A/N: Well here's the next chapter and there's a bit more fluff in it for those people who like the romance. I'd just like to thank everyone who's been reviewing and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter seven
Richard glanced furtively left and right before slipping through the door and pushing it firmly closed behind him, trying to be as silent as possible. He had managed to sneak past the guards posted at either end of the corridor by chance, tiptoeing past as one of them stooped to pick up a coin he had dropped on the floor. The clamour created by his chainmail armour moving as he bent to the ground had covered any sound made by Richard's feet.
Richard turned away from the door with a sigh of relief. He stood on the spot and gazed around the room which had belonged to a dead man. The air was chilled, as though Julian's spirit or ghost was in the room watching him.
The Seeker of Truth knew that he was doing nothing wrong. He was merely doing his job: finding out who murdered Julian. Richard rotated slowly, his eyes searching for clues. But all that met his deep brown irises was what he had already seen when he discovered the dead man's body in the bath. Nothing seemed to have changed since the last time he had been in the room. Everything was still in the casual disarray that Julian appeared to have created. Books from the bookcase were strewn over the window seat. Paper with random scribbled words lay beside them. On closer inspection, Richard found that the writing was about him and Kahlan. Confused Richard lifted the paper into the sunlight to get a better look at it, and froze at the image of the neat cursive.
Something about the piece of paper didn't fit. Richard and Kahlan had never found out what Julian did for a living, or anything much about him aside from why he attacked Cara. They only brought him to Aydindril so that they could organise someone to go and look for his daughter. But the tattered clothing he had worn suggested he was poor, most likely living and working on a farm. If that was so, he shouldn't have been able to read or write, so what were the books doing spread open? How had he written on the paper? Richard had no answer to his own questions.
Upon impulse he tucked into his pocket and continued into the bathroom. Although Richard knew that Julian's body had been removed, he still felt a mounting feeling of dread as he entered the room. The bathwater had been drained. Presumably it had been done at the same time as Julian's body had been taken to be prepared for burial. But still no-one had cleaned up. The wooden floor was covered in splash marks, stained slightly red due to the blood in Julian's bath water. Richard surmised that he had been attacked whilst bathing, struggled, splashing bloody water out of the metal tub, and then died.
Feeling that he could learn nothing more from the crime scene, Richard cautiously opened the door a crack and peered out towards the guards. They were both there. More than anything he fervently wished he had never given his Han to Sister Nicci. If he hadn't he could have been trained by Zedd. With his Han intact he might have been able to turn himself invisible to be able to escape. But, of course, Richard had given his Han away. He could no longer be a wizard, and so he would never be able to turn himself invisible. Taking a deep breath, the Seeker stepped from the room, shut the door and flattened himself against the wall. He paused a few seconds to see if the guards knew he was there, and then began to edge, one foot at a time, down the corridor.
He finally managed to reach the stairs and hurried down them to find Kahlan. Trouble was he had no idea where she would be. They had never organised a meeting time or place. In the end Richard decided he would go to her chambers and wait for her there, figuring that she would have to return at some point. He sat on her window seat, and stared out through the glass into the grounds. He was mesmerised by the sight of the ancient willow tree waving in the wind. It was times like those that he missed being nothing more than a Woods Guide. The sun began to set and Kahlan had yet to return, causing Richard to worry. It was dark when she finally returned, entering the dark room without a candle.
She swung off her cloak and left it over a chair, oblivious to the fact that there was someone in the room with her. From the moonlight behind him, Richard could easily stare lustfully at his future wife as she began to remove her clothing. Her dress dropped to the floor and Richard gulped past the lump in his throat, unable to tear his eyes away from her beauty. Kahlan lifted her white dress from the floor and hung it in the closet. She was pulling her nightgown out when she stopped, suddenly and inexplicably feeling paranoid. From some sixth sense she thought she could feel someone else in the room watching her. She shivered against the feeling and turned, wrapping her arms around her body when she found a man avidly staring at her.
She could only see his outline in the moonlight, but even that was familiar to her by now. "Richard?"
He nodded slowly, still watching her.
Kahlan cleared her throat. "Would you care to explain what you're doing in my room at night?" She added as an afterthought, "Not that I mind of course."
Richard blinked to clear his head and walked towards her. He wrapped his arms around her naked form, loving the feeling of her smooth skin under his hands, quelling his earlier fears and worries. Kahlan sighed, and moved further into the embrace.
"Richard, what's wrong?"
"I was worried." He leant his head on top of hers, inhaling her wondrous scent, which he had begun to forget.
"Sorry. I was out with Cara and Zedd in the Keep."
Richard sighed and tightened his arms around her supple waist. "Well you're here now." He smiled.
"So are you going to tell me what you're doing here? Well?" She asked hopefully.
Reluctantly Richard drew away from her, reaching into his pocket. "I found something." He presented her with the piece of paper, and went to light a candle. After fumbling with a match and finally succeeding in getting the wick to light, he lifted the lamp and carried it to Kahlan, who now wore her nightgown.
"This was in Julian's room?" Her eyebrows were raised.
"Yes. Why, what is it?"
"That's what doesn't make sense. It looks like a written record of one of the Council meetings…" she trailed off doubtfully, deep in thought.
"The Council record their meetings?"
"Yes…that way if someone misses a meeting, they can read what was discussed and decided. Or if something goes wrong and people need to know what they talked about for a trial, then the records can be used as evidence."
"What's this one about then? I didn't look at it properly earlier," he explained after seeing her look of shock. Richard was usually so curious and impatient that he would often do things without thinking or read things he wasn't supposed to.
"It's about us," Kahlan replied in a murmur.
"Us?"
"Yes, look here," she whispered, pointing to a specific line.
"What about Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor?" Richard read out in hushed tones. "What about us?"
"I don't know. The rest of the paper is ripped off."
Richard sighed and ran his hands over his face. He had had a lead earlier but now all he had was a dead end.
When he removed his hands, Kahlan was in front of him standing on her tiptoes, looking right into his eyes. "You look tired," she said, tracing the dark circles under his eyes with her cold fingertips.
Richard simply nodded and folded his arms around her once more, bringing her towards him.
Their faces were inches apart when Kahlan whispered breathlessly, "So you changed your mind then?"
Richard shook his head. "I made a promise that I wouldn't make love to you until you are mine in every way possible and that means until we are married, Kahlan Amnell."
Kahlan's lips puckered slightly and Richard sighed, feeling awful for making her sad. He rested his forehead against hers, staring deeply into her bright blue eyes as though he were a blind man seeing the sun and sky for the first time. "I want to. I swear, I want you in every way, Kahlan."
She nodded and pressed herself to him, resting her head over his heart. Her hands wound themselves around his neck and Richard rocked them from side to side, comforting her. Kahlan's eyes began to droop and she yawned widely so Richard, picked her up in his arms, carried her to the bed and tucked her in. He climbed in beside her, kissed the tip of her nose and lay down.
"I love you, Richard Cypher," Kahlan muttered sleepily.
Richard smiled, and returned the sentiment.
A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry to say that I'm afraid updates are probable going to be slower from now onwards because I'm back at school now so I don't have as much time. I'll try my best to get chapters up as quick as possible, but it will probably only be one update every one or two weeks. Please review to tell me what you think or if there are any kind of requests for what you want to see happen.
