New Episode: 3.10 - "Harmony" - part 2
go back to Episode 3.10 - Harmony - part 1
Kahlan's eyes might have been on the fire, but as the sound of footsteps became silent with distance, her shoulders sagged as if she had dropped an achingly large load of timber. Cara made no such attempt at subtlety, and blatantly studied Kahlan. Cara had set quiver and bow aside once she had finished stringing it. The Confessor paid her no mind; she either didn't notice, or didn't care. In truth, Kahlan took comfort in Cara's predictability, the expected avoidance of feelings and speaking of them.
Kahlan wasn't sure how much time passed, letting the dancing motions of the flames lull her into a trance. The sound of scratching leather broke her from her troubled reverie. Kahlan found Cara looking at her with an odd, expectant expression, shifting uncomfortably.
"I said," Cara sighed, quickly switching her eyes into the red coals of the fire, not unlike Kahlan a moment before, "Do you... want to talk about it?"
Kahlan felt a bout of guilt, realizing that Cara had plucked up a very different type of courage-not once, but twice-to ask that question.
Seeing a lack of response, Cara moved to get up, no doubt ready to use hunting as an excuse to make a quick retreat. "You don't have to."
"No, stay," Kahlan was just short of exclaiming. She reached a hand out, and despite the distance between them, Cara stopped as if Kahlan had physically restrained her. Kahlan pulled her hand back into her lap. Cara sat back down, though her body was poised to flee.
"I do want to talk, it's just..." Kahlan tried to begin, but clammed up. Talking about her argument with Richard meant talking about the why and the reasons, all of which involved Cara in some regard, but Kahlan didn't think it would be fair to unload this burden on the Mord'Sith. Her fractured harmony was between her and Richard, and them alone.
Cara was looking at her intently, giving Kahlan her rare, full attention. Kahlan found herself caught by Cara's beauty; it had nothing to do with how the light glanced off her golden cheekbones, the framing of her hair, nor the knowledge of smooth muscle beneath the expanse of red leather.
Kahlan saw a woman who had had everything taken away, but someone who had never let her spirit break in the darkest of moments. Cara was a woman who had every reason to be the monster that everyone believed her to be, and was nothing close to a monster at all.
That was the beauty Kahlan saw-and something dark moving just beyond Cara's shoulder. Kahlan catapulted across the camp, tackling Cara just as the Mord'Sith recognized the whistle of an arrow.
Cara was too stunned to do anything other than land flat on her back with Kahlan's full weight on top of her. She heard a thunk, then a vibrating hum, and could barely see the end of the arrow, still quivering over Kahlan's shoulder. Kahlan's hair was doing its best to block Cara's eyesight, but Cara could appreciate a good shot; that one would've hit her square in the back.
Cara kicked her legs against Kahlan's leather skirts, feeling much more tangled than she actually was. "Not very graceful-" Cara began to say, pushing at Kahlan's shoulders, scrambling to get up.
Kahlan breathed Cara's name in warning just before she knocked the Mord'Sith's arms aside, her full weight crashing down on Cara again. Another arrow whistled by, much closer, and much lower. Cara grunted, trying to keep Kahlan from knocking the breath out of her, neck straining from whipping painfully into the ground. Cara tilted her head back, their cheeks brushing together, Kahlan's breath hot at her ear while Cara tried to figure out what she was seeing from her upside-down view. She could see the archer, fleeing once he saw their eyes on him.
Kahlan began to rise, feet finding leverage against the dirt so she could leap up and give chase. Cara snatched Kahlan's belt, hands at the Confessor's waist. Using hips and hands, Cara flipped them over, rolling them to the side violently quick. Another arrow found a home in the back of the log that had previously been Cara's seat, exactly where they had been lying supine, prone, and vulnerable.
"You missed the second in the brush," Cara said a little breathlessly and more than a little smugly.
There was no time for a retort. In an instant, they were rolling again, this time in one cohesive movement. They helped pull each other to their feet. Keeping momentum, Cara found her back to a tree, shelter against more arrows. Kahlan took an extra step beyond her, finding another thick trunk for her own protection.
Their eyes met. "Cover me," Kahlan said.
Cara barely gave her a nod, already diving from her position from behind the fallen tree. She landed as well as she could while keeping low to the ground. She dragged her bow and quiver closer, plucking out two arrows. She stuck one into the bark she was huddle against. In a single motion, Cara rose up on one knee, arrow nocking as she drew the twine. With barely a second to aim, Cara relied on her memory of where she had seen the archer, arrow released into a copse of bushes.
Cara heard, rather than saw, Kahlan break cover just as a cry erupted from the brush, the hidden archer stumbling out with Cara's arrow protruding from his chest. His shot went wild, missing Kahlan by meters. Cara didn't flinch as it missed her by a handsbreath.
The Confessor was upon the fallen archer, daggers gripped tight in both fists, but she hurtled past without a glance, eyes intent on the man who had fired the first shot. He had taken up another position, no doubt meant to provide cover for his companion; useless now, but he had earned enough time with distance to set up another shot.
Too slow, in Cara's opinion, her second arrow in easy reach. Whether by fault or fate, her arrowhead glanced off the shaft of his bow. The shock of the ricochet made him drop his weapon, bow landing with a bounce on the ground, the iron tip of his arrow clattering harmless against a rock.
Cara reared up, and called, "Richard! Zedd!" Then she was vaulting after Kahlan, agiels finding purchase in her hands.
Kahlan reached the archer. He drew a short sword. She met him with a swift slash, stab, and kick that sent him reeling off his feet. He did not rise.
Cara caught up to Kahlan, stopping just a few steps in front of the Confessor. A red-caped man was emerging from the hiding place of a thick tree. Two more came from a pile of rocks and boulders. Creaking metal made Kahlan turn around, seeing more soldiers that the brush had hidden.
"Did you hear that?" Richard asked, cocking his ear back toward the camp.
"I most certainly did," Zedd confirmed, looking at Richard with concern. "That was Cara."
All disharmonies were forgotten as they tore through the forest. Zedd barely managed to keep up with Richard's frantic pace. When they came upon the battle, Richard wasted no time running into the fray. Cara and Kahlan were trying to keep their backs to each other while they were attacked from nearly all sides. Despite the half-dozen bodies already decorating the dirt, the two women were being pressed hard and losing ground. The bulk of the Blood of the Fold soldiers separated the group into two fighting pairs.
"Behind you, Richard! It's a trap!" Kahlan yelled just as Richard cut down the first man to meet him.
Another handful of red-cloaked soldiers came running from the trees, swords and axes raised and ready. Too quickly, Richard was surrounded with little hope of reaching Cara or Kahlan soon.
Zedd dodged the wild swing of a scythe, releasing a force of magic at the wielder's chest. The man flew through the air, a branched clipped him in the shoulder, and he dropped into a heavy heap on the group. Zedd threw another gale well before the next man reached him. The soldiers quickly took cover behind the thickest trunks, leaping forward to gain ground whenever Zedd took the time to send bursts of magic to aid Richard. The wizard couldn't do nearly as much as he wanted, most of his attention focused on keeping his own enemies at bay.
Despite the ambush, the soldiers lying in wait with the advantage of surprise, it was only moments before the skill of the four warriors unfolded. The slew of men between them grew thinner, their numbers providing the challenge more than anything.
Zedd had turned to blasting away the forest, knocking his attackers to the ground in unconscious heaps, flurries of dust, smoking splinters, and singed leaves raining down around him. After taking away his foes means of protection, he made short work of soldiers still standing in plain view.
Zedd turned, moving to help Richard. He only made it a few steps before he felt a chill slither across the back of neck. Behind him, a haggard, lanky man in dark blue robes appeared from a flash of cloudy mist that had no place in the sun-dappled forest. His hand was already raised, aimed at Zedd's back. Air visibly gathered into a vortex, anchored in the middle of the mage's palm. It condensed into water that froze into a small sphere. The ball of ice didn't grow, but somehow the light glinted off it in a harsh, sharp way that meant only ill intent. Only magical instinct made Zedd spin back around as quickly as he did. He fueled defensive magic into his hands, palms raising outward, standing with his feet shoulder-length apart.
The mage gave a wicked smile, and his spell flew at Zedd faster than a Night Wisp, slamming to a powerful halt against Zedd's hands as magic met magic. The magic cracked like thunder, a sound like a frozen lake cracking from shore to shore. Both men were thrown back as the mage's spell broke. Zedd rose, but found that frost covered his hands from fingertip to wrist, tendrils snaking along veins. Despite the thinness of the layer, Zedd could not move his fingers. His magic was frozen.
While Zedd was busy diverting Han into his hands, the blue-robed mage turned his focus on a new target, taking advantage of the few moments the First Wizard was incapacitated. He formed another projectile of ice, this time a thin jagged shard with its deadly point aimed at Richard. The Seeker was not aware.
Cara's backfist knocked out the last man standing between her and Richard. She intended to help Kahlan who was expertly managing to keep out of an axe man's range, while her daggers played defensive against a soldier wielding two short swords, but magic glinted across her vision, and she became irrefutably aware of its presence-its intent.
Kahlan was forced to dance away from the axe's blade, into the swordsman. She barely managed to block his swings. Hilts locked, rendering blades to a deadlock, the swordsman with the better footing. He kicked out, and with a push knocked Kahlan onto her back. She barely managed to roll away before an axe blade dug into the ground where her head had been. She couldn't avoid the kick, the swordsman's heavy leather boot catching her across the chin. Kahlan cried out a wounded roar.
Cara did not turn back to help Richard, even as she could feel the magic releasing itself. She took two steps, her third turning into a kick at the back of the axe man's knee. He crashed to the ground, the tip of her agiel catching him in the back. She skipped the little pause, where she savored the moment of death, and pushed him away.
The swordsman came at her, seeing the Mord'Sith as the greater threat, and Cara's first block was clumsy as she tried to avoid tripping over the axe man.
Cara could faintly hear Zedd screaming Richard's name. She didn't see Richard turn at the wizard's call, just managing to raise his sword between himself and the frozen arrow. It shattered against the Sword of Truth, a steaming hiss as the blade glowed red. Small shards flew in different directions. Richard cried out as he was sliced across the arm. It burned terribly, but not enough to hinder him from protecting himself against his last two opponents, their swords aiming to pierce him while his back was turned.
Cara had taken the swordsman down, already moving to place herself between him and Richard. A bellowing conflagration suddenly engulfed the mage, powerful magic toasting him into oblivion before he had enough chance. Zedd finally breathed easy. Smoky tendrils rose softly from his hands, no longer covered in frost.
"Is everyone alright?" Zedd, the furthest, called out to them. None of the fallen bodies around them shifted, and they heard no distant sound of men fleeing.
Richard began to smile, raising his free arm to wave, but as soon as he moved the limb, he let it drop like dead weight. He winced, hissing through his teeth. He twisted his shoulder forward to see the full length of the cut on his arm. It bled freely, the cut covered by frost that didn't do anything to halt the flow of blood. He tried touching it and gasped on contact, snatching his fingers away. "It's cold, but it burns."
"That was a cold mage," Zedd said once he reached them, heading straight for Richard. His long fingers wrapped fully around Richard's forearm, keeping his arm elevated while Zedd healed the wound. "Sometimes someone has the gift of magic, but not enough to earn him a spot in any of the orders. Some accept their fate while others spend the rest of their lives trying to perfect one or two spells. That handful Zedd explained as the frost melted away, the blood no longer dripping. As the skin began to regrow and knit, he said, "You're lucky. If this had cut you any deeper, you might have bled out before I could help."
Richard murmured a response, but Cara was staring at the slowly healing cut, not looking at all like the Mord'Sith who usually made a quip about a good fight.
"Are you okay?" Kahlan asked softly. The corners of her mouth turned down at the distress on Cara's face.
"I'm fine," Cara said with her voice empty of emotion.
Kahlan searched the Mord'Sith's body for any wounds, visible cuts, or less apparent injuries, betrayed by weak limbs or favoring weight to one side. Kahlan found nothing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering Cara.
"I'm allowed to worry about you," Kahlan said, understanding Cara's riled rebuffs even as she was frustrated by them. "Whether you like it or not."
"Well, you shouldn't," Cara's jaw clenched, her hand slashing as if she could snatch whatever it was between them straight out of the air and toss it away on the ground. If she could, she would leave it there for eternity. "Lord Rahl is injured because of my inability to guard him properly. His safety should rank above all else."
"You don't need to be so hard on yourself all the time." Kahlan shook her head. "Even you can't protect him all the time."
Cara stepped forward aggressively, as if her next words were an attack that Kahlan couldn't defend against. "But I could have this time, and I didn't."
"What do you mean?" Kahlan asked, confused. Cara made it sound as if she had purposefully let harm come to Richard. Everything in Kahlan rebelled against the thought; she had come to trust Cara to the point that there was no doubt in her mind that Richard's life could be in no safer hands than Cara's.
"I could've stopped that mage from hurting him, and I knew Richard couldn't see him. I knew," Cara emphasized, hands clenching hard, feeling the shape of her nails through the leather. "And I didn't do anything."
"You weren't just standing there," Kahlan reasoned, trying to quell her rising anxiety in the face of Cara's. "Those two men almost had me, if it hadn't been for you-"
"But don't you see? That's exactly it." Cara didn't yell, but the intensity of her voice silenced Kahlan's desire to interrupt and make the Mord'Sith listen to her. "I'm supposed to keep him alive above all else, he is the priority. Between saving Richard, or saving you... I didn't even think... I let myself fail to do the one thing I needed to do. Protect the Lord Rahl."
Kahlan's eyes softened when Cara showed her back to the Confessor, the Mord'Sith shaking her head and hanging it with shame. "You think you should've helped Richard, instead of me," Kahlan said, stating what Cara would not.
Cara took it for the accusation she felt against herself. "I haven't forgotten the reason I'm here. You told me if anything ever happened to you, then someone had to be around to protect Richard. That was the only thing you asked of me."
"Cara, you know that stopped being the reason a long time ago." Kahlan stepped closer, hand delicately curling around the crook of Cara's elbow, sliding down. Everything she couldn't say, Cara felt in that touch. Comfort and love she didn't feel she deserved lashed her harder than any whip, bound her tighter than any chain. Broke her harder than any physical pain ever could.
Cara jerked her arm away. "Don't," she spat as viciously as she could, but her voice trembled.
"Cara?" Kahlan asked. Her concern was first and foremost despite Cara's tone. More lashes, more chains.
Cara shut her eyes and turned her back to the Confessor. She felt a strange desire build in her, aching to leap from her very skin. It was a solid thing inside, making her feel like she was short of breath, like she might collapse within herself if she didn't allow the feeling to escape. Cara knew at once that in the next moment she would open her mouth, and she would not like what would tumble forth. More than anything, she had no desire to provide anyone the opportunity to witness it.
Listen on Youtube: There's Nothing I'm Afraid Of
She made a swift line for the trees, eager to disappear into the forest. Behind her, she heard Kahlan call her name, heard the following crush of grass beneath boots, but the steps stopped once Cara picked up her pace.
"I feel you reaching out for me," Cara sang in a raspy voice. Her fingers stretched, then clenched together into a fist, the phantom grip of Kahlan's fingers fluttering around her wrist.
"Your skin is slick from the way we moved," Cara's voice carried like a secret as she glanced back. She caught Kahlan absent-mindedly wiping the battle sweat from her brow, and Cara shut her eyes tight at the sight, turning away. "Such delicate intentions as you touch my hand."
"There's nothing I'm afraid of, except losing you." Cara refused to look back a second time. The trail she chose slowly climbed a hill, but doubled back on itself. Cara could look down and see the entire battlefield, but Kahlan was still calling her name.
"I find it hard to say I care even after all that we've been through." Cara didn't sneak a glance until she heard Kahlan stop. Richard was talking to Kahlan, and he didn't look happy.
"There ain't much left in me, and I'm fading out like a memory."
Cara felt her throat tighten when she saw Richard gently touch Kahlan's face. "There's nothing I'm afraid of except losing you."
"Just one exception to the golden rule," Cara sang, the words nearly ripping out of her. "One thing I'm scared of and that's wanting you."
She felt rocked from the inside. She wrapped a fist around the handle of an agiel to steady herself, stinging pain racing up and down her arm. She gave a satisfied groan in response that blended into her next line, "I never meant to let you in and I don't wanna let you go."
The agiel centered Cara. She stood straighter, and walked with a familiar, confident stride. The song was coming easier. "I took a chance in dying breath," she sang behind her though Kahlan was well out of sight, "and I turned to telling you the truth."
"You learned to read between the lines and what I mean when I say that I'll be fine." Cara shook her head with a rueful smile. "There's nothing I'm afraid of except losing you."
Cara suddenly took a heavy swing at a tree, knuckles crashing against wood, and sending bark flying. "I told you once love makes you weak," she roared at the top of her lungs. She pulled her first back, flexing her fingers. They were stiff, and she could feel her fingers pulsing in her glove. Her wrist hurt. She smirked, and her tongue snaked out to lick the curve. "But it's a burden that's been good for me."
Cara reached up and touched where she had struck the tree, her finger tracing a small irregular indentation. "I never meant to let you in, now I don't wanna let you go."
"I felt it coming but I never knew," she sang while staring intensely at marred bark. She pounded her fist into same spot. "That I could need you in the way I do."
She punched the tree again. "I never meant to let you in, now I don't wanna let you go." The rhythm of her words never disrupted, no matter how many times she lashed out. The side of the tree looked wounded, dark bark bordering a small jagged area of light beige wood.
"I never meant to let you in and now I don't wanna let you go."
Cara cocked her fist back to strike again, not wanting to stop until she saw blood on the tree. A hand caught hers, preventing her. She spun, finding Richard looking at her with a gentle smile. He let go of her just as she jerked to free it.
"What did that tree do to you?" he joked, smiling that bashfully boyish smile.
Cara didn't play. "What do you want?"
"First, I want you to stop hurting yourself," he said with a look at her gloves, knuckles scored with ragged cuts from the bark.
Cara took a dramatic step away from the tree. She took her hand out of his too, tucking it safely into the knot of her crossed arms. She tried to find a comfortable stance and failed. "Did you hear?" she asked sharply.
"Yes, some of it. Just the end, really." It was Richard's turn to look uncomfortable. "It's okay-
"I don't know why you even keep me around any more," Cara snapped.
"And why do you think I've kept you around until now?"
"Because you do nothing but get yourself into trouble," Cara replied, yet it was affectionate, as if she enjoyed that her role centered on getting everyone out of the mud. "And I just failed miserably at protecting you. You heard Zedd, you could've died."
"If I'd died, you would've given me the Breath of Life."
Cara was too stubborn to let that technicality persuade her. "I can't bring you back from everything. You saw how it froze, your body could've been cold and the Breath of Life useless."
Richard didn't know whether to laugh or yell at Cara. "What do I have to do to make you believe you mean more to me than just some bodyguard?"
Cara shrugged her arms uselessly. "That's what I know."
Richard gave her a level look. "Sing with me."
Cara laughed. "No." Richard began to circle behind Cara. "Don't do it," she warned him, all humor lost.
Listen on Youtube: She's Dangerous
Richard came up and nudged Cara's shoulder with his own. "You're a cruel one they say," he sang cheekily. "People scream before they run away." Cara took a threatening step in his direction. Richard danced back, and pointed a finger in her direction, singing, "But I just point and say that's my best friend Cara."
Cara steps followed him, but he kept himself just far enough out of her reach. He wasn't about to let her catch him. "Much to people's shock," he winked, "you bashed my head in with a rock."
Cara made a rush for him. Richard grabbed a branch, bending it back as he stepped away. It whipped back at Cara violently. Her hand snapped up and stopped it before it caught her in the chest. "But I just point and say," he did so at her tauntingly, "That's my best friend Cara."
"Watch out! Watch out!" he hollered when he saw her scowl at him menacingly. She broke the branch, and began to close in on him again. "Here she comes now!"
They were running now, and Richard threaded between a few trees to stay ahead of Cara. "Watch out! Watch out! Here she comes now!" He swung around, crouching as if he might attack instead.
Cara took her time closing the last steps between them, a slow smile easing onto her lips. "You better move, you better find a better place to hide-" she sang in a low, playfully wicked voice.
"'Cause she's dangerous!" Richard roared on her behalf. "Oh, she's dangerous!" Cara looked disgruntled at his interruption.
"And if you don't, I'll have my fun. Why didn't you just run...?" Cara trailed off. She met Richard's eyes challengingly, but he said nothing. Cara took a breath and sang loudly, " 'Cause I'm dangerous. Oh, I'm dangerous!"
Richard leaned in, daring to get close again. "That's the Mord'Sith I know," he sang happily. Cara gave a curt nod, her version of a humble acceptance. "Her anger is all for show."
Cara narrowed her eyes at him. Richard held his hands up in a placating manner, and took a cautious step from her. "So I just point and say," he pointed one last time even though Cara rolled her eyes at him, "That's my best friend Cara."
"You can stop now," Cara swiped a hand at him, but there was no real malice in the action, her hand hitting him in the shoulder with the slightest of pressure.
The thrum of emotion around them settled. The song left Cara with a strong desire for silence, but Richard had other plans. His chest heaved as he caught his breath, but he was looking at Cara expectantly.
"What? I sang," Cara finally answered.
"And...?" Richard prodded.
"And..." Cara said as she swung her gaze away. "I may have felt like you care for me very much." After a moment of thought, she added, "As more than a bodyguard."
It was enough for Richard. "Are you going to listen to me now?" he asked earnestly. "I have something important to tell you."
"Haven't I always?" Cara scoffed at Richard's dubious look. "Just because I don't always follow your orders doesn't mean I'm not listening."
Richard smiled, but said nothing. Cara sighed, and gave him a respectful bow of her head. She would listen.
"Kahlan and me..." he trailed off. Cara nodded encouragingly. "I've called off our wedding."
"But you love each other," Cara babbled back.
"We're not together anymore."
"And you both like marriage and babies." Cara looked around as if she might randomly find someone in the forest to agree with her.
"A relationship is built on more than just love and marriage and children, Cara." Richard had it in him to laugh.
"That's all you ever talk about," Cara huffed, her lips twisted into a frustrated line, and threw her shoulders back. "You make no sense sometimes."
Richard wasn't sure he could argue against that. "I think... that Kahlan loves me for showing her that it's still possible for her to find love."
"Okay," Cara responded uneasily.
Richard shrugged. "I think loving me was too easy, too simple."
Cara scrunched the bridge of her nose. "Isn't that exactly how it's supposed to be?"
"No... I think love is rarely very simple," Richard said patiently. His eyes drifted off into the landscape, a thousand thoughts filling his mind. "She may have thought I was everything she wanted, but I don't believe I'm what she needs."
"You are what she needs!" Cara replied, though she wasn't exactly sure if she was defending Richard or Kahlan. "You're a good man, Richard."
He smiled at that. "Thank you." He grew quiet, so Cara did as well, waiting for the words she could feel him sifting for in the river of his emotions. She knew he had found them when his back straightened, a garnering of strength and determination. She turned to meet his eyes, ready to meet his truths. He asked, "Do you love her?"
Cara did not feel ready to meet that truth, not with her eyes. "What do you mean?" she said, looking away but finding herself staring at the tree she had marked so viciously with her hands.
"If I died," Richard stilled Cara's retort with a look, knowing she would feel a prideful offense at the thought of failing him. He continued, "If anything happened to me, do you think you'd go back to Rahl? Serve him as the faithful Mord'Sith you always claim to be?"
Cara snorted. "Of course not."
"You'd stay with Kahlan," he stated, the most obvious answer.
Cara's confirmation held no hesitation. "You'd want me to protect her."
"I want you to follow the path you choose, Cara, not a dead man's." Richard held a satisfied smile.
"You're not dead yet, Richard," she responded dryly.
Richard's hand landed on the hilt of the Sword of Truth. "I've had enough close calls to know that I'm just a man. A man with a very nice sword," he chuckled, "but just a man who can die and stay dead as well as the next." He paused, waiting to see if Cara had another diverting comment, but she was held silent by the seriousness of the conversation. He asked, "Why do you follow me, Cara?"
"Because you're the true Lord Rahl," she said quickly, but when she saw the disapproving slant of his mouth, she knew he wanted more than an agiel-beaten answer. "Because I love you," she sighed, head bobbing at the effort the answer required, yet quickly adding, "It's a Mord'Sith's duty to love-"
"I don't care what you think your duty is, Cara," Richard cut her off with an abrupt harshness that only Cara would truly appreciate. "Now tell me, if I died, why would you stay at Kahlan's side?"
They stared each other down, a challenge of stubbornness. Cara could think of a dozen reasons why she'd follow the Mother Confessor: she hated Darken Rahl, Richard would want her to protect Kahlan until the end of time, the Confessor was a worthy fighter, a leader to respect; each one dashed away in the face of Richard's knowing gaze. Cara cast her eyes downward, looking nothing like the merciless warrior that she always presented.
"Because... I love her," Cara whispered, "I love her as much as I love you."
Cara's absolute truth had always been her expendability; that she was kept around because she was useful, that her skills and loyalty, everything she had been taught to value about herself, were the true reasons she still had a place at Richard's side. Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd-they all threw around words like "love" and "friendship" so easily, without caring to understand why they did. Love was supposed to be rooted in obedience for Mord'Sith, twisted by training until her love was nothing but an unrecognizable, mangled heart.
Richard watched Cara shake through her aching confession, and he had an inkling that Cara's feelings ran deeper for the Mother Confessor than they did for him. This didn't upset him as much as he thought. "I don't think I could do this if that wasn't the case," he told Cara was as much heartfelt honesty as he could. "I don't think I could let her go, not to someone who didn't love her as much as I do."
Cara looked stunned. "Richard..." Whatever she might have thought, she'd never expected Richard to tell her that Richard and Kahlan would no longer be Richard and Kahlan. If Richard was trying to tell her what she thought he was... she wasn't sure that she could really believe it, suddenly faced with possibilities she hadn't dared to consider.
"Things won't be easy between me and Kahlan, not for a while," Richard looked at Cara with a small degree of expectation. He needed her help in this. "But it's only a matter of time. What hasn't changed-what will never change is our desire to keep the people safe. Bring peace."
"Then what do you want from me?" Cara asked, feeling stripped bare like bark torn from a tree. For once, her eyes betrayed exactly how lost she felt at the moment, looking up at Richard, a child turning to a parent for guidance only love and trust could provide.
Richard looked hard at Cara, command setting in his eyes. "I want you to stop holding back."
Cara met his gaze, swallowing the lump in her throat. Richard might not have ordered Cara to do anything, but she knew without a doubt that these were the most important words he had ever spoken to her, filling Cara with more purpose than any order ever had.
She nodded, and then walked away.
Her heart felt like it was about to rip itself from her chest.
**
Dahlia brought up the rear. Ahead of her Nicci and Rahl rode abreast with Berdine and Raina leading point.
"Pity that Cara didn't join us," Berdine said wistfully to Raina. "The things I wouldn't torture to hear Mistress Cara sing.
Raina met her with a smirk. "You could always get her to scream anything but the truth."
They shared a low laugh, and even Rahl's mouth curved up. Dahlia's face was passive. She was still a stranger among them no matter that her memories could have told her otherwise.
"This business with the Seeker is silly," Berdine said, sobering her humor. "Mistress Cara would have never tolerated such a pitiful mess of a mission." She got into a light debate with Raina on how long before Cara would switch allegiances again. Even Darken began throwing in his own predictions on what might make Cara snap.
Nicci dropped her face, falling in with Dahlia. "Don't agree?" she said, questioning Dahlia's apparent aloofness.
"Cara is far beyond the Lord Rahl's reach," Dahlia said. "She doesn't follow Richard either."
"I thought I was the only one who noticed," Nicci said, private and approving. "You watch her often."
Dahlia arched a brow. "Which means you're watching me."
"I watch everyone." Nicci grinned, but the rest of her was unreadable.
**
Listen on Youtube: Seeker of Truth
Richard waited until Cara was out of sight before he let out a heavy, ragged breath.
"I remember a different life before, when I was just a youth," he began in a sad, beautiful voice. Each word continued to build, louder than the last. "And I didn't know, I didn't know who I was, the Seeker of Truth! A Rahl with armies and lands, too much blood on my hands."
The urgency in his song propelled him through the forest. Richard looked back once before keeping his gaze on what was ahead of him. "I remember a different life before." He had lost his volume, but not his passion.
"The Midlands-D'haran war, when the Keeper left his mark, sent his Sisters of the Dark." He threw a defiant glance behind him. "A magic plagues this land," he closed his eyes. One hand rested lightly around the hilt of his sword. "Where my brother was slain by my own hand."
"I remember a different life before." Richard's steps were careful as he picked his way around bushes, and left little trace of his own trail. He looked like a man with a purpose, shoulders squared with strength. "But I must confess I don't want it anymore."
Richard stopped atop the hill, and drew the Sword of Truth. He held it point up, reaching for the sun, glinting proudly.
"I remember a different life before one thousand years of lore." Richard was testing the capacity of his lungs, singing with everything. He slowly lowered the sword until he could feel the cold metal of the crossbar against his forehead. "This sword I hold in hand is a legend restored, and now that's who I am, that's who I am, that's who I am!"
Richard pulled the sword away, laying the flat of the blade against the palm of his other hand. "I remember a different life before." Richard smiled when he caught his reflection in the blade.
"But I must confess I don't want it anymore." Richard gave the Sword of Truth a curt nod, and then slid the blade into its sheath.
The song left Richard panting for breath. He sucked in a needed breath once he realized that was the end of it. He heaved a great sigh, filled with relief. As he gathered his breath, Richard took in the landscape. He had a good idea of where the camp was located. Richard squinted when he saw movement, and brought his hand up to shade his eyes from the sun.
Richard frowned, not entirely sure what he was seeing. He stared into the distance for another moment. Whatever he found, he swept his down, and dashed down the hill.
**
Zedd knelt over one of the fallen soldiers, fingering the edge of the man's blood red cape. "These cloaks are in poor condition."
"Hmm?" Kahlan hadn't been looking at Zedd at all.
Zedd made a dismissive gesture at the forest. "Stop worrying. Richard told us to wait here," he said for the third time since Richard had run after Cara. "Whatever is bothering Cara, Richard will take care of it."
"Zedd, what am I looking at?" Kahlan bit out impatiently, albeit unintentionally. Kahlan didn't want to reveal that she was worried about what Richard and Cara might be talking about.
He waited a beat before answering, as if expecting her to drift off. "Mercenaries."
Kahlan's brows knit together instantly. "They're all wearing the red of the Fold."
"Yes." Zedd swept his hand along the fallen man, then the man next to him. Zedd had magically moved all the bodies into view, laying them out respectfully in neat rows. "Galean leather. Kelton steel. That one over there bears D'haran bracers. These capes might mark them as one, but they're too hodge-podge beneath. It seems the Blood of the Fold is not above using the persuasion of coin."
Kahlan nodded as she listened, but it turned into a shake of the head. "Tobias Brogan isn't the type of man who would suffer a heretic in his ranks."
"We know that despite the beliefs he spouts, he nevertheless employs the use of magic." Zedd stood and led them away from the bodies. They had seen enough.
"That doesn't mean they don't believe. I nearly doubted myself," Kahlan said, shuddering because she thought herself a strong woman, and yet had nearly thought terrible things about herself.
"Exactly. He hardly follows his own rules. Caddock was a wretched move, and he nearly took Aydindril. He hasn't been an easy man to predict, and hiring heretics to do his dirty work is not out of the question."
Kahlan nodded, but her mind was still thinking about how her fears had nearly consumed her. If it hadn't been for Cara...
Zedd cleared his throat. "I have noticed a certain... discord between you and Richard."
Kahlan didn't expect that, eyes meeting Zedd's for a brief moment. It was the First Wizard who searched for truth in the Mother Confessor's eyes. Kahlan turned her face away, guilt shading her eyes.
Zedd waited patiently until Kahlan met his gaze again, could see in those sad blue eyes that Kahlan felt like she was somehow betraying him by no longer wanting to be with his grandson. "I hope you know that whatever happens between you and Richard, I will always love you. You're family whether you want it not," he said in a lecturing, fatherly tone.
"Thank you, Zedd," Kahlan replied earnestly, laying a hand on his arm. It was a brief touch, her arms folding in on herself, she hugged her elbows tightly.
"You can talk to me, Kahlan," Zedd offered. "It's the least we can do for each other."
Listen on Youtube: Hearts of Our Own
Kahlan stepped away from him, but it was not withdrawal. She wanted to speak to him, to anyone, about what the day had revealed about what she knew of herself. In the ringing voice of song, she began, "When we met you were always on your own."
Zedd watched with a small smile on his face, still and silent. He had an idea who this song was meant for.
Kahlan continued, her voice growing thicker, "Every seam of your leather pulled tight, tight together." She clenched her eyes shut, throwing herself back into the memory. "I couldn't read what you hid underneath."
"Tear it down," Kahlan took a step forward, "Tear it all down." She placed a hand on her chest protectively. "Every wall, every stone... take it all, and we'll make a heart of your own." Kahlan brought her other hand up and clutched them together.
Further in the woods, Cara was returning, reining in her brisk pace to keep herself from appearing too eager. The Mord'Sith's mind was an echo of Kahlan's thoughts, and Cara could feel the touch of magic connecting her and Kahlan.
"We had to wait until our hate was hushed," Cara sang, letting the words pull from her without resistance. "We couldn't rush this love even at your touch." She brushed her fingers across her neck.
"So I made you bruise." Cara clenched her hand into a fist that hovered over her heart. "You made me bleed but that's exactly what I needed!"
Cara could see the battlefield again, and Kahlan standing with her hands to her chest. "Break me down, break it all down," she sang, wondering Kahlan could hear her. She wasn't sure it mattered, the feel of magic whirled so intensely between them. "Every wall, every stone... take it all, and make a heart of our own."
Kahlan looked up, hearing Cara's voice, and couldn't help but smile in response. Kahlan wasn't sure if the echo of words was the magic, or she had heard them fall from Cara's lips, but she finished the song for them, "Take it all, take it all, we'll make a heart of our own."
Green eyes met blue. The song had built up and left a silence for them to fill.
"Kahlan," Cara said with her voice raspy between them.
**
"Did you hear that?" Darken asked, suspicion layered on his tongue like thick oil.
"Stop asking if we hear anything," Nicci complained, "The fighting stopped a while ago."
Shota had told them to take their on time on the way back. If Darken interfered, or had his Mord'Sith do so on his behalf, the Blood of the Fold would fail to capture Kahlan Amnell-and who was he to thwart prophecy? He had enough experience with prophecy to accept that it would get its way, and this time it aligned well enough with his own goals. It was useless to fight against it. Without the Mother Confessor, the Midlands would be ripe for the picking. Richard would be a small obstacle, Darken was sure, once the Mother Confessor's death reached his ears.
Berdine and Raina were looking around, eyes and ears alert. Dahlia was the one that spoke up, "A rider approaches, riding fast."
The entire group tensed up, but before they caught sight of any rider, they saw Richard sliding down from a higher path, cutting them off in the middle of the road. "Rahl-" he began, clearly surprised to see them.
"You're looking quite well. I thought I heard a battle. Is everyone well?" Darken asked with false sincerity, masking his true interest in the answer.
Richard frowned, shooting a cautious glance behind him. "I was up the hill, uhh," he stuttered a moment, before clearing his throat with a cough, "I saw someone riding. I thought it was one of the Blood of the Fold guys we fought earlier." I was coming down here to cut them off around the bend."
"You must have spotted us," Darken offered, moving back to his original question. "There was a battle?"
Before Richard could answer, a rider broke from around the curve of the hill. Agiels were quickly brought to hand, and Richard and Rahl drew their blades, holding themselves confidently. Nicci held a dacra in each hand. It was only a sole rider that approached, though cloaked and unidentifiable.
The rider reared to a halt, close enough that they could hear the rider's voice, speaking clear and loud, "You made it incredibly easy to find you, Seeker." It was a woman's voice, raspy and sensual.
"Denna," both Rahl brothers called back confidently. Darken smirked atop his horse, Richard pursed his lips, cautious. He didn't forget the trouble Denna had caused the previous times they had met.
Denna pulled back her black hood, her pale blonde hair gleaming where the light struck. Her hand was bare, no white leather, but her fingers were wrapped around the simple handle of a beautifully engraved box. The front had a circular black handle in the middle, and Denna opened it, revealing a brass bell.
"I once heard of an ancient artifact called 'the chimes,' " Nicci started speaking quickly." It could make entire armies fall to their knees if struck just the right way." After she spoke, Berdine and Raina trotted their horses between Denna and the two Rahls, Dahlia a step behind. They were Mord'Sith, and feared no magic.
"Hello, ladies," Denna greeted, but it was playful and already filled with smug triumph. "I'm sure you'll do your best to stop me."
"Magic is useless against Mord'Sith." Darken narrowed his eyes. He looked at Richard pointedly, hoping his concerns were not falling on deaf ears. "She should know better."
"She does." Richard watched the exiled Mord'Sith carefully.
Denna shook the box, and the knocker inside the bell rang several times. Where Denna sat on her horse, it was a sharp, beautiful sound that lasted only a few moments before the sound faded away. But for the group that stood before her, the first sound seemed to stop time itself. The sound was suddenly on them like a visible wave in the air. The Mord'Sith raised their hands, but they felt lethargic and slow. They still managed send the magic back-at least, something reflected, but it wasn't enough. The ringing continued pounding note after note into the air until it was all that could be heard.
Richard found himself on the ground, blacking in and out from the hammering sound. It was as painful as the headaches his wizard powers had afflicted on him. Nicci was trying to tell him something, and he felt her hands rummaging through his clothes. He saw a glimpse of Darken covering his ears, but Richard blacked out once more, unable to do anything as Darken fell from his horse, the great beast slumping to the ground, unconscious.
It all happened very quickly for Denna, watching as Raina was the last of the Mord'sith to fall. Something felt but unseen whiplashed back at her but only the box and bell were affected, jerking in her hand. There was a sound of twisting metal as a dozen cracks suddenly appeared on the bell. Denna glared at the instrument in her hand, giving it a rough shake. A piece of metal loosened, broke off, and landed on the floor of the box. She tossed the box on the ground. "Broken already," she said casually, but she wasn't upset. The artifact had served its purpose.
Denna dismounted, and carefully picked her way past the Mord'Sith to where Nicci was sprawled over Richard. Denna nudged Nicci off of him with the toe of her boot, not noticing the sorceress had something clutched in her hand.
Denna smiled down at Richard and Darken who were lying not two feet from each other. "Hello, Lord Rahl," she spoke down to them.
Zedd had long since left, mumbling something about talking to the local constable.
Cara walked up to Kahlan, and stopped short a step shy of the Confessor. Restraint filled her leathers, and she didn't know where to look or what to do with her hands. She caught sight of a purple bruise marring the side of Kahlan's face, and reached up to turn Kahlan's chin to the side for a better look. "Sorry, for that," Cara whispered, letting her hand drop.
From the corner of her eyes, Kahlan watched Cara carefully as she studied Kahlan's jawline, and caught Cara's hand before it fell away. The beginning of a smile teased the corner of Kahlan's lips. Just as she began to press Cara's hand to her cheek, a bell rang loudly through the forest, making them both flinch from its volume. Kahlan dropped Cara's hand, and they covered their ears. Once the ringing stopped, they removed their hands, and looked around themselves uneasily. Zedd came bounding back.
Kahlan and Cara's eyes met. "Richard," they both chorused, and ran into the trees after Zedd.
**
**
TO BE CONTINUED ...
... in Episode 3.11!
Kahlan's eyes might have been on the fire, but as the sound of footsteps became silent with distance, her shoulders sagged as if she had dropped an achingly large load of timber. Cara made no such attempt at subtlety, and blatantly studied Kahlan. Cara had set quiver and bow aside once she had finished stringing it. The Confessor paid her no mind; she either didn't notice, or didn't care. In truth, Kahlan took comfort in Cara's predictability, the expected avoidance of feelings and speaking of them.
Kahlan wasn't sure how much time passed, letting the dancing motions of the flames lull her into a trance. The sound of scratching leather broke her from her troubled reverie. Kahlan found Cara looking at her with an odd, expectant expression, shifting uncomfortably.
"I said," Cara sighed, quickly switching her eyes into the red coals of the fire, not unlike Kahlan a moment before, "Do you... want to talk about it?"
Kahlan felt a bout of guilt, realizing that Cara had plucked up a very different type of courage-not once, but twice-to ask that question.
Seeing a lack of response, Cara moved to get up, no doubt ready to use hunting as an excuse to make a quick retreat. "You don't have to."
"No, stay," Kahlan was just short of exclaiming. She reached a hand out, and despite the distance between them, Cara stopped as if Kahlan had physically restrained her. Kahlan pulled her hand back into her lap. Cara sat back down, though her body was poised to flee.
"I do want to talk, it's just..." Kahlan tried to begin, but clammed up. Talking about her argument with Richard meant talking about the why and the reasons, all of which involved Cara in some regard, but Kahlan didn't think it would be fair to unload this burden on the Mord'Sith. Her fractured harmony was between her and Richard, and them alone.
Cara was looking at her intently, giving Kahlan her rare, full attention. Kahlan found herself caught by Cara's beauty; it had nothing to do with how the light glanced off her golden cheekbones, the framing of her hair, nor the knowledge of smooth muscle beneath the expanse of red leather.
Kahlan saw a woman who had had everything taken away, but someone who had never let her spirit break in the darkest of moments. Cara was a woman who had every reason to be the monster that everyone believed her to be, and was nothing close to a monster at all.
That was the beauty Kahlan saw-and something dark moving just beyond Cara's shoulder. Kahlan catapulted across the camp, tackling Cara just as the Mord'Sith recognized the whistle of an arrow.
Cara was too stunned to do anything other than land flat on her back with Kahlan's full weight on top of her. She heard a thunk, then a vibrating hum, and could barely see the end of the arrow, still quivering over Kahlan's shoulder. Kahlan's hair was doing its best to block Cara's eyesight, but Cara could appreciate a good shot; that one would've hit her square in the back.
Cara kicked her legs against Kahlan's leather skirts, feeling much more tangled than she actually was. "Not very graceful-" Cara began to say, pushing at Kahlan's shoulders, scrambling to get up.
Kahlan breathed Cara's name in warning just before she knocked the Mord'Sith's arms aside, her full weight crashing down on Cara again. Another arrow whistled by, much closer, and much lower. Cara grunted, trying to keep Kahlan from knocking the breath out of her, neck straining from whipping painfully into the ground. Cara tilted her head back, their cheeks brushing together, Kahlan's breath hot at her ear while Cara tried to figure out what she was seeing from her upside-down view. She could see the archer, fleeing once he saw their eyes on him.
Kahlan began to rise, feet finding leverage against the dirt so she could leap up and give chase. Cara snatched Kahlan's belt, hands at the Confessor's waist. Using hips and hands, Cara flipped them over, rolling them to the side violently quick. Another arrow found a home in the back of the log that had previously been Cara's seat, exactly where they had been lying supine, prone, and vulnerable.
"You missed the second in the brush," Cara said a little breathlessly and more than a little smugly.
There was no time for a retort. In an instant, they were rolling again, this time in one cohesive movement. They helped pull each other to their feet. Keeping momentum, Cara found her back to a tree, shelter against more arrows. Kahlan took an extra step beyond her, finding another thick trunk for her own protection.
Their eyes met. "Cover me," Kahlan said.
Cara barely gave her a nod, already diving from her position from behind the fallen tree. She landed as well as she could while keeping low to the ground. She dragged her bow and quiver closer, plucking out two arrows. She stuck one into the bark she was huddle against. In a single motion, Cara rose up on one knee, arrow nocking as she drew the twine. With barely a second to aim, Cara relied on her memory of where she had seen the archer, arrow released into a copse of bushes.
Cara heard, rather than saw, Kahlan break cover just as a cry erupted from the brush, the hidden archer stumbling out with Cara's arrow protruding from his chest. His shot went wild, missing Kahlan by meters. Cara didn't flinch as it missed her by a handsbreath.
The Confessor was upon the fallen archer, daggers gripped tight in both fists, but she hurtled past without a glance, eyes intent on the man who had fired the first shot. He had taken up another position, no doubt meant to provide cover for his companion; useless now, but he had earned enough time with distance to set up another shot.
Too slow, in Cara's opinion, her second arrow in easy reach. Whether by fault or fate, her arrowhead glanced off the shaft of his bow. The shock of the ricochet made him drop his weapon, bow landing with a bounce on the ground, the iron tip of his arrow clattering harmless against a rock.
Cara reared up, and called, "Richard! Zedd!" Then she was vaulting after Kahlan, agiels finding purchase in her hands.
Kahlan reached the archer. He drew a short sword. She met him with a swift slash, stab, and kick that sent him reeling off his feet. He did not rise.
Cara caught up to Kahlan, stopping just a few steps in front of the Confessor. A red-caped man was emerging from the hiding place of a thick tree. Two more came from a pile of rocks and boulders. Creaking metal made Kahlan turn around, seeing more soldiers that the brush had hidden.
"Did you hear that?" Richard asked, cocking his ear back toward the camp.
"I most certainly did," Zedd confirmed, looking at Richard with concern. "That was Cara."
All disharmonies were forgotten as they tore through the forest. Zedd barely managed to keep up with Richard's frantic pace. When they came upon the battle, Richard wasted no time running into the fray. Cara and Kahlan were trying to keep their backs to each other while they were attacked from nearly all sides. Despite the half-dozen bodies already decorating the dirt, the two women were being pressed hard and losing ground. The bulk of the Blood of the Fold soldiers separated the group into two fighting pairs.
"Behind you, Richard! It's a trap!" Kahlan yelled just as Richard cut down the first man to meet him.
Another handful of red-cloaked soldiers came running from the trees, swords and axes raised and ready. Too quickly, Richard was surrounded with little hope of reaching Cara or Kahlan soon.
Zedd dodged the wild swing of a scythe, releasing a force of magic at the wielder's chest. The man flew through the air, a branched clipped him in the shoulder, and he dropped into a heavy heap on the group. Zedd threw another gale well before the next man reached him. The soldiers quickly took cover behind the thickest trunks, leaping forward to gain ground whenever Zedd took the time to send bursts of magic to aid Richard. The wizard couldn't do nearly as much as he wanted, most of his attention focused on keeping his own enemies at bay.
Despite the ambush, the soldiers lying in wait with the advantage of surprise, it was only moments before the skill of the four warriors unfolded. The slew of men between them grew thinner, their numbers providing the challenge more than anything.
Zedd had turned to blasting away the forest, knocking his attackers to the ground in unconscious heaps, flurries of dust, smoking splinters, and singed leaves raining down around him. After taking away his foes means of protection, he made short work of soldiers still standing in plain view.
Zedd turned, moving to help Richard. He only made it a few steps before he felt a chill slither across the back of neck. Behind him, a haggard, lanky man in dark blue robes appeared from a flash of cloudy mist that had no place in the sun-dappled forest. His hand was already raised, aimed at Zedd's back. Air visibly gathered into a vortex, anchored in the middle of the mage's palm. It condensed into water that froze into a small sphere. The ball of ice didn't grow, but somehow the light glinted off it in a harsh, sharp way that meant only ill intent. Only magical instinct made Zedd spin back around as quickly as he did. He fueled defensive magic into his hands, palms raising outward, standing with his feet shoulder-length apart.
The mage gave a wicked smile, and his spell flew at Zedd faster than a Night Wisp, slamming to a powerful halt against Zedd's hands as magic met magic. The magic cracked like thunder, a sound like a frozen lake cracking from shore to shore. Both men were thrown back as the mage's spell broke. Zedd rose, but found that frost covered his hands from fingertip to wrist, tendrils snaking along veins. Despite the thinness of the layer, Zedd could not move his fingers. His magic was frozen.
While Zedd was busy diverting Han into his hands, the blue-robed mage turned his focus on a new target, taking advantage of the few moments the First Wizard was incapacitated. He formed another projectile of ice, this time a thin jagged shard with its deadly point aimed at Richard. The Seeker was not aware.
Cara's backfist knocked out the last man standing between her and Richard. She intended to help Kahlan who was expertly managing to keep out of an axe man's range, while her daggers played defensive against a soldier wielding two short swords, but magic glinted across her vision, and she became irrefutably aware of its presence-its intent.
Kahlan was forced to dance away from the axe's blade, into the swordsman. She barely managed to block his swings. Hilts locked, rendering blades to a deadlock, the swordsman with the better footing. He kicked out, and with a push knocked Kahlan onto her back. She barely managed to roll away before an axe blade dug into the ground where her head had been. She couldn't avoid the kick, the swordsman's heavy leather boot catching her across the chin. Kahlan cried out a wounded roar.
Cara did not turn back to help Richard, even as she could feel the magic releasing itself. She took two steps, her third turning into a kick at the back of the axe man's knee. He crashed to the ground, the tip of her agiel catching him in the back. She skipped the little pause, where she savored the moment of death, and pushed him away.
The swordsman came at her, seeing the Mord'Sith as the greater threat, and Cara's first block was clumsy as she tried to avoid tripping over the axe man.
Cara could faintly hear Zedd screaming Richard's name. She didn't see Richard turn at the wizard's call, just managing to raise his sword between himself and the frozen arrow. It shattered against the Sword of Truth, a steaming hiss as the blade glowed red. Small shards flew in different directions. Richard cried out as he was sliced across the arm. It burned terribly, but not enough to hinder him from protecting himself against his last two opponents, their swords aiming to pierce him while his back was turned.
Cara had taken the swordsman down, already moving to place herself between him and Richard. A bellowing conflagration suddenly engulfed the mage, powerful magic toasting him into oblivion before he had enough chance. Zedd finally breathed easy. Smoky tendrils rose softly from his hands, no longer covered in frost.
"Is everyone alright?" Zedd, the furthest, called out to them. None of the fallen bodies around them shifted, and they heard no distant sound of men fleeing.
Richard began to smile, raising his free arm to wave, but as soon as he moved the limb, he let it drop like dead weight. He winced, hissing through his teeth. He twisted his shoulder forward to see the full length of the cut on his arm. It bled freely, the cut covered by frost that didn't do anything to halt the flow of blood. He tried touching it and gasped on contact, snatching his fingers away. "It's cold, but it burns."
"That was a cold mage," Zedd said once he reached them, heading straight for Richard. His long fingers wrapped fully around Richard's forearm, keeping his arm elevated while Zedd healed the wound. "Sometimes someone has the gift of magic, but not enough to earn him a spot in any of the orders. Some accept their fate while others spend the rest of their lives trying to perfect one or two spells. That handful Zedd explained as the frost melted away, the blood no longer dripping. As the skin began to regrow and knit, he said, "You're lucky. If this had cut you any deeper, you might have bled out before I could help."
Richard murmured a response, but Cara was staring at the slowly healing cut, not looking at all like the Mord'Sith who usually made a quip about a good fight.
"Are you okay?" Kahlan asked softly. The corners of her mouth turned down at the distress on Cara's face.
"I'm fine," Cara said with her voice empty of emotion.
Kahlan searched the Mord'Sith's body for any wounds, visible cuts, or less apparent injuries, betrayed by weak limbs or favoring weight to one side. Kahlan found nothing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering Cara.
"I'm allowed to worry about you," Kahlan said, understanding Cara's riled rebuffs even as she was frustrated by them. "Whether you like it or not."
"Well, you shouldn't," Cara's jaw clenched, her hand slashing as if she could snatch whatever it was between them straight out of the air and toss it away on the ground. If she could, she would leave it there for eternity. "Lord Rahl is injured because of my inability to guard him properly. His safety should rank above all else."
"You don't need to be so hard on yourself all the time." Kahlan shook her head. "Even you can't protect him all the time."
Cara stepped forward aggressively, as if her next words were an attack that Kahlan couldn't defend against. "But I could have this time, and I didn't."
"What do you mean?" Kahlan asked, confused. Cara made it sound as if she had purposefully let harm come to Richard. Everything in Kahlan rebelled against the thought; she had come to trust Cara to the point that there was no doubt in her mind that Richard's life could be in no safer hands than Cara's.
"I could've stopped that mage from hurting him, and I knew Richard couldn't see him. I knew," Cara emphasized, hands clenching hard, feeling the shape of her nails through the leather. "And I didn't do anything."
"You weren't just standing there," Kahlan reasoned, trying to quell her rising anxiety in the face of Cara's. "Those two men almost had me, if it hadn't been for you-"
"But don't you see? That's exactly it." Cara didn't yell, but the intensity of her voice silenced Kahlan's desire to interrupt and make the Mord'Sith listen to her. "I'm supposed to keep him alive above all else, he is the priority. Between saving Richard, or saving you... I didn't even think... I let myself fail to do the one thing I needed to do. Protect the Lord Rahl."
Kahlan's eyes softened when Cara showed her back to the Confessor, the Mord'Sith shaking her head and hanging it with shame. "You think you should've helped Richard, instead of me," Kahlan said, stating what Cara would not.
Cara took it for the accusation she felt against herself. "I haven't forgotten the reason I'm here. You told me if anything ever happened to you, then someone had to be around to protect Richard. That was the only thing you asked of me."
"Cara, you know that stopped being the reason a long time ago." Kahlan stepped closer, hand delicately curling around the crook of Cara's elbow, sliding down. Everything she couldn't say, Cara felt in that touch. Comfort and love she didn't feel she deserved lashed her harder than any whip, bound her tighter than any chain. Broke her harder than any physical pain ever could.
Cara jerked her arm away. "Don't," she spat as viciously as she could, but her voice trembled.
"Cara?" Kahlan asked. Her concern was first and foremost despite Cara's tone. More lashes, more chains.
Cara shut her eyes and turned her back to the Confessor. She felt a strange desire build in her, aching to leap from her very skin. It was a solid thing inside, making her feel like she was short of breath, like she might collapse within herself if she didn't allow the feeling to escape. Cara knew at once that in the next moment she would open her mouth, and she would not like what would tumble forth. More than anything, she had no desire to provide anyone the opportunity to witness it.
Click to viewListen on Youtube: There's Nothing I'm Afraid Of
She made a swift line for the trees, eager to disappear into the forest. Behind her, she heard Kahlan call her name, heard the following crush of grass beneath boots, but the steps stopped once Cara picked up her pace.
"I feel you reaching out for me," Cara sang in a raspy voice. Her fingers stretched, then clenched together into a fist, the phantom grip of Kahlan's fingers fluttering around her wrist.
"Your skin is slick from the way we moved," Cara's voice carried like a secret as she glanced back. She caught Kahlan absent-mindedly wiping the battle sweat from her brow, and Cara shut her eyes tight at the sight, turning away. "Such delicate intentions as you touch my hand."
"There's nothing I'm afraid of, except losing you." Cara refused to look back a second time. The trail she chose slowly climbed a hill, but doubled back on itself. Cara could look down and see the entire battlefield, but Kahlan was still calling her name.
"I find it hard to say I care even after all that we've been through." Cara didn't sneak a glance until she heard Kahlan stop. Richard was talking to Kahlan, and he didn't look happy.
"There ain't much left in me, and I'm fading out like a memory."
Cara felt her throat tighten when she saw Richard gently touch Kahlan's face. "There's nothing I'm afraid of except losing you."
"Just one exception to the golden rule," Cara sang, the words nearly ripping out of her. "One thing I'm scared of and that's wanting you."
She felt rocked from the inside. She wrapped a fist around the handle of an agiel to steady herself, stinging pain racing up and down her arm. She gave a satisfied groan in response that blended into her next line, "I never meant to let you in and I don't wanna let you go."
The agiel centered Cara. She stood straighter, and walked with a familiar, confident stride. The song was coming easier. "I took a chance in dying breath," she sang behind her though Kahlan was well out of sight, "and I turned to telling you the truth."
"You learned to read between the lines and what I mean when I say that I'll be fine." Cara shook her head with a rueful smile. "There's nothing I'm afraid of except losing you."
Cara suddenly took a heavy swing at a tree, knuckles crashing against wood, and sending bark flying. "I told you once love makes you weak," she roared at the top of her lungs. She pulled her first back, flexing her fingers. They were stiff, and she could feel her fingers pulsing in her glove. Her wrist hurt. She smirked, and her tongue snaked out to lick the curve. "But it's a burden that's been good for me."
Cara reached up and touched where she had struck the tree, her finger tracing a small irregular indentation. "I never meant to let you in, now I don't wanna let you go."
"I felt it coming but I never knew," she sang while staring intensely at marred bark. She pounded her fist into same spot. "That I could need you in the way I do."
She punched the tree again. "I never meant to let you in, now I don't wanna let you go." The rhythm of her words never disrupted, no matter how many times she lashed out. The side of the tree looked wounded, dark bark bordering a small jagged area of light beige wood.
"I never meant to let you in and now I don't wanna let you go."
Cara cocked her fist back to strike again, not wanting to stop until she saw blood on the tree. A hand caught hers, preventing her. She spun, finding Richard looking at her with a gentle smile. He let go of her just as she jerked to free it.
"What did that tree do to you?" he joked, smiling that bashfully boyish smile.
Cara didn't play. "What do you want?"
"First, I want you to stop hurting yourself," he said with a look at her gloves, knuckles scored with ragged cuts from the bark.
Cara took a dramatic step away from the tree. She took her hand out of his too, tucking it safely into the knot of her crossed arms. She tried to find a comfortable stance and failed. "Did you hear?" she asked sharply.
"Yes, some of it. Just the end, really." It was Richard's turn to look uncomfortable. "It's okay-
"I don't know why you even keep me around any more," Cara snapped.
"And why do you think I've kept you around until now?"
"Because you do nothing but get yourself into trouble," Cara replied, yet it was affectionate, as if she enjoyed that her role centered on getting everyone out of the mud. "And I just failed miserably at protecting you. You heard Zedd, you could've died."
"If I'd died, you would've given me the Breath of Life."
Cara was too stubborn to let that technicality persuade her. "I can't bring you back from everything. You saw how it froze, your body could've been cold and the Breath of Life useless."
Richard didn't know whether to laugh or yell at Cara. "What do I have to do to make you believe you mean more to me than just some bodyguard?"
Cara shrugged her arms uselessly. "That's what I know."
Richard gave her a level look. "Sing with me."
Cara laughed. "No." Richard began to circle behind Cara. "Don't do it," she warned him, all humor lost.
Listen on Youtube: She's Dangerous
Richard came up and nudged Cara's shoulder with his own. "You're a cruel one they say," he sang cheekily. "People scream before they run away." Cara took a threatening step in his direction. Richard danced back, and pointed a finger in her direction, singing, "But I just point and say that's my best friend Cara."
Cara steps followed him, but he kept himself just far enough out of her reach. He wasn't about to let her catch him. "Much to people's shock," he winked, "you bashed my head in with a rock."
Cara made a rush for him. Richard grabbed a branch, bending it back as he stepped away. It whipped back at Cara violently. Her hand snapped up and stopped it before it caught her in the chest. "But I just point and say," he did so at her tauntingly, "That's my best friend Cara."
"Watch out! Watch out!" he hollered when he saw her scowl at him menacingly. She broke the branch, and began to close in on him again. "Here she comes now!"
They were running now, and Richard threaded between a few trees to stay ahead of Cara. "Watch out! Watch out! Here she comes now!" He swung around, crouching as if he might attack instead.
Cara took her time closing the last steps between them, a slow smile easing onto her lips. "You better move, you better find a better place to hide-" she sang in a low, playfully wicked voice.
"'Cause she's dangerous!" Richard roared on her behalf. "Oh, she's dangerous!" Cara looked disgruntled at his interruption.
"And if you don't, I'll have my fun. Why didn't you just run...?" Cara trailed off. She met Richard's eyes challengingly, but he said nothing. Cara took a breath and sang loudly, " 'Cause I'm dangerous. Oh, I'm dangerous!"
Richard leaned in, daring to get close again. "That's the Mord'Sith I know," he sang happily. Cara gave a curt nod, her version of a humble acceptance. "Her anger is all for show."
Cara narrowed her eyes at him. Richard held his hands up in a placating manner, and took a cautious step from her. "So I just point and say," he pointed one last time even though Cara rolled her eyes at him, "That's my best friend Cara."
"You can stop now," Cara swiped a hand at him, but there was no real malice in the action, her hand hitting him in the shoulder with the slightest of pressure.
The thrum of emotion around them settled. The song left Cara with a strong desire for silence, but Richard had other plans. His chest heaved as he caught his breath, but he was looking at Cara expectantly.
"What? I sang," Cara finally answered.
"And...?" Richard prodded.
"And..." Cara said as she swung her gaze away. "I may have felt like you care for me very much." After a moment of thought, she added, "As more than a bodyguard."
It was enough for Richard. "Are you going to listen to me now?" he asked earnestly. "I have something important to tell you."
"Haven't I always?" Cara scoffed at Richard's dubious look. "Just because I don't always follow your orders doesn't mean I'm not listening."
Richard smiled, but said nothing. Cara sighed, and gave him a respectful bow of her head. She would listen.
"Kahlan and me..." he trailed off. Cara nodded encouragingly. "I've called off our wedding."
"But you love each other," Cara babbled back.
"We're not together anymore."
"And you both like marriage and babies." Cara looked around as if she might randomly find someone in the forest to agree with her.
"A relationship is built on more than just love and marriage and children, Cara." Richard had it in him to laugh.
"That's all you ever talk about," Cara huffed, her lips twisted into a frustrated line, and threw her shoulders back. "You make no sense sometimes."
Richard wasn't sure he could argue against that. "I think... that Kahlan loves me for showing her that it's still possible for her to find love."
"Okay," Cara responded uneasily.
Richard shrugged. "I think loving me was too easy, too simple."
Cara scrunched the bridge of her nose. "Isn't that exactly how it's supposed to be?"
"No... I think love is rarely very simple," Richard said patiently. His eyes drifted off into the landscape, a thousand thoughts filling his mind. "She may have thought I was everything she wanted, but I don't believe I'm what she needs."
"You are what she needs!" Cara replied, though she wasn't exactly sure if she was defending Richard or Kahlan. "You're a good man, Richard."
He smiled at that. "Thank you." He grew quiet, so Cara did as well, waiting for the words she could feel him sifting for in the river of his emotions. She knew he had found them when his back straightened, a garnering of strength and determination. She turned to meet his eyes, ready to meet his truths. He asked, "Do you love her?"
Cara did not feel ready to meet that truth, not with her eyes. "What do you mean?" she said, looking away but finding herself staring at the tree she had marked so viciously with her hands.
"If I died," Richard stilled Cara's retort with a look, knowing she would feel a prideful offense at the thought of failing him. He continued, "If anything happened to me, do you think you'd go back to Rahl? Serve him as the faithful Mord'Sith you always claim to be?"
Cara snorted. "Of course not."
"You'd stay with Kahlan," he stated, the most obvious answer.
Cara's confirmation held no hesitation. "You'd want me to protect her."
"I want you to follow the path you choose, Cara, not a dead man's." Richard held a satisfied smile.
"You're not dead yet, Richard," she responded dryly.
Richard's hand landed on the hilt of the Sword of Truth. "I've had enough close calls to know that I'm just a man. A man with a very nice sword," he chuckled, "but just a man who can die and stay dead as well as the next." He paused, waiting to see if Cara had another diverting comment, but she was held silent by the seriousness of the conversation. He asked, "Why do you follow me, Cara?"
"Because you're the true Lord Rahl," she said quickly, but when she saw the disapproving slant of his mouth, she knew he wanted more than an agiel-beaten answer. "Because I love you," she sighed, head bobbing at the effort the answer required, yet quickly adding, "It's a Mord'Sith's duty to love-"
"I don't care what you think your duty is, Cara," Richard cut her off with an abrupt harshness that only Cara would truly appreciate. "Now tell me, if I died, why would you stay at Kahlan's side?"
They stared each other down, a challenge of stubbornness. Cara could think of a dozen reasons why she'd follow the Mother Confessor: she hated Darken Rahl, Richard would want her to protect Kahlan until the end of time, the Confessor was a worthy fighter, a leader to respect; each one dashed away in the face of Richard's knowing gaze. Cara cast her eyes downward, looking nothing like the merciless warrior that she always presented.
"Because... I love her," Cara whispered, "I love her as much as I love you."
Cara's absolute truth had always been her expendability; that she was kept around because she was useful, that her skills and loyalty, everything she had been taught to value about herself, were the true reasons she still had a place at Richard's side. Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd-they all threw around words like "love" and "friendship" so easily, without caring to understand why they did. Love was supposed to be rooted in obedience for Mord'Sith, twisted by training until her love was nothing but an unrecognizable, mangled heart.
Richard watched Cara shake through her aching confession, and he had an inkling that Cara's feelings ran deeper for the Mother Confessor than they did for him. This didn't upset him as much as he thought. "I don't think I could do this if that wasn't the case," he told Cara was as much heartfelt honesty as he could. "I don't think I could let her go, not to someone who didn't love her as much as I do."
Cara looked stunned. "Richard..." Whatever she might have thought, she'd never expected Richard to tell her that Richard and Kahlan would no longer be Richard and Kahlan. If Richard was trying to tell her what she thought he was... she wasn't sure that she could really believe it, suddenly faced with possibilities she hadn't dared to consider.
"Things won't be easy between me and Kahlan, not for a while," Richard looked at Cara with a small degree of expectation. He needed her help in this. "But it's only a matter of time. What hasn't changed-what will never change is our desire to keep the people safe. Bring peace."
"Then what do you want from me?" Cara asked, feeling stripped bare like bark torn from a tree. For once, her eyes betrayed exactly how lost she felt at the moment, looking up at Richard, a child turning to a parent for guidance only love and trust could provide.
Richard looked hard at Cara, command setting in his eyes. "I want you to stop holding back."
Cara met his gaze, swallowing the lump in her throat. Richard might not have ordered Cara to do anything, but she knew without a doubt that these were the most important words he had ever spoken to her, filling Cara with more purpose than any order ever had.
She nodded, and then walked away.
Her heart felt like it was about to rip itself from her chest.
**
Dahlia brought up the rear. Ahead of her Nicci and Rahl rode abreast with Berdine and Raina leading point.
"Pity that Cara didn't join us," Berdine said wistfully to Raina. "The things I wouldn't torture to hear Mistress Cara sing.
Raina met her with a smirk. "You could always get her to scream anything but the truth."
They shared a low laugh, and even Rahl's mouth curved up. Dahlia's face was passive. She was still a stranger among them no matter that her memories could have told her otherwise.
"This business with the Seeker is silly," Berdine said, sobering her humor. "Mistress Cara would have never tolerated such a pitiful mess of a mission." She got into a light debate with Raina on how long before Cara would switch allegiances again. Even Darken began throwing in his own predictions on what might make Cara snap.
Nicci dropped her face, falling in with Dahlia. "Don't agree?" she said, questioning Dahlia's apparent aloofness.
"Cara is far beyond the Lord Rahl's reach," Dahlia said. "She doesn't follow Richard either."
"I thought I was the only one who noticed," Nicci said, private and approving. "You watch her often."
Dahlia arched a brow. "Which means you're watching me."
"I watch everyone." Nicci grinned, but the rest of her was unreadable.
**
Listen on Youtube: Seeker of Truth
Richard waited until Cara was out of sight before he let out a heavy, ragged breath.
"I remember a different life before, when I was just a youth," he began in a sad, beautiful voice. Each word continued to build, louder than the last. "And I didn't know, I didn't know who I was, the Seeker of Truth! A Rahl with armies and lands, too much blood on my hands."
The urgency in his song propelled him through the forest. Richard looked back once before keeping his gaze on what was ahead of him. "I remember a different life before." He had lost his volume, but not his passion.
"The Midlands-D'haran war, when the Keeper left his mark, sent his Sisters of the Dark." He threw a defiant glance behind him. "A magic plagues this land," he closed his eyes. One hand rested lightly around the hilt of his sword. "Where my brother was slain by my own hand."
"I remember a different life before." Richard's steps were careful as he picked his way around bushes, and left little trace of his own trail. He looked like a man with a purpose, shoulders squared with strength. "But I must confess I don't want it anymore."
Richard stopped atop the hill, and drew the Sword of Truth. He held it point up, reaching for the sun, glinting proudly.
"I remember a different life before one thousand years of lore." Richard was testing the capacity of his lungs, singing with everything. He slowly lowered the sword until he could feel the cold metal of the crossbar against his forehead. "This sword I hold in hand is a legend restored, and now that's who I am, that's who I am, that's who I am!"
Richard pulled the sword away, laying the flat of the blade against the palm of his other hand. "I remember a different life before." Richard smiled when he caught his reflection in the blade.
"But I must confess I don't want it anymore." Richard gave the Sword of Truth a curt nod, and then slid the blade into its sheath.
The song left Richard panting for breath. He sucked in a needed breath once he realized that was the end of it. He heaved a great sigh, filled with relief. As he gathered his breath, Richard took in the landscape. He had a good idea of where the camp was located. Richard squinted when he saw movement, and brought his hand up to shade his eyes from the sun.
Richard frowned, not entirely sure what he was seeing. He stared into the distance for another moment. Whatever he found, he swept his down, and dashed down the hill.
**
Zedd knelt over one of the fallen soldiers, fingering the edge of the man's blood red cape. "These cloaks are in poor condition."
"Hmm?" Kahlan hadn't been looking at Zedd at all.
Zedd made a dismissive gesture at the forest. "Stop worrying. Richard told us to wait here," he said for the third time since Richard had run after Cara. "Whatever is bothering Cara, Richard will take care of it."
"Zedd, what am I looking at?" Kahlan bit out impatiently, albeit unintentionally. Kahlan didn't want to reveal that she was worried about what Richard and Cara might be talking about.
He waited a beat before answering, as if expecting her to drift off. "Mercenaries."
Kahlan's brows knit together instantly. "They're all wearing the red of the Fold."
"Yes." Zedd swept his hand along the fallen man, then the man next to him. Zedd had magically moved all the bodies into view, laying them out respectfully in neat rows. "Galean leather. Kelton steel. That one over there bears D'haran bracers. These capes might mark them as one, but they're too hodge-podge beneath. It seems the Blood of the Fold is not above using the persuasion of coin."
Kahlan nodded as she listened, but it turned into a shake of the head. "Tobias Brogan isn't the type of man who would suffer a heretic in his ranks."
"We know that despite the beliefs he spouts, he nevertheless employs the use of magic." Zedd stood and led them away from the bodies. They had seen enough.
"That doesn't mean they don't believe. I nearly doubted myself," Kahlan said, shuddering because she thought herself a strong woman, and yet had nearly thought terrible things about herself.
"Exactly. He hardly follows his own rules. Caddock was a wretched move, and he nearly took Aydindril. He hasn't been an easy man to predict, and hiring heretics to do his dirty work is not out of the question."
Kahlan nodded, but her mind was still thinking about how her fears had nearly consumed her. If it hadn't been for Cara...
Zedd cleared his throat. "I have noticed a certain... discord between you and Richard."
Kahlan didn't expect that, eyes meeting Zedd's for a brief moment. It was the First Wizard who searched for truth in the Mother Confessor's eyes. Kahlan turned her face away, guilt shading her eyes.
Zedd waited patiently until Kahlan met his gaze again, could see in those sad blue eyes that Kahlan felt like she was somehow betraying him by no longer wanting to be with his grandson. "I hope you know that whatever happens between you and Richard, I will always love you. You're family whether you want it not," he said in a lecturing, fatherly tone.
"Thank you, Zedd," Kahlan replied earnestly, laying a hand on his arm. It was a brief touch, her arms folding in on herself, she hugged her elbows tightly.
"You can talk to me, Kahlan," Zedd offered. "It's the least we can do for each other."
Listen on Youtube: Hearts of Our Own
Kahlan stepped away from him, but it was not withdrawal. She wanted to speak to him, to anyone, about what the day had revealed about what she knew of herself. In the ringing voice of song, she began, "When we met you were always on your own."
Zedd watched with a small smile on his face, still and silent. He had an idea who this song was meant for.
Kahlan continued, her voice growing thicker, "Every seam of your leather pulled tight, tight together." She clenched her eyes shut, throwing herself back into the memory. "I couldn't read what you hid underneath."
"Tear it down," Kahlan took a step forward, "Tear it all down." She placed a hand on her chest protectively. "Every wall, every stone... take it all, and we'll make a heart of your own." Kahlan brought her other hand up and clutched them together.
Further in the woods, Cara was returning, reining in her brisk pace to keep herself from appearing too eager. The Mord'Sith's mind was an echo of Kahlan's thoughts, and Cara could feel the touch of magic connecting her and Kahlan.
"We had to wait until our hate was hushed," Cara sang, letting the words pull from her without resistance. "We couldn't rush this love even at your touch." She brushed her fingers across her neck.
"So I made you bruise." Cara clenched her hand into a fist that hovered over her heart. "You made me bleed but that's exactly what I needed!"
Cara could see the battlefield again, and Kahlan standing with her hands to her chest. "Break me down, break it all down," she sang, wondering Kahlan could hear her. She wasn't sure it mattered, the feel of magic whirled so intensely between them. "Every wall, every stone... take it all, and make a heart of our own."
Kahlan looked up, hearing Cara's voice, and couldn't help but smile in response. Kahlan wasn't sure if the echo of words was the magic, or she had heard them fall from Cara's lips, but she finished the song for them, "Take it all, take it all, we'll make a heart of our own."
Green eyes met blue. The song had built up and left a silence for them to fill.
"Kahlan," Cara said with her voice raspy between them.
**
"Did you hear that?" Darken asked, suspicion layered on his tongue like thick oil.
"Stop asking if we hear anything," Nicci complained, "The fighting stopped a while ago."
Shota had told them to take their on time on the way back. If Darken interfered, or had his Mord'Sith do so on his behalf, the Blood of the Fold would fail to capture Kahlan Amnell-and who was he to thwart prophecy? He had enough experience with prophecy to accept that it would get its way, and this time it aligned well enough with his own goals. It was useless to fight against it. Without the Mother Confessor, the Midlands would be ripe for the picking. Richard would be a small obstacle, Darken was sure, once the Mother Confessor's death reached his ears.
Berdine and Raina were looking around, eyes and ears alert. Dahlia was the one that spoke up, "A rider approaches, riding fast."
The entire group tensed up, but before they caught sight of any rider, they saw Richard sliding down from a higher path, cutting them off in the middle of the road. "Rahl-" he began, clearly surprised to see them.
"You're looking quite well. I thought I heard a battle. Is everyone well?" Darken asked with false sincerity, masking his true interest in the answer.
Richard frowned, shooting a cautious glance behind him. "I was up the hill, uhh," he stuttered a moment, before clearing his throat with a cough, "I saw someone riding. I thought it was one of the Blood of the Fold guys we fought earlier." I was coming down here to cut them off around the bend."
"You must have spotted us," Darken offered, moving back to his original question. "There was a battle?"
Before Richard could answer, a rider broke from around the curve of the hill. Agiels were quickly brought to hand, and Richard and Rahl drew their blades, holding themselves confidently. Nicci held a dacra in each hand. It was only a sole rider that approached, though cloaked and unidentifiable.
The rider reared to a halt, close enough that they could hear the rider's voice, speaking clear and loud, "You made it incredibly easy to find you, Seeker." It was a woman's voice, raspy and sensual.
"Denna," both Rahl brothers called back confidently. Darken smirked atop his horse, Richard pursed his lips, cautious. He didn't forget the trouble Denna had caused the previous times they had met.
Denna pulled back her black hood, her pale blonde hair gleaming where the light struck. Her hand was bare, no white leather, but her fingers were wrapped around the simple handle of a beautifully engraved box. The front had a circular black handle in the middle, and Denna opened it, revealing a brass bell.
"I once heard of an ancient artifact called 'the chimes,' " Nicci started speaking quickly." It could make entire armies fall to their knees if struck just the right way." After she spoke, Berdine and Raina trotted their horses between Denna and the two Rahls, Dahlia a step behind. They were Mord'Sith, and feared no magic.
"Hello, ladies," Denna greeted, but it was playful and already filled with smug triumph. "I'm sure you'll do your best to stop me."
"Magic is useless against Mord'Sith." Darken narrowed his eyes. He looked at Richard pointedly, hoping his concerns were not falling on deaf ears. "She should know better."
"She does." Richard watched the exiled Mord'Sith carefully.
Denna shook the box, and the knocker inside the bell rang several times. Where Denna sat on her horse, it was a sharp, beautiful sound that lasted only a few moments before the sound faded away. But for the group that stood before her, the first sound seemed to stop time itself. The sound was suddenly on them like a visible wave in the air. The Mord'Sith raised their hands, but they felt lethargic and slow. They still managed send the magic back-at least, something reflected, but it wasn't enough. The ringing continued pounding note after note into the air until it was all that could be heard.
Richard found himself on the ground, blacking in and out from the hammering sound. It was as painful as the headaches his wizard powers had afflicted on him. Nicci was trying to tell him something, and he felt her hands rummaging through his clothes. He saw a glimpse of Darken covering his ears, but Richard blacked out once more, unable to do anything as Darken fell from his horse, the great beast slumping to the ground, unconscious.
It all happened very quickly for Denna, watching as Raina was the last of the Mord'sith to fall. Something felt but unseen whiplashed back at her but only the box and bell were affected, jerking in her hand. There was a sound of twisting metal as a dozen cracks suddenly appeared on the bell. Denna glared at the instrument in her hand, giving it a rough shake. A piece of metal loosened, broke off, and landed on the floor of the box. She tossed the box on the ground. "Broken already," she said casually, but she wasn't upset. The artifact had served its purpose.
Denna dismounted, and carefully picked her way past the Mord'Sith to where Nicci was sprawled over Richard. Denna nudged Nicci off of him with the toe of her boot, not noticing the sorceress had something clutched in her hand.
Denna smiled down at Richard and Darken who were lying not two feet from each other. "Hello, Lord Rahl," she spoke down to them.
Zedd had long since left, mumbling something about talking to the local constable.
Cara walked up to Kahlan, and stopped short a step shy of the Confessor. Restraint filled her leathers, and she didn't know where to look or what to do with her hands. She caught sight of a purple bruise marring the side of Kahlan's face, and reached up to turn Kahlan's chin to the side for a better look. "Sorry, for that," Cara whispered, letting her hand drop.
From the corner of her eyes, Kahlan watched Cara carefully as she studied Kahlan's jawline, and caught Cara's hand before it fell away. The beginning of a smile teased the corner of Kahlan's lips. Just as she began to press Cara's hand to her cheek, a bell rang loudly through the forest, making them both flinch from its volume. Kahlan dropped Cara's hand, and they covered their ears. Once the ringing stopped, they removed their hands, and looked around themselves uneasily. Zedd came bounding back.
Kahlan and Cara's eyes met. "Richard," they both chorused, and ran into the trees after Zedd.
**
**
TO BE CONTINUED ...
... in Episode 3.11!