So sorry for the wait! Comments very much appreciated!

Retribution (Chapter 10)

Sunlight filled the room as she opened her eyes, exhaustion still clinging to every fiber of her being despite having slept through the night and late into the morning. Kahlan could scarcely believe that she was waking up in her very own bed in Aydindril. It was a pleasure she hoped to share with Richard very soon.

Rolling over on her other side, Kahlan was startled to find Cara sitting in a chair by her bed, staring at her. "Good morning, sunshine," she drolly said with a smile. "Sleep well?"

"Sunshine?" Kahlan finally replied as she sat up on the edge of the bed, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. Her head was pounding worse than it had yesterday, her stomach was in knots. She wondered if she looked as bad as she felt.

"Just trying to make you feel better since Lord Rahl is not here. Isn't that something he would say to you in the morning?" she asked with a smirk on her lips.

"Richard has never called me 'sunshine' before. I hope he never does either," Kahlan replied with a look of disgust on her face as she got out of bed.

"You look terrible," Cara frowned as she stood to her feet, noticing the dark shadows beneath Kahlan's eyes, the paler look to her skin.

"Thanks, you look nice this morning too," Kahlan shot back. "Aren't you supposed to be with Commander Bennett?"

"I have been since you assigned me to him. When we finished for the night, I came here to watch you. Lord Rahl would have my head if I didn't," she assertively replied, crossing her arms with authority, knowing that Kahlan didn't have a leg to stand on. The Mord'Sith knew that Lord Rahl would have her back when it came to ensuring Kahlan's safety.

"I may not be alive much longer for you to worry about," Kahlan crossly muttered under breath. "Have you been able to find out anything about the Mord'Sith yet?"

"There has been no sign of them. I had Devin send out a scouting party to check on their status and posts have been established around the city. If they are coming, we'll know well in advance."

"Devin?" Kahlan smiled as she arched an eyebrow. "I'd say you two have become well acquainted."

"Yes, Devin; he insisted I call him that," she replied with annoyance. "Don't get that look in your eye. I know what you're thinking and you're completely wrong."

"Whatever you say, Cara," she lightly chuckled as she made her way into her dressing quarters in the next room.

Cara dropped back down in the chair with a huff. It wasn't anything…at least not yet anyhow. She smiled to herself as she thought of him, how strong and handsome he was. After Kahlan had left, Devin had quickly agreed to Cara's help and direction which had surprised her at first. He hadn't appeared very happy or comfortable with Kahlan assigning her to him, but had readily accepted her and her expertise.

"So has Zedd been perched outside my door all night as well?" Kahlan called from her dressing room.

"No, but he's been pouring over books trying to figure out what poison Denna infected you with."

Kahlan reentered her room dressed in her white Mother Confessor's gown. Although she loved the white gown and all that it represented, she missed her dark fighting clothes. They always made her feel strong and confident, able to take on anything. Right now, she needed to feel that again. Picking up her brush, she began to run it through her long dark tresses. "Has he had any luck?"

"No, not yet. There are too many to narrow it down without more information. That's also why I'm here. He wanted to see you when you woke up so he can find out what symptoms you were experiencing."

"Where is he now?"

"Where else? He's in the kitchen. He's set himself up a nice little arrangement of books piled high on a table where he could be close to the food."

"Well, I better go see him then. Maybe we can figure out the cure and save Richard before we lose him forever," she replied, a tremor in her voice.

She quickly turned away from the Mord'Sith to hide her sudden tears. Grabbing her green blanket, Kahlan wrapped it around her shoulders as she made her way for the door. The coldness that had suddenly afflicted her last night before bed still clung to her bones, chilling her to her core. She couldn't get warm enough no matter what she did. She was beginning to think Denna meant to freeze her to death.

"Kahlan, I have no doubt in my mind that Lord Rahl will return. There is nothing in this world or the next that will keep him away from you," Cara confidently told her. Although worried for his safety, she knew that Richard would not let anything come between him and Kahlan being together again.

Closing her eyes, Kahlan paused with her hand on the door handle. "I want to believe that, Cara, more than anything, but Denna has taken him away from me three times now. We were able to rescue him twice before. This might be the one time that Denna actually wins," she softly said before biting her bottom lip to silence the cry that threatened to escape as she opened the door.

Cara silently followed the Mother Confessor from her room, saddened by the hopelessness that permeated her friend. It was difficult watching her friends suffer through such ordeals and not be able to do much to help them. All she could do now was try to keep Kahlan alive long enough for Lord Rahl to return with the medicine needed to save her life. She just hoped he returned before it was too late.

XXX

They had been riding for hours with no sign of the Shadow Water they were so desperately seeking. With each passing hour, Richard was steadily growing more frustrated and angry with the lack of progress they were making. While they had covered quite a bit of area south of Ashtoncroft, they had considerable more to cover and little time to do it in.

A dark brooding temper permeated his whole countenance, his eyes narrowed into a steady wilting glare. He was in no mood for making conversation, nor did he care to hear how Denna planned on changing her ways after she had found the Shadow Water. He wanted get the antidote and return to Kahlan so they could find the Stone of Tears and finally be married. He was sick of all the interferences in their lives, all the obstacles that blocked their path to happiness.

When this was all over, he wanted to marry Kahlan and take her away somewhere quiet where they could be left alone to build their lives together; someplace where he could just love and take care of her, where they could raise a house full of daughters that looked just like their mother. A small smile tugged at his lips at the thought of making babies with Kahlan, of little girls with bright blue eyes and long dark hair running all over the house. It gave him a renewed sense of purpose, hardening his resolve. The sooner they found the water, the sooner he could get back to her.

Riding beside him, Denna could see his anger boiling just below the surface. So far, Richard had been able to keep a tight grip on it, but she knew that hold would slip rapidly if he didn't get the antidote for Kahlan soon. She could see his well-defined muscles tense with frustration, anguish swimming in his dark brown eyes. She swore if he helped her find what she needed, she would do everything in her power to make things right again.

Riding along, each lost in their own thoughts, they continued to scan the area for any signs that might point them toward what they were after. Large trees began to blur together, tall green grass that rolled like ocean waves seemed to go on for miles without end, and brush dotted the landscape refusing to give up any secrets that they might hold.

Running a hand through his hair, Richard pulled his horse to a stop as he pulled out his water skin. After taking a couple of drinks of the cool water, he finally said, "Tell me again what you had heard about the Shadow Water."

"If it is a cure that you seek, it is the Shadow Water you must drink; you must first find the shroud of green, if the thing you need is to be seen."

"And you're sure you remembered it word for word?"

"For the hundredth time, yes!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"What makes you think the riddle points to Ashtoncroft?"

"Because that is where someone told me the riddle had originated and where the water was rumored to be located."

"So you have endangered Kahlan's life and have taken me on a wild search based on a riddle that was supposedly started in some town you've never been to?" Fury danced in his eyes as he stared at her, his jaw clenched as his hands wrapped themselves tightly around the reins of his horse in a desperate attempt not to choke the life out of her.

"I paid good money for this information and so far it has been the closest I've come to finding the only thing that can save my life besides me sending your precious Kahlan to the Keeper," she sneered. "Which would you rather do? Keep searching or go back and watch your lover die?"

Richard's chest began heaving with his rage, wanting nothing more than to run the Mord'Sith through with his blade ending it right here. He knew that he couldn't if he wanted to save Kahlan's life. "Which way then?" he hissed, his voice full of contempt. What sympathy and compassion he'd had for her yesterday was rapidly dissipating with Kahlan's life hanging in the balance.

"I don't know; that's why I brought you along. You're the Seeker. Now find it."

Without another word, Richard started his horse moving again. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to restrain his fury. Losing control of his anger would not lead him to what he needed to find. As he began to gain control of his emotions, Zedd's words began floating to the surface of his mind. "Focus on the solution, not the problem."

Clearing his mind, Richard began to repeat the words of the riddle over and over again in his head. There had to be a secret meaning that they were missing, something that they were not seeing. Having covered the territory to the south of Ashtoncroft, Richard headed his horse west. If they circled the area that surrounded the town, they would be able to cover more ground than a haphazard search darting here and there.

"Hang on, Kahlan; I'm not going to lose you. Not now, not ever," Richard swore under his breath as he continued to recite the words of the riddle. The magnitude of the situation, that Kahlan's life was dependent upon his success gripped his heart, making it difficult to breathe at times. He wondered how she was fairing with the poison that flowed through her veins and what kind of affect it was having on her. He just prayed that Zedd might be able to do something until he could return.

Hearing something behind him, Richard whipped around to see Denna's horse rearing up on its back legs, whinnying loudly out of fear. Denna was suddenly thrown backwards off her horse, falling hard on the ground. Richard immediately jumped off his horse and rushed to her side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so," she breathlessly answered as Richard grasped her arm and helped her up to her feet. She had a cut on her forehead, blood oozing down the side of her head and onto her cheek.

"What happened?" Richard questioned her as he ran back to his bag of supplies. Grabbing a cloth and his water skin, he quickly returned to her.

"My horse got spooked all of a sudden," she shakily replied as the Seeker helped her to sit on a large rock.

Wetting his rag, he began to clean the blood from her face. Denna was shaken by the fall, but more so by Richard's close proximity as well as his attentiveness. His eyes were filled with concern as he tended to her wound, causing her to suddenly flush. His face was so close to hers as he inspected her wound, his strong hands so gentle as they dabbed the blood from her face, his breath warming her skin as he leaned in closer to apply ointment to her injury.

She swallowed hard at the flutter that abruptly erupted in the pit of her stomach. If she did let Kahlan die sending her to the Keeper, Denna would be granted her life back. Would she be able to break Richard of his love for Kahlan once and for all? Or would he just hate her all the more for being the one who killed his lover?

Denna had told him last night that she wanted his help and not his body, but that had not been completely true. She did want him, all of him. She wanted him to love her like he loved Kahlan but more.

Maybe once they had found the Shadow Water and she was saved from having to return to Darken Rahl and the Keeper, Richard would see that she truly had changed. He would see that she was different now. She would return with him to Aydindril, give Kahlan the medicine to save her life. She could stay with them, help Richard to see that she was not the same person she used to be. Hopefully, he would see her in a whole new light.

Denna was abruptly shaken from her daydream when Richard spoke again. "Well, it doesn't appear to be as bad as it looked at first. This ointment should stop the bleeding and help it heal quickly. Are you alright to continue?" he asked, still sitting very close to the Mord'Sith.

"Yes, thank you, Richard," she murmured, her eyes warming with lust as she placed a hand on his face, her thumb caressing his cheek.

Startled, Richard froze with her sudden response to his care. "You're welcome," he softly replied, his brow furrowed with uncertainty. This was a side of her that he had never seen before. She was sincerely grateful for his help.

Running her tongue across her lips, she slowly leaned in towards him. She ached to feel his lips against hers, kissing her with all the passion that consumed his heart. He looked at her in confusion, mistrust in his eyes, but he wasn't moving away from her. She so desperately wanted to make him see that she had changed.

Her breath was warm against his lips as she leaned in towards him. He felt his breathing becoming ragged, his heart beginning to race, his hand tightly gripping the rag he had cleaned her wound with. Then her lips brushed against his, tentative at first and then returning aggressively for more.

Richard quickly pushed her away as he jumped to his feet. He angrily wiped a hand across his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut, ashamed for allowing her lips to have touched his. He should have moved away from her as soon as he realized what she was going to do, but he hadn't. It had happened so fast.

He quickly made his way to his horse, furious with himself for allowing her to kiss to him. Kahlan was in Aydindril fighting for her life, depending on him to save her while he was here allowing Denna to kiss him. Angry tears strung his eyes as he packed up his supplies, his heart throbbing with the painful ache of betrayal.

Denna watched with overwhelming sadness as Richard pushed her away and immediately began putting his things away. She had briefly tasted his sweet lips, capturing only a mere flickering glimpse of what Kahlan enjoyed and it had been heaven. Richard had not responded at all to her kiss, had not received one ounce of pleasure from her. Tears pooled in her eyes at the crushing blow as the hurt of rejection settled over her, wrapping her up in its pitiful grasp.

She quickly made her way over to him, determined not to give up just yet. He hadn't moved away from her immediately and it gave her a small flicker of hope. Coming to stand beside him, Denna lightly placed a hand on his arm, halting his packing. He lowered his head, letting his chin fall onto his chest with the weight of his shame.

"Richard…I…" she gently began.

"Denna, please stop. I don't love you; I will never love you. I love Kahlan; she already owns my heart. She is more precious to me than anything you or any other woman could ever offer," he adamantly told her. "Kahlan is perfection and no one will ever come even remotely close to her. I'm sorry I allowed you to kiss me. I shouldn't have let it happen and I can only hope that Kahlan will forgive me one day," he said with a small tremor in his voice.

Denna let her hand fall off his arm, tears streaming down her cheeks as her heart broke again. She turned away from him to retrieve her horse. Swallowing back the tears, she evenly stated, "Well, then I guess we better find the Shadow Water before it's too late."

Richard climbed up onto his horse, regret and guilt causing bile to rise in the back of his throat, knowing he had just hurt Kahlan with what he had allowed to happen. Turning his horse to the west once more, Richard suddenly cried out in agony as an arrow imbedded itself in his arm…

*Whoa! What a place to stop! :)