The mass of red came flying at Richard and Kahlan, Kahlan more quick to respond, her daggers already in hand. Richard drew his sword, trying to fight the onslaught of women throwing themselves at the two.
Richard wasn't sure what was happening. He figured the women were there to capture him and drain him of his han, but they were fighting with deadly precision. They held no qualms about killing him, but Zedd explained that if you are to capture one's han, you have to slowly bleed them dry of it. These women were not being shy in their advances, certainly not patient enough to bleed him.
Kahlan was quick as she moved through the crowd, her white dress covered in blood splatter, none her own. She was deadly and graceful, not giving the Sisters an opportunity to fight back. He watched as Kahlan sliced the throats of three women while he was still trying to fend off one.
Then he realized it.
The Sisters were going after Kahlan, only fighting with Richard to prevent him from getting close to her. He started panicking, quickly slicing through the woman as they came in torrents. There were more than the original attack, the sheer amount enough to fill the entire room.
Richard started tripping over dead bodies while other wounded women reached out to grab for his legs, attempting to drag him down. Kahlan hadn't waited to see if they died, she only cut with deadly speed and let them fall to the ground, bleeding their essence onto the white marble. Richard searched frantically for a glimpse of Kahlan, but she blended in with the Sisters now, her dress almost completely covered in their blood.
He heard the distinct yells of Cara from behind the doors and the rumble of troops trying to break down the wooden barrier. Richard also heard his grandfather's yells and the sound of wizard's fire blasting against the door. The Sisters must have barricaded the room, allowing no one else to enter.
Richard lost his footing for a second, his boot caught under a dead Sister's arm. A wounded Sister near by grabbed his ankle and yanked him to the ground, trying to crawl over him with her dacra. Richard quickly pushed her off, causing her to impale her own chest with her weapon. He scrambled to his feet as his eyes scanned the room, attempting to find Kahlan. Since Richard wasn't posing a threat, the Sisters all redirected their attentions to Kahlan.
When he finally caught sight of her, he realized how in peril she was. She continued to fight off the women, but Richard had noticed she had accumulated wounds on the way. There was a slight cut on her chest, nothing a day or two of healing couldn't fix. What really drew his eye was her hand, now covered in blood. When she turned and threw her dagger into the nearest woman, Richard noticed that the inside of her forearm was badly cut, the wound jagged. Blood kept pouring out, coating her skin and making it difficult for her to grip her dagger effectively, and Richard was sure the loss of blood would cause her to collapse soon enough.
Richard's heart started hammering as he waded through the bodies littered on the floor in an attempt to get to her. He cut down the nearest targets, but his strength was steadily declining. His eyesight became blurry and he started tumbling over the dead bodies even more, not knowing why drowsiness was now overtaking him.
He had to get to Kahlan.
Richard felt a hand grab the back of his vest, yanking him forward and letting him fall to the ground, his head making contact with the marble. He cursed himself for landing on the one clear spot of the floor. His head throbbed and he attempted to move up, only to have a dacra held across his throat. The Sister holding it had a dangerous look in her eyes - she was not afraid to slice his flesh open. Richard looked up at her for what seemed an eternity. The last time a knife was held to his throat, it was by Kahlan, who was straddling him at the time. This experience was entirely different and not at all pleasant.
He tried to move back but his shoulders made contact with another body. He looked up to see another woman looming over him, shaking her head and mocking him. Richard clenched his eyes shut to try and think of a solution. In a mere matter of moments Kahlan could be dead. He needed to regain his strength and kill these two women in order to save Kahlan. He opened his eyes only to see more women gathered around him, forming a circle around his body. He lost sight of Kahlan. His heart started racing as he frantically tried to maneuver around the Sister's legs to see a glimpse of her dark hair, her bright eyes. One of the Sisters kicked him in the shin and Richard had to stifle a jump, knowing that if he did the blade would bite into his skin.
"Do not worry about your precious Mother Confessor, she will be with the Keeper soon enough." Richard's eyes started to well with tears when he grasped the reality of the situation. He started shaking his head, attempting to move away from the blade, which was now causing blood to trickle from his neck. He heard a woman laugh and cringed, resenting the fact that these women were going to be the death of Kahlan.
He found it harder to breathe when the women started closing the circle around him, leaving him with no room to move. He heard the clashing of steel and his heart fluttered at the fact Kahlan was still alive, the distinct sound of her daggers enough to ease his mind slightly. The woman who had been holding the knife to his throat stood up, tucking the weapon in a belt that was wrapped around her dress. He heard a soft chant begin and pressure was applied to his throat. He felt blood start to leak out of his flesh at a faster rate and his head began to pound. The chant became louder.
The women froze when they heard a ferocious yell. Richard wasn't sure what was happening, but the chanting had stopped and the pressure added to his throat was gone. He wiped his hand across his neck, removing his limb to see how much blood had escaped. He was shocked to find that very little blood resided on his hand.
The next thing Richard saw terrified him. The women wouldn't move, all their heads turned to the direction he thought Kahlan to be. The clang of weapons was gone and Richard's heart sank. The Sister's eyes grew wide with shock and Richard tried to peer between them, but the circle around him was too tight to see exactly what they were looking at. The woman standing directly in front of him didn't bother to turn around to see the commotion, seemingly uninterested.
Blood splattered on his face when a familiar dagger pierced through the woman's chest. The Sisters had yet to move, still in shock. Richard saw fear dancing in their eyes. When the woman fell to her knees, toppling over to the ground in front of him, Richard looked up.
Kahlan's blue orbs were red.