Chapter 27 – Origins

Her heart was pounding profoundly beneath her chest as she watched the Lord Rahl lead the Mother Confessor out of the council chambers, his hand strategically placed on the small of her back. She glimpsed them speaking softly, before he leaned down and kissed her, his hand running tenderly down her arm until they were holding hands. When they broke away, he reached up and held her face in his hand, whispered one more thing, then gave her another kiss, before turning and walking around the wooden latticework structure to join Cynthia out on the marble floor of the council chambers.

Coming up to stand by her, Richard heaved in a deep breath and looked over at her, giving her a reassuring smile. He then looked towards Cara. "Bring him," he said firmly. And then added, under his breath, "Let's get this over with."

Cynthia followed him to stand just before the raised dais and the Mother Confessor's chair. She rung her hands together and looked down. She almost jerked when she felt his hand on her chin.

"Raise your head, Cynthia," he said. "You're supposed to be the Mother Confessor. You must appear strong."

"Yes, sorry," Cynthia breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, summoning up her courage. "I… I'm just nervous. What if I cannot fool him?"

"You fooled me," Richard said, raising an eyebrow and giving her an easy smile.

"You had lost your memories," Cynthia averted her eyes. "And… well, I was able to do other things to distract you that I could not very well do with someone I'm trying to convince that I'm his daughter."

Richard gave a nod of his head. "True," he said. "But still, you don't have to worry. He's barely seen Kahlan. From what I've been told, he only saw her for about two days and that was slightly over a year ago." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just relax and look angry… he'll be expecting you to be angry. And if need be, I'll handle the speaking. I think he could accept that his daughter may see him, but not speak to him."

Cynthia heaved in a breath and gave a nod, grateful for his reassurance. As she looked up into his eyes she was once again hit with the overwhelming feeling of love and security. She smiled softly and opened her mouth to say something, but then the doors opened and Cara entered with two other Mord'Sith, escorting a man in a dirty green cloak. The man's hood was down, revealing a determined countenance and a head of thick silvery hair. Cynthia did not know how, but she could tell that he was the Mother Confessor's father. It was either something in the way he walked or the way his eyes held that look of command.

They stopped before them, the man's eyes constantly glued on Cynthia. She began to grow nervous, but did her best to hide that fact. She lowered her eyebrows and told herself to imagine he was the man who had killed her beloved Jared. That emotion alone should be enough to convince anyone that she was angry and held hate in her eyes. After an instant, the man looked away and turned his attention to Richard.

"You must be the Seeker… and the Lord Rahl, as well," he spoke in a low and gravely voice that had presence to it. "I am Frederick Amnell, Kahlan's father."

"Yes, I know who you are," Richard spoke in a curt voice. Cynthia knew Richard well enough that she could tell he was forcing himself to remain polite. She noticed that his fingers were tightly wrapped around the hilt of his sword. "What do you want?"

"Does a father need a reason to visit is daughter?" he laughed lightly, looking over at Cynthia. His eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he turned back to Richard.

"I heard that you married my daughter, Seeker," he said. "Did she confess you, like her mother confessed me?"

"No," Richard said. "She did not need to confess me to have my love."

Frederick gave a brief nod and clasped his hands in front of him. "Then I'm happy for you… both of you," he looked back at Cynthia. "So… where's my daughter?"

"What?" Richard stepped forward, standing in a protective stance in front of Cynthia.

"My daughter," Frederick repeated, an amused smile forming on his lips. "Where is she?"

"Are you blind? She's right here," Richard said in a tight voice, gesturing towards Cynthia.

Frederick raised a hand and pointed at Cynthia. "Do you think I cannot recognize my own daughter?" he asked. "This woman… she may look exactly like her, but she is not my Kahlan."

"Kahlan is not yours!" Richard spoke through gritted teeth. "The moment you tied her up and forced her to use her powers to further your own ends, you forfeited that right!"

Cynthia was blown away by the anger in Richard's voice. She did not know what had transpired in the Mother Confessor's childhood, but hearing what she was hearing now, she wondered if she ever truly wanted to find out. Though, Cynthia highly doubted it could be any worse than what she had been through at the hands of the Order and all those men seeking to pleasure themselves with the use of her body.

"You were not there, Seeker!" Frederick snapped back. "You have no idea what if feels like to wake up and realize that your entire life had been stolen from you. I never wanted to be a soldier, but my father had other plans for me. I had been saving up my earnings to break free of his control so that I could marry the woman I love. But Kahlan's mother took that away from me the moment she confessed me and made me her mate."

He paused and took a breath; his eyes flirted over to Cynthia for a moment, until returning to Richard.

"I never asked to become a father," he continued. "I was not given a voice in the decision. So, yes, she may not be my daughter by choice, but that does not change the fact that by blood, she is." Frederick narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "You may not believe this, Seeker, seeing how you are immune to her confessor's touch, but I was afraid of her and Dennee. You have no idea what it feels like to know with the slightest touch that your own daughters could destroy who you are. So yes, I reacted out of fear and hatred… it doesn't excuse what I did, but seeing how you've never been in my situation, I don't think you have the right to judge me!"

Richard's nostrils flared and he made a move forward, looking intent on dealing out some justice of his own. Cynthia reached over and touched his shoulder, stilling him. Frederick looked back at her and his eyes dropped to her stomach. Cynthia held her breath and watched as he turned back to Richard.

"My daughter is five months with child," he said. "And this woman obviously is not."

Suddenly there was a commotion from behind them and the Mother Confessor emerged from behind the wooden latticework. "I should have known better than try and fool you, father," she said the last bit with an undercurrent of anger.

"Kahlan," he nodded. "So good to see you again. I'm surprised by your reaction… especially with how we parted on such a good terms. I thought we had mended some bridges."

"So did I," Kahlan shot back, now standing next to Cynthia. "Obviously, you have more work ahead of you in recovering whatever honor you ever had."

Cynthia expected Frederick to make a retort, but he did not. His face changed into a stunned expression and he stared at them, his mouth agape.

"What? Speechless now that you're confronted with the genuine article?" Kahlan snapped, shifting uncomfortably under his stare.

Richard stepped in-between Cynthia and Kahlan, reaching for his wife's hand. Cynthia stepped back and let them seize control of the conversation, as she took up place behind the Mother Confessor. She had tended to the Mother Confessor as one of her handmaidens, so she knew how and where to stand, and it was easy to fall back into the role.

"Well?" Richard questioned. "Answer her. I think she deserves one."

Frederick blinked and closed his mouth, his eyes shifting between Kahlan and Cynthia. "What magic have you used to make her look like my daughter?" he asked.

"Magic?" Kahlan wrinkled her nose, momentarily confused. "No magic. She was born like that, father."

"What is her name?" he asked.

"Her name?" scoffed Kahlan. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer me, my little star," he said, trying to calm her.

Cynthia noticed Kahlan fluster. "How dare you use that name!"

"Why? It was my pet name for you when you were little, Kahlan," he said. "Not everything I did was so awful."

"What you did while confessed does not count!" Kahlan shouted back. Cynthia observed Richard inch closer to her and place his arm protectively around her shoulder. The Mother Confessor leaned into him, but held her anger. "I never want to hear you use that name ever again!"

"Fine," Frederick lowered his brow. "If you answer my question, I might be able to shed some light on why this woman looks so much like you."

The Mother Confessor faltered for a bit. Cynthia's own heart was pounding like mad. If this man truly had information to explain why she looked so much like Kahlan Amnell, then she would willingly tell him her name to find it out. Richard hugged Kahlan closer as the two exchanged a look. He looked over his shoulder at Cynthia, and then turned back to Frederick.

"Cynthia," Richard said softly at first. "Her name is Cynthia."

"Cynthia," Frederick drawled the name out in a long breath. His eyes went wide and he stared past Kahlan at her. Cynthia felt uncomfortable with how he was looking at her. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Tell me, Cynthia, where did you grow up?"

She looked over at the Lord Rahl and Mother Confessor, unsure if she should answer the man. The two had a quick conversation with their eyes, before Richard turned to Cynthia and nodded.

"In the Tanimura countryside," she answered. "My parents were farmers. We supplied the Sisters of the Light at the Palace of the Prophets with wheat for their bread."

Frederick nodded, as if this was not news to him. "And your mother, was her name Anja?"

Cynthia could not hide the shock on her face. "How do you know my mother's name?" she asked, stepping forward, ignoring everyone else.

Kahlan's father swallowed and took a quick breath. He looked to the Mother Confessor for a second and then turned back at Cynthia.

"I knew her," he said. "She was a Sister of the Light."

"No, you're mistaken," Cynthia said shaking her head. "My mother was no sorceress. She and father had me later in life, yes, but nothing else about them was out of the ordinary."

"They were not your parents," Frederick said, turning to look at the Mother Confessor. "Kahlan, listen to me, I know you can never forgive me for how I treated you and Dennee after your mother died, but you must believe me now."

Kahlan clutched onto Richard and gave a slight nod, seemingly willing to give him a chance to explain things. Frederick gave a nod of gratitude and looked over at the Mord'Sith, before continuing.

"You're birth was especially difficult on your mother," Frederick told Kahlan. "I was besides myself with worry and grief the whole time—now I know it was because I was confessed. That being said, when you finally came… you did not come alone." He turned and looked at Cynthia.

"What are you saying, father?" Kahlan asked, her voice a little higher than usual, both her and the Lord Rahl had turned to look at Cynthia, who felt very much like she had a spotlight on her.

"A rare thing happened during the pregnancy," Frederick explained. "According to the attending wizard, Katharine—" Cynthia noticed Kahlan scowl at her father's use of her mother's name "—was exposed to something, he could not say what, but its resulting effect was to duplicate the child growing in her womb. You see, Cynthia does not just look like you, Kahlan, she is your twin sister."

"My… my twin sister?" Kahlan stammered out.

Frederick nodded. Kahlan's eyes grew wide and she stared at Cynthia. "I… I don't understand?" Cynthia spoke up, furrowing her brow, utterly confused. "I have never seen a confessor or even heard of one until almost a year ago. And from what I've learned about them… I could not be one. Jared… my… my sweet Jared… he would have been confessed long before we even consummated our marriage." She suddenly blushed, embarrassed to have just told everyone in the room an intimate detail about her life.

"I don't know how it happened," Frederick said. "I am no wizard, and I do not presume to understand how your powers work, but nonetheless it did. And from what the wizard said, the split that made you into two individuals happened in such away that it also separated the invested magic of confession, giving it to one and not the other. Though," he turned to Cynthia, "since you still grew and developed in a confessor's womb, you are immune to the powers of confession."

"This is all very interesting," Richard butted in, holding the shell-shocked Mother Confessor close. "But do you have any proof of what you're saying? For all we know you could be making this up."

"I have proof," Frederick asserted. He reached inside his cloak and produced a yellowed parchment that had been folded and sealed with red wax. He handed it to Richard, who looked down at it.

"It's addressed to you, Kahlan," he said.

Cynthia inched closer, intrigued to see this proof. The Mother Confessor took it in shaking hands and examined the writing and wax seal. "This is my mother's handwriting," Kahlan confirmed. "The seal is that of the Mother Confessor." With trembling hands she broke the seal and unfolded the letter. Her eyes scanned the contents for a moment before she began to read it aloud in a wavering voice:

My dearest Kahlan,

If you are reading this, then I have died before you came of age. There is a dark secret that I have kept from you and Dennee. A secret that I feel compelled to commit to writing.

Kahlan, my precious Kahlan… you have a twin sister.

You were so alike in almost everyway, except for the very reason that we confessors give birth. She was not blest with the powers of confession. The wizards do not understand it, and to be honest, neither do I.

I wanted to keep her, but the Mother Confessor ordered me to give her up. It was a terrible and dark time for me, and I wrestled over the decision for a long time. Eventually, I had to relent to the Mother Confessor, so I called upon the Sisters of the Light, whom have been kind to me over the years.

A Sister Anja came and gave an oath to look after and raise her as if she were her own. I have not seen your sister since that day. And it is a decision I deeply regret. Please don't think less of me, my precious Kahlan. As I named you after your grandmother, I have named your twin sister after my own grandmother, Cynthia. And Sister Anja has promised to honor my choice and raise her with that name. It brought me some comfort, knowing that she still had something of me with her.

It is my wish, and solemn hope, that when you read this letter, that you do all in your power to find your sister and bring her home. Let her know that her mother loved her and always regretted giving her away. And please, Kahlan, my sweet Kahlan, be as good a sister to her as you have been to Dennee. My sweet little Cynthia, who I can still remember tugging on my hair as I held her for the first time, did not deserve what fate has put on her.

Out of everything I have done in my life, giving her up was the most difficult and most painful. All I can do is pray that one day both you and your sister can forgive me for my weakness, when I should have been strong and disobeyed the orders I was given.

With all my love,

Katharine Amnell

Kahlan finished the letter, tears in her eyes. Cynthia, who had slowly drifted over to read over the Mother Confessor's shoulder, was near tears herself. Kahlan noticed her closeness and tilted her head to look at her.

"Can… can it be true?" Cynthia asked, her voice trembling.

"It is mother's handwriting and I'd recognize her style anywhere…," Kahlan suddenly turned and glared at Frederick. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"Kahlan?" he knitted his eyebrows together, seemingly confused.

"Last year!" Kahlan snapped, annoyed, clutching on to Richard as she continued glaring at Frederick, letting go of the letter. Cynthia caught it in her hands and read over the words herself, listening to the others speak in the background. "When I freed you from prison… why did you not tell me that I had a twin sister?"

The man gulped and averted his gaze for the first time. "I was still somewhat bitter," he said. "But then you were kinder to me than I had expected, and even gave me the box of jewelry, where the letter was. When I found it, I remembered… confessed memories are not like real ones, Kahlan. They can sometimes be fogged and cloudy. But when I saw your mother's note, I remembered Cynthia and what had happened. So I came as fast as I could, knowing that my daughter, the Mother Confessor, would want to know that she had a sister, especially after you had lost Dennee to the plague."

Kahlan huffed. "Just words! That's all you have! Words!"

Looking up from the letter, Cynthia scrunched up her brow. She did not know what to think. She had just discovered that her entire life had been a lie. Her mother and father… they weren't even her real parents. Sure they had raised her, but had they loved her? What would her life had been like if she had not been given up? She knew she would not have become a confessor, but she would have had her family… her sister... no… her sisters! The Mother Confessor had had a younger sister named Dennee. No… Cynthia shook her head. I… I had a younger sister. A sister that I will never know because she is dead!

Tears started to pour from her eyes as she collapsed on the floor. She clutched her middle and sobbed for the life that had been robbed from her all because fate had decided to split her and Kahlan apart, giving the latter all the benefits, while she had been neglected to the role of a dud, a failed offspring of a confessor.

XXX

Kahlan was infuriated. She could not believe this. Everything she had thought had been wrong. She knew that she was venting at her father, yelling and shouting at him, because she felt guilty over how she had treated Cynthia. Spirits, how could she have been so blind. It should have been obvious that there was more to the connection between them beside the fact they looked the same. Suddenly, she heard sobbing. She turned away from her father and looked down to see Cynthia collapsed on the floor, crying.

I have a sister, Kahlan thought. I have a twin sister! For the first time since Dennee had died, Kahlan's heart began to mend. She now had the opportunity to repair the mistake her mother had made. I have a twin sister!

Richard sensed what she wanted to do, which Kahlan was grateful for, because without his assistance, she would have had difficulty. With his hand for support, Kahlan knelt down beside the trembling frame of her sister—her sister!—and wrapped her arms around her. Cynthia jerked and looked up, sniffling.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Kahlan murmured, feeling awful for how she had treated Cynthia. If only she had known the truth! Her heart was torn between so many emotions: Guilt, anger, betrayal, joy, love, and elation. They were all there, fighting for dominance.

Kahlan did not know what to feel, and it appeared neither did Cynthia. Together, as true twins, they wept and gently rocked back and forth on the marble floor, simply comforting one another.

"I… I should have suspected this," Kahlan choked out.

"It… it is not your fault," Cynthia replied through her sobs. "I am nothing compared to you."

"No," Kahlan shook her head, her hands reaching up to clutch Cynthia's face and hold it up. "Listen to me… I lost one sister, not once but twice. And I am not going to lose another. Especially one that is my twin! My twin!" She repeated it, still stunned by the revelation. Slowly, holding each other, Kahlan and Cynthia stood, Richard helping with Kahlan. They turned and looked down at their father.

"I suppose you'll want a room," Kahlan forced out.

"I was a soldier, Kahlan," he said. "Though, it was not what I wanted, I was one. I am willing to serve and do what I can, to… to redeem myself for my sins. After all, I have two daughters and a grandchild on the way. And I want to be a good father and grandfather, if you'll let me."

Kahlan bit her lower lip and looked over at Cynthia, who was still in a state of shock. She was shocked, as well, but she had been trained by confessors to suppress her feelings, so it was easier for her to cope, though she knew afterwards she was going to need time to release those suppressed feelings. Despite her better judgment, Kahlan told Cara to find her father a room and to tell Captain Meiffert to find some work for him to do. Frederick bowed and departed with the Mord'Sith.

"Kahlan, are you all right?" Richard asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Turning towards her husband, Kahlan grabbed at his shirt and pulled him into a three-way hug between her, him, and Cynthia. Richard leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Richard," Kahlan murmured softly.

"For what?" he questioned.

"For showing my… my sister true kindness when I did not," she answered. Then turning her head to Cynthia. "Can… can you forgive me for treating you so poorly?"

Cynthia sniffled and blinked her eyes. "I never blamed you for treating me as you did, Mother Conf—"

Kahlan stopped her. "No, not Mother Confessor," she smiled lightly. "You… you're my sister. And I want you to call me by my name."

"Yes, Moth—Kahlan," Cynthia nodded, and paused, catching her breath. "Do not blame yourself. You had no way of knowing. Neither of us did. I… I…," a smile touched her lips. "I have never had a sister before."

"Or a brother," Richard smirked. "Well, brother-in-law."

Kahlan smiled. "Family is important to me, Cynthia. And I want to make things up to you. Not just for me, but for our mother. I… I want to tell you about her… and about our sister, Dennee."

"I… I'd like that," Cynthia choked out. "I'd like that a lot."