Legend Of The New Seeker Chapter 8

Matthew smiled at Jada. They shared a relationship only few can ever dream of. Matthew stood, wiping a hand across his mouth. He leaned over and touched his lips to those of Jada. He pulled back, and, whispering in her ear, he whispered "I promise." He stood straight and offered Jada a hand. She took it, and together they made their way over to the crippled soldier and the soldier whom Matthew had confessed. He asked they soldier "Why are all you people following my friends and my family?" he asked, looking at the soldier.

The soldier replied in his deep voice "We were sent here by Queen Shota, master. She told us to follow you and learn the whereabouts and intended destination of a man named Richard Rahl, the previous Lord Rahl of D'Hara. We were told beforehand to steal the uniforms of D'haran soldiers in the nearby town so as not to arouse suspicion while travelling." Matthew stared off into the distance. So what he thought was true. They were after his father. He and Jada had to get back to her house at once.

Matthew said to the man "You are no longer in the service of Queen Shota. You are to bury these men next to each other next to the river just south of here. When that is done, you will forget about what you have heard and seen here today. You will find a place to settle down and make a family. Do you understand all that have just told you?" said Matthew, all emotion in his face gone, replaced with determination for the matter at hand.

"Yes, I understand Confessor." said the soldier, drawing a dagger from behind his back, he knelt over the crippled man. Matthew stood in front of Jada and held her head to his chest as the soldier drove his dagger into the heart of the crippled man. Matthew and Jada made their way back through the forest back to Jada's house. On the way, they stopped to pick up the rabbit that Matthew had killed previously, then continued on. They entered the house, and it was late evening. The orange sun settled over the horizon turning the sky a deep orange-like colour. Matthew greeted everyone in the small cottage, as did Jada. Kahlan walked over to Matthew and inspected his face. "What happened!" she exclaimed. Cara also did the same thing to Jada. Cara did not seem the type of person to be a caring motherly-type. "I'm fine mother. Ir's okay." said Matthew to kahlan as she grabbed a wet rag and attempted to wipe the dried blood off of his face.

After all the excitement had cooled down, they started to recount the events earlier that day. "He was amazing, mother! He had killed 2 soldiers with the sword so quickly I had barely seen it, confessed another and crippled a different soldier with an arrow." She recounted the events so well that he was surprised that she was not a poet. The words rolled delicately off of her tongue. He did not hear her words though, for he was lost in her eyes the entire time. He had not noticed it until Kahlan shook him. "Matthew! I asked if all this were true?" She said to him.

"Oh, sorry mother. Yes, everything she said is true. They said they were looking for father, that he was important to them somehow." He said, feeling genuinely protective of his father. "All the men are dead except the man I confessed. He has gone off to the closest town and is no longer a soldier for Shota's Army." He said, losing himself in the flickering colours of the fire.

Fire had no worries. It did not care which surfaces licked the tongues of their flames. They did not care who they killed or whose property they burn. Nothing like people. People live with the memories of the people who died in front of their eyes. The truth burns a hole in their soul if they keep the truth hidden for too long.

Matthew got up and walked outside. He sat outside, leaning against the wall, staring up at the now glistening stars in the sky. Jada also walked out and took a seat beside him, placing a soft hand on his arm. "Are you alright? Don't let it get to you. We will stop her." She said, also looking up at the sparkling jewels in the sky, forever out of reach.

"I can still see them, as if they are right in front of me." Matthew said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What can you see?" Jada asked, turning his head with her hand on his cheek. She stared into his eyes.

"The faces. The faces of everyone whose lives I stole from them. All those people had family, friends, children, and I stole it from them." He said, turning away from her face and once again staring up into the stars. "Jada, it's scaring me. I'm going to have to keep killing, now that I'm the seeker. What if I can't handle it?" He said, tears welling up in his eyes. "Am I going crazy?"

Jada also had tears in her eyes. Once again, she turned his head to look into her eyes. "Of course you aren't going crazy. And I know you can handle it. We can handle it. Together." she said, hugging him as if she were a mother who had just found her lost child.

Jada released him, and they made their way back inside. "Goodnight mother, father, Leo and Cara. I'm going to take my leave, I am awfully tired." said Matthew, and he made his way down the hall to his right and into Jada's room. Jada entered the house after him, also saying that she will be going to bed. Matthew set up his bedroll on the left hand side of Jada's bed, laying down to relax. He knew, however, that he will not sleep at all that night. Jada had also reached that conclusion. They lay in their beds, talking to each other during the night about mediocre things to try and get their minds off of the events of the previous day. How will they ever get over the deaths of these people?