Title: Reunion
Author: virkatjol and RelaxJolene
Rating: PG
Summary: Richard returns to find there is another Seeker
Disclaimer: I don't like that Leo guy much either… and I don't own any of them.
A/N: This is a BIRTHDAY GIFT for one of my best seeker friends, Jlyn™, hope that you like it and that it helps make your time away on vacation where there is no Seeker a little more bearable! You always turn out amazing fanfic, so here is one for you!
I'd like to thanks RelaxJolene for the assist here, I was completely stuck and she offered to write on it for a bit. Helped me out of my creative slump and got the thing rolling again!
Tears stung her eyes as she saw him. They had just crested another hill and there he was, right in front of her, walking down the next one.
"Richard!" Kahlan shouted his name and took off at a run. Practically tripping down the grassy bank in her haste.
His eyes shot up at the sound of her voice. Richard couldn't believe that she was in front of him, getting closer by the second. He quickened his gait and met her with open arms at the base of the hill. The force of her leap knocked them both to the ground. Then she was kissing him.
Kahlan's body was pressing him into the ground, and she felt better than she had in months, she hoped she could survive without air because her mouth wasn't ever parting from his. Her hands were on his head, fingers gripping his hair and her lips were dancing with his, her tongue deep in his mouth. She leaned more of her weight into him, trying to mold to him. If they were never apart again it would be far too soon for her liking. Her knees parted and placed themselves on either side of his hips, giving her better leverage to kiss him harder. She felt his hands in her hair, locking her to him, apparently he had a similar lack of concern for oxygen.
Their tongues caressed the other, both of them giving and taking, drinking from each other like they had found an oasis after being without water for weeks. They were rehydrating their souls.
Suddenly she remembered and she jerked her head away from his. The startled look on his face made her smile. She needed to say it before she couldn't talk from breathlessness.
"Richard." She whispered, flashing him a huge grin, "I love you." She'd never take the chance of him to knowing because she didn't say it, not again.
"I love you too, Kahlan." He pulled her back down to his mouth. This one was sweeter and slower, the initial desperation was gone and now kissing was all about enjoying the feel of one another. Lazily their tongues met and slid together, rubbing and sucking lips moving over each other.
Her hips were rubbing on his in a slow rhythm that matched their mouths. Her body was aching to become one with him, she was sure that if they didn't consummate their love soon she would burst from the frustration.
"Spirits! Get a room."
Cara's voice interrupted their reunion. Kahlan stilled her hips and pulled her mouth off his. She stood up and then offered him a hand, which he took and followed her up, returning to his feet.
RIchard turned to face Kahlan and placed his hand on her neck, cupping the back, he pulled her into him hugging her to him. He put his lips by her ear and quietly spoke, "I missed you so much."
Her arms wrapped around him, her nose buried itself into his neck, inhaling the scent. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. Some days I didn't know how I'd make it through because you weren't with me. Never leave me again. I can't bear it."
"The Keeper himself couldn't tear me from your arms." Moving her body slightly away from him so he could look at her, gazing into her eyes. He could see the pools of moisture swimming on the surface, the joy shining through. The sun couldn't match the brightness of her eyes when she was truly happy.
"Last time I checked, we were all in a big hurry to find this stone of tears." Cara snarked at the pair. "Now we've been standing here forever while you two make calf eyes at each other." Walking over to the couple she picked Richard's pack off the ground, shoving it into his chest. "Shall we?"
"Missed you too, Cara." Slinging his pack over his shoulder, he looked to Kahlan, the smile on her face was full of happy amusement. Reaching down he clasped her hand in his and pulled her with them as they followed Cara back over to the others.
On the walk over, Kahlan gave Richard the rundown on Leo, the new Seeker. When they arrived at the tree line, where Zedd and Leo had retreated to give them a more private reunion, Richard was faced with the other Seeker. He sized him up and saw that he was doing the same to him. Richard extended the hand that wasn't occupied in Kahlan's, out to the other man.
Happily, Leo accepted the handshake, squeezing down harder then he normally would, to show Richard that he wasn't unworthy of the title. He noticed the way the Confessor was watching them, how she had melted into the other man's side. She wasn't mixing her signals, he was her Seeker and she was his Confessor. There wasn't another bond there to forge, He was sure that she'd kill him if it meant ever coming between it. He was also sure that he had no desire to do that.
"Thanks for taking up the quest while I was away." Richard glanced at Zedd, he wasn't sure how this was going to work. "My headaches are gone now. So I can return to the mission."
"Unfortunately, my boy, it's not as easy as all that." Zedd walked over and hugged his grandson to him, knowing he wasn't going to be happy about what he had to tell him "I can't just take the sword from him. It has to be willingly given up or the Seeker must lose his life."
All eyes were now on Leo. He met each of them individually. Zedd's told him that it was up to him, but that he'd prefer if he handed the sword over without a battle. He knew that the old wizard thought that he'd lose a fight with his grandson. Cara's eyes were telling him that she didn't care who the seeker was, she just wanted it over with so they could get on with it. Kahlan's he didn't linger on, her's were telling him to shrivel up and stop existing. He was sure that the confessor had no ill feelings towards him as a person, she'd been perfectly amicable the whole time they had traveled together. However it was clear in a split second that his life was forfeit to her if it meant Richard wasn't restored to his rightful place by her side as the Seeker, not just the man she loved. When he got to Richard's, he was harder to read. The man was obviously very smart and was thinking about how he could get the sword from him without undue violence. He could tell he was determined to have, what he thought of as, his sword back however.
Leo needed to decide how to play it. His whole life he'd been told that he was destined to be the Seeker. It felt like a lifetime of preparedness for five minutes of action. He was feeling cheated. Did he really even want to hold the title? Did he want to responsibility? Did he want to look at the Mother Confessor the whole journey and see the look of disdain in her eyes? Those blue eyes could cut glass when they looked down upon you, as if he was as meaningless to her life as the beetle crawling on the bark of the tree. Her duty bound her to serve by his side, but he could see that she wouldn't be happy about it.
His eyes made the quick journey back to the Mord'Sith, before quickly turning away. He couldn't look at any of them as he was disappointing them.
"I'm sorry everyone, really I am, but…well…this is my quest now." Leo turned his back on them all and began to walk away.
"Wait! Leo!" Kahlan called out, stopping him in his tracks. She turned to Richard, who was in a shocked stupor at the decision the man holding his sword had made. "Spirits! Richard, you have to help me make him see that he must do this!" She tugged on his arm, begging him to point out the error of Leo's ways.
Richard reached up and stilled her hand with his own large one. "Kahlan, I can't." He drew in a lungful of air, and let it all out in a heaving sigh, "This is his decision, we can't force his hand here. It's like Zedd said. He has to do this willingly."
Her eyes pleaded with his, meeting his gaze and seeing the resolve there, she took his face and framed it in her hands. Kahlan stroked his cheeks tenderly with her thumbs as a tear slipped unbidden and unwanted down her cheek. "Richard," She whispered, "I can't be your confessor and his at the same time."
Richard just smiled at her and let her relay that information, even if he already understood it. "Kahlan Amnell," he said swiping away the tear with the pad of a finger. "You will always be my confessor. Whether I'm the Seeker or not. I love you, the title doesn't change that."
She returned his smile for a moment, allowing herself just an instant to revel in his adoration.
"Lord Rahl," Cara spoke up from behind them, "If you'd like, I could train him. Then he would willingly do whatever I asked." She stepped over to the new Seeker and paced out a circle around him, sizing him up as if he were her dinner. "Yes, I could certainly make him willing to give you the sword. That is, if you'd let me train him." She predatorily grinned at Leo, showing all of her teeth and staring him down with a feral look in her eyes. She pulled out her agiel and waggled it in front of Leo's face. "This one could be…interesting…maybe even enjoyable. I don't think he would be a challenge at all Lord Rahl."
Leo's eyebrows were raised and his gaze was following her every movement. "I think, Cara, I'd rather we enjoy ourselves in other ways." He smiled hesitantly at her and then shot a pleading glance to where Richard and Kahlan stood. "Help." He mouthed to them, hoping the Mord'Sith didn't see.
Kahlan pretended not to notice Leo's request, and trained her gaze back to Richard. His eyes were dangerously fierce, as he watched the Mord'Sith stalk her prey.
"Enough!" He demanded finally, taking Kahlan's hand for reassurance. When they touched and twined their fingers, it was almost as if her power touched him, suddenly he felt as if he could take on the world. "There will be NO training. Do you understand me Cara? Leo will remain unharmed. Any training he has will be by my hand, or Zedd's. He needs to learn to be the Seeker. Any questions?"
Cara frowned at Richard, and reached out to tap Leo's rear end with her agiel. He yelped and jumped away clutching at his wounded backside. "No questions," She responded with a sneer.
Zedd, still standing behind them by a tree, watched the whole interaction and tried not to smile as Leo limped back to stand beside him. "Don't expect any sympathy from me boy," He said and lost his battle with his cheeks, breaking forth in a large grin. "I warned you about flirting with a Mord'Sith."
Leo just sighed a slumped against a tree, keeping his eyes trained to Cara as she slinked towards Richard and Kahlan.
"I could have made him listen." She she said with a huff, "He would have handed over your precious sword, and he would have liked it even. What about your quest now, Lord Rahl?" Her previous agreement to ask no more questions was lost in her angry tirade.
"Yes," Richard calmly stated, his hand still firmly clasped in Kahlan's, drawing her strength and power as his own. "You could have trained him, but I've been there. He wouldn't have liked it. I can promise you that." He wrapped his other arm around Kahlan's waist and drew her firmly against him, their laced fingers sandwiched between their bodies. He inhaled her scent as he spoke, and each breath he took furthered his resolve to see this through. "As for my quest," He continued, "Truthfully, it was never MY quest even from the start. It was just as much Kahlan's or Zedd's or even yours now. Until it is finished, or Leo hands over the sword, I see I have no other choice than to follow you and help see this task through to completion."
Cara smirked at him in understanding of his deeper meaning, "You are wise, Lord Rahl," she agreed, "I wouldn't leave the Mother Confessor alone with this man either, and not out of concern for her purity. You should see him with a sword," She continued under her breath, "and I thought you were miserable with that weapon."
"Thank you Cara," Richard pulled Kahlan tighter to his chest, his voice sending tremors and vibrations up and down her spine. "I trust you'll keep your agiel where it belongs."
"You say that now," Cara said sashaying back to where Zedd and Leo stood a few feet away, "Wait until you hear him go on about the chipmunks."
Kahlan chuckled, and turned to face Richard, leaning into his warm embrace. "You should have heard it." She pulled his ear close to her lips and whispered directly into it, "There was laughing involved, and it wasn't just Leo."
He smiled at the thought of Cara breaking her normal stoic exterior. "Well Lets get a move on. Where does the compass tell us we must go, Leo?"
Leo pulled out the compass, opened it, and checked the direction. "It says we go west. Off we go."
The group had been traveling for about four days now. The tensions were still very high, especially between Kahlan and the two Seekers. She was torn between her love for one and her duty to the other. They had stopped along the way to procure a sword for Richard, so Kahlan could have her dagger back. While she was proficient at hand to hand combat, the security that a second dagger provided was something that she had missed.
Richard was watching as his love was traveling up front today. He could see the tension in her body, the way she was carrying herself was stiff and her jaw was constantly clenched. She would relax only at night, as she slept cradled in his arms, but when the reality of the morning hit her, she returned to her agitated state. Whenever he touched her he could feel her power just under her skin, wanting to be unleashed. There was an electricity about her that worried him, Cara noticed it too, she stayed far away from the Mother Confessor, not wanting to chance an accidental release.
There was a sound in the air. Richard halted and listened, something familiar about the noise he was hearing. "Cara, do you hear that?"
The woman halted and concentrated. Her hands reached for her agiels, unsheathing them. "That's the sound of a battalion coming for us, Lord Rahl." She smirked, "Here comes the first wave now. Ready for some fun?"
"Kahlan!" He got her attention, but saw that she was already aware of the advancing enemy. Her daggers were at the ready, she needed to work off some of her frustration. Seeing that Leo had already the Sword of Truth out and Zedd was readily waiting to blast them back where they came from, he turned his attention back to the enemy.
The confessor's eyes roamed the soldiers that were racing toward them. She needed to find a strong one, maybe high ranking, someone with some fighting skills. Kahlan needed to confess someone, if only to give herself a break from all the restraint. Finding her target, she rushed headlong into battle. She sliced a couple throats on her way to the man she had picked. Hearing a noise behind her she ducked, just missing the battle axe that was aimed at her head. Kicking her leg back she connected with the mans face, the nose bone breaking and jamming into his skull. Kahlan danced her way through, downing and killing one battalion member after the other. FInally, arriving at the one she had in mind. She could see that he knew her intentions, it scared him enough to make him sloppy. When he swung at her she easily maneuvered away and her hand was on his neck. He was hers.
The magic flew out of her, as if it was also thankful to her for letting it free, and flowed into the man. His eyes blackened and she commanded him to help them. Glancing around to take stock of the others she saw that Leo was having trouble with a group. Running back to him, she dove in his battle circle, thrusting one of her weapons into a heart. The man was dead instantly, and as she reached down, to pull her weapon back out of him, her eyes caught a movement in her peripheral vision. A boot collided with her head, and she was rolled over the body, fighting her way to her feet, she saw the sword coming at her.
Richard had his eyes on Kahlan the whole fight. He was so experienced at battle, even without the magic of the sword to assist him, he was able to move naturally and efficiently while still keeping an eye on the others. He saw how much trouble Leo was getting into and he yelled to Cara that he was going over to help him. Watching as Kahlan confessed the man to help their cause, then how she ran up to assist the Seeker. He began to slow down his progress seeing that Kahlan was jumping in to his aid, then Richard's nightmares became real.
Leo knew that he was in deep trouble, the men were ganging up on him too quickly, there were just so many of them and the way he wielded the sword was still slightly awkward. He didn't have the rhythm down yet and when this many men were charging him, it hurt his chances of survival. Where was Kahlan? She was supposed to be helping protect him. Last time he saw her she was dispatching of soldiers and running off on some sort of mission of her own. Suddenly she was there, beside him, fighting. He let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't in there alone anymore. That split second of relaxation, let a man burst through his line, connecting his boot to the Mother Confessors head as she was retrieving her weapon to protect him. He hoped she was able to get up, if she wasn't, his life was forfeit, Richard would surely have his head.
As Kahlan moved to roll out of the way, there was a flash in front of her, then she felt a splatter of something warm and wet hit her face. She knew what it was but didn't want to think about it. She tried to focus on the scene and saw Richard was over her, his face full of rage and his sword buried to the hilt in the belly of the man that had threatened her. She struggled to her feet and found her equilibrium, then went back to finish off the few men that were still surrounding the Seeker. When she had downed the final soldier, she turned around to search out Richard. Where was he? She saw Cara, Zedd and Leo all standing, panting heavily from the exertion, but they were all upright. Kahlan looked back to the spot she had fallen. She found him.
"Richard!" She screamed and bolted towards his body. He was laying under the man that had threatened her life, his sword protruding though his back. She reached him and fell to the ground by him. Her hands on his cheeks. "Richard, Are you ok?" He just moaned as a response. She worked to pull the dead soldier off him, that's when she saw the damage across his chest. The mans sword had almost gotten her, but he'd thrown himself in front of it and taken the blow for himself.
The pain was incredible, at least the pressure that was making it hard to breathe had eased. Richard could hear her voice calling his name, he wanted to respond, but the pull of the blackness was so comforting. He just wanted to go rest in it, for a little while. Kahlan's voice was asking him something. He should concentrate and answer her, she didn't like to be ignored, he could sleep later but he should respond to her now, she sounded very upset about something. "Kahlan." He whispered her name. He knew how to sooth her, it always worked. "I love you, Kahlan." The blackness took over.
"Don't you dare say you love me and then leave me before I answer you, Richard Cypher!" Kahlan's cheeks were wet with tears, mixing with the blood that she now knew was Richard's. "Come back to me!" She shook his shoulders. "Richard!"
Cara and Zedd had raced over to them after hearing Kahlan scream his name. They were worrying over the wound, while Kahlan's heart was crumbling.
"If I work fast I should be able to heal it enough to move him. I just hope that I have the strength for it right now." Zedd began his work. Placing his hands around the gaping wounds and trying to knit the fabric of his skin back together.
The mord'sith locked eyes with Leo. "Still think that you're cut out for the job, Seeker?" She stood up from where she was kneeling by Lord Rahl's side and advanced on him. "You almost got the Mother Confessor killed." She saw the surprise in his eyes at her statement. "What? You don't think I saw everything? I'm a highly trained weapon. I know every move that you made in this battle. All the wrong ones stick out in my mind. I can make you a list when we have a couple free hours." She saw him flinch. Good she thought, he needed to know that he was a danger to them.
"I…" Leo didn't know how to defend himself.
"You what? You're sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it, Leo." Cara pulled an agiel back out and pointed it at him. "The Lord Rahl is on the ground, DYING. And you're Sorry? I could make you very full of sympathy." She hit him with her agiel, right across his shoulder. He fell to the ground with a shout. Cara was about to keep torturing him when she heard Kahlan's voice, broken and tear-filled, begging her to stop.
"Not now, Cara, please." Kahlan pleaded with her. She had pulled Richard's head into her lap and she was stroking his hair and cheeks, trying to reassure herself and him. Wanting him to feel her presence, hoping that would help lead him back to her. She bent down to kiss his forehead, and then eyelids, ending on his mouth, comforting herself by touching him with her lips.
Leo picked himself up from the dirt and watched the confessor falling apart on the forest floor. He knew then that he could never be the true Seeker. Unlatching the sword from his belt, he went to lay it down by Richard. "You were right, I'm not cut out for this Seeker business. I guess…"
Kahlan gently set Richard's head on the ground, then shot up, standing in front of him. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Going back home." Leo turned to walk away.
She reached out and grabbed his arm, spinning Leo back to face her. "What if Richard die.." She choked back a sob, "Dies, what if Zedd can't save him? Then what?" Kahlan was angry, her sadness had been replaced instantly by rage. How could one person be so selfish? "The quest doesn't end with his life, the stone still needs to be found. You need to stay, at least until he's out of danger. You chose this. You. No one forced you." Kahlan was pressing her pointer finger into his shoulder. "Richard would have happily resumed his place, but that wasn't what YOU wanted. He could die. I don't know how I'll go on if he does, but I'll help you finish the mission. Then I never want to see you again."
Leo reached down for the sword. He'd keep it until Richard was recovered. The determination in the group wouldn't ever let him die, or so he hoped. He didn't know if he could go on as the Seeker. She was correct though, he had made his choice. What was he thinking?
3 days later
His vision was blurry. But he felt warm and comfortable. There was a tickling on his ear, a familiar sweet voice whispering something to him. He tried to roll over but was blocked by a body pressed up against his back.
"Welcome back." Kahlan quietly spoke to him, following it with a kiss on his ear. "I've missed you, more than you'll ever know."
"How long have I been out of it?" His voice was raspy and it hurt him to speak. Her hand went to his neck and he felt her moving around, then her hand was under his head bringing his lips to a cool glass of water.
"Three days. How are you feeling?" She set the glass down on the bedside table, leaning over him to reach it.
"Like I just woke up from the dead." He tried to chuckle about his joke, but saw the ashen look that crossed her face. He rolled around to face her and propped himself up on his elbow. There was a soreness in his chest still, but the majority of the pain was gone.
"I thought that I was going to lose you, Richard." Kahlan was near tears again remembering the last three days. She leaned in to kiss him.
Richard responded immediately, opening his mouth and allowing her entrance with her tongue.
They kissed for a few minutes, loving each other with their lips and tongues. She tried to put so much emotion into the kiss to let him know what he meant to her. She pulled back and locked eyes with him. "Do not ever, tell me you love me, and not give me a chance to reply again. Got it."
He laughed at her, but her expression told him that she wasn't joking. "I had to make sure that you knew."
"I know. But not being able to tell you back, that hurt. I love you so much. I needed you to know, and you were just gone." She felt a tear escape, remembering the panic she felt that day in the woods.
"Never worry that I don't know how you feel, Kahlan. It's in everything that you do. The way you look at me, the way you protect me, how you're here in this bed holding me when I wake up. How could I not know that you love me as much as I love you. That's a whole lot, in case you weren't aware." He winked at her and then pounced on her. Pinning her body under his. Then he started to devour her mouth. He was still feeling the effects of the wound, but he could't resist her any longer.
Kahlan let him kiss her for awhile, happily participating, then pushed him away. "Richard, you just woke up after sleeping for three days. I don't think that we should try anything too strenuous."
He lowered his head and met his lips to hers, ignoring the doctors orders. He wanted to melt into her and not worry about anything else.
"Richard." She tried to get his attention again between kisses. "Richard, stop."
"Kahlan, what is wrong with just kissing you?"
"Kissing me always leads to other… activities, ones that you aren't ready for yet." The look he gave her tried to convey that he disagreed. "You can't handle me unless you are one hundred percent, Cypher. I'm too much woman for you. This is for your own good."
Sighing he rolled off her, laying on his back. "Where is everyone else?" He wondered how he'd been able to get this much alone time with Kahlan.
"Cara is right outside the door. Don't make me call her in to help me order you to rest." She heard him chuckle at the thought. "Zedd went to get dinner. Leo is gone."
"He just left?" Richard was surprised by the turn of events.
"Well he tried to just leave when you were on the verge of death, but after he and I had a little discussion, he stuck around until we were sure you were going to make it." Placing her hand on his cheek, rubbing it with her thumb, she lowered her lips to his forehead. "He left last night. We didn't know until then that you'd pull through for sure."
"I'm so sorry for putting you through that Kahlan."
"Don't ever jump in front of a sword for me again." Her tone was serious, she didn't want to go through the hell that she'd been in the last couple days, ever again.
"I couldn't just watch that man kill you." He locked eyes with her, conveying how he needed to do what he did.
"I would have been fine. I was going to be ok." She was sure that she wasn't, but she didn't want him jumping to her rescue like that and almost killing himself.
"We both know that's not true. The Mother Confessor is not very good at lying."
"I'm not good at living in a world without you in it either. Never make a choice that leaves me here alone." Her voice was heavy with emotion, her eyes watery with unshed tears, she needed to know that he wouldn't do this to her again.
"You'd do the same for me, we both know that's true as well. Don't deny me the choice to protect you from death. I won't prevent you the choice to make it for me. Our love is too strong for either of us to not try to safeguard the other."
Kahlan nodded her agreement, knowing that they were at a stalemate. Both of them had to use every effort they possessed to keep the other safe. There was no way around it, they would both rather die themselves than to let the other succumb to death.
"I'm glad you're going to be ok, my one true Seeker." Kahlan kissed his lips lightly.
"I'm glad i'm going to have my Confessor by my side for the rest of my very long life. She's the best reason I have for making sure that I live forever." He pulled her back down to kiss him again. Then he turned her around, placing her back to his chest. Wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. "Know that I'll always love you, In this life, and everyone I have after."
"I know Richard." Kahlan sighed and began to drift off to sleep. The stress of the last few days melting out of her. "I don't want to ever live another life without you, make sure I don't."
"You're lucky I always follow the Mother Confessors orders." He kissed her ear and then they both were lost in a dream world, together.
The End