"Denna!" The Golden haired Mordsith knelt before the throne, her eyes downcast, not even looking her Lord in the eyes. She knew in her heart that he had a job for her to do, and that this job would change her life forever.
"Yes..My Lord?" Denna raised her head a few inches, eyes still not daring to look into the dark, unfeeling orbs of her master. "What will you have me to do? How may I serve you this day?" Her voice was soft, her tone respectful,though her heart burned with the fire of hate. It had not been long ago that Lord Rahl had sent three of his most trusted Mordsith to scorch the village of Tabret. There was no reason for that other than to punish her for her failure in catching a prisoner, her failure in harnessing her magic. Denna had sworn that day never to make the same mistake again.
"Mistress Denna." Rahla's voice was silky, and she knew then to be terrified, as she always knew. He was the only one, man, woman or beast who could elicit that level of fear,or feeling from her. She knelt before him as she had many times over the long moons she had been in his service. But this time, was different. This time, she had failed.
"My Lord. I did not mean to fail you. My lord. I beg you. Please do not-" She bit back a scream of pain as he beat her over and over with her own agiel, until she sank to the stone floor.
"You think that this is all I am going to do to punish your failure?" The deep voice of her Lord penetrated her semi-conscious mind. "I have scorched the village of Tabret. Every man, woman and child either died in the flames or by the agiel. There is no one left."
"NO." Denna managed to utter, pain in every movement. "No. No. Dear spirits, no." Grief. Grief filled her heart like a thousand knives. "Flora...no..."
"This is the price for failing me."
"You may repay me for your failure of three moons ago . You must capture the him. And then perhaps, once I have extracted the information from him which I see fit. Then and only then, may I no longer question your loyalty. "
"I will not let you down again, my Lord." Denna fought to keep the venom from her voice. She didnt wish to revisit the beating from the awful winter's afternoon. Yes, she had failed him. But in scorching her home, he had failed her.
She mounted the tall, warhorse, her red leather matching the mare's blood red coat. Under the starlight, she saw the diamond like pattern of dew on the grass. She allowed herself a longing look up at the stars, not allowing her sisters to see the tears that dared to fill her eyes. It wouldnt do to show weakness. Not as she was heading out on the mission that could bloody well redeem herself in the eyes of Master Rahl.
"Constance. Cara. Berdine. Raine. Ride ahead, Scout out the area. We must head toward the Westland border." Denna's voice was filled with authority. She exhaled as the others galloped ahead, and only then did she allow herself to glance up at the fading starlight. "I failed you. I am so sorry. I hope you are at peace now, in the Creator's light. I miss you. I never got the chance to tell you my most important secret of all. I watched you grow. Though you never saw me. I watched over you. Im so sorry my love. So very sorry." With that, she spurred her horse and galloped into the dawn.
"Kahlan." Flora sighed sadly, watching the white clad Mother Confessor packing up her few belongings and preparing to leave. "I dont want you to go. I..I need you." Flora wrapped her arms around her, tears falling from her eyes.
"I know. I know. I..I know." Kahlan sighed softly, holding the girl in her embrace. " But I have to. I cant stay. I just cant. I promise you. You will see me again. I need you to stay. To protect Richard until I can appoint another confessor. It's up to you now."
"Kahlan. Im not a confessor. I..I cant..Im afraid." Flora sighed. Admitting her fear was hard for her, yet it was easy to do with Kahlan. No one else had ever been allowed to see her this vulnerable.
"You are a skilled warrior. You have nothing to fear. I have to go. Im sorry Sweetheart." Flora raced after Kahlan, walking with her as far as she would allow, her heart churning. How would she survive? Kahlan was the first person she'd cared about since the loss of DeeDee. It hurt to lose her. More than anything she had known since DeeDee had been taken by the Mordsith. For hours, she sat on the rock by the stream, tears continuing to fall until she suddenly sat straight up and looked around.
The forest was oddly silent, not even the robins were singing their soft melody. The only sound she heard was...nothing. Until the world seemed to explode in sound. Battle. Richard. Zedd.
"RICHARD!" Flora raced up the steep incline, her dagger in her hand, eyes wide with shock as she saw the enemy she was dealing with. Mordsith. Leaping, she jumped onto the closest one, her dagger slicing through the red leather, hand grasping the blond braid, tearing her to the ground, a deep, angry shout filling her as she continued to stab. She ignored the throbbing pulsing pain in her side as she fought like a lioness to protect the seeker.
"GET THE HELL OFF OF ME YOU BITCH!" She snarled as the Mordsith suddenly gained the upper hand, flipping her onto her back, straddling her, her own bloody dagger at her throat.
"YOU DARE TO ATTACK AN AGENT OF LORD RAHL?" The blond grabbed her by her own long braid, slamming her head into the forest floor, agiel at her heart. "You are coming with me."
"Let me go." Flora pleaded. She saw another three mordsith loading Richard into the back of a big black wagon, "RICHARD!" She pleaded, "Let him go."
"Flora! FLORA! RUN! RUN FLORA!" Richard screamed. Flora saw a flash of something in her captor's eyes. She wondered briefly what it was, but it didnt seem like she had the time to figure it out. Flora only felt a soft gasp as she descended into unconsciousness.