Fic: Privacy, A Series of Scenes
The next afternoon was a rare thing indeed-Kahlan had the afternoon off. Cara and she had decided they would go and take Lilly to see Dahlia’s kittens, which were getting bigger now; Lilly really loved playing with them. Kahlan was just glad that she’d get to see them too; she’d never seen Dahlia’s loft, and for some reason the thought of Cara, her daughter and the young D’Haran all spending time together without her present - and in Dahlia’s home - just made the Mother Confessor uncomfortable. Also, the thought of getting to see Lilly play with some many small animals, which she would talk about often and ask to see nearly as much, had a lot of appeal too. Cara had told her a few descriptions of Lilly’s enjoyment, and she was eager to get to participate this time.
Dahlia’s loft was, in fact, once a hayloft. It spanned over a stretch of a barn that had been converted into the tack-rooms and a tanners office, for the private mounts of the highest ranking Home Guard and the Mother Confessor’s own horses; whom Dahlia was personally responsible for. Once one climbed the stairs to go inside, however, it no longer felt so utilitarian. It had been made into a rather comfortable little home. Dahlia’s bed was raised in a corner, near a small pot-bellied stove, where a warm fire was snapping quietly. There was a small dining table, with three chairs and a bowl of fruit in the center of the room, a large cushioned seat off to one side, and thick rugs covering the worn wooden floor.
Cara walked straight in and embraced her friend warmly, thanking her for letting them visit. Dahlia smiled, grasping her hands and shaking her head, saying she enjoyed when Lilly and she would visit. Lilly herself let go of Kahlan’s hand, which she’d been holding as they’d walked upstairs, and went to stand next to Cara. She held onto the blonde’s side, almost bashfully, and Dahlia leaned down to a knee to say hello. The child murmured something almost completely unintelligible as she hid herself behind Cara. Dahlia just laughed kindly and nodded.
“Of course, they’ve missed you,” She insisted. Lilly took Cara’s hand and pulled her towards Dahlia’s bed, under which was a large wooden box from which the odd ‘meow’ could be heard. Dahlia smiled widely as she watched Cara move to sit cross-legged on the floor, before Lilly plopped herself in her lap, and the Mord’Sith handed her a black kitten with white paws and bright green eyes. Kahlan moved forward until she was beside the young D’Haran. She didn’t seem to notice at first.
“Thank you, for letting her visit with them so often,” Kahlan said diplomatically, aware of the fact that she and Dahlia’s interaction had been limited, for many reasons; the most notable being their difference in station here in the Confessor’s palace. “She has spoken of them frequently, they’ve brought her a great deal of joy.” Dahlia blushed and shook her head.
“It is a pleasure, Mother Confessor,” she replied, her eyes respectfully downcast. “Your daughter is an exceptionally well-behaved child, and Cara is my dearest friend; their visits have been a pleasure for me as well.”
They stood side by side, amicably for a few moments, just watching as Cara smiled broadly and reminded Lilly to be gentle; she was currently teasing the small cat with a shoelace, which Lilly found to be endlessly funny. Cara just wrapped her arms around the child’s middle and chuckled as well.
“You understood her,” Kahlan said quietly, turning to the woman beside her, “Not many can.” Dahlia blushed.
“I didn’t actually,” She admitted, embarrassed, “I merely assumed. I must have guessed right however; she frowns very deeply when I guess wrong.” She laughed nervously. “Cara often gives me hints, though, when she can.”
“Yes,” Kahlan chuckled, “With me as well. But if anyone could understand such a language it would be Cara, wouldn’t it?” When she looked at Dahlia, she saw the other woman’s face revealed confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked quietly. Kahlan just frowned slightly.
“Well, she’s not terribly talkative,” Kahlan clarified, “She’s fairly terse, most of the time.” She chuckled briefly, “Confessors cannot read Mord’Sith but I’ve known Cara so long that, well, if I hadn’t? I don’t think I’d be able to understand half of the things she does try and communicate.” The other woman still looked confused. “What is it?” Dahlia shook her head, turning to look back at Cara and Lilly. Cara seemed to be eyeing them warily.
“Nothing,” Dahlia excused quickly, “I think I quite agree.” She replied.
Kahlan doubted she’d have needed to be a Confessor to know that was not what Dahlia had been thinking. It left her curious, but she could hardly start interrogating one of Cara’s dearest friends in her own home, and certainly not in front of the Mord’Sith herself. But she’d be lying if she said she didn’t desperately want to.
“Mother Confessor, I don’t mean to over-stop my bounds,” Dahlia said quickly, as though to change the subject, “But may I ask if you have any recent news from the progress in D’Hara? Though I consider myself to be of the Midlands, and gratefully and eagerly serve you ” She offered with a slight bow at the shoulders, “most of my family is still in D’Hara, in Stowcroft. News is slow, and the lines of communication are still being established with any regularity.” She blushed when she looked back up. “I don’t expect anything specific, just if you might know if perhaps their winter has been as harsh as ours? Or, perhaps if the fears about food shortages in the villages of the western-foothills ever came to pass? I have not had a letter since almost the end of fall.” Kahlan’s features softened.
“From what I have heard,” She offered gently, “The winter has been a rainy one. There were a few serious lighting storms through the valleys to the South, but not much else.” Dahlia actually smiled at this.
“Stowcroft had a drought for nearly the past two years,” She said eagerly, “This is good news for my family, actually. Thank you, Mother Confessor.”
“For what?” Cara asked, causing both women to jump slightly when she appeared suddenly.
“The Mother Confessor was just passing on some news from D’Hara,” Dahlia assured her, still smiling, “She says it has been a rainy winter.” Cara’s brown furrowed.
“Did I not tell you so?” Dahlia’s face slackened at hearing this, her hand snapping out to smack the shoulder of the Mord’Sith suddenly.
“No, you did not.” She laughed, indignant. Cara just shrugged, turning to look at Kahlan.
“Would you like to see them?” the blonde offered, nodding over her shoulder. Kahlan smiled and nodded.
As soon as she sat down beside her daughter, Lilly handed her mother an orange, striped kitten. It pawed at the laces across the bust of her white Confessor’s dress, which caused Cara to have to try and bite back a smile. Kahlan just shook her head, scratching the kitten behind its ears. It purred quietly, in an uneven rumble that vibrated all through it’s little body. Cara just smiled, pulling Lilly and her little black kitten back into her lap, before kissing the top of her head.
When they left Dahlia’s loft a little later, Lilly skipping along in front of them as they made their way back to the main part of the castle, Kahlan felt something tiny hit her forehead, roll off her eyebrow, and then down her cheek. Wiping it away, she saw that it was just water, but soon she felt another hit her shoulder. Glancing up, she saw that the dull, grey winter sky was moving very quickly, and soon fat raindrops were landing in her hair with increasing frequency. She flipped the white hood of her dress up over her head, and kept walking. After a moment she realized Cara was no longer beside her.
“What is it?” She asked, when she saw Cara had stopped, her red, gloved hand stretched out in front of her, her face bewildered.
“It’s raining.” Cara said flatly, looking from the plit-plit of rain into her hand to the sky and back.
“Come on, lets get inside,” Kahlan insisted, seeing Lilly was already hopping up the stairs back into the castle ahead of them. When they made it into the entryway, Kahlan shook out her hood, raindrops flinging onto the stone walls next to them. Cara’s expression was still uneasy. “What’s wrong?” She asked, running her fingers through her hair to straighten it and get what little water out of it she could.
“I guess this means winter is over.” Cara said distractedly. Kahlan watched as she took off her gloves, darkened from the rain and tucked them into her belt. Her white shirt clung to her skin in places down her arms, and small rivulets of water ran across her chest down the V of her neckline. When she looked back up, Kahlan was fairly sure she’d been caught looking. She blushed, running her fingers though her hair once more. “Perhaps it’s about time.”
“It has been a horrible winter,” Kahlan chuckled nervously, “I hope Aydindril can go another ten years before the next one.” Cara just nodded silently, running her hand over her hair and down her braid, shaking the water off of her fingers.
“Ehma! Ahba!” Lilly called from down the hall, her voice almost sing-song.
“Wait for us, Lilly, don’t go too far!” Kahlan chided. When she turned back to ask Cara what bothered her so much about the rain, she saw that the Mord’Sith had walked silently past her towards Lilly’s echoing voice, her expression distracted. She moved to catch up.
“Sparrow, wait for me,” Cara said seriously, when she saw that Lilly was at the base of the great staircase up to their portion of the castle. “You know you shouldn’t wonder away like that.” She reminded. Lilly murmured a string of syllables together. Cara just chuckled slightly. “Yes, well, your mother and I are getting older; we go slower than we used to.” She joked.
“Cara, that’s not funny.” Kahlan warned her. The Mord’Sith just winked and shrugged, taking Lilly’s hand as they made their way up the stairs. Kahlan grabbed the other one, smiling.
~ AngelicSinner / VixenRaign