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Aftershock	By : CAMfan27 Category: G through L > Legend of the Seeker Views: 3673 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Legend of the Seeker and its characters are not mine and I am only borrowing them, I made no money from this.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter Fourteen
They had once again found Sebastian's shop, where they figured was as good a place as any to start looking. No one was at the shop when they arrived, but they investigated anyway. Zedd found bottles of the shadow water, and a map that was already made up. Zedd was very concerned as to how this had all come together. "This is my father's shadow water, my brother Thaddicus must have been here." He said, examining the map.
Richard was shaking off Kahlan's hand, which had been trying to slip into his. He was still very unsure of his future with her, and had been showing her indifference. She was starting to act a little bit like Lady Kahlan had, and it was starting to make Richard lose his patience a little. He wished he could make things easier for her. They still hadn't gotten to discuss the incident with Sir Kahlan and Cara. Plus, Cara had told Richard about what Kahlan had asked her, and that had angered him. He didn't see the point in asking Cara what had happened, Kahlan didn't remember and if she was engaged to Richard, then she shouldn't need to know. He turned to Zedd. "So do you think that your brother is working with Sebastian on this? If there is some kinf of alliance going on I'd wager that there's something not right here."
Zedd was inclined to agree. "I believe you may be right, Richard. This appears to be a map to more of the shadow water. We have to find out how many that were made and why." He handed Gratch another piece of rabbit. He jumped up and down happily and prounced that he loved Zedd. Zedd greeted this with an air of indifference, because he was busy trying to think.
Adie was standing next to Zedd. She said, "You be rude to Gratch, old man." She made a gesture, and Gratch hopped over to her. She gave him a pat on the head. "Adie be loving Gratch." She crooned to him.
Zedd turned to look at her. "Bags, woman, he is a gar, not a baby. He does not require constant validation." He gave her an exasperated look.
Richard and Kahlan turned to each other. Their problems were put aside as they got a chance to watch a fight between Zedd and Adie, which was always a good time. Cara, Berdine, and Raina looked at each other with bemusement. Richard said, "Guys, Gratch is a gar, but he's a baby gar."
Adie smiled in Richard's direction and then appealed to Zedd. "Richard be right. Gratch be a baby. He be requiring love. You be best to show him some." She concluded, wishing there was a place to sit. She was old.
Zedd rolled his eyes. He did not forsee winning this battle. He said, "Bags. Let's just try and figure out where we can find Sebastian and my brother Thaddicus. I'm sure that they are the ones behind this." He hated to concede anything, especially against Adie. Bags, that woman.
Richard was about to agree when they caught a break. Thaddicus came in, carrying a jug of water. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw his brother and his friends. Richard shared a look with Zedd and then turned to Thaddicus. "So, Thaddicus, what's going on with the shadow water?" He asked, deliberately avoiding Kahlan's gaze. He hated things being off with her. He almost reached out for her hand, but stopped himself.
Thaddicus blushed crimson. He had felt good about sharing the shadow water at first, but Sebastian had decided to swindle the banelings when they had run out. They were just waiting for the people to find out. Well, Thaddicus was. Sebastian was certain that they wouldn't. They had discovered thre was more shadow water, and Sebastian had made maps. He was planning on giving them to anyone who caused a problem, to appease them. Thaddicus said, "Well, what do you mean?" He didn't want to give anything away, he knew that Zedd would not be happy.
Richard folded his arms. "There is word going around that you have an antidote for the banelings. Using shadow water. We just wanted to find out if there was any truth to the rumor. Clearly there is, this is Sebastian's shop and he is bad news." Finally, he closed his fingers around Kahlan's, and she gave an audible sigh of relief. Everyone politely chose to ignore it.
Thaddicus told them the whole story, and concluded with Sebastian's maps. Zedd asked him if the bottles of shadow water were genuine. Thaddicus shook his head. "No, Zeddicus, they're just mostly water. I haven't been able to get out to the waterfall to get more. They're going to be very upset with us once they figure it out." He placed the heavy jug on the counter.
Kahlan looked at Cara, wondering if she would take Sonya so that she could talk to Richard when she got a chance. She thought that Cara was looking different. She wondered what was going on there. She said, "So what we do is take the maps that are made up, and make sure that you get to the falls to get more water. Berdine, Raina, you guys stay here in case that Sebastian comes back. Make sure that you keep him here. Don't let him leave. Do what you have to do." She had her Mother Confessor voice on.
Richard looked to her. "Adie should stay, too, the journey might be too arduous for her." Adie was a tough old broad, but he didn't think that her presence was required with them on the journey. It should only take a day or so. He didn't think that everyone needed to go. It was bad enough that their party had jumped so high in number. In order to appease Berdine and Raina, he said to Gratch, "Why don't you stay here to help protect Berdine and Raina?" Gratch gave a disappointed grunt but told Richard he loved him.
A plan hatched, they shoved off. Zedd, not one for public displays of affection, actually gave Adie a kiss as they left. She'd agreed to watch Sonya for them, too. Kahlan hadn't doubted Adie's abilities, but they'd had to convince Cara, who had gone all heart hound mama. She hadn't wanted to leave Sonya. Speaking of Sonya, she'd grown another three months in a matter of hours. She seemed to have stopped for now. She waved good-bye to both of her mothers as they headed off down the path with Zedd, Thaddicus, and Richard. Sonya thoroughly loved Richard. She didn't love him more than her parents, but she loved him quite a bit. She sat at the door to the shop with Adie, Berdine, and Raina, and watched until her parents were out of sight.
As they walked down the road, Richard and Kahlan fell into step together. It was quiet at first. Kahlan wasn't sure what to say. She also had no idea what Richard was thinking. Richard ended up being the one to speak up first. "So, Kahlan, why did you ask Cara about the logistics of what happened?" He was holding her hand, but their fingers were only loosely threaded together.
Kahlan blushed, but she was glad that they had some sort of contact. She had missed him so much. She relished the feel of her fingers in Richard's before saying, "I'm sorry, Richard. I was just trying to figure out what part of myself could hurt you and Cara like that. I just wanted to know why. I love you so much, Richard, and it kills me so much that I did that to you. And apparently gambled with Cara's life like that. A Confessor's power could kill a Mord'Sith. I'm glad that she was in love with me, and thus saved her. But I don't blame you for being upset. You should be. I was your betrothed, and I slept with Cara. She's practically a sister to you." She concluded, her blush deepening.
Richard nodded. He guessed that he could understand why Kahlan had had to know. She hadn't wanted to hurt either of them and had. "I can't imagine what it must feel like to not remember a day in your memory. It must be awful. I just want us to get past this. I still love you and I want to be with you. Do you have any feelings for Cara? Do you want to be with her?" He asked.
Kahlan ran her free hand through her long black tresses. She didn't have any feelings for Cara that she knew of. She must have been curious about it. She shook her head. "I don't have any feelings for Cara that I am aware of. I must have just been curious to see what it was like. I love you, Richard. I want to get married in the Mud People village with you. No one else. You have to believe that."
Richard stopped walking for a moment, a smile lighting up his face. He put his arms around her. He held her close for a moment, and then kissed her like he had never kissed her before. It sent shivers all down Kahlan's spine. He said, "I'm glad, I hated that things were so off with you." They started walking again, his grip on her hand tightening.
Before they could get too much farther, Darken Rahl appeared before them. He appeared as always, in a flash of green. He said, "Where are you going, Cara?" He had heard of the shadow water from one of the dead D' Harans that had accepted the baneling offer. He had a suspicion that Cara was going to try and cure herself of being a baneling and he didn't want that to happen at all.
Cara had noticed that they seemed to have fixed their problems, Richard and Kahlan, and she was a little upset about it. But deep down, she wanted Kahlan to be happy, so she guessed that it was a good thing. She hadn't told anyone yet she was a baneling, and she was hoping that Darken Rahl wasn't about to blow her secret. She stood with her Agiels in her hands and glared at him. "What are you talking about, Darken Rahl?" She snapped.
Darken Rahl looked at Cara. He was sure that she hadn't said anything to any of them about being a baneling. She wouldn't have wanted to disappoint Richard. He didn't care if they didn't know, he was going to say something right now. "You don't get to just get out of being baneling by getting a cure like that." He snapped back.
Everyone gasped with surprise. They all looked at her. She was not surprised that he had done it but she was really pissed. She held her Agiels out, even if she couldn't touch him with it. She said, "Yes, I can, Darken Rahl. Whether you like it or not. You can't do anything about it, you are dead."
Before Darken Rahl could say anything, they were attacked by a bunch of banelings. Cara threw herself into the battle, taking out her anger on them. Zedd burned them after they were able to subdue them. When they turned back around, Darken Rahl was gone. They turned to Cara. Richard touched her shoulder. "Cara, why didn't you tell us? Did this happen earlier, when your throat was all bloody?" He asked, remembering she'd been covered in blood.
Cara wiped blond hair back from her face, and wished that Sonya was here so she could look into her beautiful face. She nodded. "Yes, I am sorry that you had to find out. Darken Rahl should not have said anything and of course that is why he did." She stood in her normal stance, with her hands on her Agiels. She caught Kahlan's eye, who was giving her a sympathetic look. She said, "I had to get back, to tell you about the banelings." She added, "And Sonya. I didn't want to leave her without her mother." She forced herself to not cry.
Kahlan thought she might have done the same, to get back to Richard and Sonya. She understood why Cara had taken the deal. "We're going to have to get you some of the antidote." She said, touching Cara's shoulder in sympathy.
Cara let Kahlan's hand stay on her for a brief moment and then shied away. She could barely stand to be in the same room as Kahlan, let alone Kahlan touching her. She agreed with her. "I was hoping the shadow water was real, so I wouldn't have to keep killing for the Keeper." She said.
Richard said, "Well, we should keep going, we've got to get to the fall before you run out of time. We can't assume that we'll run into any D'Harans on the way. Have you killed anyone today?" He asked, a concerned look on his face. He was glad that Cara loved them all that much, to accept being a baneling.
Cara shook her head. "And you better hope that we do run into some D'Harans. We only saw banelings and they don't count." She said, as they all began walking again.
They did get lucky about an hour before they were going to stop for the night. Cara was able to kill one, and bought her some time. They began to set up camp for the night, and Richard insisted that he be the first watch. Cara protested, since it was her job to serve him, but he insisted harder. Reluctantly, she laid down next to Thaddicus. Kahlan was on the other side of him. She was trying to keep some distance. Zedd was cooking up some squirrels they'd found. He asked Richard, "So things are better with Kahlan?"
Richard sat down on the other side of Zedd. He wished that Gratch was here. He had wanted him to stay to help protect Sonya. He knew Gratch would keep his friends safe. He nodded at his grandfather. "Yes. I'm glad, too. I hated that things weren't right with us." He said.
Zedd watched as Thaddicus, Kahlan, and Cara slept. They had all said that they weren't hungry and they'd eat in the morning. He said, "Do you want me to check if Kahlan is with child? She'll know if she is, a Confessor always knows. But I could tell you right now." He said. He would be glad to welcome a great granddaughter to their meager little family.
Richard watched his beloved sleep as he answered his grandfather. He said, "No, that's OK, Zedd. We'll wait and see if Kahlan is when she tells us." He secretly hoped she was, he was jealous of the bond Cara and Kahlan were now going to share, with the birth of Sonya. But he would never wish that Sonya had never been born, she was the most beautiful child he had ever seen.
- 13
- 14
- 15
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Aftershock