Kahlan's nose scrunched up when the plate of food was placed in front of her. Zedd had insisted they have a large dinner since the attack, explaining that food will help regain their energy. Kahlan and Cara scoffed at the old man and Richard laughed.
It had taken an hour to remove all of the blood from Kahlan's skin and hair, most of it dried and stiff. She seemed to be glowing, her hair in a tousled mess behind her head. She was wearing the green travelers outfit, not wanting to change into another Confessor's dress. Kahlan wasn't pleased when the sleeve covered her bracelet and she slid the jewelry off, placing it over the fabric so it was still visible.
Richard had remarked that the amount of food at the table could feed the entire D'Haran army and that there was no way the four of them would be able to consume it all. Zedd laughed and guaranteed that none of the food would go to waste. Kahlan and Cara stared at the old man. They sat at a small table, Kahlan and Richard sitting opposite of each other with Cara and Zedd doing the same at the other sides of the wooden platform. Kahlan instinctively reached for the fruit, piling it onto her plate and moving the meat over slightly. Richard had noticed that Kahlan adored fruit, it being her snack of choice. He smiled as he watched her nibble on an apple.
It took a considerable amount of convincing to get Kahlan to take a bite of the red fruit, with quite an amount of cursing from her for making her eat poison. Richard had laughed and shook his head, stating that Hartland's apples were perfectly fine, and delicious. Since he became Lord Rahl, he paid a hefty price to have his homeland's apples delivered to the People's Palace in barrels. Now that he was in Aydindril, he redirected the route, ordering the apples to be handed directly to Kahlan. She spited him for it, but the red apples quickly became her most favorite snack.
Cara and Zedd started bickering at each other quickly, Cara criticizing Zedd's eating habits and Zedd spouting out explanations for his excessive eating. The whole conversation had Richard's side in stitches while Kahlan laughed on the other side of the table. Richard blinked away his tears as their argument subsided, Zedd exclaiming that maybe he does eat too much and giving Cara the victory. When the moisture left his eyes, Richard focused them on Kahlan.
She was leaning on her right arm, the bracelet he had given her sparkling from the candlelight. She was holding a slice of apple in her hand, dragging it around her plate and moving the other fruits and meats. Her chest rose slightly with each breath she took. The sight of her still enchanted Richard.
Richard's was removed from his thoughts by a heavy hand slamming on his back. Zedd had moved his chair closer, staring intently at his grandson. Richard moved his head away and made a face. "This is your cue."
Richard stared at him dumbly before looking to Kahlan and Cara. Kahlan wasn't paying attention and Cara shrugged, unaware of what his grandfather was getting at.
"Cue for what?" Richard asked hesitantly.
"To tell me that you must leave because you and Kahlan need to work on making great grand children for me." The old man was smiling and Cara scoffed, popping a piece of dried meat into her mouth. Richard blinked at his grandfather, suddenly very embarrassed. He felt his cheeks flush and then he heard Kahlan laugh.
The three turned to face her. The hand she was propped up on moved to her mouth, covering it as her laughter grew. Cara asked her if she had gone insane, Kahlan responding by shaking her head quickly, tendrils of hair falling out of their confinement. Her laughter died down and she took in deep breaths of air, gathering herself.
"There is no need to work for that any longer." She simply stated, pressing an apple slice to her lips. Cara's eyebrows wrinkled together.
"Do you no longer wish to bed Lord Rahl?" Kahlan started laughing again, almost choking on the fruit. Cara's facial had not changed, and now Richard was chuckling.
"That is not the case, Cara. He is quite the attentive lover." She managed to choke out between her laughter, causing Richard to laugh heartily and Zedd and Cara to sit there dumbfounded. A smile spread across Cara's lips as understanding sunk into her, Richard still left in the dark. Kahlan looked up through her lashes, her eyes watery from laughing so hard.
"I'm with child." Richard felt as though he could leap across the table and gather her in his arms, but instead his jaw dropped, a boyish grin playing on his features.
"You're with child?"
"I'm with child."
"And you're sure?"
"As sure as I am the Mother Confessor."
Richard pushed his chair out from under him and took clumsy steps towards her, leaning down to gather her lips in his, never allowing her to leave her seat. He cupped her cheeks with his hands, smiling so much that it hurt.
"We're having a baby." He mumbled, his excitement causing his thoughts to blur together into one in-cohesive cloud. She nodded as she mouthed 'yes.' She smiled a brilliant smile and and squirmed a bit, her eyes becoming glassy as she looked into his.
"We are going to have a child, Richard Cypher." He nodded vigorously as she placed a light kiss on his lips. "Just as I told you we would."
Richard didn't even care that Cara was sneering in the background and Zedd was babbling on about the pitter-pattering of feet along the floors of the Confessor's Palace. All that mattered was that he now had a second chance to have a family with the woman he loved and adored.