Confess Him

Richard smiled to himself as he followed Cara and Kahlan through the door into the gloom of the dimly lit bed chamber. Without thinking about it, as he crossed the threshold into the room, he lifted his sword ever so slightly to make sure it was clear of its scabbard then let it click back into place. It wasn't that he thought that any threat was creeping around in the shadows; it simply meant that the Seeker was ready to get some answers. Briefly, as he gripped the hilt, he felt the power of the Sword of Truth surge through the essence of who he was. His blood boiled and he could feel the adrenaline shooting through his entire body as rage and righteousness merged. The spirit of the Seeker inside of him rose to the surface; his raptor's gaze enveloped him. He was going to get to the bottom of this. He didn't know all the ins and outs of what had occurred over the past few days, but his fear was that the strange circumstances around Ben's capture and torture confirmed his fear that trouble had found them. In his mind he remembered the old proverb he had heard his father say countless times.

"Trouble always sires three children."

This ordeal had been the second child, the massacre at Ebinnisia having been the first. His mind raced as he tried to imagine what the third could possibly be. Both children, so far, had placed not only him but also Kahlan in great danger. Losing her was the one thing he was not willing to let happen. She was his everything. Even though he knew that there was no stopping her then, it had been torment when she had gone to kill the wizard Merrick by herself. His heart had ached inside his chest every moment she had been away from the camp. He had tried to busy himself with getting the soldiers ready for the ensuing battle, but still his thoughts had lingered on her until she returned safe. He needed her like the flower needs the sun. Without her his life would cease to have meaning. It was imperative for him to figure out what had happened and hope that it could help him figure out what the third child could be before trouble birthed it. It left him in a quandary. He had been very worried about Ben and didn't wish to drag up any painful memories, but if it meant he had to in order to protect Kahlan then he would.

He rushed the rest of the way into the room. The darkness hit him like a wall. He could have barely seen his hand in front of his face it was so dark. He hadn't remembered it being this dark when he had checked in intermittently the past day to see if Zedd had needed anything. Of course Zedd hadn't but, much to Richard's chagrin, he had asked for more of Ginny's muffins every time. That was Zedd for you. A friend was in mortal danger and he couldn't help but think about his stomach. Richard realized that the darkness he perceived was probably just his mind grasping the gravity of what he had to do. He wasn't happy with the situation, but answers were needed. He was the Seeker. He was going to get them.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. The room was small. Off to his right was a small dresser with three large drawers, obviously hand made by Cale. Inside Richard smiled as he looked at it every notch and cut a stroke of love. Next to the dresser was a washbasin on a small stand, bloody cloths hanging from it sides, old bandages that Zedd had replaced when he had first arrived. Bloody water leaked off one and dripped to the floor leaving a small pale red puddle. On the far wall, the curtains had been pulled over the tiny window so that Zedd could concentrate better on healing Ben. The raging storm outside meant that there was very little light to let in anyway, but what little light there was had almost been completely blocked by the curtains, except for a small sliver of light that leaked through the part between them. It oozed its way across the room falling on Ben in the double bed underneath the window, giving his battered face and body an almost other worldly appearance. Every now and then a strike of lightning from outside would brighten the beam acting almost as a beacon to warn them about the subsequent explosion of thunder.

Ben smiled as he saw them and tried to prop himself up into a seated position against the pillow behind him. He grimaced as he started to get upright. It was clear every movement still hurt. His face was swollen and bruised. It was clear that his jaw had been broken at least once, if not more. His right eye was completely blood shot, a blow to his face having apparently ruptured a blood vessel in it. Blisters, cuts, and bruises covered his arms and upper chest. Worst of all though were his shoulders, which were still quite swollen and had obviously been ripped to shreds. He carried them very gingerly and attempted to avoid as much movement in them as he could. Still, he was leaps and bounds better than he had been when Richard had first seen him after the battle. As he pushed himself further up so that the brown blanket that had covered him sat around his waist, his grimace grew to a look of severe pain and a small whimper escaped his mouth. Richard cast a glance to his right at Zedd, who was at first taken aback by the residual magic of the sword still dancing in Richard's eyes. Zedd put an arm around Richard and whispered in his ear.

"His external wounds were very bad, but the internal ones were infinitely worse. I'm surprised he survived. He's got a fighting spirit that boy. Still, the horrible things those animals did to him will leave their mark. I doubt he'll be able to sit without pain for a good while." He squeezed Richard's shoulder and added. "He's still a little groggy. I gave him something to help him sleep last night. So take it easy on him, Seeker. Remember the terrible ordeal he's just been through, my boy." As Richard nodded and turned away from him to face Ben again, Zedd grabbed his shoulder again and added, "You didn't happen to bring some of those exquisite muffins with you, did you my boy?"

Richard shook his head in incredulity as Ben pushed through the pain and got himself to a seated position. His smile returned as he looked to Richard's left at Cara.

"My hero." He said.

They all chuckled as lightning flashed and the house shook a few moments later from the resultant thunder. Kahlan gave Cara a knowing look that made the smile evaporate from Cara's face. Cara crossed her arms and huffed. Whatever that look had meant it certainly had put Cara in a foul mood.

"How do you feel?" Kahlan asked with a smile.

"Like a dragon's bowel movement."

Everyone but Cara smiled.

"Well, if you feel up to it I'd like to ask you some questions to try and shed some light on what happened." Richard said as he took a step forward to come to the side of the bed. On the floor next to the bed was a small square rug that dampened his footstep as he strode over next to Ben. Ben smiled as he struggled to stop himself from sliding down the pillow.

"You don't ever stop do you?" He asked.

"Never." Kahlan chimed in.

Ben looked down at his knees as he let out a small chuckle. Suddenly his smile turned into a look of pain as he grabbed his side. Richard looked back over his shoulder at Zedd again.

"He has four broken ribs. I've mended them but they will still hurt for some time. Injuries like that take a while to heal." Zedd said.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Ben said as he looked through his brow at Zedd, still clutching his side. "You don't have to talk about me like I'm not in the room. I'm right here." He said as he coughed from the pain.

"Sorry, my boy." Zedd said through a small smile. More lightning flashed followed by thunder, closer together this time though.

"So do you think you feel up to it?" Richard asked again.

"Sure, why not." Ben said with a wave of his hand. "Though I'm not sure how much help I'll be, Seeker, I'm still rather fuzzy on a lot of it."

Out of the corner of his eye Richard caught Kahlan eyes widen ever so slightly. Something about Ben's answer had caught her attention.

"Well, just do the best you can." He said as he made a mental note of Kahlan's reaction. "We'll start off easy. Did you catch the name of the Mord'Sith who had you captured?"

"Unfortunately no."

Kahlan flinched. Richard noticed. Lightning flashed again with the accompanying thunder even closer this time. The heart of the storm was getting closer.

"No? You spent nearly a month with her. No doubt she used you as her personal plaything and in all that time she never used her name and no one else ever called her by name?" Richard pressed.

"No, not that I recall."

Kahlan cast a sideways glance to Richard.

"I find that a little hard to believe, Ben."

"Well, sorry, Seeker, but I was little distracted. Do you have any idea what it's like to be the slave of a Mord'Sith? Every moment of every beating wishing it was over and then every moment between beatings obsessing over when the next one will be and wondering how it could possibly be any worse than the last."

"I do actually." Richard said. "I know exactly what you're talking about. I nearly lost myself when Denna captured me. I couldn't think straight for most of that period of time. In fact as I look back on it, I don't think I could relate much about the specifics of what actually happened then, but I will say one thing. I knew the name of the woman who was torturing me!"

Ben bit his lower lip and looked away. The rain outside began to pick up making a plinking sound against the tiny window above Ben's head.

"Richard, stop it." Cara said, a look of concern on her face. He only gave her a glance. Lightning again, this time the thunder only a few seconds in following.

"Ben, who tortured you? I'm not asking this to be mean, or cause you any pain. I need to know what we're dealing with here. Trouble has already birthed two of its children. I want to be prepared for any possibility of what the third may be, not only to protect you but everyone. If we're going to be friends then that means we can't have any secrets among us, especially ones that could put the rest of us in danger. Now who tortured you?"

Ben let out a sigh and looked at Richard. "I'm sorry, Seeker I really don't know."

Richard looked Kahlan who had lost any trace of her smile and was looking dejected. She knew the question that his look contained. Slowly, with pain etched on her face, she shook her head no. Cara looked between the two of them, her look of concern growing.

"Richard, stop!" She insisted. Lightning struck followed immediately by a loud boom. The thunder's intensity was growing, the storm was nearly on top of them.

Richard turned back to Ben.

"Ben I know you're lying. I don't even need the help of a Confessor to see the look of deception in your eyes, but her powers confirm it. I don't know why you're doing this, but I will have answers. You will not put our lives in danger just to protect whatever information it is you're holding onto."

"What do want from me?" Ben said with look of disgust on his face.

"The truth, that's all." Richard said.

"You don't know what you're asking of me." Ben said as disgust turned to pain.

"Richard! Stop!" Cara pleaded.

"I'm only asking for you to do the right thing." Richard said as he lifted his sword again and let it click back into place, the magic surging through him all over again.

"Is that what this is, an intervention to get Ben to do the right thing?" Ben said as tears began to fall down his face. The rain was now pounding against the window as the wind drove it into the tiny pane.

Zedd reached up and grabbed Richard by the shoulder. "Richard –," he began, but Richard tugged his shoulder away and bent down with his hands on the bed. Lightning struck and illuminated his face. Ben saw, through his tears, the magic in Richard's eyes. Thunder followed the lightning almost immediately, shaking the whole house.

"Don't make this about you. You know I wouldn't ask this if it weren't a matter of life and death for others. You hold the lives of countless others in your hands right now and you're willing to crush them under the weight of your secrecy. Anyone who plays with the lives of others so flippantly doesn't deserve any privacy in my book. You've left me no choice. I don't want to do this, but if you are insistent on protecting whatever information it is you have over the lives of innocent people then I'm afraid I have to." He turned, with fire in his eyes, and said to Kahlan, "Confess him."

"What?" Cara and Zedd said in unison.

Kahlan, her head down, slowly walk to the opposite side of the bed he was on. With pain in her eyes, as Ben's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, she reached out and seized Ben by the neck. Cara grabbed Kahlan's other arm and tugged at the oversized dress she was wearing.

"Richard stop this right now! Please!" She screamed.

"Ben this is your last chance. I don't want to do this but you are leaving me no choice."

Kahlan grasped his neck a little tighter. Richard could see the skin underneath her fingers turn white from the pressure. With an intense look on her face she sighed.

With pain in his tear stained eyes Ben looked at Richard and simply said, "Please!"

"I'm sorry, Ben. I wish I had another option, but you've left me none. Now, why are you protecting this woman that tortured you? What are you hiding?"

"Please! You can't… You don't know…" Ben said.

"Richard! Stop it!" Cara yelled. She was in a panic. Kahlan was now actually having to restrain her with her other arm as she held on even tighter to Ben's neck, almost to the point of choking him. A violent crack resounded through the air and a bright flash of light nearly blinded all of them as thunder and lightning exploded in the same instant, shaking the house to its very foundation. The heart of the storm hovered over them.

"Ben, last chance, you're going to tell us who she is one way or another. Now, who is she?" He screamed.

"She's my sister alright!" Ben screamed as he pushed Kahlan's hand off his neck. Cara collapsed to the floor, her one leg under her the other splayed out on the floor. Lightning struck again followed a few seconds afterwards by an impressive but not overwhelming boom. The storm had moved on.

Richard and Kahlan's eyes went wide.

"What do you mean she's your sister? You said you killed your sisters." Kahlan said.

"I know." Ben said through more tears. It was obvious his sobbing was causing his ribs to hurt even more. "She revived her. She gave her the breath of life."

"Who?" Richard asked.

"Aimee. She gave Seh'ra the breath of life and revived her with her final breath. Oh, Richard I'm sorry. I just… I just…, "Ben struggled out as tears overwhelmed him.

Richard sat down next to him and gingerly, avoiding any wounds, wrapped his arms around Ben's shoulders.

"It's okay Ben. I'm sorry I had to be so abrupt, but I needed to know. She still may come back and try to exact her revenge."

Ben's head shot up like dragon's breath had been ignited underneath it.

"What do you mean? She's dead isn't she? Cara knocked her out. I saw it. You found her and killed her, right?"

Richard shook his head. Ben's face became worry incarnate. His eyes began to dart back and forth and he began to hyperventilate which only made his ribs hurt more. His face became a dark shade of red as panic set in. Quickly, Zedd rushed in and placed two fingers to either side of his head. In a second Ben's breathing slowed and his face became a normal shade again. Kahlan lovingly stroked his hand.

"Don't worry, Ben. Now that we are all on the same page we can fight this together." She said as Zedd removed his fingers.

"There is safety in numbers, my boy." He said.

"We'll figure this out Ben. We're with you." Richard said.

"A family?" Ben said with a slight smile, his eyes veiling the deeper meaning behind those words. Lightning once again flashed distantly.

"A family." Richard said returning the smile. Thunder boomed off somewhere.

"Thank you." Ben said.

"Alright, you need to get some more rest." Richard said.

Ben nodded in agreement, but then added, "First though, can I talk with Cara alone."

Richard cast an awkward look between Ben and Cara, who was picking herself up off the floor, but then patted him lightly on the shoulder and nodded.

"Wait a minute, my boy. First I need to change out those bandages and…" Zedd began as Richard grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him out of the room.

"Bags Richard! Let go of me. I'm an old man. You can't just throw me around like this. I'm your grandfather for crying out loud, unhand me!"

Richard smiled as he dragged the old man the rest of the way out of the room. Before he did he saw Kahlan give Cara another knowing smile and a few quick raises of her eyebrows before she turned to join them. Cara huffed once more.