Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: Hello again! I'm sorry for not updating for a long time. I was so busy with work and personal life and all. Here's an update, I hope you all haven't lost interest in this story – or if you have, it's all my fault.

This chapter turned out not as I expected it would be; the pace is so damn slow that even I cringed while rereading it. I was going to add a quicker pace but I think it would be a bit too long to put in a chapter. I promise the next update will have something instead of mere talking.

Thank you for everyone who reads, puts it on alerts and favourites, and for those who leave comments. I love you all; you're too kind.

So, before I shut up I'm just going to say the drill: This work is still unbeta'ed (I'm in dire need of a Beta) so the mistakes you find are all mine.

Fine.. I'm shutting up now. Enjoy the ride *kisses*

Chapter 6

Sometimes Kahlan really wished that she could read a Mord'Sith. Prior to travelling with Cara, the thought had been solely for practical and tactical reason – it would make things easier if she had been able to read the enemy's mind, to know what evil plots they were planning against the Seeker and herself. Now, Kahlan wasn't sure if it was still the reason anymore.

For sure, Cara was not the most approachable person on earth. There was no way to know what was going on inside the head of the pretty blonde unless Cara herself let it known. Getting a piece of her mind was a more difficult task than killing a Shadrin with a blunt dagger; Cara guarded herself so securely and the fact that she mostly wore the same bored expression didn't help at all.

It had been better before, when Cara still had her sight. Behind all the bored or annoyed expressions she wore, the pair of green eyes had always managed to betray their owner by revealing glimpses of expressions that Cara never wanted to say. But even the light in those eyes were now gone and replaced by a cold empty stare.

Kahlan exhaled inaudibly into the darkness and lifted her hand slowly to rub her aching temple. She had been lying in bed for no less than two candlemarks without any hints that sleep was going to claim her. Carefully she turned her head and glanced at the person lying next to her.

Cara was fast asleep under the blanket; her back was facing Kahlan and the sheet rose and fell steadily as the person underneath it breathed. Kahlan's eyes began to droop as the calming motion lulled her to sleep but then she frowned when she registered how stiff Cara's posture was. The blonde had somehow slept on the far side of the bed – a bed that was obviously too small for two – so that Kahlan practically had most of the bed to herself. Before Kahlan knew it, sleep had eluded her again.

The brunette rolled slowly to her side, careful as not to pull the stitches off her left shoulder. She supported her upper body with her good arm and tried to peek to see if Cara was really asleep. She couldn't do it without tumbling on top of Cara, though, so she decided to call the blonde instead.

"Cara," she whispered. Silence. "Cara, are you asleep?" she tried again. Kahlan waited for a few heartbeats; there was no answer. She was about to lie back down when Cara's cold voice made her jump.

"I was," Cara said without opening her eyes.

There wasn't a single hint of sleep in the velvety voice that Kahlan wasn't sure if the other woman had really been asleep.

"What do you want?" Cara asked impatiently.

"Did I wake you up?"

Cara turned her head to face Kahlan; she was frowning. "Do you really have to ask?"

Kahlan bit her lower lip. She was thinking of something to say but Cara beat her to it.

"Confessor," Cara spoke slowly, "is there anything you want to say? Or is it your habit to wake people up in the middle of the night for nothing?"

"Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking," Kahlan apologised. She was actually at a loss of what to say – waking Cara up was not her intention – so she fell back into silence.

Again, it was Cara who broke the silence. "Are you hurt?"

"Huh? What?"

"Your stitches," Cara elaborated, "Do they hurt?"

Kahlan shook her head against the pillow. "I'm fine," she replied softly. There was something – concern, perhaps? – laced in Cara's question and Kahlan felt touched.

Cara said nothing at first. She was confused; Kahlan said she was fine but why would she wake Cara up if she wasn't hurt? Truth was, Cara was still curious about the wound. Kahlan had returned earlier from the walk than she had expected with a wound on her left shoulder – Richard arrived a couple of minutes later uninjured; both refused to give her any explanations. Cara wanted to ask again for an explanation but she knew better so she held her tongue.

"Cara?"

"What?"

The taller woman hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry I woke you up," she finally whispered.

Cara shrugged. "I wasn't tired anyway," she replied.

The reply made Kahlan smile. It was so Cara to dismiss her discomfort like it was nothing. Then she remembered the reason why she woke the blonde up. "Cara, why did you sleep on the edge of the bed?"

There was a second of silence before Cara answered like it was something obvious, "You are hurt. You need the space."

"I'm not that big, you know."

"I didn't say you were."

"You'll hurt your back sleeping like that," Kahlan said, her hand reached for Cara's arm under the cover and pulled. "Come here, there's plenty of space here."

The touch was unforeseen and Cara flinched. "I'm fine," she grumbled as she yanked her arm away from Kahlan's grasp. "Why aren't you asleep?"

Kahlan drew her hand back, surprised at Cara's reaction. "I...," she faltered. "I can't sleep," she confessed. The Confessor watched as Cara sighed next to her, waiting for the blonde's next words but nothing came out at first.

"You need to learn how to control yourself, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Kahlan asked, not comprehending.

Cara exhaled audibly. "If you were in control of yourself, Confessor, you wouldn't have such a stupid problem of not being able to sleep," she began, "It's you who have to control your body and not the other way around – you tell your body what to do, when to do it, and how you want it to do it and your body has to obey. If you are in control, you can simply command your body to sleep and it will go to sleep right then; you tell it to wake up after how many candlemarks, and it will do exactly as you say." There was a pause, then, "I can teach you how to do it."

Kahlan couldn't help but smile at the offer. Cara was anything but impractical and the blonde seemed to think that everything could be accomplished if one was wilful enough. "It's easier said than done, Cara," remarked Kahlan. "And I'm not you; I can't tell myself to sleep when I have something on my mind."

"Then whatever it is that keeps you awake, leave me out of it. I want to sleep." With that, Cara rolled back to her previous position, leaving Kahlan to her own thought.

Kahlan let out a sigh. She watched the back of Cara's head for a while, half hoping that the Mord'Sith would roll back and keep her company. When the other woman didn't, Kahlan tried to close her eyes. Alas, instead of falling asleep, her mind wandered to her walk with Richard earlier that afternoon.

...

Richard was his usual chipper self the moment they left the inn. He smiled broadly and greeted people he met on the street. Kahlan, on the other hand, walked a couple of steps behind the Seeker; her eyes kept glancing at the inn.

When they reached a quieter place on the outskirt of the village, Kahlan broke the silence. "Richard," she called out.

"Yes, Kahlan?" he answered sweetly.

"I think we should go back," she said, "It doesn't feel right for me to leave Cara alone this long."

The man waved his hand as a dismissal. "You're too worried. She is in her room; what could possibly happen there? Besides, Cara can take care of herself."

Kahlan frowned at the easy reply. "Why are you acting this way?"

"Acting what way?"

"Like this; like you don't care if anything happens to Cara." Kahlan was cross when Richard seemed undisturbed.

"She's stronger than anyone in the village," was Richard excuse.

"She can't see."

"She fought Banelings without her sight," Richard reminded the Confessor. "Don't underestimate her, Kahlan."

I don't! Kahlan wanted to protest but held her tongue. This argument was not going to get anywhere; she knew well enough how stubborn Richard could be when the man wanted to. Must be the Rahl blood in him, she thought.

Richard was frustrated and he felt cheated; here he was, walking with the love of his life, but it seemed that the woman next to him didn't share the same feelings as him. Kahlan was supposed to be happy and carefree, being able to be alone with him. And yet, she was busy worrying about Cara. It bothered Richard more because it hadn't been months since Kahlan hated Cara's guts. Why the sudden change? Richard wanted to ask. What did she do that made you forgive the person who murdered your sister so quickly?

"She saved my life," Kahlan said coldly.

Richard blinked. He didn't realize he had said the last question out loud. He looked at Kahlan; her blue eyes pierced his brown ones angrily. He opened his mouth but Kahlan cut him off.

"She's saved my life more than I could count with my two hands. And yours too. And now she's blind because of me – because she was the only one who was fast enough to react. I'm not heartless, Richard. Yes, she tortured and killed my sister; that is a fact. Yes, there have been times when I wanted so much to put my hand around her neck and make her pay for her mistakes; that is also a fact. But I can't ignore the fact that she is trying to change – that she is sorry for doing what she did. As for what made me forgive her so quickly, how can you be so sure that I have forgiven her?" Kahlan didn't give Richard a chance to respond. She glared at Richard one last time before turning her back and walked away.

"Kahlan," Richard called out. "Wait!" He ran after her, silently cursing himself for not being able to shut his own mouth for his own good.

...

Kahlan huffed; replaying her argument with Richard had made her tired. Soon, she fell asleep with anger still burning hot in her head.

It was Cara who woke up first the next morning. She opened her eyes and again, she was still left in the dark. If she had been a lesser person, she would have wailed and pleaded to the Creator to return her sight. But Cara was not a lesser person. I still have my other senses – that was what she kept telling herself every morning, every turn of the day – no need to cry over some stupid eyesight.

She waited a second before getting up, slowly as not to wake the still sleeping Kahlan next to her. The blonde knew that her companion didn't rest well – Cara was spending half of the night staying awake because Kahlan had been tossing and turning in the bed. It was probably because of her wound, but Cara wouldn't know, would she?

Cara couldn't help thinking about Kahlan's wound. And the way Kahlan spoke to Richard the previous day – there was something going on between the two. And no one told her a thing.

...

Cara was pleased when Kahlan and Richard went without her. A moment of peace, she thought. It wasn't that she minded Kahlan's company – she had grown quite used to the Confessor's endless blabbering – it was the way she was being treated by the Confessor. Kahlan constantly worried about her; she kept telling her to eat, to go out and walk around the village. Cara was tired of it.

She had actually given up hope to get her sight back and all she needed was a little more time – a little more training – and she would be able to function as she used to. Cara never doubted herself on that matter. She knew what she had to do. She understood that she had to train her ears, her touch, her sense of smell so that she could see with every fibre of her being. All she needed was time.

But time was something that she didn't have. With Kahlan always at her side, when would she have time to train? With the quest to find the Stone of Tears, there wasn't enough time to train. Had Cara been more articulate, she would have asked the Lord Rahl to give her some time. However, Cara was not that kind of person and she had to make use every single time she had.

Cara didn't expect the twosome to be back that quickly. She had been spending her time by the window, trying to focus on a single sound and block the others. So far she hadn't been successful. Having no eyesight was a pain; she admitted it. When they were in the forest, things were actually easier because all she had to do was focus on the others' footsteps and she had familiarized herself with the footsteps of each member of their group; if she heard a different set then it meant they were under attack. In the village, her senses were overdriven. There were too many noises that she couldn't figure out when one ended and the other started. It was tiring trying to block all the insignificant sounds while she listened only to the ones that mattered.

Again, Cara didn't expect Kahlan and Richard to return to the inn before dark – she was quite familiar now with her Lord Rahl fondness of villages and crowd. So it was a bit of surprise when she heard Kahlan's footsteps outside the door. She stood up as the door swung open.

From the scent, Cara knew it was Kahlan who entered the room – but there was something that simply amiss about the sound of the taller woman's breathing and the way she walked. Cara's hands immediately ghosted on her Agiels, ready to draw them quickly if needed be.

"Confessor?" she asked, "What happened?"

Kahlan didn't give a reply – she was still too upset to answer; her shoulder was stinging from where she fell, and her ankle hurt too.

"Confessor, are you hurt?" When she still received no answer, Cara raised her voice, "Kahlan!"

"I'm fine, Cara," Kahlan finally muttered, slightly annoyed. She glanced up at Cara and her anger subsided a little to see a frown forming on the blonde's forehead. "I fell and sprained my ankle," she said.

"I smell blood," Cara pressed.

Kahlan grimaced. "I injured my shoulder too, apparently," she added as an afterthought, "Don't worry; it's just a scratch."

"I'm not worried," Cara grumbled. She groped in the dark to the source of Kahlan's voice. "How did you fall? Where's Richard?"

The brunette was about to answer when there was a soft knocking on the door. She turned to see who was coming and lifted her chin as Richard entered the room.

"Kahlan," he started.

"Richard, are you hurt?" Cara interrupted.

"I'm fine, Cara. I need to speak with Kahlan," he replied; his eyes were trained on Kahlan. "You're hurt," Richard spoke to Kahlan.

"It's none of your concern."

"Your shoulder needs stitches," Richard remarked.

"Cara will help me," replied Kahlan.

Richard shook his head in disbelief. "Kahlan, she's blind."

Cara winced at the remark. True as it was, the word 'blind' still stung when spoken with malice. And apparently, Kahlan was more offended than Cara was. Before Cara could say a word the other woman had spoken.

"Get out!" Kahlan spoke coldly with her Mother Confessor tone.

...

"Cara?" Kahlan's voice broke Cara out of her thought. The Confessor was still in bed and her voice was still laced with sleep. "Why are you up so early?"

"It's morning," Cara replied matter-of-factly.

The brunette smiled as the reply was so uniquely Cara.

"How's your shoulder?" Cara asked hesitantly. She wasn't going to ask lest Kahlan thought she was worried, but it seemed that her mouth had a mind of its own.

"It stings. But I think the healer did quite a decent job. I can only expect that – you scared that poor old man so badly he shook when he did my stitches." Kahlan chuckled at the thought. "Do you have any plans for today?"

Honestly, if it were up to Cara, she would spend another day sitting by the window to train her ears. "What are yours?"

"I want to see the lake."

Cara raised an eyebrow. "With that ankle of yours?"

"Oh, well. You can be my leg," the brunette said lightly.

And she can be my eyes, Cara gritted her teeth at the unspoken words. "Go with Richard," she told the other woman. Kahlan said nothing in return. Cara sighed. This is just great, she thought, now I have to be a middleman as well? Where is the wizard when we need him? Useless. "Alright," Cara finally resigned. "But only for a candlemark," she termed.

Kahlan grinned broadly – a smile that would make Cara smack her face if the blonde were able to see her. It would be worth it, though, she reminded herself.

A/N: I hope you enjoy the ride. Here's some brownies in case of any scars and/or disappointments caused. (yes, my self esteem is *that* low)