Chapter Text
"Cara, how many were there?"
She jumped imperceptibly at Richard's mention of her name and tore her eyes from where they had settled on Kahlan's chest across the table. She cleared her throat, wondering how long she had been lost in thought. Distracting things, she thought. Her eyes flashed to Kahlan's. The lamplight of the inn revealed ever-so-subtle coloring of Kahlan's cheeks. Nonetheless, her eyes widened for a second. The message said, Focus. Don't mess this up.
"Uhhh..." She cleared her throat again, rising from her slump and placing her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. "Ten or so. They were small. They didn't fight very well, but they had superior numbers." Richard eyed the bruise on her forehead. "It was hard," she finished lamely.
"I see. And they came at night?"
"Lord Rahl, has Kahlan not told you everything you wished to know?" Cara felt indignant at his appraisal of her wound.
"No, no, she did, I'm just trying to make sure we didn't miss anything. Zedd, what do you think?" Richard sat back on the bench and folded his arms across his chest. He was shoulder to shoulder with Kahlan - Cara was in her usual spot, next to the eternally famished wizard.
Zedd pulled the chicken leg from his teeth just long enough to utter two words, his eyes wide with emphasis. "Powerful magic."
Kahlan and Cara's eyes met. Kahlan stifled a laugh and Cara smirked, remembering their conversation on the clifftop. Richard's eyes closed and he leaned foward again, his forehead coming to meet his hands. "Zedd, any specifics would be appreciated. Greatly."
Zedd sighed and placed the unfinished chicken leg reverently on his plate. "The hill people that inhabit that area keep to themselves, and are inherently peaceful. Nobody has seen them for hundreds of years, and not many know they exist. They would rather relocate than defend their homeland in war. Absolutely nothing could drive them to attack you. You say you kept to the path following the cliffs?" Kahlan and Cara nodded. "That's leagues from the borders of their lands," Zedd continued, turning his eyes back to Richard. "What does that tell you my boy?"
Richard's brow furrowed. "They knew they were coming."
"Indeed." His eyes went to Kahlan. "You said they had weapons, yes? Were they farm implements, or swords and the like?"
Kahlan frowned. "A few had short swords and axes. If they're as peaceful as you say, why would they have weapons?"
"Why indeed," Zedd mused. "They were being manipulated. Their minds were not their own."
Kahlan's eyes widened and her hand went to her mouth. "They were innocent? We killed them."
"No, child," the wizard soothed. "You had no choice. They were sent to end you. You looked into their eyes; tell me what you saw."
"Malice... spite... hatred."
"Exactly. Had you not defended yourselves, rest assured, they would have killed you."
Kahlan nodded wordlessly, but didn't look at all relieved. "Zedd, who has that kind of power?"
"Shota, myself, and Darken Rahl were he not a spirit. I can think of no one else."
Richard leaned forward. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would she try to kill them? She's hardly an ally of the Keeper."
Zedd smiled mirthlessly. "Shota is a seer. She rarely does things that make sense to others, because she sees things as no one else does. She doubtlessly believes she is trying to alter the world for the better - to either avoid one of her visions, or make sure it comes to pass."
Cara had become quiet, and Kahlan noticed she was staring off into space again. Well, if all of space were in between her breasts. She gave her a light kick under the table. Cara started and blinked rapidly. Kahlan felt another blush on her cheeks, but forced herself to give Cara a stern look. Cara avoided her gaze and instead focused on Richard.
"And what would the Lord Rahl have us do?"
"Sleep. We're safe here, and I'm tired. We'll figure it out in the morning."
****
Kahlan closed the door to their room upstairs and turned to face Cara. She hooked her hair behind her ear. "I don't like this. We should tell them the truth."
"Didn't we talk about this at length on the way here?" Cara started to loosen the laces on her leathers. She knew this would happen - Confessors seemed to have quite the aversion to lying.
"What if what happened with the sword is important? I'm going to ask Zedd." Her tone didn't share the statement's finality.
"You will do no such thing."
"I'll swear him to secrecy as the Mother Confessor. He won't tell Richard."
Cara's hands paused in their work and went to her hips. She arched an eyebrow. "You would abuse your title in that manner?"
Rage flashed across Kahlan's blue eyes. "Abuse? You would accuse me of abusing the title of Mother Confessor?" Her tone was icy - not a hint of incredulity.
Cara's eyes dropped. She hated seeing Kahlan upset, and hated it all the more when she was the cause. "No, Kahlan, I'm -"
"No," Kahlan interrupted softly. "You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't even think of that."
Cara looked up to see Kahlan's eyes clouding with something, and she suddenly wanted to hold her. Instead she sat on the edge of the bed and resumed undressing. Not knowing what else to say, she started repeating what she had told Kahlan many times in the past few days. "Richard can't know. About us. We don't know how he would react. He loves you more than he should, and he's too valuable. If he's compromised, if his heart is broken or filled with rage, he might not be able to fulfill his function as Seeker. The Keeper would win. As such, he can't know you went into the Con Dar. For me. So we lie, and we continue lying as long as we have to."
Kahlan didn't respond. Cara looked up and immediately hated herself. Tears had started streaming down the Confessor's face. "I can't do this," she wailed. "I can't lie to them. It goes against everything I am." Cara was on her feet, and her hands reached for Kahlan's face to wipe away the tears. This time she couldn't help it, and pulled Kahlan into a fierce embrace. Her hand came to the back of Kahlan's head as the brunette sobbed into her shoulder.
Cara knew she was absolutely awful at comforting people. She had not received much opportunity for practice in her line of work. She bit her lip and did the only thing she could think of. "There, there," she whispered, stroking Kahlan's hair. "Everything will be alright."
Kahlan pulled her head back and peered into the soft green eyes. "I believe you," she whispered. She forced a small smile, and quickly found it stayed of its own accord as she gazed deeper into Cara's soul. Kahlan took her lower lip into her mouth. "How do you do that?"
Cara's eyes questioned her.
"You make me feel loved, just by looking at me."
Cara's brow furrowed. "I don't -"
She was interrupted as Kahlan's lips softly pressed to her own. "Silly Cara," she murmured. "There's only one answer to that question, and it doesn't have any words."
Cara couldn't stop herself from leaning into Kahlan, aching for another kiss. Smirking, Kahlan stepped back and pressed her index finger to Cara's nose. "You were having problems focusing at dinner, weren't you?"
Cara groaned inwardly. She knew where this was going, but tried to explain anyway. "Kahlan, I wasn't trying to..." Her eyes involuntarily locked onto their favorite spot on her chest. Her words stopped.
Kahlan's grin was huge. "You are hopeless. I'm going to have to start wearing something more chaste if you're that easily distracted."
"No, I won't - I wasn't - You can't -"
Kahlan stifled a giggle at Cara's terrified expression. "I was joking silly. But honestly, you need to exercise control. Richard probably wouldn't notice, but not much gets past Zedd."
"Fine." Cara finished undressing in a huff, and a small smile was stuck to Kahlan's face as she did the same. Cara hid her own small smile of contentment as her eyes played over the Mother Confessor's naked form - she couldn't imagine ever losing any appreciation for such a beautiful sight. They doused the lamp and crawled into the bed. Cara started to wrap her arms around Kahlan to pull her close, but was stopped as Kahlan pressed a warm hand to her chest. "Oh no you don't." Cara didn't need lamplight to know the huge smile was back on her face. She huffed and flipped onto her side, turning her back to Kahlan. She smiled when she felt Kahlan's arm wrap around her as she pulled their bodies close. Warm skin met warm skin. Cara reveled in the feeling of bliss that came with the Confessor's soft breasts pressed into her back, warm breath on her neck, and legs freely intertwining. Cara would never admit it, but she loved the feeling of warmth and protection Kahlan's arms brought. Moments later, when she was sure Kahlan had fallen asleep, she whispered the words ever so softly.
"I love you Kahlan."
Kahlan smiled behind her and drifted asleep replaying the words in her head.
****
Morning sunlight broke across Kahlan's face. She woke, and realized she was clutching the sleeping Mord-Sith as if she was scared to let go. Suddenly a part of her dream came back and she winced, forcing it out of her mind. Instead she focused on Cara's soft golden hair, appreciating the way the shafts of light fell on it. She raised herself on her arms and turned Cara over onto her back. It was a curious thing - Cara was an incredibly light sleeper and would usually wake at a twig snapping twenty paces away, yet Kahlan had never accidentally woken her. It was as if the Mord-Sith's body trusted her implicitly, even in its weakest state.
Kahlan decided to push her luck.
She lowered her head over Cara's and gave her a soft, slow kiss. She pulled back, and waited. No change. Kahlan smiled. She gave her another kiss - this one sensual, drawn out, her tongue tasting Cara's. It was the kind she knew would drive Cara mad were she awake. Still nothing - not even the slightest change in the Mord-Sith's breathing. "Interesting," she breathed to herself. Kahlan decided this warranted further experimentation. She pulled the covers back from Cara and sat back on her haunches, drinking in the expanse of golden skin, swelling breasts, and shapely hips. A devilish gleam played in Kahlan's eye as her hand reached for Cara's breast. She palmed it, holding her breath, expecting Cara to wake at any second. Still nothing. Her thumb and forefinger found their way to the nipple, and Kahlan bit her lip and squeezed. Cara moaned.
Kahlan fell backwards off the bed, limbs flailing, landing with a thud on the rug beside the bed. She froze, holding back a burst of laughter at her own fright. She expected Cara's face to appear over the edge with a perplexed expression, but it didn't come. Slowly, Kahlan rose and saw that Cara hadn't even moved. A smile broke over Kahlan's face.
She rubbed her backside and carefully resumed her position of torture at Cara's side. Feeling more sure of herself, she didn't waste any time lowering her head over Cara's chest. She took a nipple between her teeth and bit - softly - playing her tongue over the tip. Her hand found the other and twisted - softly, gently. Cara moaned again, pushing her head back, writhing in the covers for a moment. Kahlan's eyes wrinkled as she felt her lips pull into a smile. This was fun. She released the nipple from her teeth and played her lips over it, nipping it at it gently, pushing it with her tongue. She paused and switched, mouthing the other nipple and massaging the former with her hand and fingers. Kahlan knew if Cara were awake she would be panting by now.
Her free hand roamed over Cara's stomach, feeling the tight muscles of her abdomen. It reached around her hip, appreciating the softness of the side of her rear. She played a fingernail around to the inside of her leg, drawing a v-shaped line up to her navel and down to her other thigh. Not stopping her ministrations on Cara's breasts, she repeated the line, drawing ever close to the strip of blonde curls in between the Mord-Sith's thighs. Finally, Kahlan noticed a marked change in Cara's breathing. She perked her head up and gazed at Cara as she pulled her thumb over the stiff curls. Cara's mouth opened wider, but her eyes stayed closed. Kahlan grinned. There was nothing else for it. She moved her palm down to cup Cara's sex and found exactly what she expecting - the Mord-Sith was soaked. Slowly, gently, she curled two fingers and placed them at the entrace to Cara's heat. Kahlan watched as Cara's eyelids fluttered. Suddenly, she shoved her fingers roughly inside, and the blonde's eyes and mouth snapped open.
Cara woke to Kahlan's grinning face, twinkling eyes, and immense pleasure between her thighs. "Good morning, sweetheart!" Kahlan chirped.
She squeezed her eyes back shut. She hated being called that, and Kahlan knew it. "Mother Confessor," she rasped. "Are you attempting to violate me?"
"Yes!" Kahlan gushed.
Cara moaned as her muscles flexed around Kahlan's stilled fingers, opening her eyes to see Kahlan's looking mischievously back at her. She squinted in the morning light. "Well, carry on then."
"Yes Mistress." Kahlan's voice had that distinctly teasing tone - the one she loved.
"You... are... hhhnnnngg..." Cara's train of thought vanished into waves of pleasure as Kahlan started to pump her fingers in and out, pushing Cara closer to the edge. She gasped and threw her head back into the pillows as she felt Kahlan's thumb graze her nub. Her cheeks and chest flushed with rising heat. "Please..."
Kahlan considered teasing Cara further, but decided against it. It was the least she could do in return for pleasuring Cara when she wasn't awake to feel it. She pressed a hard circle into Cara's nub and pumped vigorously, covering Cara's mouth with her free hand while laughing at Cara's rising - and very loud - moan.
Cara bucked her hips against Kahlan's hand and came hard, her body shuddering as waves of pleasure rolled across her. She became aware of Kahlan's hand over her mouth and licked her palm with a smirk. Kahlan drew her hand back with a smile, and slowly withdrew her other hand from Cara's sex.
"We're not alone in the woods, silly," Kahlan admonished.
"You make me forget where we are."
Kahlan sighed as she remembered just exactly where they were - stopped at an inn with Richard and Zedd in their quest to stop the Keeper. "Likewise. We'd better get downstairs."
"You don't want..."
"No." Kahlan suddenly felt sick - she'd lost herself in bringing pleasure to Cara, and the real world came crashing back down on her like so many bricks. She schooled her composure and turned from Cara. "Another day of secrets."
Cara placed a hand on the small of her back. She couldn't think of any words, so she rubbed gently. She vowed to resolve this - watching Kahlan hurt was the one kind of pain she couldn't handle.