Hang in there, guys! I promise to make it worth your while!

Linked (Chapter 10)

"Do we really need to do this? We're wasting valuable time," Cara huffed in irritation, her hands on her hips as she watched the Wizard work.

"Yes, it's time you stopped and smelled the roses once in a while," Zedd replied with a smile.

"What roses? It's a persimmon tree," she sighed in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air. Lord Rahl would pay for sticking her with the old Wizard for three days.

"Smell the roses as in stop and enjoy life once in a while. Don't Mord'Sith ever take time to have a little fun?" Zedd quizzically asked with an arched brow as he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"There are a lot of things we enjoy – fighting, beating people into submission, dominating the weaker sex…"

"That is not fun, my dear. That is something that has been ingrained into you through torture."

"It's fun from our point of view," Cara smirked, folding her arms across her chest. Although she was regaining some of her humanity, there were still some things that were too deeply imbedded into her character to ever give up.

"It's high time you learned to relax and enjoy the simple things in life…start picking," Zedd instructed her.

"We need to keep moving so we can meet up with Lord Rahl and Kahlan," Cara reminded him, agitated to be picking persimmons when she should be protecting her Lord Rahl.

"Relax; we'll just pick some persimmons, set up camp for the night, and then be in Greenwood by morning. I'm sure Richard and Kahlan won't be there till later in the day tomorrow. The direction they were going to get to Greenwood is going to take them longer than us anyways," he informed her, taking a large bite out of a large persimmon. "Hmm, perfectly ripe."

"I thought you would have learned your lesson the last time you stopped to pick a persimmon," she grumbled under her breath.

"You can't let little obstacles in life like that to keep you from experiencing what you love all over again," he whimsically answered.

"Little obstacle?! You stole the compass and the Sword of Truth from Richard, named yourself Seeker, and tried to take over the world!"

"Minor setback," he quickly dismissed, not ready to give up his persimmon picking.

"Besides, I'm not so sure we're even heading in the right direction," she informed him.

"I know exactly where we're going," he said, continuing to munch on his snack.

Cara rolled her eyes as she turned back to the tree and continued picking persimmons. The sooner she helped the Wizard get his persimmons, the sooner they could be on their way. She had a very bad feeling that had been steadily growing since separating from the Seeker and the Mother Confessor. She could still feel the bond with Lord Rahl so she knew he was still alive, but she just had a nagging feeling that something was very wrong.

XXX

"We make quite a pair, don't we?" Richard softly chuckled as he brushed the back of his hand along her still bruised cheekbone.

Finding a small cave that was well concealed, they had set up camp early to allow Kahlan to recover from the ConDar and for her to tend to Richard's head. Sitting by the small fire, Kahlan gently began to clean the gash above Richard's temple. As she tended to the wound, Kahlan felt as if her heart was breaking with the decision she had made. Locking it away down deep inside, she just prayed that Richard wouldn't be able to discover it.

"Hold still," she scolded again. "You're worse than a little child."

"I can't help it, you're just so beautiful…and your breasts keep brushing against my arm every time you move," he replied, eyes dark with desire as they roamed over her lovely chest and to the lips he was eagerly anticipating kissing again.

"So you think flattery is going to get you somewhere, Seeker?" she leaned in, breathing into his ear before brushing it with her lips. Seeing the passion-filled images in his mind was causing heated arousal to flood her system.

"Spirits, I hope so," he gasped as the sensations she was eliciting in him began stirring uncontrollably.

Feeling her lips and tongue caress his ear sent shivers throughout his body, making his breathing ragged. He could feel her lips begin to make their descent down along his jaw as her hand began to massage his head and tighten her fingers around his hair. She was setting his senses on fire as she blazed her own trail down his throat as her other hand began to unbutton his shirt.

Everything in Richard's body was crying out for her, to feel her skin pressed firmly against his, to inhale her scent, to taste her lips, to be inside of her. Moving to straddle him, Kahlan continued her heated assault on her lover's body.

As Kahlan kissed his neck and grazed it with her teeth, Richard tilted his head back, releasing a panting moan of desperate need. Burying his hands in her hair, he held her to his chest, begging her not to stop her attention to the smooth, hard muscles of his chest.

Reading his thoughts, Kahlan knew what he wanted, where he wanted so frantically to be. It brought a smile to her lips as she continued to stroke his chest with her slow, fiery kisses. He was barely hanging on to his sanity as he allowed her to be in control and to set the pace. She knew she was driving him wild with desire and she planned on prolonging it for as long as he would allow it.

Images of him lying lifeless on the ground crept back into her head, causing anguish to tear at her soul and driving her desire to connect with him once again. As she continued to wash her lover in her kisses, tears began to sting her eyes. She had come so close to losing him today. She couldn't bear being the reason that he died.

Sensing her thoughts, Richard gently pulled her head up to look at him. Pressing his lips to her face, he began to lovingly kiss away the tear that had trickled down her cheek. No words were needed; he knew what was in her mind, the anguish that absorbed her heart. Reveling in the saltiness of her tear and the taste that was uniquely Kahlan, Richard softly soothed his lover's mind.

"Shhh, don't be scared…I'm fine…I'm not going anywhere…I'm not going to leave you, my love…"

Catching her soft lips with his own, Richard hungrily began to devour her, determined to extinguish her fears and her pain. His hands moved down her sides, brushing against her breasts before pulling at the clasps on her jacket.

"I can't lose you, Richard…I won't survive…"

"I'm not going anywhere that you aren't with me…"

Quickly pushing her jacket down her arms, he set to work on the laces of her corset. Kahlan's hands rapidly removed his shirt from his body. Not wanting to be separated for more than a breath, she crushed her lips to his, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. As she massaged his mouth with her tongue, she mimicked the motion with her hands on his back.

Richard pulled back to catch his breath as his head began to spin with the pleasure his lover was generating in him. The passion surging mercilessly through his body was begging for release. If this was to be his death, then he happily and readily welcomed it.

Burying his hands again in her hair, he leaned up to capture her lips once more. He relished the feel of her pressed so firmly against him, his body demanding it to be flesh against flesh with nothing in between them. He placed soft kisses to the cut that ran along her neck, hoping to kiss her pain away.

A breathy moan escaped her lips only to be captured by his mouth again. Her head was swimming with her need for him. If he didn't take her now, she swore she'd explode.

Unable to hold on any longer, Kahlan pushed Richard backwards. Lying on top of him, her hair cascaded around his face. Reaching up, he ran his hands through her luscious hair, rolling her over to lie on top of her. Hands frantically reached for clothing, desperation and desire driving their every movement.

"I love you, Kahlan…you're my life…"

"I love you too, my Richard…"

XXX

"Where are you going?..." "How can you leave me like this?"

"I won't let you go!"

"I loved you!... I thought you loved me…"

"I can't lose you!"

"If I can't have you forever, then no one will!!"

He suddenly lurched forward, sweat trickling down his chest and back. His chest heaving, Richard looked around, desperation wild in his eyes. The cave was dark, the flames barely flickering with soft light of the slowly dwindling embers of their campfire. Rubbing the heels of his hands in his eyes, Richard tried to vanquish the haunting words from his mind.

Fear swiftly swept over him, though, as he quickly realized that Kahlan was no longer sleeping by his side. "Kahlan?" he called.

Looking around, he found that her bedroll and her pack were both gone as well. Jumping to his feet, Richard put on his pants and began searching for his shirt.

"Kahlan!" he yelled, as he grabbed his sword and ran to the mouth of the cave.

Seeing no sign of her, Richard yelled her name again only to be greeted by the soft chirping of the crickets.

"Kahlan!" he cried again, holding his breath for a response…any response, as long as he knew she was alright. He still heard nothing but the echoing of his own voice inside the cave. The sounds of a gathering storm could be heard in the distance as panic swarmed like a virus, threatening to vanquish all sense of logic.

Fear for her safety was making his breathing ragged and his heart ache; he had to find her soon. He didn't know how he would ever able to go on without her. She was the reason his heart beat, his reason for living. He couldn't let the Keeper get his hands on her and he couldn't lose her now.

Why would she have left him? Where could she have gone? Richard tried frantically to read her thoughts, to see if he could sense her presence nearby. He could see her running through the woods, tears streaking her face, anguish permeating her heart.

"Kahlan! Where are you? Why did you leave me?" Richard asked, confused and distraught.

"Richard, please…I have to do this to protect you...its too dangerous for you to be near me…I can't bear to see you die because of me…" Kahlan cried, not slowing her pace. She had to put as much distance between them as possible before he found her. She knew Richard would never let her go without a fight.

"Kahlan, please don't do this!! I'm begging you, please come back…I love you!...I can't live without you!...If you love me, you'll come back to me…" Richard pleaded with her, tears swimming in his eyes as he quickly packed up his things to go after her.

"Richard, I do love you…so much it hurts…That's why I can't stand by and watch you die because of me…Once the Keeper is defeated, I'll come back to you…"

The more distance Kahlan put between her and Richard, the more her head began to pound. Her thoughts were gradually becoming more clouded, her vision blurring. She tried focusing her eyes on the light that was beginning to break over the distant horizon, but it was useless. Her legs began to feel heavy as a tingling sensation began rapidly consuming her body.

A sudden eruption of pain inside of her head caused her to collapse to her knees. Grabbing her head, Kahlan screamed out in agonizing pain, unable to move because of the thundering in her head.

"KAHLAN!" Richard screamed, sensing the explosion of pain that had suddenly gripped his Confessor. Seeing her fall to the ground, Richard took off in a dead run, his senses barely able to register what he saw happening to her.

XXX

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?"

"I know exactly where I'm going!" Zedd exclaimed indignantly.

"You said they took the long way to Greenwood, but I think with our backtracking we're the ones taking the long way," she decided in exasperation.

"I am a Wizard of the First Order! Are you saying that I do not know what I am doing?"

"YES!" she shouted with annoyance.

"Well, I'm a Wizard, not a wood's guide! What do you expect? Richard is the tracker in the group. I thought he was teaching you how to hunt and track?"

"He was, but I've been following you because you acted like you knew where you were going…"

Hearing the approaching sounds of boots striking the earth, Cara and Zedd turned towards the sound. Grabbing her agiels from her waist, Cara stood ready for whatever was approaching. All this walking and persimmon picking was starting to drive her crazy. She was ready for an all out fight to break up the monotony.

Breaking through the brush, Cara and Zedd were stunned to be face to face with the Seeker. Shocked, Richard came to an abrupt halt. Gasping for air, he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

"Richard!" Zedd yelled with relief at the site of his grandson.

"Lord Rahl?" Cara asked, surprised by his sudden appearance. "Where's the Mother Confessor?" she asked, scanning behind him for Kahlan.

"I don't know…I have to find her right away…" he cried, his chest heaving with the full weight of his grief crashing down upon him. "…she's dying…"

Arrrggg!! Another cliffhanger! Dun, dun, dun…