Richard Rahl finally becomes Lord Rahl.
"Richard...I don't think this is a good idea..."
Richard looks over at Kahlan and Zedd with a small sigh as he hands his sword over to Denna for safe keeping. Kahlan was part of this little ritual and Zedd would do better with magic than the sword, at least as far as he knew. Plus, he trusted Denna to give it back when this was over. "She'll use it to protect us and I trust her, Kahlan."
While it was weird when she'd come to him to talk, he couldn't argue that she'd gotten him to trust her after she'd handed him a letter in his own hand telling him of things to come and to trust Denna. To trust that she'd protect him and wanted him to succeed. He also couldn't argue because the pendent that hung around her neck was his pendent, not a twin in the world and yet it hung around both their necks because his future self had given it to her as proof she was telling the truth as well.
He watched Denna take the sword with the barest of nods. No words were needed between the two because they'd already discussed this.
"Richard..."
"Kahlan, please. Trust me." He took her hand and lead her to their positions around the stone holding the boxes. He could tell she wanted to argue more, but she did trust him and that was the only thing stilling her tongue. Once settled, he looks over at her. "Ready?"
Kahlan takes a deep breath before nodding. The boxes are put together as Kahlan reaches out a hand, eyes going black as her Confessor powers meet the Power of Orden inside Richard. There's a moment that seems like eternity where Richard can't seem to breath, can't seem to see past the power consuming him. He also can't hear the fighting that's going on around him when Darken Rahl appears to try and stop Richard, not expecting the Mord'Sith to fight for the Seeker.
Eternity is almost what it feels like too, when the light of magic fades and the world returns to him. His eyes immediately search for Denna and Zedd, finding her on her back with Zedd looking down at her. It takes a moment to realize there's blood on his sword and she's clutching something in her other hand.
Richard pulls himself to his feet, eying the Mord'Sith standing on the sidelines warily as he makes his way over to the pair. He hasn't had a thought to look for his brother, and his eyes don't focus on what is clutched in her hands. All focus goes to the fact that she's not moving, not breathing.
"Richard," Zedd's hand is shrugged off as he falls to his knees at her head.
He shifts her head into his lap before his head comes up and he locks eyes with the blond Mord'Sith closest to him. "Bring her back."
He can almost feel Kahlan and Zedd flinch at the tone of his voice and the Power that flares through the command as the blond moves to follow it.
The Breath of Life flows from the blond to Denna, Richard breathing the softest sigh of relief when she takes a breath, blue eyes blinking open. It's not two heartbeats before the blond is being hit upside the head with what was clutched in Denna's hand.
Richard's eyes close at both the splatter of blood that hits his face and the realization of exactly what it is that knocks the blond back several steps in a daze. His brother's head. At least he didn't have to worry about him coming back, ever.
His eyes open when he feels a leathered hand wipe a trail of the blood from his cheek. "Didn't mean to get you," she murmurs without moving from his lap.
He leans down and places a kiss to her forehead, "Never scare me like that again." His tone comes across strong, even as his eyes show the worry that he holds over the prospect of losing her.
Denna gives him a hint of a smile, "I'll try not to do it again anytime soon." She takes a breath before sitting up from his lap and reaching to hand him his sword.
"You're not letting go of that head anytime soon, are you?" It's not quite a question and his tone is a lot more affectionate and amused then it probably should be, then it was before the boxes were put together. He stands and offers a hand to help Denna up.
She fits her hand into his, accepting the help for now. "My trophy." She studies him for a moment, noticing the shift in him. Even with the note and the necklace, he'd been trusting but not affectionate. "You've changed."
Richard can't help but smile at her. "Just caught up to myself sooner than I thought I would. Bar magic and Power of Orden are tricky things." He squeezes her hand before letting go, still eying the head she won't let go of.
"Richard..." Kahlan's voice comes soft and uncertain, pulling his attention to his other two companions that had been watching the exchange between Seeker and Mord'Sith.
Denna's head tilts towards them. "Go reassure your Confessor. I'll deal with my Sisters and then we can start heading to the People's Palace."
Richard nods with a soft, "Yes, My Chosen," before he moves to Kahlan, pulling her into a hug and kissing her temple.
It's not long before they're headed to the nearest town, sword cleaned and back at its rightful place at Richard's hip, head in a bag and not leaving Denna's side. The bag doesn't help much, dripping blood as they walk. The nearest town gives them a good night's rest and the ability to buy horses to make their trip faster. While the town is uneasy about having Mord'Sith in their walls, Richard is able to sooth their nerves and promise that they won't cause any trouble. They're out almost before breakfast, making quick work of the leagues they need to travel to get to the People's Palace. And Richard can't say he's not glad when the bag finally stops dripping.
Once at the People's Palace, Denna makes quick work of tearing down the Dragon Corps. that are stationed there, making sure they don't question her about the fact that Richard is the new Lord Rahl. She'd even only had to serve her point with her Agiel once, much to her disappointment, Richard was sure.
All the people that needed to know were summoned to the Hall in the Palace, waiting for the official announcement as Richard fidgets slightly in a back room. Having to wait a few days for people to receive the summons and arrive had given him the ability to have robes tailored to him specifically so he even looked the part. He didn't seem to be able to stop messing with the cuffs of the robe though.
An irritated bat of a white gloved hand stops his fidgeting with a soft, "Stop that." She moves in front of him and straightens his robes for him, hands soothing down his chest. "Touch them again and you'll be hanging for the night," she murmurs with a soft, small smile.
His hands slide up her arms, fingers trailing along the leather. "Might enjoy that too much for it to be a punishment, Denna." He leans in and steals a quick kiss. "You look good in white."
Her smile grows just a little more, "And you look good in your robes, or would if you'd just leave them alone." She tugs him towards the door, not getting much resistance but not much help either. "We shouldn't keep them waiting any longer either. Time to face the crowd and show them the new leadership."
He knows it's not entirely fair, Kahlan and Zedd are in the Hall with everyone else while Denna made sure he was ready. Out of all of them, she had more experience with all of this so she was the one who got to help him. She was also his Chosen and he was the reason she was in white, so they'd be entering together. He leans over and kisses her, lingering just a little longer but not too much before he offers a softly murmured, "Yes, my Chosen." He'd been using the title in private between them every now and then, liking how her lips quirked just a little when he said it.
Taking a breath, Richard moves next to Denna and enters the Hall. There's a small pause when they're announced with titles that send most of the crowd buzzing. It doesn't take long to stop the buzzing so Richard can speak, something he'd gone over with the three before he'd gotten it finalized about how he was taking his brother's throne now that his brother was dead. Denna's trophy free for everyone to see and even spelled so it wouldn't rot away, as proof that Darken Rahl was dead. That there would be new rules and a new order because he was not following what his brother did, but sparking out his own path for the country.
It was a long night, but by the end of it the New Lord Rahl and his Chosen had pretty much convinced the room, both through good word and looks, that it was the best change for the country and that to disagree with him taking the country would be bad for their health. Having the backing of both the Mord'Sith and the Third Battalion about who he was and how he was related to Darken Rahl also helped.
All in all it was a productive night for the Lord Rahl, far more productive than Richard originally thought it would be. Though he was glad it went so well, that there weren't too many outright contests. He's sure over the course of the next couple weeks though, they'll come in individually to him and he'll just deal with them then. But that was for worrying about later.