who believed in her," Richard's voice was thick, passionate. "And she didn't need to prove herself to anyone else. Not to Zedd and certainly not to you."
His words reached for the truths that Kahlan had always felt, but had never truly acknowledged. "What's that supposed to mean? That she should love you instead, love you more?"
Richard gave her a piercing look. He wondered if Kahlan was aware that she didn't deny that Cara loved her. "She changed for you, Kahlan. Not for me." Richard sighed, running a hand across his face, fingers applying a relieving pressure against his eyes. "She would die for you, you know."
"I know that," Kahlan said, a raspy response filled with emotion.
"Do you?"
Kahlan had never shared with Richard the details of being trapped in a tomb with Cara. "More than you know."
The silence was thick, only one thing left unsaid. "I think we shouldn't be together anymore," Richard said in a quick rush of breath. "At least, until we both figure out what we want."
It sounded as if Richard already knew what he wanted, but Kahlan kept that comment to herself, she didn't feel the same way. "I don't know what I want anymore," Kahlan sighed out. "I thought things were okay between us."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not even sure I know what I want anymore either."
Kahlan didn't know what this would mean for the group, but she didn't want to lose anyone. "We still have to take care of Tobias Brogan," she murmured. It was as close enough to a peace offering for her.
"I am still the Seeker," Richard agreed, nodding his head. "And you're still the Mother Confessor. That hasn't changed."
Kahlan's chest heaved silently, and felt the prick of tears at the corner of her eyes. "Yes," she said, managing not to choke on the word. She shuffled a few awkward steps away, and held a hand out to stay Richard from following her. "Just give me a few minutes, please."
Kahlan had already turned, weaving through the thick of the trees, wanting to get a head start back to the group. Richard nodded to her anyway, and waited. He gave himself a moment to close his eyes, taking several slow, deep breaths. After a few minutes, he began his own return.
**
Cara paced around the group, predatory eyes snapping toward anything that moved. Darken was whispering something to Berdine, Raina hovering close. Dahlia's eyes were careful, watching everyone, flickering over to Cara when her attention was elsewhere.
Darken peered into the forest, the pad of his thumb brushing through the sparse, coarse hairs of his beard. "To think the Blood of the Fold might find their victory through the distraction of song and dance."
His bellowing laugh and the responding ring of Mord'Sith laughter carried over to Cara's ears. She was standing with Zedd, her back to her former family. Her arms were crossed, and her fingers tapped an impatient beat against the leather pulled taut across her biceps. The tall wizard nearly mirrored Darken's stance, looking clear over Cara's head, though his searching gaze was filled with suspicious curiosity.
Cara cast her green eyes up at Zedd. "I really don't like that I agree with him right now," she whispered for their ears only.
"We need to find out how to fix this problem," Zedd mumbled distractedly.
As if he had overheard, Darken made his way toward them. "I believe the best course of action would be to leave those under the effect of the spell behind while another group continues on to find the witch woman," Darken explained. Clearly, he had thought this through. "They'll return once we have her compliance."
"And I suspect that you're generously volunteering to lead this other group?" Zedd asked with false enthusiasm.
"I do admit my reason is to spare my ears of your squawking." Darken Rahl's shoulder shook minutely, unable to hold back a chuckle.
Cara stepped closer. "I'm coming with you," she stated strongly, booking no room for argument.
Dahlia slid herself between Darken and Cara-closer to Cara, their buckles scrapped against each other. Dahlia leaned in close, lips ghosting across Cara's cheek. She lightly gripped Cara's upper arm to prevent her from moving away.
"We don't want to hear it," Dahlia whispered, trying to keep the rough anger from her voice. She swallowed the hard edge back, and added gently, "and you don't want us to hear it."
Cara glared at her for moment, clicking her mouth shut. "Fine." She jerked her arm free, and returned to Zedd.
Zedd didn't even try to disagree, more than happy to avoid Shota as much as he could. Let Darken Rahl handle her tricks and traps. The two groups parted ways eagerly.
**
Zedd and Cara had made camp in a small clearing, a cracked and fallen tree providing an angled length of sitting space. A fresh fire was lit in the center, more smoke than flame. Kahlan returned first, only briefly meeting their gazes before sitting away from them. She said nothing, feeling the subtle prod of Zedd's concerned curiosity and Cara's intense gaze, piercing for secrets.
"Rahl has gone after Shota, to break the spell," Zedd ventured.
Kahlan only nodded a small acknowledgement. She busied herself with mundane tasks, rummaging through her pack aimlessly. She wasn't looking for anything in particular. Her hand pulled out a strip of dried meat, and Kahlan nibbled at it without true hunger, eyes on the fire, nothing else. Zedd had no further words, not until Richard returned.
"Where's Rahl?" Richard asked as soon as he saw who was missing. Zedd repeated his report. Richard hung his head wearily. "I would have rather gone with him." His eyes flickered to Kahlan, but the Mother Confessor gave no reaction.
"I think it's for the best that we didn't," Zedd said with slow patience.
"Rahl was eager to get away for a reason," Cara said, dry and bitter. "I don't blame him."
Heavy silence fell over the camp. After months and months of easy companionship, even the worst of their arguments and bickering had never left them in such an air of uneasiness.
As Cara stood, Richard's eyes snapped toward her-sudden, angry Seeker eyes, as if he expected her to do something that he disapproved of. Unbidden, it occurred to Cara that Richard had never looked quite so much like a Lord Rahl as he did just then. Fierce and powerful, he stood like a man who expected people to follow him, listen to his words whether they were orders or not. But Cara had spent too much time as a free woman, bound by love above duty. Without knowing the purpose for Richard's sudden ire, she merely raised a brow. Not quite a challenge, but defiant all the same. Richard blinked, surprise crossing his features as if he had just realized what he was doing. His gaze skittered away, looking a little more lost than he had before.
Cara felt her ire rise, though it wasn't necessarily aimed at Richard. Zedd caught her eye, shaking his head. Leave them to their brooding. Cara managed to affect a loud harrumph without making a sound.
"I'm going hunting," she said, picking up the wrap of cloth that held her bow and more. She ignored everyone else, setting herself to the task of stringing the twine.
It would be a while before Darken returned, and the next few hours were looking to be incredibly uncomfortable. "Zedd, take a walk with me?" Richard asked.
Zedd stopped fiddling with the fire. "Of course, my boy," he said, patting his hands against his robes.
They left the camp, trading idle talk. Richard's brother and the rest wouldn't be back until the sun was close to setting. They walked far enough to be out of earshot in case either began singing.
"Zedd, I have something to tell you." Richard scuffed a rock with the heel of his foot.
"I gathered as much," Zedd sighed warily. "You've been scuffing your feet about so much, you look like you're tap dancing," he sniffed, "And not well at that."
Richard glanced at the surrounding rocks, finding many with tell-tale marks. Richard sighed at himself, but for Zedd, it was refreshing to see Richard betraying his youth.
"I ended things," Richard said finally, looking at another rock like it needed a good scuff.
"You ended things," Zedd repeated.
"Between Kahlan and me."
Zedd did not repeat that. "Oh, I see."
Richard's shoulders slumped, and he looked at Zedd from behind the curtain of his brows. "That's all you have to say?"
"No, but I had my suspicions," Zedd shrugged his hands when Richard looked betrayed.
"You couldn't have given me a warning?" Richard asked helplessly.
"What was I supposed to say? I could see the pain on your face, plain as day," Zedd faced Richard fully while he pleaded his defense. "I couldn't bear to add to it."
Richard let loose a ragged sigh. "I don't think I can stop loving her."
"I would be surprised if you did, my boy," Zedd rumbled with age-old advice. "But you're young, and love can change with time, if you're willing to let it."
"Is that a Wizard's Rule?" Richard asked, sadness sparking against his melancholy.
"No, just a rule of life."
**
Listen on Youtube: Dead Men Walk Free
They stepped in sync, a gravel rhythm-except for Nicci. She glided more than walked, the flutter of her robes marking her apart. Berdine and Dahlia held torches that lit the cave tunnel just enough. Every so often, one of the Mord'Sith would flick a hand through the air. Sparks of light glanced off their fingers, magical traps breaking as the Mord'Sith came across them.
Darken Rahl led them with confidence.
"Let me tell you what haunts me is when my father said to me," Darken sang to his right. Berdine dutifully leaned forward, paying close attention to his words. "My very first prophecy, he said, 'Your baby brother, he will kill you in the year that he turns twenty-three. Yes, he will kill you in the year that he turns twenty-three.' "
On his right, Berdine quirked a brow, looking appropriately scandalized for a Mord'Sith, and more than a little amused. Next to her, Raina mirrored her smirk.
Darken chuckled, leaned a little further, and said conspiratorially, "But let me tell you what's really haunting me. Before my baby brother, ever killed me." Darken straightened, staring defiantly into the darkness ahead of him. "The Keeper didn't want me, threw me back into the sea."
He brought his hands up, clenched his fingers into fists. "He made me a baneling, let this dead man walk free."
Darken slowed one of his steps, bringing him shoulder to shoulder with Dahlia. She had been staring into the depths of the cave without interest, and was surprised to suddenly find him looking at her. He narrowed his eyes at her inattention disapprovingly. "So I plotted and schemed until everything seemed it was going my way," Darken sang as if it was a warning, slowly pulling his gaze away from Dahlia. She made sure to keep a careful awareness of him.
"But lo and behold, when your soul is what's sold," he held the note, meeting Nicci's eyes. She sent him a seething glare. Darken turned away with a fresh smirk on his face. "He let this dead man walk free."
"I'll tell you what haunts me," Darken repeated, again and again. "Not a single thing."
The light of the torches flickered sinister shadows across Darken's amused eyes.
Darken stepped into an open area, larger and more spacious than the tunnels he had been walking through. He immediately saw Shota standing next to her scrying pool. Berdine and Dahlia entered behind him, their torches casting enough light to see the spell tools on a rock ledge behind the sorceress.
"I don't recall casting any magic on any of you," Shota greeted them. She didn't seem surprised to see them.
"I can sing better than my brother," Darken replied absently, eyes drifting off into thought. He showed a little, satisfied smile that disappeared when he snapped them back to Shota. "Now undo the spell."
Shota's lips pinched in distaste. "That's not how it works."
The tip of an agiel flashed across Shota's vision, and the witch woman jerked backward only to find another Mord'Sith hovering close. She looked up into deadly blue eyes. "Make it work," Berdine said, licking her lips.
Shota wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Knowing better, she met Darken's eyes. "The spell will reach its peak at sundown, where the twilight will render the magic useless."
A streak of darkness lurked behind Darken's eyes, but Nicci gracefully stepped closer, looking as if she was gliding. "What did you use?" she asked, ignoring the way Raina watched Rahl, waiting for any sign that Nicci was stepping out of line.
Darken made a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, eyes pinned on Shota all the while. The Seeker's disgustingly high morale fiber demanded that Darken Rahl behave in a certain way while they travel together, but he was eager to get past this business.
Shota finally smiled, too satisfied. "The dust of Night Wisps." She looked into her scrying pool then, but it was clear of any image. Whatever she saw, it was only in her mind. "Their inherent magic pulls forth truth as easily as a Night Wisp knows your true emotions. I merely focused and directed the magic. The power itself will burn brightly. Then burn out."
Nicci nodded, hummed appreciatively. "But the magic that resides in the dust fades after time," Nicci looked at Rahl, pinning him with blame, "If I recall correctly, you recently attempted to destroy the entire race, isn't that right?
Darken chuckled. "Attempted?"
"I should thank you then." Shota shot at Darken Rahl.
The corner of Darken's mouth twitched. "You're welcome. But I'm not fool enough to believe you didn't already know that."
Shota didn't deign to answer that. "It's usually incredibly difficult to gather such a large amount, but you made it easy when you burned down their entire forest."
"Berdine." The Mord'Sith grabbed Shota by her hair, wrenching her head back. Darken held his hand out, staying Berdine's agiel an inch away from the Shota's thin neck. "Why stay here then, when you knew we would come for you?"
"Because I have seen a new prophecy," the witch woman said in a low, menacing voice. "And I know the Seeker will do everything in his power to prevent this prophecy from coming to pass."
"So you tell me instead, the Seeker's sworn enemy. Surely I, of all people, would listen?" Darken rumbled. He paced a few shorts steps away, then stopped, and spun around. He raised his brow, and flicked his hand at Shota impatiently. "The prophecy."
Shota jerked against Berdine. Darken nodded her away, and the tall Mord'Sith released Shota with a shove. Shota had the gall to glare, despite knowing her powers were useless against the Mord'Sith, but she was smart enough to shirk away when Berdine looked ready to bite instead of bark.
Shota held both hands out above her scrying pool. She touched her Han-everyone knew; Darken and Nicci well accustomed to magic, and the Mord'Sith were on edge, feeling the crackle in the air. A soft breeze arose from the surface of the water, but Shota was the only one affected, tiny wisps of her hair wavering in the air.
Magic suddenly surrounded Shota, an invisible hand that held her in an eerie stillness. A ghostly image of Kahlan Amnell rippled in the water. Kahlan was dressed in her white Mother Confessor dress, hands bound behind her back. Two armored men in red cloaks pulled her forward, using both hands to grip each arm. Kahlan jerked against their hold, but they held fast. She fell to her knees in front of a chopping block, and the guards dragged her into the proper position. She didn't look at the wood beneath her neck, stained nearly black with countless ancient executions, but out into the gathered crowd with desperate, searching eyes.
"The one in white," Shota said in a raspy whisper, monotonous and disembodied, "must be offered to her people, to bring joy and peace to the land." All eyes were transfixed on the scrying pool.
An executioner stepped up to Kahlan's side, and shifted his massive axe off his shoulder. The bobbing sea of heads roared in approval. Someone gasped when the execution's axe fell. The Mother Confessor's head rolled. Zedd was overlooking from the back of the pavilion, bowing his head, and closing his eyes.
The prophecy released Shota. The scrying pool became clear again, and the witch woman calmly leaned back, standing straight while she waited for their reactions. Nicci was unfazed, but staring into the clear water with an inscrutable expression. Berdine and Raina were still on edge, eyeing Shota with a new wariness. Dahlia seemed the least ruffled; this was only another brush with powerful magic amongst the growing list.
Darken shared a smile with Shota, for now they shared a secret. "No, I don't suppose the Seeker would like that prophecy at all."
The image in the pool changed once again, this time, the shadowy figures in eerie red capes were closing in on Cara and Kahlan, sitting in silence around a fire.
"The Blood of the Fold are about to ambush the Seeker and his friends. Their task is to kidnap the Mother Confessor, and nothing more. They'll take her to their general, and her execution will buy peace throughout the land," Shota watched her guests closely as she explained. "They must succeed."
**
continue to Episode 3.10 - Harmony - part 2