Soul Fusion – Chapter 20 – A Pleasant Morning
Light filtered through the windows and warmed her. Blinking awake, she felt a small body stir in her arms. Kahlan opened her eyes and found that Sanya had woke, yet simply seemed content to rest in her arms. However as she shifted up to a sitting position, Sanya pushed her little head toward her breast. Kahlan laughed softly.
"Ah, so now that I'm awake, you want to be fed?" she asked her daughter. Kahlan leaned her back against the headboard and worked the folds of her robes until she could pull out one of her breasts. Sanya immediately latched on and began suckling. Kahlan smiled and caressed the back of Sanya's little head, enjoying the feeling of breastfeeding her child again.
Sighing with contentment, Kahlan glanced over at the other two sleeping in the bed with her. Ashley had snuggled up close to Richard during the night and was latch on to him even more than she had been when they had drifted asleep. There was a contented smile plastered on Richard's face and Kahlan could not help but beam at the sight of him sleeping. As if sensing the pair of eyes on her, Ashley stirred and wiggled around onto her back. Her big blue eyes blinked open and she stared up at her mother.
The little girl smiled up at her, then spun back around and practically punched Richard right in the gut. "Daddy! Wake!"
"Oof!" Richard grunted and opened his eyes. His smile grew and he grabbed Ashley, lifting her into the air. The little girl giggled with delight and swung her legs. "That wasn't very nice, Ashley."
"Daddy needed wake!" Ashley retorted.
Richard smiled and brought the little girl back to the ground and hugged her tight. She squirmed in his arms and he tickled her. Loud squeals drifted through the room as Ashley wiggled and laughed. Richard laughed along with her. Kahlan watched all this with joy, seeing how much of a family they appeared. When he stopped tickling her, Ashley jumped up on him and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.
"Morning, Daddy!" she squealed.
"Morning, sweetheart," Richard murmured, brushing his hand through her golden hair and kissing her forehead.
He shifted, holding Ashley in his arms, as he brought himself up to a sitting position. It was not until his back was resting against the headboard that he noticed Kahlan had been watching him. His smile grew wider.
"How long have you been watching?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow as Ashley shifted around in his lap, her little head tilting up to watch her parents talk.
"Long enough," Kahlan replied back with a big grin, slightly bemused at his antics as a father.
Richard gave her his boyish smirk and winked. "Well, morning to you, too, beautiful," he whispered and leaned across the distance between them, capturing her lips with his. Kahlan moaned softly and closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his lips on hers.
"Ewww!" Ashley exclaimed, covering her eyes. Kahlan laughed as they backed out of their kiss. She looked down at Ashley, who was peeking out from behind her hands. Richard sat there for a moment, staring at them.
"You know, I was just thinking, she's quite advanced for only being one and half years old," Richard said. "Most children at this age are usually just learning to talk and just getting interested in walking. Yet Ashley's able to communicate and somewhat waddle."
"Confessors mature at a faster rate than normal children," Kahlan explained. "I think Merrit, the wizard who created confessors, invested our magic with a spell that makes infant confessors grow and learn at a quicker pace, so that we may then be better able to defend and protect ourselves from others." She paused and sighed. "There are a great many who hate and despise us for what we do, even if it is in the name of justice and truth."
Richard gave an understanding nod. "Well, I don't hate you, quite the opposite really," he winked and ran a hand down her face, fiddling with her long strands of dark hair. He leaned forward and gave her another kiss, to which Ashley shouted another exclamation of disgust.
"Gross!" Ashley squeaked out.
Laughing, they leaned back and he ran his hand down her arm until they were holding hands. She gripped his tightly and smiled at him, as his eyes drifted down to little Sanya, who was still greedily suckling upon Kahlan's right breast.
"Are you jealous, Richard?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, a playful sparkle catching in her eyes. Kahlan's mind began to run wild with plans to deposit the girls on a maid so that she could have some alone time with her Seeker.
Ashley furrowed her little brow and shifted in Richard's lap. "Why Daddy be jealous? Daddy eats normal food… like me!" She crossed her arms and gave a smile that said she was very proud of herself for being able to answer her mother's question.
Richard chuckled slightly as his thumb rubbed the back of Kahlan's hand. "Yep, confessor's definitely mature quicker than other children," he nodded. "See, Ashley already knows how to form a debate!"
Kahlan laughed and gave a nod, shifting her free hand to help keep Sanya secure. Ashley squirmed around in Richard's lap, wiggling out of his hold and climbing up into Kahlan's lap. Her big blue eyes stared at Sanya.
"When baby eat normal?" she asked, looking up at Kahlan.
Looking down at her daughter, Kahlan turned and glanced at Richard for support. Richard shifted and grabbed Ashley, pulling her back into his lap. He spun her around to face him and he tickled her little neck. Ashley squealed and laughed. "Daddy… hee hee… stop!" Her giggles seemed to make Richard's face beam all the more with joy.
Kahlan liked the look, and could not wait until he could play with both the girls, and hopefully many more. Richard looked up from the giggling girl and his warm brown eyes locked with hers. He mouthed a silent "I love you," then went back to tickling Ashley.
Shifting, Kahlan turned her attention back to the smallest and youngest member of the family. Sanya's unruly brown hair was thick and showed no indication that it was going to change. Smiling softly, Kahlan ran her fingers through the thick hair, mesmerized by how beautiful her daughter was. Sanya let go of her nipple and shifted her little head to look up at her with big brown eyes that looked so much like her father's. She drooled a little, some of the milk dripping out of the corners of her mouth. Kahlan quickly wiped them away with a finger, and shifted the satisfied baby in her arms, closing her blouse back up to cover herself.
Just as she was finishing the last button on her blouse, a knock came from the door. Richard swooped Ashley up into his arms and hopped off the bed, the little golden hair girl giggling all the way. She squirmed around in his arms and looked over his shoulder, staring back at Kahlan with a big grin, her little arms possessively wrapped around Richard's neck.
Kahlan adjusted her legs and slipped off the bed, tucking Sanya into the curve of her arm. The little baby made a mewling noise and nuzzled her head against Kahlan, almost as if she wanted to be fed again. Kahlan shook her head in disbelief. "I just fed you, Sanya," she protested.
Sanya pushed her head into Kahlan's chest, her little mouth grabbing at her. Sighing, Kahlan stopped by the foot of the bed, and shifted Sanya until she could operate with one hand. She unbuttoned her blouse again and freed her left breast. Turning Sanya around, she positioned her baby before the nipple and the little girl latched on, suckling away happily.
"You're really hungry this morning," Kahlan commented out loud. She made soft cooing noises and ran her fingers through Sanya's hair, hoping the baby would go back to sleep. Kahlan hated the idea that she might need a nursemaid to help her out, but Sanya seemed to be more demanding as of late. Then again, she had been without her mother for a couple of days because of the trouble they had had with the Soul Fusion spell.
Sighing, Kahlan sat back down on the edge of the bed, not really wanting to walk out into the public while breastfeeding. She was grateful that whoever had knocked on the door had not come in. She sat there and waited for Richard to return. Hearing the door close, Kahlan looked up to see Richard return, Ashley's tiny arms still possessively wrapped around his neck.
"Who was it?" she asked.
"Zedd," he said. "He thinks he might have found something." Kahlan furrowed her brow, confused. Richard raised his eyebrows and gave a nod. "Sorry, I forgot, you weren't with us when we were talking about maybe redoing the Soul Fusion spell."
"Redoing it?" Kahlan questioned, knitting her eyebrows together dubiously. She thought it was unwise to risk doing anything more with that blasted spell. It had already cost them an eternity together in the Underworld once they left the world of the living.
Richard let out a long sigh and knelt down, placing Ashley on the ground, next to some toys. The little girl quickly began to entertain herself. He stayed kneeling beside her, his eyes averted from Kahlan's. Breathing in deeply, Kahlan decided to let him take it at his own pace. Slowly, he stood, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"The separation spell Zedd performed had the effect of permanently unbinding our souls," he began.
Kahlan nodded, she knew this already.
"Well," Richard continued, scratching the back of his head. "Apparently the spell worked to such an extent that if we were to marry again, our marriage would not be recognized by the good spirits, because our souls can never be truly bound in any way ever again."
"Oh," Kahlan replied softly, and looked down. What was he trying to tell her? That they could no longer get married and be husband and wife?
"So," Richard continued. "I suggested we find out how to do a true Soul Fusion spell, one which won't effect us like the one I cast over us a slightly over month ago after you gave birth to Sanya."
Kahlan glanced back up and saw him smiling.
"You see, Kahlan," he said, stepping over to her and dropping to his knees. "A real Soul Fusion spell can override the separation spell Zedd used to restore us to our bodies. Our souls can be linked again, in this world, and the next… always and forever."
She swallowed down her fear and worry, and looked deep into his eyes, using her confessor powers to sense the truth behind his words. Kahlan never felt right using this power with Richard, and frankly, he was hard to read, but sometimes, like right now, his walls were down and she could read him.
Slowly, a small smile creased over her face, realizing he was telling her the truth and was not just trying to reassure her. "Then what has Zedd found?" she inquired.
Richard reached out and put a hand on her thigh, giving it a gently squeeze. "The true Soul Fusion spell, in its entirety, with both the words and rituals that go along with it," he said. "We'll have to study it some more, and do some more research, but I feel confident it can be done. And that we can finally, and truly, be one."