"Zedd, as much as I appreciate your help, I do miss sleep." Richard rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on the book in front of him. He didn't miss sleep. He missed Kahlan.
"Wizard, let the Seeker tend to the Mother Confessor. I've heard that she has become quite moody with the absence of the Seeker in her bed." Cara paced the small room, letting a leather clad finger swipe along the spines of dusty books. Either she was with him and Zedd, or with the Brandstone family. Richard took note of how she was never actually with Kahlan. A part of him wondered why, a part of him knew.
In fact, no one had been with Kahlan. He felt a pang of guilt, realizing that she must have been alone for the better part of the three days. Richard fidgeted in his chair. He had other things to attend to.
"My boy, I do realize you wish to get back to Kahlan, but you must learn more about your magic."
"As much as I understand the necessity, I do not see why it all has to happen at once." Richard looked up at Zedd, narrowing his eyes. The old man had kept him cooped up in the Wizard's Keep for far too long. All he wanted to do was hold Kahlan in his arms. It seemed like it had been ages since he had last done so.
He wondered how the meeting with the Council went. She had mentioned it in passing in one of the rare occasions they were permitted to talk before Zedd rushed him in a different direction. Richard hoped she would have them all executed. He hoped she would give him the honor of ending all of their miserable lives. Although he knew she held a small glimmer of hope in regards to their loyalty, he did not. Richard knew exactly what they did, and because of that Kahlan could have been taken away and been condemned to Rahl's bed for the rest of her life.
That was unacceptable.
Richard clenched his jaw and balled his hands in fists. He could feel the magic hum under his skin. Since Zedd's instruction, Richard was now able to sense when his magic was coming forth. However, he didn't know how to control it. He knew it only appeared when Kahlan was concerned.
"If you do not let him see the Mother Confessor, the Seeker will surely burst." Cara sauntered forward and flicked her hand out, quickly closing the book that Richard was reading. Zedd scowled.
"A frustrated Seeker is a useless one." She simply stated, straightening her back. "He will learn much better once he is," Cara gave him a sidelong glance. "Reunited with his beloved."
Richard smiled, letting his body relax. Oh, how he wanted to be "reunited" with Kahlan. He took in a deep breath, pushing himself out of his chair with determination. He would not let Zedd deter him from spending the night with Kahlan again. He had done so too many times. Richard smiled, turning towards Cara and giving her a small nod of appreciation. The Mord'Sith smirked in response.
Zedd sighed and shook his head, waving his hands in a movement to shoo Richard away. "Go, my boy. But I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow morning."
"Good luck with that, Wizard. We will be lucky if we see him within the week."
Richard laughed at Cara's remark as he walked out of the room, his energy renewed.
xx
Kahlan stared out the window, watching as the two nameless councilmen waved their goodbye's to the people of Aydindril. She had yet to see Evan, Marcus, and Trevor make their way out of the city. She bit the inside of her cheek.
She now had to appoint a new Council. She wondered if that was even possible. She would have to ask Zedd of the protocol. She was sure this was never an issue before.
Kahlan sighed as she pulled away from the window, looking at the empty room before her. She was getting sick of being cooped up in her room. Kahlan set her jaw and grabbed a cloak, pulling it on over her small shoulders. She would go and greet the people of Aydindril.
xx
Richard smiled as he grasped the familiar handle, pushing the door open. His smile withered away when he saw that Kahlan wasn't in her quarters. The room still smelt of her, and he was sure she had just left. He sighed and walked over to the bed, letting himself fall onto the soft mattress. He pulled off his boots and shirt and shifted on the bed.
He didn't know how exhausted he was until his head hit the pillow and he dozed off.
xx
Kahlan pulled the cloak around her as she walked through the streets of Aydindril. Many of the people were upset with her for banishing the council members. Although they didn't openly display their emotions, Kahlan could read it on their faces. She also knew that most of the people had no faith in her or her abilities as a ruler. She didn't blame them.
She found herself wanting to hide from her own people, which unnerved her. She pulled the cloak around her as if a shield. She stared at her feet as she moved, watching as her white dress became dirtied with the filth of the street. It was near dusk and she wanted nothing more to be in her room, yet, she couldn't bring herself to go back to the Confessor's Palace.
She felt alone when she was amongst the vast marble. Kahlan hadn't realized what a lonely place it was until Richard was removed from the equation. Now, she viewed it more as a prison instead of a home. Without Richard, it wasn't comfortable in the slightest.
Kahlan didn't pay attention as her feet guided her along the streets, and soon she was lost in her own city. She looked up at the sky, watching as the dull blue turned to black. She glanced around, hoping to find some landmark that would point her in the direction of the Confessor's Palace, but all she found were dark alleyways.
She clenched her eyes shut, feeling a wave of nausea hit her. The streets around her began to spin and she brought a hand to her face. She needed rest. She found that she needed more and more lately, which she found rather annoying. Kahlan sighed, leaning against one of the walls.
"Well, hello there, Mother Confessor."
Kahlan's eyes shot open. She recognized that voice. Evan. She looked up at the sky, confirming that it was indeed nightfall. She smiled to herself, she was no longer held accountable for her actions. She turned, only slightly surprised to see Marcus and Trevor behind him.
"I do believe I banished you from this city." She said coolly, but she felt the panic begin to swell within her. Something didn't feel right.
"We stand by our original statements." Evan took a step forward. "You have no authority to rid of us. In fact, you shouldn't even have the authority to rule."
"But I do, and you three must follow my orders." Kahlan cursed herself for feeling so sick. She felt as though she were about to collapse, and from the look in their eyes, she knew these men were going to become a threat.
"We don't follow the orders of some whore just because she has a title." Marcus spat.
Kahlan swallowed past the lump in her throat.
xx
Richard's eyes popped open. He instinctively reached out, but he didn't find Kahlan. He pushed himself off the bed, looking towards the window. It was dark.
Something was horribly wrong.
xx
Kahlan was speechless. She didn't know how to react, or what to even say to that. She couldn't necessarily defend herself, except to say that she wasn't a whore. But that didn't seem like a strong enough argument to deter these men from doing anything.
"Do you have so much disregard that you would corner the very woman you are supposed to advise?" She finally managed to choke out, but the three seemed to be swimming in the alleyway. Everything was turning upside down. She felt as though she were going to vomit.
"In the even that the Mother Confessor dies," Trevor took a step forward and Kahlan struggled to focus. "The Council becomes the ultimate ruler of the Midlands."
"Are you telling me that you would kill me in order to assume my position?" Kahlan was flabbergasted.
"You are not fit to rule." Evan said coldly, taking a step forward. It wasn't until his hip swayed that she saw the glimmer of a knife on his belt.
It wasn't until Kahlan swallowed that Evan began to pull the knife out of his belt.
"You will run the Midlands into the ground. The older Council's were not wise. The fate of a land should not depend solely on one woman, especially one of your likes. You aren't experienced, and you show no interest in learning how to rule. You don't care for our opinions and you don't listen to your advice. We were the voice of the Midlands before you came along."
Kahlan closed her eyes as she felt Evan step closer towards her. She wanted to lift an arm, to confess him effortlessly, but it took so much strength to move her limb. She felt as though everything weighed a thousand pounds. She wanted nothing more than to fall in a heap and slumber for days.
"Darken Rahl should have killed you." Kahlan fought back her fear when she heard Marcus speak the words without emotion.
She felt the cold steel tip on her neck and she took a deep breath, opening her eyes.
"We are sorry, Mother Confessor. If there were any other way, we would surely take it." She sensed the truth with Evan spoke the words, but it didn't comfort her. She lifted a hand slowly, resting it on Evan's wrist. He froze when he felt the contact of her clammy skin.
All she had to do was release her power. She couldn't think, and her vision began to blur, the corners of her sight going black. She swayed on her feet.
"There is another way." The voice was bold and strong, one she recognized. Because she recognized it, she allowed herself to fall back against the wall, sliding down and resting on the cobblestone of the city floors.
There was a clamor and some yelling, but all was ended quickly. She was vaguely aware of what was happening, but all that mattered to her was that someone was defending her and protecting her.
It wasn't until she felt warm hands on her cheeks that her mind fully processed who it was. She opened her eyes to see his warm brown ones reflecting back towards her.
"Kahlan, are you okay? You're so cold..." Richard wrapped his arms around her, mumbling things that became incoherent to her. She sighed and rested against him, letting her exhaustion take over.