********DISCLAIMER. IMPORTANT.**********
If you have not read the first 9 Chapters of As Tough As They Come by wildelove PLEASE PLEASE DO. YOU MUST in order for the rest of the story to make sense. SEE LINK BELOW OR SEARCH IT PRETTY PLEASE.
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Okay guys here's the sitch, I'm the author of As Tough As They Come and after 4+ years I finally have my muse back. My old email has been deleted from hotmail so I can't log in to the other account. SOOO I'll be attempting to finish the story here on this account.
Italics = thoughts or flashbacks. And yes, my writing style has changed a bit, I'm 4 years older.
CHAPTER 10
Kahlan is the first to wake, and upon cracking open her deep blue eyes she is assaulted by the rising sun, making her head pound even more. "Ugh". She slowly rises from bed to see Rhea sleeping peacefully in the spot beside her. I am never drinking again. Spirits how I could've lost control..The thought of accidentally hurting anyone makes her stomach churn. Her mind then wanders to the other blonde, the one she really wanted to see next to her. Cara is nowhere to be found and there is no chance that all three of them could have fit in the tiny bed. Kahlan begins to remember the events that had taken place the night before.
She feels Cara's mouth against her neck and let's out a moan. It's warm and sends waves throughout her. The blonde is tugging at the front of her dress, trying to remove the offensive garment. Kahlan's hands grip leather clad thighs... The confessor is blushing at the memory, and she tries to shakes the images from her mind.
Kahlan dresses herself in her traveling clothes and wanders over to where Rhea is still fast asleep. She gently places her hand on her shoulder to wake her. Rhea gasps and shoots up violently out of the bed. "I'm- I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you, everyone is waiting for us downstairs". Bloodshot grey eyes meet Kahlan's concerned blue ones. She takes a breath and tries to regain her composure before speaking, acting like nothing happened. It's an act she's beginning to perfect. "Ugh.. I am never drinking again". Kahlan furrows her brows slightly. She notices the slight shift in emotion, as it's similar to what Cara does, but she chooses to ignore it for now. The confessor lets out a light chuckle, "I know the feeling".
Rhea suddenly feels sharp pain on her left side, underneath her rib cage, and quickly turns around hoping the confessor didn't notice her wince. She's felt this pain since the temple, but it's beginning to get stronger. Must be from last night or something…too much ale.
Kahlan leaves the other woman to get cleaned up, and wanders downstairs hoping some breakfast can soak up some of last night's sins. Cara, Richard and Zedd are all huddled around a table with a map in front of them bickering.
"Cara do you have any idea how far out of our way that is? You aren't scared are you?". Richard smirks after the last part, knowing it would annoy Cara to be taunted. The blonde crosses her arms defensively,"Mord-sith fear nothing. I'm simply trying to protect you, my Lord. Would you rather be safe, or would you rather be dead? The choice is yours". Zedd is standing a few steps behind the two looking over their shoulders, stroking his pointy chin in contemplation. "I'm inclined to agree with Cara, my boy. The Abandoned forest harbours dark, dark enchantments left by The Keeper himself. Before he was banished to the underworld, he was able to mark part of the world with his evil. A grim reminder of his existence. It is a dangerous place for the living to be. It brings about your worst fears". A small smirk graces the mord-sith's full lips. She loves being right.
In a huff, Richard looks up from the map he was studying to see the confessor walking down the stairs, "Hey…..". Kahlan is not in the mood to talk. One sharp look shuts him up. Zedd notices the exchange and gently leads Richard outside to see if they can purchase some horses for their journey.
Kahlan walks over to the table where Cara is standing, and picks up a piece of half eaten bread. She takes a hearty bite to buy herself some time to try to find the right words to say. There was so much emotion behind what happened the night before, she wants to see how Cara feels. She notices the mord-sith staring at the map so intensely, as though she might burn a hole through it with her eyes. "Cara…can we talk?".
Her head snaps up from the map she was pretending to read. I knew it. She regrets everything that happened. A confessor could never lo-…care for a Mord-sith. It doesn't matter anyway.
Kahlan sees the hint of pain swirling in her green eyes but doesn't know why it's there. "Car-". "It's fine. I know it was a mistake. It never happened". The blonde quickly scoops up the map and walks outside, before her face betrays how she is really feeling. Pain. Heartbreak. Guilt.
The confessor feels a sharp pain slice through her chest. What did I do wrong?
"Hey, where is everyone?". Rhea hops down the last few stairs feeling a little more refreshed after splashing some cold water on her face. "Kahlan?". The confessor is snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh.. right. They're getting us some horses for our travel. Are you hungry?". The smaller woman looks at the left over scraps on the table. In the temple he told her over and over how worthless she was. No matter what he did he couldn't break her and get her to use her pendant to take him to Valhalla. She couldn't control what he did to her, but she could refuse the food she was offered. The only semblance of power she had. She hears the voice whisper inside her head, you don't deserve to eat. Her face betrays nothing. "No, I'm not that hungry thanks. Let's get going, I want to pick my own horse!".
The brightness of the sun overwhelms the pair and they step out of the Inn. Kahlan takes a moment to thank the inn keeper for his generosity before catching up to the Valkyrie, who is eagerly strutting towards the stables. It had been too long since she had ridden. It was something she loved, and missed doing. In Valhalla each of the Valkyries had their own steed. And while the horses in this world didn't have wings, she didn't mind. They more or less rode the same way.
Rhea notices the large white horse first and heads straight over. As she's about to grab the reins, Cara steps in front of her outreached arm. "This horse is spoken for Valkyrie. Better luck next time". The other blonde rolls her eyes, it's much too early for this. Slightly disappointed and too hungover to come up with a snarky remark, she looks around to see the other options. "Okay.. I know I've suffered some head trauma, but I swear to the creator that there are only 4 horses here and 5 of us". It's the other blonde's turn to roll her bright green eyes in response. "Congratulations, the Valkyrie can still count". Completely ignoring Cara, she looks to Richard for an explanation. "The stable could only offer us 4 horses. Someone will have to ride with someone else".
Rhea's confusion quickly turns into a smirk. "Perfect. I guess I'll be riding with Cara then. We can talk about boys and braid each other's hair. I can't wait". She nudges the other blonde aside to mount the tall white horse first. Thoroughly annoyed, Cara looks over to a giggling Kahlan who is already atop her mount. Heat pools in her stomach at the thought of last night's events. The brunette's current smile reminding her of the smile she was sporting last night while Cara was on top of her. That's enough. She quickly grips her agiels for punishment before turning back to Rhea. She orders the other woman to move, so she can take control of the reins. Unfazed by the order, the other woman scoots further back in the saddle and offers the Mord-sith a hand. Cara furrows her blonde brows at the offensive gesture, instead grabbing the horse's mane to pull herself up. The saddle is clearly meant for one person, so Rhea is forced to press her front flush into the Mord-sith's back. If it were any other person and she would be having a panic attack at the close contact. But, a warmth washes over her. It's magnetic. What the hell Rhea, get it together. Cara grips the reins tighter and places her stoic mask firmly in place. The feeling affects both women as they simultaneously shift in the saddle to get away from the pleasantly unpleasant sensation.
At that moment, Kahlan looks over and see's the two blondes' bodies pressed firmly together, and Rhea's hands on Cara's waist. Her face becomes hot, and her mood is instantly soured. They really don't have to sit that close..Not wanting to see anymore, she kicks her horse forward to cut in front of them and ride ahead of them.
Rhea rolls her eyes, This is ridiculous. She makes a mental note to come up with a plan once her head stops pounding to get these two women together. Neither of them seems in tune with what the other is truly feeling and it's no longer amusing to the Valkyrie.
The gang ride for a few hours before slowing their horses down to a walk. Leisurely soaking up the sun and allow their horses to grab mouthfuls of grass every no and then. They ride up to the edge of a forest. An eerie, thick silence hangs in the air. Cara's body immediately tenses, and so does Rhea's. Valkyrie's can feel death, right now the air is saturated with it. "Stop". Cara pulls on the reins and the horse comes to a halt.
Richard and Zedd who have been bringing up the front stop their horses too. Richard turns around in the saddle, "Stop for what?". Rhea swiftly dismounts her horse and grips her daggers tightly in each hand, "Do you hear that?". "Hear what?". "Exactly. There are no birds chirping, there's no sounds at all". Cara agrees, "Perfect place for an ambush".
Weapons drawn, they all step closer to the edge of the forest. Zedd brings up the rear with his hands in the air, mumbling an incantation to himself to see if he can sense any magic. Cara feels a strange tingling sensation on the back of her neck and without thinking pushes the confessor to the side with one arm, just in time to miss a flying arrow.
War cries erupt as 20 men in black robes begin to charge at them from all directions. Some even leaping down from tree branches. Zedd sends out a blast of magic knocking back the first wave of men down, giving everyone time to pick a target.
Finally back in her element, Rhea brushes past Cara to be the first to attack. She ignores the pain radiating from under her ribs, and jumps in the air with all her might. She delivers a round house kick to the side of one man's head. Using her momentum, she spins 180 degrees and slashes another's throat. His black hood falls from his face as his body hits the ground, to reveal a tattoo on the side of his shaved head. She freezes at the site of the familiar symbol. It's the image of a large eye in the centre of a pentagram. Another attacker sees his opportunity and strikes her in the back of her head with the blunt end of his sword. Rhea falls to the ground and he raises his sword over his head to deliver a final blow. The blonde closes her eyes tightly, accepting her fate. She would rather be dead anyway.
A pained scream causes her to open her eyes. When she looks up she sees Cara with her agiel against the man's temple. He drops his sword in agony and she snaps his neck in one fluid motion."Some Valkyrie you are". Rhea accepts the leather clad hand extended to her, and as she stands, she pulls on Cara's arm with enough force to spin the Mord-sith behind her. She stabs another Cultist in the heart, just as he was about to strike the Mord-sith from behind. Rhea wipes her blade against her thigh high boot,"There. Now we're even". All it takes is few more minutes of fighting before all their opponents are swiftly taken down.
Richard spots one of the men still moving, "Kahlan! One of them is alive, over here!". The confessor runs over to where Richard is crouched. As Cara and Rhea begin to make their way over, the Mord-sith notices that something isn't right, "Not that I care, but what's wrong?". The other blonde looks at Cara with empty grey eyes, "Barbas".
The cloaked man has a nasty gash across his stomach that is bleeding quite heavily, but he should last long enough for them to get what they need. Kahlan closes her hand around his neck, feeling her power flow through her and into him. The man's eyes turn pitch black before flashing back to their normal brown colour. He looks at her with a blank expression, "Command me confessor". "Who are you, and why did you attack us?". "My name is Alexander. We were ordered to attack you because you travel with a Valkyrie. The Valkyrie must die".
All eyes are now on Rhea. She avoids their gaze and awkwardly places a hand on the left side of her body where the pain is emanating from. Kahlan turns back to the man on the ground, "Who ordered you to attack? Why do they want the Valkyrie dead?". "B-barbas", the man is able to spit out between wet, bloody coughs. The hair on the back of Rhea's neck stands to attention.
"What does Barbas want? You must tell the truth". A sinister grin spreads across the man's face. "Death. To all Valkyries. He couldn't break them, but he can steal their power. With enough he will rise to Valhalla to drink from the fountain of Ambrosia. As a god he will reclaim the earth. Everyone will bow to his power, the living and the dead. He will destroy the world to make a better one". The man lets out one last bloody gurgle before he succumbs to his wound. He dies with a smile spread wide across his face.