'Trembel for my Beloved'-PartII-Redemption
Title:Tremble for my Beloved
Characters/Pairing: Richard/Kahlan, some of Zedd
Rating: PG to PG-13 for mature content
Summary: To save Richard, Kahlan offers herself to Darken Rahl, but she pays a terrible price.
Hey guys! So we've've come to the end of our story, and I must say I never expected to write something as intense as this.. Some may be disappointed, but don't have anything past this point. In any case, I think it'll be a good ending. As always, enjoy!
Part II-Redemption
The pale moon rose as we galloped away from the gnarled fortress gates, urging our steeds as far away from the cursed place as we could get. It wasn’t until we were deep in the shadows of the forest that we decided to make camp. Kahlan had not stirred since we left, even as Zedd dismounted and lowered her gently to the ground. I watched her as I had the night she told me of her father’s abuses. Life had been cruel to her, but I was sure this was one of the worst things she had experienced. Zedd got a fire going within moments, then moved to tend to Kahlan’s injuries. He healed the cuts and bruises with magic, but dared not go beyond her waist. I watched the hesitation with a flicker of anger. Now safe from danger, I deeply regretted not killing Rahl; the red haze nearly consumed me. A soft moan interrupted my racing thoughts, and the passion died like a snuffed candle. Across the fire, Kahlan stirred, her form lost in Zedd’s protective shadow. I lurched to her side, longing to give her any comfort I could
“It’s alright, child,” Zedd soothed her. “You’re safe now. It’s over.”
Her breath came faster as she came to, no doubt feeling the effects of her ordeal. She squirmed under the heap of blankets, her face contorting into a mix of pain and grief.
“Zedd…” she cried, hopeless tears spilling from her eyes.
“Shh,” he told her, caressing her forehead as though she were his own daughter. “You need to rest.” He glanced at me. “Hand me that flask that’s behind you.”
Feeling acutely insignificant, I handed it to him, and he brought it to Kahlan’s lips.
“Drink,” he told her. “It’ll help you.”
She did as she was told, deliberately avoiding my gaze as she did so. Moments after, her body relaxed and her eyes fluttered shut. After a long moment, Zedd finally turned to me, looking wearier than I had ever seen him. I must have looked lost, for he sighed heavily.
“You know what he did to her,” he said.
I nodded; my throat was too thick for words. The vengeful fire had vanished, leaving me cold and numb.
“How could he do this?” I finally whispered.
“How?” Zedd spat vehemently. “Like Darken Rahl needed a reason. Kahlan was another expansion of his conquest, nothing more. Not even Confessors are sacred to him.”
I glanced at the woman beside me, refusing to believe Zedd’s words but unable to deny them. A million questions burned in my heart as I looked back at my mentor, but as I looked into his sorrowful eyes, I knew he had no answers for me.
I tried to sleep, but my dreams were filled with heart-wrenching images, and I could not tear away from them. I opened my eyes, only to find Kahlan awake, her mystic eyes staring blankly into the fire.
“Kahlan,” I said, surprised. It must have been well over midnight. “Are you alright?”
I regretted the words the instant they left my lips. Of course she’s not you idiot I cursed myself. She must have been through hell tonight.
A long silence followed, and for a moment I thought she hadn’t heard me. I was wrong, for she fixed her haunting gaze on me.
“No,” she hissed.
A remorseful sigh escaped me. “Kahlan, I’m sorry. That was the wrong thing to say.”
I moved closer, aching to comfort her, but she only shrank back. Raw fear was in her eyes, her posture taking on that of a cornered animal. My hands, held in mid-air, began to tremble, and I dropped them. I felt utterly helpless. Never in my wildest dreams would I dare harm her, but in the state Kahlan was in, any man who got close was an enemy. I could only watch as she staggered to her feet, mumbled something about needing to wash, and stumbled into the darkness.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. I had never seen such sorrow in a human being, much less in the eyes of someone I cared so much for. The fire had reduced to burning embers before sense returned to me and I began to follow the path she had taken. The moon was bright in the cobalt sky, and I easily found my way to the river. The sight before me both thrilled and pained me. Kahlan stood, with her back to me, waist-deep in the water, scrubbing herself raw. Before I realized it, I was treading through the water towards her.
“Kahlan…”
“Don’t come any closer,” she said, her voice shaking violently. “I’m warning you.”
“Kahlan, you have to stop this,” I said taking a few steps closer. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“He’s already done that!” she shrieked, spinning around to face me. Her hands shook as she tried to cover her pale torso. “A Confessor’s greatest quality is her purity, and he took that away from me. I am nothing now, do you hear me, nothing!”
Tears spilled from my eyes, her words tearing at my soul.
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” she sobbed. “He violated me, destroying the most precious thing to me with one stroke. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”
I was almost beside her now, looking into those fathomless eyes, eyes that were once filled with love now stricken with shame and deep hurt.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I almost lost you tonight, and that is something that I couldn’t bear to live with. Kahlan, you are everything to me, Confessor or not. You are good and kind and strong and beautiful, and I would never, ever hurt you.”
That did it. Her face crumpled, letting her guard down at last. I closed the gap in one stride, catching her as she fell into my arms. Her body shook as violent sobs racked her, but I still held her, stroking her hair and murmuring comforting words. I lifted her face and kissed her tears, showing her in every way how much I loved her. She was my Kahlan, my precious angel, and nothing, no powers of heaven or hell would ever separate us again.
.