LotS LAS: Voting Round 1!
Announcement: Since this was the first round, I let a couple of you slide on editing your entries several hours after the deadline had passed, and being a few words over the word limit of 500. Let me stress this is the last time I'll let it pass without elimination. The deadline is midnight CST, and it is a hard deadline. The only exception is extenuating circumstances and/or LJ problems, which will be dealt with on a case by case basis. It's not fair to the other contestants who follow all the rules. Let me also stress that you should use the word counter I link you to. I used several word counters this time to double check that some of you were really over the limit. This is the last time I will do that as well. From now on, if you are over on the wordcounter linked in the prompt post, you will be eliminated.
With that out of the way, on to voting for Round 1! ^_^
VOTING RULES
Participants must vote in at least every other round to avoid being eliminated. Following this round a spreadsheet will be made available for contestants in the sidebar, to help them keep track.
Anyone may vote, you don't have to be a contestant, or have a LJ account.
The IP address logger is on to prevent cheating. Any votes that have the same IP address will not be counted.
Do not vote for yourself or tell anyone to vote for you, or which entry is yours.
Do not vote based on which entries use your favorite characters and pairings. Instead, vote based on quality of writing, keeping the following things in mind:
- Does the author demonstrate a mastery of grammar and technical style?
- Does the author display a well defined artistic style?
- Does the author fully incorporate the prompt?
- Is the event or sequence of events the entry depicts clear and well understood?
- Did the entry illicit a reaction from you, be it laughter, sadness, amazement, etc?
Vote by commenting on this post with your top three choices of the entries you enjoyed the most. Vote using the numbers assigned to the entries. Comments are screened.
You have until midnight CST Saturday, Septemeber 10, 2011 to vote.
Post any questions in the questions thread.
ROUND 1 PROMPT:
DRABBLE NO. 1
Title: The Other
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All properties related to Legend of the Seeker and Sword of Truth are owned by Disney and Terry Goodkind.
“I, for one, have never trusted a rogue Mord’Sith any farther than I could throw one.” Zedd shot an all too murderous glance towards the woman being bound to the iron cross bars of an empty cell. Cara snorted as she cinched the ropes tightly around estranged sister’s wrist. “You being the exception, of course,” Zedd added after realizing his error.
“No offense taken, Wizard, if you weren’t bothered by my presence when we first met I would have doubted my abilities as a Mord’Sith. Rogue or not.” Cara gave the rope one last good tug and took a step away from their captive.
“Zedd, how can we be so sure she’s not telling the truth?” Richard was always too quick to find the good in all hearts, even the heart of a woman who not but hours earlier had attacked them in a tavern. “Kahlan, what do think? … Kahlan?” Richard ran a hand through his hair and turned to his beloved Confessor. She hadn’t said a word since it happened.
Kahlan was deep in thought. It was her life that was saved by the mysterious Mord’Sith, at least she thought it had been saved. Things had happened so fast. The small band of heroes had stopped for the night in the small village of Fairhill, the first real settlement north of the Pillars where the Stone of Tears now rested. Zedd had immediately led them to the only tavern. It was crowded. Cara was on edge, instantly saying that they were too close to D’Hara’s border and that there might still be Darken Rahl sympathizers. The words had barely left the blonde’s mouth when a hooded figure came from nowhere with a knife brandished. It was all too quick; Kahlan didn’t even have time to release her power. The last thing she remembered was a woman’s voice, breathless, and worried, pale blue eyes wide in shock. Those blue eyes, they were there before the darkness and after, staring down Kahlan when she was so rudely ripped back into the world of life. There was something in them - honesty, conviction, worry, regret. Kahlan could read them. Kahlan had read the Mord’Sith.
Richard’s hand on her shoulder stirred Kahlan from her pondering. “I want to talk to her,” Kahlan said suddenly. Richard stood speechless, his hand on the Sword of Truth and Zedd’s jaw tightened when Kahlan walked toward the bound woman.
Her rich, chocolate brown hair hung loosely around her face, undone from its braid long before they had found her. Kahlan nodded to Cara who landed a swift backhand across the Mord’Sith’s face. The woman’s eyelids flickered and Kahlan wrapped her hand around the brunette’s neck.
“Do not struggle and I will not confess you. Tell me your name and why you attacked me.”
The Mord’Sith sallowed hard. “My name is Berdine, and I did not attack you.”
DRABBLE NO. 2
Broken Pieces of My Soul
The temple was deserted. Chains hung empty in hollow rooms, baths lay cold and still for want of occupants. There was no sign of a battle, but it was obvious that no Mord-Sith had been here for months.
Daylight spilled down the narrow stone staircase, barely illuminating cells large enough to accommodate several prisoners. The shackles hanging from the walls were placed at the perfect height to hold children. The purpose of this place was all too clear.
The distant drip of water echoed off of the stone walls, and boots scraped against the rough stone floor as her companions explored, but none of those sounds reached her.
Cara stood stiffly in the entrance of one particular cell, left hand clenching around one of the agiels at her side. She could still hear the whimpers and sobs, could feel Dahlia's hand squeezed tightly in her own as she murmured reassurances under her breath, keeping an always watchful eye on the bars. If Mistress Nathair caught her trying to comfort her friend, it would mean punishment for both of them.
"This is where you were trained," Kahlan said simply, crossing her arms over her ribs as solemn blue eyes took in the empty cell.
Cara tensed, startled; she'd been so lost in her memories that she'd failed to hear the other woman approach. Gripping her agiel tighter, she berated herself for losing focus. Anything could have happened to Richard while she was staring off into space, dredging up long-buried weaknesses.
Her silence was confirmation enough.
"I'm sorry you had to come back here." Compassion resonated in Kahlan's voice, and Cara felt crushed under the weight of it.
"Don't be. This place means nothing to me," she said stubbornly, her eyes fixed on the floor. A slender hand reached up to circle Cara's arm, the warmth of it radiating through the leather.
"Cara." Kahlan was quietly insistent, tugging at Cara's arm until the Mord-Sith gave in, swallowing the lump in her throat as she raised her head. Green eyes swirled with emotion in the dim light as they locked on to deep blue.
Something passed between them, curling in Cara's stomach, making her heart race. It was familiar, this intangible thickness in the air; there had always been tension in her interactions with the Confessor, but recently Cara had felt it evolving into something that both terrified and exhilarated her. Up until now, she had been comforted by the fact that at least Kahlan didn't seem to recognize it.
A fact that was changing before her eyes. As Cara watched, confusion melted into understanding. Kahlan's breath caught in her throat as realization glittered in her eyes.
Cara had given this enough thought that she had a thousand excuses ready on her tongue, a thousand reasons why this could never come to be. Her mouth dropped open to offer one of them -
"I found something!" Richard called excitedly from across the dungeon.
Cara's words stuck in her throat.
DRABBLE NO. 3
Title: Goodbye, My Love
Word Count: 470
Rating: PG
She looked at him. It was like looking at heaven and hell at the same time. She cursed the creator for making their paths cross. She was fine before she met him. She had made her peace with not ever finding love, with living a a normal Confessor's life but then he came along. She never wanted anything more in her whole life. She never felt more weaker in her entire life. Her confessor's power buzzed under her skin, being around him made it twice as hard to hold it in, to control it.
Her bright blue eyes watered. There was no other way. She looked down at the ground and back up at him. He was starring off the other way. The moonlight reflected he wet trail down his cheek. The old man stood awkwardly off to the side under the small hut they found for shelter that night.
Kahlan swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She folded her arms and put on her Confessor's face before she fell apart. She tried to comfort herself saying, the world depends on it..
"At first light I will be leaving. Richard.. I love you everything that I am and I couldn't forgive myself if... I hope one day you can forgive me.. but I have to go, I grow weaker every moment I'm around you..."
"If you love me you'll stay. You're strong enough Kahlan, I know you are.
They locked eyes for a moment. She almost changed her mind.. almost..
"I have to go.. its the only way."
******
The sun wasn't even up yet but Kahlan packed her things anyway. She never fell asleep, she was emotionally exhausted. She had to leave now or else she wouldn't leave at all. She walked over to where Richard was sleeping. He was turned the other way, facing the wall.
"Goodbye my love." She whispered and turned to leave.
Richard heard her foot steps, he hadn't slept the whole night either. He couldn't let her go..
He jumped up and ran out the hut. He grabbed her arm and spun her around.
One last time.. He captured her lips with his and kissed her with everything he had and she kissed him back. They stood there breathless in the cool morning air mere inches apart.
"Don't leave me." He held her hand and kissed the tops of her knuckles.
"I have to go.." She turned to go his hand still in hers, he held on as long as he could then let go. She mounted her horse and starred into his eyes.
"I love you Richard."
"I love you Kahlan."
She turned her horse to leave, she savored the taste of him on her lips as tears fell down her face. Then she galloped into the woods and out of his life.
DRABBLE NO. 4
Rating: PG
Continuity Note: This story takes place sometime during early season two, before "Resurrection."
Summary: Kahlan contemplates Cara.
"Waiting"
Kahlan stood, stock still. Waiting.
They'd been lucky to find a friendly farmer who'd allowed them to stay in his cottage to rest. He considered himself a loyal subject of the Mother Confessor, he'd explained, and he'd do anything to help.
Except, they didn't need to stop to help the Mother Confessor. She was perfectly healthy and alert, more than able to forge on. The Stone of Tears wasn't going to find itself, after all, and Richard had confirmed that at least two D'Haran quads, loyal to Darken Rahl beyond death, were tracking them. Word had spread of the Seeker's supposed noble birth, and some of Rahl's most staunch loyalists, appalled at the idea, had decided to take the bastard son out before he could try to lay claim to the sacred throne of D'Hara. By all accounts, they should keep moving. One of the quads had nearly killed her that very day, a poison arrow show straight for her own heart.
It had been Cara who stopped the arrow. With her own body.
It hadn't hit any vital organs -- under normal circumstances, Zedd would have been able to heal the wound with ease. But it had been poisoned, a nasty D'Haran venom sometimes used against Resistance Wizards loyal to the Mother Confessor. Notoriously resistant to most forms of healing magic. It would have killed Kahlan for sure. It might yet kill Cara.
Richard paced, never able to keep still. He was a man of action, impatient when told to wait it out. Kahlan could tell he was worried. For some time, she didn't understand why Richard trusted the Mord'Sith. She'd written it off as his soft heart leading him again. His life had not been like hers. She'd known war since birth. His idyllic existence in Hartland made him too trusting sometimes, naive even.
But she couldn't deny that Cara was loyal, not now. She'd recognized the leader of the quad. She'd known the arrow was poison. And she jumped in its path anyway. After dispatching the rest of the quad, she'd knelt next to Cara as Zedd tried to begin the slow healing process, and Kahlan asked Cara why. Why did you save me?
Cara smirked through the pain, said she'd protected her for Richard's sake, of course.
Kahlan accepted the answer. It was easier than thinking the woman who killed her sisters, both her actual sister and her sister Confessors, could redeem herself. But it rang hollow as she stood there and waited, arms folded, staring out into
the dark woods.
Kahlan Amnell had lived her life at war with the D'Haran military, hating Mord'Sith most of all, firm in her belief that they were incorrigible, the enemy.
It had always been easier that way. It got her through.
After several hours, Zedd emerged with news on Cara's recovery. Richard turned anxiously.
Kahlan stood, stock still. Waiting.
DRABBLE NO. 5
no title, no warning, 274 words
Kahlan crossed her arms over her chest. The chill in the cavernous prison raised bumps on her skin. Zedd was talking, but the words didn't reach her, only his tone, grave and low.
Fear was a primal thing, visceral and unforgettable. Kahlan was the most powerful woman in all the lands, but she knew the taste of fear: that lingering bite of ash in the back of her throat, that churn in her stomach. Banelings roamed, and the Keeper's power grew. The songs and rhymes of her childhood were too easy to recall, and that simple childish fear had nothing on the dread that gripped her heart now.
"Kahlan?"
Blinking, Kahlan lifted her gaze to find Richard watching her, his hand gentle on her elbow. He did not smile at her, but his eyes exuded warmth. Richard, her dear Richard, who could never be described as unafraid, because she could read him as well as any other man, but his strength was that he could always pry himself free from the cold claws of doubt and despair. Determination shone from him now, not a blaze but a steady glow, one that could guide a person out of darkness.
So Kahlan smiled then. Probably not a pleasant expression as her heart was still twisted, but she meant it. Richard could do this, she thought. Richard would defeat the Keeper.
Not because he was the Seeker, not because of destiny or prophecy, and not because she loved him and therefore would believe in him until the end of the time. No, it was because of that light in his eyes. Darkness could never overwhelm such light.
DRABBLE NO. 6
Length: 414
Rating: PG-13
Note: set post-Tears
Saved
"This is all your fault," Kahlan accused.
She had her arms folded, as much to defend herself from the cold of their prison, which was open to the night air, as to maintain her dignity.
She was glaring at Zedd, who responded by raising his eyebrows.
"That's not fair, Kahlan," Richard said absently. He was staring into the night, trying to get a good look at their captors-if he could induce one to come near, Kahlan could Confess the unfortunate person, and likely Richard would learn a good deal more about Lord Naft and his inevitable nefarious plans than he knew now.
"We've known one another for three years, Zedd," Kahlan persisted. "And in all that time you neglected to tell me Lord Naft holds you in aversion?"
"Enemies," Zedd said gravely, "are the price of honor."
"And I suppose hubris is the price of magical power," Kahlan muttered crossly.
Richard had unwillingly taken on the role of Lord Rahl, and he naturally wanted to make peace with his Northern neighbors.
Lord Naft had been very friendly…too friendly, Kahlan considered. He certainly didn't treat her with the respect due either the Mother Confessor or Lady Rahl.
After two years in the near-constant company of a Mord'Sith, nothing he could say had the power to shock her, but there was something unsettling in his attitude-a hidden threat in every overdone courtesy.
Nonetheless, it did not gratify her to have her suspicions confirmed.
"I did him a bad turn once," Zedd admitted. "But he would have bored Shota within a week; he was unworthy of her."
Before Kahlan had time to process that apparently their imprisonment was solely due to Lord Naft's failed romance, Richard exclaimed happily, "Cara!"
There was a click, and then Richard, Kahlan and Zedd were hurrying out the door to greet their rescuer.
"You three have fun without me?" Cara asked, grinning.
"Impossible," Richard laughed.
But Kahlan's relief was too great to make light of-not just yet, anyway.
Wordlessly, she embraced Cara, secure in the other woman's arms. Nothing too terrible could be happening if Richard and Cara could still joke about it.
"Here," Cara said, pulling back a little to hand Kahlan her daggers, hilts first. "I thought you might want these."
Kahlan grinned, thinking of revenging herself upon Lord Naft. "At the moment, there's nothing I want more, " she admitted.
Richard caught her eye, a mischievous question in his look.
"Except that," Kahlan said, and blushed.
DRABBLE NO. 7
Title: Assassins in the Rafters
Warning: Crack if that's even a warning...
Richard frowned as he gazed up at the rafters where a pair of leather encased legs dangled, swinging back and forth. It was far too dark to see Cara fully, but she was up there clinging to a beam.
"You can come down now, Cara." Kahlan called, crossing her arms over her chest with an impatient sigh.
"Absolutely not. Those beasts are still down there."
The trio looked down at their feet, Zedd even went so far as to pull his robe up to his knees, searching the ground with raised eyebrows. "I assure you, dear girl, the rodents are gone." Something collided with Zedd's head and he grimaced, rubbing the forming knot. "That was uncalled for."
"Don't call me dear girl!"
"Come down here, Cara! They're gone. The cats chased them all out."
They were grasping at straws trying to convince the Mord'Sith to come down. "Let's jsut let her stay up there for the night... she'll come down when she's hungry."
When morning came Kahlan offered a kind smile to the blonde, "feeling better now that all the mice actually are gone?"
Cara pursed her lips, turning her nose up "I have absolutely no idea what you are trying to imply."
"You spent the night in the rafters because you were afraid of a few mice."
A grunt was her only acknowledgement and Kahlan shook her head, amused by the woman's antics (as well as her pride). "Fine. You were checking to make sure assassins weren't going to attack us in the dead night."
"Exactly. We will speak no more of this."
"Mmhmm."
DRABBLE NO. 8
Tell No One
It was midnight, Kahlan walked quietly along the corridor. She stopped for a moment, listening before continuing. Earlier that day she had found the message in her backpack, written in childish handwriting it said. One amongst you cannot be trusted. Meet me in the dungeons at midnight. Tell no one.
They had stopped at Farling Keep three days ago. Local villagers had fled to the safety of the deserted old keep after two Gars started roaming the countryside. Despite the surprise and curiosity of the recently reincarnated Darken Rahl being with them, Richard's charm had convinced the villagers to let them stay in the keep in exchange for hunting down the Gars.
However, since their arrival, things went missing then reappeared, possessions moved from one place to another. Kahlan had found her hairbrush in Cara's pack, she denied taking it but, Kahlan wasn't convinced. Since Darken Rahl had joined their group, she was unsure of Cara's loyalties. Then Richard's knife went missing, this was more serious than a hairbrush. They searched through everyone's possessions and Zedd was found to have extra rations, he said he didn't take them and there was a blazing argument between Cara and Zedd before things calmed down. Richard's knife was still missing. Kahlan suspected Darken Rahl was behind this and watched him like a hawk, but irritatingly he was being a paragon of virtue and had won the villager's hearts by chopping wood, carrying water and playing with the children who seemed to adore him.
Outside the dungeons she saw Richard waiting. “I got your message.”
Richard looked surprised. “I didn't send the message, I thought it was from Zedd.”
“It wasn't me.” Zedd walked towards them “I thought Kahlan had sent the message.”
“If it wasn't either of you two," said Richard “then who sent the messages?”
“Hmm, interesting.” They all turned to see Darken Rahl emerge from the shadows.
“I knew it was you.” Kahlan spat the words at him.
“Oh I didn't write the messages, in fact I received one myself.” He held up a piece of paper.
“Then it must be Cara.” Declared Zedd
“Cara received a message too,” said Darken “we discussed the matter earlier, she's not here as she thought it a waste of time.”
Richard looked puzzled “Why did you say Interesting.”
“It's interesting dear brother, to see how little you trust each other.”
“That's not true, we trust each other implicitly.” said Richard
“Then why did you all arrive alone?” Darken turned to leave
“Where are you going?” demanded Kahlan
“Back to bed, Cara was right, this is a waste of time and I will not be party to it.”
As Darken walked away he heard the other three talking and a flicker of a smile crossed his lips. It had been easy to integrate himself into the people here and the children just loved playing games like, Hide The Object and Writing Secret Messages.
Now, what to do with Richard's knife?
DRABBLE NO. 9
Title: Invincible
Kahlan still couldn’t understand how it was possible. People coming back from the dead were nothing more than a story told to scare children, or so she had thought. That was until she saw them for the very first time. “I don’t understand. I thought banelings were just a legend.” Kahlan said as she glanced around nervously, as if she feared the Keeper himself could hear her fears.
Richard just shrugged. He was even more confused by this than she was. Having never known of magic until a year ago, this scared him more than he would admit. Taking her hand, Richard smiled reassuringly. “We can do this.”
“I know,” Kahlan said with a smile. “You are the Seeker. I trust that you know what to do.”
“As long as I have my Confessor, together we can do anything. We are invincible.” Richard lovingly rubbed circles on the back of her palm as he turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps creaking on the wooden floorboards.
“Richard, what are you planning to do about the banelings?” Zedd said as he strode into the room, brushing a spider web out of his way and taking a quick glance at Richard and Kahlan’s interlocked fingers. He raised his eyebrow slightly but said nothing on that subject.
Kahlan sighed as Richard turned his focus to his grandfather, his hand slipping from her grasp. These moments were few and far between but she treasured every one of them. Even though she knew there was nothing more between them it was nice to know he cared about her, that they could be friends. His friendship was more important than anything. Kahlan knew, as long as she had it, there was nothing she couldn’t do.
DRABBLE NO. 10
Title: Rain
“Why doesn't she come inside?”
“She took first watch,” Kahlan reminded him, crossing her arms. “She's doing her job.”
Richard turned and looked out the open door. They'd found an abandoned house for the night, and everyone - especially Zedd, by the amount of complaining he'd done recently - was glad to spend a night off the ground. The find was especially fortuitous, as a storm was brewing.
“She can keep watch from in here,” Richard retorted.
Zedd glanced outside. “Is it so surprising she'd prefer to be alone?”
“But it's going to pour out there!”
“Oh please,” Kahlan bit out, “do you really think a Mord-Sith is afraid of a little rain?”
“Ex Mord-Sith,” Richard reminded her. “She stands with us now.”
Kahlan rolled her eyes. “Once a monster, always a monster.”
Richard rounded on her in a rare display of temper. “She helped me defeat Darken Rahl,” he reminded her. “If she hadn't sided with us and stopped torturing me with her Agiel, Zedd would be dead, I'd be sixty years in the future, and you would be Queen of D'Hara and the future mother of Darken Rahl's son.”
Kahlan flinched at his words, and Zedd immediately placed a calming hand on Richard's shoulder. “Easy, boy,” he soothed. “Confessors and Mord-Sith are practically bred to hate each other. It's in their blood. You can't blame Kahlan for being justifiable wary.”
Richard lowered his head in apology, but he stood his ground. “She's proven herself to me. She's a friend.” He raised his eyes to Kahlan's, pleading with her to understand. “I know we don't always agree. I know I've deviated from my mission in the past, and I've been tricked into trusting people I shouldn’t. But I know she's different now. She won't betray us. Please...believe me.”
Without hesitation, Kahlan placed her hands in his. “I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust her,” she replied honestly, “but I will always, always trust you.”
Richard turned to face his grandfather. “Zedd?”
The wizard smiled. “Haven't I always been the one saying that we have to trust the Seeker's instincts?”
Richard smiled, squeezing Kahlan's hands. “Thank you. Both of you. Now let's get some sleep. We've got a long journey ahead of us.”
But even with those words, long after Kahlan and Zedd were asleep, Richard stood by the door, his eyes fixed on the woman in red. When the sky opened up and icy rain poured down in sheets, Cara never flinched. She simply stood there, her eyes trained on the road ahead, allowing the wind to whip her hair across her face and the rain to soak the leather against her body.
Word count: 447
DRABBLE NO. 11
Title: Cold
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 498 (wow, close shave)
-------------------------------------------------------
Kahlan was cold. Not even Aydindril nights in the hardest of winters could prepare her for this. Her veins frosted over, her blood the chill of snow barely melting down the mountainside. There was never a cold such as this.
And yet Kahlan seemed to be the only one who felt it, clutching her arms in a desperate but vain attempt to stop her body from shaking so violently as she surveyed the dungeon. How could Richard and Zedd be immune? The bitterness was so all-encompassing that Kahlan’s tears froze before they could even appear in her eyes. But the two men were oblivious.
“We have to find the D’Harans who did this,” Richard said, his obviousness doing nothing to abate the icy grasp that held Kahlan in its thrall. For once, just this once, he wasn’t focused on her or how she felt; the horrors of that dungeon struck too hard and too swift. The Sword of Truth began to burn in his hands, and Kahlan almost wished he would strike her with it, if only for her last moment of life to be spent in warmth. But she was sure the sword would break against her cold-hardened skin.
“Richard, stop and think!” Zedd commanded. “Look at what they’ve done here! Look at the horrors they’ve wrought! We cannot fight them on our own!”
“There aren’t many of them,” Richard countered. “We tracked four sets of footsteps here, and we know that D’Harans travel in quads. The…people here were defenseless; we’re not.” His pause made the sword glow hotter, but despite its proximity to Kahlan, it refused to penetrate the chill mist that had wound around her, suffocating her.
Kahlan struggled to find her voice, and when she spoke, the words all but skinned her throat, cracking ice splintering away and piercing her as she drew breath. “Shouldn’t we…shouldn’t we do something for them? Give them a proper burial?”
Zedd’s pitying gaze was as ineffective as Richard’s earlier remark. “We can't, my dear,” he said, and Kahlan bristled at the endearment, anger and indignation forming icicles along her still-shivering arms. “We don’t have time,” the wizard continued. “If we want to stop those D’Harans from committing any more of these atrocities, we have to move now.” Kahlan unfortunately had to cede to the point, knowing she would be incapable of facing another chill depth such as this; her very mind would freeze, and she might as well be lifeless for the effect it would have. Richard nodded his own agreement before throwing open the dungeon doors and sprinting out into the summer sun, Zedd on his heels.
Kahlan hesitated, looking once more at the source of the impossible cold. Finding a blanket crumpled in a corner, she draped it over the small bodies - none of them having seen even twelve years of life - and whispered a prayer to the Spirits. If she could not warm and console herself, she could at least try to do so for them.