"Darken Rahl wants to speak to you." Cara was close to her, whispering the words to make sure the man at her side couldn't hear as he talked to his grandfather.
"I'm surprised he can speak," she replied with a smile, knowing how her friend had questioned him. "Do you know what he wants to speak to me about?"
"The council was in the dungeons this morning."
Kahlan knew instantly what they had talked about and why he wanted to speak to her. If she went, it could undo everything. Richard had just begun to push past the anger of it all and if he learned she went to see his brother and that she had gone without telling him, it would start over again. Though, if she told him first, he would never allow her to go and to be sure, there was no telling what he would do. They requested the services of a midwife and shaman, looking to find answers and they were to arrive before the day ended. If she left now, he would know something was happening.
"I can't."
"I can keep Lord Rahl busy," Cara said confidently.
"We shouldn't lie to him."
"I can keep him busy for an hour after he finishes lunch. There are seven more Mord'Sith arriving."
Looking to Richard, Kahlan let herself imagine their future, thinking how this night could go. "I have a better idea. Send him instead, I'll go with you to meet your sisters."
"You want him to go alone?"
"If one of us goes with him, he won't get to do what he wants to- what he needs to. He won't kill him, there's no danger in leaving them alone together."
"How do you know he won't kill him?"
"Because you already beat him so close to death, I'm sure he is still lingering. Cara, we have to trust that Richard will do the right thing. He knows we need Darken Rahl alive."
******
"Where's the Mother Confessor?" Darken Rahl asked meekly as he watched his brother inch closer.
"She's busy."
"Ah, yes. I believe choosing a mate must keep her very busy."
"She's not choosing a mate," Richard said sternly, leaning his back against the wall across from the prison cell.
"All Confessors take a mate, little brother. It's only a matter of time before she must claim one."
"Why did you want to see her?"
"She is nice to look at," the older man grinned, taking pride in the anger that shot through the other man. "I was merely going to ask what I could do to please her." Standing, he limped to the bars and took them in his hands, slowly moving them over the cold metal. "Then, I planned to have my way with her right where you stand."
His body burned hot in anger, the sun exploding inside of him. "You will not touch her!"
"The High Council of Aydindril seems to think differently. They want me to give her a child and I will enjoy the process very much." He had to move back to keep his brother from grabbing him. "I've often imagined having her beneath me. To see a woman that beautiful in such pleasure, I tell you I will thrive in the moment." His smile widened as he watched his brother. "We can share a woman, Richard. I'm sure she would enjoy a night with the two of us. I'll even let you have her first, then allow you to watch as I give her a pleasure like she has never known."
"You're right," he said so calmly, it shook his brother. "If we both spend the night with her, it will produce a child."
Dumbfounded, Darken Rahl stepped closer and immediately regretted the action. He was pulled into his grasp and slammed into the cell gates, his hands tied on the other side to hold him in place as the Seeker drew his sword.
"How dare you think of her that way! She will never lay with you or any other man!"
"Are you really that selfish?" his brother questioned. "A Confessor has one duty in life, to produce a child and you're going to take that away from her."
Richard stared at him, his sword inches away from removing his brothers fingers. "What makes you think I cannot give her a child?"
"If you haven't given her a child by now... Cara is not the only Mord'Sith to have one of my children." He grinned and pushed his face further through the bars. "Nearly every woman I have been with has conceived a child."
"I will give her a child and you will never be with her. Kahlan is mine. If you ask to speak with her again, your fingers are not what I will remove from your body."
******
Kahlan lay naked on her bed with her eyes closed, her heart racing as the midwife and shaman looked over her. Fertility candles had been lit all around the room making her sick, but not from the smell. The presence of them made her feel as though she had let their people down and knowing that Richard sat across the bed in the rocking chair made everything so much harder. She wished he hadn't seen her this way, wished that she had called them before he arrived and saved him this trouble. It had to be her fault they had no children and when he was told, he would hate her.
No, she told herself, slightly shaking her head in the hopes it would remove the thought. He wouldn't hate her, but he would be saddened that they wouldn't have children and how could she ask him to live that way? He was already giving up the idea of a son, she couldn't ask him to stay with her. He used to talk about having a family, long before she accepted her feelings for him. He would tell her how excited he was to teach them to hunt or build a fire; all of the things they would need to survive on their own, because he wanted to be sure they would always be safe. She always listened with such intensity, finding it enticing to hear someone so excited to be a father.
She was pulled from her thoughts as one of the women ran their fingers over the long scar just below her breasts. Reaching down, she pushed the woman's hand away and tried to sit up, but was immediately held down.
"You must remain, we need to have the room still to see what the spirits show us." The woman's voice was fragile and warm, almost deciding the Confessor's actions for her. "Come, Seeker," she said after a moment, motioning to him with her hand. "Bring two of the candles." When he reached the side of the bed, both women walked to the door. "We must leave you for the next task. When you are alone, blow out the two candles and drip the wax onto her stomach, just below her bellybutton. It may be painful at first, but that will fade. Before either of you leave the room, the Seeker must spill his seed within you. The same must be done for the next three nights, then we will return and see if the spirits have spoken."
When the door closed, Richard met Kahlan's eyes in question. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"No, but I don't want my being afraid to keep us from a family."
Sitting down, he rested the candles on the bed table and leaned down to her. "We don't have to do this, there are other ways- other... Kahlan we don't have to do this."
"I don't want another way, not if it's without you."
Straightening his back and smiled. "Does this mean we should get started?"
Closing her eyes, she nodded. "Yes."
***
She was asleep in his arms, her breathing even and strong. The sun had disappeared completely a few hours before, but they refused to let go of each other. They both wanted to believe that the longer they were together and the more times they were united, their child would be created. When it became nearly impossible to move, he brought her against his chest and listened to her attempt to catch her breath, it was one of his favorite sounds. She fell asleep quickly, the way she always did when she was in his arms and it left him in a forest of his own thoughts.
'A Confessor has one duty in life, to produce a child and you're going to take that away from her?' Darken Rahl's words ran through his mind, making his body tense. The midwife and shaman had only worked with Kahlan, saying that the three days must pass before they could do the same with him. He wondered how likely they were to create a child within the time frame. If she hadn't conceived a child before this, he didn't see how hot wax and prayer would do them any good, though if he was to be honest to anyone who asked, he had been praying for days and was thinking that the spirits had abandoned them. There could be no other explanation.
He wanted a way to show her that she was his no matter what the outcome, but he couldn't make himself believe that it was fair to her. If he couldn't give her a daughter, she deserved to have someone who could and he wanted to believe that it wouldn't be so hard if it wasn't his brother. That wasn't true of course, he never wanted another man to look at her, let alone touch her. She was his and he was hers, there could be no other way. He couldn't survive anything else.
He would ask her to marry him, but he didn't know if it was possible. Did Confessor's get married? Could they? There was only one way he thought of to find out and without thought, he acted on it. Moving beneath her, he rolled onto his side, and nudged his nose against hers, grinning as she responded to the motion. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, blinking him out of the sleepy haze.
"Is something wrong?"
The soft purr of her voice called to his body, she felt it instantly and moaned. Hooking her left leg over him, she pushed forward and connected their lips, climbing out of her sleepiness. He returned her kiss in full, almost forgetting what it was he awoke her for.
"Kahlan," he panted as they parted for air, but was reunited with her mouth before he could continue. Grabbing her hips, he held them still, keeping her from rocking against him as he pushed her away from him. "No, not now."
His words surprised her, her eyes glinting in a hint of sadness. "I'm sorry... I thought that- I'm sorry."
"No-" He stopped himself, realizing what must have been going through her mind as she stared at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean- I'm sorry, but if I don't say this now, if I don't ask you right now, I may not have the nerve again."
"What's wrong?"
He smiled, "Does something have to be wrong for me to wake you up to talk?"
"No."
"Marry me." Her body stiffened beneath his hands and he quickly became afraid of the words that he'd wanted to say for months.
"What?"
Shaking his head, he started to pull away. "Nothing, I haven't slept, I-"
Holding him to her, she blinked and leaned forward. "You want to marry me?"
Meeting her eyes, he saw the fear, confusion and something more that caught his attention. "More than anything."
"Even if I can't give you children, a family?"
Bringing her closer, he hugged her to him. "You are my family. All I need is you."
"But what do you want?"
"You. Kahlan, marry me."
Rolling onto him, she reconnected their lips and pushed forward. Her hair fell around his face, rewarding him with a light tickle as he enveloped her in his arms. Their kiss was slow and deep, neither caring if they ever breathed apart again. Running his hands over her back, he held her to him, thriving with each kiss. Breaking apart, he moved over her and pushed the hair out of her face.
"Does this mean you will marry me?"
"It does."
"How does this work?"
Grinning, she shifted beneath him, her eyes sliding closed for a moment. "You kiss me again."
******
"Kahlan, may I speak with you alone?"
Walking toward the wizard, the Mother Confessor nodded. "Of course, Zedd. Is everything alright?"
"I will leave it to you to decide."
The sun was high above them, barely shielded by the trees around them. Kahlan had gone out for a walk with Cara and Kyra, knowing that if she went alone, Richard would be upset. The wizard met them in the garden with a worried look on his face.
Moving her away from the Mord'Sith, Zedd wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry dear one, but I must confess a mistake to you."
"What is it?"
"It was meant to help the two of you. Give you both some time to be settled before it was urgent that you reunite and then I had forgotten-"
"What are you talking about?"
"The reason the two of you have not yet conceived a child is my fault. I-"
"What?! Zedd, how could you interfere with something like this? Do you know what you've put us through?!"
"I am sorry, dear one. I had forgotten until I saw the shaman leaving the palace yesterday. The protection spell has now been removed."
Closing the distance between them, she took hold of his robes and met his eyes. "Do you have any idea what we've been through these past few days? Richard's- You had no right to do what you did. Had you given it any thought?"
"Of course I did. Kahlan, had you conceived a child the first night with him, everything that has happened would not have had a chance. Richard would not have left your side and D'Hara would not be the same. Look at what he's done, how much he has changed. He couldn't have done that if-"
"You don't get to make that decision on your own. Do you understand me? The next time you put a spell on us without our permission, I will not be so forgiving. You do not do that someone you care about, you don't put them through that kind of pain. Do you have any idea what the council asked me to do? What they were going to make me do?!" At his confused expression, Kahlan took a step back and released his robes, taking in a deep breath as she prepared to continue. "I didn't conceive a child with Richard. What were they to think? They requested I take Darken Rahl as my mate. They stood there before us like we had nothing to fight for and demanded I take his brother into my bed instead. Do you have any idea what that felt like? How it felt every moment until this one?"
She didn't expect him to answer, but he did anyway. "No."
Moving away, she turned back toward the palace and swallowed. "I need to see Richard."