The Forbidden Life
Title: The Forbidden Life
Chapter: 3
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Richard/Kahlan
Characters: Kahlan, Richard and Zedd, Cara, Others (Original)
Timeline: After S2
Summary: After marrying, Richard and Kahlan try to begin their lives together, something happens to jeperdize it all. Decisions will be made and allies will be lost. Nothing is as it seems.
Word Count: 2,491
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING
Author's Note: So this I started while I was in the hospital. So it has moments of crazy, happy and agnst, but I hope that you all still enjoy! It's pratcially a novel, so I hope you all stick around to see what happens! <3
<3 Comments are awesome peeps! <3
Cara stood in the doorway of the shop, carefully watching every person that walked by, slightly grinning as several rushed away from her in fear. She could hear Kahlan speaking to a woman behind her, talking softly so that no one else was able to hear what it was she was there for. People surrounded them, making it harder for the blonde to find a threat. It all happened so quick, the Mord'Sith wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Blood covered the floor; the owner of the shop had fallen to her knees and hadn't stopped screaming as she covered her face in horror of what she just witnessed.
Kahlan lay on the ground, holding her hands over her side as she tried to stop the bleeding. Her entire body ached with a pain she hadn't felt in many months and how she was able to move was unknown to her friend. "You have to close it." She trembled as she reached for her friend, desperately needing her help. Cara stared at her in surprise, shocked that she was able to speak at all. The sight of her jaw made it appear that it was barely there. "If you don't, I will lose her. Please, don't let me lose her."
It was an odd sight, the Mother Confessor begging a Mord'Sith for help. For a moment, she tried to find another way, but she was bleeding too much. Ripping open her dress, Cara laid her agiel against her friend's side, burning one of the many wounds closed as she ignored her cries of pain. The smell of her burnt flesh began to fill the air, making some of the onlookers turn and leave. After a short moment, Kahlan gave a weak smile and closed her eyes, leaving her life completely in her friend's hands.
Cara carried her back to the palace, unwilling to let anyone help her in anyway. Anyone of them may wish to finish what they had started and if the Confessor died, Richard would never forgive her. As she approached the gates of the palace, mouths dropped in shock and horror as she carried the blood-soaked woman past them. She knew there was only one place to take her and once she got there, once he saw his wife, he would never trust her again. She motioned for the guards to open the door; they complied without hesitation.
Richard was asleep in their bed, facing away from the door as they entered quickly. He jumped as the blonde kicked the door shut, wanting to gain his attention at once. She had never seen him move so fast before. Crawling out of the bed, he rushed over, shouting as he demanded to know what had happened. Taking her into his own arms, he laid her down upon the bed and tore open the rest of her dress, not caring that he was exposing her to anyone who would enter the room. Running his hand over some the fresh wounds, he looked back to his friend with tears in his eyes.
"What happened, Cara?"
Shaking he head, she lifted her arm and motioned to the woman lying on the bed, trying to ignore the anger and disappointment that filled his words. "She was in the market, picking up some vase the council wanted and we were attacked."
"How many?"
"I'm not sure," she said quickly. "Eleven, fifteen. They surrounded us. They only had one weapon; it was small. We didn't see it until it was too late. I killed eight of them, four, maybe three are not going to be waking up soon and the others ran the moment it was done. The wizard is on his way."
He stared down at her, his fingers tracing over the closed wound. It was a long scar, about an inch and a half wide that ran from the bottom of her breast to her hip. It made his skin cringe to see it, to think of the pain it caused and how he wished he had begged her to stay with him. Her face was almost unrecognizable, the cuts and bruises almost invisible under the blood. The rest of her body matched completely. "You said they surrounded you. Did they go after you or Kahlan?"
"They didn't bother with me until I made them."
He sighed, pulling the blankets up to cover most of her body, being as gentle with it as possible. He didn't want her to freeze before Zedd was able to heal her, but it wasn't the reason he covered her. The sight of her wounded body made him sick, it took his entire being to keep from vomiting onto the floor. "How could they know?"
Confused, Cara stepped closer. "Know what?"
"She told me that this could happen." He began to release his tears in full as he looked to his friend. "They kill them. Pregnant Confessors. Cara they tried to kill her!"
The rage within him was clear, even through the tears that streamed down his cheeks. She wanted to tell him that she had taken care of it all and that there was no more danger, but she couldn't lie to him. Quickly, she turned and rushed from the room, pushing past the wizard as he entered. Zedd approached the bed quickly, pushing down the sickness that now filled him as the sight of her became clear. Richard moved out of the way instantly, but remained close to her, unwilling to go farther. From the way his grandfather's face crinkled as he ran his hands over her, he knew it wasn't going to be an easy fix.
"How long has she carried the child?" the wizard asked as he dropped the blanket to the floor. He took her left arm in his hand, soothing the other over it as he set the broken bones.
The crack of the bones made it difficult for Richard to concentrate and answer. "Uh, almost five months."
"And you have told no one?"
"Cara knows. We had to tell her. She needed protection. Kahlan was so afraid this would happen." He was staring at her, clutching a few strands of her hair in his fist. "She wanted to leave. She wanted to keep her safe and I wouldn't let her. Zedd, she wanted to go but I wouldn't let her. It's my fault she's- Zedd, it's my fault." He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply as she moaned softly in pain.
The wizard hated seeing them like this; it was more heartbreaking than the pain he felt from her wounds. The bruises were easy to fix, healing quickly as he moved over them. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the bleeding within her for a few moments, silently praying he had gotten to her in time. Coming to the cut, he froze and opened his eyes. "Did it look like this when Cara brought her back?"
Lifting his head, Richard looked where the older man was pointing and shook his head. "No."
"Whoever attacked her knew she carried this child. They used a knife made specifically for this purpose. If Cara hadn't burned the wound closed with her agiel, neither would have survived. I'm afraid that this will get worse before it gets better. You both should be prepared for anything. Get me a knife. If we don't remove the skin around the wound, it's going to get much worse and fast."
Richard moved his grandfather away, pulled one of Kahlan's daggers from her boots and handed it to him. "Isn't there some other way?"
Zedd shook his head as he began sliding the knife across the skin around the wound. Richard had to close his eyes as the blood dripped slowly, unable to watch as she went through more pain. He waited for to cry out, to scream in agony, but she never did. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and watched as his grandfather ripped pieces of their blanket and pushed it against the wound, stopping the blood flow as he whispered something. He had never seen that much blood come from someone and survive. He was terrified that he was going to lose the only person he had ever loved.
Realizing what Kahlan would say, he grabbed his grandfather's shoulders and turned him toward him. "What about Sarah? What has happened to our child?"
The use of the name made it harder for him to speak. They had already named their child and if they lost her, it would more devastating than neither could imagine. "She is fine for now. As the skin re-grows, it will need to be removed until Kahlan finds the strength to fight it."
"And if she doesn't? We have to find another way! I can't lose her. I can't lose either of them."
"There is no way to remove the poison from her skin. We can only remove the infected skin and keep it from spreading to the child. If we are unable to stop it before she has returned to us, they will both die."
"And if she doesn't get better?" He was shaking, his mind screaming at him for letting her walk out of their room that afternoon.
"The poison will soon render her completely unconscious. She will not feel the pain of their death. The child is too young to survive without her. This cannot continue."
"You're wrong! They're going to survive! Kahlan's going to be fine! She and Sarah, they- We're going to be a family..." Richard knelt down beside the bed and took hold of her left hand. "You're going to be all right. I'm going to find a way to fix this. Spirits, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you this morning. I'm so sorry, Kahlan."
Her head turned as Zedd left the room, her eyes still closed as she tried to find him. A subtle smile came to her lips as she wrapped her fingers limply around his hand. She didn't have the strength to speak, but her actions said more than everything. "I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you." Kahlan's face winced in pain for a moment before she managed a nod, knowing that he was telling her the truth. He would never allow anything to happen to her or their daughter. "When you're well, we're going to leave and just like you wanted, we're going to be free of the council. We can raise Sarah away from all of this. She will never have to live in fear."
Tears began to fall down his cheeks again as she looked away from him, unable to keep up the energy that she needed to use. As her hand loosened on his, he pulled back some and reached over her. His heart raced as his fingers touched the cloth covering the wound. He needed to see it, needed to know how bad it was and almost instantly, he lost the feeling in his legs. Dropping to his knees beside the bed he, once again, clung to her hand, finding the small touch more comfort than he imagined. He couldn't believe that this was happening; that he was so close to losing the two people he cared the most about.
Richard couldn't bring himself to move away from her, even hours later when the wizard returned to remove more of her skin. He kept thinking that she would awaken any moment and he wanted to be there when she did. She began to whimper and moan in pain, the sound growing louder at first but quickly fading away, making him wonder if he had imagined it all. He stared at her stomach, the small bump almost invisible to those who were not looking. Whoever attacked her knew that she carried a child. There could be no other explanation.
In two days, Kahlan had only awoken once and Richard was beginning to grow more afraid. Cara had returned with three of the men who had attacked them. She held them in the palace's dungeon, torturing them until they cried for their mothers and told her what she wanted to know. He was laying beside her, keeping a hand on her at all times just so that she knew that he was there. He stared at her, waiting for some kind of sign that she was getting better and fighting the poison that touched her. Watching as her chest rose with each breath, he laid his hand on her stomach, imagining the child that grew within her.
"You have to wake up, Kahlan. You have to fight this. You have to survive and help our child grow. She needs you. I need you."
Her head turned, surprising him. "Richard?"
The sound of her voice filled him with comfort. "I'm here." She moved her hand over her, trying to find where his rested. Laying it over his, she opened her eyes. "I'm right here."
"How long?"
"You've been in and out of consciousness for three days."
Her eyes widened for a moment in fear. "Sarah?"
He smiled a small smile reassuring her. "She's fine. You've kept her safe. I was so afraid I was going to losing both of you."
He shifted beside of her, sitting up so that it made it easier for him to lean over her and pull a wash cloth from the bowl of fresh water that sat on the bed table beside them. Cara had come by a few hours before and replaced the water, scrubbing the blood from the bowl before refilling it. The wound had opened during several of the spasms her body experienced, leaving blood covering everything around them, including him. Several times, he had sat above her, holding her down as she coughed up white foam and shook violently. He had never found himself more afraid. Every minute had been his own personal hell and he was beginning to go mad. Gently, he laid the fresh cloth on her forehead and smiled. "How are you feeling now?" Closing her eyes, she realized how much pain she was in. Holding back a cry of pain, she reached for her stomach. "Don't do that," he told her tenderly. If she felt what they had done to her, she would want to know more and he didn't want to talk about it until she was stronger.
"It hurts," she breathed out quietly, her face now showing the pain.
"Don't look all right?" Once she nodded weakly, he gently pulled the cloth from the wound and frowned. "It's growing back. I'm sorry, but... Kahlan, I have to- This is going to hurt."
Confused, she wanted to ask questions, she wanted to know what he was going to do, but from the look in his eye, she knew that he didn't want to tell her. Nodding her head, she closed her eyes and pushed her head back into the pillow. "Do it."
He watched her face carefully, making sure that she wouldn't open her eyes the moment he reached over her for the knife. She grabbed his shirt and fought to remain still, the urge to cry out in pain making it impossible to focus on anything else. Her scream was muffled by her left arm as she pushed it into her mouth and bit down on the flesh. It seemed to last forever. The sound of her pain permanently burned in his ears as he once again covered the freshly cut skin. Richard returned his eyes to her face as she gasped for air through the space at the corners of her mouth, her arm still held by her teeth.
"Are you all right?" She nodded quickly, hoping that by fooling him it may become true. "I'm sorry. I- it's the only way we have been able to keep you alive."
Dropping her arm, she at last opened her eyes that were now wet with tears. Staring up at the ceiling for a moment she took in several deep breaths and then looked at him. "What did you do?"
"I-" he couldn't bring himself to say it. Slowly, he raised his hand, lifting a piece of skin that he had just cut from her. It was almost black, it looked like some kind of leather and suddenly she knew what had happened.
"What did Zedd say?"
"He said it was the only way we could keep you alive. Everything else is in your hands. Kahlan, you're awake. You're getting better."
She closed her eyes quickly and turned her head away from him. "Has it always looked that way?"
"No. The color is different. Lighter." He wrapped the skin in an extra piece of blanket, protecting them both from its existence. "For a while it appeared to be spreading away from the cut, but... No, it didn't always look like that. Zedd spelled the cloth. It makes the skin re-grow without the poison until it reconnects."
"How long?"
"I don't know. It's never the same amount of time. It grows slower sometimes." When she looked back at him, tears were falling down her cheeks and he wished that he could hold her in his arms and comfort her. Lifting the blanket, he moved it gently over her, not wanting her to be cold or have the chance to see the wound. "Now that you're awake, you can fight this better."
"No one has ever survived an attack like this."
Lying down, Richard laid his arm gently over her chest, pressing his hand to her side to seem closer. "Then you will be the first, because I am not going to lose you. I can't."
"I'm going to die someday."
"Not today," he whispered. Laying his head on her shoulder, he closed his eyes as focused on the feeling of her breathing. "You're not going to die until we're both old and can't find the strength to leave each other's arms."
"I could never leave your arms." She spoke softer than his whisper, her energy fading quickly. The thought of ever parting from him was almost impossible to think of. Almost.
Even in her death, she knew that he would be there, holding onto her the way that she held him. Both would be lost in the time, unable to do anything other than exist together. There could be no other way. In their world, the other was always there, always keeping their lover safe and proving comfort in the simplest touch. Richard was right, when they died, they would be together. If anything, it was that thought more than anything that comforted her. She would never be alone. She would die in the arms of the man she loved. There was nothing more she could ask for.
Chapter: 3
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Richard/Kahlan
Characters: Kahlan, Richard and Zedd, Cara, Others (Original)
Timeline: After S2
Summary: After marrying, Richard and Kahlan try to begin their lives together, something happens to jeperdize it all. Decisions will be made and allies will be lost. Nothing is as it seems.
Word Count: 2,491
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING
Author's Note: So this I started while I was in the hospital. So it has moments of crazy, happy and agnst, but I hope that you all still enjoy! It's pratcially a novel, so I hope you all stick around to see what happens! <3
<3 Comments are awesome peeps! <3
Cara stood in the doorway of the shop, carefully watching every person that walked by, slightly grinning as several rushed away from her in fear. She could hear Kahlan speaking to a woman behind her, talking softly so that no one else was able to hear what it was she was there for. People surrounded them, making it harder for the blonde to find a threat. It all happened so quick, the Mord'Sith wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Blood covered the floor; the owner of the shop had fallen to her knees and hadn't stopped screaming as she covered her face in horror of what she just witnessed.
Kahlan lay on the ground, holding her hands over her side as she tried to stop the bleeding. Her entire body ached with a pain she hadn't felt in many months and how she was able to move was unknown to her friend. "You have to close it." She trembled as she reached for her friend, desperately needing her help. Cara stared at her in surprise, shocked that she was able to speak at all. The sight of her jaw made it appear that it was barely there. "If you don't, I will lose her. Please, don't let me lose her."
It was an odd sight, the Mother Confessor begging a Mord'Sith for help. For a moment, she tried to find another way, but she was bleeding too much. Ripping open her dress, Cara laid her agiel against her friend's side, burning one of the many wounds closed as she ignored her cries of pain. The smell of her burnt flesh began to fill the air, making some of the onlookers turn and leave. After a short moment, Kahlan gave a weak smile and closed her eyes, leaving her life completely in her friend's hands.
Cara carried her back to the palace, unwilling to let anyone help her in anyway. Anyone of them may wish to finish what they had started and if the Confessor died, Richard would never forgive her. As she approached the gates of the palace, mouths dropped in shock and horror as she carried the blood-soaked woman past them. She knew there was only one place to take her and once she got there, once he saw his wife, he would never trust her again. She motioned for the guards to open the door; they complied without hesitation.
Richard was asleep in their bed, facing away from the door as they entered quickly. He jumped as the blonde kicked the door shut, wanting to gain his attention at once. She had never seen him move so fast before. Crawling out of the bed, he rushed over, shouting as he demanded to know what had happened. Taking her into his own arms, he laid her down upon the bed and tore open the rest of her dress, not caring that he was exposing her to anyone who would enter the room. Running his hand over some the fresh wounds, he looked back to his friend with tears in his eyes.
"What happened, Cara?"
Shaking he head, she lifted her arm and motioned to the woman lying on the bed, trying to ignore the anger and disappointment that filled his words. "She was in the market, picking up some vase the council wanted and we were attacked."
"How many?"
"I'm not sure," she said quickly. "Eleven, fifteen. They surrounded us. They only had one weapon; it was small. We didn't see it until it was too late. I killed eight of them, four, maybe three are not going to be waking up soon and the others ran the moment it was done. The wizard is on his way."
He stared down at her, his fingers tracing over the closed wound. It was a long scar, about an inch and a half wide that ran from the bottom of her breast to her hip. It made his skin cringe to see it, to think of the pain it caused and how he wished he had begged her to stay with him. Her face was almost unrecognizable, the cuts and bruises almost invisible under the blood. The rest of her body matched completely. "You said they surrounded you. Did they go after you or Kahlan?"
"They didn't bother with me until I made them."
He sighed, pulling the blankets up to cover most of her body, being as gentle with it as possible. He didn't want her to freeze before Zedd was able to heal her, but it wasn't the reason he covered her. The sight of her wounded body made him sick, it took his entire being to keep from vomiting onto the floor. "How could they know?"
Confused, Cara stepped closer. "Know what?"
"She told me that this could happen." He began to release his tears in full as he looked to his friend. "They kill them. Pregnant Confessors. Cara they tried to kill her!"
The rage within him was clear, even through the tears that streamed down his cheeks. She wanted to tell him that she had taken care of it all and that there was no more danger, but she couldn't lie to him. Quickly, she turned and rushed from the room, pushing past the wizard as he entered. Zedd approached the bed quickly, pushing down the sickness that now filled him as the sight of her became clear. Richard moved out of the way instantly, but remained close to her, unwilling to go farther. From the way his grandfather's face crinkled as he ran his hands over her, he knew it wasn't going to be an easy fix.
"How long has she carried the child?" the wizard asked as he dropped the blanket to the floor. He took her left arm in his hand, soothing the other over it as he set the broken bones.
The crack of the bones made it difficult for Richard to concentrate and answer. "Uh, almost five months."
"And you have told no one?"
"Cara knows. We had to tell her. She needed protection. Kahlan was so afraid this would happen." He was staring at her, clutching a few strands of her hair in his fist. "She wanted to leave. She wanted to keep her safe and I wouldn't let her. Zedd, she wanted to go but I wouldn't let her. It's my fault she's- Zedd, it's my fault." He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply as she moaned softly in pain.
The wizard hated seeing them like this; it was more heartbreaking than the pain he felt from her wounds. The bruises were easy to fix, healing quickly as he moved over them. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the bleeding within her for a few moments, silently praying he had gotten to her in time. Coming to the cut, he froze and opened his eyes. "Did it look like this when Cara brought her back?"
Lifting his head, Richard looked where the older man was pointing and shook his head. "No."
"Whoever attacked her knew she carried this child. They used a knife made specifically for this purpose. If Cara hadn't burned the wound closed with her agiel, neither would have survived. I'm afraid that this will get worse before it gets better. You both should be prepared for anything. Get me a knife. If we don't remove the skin around the wound, it's going to get much worse and fast."
Richard moved his grandfather away, pulled one of Kahlan's daggers from her boots and handed it to him. "Isn't there some other way?"
Zedd shook his head as he began sliding the knife across the skin around the wound. Richard had to close his eyes as the blood dripped slowly, unable to watch as she went through more pain. He waited for to cry out, to scream in agony, but she never did. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and watched as his grandfather ripped pieces of their blanket and pushed it against the wound, stopping the blood flow as he whispered something. He had never seen that much blood come from someone and survive. He was terrified that he was going to lose the only person he had ever loved.
Realizing what Kahlan would say, he grabbed his grandfather's shoulders and turned him toward him. "What about Sarah? What has happened to our child?"
The use of the name made it harder for him to speak. They had already named their child and if they lost her, it would more devastating than neither could imagine. "She is fine for now. As the skin re-grows, it will need to be removed until Kahlan finds the strength to fight it."
"And if she doesn't? We have to find another way! I can't lose her. I can't lose either of them."
"There is no way to remove the poison from her skin. We can only remove the infected skin and keep it from spreading to the child. If we are unable to stop it before she has returned to us, they will both die."
"And if she doesn't get better?" He was shaking, his mind screaming at him for letting her walk out of their room that afternoon.
"The poison will soon render her completely unconscious. She will not feel the pain of their death. The child is too young to survive without her. This cannot continue."
"You're wrong! They're going to survive! Kahlan's going to be fine! She and Sarah, they- We're going to be a family..." Richard knelt down beside the bed and took hold of her left hand. "You're going to be all right. I'm going to find a way to fix this. Spirits, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you this morning. I'm so sorry, Kahlan."
Her head turned as Zedd left the room, her eyes still closed as she tried to find him. A subtle smile came to her lips as she wrapped her fingers limply around his hand. She didn't have the strength to speak, but her actions said more than everything. "I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you." Kahlan's face winced in pain for a moment before she managed a nod, knowing that he was telling her the truth. He would never allow anything to happen to her or their daughter. "When you're well, we're going to leave and just like you wanted, we're going to be free of the council. We can raise Sarah away from all of this. She will never have to live in fear."
Tears began to fall down his cheeks again as she looked away from him, unable to keep up the energy that she needed to use. As her hand loosened on his, he pulled back some and reached over her. His heart raced as his fingers touched the cloth covering the wound. He needed to see it, needed to know how bad it was and almost instantly, he lost the feeling in his legs. Dropping to his knees beside the bed he, once again, clung to her hand, finding the small touch more comfort than he imagined. He couldn't believe that this was happening; that he was so close to losing the two people he cared the most about.
Richard couldn't bring himself to move away from her, even hours later when the wizard returned to remove more of her skin. He kept thinking that she would awaken any moment and he wanted to be there when she did. She began to whimper and moan in pain, the sound growing louder at first but quickly fading away, making him wonder if he had imagined it all. He stared at her stomach, the small bump almost invisible to those who were not looking. Whoever attacked her knew that she carried a child. There could be no other explanation.
In two days, Kahlan had only awoken once and Richard was beginning to grow more afraid. Cara had returned with three of the men who had attacked them. She held them in the palace's dungeon, torturing them until they cried for their mothers and told her what she wanted to know. He was laying beside her, keeping a hand on her at all times just so that she knew that he was there. He stared at her, waiting for some kind of sign that she was getting better and fighting the poison that touched her. Watching as her chest rose with each breath, he laid his hand on her stomach, imagining the child that grew within her.
"You have to wake up, Kahlan. You have to fight this. You have to survive and help our child grow. She needs you. I need you."
Her head turned, surprising him. "Richard?"
The sound of her voice filled him with comfort. "I'm here." She moved her hand over her, trying to find where his rested. Laying it over his, she opened her eyes. "I'm right here."
"How long?"
"You've been in and out of consciousness for three days."
Her eyes widened for a moment in fear. "Sarah?"
He smiled a small smile reassuring her. "She's fine. You've kept her safe. I was so afraid I was going to losing both of you."
He shifted beside of her, sitting up so that it made it easier for him to lean over her and pull a wash cloth from the bowl of fresh water that sat on the bed table beside them. Cara had come by a few hours before and replaced the water, scrubbing the blood from the bowl before refilling it. The wound had opened during several of the spasms her body experienced, leaving blood covering everything around them, including him. Several times, he had sat above her, holding her down as she coughed up white foam and shook violently. He had never found himself more afraid. Every minute had been his own personal hell and he was beginning to go mad. Gently, he laid the fresh cloth on her forehead and smiled. "How are you feeling now?" Closing her eyes, she realized how much pain she was in. Holding back a cry of pain, she reached for her stomach. "Don't do that," he told her tenderly. If she felt what they had done to her, she would want to know more and he didn't want to talk about it until she was stronger.
"It hurts," she breathed out quietly, her face now showing the pain.
"Don't look all right?" Once she nodded weakly, he gently pulled the cloth from the wound and frowned. "It's growing back. I'm sorry, but... Kahlan, I have to- This is going to hurt."
Confused, she wanted to ask questions, she wanted to know what he was going to do, but from the look in his eye, she knew that he didn't want to tell her. Nodding her head, she closed her eyes and pushed her head back into the pillow. "Do it."
He watched her face carefully, making sure that she wouldn't open her eyes the moment he reached over her for the knife. She grabbed his shirt and fought to remain still, the urge to cry out in pain making it impossible to focus on anything else. Her scream was muffled by her left arm as she pushed it into her mouth and bit down on the flesh. It seemed to last forever. The sound of her pain permanently burned in his ears as he once again covered the freshly cut skin. Richard returned his eyes to her face as she gasped for air through the space at the corners of her mouth, her arm still held by her teeth.
"Are you all right?" She nodded quickly, hoping that by fooling him it may become true. "I'm sorry. I- it's the only way we have been able to keep you alive."
Dropping her arm, she at last opened her eyes that were now wet with tears. Staring up at the ceiling for a moment she took in several deep breaths and then looked at him. "What did you do?"
"I-" he couldn't bring himself to say it. Slowly, he raised his hand, lifting a piece of skin that he had just cut from her. It was almost black, it looked like some kind of leather and suddenly she knew what had happened.
"What did Zedd say?"
"He said it was the only way we could keep you alive. Everything else is in your hands. Kahlan, you're awake. You're getting better."
She closed her eyes quickly and turned her head away from him. "Has it always looked that way?"
"No. The color is different. Lighter." He wrapped the skin in an extra piece of blanket, protecting them both from its existence. "For a while it appeared to be spreading away from the cut, but... No, it didn't always look like that. Zedd spelled the cloth. It makes the skin re-grow without the poison until it reconnects."
"How long?"
"I don't know. It's never the same amount of time. It grows slower sometimes." When she looked back at him, tears were falling down her cheeks and he wished that he could hold her in his arms and comfort her. Lifting the blanket, he moved it gently over her, not wanting her to be cold or have the chance to see the wound. "Now that you're awake, you can fight this better."
"No one has ever survived an attack like this."
Lying down, Richard laid his arm gently over her chest, pressing his hand to her side to seem closer. "Then you will be the first, because I am not going to lose you. I can't."
"I'm going to die someday."
"Not today," he whispered. Laying his head on her shoulder, he closed his eyes as focused on the feeling of her breathing. "You're not going to die until we're both old and can't find the strength to leave each other's arms."
"I could never leave your arms." She spoke softer than his whisper, her energy fading quickly. The thought of ever parting from him was almost impossible to think of. Almost.
Even in her death, she knew that he would be there, holding onto her the way that she held him. Both would be lost in the time, unable to do anything other than exist together. There could be no other way. In their world, the other was always there, always keeping their lover safe and proving comfort in the simplest touch. Richard was right, when they died, they would be together. If anything, it was that thought more than anything that comforted her. She would never be alone. She would die in the arms of the man she loved. There was nothing more she could ask for.