[A/N: I love me some Cara/Kahlan, I especially enjoyed that when Cara was getting tortured the first face she thought of was Kahlan's, (which is the entire inspiration for this fic.) Coincidence? I think not. I also love me some Cara/Dahlia…but, torturing Cara, Dahlia is not such a good move and Cara's BFF/GF will ~kill~ you, biatch.]

Cara's Angel.

She had loved Dahlia. They had been there for each other ever since they had been small, helpless girls. They had shielded each other from the horrors of their new, brutal life; and, they had been the other's strength as they earned their agiels. They were more than just sisters, they were lovers, they were friends. Dahlia had always been there; she knew Cara better than she knew herself. She was just doing what they had always done: eradicating the weaknesses from the other's personality.

The deformity in Cara's personality was her love and her loyalty to the Seeker. Dahlia would make her bleed until she renounced him. The chink in her red leather was her devotion to the Mother Confessor, the most hated enemy of all Mord Sith. Dahlia would whip Cara until the fire of hatred returned to her eyes whenever the name of Kahlan Amnell was mentioned in her presence. The stupid affection she felt for the Wizard would be beaten out of her as well until all that remained of Cara was the Mord Sith she had been.

Dahlia's weakness was her love for Cara.

She had been searching desperately for a way to bring Cara back into the fold of her red-clad sisters, to return her to her rightful and exalted position of Mord Sith. She had been alone ever since Cara's sisters had brutally cut off her hair and left her for dead. Though she took several lovers, none of them had the same fiery passion as her Cara. "Mistress Cara" was one of the most infamous Mord Sith in the history of the sisters of the agiel. She was a favorite of Lord Darken Rahl, known well for her enjoyment in inflicting pain for even the most minor infractions. Dahlia worshipped her, she admired her devotion to her master, her lust for battle, her tough armor.

She loved her and that was why Cara was hanging by her wrists, being re- "broken". The reason she was beaten senseless. The reason she was struck repeatedly with agiels. The reason she was being tortured. And Dahlia was the one doing it, coating her brutal actions with sweet, hollow words.

"Cara." Through the haze of pain, she could hear Dahlia's voice. It sounded faint and far away; she wasn't sure if this were reality or a dream. "My love." A soft, ungloved hand caressed her face, traced a finger along her jaw line. "You're home now." Dahlia kissed her collarbone. "I will make you strong again." A whip wrapped around Cara's leg; when Dahlia pulled the metal spikes tore flesh, and Cara bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"I love you." She moved so quickly Cara's eyes didn't have time to register the movement before she felt a searing pain travel up her leg. This time she couldn't hold back a cry.

"Those people made you weak!" Dahlia spat, her voice thickly coated with venom. "It's only a whip. Don't you remember all the fun you and I have had with whips?" Her face was only inches away from the other woman's; she could feel her breath on her cheek. The whip coiled tighter, cutting off the circulation.

"They didn't make me weak," Cara said, but her voice was strained. One of her ribs had been broken and it hurt to talk. But Dahlia definitely heard her because she slapped the other woman hard across the face. "I've seen what love can do; it can do anything." The agiel struck her where the broken rib was; she screamed.

For most of her life Cara had believed that love made a person weak. It was something easily exploited when it came to breaking someone. She'd seen it enough times to understand that loving someone would not end well. To love is to destroy. And a Mord Sith's power came from hate, not love. Hate was good, love was bad.

She remembered a couple the Mord Sith had tried to break for Lord Rahl's pleasure. The girl's betrothed had begged them to stop, going so far as to say, "Do anything you want with me, kill me, I don't care, just let her go." Cara had exploited this, tricking him into believing he would get his wish. Then Garen had snapped the girl's neck in front of him. The girl, her eyes full of terror, had mouthed, I love you, only a moment before her death. After that the man gave up, it was as if the light in his soul had been extinguished. He no longer reacted to the attentions of the Mord Sith and in disgust they had killed him.

Cara realized now that was love. Sacrifice. That man had been willing to die to protect the person he loved. Cara had seen it as a weakness. Being a Mord Sith meant you looked out for yourself, no one else. It was about survival of the fittest.

She thought of her friends…her family. Kahlan. Richard. Zedd. She saw their faces in her mind's eye. Would they miss her now that she was gone? Would they search for her, try to rescue her? No probably not. Her life was not important. It never had been and never would be. She was just one of the many replaceable parts in Darken Rahl's war machine. A tool. A living, breathing killing machine. With the Seeker she had felt like she mattered. It had been strange at first; they had treated her like a human being and she was used to being treated like an object. She hadn't-and still didn't-know how to react to that. She had just been exploring her new niche in the world and know it would be taken away from her.

An agiel snapped Cara out of her memories and she cried out in anguish.

How could Dahlia do this to her when she said she loved her? "This isn't love," she whispered. Something changed in Dahlia's eyes, could it be fear? "If you…" Cara took a wheezing breath, "Love me you would never do this to me." Dahlia's eyes turned quietly furious, she struck Cara on her sides with two agiels.

"Love is the reason I'm doing this. Can't you see?" Tears formed at the corner of Dahlia's eyes. She pressed her lips to Cara's. Automatically Cara kissed back. "I'm lost without you." She placed her hands on either side of her face. "I won't let you grow weak."

Cara laughed harshly. She refused to be beaten down, to be broken. She was strong now. "If you really loved me, you would never have taken part in my humiliation. You joined the sisters as they hacked off my braid and left me for dead." The broken rib was unbearably painful, but she ignored it as she spoke. "Why would you think I'd want to come back?"

Dahlia took a step back like she'd been struck. This wasn't Cara talking. It was the weakness talking. Weakness that needed to be beaten out of her; weakness that needed to be destroyed before it took Cara with it completely. She struck her across the face with her agiel, leaving a livid bruise. Cara already had a black eye. She would cover her body in bruises if that's what it took.

"Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." Dahlia was desperately afraid Cara would leave her behind. The past few months without her had been torture. She wouldn't allow Cara to abandon her, not after all they'd been through. She resumed breaking Cara, but her heart wasn't in it. She let Cara slip off into her own world.

Kahlan.

Cara could feel the Mother Confessor's warm arms wrapped tightly around her. She could smell the faint scent of soap on her snow white skin and feel the softness of her white dress against her cheek. When she looked up at her, Kahlan's face was bathed in a beautiful, golden light, like the last rays of a dying sun. She looked more beautiful and perfect than she remembered.

"Cara." She spoke her name; it sounded like music to her tortured ears.

Kahlan bent her head down, soft dark tresses caressing Cara face as she kissed her. It was a soft, gentle kiss, nothing like with a Mord Sith. There was no desire for dominance, no power struggle. It was full of love; a feeling of warmth spread throughout Cara's body. After too brief a moment Kahlan pulled away and Cara saddened at the loss of the other woman's lips against hers.

"I made a mistake."

Kahlan looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" She smoothed back the hair from Cara's face.

Cara's head shifted on the Mother Confessor's lap to get a better view of her face. "I loved her and she betrayed me."

Kahlan smiled gently, looking like a angel; in a way she was, she was Cara's angel. "If you loved her…that isn't a mistake. Loving someone is never wrong, Cara."

"She was able to deceive me because of it."

"That doesn't make loving her a mistake." She caressed her face, her hand coming to rest along her throat. Only a few months before that touch would have made Cara shudder inwardly with fear. The only true threat to a Mord Sith was a Confessor's touch. Now she relished the feel of the soft, warm skin there. If Kahlan confessed her, she would take all that Cara was, just like the Mord Sith took all she was when they broke her.

But she was already Kahlan's so it didn't matter anymore what her touch could do. She already had all of her.

"I wish I could stay with you forever. I'm so lost."

"Lost? Why are you lost?" Kahlan ran a loving hand along the other woman's arm; it was a soothing gesture and Cara instantly felt better.

"I'm going to forget; I'm going to break."

Kahlan made relaxing sounds, like alleviating a child's fear from a nightmare. "You won't break. Love will keep you strong. Never forget that, Cara." She kissed her forehead and whispered, "I believe in you."

That was why Cara loved her. She had faith in her. Kahlan could have killed her, she could have justly taken her life for the murder of her sister and the murders of countless others. But she hadn't, instead she had forgiven her. She had believed in Cara when Cara didn't believe in herself.

She pulled her down for another kiss. This time it was more desperate. She wanted to hold onto this heaven for as long as possible. She wanted it to be real.

"Cara, don't cry."

She sniffed. "I'm not crying. There's just something in my eye." But Kahlan could see right through her.

"Don't go," Kahlan murmured into her golden hair.

The pain was too much to bear. She felt a knife slice through her hand, cutting down to bone. She screamed her agony.

"Cara! Cara! Cara!" Kahlan's voice sounded frantic. "You have to stay strong. Richard, Zedd, and I, we need you, Cara. You matter." She clutched the Mord Sith to her body. "You're our family. No matter what happens." It sounded like Kahlan was crying. The angel was crying. "I will always believe in you. I will never turn you away."

She felt lost. Confused. Dazed. The image of her angel began to waver; the light started to fade.

"Please." Kahlan's voice sounded broken, like she was the one breaking into a million pieces. "Please fight."

"I love you," Cara whispered as the last of the light faded. "Kahlan." It was dark, the light had been extinguished, the angel was gone.

Dahlia was screaming. "Stop saying her name!"

"Dahlia!" Darken Rahl yelled, ordering another Mord Sith to get Dahlia off of Cara. "She's had enough, Dahlia."

Cara opened her swollen eyes enough to watch Dahlia be carried away.

"Still fighting, are you, Cara?" He clicked his tongue. "Do you really think you won't break?" He moved closer to her, only inches separated them. "We will make you strong again."

She was left in peace after that, until the next day when it would begin again in earnest. And the next day…and the next…until she was either broken or dead.

She knew love could overcome anything, but in the end she would break. She would shatter and nothing, not even love, would be able to put the pieces back together again.

[A/N: I'm not quite sure how I like the end result. I've read a lot of good Cara fics recently and it's making me really unsure about this. It might be a little OOC, esp. on Dahlia's part because I haven't seen this episode since it aired. Please review. I really love going into my inbox and hearing from readers. Right now I'm considering doing a sequel if enough people enjoy this.]