(no subject)
Title: Victory never leaves everyone unscathed
Author: Doc Ete
Pairing: Cara/Ofc eventual Cara/Kahlan
Disclaimer: none of it is mine, but one ofc
Summary: during the course of their quest, Richard slips an elixir in a woman's drink to force her to divulge certain information, and it has consequences not seen until the end of their quest, when they return to Aydindril.
A/N: this started as a pwp and acquired plot...as most of my things do. hope it is enjoyable either way
Warnings: submissive Cara? mentions of rape. kinda non con if you squint and look into the future chapters
Chapter 1: Supplication
“So the Seeker and the Mother Confessor are seated on their throne's, given all the honor in the world.”
A woman from the supplicants benches rose, her face twisted in a sneer. The Home Guard of Aydindril, the protectors of the Mother Confessor, stepped forward to restrain the angry woman, but one small nod from Kahlan and they stepped back as commanded. The woman, noticing the silent order, sneered more if that was possible. Her anger warped her beautiful face, and despite Kahlan's knowledge that she was perfectly safe, she felt her heart rate accelerate slightly. Here was a woman who truly hated. Whether she hated Kahlan herself, the position of Mother Confessor, or the absence of both from the Midlands, Kahlan had no idea, but it made guilt swell up within her.
It had only been days since she, Richard, Zedd, and Cara had reached Aydindril, and it was only upon their arrival did she realize exactly how far into chaos that the Midlands had plunged without a Mother Confessor. Prince Fyren was simply the first page of a thick book of wrongs that had been perpetrated. As they walked through the city, Kahlan could feel how the people rejoiced at her return, but also secretly fumed at her absence. They felt abandoned, and in a way she did abandon them. She should have chosen responsibilities over feelings; she should have sent Dennee back to Aydidril to keep the peace, not send her into hiding. It was that festering guilt that made her sign down the guard - she would hear what it was this woman had to say.
“They have single-handily saved the world from not only Darken Rahl, but the Keeper as well,” the woman, Aria, continued not fearing, or caring, about any retribution, “but who saves us from them?” And though her words fell heavy like blows, what struck Kahlan the most were her eyes. They were a chocolate brown with swirling fury, but they were completely open and bare, as if she had no barriers. Many people knew they had no hope of hiding from a Confessor, but still, as human nature dictated, they tried to put up walls. This woman had no such thing. She blazed from within with fury and unadulterated truth.
“First of all, I'm on no throne. Here the Mother Confessor rules, I'm just observing by her allowance,” Richard said, his voice tempered by the righteousness of the title of Seeker. Automatically his hand strayed to his hilt - exactly the wrong move.
“And now your hand strays to your sword, Seeker. Is that how you solve all problems? With such a heavy-handedness?” Aria accused, moving forward until she stood just feet from the table where Kahlan sat, and Richard stood, her gaze switching from the Confessor to Richard. For a moment, just as Kahlan was momentarily stunned by the fierceness of the woman's glare, Richard sank under the heavy gaze.
“Calm boy.” Zedd's quiet voice reached him from where the old wizard sat next to him, and sheepishly Richard slid his hand off his hilt. One glance at Zedd's furrowed white brows transformed him from the righteous Seeker of Truth, hero of Midlands, Ruler of D'Hara, to simply Richard Cypher, man of Hartland.
“I don't go to violence needlessly,” Richard replied, his voice tinted with offense and confusion as he finally found his tongue. The chamber was dead silent, and instead of fear, curiosity seemed to fill the room. Who was this woman? What was she accusing the Hailed Hero's of the World of? Under the scrutiny of the room, Richard's Rahl-red trimmed tunic and trousers felt heavy and over thick, making him sweat.
When he woke up that morning, in a soft bed, finally since spirits knew how long, he simply wanted to go out and explore the fascinating and sprawling city of Aydindril. In his heart he was still a small town huntsmen from Hartland, and the expanse of Aydindril was something that astounded him. But his plans were waylaid when Zedd and Kahlan sat next to him at breakfast. The conversation stated innocently enough with them discussing idle things, sleep, weather, food, the disappearance of Cara, the Mord'Sith slowly trickling into the city. Then things switched to him being fitted for clothes, then how he was to observe Kahlan's duties so he had an idea of how he should rule.
He. Rule. On some level he knew he was the Lord Rahl. Cara reminded him often, and so did the peppering of Mord'Sith and D'Haran soldiers he came across the past few days, but on a conscious level it never meant anything to him. And now he was just reminded how over his head he was. He didn't know what to do with this woman. She was right. He wanted to draw his sword, wave it as Seeker, and make all of the problems go away, but this was not something he could slay to everyone's betterment.
“Are you saying that we have wronged you?” Kahlan interrupted pulling the woman's attention from the floundering Richard to herself. She had been raised for this, and she took pity on Richard, hoping he would somehow find the knowledge to bear his burden within the coming days.
When the woman first spoke she had startled Kahlan, and for a long few moments the mask and authority of the Mother Confessor had wavered. But seeing Richard's uncertainty allowed her to find the strength to have it return this time, with no flaws to crack. She was the Mother Confessor, the highest moral authority in the Midlands, and she was the backbone of her people.
Kahlan stood slowly, the full weight of her position and dignity swirling around her. A small gasp rose from the crowd. It was as if a spell had just been unleashed, but it was certainly not one of Zeddicus Zul'Zorander's doing. It was simply the majesty that was Kahlan Amnell, Mother Confessor. Reaching up Kahlan lowered the hood of her robe, trying in her own way to lower herself from her pedestal, while still retaining her position.
“If so, then there is a process, a way to apply for the righting of a wrong in the court of the Mother Confessor,” Kahlan finally finished. Her voice was soft, but firm, and meant to reprimand. Aria raised her chin defiantly, though her sneer was wiped off her face, refusing to admit how she was swayed by the dignity of Kahlan standing before her. As if shaking off the blindness caused by staring into the sun, she tried to rekindle her anger. The sneer reappeared on her lips, and her delicate, pale skin spotted with red once more.
“Well then Mother Confessor,” Aria replied, sarcasm and venom dripping from her tongue, “I humbly apply that you right a most grievous wrong.” The words were all of the right ones, and though Kahlan knew they were not said in seriousness, she nodded her head regally, as if saying it didn't matter, and that she was graciously letting it slide.
“Who is the accused party? And what was the wrong?”
Aria grit her teeth slightly at the move, hating the way Kahlan was not rising to her petty insults. She wanted anger back to refuel her own, and she was not being given that. Her hands twisted momentarily in her skirts. In a way, Kahlan's lack of reaction fanned the seeding flames of hate within herself, and gave her some of her own indignation to stand on.
“The accused party is you, and the Seeker, and his Wizard,” Aria spat out to the surprise of nearly everyone, “and the wrong was the taking of my free will.”
Though Kahlan was raised for such responsibility from a young age, there were things that broke down her walls and could conceivably break the strength she had as Mother Confessor, and such an accusation was one of them. Rearing back, the spell was broken as Kahlan's face seemed to shatter. Free will. Ever since she was a child, she struggled with the concept of taking someone's free will, and it was only recently that she discovered the path that seemed to help her reconcile her duty with such a consequence.
“Y-you are confessed?” Kahlan choked out, the words barely making it past the lump in her throat. Immediately thoughts began whirling around her mind. This woman did not call her Confessor, she could not be Confessed. But she truthfully said her free will was taken, so perhaps she was. It was possible that somehow some anomaly had occurred, that Kahlan had doomed this woman to something worse than confession. Images of everyone she had confessed flashed through her mind as she searched to place the face before her, but nothing clicked.
That was another heart rending blow to Kahlan, and she sucked in a pained breath. Suddenly she felt a soothing presence and she flicked her eyes closed, searching for some measure of control with the safety of her guardian behind her. When she was young she swore she would remember everyone she confessed, so she would remember the consequence of such an action...and to forget a face? Unthinkable.
“I am not confessed, Mother Confessor,” Aria replied, pity coloring her tone slightly as she took in Kahlan's broken image. Aria had prepared herself for being faced with righteousness as Richard momentarily showed, but the deep sorrow of the Confessor was surprising. It did not smother her anger entirely, but it allowed the flames to settle slightly. “I was spelled, under your command.”
“You! Aria.” Zedd stood loudly, his chair scraping against the floor with abruptness, and he finally placed the face. She was a prostitute in a tavern they had gone through. Through the tavern keep he learned she was one of the only people to know of a safe passage through the desert to get to the Pillars of Creation. Aria smirked at the recognition, but the smile was a twisted one full of sadness, hate, and defeat.
“So you remember me now Wizard? You and your Seeker and your Confessor needed something from me. You needed information about passage through the desert.” At Aria's words Kahlan finally placed her face. She remembered the day, she remembered seeing the woman, but she did not remember wronging her. Her confusion must have been apparent as Aria continued her explanation.
“Do you remember your words Mother Confessor?” The title was spat out with such disgust that Kahlan winced. She was supposed to be a symbol of peace and justice, not said as if she were no better than Darken Rahl. “No? Let me remind you. You told your beloved Seeker if he wanted to do such a deed, that you would not stop him. But you yourself would not be involved.”
“She didn't mean it like that,” Richard sputtered, finally interrupting as he also placed the woman in his mind. “I simply suggested a potion*, it was harmless...” He trailed off, running out of words to say in his own head. The quote was rather damning, but it was taken out of context.
“Yes, it was so harmless that the Mother Confessor declined to be a part of it,” Aria snapped, “as if denial absolves you. Or you Wizard. And especially you, Lord Richard Rahl.” The title hit Richard like a physical blow. It made him want to do more than lay a hand on the hilt of his sword. It made him want to draw it, but just a second before he did so, he realized what it would mean if he did. Struggling with that thought, he kept silent.
“No, Zedd. Richard. She's right.” Kahlan said softly, interrupting Zedd before he had a chance to speak. “I knew that bottled magic - potions - were dangerous things. I told you before that to use them was to court disaster. I knew, and I let you because I thought we would be lucky once more, and get the results we needed with no consequence.” Letting out a shaky breath Kahlan tried to gather the tattered remains of her dignity as a Confessor. “What were the consequences?”
“I must obey every command, and I must tell every secret,” Aria spat, “I can not even lie to you now as you have commanded for me to tell.” For a second neither Kahlan, Richard, or Zedd knew what to say as the weight of what was done settled within their minds. This woman was sentenced to something worse than confession. It was the loss of free will of confession, but coupled with the lack of devotion and love to ease such commands; at least the confessed felt as if everything they did was good and pleasing to their Mistress.
“Your eyes, that is why I can see-” Kahlan murmured before cutting off again. Tears rose in her eyes even though she fought for the composure to keep them at bay. Again the comforting presence at her back and side lent her strength and she straightened, once more the Confessor.
“I, as Mother Confessor, acquiesce to your demand, that your wrong may be righted.” The words were formal, but they shook with emotion that Kahlan couldn't quite hide. “Since the supplication has been accepted, next is the righting of the wrong, and finally, your retribution and settlement.”
*potions, as in the potions bought in season 1 episode Elixir
Chapter 2: Righting
When Aria blinked and next looked into Kahlan's eyes, the change was obvious to the Confessor, but probably not to those within the chamber. The walls that she first observed as being non-existent within Aria's eyes, while weak, were now in place. A small sigh escaped her lips. The spell to undo what had been done by the elixer was a simple one, but that placated Aria, and Kahlan, none at all. It was almost more staggering that such a simple thing could have saved this woman a year or more of pain.
Zedd slipped back to his seat from where he was standing for the reversal spell*, a faint aura of tiredness surrounding him, but otherwise fine. It was time to move to the step that had Kahlan stumped. How did you attempt to pay someone back for such a mistake? But somehow they must. Not only because they owed this young woman that, but because as Mother Confessor, she rightly ruled so.
“Is there anything you want?” Kahlan hesitantly spoke, unsure of how to approach the subject. Aria, while not unreadable, was somewhat harder to judge without delving too deep, and Kahlan felt as if she had no right to invade within the woman's mind anymore
A bitter laugh escaped from Aria's lips. Want? Was there something that could replace what was taken from her? What she went through? With a flat expression, now that she finally had control over her own thoughts, Aria proceeded to leave no detail out on what she was forced to endure. As a prostitute, as a whore, her free will was already in question. To survive she agreed to the demands of nearly everyone, but always she had some measure of denial as her last bit of protection. With the potion and spell working on her, she had no protection at all. Anything a client wanted, she had to give. If they wanted to paint her body with blood before ripping into her, she would give it. And if someone wanted her to betray a client or a friend? She would betray them. She recounted all of her experiences, leaving not a single detail out, even as Kahlan turned ashen, and Richard's throat worked to rid himself of the lump caught within it. Zedd, even with his long life, paled, and other supplicants and observers were affected as well.
“Want, Mother Confessor? I no longer know what I want. You of all people should understand how it is to lose free will,” Aria replied, bitterness coating her tongue, no, her whole being and forcing her to take a stab at Kahlan. Her fingers returned to her dress, to twist in the trimmed blue fabric that declared her position. The material was rich and revealing for a well-to-do woman's clothes, but too brash for a woman with true title and power. The only explanation of course was her profession as a whore.
“What can we do?” Richard voice cracked slightly as he finally spoke from his long silence. Kahlan's gaze flew to his, and she pinned him with a surprised look he could not interpret. Richard saw her tense, and was about to ask what was wrong, when the shadows behind her began to shift. From the dark alcove behind the chair of the Mother Confessor, red leather began to emerge. It was simply Cara, and Richard relaxed. He was not surprised to see that Cara had been secretly guarding them.
Kahlan's mouth fell open slightly as she observed Cara slide into view from behind her. The entire time the Confessor had assumed the soothing presence had come from Richard, that he was simply lending her his strength, but with Cara visibly at her side, it was obvious that she was the source. Swallowing her surprise, Kahlan filed the thought for later, turning back to the more important matter at hand.
Glancing over to her left where Cara stood, Kahlan found herself staring accidentally into green eyes, and was worried to see and odd expression on the Mord'Sith's face. It was a cross between worry and determination, and Kahlan knew it did not bode well. But before she was able to say a word Cara moved.
Cara sauntered up to Aria, a powerful smirk on her lips as she took in the woman up close. She was rather beautiful she had to admit. Aria had a lean yet curvy body that certainly fit the employment of a prostitute, her face was well suited to luring in customers, and Cara had to admit that her long black brown hair, twisted an primped just so, was enticing for so many wrong reasons. She wasn't particularly fond of the loud blue dress with the plunging neckline Aria wore, but she couldn't complain about the view of the body underneath it afforded. Her green eyes slammed into the browns of Aria, and slowly she raised a single brow as she canted her hips to the right.
It was easy to recognize the leering look the Mord'Sith displayed, Aria had certainly worked long enough to know when someone was appraising her, but to be looked at as such by a Mord'Sith was surely more dangerous than she had ever encountered before. For a mad moment Aria wondered if the Mother Confessor had simply decided to get rid of her, but then, the Mord'Sith spoke.
“I know just about all there is to know about power and choice.” Aria swallowed reflexively at the tone Cara used. It was husky, and soaked with the very commanding aura she spoke of. The dark brunette wished she could just reach out and grab the tone, and covet it for herself. “And you say you've lost that. In return, for clearing the debt the Confessor...and the Lord Rahl...owes you, I offer you the rarest of choices, and power.”
“What would that be?” Aria cleared her throat softly as her voice cracked under the constant scrutiny of the Mord'Sith. She briefly looked past the leather clad woman to Kahlan, but saw only confusion within her face. A glance to her right showed that the Lord Rahl and the Wizard was equally clueless. Feeling a burn on her face, the prostitute flicked her eyes back to Cara's glowing green gaze.
“I offer you,” Cara trailed off, her voice dropping lower, in a tone Aria could only label as powerfully seductive, “the submission of a Mord'Sith.” Immediately Aria's brows shot to her hairline, and her mouth fell open. A moan worked its way low in her throat, but she shut her mouth before it could escape. The submission of a Mord'Sith, easily the most powerful women in the world.
Aria craved power. Not because she wished dominance over every living creature, but because it was some rare and expensive treat she had been denied for so long. She wanted it so she could roll it around her tongue, savor its taste. She wanted it to coat her heart, treat her wounds, and this proposition could possibly give her an ocean of power compared to a puddle she may find elsewhere.
Cara immediately saw her acquiescence to the offer, and she needed no confessor powers to do so. She intimately understood the craving the woman had, even if she hadn't experienced it since she was a young trainee. But what was more, she knew that Kahlan was stuck in a terrible position if she did not offer such. As the Mother Confessor she had promised to somehow find equal payment for the wrong, but Cara knew nothing short of what she suggested would even come close to equaling what Aria craved. She would not allow Kahlan to carry such a debt, nor the Mother Confessor.
“Cara! No!” Closing her eyes, Cara felt her heart hitch as Kahlan immediately protested. It made her feel something deep within her chest to know that Kahlan was opposed to her sacrifice, but either way, Cara was willing to do so. As she thought before, no debt would linger in Kahlan's heart. Cara would use her blood and body to repay the debt.
“For one night, if that is acceptable,” Cara continued, ignoring Kahlan's outburst. “There are no restrictions on what you may do.”
Aria simply stared at Cara almost blankly. Just as everyone was struck dumb by her tale, she was struck dumb with the weight of the offer. It would be the ultimate form of power and protection to have tamed a Mord'Sith, and it would be the ultimate salve to her heart. She tried to tell herself that agreeing would be terrible, but she already knew she would. She craved this, and no niggling conscience could stop her.
“How do I know you won't simply kill me?”
“The Mother Confessor had but to command me so.” Cara kept her gaze trained on Aria's as she answered, Kahlan's continued protests falling into the background. She would do this, pride be damned. “Though my one change is that you may do anything but command me to hurt others, myself not included.”
“Cara, it isn't worth it, please!” Kahlan's voice sounded desperate, and Cara closed her eyes as she tore the tone apart in her head. She relished the strain protectiveness, coveted the care, and then she blocked it out as she replied almost woodenly.
“My body is not my own. It exists only in service, and if my body can pay the debts of whom it serves, it would be gladly willing.”
“Richard!” Kahlan half screamed his name, trying to wake him from his stupor before Cara went through with her plan. Kahlan didn't quite understand why she was so beside herself, only that she was, and that Cara had something to do with it. For some reason the image of Cara kneeling to this other woman made her want to clench the blades of her daggers, even drag them across her hair. Richard finally stirred, looking at her darkening blue eyes, but he shrugged helplessly, which enraged Kahlan even more.
The near silence of the room since Aria burst turned into a dull roar as Cara offered her settlement, and that roar seemed to ring in Kahlan's head. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the retribution was fair. Everyone but her.
“Cara?” Kahlan sighed; finally, Richard's voice. He would convince her this was madness. “You don't have to do this...” Kahlan gaped. How could he? He wasn't trying to dissuade Cara at all. Furiously Kahlan spun to face him and Zedd.
“You are letting her whore herself for our mistakes? You are letting her bleed for us? For me?” Zedd's heavy silence was his only answer, and Richard simply looked at her with wounded eyes as he tried to explain.
“If there was another way...but you decreed...”
“I accept this retribution Mother Confessor.” Kahlan opened her mouth to refuse, to say her final word was that such madness would not occur, but her words were arrested by one fierce look from Cara. The blond had such a piercing look on her face that Kahlan knew it would haunt her until it was no longer a mystery. Silently she closed her mouth, and simply observed, tears springing to her eyes inexplicably.
“So truly? You will be at my beck and call?” Aria couldn't help the wonder from creeping into her voice. After so long of obeying every command even casually given, she felt almost beside herself with her new power. A slow and steady ache built within her blood, and the ache became a pounding as Cara answered her affirmatively with the title of Mistress. Another moan rose into her throat, but this time she only somewhat stifled it. The sound reached Cara's ears, and Aria saw her head bow slightly lower in reaction.
“Kneel then.” Immediately Cara fell to her knees, her hands clasping behind her in a position that never quite stopped being familiar. Memories of the last time she was in such a position flitted through her head, but ever the Mord'Sith, she did not allow memories of her past Mistress' to color the obeying of this one.
“Cara...” Cara ignored the broken voice of Kahlan behind her, refusing to look deeper into why her submission to Aria pained the Confessor so much. Inside her heart she felt the raging urge to fight back, to stand, to never kneel again, but she battled the urges back, chanting in her head that it was for Kahlan and Richard she submitted. It was for the Confessor she lent herself out. It was for her real Mistress that she would accept anything. The chant stayed in the back of her mind, reminding her of her place, and soon Cara fell deeply into the persona of a Mord'Sith in submission.
She blocked everything out that she did not need, and soon, all she heard was the steady beat of her own heart, and all she saw, were the boots of her Mistress.
“You don't even look back at her?” Cara heard her new Mistress ask a question and rushed to obey, not caring about the tone of wonder that still coated the words, but only that she must obey.
“I would never look away from the boots of my Mistress,” Cara replied lowly, almost confused why her loyalty to her Mistress, her training, was being questioned. Her mind had transported her back to the temples to cope with her sudden mind altering submission, and she would be there until the morning, just as bargained.
“Oh Cara.” Richard couldn't help but sigh the words just as Kahlan did a moment earlier, emotion heavy in his voice. He thought it would be simple for Cara, she would pretend to be a lap dog, and she would return in the morning in a foul mood, but unaltered. He thought nothing could possibly harm the Mord'Sith, but what he didn't count on, was Cara hurting herself.
Still in a fog he barely registered as Aria commanded Cara to get up and lead her to her chambers. He continued staring at the spot where the red clad Mord'Sith had knelt so uncharacteristically when she had long left. He dimly heard Zedd urging Kahlan to continue with her duties for the day, and her cracking voice as she agreed. He followed like a drugged gar when Zedd pulled him back to his chair, his gaze still trained on the spot where he saw Cara break. Staring at the spot where he knew irrevocably Cara loved Kahlan.
*powerful magic y'know
Author: Doc Ete
Pairing: Cara/Ofc eventual Cara/Kahlan
Disclaimer: none of it is mine, but one ofc
Summary: during the course of their quest, Richard slips an elixir in a woman's drink to force her to divulge certain information, and it has consequences not seen until the end of their quest, when they return to Aydindril.
A/N: this started as a pwp and acquired plot...as most of my things do. hope it is enjoyable either way
Warnings: submissive Cara? mentions of rape. kinda non con if you squint and look into the future chapters
Chapter 1: Supplication
“So the Seeker and the Mother Confessor are seated on their throne's, given all the honor in the world.”
A woman from the supplicants benches rose, her face twisted in a sneer. The Home Guard of Aydindril, the protectors of the Mother Confessor, stepped forward to restrain the angry woman, but one small nod from Kahlan and they stepped back as commanded. The woman, noticing the silent order, sneered more if that was possible. Her anger warped her beautiful face, and despite Kahlan's knowledge that she was perfectly safe, she felt her heart rate accelerate slightly. Here was a woman who truly hated. Whether she hated Kahlan herself, the position of Mother Confessor, or the absence of both from the Midlands, Kahlan had no idea, but it made guilt swell up within her.
It had only been days since she, Richard, Zedd, and Cara had reached Aydindril, and it was only upon their arrival did she realize exactly how far into chaos that the Midlands had plunged without a Mother Confessor. Prince Fyren was simply the first page of a thick book of wrongs that had been perpetrated. As they walked through the city, Kahlan could feel how the people rejoiced at her return, but also secretly fumed at her absence. They felt abandoned, and in a way she did abandon them. She should have chosen responsibilities over feelings; she should have sent Dennee back to Aydidril to keep the peace, not send her into hiding. It was that festering guilt that made her sign down the guard - she would hear what it was this woman had to say.
“They have single-handily saved the world from not only Darken Rahl, but the Keeper as well,” the woman, Aria, continued not fearing, or caring, about any retribution, “but who saves us from them?” And though her words fell heavy like blows, what struck Kahlan the most were her eyes. They were a chocolate brown with swirling fury, but they were completely open and bare, as if she had no barriers. Many people knew they had no hope of hiding from a Confessor, but still, as human nature dictated, they tried to put up walls. This woman had no such thing. She blazed from within with fury and unadulterated truth.
“First of all, I'm on no throne. Here the Mother Confessor rules, I'm just observing by her allowance,” Richard said, his voice tempered by the righteousness of the title of Seeker. Automatically his hand strayed to his hilt - exactly the wrong move.
“And now your hand strays to your sword, Seeker. Is that how you solve all problems? With such a heavy-handedness?” Aria accused, moving forward until she stood just feet from the table where Kahlan sat, and Richard stood, her gaze switching from the Confessor to Richard. For a moment, just as Kahlan was momentarily stunned by the fierceness of the woman's glare, Richard sank under the heavy gaze.
“Calm boy.” Zedd's quiet voice reached him from where the old wizard sat next to him, and sheepishly Richard slid his hand off his hilt. One glance at Zedd's furrowed white brows transformed him from the righteous Seeker of Truth, hero of Midlands, Ruler of D'Hara, to simply Richard Cypher, man of Hartland.
“I don't go to violence needlessly,” Richard replied, his voice tinted with offense and confusion as he finally found his tongue. The chamber was dead silent, and instead of fear, curiosity seemed to fill the room. Who was this woman? What was she accusing the Hailed Hero's of the World of? Under the scrutiny of the room, Richard's Rahl-red trimmed tunic and trousers felt heavy and over thick, making him sweat.
When he woke up that morning, in a soft bed, finally since spirits knew how long, he simply wanted to go out and explore the fascinating and sprawling city of Aydindril. In his heart he was still a small town huntsmen from Hartland, and the expanse of Aydindril was something that astounded him. But his plans were waylaid when Zedd and Kahlan sat next to him at breakfast. The conversation stated innocently enough with them discussing idle things, sleep, weather, food, the disappearance of Cara, the Mord'Sith slowly trickling into the city. Then things switched to him being fitted for clothes, then how he was to observe Kahlan's duties so he had an idea of how he should rule.
He. Rule. On some level he knew he was the Lord Rahl. Cara reminded him often, and so did the peppering of Mord'Sith and D'Haran soldiers he came across the past few days, but on a conscious level it never meant anything to him. And now he was just reminded how over his head he was. He didn't know what to do with this woman. She was right. He wanted to draw his sword, wave it as Seeker, and make all of the problems go away, but this was not something he could slay to everyone's betterment.
“Are you saying that we have wronged you?” Kahlan interrupted pulling the woman's attention from the floundering Richard to herself. She had been raised for this, and she took pity on Richard, hoping he would somehow find the knowledge to bear his burden within the coming days.
When the woman first spoke she had startled Kahlan, and for a long few moments the mask and authority of the Mother Confessor had wavered. But seeing Richard's uncertainty allowed her to find the strength to have it return this time, with no flaws to crack. She was the Mother Confessor, the highest moral authority in the Midlands, and she was the backbone of her people.
Kahlan stood slowly, the full weight of her position and dignity swirling around her. A small gasp rose from the crowd. It was as if a spell had just been unleashed, but it was certainly not one of Zeddicus Zul'Zorander's doing. It was simply the majesty that was Kahlan Amnell, Mother Confessor. Reaching up Kahlan lowered the hood of her robe, trying in her own way to lower herself from her pedestal, while still retaining her position.
“If so, then there is a process, a way to apply for the righting of a wrong in the court of the Mother Confessor,” Kahlan finally finished. Her voice was soft, but firm, and meant to reprimand. Aria raised her chin defiantly, though her sneer was wiped off her face, refusing to admit how she was swayed by the dignity of Kahlan standing before her. As if shaking off the blindness caused by staring into the sun, she tried to rekindle her anger. The sneer reappeared on her lips, and her delicate, pale skin spotted with red once more.
“Well then Mother Confessor,” Aria replied, sarcasm and venom dripping from her tongue, “I humbly apply that you right a most grievous wrong.” The words were all of the right ones, and though Kahlan knew they were not said in seriousness, she nodded her head regally, as if saying it didn't matter, and that she was graciously letting it slide.
“Who is the accused party? And what was the wrong?”
Aria grit her teeth slightly at the move, hating the way Kahlan was not rising to her petty insults. She wanted anger back to refuel her own, and she was not being given that. Her hands twisted momentarily in her skirts. In a way, Kahlan's lack of reaction fanned the seeding flames of hate within herself, and gave her some of her own indignation to stand on.
“The accused party is you, and the Seeker, and his Wizard,” Aria spat out to the surprise of nearly everyone, “and the wrong was the taking of my free will.”
Though Kahlan was raised for such responsibility from a young age, there were things that broke down her walls and could conceivably break the strength she had as Mother Confessor, and such an accusation was one of them. Rearing back, the spell was broken as Kahlan's face seemed to shatter. Free will. Ever since she was a child, she struggled with the concept of taking someone's free will, and it was only recently that she discovered the path that seemed to help her reconcile her duty with such a consequence.
“Y-you are confessed?” Kahlan choked out, the words barely making it past the lump in her throat. Immediately thoughts began whirling around her mind. This woman did not call her Confessor, she could not be Confessed. But she truthfully said her free will was taken, so perhaps she was. It was possible that somehow some anomaly had occurred, that Kahlan had doomed this woman to something worse than confession. Images of everyone she had confessed flashed through her mind as she searched to place the face before her, but nothing clicked.
That was another heart rending blow to Kahlan, and she sucked in a pained breath. Suddenly she felt a soothing presence and she flicked her eyes closed, searching for some measure of control with the safety of her guardian behind her. When she was young she swore she would remember everyone she confessed, so she would remember the consequence of such an action...and to forget a face? Unthinkable.
“I am not confessed, Mother Confessor,” Aria replied, pity coloring her tone slightly as she took in Kahlan's broken image. Aria had prepared herself for being faced with righteousness as Richard momentarily showed, but the deep sorrow of the Confessor was surprising. It did not smother her anger entirely, but it allowed the flames to settle slightly. “I was spelled, under your command.”
“You! Aria.” Zedd stood loudly, his chair scraping against the floor with abruptness, and he finally placed the face. She was a prostitute in a tavern they had gone through. Through the tavern keep he learned she was one of the only people to know of a safe passage through the desert to get to the Pillars of Creation. Aria smirked at the recognition, but the smile was a twisted one full of sadness, hate, and defeat.
“So you remember me now Wizard? You and your Seeker and your Confessor needed something from me. You needed information about passage through the desert.” At Aria's words Kahlan finally placed her face. She remembered the day, she remembered seeing the woman, but she did not remember wronging her. Her confusion must have been apparent as Aria continued her explanation.
“Do you remember your words Mother Confessor?” The title was spat out with such disgust that Kahlan winced. She was supposed to be a symbol of peace and justice, not said as if she were no better than Darken Rahl. “No? Let me remind you. You told your beloved Seeker if he wanted to do such a deed, that you would not stop him. But you yourself would not be involved.”
“She didn't mean it like that,” Richard sputtered, finally interrupting as he also placed the woman in his mind. “I simply suggested a potion*, it was harmless...” He trailed off, running out of words to say in his own head. The quote was rather damning, but it was taken out of context.
“Yes, it was so harmless that the Mother Confessor declined to be a part of it,” Aria snapped, “as if denial absolves you. Or you Wizard. And especially you, Lord Richard Rahl.” The title hit Richard like a physical blow. It made him want to do more than lay a hand on the hilt of his sword. It made him want to draw it, but just a second before he did so, he realized what it would mean if he did. Struggling with that thought, he kept silent.
“No, Zedd. Richard. She's right.” Kahlan said softly, interrupting Zedd before he had a chance to speak. “I knew that bottled magic - potions - were dangerous things. I told you before that to use them was to court disaster. I knew, and I let you because I thought we would be lucky once more, and get the results we needed with no consequence.” Letting out a shaky breath Kahlan tried to gather the tattered remains of her dignity as a Confessor. “What were the consequences?”
“I must obey every command, and I must tell every secret,” Aria spat, “I can not even lie to you now as you have commanded for me to tell.” For a second neither Kahlan, Richard, or Zedd knew what to say as the weight of what was done settled within their minds. This woman was sentenced to something worse than confession. It was the loss of free will of confession, but coupled with the lack of devotion and love to ease such commands; at least the confessed felt as if everything they did was good and pleasing to their Mistress.
“Your eyes, that is why I can see-” Kahlan murmured before cutting off again. Tears rose in her eyes even though she fought for the composure to keep them at bay. Again the comforting presence at her back and side lent her strength and she straightened, once more the Confessor.
“I, as Mother Confessor, acquiesce to your demand, that your wrong may be righted.” The words were formal, but they shook with emotion that Kahlan couldn't quite hide. “Since the supplication has been accepted, next is the righting of the wrong, and finally, your retribution and settlement.”
*potions, as in the potions bought in season 1 episode Elixir
Chapter 2: Righting
When Aria blinked and next looked into Kahlan's eyes, the change was obvious to the Confessor, but probably not to those within the chamber. The walls that she first observed as being non-existent within Aria's eyes, while weak, were now in place. A small sigh escaped her lips. The spell to undo what had been done by the elixer was a simple one, but that placated Aria, and Kahlan, none at all. It was almost more staggering that such a simple thing could have saved this woman a year or more of pain.
Zedd slipped back to his seat from where he was standing for the reversal spell*, a faint aura of tiredness surrounding him, but otherwise fine. It was time to move to the step that had Kahlan stumped. How did you attempt to pay someone back for such a mistake? But somehow they must. Not only because they owed this young woman that, but because as Mother Confessor, she rightly ruled so.
“Is there anything you want?” Kahlan hesitantly spoke, unsure of how to approach the subject. Aria, while not unreadable, was somewhat harder to judge without delving too deep, and Kahlan felt as if she had no right to invade within the woman's mind anymore
A bitter laugh escaped from Aria's lips. Want? Was there something that could replace what was taken from her? What she went through? With a flat expression, now that she finally had control over her own thoughts, Aria proceeded to leave no detail out on what she was forced to endure. As a prostitute, as a whore, her free will was already in question. To survive she agreed to the demands of nearly everyone, but always she had some measure of denial as her last bit of protection. With the potion and spell working on her, she had no protection at all. Anything a client wanted, she had to give. If they wanted to paint her body with blood before ripping into her, she would give it. And if someone wanted her to betray a client or a friend? She would betray them. She recounted all of her experiences, leaving not a single detail out, even as Kahlan turned ashen, and Richard's throat worked to rid himself of the lump caught within it. Zedd, even with his long life, paled, and other supplicants and observers were affected as well.
“Want, Mother Confessor? I no longer know what I want. You of all people should understand how it is to lose free will,” Aria replied, bitterness coating her tongue, no, her whole being and forcing her to take a stab at Kahlan. Her fingers returned to her dress, to twist in the trimmed blue fabric that declared her position. The material was rich and revealing for a well-to-do woman's clothes, but too brash for a woman with true title and power. The only explanation of course was her profession as a whore.
“What can we do?” Richard voice cracked slightly as he finally spoke from his long silence. Kahlan's gaze flew to his, and she pinned him with a surprised look he could not interpret. Richard saw her tense, and was about to ask what was wrong, when the shadows behind her began to shift. From the dark alcove behind the chair of the Mother Confessor, red leather began to emerge. It was simply Cara, and Richard relaxed. He was not surprised to see that Cara had been secretly guarding them.
Kahlan's mouth fell open slightly as she observed Cara slide into view from behind her. The entire time the Confessor had assumed the soothing presence had come from Richard, that he was simply lending her his strength, but with Cara visibly at her side, it was obvious that she was the source. Swallowing her surprise, Kahlan filed the thought for later, turning back to the more important matter at hand.
Glancing over to her left where Cara stood, Kahlan found herself staring accidentally into green eyes, and was worried to see and odd expression on the Mord'Sith's face. It was a cross between worry and determination, and Kahlan knew it did not bode well. But before she was able to say a word Cara moved.
Cara sauntered up to Aria, a powerful smirk on her lips as she took in the woman up close. She was rather beautiful she had to admit. Aria had a lean yet curvy body that certainly fit the employment of a prostitute, her face was well suited to luring in customers, and Cara had to admit that her long black brown hair, twisted an primped just so, was enticing for so many wrong reasons. She wasn't particularly fond of the loud blue dress with the plunging neckline Aria wore, but she couldn't complain about the view of the body underneath it afforded. Her green eyes slammed into the browns of Aria, and slowly she raised a single brow as she canted her hips to the right.
It was easy to recognize the leering look the Mord'Sith displayed, Aria had certainly worked long enough to know when someone was appraising her, but to be looked at as such by a Mord'Sith was surely more dangerous than she had ever encountered before. For a mad moment Aria wondered if the Mother Confessor had simply decided to get rid of her, but then, the Mord'Sith spoke.
“I know just about all there is to know about power and choice.” Aria swallowed reflexively at the tone Cara used. It was husky, and soaked with the very commanding aura she spoke of. The dark brunette wished she could just reach out and grab the tone, and covet it for herself. “And you say you've lost that. In return, for clearing the debt the Confessor...and the Lord Rahl...owes you, I offer you the rarest of choices, and power.”
“What would that be?” Aria cleared her throat softly as her voice cracked under the constant scrutiny of the Mord'Sith. She briefly looked past the leather clad woman to Kahlan, but saw only confusion within her face. A glance to her right showed that the Lord Rahl and the Wizard was equally clueless. Feeling a burn on her face, the prostitute flicked her eyes back to Cara's glowing green gaze.
“I offer you,” Cara trailed off, her voice dropping lower, in a tone Aria could only label as powerfully seductive, “the submission of a Mord'Sith.” Immediately Aria's brows shot to her hairline, and her mouth fell open. A moan worked its way low in her throat, but she shut her mouth before it could escape. The submission of a Mord'Sith, easily the most powerful women in the world.
Aria craved power. Not because she wished dominance over every living creature, but because it was some rare and expensive treat she had been denied for so long. She wanted it so she could roll it around her tongue, savor its taste. She wanted it to coat her heart, treat her wounds, and this proposition could possibly give her an ocean of power compared to a puddle she may find elsewhere.
Cara immediately saw her acquiescence to the offer, and she needed no confessor powers to do so. She intimately understood the craving the woman had, even if she hadn't experienced it since she was a young trainee. But what was more, she knew that Kahlan was stuck in a terrible position if she did not offer such. As the Mother Confessor she had promised to somehow find equal payment for the wrong, but Cara knew nothing short of what she suggested would even come close to equaling what Aria craved. She would not allow Kahlan to carry such a debt, nor the Mother Confessor.
“Cara! No!” Closing her eyes, Cara felt her heart hitch as Kahlan immediately protested. It made her feel something deep within her chest to know that Kahlan was opposed to her sacrifice, but either way, Cara was willing to do so. As she thought before, no debt would linger in Kahlan's heart. Cara would use her blood and body to repay the debt.
“For one night, if that is acceptable,” Cara continued, ignoring Kahlan's outburst. “There are no restrictions on what you may do.”
Aria simply stared at Cara almost blankly. Just as everyone was struck dumb by her tale, she was struck dumb with the weight of the offer. It would be the ultimate form of power and protection to have tamed a Mord'Sith, and it would be the ultimate salve to her heart. She tried to tell herself that agreeing would be terrible, but she already knew she would. She craved this, and no niggling conscience could stop her.
“How do I know you won't simply kill me?”
“The Mother Confessor had but to command me so.” Cara kept her gaze trained on Aria's as she answered, Kahlan's continued protests falling into the background. She would do this, pride be damned. “Though my one change is that you may do anything but command me to hurt others, myself not included.”
“Cara, it isn't worth it, please!” Kahlan's voice sounded desperate, and Cara closed her eyes as she tore the tone apart in her head. She relished the strain protectiveness, coveted the care, and then she blocked it out as she replied almost woodenly.
“My body is not my own. It exists only in service, and if my body can pay the debts of whom it serves, it would be gladly willing.”
“Richard!” Kahlan half screamed his name, trying to wake him from his stupor before Cara went through with her plan. Kahlan didn't quite understand why she was so beside herself, only that she was, and that Cara had something to do with it. For some reason the image of Cara kneeling to this other woman made her want to clench the blades of her daggers, even drag them across her hair. Richard finally stirred, looking at her darkening blue eyes, but he shrugged helplessly, which enraged Kahlan even more.
The near silence of the room since Aria burst turned into a dull roar as Cara offered her settlement, and that roar seemed to ring in Kahlan's head. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the retribution was fair. Everyone but her.
“Cara?” Kahlan sighed; finally, Richard's voice. He would convince her this was madness. “You don't have to do this...” Kahlan gaped. How could he? He wasn't trying to dissuade Cara at all. Furiously Kahlan spun to face him and Zedd.
“You are letting her whore herself for our mistakes? You are letting her bleed for us? For me?” Zedd's heavy silence was his only answer, and Richard simply looked at her with wounded eyes as he tried to explain.
“If there was another way...but you decreed...”
“I accept this retribution Mother Confessor.” Kahlan opened her mouth to refuse, to say her final word was that such madness would not occur, but her words were arrested by one fierce look from Cara. The blond had such a piercing look on her face that Kahlan knew it would haunt her until it was no longer a mystery. Silently she closed her mouth, and simply observed, tears springing to her eyes inexplicably.
“So truly? You will be at my beck and call?” Aria couldn't help the wonder from creeping into her voice. After so long of obeying every command even casually given, she felt almost beside herself with her new power. A slow and steady ache built within her blood, and the ache became a pounding as Cara answered her affirmatively with the title of Mistress. Another moan rose into her throat, but this time she only somewhat stifled it. The sound reached Cara's ears, and Aria saw her head bow slightly lower in reaction.
“Kneel then.” Immediately Cara fell to her knees, her hands clasping behind her in a position that never quite stopped being familiar. Memories of the last time she was in such a position flitted through her head, but ever the Mord'Sith, she did not allow memories of her past Mistress' to color the obeying of this one.
“Cara...” Cara ignored the broken voice of Kahlan behind her, refusing to look deeper into why her submission to Aria pained the Confessor so much. Inside her heart she felt the raging urge to fight back, to stand, to never kneel again, but she battled the urges back, chanting in her head that it was for Kahlan and Richard she submitted. It was for the Confessor she lent herself out. It was for her real Mistress that she would accept anything. The chant stayed in the back of her mind, reminding her of her place, and soon Cara fell deeply into the persona of a Mord'Sith in submission.
She blocked everything out that she did not need, and soon, all she heard was the steady beat of her own heart, and all she saw, were the boots of her Mistress.
“You don't even look back at her?” Cara heard her new Mistress ask a question and rushed to obey, not caring about the tone of wonder that still coated the words, but only that she must obey.
“I would never look away from the boots of my Mistress,” Cara replied lowly, almost confused why her loyalty to her Mistress, her training, was being questioned. Her mind had transported her back to the temples to cope with her sudden mind altering submission, and she would be there until the morning, just as bargained.
“Oh Cara.” Richard couldn't help but sigh the words just as Kahlan did a moment earlier, emotion heavy in his voice. He thought it would be simple for Cara, she would pretend to be a lap dog, and she would return in the morning in a foul mood, but unaltered. He thought nothing could possibly harm the Mord'Sith, but what he didn't count on, was Cara hurting herself.
Still in a fog he barely registered as Aria commanded Cara to get up and lead her to her chambers. He continued staring at the spot where the red clad Mord'Sith had knelt so uncharacteristically when she had long left. He dimly heard Zedd urging Kahlan to continue with her duties for the day, and her cracking voice as she agreed. He followed like a drugged gar when Zedd pulled him back to his chair, his gaze still trained on the spot where he saw Cara break. Staring at the spot where he knew irrevocably Cara loved Kahlan.
*powerful magic y'know