LOTS Fic: Aydindril Burning 5/? (Cara/Kahlan)
Kahlan silently appreciated Cara’s presence next to her in the crowded bar. The blonde warded off anyone who tried to approach with an intense, take-no-shit look. She also stayed comfortingly quiet, eating her hamburger and remaining stoic, no hint of emotion. Being with Cara could be the most comfortable part of Kahlan’s day - it just felt easy, almost low-key when she wasn’t thoroughly wound up with arousal.
Cara walked Kahlan back to her office, hands shoved in her pocket. Kahlan just didn’t want to be alone, though she recognized that Cara was an important issue that needed to be addressed soon. At five o’clock straight up, always punctual, Cara was waiting for Kahlan on the curb outside City Hall.
They didn’t talk for the rest of the evening while Kahlan made dinner, hands shaking perceptibly and Cara did the dishes. The soapy water wrinkled her strong hands; Kahlan almost commented on it and then caught herself. Cara didn’t appear to mind the lack of discussion, maybe she even enjoyed it. It only contributed to the sense of unease that plagued Kahlan all day.
She leaned back in her chair at the kitchen table and just watched Cara’s back as she worked, shoulders moving which pulled her t-shirt taught against defined muscles. It didn’t matter what the blonde was doing - Kahlan always seemed to be prenaturally aware of her body and today was no different. In fact, today was worse than any day that preceded it. Cara’s arrival in her office had been confusing and frightening, but the feeling of being held by her had lingered, turning into heat that pooled now at the bottom of her belly. She shifted, either to relieve the pressure building between her legs or exacerbate it; she wasn’t sure.
And then Kahlan had an out of body experience.
She stood, pushing in her chair neatly before rounding the table, even in the grip of powerful sexual urges, she liked to keep things tidy. Cara remained unaware, or at least appeared to be, with her back still to Kahlan. And then, Kahlan watched herself as she stepped up behind the slightly shorter woman, wrapping her arms around her waist and planted an open-mouthed kiss against the side of her neck. Cara jerked unexpectedly in her arms, taking a deep gasping breath.
Unsure, and so very unmoored from her own previous experience, Kahlan chose to take that as encouragement. Though, later she might have to consider why she wanted to be encouraged and too what end. She ran the palms of her hands up Cara’s flat stomach beneath her t-shirt, feeling the surprisingly silky expanse of skin over the hard muscles that contracted at her touch. Before she even realized how far she had allowed herself to get out of control, the tops of her hands brushed against the lower swell of Cara’s breasts, clad in a simple cotton bra.
“Kahlan,” Cara breathed her name, almost desperately, which gave Kahlan an inordinate amount of pride. She had been lonelier than she had ever realized before; more starved for human touch and the warmth of another body than she had thought possible without expiring. All that time since Richard left she had spent bottling up her desires and needs. Kahlan had, despite the solitariness of her life, always been a sensual person that craved contact. She had contact now - a lot of it as she slipped her fingers under the edge of Cara’s bra and worked her hand up to cup one full breast in her palm. Cara moaned. Electricity coursed down her arm, meeting the rising tide of arousal shooting up from between her legs - Kahlan was turning into a storm of barely contained energy.
“Cara,” Kahlan moaned, punctuating the other woman’s name by biting down lightly where her neck met her shoulder. “I’ve been so lonely.”
And Kahlan’s out of body experience ended precipitously as Cara spun around, pushing out with damp hands to create a chasm between them. Kahlan had said something wrong, she could tell immediately from the hard lines into which Cara’s face had set.
“You’re lonely because Richard’s gone,” Cara responded flatly. “And I’m not a Richard replacement just because we both look good in a uniform.”
Kahlan folded her arms across her chest, doing her best to ignore the sudden empty feeling in her palms and the surging wetness between her legs. “I don’t belong to Richard.”
“Maybe. But you sure as shit don’t belong to me.” Cara pushed away from the sink with her hips and tried to circumvent Kahlan, standing directly in front of her, but the brunette simply moved to block the path. She stepped to the side, an action mirrored by Kahlan.
“You can’t keep running away from me.” Kahlan was stubborn in her own way, and deeply tired of the strange distance she couldn’t seem to cross between herself and Cara. She wanted too much, and it made her unwilling to dally now with niceties.
“And you can’t keep throwing yourself at me!” Cara shouted, her barely contained anger finally bursting forth. She waved her hands in Kahlan’s direction. “I’m only human. You’re killing me, and then afterwards you’ll actually kill me. Or Richard will. And I’ll be a terrible friend to both of you.”
“Throwing myself at you?” Kahlan arched an eyebrow incredulously. She had hardly been throwing herself at Cara - well, except for that evening and maybe that morning and it was a remote possibility that Cara was also mentioning that time that she kissed her, but that was hardly enough to warrant shouting.
Cara looked distinctly aggrieved - a look which only increased the general attractiveness of her full mouth. Only the power of good sense kept Kahlan in check and stopped her from reaching out to her. “Richard is my friend,” Cara pleaded.
“I don’t even know Richard!” For the first time, Kahlan had voiced her deepest fear and insecurity about her marriage, and it made her feel extremely vulnerable standing in front of a woman who seemed so very loyal to the very man who felt so like a stranger. In many ways, she felt like she knew Cara better than her own husband. She had spent nearly as much time with the blonde as she had with Richard, and while it was true that they didn’t converse nearly as much, Kahlan felt as if Cara listened better - not just to the things she said, but the things she didn’t say and to all of the little ways in which her body communicated without words. That knowledge coupled with her aching desire and the comfort she took in Cara’s presence, all added up to something like love, didn’t it?
Was Kahlan in love with Cara?
Wasn’t Kahlan in love with Cara?
What did it mean for Kahlan if she was in love with Cara?
“That’s lucky for you,” Cara nearly spit the words, “Because I do know Richard. And I know that it would kill him if I slept with his wife. I also know he has a capacity for extreme anger too.” Kahlan had been frustrated about how little Cara talked about herself or really anything at all, but now that she was talking, Kahlan almost wished she would stop. She was saying all the things that Kahlan should be saying - that being with her was wrong, it was a dereliction of duty, a betrayal of Richard. These were all things that were swiftly and inexplicably losing their meaning to Kahlan. Their little tiff was doing nothing to cool Kahlan’s ardor; indeed, Cara’s uncharacteristic display of emotion only made Kahlan want to soothe her more - soothe her preferably with her hands and mouth on all the curves and muscles that she clandestinely admired. Cara took a step toward Kahlan while the other woman stood silently trying to sort it all out, which the brunette assumed was meant to be intimidating, but with the realization that Kahlan loved her coursing through her veins, she just couldn’t be scared of Cara. Not that she ever had been, except maybe that first moment that she appeared on the porch.
“What about me, Cara?” Kahlan was a little fed up with the way that Cara seemed to approach her as simply a possession of Richard’s. He wasn’t there, and he hadn’t been for some time. Kahlan had been an adult woman longer than she had been Richard’s wife, and she was not prepared to be treated as an accessory to a man in this situation.
“God dammit! What about you, Kahlan?” Cara took another step forward. Her breasts brushed against Kahlan’s own they were so close now. “You’re attracted to me. I understand that - a lot of people are,” at that Cara failed to contain a cocky smirk, “But, I’m not some sexual proxy for the man in your life. And I can’t give you the tenderness and love you need and deserve.”
“Don’t tell me what I need,” Kahlan murmured, leaning closer to Cara, drawn like a magnet toward her until she was speaking nearly against her lips. They felt like silk, she knew that from previous experience and part of her wondered how that would feel against other parts of her anatomy.
Whatever resistance remained in the blonde fell away; she reached up, tangling her hands in Kahlan’s long hair and jerked her close to finally connect their lips forcefully. Kahlan moaned, the sensation overwhelming, and as her lips parted to let the sound escape, Cara’s tongue slid inside.
There was no question in Kahlan’s mind that Cara had done this before - this having sex with a girl thing. She was lifted onto the edge of the table and her pants were unbuttoned and slid down her thighs before she really registered what was occurring, since she remained totally focused on the sensation of her tongue tangling with Cara’s in her mouth. Kahlan gave herself up to the feeling, to the growing arousal that threatened to overcome her entirely. Her head fell back, exposing her neck to Cara’s hungry attention. She licked and nibbled her way down the column of Kahlan’s throat to her collarbone and was stopped by the fact that the brunette remained annoyingly dressed. Kahlan couldn’t even figure out what a shirt could possibly be for and she gladly helped Cara divest herself of hers.
A pleasurable haze enveloped Kahlan, cutting out the cold discomfort of the wooden kitchen table and the guilt that had plagued her, leaving only the tantalizing feel of Cara’s tongue and teeth as they worked her nipples into hard peaks and the firm pressure of her hands massaging Kahlan’s full breasts.
Everything about Cara was firm, commanding - arousing. She continued to tease Kahlan’s nipples, sucking them wetly as she reached down to take her thighs and spread them, opening Kahlan to her. Even with Richard, she had never felt so vulnerable or electric with the excitement such vulnerability could cause in her.
And then Cara’s head was between her legs, lapping at her clit and the dripping evidence of her enjoyment. She cried out as her hips rose, bowing her body toward Cara to offer more and more and more of herself.
A storm overcame Kahlan as her orgasm slammed into her. All the muscles in her body contracted and spasmed in wave after wave of pleasure. She cried out, head falling back as Cara’s name was torn from her throat. The exquisite play of Cara’s tongue over her clit didn’t stop until she had wrung ever last ounce of power and energy out of her.
As Cara stood, brushing the back of her hand across her mouth, Kahlan finally collapsed backward onto the table - spent.
What was she supposed to do now?
CHAPTER TEN: What I need is a good defense, 'Cause I'm feeling like a criminal, And I need to be redeemed
Cara hated feelings. Right then she should have been proud of herself, smug in her sexual prowess, sated by the power she could wield over another gorgeous woman. But she wasn’t. Oh, she felt good. Really really good, and she was very pleased with how absolutely debauched Kahlan looked, sprawled out on her own kitchen table with clothes in dishabille. There was a creeping sense of guilty and duty betrayed that weighed on her however. She felt as if she might have done poorly by Kahlan, and she knew for a wrenching fact that she had breached the bond of trust between herself and Richard.
But the gentle rise and fall of Kahlan’s bare breasts pulled Cara’s mind away from Richard. The soft smell of sex sharpened her appetite. She wanted more, though she knew she was a horrible person for it. And knowing herself as she did, she knew she would have more, though it would be the end of all her attempts at being a better person.
She leaned down, sucking one of Kahlan’s taut nipples into her mouth, causing the other woman to shiver and sigh softly. The brunette was still too deep in her post-orgasmic afterglow to protest. There were so many things - so very many obscene things - that Cara still wanted to do. She nibbled lightly on the hardened peak, contemplating what exactly she wanted to do next when a loud screeching alarm cut into the quiet night.
The ululating noise came out of a box near the ceiling in the entryway that Cara had recently installed; it was set off by the pressure sensor pads that she had carefully installed under each of the ground floor windows. Painstakingly she had kicked dirt over them, arranged the bushes around them exactly until she was absolutely certain that they were invisible. Especially in the dark.
She sprung away from Kahlan, grabbing a knife out of the wooden knife block on the counter on her way to the door. There was a Mord-Sith outside. She could feel it, sending her skin crawling. Her sisters had finally come for her, and while she couldn’t help to stop them all with a chef’s knife, she could certainly buy Kahlan time to escape. Maybe once they had her, they would be content to ignore the other woman.
“Cara!” A sing-song voice, hardened to be heard over battle, blended with the alarm’s noise, calling from outside.
She hit the reset button on the alarm box as she made it to the front door, quieting it. Opening the door into the darkness was a mistake, with her eyes accustomed to the lighted interior. She turned off the foyer’s light and waited, breathing softly, for her eyes to dilate.
Behind her in the kitchen she could hear Kahlan moving around, probably settling her clothing, and if she was smart, finding a place to hide.
“Cara!” The voice from outside called again, but she waited several more minutes as the shadowy outlines of furniture and walls began to appear. Her eyes were ready, her adrenaline had reached an appropriate level, but all the good warrior sense in her deplored allowing her enemy to choose the time and place of their battle so she hesitated a moment longer.
She closed her eyes tightly, adjusted her grip on the knife and counted to ten under breath. With an explosive burst of energy she kicked through the door and darted left, barely dodging the bullet that slammed into the doorframe. She tucked and rolled into the bushes, catching herself on her free palm before pushing herself into a sprint, running parallel to the wall of the house behind the neat line of bushes that Kahlan or more probably her grandmother had planted. Bullets tore along behind her, exploding against the wood as each one missed. Without warning she reversed direction and flattened herself onto the ground. The firing stopped - whoever the sniper was, and wherever they were, they had lost the bead on her.
“Oh Cara, you vixen. Why don’t you come on out and we can all handle this like the reasonable adults we are. I’ve just come so you can make amends for your dreadful sins against your sisters and your country. Its really more than a traitor like you deserves.” Cara pegged the voice finally, the lilting accent and the sing-song cadence. Denna. They had sent the best after her, and she was not too annoyed to be rather flattered by the fact. If they had sent Trianna, or God forbid that awful Garen, she would have felt deeply offended.
She didn’t take the bait and respond. Denna would be able to track her voice and line up a kill shot, so instead she lay in the cool dirt and waited patiently for the other woman to tip her hand. There would be an opening - there always was. Young soldiers made the mistake of thinking that battles were fought at the speed of bullets, they weren’t. Battles were fought at whatever speed you allowed them to be. Cara would drag this out into the morning if she could. She was in no rush to die. Not when she had a million things left to do to Kahlan.
Cara walked Kahlan back to her office, hands shoved in her pocket. Kahlan just didn’t want to be alone, though she recognized that Cara was an important issue that needed to be addressed soon. At five o’clock straight up, always punctual, Cara was waiting for Kahlan on the curb outside City Hall.
They didn’t talk for the rest of the evening while Kahlan made dinner, hands shaking perceptibly and Cara did the dishes. The soapy water wrinkled her strong hands; Kahlan almost commented on it and then caught herself. Cara didn’t appear to mind the lack of discussion, maybe she even enjoyed it. It only contributed to the sense of unease that plagued Kahlan all day.
She leaned back in her chair at the kitchen table and just watched Cara’s back as she worked, shoulders moving which pulled her t-shirt taught against defined muscles. It didn’t matter what the blonde was doing - Kahlan always seemed to be prenaturally aware of her body and today was no different. In fact, today was worse than any day that preceded it. Cara’s arrival in her office had been confusing and frightening, but the feeling of being held by her had lingered, turning into heat that pooled now at the bottom of her belly. She shifted, either to relieve the pressure building between her legs or exacerbate it; she wasn’t sure.
And then Kahlan had an out of body experience.
She stood, pushing in her chair neatly before rounding the table, even in the grip of powerful sexual urges, she liked to keep things tidy. Cara remained unaware, or at least appeared to be, with her back still to Kahlan. And then, Kahlan watched herself as she stepped up behind the slightly shorter woman, wrapping her arms around her waist and planted an open-mouthed kiss against the side of her neck. Cara jerked unexpectedly in her arms, taking a deep gasping breath.
Unsure, and so very unmoored from her own previous experience, Kahlan chose to take that as encouragement. Though, later she might have to consider why she wanted to be encouraged and too what end. She ran the palms of her hands up Cara’s flat stomach beneath her t-shirt, feeling the surprisingly silky expanse of skin over the hard muscles that contracted at her touch. Before she even realized how far she had allowed herself to get out of control, the tops of her hands brushed against the lower swell of Cara’s breasts, clad in a simple cotton bra.
“Kahlan,” Cara breathed her name, almost desperately, which gave Kahlan an inordinate amount of pride. She had been lonelier than she had ever realized before; more starved for human touch and the warmth of another body than she had thought possible without expiring. All that time since Richard left she had spent bottling up her desires and needs. Kahlan had, despite the solitariness of her life, always been a sensual person that craved contact. She had contact now - a lot of it as she slipped her fingers under the edge of Cara’s bra and worked her hand up to cup one full breast in her palm. Cara moaned. Electricity coursed down her arm, meeting the rising tide of arousal shooting up from between her legs - Kahlan was turning into a storm of barely contained energy.
“Cara,” Kahlan moaned, punctuating the other woman’s name by biting down lightly where her neck met her shoulder. “I’ve been so lonely.”
And Kahlan’s out of body experience ended precipitously as Cara spun around, pushing out with damp hands to create a chasm between them. Kahlan had said something wrong, she could tell immediately from the hard lines into which Cara’s face had set.
“You’re lonely because Richard’s gone,” Cara responded flatly. “And I’m not a Richard replacement just because we both look good in a uniform.”
Kahlan folded her arms across her chest, doing her best to ignore the sudden empty feeling in her palms and the surging wetness between her legs. “I don’t belong to Richard.”
“Maybe. But you sure as shit don’t belong to me.” Cara pushed away from the sink with her hips and tried to circumvent Kahlan, standing directly in front of her, but the brunette simply moved to block the path. She stepped to the side, an action mirrored by Kahlan.
“You can’t keep running away from me.” Kahlan was stubborn in her own way, and deeply tired of the strange distance she couldn’t seem to cross between herself and Cara. She wanted too much, and it made her unwilling to dally now with niceties.
“And you can’t keep throwing yourself at me!” Cara shouted, her barely contained anger finally bursting forth. She waved her hands in Kahlan’s direction. “I’m only human. You’re killing me, and then afterwards you’ll actually kill me. Or Richard will. And I’ll be a terrible friend to both of you.”
“Throwing myself at you?” Kahlan arched an eyebrow incredulously. She had hardly been throwing herself at Cara - well, except for that evening and maybe that morning and it was a remote possibility that Cara was also mentioning that time that she kissed her, but that was hardly enough to warrant shouting.
Cara looked distinctly aggrieved - a look which only increased the general attractiveness of her full mouth. Only the power of good sense kept Kahlan in check and stopped her from reaching out to her. “Richard is my friend,” Cara pleaded.
“I don’t even know Richard!” For the first time, Kahlan had voiced her deepest fear and insecurity about her marriage, and it made her feel extremely vulnerable standing in front of a woman who seemed so very loyal to the very man who felt so like a stranger. In many ways, she felt like she knew Cara better than her own husband. She had spent nearly as much time with the blonde as she had with Richard, and while it was true that they didn’t converse nearly as much, Kahlan felt as if Cara listened better - not just to the things she said, but the things she didn’t say and to all of the little ways in which her body communicated without words. That knowledge coupled with her aching desire and the comfort she took in Cara’s presence, all added up to something like love, didn’t it?
Was Kahlan in love with Cara?
Wasn’t Kahlan in love with Cara?
What did it mean for Kahlan if she was in love with Cara?
“That’s lucky for you,” Cara nearly spit the words, “Because I do know Richard. And I know that it would kill him if I slept with his wife. I also know he has a capacity for extreme anger too.” Kahlan had been frustrated about how little Cara talked about herself or really anything at all, but now that she was talking, Kahlan almost wished she would stop. She was saying all the things that Kahlan should be saying - that being with her was wrong, it was a dereliction of duty, a betrayal of Richard. These were all things that were swiftly and inexplicably losing their meaning to Kahlan. Their little tiff was doing nothing to cool Kahlan’s ardor; indeed, Cara’s uncharacteristic display of emotion only made Kahlan want to soothe her more - soothe her preferably with her hands and mouth on all the curves and muscles that she clandestinely admired. Cara took a step toward Kahlan while the other woman stood silently trying to sort it all out, which the brunette assumed was meant to be intimidating, but with the realization that Kahlan loved her coursing through her veins, she just couldn’t be scared of Cara. Not that she ever had been, except maybe that first moment that she appeared on the porch.
“What about me, Cara?” Kahlan was a little fed up with the way that Cara seemed to approach her as simply a possession of Richard’s. He wasn’t there, and he hadn’t been for some time. Kahlan had been an adult woman longer than she had been Richard’s wife, and she was not prepared to be treated as an accessory to a man in this situation.
“God dammit! What about you, Kahlan?” Cara took another step forward. Her breasts brushed against Kahlan’s own they were so close now. “You’re attracted to me. I understand that - a lot of people are,” at that Cara failed to contain a cocky smirk, “But, I’m not some sexual proxy for the man in your life. And I can’t give you the tenderness and love you need and deserve.”
“Don’t tell me what I need,” Kahlan murmured, leaning closer to Cara, drawn like a magnet toward her until she was speaking nearly against her lips. They felt like silk, she knew that from previous experience and part of her wondered how that would feel against other parts of her anatomy.
Whatever resistance remained in the blonde fell away; she reached up, tangling her hands in Kahlan’s long hair and jerked her close to finally connect their lips forcefully. Kahlan moaned, the sensation overwhelming, and as her lips parted to let the sound escape, Cara’s tongue slid inside.
There was no question in Kahlan’s mind that Cara had done this before - this having sex with a girl thing. She was lifted onto the edge of the table and her pants were unbuttoned and slid down her thighs before she really registered what was occurring, since she remained totally focused on the sensation of her tongue tangling with Cara’s in her mouth. Kahlan gave herself up to the feeling, to the growing arousal that threatened to overcome her entirely. Her head fell back, exposing her neck to Cara’s hungry attention. She licked and nibbled her way down the column of Kahlan’s throat to her collarbone and was stopped by the fact that the brunette remained annoyingly dressed. Kahlan couldn’t even figure out what a shirt could possibly be for and she gladly helped Cara divest herself of hers.
A pleasurable haze enveloped Kahlan, cutting out the cold discomfort of the wooden kitchen table and the guilt that had plagued her, leaving only the tantalizing feel of Cara’s tongue and teeth as they worked her nipples into hard peaks and the firm pressure of her hands massaging Kahlan’s full breasts.
Everything about Cara was firm, commanding - arousing. She continued to tease Kahlan’s nipples, sucking them wetly as she reached down to take her thighs and spread them, opening Kahlan to her. Even with Richard, she had never felt so vulnerable or electric with the excitement such vulnerability could cause in her.
And then Cara’s head was between her legs, lapping at her clit and the dripping evidence of her enjoyment. She cried out as her hips rose, bowing her body toward Cara to offer more and more and more of herself.
A storm overcame Kahlan as her orgasm slammed into her. All the muscles in her body contracted and spasmed in wave after wave of pleasure. She cried out, head falling back as Cara’s name was torn from her throat. The exquisite play of Cara’s tongue over her clit didn’t stop until she had wrung ever last ounce of power and energy out of her.
As Cara stood, brushing the back of her hand across her mouth, Kahlan finally collapsed backward onto the table - spent.
What was she supposed to do now?
CHAPTER TEN: What I need is a good defense, 'Cause I'm feeling like a criminal, And I need to be redeemed
Cara hated feelings. Right then she should have been proud of herself, smug in her sexual prowess, sated by the power she could wield over another gorgeous woman. But she wasn’t. Oh, she felt good. Really really good, and she was very pleased with how absolutely debauched Kahlan looked, sprawled out on her own kitchen table with clothes in dishabille. There was a creeping sense of guilty and duty betrayed that weighed on her however. She felt as if she might have done poorly by Kahlan, and she knew for a wrenching fact that she had breached the bond of trust between herself and Richard.
But the gentle rise and fall of Kahlan’s bare breasts pulled Cara’s mind away from Richard. The soft smell of sex sharpened her appetite. She wanted more, though she knew she was a horrible person for it. And knowing herself as she did, she knew she would have more, though it would be the end of all her attempts at being a better person.
She leaned down, sucking one of Kahlan’s taut nipples into her mouth, causing the other woman to shiver and sigh softly. The brunette was still too deep in her post-orgasmic afterglow to protest. There were so many things - so very many obscene things - that Cara still wanted to do. She nibbled lightly on the hardened peak, contemplating what exactly she wanted to do next when a loud screeching alarm cut into the quiet night.
The ululating noise came out of a box near the ceiling in the entryway that Cara had recently installed; it was set off by the pressure sensor pads that she had carefully installed under each of the ground floor windows. Painstakingly she had kicked dirt over them, arranged the bushes around them exactly until she was absolutely certain that they were invisible. Especially in the dark.
She sprung away from Kahlan, grabbing a knife out of the wooden knife block on the counter on her way to the door. There was a Mord-Sith outside. She could feel it, sending her skin crawling. Her sisters had finally come for her, and while she couldn’t help to stop them all with a chef’s knife, she could certainly buy Kahlan time to escape. Maybe once they had her, they would be content to ignore the other woman.
“Cara!” A sing-song voice, hardened to be heard over battle, blended with the alarm’s noise, calling from outside.
She hit the reset button on the alarm box as she made it to the front door, quieting it. Opening the door into the darkness was a mistake, with her eyes accustomed to the lighted interior. She turned off the foyer’s light and waited, breathing softly, for her eyes to dilate.
Behind her in the kitchen she could hear Kahlan moving around, probably settling her clothing, and if she was smart, finding a place to hide.
“Cara!” The voice from outside called again, but she waited several more minutes as the shadowy outlines of furniture and walls began to appear. Her eyes were ready, her adrenaline had reached an appropriate level, but all the good warrior sense in her deplored allowing her enemy to choose the time and place of their battle so she hesitated a moment longer.
She closed her eyes tightly, adjusted her grip on the knife and counted to ten under breath. With an explosive burst of energy she kicked through the door and darted left, barely dodging the bullet that slammed into the doorframe. She tucked and rolled into the bushes, catching herself on her free palm before pushing herself into a sprint, running parallel to the wall of the house behind the neat line of bushes that Kahlan or more probably her grandmother had planted. Bullets tore along behind her, exploding against the wood as each one missed. Without warning she reversed direction and flattened herself onto the ground. The firing stopped - whoever the sniper was, and wherever they were, they had lost the bead on her.
“Oh Cara, you vixen. Why don’t you come on out and we can all handle this like the reasonable adults we are. I’ve just come so you can make amends for your dreadful sins against your sisters and your country. Its really more than a traitor like you deserves.” Cara pegged the voice finally, the lilting accent and the sing-song cadence. Denna. They had sent the best after her, and she was not too annoyed to be rather flattered by the fact. If they had sent Trianna, or God forbid that awful Garen, she would have felt deeply offended.
She didn’t take the bait and respond. Denna would be able to track her voice and line up a kill shot, so instead she lay in the cool dirt and waited patiently for the other woman to tip her hand. There would be an opening - there always was. Young soldiers made the mistake of thinking that battles were fought at the speed of bullets, they weren’t. Battles were fought at whatever speed you allowed them to be. Cara would drag this out into the morning if she could. She was in no rush to die. Not when she had a million things left to do to Kahlan.