Requiem

Chapter 2

Kahlan, ever so often, came in and out of consciousness. She would hear her name being said, and sometimes there was yelling, and there were two foreign voices, voices she didn't recognize. Eventually she found the strength to moan and open her eyes. When she did open her eyes she was met by a beautiful pair of green eyes. Richard stared back at her with endearment. "Kahlan," he spoke her name with relief and worry dripping from it, "You're finally awake."

"She's awake!" A foreign voice yelled.

"Our mistress is awake!" Yet another foreign voice sounded.

She wanted to look at the faces to whom the voices belonged to but she didn't have the strength to lift her head… plus she was lost in the vastness that was Richard's eyes. Richard pulled his eyes away from the woman below him to yell at the voices, saying she was tired, she needed rest, and then she heard Cara make a snarky comment about sleeping long enough. That's when she sat up. Richard tried to settle her back down but she shook his hands from her shoulders. First thing that she noticed was the Sun had gone down and there was a bright fire burning in the clearing. The second thing she noticed was that she had not moved from where she had been standing when she fainted; in fact Richard had probably caught her and laid her down on his lap. Her head was in Richard's lap when she was sleeping… a smile spread across her face at his caring gesture. Then it occurred to her that the only movement he had probably made at all was shifting every so often, this was hinted to her when she noticed how sloppily made the fire was, so obviously someone, not Richard, had made the fire, and he was the one that always made it, and even if he was rushing it would still be made perfectly. She smiled again.

She heard Richard shuffling around in his bag for something then felt a warm blanket cover her shoulders. "You should keep warm, Kahlan. Stay comfortable."

She turned her head to him at that. "Thank you," she whispered, "For everything." She gave him a sweet smile. He was about to say something back but was interrupted by two men in D'Haran armor clamoring their way up to her and Richard.

"I'm so glad you're awake, Mistress!" The smaller of the two men mused.

"Command us, Mother Confessor." The one with the fat neck sounded.

She turned to Richard with an inquiring look on her face. "Did I Confess these men, Richard?"

"You don't remember?" He asked. She shook her head. "Earlier today? In this clearing?"

She pondered this for a minute or so, and then it dawned on her. Everything was coming back. The fight, Zedd and Cara and the Mord-Sith, Richard being bound to a tree. She flinched at the memory of seeing him like that. "I remember," she whispered. "My head is all foggy, is all."

"Figures," Cara snorted out, "You've slept most of the day away."

"I have? How long have I been asleep?" She turned to Richard to get the answer but Cara beat him to it.

"You fainted around mid-day, the sun set three hours ago."

"Eight hours! I've been asleep for eight hours!?" Kahlan turned around, back to Richard. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't want to disturb you. You looked like you needed the rest," Richard whispered.

"I suppose we ought to stay here the night," Zedd said, "It will take at least half a day to get to the nearest inn."

"No. No, we should keep moving," Kahlan moved to get up.

Richard reached out to her from his spot on the ground, "Kahlan, I don't think you should mo-" he cut his sentence short when Kahlan was on her feet and stumbling. With lightning quick reflexes, Richard caught Kahlan in a tight grasp and spun her around, dipping her low as if they were finishing a dance. Their breath hitched at the close proximity of their faces. "You aren't strong enough to travel, Kahlan. Sleep here tonight. You'll be fine."

"We'll keep you safe, Mother Confessor." The smaller man enthusiastically offered.

Kahlan looked at the two men leaning towards her as if drawn in by her presence. They had that look on their faces that all the men she Confessed got, it irked her to see the men love her when she knew she could never love them, and it hurt her more to see Richard's face as he reacted to the men's leers. "What are your names?" Kahlan asked.

The two looked at each other as if they had just been asked to be knighted by the Mother Confessor; they looked as if it was an honor for her just to speak to them. "My name is Faldy, M'lady, and this is Jude," The larger one said. "We are your humble servants." The two drew their swords and kneeled before her. She hated it when they did this. It made her feel like she forced them into making her the Queen of the New World.

"Good," Richard said, a snarky tone in his voice that usually only Cara used, "why don't you go and humbly leave the Mother Confessor alone!" Richard spat at them. She had never seen Richard become so aggravated by her Confessed before.

The men were about to say something but Kahlan shot up her hand to silence them and she pulled Richard to the side. "Richard. What has gotten into you? Why are you so snide all of a sudden?"

Richard looked down in shame of his behavior, not meeting her eyes as he spoke to her. "I'm sorry, Kahlan. They wanted to wake you; they kept annoying me, telling me to wake you so they could get their orders." Kahlan lifted his head by his chin; she wanted him to look her in the eyes as he talked to her, not act like another of her Confessed. "Kahlan," he said softly, "I've never seen any of the men you've Confessed so eager to be commanded. It scares me to see them act so zealous."

Kahlan shook her head at his worry. "Richard… they're D'Haran soldiers who have been Confessed. Taking orders is all they are used to, it makes sense that's all they would want to do for me now." Kahlan went back to the men, "Why don't you go pick berries and hunt for game to keep yourselves occupied. Come back when you have enough for all of us." They nodded enthusiastically and ran off into the woods.

Richard came behind her and sat her down on the log near the fire. "Kahlan, game is very scarce in these parts. They probably won't be back for a while."

"I know," stated Kahlan, "that's why I sent them away. It hurts me to see you upset over this."

Richard smiled sweetly at her and sat next to her on the log. She contentedly laid her head on his shoulder, resting for a little while longer.

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