Chapter 14

Rachel lay awake for many hours that night, thinking about Kahlan. She had been scared for her, running as fast as she could to keep up with Richard who had been hurrying through the forest as if Kahlan didn't weigh more than a feather.

When they had finally arrived at the camp, they had covered her in warm blankets immediately before Richard told the others what had happened.

Rachel had sat at Kahlan's side together with Richard until she felt her eyelids flutter close every few minutes and he had told her to get some sleep.

He had seen the guilt edged on Rachel's face clearly every time she looked at Kahlan. Richard could see his own feelings reflected in her eyes; he felt horrible for putting her in this position.

Before she had made her way to her bedroll, he had apologized and told her it wasn't her fault, and Rachel had smiled a little at him, wanting to ease his consciousness and telling him she didn't blame him.

Rachel couldn't forget the view of Kahlan sitting on the boulder, half frozen and unconscious. She kept thinking that it was her fault and in her mind saw the images of what could have happened if they hadn't found Kahlan in time. With a shudder, Rachel realized not even Cara could have brought Kahlan back; the Breath of Life only worked while there was a certain amount of warmth left in the body.

She heard blankets rustling and knew it had to be Kahlan when she heard the Confessor's low voice from the other side of the camp. Richard answered her, but Rachel couldn't make out any words as she was already half asleep, exhaustion following the relief she had felt upon hearing Kahlan, knowing she would be alright.

Richard and Kahlan hadn't stopped talking when sleep took Rachel, and for the first time in days, she didn't have any nightmares.

XXX

When Kahlan woke, the sun was already shining brightly through the trees. She stretched; her muscles still felt a little tense. Blinking up at the sky, Kahlan realized it had to be almost midday. Appalled, she jumped up and looked around. Richard and Zedd were sitting around the fire place along with Rachel, calmly packing their things. Upon hearing her get up, Richard lifted his gaze from his pack to meet her eyes, a soft smile on his face: 'Good morning.'

When Kahlan continued staring at him, Richard explained: 'We thought we would let you rest a while longer after…', he hesitated, searching for the right words, 'after yesterday.'

'Maybe you are right.'

Kahlan relaxed a little and, when she saw the guilt in his eyes, added in a softer tone: 'Thank you.'

Richard smiled at her once again, feeling a little more at ease, and they fell into a silence where Kahlan felt she didn't ever want to look away from his eyes again.

After a few seconds, she went to searching for her pack anyway, not wanting to lose anymore time. Richard, however, got up and stopped her by putting a hand to her shoulder and gently turning her around: 'Don't worry. We can leave in a few minutes; I've got your things packed already. But you should eat something first. Last night was exhausting enough.'

Kahlan nodded but took only a little of the bread he offered her as they sat down together. She didn't feel very hungry, her thoughts turning back to the things that had happened the night before. Richard furrowed his brow, but he wanted to give her some time to think and decided he should take both their minds to an easier subject:

'The weather is great today. We might be able to walk a little longer into the evening if nothing comes in our way.'

Kahlan swallowed the small piece of bread with difficulty, but smiled a little at him nonetheless, not wanting to worry him any more: 'Sounds good.'

He frowned, leaning forward a little to study her face: 'Are you sure you're all right?'

'I'm fine, don't worry.' She saw in his eyes that he didn't believe her, but Richard didn't push the matter, not wanting to force her into talking if she didn't want to. He couldn't blame her for keeping silent; he understood what she felt better than anyone else.

When Kahlan had finished eating, he got up and handed her her pack, squeezing her hand reassuringly for a moment before taking the lead along with Cara.

XXX

It wasn't long after they had set out that Rachel approached Kahlan, walking next to her in silence for a while.

'Are you feeling better?' As soon as the words left her lips, Rachel cursed inwardly for their stupidity. What kind of answer did she expect from Kahlan after what had happened the last days?

Kahlan saw the worry on the other woman's face, and could tell from the tone of her voice that she was genuinely concerned.

'I'm… better.' She smiled a little at Rachel.

This however didn't seem to calm Rachel's worries; she hung her head when she answered in a low voice: 'I'm sorry.' For everything, she added in her thoughts.

Kahlan swallowed, but found that - despite the fact she had a good reason to be angry at Rachel – she didn't want her to feel guilty; she, just like Richard and herself, couldn't be blamed for what had happened. Kahlan laid a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder and repeated the same words she had said to Richard: 'It's not your fault this happened. I'm sure we will find a way.'

Rachel lifted her head to look into Kahlan's eyes; seeing no hint of anger or jealousy in them she couldn't believe how generous Kahlan was to her, even after she had realized Richard cared for her.

She smiled a little and – to Kahlan's and also her own surprise – drew the Confessor into a hug.

'Thank you for being such a good friend to me. I hope I will be able to repay your generosity one day.'

Before Kahlan could reply, however, the metallic ring of the Sword of Truth filled the air.

Richard had stopped dead in his tracks a few paces ahead of the two women and drawn his sword.

Cara, who had been walking at the rear along with Zedd, immediately drew her agiels, carefully watching their surroundings.

Kahlan quickly grabbed her daggers, while Rachel drew her sword, the two women standing back to back.

Then, from somewhere between the trees to their right, four dacras came flying; two directed at Richard and the rest aimed at Kahlan.

Richard deflected them while Kahlan was able to duck, the silver weapons missing her head by mere inches.

Before they knew what was happening, they were surrounded by more than a dozen Sisters of the Dark, all closing in around them in a deadly circle.

Richard and the others quickly stood together, forming a ring in order to keep all their opponents in view and unable from sneaking up on them from behind.

The Sisters came at them in irregular patterns, trying to separate them. Four of them attacked Kahlan, while three others tried to take down Richard.

To her horror, Rachel realized the plan of the Sisters was working. After a few minutes she and Cara had already been forced to fight a few meters to Richard's left side, leaving Kahlan and Zedd at his right side, also a good distance away from him.

Rachel had just been able to disarm one of the Sisters when she felt a strange prickling in her neck. Turning around she found another Sister stepping out from behind the trees. When she lifted her hand, Rachel only saw a silver glint as the Sister threw her dacra, aiming for the man who was fighting with his back to her…

A/N:

Hey there,

well, as you can see we are in the middle of the finale. The next chapter will be longer than usual, and also the last 'regular' one. There is only the epilogue left after that.

Hope you enjoyed it and looking forward to your reviews,

Alex

STforRK: Thank you for reviewing so often and for following this story :) I hope you will enjoy the last chapters ;)