Authors note: Ok I know it's been ages since I last updated this, I have been doing other things. Anyway this is just a bit of a fun chapter that i put together. Just something I should mension, I don't have a beta so sorry if there are any mistakes. Well, I think that's it. Enjoy XD.
Cara smiled as she looked over to the sleeping Adelaide. "Do you want me to wake her Lord Rahl?" She asked, turning to Richard and smirking when he glared at her.
"Please" he replied. Turning back to Kahlan he began to speak. When he heard the screech of an agilee he turned. "Cara what are you doing?" He asked the Mord'Sith, who was now barely five feet from the sleeping child.
Cara looked back at Richard and rolled her eyes. It wouldn't hurt her. Knowing she would have to be quick, she leapt forward, driving the rod into the girl's hip.
Adelaide groaned as her usual wakeup call throbbed through her. Scrunching her eyes against the sunlight threatening to blind her she murmured "five more minutes Cara and I will train whoever you want for a month" before rolling over and blocking out the pain that threatened to wake her.
Tutting, Cara bent down and whispered "I won't be training anyone, unless you want me to give that kid a good beating for you." Seeing Adelaide stiffen, Cara smiled.
At Cara's words, Adelaide froze; she wouldn't really hurt him, would she? Deciding it was best not to risk it, she sat up and ran a hand through her tousled hair. She missed her Mord'Sith plait, sometimes it was just so much easier to have all your hair out of your face.
Noticing Adelaide's frown, Kahlan walked over to her with her hair brush. "Here let me do that." The feel of a hand on hers made Adelaide jump, she was not used to such a kind offer.
"Erm thanks" she muttered before releasing her hair and letting Kahlan take over. Richard smiled as he watched Kahlan and Adelaide bond; soon their laughter was filling the camp.
Getting all the knots out of Adelaide's hair was hard, but Kahlan managed to untangle most of it before Cara stormed over and practically ripped the hairbrush out of Kahlan's hand. Turning to Adelaide, she ripped through the last few knots, taking most of the hair with her. Giving the brush back, she turned and stormed out of the camp. "I'm guessing Cara hasn't had breakfast yet?" Adelaide joked.
"No she defiantly hasn't. Now I can't do a Mord'Sith plait, but I can French plait it for you, is that ok?" Kahlan was trying not to laugh at the girl's calm approached to her fellow Mord'Sith.
"Sure Kahlan, you do whatever you want." Adelaide replied, wondering what could cause this woman to be so unsure of some things.
Once Adelaide's hair was sufficient, she realised she was very hungry, and by the sound of rumbling tummies, so was everyone else. Catching Richard's eye, she nodded. Time for a hunt, she mouthed before rising to her feet and picking up her weapons.
"There are bucks tracks barely an hour old, I suggest we go after that. Anyone else want to come?"
Everyone shook their heads and returned to whatever task they were doing before she awoke. Richard, surprised that she had found the tracks so quickly let her lead through the woods.
As soon as they got out of earshot, he rounded on her, backing her up against a tree. "I know Rahl and I know Mord'Sith. I know there's something you're hiding and if it turns out even for a second that you are a spy then I can promise you that you will die by m y sword."
Adelaide smirked, she'd never heard of the Seeker losing his temper before. "You really want to know what I'm hiding from you." She waited until he nodded before continuing "When I first met you, you were broken beyond imagining. You would do absolutely anything for your mistress, anything." She paused, wondering how to phrase her next sentence. "I don't exactly know what happened between the two of you, but I got the impression that you went all the way in pleasing your mistress..."
Richard gasped; he guessed it would have been something like that. Memories of Denna filled his head as he tried to calm himself. He couldn't of done that, he would never do that to Kahlan! But even as he tried to deny it he knew he had, he remembered now. "I remember" he muttered, his voice barely coming out louder than a whisper.
Adelaide smiled apologetically, "Of course you do, Alex is only a wizard of the second order." She watched him mouth wordlessly as he tried to understand what had happened. "Look I'm sad for you and everything, but you must realise it wasn't your fault." When Richard started to shake his head, Adelaide tried again. "Richard..."
She was struggling a lot though as she'd only really started recently with the whole feelings thing. She pondered about using the Mord'Sith approach and telling him to accept it and move on, but even she knew life wasn't that simple anymore.
"Richard when you met me, when you saw I had something resembling a heart, you told me that what you'd done was wrong, that you wanted to take it all back, and that's exactly what I did, I took it all back." Noticing Richard about to protest, Adelaide played her final card "Richard listen to me, you told me that the only person that you loved, and would ever love was your confessor and that is still true to this day. Even though you did it, it meant nothing to you Richard, nothing, and it never will..."
Adelaide continued to calm him until the darkness faded from his eyes. "I'm guessing this is what you meant when you said that it was between you and I?"
"What else would it be? Now let's go find this buck; I'm hunger"
Nodding in response, they began to follow the trail again. As they walked in comfortable silence, Adelaide began humming to herself, letting the familiar tune calm her, she began to see the good side of the seeker.
"So when you say it is only between you and I. Does that mean I can't tell Kahlan because I'm awful at keeping thing from her?" Adelaide's hum turned into a laugh.
"Richard, you can tell anyone you want now, I just thought you might prefer it if I told you in private, rather than just shouting it out in the middle of the camp."
Richard grimaced, he'd never thought of that, "You know I always liked you Adelaide."
"Did not"
"Did too"
"Richard, I'm a confessor you cannot lie to me" They continued their playful banter until they heard the buck's movements in the distance.
Crouching behind a bush Richard muttered "Right you wait here and I'll... what?" He broke off, watching Adelaide raise her eyebrows even higher than before.
"I'm guessing you and Cara didn't get to finish your little gossiping match. You really don't know me at all Richard. This is how it's going to work, you wait here, I kill the buck and then you help me take it back to camp, understood."
"I suppose so, but..." Richard watched Adelaide slither further and further away. He noticed that she seemed to be a cross of Kahlan and Cara, she had the heart of a confessor, but a mind of a Mord'Sith and an attitude that was totally her own. He found it amazing how someone could go through all she had been through and still have an attitude that was not to be mixed with.
A triumphant yell bought him back to the present day. Adelaide was astride the buck, pulling her dagger from deep within its heart. Richard laughed at her glowing face. "Nice one, but maybe next time you should try not squishing it."
The child in her shinned through her as she climbed off the buck and slapped Richards shoulder, smearing buck blood into his shirt. "The buck is fine, but I can't say the same for your shirt. You're going to have to wash that now."
Playfully, Richard pushed her. Letting gravity claim her, Adelaide fell to the ground, already planning her next move. When he held out a hand to help her get up, she grabbed it and pulled him down with her. Soon they were pushing and shoving each other, laughing like father and daughter.
Back at camp, Cara paced, "uh, where are they?"
Kahlan stood from her crouched precision by Renn and stood in the path of Cara's pacing, "Cara I'm sure they'll be fine, maybe they're just bonding"
Renn laughed, "I'm not so sure about that Kahlan, it took a month for Adelaide to trust me, let alone like me"
Kahlan's reply was sharp and soon Cara joined in the debate.
Breathless laughter bought their bickering to a stop. Entering the clearing, they froze; everyone was staring at them.
Breaking the silence, Kahlan let out the breath she didn't even realise she was holding "Well I guess I was right then, and Richard how on earth did you manage to get so muddy? I cleaned that just yesterday, go wash of now!" Her teacher like tone made Richard, a little nervous. It felt like he was a child again.
Leaning down, he whispered to Adelaide, "She's not being serious is she?"
"No, but I have a feeling your on washing duty for the next month."
"Hey, not fair. You're going to help me"
"Am not"
"Am too, you slapped me first"
"You said that I was fat"
"I never"
"Well you implied it then" Adelaide won the argument with a confident flick of her head. "I'm going to go clean off" With that she turned and left the camp, leaving Richard with four very confused people.
"You made a new friend there Richard?" Zedd had already started eyeing up the buck in Richard's arms, glad that he had managed to trust Adelaide so quickly.
"She's actually quite funny when you get to know her. She acts like a child a lot." He smiled to himself, as he remembered quite how funny she really was.
"That's weird; she never used to do that." Cara was interested to see the changes in Adelaide, although she was the same witty girl who she had grown up with, there was something different about her.
They sat around the roasting buck, discussing the newest member of their group.
Just as Cara was about to tell them about Adelaide's tendency to take charge, Zedd spoke "You know this reminds me of the time when Richard was little and he decided he would..."
"Alright Zedd, I think that's enough story telling for one day, how long does it take that girl to bathe?" Standing up, he turned in the general direction of the lake and yelled "Adelaide, hurry up, or I will personally come and drain the lake."
"Alright, no need to get stress, you were saying Zedd?"Adelaide sauntered into the group, her clothes now crisp and perfect.
"How long have you been there?" Kahlan asked, startled that no one had noticed her.
"A while, just enough time to catch up on the latest gossip about me. Now I'm intrigued, tell us this story of yours wizard." Richard shuffled over for her and she grinned. Fake sniffing her shoulder she complained "ah Richard you smell, listen to the Mother confessor and go wash" Before turning back to Zedd her eyes expectant.
"Right that's it" Richard grabbed Adelaide and held her above the fire "Now what do you say?" Although Adelaide was suspended inches above the flames, his tone told her he was joking.
Putting on the same sarcastic voice, she replied "I'm very, very sorry. I won't call you smelly again."
Watching the two of them, Kahlan realised just how much they looked like father and daughter. Well, she thought, Adelaide was supposedly her daughter anyway.
Richard was wary as he left the camp, he was sure as soon as he was gone that Zedd would start telling the others about when he went on a hunt for the first time, tried to be like the other, and ended up with a black eye from walking into a tree.
As soon as Richard was out of earshot, Adelaide turned to Zedd, "You were saying."
