Title: A Little Evil Comes A Long Way
Author: raug_moss
Pairings: Kahlan/Cara
Rating: NC-17
A/N: this is a AU
A/N: this is something I wrote simply because I felt like it, plus I wanted to take my mind off a few issues that are just continously bugging me. you could call it writing therapy or something like that
Chapter 1
The night is dark, the ship old and the air smells foul. She can see the lights of the city, like gates to hell, waiting for her.
It is cold and every breath forms a little cloud in front of her lips.
She doesn’t have much baggage because it isn’t needed for her new beginning.
Kahlan Amnell closes her eyes for a brief moment when the ship lands in the harbor of Aydindril City. She vows silently that this is going to be the first day of her new life.
A new life that doesn’t start as planned. Her cousin Dahlia had promised to pick her up but has not made an appearance yet. Now Kahlan stands somewhere in an unfamiliar city and wonders if she’s made the right decision.
She takes a cell out of her pocket that she has previously purchased on the ship and dials the number of her cousin. She is immediately greeted with loud groaning and screaming.
“What the fuck do you want?” a female voice screeches.
“Tell Dahlia her cousin needs a lift” Kahlan says, rolling her eyes at the star-filled sky.
There is more noise until a familiar voice reaches her ears.
“Kahlan! Shit I’m sorry. I completely forgot that you were arriving tonight. Listen I’ll be there in an hour or two…”
“Are you drunk?” the blue-eyed woman asks.
“Jus’ a lil’ bit.”
“You know what? I’ll simply hail a cab and come to you. No need to endanger both of our lives.”
The line goes dead before she can even finish her sentence.
“Just fan-fucking-tastic” she mumbles, shoving the cell back into the pocket of her jacket. She pulls it tighter around herself and walks off in search of a large street.
It takes a while but she eventually manages to flag down a cab.
The driver looks greasy as he rakes his beady eyes over her body. “Where to?” he asks.
Kahlan gives him the address and leans back into the seat that smells of sweat and alcohol.
She looks out the window and tries to have positive thoughts. Now she is free of her problems and she might be able to earn some money as well.
When they reach their destination it isn’t at all like she expected. Whatever happened to the nice neighbourhood, the pristine white building and expensive car she’s heard so much about? All she can see is dirt, darkness and a bunch of drunks.
“You sure this is the address I gave you?” she asks, peering out the window.
“Yeah” the driver grunts.
She shoves a few bills in his direction, grabs her bag and gets out of the cab. A cat howls somewhere in the distance as well as the drunks who stagger down the street. She disregards them and moves to the faded door of the old brick building. Most windows on the first floor are broken but music still blares from one of the apartments.
Would she have been a little more skittish she might’ve jumped back when a big rat races across of her booted foot but instead she just stands there and contemplates her fate.
“What have I gotten myself into?” she mumbles.
There don’t seem to be any door bells or nameplates so she just pushes the door open and enters into a dimly lit hallway. The walls are plastered with graffiti and a sour smell reaches her nostrils.
She ignores it and moves toward the stairs. The mailboxes to her left are broken and she guesses that no postman has seen this building from the inside in a very long time.
The stairs look like they could cave in at any moment. They protest loudly as she sets one foot after the other.
She doesn’t know which apartment is Dahlia’s but the half-naked woman that stumbles out of a door to her left gives her a pretty good idea which one it might be. She’s just reached the top of the stairs and has to quickly step aside to let the woman pass. “Fucking bitch!” the woman yells as she blunders down the stairs.
“How delightful” Kahlan sighs and trudges toward the now open door. What she finds inside the apartment is only slightly less unpleasant than the rest of the building.
There’s an old couch in the middle of the room and a tiny TV across from it. She guesses that the hallway to the left of the living room leads to a kitchen because smoke is making its way toward her from that direction. She further discovers two more doors to her right, presumably a bedroom and a bathroom.
She drops her bag to the floor right where she stands and closes the door behind her.
“Knew you’d come back for more you little…” Dahlia begins as she emerges from one of the rooms but stops mid-sentence when she sees Kahlan.
“Cousin!” the dark-blond woman exclaims. She races toward Kahlan with open arms but is stopped by two fingers that push against her forehead.
“You are wearing nothing but a bra and thong. I don’t want a hug. And you should probably check whatever it is that’s burning in your kitchen” Kahlan says coldly.
Dahlia’s eyes widen comically as she looks at the smoke and in the blink of an eye races out of the room. Bare backside and all.
“Glad to have you here cousin!” she calls as something clatters to the floor.
“Yeah, great” Kahlan mumbles. She really doesn’t want to sit on the couch because she can see stains that might be just spilled juice or something else entirely.
Seemingly having taken care of whatever catastrophe happened in the kitchen Dahlia returns to the living room.
“You said you had enough space for ten people. You might wanna recheck your eyesight” Kahlan grumbles as she stands there awkwardly across from her half-naked cousin.
“There’s plenty of space! Don’t you worry about that. I admit that I might’ve exaggerated a bit when I told you about the money I make and the stuff I buy, but life here is decent. Really is” Dahlia argues.
“Exaggerated a bit? A bit? Seriously?”
Dahlia shrugs helplessly. “It’s not like money’s lying on the streets here. I work hard for everything I have, alright?”
She becomes a little more defensive as she grabs a too big white shirt and pulls it over her head.
Kahlan sighs, realizing that she might be starting this the wrong way. Dahlia is willing to give her a place to stay and to help her set foot in a new city. That should count for something
“I understand. And I’m sorry for criticising you, I didn’t mean to sound so harsh” Kahlan says, forcing a smile onto her lips.
“No problem cousin! Now that you’re here we’re going to get something big started and before you know it we’ll be living on the other side of the city in a mansion with a pool!”
“Yeah, right” Kahlan says, drawing out the words. All she wants right now is a few hours of sleep along with a new perspective on things.
“I’m beat Dahlia and I just need a bed and some quiet.”
“Sure thing. Follow me” the dark-blonde answers.
To Kahlan’s endless joy there’s another door to her right she hadn’t noticed before. It leads to a room which surprisingly enough contains nothing but a clean bed and a dresser.
Kahlan carries her bag over to the head of the bed and looks out the window. There’s a fire escape ladder right in front of it and a deserted alley two stories down.
“Thanks D” Kahlan says, smiling at the woman who’s standing on the other end of the room.
“Welcome. The bathroom is right next door. Hot water runs out rather quickly so you wanna keep your showers short. Kitchen is across from the living room and you can of course take whatever you need. Mi casa es su casa. I gotta go though, I have a date.”
Kahlan raises her eyebrows. “In the middle of the night? What about the woman that came out of your apartment?”
Dahlia chuckles darkly. “She was just here to pass the time. Now I’m going to meet the woman of my life.”
“Alright, if you say so” Kahlan answers. She stops herself from telling her cousin to be careful. Dahlia had lived in this city for more than five years and she probably knew how to stay out of trouble.
“See you tomorrow cousin!” Dahlia says, grinning. She turns around and is about the leave when she changes her mind and hurries over to Kahlan. “I’m glad you’re here” she mumbles and pulls Kahlan into a quick hug.
A/N2: this was inspired by a certain video game, bonus points if anyone can guess which one.
A/N3: I'd like to know if anyone is interested in reading more about this. if so, leave a comment, send me roses or propose to me - wahtever suits you.
Chapter 2