FIC: Unbroken - Cara/Kahlan, Chapter 1 Part 1
Title: Unbroken
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker/Sword of Truth series
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Chapter Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of the Seeker or the Sword of Truth series in any way, shape, or form. They belong to ABC Disney and Terry Goodkind. This is strickly for creative purposes and not for profit.
Warnings: ...Nah, pretty tame here..unless you're allergic to fluff..or twists...
Summary: Zedd performs the spell of undoing on Dahlia and finds himself in a situation very different than he expected.
Spoilers: A little of this, a little of that *cough*Fever,Reckoning,Marked,Torn,Bound,Vengeance,Extinction,Eternity, and Tears...if u squint of course, ^_^'
A/N: Sorry it took so long but here it is, chapter 1 of Unbroken. I also want to point out that if you haven't read the prequel aka Torn or the prologue yet, you definately, DEFINATELY should. Happy reading, ^_^
Chapter 1
“Bags.” Zedd whispered.
Devotions had lasted an hour and now they were in the Councilor’s Chambers. He stood near the back wall watching as dignitaries and military officials alike personally congratulated and pledged their allegiance to young princess Kari Rahl, as they had no doubt done with her ‘father’. Throughout that time, Zedd had also learned that the blonde girl’s name was Dahlia Rahl.
Upon hearing that, it occurred to Zedd that all of this was due to him erasing Dahlia from Cara’s past. How such a little thing could’ve caused all of what he was seeing to happen, he had not the slightest clue. The girls sat proudly on smaller versions of the First Chair, Dahlia on Kahlan’s right, Kari on her left.
“Bags.” He whispered again.
“Did you say something Zedd?” Richard, who was standing next to him, asked.
“Hmm? Oh nothing boy.” Zedd replied, still trying to figure out what went wrong. It couldn’t have been the spell, so what?
The doors opened just then and Zedd immediately felt the tingle of Powerful Magic in the air. A woman, with long blonde hair and wearing a simple sleek black dress walked into the room. There was an sensual aura about her but Zedd could see that when people stepped out of her way, it was out of fear and apprehension. She turned her head, taking in everyone in the room and Zedd instantly recognized the piercing blue eyes.
“What’s she doing here?” Zedd asked. He never took his eyes off the woman.
“Who?” Richard asked trying to spot who Zedd was talking about.
“Nicci.” Zedd whispered harshly.
“Oh. She must have just returned from her trip. She was probably in a hurry to get back in time for the princess’s first Devotion. Since she missed it, she’ll most likely come with us to D’Hara.”
“Why would we go to D’Hara?” He asked distractedly, watching Nicci’s every move as she walked across the hall, straight to where Kahlan and the two girls sat. Even though no one seemed particularly alarmed by Nicci’s presence, he was still wary.
“We always go to D’Hara for the winter.” Richard said, turning to look at Zedd. When he didn’t respond, Richard touched his shoulder. “Zedd, are you alright.?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Zedd responded, waving his hand dismissively.
Richard shrugged. Zedd seemed like himself.
“Anyway, Nicci is probably here to report her findings from Nicobarese to our mistress.” He said finally.
Zedd nodded absently. He was about to ask why Nicci was in Nicobarese, as he watched her bow to Kahlan and the princesses, when what Richard had said finally registered in his mind.
Our mistress.
He looked at Richard slowly and for a long moment.
“Richard,” he started carefully. “Are you and Nicci confessed?”
“Yes.” Richard looked at him strangely. “So are you.”
Everything for Zedd came to a screeching halt.
Confessing Nicci was to be expected. He would have been surprised if she hadn’t been confessed. But for Kahlan to confess him and Richard? Something was definitely wrong. He couldn’t just tell them what he’d done and ask what was going on like before. He would have to be very careful this time around.
“Zedd, are you sure you’re alright? How could you forget…” Richard began, looking at Zedd in concern. Then his expression changed to realization as a thought occurred to him. “Shota. She must have cast the spell of forgetting on you again. But why?”
Zedd looked at Richard as he tried to figure out why Shota would want to erase his memories. Leave it to his grandson to keep searching until he got answers that made sense. He’d decided to stop him before Richard came across the truth.
“No no my boy, it’s nothing like that. When I woke up this morning, I found myself on the floor and my head aching. I must have slept rather fitfully last night and hit my head on the dresser when I fell. It left quite a nasty bump. Anyway, when I awoke, I hardly remembered my own name.”
“When you hit your head, you must’ve lost your memories. Like when Jennsen was attacked by Darken Rahl’s men.” Richard supplied.
“Exactly. Just like Jennsen.”
“That would explain why Declan found you wandering around the stables today.” Richard said as he thought about what Zedd said.
“Declan? Is that the ruffian who nearly tore my arm out of it’s socket today?” Zedd asked.
Richard smiled a little at that.
“Yeah. He can be a little aggressive sometimes. He doesn’t like to disappoint Lord Rahl or mistress and he certainly doesn’t like to disappoint the princesses.” He said before his expression dissolved into concern again.
“Zedd, maybe we should ask Nicci about your memories.”
That idea alarmed Zedd. He knew that if he were to keep from being discovered, he needed to stay away from Nicci and he especially needed to stay away from Kahlan. He was certain she would see through him immediately. He gave Richard a reassuring smile.
“That wont be necessary, I’ve already begun to gain some of my memories back. Besides, you know magic cant help with this. I just simply need to be reminded of certain things, like you did with Jennsen.”
“Are you sure? I guess I could understand how you could forget being confessed if you weren’t around our mistress, but to forget Declan? You’ve known him half his life. We practically raised him ourselves.”
“Half his life? Richard, he must be at least twenty years old.”
“Yeah. We found him, orphaned by banelings, after we defeated the Keeper, ten years ago.”
Ten years. Zedd was stunned, the reality of just how far off course the spell of undoing had thrown him finally setting in. He was in very big trouble.
Declan walked into the room at that moment, looking around quickly before spotting them. He motioned at Richard and Richard nodded before turning back to Zedd. The light glinted off of something and Zedd saw that Richard wore a silver chain with a strange pendant resting on his chest. He realized that it was the same thing Declan had around his neck. Nicci had been wearing one as well.
“Zedd listen, I have to go. Do you remember Ambrosio’s tavern?” He asked.
“Of course I remember Ambrosio’s tavern. No extent of memory loss could ever make me forget that place.” Zedd said, a large grin on his face.
Richard smiled.
“Of course not. Why don’t you meet me there later today? Hopefully by then you’ll have your memory back.”
“Hopefully.” Zedd agreed, still smiling as Richard nodded and left. He looked at Kahlan and when she caught his eyes, he bowed. When he met her eyes again, she was smiling. Thankfully, this Declan had told her that he thought Zedd had already been to Ambrosio’s, so if she thought he was acting strange, she could simply blame it on that.
Once he was out of the chamber, his smile faded. How was he ever going to get out of this situation? There was no way he’d be able to keep up his charade for long and he had no hope of suddenly remembering anything. After all, ten years was a long time to remember things he’d never done.
***
Once Zedd was gone, Kahlan looked around the chambers, not at all surprised to find it mostly empty. Nicci had that affect on people. She turned to address the sorceress.
“Sister Nicci, welcome back. How was your journey?”
“Thank you mistress, my journey was pleasant enough. I’m only sorry that I missed the princess’s first Devotions.”
Kahlan nodded once in understanding.
“How were things in Nicobarese? What of the rumors?” She asked.
“Sadly, the rumors were true mistress. The Fold was revived.”
Kahlan frowned at the news before asking,
“Were you able to locate them?”
Nicci smiled smoothly.
“Yes mistress. Luckily we got word of what was going on, early in the Fold’s reorganization. They didn’t have too big a following just yet. However, while small, they were fierce in their ‘beliefs’. Violently so.”
“And what did you do about this small, violent group?”
Nicci’s eyes glowed briefly with the power of her Han.
“I took care of them at my discretion, like you asked, mistress.”
Kahlan stared at her. She knew that sending Nicci was more than necessary but the Blood of the Fold were dangerous. The Fold was made up of closed-minded, ignorant fools who hated what they did not understand. Not only were they a threat to all forms of magic and magical creatures, including herself, they were a threat to her children and that she could not abide.
By sending Nicci to handle the situation, she sent a clear message to all those who were like-minded of the Fold. She wanted to make sure the people of the Midlands knew that sects like the Blood of the Fold would no longer simply be tolerated and allowed to do as they pleased. They would be shown no mercy.
Kahlan nodded. Even though Nicci hadn’t asked aloud, Kahlan knew she wanted to know if she’d pleased her mistress.
Just then Cara strode into the room and Kahlan couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. Cara had disappeared shortly after Devotions. She never liked being around the city’s officials, saying that if they truly wanted to prove their worth, they could do so with a sword, not by how low they could bow.
Cara walked across the room to stand next to Nicci. She looked at her and said,
“Nicci, I’m glad to see you’ve returned safely.”
“Thank you Lord Rahl.” Nicci replied, bowing her head.
Cara gave a small polite smile in return before turning to Kahlan.
“My Queen.” She said, tilting her head respectively in a slight bow.
“My Lord.” Kahlan responded while returning the gesture, her smile still in place.
Cara’s smile warmed before she began speaking again.
“I’ve come to escort Dahlia and princess Kari to their lessons.”
Kahlan arched an eyebrow. Normally the girls were taken to their lessons by Richard or Declan, so this made Kahlan wonder what Cara was really up to. Cara only continued to smile. Kahlan looked at Dahlia, then Kari. Both girls almost seemed to be vibrating with excitement.
“You may go.” She said, smiling fondly as she watched her daughters attempt not to run to their father.
Cara took both girls by the hand and nodded once more to Kahlan before leading them away. Cara managed to take the girls down two different corridors before Dahlia finally asked,
“Where are we going father?”
Cara kept looking ahead, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to keep her face straight if she saw either girl’s excited smile.
“I told your mother that I was taking you to your lessons.” She said seriously.
Both girls stopped, pulling Cara to a stop as well. Neither girl spoke until Cara was forced to look at them. When she looked at Kari, she was looking up at her with clear blue eyes.
“Is that where we’re going pa pa?” She asked innocently and Cara’s resolve not to smile melted like ice under wizard’s fire. Cara knelt before them.
“No, that’s not where we’re going.”
Both girls beamed.
“But we have to hurry before your mother becomes suspicious.”
When they nodded, Cara began leading them again. It still took them about a half hour to get changed into more appropriate clothes and packed but Cara wasn’t worried. Even if Kahlan was finished meeting with Nicci, there was no way for her to know what Cara was doing until her and the girls were long gone, especially with Cara sneaking them through the servant passages.
Just before they turned down the last corridor that would lead them into the kitchens and out the back door, Cara, Dahlia, and Kari stopped short. Kahlan appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, looking as if she’d been waiting for them. Cara tilted her head uncertainly.
“How did you…?” She began to ask when Kahlan said,
“Kara.”
Just then, the culprit stepped our from behind Kahlan and sat beside her.
Kara was a heart hound hybrid that Shota had given to the girls as a gift when she was just a pup. She was much larger than a wolf but small for a heart hound with blonde fur rather than tan. Her fur was also longer than that of a hound and soft to the touch. She had a long muzzle full of big teeth, rounded ears, and where heart hounds had yellow eyes that glowed in the dark, Kara’s were green.
Shota had sworn that she hadn’t been the one who’d magically altered the hound. She said that she’d found the pup half starved and severely wounded, on the edge of Agaden Reach. When she picked it up and it’s green eyes leveled her with a fierce glare, Shota instantly knew where she belonged.
Cara had immediately been against the idea of letting such a dangerous animal near Dahlia and Kari, but they’d instantly fallen in love with the pup and it had instantly fallen in love with them. It was very smart, loved the girls fiercely and was extremely protective of them. Kahlan and the girls had agreed that Cara and the hound were exactly alike and named her ‘Kara’.
“Traitor.” Cara said, leveling the hound with a stare. Kara just returned the stare.
“You didn’t really think you could take the girls, leaving Kara behind and expect her to be happy about it, did you?” Kahlan asked, arching an eyebrow.
“I didn’t expect her to be happy, no, but this is just pure spite.”
Kahlan smiled at that.
“And just where are you sneaking off to, since this obviously isn’t the way to the girl’s classroom.” She asked.
“We’re going into the forest, to hunt and track.”
“Oh?” Kahlan asked in surprise.
Cara shrugged nonchalantly.
“Learning how to survive on their own is just as important as learning the different languages of the Midlands for Dahlia and Kari.”
“While I agree, I’ve never snuck the girls away when they’re supposed to be learning High D’Haran, a language all but dead might I add, with mistress Berdine.” Kahlan pointed out.
“True. You were too busy creating mischief of you own.” Cara replied casually. Before Kahlan could protest, she continued.
“As I recall, the last time we were in D’Hara, you and the girls thought it would be entertaining to hide away the things I needed and send me on a scavenger hunt to find them. As for High D’haran being a dead language, that didn’t stop you from writing the clues in it. And if all of that weren’t bad enough, you somehow managed to convince Berdine not to help.”
She turned her steady gaze from Kahlan’s ever widening smile and stared pointedly at Kara.
“I never did find the dead pheasant that was hidden in my personal chambers.” She said. Kara only stared at her blankly, as if she had no idea what Cara was going on about.
Kahlan stifled a laugh while Dahlia and Kari giggled.
“That wasn’t my idea.” She said once she was sure her laughter was under control.
“No.” Cara responded, turning her gaze calmly back to her. “But you didn’t quite discourage it either, did you?”
When Kahlan only smiled, Cara continued.
“So, the way I see it, since you’re allowed to have your fun while we’re in D’Hara, I think it’s only fair that I be allowed my own fun when we’re in Aydindril.” She said, waving her hand nonchalantly.
“Is that what you think?” Kahlan asked with an amused smile, her eyebrow arched.
Cara stared at her for a moment before turning to their grinning children.
“This is why you never marry for convenience. It’s never an equal partnership, always a compromise.” She said seriously, causing the girls to laugh. Kahlan swatted her shoulder.
“Hush, or I’ll confess you.” She teased.
“Not in front of the children Mother Confessor.” Cara responded before stepping into Kahlan’s personal space and whispering, “Maybe later.”
Kahlan closed her eyes at the shudders crawling up her spine. Cara leaned her head in and lightly nuzzled Kahlan. Dahlia and Kari smiled as they watched their parents simply enjoy being close to one another. Cara pulled back slightly so that she could see Kahlan’s eyes.
“I promise to have them home before dinner.” She said softly.
Kahlan stared at her for a moment longer, loathe to give up Cara’s warmth, before saying with exaggerated exasperation.
“Fine, go ahead gallivanting in the woods if you must.”
Cara smiled and Kahlan couldn’t help but do the same.
“And take Kara with you since I’m sure you’re not taking Declan, Richard, or any of the Home Guard.” She said when Cara went to take the girl’s hands again.
“Taking Declan or Richard is unnecessary and we don’t need the Home Guard stomping around, scaring off all the animals. But Kara is free to come along since she obviously can’t survive without us for a few hours.” Cara said off-handedly as she ignored the heart hound’s glare.
Kahlan just shook her head as she watched her family begin to walk away. Just before the group rounded the corner, she called out.
“Bring back something good.”
“Of course.” Cara responded, turning to look at her.
Kahlan smiled.
“I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to Kara.”
Cara stared at her for a moment, her eyes squinting slightly before she turned and walked away. She rolled her eyes as Kara looked at her smugly, Kahlan’s laughter following them into the kitchen.
***
"Let me see if I have all of this right. We defeated the Keeper ten years ago, after which Cara became the Lord Rahl, married Kah-, I mean our mistress and had two daughters whom we take to D'Hara every other six months so that they can become familiar with both kingdoms they'll eventually inherit?" Zedd asked in one long breath.
He'd gone to Ambrosio's tavern immediately after leaving the confessor's palace and waited until late afternoon when Richard had finally arrived. While he waited, he thought over all he'd seen and learned and was now presenting his conclusions to Richard. They were sitting in the furthest back corner, so that Zedd could keep his eyes on the entire room, just in case someone had wandering ears.
Richard nodded.
"Does any of that seem familiar?" He asked at Zedd's look of concentration.
Zedd looked at him and smiled disarmingly.
"Sorry my boy, I'm as blank as a door nail. Perhaps, if you start at the beginning?"
"Okay, sure. Where should I begin?" Richard answered easily.
"Let's start with Darken Rahl's death. He is dead isn't he?" Zedd asked cautiously.
"Yes. He died by destroying the Boxes of Orden."
"And thereby tearing the veil between the Underworld and the land of the living." Zedd supplied.
Richard nodded again, this time with a small smile, thinking that Zedd was starting to remember.
"What happened after that?"
Richard then began to tell him of their adventures after that point. Zedd would input what he already knew, well aware that Richard would assume he was slowly regaining his memory. On occasion he would ask unnecessary questions to keep up his ruse since he knew they would eventually arrive to the point where things had changed between his own reality and this one.
"Do you remember when Mistress split in two after the amulet of Olderan broke?" Richard asked.
"I believe I do." Zedd said, pretending to concentrate.
"If I remember correctly, the amulet broke because K-mistress's heart, her desire to stay with you and her head, her duty calling her back to protect Aydindril, were in conflict. Combined with the Powerful Magic of the amulet, mistress's desire and her duty separated into two different beings."
Richard nodded before picking up where Zedd left off.
"At first, Kahlan didn't seem any different, until she tried using her powers and found out that they were gone. So we decided to go to Aydindril to find you. But when we got there, another Kahlan was there, sentencing you to death. Do you remember?"
"Oh yes, I remember that. I also remember that you tried to reason with that Kahlan which lead to a fight that resulted in you and Cara being captured. Then Kahlan took Cara away but Cara returned after subduing her before the day of my execution and I was able to put the two Kahlan's back into one...What?" He asked at Richard's confused expression.
"Zedd, Cara never came back. We stayed in the dungeons the whole night. In the morning, you, the Kahlan that had been confessed, and I were brought before our mistress. With Cara standing on her right, she judged me guilty of treason, not only to the Mother Confessor but to the world for forsaking my quest for my own selfish desires. My punishment was to be confessed and forced back to finding the Stone of Tears. She also judged you guilty but revoked you death sentence so that you could aid me on my journey.
"When I asked what would happen to Cara, Mistress told me that Cara had become her mate. At the time, I lost control of the sword's anger and I attacked. Cara stepped in front of Mistress and took the sword's magic. She only used enough of it against me to make me drop it. Then she stepped behind me and pressed her agiel to my shoulder so that I would kneel before Mistress who then confessed me.
"I know now that I was wrong to defy Mistress and try to hurt Cara. She only wished to please our mistress as I do now. After I was confessed, she released my sword's magic and they've both thankfully forgiven me. Now I'm able to serve them to the best of my abilities.”
Zedd stared wide-eyed at Richard. He could hardly fathom what he was hearing. Why hadn't Cara come back that morning? What could have caused her to ever hurt Richard? Granted, it was the least amount of pain she could inflict, but to harm Richard at all? Then what he'd done came to him.
Dahlia.
He had erased Dahlia from Cara's past. But how could one simple mord'sith missing from her life make such a difference? Sure he'd noticed that Cara and Dahlia were closer, more affectionate for a mord'sith anyway, than anyone he saw Cara interact with, except maybe Kahlan. Still, Dahlia couldn't have played such a pivotal role in Cara's life, could she? After all, she was just another Mord'Sith, or had she been something more to Cara and without her in her past, Cara was someone different?
"Zedd? Are you alright?" Richard asked at Zedd's intense frown and deep concentration.
"Hmm?" Zedd asked, coming out of his thoughts.
"Is everything alright?" Richard asked again.
"Oh, yes. Everything's fine. I'm just having a little trouble remembering that particular day. Tell me what happened after you were confessed."
"Well, you got angry, really angry and almost got out of your bindings but Cara stopped you and made you kneel as well. Mistress said that she could see that you were upset. She asked you to look past your emotions for me, so that you could understand that what she'd done was for the best, not only for the Midlands, but for the entire world. You told her that you understood but when she looked into your eyes, she could tell that you were lying.
"You were confessed and when asked, you admitted that you were going to put the amulet back together the first chance you got. You confessed that if that hadn't freed me, you would've tried to kill Mistress. Then you begged her forgiveness and when she gave it, you thanked her and pledged yourself as wizard of the First Order, to be in her eternal service."
"Is that when we returned to finding the Stone of Tears?" Zedd asked, not sure what else to say.
"No, we left the next morning."
"All of us?"
"Well Mistress stayed in Aydindril but you, me, the other Kahlan and Cara left."
"Why didn't Cara stay?" Zedd asked. If she'd agreed to be Kahlan's mate, why didn't she stay to protect her?
"Cara suggested that she go so that we had a better chance of finding the stone faster and Mistress agreed.
Zedd nodded. That made sense.
"How long did it take us to find the stone?" He asked.
"About two weeks. It would've been sooner but we had a few distractions."
Zedd's eyes widened.
"That fast?"
Richard nodded.
"Cara explained that the faster we found the stone and sealed the rift to the underworld, the safer Mistress would be. We all agreed. When we weren't eating or sleeping, we were riding hard, following the compass. We fought only when absolutely necessary.
"Because our movements were completely different from before and almost always constant, the Keeper, Darken Rahl, or the Sisters of the Dark couldn't pinpoint where we were or what we were going."
"If the Keeper wasn't able to send his minions after us, what were the distractions you mentioned?"
"Well, when we first started out, Nicci managed to find us. Turns out that when we just seemed to vanish, her sisters blamed her for their failure to kill Kahlan, and turned on her. She managed to find us on her own and performed what she called a 'maternity spell' on Kahlan."
"But, with Kahlan not whole, the spell wouldn't have worked." Zedd said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"It didn't, but Nicci didn't realize that."
"So when she let Cara capture her the next morning, she had no idea that she'd willingly made herself our prisoner." Zedd answered, putting the pieces together.
Richard nodded again, this time with a small smile.
"Well don't just sit there smiling, what happened next?" Zedd asked impatiently. Richard's smile grew larger before he continued.
"Once Nicci realized her plan had failed, she tried to escape but Cara subdued her. We all agreed that it was too dangerous to continue our quest with her, so we took her back to Aydindril. Once she was confessed, we left her with Mistress and started on our journey again.
"A week into our travels, the compass led us across the path of my father."
"Panis Rahl." Zedd supplied, remembering how he had almost killed someone he once considered a good friend.
"Yeah. He explained that he wanted to atone for his sins and that he had the key to using the Stone of Tears. Cara was suspicious at first, but he swore that he only wanted to help, and she threatened that if he was lying, she would make him regret the day his mother spread her legs for his father. Her words, not mine." Richard chipped in with a sheepish grin.
Zedd could see that Richard still held that boyishness he always had, even at thirty years old. It warmed his heart to know that his grandson hadn't lost who he was even after ten years of being confessed.
"Anyway, it turned out that Panis was telling the truth. He led us to a scroll that had instructions about what to do once we had the stone. But-"
"But we needed the light of a Nightwisp to read what it said." Zedd finished.
"That's right. We went to the Nightwisp forest, read the instructions, and then went after the stone again. When we got close, you mentioned that the place we were nearing was cloaked in Powerful Magic. Cara didn't like it, so she and I continued to follow the compass while you and Kahlan stayed behind.
"We found the stone but it turned out to be in an enchanted valley that we got stuck in. It wasn't until we found a woman who had the means to contact someone outside the valley that we were even able to tell you and Kahlan what had happened."
Zedd nodded.
"I remember. The young woman and her male companion had matching enchanted rings that allowed them to communicate no matter where they were. You sent the young man to find me and C-Kahlan and then asked me to perform the spell of retrieving to get the stone out of the valley. Once I had, the compass led you out of the valley as well."
Zedd thought for a moment.
"If it only took us two weeks to find the stone, and we had to place it at the Pillars of Creation under the noon day sun on the summer solstice, what did we do for the whole month in between?" He asked.
Richard smiled at that.
"Cara decided that instead of going straight to the pillars and giving the Keeper that time to find us, we would make ourselves 'visible' so to speak, for short periods of time and always in a completely random and different location than before. Then we started defeating banelings in a circle around where the first rift had appeared, to make it seem as if that's where we needed to be and was staying close. Half a week before the solstice, we rode non-stop to the pillars and made it just in time to seal the tear in the veil." Richard finished.
Zedd had to admit that it was a clever way to keep the Keeper and his minions off their true trail.
"When did we find Declan?"
"It was a day after the veil had been closed. We came across a deserted village. There was nothing but dead bodies, or at least we thought so until Cara found him in one of the houses. He hadn't wanted to leave his father, who was dead, but we convinced him that it would be safer if he came with us.
"We took him to the nearest inhabited village and found him a family who would take care of him. When we left however, he followed at a distance. Kahlan was worried about him but Cara said that when he got hungry, he would go back. He followed for two and a half days before she finally decided to put a stop to it. When she went to confront him though, he held his ground.
"They just stood there staring each other down, Cara with her arms crossed and Declan with his curled into defiant fists at his sides. Finally Cara told him to keep up and not to fall behind, just like that. He hasn't fallen behind since."
Zedd sat there for a moment, pondering all the things he'd been told so far. Richard took the time to order a drink from a nearby barmaid. The chain he was wearing caught Zedd's attention again and once Richard got his drink and the barmaid was gone, he asked,
"Richard, what's that around your neck?"
Richard grabbed the chain by its pendant to hold it up.
"This? It's the crest of those who protect the Rahl family."
"Isn't that what the Dragon Core is for?"
"Yes, but this is different. The house of Rahl, the Lord Rahl has the mord'sith and the Dragon Core as their personal guard. The Mother Confessor, our mistress, has the Home Guard but Lord Rahl and mistress only trust a select few to personally protect their family.
"There are mistresses Berdine and Raina, who stay in D'Hara. You and Nicci who alternate staying in Aydindril to protect the Wizard's Keep, and then there's Declan and I, who always travel with the family."
"I can understand why everyone else would be chosen, but Declan? He hardly looks like he can protect himself, much less Lord Rahl and her family." Zedd replied.
Richard laughed at that.
"He may not look like much but Declan is a very capable fighter, with and without weapons. Sometimes, when he fights, it's as if he's possessed by the Keeper himself. In those times, even I have trouble getting him under control. Only the sight of Cara or the princesses can calm him, almost instantly. He belongs protecting them as much as any of us. As for the chain, only we selected few wear them as the only identification to who we are."
"I don't have one." Zedd said, looking at his chest.
"Of course you do. It's under your robes." Richard pointed out.
Zedd patted himself down before reaching inside his robes and pulling out his own chain.
In his palm sat the strange pendant he'd been seeing, the crest of the Rahl family. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary rendering of the Grace but a closer look revealed the twin 'R's of the house of Rahl inside the star, in the center of the Grace.
Part 2
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker/Sword of Truth series
Pairing: Cara/Kahlan
Chapter Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of the Seeker or the Sword of Truth series in any way, shape, or form. They belong to ABC Disney and Terry Goodkind. This is strickly for creative purposes and not for profit.
Warnings: ...Nah, pretty tame here..unless you're allergic to fluff..or twists...
Summary: Zedd performs the spell of undoing on Dahlia and finds himself in a situation very different than he expected.
Spoilers: A little of this, a little of that *cough*Fever,Reckoning,Marked,Torn,Bound,Vengeance,Extinction,Eternity, and Tears...if u squint of course, ^_^'
A/N: Sorry it took so long but here it is, chapter 1 of Unbroken. I also want to point out that if you haven't read the prequel aka Torn or the prologue yet, you definately, DEFINATELY should. Happy reading, ^_^
Chapter 1
“Bags.” Zedd whispered.
Devotions had lasted an hour and now they were in the Councilor’s Chambers. He stood near the back wall watching as dignitaries and military officials alike personally congratulated and pledged their allegiance to young princess Kari Rahl, as they had no doubt done with her ‘father’. Throughout that time, Zedd had also learned that the blonde girl’s name was Dahlia Rahl.
Upon hearing that, it occurred to Zedd that all of this was due to him erasing Dahlia from Cara’s past. How such a little thing could’ve caused all of what he was seeing to happen, he had not the slightest clue. The girls sat proudly on smaller versions of the First Chair, Dahlia on Kahlan’s right, Kari on her left.
“Bags.” He whispered again.
“Did you say something Zedd?” Richard, who was standing next to him, asked.
“Hmm? Oh nothing boy.” Zedd replied, still trying to figure out what went wrong. It couldn’t have been the spell, so what?
The doors opened just then and Zedd immediately felt the tingle of Powerful Magic in the air. A woman, with long blonde hair and wearing a simple sleek black dress walked into the room. There was an sensual aura about her but Zedd could see that when people stepped out of her way, it was out of fear and apprehension. She turned her head, taking in everyone in the room and Zedd instantly recognized the piercing blue eyes.
“What’s she doing here?” Zedd asked. He never took his eyes off the woman.
“Who?” Richard asked trying to spot who Zedd was talking about.
“Nicci.” Zedd whispered harshly.
“Oh. She must have just returned from her trip. She was probably in a hurry to get back in time for the princess’s first Devotion. Since she missed it, she’ll most likely come with us to D’Hara.”
“Why would we go to D’Hara?” He asked distractedly, watching Nicci’s every move as she walked across the hall, straight to where Kahlan and the two girls sat. Even though no one seemed particularly alarmed by Nicci’s presence, he was still wary.
“We always go to D’Hara for the winter.” Richard said, turning to look at Zedd. When he didn’t respond, Richard touched his shoulder. “Zedd, are you alright.?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Zedd responded, waving his hand dismissively.
Richard shrugged. Zedd seemed like himself.
“Anyway, Nicci is probably here to report her findings from Nicobarese to our mistress.” He said finally.
Zedd nodded absently. He was about to ask why Nicci was in Nicobarese, as he watched her bow to Kahlan and the princesses, when what Richard had said finally registered in his mind.
Our mistress.
He looked at Richard slowly and for a long moment.
“Richard,” he started carefully. “Are you and Nicci confessed?”
“Yes.” Richard looked at him strangely. “So are you.”
Everything for Zedd came to a screeching halt.
Confessing Nicci was to be expected. He would have been surprised if she hadn’t been confessed. But for Kahlan to confess him and Richard? Something was definitely wrong. He couldn’t just tell them what he’d done and ask what was going on like before. He would have to be very careful this time around.
“Zedd, are you sure you’re alright? How could you forget…” Richard began, looking at Zedd in concern. Then his expression changed to realization as a thought occurred to him. “Shota. She must have cast the spell of forgetting on you again. But why?”
Zedd looked at Richard as he tried to figure out why Shota would want to erase his memories. Leave it to his grandson to keep searching until he got answers that made sense. He’d decided to stop him before Richard came across the truth.
“No no my boy, it’s nothing like that. When I woke up this morning, I found myself on the floor and my head aching. I must have slept rather fitfully last night and hit my head on the dresser when I fell. It left quite a nasty bump. Anyway, when I awoke, I hardly remembered my own name.”
“When you hit your head, you must’ve lost your memories. Like when Jennsen was attacked by Darken Rahl’s men.” Richard supplied.
“Exactly. Just like Jennsen.”
“That would explain why Declan found you wandering around the stables today.” Richard said as he thought about what Zedd said.
“Declan? Is that the ruffian who nearly tore my arm out of it’s socket today?” Zedd asked.
Richard smiled a little at that.
“Yeah. He can be a little aggressive sometimes. He doesn’t like to disappoint Lord Rahl or mistress and he certainly doesn’t like to disappoint the princesses.” He said before his expression dissolved into concern again.
“Zedd, maybe we should ask Nicci about your memories.”
That idea alarmed Zedd. He knew that if he were to keep from being discovered, he needed to stay away from Nicci and he especially needed to stay away from Kahlan. He was certain she would see through him immediately. He gave Richard a reassuring smile.
“That wont be necessary, I’ve already begun to gain some of my memories back. Besides, you know magic cant help with this. I just simply need to be reminded of certain things, like you did with Jennsen.”
“Are you sure? I guess I could understand how you could forget being confessed if you weren’t around our mistress, but to forget Declan? You’ve known him half his life. We practically raised him ourselves.”
“Half his life? Richard, he must be at least twenty years old.”
“Yeah. We found him, orphaned by banelings, after we defeated the Keeper, ten years ago.”
Ten years. Zedd was stunned, the reality of just how far off course the spell of undoing had thrown him finally setting in. He was in very big trouble.
Declan walked into the room at that moment, looking around quickly before spotting them. He motioned at Richard and Richard nodded before turning back to Zedd. The light glinted off of something and Zedd saw that Richard wore a silver chain with a strange pendant resting on his chest. He realized that it was the same thing Declan had around his neck. Nicci had been wearing one as well.
“Zedd listen, I have to go. Do you remember Ambrosio’s tavern?” He asked.
“Of course I remember Ambrosio’s tavern. No extent of memory loss could ever make me forget that place.” Zedd said, a large grin on his face.
Richard smiled.
“Of course not. Why don’t you meet me there later today? Hopefully by then you’ll have your memory back.”
“Hopefully.” Zedd agreed, still smiling as Richard nodded and left. He looked at Kahlan and when she caught his eyes, he bowed. When he met her eyes again, she was smiling. Thankfully, this Declan had told her that he thought Zedd had already been to Ambrosio’s, so if she thought he was acting strange, she could simply blame it on that.
Once he was out of the chamber, his smile faded. How was he ever going to get out of this situation? There was no way he’d be able to keep up his charade for long and he had no hope of suddenly remembering anything. After all, ten years was a long time to remember things he’d never done.
***
Once Zedd was gone, Kahlan looked around the chambers, not at all surprised to find it mostly empty. Nicci had that affect on people. She turned to address the sorceress.
“Sister Nicci, welcome back. How was your journey?”
“Thank you mistress, my journey was pleasant enough. I’m only sorry that I missed the princess’s first Devotions.”
Kahlan nodded once in understanding.
“How were things in Nicobarese? What of the rumors?” She asked.
“Sadly, the rumors were true mistress. The Fold was revived.”
Kahlan frowned at the news before asking,
“Were you able to locate them?”
Nicci smiled smoothly.
“Yes mistress. Luckily we got word of what was going on, early in the Fold’s reorganization. They didn’t have too big a following just yet. However, while small, they were fierce in their ‘beliefs’. Violently so.”
“And what did you do about this small, violent group?”
Nicci’s eyes glowed briefly with the power of her Han.
“I took care of them at my discretion, like you asked, mistress.”
Kahlan stared at her. She knew that sending Nicci was more than necessary but the Blood of the Fold were dangerous. The Fold was made up of closed-minded, ignorant fools who hated what they did not understand. Not only were they a threat to all forms of magic and magical creatures, including herself, they were a threat to her children and that she could not abide.
By sending Nicci to handle the situation, she sent a clear message to all those who were like-minded of the Fold. She wanted to make sure the people of the Midlands knew that sects like the Blood of the Fold would no longer simply be tolerated and allowed to do as they pleased. They would be shown no mercy.
Kahlan nodded. Even though Nicci hadn’t asked aloud, Kahlan knew she wanted to know if she’d pleased her mistress.
Just then Cara strode into the room and Kahlan couldn’t help the smile that came to her face. Cara had disappeared shortly after Devotions. She never liked being around the city’s officials, saying that if they truly wanted to prove their worth, they could do so with a sword, not by how low they could bow.
Cara walked across the room to stand next to Nicci. She looked at her and said,
“Nicci, I’m glad to see you’ve returned safely.”
“Thank you Lord Rahl.” Nicci replied, bowing her head.
Cara gave a small polite smile in return before turning to Kahlan.
“My Queen.” She said, tilting her head respectively in a slight bow.
“My Lord.” Kahlan responded while returning the gesture, her smile still in place.
Cara’s smile warmed before she began speaking again.
“I’ve come to escort Dahlia and princess Kari to their lessons.”
Kahlan arched an eyebrow. Normally the girls were taken to their lessons by Richard or Declan, so this made Kahlan wonder what Cara was really up to. Cara only continued to smile. Kahlan looked at Dahlia, then Kari. Both girls almost seemed to be vibrating with excitement.
“You may go.” She said, smiling fondly as she watched her daughters attempt not to run to their father.
Cara took both girls by the hand and nodded once more to Kahlan before leading them away. Cara managed to take the girls down two different corridors before Dahlia finally asked,
“Where are we going father?”
Cara kept looking ahead, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to keep her face straight if she saw either girl’s excited smile.
“I told your mother that I was taking you to your lessons.” She said seriously.
Both girls stopped, pulling Cara to a stop as well. Neither girl spoke until Cara was forced to look at them. When she looked at Kari, she was looking up at her with clear blue eyes.
“Is that where we’re going pa pa?” She asked innocently and Cara’s resolve not to smile melted like ice under wizard’s fire. Cara knelt before them.
“No, that’s not where we’re going.”
Both girls beamed.
“But we have to hurry before your mother becomes suspicious.”
When they nodded, Cara began leading them again. It still took them about a half hour to get changed into more appropriate clothes and packed but Cara wasn’t worried. Even if Kahlan was finished meeting with Nicci, there was no way for her to know what Cara was doing until her and the girls were long gone, especially with Cara sneaking them through the servant passages.
Just before they turned down the last corridor that would lead them into the kitchens and out the back door, Cara, Dahlia, and Kari stopped short. Kahlan appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, looking as if she’d been waiting for them. Cara tilted her head uncertainly.
“How did you…?” She began to ask when Kahlan said,
“Kara.”
Just then, the culprit stepped our from behind Kahlan and sat beside her.
Kara was a heart hound hybrid that Shota had given to the girls as a gift when she was just a pup. She was much larger than a wolf but small for a heart hound with blonde fur rather than tan. Her fur was also longer than that of a hound and soft to the touch. She had a long muzzle full of big teeth, rounded ears, and where heart hounds had yellow eyes that glowed in the dark, Kara’s were green.
Shota had sworn that she hadn’t been the one who’d magically altered the hound. She said that she’d found the pup half starved and severely wounded, on the edge of Agaden Reach. When she picked it up and it’s green eyes leveled her with a fierce glare, Shota instantly knew where she belonged.
Cara had immediately been against the idea of letting such a dangerous animal near Dahlia and Kari, but they’d instantly fallen in love with the pup and it had instantly fallen in love with them. It was very smart, loved the girls fiercely and was extremely protective of them. Kahlan and the girls had agreed that Cara and the hound were exactly alike and named her ‘Kara’.
“Traitor.” Cara said, leveling the hound with a stare. Kara just returned the stare.
“You didn’t really think you could take the girls, leaving Kara behind and expect her to be happy about it, did you?” Kahlan asked, arching an eyebrow.
“I didn’t expect her to be happy, no, but this is just pure spite.”
Kahlan smiled at that.
“And just where are you sneaking off to, since this obviously isn’t the way to the girl’s classroom.” She asked.
“We’re going into the forest, to hunt and track.”
“Oh?” Kahlan asked in surprise.
Cara shrugged nonchalantly.
“Learning how to survive on their own is just as important as learning the different languages of the Midlands for Dahlia and Kari.”
“While I agree, I’ve never snuck the girls away when they’re supposed to be learning High D’Haran, a language all but dead might I add, with mistress Berdine.” Kahlan pointed out.
“True. You were too busy creating mischief of you own.” Cara replied casually. Before Kahlan could protest, she continued.
“As I recall, the last time we were in D’Hara, you and the girls thought it would be entertaining to hide away the things I needed and send me on a scavenger hunt to find them. As for High D’haran being a dead language, that didn’t stop you from writing the clues in it. And if all of that weren’t bad enough, you somehow managed to convince Berdine not to help.”
She turned her steady gaze from Kahlan’s ever widening smile and stared pointedly at Kara.
“I never did find the dead pheasant that was hidden in my personal chambers.” She said. Kara only stared at her blankly, as if she had no idea what Cara was going on about.
Kahlan stifled a laugh while Dahlia and Kari giggled.
“That wasn’t my idea.” She said once she was sure her laughter was under control.
“No.” Cara responded, turning her gaze calmly back to her. “But you didn’t quite discourage it either, did you?”
When Kahlan only smiled, Cara continued.
“So, the way I see it, since you’re allowed to have your fun while we’re in D’Hara, I think it’s only fair that I be allowed my own fun when we’re in Aydindril.” She said, waving her hand nonchalantly.
“Is that what you think?” Kahlan asked with an amused smile, her eyebrow arched.
Cara stared at her for a moment before turning to their grinning children.
“This is why you never marry for convenience. It’s never an equal partnership, always a compromise.” She said seriously, causing the girls to laugh. Kahlan swatted her shoulder.
“Hush, or I’ll confess you.” She teased.
“Not in front of the children Mother Confessor.” Cara responded before stepping into Kahlan’s personal space and whispering, “Maybe later.”
Kahlan closed her eyes at the shudders crawling up her spine. Cara leaned her head in and lightly nuzzled Kahlan. Dahlia and Kari smiled as they watched their parents simply enjoy being close to one another. Cara pulled back slightly so that she could see Kahlan’s eyes.
“I promise to have them home before dinner.” She said softly.
Kahlan stared at her for a moment longer, loathe to give up Cara’s warmth, before saying with exaggerated exasperation.
“Fine, go ahead gallivanting in the woods if you must.”
Cara smiled and Kahlan couldn’t help but do the same.
“And take Kara with you since I’m sure you’re not taking Declan, Richard, or any of the Home Guard.” She said when Cara went to take the girl’s hands again.
“Taking Declan or Richard is unnecessary and we don’t need the Home Guard stomping around, scaring off all the animals. But Kara is free to come along since she obviously can’t survive without us for a few hours.” Cara said off-handedly as she ignored the heart hound’s glare.
Kahlan just shook her head as she watched her family begin to walk away. Just before the group rounded the corner, she called out.
“Bring back something good.”
“Of course.” Cara responded, turning to look at her.
Kahlan smiled.
“I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to Kara.”
Cara stared at her for a moment, her eyes squinting slightly before she turned and walked away. She rolled her eyes as Kara looked at her smugly, Kahlan’s laughter following them into the kitchen.
***
"Let me see if I have all of this right. We defeated the Keeper ten years ago, after which Cara became the Lord Rahl, married Kah-, I mean our mistress and had two daughters whom we take to D'Hara every other six months so that they can become familiar with both kingdoms they'll eventually inherit?" Zedd asked in one long breath.
He'd gone to Ambrosio's tavern immediately after leaving the confessor's palace and waited until late afternoon when Richard had finally arrived. While he waited, he thought over all he'd seen and learned and was now presenting his conclusions to Richard. They were sitting in the furthest back corner, so that Zedd could keep his eyes on the entire room, just in case someone had wandering ears.
Richard nodded.
"Does any of that seem familiar?" He asked at Zedd's look of concentration.
Zedd looked at him and smiled disarmingly.
"Sorry my boy, I'm as blank as a door nail. Perhaps, if you start at the beginning?"
"Okay, sure. Where should I begin?" Richard answered easily.
"Let's start with Darken Rahl's death. He is dead isn't he?" Zedd asked cautiously.
"Yes. He died by destroying the Boxes of Orden."
"And thereby tearing the veil between the Underworld and the land of the living." Zedd supplied.
Richard nodded again, this time with a small smile, thinking that Zedd was starting to remember.
"What happened after that?"
Richard then began to tell him of their adventures after that point. Zedd would input what he already knew, well aware that Richard would assume he was slowly regaining his memory. On occasion he would ask unnecessary questions to keep up his ruse since he knew they would eventually arrive to the point where things had changed between his own reality and this one.
"Do you remember when Mistress split in two after the amulet of Olderan broke?" Richard asked.
"I believe I do." Zedd said, pretending to concentrate.
"If I remember correctly, the amulet broke because K-mistress's heart, her desire to stay with you and her head, her duty calling her back to protect Aydindril, were in conflict. Combined with the Powerful Magic of the amulet, mistress's desire and her duty separated into two different beings."
Richard nodded before picking up where Zedd left off.
"At first, Kahlan didn't seem any different, until she tried using her powers and found out that they were gone. So we decided to go to Aydindril to find you. But when we got there, another Kahlan was there, sentencing you to death. Do you remember?"
"Oh yes, I remember that. I also remember that you tried to reason with that Kahlan which lead to a fight that resulted in you and Cara being captured. Then Kahlan took Cara away but Cara returned after subduing her before the day of my execution and I was able to put the two Kahlan's back into one...What?" He asked at Richard's confused expression.
"Zedd, Cara never came back. We stayed in the dungeons the whole night. In the morning, you, the Kahlan that had been confessed, and I were brought before our mistress. With Cara standing on her right, she judged me guilty of treason, not only to the Mother Confessor but to the world for forsaking my quest for my own selfish desires. My punishment was to be confessed and forced back to finding the Stone of Tears. She also judged you guilty but revoked you death sentence so that you could aid me on my journey.
"When I asked what would happen to Cara, Mistress told me that Cara had become her mate. At the time, I lost control of the sword's anger and I attacked. Cara stepped in front of Mistress and took the sword's magic. She only used enough of it against me to make me drop it. Then she stepped behind me and pressed her agiel to my shoulder so that I would kneel before Mistress who then confessed me.
"I know now that I was wrong to defy Mistress and try to hurt Cara. She only wished to please our mistress as I do now. After I was confessed, she released my sword's magic and they've both thankfully forgiven me. Now I'm able to serve them to the best of my abilities.”
Zedd stared wide-eyed at Richard. He could hardly fathom what he was hearing. Why hadn't Cara come back that morning? What could have caused her to ever hurt Richard? Granted, it was the least amount of pain she could inflict, but to harm Richard at all? Then what he'd done came to him.
Dahlia.
He had erased Dahlia from Cara's past. But how could one simple mord'sith missing from her life make such a difference? Sure he'd noticed that Cara and Dahlia were closer, more affectionate for a mord'sith anyway, than anyone he saw Cara interact with, except maybe Kahlan. Still, Dahlia couldn't have played such a pivotal role in Cara's life, could she? After all, she was just another Mord'Sith, or had she been something more to Cara and without her in her past, Cara was someone different?
"Zedd? Are you alright?" Richard asked at Zedd's intense frown and deep concentration.
"Hmm?" Zedd asked, coming out of his thoughts.
"Is everything alright?" Richard asked again.
"Oh, yes. Everything's fine. I'm just having a little trouble remembering that particular day. Tell me what happened after you were confessed."
"Well, you got angry, really angry and almost got out of your bindings but Cara stopped you and made you kneel as well. Mistress said that she could see that you were upset. She asked you to look past your emotions for me, so that you could understand that what she'd done was for the best, not only for the Midlands, but for the entire world. You told her that you understood but when she looked into your eyes, she could tell that you were lying.
"You were confessed and when asked, you admitted that you were going to put the amulet back together the first chance you got. You confessed that if that hadn't freed me, you would've tried to kill Mistress. Then you begged her forgiveness and when she gave it, you thanked her and pledged yourself as wizard of the First Order, to be in her eternal service."
"Is that when we returned to finding the Stone of Tears?" Zedd asked, not sure what else to say.
"No, we left the next morning."
"All of us?"
"Well Mistress stayed in Aydindril but you, me, the other Kahlan and Cara left."
"Why didn't Cara stay?" Zedd asked. If she'd agreed to be Kahlan's mate, why didn't she stay to protect her?
"Cara suggested that she go so that we had a better chance of finding the stone faster and Mistress agreed.
Zedd nodded. That made sense.
"How long did it take us to find the stone?" He asked.
"About two weeks. It would've been sooner but we had a few distractions."
Zedd's eyes widened.
"That fast?"
Richard nodded.
"Cara explained that the faster we found the stone and sealed the rift to the underworld, the safer Mistress would be. We all agreed. When we weren't eating or sleeping, we were riding hard, following the compass. We fought only when absolutely necessary.
"Because our movements were completely different from before and almost always constant, the Keeper, Darken Rahl, or the Sisters of the Dark couldn't pinpoint where we were or what we were going."
"If the Keeper wasn't able to send his minions after us, what were the distractions you mentioned?"
"Well, when we first started out, Nicci managed to find us. Turns out that when we just seemed to vanish, her sisters blamed her for their failure to kill Kahlan, and turned on her. She managed to find us on her own and performed what she called a 'maternity spell' on Kahlan."
"But, with Kahlan not whole, the spell wouldn't have worked." Zedd said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"It didn't, but Nicci didn't realize that."
"So when she let Cara capture her the next morning, she had no idea that she'd willingly made herself our prisoner." Zedd answered, putting the pieces together.
Richard nodded again, this time with a small smile.
"Well don't just sit there smiling, what happened next?" Zedd asked impatiently. Richard's smile grew larger before he continued.
"Once Nicci realized her plan had failed, she tried to escape but Cara subdued her. We all agreed that it was too dangerous to continue our quest with her, so we took her back to Aydindril. Once she was confessed, we left her with Mistress and started on our journey again.
"A week into our travels, the compass led us across the path of my father."
"Panis Rahl." Zedd supplied, remembering how he had almost killed someone he once considered a good friend.
"Yeah. He explained that he wanted to atone for his sins and that he had the key to using the Stone of Tears. Cara was suspicious at first, but he swore that he only wanted to help, and she threatened that if he was lying, she would make him regret the day his mother spread her legs for his father. Her words, not mine." Richard chipped in with a sheepish grin.
Zedd could see that Richard still held that boyishness he always had, even at thirty years old. It warmed his heart to know that his grandson hadn't lost who he was even after ten years of being confessed.
"Anyway, it turned out that Panis was telling the truth. He led us to a scroll that had instructions about what to do once we had the stone. But-"
"But we needed the light of a Nightwisp to read what it said." Zedd finished.
"That's right. We went to the Nightwisp forest, read the instructions, and then went after the stone again. When we got close, you mentioned that the place we were nearing was cloaked in Powerful Magic. Cara didn't like it, so she and I continued to follow the compass while you and Kahlan stayed behind.
"We found the stone but it turned out to be in an enchanted valley that we got stuck in. It wasn't until we found a woman who had the means to contact someone outside the valley that we were even able to tell you and Kahlan what had happened."
Zedd nodded.
"I remember. The young woman and her male companion had matching enchanted rings that allowed them to communicate no matter where they were. You sent the young man to find me and C-Kahlan and then asked me to perform the spell of retrieving to get the stone out of the valley. Once I had, the compass led you out of the valley as well."
Zedd thought for a moment.
"If it only took us two weeks to find the stone, and we had to place it at the Pillars of Creation under the noon day sun on the summer solstice, what did we do for the whole month in between?" He asked.
Richard smiled at that.
"Cara decided that instead of going straight to the pillars and giving the Keeper that time to find us, we would make ourselves 'visible' so to speak, for short periods of time and always in a completely random and different location than before. Then we started defeating banelings in a circle around where the first rift had appeared, to make it seem as if that's where we needed to be and was staying close. Half a week before the solstice, we rode non-stop to the pillars and made it just in time to seal the tear in the veil." Richard finished.
Zedd had to admit that it was a clever way to keep the Keeper and his minions off their true trail.
"When did we find Declan?"
"It was a day after the veil had been closed. We came across a deserted village. There was nothing but dead bodies, or at least we thought so until Cara found him in one of the houses. He hadn't wanted to leave his father, who was dead, but we convinced him that it would be safer if he came with us.
"We took him to the nearest inhabited village and found him a family who would take care of him. When we left however, he followed at a distance. Kahlan was worried about him but Cara said that when he got hungry, he would go back. He followed for two and a half days before she finally decided to put a stop to it. When she went to confront him though, he held his ground.
"They just stood there staring each other down, Cara with her arms crossed and Declan with his curled into defiant fists at his sides. Finally Cara told him to keep up and not to fall behind, just like that. He hasn't fallen behind since."
Zedd sat there for a moment, pondering all the things he'd been told so far. Richard took the time to order a drink from a nearby barmaid. The chain he was wearing caught Zedd's attention again and once Richard got his drink and the barmaid was gone, he asked,
"Richard, what's that around your neck?"
Richard grabbed the chain by its pendant to hold it up.
"This? It's the crest of those who protect the Rahl family."
"Isn't that what the Dragon Core is for?"
"Yes, but this is different. The house of Rahl, the Lord Rahl has the mord'sith and the Dragon Core as their personal guard. The Mother Confessor, our mistress, has the Home Guard but Lord Rahl and mistress only trust a select few to personally protect their family.
"There are mistresses Berdine and Raina, who stay in D'Hara. You and Nicci who alternate staying in Aydindril to protect the Wizard's Keep, and then there's Declan and I, who always travel with the family."
"I can understand why everyone else would be chosen, but Declan? He hardly looks like he can protect himself, much less Lord Rahl and her family." Zedd replied.
Richard laughed at that.
"He may not look like much but Declan is a very capable fighter, with and without weapons. Sometimes, when he fights, it's as if he's possessed by the Keeper himself. In those times, even I have trouble getting him under control. Only the sight of Cara or the princesses can calm him, almost instantly. He belongs protecting them as much as any of us. As for the chain, only we selected few wear them as the only identification to who we are."
"I don't have one." Zedd said, looking at his chest.
"Of course you do. It's under your robes." Richard pointed out.
Zedd patted himself down before reaching inside his robes and pulling out his own chain.
In his palm sat the strange pendant he'd been seeing, the crest of the Rahl family. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary rendering of the Grace but a closer look revealed the twin 'R's of the house of Rahl inside the star, in the center of the Grace.
Part 2