Well, here's the new chapter! Tell me what you think please!
"We're here." Richard said as they stopped in front of the Confessor's Palace.
"You're home." He said.
Kahlan didn't answer, her home wasn't this huge cold palace, her home was with Richard.
"It's beautiful." Richard added.
Kahlan turned her back to the palace and sat on the white stairs, noticing her move, Richard joined her.
"There are some things that I want you to have." She said, reaching for her bag pack. Pulling out her green blanket, she gave it to Richard.
"Spirits know the nights can be cold in the forest." She said and then she reached for her daggers.
"For protection. I won't need them anymore in the Palace." She told him, handing him her weapons.
"Kahlan..." Richard whispered, knowing that this meant their ways have to separate now that Kahlan was in Aydindrill.
"We're going to be okay Richard." She said, to reassure him as much as herself. She was trying to stay calm, breathing slowly, controlling her emotions and putting on her best Confessor face. This was her way of dealing with the pain of having to leave the man she loved for a life she will hate.
"So, this is where you grew up?" Richard asked. Small conversation would be a good trick to delay their goodbyes.
"Yes, with my mother and Dennee." She replied with a sad smile.
"Are you sure that you are going to be safe in there?" He asked.
She nodded slightly. Richard took her hands in his and said: "I want you to promise me something."
"Richard..." She said, she couldn't promise him not to take a mate, not to do her duty as the Mother Confessor.
"Listen to me Kahlan." He said, getting closer to her.
"I don't want anyone to harm you, I don't want you to be hurt. So when time will come and you have to... you know... with your mate, I want you to promise me that you won't let him hurt you... even if it means that you have to… enjoy it." He explained, pretty sure that everything he just said came out wrong.
Kahlan's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The man she loved, asking her to enjoy lying with another man.
"Just think about it as an act of lust and pleasure and not an act of love." He added, with tears in his eyes. "Enjoy what I can't give you and keep our love in your heart." He added.
"I promise." She said and it broke her heart. From this very moment she was starting to betray him, promising him something she shouldn't have promised. How could the place she grew up and felt safe be her worst nightmare now?
She felt Richard kissing her hand and he said: "It's okay to be the Mother Confessor. I know what you have to do and I'm not mad at you. I just love you and I want you to be safe."
She nodded again, her throat was so tight with fear, sadness and anger that she couldn't speak.
While walking towards Aydindrill that day, they came to the agreement that Richard will wait for Zedd and Cara in the Confessor's Palace, but once they would have reached the entrance and said their goodbyes, they wouldn't see each other again. Richard could inspect the palace and make sure that it required everything for Kahlan's safety while she would start working on her Mother Confessor's duties. Zedd and Cara would be at the palace soon and Richard would resume his quest to defeat the Keeper.
Taking a big breath, Kahlan said: "And I want you to promise me that you will go back to Hartland with all of this is over."
Richard opened his mouth to object but she silenced him by placing a finger on his lips.
"Promise me Richard. I don't want you to come back to me and see me with a mate and daughters. I don't want you too see me living alone the life we should have together." She added.
He closed his eyes and softly nodded, the hand she used to silence him traced the features of his face.
"What we had together, it was more than I could ever hope for. More than I ever dreamt of. I'll cherish every moments spent with you until the rest of my life." She said, tears pooling in her eyes. Richard wrapped his arms around her and pressed her body against his. She rested her head in the crock of his neck, doing the best she could to contain her tears.
"I wish we had more time." He whispered.
"Kahlan? Kahlan Amnell?" They heard a voice call from behind them.
Kahlan sighed and turned her towards the palace and saw a woman in her mid age coming their ways.
Getting up quickly, Kahlan straightened her Confessor dress the best she could.
"Sylvia? Is that you?" She asked.
Richard got on his feet as well and Sylvia hugged Kahlan with force indicating to him that they knew each other very well.
When Sylvia noticed Richard staring at her she backed away from Kahlan immediately and looked down.
"Pardon my familiarity, Mother Confessor." She quickly said bowing in front of Kahlan.
"It's alright Sylvia, I'm happy to see you. Will you please get my mother's quarters ready for me?" She asked, wanting Sylvia to give her and Richard some space.
"Of course, Mother Confessor." The woman replied, bowing again before leaving them alone.
"Who is she?" Richard asked.
"She's a maid. She's been in the palace long before I was born. She took care of me and my sister when our mother was busy." Kahlan explained.
As servants and guards gathered at the entrance of the palace, wanting to see for themselves the truth of Sylvia's words, that the Mother Confessor had returned, Richards brushed a strand of hair out of Kahlan face and said: "Looks like your new life is waiting for you."
Kahlan closed her eyes as Richard cupped her face with his hands and kissed her on the forehead causing people not far away from them to gasp and whisper.
Keeping his lips close to her forehead he whispered: "I should have bowed down at your feet, right?"
Kahlan smiled and shook her head slightly in agreement.
He surprised her by kissing on the lips, teasing her lower lip with his tongue. When the whispers intensified, Richard pulled away with a wide smile on his face, happy not to follow any protocol he was supposed to follow while addressing to the Mother Confessor.
"I want everyone to know that you're not just the Mother Confessor, you are Kahlan Amnell, you are to be loved and love in return." He stated.
"There are so many things that I want to say to you Richard..." She started.
"I know..." He said, looking straight in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, thank you and I love you." She said quickly.
"I'm so sorry, thank you and I love you too Kahlan." He replied. None of them needed to say more. Richard was sorry that he didn't find a way for them to be together, Kahlan was sorry that she had to choose her duty instead of their love. Both were thankful for the love they had given to each other. And for the love they shared, they just had to look in each other's eyes.
"Always." She said closing her eyes.
"Always." Richard repeated before kissing her.
Richard pulled away when he felt her tears running on her face.
"Spirits, I swore I wouldn't cry." Kahlan said, wiping her tears quickly.
After a short silent, Richard said: "I guess this is it then."
Kahlan nodded, her throat was so tight that it hurt again.
"From the moment I saw you in Hartland until now, those were the best days of my life." He told her. "You made me happy beyond everything." He added, he wasn't able to contain his tears anymore.
Reaching up to dry his tears, Kahlan said: "Stay out of troubles, listen to Zedd and Cara."
"Let me stay with you." He blurted out.
"I know we've talked about this, but I can't let you go Kahlan." He said before she could say anything.
Kahlan gave him a sad smile and said: "You have to let me go."
Richard nodded but grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
"I love you." He told her.
Kahlan got closed to him and ran her free hand trough his hair.
"I love you too." She said before kissing him on the cheek.
With that she grabbed her bag pack and walked away, leaving Richard alone on the stairs of the Confessor Palace.
Reaching the entrance she looked at the people waiting for her and stated, pointing at Richard: "This is Richard Cypher, the Seeker of Truth. He is welcome here but not allowed in my quarters, as long as his friends who will be here soon."
Everyone bowed in front of her and she walked in the palace, not daring to look back at Richard. She had made a choice, her duty above him and now she had to deal with the consequences of betraying someone she loved.
"Everything is ready, Mother Confessor." Sylvia said as she walked up to Kahlan who nodded in return, her Confessor face wasn't giving her emotions away for once, but her red eyes from crying surely did.
When Kahlan reached the quarters that she and Dennee shared with her mother when they were younger, she felt better because everything was as if she never left the palace.
"Do you need anything, Mother Confessor?" Sylvia asked.
"No, thank you. You may go now." Kahlan replied.
When she heard the door close behind the maid, Kahlan dropped her pack on the floor and walked toward the window. There was a balcony but she preferred to stay inside the room. Looking down, she saw the stairs in front of the entrance of the palace, and she saw him.
He was sitting on the stairs, his elbow resting on his knees. He looked lost. Kahlan hoped that Zedd and Cara would arrive soon so he wouldn't have to stay alone, plus the day was almost over and the sun was setting down slowly.
She walked out of her room and found a guard.
"I want you to find a maid and tell her that I want food and water brought to the Seeker as soon as possible. Get a room ready for him if he wants to rest." She instructed.
"Very well, Mother Confessor." The guard replied before leaving.
Making her way back in her room, Kahlan reached her bag pack and took Richard's shirt that she had kept, inhaling his scent was making her feel a little less alone. She sat on the bed and closed her eyes for a moment, a strong headache was pounding in her head. She considered lying down for a moment but she wouldn't be able to sleep, not with Richard staying alone in front of the palace. She got up, letting out a huge sigh and walked to the window, Richard should be in a room inside the palace by now. She was surprised when she saw that he hadn't move. What was he doing?
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.
"Yes." She answered.
Sylvia came in and Kahlan didn't even bother to turn to her.
"The Seeker declined your offer, Mother Confessor." The maid said.
"Did he say anything?" Kahlan asked.
"Just that he was waiting for his friends and he didn't want to get in." She replied.
"Try again, tell him that I insist." Kahlan ordered.
"Yes, Mother Confessor. Anything else?" Sylvia asked.
"That will be all, thank you." She said in a cold tone that she didn't like.
The night will be here soon and she didn't want Richard to stay alone in the dark and the cold. She couldn't go back to him, it would be too hard on her to say goodbye to him again. She couldn't. She hoped that either Richard will accept to get in the palace or that Zedd and Cara would be here soon.