Parallel Affinity

Part 1.

It's been a few days since Richard, Kahlan, Zedd and Cara received the bad news. The group, while on their way to Aydindril, were intercepted by a rider desperately seeking the Mother Confessor. Denee Amnell, Kahlan's sister, he said, had been killed by Darken Rahl with the help of a powerful sorceress at his side, leaving people of Aydindril in a state of chaos and fear. Even though Darken Rahl and this witch, who the group assumed to be no other than Nicci, have since left Aydindril, the rider said that they have been sighted in other places, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind them. In their wake, fear and unrest had begun spreading throughout the lands once again. The rider explained that he was one of Denee's most trusted servants and that she would have wanted him to warn Kahlan, her sister, and now the last living Confessor, to be careful and wary of this evil that has returned to the Midlands and no doubt wants her dead too. With his message successfully delivered, the rider wasted no time in parting from the four people so that he could return to his family in Aydindril and take them away to a safer place.

Kahlan was utterly devastated at learning of her sister's death. She cried bitterly in Richard's arms, cursing herself for letting Denee down again. In her grief, she vowed to keep her resolve and return to her post at the Confessors' Palace in Aydindril, which Denee had temporarily filled during Kahlan's absence. Darken Rahl and Nicci won't frighten her from her duties as Mother Confessor, and she would give it her all to help restore peace and order in Aydindril and the rest of the Midlands.

Hearing his beloved speak so vehemently, Richard promised Kahlan that this time, along with Zedd and Cara's help, he will find and defeat both Rahl and Nicci for good. The promise gave Kahlan little comfort while she acutely felt the loss of her beloved sister but she put her personal feelings aside, gathered all of her courage, and along with the rest of the group, slowly resumed the journey towards Aydindril.

Later on that day, the four were fortunate enough to come by a town, where a wealthy man recognised Richard, and as a fervent supporter of the Seeker and his cause, offered him and his companions shelter for one night. The next morning, he provided them with provisions to last a week and generously gave them four of his horses, to help them travel faster. If it weren't for the man and his generosity, it would have taken Richard and his crew a month to reach Aydindril. However, on horseback, if they hurried, they could be there in a little over a week.

A few days after departing from the town on horseback, slowly approaching the heart of the Midlands, the group rode over vast fields in silence. Kahlan was still grieving over her sister but the closer they got to Aydindril, the more her thoughts turned towards all the practicalities of what must be done in order to repair the damage caused by the Keeper, and now, Darken Rhal and Nicci. The people of the Midlands were in desperate need of peace and healing, and she would do her best to aid in bringing both.

But there was something else, something which she dreaded to think about but knew that with Denee's death had grown exponentially in both importance and urgency: The succession, or possible demise, of the future line of Confessors. She was the very last Confessor, in all of the known lands, she knew that, and it made her feel deeply uneasy, as though she were holding her breath with each step that brought her closer to Aydindril. Continuing the line of Confessors, ensuring the possibility of their existence in the future fell on her shoulders now, and it all depended on what she chose to do from here. It was solely her task to bear children, she thought, healthy daughters, and teach them everything she knew. In time, the girls would have to have daughters of their own and pass down their own knowledge. And so, all of the future Confessors will be her descendants, her daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. It was a strange kind of honour as much as a heavy burden to carry, especially when she didn't know what exactly to expect to find upon her arrival to Aydindril. She wondered whether her companions were aware of the delicate balance in which the existence of future Confessors now lay, and that the task of furthering that line was now hers alone to take care of.
While riding next to Richard, Kahlan glanced at him. Every time she looked at him, her heart swelled with love and sadness. What she wouldn't give to be able to bear his children, to have them grow next to the both of them. What remarkable people, remarkable Confessors such women would become, having been raised, loved and guided by the Mother Confessor and the Seeker. But she questioned whether it was truly safe to be his wife, despite what had happened that fateful day at the Pillars, when their love had overridden the power of confession and had instead created a new Stone of Tears. Right before they had defeated the Keeper with the new Stone of Tears, Kahlan had tried to confess Richard while being in the state of Con Dar. It was a miracle that the confession failed. At the time, she, herself was confessed by Nicci, who had previously stolen a portion of her han and used it against her. And considering all of these factors, Kahlan wasn't entirely convinced that Richard could never become confessed to her, should she lose control in a moment of intimacy if she were to be his life companion. All it would take would be one time, one moment, one slip up, and Richard would become a slave for as long as she lived. The risk of this troubled her deeply, despite the miracle they had experienced that day at the Pillars. She considered the possibility of choosing another man to be her lover after all... But quickly dismissed the idea since such a thought felt very wrong to her.

Richard caught her looking at him and returned her gaze with a reassuring smile. Kahlan smiled back and looked to the path ahead, her smile fading as quickly as unease reestablished inside her heart. Their daughters would have Zedd as their grandfather, she thought while looking at the old man, who hunched a little over his horse while riding ahead of her. In all the lands, there was no wiser teacher she could think than the wizard, and she was lucky enough to be able to call him her friend.

And finally, riding alongside Zedd ahead of Kahlan, was Cara, sitting upright, steadily looking ahead, focussed on their destination. Even now, after all that has happened, Cara still chose to wear her Mord'Sith suit, feeling more comfortable in the familiar leather than in anything else. Or maybe she wore it because she felt better, safer, evoking that certain fear, if not respect, out of people, once they'd identify who and what she was based on her outfit, therefore keeping them at a safe distance from herself. If they could only know how good she was deep down, Kahlan thought, how many times she had risked her life to save Kahlan's, to save Richard, Zedd, to save the world. Never before meeting Cara did Kahlan think that one day she would be fighting side by side with a Mord'Sith, let alone grow to care for one. And after everything that they have been through together, Kahlan was very grateful to have Cara there, by their side.
In that moment, it was as if Cara could feel someone watching her from the back. She turned her head and looked back towards Kahlan. Kahlan smiled at her but Cara only blinked in response before turning to re-fix her gaze on the path ahead.

The group had been travelling through a forest when the cool atmosphere of twilight descended around them. They decided to break for the day at a small clearing, surrounded by heavy tree-trunks and thick low branches, perfect for providing shelter. Richard and Cara walked around, gathering wood for the fire. Kahlan helped them arrange the wood in a pile, while Zedd set it alight with wizard's fire. Everyone sat as close as they dared to the fire for warmth, sharing some of the food they had in their bags. Nobody had much to say - everyone was silently thinking the same thing: Once Kahlan is safely escorted to Aydindril to reestablish her position as the Mother Confessor, she would have to stay there, as the people were no doubt in desperate need of a Confessor to alleviate all the damage that's occurred in her absence. That meant that Richard, Zedd and Cara would have to go on with the search for Darken Rahl and Nicci without her, at least for a little while.

Richard felt apprehensive about leaving Kahlan behind, especially with Darken Rahl and Nicci roaming the Midlands freely but he knew that the people in Aydindril and nearby areas needed her more. He hoped that finding and defeating Rahl and Nicci wouldn't take so long this time and that he would get to be reunited with Kahlan in a not too distant future, but how often do these missions work out in a straight line, he wondered with a heavy heart.
Zedd's mind, on the other hand, was already turned towards strategies on how to overcome the two threats. He imagined that Nicci would have absorbed Denee's han, just like how she had done with Kahlan before the Pillars, if not even more so, since Denee is now dead, making her more dangerous than ever. There was much on Zedd's mind regarding how to tackle such a force of a sorceress, he didn't have the time to think about the impending separation from Kahlan.

The only one who found herself completely perplexed was Cara. She was the only one who could not make sense of her thoughts and emotions that day, or in the past few days, and weeks really, ever since that day at the Pillars, when they had sealed the rift to the Underworld and defeated the Keeper. It was Kahlan and Richard's love for one another that had created the new Stone of Tears, which had saved the world from destruction. Seeing the two lovers standing in each other's embrace at the Pillars' altar that day, seeing them so happy, so in love, touched something inside of Cara and had left her feeling unsettled and confused ever since. Fighting side by side with Richard, no matter what the battle, is a great honour and privilege, she thought. There was no shred of doubt that she would continue to carry out her sworn task of protecting him and serving him for the rest of her life. However... There was something else now, something which she had never expected:
The thought of soon having to part with Kahlan made her feel much more disturbed than she had expected. Not only did she find herself feeling sad, profoundly so, it was as though everything else had become devoid of meaning. Even the thought of doing what she does best - exercising her skills in battle while fighting for Richard, going on his missions, didn't excite her as it usually did. None of it seemed to matter as much to her anymore... And she could not understand why she felt this way.