Uncertainty (15/?)
Title: Uncertainty (15/?)
Author: misanagy
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Rating: R
Length: 7657 words
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Terry Goodkind and ABC/Disney.
Summary: After “Desecrated”, the merry band continues the search for the Stone of Tears, but along the way other things will be discovered and new people will appear in their lives.
AN: Here's the next chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it :D Thank you so much to shadowsoffense! You really help me a lot with this story *hugs*
Chapter 15
As he walked, Richard casually pulled the compass from his belt and checked their direction. It was something the others were used to seeing him do and no one paid any attention to it. The arrow, as it had everyday for the past week of their journey, remained firmly pointed in Aydindril's direction. Glumly, Richard put the compass away, resigned in his disappointment. The Seeker knew he was still not his old self. A part of him kept hoping this was some kind of mistake. Although he was able to speak with more ease to Kahlan and to Cara, he still refrained from teasing the blonde freely as he once had and was subdued in either's presence. The sight of Kahlan and Cara together, even if they weren't doing anything more than sharing a look, made his chest ache with sorrow and jealously. He was aware that everyone had noticed that he was more introverted; how could they not? It was not just the pain he felt every time he looked longingly at Kahlan that caused him to be anxious and frustrated, the unanswered questions about Alys and the future crowded his mind. There was still so much they still didn't know. Perhaps getting the answers would help him move passed this pain… although he wasn't sure he wanted to know if they confirmed that he had really lost Kahlan. Nevertheless, he was the Seeker of Truth; it was his nature to get the answers, or at least, to not stop searching for them until he got them. As for getting Kahlan, that was something that looked farther away with every day that passed.
Kahlan had noticed how Richard was quieter; he walked ahead of them and barely glanced behind. He was friendly to her and Cara both, but there was this air of detachment that Kahlan had no idea how to counteract. The brunette couldn't really blame Richard for keeping to himself. Zedd had assured her earlier that he was confident that Richard would eventually return to normal, but right now he needed time to mourn the loss of his relationship with Kahlan. The Confessor could only hope that this would prove to be true.
Shaking her thoughts away from Richard, Kahlan let her attention drift to her daughter. Soon, she was smiling as she entertained herself by eavesdropping as Zedd took it upon himself to amuse the child. The Wizard constructed a tale that stretched over several miles as early afternoon turned into late, his voice rising and falling as he gestured animatedly. Zedd was actually a credible story teller, but by the way the child was absentmindedly nodding her head as they trudged along ahead of Kahlan, the elder Confessor guessed that Zedd had already told her this story and Alys was only indulging the old wizard. Her attention started to drift again and, peeking at Cara beside her, Kahlan noticed she wasn't the only one the story telling had entertained. She smiled as the Mord'Sith smirked and shook her head softly, to herself, as the wizard's gestures became exceptionally enthusiastic. A moment later, however, the blonde suddenly stopped. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and she tilted her head as if trying to hear something. Kahlan opened her mouth to ask, when, seemingly instantly, the sound of hooves could be clearly heard by all of them as the riders must have crested the hill behind them. They turned as one to face the road behind them, stepping to the side of the path as Kahlan readied herself to see those who were riding for Aydindril in such a hurry. On the curve of the road, instead of the supplicant Kahlan expected to see racing for Aydindril and a Confessor's aid, appeared four black horses galloping in their direction. For an instant, she gaped, blinking as the four Mord'Sith clad in blood red leather thundered towards them and her hands dropped to her daggers.
"Get behind me you two," Richard said urgently to Zedd and Alys, unsheathing his sword and quickly striding forward, ready to be the first one the Mord'Sith would reach. "And prepare to flee at any sign of trouble," he added, knowing his grandfather's magic was useless against Mord'Sith.
Cara promptly flanked the Seeker and drew her agiels, ready to come to his aid. Kahlan moved to Cara's other side, drawing her daggers and extending one to Richard, making the Seeker look at her in confusion. Cara looked down at the weapon been offered in front of her and nodded in understanding.
"It's not only Zedd's magic that's useless against Mord'Sith," the blonde verbalized Kahlan's intention, looking pointedly at Richard as she motioned for him to take the dagger.
The Seeker nodded in understanding at Cara and put his sword back in its scabbard. Smiling gratefully at Kahlan, Richard took the dagger from the Confessor's hands and focused his attention back on the approaching horses.
"Stay with Zedd, Alys," Kahlan said over her shoulder to the girl, watching as she clutched the wizard's robes in fear. "If things take a turn for the worse, take her with you," she told the wizard needlessly, silently vowing retribution for her daughter's fear. She looked back to the road ahead, standing ready to protect her loved ones.
"Don't worry, little one," Zedd reassured the frightened young Confessor. "We won't let them hurt you," he put an arm comfortingly around Alys' tense shoulders.
The Mord'Sith pulled their horses to a stop a few paces in front of them and dismounted calmly. The women took a few steps towards the Seeker and halted just outside of weapons' reach. The leader of the quad stepped out in front of the other three and scornfully ran her eyes over the opposition, mutely scornful. None of the women had drawn their agiels yet, but their alert posture showed that they were ready to attack at any moment.
"We're here to take the little girl," Garren said curtly, glancing in Alys's direction.
"To take the girl, you'll have to go through us first," Kahlan took a defiant step towards Garren, a clear challenge in the brunette's eyes. "And that it's not going to happen," she guaranteed, hand clenching around her dagger.
"Oh, you're wrong Mother Confessor," Garren spat Kahlan's title as if it tasted bitter on her tongue. "We will happily take you down and leave with the girl." She smirked arrogantly, drawing her agiel threateningly.
"Actually, I'll be the only one of us leaving with the midget," Gwen's voice sounded from behind Garren. Without any warning, Gwen rapidly brought her arms from behind her back and stabbed two black agiels right in the nape of the head's of the Sisters at both her sides. The women didn't even have time to grab their weapons to defend themselves.
The last of Gwen's words were drowned out by the screams of the brunette's agiels and the thuds of two lifeless bodies hitting the ground. Garren swiveled around sharply to see what had happened. The Mord'Sith leader had no idea if she should be more astounded by the dead Mord'Sith at Gwen's feet or by the black agiels Gwen held in her hands. The red agiel with which she had trained the brunette still rested impotently in its holster at the woman's side.
"What the-"Garren trailed off in confusion, her eyes searching Gwen's for understanding. "Where did you get those?" she demanded, anger beginning to color her tone as the shock faded.
"In the woods," the brunette Mord'Sith replied simply, her eyes going from Garren to the confused and suspicious ones of the other four adults. "Where I had dropped them," she elaborated, not relaxing her vigilant stance for a second.
Kahlan caught Gwen's searching eyes and she felt oddly invaded by the intense gaze; it was as if the Mord'Sith was trying to see into her very soul. She watched as the young Mord'Sith's gaze shifted to Cara and the searching look turned into one of utter disbelief. Not one to be intimidated, Cara stared the young woman down, mutely telling Gwen that whatever her intentions were, she wasn't going to get away with them.
"What exactly do you think you are doing!" Garren snarled, pivoting so that she could see the young Mord'Sith without turning her back on anyone else. Gwen's eyes snapped satisfyingly back to Garren. "I'm your Mistress," the head Mord'Sith's tone sank into an icy, menacing growl and her eyes blazed into her Sister's, willing her submission. "Your loyalty belongs to me; I trained you, you are mine!" Garren commanded uselessly, her back stiffening as Gwen met her stare and didn't look away. This shouldn't be happening; she had broken this girl. Garren had never seen a Mord'Sith betray her Sisters and challenge a superior like this. She took a half step back, shifting her grip on her agiel into a defensive hold.
"I have been trained all my life," Gwen smirked, her tone more confident and commanded than Garren had ever heard it. "But I was trained to lead, not to follow," she raised her head proudly. "And what you did to me back in the temple was torture, not training," the brunette spat. "So you can keep this, I'm not really fond of it." Letting one of the black agiels dangle from its chain at her wrist, Gwen plucked the red agiel from her waist and threw it at Garren's feet, obviously mocking her. "I have my own weapons; weapons I was trained with."
Kahlan stared, dumbfounded, at the scene she was witnessing. The Confessor glanced at Cara for enlightenment, but the blonde's astounded expression was enough to let her know that this was not at all normal. Cara focused on the rogue Mord'Sith, apparently more worried about her than about Garren, as the two bantered. Kahlan griped her daggers and risked a glance at Alys, making sure her daughter was still safe, before whispering questioningly at Cara, "Does she look familiar to you?"
"As surprising as it may be, I don't know every Mord'Sith that exists," Cara quipped while inching protectively close to Kahlan without looking away from the other two Mord'Sith.
"I just can't shake the feeling that she looks familiar somehow," Kahlan absentmindedly shared her thoughts with the blonde, a small smile creeping to her lips as she was charmed by Cara's need to protect her from whatever threat they faced. It was wiped away, an instant later, as Kahlan gaped at the way the young Mord'Sith threw an agiel at her Mistress' feet.
"What do you really want, Gwen?" Garren asked through her teeth, truly worried about this betrayal. It was impossible. The whole thing was impossible.
"The real name is Sarah," the young Mord'Sith informed her, glancing at the bodies at her feet as she stepped forward. "And I want the same thing you do," she smiled menacingly. "The girl." Sarah glanced at Alys, frowning when she noticed Zedd shove the girl further behind him. She shook her head slightly and turned back to Garren. "So, thanks, for pointing me in the midget's direction."
"I don't know who you are," Garren admitted angrily. "But you won't get in my way or prevent me from fulfilling my mission," she growled. "If you can't be broken properly, you can certainly be killed." Her agiel screamed louder as her fingers tightened around the hilt.
"I'm so sick of that little stick of yours," the daring girl huffed, looking bored. A teasing smirk started to appear on her lips. "You want to see what I call an agiel?" Sarah taunted while bringing both her agiels together at the handle, horizontally.
Garren starred with wide eyes, stunned by what was happening before her. The black agiels merged at the hilt, lengthen into a staff. The screams coming from the stretching agiels grew as the weapons did, becoming even louder than the screams coming from her own. By the screeching sound that it emitted as Sarah swung the agiel-staff in an experimental test of Garren's defenses, it was a very dangerous weapon.
Garren was not the only one surprised and confused by Sarah's morphing weapon. The other onlookers were also stunned. Richard looked at Cara in hopes that the blonde Mord'Sith had an explanation, but sighed in frustration when Cara just glanced back at him looking flabbergasted and suspicious. She shook her head mutely.
"That's right, mine is bigger than yours," Sarah said in an insinuating manner, smirking and looking straight into Garren's eyes insolently as the elder Mord'Sith blocked hurriedly. "And I know how to use it." Sarah pivoted, bringing the other end of her staff around and extending her leg into Garren's path as the other tried to doge. Garren crash soundly onto the hard ground and Sarah pinned the woman in place with one end of the staff, her weapon screaming in victory as it burned into Garren.
"You are undeserving of the Mord'Sith title," Garren accused between gasps of pain, trying to get up from the ground and unable to make her muscle respond properly as she endured the excruciating bite of the black staff. "I'm ashamed to call you my Sister," she said, summoning all the willpower she possessed to try and twist away, but a hard kick to her stomach prevented her from getting up.
"I'm not your Sister," Sarah denied spitefully.
"You're not Mord'Sith?" Garren asked confused, briefly stopping her struggling in surprise and puzzlement.
"I am Mord'Sith," Sarah lifted her chin proudly, using her weight behind the staff to press the weapon more firmly on Garren's stomach as the older Mord'Sith gritted her teeth in pain. "But the difference between us is that I was born, not broken." She took a deep breath, her fingers clenching tighter around her staff. "So now you can see why I don't enjoy being hung from chains while being poked with an agiel," Sarah shouted angrily and shoved the end of her weapon against Garren's heart with vengeance, ending the woman's life.
Suddenly silent above Garren's lifeless body, Sarah shook her head and turned away to look at Alys. Without any hesitation or fear, the Mord'Sith moved in the child's direction. Seeing this, Kahlan rapidly moved to stand more protectively in front of Alys, serving as a shield for her daughter. Although, not wanting to take any chances, Kahlan lunged at Sarah, attacking the Mord'Sith with a series of quick and skilled strikes. Sarah was quick to defend herself with expertise and as Sarah parried her first few blows, Kahlan recognized that this girl was good. Yet, as the young Mord'Sith continued to block Kahlan's attacks, it almost seemed that Sarah was anticipating her attacks, as if she knew Kahlan's fight style. The cocky smirk that started to appear in Mord'Sith's lips didn't help to assuage Kahlan's flash of fear as she started to worry. It was like attacking a wall. Even more puzzling was the fact that Sarah remained completely on the defensive; she didn't once try to attack Kahlan, she just blocked everything the Confessor threw at her.
The Confessor interpreted this lack of offense by arrogance from the Mord'Sith. Kahlan looked into the sparking green eyes of her opponent and surely the young woman was like a cat, playing with her prey before striking the final blow. Kahlan refused to be a mouse in the paws of an enemy, so she doubled her efforts and missed Sarah's abdomen by very little. This caused the young woman to loose her smirk and lightly brush Kahlan's shin with her staff; the touch although light, was enough to render Kahlan to her knees from the searing pain.
Seeing her mother fall, Alys tried to jerk free of Zedd's grip.
Sarah looked like she was about to say something, but Cara didn't gave her the chance. Already she had been moving to circle around the combatants, attempting to flank the girl before the young brunette had managed to hit Kahlan. Hearing the Confessor scream as the black agiel touched her, Cara attacked the young Mord'Sith without hesitation, giving up her attempt to encircle the girl as Kahlan fell.
Turning from Kahlan, Sarah parried Cara's first swing. The blond Mord'Sith gasped in surprise at the deafening screams the clashing agiels emitted and Sarah grunted in pain from the force of their colliding weapons. Since none of them had yet touched her in this fight, it led Cara to think that the Mord'Sith probably had unhealed wounds beneath her leather. The blonde smirked in satisfaction at this new found knowledge and the split second she was distracted was enough for Sarah to almost hit her. Every hair on Cara's body stood up in alert; it was clear that Sarah had unexpected prowess to get that close to harming her.
They traded a couple of blows and Cara noticed that, like she had done with Kahlan, Sarah was opting to be primarily on the defensive, her few attacks half hearted attempts to get some breathing space. The brunette Mord'Sith movements were slowing and her ragged breath was a sign that she was becoming increasingly tired, but there was a strange kind of proud stubbornness in the girl's eyes. Cara could see that she probably wouldn't back down even if she was still holding back. Driving her opponent away from Kahlan as the Confessor struggled to rise, Cara managed to catch one end of the black staff between her agiels; she looked at Sarah with a smirk of victory only to see a perfect copy of her own smug smirk on the girl's face. Before Cara had time to read Sarah's expression better, she felt an excruciating and familiar pain on her abdomen. The blonde looked down to see that Sarah had separated her agiels again; one of them still trapped between Cara's red ones and the other firmly held against the blonde's stomach.
Kahlan saw the Mord'Sith get under Cara's defenses and wasted no time in throwing her dagger at the young Mord'Sith holding an agiel against the woman she loved. As she started to release the blade, Alys desperately jerked free from Zedd and collided with her mother, making her stumble. The dagger spun through the air, only to cut Sarah's arm instead of striking its intended location.
Sarah screamed in pain, falling to her knees and lifting one hand to cradle the cut. Taking advantage of Sarah's vulnerable state, Cara raised her agiel to strike the wounded brunette.
"NO," Alys screamed desperately, struggling against Kahlan's grip as the elder Confessor caught her before she could get to the two fighting Mord'Sith. "Stop, don't hurt her," the blonde Confessor pleaded with Cara, stunning the other three adults and causing the older blonde pause in her attack.
Seizing the opportunity, Sarah carefully scooted back away from Cara.
"She wants to take you away, Alys," Cara responded, advancing on the wounded Mord'Sith again.
"I don't want to hurt Alys," Sarah hurriedly explained before Cara could get to her, her eyes wide and desperate. She suspected that she was only confusing Cara further.
"She won't take me away," Alys promised. "Please, let me go," she pleaded, tugging her arm free from Kahlan's hold and struggling against the arm still around her waist.
After another moment's hesitation, Kahlan let the girl go. Her jaw dropped as Alys practically flew into the brunette Mord'Sith's arms.
Cara made a move to stop Alys mid run, not understanding how Kahlan could be so careless with this stranger, but Kahlan caught her eye mid motion. Scowling, Cara glared back at her.
"Clearly Alys knows who this girl is," Kahlan whispered reassuringly before Cara could voice her protest. "And Sarah did kill the other Mord'Sith," Kahlan smiled as Cara sighed in defeat at her logic and climbed to her feet. Standing beside her Mord'Sith, Kahlan touched Cara's arm reassuringly as Cara regard the young Mord'Sith and Confessor with suspicion.
"Thank the Spirits I finally found you," Sarah exhaled in relief, hugging Alys tightly to her body. "Are you okay?" she asked, pushing Alys away from her to look in the blonde's eyes.
"I had some people taking care of me," Alys nodded and tilted her head in Cara's and Kahlan's direction.
"About that," Sarah trailed off as she got to her feat with a painful wince and regarded the four adults closely. "What's going on here? Because something doesn't look right," the young woman inquired; although she addressed no one in particular, her eyes ended up settling on Cara.
"That would be you," Cara supplied curtly.
Sarah just raised one confused, albeit amused, eyebrow and turned to look expectantly at the little blonde smiling up at her at her side.
"I assume you went through a portal back home, right?" Alys questioned, looking up at Sarah and watching as the Mord'Sith eyes became distant for a moment, clearly remembering what had happened to her.
"Yes, I did." Sarah cleared her throat uncomfortably and swallowed hard, noticing Cara pin her with a suspicious look.
"I did too," Alys said with a shrug. "And that made us travel twenty years back in time," the blue eyed child explained simply, nodding as Sarah gapped at her.
"So they," Sarah trailed off, looking curiously at the other four and waiting for Alys to fill in the blanks.
"They're exactly who they look like they are," Alys confirmed. "Only twenty years younger," she added with a giggle, watching as Sarah's eyes traveled over every inch of the little blonde's traveling companions, analyzing them.
"Glad to see you know us," Cara said sarcastically. "But as you can imagine, we would like to know who you are too." The blonde raised an expectant eyebrow.
Contrary to what Cara expected Sarah just looked sadly at her before nodding her head in understanding. The brunette Mord'Sith moved her agiels to her back, clearly expecting to find some kind of holster there, but, not finding any, she just held the weapons loosely in her hands.
"I'm Sarah," she responded simply.
"Sarah what?" Richard asked.
"It's just Sarah; you don't really have to know anything else," she said with a dismissive shrug.
"You just waltzed in here accompanied by Mord'Sith, demanding to take Alys with you," Cara summoned up coldly. "Excuse us if we need more information than that to trust you," the blonde insisted, clearly not amused by the lack of knowledge.
"Did the same wizard that pushed Alys into the portal push you too?" Zedd asked, waiting patiently as Sarah seemed to be deciding what she should tell him; or rather, how much she should tell him. Unlike Cara, Zedd didn't attribute this reluctance to any dark motive nor did he consider it a reason to distrust the girl. Rather, Zedd recognized in Sarah the same careful consideration Alys displayed when she was trying to avoid telling them too much about the future because of the possible drastic consequences that might bring.
"Farkas didn't push me," Sarah said finally, a flash of sadness darkening her eyes. "I jumped in," she forced out as her throat closed with sudden emotion. Sarah glanced at Cara and blinked back the abrupt tears that clouded her vision.
"What happened?" Kahlan asked kindly, glancing from the unexpectedly upset Sarah to the confused Cara.
Sarah shrugged, looking at Kahlan and quickly averting her eyes from the Confessor. "I saw Farkas push Alys into the hole, then he jumped in, so I ran and jumped in to get to Alys before the hole closed," she explained simply, smiling down at Alys.
"If you're only meeting Alys now, where did you end up?" Kahlan continued her gentle questioning, noticing how Sarah perked up with the slight change of subject.
"If you jumped in after Alys shouldn't you have ended up with her in this time?" Richard asked before Sarah could reply to Kahlan. The brunette raised her eyebrows, seeming to be interested in this answer too, so she looked at Zedd for clarification.
"Time and space are directly linked; if they entered the portal at separated times, even if only by seconds," Zedd calmly explained. "And as neither had the wizard's power needed to control the Triangle of Anuyr, they very well could have ended up separated by miles on this side of the portal," the wizard nodded pensively.
"And you ended up in the middle of a Mord'Sith temple?" Cara guessed dryly. Given that Alys clearly knew and trusted this girl, Cara's companions seemed ready to accept her minimal explanation but Cara was not willing to do the same just yet. Someone had to watch out for all of them.
"Almost," Sarah answered, unfazed by Cara's noticeable distrust. "I woke up in the middle of the forest during the night. I felt completely drained of strength, my vision was all blurry, and I had no idea where I was. I got up and started to look around for my agiels. I couldn't really concentrate and I didn't notice two Mord'Sith creep up on me." Sarah recalled. "I tried to resist them, we fought a little, but they ended up taking me away. The next time I woke up, I was dangling from chains with only two strips of leather covering some of the best parts of me." Sarah smirked mischievously, causing Kahlan to tilt her head in confusion as she recognized that expression from somewhere.
"Why did you stay in the temple?" Alys questioned, interrupting Kahlan's musings. "You could have easily gotten out, couldn't you?" the little girl wondered.
"It would have been impossible for her to escape a temple full of Mord'Sith," Cara said with a disbelieving snort. "That's ridiculous," she added with a shake of her head.
"Well, when she was my age she did manage to fool the entire Home Guard, the Mord'Sith and the Mother Confessor herself so that she could get out of Aydindril," Alys told them. "So I kind of expected her to escape from the temple," the child reasoned, unconsciously revealing more things about the future.
"I was reckless that time and I was reckless again when I jumped into that portal," Sarah said in serious tone, the hint of sadness returning to her voice. "When I first woke up in the training room, Garren didn't believe I was a Mord'Sith, so they had a wizard summoned to blast me with wizard's fire and clarify the doubts. That wizard was Farkas," Sarah revealed, noticing Alys widen her eyes in worry and the others silently encouraging her to share more about the wizard who, days ago, had attacked Kahlan. "He didn't recognize me, probably because I wasn't exactly at my best," she hinted at her battered state, not wanting to spell it out for Alys' sake. Focusing her gaze on the blonde Confessor, Sarah continued. "Knowing that he might have you and you might be in danger I couldn't afford to be reckless again," she explained, taking a deep breath. "So I stayed, I gained their trust and I was careful to stay out of Farkas's sight. I overheard a conversation between him and Garren; they were planning to kidnap you. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew that my best chance at finding you was to be on the squad sent out to kidnap you. And here I am," Sarah finished, ruffling Alys's hair affectionately.
"Farkas seemed surprised when Alys rebuffed his attack," Richard said pensively. "At the time I thought he was just taken aback that a child managed to block his wizard's fire, but maybe he just wasn't expecting to see Alys there with us," the Seeker supposed, fixing his eyes on Sarah curiously as his mind tried to identify what was it about the young Mord'Sith that he was almost able to recognize.
"Farkas attacked you?" Sarah exclaimed with wide eyes, grabbing Alys's hands and worriedly examining every inch of the now healed skin. Kahlan couldn't help but smile at the familiar way both girls interacted with each other. It was obvious by the way Alys' safety came first and foremost to Sarah that she cared deeply for the little blonde girl.
"She jumped in front of the wizard's fire to protect me," Kahlan supplied, once again feeling worry mixing with pride as she recalled her daughter's brave act.
"He looked different, but it was him," Alys nodded and her eyes widened as she saw the rage start to build in Sarah's eyes. "But I'm okay, don't worry," the blonde hurriedly reassured the upset teen in front of her, flexing her hands rapidly to prove that they were healed. "I'm a big girl," she added, raising her chin proudly and pointedly looking at Sarah. "I can fight, too."
"I'm aware of that," Sarah confirmed, taking a deep calming breath. "But when it comes to facing wizard's fire… let's see if I can guess how well that went," Sarah tapped her chin with a finger with a mock exaggerated pensive look. "You bravely blacked out after deflecting the attack," Sarah snorted in amusement when Alys stubbornly refused to meet her eyes. Sarah looked at Kahlan for confirmation, which the older Confessor gave in the form of a small smile.
Alys made everyone chuckle as she grumpily crossed her arms over her chest and pouted while looking sideways at Sarah.
"Don't look so brooding, midget," Sarah teased. "You did hurt him. I saw him wince every time he moved his shoulder the wrong way," she revealed with a wink, watching as Alys's pout morphed into a wicked grin.
"Can you tell us more about Farkas?" Kahlan questioned, hoping that Sarah would know something that would help them prepare for possible future attacks.
"First things first," Sarah said assertively, but not unkindly. "Can I assume you have a plan to get us back to our time?" her eyes danced anxiously from Kahlan to Zedd.
"We must go to Aydindril to get to the Triangle of Anuyr," Zedd started to explain. "If I use it, I'll be able to send you back to your proper time. I'm confident that Farkas used it to-,"
"So this triangle allows time traveling?" Sarah eagerly interrupted the wizard's explanation, before her expression turned apologetic for having interrupted him so unceremoniously.
As Zedd nodded his confirmation, Sara smiled joyfully. For the first time she looked like the teenage girl she was supposed to be, it was like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
"That's where we're headed now," Kahlan added as the teenager nodded approvingly. Kahlan narrowed her eyes as she observed Sara closely. Finally, Kahlan understood what made the girl seem so familiar to her. The green eyes that she was now used to seeking out for comfort - Cara's eyes - were now shinning with happiness as Sarah looked back at her. Sarah's look was perhaps a more open and childish one, but the similarities were undeniable.
Richard was also paying close attention to the young Mord'Sith. Without knowing the path of Kahlan's thoughts, he was thinking the same thing; he too had been gradually recognizing the similarities between this girl and Cara. That Sarah was a teenager; her body was noticeably growing into the one of a young woman, which made the similarities between the two Mord'Sith's easier to detect than those between the Confessors. Adding the fact that Alys knew this girl and both of them had come from the future, his mind automatically reached one conclusion.
"You look like you could be Cara's daughter," Richard blurted out. He paled as Sarah glared at him warningly and actually took a half-step back.
Cara almost gave herself whiplash by turning her head too quickly to look at Richard. The blonde was about to ask the Seeker if he had caught a little too much sun when Sarah's hastily reply stopped her.
"I'm not," Sarah held Richard's gaze for a moment, but then she glanced at Kahlan and unexpectedly slapped her forehead as she seemed to realize something. "Great, now you know that I'm lying" she huffed causing everyone to gap at her; except for Alys, who just rolled her eyes and was looking expectantly between Sarah and the speechless adults.
Cara's head snapped back to look at Sarah as all the conversationalist seeming conspired to cause her neck sever injury. The older Mord'Sith furrowed her eyebrows in utter confusion, surveying Sarah from head to toe as if trying to find evidence of the truthfulness of the young woman's words. This could only be a joke. Looking closely Cara could recognize that, in fact, this girl looked like her, but that didn't directly imply that they would be related in any way. The blonde glanced at Richard to see a pleased and hopeful smirk on the man's face and she actually had to consciously restrain herself from smacking it off his face, because she was pretty sure what he was thinking.
The Seeker allowed himself to hope like he hadn't done in a while. He was desperately grabbing to anything that might mean that Kahlan would eventually be his again. He could understand Kahlan's need to be pregnant in the future; even if she truly did end up with Cara, the brunette had a duty to help reestablish the line of Confessors. She would have to have a child, whether the mate of her heart was capable of siring one or not. But Cara had no such responsibility. There was no duty, nothing that made it necessary for Cara to become pregnant. For her to have conceived and carried a child would mean that she had chosen to do so, so if Sarah was Cara's daughter it could very well mean that Kahlan and Cara were not together in the future.
"I can't know if you are lying or not," Kahlan contradicted automatically; staring blankly at Sarah as she tried to make her constricted lungs work normally again. "You're Mord'Sith. Confessors can't read Mord'Sith."
Abstractly, Kahlan was surprised that the girl didn't know this already. Kahlan kept her gaze on the puzzled Sarah, but her arm unconsciously moved and she hooked her fingers on the side of Cara's belt; the brunette's body clearly seeking the comfort she needed before her mind could catch up. Kahlan only noticed her instinctive movement when she felt the blonde's gloved fingers gently and surreptitiously brush hers reassuringly before Cara crossed her arms again.
"Excuse me?" Sarah raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips. "You're kidding me, right?" she scoffed, a little taken aback by Kahlan's denial about being able to read her. At Kahlan's confused expression, Sarah squinted, staring at the brunette Confessor as if waiting for Kahlan to tell her that she had indeed been kidding. "Oh Spirits, you are serious," Sarah whispered, her head tilted in intern contemplation as her eyes became distant while thinking about this revelation. A muffled sound at her side made Sarah look over to see Alys covering her mouth to keep herself from bursting out laughing.
"You find this funny, Alys?" Sarah asked with a hint of annoyance, crossing her arms defensively over her chest and raising one eyebrow in frustration.
Kahlan instantly recognized how the girl's posture and gestures resembled Cara's own. It seemed that Sarah had more in common with Cara than just the looks. Kahlan's musings were interrupted as Alys uncovered her mouth and let her laughter run free.
"I can believe this," Sarah muttered, looking from a laughing Alys to a very confused Kahlan.
"So we've met Kahlan's daughter and now we meet Cara's daughter," Richard resumed with a contemplative nod. "Did anyone else go through that portal?" the Seeker asked Sarah.
"Kahlan's daughter?" Sarah repeated, ignoring Richard's question and looking reproachfully at Alys.
"They figured it out on their own; it's not like it was that difficult," Alys hurriedly justified. "And you are one to give me lectures; you just blurted out what you weren't suppose to tell," the child accused, seeming very pleased with herself when Sarah just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
While Alys and Sarah were bickering, Kahlan looked over at Cara to survey the Mord'Sith's reaction. The blonde had her arms crossed over her chest and was staring into the distance with a stoic expression. Kahlan tugged gently on the blonde's belt again to regain Cara's attention. The Mord'Sith turned her head to the side and met the Confessor's eyes. Kahlan recognized the confusion in Cara's eyes and she was pretty sure she was the only one who could detect the hint of apprehension Cara was trying to hide.
Unsure and fearful about what Sarah's existence could mean, Kahlan inched closer to Cara and moved her hand from the blonde's belt to rest it on Cara's forearm, making soothing motions with her thumb. Kahlan watched as Cara uncrossed her arms and dropped her hand to met Cara's, interlacing their fingers. Kahlan promptly squeezed the blonde's hand and sighed shakily when Cara squeezed her hand back, looking up into green eyes. Her touch had been meant to seek and give comfort and the small twitch of Cara's lips, not quite a full smile, reassured Kahlan that her gesture was greatly appreciated. The brunette smiled, in silent understanding that they could talk later, when they found some privacy. With a last squeeze of her hand, Kahlan released her hold on Cara and turned to look back at the girls, catching Sarah looking sorrowfully in the direction of hers and Cara's hands. But before she could study Sarah's expression more closely, the young Mord'Sith caught Kahlan's curious look and quickly turned away.
"I need to change," Sarah said miserably as she shifted uncomfortably, looking down with disdain at her red leather. She hissed slightly as the shifting provoked her injuries painfully; now that she was more relaxed, her awareness of the multiple wounds she gained back in the Mord'Sith Temple seemed to intensify. The young Mord'Sith went to one of the horses and rummaged through one of the saddle bags until she pulled out what looked like a set of black leathers. "This is more like it," she nodded approvingly at the clothes in her hands. She had been immensely pleased when she had accidently found her own leathers while wandering around inside the Mord'Sith Temple. The black leathers had clearly been forgotten there and so she had hidden them and only went to collect them the night before departing to kidnap Alys. "I'll just be a second," she informed the others and went towards the trees looking for a secluded place where she could change out of the red leathers.
"I'll go with you," Alys sprinted the small distance until she reached Sarah's side, grabbing the brunette's gloved hand.
Sarah was apprehensive about letting Alys come with her. She didn't want to scare the little girl with the sight of her marked body, but sighed when the blonde clutched more firmly to her hand and pouted up at her; probably sensing the older girl's reluctance and refusing to stay behind.
"Okay midget, you can come," Sarah relented with a resigned sigh, secretly thrilled that Alys was so desperate to stay close to her. It was a feeling she could relate to perfectly. "You can help me get rid of this awful braid; I haven't been able to blink for days," Sarah quipped, succeeding in making the small blonde laugh.
"It doesn't really suit you," Alys scrunched her nose in disapproval as she observed Sarah. "But stop calling me midget, I already told you, many times, that I don't like it," she complained, pinching the brunette's thigh for good measure and grinning when the other girl yelped.
"Whatever you say midget," Sarah agreed making Alys huff. "We'll be right back, okay?" the Mord'Sith called over her shoulder while looking pointedly at Cara and smiled as the elder Mord'Sith looked behind her in confusion, to make sure that the girl was actually addressing her as she asked for permission.
"Don't go too far," Kahlan advised, not containing her smile as she noticed Cara's uneasiness about the way Sarah had addressed her.
"Yes mommy," Alys promised as she skipped away happily next to the brunette Mord'Sith.
"Now that was unexpected," Zedd exclaimed and let out a low whistle. He observed his remaining companions, noticing how Cara was still looking at the place where the two girls had disappeared with a preoccupied expression. Out of them all, she was the one that was probably the most shocked, and rightly so. Yet, Kahlan was more obviously displaying her agitation, causing Zedd to reconsider as he watched the Confessor nervously squeezing her hands together while staring at the distracted Cara. Zedd sighed as he imagined what must be passing through the brunette's mind.
"It was," Richard agreed with his grandfather. "But there's no denying it, you just have to take a look at Sarah to see whose daughter she is. The resemblance between them is remarkable," he noted with a smirk, nodding his head at Kahlan as the brunette turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. The happy tone on the Seeker's voice sounded odd to Kahlan and the smirk on his face also felt somewhat out of place giving the situation. She sighed tiredly and opted to ignore that; she had already a lot on her mind right now.
Like the Confessor, Zedd also noticed the chipper attitude from Richard. The wizard pursed his lips as he worriedly watched his grandson walk towards the horses, the Seeker's shoulders seemed to lack the weight that which had rested there for the last week. Zedd hoped, for the boy's sake, that Richard didn't assume that this meant that Cara and Kahlan wouldn't last long together. If the irritated pair of green eyes that Zedd could see glaring at Richard's back in suspicion was any indication, any comment that insinuated such a thing would not be tolerated.
"I'll burn these bodies before they have a chance to come back," Zedd suggested, receiving a nod from Kahlan and a blank stare from Cara.
"Since we have four horses now, we should press on to the next town and stay at the inn; no need to unnecessarily spend the night in the open," Richard called out to the others, squinting her eyes at the brightness of his grandfather's wizard's fire. "Zedd and I should scout ahead to make sure there's no more surprises," Richard suggested and looked at both women. "Will you two be okay here waiting for the girls?" he asked worriedly and after receiving an affirmative nod from Kahlan, mounted one of the horses and waited for Zedd.
"At least the Mord'Sith came bearing gifts," the wizard lightly joked, managing to pull a small smile from Kahlan as he finished his previous task and followed his grandson, taking another horse.
After Richard and Zedd had taken off, Kahlan picked up her pack and stared at it with a distant, worried expression. She let out a humorless chuckle as she remembered how she had asked Cara not to let her mind get lost in hypothetical scenarios and here she was, her stomach in knots at the mere thought of Cara ever leaving her.
Kahlan shivered in discomfort, her body seeming to react to her thoughts on its own, but, as if on cue, she felt a warm and gentle hand turn her around and a pair of lips crashed against her own, making her whimper in delight and relief. Kahlan clung almost desperately to Cara's body as she felt the blonde's arms encircle her firmly as those soft lips passionately assured her that Cara belonged with her.
"You do realize I'm still here, right?" Cara breathlessly whispered against Kahlan's lips. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised to the distraught Confessor and lifted one hand to catch a tear that fell from the blue eyes gazing back at her.
"I know," Kahlan whispered back and kissed the blonde's lips again as if to reassure herself. "But I admit that the reminder was very welcomed… and needed." She sighed and smiled nervously to disperse the tension she felt building up inside her. "This is a little scary," she added softly as she lowered her head, almost hoping Cara wouldn't hear.
"There are a lot of things that are scary," Cara said, lifting Kahlan's chin and looking deeply into the brunette's eyes while softly kneading the tense muscles of Kahlan's lower back with her other hand. "That doesn't mean we let them beat us," the blonde declared fiercely.
Kahlan smiled thankfully at Cara and let her forehead rest contentedly against the blonde's. The Confessor closed her eyes and let herself feel the calming warmth coming from Cara, her tension dissipating as the blonde kept massaging her lower back while tenderly nuzzling Kahlan's cheek.
"Can we just," Kahlan trailed off with a heavy exhale, letting her body rest more heavily against Cara's. This was all she needed right now; she just needed a little quiet time alone with Cara to calm her nerves and recharge her energy to face whatever lay ahead of them and whatever they would find about Sarah.
"For as long as you want," the blonde confirmed without needing Kahlan to finish her request. She hugged the Confessor more securely against her. Cara would never admit it, but she needed this comforting contact just as much as Kahlan did. She, too, was feeling uneasy about the implications of Sarah's existence, but she was determined to not let that interfere with her and Kahlan. She wished that the uncertain future was their only obstacle, but Richard's reaction to Sarah's appearance did nothing to assuage her worry that he…. The Mord'Sith let out a deep sigh when she felt Kahlan's hands bury through her hair gently while Kahlan moved her head to whisper a 'thank you' in the blonde's ear, making Cara smile and hug the brunette even closer to her.
Author: misanagy
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Rating: R
Length: 7657 words
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Terry Goodkind and ABC/Disney.
Summary: After “Desecrated”, the merry band continues the search for the Stone of Tears, but along the way other things will be discovered and new people will appear in their lives.
AN: Here's the next chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it :D Thank you so much to shadowsoffense! You really help me a lot with this story *hugs*
Chapter 15
As he walked, Richard casually pulled the compass from his belt and checked their direction. It was something the others were used to seeing him do and no one paid any attention to it. The arrow, as it had everyday for the past week of their journey, remained firmly pointed in Aydindril's direction. Glumly, Richard put the compass away, resigned in his disappointment. The Seeker knew he was still not his old self. A part of him kept hoping this was some kind of mistake. Although he was able to speak with more ease to Kahlan and to Cara, he still refrained from teasing the blonde freely as he once had and was subdued in either's presence. The sight of Kahlan and Cara together, even if they weren't doing anything more than sharing a look, made his chest ache with sorrow and jealously. He was aware that everyone had noticed that he was more introverted; how could they not? It was not just the pain he felt every time he looked longingly at Kahlan that caused him to be anxious and frustrated, the unanswered questions about Alys and the future crowded his mind. There was still so much they still didn't know. Perhaps getting the answers would help him move passed this pain… although he wasn't sure he wanted to know if they confirmed that he had really lost Kahlan. Nevertheless, he was the Seeker of Truth; it was his nature to get the answers, or at least, to not stop searching for them until he got them. As for getting Kahlan, that was something that looked farther away with every day that passed.
Kahlan had noticed how Richard was quieter; he walked ahead of them and barely glanced behind. He was friendly to her and Cara both, but there was this air of detachment that Kahlan had no idea how to counteract. The brunette couldn't really blame Richard for keeping to himself. Zedd had assured her earlier that he was confident that Richard would eventually return to normal, but right now he needed time to mourn the loss of his relationship with Kahlan. The Confessor could only hope that this would prove to be true.
Shaking her thoughts away from Richard, Kahlan let her attention drift to her daughter. Soon, she was smiling as she entertained herself by eavesdropping as Zedd took it upon himself to amuse the child. The Wizard constructed a tale that stretched over several miles as early afternoon turned into late, his voice rising and falling as he gestured animatedly. Zedd was actually a credible story teller, but by the way the child was absentmindedly nodding her head as they trudged along ahead of Kahlan, the elder Confessor guessed that Zedd had already told her this story and Alys was only indulging the old wizard. Her attention started to drift again and, peeking at Cara beside her, Kahlan noticed she wasn't the only one the story telling had entertained. She smiled as the Mord'Sith smirked and shook her head softly, to herself, as the wizard's gestures became exceptionally enthusiastic. A moment later, however, the blonde suddenly stopped. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and she tilted her head as if trying to hear something. Kahlan opened her mouth to ask, when, seemingly instantly, the sound of hooves could be clearly heard by all of them as the riders must have crested the hill behind them. They turned as one to face the road behind them, stepping to the side of the path as Kahlan readied herself to see those who were riding for Aydindril in such a hurry. On the curve of the road, instead of the supplicant Kahlan expected to see racing for Aydindril and a Confessor's aid, appeared four black horses galloping in their direction. For an instant, she gaped, blinking as the four Mord'Sith clad in blood red leather thundered towards them and her hands dropped to her daggers.
"Get behind me you two," Richard said urgently to Zedd and Alys, unsheathing his sword and quickly striding forward, ready to be the first one the Mord'Sith would reach. "And prepare to flee at any sign of trouble," he added, knowing his grandfather's magic was useless against Mord'Sith.
Cara promptly flanked the Seeker and drew her agiels, ready to come to his aid. Kahlan moved to Cara's other side, drawing her daggers and extending one to Richard, making the Seeker look at her in confusion. Cara looked down at the weapon been offered in front of her and nodded in understanding.
"It's not only Zedd's magic that's useless against Mord'Sith," the blonde verbalized Kahlan's intention, looking pointedly at Richard as she motioned for him to take the dagger.
The Seeker nodded in understanding at Cara and put his sword back in its scabbard. Smiling gratefully at Kahlan, Richard took the dagger from the Confessor's hands and focused his attention back on the approaching horses.
"Stay with Zedd, Alys," Kahlan said over her shoulder to the girl, watching as she clutched the wizard's robes in fear. "If things take a turn for the worse, take her with you," she told the wizard needlessly, silently vowing retribution for her daughter's fear. She looked back to the road ahead, standing ready to protect her loved ones.
"Don't worry, little one," Zedd reassured the frightened young Confessor. "We won't let them hurt you," he put an arm comfortingly around Alys' tense shoulders.
The Mord'Sith pulled their horses to a stop a few paces in front of them and dismounted calmly. The women took a few steps towards the Seeker and halted just outside of weapons' reach. The leader of the quad stepped out in front of the other three and scornfully ran her eyes over the opposition, mutely scornful. None of the women had drawn their agiels yet, but their alert posture showed that they were ready to attack at any moment.
"We're here to take the little girl," Garren said curtly, glancing in Alys's direction.
"To take the girl, you'll have to go through us first," Kahlan took a defiant step towards Garren, a clear challenge in the brunette's eyes. "And that it's not going to happen," she guaranteed, hand clenching around her dagger.
"Oh, you're wrong Mother Confessor," Garren spat Kahlan's title as if it tasted bitter on her tongue. "We will happily take you down and leave with the girl." She smirked arrogantly, drawing her agiel threateningly.
"Actually, I'll be the only one of us leaving with the midget," Gwen's voice sounded from behind Garren. Without any warning, Gwen rapidly brought her arms from behind her back and stabbed two black agiels right in the nape of the head's of the Sisters at both her sides. The women didn't even have time to grab their weapons to defend themselves.
The last of Gwen's words were drowned out by the screams of the brunette's agiels and the thuds of two lifeless bodies hitting the ground. Garren swiveled around sharply to see what had happened. The Mord'Sith leader had no idea if she should be more astounded by the dead Mord'Sith at Gwen's feet or by the black agiels Gwen held in her hands. The red agiel with which she had trained the brunette still rested impotently in its holster at the woman's side.
"What the-"Garren trailed off in confusion, her eyes searching Gwen's for understanding. "Where did you get those?" she demanded, anger beginning to color her tone as the shock faded.
"In the woods," the brunette Mord'Sith replied simply, her eyes going from Garren to the confused and suspicious ones of the other four adults. "Where I had dropped them," she elaborated, not relaxing her vigilant stance for a second.
Kahlan caught Gwen's searching eyes and she felt oddly invaded by the intense gaze; it was as if the Mord'Sith was trying to see into her very soul. She watched as the young Mord'Sith's gaze shifted to Cara and the searching look turned into one of utter disbelief. Not one to be intimidated, Cara stared the young woman down, mutely telling Gwen that whatever her intentions were, she wasn't going to get away with them.
"What exactly do you think you are doing!" Garren snarled, pivoting so that she could see the young Mord'Sith without turning her back on anyone else. Gwen's eyes snapped satisfyingly back to Garren. "I'm your Mistress," the head Mord'Sith's tone sank into an icy, menacing growl and her eyes blazed into her Sister's, willing her submission. "Your loyalty belongs to me; I trained you, you are mine!" Garren commanded uselessly, her back stiffening as Gwen met her stare and didn't look away. This shouldn't be happening; she had broken this girl. Garren had never seen a Mord'Sith betray her Sisters and challenge a superior like this. She took a half step back, shifting her grip on her agiel into a defensive hold.
"I have been trained all my life," Gwen smirked, her tone more confident and commanded than Garren had ever heard it. "But I was trained to lead, not to follow," she raised her head proudly. "And what you did to me back in the temple was torture, not training," the brunette spat. "So you can keep this, I'm not really fond of it." Letting one of the black agiels dangle from its chain at her wrist, Gwen plucked the red agiel from her waist and threw it at Garren's feet, obviously mocking her. "I have my own weapons; weapons I was trained with."
Kahlan stared, dumbfounded, at the scene she was witnessing. The Confessor glanced at Cara for enlightenment, but the blonde's astounded expression was enough to let her know that this was not at all normal. Cara focused on the rogue Mord'Sith, apparently more worried about her than about Garren, as the two bantered. Kahlan griped her daggers and risked a glance at Alys, making sure her daughter was still safe, before whispering questioningly at Cara, "Does she look familiar to you?"
"As surprising as it may be, I don't know every Mord'Sith that exists," Cara quipped while inching protectively close to Kahlan without looking away from the other two Mord'Sith.
"I just can't shake the feeling that she looks familiar somehow," Kahlan absentmindedly shared her thoughts with the blonde, a small smile creeping to her lips as she was charmed by Cara's need to protect her from whatever threat they faced. It was wiped away, an instant later, as Kahlan gaped at the way the young Mord'Sith threw an agiel at her Mistress' feet.
"What do you really want, Gwen?" Garren asked through her teeth, truly worried about this betrayal. It was impossible. The whole thing was impossible.
"The real name is Sarah," the young Mord'Sith informed her, glancing at the bodies at her feet as she stepped forward. "And I want the same thing you do," she smiled menacingly. "The girl." Sarah glanced at Alys, frowning when she noticed Zedd shove the girl further behind him. She shook her head slightly and turned back to Garren. "So, thanks, for pointing me in the midget's direction."
"I don't know who you are," Garren admitted angrily. "But you won't get in my way or prevent me from fulfilling my mission," she growled. "If you can't be broken properly, you can certainly be killed." Her agiel screamed louder as her fingers tightened around the hilt.
"I'm so sick of that little stick of yours," the daring girl huffed, looking bored. A teasing smirk started to appear on her lips. "You want to see what I call an agiel?" Sarah taunted while bringing both her agiels together at the handle, horizontally.
Garren starred with wide eyes, stunned by what was happening before her. The black agiels merged at the hilt, lengthen into a staff. The screams coming from the stretching agiels grew as the weapons did, becoming even louder than the screams coming from her own. By the screeching sound that it emitted as Sarah swung the agiel-staff in an experimental test of Garren's defenses, it was a very dangerous weapon.
Garren was not the only one surprised and confused by Sarah's morphing weapon. The other onlookers were also stunned. Richard looked at Cara in hopes that the blonde Mord'Sith had an explanation, but sighed in frustration when Cara just glanced back at him looking flabbergasted and suspicious. She shook her head mutely.
"That's right, mine is bigger than yours," Sarah said in an insinuating manner, smirking and looking straight into Garren's eyes insolently as the elder Mord'Sith blocked hurriedly. "And I know how to use it." Sarah pivoted, bringing the other end of her staff around and extending her leg into Garren's path as the other tried to doge. Garren crash soundly onto the hard ground and Sarah pinned the woman in place with one end of the staff, her weapon screaming in victory as it burned into Garren.
"You are undeserving of the Mord'Sith title," Garren accused between gasps of pain, trying to get up from the ground and unable to make her muscle respond properly as she endured the excruciating bite of the black staff. "I'm ashamed to call you my Sister," she said, summoning all the willpower she possessed to try and twist away, but a hard kick to her stomach prevented her from getting up.
"I'm not your Sister," Sarah denied spitefully.
"You're not Mord'Sith?" Garren asked confused, briefly stopping her struggling in surprise and puzzlement.
"I am Mord'Sith," Sarah lifted her chin proudly, using her weight behind the staff to press the weapon more firmly on Garren's stomach as the older Mord'Sith gritted her teeth in pain. "But the difference between us is that I was born, not broken." She took a deep breath, her fingers clenching tighter around her staff. "So now you can see why I don't enjoy being hung from chains while being poked with an agiel," Sarah shouted angrily and shoved the end of her weapon against Garren's heart with vengeance, ending the woman's life.
Suddenly silent above Garren's lifeless body, Sarah shook her head and turned away to look at Alys. Without any hesitation or fear, the Mord'Sith moved in the child's direction. Seeing this, Kahlan rapidly moved to stand more protectively in front of Alys, serving as a shield for her daughter. Although, not wanting to take any chances, Kahlan lunged at Sarah, attacking the Mord'Sith with a series of quick and skilled strikes. Sarah was quick to defend herself with expertise and as Sarah parried her first few blows, Kahlan recognized that this girl was good. Yet, as the young Mord'Sith continued to block Kahlan's attacks, it almost seemed that Sarah was anticipating her attacks, as if she knew Kahlan's fight style. The cocky smirk that started to appear in Mord'Sith's lips didn't help to assuage Kahlan's flash of fear as she started to worry. It was like attacking a wall. Even more puzzling was the fact that Sarah remained completely on the defensive; she didn't once try to attack Kahlan, she just blocked everything the Confessor threw at her.
The Confessor interpreted this lack of offense by arrogance from the Mord'Sith. Kahlan looked into the sparking green eyes of her opponent and surely the young woman was like a cat, playing with her prey before striking the final blow. Kahlan refused to be a mouse in the paws of an enemy, so she doubled her efforts and missed Sarah's abdomen by very little. This caused the young woman to loose her smirk and lightly brush Kahlan's shin with her staff; the touch although light, was enough to render Kahlan to her knees from the searing pain.
Seeing her mother fall, Alys tried to jerk free of Zedd's grip.
Sarah looked like she was about to say something, but Cara didn't gave her the chance. Already she had been moving to circle around the combatants, attempting to flank the girl before the young brunette had managed to hit Kahlan. Hearing the Confessor scream as the black agiel touched her, Cara attacked the young Mord'Sith without hesitation, giving up her attempt to encircle the girl as Kahlan fell.
Turning from Kahlan, Sarah parried Cara's first swing. The blond Mord'Sith gasped in surprise at the deafening screams the clashing agiels emitted and Sarah grunted in pain from the force of their colliding weapons. Since none of them had yet touched her in this fight, it led Cara to think that the Mord'Sith probably had unhealed wounds beneath her leather. The blonde smirked in satisfaction at this new found knowledge and the split second she was distracted was enough for Sarah to almost hit her. Every hair on Cara's body stood up in alert; it was clear that Sarah had unexpected prowess to get that close to harming her.
They traded a couple of blows and Cara noticed that, like she had done with Kahlan, Sarah was opting to be primarily on the defensive, her few attacks half hearted attempts to get some breathing space. The brunette Mord'Sith movements were slowing and her ragged breath was a sign that she was becoming increasingly tired, but there was a strange kind of proud stubbornness in the girl's eyes. Cara could see that she probably wouldn't back down even if she was still holding back. Driving her opponent away from Kahlan as the Confessor struggled to rise, Cara managed to catch one end of the black staff between her agiels; she looked at Sarah with a smirk of victory only to see a perfect copy of her own smug smirk on the girl's face. Before Cara had time to read Sarah's expression better, she felt an excruciating and familiar pain on her abdomen. The blonde looked down to see that Sarah had separated her agiels again; one of them still trapped between Cara's red ones and the other firmly held against the blonde's stomach.
Kahlan saw the Mord'Sith get under Cara's defenses and wasted no time in throwing her dagger at the young Mord'Sith holding an agiel against the woman she loved. As she started to release the blade, Alys desperately jerked free from Zedd and collided with her mother, making her stumble. The dagger spun through the air, only to cut Sarah's arm instead of striking its intended location.
Sarah screamed in pain, falling to her knees and lifting one hand to cradle the cut. Taking advantage of Sarah's vulnerable state, Cara raised her agiel to strike the wounded brunette.
"NO," Alys screamed desperately, struggling against Kahlan's grip as the elder Confessor caught her before she could get to the two fighting Mord'Sith. "Stop, don't hurt her," the blonde Confessor pleaded with Cara, stunning the other three adults and causing the older blonde pause in her attack.
Seizing the opportunity, Sarah carefully scooted back away from Cara.
"She wants to take you away, Alys," Cara responded, advancing on the wounded Mord'Sith again.
"I don't want to hurt Alys," Sarah hurriedly explained before Cara could get to her, her eyes wide and desperate. She suspected that she was only confusing Cara further.
"She won't take me away," Alys promised. "Please, let me go," she pleaded, tugging her arm free from Kahlan's hold and struggling against the arm still around her waist.
After another moment's hesitation, Kahlan let the girl go. Her jaw dropped as Alys practically flew into the brunette Mord'Sith's arms.
Cara made a move to stop Alys mid run, not understanding how Kahlan could be so careless with this stranger, but Kahlan caught her eye mid motion. Scowling, Cara glared back at her.
"Clearly Alys knows who this girl is," Kahlan whispered reassuringly before Cara could voice her protest. "And Sarah did kill the other Mord'Sith," Kahlan smiled as Cara sighed in defeat at her logic and climbed to her feet. Standing beside her Mord'Sith, Kahlan touched Cara's arm reassuringly as Cara regard the young Mord'Sith and Confessor with suspicion.
"Thank the Spirits I finally found you," Sarah exhaled in relief, hugging Alys tightly to her body. "Are you okay?" she asked, pushing Alys away from her to look in the blonde's eyes.
"I had some people taking care of me," Alys nodded and tilted her head in Cara's and Kahlan's direction.
"About that," Sarah trailed off as she got to her feat with a painful wince and regarded the four adults closely. "What's going on here? Because something doesn't look right," the young woman inquired; although she addressed no one in particular, her eyes ended up settling on Cara.
"That would be you," Cara supplied curtly.
Sarah just raised one confused, albeit amused, eyebrow and turned to look expectantly at the little blonde smiling up at her at her side.
"I assume you went through a portal back home, right?" Alys questioned, looking up at Sarah and watching as the Mord'Sith eyes became distant for a moment, clearly remembering what had happened to her.
"Yes, I did." Sarah cleared her throat uncomfortably and swallowed hard, noticing Cara pin her with a suspicious look.
"I did too," Alys said with a shrug. "And that made us travel twenty years back in time," the blue eyed child explained simply, nodding as Sarah gapped at her.
"So they," Sarah trailed off, looking curiously at the other four and waiting for Alys to fill in the blanks.
"They're exactly who they look like they are," Alys confirmed. "Only twenty years younger," she added with a giggle, watching as Sarah's eyes traveled over every inch of the little blonde's traveling companions, analyzing them.
"Glad to see you know us," Cara said sarcastically. "But as you can imagine, we would like to know who you are too." The blonde raised an expectant eyebrow.
Contrary to what Cara expected Sarah just looked sadly at her before nodding her head in understanding. The brunette Mord'Sith moved her agiels to her back, clearly expecting to find some kind of holster there, but, not finding any, she just held the weapons loosely in her hands.
"I'm Sarah," she responded simply.
"Sarah what?" Richard asked.
"It's just Sarah; you don't really have to know anything else," she said with a dismissive shrug.
"You just waltzed in here accompanied by Mord'Sith, demanding to take Alys with you," Cara summoned up coldly. "Excuse us if we need more information than that to trust you," the blonde insisted, clearly not amused by the lack of knowledge.
"Did the same wizard that pushed Alys into the portal push you too?" Zedd asked, waiting patiently as Sarah seemed to be deciding what she should tell him; or rather, how much she should tell him. Unlike Cara, Zedd didn't attribute this reluctance to any dark motive nor did he consider it a reason to distrust the girl. Rather, Zedd recognized in Sarah the same careful consideration Alys displayed when she was trying to avoid telling them too much about the future because of the possible drastic consequences that might bring.
"Farkas didn't push me," Sarah said finally, a flash of sadness darkening her eyes. "I jumped in," she forced out as her throat closed with sudden emotion. Sarah glanced at Cara and blinked back the abrupt tears that clouded her vision.
"What happened?" Kahlan asked kindly, glancing from the unexpectedly upset Sarah to the confused Cara.
Sarah shrugged, looking at Kahlan and quickly averting her eyes from the Confessor. "I saw Farkas push Alys into the hole, then he jumped in, so I ran and jumped in to get to Alys before the hole closed," she explained simply, smiling down at Alys.
"If you're only meeting Alys now, where did you end up?" Kahlan continued her gentle questioning, noticing how Sarah perked up with the slight change of subject.
"If you jumped in after Alys shouldn't you have ended up with her in this time?" Richard asked before Sarah could reply to Kahlan. The brunette raised her eyebrows, seeming to be interested in this answer too, so she looked at Zedd for clarification.
"Time and space are directly linked; if they entered the portal at separated times, even if only by seconds," Zedd calmly explained. "And as neither had the wizard's power needed to control the Triangle of Anuyr, they very well could have ended up separated by miles on this side of the portal," the wizard nodded pensively.
"And you ended up in the middle of a Mord'Sith temple?" Cara guessed dryly. Given that Alys clearly knew and trusted this girl, Cara's companions seemed ready to accept her minimal explanation but Cara was not willing to do the same just yet. Someone had to watch out for all of them.
"Almost," Sarah answered, unfazed by Cara's noticeable distrust. "I woke up in the middle of the forest during the night. I felt completely drained of strength, my vision was all blurry, and I had no idea where I was. I got up and started to look around for my agiels. I couldn't really concentrate and I didn't notice two Mord'Sith creep up on me." Sarah recalled. "I tried to resist them, we fought a little, but they ended up taking me away. The next time I woke up, I was dangling from chains with only two strips of leather covering some of the best parts of me." Sarah smirked mischievously, causing Kahlan to tilt her head in confusion as she recognized that expression from somewhere.
"Why did you stay in the temple?" Alys questioned, interrupting Kahlan's musings. "You could have easily gotten out, couldn't you?" the little girl wondered.
"It would have been impossible for her to escape a temple full of Mord'Sith," Cara said with a disbelieving snort. "That's ridiculous," she added with a shake of her head.
"Well, when she was my age she did manage to fool the entire Home Guard, the Mord'Sith and the Mother Confessor herself so that she could get out of Aydindril," Alys told them. "So I kind of expected her to escape from the temple," the child reasoned, unconsciously revealing more things about the future.
"I was reckless that time and I was reckless again when I jumped into that portal," Sarah said in serious tone, the hint of sadness returning to her voice. "When I first woke up in the training room, Garren didn't believe I was a Mord'Sith, so they had a wizard summoned to blast me with wizard's fire and clarify the doubts. That wizard was Farkas," Sarah revealed, noticing Alys widen her eyes in worry and the others silently encouraging her to share more about the wizard who, days ago, had attacked Kahlan. "He didn't recognize me, probably because I wasn't exactly at my best," she hinted at her battered state, not wanting to spell it out for Alys' sake. Focusing her gaze on the blonde Confessor, Sarah continued. "Knowing that he might have you and you might be in danger I couldn't afford to be reckless again," she explained, taking a deep breath. "So I stayed, I gained their trust and I was careful to stay out of Farkas's sight. I overheard a conversation between him and Garren; they were planning to kidnap you. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew that my best chance at finding you was to be on the squad sent out to kidnap you. And here I am," Sarah finished, ruffling Alys's hair affectionately.
"Farkas seemed surprised when Alys rebuffed his attack," Richard said pensively. "At the time I thought he was just taken aback that a child managed to block his wizard's fire, but maybe he just wasn't expecting to see Alys there with us," the Seeker supposed, fixing his eyes on Sarah curiously as his mind tried to identify what was it about the young Mord'Sith that he was almost able to recognize.
"Farkas attacked you?" Sarah exclaimed with wide eyes, grabbing Alys's hands and worriedly examining every inch of the now healed skin. Kahlan couldn't help but smile at the familiar way both girls interacted with each other. It was obvious by the way Alys' safety came first and foremost to Sarah that she cared deeply for the little blonde girl.
"She jumped in front of the wizard's fire to protect me," Kahlan supplied, once again feeling worry mixing with pride as she recalled her daughter's brave act.
"He looked different, but it was him," Alys nodded and her eyes widened as she saw the rage start to build in Sarah's eyes. "But I'm okay, don't worry," the blonde hurriedly reassured the upset teen in front of her, flexing her hands rapidly to prove that they were healed. "I'm a big girl," she added, raising her chin proudly and pointedly looking at Sarah. "I can fight, too."
"I'm aware of that," Sarah confirmed, taking a deep calming breath. "But when it comes to facing wizard's fire… let's see if I can guess how well that went," Sarah tapped her chin with a finger with a mock exaggerated pensive look. "You bravely blacked out after deflecting the attack," Sarah snorted in amusement when Alys stubbornly refused to meet her eyes. Sarah looked at Kahlan for confirmation, which the older Confessor gave in the form of a small smile.
Alys made everyone chuckle as she grumpily crossed her arms over her chest and pouted while looking sideways at Sarah.
"Don't look so brooding, midget," Sarah teased. "You did hurt him. I saw him wince every time he moved his shoulder the wrong way," she revealed with a wink, watching as Alys's pout morphed into a wicked grin.
"Can you tell us more about Farkas?" Kahlan questioned, hoping that Sarah would know something that would help them prepare for possible future attacks.
"First things first," Sarah said assertively, but not unkindly. "Can I assume you have a plan to get us back to our time?" her eyes danced anxiously from Kahlan to Zedd.
"We must go to Aydindril to get to the Triangle of Anuyr," Zedd started to explain. "If I use it, I'll be able to send you back to your proper time. I'm confident that Farkas used it to-,"
"So this triangle allows time traveling?" Sarah eagerly interrupted the wizard's explanation, before her expression turned apologetic for having interrupted him so unceremoniously.
As Zedd nodded his confirmation, Sara smiled joyfully. For the first time she looked like the teenage girl she was supposed to be, it was like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
"That's where we're headed now," Kahlan added as the teenager nodded approvingly. Kahlan narrowed her eyes as she observed Sara closely. Finally, Kahlan understood what made the girl seem so familiar to her. The green eyes that she was now used to seeking out for comfort - Cara's eyes - were now shinning with happiness as Sarah looked back at her. Sarah's look was perhaps a more open and childish one, but the similarities were undeniable.
Richard was also paying close attention to the young Mord'Sith. Without knowing the path of Kahlan's thoughts, he was thinking the same thing; he too had been gradually recognizing the similarities between this girl and Cara. That Sarah was a teenager; her body was noticeably growing into the one of a young woman, which made the similarities between the two Mord'Sith's easier to detect than those between the Confessors. Adding the fact that Alys knew this girl and both of them had come from the future, his mind automatically reached one conclusion.
"You look like you could be Cara's daughter," Richard blurted out. He paled as Sarah glared at him warningly and actually took a half-step back.
Cara almost gave herself whiplash by turning her head too quickly to look at Richard. The blonde was about to ask the Seeker if he had caught a little too much sun when Sarah's hastily reply stopped her.
"I'm not," Sarah held Richard's gaze for a moment, but then she glanced at Kahlan and unexpectedly slapped her forehead as she seemed to realize something. "Great, now you know that I'm lying" she huffed causing everyone to gap at her; except for Alys, who just rolled her eyes and was looking expectantly between Sarah and the speechless adults.
Cara's head snapped back to look at Sarah as all the conversationalist seeming conspired to cause her neck sever injury. The older Mord'Sith furrowed her eyebrows in utter confusion, surveying Sarah from head to toe as if trying to find evidence of the truthfulness of the young woman's words. This could only be a joke. Looking closely Cara could recognize that, in fact, this girl looked like her, but that didn't directly imply that they would be related in any way. The blonde glanced at Richard to see a pleased and hopeful smirk on the man's face and she actually had to consciously restrain herself from smacking it off his face, because she was pretty sure what he was thinking.
The Seeker allowed himself to hope like he hadn't done in a while. He was desperately grabbing to anything that might mean that Kahlan would eventually be his again. He could understand Kahlan's need to be pregnant in the future; even if she truly did end up with Cara, the brunette had a duty to help reestablish the line of Confessors. She would have to have a child, whether the mate of her heart was capable of siring one or not. But Cara had no such responsibility. There was no duty, nothing that made it necessary for Cara to become pregnant. For her to have conceived and carried a child would mean that she had chosen to do so, so if Sarah was Cara's daughter it could very well mean that Kahlan and Cara were not together in the future.
"I can't know if you are lying or not," Kahlan contradicted automatically; staring blankly at Sarah as she tried to make her constricted lungs work normally again. "You're Mord'Sith. Confessors can't read Mord'Sith."
Abstractly, Kahlan was surprised that the girl didn't know this already. Kahlan kept her gaze on the puzzled Sarah, but her arm unconsciously moved and she hooked her fingers on the side of Cara's belt; the brunette's body clearly seeking the comfort she needed before her mind could catch up. Kahlan only noticed her instinctive movement when she felt the blonde's gloved fingers gently and surreptitiously brush hers reassuringly before Cara crossed her arms again.
"Excuse me?" Sarah raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips. "You're kidding me, right?" she scoffed, a little taken aback by Kahlan's denial about being able to read her. At Kahlan's confused expression, Sarah squinted, staring at the brunette Confessor as if waiting for Kahlan to tell her that she had indeed been kidding. "Oh Spirits, you are serious," Sarah whispered, her head tilted in intern contemplation as her eyes became distant while thinking about this revelation. A muffled sound at her side made Sarah look over to see Alys covering her mouth to keep herself from bursting out laughing.
"You find this funny, Alys?" Sarah asked with a hint of annoyance, crossing her arms defensively over her chest and raising one eyebrow in frustration.
Kahlan instantly recognized how the girl's posture and gestures resembled Cara's own. It seemed that Sarah had more in common with Cara than just the looks. Kahlan's musings were interrupted as Alys uncovered her mouth and let her laughter run free.
"I can believe this," Sarah muttered, looking from a laughing Alys to a very confused Kahlan.
"So we've met Kahlan's daughter and now we meet Cara's daughter," Richard resumed with a contemplative nod. "Did anyone else go through that portal?" the Seeker asked Sarah.
"Kahlan's daughter?" Sarah repeated, ignoring Richard's question and looking reproachfully at Alys.
"They figured it out on their own; it's not like it was that difficult," Alys hurriedly justified. "And you are one to give me lectures; you just blurted out what you weren't suppose to tell," the child accused, seeming very pleased with herself when Sarah just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
While Alys and Sarah were bickering, Kahlan looked over at Cara to survey the Mord'Sith's reaction. The blonde had her arms crossed over her chest and was staring into the distance with a stoic expression. Kahlan tugged gently on the blonde's belt again to regain Cara's attention. The Mord'Sith turned her head to the side and met the Confessor's eyes. Kahlan recognized the confusion in Cara's eyes and she was pretty sure she was the only one who could detect the hint of apprehension Cara was trying to hide.
Unsure and fearful about what Sarah's existence could mean, Kahlan inched closer to Cara and moved her hand from the blonde's belt to rest it on Cara's forearm, making soothing motions with her thumb. Kahlan watched as Cara uncrossed her arms and dropped her hand to met Cara's, interlacing their fingers. Kahlan promptly squeezed the blonde's hand and sighed shakily when Cara squeezed her hand back, looking up into green eyes. Her touch had been meant to seek and give comfort and the small twitch of Cara's lips, not quite a full smile, reassured Kahlan that her gesture was greatly appreciated. The brunette smiled, in silent understanding that they could talk later, when they found some privacy. With a last squeeze of her hand, Kahlan released her hold on Cara and turned to look back at the girls, catching Sarah looking sorrowfully in the direction of hers and Cara's hands. But before she could study Sarah's expression more closely, the young Mord'Sith caught Kahlan's curious look and quickly turned away.
"I need to change," Sarah said miserably as she shifted uncomfortably, looking down with disdain at her red leather. She hissed slightly as the shifting provoked her injuries painfully; now that she was more relaxed, her awareness of the multiple wounds she gained back in the Mord'Sith Temple seemed to intensify. The young Mord'Sith went to one of the horses and rummaged through one of the saddle bags until she pulled out what looked like a set of black leathers. "This is more like it," she nodded approvingly at the clothes in her hands. She had been immensely pleased when she had accidently found her own leathers while wandering around inside the Mord'Sith Temple. The black leathers had clearly been forgotten there and so she had hidden them and only went to collect them the night before departing to kidnap Alys. "I'll just be a second," she informed the others and went towards the trees looking for a secluded place where she could change out of the red leathers.
"I'll go with you," Alys sprinted the small distance until she reached Sarah's side, grabbing the brunette's gloved hand.
Sarah was apprehensive about letting Alys come with her. She didn't want to scare the little girl with the sight of her marked body, but sighed when the blonde clutched more firmly to her hand and pouted up at her; probably sensing the older girl's reluctance and refusing to stay behind.
"Okay midget, you can come," Sarah relented with a resigned sigh, secretly thrilled that Alys was so desperate to stay close to her. It was a feeling she could relate to perfectly. "You can help me get rid of this awful braid; I haven't been able to blink for days," Sarah quipped, succeeding in making the small blonde laugh.
"It doesn't really suit you," Alys scrunched her nose in disapproval as she observed Sarah. "But stop calling me midget, I already told you, many times, that I don't like it," she complained, pinching the brunette's thigh for good measure and grinning when the other girl yelped.
"Whatever you say midget," Sarah agreed making Alys huff. "We'll be right back, okay?" the Mord'Sith called over her shoulder while looking pointedly at Cara and smiled as the elder Mord'Sith looked behind her in confusion, to make sure that the girl was actually addressing her as she asked for permission.
"Don't go too far," Kahlan advised, not containing her smile as she noticed Cara's uneasiness about the way Sarah had addressed her.
"Yes mommy," Alys promised as she skipped away happily next to the brunette Mord'Sith.
"Now that was unexpected," Zedd exclaimed and let out a low whistle. He observed his remaining companions, noticing how Cara was still looking at the place where the two girls had disappeared with a preoccupied expression. Out of them all, she was the one that was probably the most shocked, and rightly so. Yet, Kahlan was more obviously displaying her agitation, causing Zedd to reconsider as he watched the Confessor nervously squeezing her hands together while staring at the distracted Cara. Zedd sighed as he imagined what must be passing through the brunette's mind.
"It was," Richard agreed with his grandfather. "But there's no denying it, you just have to take a look at Sarah to see whose daughter she is. The resemblance between them is remarkable," he noted with a smirk, nodding his head at Kahlan as the brunette turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. The happy tone on the Seeker's voice sounded odd to Kahlan and the smirk on his face also felt somewhat out of place giving the situation. She sighed tiredly and opted to ignore that; she had already a lot on her mind right now.
Like the Confessor, Zedd also noticed the chipper attitude from Richard. The wizard pursed his lips as he worriedly watched his grandson walk towards the horses, the Seeker's shoulders seemed to lack the weight that which had rested there for the last week. Zedd hoped, for the boy's sake, that Richard didn't assume that this meant that Cara and Kahlan wouldn't last long together. If the irritated pair of green eyes that Zedd could see glaring at Richard's back in suspicion was any indication, any comment that insinuated such a thing would not be tolerated.
"I'll burn these bodies before they have a chance to come back," Zedd suggested, receiving a nod from Kahlan and a blank stare from Cara.
"Since we have four horses now, we should press on to the next town and stay at the inn; no need to unnecessarily spend the night in the open," Richard called out to the others, squinting her eyes at the brightness of his grandfather's wizard's fire. "Zedd and I should scout ahead to make sure there's no more surprises," Richard suggested and looked at both women. "Will you two be okay here waiting for the girls?" he asked worriedly and after receiving an affirmative nod from Kahlan, mounted one of the horses and waited for Zedd.
"At least the Mord'Sith came bearing gifts," the wizard lightly joked, managing to pull a small smile from Kahlan as he finished his previous task and followed his grandson, taking another horse.
After Richard and Zedd had taken off, Kahlan picked up her pack and stared at it with a distant, worried expression. She let out a humorless chuckle as she remembered how she had asked Cara not to let her mind get lost in hypothetical scenarios and here she was, her stomach in knots at the mere thought of Cara ever leaving her.
Kahlan shivered in discomfort, her body seeming to react to her thoughts on its own, but, as if on cue, she felt a warm and gentle hand turn her around and a pair of lips crashed against her own, making her whimper in delight and relief. Kahlan clung almost desperately to Cara's body as she felt the blonde's arms encircle her firmly as those soft lips passionately assured her that Cara belonged with her.
"You do realize I'm still here, right?" Cara breathlessly whispered against Kahlan's lips. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised to the distraught Confessor and lifted one hand to catch a tear that fell from the blue eyes gazing back at her.
"I know," Kahlan whispered back and kissed the blonde's lips again as if to reassure herself. "But I admit that the reminder was very welcomed… and needed." She sighed and smiled nervously to disperse the tension she felt building up inside her. "This is a little scary," she added softly as she lowered her head, almost hoping Cara wouldn't hear.
"There are a lot of things that are scary," Cara said, lifting Kahlan's chin and looking deeply into the brunette's eyes while softly kneading the tense muscles of Kahlan's lower back with her other hand. "That doesn't mean we let them beat us," the blonde declared fiercely.
Kahlan smiled thankfully at Cara and let her forehead rest contentedly against the blonde's. The Confessor closed her eyes and let herself feel the calming warmth coming from Cara, her tension dissipating as the blonde kept massaging her lower back while tenderly nuzzling Kahlan's cheek.
"Can we just," Kahlan trailed off with a heavy exhale, letting her body rest more heavily against Cara's. This was all she needed right now; she just needed a little quiet time alone with Cara to calm her nerves and recharge her energy to face whatever lay ahead of them and whatever they would find about Sarah.
"For as long as you want," the blonde confirmed without needing Kahlan to finish her request. She hugged the Confessor more securely against her. Cara would never admit it, but she needed this comforting contact just as much as Kahlan did. She, too, was feeling uneasy about the implications of Sarah's existence, but she was determined to not let that interfere with her and Kahlan. She wished that the uncertain future was their only obstacle, but Richard's reaction to Sarah's appearance did nothing to assuage her worry that he…. The Mord'Sith let out a deep sigh when she felt Kahlan's hands bury through her hair gently while Kahlan moved her head to whisper a 'thank you' in the blonde's ear, making Cara smile and hug the brunette even closer to her.