Chapter 9

Walking out into the afternoon sun, Kahlan shielded her eyes from the glare that reflected off of the snow. She could hardly wait for spring to come, taking all of the cold and snow away, making everything fresh and new again.

She hoped that with spring's arrival, everything would be resolved by then, allowing her and Richard the luxury of spending more time with each other as well as the little lives that they had made. Maybe she could lure Richard away for a few days alone without soldiers or Mord'Sith hanging around and following them everywhere they went.

The thought of being all alone with Richard, his powerful hands gripping her, his fingers kneading her flesh, devouring her and taking her over and over again made her heart begin to pound wildly beneath her breast. The fiery sensations he created within her as he poured his heart into her was matched only by her own love for him.

Hopefully by next winter, Paige and Priya would have a sister. The thought made the corners of her lips curl up, causing an overwhelming feeling of longing to pulsate through her veins.

Drawing a deep breath to rein in her arousal, Kahlan's thoughts turned to the confessed soldier. She was more than frustrated that her confession had not provided any information that they had needed. She had been able to learn that Darken Rahl had devised a way to infiltrate the People's Palace, but the man did not know how or when it would take place.

After that, the man hadn't been able to give anything more to her except for that pitiful look of adoration that almost made her ill every time she saw it directed at her. She already knew full well how much Richard loathed the affection directed towards her by the men she confessed even though she made them keep their distance from her.

Garren had immediately left after that to notify Richard as well as to prepare the troops for another attack. He had wanted to double security at all entrances just in case Rahl attempted to worm his way in one of the secret passages that led inside the Palace itself.

"Are you alright?" Cara suddenly asked, casting a sideways glance at the Mother Confessor.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Kahlan frowned.

"It was the first time that you have actually confessed someone since waking."

"I'm just a tired, but it's not from using my powers," she sighed in irritation. "I'm frustrated that I wasn't able to get any information to help Richard. I've barely been able to see him let along talk to him since I found out about Nicci being here, but I can tell that he's growing more anxious with every passing day."

"He worries about you and the girls. He just wants you to be safe," Cara replied, knowing better than to reveal the real reason behind his fears. "And he wants to protect the people of D'Hara. Everyone is depending on him right now."

"I know," Kahlan said with a heavy heart, pulling a loose curl out of her face. "There is so much resting on his shoulders. I just wish he would talk to me about it and whatever else is really bothering him. Something more is going on, Cara. I can feel it though he won't talk to me.

"I know he's just trying to protect me because he's still worried about me after everything that has happened, but I'm fine. I just wish that he would spend more time worrying about his own safety instead of mine."

"You know that will never happen," Cara shook her head. "Lord Rahl is too stubborn for his own good."

"At least Nicci is here to help protect him," Kahlan replied with a cutting edge in her voice.

"You can't possibly be alright with her being here, spending all of that time with Lord Rahl in his training," Cara flatly stated as she came to a stop.

Cara knew that it had been a shock to her friend, finding Nicci talking to Lord Rahl. Not only was she here, but she had been allowed the freedom to come and go as she pleased now. Cara wished that Nicci at least had a Mord'Sith escorting her everywhere she went.

She was becoming a little more trusting of the dark sorceress, but at the same time, she wasn't about to put Lord Rahl and Kahlan or their twins in danger by allowing her too much freedom.

"No, I'm far from alright with it, but if it's what is necessary to make sure Richard is safe then I'll learn to accept it," Kahlan said, her mind drifting back to the scene in the corridor earlier that day.

"You know that Lord Rahl would never betray you. He's completely lovesick over you," Cara smirked, attempting to lighten the mood and the Mother Confessor's spirits.

"I know he does. I love him more than life itself," she muttered, biting her bottom lip. "But Nicci is very seductive, Cara. No man could possibly be immune to her beauty…not even Richard."

"There's a very distinct difference in the way that he looks at the both of you," Cara told her. "Lord Rahl does not get that awestruck look of love in his eyes when he looks at Nicci like he gets when he looks at you."

Smiling softly with her words, Kahlan shivered as a blast of cold air suddenly cut through her, forcing her to wrap her arms tightly around herself. Her insecurities were beginning to rise anew in her mind as she thought about how Nicci had placed her hand on Richard's arm in such a familiar way. But now was not the time to give into foolish worries over something that had been invented in her subconscious.

However, the source for that nightmare was still here and very much in love with her husband.

"Are you alright? You don't look like you feel well," Kahlan suddenly said as she pulled herself from her disparaging thoughts, noticing the fatigue that lined the Mord Sith's face.

"I'm just not feeling quite right. I don't what it is. Probably just a passing thing," Cara wearily replied as she attempted to rub the fatigue from her eyes.

"You should get some rest. We still have a wedding to plan," Kahlan reminded her with a smile.

"I don't think that…"

"Mistress Cara!"

Cara turned at the sound of her name to find Mistress Rachel coming towards them. A look of dread filled her face causing the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to prickle.

"What is it?"

"It's Emily," Rachel breathed heavily. "She's fallen ill."

XXX

Standing beside Commander Fellows' bed, Richard was stunned to see the state the man had been in when he had died. He felt terrible that he hadn't come up to check on him before he'd passed away, but it had all happened so unexpectedly.

Fellows looked so unlike the strong young man that he had come to know. His body had been ravaged by fever, his skin gaunt and pale. Whatever had attacked his body had sapped his life right out of him and it had obviously been with a great deal of pain.

Something about this was so strange, tickling his subconscious and telling him that there was more to this than what they were seeing. This wasn't just an incidental thing.

Noticing his furrowed brow, Nicci came to stand close beside him. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Richard muttered as he examined a reddish splotch on the Commander's forearm.

Lightly running his fingers over the man's wrist, he was startled to find that the Commander's skin was unusually warm. He hadn't died all that long ago, but he still should have not been this warm to the touch.

"Have the healers determined what caused his death?" he asked the servant girl standing behind him.

"No, they haven't been able to find any cause behind it."

"And no one else has come down with these symptoms?"

"Not that I've heard, but I've been here tending to the Commander most of the time."

"Has anyone else been here to see him?"

"Richard, what are you thinking?" Nicci interrupted with concern by his sudden curiosity.

"I'm not certain, but something about this isn't right. Fellows was a strong, healthy man. To suddenly fall ill like this, dying so unexpectedly is very strange," he said, shaking his head.

"There have only been two people who've come to visit him," the girl suddenly announced, having been forgotten. "Commander Holland and the Mother Confessor."

Richard's blood suddenly prickled like ice in his veins as he turned to stare at the servant girl. He hadn't known about Kahlan's visit, but he shouldn't have been surprised. And it wasn't like he'd been around much the last couple of days to talk to her.

Nicci watched with concern as the Seeker suddenly grew very pale with the mention of Kahlan. He looked as if every ounce of strength had just been sapped from his body. It hurt her to know that she had been the cause of that same sort of pain at one point in time.

"Kahlan was here?" Richard asked, coming to stand before the girl in just a couple of long strides. "When?"

"Just yesterday, Lord Rahl," the girl quickly responded, taken aback by the urgency that suddenly gripped him.

"Did she get near him?"

"Well, she sat in that chair over there by the bed," the servant girl hesitantly replied, leaning around the Seeker to point at the chair. "She tried talking to him, but the Commander, he was so out of it. All he did was moan.

"Lady Kahlan, she leaned closer to him and that's when he suddenly sat up and grabbed hold of her. His eyes were red as blood as he stared at her and I was so afraid for her. He got real close to her and said something, but I don't know what it was. I rushed to help her, but he suddenly let go of her then."

"How did he grab her?" he asked, trying to keep the fear roaring to life inside of him from finding his voice.

"Here," the girl indicated, wrapping her hand around her opposite wrist. "Like this. And then he leaned in close and said something in her ear."

"What did he say to her?"

"I don't know exactly," the girl answered with a furrowed brow as she considered the events that had taken place yesterday. "I think he told her to run or something like that, but I don't know for certain. I think he said something else after that too, but he was sobbing and his face was so close to the Mother Confessor's that I couldn't exactly hear everything."

Richard felt gooseflesh suddenly ripple over his arms. The possibilities of what this girl was telling him began to sink in as his stomach dropped into his boots.

"I've got to find Kahlan," he gasped as he swallowed back the thick knot that tightened his throat.

"Richard, you don't know anything right now," Nicci cautiously began, attempting to keep her voice calm for his sake.

"I know that something is going on and that Kahlan is in danger. That is more than enough for me," he glared at her.

He was not in the mood to be placated, not when there was a threat lurking about the Palace. Heading for the door, he called over his shoulder to the girl. "Stay here, but don't touch anything especially Commander Fellows. I'll send word up to you when you can leave."

"Yes, my Lord," the girl obediently nodded, suddenly worried about what was going on.

Watching Lord Rahl race from the room with the Sister of the Dark close behind, she had a feeling that it was not anything good.

XXX

Coming to stand by Emily's bed in the enemy soldier's barn, Cara could already tell that her young friend had been infected with whatever had caused Adam's death.

Pale and drenched with fever, Emily wasn't even aware of the Mord'Sith's presence. She moaned softly under her breath, her head falling from back and forth. She parted her parched lips, suddenly drawing a shuddering breath, arching her back in an effort to draw in more air.

"When did this happen?" Cara asked, her gaze never leaving her friend.

"She was working with one of the injured men this morning when she suddenly collapsed. We quickly carried her over here to this bed.

"The healers thought at first that it was just exhaustion, but her condition has rapidly worsened just like Adam's did. That's when I came to find you. I thought you would want to know," Mistress Rachel informed her.

"Thank you," Cara murmured, sadness filling her heart. "I'm glad you did."

"Cara, what's going on?"

Cara had forgotten the Mother Confessor was with her until now. "Emily is one of the servants tending to the wounded enemy soldiers. Two of the men came down with a strange illness that the healers haven't been able to find a cause or a cure for. Adam was one of them. He died late last night."

"The other soldier died early this morning," Rachel volunteered.

"Maybe Zedd can do something for her," Kahlan offered, taken aback by Cara's obvious fondness for the girl.

"He was here this morning to see the soldier after he had already died. There wasn't much the Wizard could do for him. He was too far gone at that point," Rachel said, crossing her arms against her chest. "He was very puzzled by it, though. Kept mumbling and cursing under his breath. He said he had to go check some book or something like that."

"Well, Zedd must have sensed that something was going on. Maybe he can do something to help Emily," Kahlan replied as she stared at the girl, all of this suddenly a little too familiar.

"Send someone to find Zedd," Cara told Mistress Rachel. "Maybe he's found something by now."

Mistress Rachel nodded before leaving them to find the Wizard, concerned as well about the girl. If things progressed like it had for the two soldiers, she only had three days at best.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed opposite of Cara, Kahlan leaned in, examining the purplish red marks on the girl's forearms. The unusual splotches looked similar to something that she thought that she had seen on Commander Fellows' arms yesterday. In fact, everything about Emily's condition appeared to be like Commander Fellows.

"Cara, I think we have a serious situation on our hands," Kahlan suddenly muttered, sitting back to look at her friend.

"What do you mean?"

"I went to see Commander Fellows' yesterday. He had symptoms just like Emily has now. I think we may have an epidemic on our hands."

Cara could see the fear beneath the fatigue that lined the Mother Confessor's face. An epidemic could be deadly, spreading like wildfire through the entire Palace and surrounding grounds. Every man, woman, and child could be wiped out if they didn't discover what was causing this.

"But that's only been four people so far," Cara shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the possibility. "There are thousands of people here between the staff and army."

"If it's a deadly illness, it takes only one to be infected to start the outbreak."

Kahlan hated the idea of such a thing taking place. Everyone was in danger, no one immune to the possibility. Thoughts of Richard and her daughters becoming infected caused dread to begin to gnaw at her heart. She wouldn't survive if she lost them.

"I think we better inform Lord Rahl," Cara said, drawing a weary breath.

"Mistress Cara?"

The weak sound of her name brought a small smile to her lips. Looking down at her, Cara was relieved to see the girl's pale blue eyes looking back at her despite the obvious pain that filled them.

"I'm right here, Emily," she gently said. "So is the Mother Confessor. We heard that you were ill so we came to check on you."

Emily smiled weakly, unable to do much more. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Can I get you anything?"

"A drink?"

The frailness of her voice struck Cara hard, forcing her to accept that this was not something that was just going to be easily cured. Helping her sit up, Cara knew in her head that Kahlan was right, but accepting it in her heart was something altogether different.

Cara propped Emily up while Kahlan gave her a drink of water. The girl greedily drank it down, relaxing in the Mord'Sith's arms when she finished. Cara gently laid her back down, readjusting the light blanket that covered her.

"Thank you…Mistress Cara…"

"It's Cara," the Mord'Sith corrected her. "And you had better be focusing on getting well soon. I'm going to need someone to help me plan my wedding."

A faint smile touched the Mother Confessor's face as she watched Cara interact with Emily. She had come so far in the time that she had known the Mord'Sith, becoming a little more human here and there along the way.

The woman before her now holding Emily's hand was a complete contrast compared to the brazen Mord'Sith that had first joined them in their quest to find the Stone of Tears. Back then, she wouldn't have given this girl the time of day. Now, she was reaching out to another human being, offering her friendship and kindness.

This was the real Cara showing through, her true heart being displayed and it was beautiful to witness. It was also beautiful because Kahlan knew how much of it was because of her husband's compassion and influence in the Mord'Sith's life.

Richard truly was a rare man, so steadfast in his beliefs no matter the chaos going on around him. He could look past the surface and see into the hearts of people. That was a very special quality and she found herself loving him even more because of it.

"Yes, Cara," Emily smiled faintly. "I would love that."

"You rest now," Cara said, fighting back the heartache of seeing her friend like this. "I've sent Mistress Rachel to find Zedd to see if he can do anything for you."

"Will you sit with me…just for a little while?"

"I need to talk to the Mother Confessor for a moment, but I'll be right here. I'll come back and sit with you then."

Emily nodded her head, a peaceful look passing over her face for the first time since the two women had arrived. Cara stood to her feet, watching Emily for a moment before circling around to the foot of the bed.

Meeting Cara halfway, Kahlan could see the Mord'Sith's eyes shining with unshed tears. "It's alright, Cara. We'll do everything we can to help her."

"I know," she soflty said before suddenly collapsing.

"Cara!" Kahlan cried as she immediately grabbed the Mord'Sith by the arms, lowering her to the ground…