A/N: Another chapter! Thank you again to those who reviewed, you know who you are. Hope you like this chapter.


Chapter three

Kahlan sighed in relief, as she sank down onto her bed. Finally, she was going to be sleeping in a bed like a normal person. No longer would she wake every morning with a pain in her back from sleeping on the hard ground. Richard, Kahlan, Cara, Zedd and their new travelling companion, Julian, had traipsed into Aydindril after two weeks of hard riding. Words couldn't describe how overjoyed Kahlan was to be back in her home, seeing the fine turrets of the Confessor's Palace once more. And it wouldn't be long until she declared Richard, her love, as her mate. Yes, at that precise moment, Kahlan Amnell was very satisfied with life.

She was glad she had such a luxurious bed in her grand room: she would need it when she spent the nights with Richard. Although she was certain to miss his warmth that night. Kahlan had retired to her quarters, too tired from months of almost constant travelling to even consider going to the Council and informing them that she would be taking Richard Rahl as her mate and they would marry.

It was with great trepidation she had opened the doors to the quarters of the Mother Confessor, shocked at the elegance and splendour of the beautifully covered walls. The room itself was white, just like her dress, but one wall, behind the bed, was decorated in gold paint, swirling into intricate patterns. The bedspread of the huge four-poster was also gold. But a brighter, purer, more sunny shade.

She stood and went to explore the rest of the quarters discovering a separate room for dressing in, already stocked with pristinely clean white dresses for her. There was also a room with a bath tub set up, which the Mother Confessor eyed gratefully. She rang the servant's bell and asked for warm water so she could bathe, and wash the grime of travelling from her skin and hair.

Half an hour later, she was relaxing in the warm water, steam rising off her now clean skin. She sank below the water, keeping her eyes tightly closed, and ran her hands through her hair, revelling in the feeling. Before long, her lungs began to scream for air and she rose, her face breaching the water. She pulled in a breath of air, and sighed as she knew she would have to get out of the warmth and into the cold, before hurriedly pulling on her nightgown and rushing under the warm covers of her bed.

She rested her head against the goose feather pillows, her eyes closed in peacefulness. But she was unable to sleep. She missed Richard and the feeling of his warm body beside hers, his arms around her. Sighing, she sat upright and rubbed her eyes. She was startled by the knock on the door, and even more so, when someone slipped into her dark room.

"Kahlan?" He whispered quietly, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep.

"Richard? Is that you? Kahlan asked sleepily, her fingers fumbling to light the candle on her bedside table so she could see.

Suddenly the match lit and she lit the candle, throwing light around the room. She almost gasped when she saw him. He only wore a pair of felt pants, his chest wonderfully bare. Kahlan's eyes roamed the muscles and contours of his upper body appreciatively. Similarly Richard was staring at her in her beautiful, simple dress. He looked at her, smiling slightly at the damp hair surrounding her face like a lion's mane.

Any words he had planned were silenced by her beauty.

"Richard?" She asked, confused as to why he had come to her in the middle of the night, at exactly the time she wished he was there. Bewildered as to why he just stood there, staring at her, and not saying a thing.

"I couldn't sleep. Not without you anyway. I came to ask if I could sleep on your floor." He smiled wryly, amused at his confession.

"Richard, I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor. You can sleep on the bed."

He smiled at her and walked to the opposite side of the bed as her. Quick so as to not let the cold air into the bed, he lifted the covers up and laid down on his side, facing away from her. Confused, Kahlan sidled up to him, folded her arms around his shoulders and onto his chest. He stiffened, as if in response to her touch, shocking Kahlan. Thoughts of insecurity whirled through her head: she had thought he was comfortable with her touch. That he no longer worried about being confessed by her.

"Richard?" She asked, sounding hurt.

He swivelled in her arms, groaning deep in his throat and drew her closer to him, and passionately kissed her, quelling any fears she had. Her heart felt like it was melting, passing into him, because he owned it. It was completely his, for all time. Just like Richard had said so many months ago, 'you loved me across time', she knew she would always love him, making what he had said irrevocably true.

"I love you, Kahlan Amnell," he whispered against her lips. The warm air coming from his mouth tickling her sensitive skin. "But I don't want this to happen before we're married."

She sighed impatiently, and surprised with herself, she kissed him with more force than ever before.

Richard placed his hands on either side of her face and gently pushed her away to stare into her eyes. "Kahlan, if you keep this up, I don't think I'll be able to resist you," he murmured honestly. "Please. Let me maintain your virtue."

"Well I suppose it won't be long. I can tell the Council tomorrow, and they can arrange when to make the announcement and hold the ceremony." But Kahlan desperately wanted to be one with Richard. She loved him so much so that she felt the strong need to share everything with him, to be so intimate that they knew everything about each other.

She was shocked from such thoughts, as Richard brought his lips back to hers and kissed her fervently. "Goodnight, my love," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her to him, as he went to sleep on his side, his future wife beside him. Kahlan watched him as his face transformed from love to utter peace as sleep took him. She felt the even rise and fall of his chest and was eventually lulled to sleep by the soothing movement.


A/N: The next chapter should hopefully have a bit more action in it. Please review and tell me what you think!