Requiem

Chapter 4

Kahlan tossed over and over on the straw stuffed mattress that lay beneath her. As she got around to the fiftieth toss Richard sat up. "Kahlan…" he said in a disquieted tone.

"I'm sorry Richard," she said ruefully. "I'm just…" She trailed off.

"You're just worried. I am too." He placed a hand onto her neck, running his thumb over her chin and the side of her face. His touch was enough to bring tears to Kahlan's eyes. She tried to blink them away in a vain attempt to make herself seem stronger, but she can never fake in front of Richard, he always brings her deepest emotions to the surface, especially the ones she tries most to hide. "Shh…" he pronounced tenderly. He kissed her forehead and leaned her head onto his chest, kissing her soft hair. "Kahlan, I'm here, and so are you. We're both going to be here for a long time. Brinson won't be successful. He'll fail, just like everyone who tries to kill us does. Just because he says he will doesn't mean he'll actually kill us."

"Richard, he is very powerful. He has Mord-Sith on his side. They don't just follow anyone, they're very selective. If they believe that he can actually take us down… than he must be powerful." She sobbed into his chest. He hated seeing her like this, but there was nothing more for him to say… so he let her cry. When she stopped crying she lay on him for a while longer, he thought that she might have fallen asleep but when she said his name and he looked into her beryl orbs… he saw something in them that he had only seen when they shared longing glances across the campfire, when they trotted their horses aside the river beds, and when he caught her staring at him as he practiced swinging his sword at the fruits Zedd conjured, when he had no shirt on: Lust. It wasn't just love that he saw, it had that hint of sexual desire, that desire that he felt all the same, like whenever she announced that she was going to the river to bathe, his mind jumped to when he saw her bathing beside the river that one time. Her damp locks draped over her back, the fresh water droplets that adorned her perfect, flawless porcelain skin, glinting as the sunlight hit at just the right angle…. "Richard… take to bed with me."

Her words shook him from his reverie. Take to bed with me…. The words echoed in his head. He shook his head, as if shaking away all of the clouds that were fogging up his mind away. "Kahlan," he shuddered out, his resolve was melting away expeditiously. He pushed her off of him and jumped from the bed in a startled affectedness.

A hurt demeanor spread across her face before she crawled seductively across the bed, leaning over granting Richard a full view of her bosom as the tops of her breasts spilled over her forest green corset. "Richard," she whined as she reached out for him. He sped to the other side of the room; he leaned against the desk that had their belongings placed on it. He had his back to her, careening onto the table, trying to gain his composure back when she snuck up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the contact, turning around to meet her eyes. They weren't as full of lust; they were now shadowed over by guilt and trepidation. "Richard… don't you love me?"

His heart broke as she asked that question. "Of course I do!" He declared quickly.

"Then… then why won't you make love to me?"

"Because, Kahlan, I-I just can't."

Kahlan backed away as something – a terrible thought – happened upon her mind. "You're afraid."

Oh, Spirits just kill me now! "Kahlan! No, I'm not afr-" He reached for her.

"Yes you are!" She backed away, "You're afraid that I'll Confess you! You're just like the rest of them!"

His heart broke for a third time in just two minutes. "No…" he barely whispered it. "No. Kahlan, I can't be afraid of being Confessed by you when I'm already your willing slave."

"Then why won't you!" She seethed. "Look!" She reached behind him and pulled her bag to her. She reached in and pulled out a silver band – the Rada'Han. His eyes widened at the sight of it, just like Kahlan's did when she first saw it. She got it not two hours ago. Zedd had come to her while Cara and Richard were quietly drinking from the ale they had purchased from the barmaid. He said that they deserved to have a chance to be happy, especially after the news received earlier in the day. "We can be safe if I have it on. So why won't you make love to me?

"Because…" He had to take this delicately. If he upset her, it's possible she might go into the Con'Dar. "Because, Kahlan… you're a very strong minded woman – and that's one of the things I love most about you, your independence – and if I bed you tonight, when you've just gotten information like this, when you're upset… it will only make you more upset. Because then you'll have to admit that you gave into being vulnerable."

"But I can do that with you – and that's one of the things that I love most about you! I can be vulnerable around you!" She reasoned.

"Not like this." He walked toward her, when he reached her he put his hand on her face and took the Rada'Han from her, it clattered as it hit the desk and rolled onto the floor. "Kahlan, if I make love to you, you'll be admitting defeat… at least to yourself. And I can't destroy you, not for anything, not even if I get to hold you in my arms, even for just one night. I love you too much to do that to you."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I knew there was a reason I loved you so much."

He smiled at her, gathering her into his arms and kissing her so profusely they almost completely ran out of oxygen. He lifted Kahlan off the ground and laid her onto the bed. "Kahlan," he whispered, "I would like to marry you."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I want to marry you, Kahlan Amnell. I want to make a life with you. Have children with you, many daughters, and I want to raise them all to be just like their mother. I'll escort you to Aydindril and we can be married there. And on the night of our marriage, you can wear the Rada'Han and we can finally consummate our love." She stared at him as though he walked out of a dream. "So… Kahlan, what do you say? Will you be my wife?"

"Yes! Yes, of course I will!" She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. They kissed all over, all through the night, until they were so tired they just fell asleep in each other's arms.

The last words they uttered to each other before they met each other again in their dreams were, "I love you…."

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Okay, kiddies, I need you to sound off. I'd like very much to write a sequel of this, but I need you to tell me if you would like me to write more. This was actually one of my favorite chaps to write because I think it really got into the heart of the R/K 'ship. If you'd like to see more of the heart-seeking-R/K-'shipperness, review and tell me. If not... well, then... still reviw and tell me.

Hugs and many thanks,

0.0 Sigma

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