Chapter 10
Cara walked calmly from the kitchen, having procured a basket as if she was going to market before leaving, and into the courtyard. She glanced around and sped up her steps as she got nearer to the curve in the road. She knew that Richard was watching and hoped that he'd get the hint to follow and meet up with her where they could speak out of sight.
As soon as she was out of view from the mansion, she felt his hand grip her bicep and draw her into the forest. They walked quickly further into the trees. They didn't want anyone to see them if they came down the road.
"What are you doing out here." Richard hissed in her ear. "Who is protecting Kahlan? How couldn't you just leave her there, all alone?"
"Keep your voice down, Lord Rahl!" She reprimanded him in a harsh whisper. "Kahlan is fine. Her door is locked and she is the one who sent me to find you." She shrugged his hand off her arm; the vice like grip was sure to form a bruise. "Where's the wizard?"
"She sent you out here? What could she be thinking?" He huffed and threw his arms into the air. "Doesn't she know that she needs protection from that monster?"
"Get a hold of yourself!" Cara grabbed his shoulders and made him focus on her. His ranting was going to give her a headache. "I need the wizard."
"He's back in the woods somewhere, It shouldn't take long to find him."
"She wanted me to give you a message as well." They began walking in the direction he'd last seen Zedd wandering about.
"What is it?"
"She said to tell you that she loves you."
He pulled Cara into a hug. "Thank you."
"I'm going to have to watch more closely. I can't have the two of you hugging me all the time. Now let's find Zedd so we can get her out of there soon."
Richard was right about Zedd not being too far from his hiding spot. They'd only walked a few hundred yards when he appeared amongst the trees. His tall form camouflaged him as if he belonged in the forest. He moved and ruined the illusion when he heard them approaching.
"Cara, my dear, what brings you out of the house?" Zedd spoke with a tinge of concern, nothing to rival the ranting of Richard earlier, however.
"We've got new information." She glanced at them both waiting for them to ask. She loved to torture them when she knew something. A smile lifted her lips and she continued when she saw that Richard was about to strangle her. "There might be a way for you to break the spell on the vault."
"Tell me everything you heard." Cara launched into the details about the Wizard of the Second Order spelling the vault and the story that Stalker had told about him being banned from Aydindril. Zedd listened intently, his eyes lighting up as she got to the part identifying the wizard. "I know him."
"Who was he?" Richard chimed in, curious to know about what he'd done that was so awful to get him thrown out of the Wizard's Keep and outlawed from the city.
"That isn't something you need to know. What you do need to do is go in and protect Kahlan." He looked at Cara. "Can you get him inside and then meet me back out here? I'm going to need your help breaking into that vault."
She pushed Richard back towards the house. "Why don't you two ever ask me to do something hard? A challenge every once in a while. Of course I can get him in there." She glared at Richard. "The real question is whether he can stay low and hidden while in there. He seems quite irrational when it comes to the Mother Confessor."
"I'll be fine, lets go." Richard was eager to see his love again. He couldn't wait to hold her against him, to feel her sweet breath against his neck, her breast pressed to his chest, her arms pulling him to her. "The sooner you get me in, the faster you can get back to Zedd and then we can get her out of there."
She stopped abruptly and turned back. "Hand me some of that food, old man." Cara held her basket out expectantly.
"My food… I think not my-"
"Do you want it to look suspicious if someone sees me returning with nothing in my basket?" The Wizard grumbled some more but placed some fruit and bread into the container. She nodded her thanks and jogged back over to the Seeker.
They crept back to the road in silence. Cara led the way and Richard followed closely behind her, his hand never leaving her shoulder. He didn't want to lose her in the darkness that had settled over them. It hadn't seemed like it had been hours since he'd watched Cara leave the house and head towards him, but the rapidly disappearing daylight told him that they'd taken up a lot of valuable time. He hoped that Kahlan was still safe when they arrived.
Cara flipped the cloak she was wearing around Richard, making it less obvious there was someone following her, and from a distance it would appear that it was billowing in the wind or flowing behind her due to her pace.
"Is this really the best plan you could come up with?" She heard him grumble under the fabric.
"Got any better ideas?" She murmured back not wanting to draw any attention to them with her voice. She waited for a response and all she heard was incoherent grumbling. "That's what I thought." She dashed across the courtyard and when they arrived at the entrance to the kitchen, Cara peaked in. The cook was standing over the table counting the list of supplies they needed. Cara pointed to the stairs that led to Kahlan's room and signaled him with her fingers how many doors he had to pass to get to her. She would distract the cook while he snuck in. She prayed that no one would meet him on the stairs. It was late enough that the majority of them should be in bed.
"Bertha!" Cara exclaimed and trotted over to her. "I brought some of my mistresses favorites back from town. I'm sure she'd like this…" She flipped the cloth off the food realizing she hadn't paid attention to what Zedd had given her. "Apple and pear served to her in the morning with some rolls." She pulled the cook closer, angling her away from the door. She lowered her voice as if the preparation of this meal was very important. Cara saw the swift flash of Richard moving across the room and into the back staircase. "So I hope that this won't be an issue for you?"
"No miss, this seems all very simplistic. Your mistress doesn't have complex tastes."
"It's much easier to keep track of her that way." Cara smiled and headed over to the doors. She made a motion to go up her normal route, but when Bertha was looking away she dashed back the way she'd come in. She kept her back against the walls as she headed back to the woods to meet up with Zedd. Before running across the yard again she checked all the windows. No light snuck out of any pane. She flat out sprinted to the edge and dove in, rolling through the first set of underbrush then crawling until the forest was thick. After she knew she was a safe distance away her breathing slowed and she let herself gulp in large breaths of much needed oxygen.
She found the Wizard eating right where they'd left him.
"I imagine you were able to get him in."
"It went smoothly. You ready to go, I should be back by mid morning."
Zedd nodded and she followed him as they left the small camp and headed towards the vault, hopefully it would be the end of Kahlan's imprisonment as well.