Title: All the Mornings Yet to Come
Summary: Even the longest night must surrender to the sunrise eventually. Coda to "Reckoning." Richard/Kahlan.
Rating: T
It was nearly dawn, and they stood together on the deserted beach, waiting and watching silently. The only sound was the roar of the rushing tides crashing against the weathered cliffs of the rocky coastline.
Neither of them had slept, both exhausted but too wound up from the events of the previous night.
Richard hadn't wanted to close his eyes, afraid he'd lose her again if he let her out of his sight. Afraid he'd wake up only to find himself still trapped in that dreary, gray apocalyptic future where she was gone forever.
All that had been left of her was the cold marble tomb engraved with her name, her beautiful face carved out of stone.
Losing her had left a void that could never be filled.
It had broken his heart to think of her alone and imprisoned in the People's Palace. Grieving over him, grieving over Zedd, knowing she'd never see either of them again alive.
He couldn't begin to imagine the years of suffering she'd had to endure. Like a beautiful bird kept in a gilded cage, with a Rada'Han forever locked around her neck.
He'd never ask Kahlan to wear a Rada'Han, ever. Even when she'd wanted to wear it, to suppress the Con Dar, he'd felt how wrong it was to lock her powers away, to take away what made her strong.
For Rahl to force her to wear it all the time…
Death would have been preferable, but she'd been forced to sacrifice her life, her body, her freedom, her dignity, for the slimmest chance that it might restore him back to their time.
His stomach churned at the thought of Rahl violating her. It infuriated him to think of the cruelty and humiliation she'd had to go through, submitting herself to him.
He hadn't thought it possible to despise Rahl any more than he already did, but…
He'd had what Richard wanted more than anything – Kahlan as his wife and the mother of his child – and he hadn't appreciated it.
To Rahl, Kahlan had been nothing more than a prize and a vessel. Women were interchangeable to him and always dispensable.
Even worse, Rahl had always feared Kahlan's Confessor powers until he'd drunk Giller's potion, rendering his soul safe from Confession. Only then had he been sufficiently emboldened to even touch her.
Then he'd mocked them, taunted them, trivializing their love.
Of course Rahl didn't understand.
What do you know of love, except that you will never feel it from anyone.
Kahlan's scathing words had enraged Rahl, because at his core, Rahl was terrified that he was unlovable, that he was incapable of giving love or receiving it.
Not even his own child had loved him.
It was poetic justice that Rahl had been killed by his own Confessor son, whom he'd planned on using to enslave the world.
At least Kahlan been spared from experiencing the complete and utter destruction of the world by Master Rahl.
What he'd seen in that alternate future would haunt him for a long time.
The only thing that had kept him going was knowing that he still had a chance to return to the moment he'd left. A chance to return to her.
Richard looked over to Kahlan again, reminding himself that for her, it had never happened. None of it.
And it never would.
She looked lost in thought, staring out into the fathomless depths of the infinite ocean. He knew that she'd been deeply disturbed by what he'd shared with her, and it would take time for her to process it all.
When his gaze returned to the waves, he felt a slight change in the atmosphere.
Slowly, a golden glow began suffusing the sky just over the horizon. It started as a barely visible pinprick of light, expanding incrementally as it finally emerged over the glittering surface of the sea.
Above, the slate blue remnants of night gradually gave way to crimson, streaked with copper and gold. The sun continued to rise, providing the first glimmers of warmth. Its fiery glow began spreading in every direction, until it seemed as if the water itself would catch on fire and fuel the flames.
With the endless sky stretching out as far as the eye could see and the subtle scent of salt-infused air permeating his senses, he felt acutely aware of the immense beauty surrounding him.
It was a welcome reminder that even the longest night had to yield to the sunrise eventually.
In the distance, he marveled at the sight of a lone blue-tailed sea hawk diving intermittently.
The majestic, wide-winged bird suddenly screeched loudly, startling them both.
Gliding swiftly through the air, it deftly chased off a flock of seagulls also searching for prey far out from the shore. Outmatched, the smaller birds harried off with a raucous cry of protest.
It brought a smile to his face.
Kahlan was free now. And so was he.
Now that the prophecy had been fulfilled and Rahl was finally dead, the future belonged to them. They could start anew together.
As the shifting coastal winds whipped through their hair, she turned to look at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.
He knew exactly how she felt.
He reached out to touch her, to reassure himself that she was really there.
Burying his face in her hair, he slid his palm along the back of her neck. She lay her cheek against his shoulder, wrapping her hand around his arm.
He wanted nothing more than to hold on to her and never let her go.
The love they shared had not been weakened neither by time nor distance. Nothing was more real.
Knowing what she was willing to sacrifice for him had imbued him with a new sense of purpose. He was more committed than ever to be worthy of her love. To spend the rest of his life proving it to her.
Most of all, he looked forward to sharing each and every day with her again. Waking up to the sight of her lovely face, the sound of her dulcet voice…
… for all the mornings yet to come.
The End!
Author's Endnote: Partly inspired by this video from Craig Horner's Instagram Live:
instagram -dot- com/p/CO8qEoln7K7/?hl=en