Chapter 11
The wooden stairs creaked under her feet as Rachel slowly made her way down to the dining room they had sat in earlier this evening. The embers in the fireside were still glowing enough to lighten the room a little. Rachel sat down on the bench near the fire, leaning her back against the wall while pulling the bathrobe more tightly around her. Suddenly, the door on the other side of the room creaked and opened. Rachel jumped to her feet, straining to make out who was standing there.
She released a breath when she saw it was Leanne. The woman slowly approached, and Rachel threw her a questioning look.
Leanne answered in a low voice: 'I had fallen asleep in our living room.' She tilted her head towards the door. 'I heard someone walking down the stairs and decided to look in case you needed something. What are you doing awake at this hour anyway, dear one?'
'I couldn't sleep.' Rachel answered truthfully. Leanne thought she looked really tired. And then there was this look in the woman's eyes, full of fear. Leanne had seen it in the eyes of her own children, although not as strong, when they had awoken from nightmares. 'Bad dreams?' She asked, and Rachel nodded.
Leanne patted her arm: 'I know something that will help you sleep. Just wait here and I'll be back in a moment.' Rachel nodded again and forced herself to smile a little. She sat back down on the bench, thinking there couldn't be anything that would help her; she didn't want to seem ungrateful, seeing Leanne was a really nice woman, so Rachel decided to wait for the woman anyway.
A few minutes later, Leanne returned with a steaming cup. 'My mother gave this to me when I couldn't sleep. The herbs have a calming effect, and they taste best when used for a tea. Go on, it tastes better than it smells, I promise.'
Rachel smiled again before taking a sip of the warm tea. To her surprise, it tasted sweet; completely different from how it smelled. 'It's really good. Thank you.'
Leanne smiled warmly and handed her some leaves, wrapped in a small piece of cloth: 'These are the herbs I used. Take them and whenever you don't feel well you can just mix them with warm water and drink it. It will keep the nightmares away.'
'Thank you.' Rachel replied, already feeling the warmth spreading through her body.
'Never mind, dear. Now, you should go back to bed. Sleep well.' With that, Leanne turned and left the room, smiling at Rachel once more before closing the door behind her.
Rachel slowly drank the rest of the tea, before taking the cloth with the leaves and heading back upstairs. She slipped into her room quietly, and looked over to where Cara was lying, relieved she hadn't woken her. With a sigh, she crawled under the blankets and was asleep in a heartbeat, the fear of her nightmares almost forgotten.
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The next morning, Cara had to wake Rachel. She had been sleeping so peacefully that she didn't even wake when the sunlight coming through the window met her face.
Even though Rachel felt she could have slept the whole day, she felt more at ease and refreshed than she had for the last days.
After Cara had woken her, she quickly packed her things and rushed downstairs. The others were sitting at the same table as they had the night before, eating breakfast which had been brought by Leanne. Kahlan, although still quiet, had eaten normally again and even smiled a little at Rachel when she saw her.
Richard noticed that some colour had returned to Rachel's cheeks, and as she smiled at him, her eyes sparkled with a genuine happiness he had seldom seen before.
She sat down next to him and he smiled back. Even Zedd noticed the change in her mood and looked up from his bowl: 'You look much better, dear. Slept well, I guess?'
'Better than the last nights. Leanne gave me some herbs.' Rachel answered while choosing something to eat. Richard gave her hand a short squeeze under the table, and Rachel smiled at him.
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The storm of the previous night had left a slightly overcast greyish sky, but Rachel enjoyed the small beams of sunlight breaking through the clouds as she walked at the rear beside Richard. He had given her a glance, silently telling her he wanted to talk to her alone, so she had followed him, slowing her walking pace until the others were well ahead of them.
'Rachel.' His voice was soft, but he couldn't hide his concern as he addressed her.
Rachel had a feeling she already knew what he wanted to ask her.
'The dacras; is that what…' Richard fell silent for a moment, searching for words, not wanting to say directly what he meant, 'are these the weapons you see in your nightmares?'
Although Rachel had been sure this question was coming, she felt a lump in her throat. She nodded slowly, the all too familiar fear building up inside her again.
When Richard took her hand, Rachel felt he was afraid, too. He was hiding it most of the time, but looking at her, hearing her talk about her nightmares, brought up the thought in him that dreams like these were mostly not just ordinary dreams, but rather visions. Richard didn't want to admit it, but he shuddered to think the things Rachel saw were a glimpse of the future. Although he always said he didn't believe in prophecies, he couldn't deny that until now, they had all become true.
But what made him even more afraid was that she might throw away her own life, trying to stop her visions – or nightmares – from coming true.
Richard turned his head to look at Rachel. He saw a tear running down her cheek, and wiped it away, silently making a vow once more to protect her. Rachel couldn't think of anything to say, so she squeezed his hand again, also vowing quietly that she would do all in her power to prevent her visions from coming true.
'Promise me you won't do anything … dangerous.' Richard said, knowing she understood what he was talking about. Rachel nodded slowly.
She could see in his eyes that he was afraid she would sacrifice her life for him; and Rachel felt sorry for causing him worries, but to her it seemed better to look into his eyes when they were full of fear than not being able to look at them at all. And it was probably better anyway if she died and he lived. Rachel knew it was selfish, leaving him to deal with it, but maybe he would be able to move on. He still loved Kahlan like he always had and he cared for her deeply; Rachel saw it in Richard's eyes when he looked at the Confessor. They could find a way to be together… It was better if she died. Although – or rather because - she loved Richard with all her heart, she felt like she was standing between him and Kahlan, destroying a love that was meant to be.
A soft nudge from Richard called her out of her thoughts: 'What is it?' Richard looked into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts.
But Rachel only shook her head: 'Nothing. I'm… fine.' He didn't look very convinced, but decided not to push the matter. 'Why don't we make a short stop over there?' He said in an attempt to lighten Rachel's mood, pointing at a clearing. Only Rachel saw how forced his smile really was. The others seemed to approve of his idea and made their way over to the clearing, pulling the food they had been given by the innkeeper from their packs.
Rachel decided to take a walk, so she left the others to take a look at their surroundings. Soon she came to a quiet place near a small lake. Rachel sat down on a boulder near the shore. The trees were standing quite close in this part of the forest, but as Rachel looked up to the sky, she heard some birds chirping. She smiled when she recognized them: a few sparrows were sitting on the lower branches of a nearby tree.
Rachel heard soft footsteps behind her and turned to see Richard standing a few paces away.
'I came looking for you. We will move on soon.' He said as he closed the distance between them and came to sit on the boulder next to Rachel.
'All right.' Rachel glanced up at the sparrows, smiling.
Richard looked at her from the side and when he saw what she was looking at, said: 'Do you like them?'
'What?'
'The sparrows.' Richard chuckled when he realized she had been completely caught up in watching the birds.
Rachel looked at him, the smile leaving her face: 'They are my favourite birds, actually.'
Richard wanted to ask her why, but the memory seemed to make her sad, so he took her hand instead, giving her the chance to tell him if she wanted to.
Rachel was silent for a while, but explained it to him: 'Some years ago, I found a young sparrow in the forest near our home. He must have fallen out of his mother's nest. I took him home and my father helped me to nurse him; I had sat next to the blanket we had placed him on for hours, sometimes singing and talking to him, hoping he would grow strong again.
After a few weeks he was strong enough to live on his own. I was sad when we let him fly away, but my father told me I would see him again. He said I would recognize him for sure; after all, he was missing a claw.'
Richard smiled and Rachel, who thought he was mocking her, continued: 'I know it sounds crazy, talking to a bird, but it was almost like a real friend to me, so, since then, sparrows are my favourite birds.'
Richard was still smiling at her when he answered: 'I don't think it sounds crazy. Sounds like you love animals very much.'
Rachel nodded: 'Every time I see a sparrow, I think about the hatchling and wonder if he is still alive. It also reminds me of my father…' Richard noticed the hurt in her eyes had come back at the memory of her father. He wasn't sure if and how he could comfort her, but Rachel simply leaned into his side for a few moments before she sighed and got up. She smiled at him, blinking a tear away: 'Didn't you say we should get going?'
Richard nodded, smiling reassuringly at her as he, too, got up. He went over in the direction the others were, and waited for Rachel. She cast one last look at the sparrows before coming towards him.
'I'm so glad I found you.' Despite what happened or how it will end. She added in thought, before she embraced him, her chin resting on his shoulder. Although she held back the tears, Rachel had to smile when he answered softly: 'Me too.'
Reluctantly, she pulled away a little and whispered: 'We should get going.'
Richard nodded, smiling at her before they went off to find the others.
A/N;
Hey there,
almost 1000 views :) It's so exciting to see most of you are still with me reading this story. Thank you so much ;) Keep reviewing, it always makes my day :)
And I finally got to explain the reason why the story is called "Sparrows and Visions" :)
Have a great day
Alex
