TITLE: Marked
AUTHOR: LOTSlove®
CHARACTERS: Richard / Kahlan / Cara / Zedd / Original Characters
RATING: PG-16 / R later
WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings
TIMELINE: Anything up through S2
DISCLAIMER: I'm completely obsessed with the show Legend of the Seeker and all things Richard and Kahlan. I love to write about them even though they cancelled my show and now I'm fighting to get it back!
SUMMARY: Sequel to my fic Revenge, Richard finally has Kahlan safely back with him, but does he really?
Chapter 9
Demos Rahl closed his eyes, breathing deeply and relishing the magical whisper that faintly pulsated within him, a sensation that was steadily growing stronger every day. A smile slowly began to spread across his narrow face as he finally opened his eyes, his gaze falling on his favorite Mord'Sith.
"What is it, my Lord?" Mistress Lucinda inquired, standing at attention, her hands clasped tightly behind her back.
Demos released a self-satisfied sigh as he turned away from the magical book before him to face his Mord'Sith. "I can already feel the connection with Kahlan Amnell," he smiled. "It's growing stronger every day."
Lucinda clenched her jaw tightly, jealously over his connection to the Mother Confessor welling inside of her. She was all that he talked about, consuming his days as well as his nights. She had hoped that his infatuation with Kahlan Amnell would have diminished the longer that she was gone, but it had unfortunately only grown worse.
"The spell is taking hold nicely," he told her. "Soon, she won't be able to fight its pull on her and then she'll be all mine."
"She won't fight you?"
"No, she'll try to in the beginning, but she won't be able to disobey me in the end. She'll be fully under my control," he replied, coming around the podium to stand before his Mord'Sith. "Once the spell has taken hold, Kahlan will be my puppet and I the puppeteer pulling her strings."
"You will no longer want my services," she softly said with a tilt of her head, keeping her voice even.
It was more of a statement than a question, but her disappointment didn't go unnoticed by her Lord Rahl. "You will always be my favorite pet, my Lucinda," he purred, running a single finger along her face, a wicked gleam in his eyes. He slid the palm of his hand along her neck before suddenly reaching behind to grab her braid and roughly wrench her head back.
Lucinda hissed with the pleasure that suddenly shot through her with his rough unexpected move, knowing better than to touch him until he was ready for her to participate. He nipped along her jaw, pausing to suck hard on her skin, making sure to leave his mark on her. She parted her lips, her breaths becoming ragged as his other hand slid down her chest, then along her abdomen before sliding around to grab her backside.
"You will both join me in my bed, bringing me incredible pleasure…along with pain," he murmured before dragging his tongue and lips along her chin to her mouth. He shoved her hard up against the wall behind her, knocking the air from her lungs with a gasp as he pressed his body fully into hers.
"I believe you are in need of my services again," Lucinda panted softly, her hand finally slipping down between them to grope him through his robes.
She watched with great satisfaction as his eyes fluttered closed, his mouth dropping open with a sudden sharp gasp. The more she touched him, the more his body began to tremble, his control faltering. The Mother Confessor could never do for him what she was capable of doing. He would soon realize that and be rid of her once his fascination with her vanished.
And if he didn't do away with her, then she would.
XXX
Breathing heavily, Richard stared down each of the deadly warriors in turn, knowing that he was in a no-win situation. There was nothing he could do. They were greatly outnumbered and Kahlan was practically paralyzed with pain. Besides, he didn't want to fight these people, killing innocent men just to pass through their valley.
The Seeker carefully sheathed his sword, holding up his hands in surrender. "We don't want any trouble," he told them before turning his attention to his Confessor rocking back and forth on her knees in the grass as she held her head. "Please, you have to help me. There's something wrong with the Mother Confessor. She needs a healer right away."
Richard slowly bent down, wrapping his arms around her and pulling Kahlan to her feet. She quickly turned into him, burying herself into his chest as she continued to grip her head. He could feel her tears wet against his skin and knew that she couldn't handle much more. He could tell that she was struggling just to remain conscious now.
"Richard…please…make it stop…" she pleaded through her tears.
The warriors inched closer to them, their arrows and spears leveled straight at them. Richard shielded her in his arms as best he could, his desperation growing. "Please, help me! She needs a healer now!" he growled, his rage pulsating hotly through his veins despite no longer touching his sword.
He swallowed hard against his own rising fear that something terrible was happening to her. He couldn't lose her, not after just getting her back. He couldn't go through that anguish again. He may be the Seeker, but he was still just a man in love with a woman and he knew he wasn't strong enough to survive losing her all over again.
"We will take you back to our village," a man taller than the others finally said as he lowered his spear.
"Tolla Nakunam!" one man hissed in astonishment. "You can't be serious."
"The woman has a sick spirit," he replied with all the authority his title held. "We will take them to the village and have Odo look at her. Then, they will be tried before the Council of Elders as is the custom of our people."
"We should kill them now and be done with it," Temin scowled. "They are dangerous. Look at the deadly sword at his hip. He could slay us all in less than a heartbeat."
"And she's a Confessor," Hadi spat out with disdain. "She'll confess us all, make us her slaves or take one of us as her mate. We need to kill her now and take him back to the village."
Richard tightened his hold on Kahlan as he listened to their arguing. Although he didn't want to fight them, he was not about to let them hurt her either. He had to find a way to save her.
"Richard…please…help me…" she softly sobbed, pressing her head even harder against his chest in an effort to make it stop, twisting his shirt in her fingers as she clung to him.
"I'm going to help you, Kahlan," he murmured into her hair, his dark raptor gaze focused on the warriors surrounding them. "Please…just hang on a little longer."
"My decision is final," Tolla Nakunam flatly stated, his heated glower moving from Hadi to Temin and back again before finally looking at the Seeker. "You and the Confessor will go with us to our village. We will help her and then you both will face the Council."
Keeping a firm grasp on his Confessor, Richard guided her to walk with him, brushing his lips to her temple as she sagged against him. Her skin was like ice, her breathing ragged. Fear had a choke-hold on his heart as they began to make their way through the woods to spirits only knew where, his anger set to explode at any moment if they changed their minds and decided to kill them.
If they didn't help him save her, he would not hesitate to destroy their entire village and burn it to ashes.
XXX
Richard was carrying her by the time they reached the village, his Confessor cradled protectively in his arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck. The feel of her warm breath pulsating softly against his skin brought back haunting memories of when he had carried her in his arms as she was dying, her breaths growing shallower the closer they drew to the People's Palace.
Tears unexpectedly burned in his eyes, remembering how she had died then, her body so cold and lifeless in his arms, the devastating anguish that had welled up inside of him, nearly tearing him in two. His throat constricted as he brushed his lips against her brow, fighting to keep a tight grip on his emotions. She softly moaned his name, fighting to open her eyes but the pain was too severe as she drifted in and out of consciousness now.
"Hang on, Kahlan," he whispered to her.
"Take them to the Spirit House," Tolla Nakunam ordered. "Stand guard outside while I find Odo."
Temin and Hadi scowled their disagreement with their leader's decision but did as they were told, leading them towards a shelter much larger than any of the others. Richard watched as women and children stood outside of their small thatched huts to see the outsiders who had invaded their valley, their eyes large with wonder as children huddled close around their mothers' bare legs.
Richard didn't care about any of these people or their rapt fascination with them. The only thing that mattered to him was barely conscious in his arms now and he had no idea what the reason was or how to stop it.
His mind raced with a possible cause for her sudden deterioration, but the only thing he could think of was the unusual bite mark on her forearm. He had to figure out what had made that mark to cause her to be like this.
"Richard…" she whispered, unable to make her voice work as she clutched the collar of his shirt.
"It's alright; I've got you, Kahlan," he gently soothed her as he carried her inside the Spirit House. "They're getting a healer for you. You're going to be alright."
He heard the door close hard behind him, finally leaving him alone with his beloved Confessor. He carefully laid her down beside the fire that burned in the center of the large room, smoke curling up towards the hole in the roof. He settled down beside her, gently brushing her hair from her face, his hand coming to rest against her cheek.
Finding his hand against her face, Kahlan gripped it tightly in hers, interlocking her fingers with his and pressing their joined hands against her chest. "I'm sorry…" she murmured.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I'm so sorry, Richard…" she began to cry, her head rolling from side to side as tears leaked from her eyes.
"Kahlan, you have nothing to be sorry for," he firmly said as he pulled free from her hold to cup her face in his hands. He leaned over her, softly pressing his lips to her forehead, her eyelids and nose before finally brushing softly against her mouth.
"No…you don't understand…" she cried, ignoring his soothing kisses.
She suddenly tilted her head back, her hands finding her hair again, her tears falling faster as she arched her back. Nothing she did made the agonizing pain go away. It felt as though something was ripping her apart inside, attempting to destroy who she was. She was quickly losing herself, her control and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
She knew they were in danger now that they were prisoners of the Aku, but she couldn't function, could barely keep her eyes open with the lightning bolts tearing through her skull. She needed to protect Richard, keep him safe. She couldn't do that like this.
She tried to sit up, knowing that she would need her magic to get them out of here. Gentle but firm hands pushed her back down, keeping her from getting up.
"Don't Kahlan," he gently insisted. "You need to stay down."
"I…I need to protect you," she shook her head in protest. "My…my magic…"
"Zedd doesn't want you using your magic yet, remember?" he reminded her. "You need to be fully recovered first."
"But…I have to protect you," she tried again, attempting to sit up. "We have to get out of here."
"Kahlan, stop," he angrily said, pushing her back down again. "I'm fine. We'll find a way out of this, but right now I need you to rest."
"Don't leave me…please, Richard," she cried, her fingernails digging into her head.
"I'm not going anywhere," he replied, gently pulling her hands away from her head and taking her face in his hands again. "I love you, Kahlan. I'm not going to lose you again. Do you hear me?"
He pulled her up by her arms, drawing her into his lap. He curled his body around hers, holding her close to him, her face buried into his chest. She clung to him like a child, fear over what was happening to her bringing more tears to her eyes.
"I'm scared," she finally said, her voice muffled by his shirt.
"I'm scared too," he softly admitted, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
"I feel like I'm losing myself somehow…like I'm losing control," she whispered.
"I won't let you, Kahlan," he adamantly said, tightening his hold on her.
"You need to get out of here, Richard. You need to escape," she told him.
Richard couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm not leaving you behind, Kahlan," he angrily said, pulling back from her to look into her watery eyes.
"Please, you have to," she shook her head, closing her eyes against his heated gaze. "If…if I lose control, I'll confess you and I can't live with myself if that happens."
"You won't lose control," he replied, grabbing her by her upper arms and keeping her close to him. "Besides, I'm not afraid of you, Kahlan, or your magic. I want you to confess me so I can show you how much I love you."
"No…you don't mean that!" she angrily snapped, jerking free from his hold on her and scooting away from him. "You don't know what you're saying, Richard!"
"I know exactly what I'm saying, Kahlan," he heatedly said, heartbroken by the distance she had put between them again. Why did she keep trying to push him away, to shut him out?
"No, you don't, Richard!" she cried. "I can't bear the thought of losing you, of you looking at me with those soulless eyes of mindless devotion. I won't do that to you, Richard. I'd rather die than to be the one who erases everything that makes you the man I love."
Richard studied her for a long moment, his chest heaving with the frustration and fear coursing through him. "You can't confess me, Kahlan," he told her, his anger punctuating his every word. "I love you more than life itself. I would already give everything I have for you, even my life. There is nothing left of me that your magic could possibly take that isn't already yours."
"And what if it's still not enough?" she demanded to know, tears rolling down her cheeks.
They just stared at each other in awkward silence, the heated tension between them that had followed them since leaving that lake yesterday morning filling the Spirit House now. Their frustrations and fears, their hurts and their mutual longing were all intensifying, raging like a violent storm circling around and between them, enveloping them whole.
With a shuddering breath, Kahlan finally averted her eyes, drawing her legs up and pressing her head against her knees to stop the pain that only seemed to grow worse with every passing moment. She couldn't stop the tears that continued to stream down her face, wishing more than anything that she and Richard could just get back to the way that things had been before.
The Seeker's shoulders sagged as he watched her curl into herself and further away from him. How had everything gotten so turned upside down between them? He only wanted her to be safe, to be allowed to love her like he so desperately wanted.
But so many things had gotten in the way, trying to keep them apart and he felt so powerless to fix it.
Unable to bear it any longer, Richard scooted to sit beside Kahlan, tentatively wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his embrace, doing the only thing that he knew to do at that moment. "Come here," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Kahlan,"
"I love you…with all my heart…Richard…" she sobbed. "Please…don't ask me to hurt what I love most in this world."
Richard released a ragged breath as he buried his face in her hair. He had never meant to hurt her or bring her pain and yet he had done it once again. "I didn't mean to upset you," he softly sighed as he closed his eyes, gently rubbing her back. "We won't talk about it again."
He felt her begin to relax against him, her tears subsiding as they waited for the healer to come. Holding her close, she was the most precious thing in this life to him. Whatever she wanted, needed, he would be there to give it to her…even if it meant just being her friend and nothing more.
Kahlan finally pulled out of his embrace, a new wave of pain rippling through her head all over again. "I…I need to lie down."
"Here," he said, patting his lap.
To his surprise, Kahlan went willingly, laying down and allowing her head to rest in his lap. He tenderly rubbed her back while his other hand stroked her beautiful long hair that he loved so much. He was thankful that she was at least allowing him to do this for her, but his heart still hurt despite this small connection with her.
She curled up as the pain increased, her fingers finding his pant leg and clutching at it. She knew that she had hurt him, but confessing him would only make things that much worse. How could she make him see that what he was asking her to do would kill her inside? Didn't he know it was like a dagger to her heart to deny him anything, to repeatedly push him away like this?
"It'll be alright, Kahlan," he softly soothed her as he ran his fingers through her hair. "The healer will take away your headaches and then we'll find a way out of this. I won't let them or anyone else hurt you."
Kahlan reached up, grabbing his hand that was stroking her hair and interlocking their fingers. She squeezed his hand tightly, using her hand to tell him what she couldn't say at that moment. If it came down to it, she would use her magic to save him even if it meant her life.
Richard's heart was so weighed down with fear he could scarcely draw a breath as he held her hand in his. He could tell by her shallow gasping breaths that the pain was getting worse again, her body rigid as he continued to rub her back.
He just prayed that the good spirits would send the healer to them soon. Even though he and Kahlan had been stripped of their weapons, he would not hesitate to do whatever it took to make them save her.
