Chapter 44
A/N: Welcome to chapter 44. The scene takes place before and during the attack on the city. And we are back at the Dark Fox. Enjoy!
Also a huge thanks to my beta reader Danaye for editing this gigantic chapter! Without her, the story couldn't have progressed as it did. Thank you!
"What's going on?" Lenore questioned as she went to the door, opening it up and glancing outside. She shook her head before closing the door once more. Turing back to meet Kahlan's curious gaze, she shook her head again. "I can only hope that it's not one of my girls going missing," she explained to Kahlan, who looked at her with a shocked expression. Lenore sighed deeply, "Maybe it's time to tell you why I really left the sanctuary."
Lenore walked back to a chair and gracelessly threw herself down into it as she began her tale, leaving Kahlan to seat herself on a bed — her stomach still growling with hunger.
Hundreds, nearly one thousand, scarlet covered women knelt down in front of the altar with their heads bowed in respect and silence. Only one woman, kneeling in front of the altar, bore a white cloak. It signified that she was the first of the Untouchables, cursed by the Great Mother Goddess.
Behind her, in rows of hundred women each, words were being repeated aloud as the Queen of the Untouchables slowly rose to her feet. She walked forth, towards a bowl of pure gold, as she had done so many times before. This time would be like the rest — the Queen would pick up the bowl and walk down a path. She would pass every woman, their age ranging from fifteen to twenty-four, and make her way to a stream running with the purest of water.
As had happened many times before, the Queen knelt down and spoke ancient words, filling the bowl. Coming to a stand yet again, she walked back and placed the bowl on the altar.
"Lenore," Ademia called, and waited for the young woman to rise from the green grass.
As Lenore walked forth, summoned by her queen, each grass straw was broken underneath her feet. However, as the soles of her feet were lifted again, the grass straws straightened themselves as if nothing had happened.
Walking the few steps up to the gray altar, Lenore came to a stop before curtsying deeply for her queen. "Ademia," Lenore acknowledged the Queen, and Ademia merely smiled back at her.
"Give me your hand," Ademia said, and Lenore did as she was ordered. She had seen the ritual so many times since coming to the sanctuary at the age of seventeen, nursing bruises and a few broken ribs after being contained by Sun Tzu's men.
Gently, the Queen of the Untouchables dipped Lenore's hand into the freezing cold water contained in the golden bowl.
Usually an image of a new girl, forced into an arranged marriage would show in the surface of the water, but not this time. Lenore and Ademia waited for the blank surface of the water to change, but it didn't. Lenore was about to pull her hand back when she realized that someone besides Ademia had grabbed a hold of her.
"Don't be afraid daughter..." the female voice spoke in Lenore's inner ear and before Lenore knew it, the bright sunny sanctuary disappeared. It was replaced by a slightly darkened room where a woman rocked back and forth in a chair, holding a small bundle tight against her chest as she muttered the tune of a lullaby.
Lenore looked around. She was standing in what looked to be a rich and well furnished room. Underneath her bare feet, she could feel the rough texture of a woolen carpet. As her gaze trailed back to the woman with the bundle in her arms, Lenore wondered if she was allowed to speak. A frightened thought entered her confused mind, 'Has the ritual gone wrong? Am I dead?'
"I wouldn't kill a daughter of mine, unless she has served out her purpose — and yes, you may speak." A voice answered Lenore's questions, almost forcing her to her knees in pain as emerald-green eyes looked into her own blue-green ones.
Lenore only stared, nearly forgetting to curtsy, which she did quickly. Coming up again, she found that the Goddess was waiting for her with a hand gesturing her forth.
"Where am I?"
The Great Mother pulled her gaze from Lenore and directed it at the rocking woman in the rocking chair. "You are in the past," the Goddess replied, as the woman lovingly caressed the smooth, pale cheek of an infant boy.
Lenore moved forth, coming to a halt on the other side of the woman. She took in the woman's features. Just like any new mother, she looked weary and was trying to conceal a yawn borne of sleep deprivation.
"Who is she?" Lenore asked, only to clamp her mouth shut as the woman suddenly gazed in her direction. "Can she hear us?"
The Great Mother Goddess shook her head, replying softly,"This is the past, but she knows that something is up — mothers always do." The Goddess bent and corrected the blanket that had slipped from the infant, covering the boy again. "And as for who she is, I can only say that the boy's family is connected to powerful houses throughout the realm."
Lenore stared down at the woman, feeling slightly dizzy, "You didn't bring me here just to see some stranger love her child — did you? There is more to this."
The Goddess nodded and looked over to the middle of the floor where Lenore had stood only moments before. Now, an unfamiliar Goddess stood there, looking at Lenore with blank, clouded eyes and long blonde hair.
Before Lenore knew who she was facing, she curtsied deeply. "This," the Great Goddess spoke, "is my sister Shakith." Lenore knew of the Goddess; legend spoke of the Goddess of the Carthaki underworld. She gave up her sight so that other people could see and as such, she became a seer, along with the Goddess of Justice. She was the patron of bankers, jewelers and traders in gems. Now, she stood in the middle of the room holding a scale in front of her.
The Great Goddess continued as she looked down at the sleeping boy, "She has notified me that the destiny of this child has two possible paths."
Lenore kept observing the Seer Goddess as the Great Goddess spoke, "One will lead to glory and greatness, honoring his family..." On the right plate of the scale, a young man with no visible features suddenly stood. Holding his shield and his sword, Lenore could see in his posture that he was proud. Behind him, his mother, father, uncles and aunts stood along with grandparents — applauding the man.
"And if he takes the other road, it will only lead to shame and disgrace..." Lenore shifted her gaze over to the left plate of the scale, where the young man's family had turned their back on him as he stood with his hands clamped by manacles. His head hung low and his shoulders were slumped. In front of him, before his feet, lay a lifeless form. It was a woman in a puddle of blood, which slowly dripped from the plate down onto the carpet.
Lenore moved her eyes back to the infant boy, knowing that he was going to be the same young man on the scale. "You said that this is the past. How old is he now?"
"He's thirteen and a half," The Great Mother nodded to her sister. Before Lenore could force words over her lips, the Seer Goddess was gone, leaving Lenore to stare at the remaining Goddess.
"He's so young," Lenore commented slowly, not seeing or having any clue as to why the Goddess had involved her. Lenore backed away from the woman with the infant boy as the woman stood up, leaving the rocking chair behind. Lenore and the Goddess followed the woman over to a cradle.
As the woman carefully placed her son down, Lenore spoke as a realization hit her, "You need me to look after him! That's why you brought me here..."
Lenore didn't get to finish her sentence, as she found herself swirling through blackness. Suddenly, her feet touched solid ground and a hand grabbed her elbow to prevent her from swaying. As her eyes stopped swimming around, she sneezed heavily.
The Great Mother Goddess waved a hand in front of her nose as Lenore looked up sharply, taking in the new surroundings. "I do apologize for the odor," the Great Mother said as she looked around the room. Men lingered at the bar or sat on the wonky chairs, waiting for their cups to be refilled again, "There are certain things that I can't change..."
Lenore covered her nose with her hand — if there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was the smell of men mixed with ale, "Where are we?" Her voice came out muffled and barely understandable, but she soon found out that the Goddess could not only hear her thoughts, but also had excellent hearing in general.
"This," the Goddess said, swiftly moving out of the way as a young woman with swishing hips hurried forth with a tray filled with empty cups, "is the Dark Fox in Corus. In the daylight it's an inn, and at night a brothel."
"It's smelly," Lenore complained as a man walked past her. Carefully, she lifted up her scarlet dress that marked her as an Untouchable from the floor, "Are we still in the past?"
The Goddess shook her head, "No, we are in the present. This is where I want you to go."
"Go?" Lenore asked, shocked. "You mean that you want me to leave the sanctuary?"
The Great Mother Goddess turned towards her, raising her eyebrows, "If you are not interested, I can find another. Although, then you will not learn what my sister has seen for your future."
The last word got Lenore's attention, "Future? I thought that I was to spend eternity in the sanctuary."
"No Untouchable is to spend all her life in the sanctuary. There will come a time, not far from now, when all of you will be facing war, but I need you to keep watch on the young women working here."
Lenore looked around, seeing for the first time how girls stood flirting with men boasting full purses. "You want me to protect them?"
The Great Mother nodded, "Yes."
"So, you fear that the boy, the one who is —" Lenore stopped for a second before she continued, "thirteen and a half, will eventually find his way down here and..." The image of the lifeless female body on the scale was still burnt into Lenore's memory.
"Yes," the Goddess repeated, gripping Lenore's wrist and dragging her back into the blackness. Lenore had wanted to stay a second longer at the inn as her eyes had landed on a man and he had surprisingly returned the stare, stopping in the middle of pouring more ale into a large pitcher. As he raised his light brown eyebrows, the ale spilled over and spread down along his breeches...
The Goddess snatched Lenore's hand,"I'd do best to bring you back to the sanctuary," she said, looking back at the man as he discovered the wetness and broke eye-contact with Lenore. Once more, Lenore felt herself being swirled into darkness.
Intrigued to the bone and feeling a pull in her heart, Lenore woke only to find herself surrounded by concerned women dressed in scarlet.
Kahlan stared at Lenore, not believing that the woman she had known for twenty years had changed so much. There was silence in the room for what felt like an eternity, and she didn't know what to say in response to Lenore's tale. However, she found that she didn't have to say anything — something that was happening farther away in the city took all focus away as the door to the room was suddenly thrown open.
"Earthquake!" A man, taller then she and Lenore, stumbled into the room. He looked slightly frightened until he found what he had been looking for, and upon lifting up the result of his search, he spoke again as he looked at Kahlan with Lenore firmly placed over his shoulder, "Didn't you hear me?"
Before Kahlan could answer, his hand landed around her slightly bruised wrist and yanked her with him. Stumbling after the man, Kahlan suddenly found herself looking into the smiling face of Lenore as she bounced up and down as the man walked. "Oh...this," Lenore patted the man's broad back affectionately, "is my husband, Bryon." She turned her head back towards her husband while he stumbled down the stairs with Kahlan behind him, "Bryon – say hello to Kahlan, my long-time friend."
Bryon only grunted something that to Kahlan's ears could only be a response. They reached the stairs quicker than Kahlan had anticipated. Before she knew it, she was swept off her feet, only to be carried out in the arms of an unknown man as dust came down from the ceiling above her.
Bouncing up and down, her tousled blonde hair blocking her view, Kahlan didn't see the man taking a turn to the right, away from where Lenore and her husband had gone.
"Hey!" Kahlan spluttered in surprise when the man who had grabbed her suddenly clapped her buttocks before depositing her on the ground again, inside what must be the room where the ale was stashed. The room had no windows, but somehow light still managed to bleed into the room.
Kahlan looked up at her carrier, a lean and wiry man with beard and large brown eyes, and recognized him immediately.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, staring at him angrily. She crossed her arms in front of herself, fuming as she stood face to face with him again. She could clearly remember how she had gotten separated from her twin-sister in the chaos after the attack on the Gallan King. Stumbling through the overcrowded streets, she had stumbled directly into the arms of the man who now stood in front of her.
He had tricked her away from her twin-sister, only for her to fall into an ambush of Sun Tzu's men where she was harmed and became pregnant before her twin-sister found a way to rescue her. Now he stood in front of her and smiled! How dare he!
"Well, hello to you too," the man answered, carefully running a finger over the surface of an unopened barrel. When he lifted his finger from the wooden surface, he spoke again, allowing his large brown eyes to meet hers, "I would have thought that someone like you would be back at the sanctuary, taking care of that, but here I find you in Corus!"
The man pointed to Kahlan's stomach and she scowled, "Where I am and why I'm here is none of your business. And by the way, who are you? I don't think I ever got your name back then."
Well, it was true, Kahlan thought as she saw the man's eyes become serious. Waiting, tapping with her foot, she continued. "It seems that you know everything about me and what I am, but it's unfair that I don't even know who you are."
Kahlan saw that the man looked defeated. She had called him out and he knew it.
Grimacing, the man before her bowed low, lower than any man would for a queen. "My name is Kyprioth," he said, straightening himself, "The Trickster, god of all tricksters, thieves, low men and such."
There was silence after the last of Kyprioth's words left his lips. If this Kyprioth had expected applause from Kahlan, she didn't gave him any. Instead, she folded her arms in front of herself, "And why are you here?"
Underneath their feet, the floor continued to shake. "Just checking in to see how," The man's eyes became mischievous as they traveled down Kahlan's body, only to stop at her stomach, "my little trick is faring."
Kahlan's mouth dropped as the God confirmed her suspicion — that her capture and her subsequent pregnancy hadn't been an accident. "You did this!" she practically yelled and pointed to where her stomach was covered by azure-colored fabric.
"Don't be angry," The Trickster God said rather cheerfully, as his eyes once again moved to Kahlan's stomach, "you are going to have the most wonderful daughter."
If Kahlan's anger had been a heavy fog lying over spring affected fields, it was now blown away by the god's words. "A...a...girl?" Kahlan looked down at herself, almost placing her hands on her stomach in a protective manner. Ever since she had found out that she was carrying, she had distanced herself from the small being. Now, however, the feeling was changing. She felt…excited.
Kyprioth smirked, clearly satisfied by Kahlan's reaction. "Yes, a girl. Although, why you are here and not safe in the sanctuary is still a riddle to me. Didn't Ademia know that she was sending a pregnant girl?"
"Woman!" Kahlan corrected, "and no. She didn't know anything. I didn't tell her or my twin sister anything, which brings me to my other question. Why am I pregnant? An Untouchable can't get pregnant, the Great Mother Goddess made it so."
"She made that decision alright, but I need that child." Kyprioth said, his voice calm and calculating, which surprised Kahlan. She narrowed her eyes, trying to determine if he was trying to trick her. "There is no trick Kahlan, but you being out of the sanctuary and here changes the game."
That did it for her. None of this was a game! Not the crazy general. Not the curse. Not the brewing civil war in Galla or the war that would come if the wildmage managed to cross the sanctuary and survive. If she didn't, she would be killed by the curse and everything would be lost.
"Why should I have stayed behind and let someone else give their king Ademia's letter? Why is it so important that my child should be born inside the sanctuary? Why did you trick..." She didn't manage to finish her sentence as Kyprioth's eyes became filled with sadness. Becoming frustrated, Kahlan almost roared, "Tell me the truth! I demand to..."
Kyprioth held up his hand, silencing Kahlan's words, "Because out here you are going to die."
It was like getting a fist to her stomach. Kahlan knew what it felt like. During her captivity, she had experienced enough blows to her stomach to know what that really felt like. It was a real wonder that her stomach hadn't been damaged and she had still managed to get pregnant.
"What?" she whispered with a low voice, the feeling of excitement fading slowly.
"If you had stayed in the sanctuary, Kahlan, you would have been safe. Out here, I can't guarantee that you will live to see your child grow up," Kyprioth said, his tone bespoke of genuine sadness.
Kahlan only stared at him, not saying a word. She suddenly remembered that she, since her capture, had known that she had to find foster-parents for her unborn child. And she had. From what she had observed from the clean-up this morning, Tortall's Commander of the King's Own was, or would soon be, involved with the Commandor of the Queen's Riders. It had been evident in the way they had behaved towards one another, that there was a hidden romance brewing, and that was why Kahlan had found the Commander of the King's own so fascinating.
Thinking about this, Kahlan realized that she had known the truth all along. Looking at the shaking barrels, she spoke, "You knew that once the child was born I would be dead, didn't you? You have somehow manipulated me into choosing new parents for my daughter." As she spoke, Kahlan saw how guilt replaced sadness on Kyprioth's features — her assumptions had been correct.
She continued, "My child is a pawn in some master plan...you need her to do something," Kahlan looked down at her stomach, pausing before she looked up. Meeting Kyprioth's guarded expression, she continued, sadness overwhelming her over the fact that she would never see her child become a fine and beautiful woman. "Can you at least tell me that my daughter will succeed? I think you owe me that much."
There was a long silence as the god looked Kahlan in the eyes. She knew that if he had the power, he would have prevented her from leaving the sanctuary. As it was, no god could ever control another mortal. She had chosen the path and now she had to live with the consequences.
Kyprioth looked hesitant, before he finally said, "I can only tell you that her fate is linked with the outcome of the brewing war. I can't tell you more, because even though I'm a god, the future still depends on which actions you mortals will take."
Somewhere behind Kahlan, mugs crashed to the ground as the shaking in the ground became more violent. She turned abruptly, startled by the sound. Underneath a swaying shelf, mugs lay scattered about.
Kahlan turned her back to the destroyed mugs, angered by Kyprioth's evasive answer. "So, just to clarify things, let's go over this one more time. You made me mortal, got me captured by Sun Tzu's men, allowed one of them to manhandle me, decided to kill me once the child is born simply because you desperately need my daughter. Have I summed everything up or is there more you've yet to tell me?"
Kahlan stopped speaking as Lenore's concerned face looked directly at her from the only door that led out of the storage room. Kahlan growled inside herself. Of course, Kyprioth had left her with no word or answer to her questions! What an irritating man!
With his body turned cold and Alanna speaking rapidly in a loud voice, Numair nearly missed the small appearance of a speaking spell beside Raoul's ear. Turning towards it, he grabbed it from the air, and with the very last remnants of his gift, he gave it life. He turned it into a small orb so the connection would stay, and ignored Raoul's surprised exclamation.
"Numair?" Onua's voice resounded from the bubble, very eager and concerned. "Are you there?"
Pulling himself together, he nodded, only to shake his head over how stupid he must appear to be. Onua couldn't see him and therefore it was an absentminded gesture. Sighing low, he responded as calmly he could, without giving away how exhausted he really was.
"Yes, Onua. I'm here..." He didn't get to finish as Onua cut him off.
"Good! You and Alanna are hard to reach. It's taken forever. I have tried to contact you for the last hour. Both of you need to come back. Something's happened!"
Numair was distracted by the sound of Alanna's voice in the background, speaking louder and louder as her speaking spell began to flicker, a clear sign that her gift was fading. He didn't hear what Onua explained until Daine's name was mentioned.
"Stop," Numair demanded, raising his hand while shaking his head to ignore Alanna's voice, another gesture Onua couldn't see, "say that again."
"Prince Roald is injured! Lord Grayer is with him, along with Duke Baird and his son..." Numair could clearly hear hesitation in Onua's voice before she continued, "and Daine. I mean your wife, Daine, she's missing."
If Numair's blood and body weren't cold before, he was now freezing as if he stood in the middle of an icy blizzard. "What?" he whispered hoarsely, half expecting that his breath would solidify and fall to the ground as ice crystals.
"Numair! The whole palace was looking for her when the earthquake started in earnest..." Onua continued to speak as the world began spinning around Numair, "and Lord Grayer has issued an arrest order! Numair, he's saying that Daine stabbed Roald and then attacked him when he tried to apprehend her."
Numair just stood there, frozen. Onua's words slowly disappeared as his concentration broke. Unable to maintain the speaking spell with his gift, the small orb disintegrated with a hiss. He couldn't speak, for all the information concerning the attack and his wife swirled inside his head.
He had no magic left in his body — even the opal pendent hanging just underneath the neckline of his shirt was drained completely. If he were to reach the palace, which he must do quickly, it would have to be on horseback. Although, it was debatable as to whether he had enough strength to keep himself in the saddle.
There were so many questions that begged for answers. Had his new wife really tried to assassinate Roald? Somewhere in his mind, he doubted it very much. She had seemed so vulnerable during everything that had happened. Even though they'd only been married for more than a week or so, he knew that she would never do such a thing, unless there was no other option. He knew this — knew it inside his heart and at the tingling feeling of her lips on his own from when he had finally been allowed to kiss her in the paddock.
No! Daine would never do something that could potentially damage her new home. There could only be one simple explanation — she had been forced or otherwise willingly did the deed in order to save the prince.
Realizing this, Numair swayed as Domitan of the Own drew back his arm as he fought with the Rogue.
From the corner of his eye, Numair saw how Domitan tried to prevent Liam from reaching his unconscious wife. Finally, giving up on trying to hold Liam back, Domitan drew back his arm and planted a well-placed fist on Liam's chin, knocking him over.
Men from the Own rushed forth to catch the falling Rogue. Numair felt himself falling simultaneously alongside Liam. The only thing that prevented him from meeting the ground with a loud smack were strong hands that belonged to the Knight Commander.
"Alan! Quick, Numair is ill!" Raoul roared, using the old name Alanna had used when she had been disguised as a boy, earning her knighthood.
As it was, Numair only faintly heard someone call for Alanna as Raoul gently helped him to sit on down on the ground. He didn't even see Raoul's concerned face as he looked into Numair's dark eyes or feel the hand that patted his colorless cheek in worry.
Numair knew that there was nothing to do other than to give in to exhaustion. He was drained and his gift was gone. Even if he were to look for it now, he would likely see only a tiny glow, no larger than a star in the heavens on a cloudless night that glittered faintly. It was the only thing that kept him alive.
Dropping his head on his bent knee, Numair tried to breathe deeply, but every breath was like trying to swallow boulders — it just couldn't be done. The only thing that managed to do something was his brain. Well-trained by everything that had happened to him, from the betrayal of his own friend, the Emperor of Carthak, to his own subsequent imprisonment in darkness that followed, up until his escape and his meeting with the king of Tortall. Finally, his brain was also trained from his job working as a spy when needed.
His brain was the only thing that kept on going as Numair's body slowly gave in to exhaustion.
It seemed as if the attack, the assassin, the whole mess with Sun Tzu had been a diversion. Then there was the issue with his wife! Somewhere, during the diversion, something had gone wrong. Otherwise, the crown prince would most certainly be dead now, not merely wounded.
His brain just added piece by piece to form the truth, and eventually the puzzle came together inside Numair's quick mind.
He wanted to growl over what he had learned. Not only did they have a mole in their midst, but they also had someone who was willing to alter the original plan if anything did go wrong — someone who may have everything to lose, but even more to gain. This someone was close to the king, Numair realized. It would be someone that no one would suspect, and someone who had worked for the king since the beginning of his reign.
When Alanna and Numair had taken the assassin out, Sun Tzu had activated a hidden piece in the puzzle — someone the king would never doubt, someone the king's nearest friends would never suspect, even though it was a part of their job description. Someone like...
The realization only made everything worse for Numair. He could feel his anger grow and spark his gift, but it wasn't enough. He must be sure about this, before he blurted out his suspicion. What if he was wrong? What if it wasn't...
It was like the world slowly grew darker before his eyes. He realized that it was growing darker as the seconds passed, until a warm hand touched his and small fingers curled themselves into Numair's. Looking sideways, Numair found overly large, innocent green eyes peering into his own dark ones.
Numair slowly moved his gaze to the tiny hand he held in his large calloused one, trying to remember if he had ever held a hand so small. The child's hand was such a contrast in every aspect — where his skin was a tad shade darker than tanned, the child's was white as snow. Where his hand was just as large as Sir Raoul's skilled sword hand, the child's was so small that Numair was sure that if he continued to stare at it long enough, it would start to shrink.
Mesmerized by the difference, he quickly noticed one thing that wasn't odd. Around their connected hands the air shimmered slightly with a pale, dusty green color.
"It's okay," the child whispered. It was a girl's voice, no older than ten. The burning sensation turned slowly into a cooling pleasant notion that slowly traveled up his arm, sneaking into his shoulder and out to the rest of his body.
"That's enough, Verla," a voice said gently and the girl pulled her hand slowly away. Numair moved his eyes and saw Alanna kneeling down, taking hold of the child's hand, and pulling the girl to her feet.
Alanna smiled at the girl and nodded to her mother as she pushed the girl gently away. "Make sure that she gets something to eat before she falls asleep," she ordered gently.
The woman, Verla's mother, nodded and curtsied low, "Of course, Sir Alanna. Thank you for your offer — we will contact Duke Baird tomorrow." The woman curtsied again, making sure that her daughter did the same before she rushed the child away. Numair saw how the girl yawned, not bothering to hide it.
Alanna nodded curtly before she turned towards Numair again. "Better?" she asked, concerned. She began to walk around him, inspecting him like a concerned mother. "That was some bad news Onua told you," she said, finally sitting down beside Numair.
Numair shook his head before he answered in a low voice,"Not bad news, Alanna – only clarification." Slowly and carefully, making sure that no one nearby could overhear what he had to say, he told her his suspicion.
When he was finished, Alanna's tired face had become dark and stony.
"I hate this," was the only thing she said, as men from the Own started going near the three bodies lying on the ground. One of them started to reach for Liam's wife and the yell that came from Alanna could have stopped Numair's heart and restarted it again. Quickly, she ordered them not to touch the young woman, unless they wanted to be put to sleep…quite possibly forever.
The men backed away as Alanna turned to look at Numair once more, "You know that you can't go back to Jonathan and declare your suspicions, right?"
Numair nodded grimly. "I need to find her. She's the only one who can tell us the truth. You know, before this," he gestured to the chaos around them, "it was much more simple. It seems that everything is changing."
He looked into understanding violet eyes, "I almost miss those small, uninteresting missions Jonathan always sent me out on. Now, it is just so complicated." Numair finished his words and looked down into his open palm. Not saying anything other than to order his diminished gift to do his bidding, a small simple ribbon of un-dyed color appeared.
Looking down at the ribbon, Numair sighed low, "I will never forgive Jonathan if she is dead."
"Don't say such words Numair," Alanna said as she leaned forth, intending to take the ribbon from him, but Numair moved it out of reach. "Is that the ribbon from your handfasting?" she asked.
"I'll say whatever pleases me. Don't, Alanna," he told her and began to draw small black runes in the air above the ribbon, "it will hurt you if you touch it."
Alanna drew back. "Shouldn't that be kept locked inside a chest in your chambers," she asked sharply. "One could easily use it as a focus on either you or your wife," she said warningly, "if it fell into wrong hands..."
"It will not," Numair said firmly, continuing to pour his gift into the ribbon, "that's why I had it magically tied to this." He touched his black opal hanging around his neck for a few seconds, before he continued with his task. Black light became visible and began to sink into the ribbon.
Alanna followed his movements. "Isn't it too soon to do magic Numair? You barely have enough strength to keep yourself awake," she told him as a yawn escaped Numair.
Numair drew the last rune and the ribbon began to glow faintly. He sighed with relief. "I need to do this, Alanna." He said, trailing off as he tried to rise from the ground, "Now, I only need to follow..."
Alanna grabbed her long time friend as he passed out. "Fool," she said angrily, and lowered Numair down. In his hand, the ribbon slipped slowly from his hold, only to land on the ground, pulsating with a silver light.
From the inside of her pocket, Alanna took out a handkerchief and draped it around the ribbon, concealing it, "So much for keeping it safe."
Folding the handkerchief neatly, she placed it back in her pocket, while she gently patted Numair's cheek. "Sleep well, master mage. Once you are rested, you can do whatever you were about to do."
Kahlan watched as Lenore looked around the storage-room. "Why are you hiding in here and who are you talking to?" she asked as her eyes landed on Kahlan again.
Kahlan opened her mouth to speak the truth, but thought better of it. Her friend wouldn't believe her if she told her that she had just, mere seconds ago, stood facing one of the minor Gods.
"One of the great Gods," a male voice corrected Kahlan as she was about to open her mouth and speak.
Lenore continued to look at Kahlan, obviously waiting for answers. Kahlan shrugged. "A man grabbed me and stored me inside here," she lied, asking the Great Mother Goddess for forgiveness in regard to her lie. Lenore just looked at her oddly.
Ehrm. Someone cleared his throat inside Kahlan's mind as she returned Lenore's gaze. "It's a good thing that I didn't wander far — we wouldn't want my sister to interfere in my little trick," Kyprioth told her.
"Okay," Lenore finally said, accepting Kahlan's explanation. She lifted up two cloaks as the ground underneath their feet swayed again. "Bryon brought these with him, but when he finally placed me down on the ground again, you were nowhere to be seen. Didn't you think," she paused as another shelf tipped over and deposited its store of mugs on the ground, "it's a good idea to be outside instead of in here where the ceiling is about to crash down around your ears?"
Kahlan nodded and walked towards Lenore. One would think that a god could stop an earthquake, she thought as she came to stand in the middle of what was the kitchen. She half expected that the God would say something again, but no comment came.
Lenore walked away from her while she wrapped her cloak around herself. Behind, she had left a cloak for Kahlan on one of the kitchen tables. Snatching the item, Kahlan wrapped it around herself and started to follow after Lenore, but walked two steps back and grabbed one of the sweet autumn apples from a basket on the table.
Biting deeply into the sweet and juicy flesh, she heard Kyprioth's voice again, "Good girl."
"Woman!" Kahlan swallowed the bite after the word had left her mouth, "I am a woman!" When did they learn? Back home, not in the sanctuary, but when she had been no older than fifteen, she could have been considered a girl. Now, she was almost twenty-one, and therefore a woman.
Walking out into the inner courtyard, she thought about her sister, her twin-sister. Would she be worried or did she already know what had happened? Would she ever see her sister again, or the white tiger that was part of the curse of the Goddess?
"No," came the answer, "Your sister is obliviousas to what has happened to you. No one in the sanctuary knows about your condition."
"But I told..." Kahlan was interrupted by the God's reply.
"I know.You told Sun Tzu's wife, Shinko, but I have taken that knowledge from her. I have also taken the knowledge from every other who suspected anything. I need your daughter, Kahlan. She is important."
Yeah, yeah – I heard you the first time, Kahlan thought as she sank her teeth into another bite. In front of her, Bryon fussed over Lenore who was insisting that she was fine.
Kahlan sighed as she chewed, swallowed and took another bite. Lenore was so lucky. She had a man who cared about her, fussed over her, and took her in his arms as he did now. It was a very passionate kiss that Lenore and Bryon exchanged, not bothering to hide their true affections.
The woman from the inn whistled jauntily while she served the men, who sat down on benches underneath a large oak three. Kahlan realized that they must have moved the serving outside, where there wasn't a threat of a collapsing ceiling.
The kiss between Lenore and Bryon ended. Lenore laughed as the large man turned around, facing the other men drinking ale, and announced that since the gods had decided to shake the ground a little, there would be more ale brought forth. Happy voices filled the air as Lenore came over to Kahlan.
Behind her, the women from the inn began their job. Even though the city was either under attack or experiencing an earthquake, there was always work to be done — nothing ever stood still. Kahlan didn't pity the women for their way of living, they could change their lifestyle if they really wanted. However, Kahlan knew that there were cases in which a woman simply fell in love with one of their customers and ended up married.
In a way, they were lucky. Most of the women working like this came from the lower class, such as herself, but there were still cases of noble-women becoming Untouchables. It happened every now and then.
Kahlan stood with her right hand gently resting on the small swell of her stomach and her eyes still on the women from the inn.
"Afraid that your daughter will end up like them?" Lenore asked gently, watching as the young women continued to flirt with the men. She then shifted her gaze to Kahlan's caressing hand.
Kahlan shook her head, a sad smile playing on her lips. "No," she replied, hesitating with her answer. "A reliable source told me that she was destined to something great. Although, I don't know why. Wait," Kahlan looked Lenore straight in the eyes, "you know it's a girl?"
"I kind of overheard the last thing you said inside the storage-room, Kahlan, and I'm not ignorant when it comes to dealing with the Goddess."
Kahlan shook her head. "The Goddess wasn't the one who told me," she said, tossing away the apple. She didn't want to explain more, as she really didn't know a thing about anything. The only thing she knew for certain, or had known since she had left the sanctuary, was that this was going to be her last journey. There was no future in store for her. She was merely a vessel being used so that a god could have what he needed.
It was as if Lenore sensed Kahlan's reluctance, so she didn't pursue the issue. Behind Lenore, Bryon was busy keeping thirsty customers happy. She watched as he ordered the hostlers to drag out one more table, only to place it underneath the huge oak tree in the courtyard. Once the table was set, Bryon and everyone, which included thieves and gamblers, settled down.
The women began their work once more, servicing the thirsty men or flirting with potential costumers who wanted to ensure a good night's fun later that day. Even though the ground underneath their feet still rippled, men began to settle down on chairs brought out from inside the shaking five-story house.
Lenore called one of her girls who let out a loud flirtatious laugh, "Analisa?"
"Hmm..." The young woman in question had long, dark blonde braided hair. She turned from where she was seated on a very muscular man's lap, seeking the person calling her. She rose from her place, to the man's obvious annoyance, and came over to Lenore, dipping into a small curtsy.
Kahlan's eye-brows rose in surprise. The young woman, a year older than Kahlan, was treating Lenore like a noble, though Kahlan knew very well that Lenore had been born into a family of traders. Lenore had been the oldest of her siblings, and therefore the one who didn't get to marry for love, but for convenient measures.
"You called Lenore?" Analisa asked, coming to a stand. Kahlan noticed that Analisa must be one of the more coveted women from the Dark Fox. Her cloak was made of a finer wool than what the other women wore, and the eagle shaped broach that held it together was crafted from silver.
"Yes, I'm going to meet Zofia – which means that I won't be back until tomorrow." Lenore allowed her gaze to slide over the men seated at the benches, "Keep an eye on things, will you?"
Analisa nodded and began to turn around, but Lenore grabbed hold of her arm, preventing her from walking away. "And keep an eye out for Clara, the new girl. I haven't seen her since yesterday, and I'm starting to worry."
"I will, and I'll tell the others to not wander off without my permission," Analisa replied, looking Lenore straight in the eye.
"Good. You know who to look for. If you need anything, just call for either Bryon or Fabian..."
Analisa cut Lenore words off and lifted up her sleeves. Kahlan looked at the shiny metal that was attached to strings of leather, obviously a knife for protection. "Do you really think that I, or the others, would be so careless?"
"No, but I'm just cautious. Tell Clara, if you see her, that she isn't allowed to take customers until I have talked with her. I don't trust her judgment."
Analisa snorted, "If she comes back, I will personally see to it that she is tied to a chair."
"Good," Lenore smirked, before she looked at Kahlan. "Maybe we should begin our journey. It's quite a long walk to the palace and with this attack, it's going to take even longer."
As they walked, it was clear to see that there was quite a commotion brewing farther down in the city. A huge amount of people were behaving like scared chickens, running around confused with no idea what to do with themselves or how to handle the attack.
As Lenore and Kahlan got closer to the palace, they saw more and more members of the Own, when it should have been members of the Provost's Guard. From what Lenore told Kahlan, the Provost's Guard was more likely to be found down in the lower city where the lower class lived.
Kahlan, had lived in Northern Galla, similar to the wild mage, and she felt like she didn't have enough eyes. She wanted to see everything. On countless occasions, she wished that they could stop and look in the shop windows, which displayed everything from saddles to the newest fashion of dresses. There were also shops that specialized in cheeses, wines, and other things that kept a city as large as Corus running.
Nearing the palace, Kahlan was mesmerized by the grandiosity of everything. They had left the city behind them, and were walking on a broad road that twisted to the left and then to the right. It was a trick. It was designed so that in the case of an attack, the road would slow the enemy for long enough to get an army ready. As they continued to walk, the gravel underneath their feet crunched. Kahlan frowned as the earth underneath their feet slowly moved until it was completely still. The earthquake had stopped — suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side.
Hooves hit the gravel with a quick speed and rushed past where she and Lenore had been standing just seconds before. Kahlan stared after the Riders until they turned a corner, trying to figure out why the picture was so wrong. "They were riding ponies!" she finally concluded, turning her head towards Lenore.
The woman only smiled, her blue-green eyes dancing, "I thought you knew that since you came with the Lioness and her companions."
Kahlan shook her head. "I didn't notice," she admitted. She had been so occupied by looking at the Knight Commander when he and the Own had reached where sight where the assassin had destroyed a street and a couple of houses, that she hadn't taken any notice of the animals who had transported the Riders.
Lenore laughed, pulling Kahlan after her. "Come on — there will be more to see when we get closer to the palace."
And she was right, Kahlan thought, when they came around a corner and dark gray walls of medium height stood as if they were trying to reach the sky with their stones. "Is this the palace?" she asked, and twisted her head to each side, looking at everything.
"No," Lenore shook her head, "this is the first and outermost wall. As you can see," she pointed towards a point over the walls, at something Kahlan couldn't see, but when she rose up on her toes she saw another wall that lay farther behind this one, "there is a second wall. Behind this are where the strategically important settlements are located — such as the smith, the saddler, small farms that produce chickens, sheep, cows and so on. Everything that a palace needs to be fully operating when or if the city is attacked, just like we experienced before — even though it wasn't real."
Kahlan stared at Lenore, puzzled, "What do you mean that it wasn't real?"
Lenore shrugged as she answered, "I think the curse left something behind, when it left me." She looked around as if to see if there were others present, but they were utterly alone. She continued, "Being an Untouchable gives us advantages, Kahlan. However, when it is removed, I think some of the magic is left behind. I can, for example, feel if a person is causing an illusion — something that looks to be real, but isn't. Liam hates me for it, because he can't cheat me in cards."
"You mean that when the curse is removed, there is still something of it inside..." Kahlan couldn't believe Lenore's words. What if the curse was infecting her unborn child right now, and she could do nothing about it?
A hand patted her shoulder. "Don't look so frightened, Kahlan. One day, it will be your turn to feel free from the curse." Lenore walked briskly forth. Kahlan only stared at her. She hadn't told her friend anything about her fate and she wasn't going to. Lenore would only begin to grieve for something that would not happen for six or seven months. When the news of her own death was a reality, her friends and everyone she cared about would have a new person to love and look after. The only thing Kahlan had to do was to keep herself and her child safe until then.
Kahlan rushed after Lenore, who was walking briskly as if walking up to the palace on a daily basis was something she was used to. Kahlan, on the other hand, followed after her, only to stop when Lenore did. In front of them was the entrance, where servants and others with business to attend to in the palace were blocked by a shield of weak red light.
"What now?" Kahlan asked, watching as the red light flickered in a continuous pattern. "We can't go inside..." She trailed off as Lenore reached forth and placed her hand on the magic. The red light hissed and then flickered, until it vanished.
"Quickly," she said, and stepped through the door. Kahlan hurried after her. The second she stood on the other side of the wall, the magical shield returned with a deafening crash.
"Nicely done," Kahlan said, inspecting the door. Somewhere behind her, running feet came closer and when she turned, Kahlan found a spear only inches from her nose. Glancing sideways, she found Lenore in a similar situation.
"Who are you and what is your purpose here?" a soldier demanded to know, moving his spear forward, bringing it dangerously close to Kahlan's nose. She took a step back, about to open her mouth to answer when the man in front of her looked closer at her companion.
"Len?" he said, lowering his spear. "What in the Goddess's name are you doing here? Are you in danger? Is Bryon alright? Is he hurt? Do you need help?"
Lenore only laughed, "No, Archie – Bryon is quite alright." With a gentle hand, she pushed the spear that pointed directly at her nose away. Lenore looked sharply at the soldier standing in front of her, "Have you not learned that it is more threatening to point that thing at the heart?"
The soldier blushed heavily, which Kahlan understood perfectly. It was an important thing to remember — never point the tip of a spear at the enemy's nose, for their heart was the preferable target. The soldier, Archie, relaxed and placed the end of his spear at his right foot. "It's okay, Hubert," he looked at Lenore as he continued, "this is my sister-in-law."
"Nice to meet you," Hubert said and offered his hand.
Lenore took it and looked at Kahlan, "And this is my friend, Kahlan." She smiled, pointing to where Kahlan still stood nervously. "She's a little nervous about this," Lenore giggled, still pointing.
Kahlan only stared at Lenore – was she flirting in front of her brother-in-law? Both men relaxed visibly, which surprised her as she hadn't observed their tension or how they had been glancing her way. Looking down at herself, she suddenly realized that they fancied her and Lenore knew! The azure-colored dress and the cloak made of a darker shade of blue did everything to make her look more stunning, more attractive, more desirable and more unattainable. What if the men standing before her hadn't been immune?
Kahlan growled inside herself. She wasn't here to get involved with anyone, she had more important things to do. "Lenore, weren't we here to find Zofia?" she asked, feeling more uncomfortable as the men's eyes still lingered on her.
Lenore's twinkling eyes became serious, "Oh, I didn't forget." She looked at the two men, clearing her throat and bringing their attention back to her. "Gentlemen, as much as we'd like to stand here and chat, we have business to attend to." She grabbed Kahlan's arm and began to walk.
Both Archie and Hubert looked at each other before they followed. "You can't just walk up to the gates and expect to be allowed inside. The whole palace is in lock-down." It was Hubert who spoke.
Lenore stopped and turned to the man. "I know," she said, and looked at her brother-in-law, who looked slightly angry. The two men couldn't leave their posts, and therefore couldn't go with the two women.
"If you already knew that, then where are you going? The gates are the other way," Archie said, looking everything except calm as he pointed to the West where the sun was descending. The hand that held his spear was white knuckled, and when Kahlan looked at his friend, she saw that the same applied to him.
Lenore smiled sweetly, a clear sign that she wouldn't give anything away. "We are going to wait for the gates to be open, dear Archie, and don't look so mad," she pleaded, "we are not going to wander far."
Archie and Hubert only looked at her with clear suspicion in their eyes. "Oh, sweet Archie," Lenore said, leaving Kahlan to walk over to where Archie stood. Kahlan had expected that her friend would continue speaking out loud. Instead, the woman only rose to her toes and placed her mouth at her brother-in-law's ear, whispering something that oddly enough made the man smile!
When she was done, Lenore took a step back. "Do we have an agreement?" she asked, placing her hands at her hips and waiting for an answer.
Archie looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then he nodded. "I can agree to the first thing, but the second is too low."
Kahlan saw Lenore sigh. She, herself, had no clue as to what the woman had offered, but she had a nagging suspicion. "Fine," replied Lenore after a few seconds, "name a number."
"Ten!" Archie replied, smiling happily.
Lenore only shook her head. "Five, Archie – five is my final offer."
Archie's smile became cruel as he narrowed his eyes. "Hubert, please sound the alarm."
Hubert only looked at him in question, "Why? There is no attack." However, his unoccupied hand reached for a horn hanging in his belt, beside his sword.
Archie looked Lenore straight in the eyes. Kahlan noticed, suddenly, that Lenore was pouting! Lenore was not happy about where this conversation was going. Finally, Lenore nodded. "Okay, fine — ten it is..." Archie looked happy, but Lenore held up a finger and quickly added more, "but you have to drink every cup of ale that Bryon serves for you."
Kahlan let out the air she had unconsciously been holding inside her lungs. Why had she thought that Lenore was bargaining with services the Dark Fox offered? She had no idea, but she had. She had feared that it was what Lenore was offering, which was complete madness, because Lenore would never use the women from the inn in such a way. From what Kahlan had observed back at the inn, the women working there had done so willingly and with smiles playing on their lips.
Hubert, whose hand had been inches from the horn looked sharply at his friend, "Does this mean that we only get ten cups of ale for free?" His voice was skeptical, even down right negative.
Archie shook his head and clapped his friend on the back, forcing Hubert to take an unwilling step forth. "No, you fool. It means that for the next ten weeks, we are going to get free ale whenever we visit my brother."
"Oh," Kahlan almost laughed as Hubert looked dumbfounded. He was about to open his mouth to say something when a roar penetrated the air, calling for the two men. Hubert looked terrified. "We better get back to our posts, Archie – I don't want to get stuck with double shifts and miss the opportunity for ale later today."
Archie nodded. "You are quite right, even though it sounds a lot more like Hatfield that bugbear than Lord Grayer," he stopped speaking when Hubert grabbed his elbow, pulling him away from Lenore and Kahlan.
"Don't let General Hatfield hear that," Hubert said, "I, for one, don't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath."
The two men hurried away. Kahlan stood staring at their backs, almost traumatized. Never before had she heard about soldiers like Archie and Hubert who didn't have any form of respect for a general. Again, her upbringing in the northern Galla kicked in — it was almost outrageous, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She didn't even know this General Hatfield or this Lord Grayer, but something — a feeling in her stomach, told her that the latter was a man of evil.
"Come on," Lenore said beside her, and gently pulled Kahlan away. "We still have to reach the high wall," she pointed at the inner wall Kahlan had observed from outside the first wall. Up there, she could see shadows that moved along what must be a stony pathway.
She followed after Lenore to the right, leaving the small, inhabited area behind. She continued to look up at the high wall, seeing how the top of it had been made in a zigzag pattern. This structure in the stones must be at least thirty feet wide, until it stopped and became a regular straight top again. From down here, Kahlan could see how men with bows walked casually back and forth, maintaining their post and occasionally looking down.
A few times, she stumbled over the bony soil where a hidden path had been overgrown with long blades of grass. Large stumps from trees stood near the wall, like abandoned stools.
Kahlan could easily imagine children using them to play 'hot lava', jumping from one stump to the next and trying not to touch the ground. She almost laughed at the silliness when, suddenly, her mind began creating pictures of a small girl with long, tousled blonde hair covered in dirt playing among other kids from the palace. Kahlan smiled to herself and touched her stomach gently. Her daughter would be the best at playing the game. Suddenly, Lenore's voice cut through her daydream. The small laughing girl that Kahlan had pictured disappeared in the middle of a jump.
Clearly disappointed, Kahlan looked back at the stumps and saw Lenore kneeling down on the ground, touching kicked-up dirt. "Horse-tracks..." Lenore whispered as she pushed a patch of soil down, as if it was a piece of a puzzle. She came to her feet again, scanning the path that continued around a sharp corner, only to disappear from sight. "There shouldn't be horse-tracks here..."
Kahlan looked down. If she counted correctly, there were tracks from either four or five horses. "Are you sure," she asked, kicking yet another patch of soil down into a hole where a print from a shod horse's hoof could be seen.
Lenore nodded and turned to where a ramshackle door could be seen. "Can you see what is there?" she asked and pointed.
"A door," Kahlan replied and felt almost stupid. Looking at Lenore's facial expression, she realized that it had been the correct answer. "Aren't I supposed to see it?"
Lenore shook her head as she slowly moved closer to the door. Opening it, she glanced inside. "Someone's been here recently," she said and took a step inside the darkness that seemed omnivorous. The sun behind Kahlan's back was barely visible over the top of a forest that lay behind.
Kahlan stepped carefully after her, making sure not to slip in the muddy soil. As she reached the threshold, she saw Lenore standing with a lit torch. "Where did you get that?" she asked, as she could see that it had been burning for at least a few hours.
"It was already lit," Lenore said, and turning her back to Kahlan. "Come on, we need to be out of these passages before someone finds out that we're here or that someone besides us has used them." Lenore began to walk and Kahlan followed her as best as she could without falling.
Her hand landed on the cold and moist wall for what must be the seventh time, as Kahlan tried to prevent herself from slipping on the slippery boulders sticking up from the ground. Someone could have added more soil or gravel, Kahlan thought, as Lenore stopped at a crossway. Kahlan planted her foot carefully down between two boulders, "May I ask what this is? Is it some hidden passage that nobody knows about?"
"One could say that," Lenore replied, and allowed the fire from the torch to illuminate something on the wall before her. "Legends say that these corridors were built when Roger II of Conté was king. His wife, Alysy, never told anyone that she was dying, but everyone noticed. They always do, no secret can be kept in this palace." Lenore began to walk to the right, only to stop and turn around, taking the right way, only to stop again as she continued to speak, "King Roger II wasn't exactly what you would call a faithful husband."
Kahlan tried to follow Lenore's many turns, back and forth, as she continued to listen to what her friend told her. When Lenore finally made a decision on which way to walk, she chose the right. Lenore continued her story, "And so, he had these tunnels built so that his long-time and true friend, Lord Gershom, could sneak out those women the King bedded instead of his failing wife."
Lenore stopped and lifted up the torch, allowing the fire to light up the wall. Very carefully, her fingers found the carved signs in the wall. She began to dig out the dust that had filled the carvings for hundreds of years, and the signs slowly became visible. Kahlan could clearly see a 'G' followed by something that looked like a rooster showing his feathers. "Every corridor is marked by a letter, either a R or a G along with a sign. This," she pointed to the rooster, "tells us that we are on the way to the royal kitchen."
Kahlan gaped, "So these tunnels or corridors, does the current king know about them?"
"No," Lenore replied, "which is why I find it odd that someone has been walking down here." She continued to allow her finger to dig out more dust from the sign, "There are only a handful of people who know about these. After the so-called tragic death of King Roger II's first wife, he gave up courting insignificant women and married a foreign princess. He ordered these tunnels to be sealed off. Lord Gershom, also the Lord Provost at the time, didn't follow orders. It is unknown as to his reasons for keeping them, but from his personal diary we know that it had something to do with a young and special girl named Beka."
Lenore moved to the side, grabbing Kahlan's hand. "Here, feel the curves. Do you feel how the lines are smooth and almost soft like silk?" Kahlan did as she was told. Her eyes widened. The carving in the stone was unique and as soft as Lenore had told her. Lenore smiled. "Where there is a sign, a square piece of the wall has been replaced by a piece of dark granite — oddly enough, that was Lord Gershom's nickname."
"Magnificent," Kahlan whispered mesmerized. Pulling back her hand, she looked at Lenore, "You said that only a handful of people know about these?"
Lenore nodded,"Yes, that special girl, Beka, was our own Rogue's ancestor. Lord Gershom's diary has been in the hands of her descendants — such as the husband of the Lioness."
Kahlan stared at Lenore, "You mean that the Lioness's husband knows about these?"
"Yes, he does. Now, come on," Lenore began to walk away, but Kahlan found it hard to break away from the sign. She was feeling as if she had fallen down into a pit of mysteries. Whoever this now deceased Lord Gershom was, he had kept something unique. Taking one last glance at the sign, Kahlan followed Lenore.
Her coming to the royal palace was going to be an adventure unequaled by any other.