Chapter 8

Somewhere deep in a forest a woman with long auburn hair was gazing intently upon the surface of the water that was glistening in the flat bowl. She frowned for a moment, but then a content smile came over her face as she watched the vision she had had of the future change. Finally… she thought. Only moments after, the woman let out a low, frustrated growl when the vision she saw changed back to it's original state. However, she was aware that the girl was not the reason for the fact that the vision had changed again. Stubborn boy…

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When Rachel awoke, rays of sunlight were illuminating the cave, but the first thing she saw was his face. Richard had placed a hand on her shoulder to wake her, smiling at her. Rachel smiled back, her heart pounding a little faster than usual when she took his hand as he helped her up.

The others were already packing their bags and Rachel couldn't help but feel guilty when she saw Kahlan standing a little away from the others, her back turned towards them. She could understand Kahlan so well and wanted to help her, but knew that at the moment, she didn't want to talk to her. Rachel wouldn't know what to say anyways, so she decided to keep a little distance to the Confessor before she would make things worse.

'Are you hungry?' Richard's voice brought her out of her thoughts and Rachel, who was still feeling somewhat shaky from her nightmare, gladly accepted the bread he held out to her.

XXX

As soon as the group had set out, Rachel tried to get as close to Richard as possible without drawing the attention of the others. Although she still felt a sense of guilt nagging at the back of her mind, there was nothing that could keep her more than a few inches away from him. Rachel felt like she was constantly drawn towards him. She enjoyed each time he smiled at her.

It was enough to be near him for Rachel to feel more alive than she had in years.

Richard, who felt Kahlan's gaze on him, frowned. No one could fathom how torn he really was. The connection he and Kahlan shared was like nothing he had ever felt before, but what had happened between him and Rachel went just as deep, even though maybe in a different way. Looking back, he realized he had known it from the moment Rachel had opened her eyes; the eyes that didn't have the sharp edge of power and pride like Kahlan's had when she was the Mother Confessor, but were full of grief and fear… and courage… and love. He loved her, and wanted nothing more than to see her beautiful smile, to protect her and help her.

Richard felt a calm happiness at seeing Rachel smiling. He had been so worried about her, especially in the last few days. Although Rachel had tried to hide it, he had felt there was something else that was bothering her besides her feelings for him. When he had seen the terror in her eyes as she had told him of her nightmares, Richard had realized it had to be a side effect of the poison Zedd had talked about, and therefore he knew he could do nothing but try to comfort her. His heart had clenched at this thoughts just as it did when he saw Kahlan looking at him now.

'Everything alright?' Rachel's soft voice called him out of his thoughts. Richard looked at her and saw the concern not only evident in her voice but in her light blue eyes as well. 'You looked… worried.', she continued when he didn't answer.

'It's nothing. I was just thinking.' Richard responded, trying to sound confident and carefree. Rachel raised an eyebrow, obviously not satisfied with his answer, but said nothing.

Richard gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting it go and returning his attention to the small path they were walking on at the moment.

Zedd, who had been watching Rachel and his grandson for a while now, smiled to himself, despite everything that had happened.

'What are you grinning at?' Cara asked in an unnerved tone.

'I am just glad she is smiling again. Richard seems to care for her deeply.' Zedd answered, nodding towards the couple walking in front of him and Cara.

The Mord'Sith gave an annoyed huff: 'Yes, and by doing that, he hurts Kahlan.' She glanced back at the Confessor who was walking several paces behind, obviously struggling to maintain her Confessor's mask while watching Richard and Rachel holding hands.

Zedd's eyebrow rose when he realized this had not been another one of Cara's sarcastic remarks: she actually seemed worried about Kahlan.

Cara, seeing Zedd's expression, hurriedly tried to explain: 'After all, Richard asked me to protect her. I am only doing my duty.'

Zedd chuckled lowly: If Cara felt the need to explain her actions, it was a sure sign he had guessed rightly.

He decided to take a step further: 'I am glad you finally became friends.' Cara shot him her Mord'Sith glare and spat: 'We are NOT.' But before she could say more, she was silenced by Richard, who had stopped dead, holding up his hand to signal the others to be quiet. A metallic ring filled the air as he slowly drew his sword. Rachel had her sword out in an instant, straining to hear any noise that would indicate what was wrong. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she tried to ready herself for what was to come. The whining of Cara's agiels seemed unnaturally loud as all other noises had diminished. Then, suddenly, they heard a cry of pain behind them.

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Richard spun around at the cry. His eyes grew wide with shock when he saw Kahlan slashing the throat of a man before collapsing on the floor, her hands pressed on her right thigh. Blood soaked her dress where the man's dagger had left a deep cut.

He had barely reached her side when more man, apparently banelings, appeared from behind a group of trees and attacked them. Richard beheaded the first baneling that came charging towards him and quickly dispatched two others while trying to keep an eye on Kahlan who was now behind him, trying to get up. Rachel was next to them moments after and helped Kahlan on her feet. She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her thigh as she put her weight on her right leg. Standing back to back, the women easily finished their two opponents. Cara stabbed her agiels into the chest of the last baneling and came to Kahlan's side while Zedd began burning the corpses.

The pain made it almost impossible for her to stand on her right leg, and as Kahlan took a step forward, she tripped. Richard caught her before she could fall, but she freed herself of his embrace as soon as she was up again and said in a cold tone: 'I'm fine.' Kahlan only managed to walk a few steps before falling again. She pressed her hands on the wound while the others approached. 'Kahlan, you are not alright. Zedd will have to look after the wound. Don't try to walk again, it'll only become worse.' Although Richard's voice seemed calm, Kahlan could hear he was hurt at how she had rejected him, and began to regret it. She might be angry at him, but what had happened between him and Rachel no one could have foreseen or prevented.

Kahlan slowly nodded, and accepted that he knelt down beside her, taking her hand, while waiting for Zedd.

Richard felt better knowing she finally allowed him to help her, even though it was probably only for these few moments.

The wizard looked at the wound and said: 'The cut looks deep, but I think I can fix it. Don't worry, dear.' Kahlan gave a nod and tried to calm her breathing as Zedd began to mutter his incantations. After a few minutes, the wound was closed and Kahlan could feel no pain except a slight discomfort in her thigh. 'Thank you.'

The wizard smiled at her, and Kahlan got up. Cara and Rachel were standing a few paces away, making sure they wouldn't be caught off guard again.

When Zedd turned his back on them, Kahlan looked into Richard's eyes and said in a low voice: 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just…' Richard shook his head and squeezed her hand reassuringly: 'Don't worry. I understand.' She didn't need her powers to see he was completely honest. Richard really understood her and Kahlan was glad for that. She smiled a little and he asked: 'Can you walk?' 'Yes, the pain is gone.'

Richard smiled a little, clearly relieved she was fine, before he addressed the others: 'We should get moving.'

Rachel was still breathing heavily, but not because of the physical effort: Only when the battle was over she had realized that she had killed someone… for the first time in her life. As the adrenalin subsided she began to feel sick, the picture of the first person she had killed clear before her eyes. He was already dead. Rachel tried to tell herself in order to calm down, but she found it didn't help much. A tear ran down her cheek, but Richard's voice called her out of her thoughts. All she wanted to do was leave this place, so she quickly followed her companions.

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At sundown, the group made camp in a small clearing. When Richard got up and said he wanted to go hunting, Rachel quickly grabbed a bow: 'Can I come with you?'

The others gave her a surprised look, and she felt her cheeks flush slightly as she explained: 'I know how to hunt. And I used to practice with my bow almost every day when I was still…' she trailed d off into silence, overcome by the memory of her father and the home she had left behind.

She was thankful when Richard nodded reassuringly: 'Alright then.'

For a short moment Rachel saw a look of hurt on Kahlan's face, but then her expression became neutral again, although the Confessor soon turned away from her.

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Richard watched mesmerized as Rachel aimed for the stag which was standing a few feet away from them. They had followed its trail for a while and now lay hidden behind a few brambles. The rising moon cast a pale light on them and illuminated Rachel's features as she concentrated on her target. Richard felt her tense next to him for a short moment before she released her arrow. He realized his breathing had caught while he had been watching her. Rachel turned her head to look at him, as she obviously had felt his eyes on her. She accidentally released the arrow; it hit a nearby tree and startled the stag, causing it to jump away.

A smile spread across his face as Rachel got up and huffed. She then turned to look at him. Seeing his expression she furrowed her brow: 'Why are you smiling? I almost had it.'

Richard shook his head, still grinning, and got up: 'Don't worry. I won't loose faith in your hunting skills because of that.'

'You want to talk. You are the reason it got away. You distracted me.' Rachel answered in mock anger, which made him grin even more. She playfully nudged him, but chuckled lowly while he wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace.

'We should head back. The others will be worried.' Rachel said half-heartedly, but she didn't move. In fact, she didn't want to. She just felt too comfortable in his arms.

All of a sudden, however, a familiar pain shot through Rachel's shoulder, making her step back and double over. Rachel gritted her teeth, trying hard not to scream out loud while she was kneeling on the floor. Black and white spots were dancing in front of her eyes when Richard quickly sat down beside her, taking her hands. She could hear the worry in his voice when he asked: 'What is it?' Rachel could only shake her head. When the pain had subsided after a few more moments she answered: 'It's my back. I think the pain comes from the spot where the arrow hit me. But it's nothing. I can handle it.'

Richard frowned: 'Has this happened before?' When Rachel didn't answer he continued in a reproachful tone: 'Why didn't you tell me?'

Rachel lowered her eyes: 'I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you. I really didn't think it was necessary to mention it seeing that the pain always disappears after a while.'

Richard's face softened as he answered: 'Come on, we should get back.' He helped Rachel to her feet, but when she swayed, gently lifted her up to carry her back in his arms.

Rachel wanted to protest: in all her life she had almost never allowed anyone to see her when she felt 'vulnerable'. She had built walls around her feelings to keep them under the surface, as she had always thought showing them was a sign of weakness. But when she was with Richard, she felt these walls crumbling. There was something about him that gave her the feeling she could allow her emotions to show without having to feel weak. When she was with him, there was no weakness; she didn't have to be afraid about her true feelings, or about appearing weak. Rachel just knew she could trust him and she felt happy knowing she could be herself.

As she still felt exhausted from the pain, she allowed herself to get lost in the warmth that she felt in his arms and soon relaxed. Her eyelids even began to flutter close after a while.

Just before they reached the camp, Richard looked down at the woman in his arms and smiled, seeing she had fallen asleep, a peaceful look on her face. As he approached the camp, he found Cara and Zedd sitting by the fire, apparently arguing – as usual. However, when they saw Richard with Rachel in his arms, they became silent. Richard laid Rachel down on her bedroll by the fire, pulling a blanket over her and slowly pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over her face before turning to look at his grandfather who threw him a questioning look.

'What happened?'

'I don't know. She said she sometimes feels this pain in her shoulder where the arrow hit her. She told me it wasn't that strong, but…' Richard sounded worried as he sat down beside his grandfather, 'Zedd, she was kneeling on the floor, gasping. And while we went back here she even fell asleep; she was so exhausted… and then there are the nightmares she has had…'

Zedd put a comforting hand on Richard's shoulder: 'I think these things might be after effects of the poison. I am sorry I can't help her, but I am confident it will get better after a while.' The wizard tried to sound confident, but his furrowed brow gave away the fact he wasn't sure at all. Richard nodded slowly: he was still worried, but he also knew Zedd would do anything to help Rachel if it were in his powers, so he decided not to push the matter any further.

He suddenly felt very tired, but Cara's voice brought him out of his thoughts: 'So, I take it your hunt was unsuccessful.' 'What? Oh, yes, it looks like it…' he answered absentmindedly. He had just realized that Kahlan was not sitting near them, and his eyes were searching for her. To his relief, she was lying a few feet away, obviously asleep. Cara noticed his gaze and didn't say anymore.

After a while, Richard got up and left Cara and Zedd to decide who had to take first watch. He felt too tired to stay up any longer, so he told them to wake him for second watch. The moment he laid down his eyes closed, and he drifted off into sleep.

A/N:

Hey guys,

here's the new chapter :) I am so excited to see this story has almost 600 views now. It may not seem much here, but when I wrote it, I thought I'd be lucky if a few of you would read it. I never expected so many. Thank you :)

Wishing you a great day,

Alex