Chapter 36 – Alone

He thought he heard it on the wind, almost like a soft whisper calling his name. It sounded so much like the woman he loved that he had to pry himself out of bed to peer out the window to see if she was out there… somewhere. But she was not there. Sighing, he gazed up, staring at the glowing sky, imagining her beautiful face in place of the rising sun, as it shone down on the forest below, giving him that special smile she gave only to him and no one else.

Richard closed his eyes and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp cool air of the early morning. He turned his back to the window and sat down on the edge of his bed. His quarters in the Palace of the Prophets were nothing but stark bare walls and simple furnishings. But at least he had a bed and a roof over his head, something he'd been lacking from the weeks it took to travel to travel to this gilded prison. Shifting, he opened the drawer on the bedside stand and took out the woodcarving he had been working on since before he had arrived. It was starting to come along nicely. He smiled at it and ran his finger down its curves, womanly in nature. In fact, they were curves very similar to a particular woman, one whom he missed dearly and wished to hold in his arms again… not to mention in his bed.

The only other person he had allowed to view his work in progress was Sister Verna. She would smile knowingly and roll her eyes, very much aware of whom the figurine he was carving represented. Richard smiled at it, took out the dagger and worked on the figure, cutting the line of her face, her cute nose and delicate jaw line. It was coming along slowly, but it was starting to look more and more like his beloved Kahlan. Pursing his lips, he brought the small wooden statuette up to his lips and kissed its tiny brow, much as he would to the woman whom was its inspiration.

Closing his eyes, his lips parted and he murmured her name: "Kahlan."

Blinking, Richard heard the sound of the latch of the door beginning to open. Just as the heavy oak door groaned opened, he managed to shove the small figurine underneath the blankets of his bed, shielding it from prying eyes. He flipped the dagger in his hands and sheathed it to his belt. His tutor, the slim petite Sister with brown hair and keen green eyes, whom he had come to know as Sister Bree, stepped in. She smiled at him, taking a deep breath which caused her chest to swell up, her small breasts bunching together underneath the strain of the tight red dress she wore; the lower neckline meant to entice him with the sight of her flesh. However, it failed to do anything but annoy him.

"Good morning, Richard," she beamed at him, her eyes drinking in the sight of him with his shirt off.

"Good morning, Sister," Richard grumbled, standing up and pulling a shirt up over his shoulders. "What lessons do you have for me today?"

"Here," she held out a small hand, giving him a piece of white chalk. "Draw the Grace for me," she instructed. "And tell me what each line, square, and circle represents."

Richard gave a nod. "Yes, Sister." This would be the fifth time Sister Bree had started his lessons with this, he was almost capable of doing it while blindfolded.

From hours of practice and study, Richard knelt before the ground and took the chalk and set to work, creating a perfect circle. "The beginning of the underworld," he said. "Out beyond this circle there is nothing. That is why the Grace begins here, because out of nothing is where Creation began." Taking the chalk, he it ran it down inside the circle, creating a square, one of each of the four points touching the outer circle. "The veil that separates the spirit world from the world of the living." Continuing, Richard drew another circle, just large enough to touch the insides of the square. "The world of life," he noted, glancing up at the Sister, before turning his attention back to the symbol.

Within the center of the of the inner circle, he drew an eight pointed star. "The star is the Light—the Creator." And lastly, he drew straight lines that radiated out from the points of the star, permeating out through both circles, every other line bisecting a corner of the square. "These lines represent the love of the Creator, sending out the gift to Her children, which penetrates all boundaries, giving hope to all of remaining within Her eternal light from birth through life and beyond the veil into the depths of the underworld."

"Very good," Sister Bree squealed, clapping her hands in delight. If she hadn't been trying so hard to look so jovial, Richard would have laughed. "I am amazed at how well you can concentrate," she added, shifting her leg out from the cut of her dress to expose a generous portion of her thigh to him.

Richard rolled his eyes. "There is very little else I can do in this place but learn about your silly drabble," he scoffed.

"Oh really?" Bree quirked up an eyebrow. "Then tell me, Richard, what is this gift that the Creator has endowed Her children with?"

"Magic… Han… whatever you want to call it," he said, standing up.

"Precisely," Bree smiled coyly, gliding up close to him. She placed a delicate finger on his chest, just above his heart. "A gift from the Creator is not something you should squandered, Richard. You should embrace it and use it, as it was meant to be used."

She pushed herself up on her toes and pursed her lips, bringing them within a hair's breath away form his. "You should stop torturing yourself with loneliness, Seeker," she purred. "It is time you allow me to share your bed during the cold nights. The tension that has grown between us must be released."

"The tension is one way," Richard said, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her back down, away from him. "I have no feelings for you, Sister. And I certainly do not desire to bed you."

"You do not find my attractive?" she asked, sounding slighted.

"You attractiveness has nothing to do with it," Richard said, narrowing his eyes. "My heart belongs to another."

Bree laughed. "Another, really?" she winked at him and ran her delicate hand along his arm. "If she really wanted you, then why is she not here with you? Why did she not come with you to this palace?"

Richard swallowed past the lump in his throat at the thoughts that question sparked within his mind.

"You've seen the others," Sister Bree continued. "You are not the only pupil here studying to become a wizard. They have wives and children with them. But you came alone? Why is that?"

"We were told that the Prelate wanted me to come alone, that… that she would be a distraction," Richard faltered, beginning to see the discrepancies in the things he had been told with the things he had seen. Bree was right. The other young men he had seen here, though not from the Midlands like himself, had come with lovers or wives, and sometimes even with children in toe. He was the only one with no one with him. He was alone.

Bree continued running her hand down his arm, until she reached his hand. She ran her fingers through his as he stared absently down at the Grace on the floor. Richard was vaguely aware of what she was doing, as she brought his hand up and placed it on her chest, moving his fingers across the exposed portion of her breasts.

"You are alone, Richard…," she cooed. "Let me help ease that burden."

Richard blinked and came back to reality. "No," he said firmly, pulling his hand back. "I am not alone. As long as I love her, I am not alone!"

Bree frowned and stepped back, folding her arms across her breasts. "This woman of yours," she said, sounding bitter. "She must be quite a woman to keep you leashed from such a far distance."

"A woman like you could never understand, Sister," Richard sneered, narrowing his eyes and clenching his jaw. "Now, if you don't mind, can we continue with the lessons?"

She tilted her head ever so slightly, and gave a nod. "So be it, Seeker," she spat out. "You could have made your long stay here a more enjoyable one if you had accepted by generous offer to become your bedmate." Bree pressed her slim body up against him, pushing up on her toes to look him in the eyes. "You have no idea the pleasure you have just denied yourself."

"The lessons, Sister, if you please," he spoke through gritted teeth, gazing past her head. "Or else I shall request another tutor."

"Fine!" Bree glowered, knitting her eyebrows together, and moved back. "If lessons are all you want, then lessons are all you'll get. I'm through being kind to you. You will now know only study and practice." She huffed and spun on her heels. "Come with me, Seeker. We shall go to the training yards and see how much you've improved in spell casting."