Torn: What If He Made A Different Choice?

[confessorlove]

Title: Torn: What If He Made A Different Choice?
Author: confessorlove 
Characters: Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, Cara
Type: Romance/ Angst
Spoilers: Season 2 through Torn
Summary: After accusing Richard of being in love with Cara Emo!Kahlan convinces him to give up his quest in favor of the life that they always wanted.
Authors Notes: This is my very first fic and I hope that I am not screwing up horribly.  These are the first four chapters.  I hope you enjoy and comments are greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just like to bend them to my will.

CHAPTER ONE

 The accident with the amulet provided them with an unexpected opportunity that neither wanted to waste. Being able to express their love for one another in a way they never thought possible. However, Richard was beginning to wonder if something else was wrong with Kahlan, besides losing her powers. Seeing her act that way toward Cara, seeing her so jealous, accusing him of loving Cara instead of her, none of it made any sense. Kahlan stormed off into the woods, Richard stood dumbfounded for only a moment before chasing after her. “How could she think those things? Doesn’t she know that she is my whole heart?” Richard wondered as he ran after his love.

He finally caught up to her near the creek. She was fighting to hold back the tears and her face was getting red and blotchy. Running a hand down her cheek he looked into her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said those things to Cara” Kahlan said to him.

“Look Cara’s fine. What is this about?”

 “I saw her with you, and I was afraid… that last night meant nothing to you.”

“It meant everything to me.”

“But you want to go to Aydindril. You want me to get my powers back, and then we will never be able to…”

“I want you to get your powers back because; they are a part of you. I thought that was what you wanted too.   But, whatever happens you are the one I love. When the rift is sealed and the world is safe again, I want nothing more than just to be with you.”

“We can be together now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Richard, the prophecy says that as long as the Mother Confessors pure heart beats the Keeper can never win. All I have to do is stay alive. We can go into hiding somewhere I would be safe. We could give the sword to Cara and she can go to Aydindril and give it to Zedd and they can name a new Seeker. We could live like ordinary people we could…we could have children.”

Richard thought for a moment, pondering all that she had said. He wondered if she really felt this way, really wanted to give up her powers for him. As he stood there thinking of the wonderful life he could have with Kahlan reality was slowly creeping its way into his thoughts. He was worried about the Keeper destroying all life, if there was no life there was no Kahlan.

Seeing the battle he was waging in his mind Kahlan decided to give Richard something else to think about. “Remember the prophecy Richard,” she said with an intimate voice.

“I know the Keeper will be defeated as long as you live.”

“That’s not the prophecy I’m talking about. Remember, in the time of the tearing of the veil, should the son of Brennidon seek the sacred stone he will find it, only to deliver it to the enemy of the light.” Kahlan quoted to him.

He shuddered at the thought of ever giving victory to the Keeper. Realizing now that Kahlan was right, he couldn’t risk destroying the world and now he had a chance to bring his dreams of a future with the love of his life into reality. Coming to grips with his decision he pulled his love into his arms and kissed her deep and passionately.

“Your right Kahlan,” he said as he pulled away from her kiss, “now we have the chance to live the life that we always wanted, let’s not waste a moment. But first we need to have Cara start out for Aydindril; the world still needs a Seeker to close the rift.”

Kahlan nodded as she looked deep into his warm brown eyes. Hand in hand they walked back toward Cara so she could leave with the sword and they could start their life together.

XXX

Kahlan stayed out of the way when Richard told Cara what they had decided she was not happy to say the least. Her face was growing red as she argued with Richard about him sending her away.

“I can’t leave you, Richard. I swore my life to serve you and I can’t abandon you now!”

“Cara, listen to me,” he spoke with controlled calm that relayed his feelings. “If you want to protect me then you will do what I am telling you to and take the sword to Aydindril and find Zedd. He can name a new Seeker and seal the rift, and then everyone in the world will be safe again, including me.”

“But Richard you are the Lord Rahl. You can’t just abandon everyone and live like a hermit in the forest!”

“Cara, I have told you before I am NOT the Lord Rahl. I’m Richard Cypher. I am nothing more than a woods guide turned Seeker.”

“But you will be abandoning everyone who is counting on you. You will be giving up your quest!”

“I’m not giving up my quest; I am starting a new one. In order to protect everyone from the Keeper I must protect Kahlan’s life. Kahlan feels that going into hiding seems like the best option for now. As long as she is safe the world is safe.”

“Do you always do what she tells you to?”

“I trust her judgment, if she feels this is the right thing to do then I believe her.”

“And getting to spend alone time with the love of your life who just so happens to be without her powers is what, a bonus?”

“That’s beside the point Cara and you know that. This isn’t about us; it is protecting Kahlan from the Sisters of the Dark who are currently trying to murder her.” 

She sighed as she took in the resolve in his eyes. “There is going to be no changing his mind,” Cara thought to herself, “he can be so stubborn, it’s frustrating!” “Alright Richard, I will do as you ask as long as you know that I am coming to find you when the rift is sealed. You are helpless when you are on your own. There is no telling the trouble the two of you could get into without me here to protect you.”

He smiled as he listened to the Mord’Sith’s snide comment. “It’s okay Cara; I’ll stay out of trouble. You’ll be back with us before you even have time to miss us.”

“What makes you think that I would miss you?”

“Oh Cara you know that you love us,” he smirked. “Now get going so that the rift will be sealed and the Keeper will be defeated.”

With her trademark Mord’Sith glare at the lovebirds she mounted her horse, took the Sword of Truth from Richard and rode off in the direction of Aydindril. Kahlan and Richard watched her grow smaller in the distance until she was gone.

“So now what,” Kahlan asked him.

“We find a safe place and start our life together.” He was smiling as he embraced her planted a kiss on her lips. 

 

CHAPTER TWO

“Those fools in the tavern don’t know what they are talking about,” Zedd thought to himself. “She would never have done that, not without discussing it with Richard.” As Zedd made his way toward the council chambers he contemplated the approach he would take when he talked to her about it. He found her sitting in her chair, legs crossed with a cool, calculating look upon her face, Prince Fyren standing at her side.

Kahlan watched as Zedd crossed the chambers, he seemed to have something on his mind but that was none of her concern.  “Zedd,” she said.

“Kahlan, may I have a word with you?”

She turned to Fyren and told him to leave then said, “what is it Zedd? I take it you made it to Ambrosios last night.”

“Yes, and I heard a rather disturbing rumor, that the Mother Confessor had taken Prince Fyren as her mate. I assured those gossiping fools that there was no truth to it but his appearance by your side might give some the impression…”

“It’s no rumor, Zedd,” she stated flatly.

“But Kahlan you couldn’t have.”

“He’s been confessed, he meets the requirements.”

“But, what about Richard?”

“You know I can’t mate with Richard. My powers would destroy him.”

“Of course, but you have always resisted taking a mate because of your love for him.”

“I don’t have the luxury of love. I have a duty to continue the line of Confessors, Richard understands that and so should you.”

“I understand that but to do it so rashly, and with him.”

“Zedd this really is none of your concern.”

He stood idly by as Kahlan removed the Council from power, wondering what possibly could have gotten into her. She wasn’t acting like herself; she seemed almost power-hungry. Ever since they arrived she has been acting strange. He needed to get to the bottom of things before Aydindril completely fell apart. “I have to keep a close eye on her,” Zedd thought. “Before she does something that the entire Midlands would regret.”

Kahlan watched Zedd slowly leave the Council chambers. As she did she thought to herself, “He is going to be a problem. I’ll need to watch him closely to make sure he doesn’t try anything stupid. If he does, I could always find a use for a confessed Wizard of the First Order.”

 

CHAPTER THREE

Kahlan awoke with the warm morning sun on her face. She felt Richard’s strong arms wrapped tightly around her and she smiled. She was starting to realize that it would be like this forever now and she hadn’t dreamt it. She continued to lie there not wanting to move for fear of waking Richard. She felt a little guilty; she could see that he was still worried about the tear in the veil. However, the guilt that she felt was easily surpassed by the amount of happiness and joy that now filled her heart. “He will come to realize that this is for the best, for everyone and not just us. He has had so much responsibility for so long now I can lift the weight of the world from his shoulders and pass it to someone else. It will be much better for him, he will be safe,” Kahlan assured herself.

She felt Richard start to stir and leaned over to kiss him. He wasn’t yet fully awake when her lips met his however the kiss soon brought him around to full consciousness. When Kahlan pulled away he smiled up at her. “Good morning, my love,” Richard said in a breathless whisper.

“Why good morning Richard, how did you sleep?”

“I always sleep wonderfully with you in my arms.” Kahlan blushed.

“We should get going soon,” Kahlan said.

“Why? What’s the hurry?”

“If we leave now we should be able to make it to Acorn Grove by sundown. We could spend the night in a real bed instead of a bed of leaves.”

“I thought you liked sleeping outside?”

“I do, but remember what we said, we are going to be ordinary people and ordinary people sleep in beds. You’ll just have to get used to it.”

“Well if we are going to be just like ordinary people then there is something that we need to do first.”

“What is it Richard?”

“I need you to marry me. Please Kahlan will you be my wife?”

Kahlan was too stunned to speak. She never thought it would be possible to marry for love. As she looked into Richard’s eyes the tears came readily. She didn’t think it would ever be like this and now she was at a loss for words. She took Richard’s face in her hands and kissed him as passionately as ever before. After a few minutes Richard pulled away and looked into her eyes, “I’ll take that as a yes.” All Kahlan could do was smile.

XXX

It took them longer than normal to start out but eventually logic overcame passion and they made their way toward Acorn Grove. Richard was looking forward to arriving and finding a safe place for Kahlan. He wasn’t entirely comfortable, he had a really bad feeling that he just couldn’t shake, like there was someone watching them. He scanned the surrounding forest for any sign of movement and didn’t see any; however that did little to easy his worries.

“Stay close to me Kahlan,” Richard whispered to her.

“Why? Did you see something?”

“No, I just have this feeling that we are being watched.”

No sooner did he get the word out of his mouth and there was a sudden rustling of leaves coming from every direction at once. Richard knew immediately that they were surrounded; he fumbled for only a moment when he realized his sword wasn’t there and then quickly pulled his knife free. 

As Richard saw the red veils of the Sisters of the Dark he suddenly felt empty without his sword. It had protected Kahlan and himself from the Sisters before and now he had to fight them without it. He reminded himself that it is just a piece of steel and that he was the weapon, he knew that they could do this even if they only had his knife and Kahlan’s daggers against eight Sisters of the Dark.

The first dacra narrowly missed Kahlan’s shoulder. It flew past and landed solidly in a tree. Kahlan was fighting two Sisters, dodging their advances and attempting to cut them down. First blood came when Kahlan managed to slit the throat of one of the Sisters who were advancing on her. She went down in a heap, blood pouring from her neck. The sight caused the other Sister to faultier just long enough for Kahlan to put her dagger through the woman’s heart.

Richard was attempting to dispatch his Sisters as fast as possible so he could get to Kahlan, however seeing her takeout two before he had taken one put things in a new perspective for him. He had always known that she could fight but he hadn’t realized until that moment how well. He guessed he relied on power of the sword more than he thought he did. As one Sister closed in on him, he used the opportunity to his advantage. Richard kicked the woman’s legs from under her and as she fell he fatally stabbed her. Quick as a flash he grabbed the dacra from the fallen Sister and threw it at one of the other Sisters. His aim was true as the dacra caught the woman in the throat. “Four down, four to go,” he thought. All of a sudden he felt a searing pain in his left arm and something warm starting to run down it.

“Richard!” Kahlan screamed as she saw the blood run down his arm.

Kahlan continued to fight off the Sisters with even more resolve than before. Before it had been about staying alive now it was about revenge, they had hurt Richard, no one hurts Richard. She lunged into the attack, daggers in hand she made her way through the Sisters cutting them down. Thrusting the daggers through the two Sisters advancing on her she twisted the daggers to finish them off then quickly removed them and turned toward the Sisters still threatening Richard.

Richard was losing a lot of blood but luckily the dacra had only sliced open his arm and not stuck in it, this way the Sisters could not release the lethal magic. The two Sisters still standing were trying their hardest to do away with Richard. They assumed it would make killing the Mother Confessor that much easier. Richard managed to slice the neck of one just as Kahlan’s daggers caught both Sisters square in the back.

Kahlan to Richard’s side and immediately wanted to start tending his wound. However, they had limited supplies and in her mind she knew there was really nothing to do until they reached Acorn Grove, but her heart was aching seeing the man she loved in pain.

“Kahlan, there is nothing to do for my arm now and besides, it’s fine.”

“Richard, you know you can’t lie to me. I know that your arm is bad. Just let me look.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll wrap it to try and stop the bleeding. Beyond that there isn’t anything I can do until we get more supplies.”

“In that case let’s get going. The town isn’t far.”

“As soon as I finish wrapping your arm we can go. Just be patient.”

It didn’t take Kahlan long to finish wrapping his arm and then they were on their way to their life as ordinary people. But somewhere deep in Kahlan’s subconscious she knew that their dream would never be a reality that something would always be in the way.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

Kahlan had been busy getting Aydindril running the way that she wanted it. She never realized before how much power the Mother Confessor really had and she liked it. She knew that Zedd was keeping a close watch over her most likely on Richard’s orders. She wondered why she ever let him get in the way of her duty, she knew that he loved her but for some reason she didn’t love him anymore.

Her day was long, listening to petitioners and handing out sentences. More than once Zedd accused her of being too harsh. But she didn’t see it that way. “My way is the only way to bring justice back to the Midlands. I am not going to let Zedd interfere with that. I have to think of something, but what?”

Just then Zedd’s wizard friend Alfron came into the Council Chambers. “Now this might work,” she thought to herself as she got up and closed the distance between them. Before he could say anything she had him by the throat and released her power into him. The familiar feel of it washing over her entire body, she reveled in it. Alfron dropped to his knees before her and reverently whispered, “Command me, Confessor.”

“I have a task for you, Alfron. It will displease me greatly if you don’t do exactly what you are told.”

“Of course Mistress, I would never want to displease you.”

“I want you to follow Zedd. See what he is up to, if he is trying to work against me. However, and this is the most important, you cannot let him know that you have been confessed.”

“Yes Mother Confessor, I will do exactly what you tell me too. I won’t let him know that you are my mistress.”

“Very good, Alfron. Now go find Zedd.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

XXX

Zedd had noticed over the past few days that it seemed like every time he turned around another guard or servant was added to Kahlan’s army of the confessed.  He couldn’t understand it; she had never before used her power this readily before. She used to only do it when it was absolutely necessary, now she almost seemed to be taking pleasure out of taking peoples souls. 

He knew that she had told him not to but he didn’t feel right about it. He should do something for the poor man who lost his hand to Prince Fyren because he felt he should. As Zedd was making his way through the streets of Aydindril toward the man’s home he thought he felt someone following him. He looked around as he walked through town finally catching a glimpse of Alfron not far behind him.

Zedd wasn’t sure why this made him uneasy, he thought he could trust Alfron, but why was he sneaking around? “I am not sure what is going on right now but I had better not go heal that man yet, not until I know that it is safe.” Zedd turned around and made his way through the crowd toward Alfron.

When Alfron saw Zedd turn and start towards him he pretended not to see Zedd and started back towards the palace. “That was odd,” Zedd thought, “I wonder, no she wouldn’t confess a wizard.” Deciding to ask Kahlan about Alfron’s odd behavior when he returned to the Confessor’s Palace, Zedd bought an apple from a merchant and made his way back through the city.

XXX

Alfron entered the Council Chambers and quickly crossed the room to stand before Kahlan, who was sitting regally in her chair. 

“Mistress, I followed Zedd just like you asked and he was heading toward the home of the man whose hand you refused to allow him to grow back. I believe he was planning to go against your orders and heal the man anyway.”

“He’s plotting against me. I knew it. Let’s see if he can come up with an excuse for this.”

XXX

When Zedd reached the Council Chambers Kahlan was waiting for him. Kahlan locked him in her icy glare as she got up and closed the distance between them.

“I want you to tell me something, Zedd,” she said with a voice to match her glare. “Why were you going to heal that man? I told you not to but clearly the word of the Mother Confessor doesn’t mean anything to you.”

Zedd realized in that instant that he had been wrong, she would confess a wizard, and she had confessed Alfron. He knew that he couldn’t lie to her but he had to say something or else he was in big trouble. “I was only going to check on the man,” Zedd said. “I wanted to see if he was getting along alright without his hand, if he needed any help finding work.”

Kahlan looked at him for a moment and thought about what he had said, she didn’t think he was lying but she could never be too sure. “You still shouldn’t be going to see that man. He broke the law and has to suffer the consequences.”

“I understand Kahlan. I am sorry if I overstepped my bounds.”

“We you should be. However, I don’t easily forget things like this so I would strongly suggest that you stay inside the palace. You don’t want me to lose my temper with you Zedd, this came dangerously close to treason. Next time I won’t be so forgiving.”

“Of course Mother Confessor. I do not wish to tempt you ire.”

“Good. See that it stays that way.”

Zedd left the Council Chambers even more concerned now than he had been before. He had too think of something because Kahlan was not doing anything good for the Midlands and he needed to know what was wrong with her.