She lay there, eyes squeezed shut, hands unbound, but her arms remained stretched away from her body. She knew they were alone, but she couldn't reason that it was over. Tears escaping the corners of her eyes, falling to the ground, making a sound that seemed to echo through her ears, drowning what she knew was her name being called by Richard. Slowly, her eyes opened, burning from the sudden brightness around her. "Kahlan!" His voice sending chills through her very core. Quickly, she turned her head away from him. She had never felt this way, this ashamed, angry and full of fear. How could she look at him?
Kahlan had no idea how long she laid there, only that he never stopped calling her name, begging her to look at him, to say she was alright. He told her his love for her, how sorry he was for allowing this to happen to her. Her head screamed at him, blaming him silently. While her heart felt the truth of his words, the strength of his love. Without warning, she stood, grabbing her corset, she dressed herself slowly, reminding herself to breathe. Even slower, she walked towards him, her eyes never meeting his, her heart pounding against her chest as she stopped before him. Without a word or eye contact, she reached to the chains, letting him free. His feet touching the ground, he quickly wrapped an arm around her, trying to provide her with some comfort. She pushed herself away, her eyes still not meeting his. "Your shoulder," she said softly, "We should fix it." Kahlan didn't wait for him to reply, she took his arm, her fingers tracing along the bone that pushed at the flesh. With one swift pull on the arm and a push on the shoulder, a pop shattered their silence as she put it back into place.
His arms immediately pulled her to him, holding her gently. She could feel his tears falling into her hair, his heart racing in anger. "I'm so sorry." he cried, pulling her closer still. She nodded against his chest as she began to cry. Wrapping her arms around him, she clung tightly to the safety she felt. Minutes passed with neither moving, both needing the comfort and security the other provided. His chest glistened with her tears, his shirt wrinkled from her hold on it. "I'm so sorry Kahlan." he whispered into her hair. "I know." she replied even softer. It was the first time she hadn't told him it wasn't his fault. It broke his heart, he would never forgive himself for this, but he would spend his entire life trying to make her forget.
Pulling back, she found herself feeling better, her shame disappearing into his embrace. Richard looked at her; confused "I need to sit." she said turning and sliding her back down the wall. He didn't miss a second, sitting beside her, he moved as close to her as he could. Starring at the place she once laid, she found the fear threatening to overtake her. Turning to him, their eyes met for the first time sense, "Hold me?" she asked softly, "Forever." he replied easing her worried. Laying her head in the crook of his neck, she pulled herself closer. "Don't let go." she said as she closed her eyes. "Never." he replied as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"John," Prince Hayden said as the large man stood before him. "You have disappointed me." "I'm sorry, sir." John replied looking down at his feet. "I am sure you are, but not to me. You are sorry to The Mother Confessor." he said with a smile. "Why is it you were unable to complete your time with her? Was she not to your liking?" Hayden spoke slowly, his eyes wide as he watched him. "I did not believe it to be a just punishment sir." John answered honestly, his heart racing in fear of what would be done to him in punishment. "The punishment was not what we did to The Mother Confessor, but what we did to The Seeker." Hayden smiled "Did you see the look on his face? The pain we caused is much more effective than if we simply beat him." grinning, the prince took a step towards John "Now I do believe you were correct. They must not know where Sister Nicci is." he turned away from him, his grin falling from his face "The Seeker would have told us anything we wanted to save her from that." He paused, his mind gladly replaying his time in the dungeon. "We must inform The Keeper." he said softly.
"Sir." John replied as he looked up at the prince, "Brother, I am sorry." he added softly. Hayden turned slowly at his words, his eyes meeting his "Not now you aren't, but you will be." he said walking closer to him. His fist slammed into his face sending John to the ground quickly, "Guards!" he called loudly, his foot pressing on his brothers chest to hold him down. "Take him to the dungeon. He will not be shown any mercy." he said with a smile as two guards began to carry John out of the room.
"What about the Seeker and the Confessor?" the last remaining guard asked "Their friends will arrive in a day or so in an attempt to rescue them. We will move them in the morning. The wizard and the mord-sith will have lost their lives before they realize their friends are no longer here." he said smiling widely "What about tonight sir? The Mother Confessor. There are a few of us who wish to uh, wish to spend some quality time with her." Hayden stared at the man, pleased with his question. "I will not order you to do it, but you may do what you please, enjoy yourselves." he said walking away.
Kahlan clung to him as she slept, her body constantly jerked in his arms. As tired as he was, he refused to sleep, his heart desperate to protect her. "I won't let anything happen to you." he whispered softly, his fingers running lightly through her hair, calming her shaking body. Slowly, her hold on him began to loosen as she felt safer, her breathing returning to normal.
The door to the dungeon flew open, making a loud bang that caused Kahlan to jolt awake and push herself out of Richard's arms and press her back against the wall, her knees coming to her chest and holding them tightly. He moved after her, pulling himself to her, embracing her. "You have a new guest!" A guard called as he tossed John onto the floor. Richard could feel Kahlan's body tense as she stared at the man, her eyes wide in fear, causing the guard to smile. "Don't worry, Confessor. I will be back for you." he said before leaving, closing the door behind him. He could feel her breathing stop; hear her heart pounding as he pulled her closer to him. "I'm not going to let him near you, Kahlan." he said firmly, "None of them will touch you." he said, closing his eyes and running his finger through her hair. She nodded slowly before releasing her knees. She moved in closer, feeling safe in his arms, as she looked at John. He stared down at the ground, his back against the wall, "I'm so sorry." he said without looking up, he knew they understood.
Kahlan opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to make any words. Tears began to fall down her cheeks, though she tried to stop them. Richard could feel her heartbreak and pain flowing from her and into him. Wrapping his arms tighter around her, he looked up to John, who was now staring right at them. "You have to escape before dark." he said looking to the door and back again. "You will most likely watch her did tonight." he said softly, looking to Kahlan, who had closed her eyes. "My brother has given them permission to have her this night. He did not say she must live." he said looking quickly to Richard, "Your brother?" he asked confused, "Yes. You will need these," he said holding up a set of keys. "You're friends are very close, if you escape when the guards are eating, you will have a chance to meet them."
"Why are you helping us?" Kahlan asked looking at the ground, her mind trying to make sense of everything. "I am helping because it is the right thing to do. You both should never have been brought here." he said softly and Richard could feel his anger. "You must leave soon, you only have a small window of opportunity and you must take it." he leaned forward, eyes focusing on Richard's. "Once you are free, you must leave, do not return to this place. Do not return for vengeance." he looked to Kahlan, who now stared at him, eyes wide. "If you return, you will be killed." he said, keeping his eyes connected with hers. "I will do my best to help you escape." he added as he leaned his head back against the wall, "For now, we wait." he said answering the question Richard was about to ask.
He held her as he stared across the room at John, her body slightly shaking in fear, pulling herself even closer to Richard's, she slowly began to re-gather her courage. Vengeance, she thought, those men should pay for what they've done. They should never be allowed to do this to anyone else. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. "They won't." Richard said softly into her ear, his nose pushing a few strands of hair out of his way, his lips lightly brushing it with his words. "I will not let them get away with hurting you." he said as she turned her head towards him, their eyes meeting in an intense gaze. After a moment, she almost smiled. She could see he meant it. He smiled warmly as her face began to relax and her hold on him listened. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead to hers.
"I have the key to your Rada 'Han as well, though you may not wish to use it." John's voice pulling them from their thoughts. Kahlan turned to him; he stared down at the floor, his fingers tracing a piece of the stone. "What do you mean?" she asked her voice louder than before. "You love each other, very much. But your magic would destroy him. The Rada'Han would protect him. You would be able to be together." he said without looking up. "You could be happy together." "I am happy." Richard said looking at Kahlan. "I don't need to make love to her to be happy. She makes me happy." he added looking to John, who met his eyes. "It would be nice though." Kahlan said looking at Richard. He turned, their eyes meeting, passion filled them, he smiled at the desire he saw in her eyes. "I will make love to you. With you, and you won't have to give up a part of yourself." A small smile spread across her lips at his words. He pulled her close, her head resting in the crook of his neck. Comfort and love flowed from his body and into hers. She welcomed it. There were moments when she hated that she loved him, that she couldn't give him what another woman could, what she loved to give him, that she couldn't show him how much she loved him. This was not one of those moments. At this moment, she felt her love for him and his for her was all they would ever need. "What about you? Do you have someone you love?" Richard asked as he felt John's eyes on them. "Not any longer. She was killed." he said, quickly shifting his eyes to the ground.
"What happened?" Kahlan asked softly "My brother had her executed." he answered, his voice slightly shaking, "I was not to love someone who was below me," he looked to Kahlan, "You are expected to choose a mate that will benefit your daughter. I was expected to marry the daughter of one of our ally's to ensure their continued support. I found I was unable to do so. I was in love with my servant." Kahlan could feel the man's pain, see it in his eyes, though he tried hard not show it. "We love who we love and then we can never have them." he added before looking back to the stone on the floor. "I'm sorry." Kahlan said honestly, her own pain breaking through her voice. He nodded without looking up, his mind running through memories.
They sat in silence for several minutes before John looked up, "It's time." "How do you know?" Richard asked, terrified if they were caught, Kahlan would have to endure more. "Do you hear that?" John asked "No." "Exactly. They are all sitting at Hayden's table eating along with their entertainment. I had thought they would come for you." he said looking to Kahlan. "This will be much easier, now." he said standing. "Come on, we have to hurry." moving to the door, he worked quickly, unlocking it and pushing it open. He turned to Kahlan and tossed her the key to the Rada'Han, she stared at it for a moment before unlocking it and allowing it to fall to the ground. "Let's go!" he shouted over his shoulder. Standing quickly, Richard helped Kahlan to her feet and running through the door after John.
They moved quickly through the long halls, Kahlan holding tightly to Richard's hand as he pulled her along closely behind him. "Stay close." he said softly over his shoulder every time she would get an arm's length away from him. He watched around them, looking at every shadow, turning towards every sound, trying to be sure they were not being followed or watched. Kahlan's muscles hurt as she pushed herself to move faster, to remain as close to him as she could. She stopped at the sound of his laugh. Her eyes wide with fear, her heart pounding with a rage as she turned towards the laughter. Moving quickly, Richard tried to stand in front of her, but she pushed him back. He could see the rage filling her as she stared down the hall at the man. Her grip on his hand was tightening as the man walked closer. He had been drinking, his steps were wide and he stumbled with every step.
He stood six feet from them, his eyes wondering over Kahlan's figure, Richard found the anger within him rising quickly as he recognized the man. Kahlan smiled and gave him a bow of her head. "Like what you see?" she asked softly, Richard turned his attention to her, his mouth open in shock. The man nodded, a smile coming to his face as she took a few steps towards him, "Of course you do. It must get very lonely here." she said reaching her hand out to him. Richard stated to reach for her, pull her back to him, when she glanced at him through the corner of her eye. She knew what she was doing. The man before Kahlan laughed as he ran his hand slowly down her arm, taking hold and pulling her to him. She giggled softly "Closer." she said wrapping her arm around his waist and taking hold of his knife gently. Richard and John watched with their mouths open as she ran her hand down the side of his leg and back up and over his stomach. With one swift move of her hand the blade sliced through his shirt, his scream muffled by her hand pressed firmly over his mouth. She stared into his eyes as he fell to the ground.
Without hesitation, she knelt down to the body, facing Richard and John "We should move. I'm sure they will notice when he doesn't return." she said taking the rest of his weapons. Richard stared at her, his mind racing as it replayed what he just saw. "Here." she said softly, handing him one of the knifes. He didn't see her stand and walk towards him. "Kahlan, I-" "We should move." she said quickly, cutting him off. "This way." John whispered as he started off again. Kahlan followed John closely, with a determined look in her eye. Richard wondered if she was going to kill John as well, he too had taken a piece of her.
After a several minutes, they came to a large door, John turned to them, placing a finger to his lips to be sure they were quiet; he motioned with the other to stay low to the ground. It sounded as though a celebration was going on through the door; there was music and laughter flowing through the thick wood. "Someone fetch the Mother Confessor, she may enjoy herself." Prince Hayden's voice came through the door, sending chills of anger through Kahlan. She gripped the knife tightly in her hand, her heart pounding. She stopped, quickly reaching for Richard's arm, she pulled herself to him. The doors flew open just as they were about to pass it, several men, shocked with the sight of them before them, drew their weapons. "Run!" Richard shouted as he pushed Kahlan forward towards John, who was reaching for her arm. "Take the Confessor!" Hayden said with a smile "My brother has led her right to us!" he said standing.
Richard pushed through the soldiers that came to him, his knife slicing through as many as he could, trying to keep Kahlan in his sight. She moved quickly, her own blade covered in blood as she ran it through the larger men, who attempted to carry her away. John didn't move. He watched as the soldiers tried to kill Richard, as the others, attempted to hold Kahlan long enough to have her again. The anger of her scream tore through the air, making everyone stop. This wasn't the Con Dar, Richard thought looking over to her, and she was very much in control. She only wanted them to back away. Back away just enough for her to strike. Take his lead from her, they both moved towards each other, taking down anyone that stood between them.
They met in the middle, their backs touching as they looked around them. They were alone. The only people around them were joining the Keeper. Prince Hayden and John were nowhere to be seen. She turned first, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He could feel her heart pounding against his own chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his hand to her cheek, wiping the blood that dripped slowly from the gash above her brow. She closed her eyes against his gentle touch, wishing it would never end. "I love you." she whispered softly, a tear falling down her cheek, meeting his thumb and then brushed away. "I love you too." he replied just as she opened her eyes. A small smile crossed her lips as she pulled out of his embrace. "We should find Cara and Zedd." he nodded "Kahlan, before... when you-" she turned away from him "I wanted him to remember my face. It is only right, because I will never forget his." she said softly, closing her eyes.
He pulled her to him, hugging her tightly, "I'm so sorry Kahlan." he said into her ear, "I'm sorry." she pulled back from him "How can you love me?" she asked, her eyes piercing his, "What?" "How can you love me? I am a Confessor. No one loves a Confessor, not when they know what we will do to them. How can you love me knowing I can never make love to you? You had your chance, when I wore the Rada'Han, and you chose not to take it. Not after what they had done to me." she paused for a moment, "Why?" he stared into the blue eyes he always lost himself in, his heart breaking with the pain he saw in them. He took hold of her cheeks, keeping her from looking away. "Kahlan, it had nothing to do with what they did to you." he stated firmly, looking deeply into her eyes, he could see she didn't believe him. "Kahlan, I'm not going to make love to someone who is not you." he sighed "After that night in the forest, when I thought it was you-Kahlan I- You weren't you. When you wear the Rada'Han, you're not you. I want you." She shook her head in his hands; trying to pull away, "Kahlan-" "We need to get to Zedd and Cara." she turned quickly and ran towards the door.