Title: Blinded by Love

Author: LOTSoflove

Characters: Richard / Kahlan / Zedd / Cara / Darken Rahl / Surprise Visitor

Rating: PG-13 / T

Timeline: Happens after the episode "Touched"

Story Type: Angst (of course!) / Romance

Spoilers: Anything from Season 1 and Season 2 (up through Touched)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, just love to write about it.

Summary: A battle with an unexpected visitor from the Underworld causes a life-altering change for Richard and Kahlan. Will they be able to cope?

Blinded by Love (Chapter 1)

Never-ending pain and sorrow can be heard cutting through the thick mantle of darkness. A literal sea of bodies as far as the eye can see, moaning and writhing in agony that never ceases. The stench of death continually hangs in the air, blanketing everything.

A lone figure cuts his way through the dank shadows, on a mission to find a former ally. He has a proposition to make, a proposition from the Keeper. If accepted and followed according to plan, it would eliminate the Mother Confessor, the last of her kind. There would be no more Confessors. Ever. And she would at last be here in the Underworld…with him.

XXX

The forest was peaceful and tranquil as he walked amongst the towering trees. He breathed deeply, embracing all the smells; absorbing it and taking into himself. This was his second home, where he felt most relaxed and at peace.

He could also think more clearly here in the comforting shelter and solitude. It was here he often came to work things out. It was to the trees that he would tell his deepest secrets and desires, his biggest worries and frustrations, his angers and his hurts.

Always there for him, they never violated his trust or divulged his secrets to anyone. They knew of his anguish over the loss of his father, the hurt of his brother's betrayal and death, the horrors of discovering he was a Rahl, and his deep passionate love for his Confessor.

The trees knew everything about her for he had never left anything out about his Confessor – the smile she gave only to him that made his heart soar, the graceful way she walked and carried herself, how her brow furrowed when she was upset, her deep blue eyes that he could drown himself in, her fierceness in the face of battle, the glimpses of the vulnerability of the little girl that she kept hidden deep down inside that only he got to see.

They also knew of the heart-rending pain that lay exposed between them, unable to express through physical contact the passionate love they shared.

And now as he passed amongst his friends, running his hand gently over their rough exteriors, his thoughts were once again consumed with the one his thoughts always drifted to.

Lately, though, his thoughts had been occupied with what had taken place just a few days ago. The look of sheer horror on her face after he was confessed, the heart-breaking sorrow in her eyes at seeing him in love with someone else, how beautiful and nervous she had looked when he had met her in the clearing to make love to her, the heated desire that flowed through them – her desire for him, his desire to please her as ordered.

Even now thinking back, it killed him to know how much he had hurt her. Even though it was all beyond his control, he would never forgive himself, vowing to never be the cause of that look in her eyes ever again.

She had looked so beautiful laying there under him, leaves in her hair, her face flushed with heated desire. Brushing his fingertips to his lips, he thought he could still feel the pressure of her lips fervently pressed against his. He relished the feel of her hands roaming over his body, the excitement of her straddling him with heated longing in her eyes that almost penetrated through Annabelle's magic to his soul.

Even though he had been confessed, he was still very aware of what was happening, the sensations, urges, and moans that came with every touch, every act performed for pleasure.

He also painfully remembered again how she had pushed him off of her, pushed him away from her, watching her slowly walk away from him with her head hung in torment as she clutched her dress to her chest. At the time he had been so confused, but later he completely understood why she couldn't go through with it.

While it had been his body, it hadn't been his heart. She wanted both and he couldn't blame her. It would be the same for him. He wanted the whole woman – heart, body, and soul, not a woman with a Rada'Han circling her neck to suppress her powers. He wanted the woman he fell madly and passionately in love with just as she had wanted the man she had fallen just as deeply in love with.

He had told her that a part of him wished she would have gone through with it. He had been torn, torn by his over-riding desire to be with her, to be the one whose children she would bear. Even now the thought of making a baby with her, of creating life with the woman he treasured above all else sent a warm rush of longing to course through his body.

The other half of him was glad she hadn't gone through with it, relieved she had stopped it before they had gone much farther. He wanted their first time together to be everything he'd always dreamed it would be. He wanted to be able to give her his all – his body, his soul, his heart. He wanted the life they would create together to be a life created out of their passion and love for one another, not a life created from an order or from a heart that at the time belonged to another.

As he came to the end of his sanctuary, Richard was startled from his thoughts by the site before him. It was a site that brought him to an abrupt halt. It was as if time and life had suddenly ceased to exist. There was only him and there was only her.

Kahlan sat on an outcropping of rocks that stretched into the middle of a spring. Dressed solely in her black corset and skirt, she was breathtaking to behold.

He breathlessly watched her as she ran her fingertips across the top of the water as she pondered the ripple effect her touch had made. She reached down, pulling her black skirt up until it stopped at the top of her thighs. The site of her smooth, bare skin caused the Seeker's breath to hitch. It was as if she had just physically reached in and removed all the oxygen from his lungs.

Slowly, Kahlan dipped her toes in the cool water, a serene smile spread across her angelic features. The site of her was so peaceful it warmed his heart. It was all he could do not to go to her, lay her down, and make passionate love to her.

As she sat running her toes through the water, sadness crept into her eyes, the serene smile fading; a look of sorrow replacing the smile that had just been there.

How long he had stood frozen watching her, he had no idea. Her sad countenance broke his heart, knowing that she was still dealing with what had almost occurred between them and with also knowing she was the last Confessor.

He knew that if he didn't figure out a way for them to consummate their love without her powers affecting him, she would be gone. Gone to find a mate to carry on the line of Confessors. Anguish gripped his heart at the thought almost suffocating him. He would never let her go; he would find a way. They deserved to be together, to have the life that they both so desperately wanted above all else.

"Spying on the Mother Confessor?"

Richard spun around, embarrassed to have been caught watching Kahlan, to find Cara standing behind him, a smirk spread across her face. He'd been so lost in thought that he hadn't even heard her approach.

"No, I wasn't spying. I was hunting for food," Richard quickly replied, turning back around to see if Kahlan had heard them. He looked to find that she was gone. Disappointed, Richard turned back to the Mord'Sith, a questioning look on his face.

"You told me to meet you here in the woods after I gathered wood and started the fire…you wanted to teach me to hunt for food…"

"Oh, right," he responded, suddenly remembering he had told her that.

"I still think this is pointless. Mord'Sith do not hunt animals, we hunt people."

"Cara, everyone pitches in and does their share," he sighed, exasperated to be having this conversation for the hundredth time.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Yes, Lord Rahl. Whatever you say, Lord Rahl."

Richard laughed at the derisive attitude with which her words were spoken. "Cara, you don't have to keep calling me Lord Rahl, you know. You can call me Richard."

"I don't think so Lord Rahl."

She amused him to no end. She would definitely be a challenging project, but he was bound and determined that he was going to bring out her humanity one way or another.

XXX

The cool feel of the water on her feet had caused her to shiver as the evening breeze drifted through the trees. Deciding she had played long enough after replenishing their water supply in all the water skins, she'd made her way to her dress and boots she had left on the shore.

While getting dressed, Kahlan heard voices. Peering through the bushes by the spring, she could see Richard and Cara talking, but was too far away to make out their words. Richard was laughing at Cara who had rolled her eyes at him. They were so at ease with one another, so comfortable together.

Sadness quickly seeped into her heart, paving the way for the jealousy that soon followed. What did he see in her? What was it about her that made him trust Cara so much? The fact that Kahlan and Richard had spoken little since he'd been confessed didn't help matters either.

Kahlan knew she shouldn't be so jealous, but she couldn't stop the onslaught of envy, hurt, and resentment that washed over her. Cara could give Richard everything that she could not - physical love and a family.

Tears began to pool in the Confessor's eyes as she watched Richard and Cara disappear back into the woods together. Heartbroken, Kahlan dropped to her knees, sobbing.