Chapter Two
Cara
"Mother! Mommy!" Cara heard her daughter shout. Callia was running towards her, the girl's dark hair flowing behind her. It reminded the Mord-Sith of Kahlan.
"What is it?" Cara inquired, hoping it was good news Callia brought. If it was bad news, though, she was ready.
"I met a boy in the woods-"
"A boy? What was a boy doing in the forest?" Cara said, a confused look on her face. Kahlan was behind her wife now, and Cara could feel a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Cara, calm down. Go on, Callia," Kahlan said, much to Cara's annoyance. What was Callia doing with boys, anyhow?
"As I was saying, I met a boy in the woods. He invited us to his home for dinner," Callia said, uncomfortable under her mothers' gazes. "He was kind, I promise," she added.
"If we were invited…" Kahlan began, and Cara whirled around to meet her wife's blue eyes.
"We can't just go over someone's house and eat with them!" Cara exclaimed.
"But Dear, I don't want to cook tonight," Kahlan complained. Cara kept her green gaze fixed on her wife. Kahlan smiled. "You know that doesn't work on me."
"Oh, you know it does," Cara said, leaning in close so her lips brushed against Kahlan's ear. "It worked on you last night."
"Callia, go inside and wash up," Kahlan told her daughter, smirking at her wife's dumbstruck expression. "Oh, and wear that new dress we got you!"
"The blue one?" Callia called from the threshold.
"Yes, the blue one!"
Cara huffed. "You are more trouble now then when I met you."
Kahlan smiled, giving her wife a quick peck on the lips. "Just be glad it wasn't a girl she was excited about." With that, Kahlan walked into the house, her hips swinging deliciously. Cara knew she was right.
xxx
Callia rapped her strong knuckles on the door of Richard's cottage, then waited politely for someone to answer her call. Immediately, a small woman with deep, red hair answered the door, a small boy clinging to the hem of her dress. She smiled at Callia.
"Hello! You must be Callia, hi, I'm Anna," the woman introduced herself, hugging a confused Callia. "Richard's mother. This is Devon," Anna said, motioning to the boy at her heels. The little boy smiled at Callia, then buried his head into his mother's beige dress.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, come in!" Anna quickly ushered the three visitors into the house, Cara's eyes bugging out when Anna touched her. Kahlan seemed uneasy as well, but Anna didn't seem to notice.
"This is a lovely home you have," Kahlan said, looking at the wood carving on the mantel. "Did you make that?"
"Oh no. My husband did. He's a wonderful craftsman. He'll be coming home in a bit; he's a woods guide," Anna explained.
"Sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Kahlan, and this is my wife, Cara," Kahlan said, and Anna stiffened a bit. Cara frowned; she hated meeting people like Anna, who didn't understand their relationship.
"Callia!" a voice called, and in walked a young man with long, brown hair. "I'm so glad you came!"
"Hi, Richard. These are my mothers," Callia said, motioning to Kahlan and Cara. Cara smiled, which frightened Kahlan and Callia, and stuck out her hand.
"Hello, Richard. So… nice to meet you," Cara said, firmly shaking the young boy's hand. She forcefully pulled the boy closer, so only he could hear what she had to say.
"If you ever hurt my little girl, I will hunt you down. And trust me, no matter where you go, I will find you," Cara said menacingly, and then pulled back with a smile. "Got it?" she said cheerfully.
Richard stammered, shaken up. "Y-yes ma'am."
"Good."
"Okay, Cara, that's enough," Kahlan said with a smile, pulling her wife back by the shoulder. "Richard, what a handsome name. So nice to meet you," Kahlan said kindly, which calmed the boy down a bit.
"Come, sit! Dinner's just about ready. We're having fish stew, if you don't mind," Anna said and ran to the kitchen.
"That sounds great, Mrs…" Callia trailed off.
"You can just call me Anna. Mrs. is my mother," Anna said, and Callia laughed nervously. Kahlan and Cara sat together at one side of the table, and Callia and Richard sat on the other.
Anna got food on the table, a splendid meal of fish stew, scallops that Richard had caught, and some warm bread. Kahlan frowned when she saw the fish stew, but Cara insisted she try it. Cara smiled when Kahlan ate it, visibly unsatisfied. Nevertheless, her wife would never step on anyone's toes. Cara caught Kahlan occasionally staring at Anna, as if she were trying to remember something.
"So, where are you all from? Richard tells me your just visiting," Anna said curiously.
"We're from Aydindril," Kahlan said shortly, looking down at her food.
"Can you please pass the bread… um…" Richard said, looking at Cara. "Sorry, what should I call you?"
"Miss Amnell, and she can be Mrs. Amnell," Cara said, trying to make a joke out of it. They all laughed, and Cara saw Callia move a bit closer to the young man than she would've liked.
"Wait, your Kahlan Amnell? The Mother Confessor?" Anna asked, and Kahlan nodded. "What an honor, to have the Mother Confessor in our home," Anna said nervously. She looked at Callia quickly, and Cara frowned.
"Yes, she's a Confessor as well. Might as well say it," Cara said nonchalantly, and Callia's cheeks flushed red.
"Mother," Callia said, obviously embarrassed.
"No, sweetie, it's alright. I know you are all good people," Anna said, passing the bread to her eldest son. Kahlan smiled.
When they heard some noise outside, little Peter clambered up to the window and squealed. "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!"
The door flew open and Cara and Kahlan both gasped. Standing there, in this terribly mundane home, was Richard Rahl, the former Seeker of Truth. Immediately, Cara reached for her agiels, standing up and glaring at Richard. Kahlan's blue eyes went wide when she realized her wife's intent and rose behind her. Richard looked as shocked as they were.
"Richard?"
"Kahlan?"
"Lord Rahl?"
"Cara! What in the Creator's Light are you doing here?" Richard asked angrily, his gaze focusing on his wife now. "Anna, why did you let these women in here?"
"Father, what's wrong?" his son asked, holding Callia's hand. "I invited them here."
Cara's gaze hyper focused on her daughter's hand now. "Drop my daughter's hand, unless you want to loose it," Cara threated, and Richard immediately dropped Callia's hand. "And as for you, don't you even look at my wife, you horrible excuse for a man," Cara hissed, coming closer to Richard with her agiels.
"Mother! Stop it! What are you doing?" Callia screamed, obviously scared. "Mommy, stop her!"
"Your wife?" Richard said. "You two were allowed to be married?"
"Yes, in fact, we were. Your grandfather married us," Cara hissed.
"And you two had a daughter? What, did Cara go to a whorehouse and work her Mord-Sith magic on some lowly scumbag?" Richard spat, a fire in his eyes. Cara looked at him, and laughed when she saw that the years were not kind to the Seeker. He had wrinkles on his face, and his long hair had a touch of gray on one side. Cara and Kahlan, however, had stayed young looking.
"Don't you ever talk about my wife like that!" Kahlan shouted, and grabbed Cara by the hand, ignoring the pain her agiel brought. "Come on, Callia. We're leaving."
"Please, Mommy. Can't we just—"
"Don't 'please Mommy' me young lady," Kahlan said sternly, and walked out of the small cottage with Cara in tow.
"I'm so sorry, Richard," Callia said sadly. "I'll come back tomorrow, when my mothers are distracted."
Richard smiled, his dark eyes gleaming. "I'll be waiting."
As Callia walked out the door, the Seeker followed her. Cara, still on high alert, poised her agiels in a menacing way. Callia's green eyes went wide; she had never seen her mother use the agiels before. It was terrifying.
"Wait, Cara. I don't want to hurt either of you," Richard said calmly, holding his arms out as a sign of surrender. Reluctantly, Cara holstered her agiels and instead of trying to strangle Richard, crossed her arms over her chest.
"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for kind of calling you a whore, and I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. I honestly don't know what came over me," he began, looking to Kahlan with chocolate brown eyes.
"It's been seventeen years since I've seen the two of you. Seventeen years," Richard paused, looking at Callia. "Since that night. I know we've all done things we regret, done things we're not proud of. But that was seventeen years ago. That's plenty of time to change your ways. So why don't you all come back inside, and we can start over," Richard said. He held out his hand to Kahlan.
"Hello there, I'm Richard. Richard Cypher. And you are?" he said, waiting for Kahlan to take his hand. The Confessor stared at him for a long time, looking into his eyes for answers. Finally, she took his hand and gave him a firm handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kahlan," she said slowly, her blue gaze never leaving the former Seeker's face. The rest of his family had gathered around the doorway, looking to see what was happening. Richard smiled at her and extended his hand to Cara. She looked at it, and then smirked.
"I'm Cara."
Richard smiled. "Nice to meet you. And who is this lovely young lady?" he asked looking at Callia. Callia looked to her mothers, who nodded for her to play along.
"I'm Callia. Nice to meet you, sir," she said softly.
"Well, now that we're all acquainted, why don't you ladies come inside and join us for dinner," Richard said, and led Kahlan, Cara, and Callia back into the small cottage.
A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter! I wanted to bring back Richard, as closure. I also wanted to bring him back so Cara and Kahlan reveal their pasts to Callia. And who liked the Rocky Horror moment they had there? :D