It took them nearly an hour to kill their way back to the others. More and more men came through the trees, making it clear it was she they were after. Richard had been right all along. She had never been so grateful to have Nicci near her, using her magic to protect them both. Kahlan cried out in pain as she was taken into the arms of a soldier, his hand pushing into the open wound on her shoulder. Slamming her elbow into his chest, she broke free of his hold and ducked out of his reach before pushing her dagger into his side. "The Mother Confessor is here!" He cried out before she pushed the other dagger against his neck to silence him.
She was surprised to see the amount of men that then raced through the trees, each with their eyes set on her. Meeting the blonde's eyes, Kahlan shook her head as she moved in closer. "We can't let him see."
Before she was able to respond, they were surrounded by even more of them. Sweat dripped down her face as she pushed past the men, causing as much damage as she could without slowing down. Her dress began to stick to her arms and legs, making it more difficult to keep up her pace. Tackling one of the men to the ground, she quickly shoved one of her daggers into his chest, ending his life as quickly as he came for her. Her chest, now drenched in blood, heaved with her ragged breathing, her breaths coming in gasps as she turned around to block the next incoming attack. As the bodies began to pile up around them, Kahlan made her way towards the blonde, who was happily using the magic Richard had returned to her. Nicci smiled as their enemy fell at her feet. For a moment, it scared the Confessor.
"We can't stay here; it's too easy for them to surround us." She said through heaved breaths, wiping the back of her hand against her cheek.
Nodding, Nicci kicked over one of the men that laid on the ground before her, clearing a path for her to walk to the other woman. "We are far outnumbered. Maybe it would be best if you did as your husband wishes."
"I will not run and hide while the man I love fights alone."
"Then it is your wish to die beside him."
"No." Kahlan said softly as she stepped closer to the woman, "You're going to make sure that doesn't happen."
He took his eyes off of the enemy for a moment as he caught a glimpse of her covered in blood, in the corner or his eye. Taking a quick look her way, he made sure she was alright before returning his attention to the men around him as he made his way towards her. The anger within him raged out, tearing through his enemy as his mind forced the images from his dreams from his mind. The images of her death that seemed to be haunting him. The sight of her, covered in blood, nearly killed him. As he got closer, it was made clear that it wasn't only her blood, the splatter on her face and across the white fabric of her dress had been from many others. She had to have fought her way back to him, he thought, just as he reached her.
"You were supposed to take her away from here," he growled to Nicci as his elbow slammed into the nose of a large, thick man that came up behind him.
Shaking her head, the blonde continued to attack those that came towards her. "Do you believe that she would not come after you?" Her words came out through heavy breathing, making it difficult for him to understand her as he too continued to fight.
Kahlan jumped forward, knocking Richard to the ground just as an arrow flew over them. For a brief moment, he lost himself in the feeling of her against him, but quickly shook his mind free of those thoughts as she lifted herself from his body, stretching her arms to grab the legs of one of the men that rushed towards them. Taking the man down, she moved away from her husband, leaving him to fight off a few more of the men. There were more of them now and she was certain that they would never stop coming. There were so many and she didn't even know why they wanted her dead.
The sound of her magic being released called his attention back to her. She wouldn't have used it if she didn't have to, not when there were so many and it took so much out of her. With everything he had, he pushed through the six men surrounding him, only to see the dozens that encircled her. The man she had taken swung his sword, taking the arm of one of his former allies. He stood close to her as she stumbled to her feet, ready to strike anyone who passed him.
He moved quickly, killing every man that tried to pass him; tried to kill his mistress. The strength her magic gave him was astounding, he was smaller than Richard in every way and yet, he tore through the men three and four times his size. He stepped aside instantly, as Richard killed his way to them. Moments later, it was over. Blood dripped from their weapons, adding to the puddles on the ground. With one look around, being sure that there was no longer a threat, he turned to Kahlan and pulled her instantly into his arms, hugging her tightly.
Letting herself fall into his embrace, she let out a sigh of relief as a small smile crossed her lips. "We survived," She said softly, making him smile. "Where's Cara?"
He looked around, now realizing that he hadn't seen her since the battle began. He scanned the ground once more, his heart pounding in fear of losing his friend. "I don't know." He pulled back from her, turning around as he searched the area. "I don't see Zedd either."
"Maybe he's eating." They turned to her voice, relief flooding through them. Cara stepped through the trees, covered in sweat and blood, though it was only visible on her face and neck.
He fought the urge to hug her, not wanting to move away from his wife as she struggled to look through the trees for the old wizard. "I don't see him," She said softly, stepping closer to the trees. There were bodies as far as she could see. Nothing was moving.
"He's fine." Richard heard himself say, but from his tone, Kahlan wasn't sure it was her he was trying to convince. Pulling her back to him, he turned back to Cara, "Are you all right?"
"Of course."
"Are there any more?"
She shook her head, looking over to the confessed man staring at her. "Does he know anything?"
Drawing the soldier's attention, Kahlan stepped to him, keeping herself a small distance away from him. "Why were you ordered to attack?"
Richard was surprised by her question; they knew why they were attacking. They wanted to remove the only law left in the Midlands. They wanted to take over. "I am sorry Mistress, but I do not know. I was not highly ranked and was not informed."
"You must have heard something," She said softly. "They weren't here to kill us all. They were here for me. It was me they wanted. If it was only to remove the authority in the Midlands, they would have to kill my sister, the council and my husband, but they came after me."
"I only heard rumors, Mistress. I cannot say for sure that they are true." Her look told him to continue. "We were told to crush him. To take away his will to live. Without you Mistress, the Seeker would not wish to take his title as Lord Rahl. It was rumored to have been about him. He killed Lord Rahl; he is the only one who can take his place. If anything was to happen to Lord Rahl, we were supposed to do as much damage to the Seeker as we were able. We came here for you, Mistress. Forgive me!" He fell to his knees, horrified. "The things we were going to do to you Mistress, I am sorry!" he cried out.
"Why come for her?" Richard asked softly. "You could have just killed me."
The man shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "It would not be enough. The Mother Confessor is your weakness. You would have gladly ended your life to stop what we were going to do to her. You would have wanted to die, but we wouldn't have let you. I am sorry Mistress, please believe me. I do not wish to bring you any harm."
"I know," She whispered, looking to her husband. "Richard, it's over."
He felt her hand on his arm, touching him gently for comfort. "It's all my fault."
Shaking her head, she smiled up at him. "No it's not," She said simply, as though it was the easiest thing to say. She didn't blame him.
Meeting her eyes, he sighed. "Kahlan, if I hadn't killed Darken Rahl, they wouldn't have come after you."
"If you hadn't killed him, I wouldn't have the strength to open my eyes in the morning. This is not your fault. What you did- You killed him for me, to protect me. That doesn't make this your fault."
His mind replayed it all, trying to see what he could have done differently, but what he had said- what he had done to Kahlan was unforgivable. No matter what, he would have killed him for what he had done to her. It was the least he could do. "I should have protected you better."
"You couldn't have done any better. This is not your fault." Taking his hand, she gave it a gentle squeeze. "We should find Zedd and then we can go get our daughter." She smiled, hoping to get his mind off of everything else.
Returning the squeeze of the hand, he nodded, unable to force a smile as his mind reeled through it all. He was unsure of the countless number of times she came close to dying in the past year, but the ones that occurred in the last few hours were all because of him. If she had died or if any of the things the enemy soldier spoke of had been done to her, he would never survive it. "I'm sorry Kahlan."
"I know." She said softly, knowing that nothing she said could make him feel like this was any less his fault. "But there is nothing we can do about it now. We have something more important to think about."
"Emma." He whispered her name as though it was a secret and he hadn't said it in so long.
She nodded, smiling widely. "Yes. We have to go to her."
"She will be with Chase and Emma by now." He said as he forced his mind to think of her.
"Then she is safe enough for us to take the long trails."
It was impossible for him not to smile at her words as he remembered their conversation from before the battle about running away together and spending some time alone. Being alone with her was all he wanted now. "We should find Zedd."
Kahlan watched him from the corner of her eye as they walked; he turned his head every few seconds to look at her. Since he had healed her wound, he barely took his eyes off of her. The fear of losing her was stuck in the front of his mind. "Richard," she said his name softly, a whisper as she stopped and turned him towards her. Reaching out she cupped his cheeks in her hands. "You killed Darken Rahl. You didn't do anything wrong."
"Because I killed him-"
"If you had not, he would have come back for me- For us and he would have done it all over again. You killed him to keep our family safe. I know what you're thinking and you're wrong. You didn't do anything wrong and I do not blame you for what happened after his death. Richard, if anything, I thank you more now. Darken Rahl knew that you would go after him, that's why he made the arrangements, because he knew that you were going to kill him. He knew that once he told you what he did to me, you would kill him."
"I should have known!" he shouted as he pushed away from her. "It was almost too easy. He died so that you would suffer."
"No. He died because he wanted you to suffer. This was never about me, Richard. He wanted to hurt you- to take-"
"He wanted to take away the only thing I live for. I almost lost you today."
She gave him a small smile, moving closer to him. "But you didn't, I'm right here." Laying her hands against his chest, she grabbed his shirt, pulling him to her. "I'm right here."
He gave into her kiss, his body relaxing into her as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her. He felt his arms reach up, his fingers moving into her hair as he began to pull her closer. Her lips moving with his made his mind go blank of everything but the feel of her against him. The cool wind blowing against them was missed from the warmth flowing from each other's body as they pulled the other closer. Digging her nails into his back, she tried to get closer to him, suddenly frustrated that they were unable to share the same space.
Lifting his shirt, she slid her hands over his back, thriving on the feel of his skin. A soft moan escaped his lips as she began rocking herself against him, her body craving his. Grabbing her dress, he lifted it from the ground as she untied his pants, her hands fumbling around his arms to push them from his waist. Their bodies instantly reacted to the other, both roughly pulling the other to them as they stepped closer to a thick oak. Her breath was forced from her body as it was pushed into the tree, using it for support as he lifted her into his arms and her legs wrapped around him.
Their lips pulled at each other, claiming their lover as their hands frantically moved over the other. Soft moans, gasps and cries of pleasure filled the air around them, most getting lost in their kisses. Breaking their kiss, they both gasped for air as they continued to cling to the other. Unable to keep his lips from her, he began kissing everywhere he could reach, sending her head back against the tree. Holding his head to her neck, Kahlan tightened her legs around him, trying to keep herself steady as the magic grew within her, making her body shake.
His head fell to rest against her chest, panting as his breath came back to him, his wife holding him tightly against her. He could feel her heart pounding as she gasped for air, her chest heaving with each breath. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips as she ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his head as she often did when he laid over her. Richard pulled his head back, looking up at her, his smile growing wider at the sight. Her eyes were closed, a smile on her lips as her head leaned back against the bark of the tree, her hair a ruffled mess.
"You're beautiful." He whispered softly, making her open her eyes.
Cupping his cheek, her smile widened, her chest still rising and falling rapidly as she tried to breathe. "I'm a mess." She let out a small laugh.
Shaking his head, Richard lowered her slightly, bringing her face to his. "Never." She raised an eyebrow, not believing him. "But you may want to brush your hair before we pass through any towns."
Her mischievous smile made his body quiver, his need for her once again growing within him. "We have time."
"We were expecting you both days ago!" Chase said as he slapped his hand on Richard's shoulder. "It's good to see you again!"
"And you as well." Kahlan said with a smile before looking past him to his wife, holding Emma tightly in her arms.
Chase smiled widely as she moved past him, the need to be with her daughter overcoming her. "So what took you two so long?"
"We needed some time…" he paused forcing back a smile, "We needed some time alone."
Nodding, Chase laughed. "Already trying to give her a sister?"
Kahlan blushed, her mouth slightly open as she looked at Richard, who smiled widely at her embarrassment. "She'll want sisters."
Leaning in close, Chase whispered into his friend's ear, not wanting to embarrass The Mother Confessor any more. "You could have taken as long as you wanted."
"It took us two weeks to get here," he smiled. "It should only take five days. We couldn't be away from her any longer. We pushed through the past two nights."
Laughing, Emma handed Kahlan a small doll. "I'm sure you will have our hands full with this one. She has some skillful talents.
"What do you mean?" Richard asked, growing concerned.
Laying his hand back on his shoulder, Chase smiled. "We walked into the room to find that doll spinning over her bed."
Looking over to his wife, he expected to see the same fear in her eyes as he was sure filled his, but was met with calm, reassuring eyes. She didn't appear to be worried at all. "Has she done anything else?"
"Plenty!" his friend laughed. "She enjoys flying small objects around the house. I'm still missing several things."
"I'm sorry." Kahlan said with a smile.
"What has become of your battle?"
"It is over." Kahlan said, not giving Richard a chance to think more on it. "They're all dead."
Emma smiled, "Then you will be able to stay?" She asked as she stood up.
Looking at his wife, Richard gave her a small hopeful smile as he awaited her answer. "I don't see why not. We have a few more days until someone comes looking for us."
"Good!" Chase said loudly. "You can help me catch dinner." He turned to Kahlan, giving her a playful smile. "That is, if you don't-"
"Go." She said softly, returning her attention to the small baby's brown eyes staring back at her. "We'll be fine."
****End****