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seriousfic) wrote2011-06-17 12:43 pm
seriousfic) wrote2011-06-17 12:43 pm
Entry tags:
LotS fic: We're a long way from home and home is a long way from us (11/15)
Title: We're a long way from home and home is a long way from us
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,654
Characters/Pairings: Cara/Triana, Cara/Dahlia, Richard/Kahlan, Berdine/Raina
Author’s notes: Betaed by the lovely and talented![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
susurrusnight
Previous: Part 10
Next: Part 12
Summary: Richard sends Cara away.
Seeing Dahlia's face made Cara hesitate for the barest moment. It wasn't enough for Dahlia to capitalize on. Cara shoved Dahlia hard, then swept the dacra from her hand and pounded the Agiel into her stomach so hard it pinned her to the wall. Dahlia grabbed the Agiel and forced it off herself. The pain must've been excruciating, but she bought herself time to do something other than scream.
"Not her!"
Cara didn't listen. She pushed the Agiel in harder, like she was trying to pierce Dahlia through and through. Dahlia gritted her teeth and pleaded "Just look!" Cara reached for her other Agiel. When two were pressed into the offender's ear canals, it bestowed the Mord'Sith's most painful death. But when she touched her thigh, all she felt was the flesh Kahlan's hand had trailed over a minute ago, and Kahlan's blood. She turned to look for her Agiel and saw Kahlan—not bleeding, but leaking, deflating. Collapsing down into a creature of air and ichor. "What did you do to her?" Cara asked, removing the Agiel from Dahlia.
"Not her. A soul sylph. They show you your heart's desire to get close to their prey. I had to deal with one myself." Dahlia massaged at the varicose veins that had surfaced at the Agiel's touch. "It looked like you."
Then that wasn't… of course it wasn't. "How'd you know it wasn't me?"
"She said she loved me."
Putting an end to the conversation, Dahlia grabbed some spare clothes from a dresser and threw them to Cara. The blonde dressed hurriedly.
***
The castle looked like the aftermath of some great drunken celebration. Men and women laid prostrate, hooked to soul sylphs. Richard and others were hacking them to pieces, but even with the sylphs gone, their victims stayed in their dream world.
He looked over at Cara and Dahlia, just long enough to note that they weren't enemies and, in passing, that Cara had hurriedly redressed in a spare dress, her red boots poking out conspicuously from under the ruffled skirt.
"Are you you?" he demanded, too worried to come up with better grammar.
"How many Lord Rahls do I have to kill before you show me some respect?"
Even under the circumstances, trust Richard to manage a smile. "You're still with us. That's a start." He darkened. "The war wizards have us surrounded and we're wide open. Once the sylphs have had their fill, we're theirs."
"You have six Mord'Sith. We'll hold them off."
"Until what?" Richard made a quick decision. "It's me he wants."
Panic struck Cara. A small, Mord'Sith part of her was aware that with Richard gone, there was nothing between her and Kahlan, but that part of her was small, notable more for its silence than its volume. "They'll kill you!"
"And no one else. Cara, Kahlan can't be moved. Whatever happens, we'll face it together. But you won't."
"Any sword that would touch you will be covered in my blood first."
"Not this time. There's a secret passage out of the castle. Loose stone in the larder. Use it. Find the Clear Eye's Fire. I'll buy you all the time you need." His smile didn't seem so genuine now. "You know how my brother loves to gloat."
"You can't trust me with this," Cara said bluntly. It was the simplest way to put it.
"I am. You've never let me down, Cara. This would not be a good time to start." He smiled reassuringly and despite all her instincts, Cara let herself be reassured. "Dahlia, there's a stockroom four doors down. Take whatever you need."
"I don't take orders from you," she snapped.
Cara touched her hand. "Please."
Dahlia took one look at Cara and moved off, slipping inside the stockroom.
"Take some of the Mord'Sith with you," Richard said. "Tell them to watch her."
"She saved my life."
"Someone let those things in here."
"It could've been the Mord'Sith, or a collaborator left over from the occupation."
Richard paused a moment. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could choose how we felt about people?"
If Richard was going to make a habit of talking like that, Cara resolved to ignore him more.
"There's time for you to say goodbye to Kahlan, if you like," Richard continued in his sensitive tone of voice.
"I've already said my goodbyes."
Dahlia emerged from the stockroom, a brown backpack ruining the effect of her clothes. "I packed light. I doubt we'll last long enough to starve."
Car went to Dahlia, but couldn't leave it at that. She took one last look at Richard. "And what's to stop Rahl from killing you on sight?"
Richard shrugged. "The Spirits."
***
The Mord'Sith were dressing themselves when Cara arrived, a chorus of leather creaking and laces being drawn taut. Whatever they'd been doing naked, they didn't mind the interruption. For a Sister of the Agiel, sex was a close second to combat.
The wounded were subordinate to the healthy, except in Triana's case. She had two unscathed Mord'Sith all to herself. Cara walked right up to her, pretending to not know how unimposing she was in a peasant's dress. "I have a mission from Lord Rahl. Everyone who can fight is to accompany me."
"What about Richard?" Berdine asked, frustrating Raina's attempts to clothe her. "Who will look after him?"
Give Richard a few days and he had trained Mord'Sith acting like he was their bosom buddy. "Lord Rahl is remaining here to set a trap for Jagang. He's trusting us to come through for him."
"A Mord'Sith's place is with her Lord Rahl," Triana said. "We will not abandon him."
"He has given an order."
"Then he is not in his right mind, trusting his well-being to you. You aren't strong. You aren't pure. You are not Mord'Sith."
Cara stared into the eyes of her lover, her sister, her oldest friend. "No. I suppose not."
She left before any of them had a chance to follow her. Even so, Berdine found her before she could leave.
"Take this," she said, clasping a rolled-up sheet of parchment into Cara's hands. "I found it while helping the wizard with his research. Neither of us can figure it out, but maybe it will help you."
Cara nodded respectfully. "Thank you."
"If you need her, I can get Raina to go with you."
"No. Keep her close. Keep her close until you realize how lucky you are to have found her. And then you'll keep her closer."
***
"I trust you, Richard." Kahlan's words echoed in Richard's mind as he walked out of the castle, the Mother Confessor herself limping beside him. Just the sight of the pain walking brought her moved him to a bestial rage, but he kept it contained. The feel of her deceptively delicate hand in his was enough for that.
Outside, the war wizards circled the castle, more beast than men, baying for blood, howling at the moon, but not letting themselves into range of any magic or long-range weaponry from the towers. Jagang and his lap dog, Darken Rahl, stood directly opposite Richard, waiting patiently as he approached them.
One hand laid white-knuckled on the Sword of Truth.
"Well, well, well. The Seeker and his pet Confessor. What a delightful surprise," Rahl drawled, stroking his goatee. Richard let him run his mouth. "What are you doing out on such a chilly night? I thought you were so cozy inside your little castle…"
"You have two choices," Richard said. "The first is that we stop with the pleasantries and try to kill each other. Keep in mind, Jagang, you've hurt and killed people I call friend. You've allied yourself with a butcher and a rapist. You've turned my hometown into a charnel house. So right now, it's about all I can do to keep this sword from leaping into your heart of its own accord. And assuming you do stop me from doing that, you're still have to deal with Kahlan. She'll go into Con Dar the second you touch me."
"I'm halfway there already," Kahlan muttered.
"I don't know how war wizards are at dealing with confession, but I doubt you'd consider this a good way to find out."
Jagang barked something in guttural High D'Haran. Rahl translated. "And option two?"
"We surrender. You free these people from the throes of the soul sylphs and let them leave unharmed."
"Very well," Rahl began.
"Not you. I want to hear it from him." Richard stared into Jagang's eyes. "Legend has it you were a man of honor once. Whatever else you've become, I don't think that's changed about you."
Rahl smirked. "It's a trick, my liege. My brother is the appallingly heroic black sheep of the family. He'd be happy to go to his grave in some suicidal last-ditch effort. The fact that he isn't is proof that he has something up his sleeve." Rahl deliberately turned his back on Richard to face Jagang. "Then again, all of Richard's muscles are in perfect proportion, save for the one that matters. Whatever he has planned, I doubt it will have any bearing on our stratagem."
Jagang let more eerily discordant D'Haran syllables ooze from his lips.
"We accept," Rahl said, turning to Richard. "Lay down your sword."
"He's telling the truth," Kahlan said. The effort of standing upright was starting to show in her voice.
Richard untied his sword belt, dropping it to the ground before him. "I should warn you, 'brother'. Anything you do to me or Kahlan will have a definite bearing on your stratagem."
"Oh, Richard, if only Father hadn't spirited you off to this quaint Midland village. It would've been enjoyable growing up with you. Like having a puppy that could talk." With a gesture, the Sword of Truth flew to Rahl's hand. "I haven't the least interest in you. Just this oversized kitchen knife of yours."
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,654
Characters/Pairings: Cara/Triana, Cara/Dahlia, Richard/Kahlan, Berdine/Raina
Author’s notes: Betaed by the lovely and talented
susurrusnight Previous: Part 10
Next: Part 12
Summary: Richard sends Cara away.
Seeing Dahlia's face made Cara hesitate for the barest moment. It wasn't enough for Dahlia to capitalize on. Cara shoved Dahlia hard, then swept the dacra from her hand and pounded the Agiel into her stomach so hard it pinned her to the wall. Dahlia grabbed the Agiel and forced it off herself. The pain must've been excruciating, but she bought herself time to do something other than scream.
"Not her!"
Cara didn't listen. She pushed the Agiel in harder, like she was trying to pierce Dahlia through and through. Dahlia gritted her teeth and pleaded "Just look!" Cara reached for her other Agiel. When two were pressed into the offender's ear canals, it bestowed the Mord'Sith's most painful death. But when she touched her thigh, all she felt was the flesh Kahlan's hand had trailed over a minute ago, and Kahlan's blood. She turned to look for her Agiel and saw Kahlan—not bleeding, but leaking, deflating. Collapsing down into a creature of air and ichor. "What did you do to her?" Cara asked, removing the Agiel from Dahlia.
"Not her. A soul sylph. They show you your heart's desire to get close to their prey. I had to deal with one myself." Dahlia massaged at the varicose veins that had surfaced at the Agiel's touch. "It looked like you."
Then that wasn't… of course it wasn't. "How'd you know it wasn't me?"
"She said she loved me."
Putting an end to the conversation, Dahlia grabbed some spare clothes from a dresser and threw them to Cara. The blonde dressed hurriedly.
***
The castle looked like the aftermath of some great drunken celebration. Men and women laid prostrate, hooked to soul sylphs. Richard and others were hacking them to pieces, but even with the sylphs gone, their victims stayed in their dream world.
He looked over at Cara and Dahlia, just long enough to note that they weren't enemies and, in passing, that Cara had hurriedly redressed in a spare dress, her red boots poking out conspicuously from under the ruffled skirt.
"Are you you?" he demanded, too worried to come up with better grammar.
"How many Lord Rahls do I have to kill before you show me some respect?"
Even under the circumstances, trust Richard to manage a smile. "You're still with us. That's a start." He darkened. "The war wizards have us surrounded and we're wide open. Once the sylphs have had their fill, we're theirs."
"You have six Mord'Sith. We'll hold them off."
"Until what?" Richard made a quick decision. "It's me he wants."
Panic struck Cara. A small, Mord'Sith part of her was aware that with Richard gone, there was nothing between her and Kahlan, but that part of her was small, notable more for its silence than its volume. "They'll kill you!"
"And no one else. Cara, Kahlan can't be moved. Whatever happens, we'll face it together. But you won't."
"Any sword that would touch you will be covered in my blood first."
"Not this time. There's a secret passage out of the castle. Loose stone in the larder. Use it. Find the Clear Eye's Fire. I'll buy you all the time you need." His smile didn't seem so genuine now. "You know how my brother loves to gloat."
"You can't trust me with this," Cara said bluntly. It was the simplest way to put it.
"I am. You've never let me down, Cara. This would not be a good time to start." He smiled reassuringly and despite all her instincts, Cara let herself be reassured. "Dahlia, there's a stockroom four doors down. Take whatever you need."
"I don't take orders from you," she snapped.
Cara touched her hand. "Please."
Dahlia took one look at Cara and moved off, slipping inside the stockroom.
"Take some of the Mord'Sith with you," Richard said. "Tell them to watch her."
"She saved my life."
"Someone let those things in here."
"It could've been the Mord'Sith, or a collaborator left over from the occupation."
Richard paused a moment. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could choose how we felt about people?"
If Richard was going to make a habit of talking like that, Cara resolved to ignore him more.
"There's time for you to say goodbye to Kahlan, if you like," Richard continued in his sensitive tone of voice.
"I've already said my goodbyes."
Dahlia emerged from the stockroom, a brown backpack ruining the effect of her clothes. "I packed light. I doubt we'll last long enough to starve."
Car went to Dahlia, but couldn't leave it at that. She took one last look at Richard. "And what's to stop Rahl from killing you on sight?"
Richard shrugged. "The Spirits."
***
The Mord'Sith were dressing themselves when Cara arrived, a chorus of leather creaking and laces being drawn taut. Whatever they'd been doing naked, they didn't mind the interruption. For a Sister of the Agiel, sex was a close second to combat.
The wounded were subordinate to the healthy, except in Triana's case. She had two unscathed Mord'Sith all to herself. Cara walked right up to her, pretending to not know how unimposing she was in a peasant's dress. "I have a mission from Lord Rahl. Everyone who can fight is to accompany me."
"What about Richard?" Berdine asked, frustrating Raina's attempts to clothe her. "Who will look after him?"
Give Richard a few days and he had trained Mord'Sith acting like he was their bosom buddy. "Lord Rahl is remaining here to set a trap for Jagang. He's trusting us to come through for him."
"A Mord'Sith's place is with her Lord Rahl," Triana said. "We will not abandon him."
"He has given an order."
"Then he is not in his right mind, trusting his well-being to you. You aren't strong. You aren't pure. You are not Mord'Sith."
Cara stared into the eyes of her lover, her sister, her oldest friend. "No. I suppose not."
She left before any of them had a chance to follow her. Even so, Berdine found her before she could leave.
"Take this," she said, clasping a rolled-up sheet of parchment into Cara's hands. "I found it while helping the wizard with his research. Neither of us can figure it out, but maybe it will help you."
Cara nodded respectfully. "Thank you."
"If you need her, I can get Raina to go with you."
"No. Keep her close. Keep her close until you realize how lucky you are to have found her. And then you'll keep her closer."
***
"I trust you, Richard." Kahlan's words echoed in Richard's mind as he walked out of the castle, the Mother Confessor herself limping beside him. Just the sight of the pain walking brought her moved him to a bestial rage, but he kept it contained. The feel of her deceptively delicate hand in his was enough for that.
Outside, the war wizards circled the castle, more beast than men, baying for blood, howling at the moon, but not letting themselves into range of any magic or long-range weaponry from the towers. Jagang and his lap dog, Darken Rahl, stood directly opposite Richard, waiting patiently as he approached them.
One hand laid white-knuckled on the Sword of Truth.
"Well, well, well. The Seeker and his pet Confessor. What a delightful surprise," Rahl drawled, stroking his goatee. Richard let him run his mouth. "What are you doing out on such a chilly night? I thought you were so cozy inside your little castle…"
"You have two choices," Richard said. "The first is that we stop with the pleasantries and try to kill each other. Keep in mind, Jagang, you've hurt and killed people I call friend. You've allied yourself with a butcher and a rapist. You've turned my hometown into a charnel house. So right now, it's about all I can do to keep this sword from leaping into your heart of its own accord. And assuming you do stop me from doing that, you're still have to deal with Kahlan. She'll go into Con Dar the second you touch me."
"I'm halfway there already," Kahlan muttered.
"I don't know how war wizards are at dealing with confession, but I doubt you'd consider this a good way to find out."
Jagang barked something in guttural High D'Haran. Rahl translated. "And option two?"
"We surrender. You free these people from the throes of the soul sylphs and let them leave unharmed."
"Very well," Rahl began.
"Not you. I want to hear it from him." Richard stared into Jagang's eyes. "Legend has it you were a man of honor once. Whatever else you've become, I don't think that's changed about you."
Rahl smirked. "It's a trick, my liege. My brother is the appallingly heroic black sheep of the family. He'd be happy to go to his grave in some suicidal last-ditch effort. The fact that he isn't is proof that he has something up his sleeve." Rahl deliberately turned his back on Richard to face Jagang. "Then again, all of Richard's muscles are in perfect proportion, save for the one that matters. Whatever he has planned, I doubt it will have any bearing on our stratagem."
Jagang let more eerily discordant D'Haran syllables ooze from his lips.
"We accept," Rahl said, turning to Richard. "Lay down your sword."
"He's telling the truth," Kahlan said. The effort of standing upright was starting to show in her voice.
Richard untied his sword belt, dropping it to the ground before him. "I should warn you, 'brother'. Anything you do to me or Kahlan will have a definite bearing on your stratagem."
"Oh, Richard, if only Father hadn't spirited you off to this quaint Midland village. It would've been enjoyable growing up with you. Like having a puppy that could talk." With a gesture, the Sword of Truth flew to Rahl's hand. "I haven't the least interest in you. Just this oversized kitchen knife of yours."