Legendland drabbles

[hrhrionastar]

For the Inspiration Challenge on legendland ; I'm archiving things here :)

Inspiration: the pheasant story, as told by realproof , and further inspired by by octagonal ;

Characters: Richard, Kahlan
Length: 83

Slaughter

Richard's brow furrowed in thought. He hated it when Kahlan cried—it made him want to take her in his arms and comfort her, and forget all about the pheasant.

But he couldn't agree with her about its majestic tailfeathers (although its neck was quite green—Underworld green, even). After all, if they started taking that attitude, pretty soon they'd starve to death.

"I know!" Richard exclaimed, smiling his brightest, most adorable smile at Kahlan. "We'll get Cara to kill it for us!"
Inspiration: "He'd have to break eventually. They all broke." from a drabble by alorarose .
Characters/Pairing: Denna/Richard
Length: ~250

His Heart was Hers

He thought he could escape her—the fool.

Every time he twisted out of her grasp, it was the Mother Confessor's fault. When first she had trained him, a piece of her had lodged in his heart. A piece of ice in that warm, impossible goodness. He would have to break eventually. They all broke.

But before it could harden him completely, break him to her every whim, make him like her—hollow inside—the Mother Confessor had come and won his freedom with her deceit.

And then he had held the power of Orden in his grasp, and the Mother Confessor had been nothing more than his slave—

And then she'd sent his soul to the Underworld, for he was filled with goodness and light and everything sweet and pure—

And at least she could control his body.

But she'd been wrong about that. It was he who was filled with darkness. And when they met for the fourth time, she would twist until that shard of ice in his heart turned him, once and for all, into hers.

Cara's arrow in her chest, her fall from that cliff—

He would see. It took more than that to kill a Mord'Sith.

And one day, Denna's poison would work its way all through Richard's vulnerable heart, and he would be a kind-hearted Seeker no longer.

He thought he had escaped her...

And Denna smiled, and her smile was full of wicked promise.

Richard was hers. Nothing could change that.

  Inspiration: by melana :

Characters/Pairing: Richard/Kahlan, Cara
Length: 255


A Perfect Morning

"Good morning," Richard said, as Kahlan opened her eyes.

"How long have you been awake?" Kahlan asked, pouting. "You might have woken me up, too, and then we could have..." her voice trailed off suggestively, as her fingers trailed a gentle path down Richard's bare chest.

He grabbed her fingers, twining them with his. "That tickles! I wanted to let you sleep. You were up all night with Caralyn again, weren't you? I told you I'll take my turn--you need your rest."

Kahlan smiled, his concern for her making her forgive him everything—not that there was anything to forgive. He was the kindest, bravest man in all the Midlands—and he was hers.

"Actually," she said playfully, smiling up at him, where he watched her on his elbow. "You'll have to take my turns for me soon enough—it seems Caralyn is going to get a little sister."

"You're sure?" Richard asked, his smile becoming, if possible, wider. But he didn't wait for her reply; he ran his fingers over her stomach, wonder in his eyes. "We're having another baby?"

Kahlan laughed. "I'm sure. Daddy."

Richard dropped a kiss on Kahlan's hair, and from there it seemed very natural that he migrated to her lips. Kahlan smiled and smiled, and they both forgot entirely about the responsibilities of the day.

Cara listened briefly at their door before rolling her eyes, and going off to convince Dahlia to pack a picnic lunch for Cara and her namesake. It looked like she was babysitting again.
Inspiration: 'Richard is ticklish' from a drabble by alyse
Characters: Richard, Kahlan, Cara, Zedd
Length: 624

A Powerful Ally

"Give it to me!" Cara grabbed for the map, but Richard held it high over her head, laughing.

Cara stepped back a pace and glared. She was too short to reach the map, but she had to see for herself—it couldn't really say they had to tramp through the entire Fyell Swamp just to get to the jewel that would save the villagers from the magical plague. Going through the swamp would take days, and there was nowhere they'd be able to sleep (Cara wasn't letting any of the nasty, creepy-crawly creatures from the swamp find a home in her leathers.)

Richard grinned unrepentantly at her.

"This is all your fault," Cara complained. "You and your saving-people-thing."

"We're going through the Swamp," Richard said, his voice serious but his eyes dancing. "You swore to serve me as your Lord Rahl, remember?"

Cara wasn't about to go down without a fight. Kahlan and Zedd, watching interestedly, refused to help her. They were no doubt enamored of the idea of wading through the swamp. Anything to help poor defenseless people, who would be better served if Richard stopped wasting time and found the Stone of Tears. So Cara launched herself at Richard, tackling him to the ground.

"Hey!" Richard protested. "Cara! Watch it, you're—protect me, Kahlan!" his eyes rolled comically in her direction, but Cara wasn't going to be distracted by the Mother Confessor. Not this time.

(Kahlan, of all people, ought to be especially thankful to escape the swamp—her hair, not to mention her Confessor's dress, would never survive the trip.)

Kahlan took the map from Richard's hands and peered at it, making no other move to intercede. "Oh, Cara," she added offhandedly. "Richard is ticklish."

"Kahlan!" Richard protested, at this betrayal. Cara, grinning, started tickling him unmercifully. So he thought he could make her walk through the swamp, did he?

"Never anger a Mord'Sith," Zedd said pompously, when Cara finally let Richard to his feet.

Richard glared at his grandfather. "Kind of figured that out for myself, thanks."

Cara let two fingers just barely touch Richard's side. He flinched and laughed, saying, "Cara, have mercy!"

"I know we can't go around the swamp," Kahlan said, looking up from the map. "But why don't we just use this pass, in the middle?"

"What pass?" Richard demanded, snatching the map back and peering at it short-sightedly. Cara wondered if, in addition to being ticklish, her Lord Rahl was half-blind...and sighed.

"Wizard's Pass, guaranteed warm and dry," Zedd read, over Richard's shoulder. "I suppose..."

Cara had her doubts—wizards were notoriously tricky. But anything was better than wading through the wet swamp with no hope at all.

"Let's do it," she said firmly. "That plaguebane jewel isn't going to find itself...Seeker."

"I suppose if it's a trap, we can still always go through the swamp," Zedd said, as though trying to reassure himself and the others. "We won't be entirely dependent on this strange magic."

Cara raised her eyebrows at Kahlan, but Kahlan shook her head sadly. "No, Zedd's not ticklish," she said. "Just perpetually hungry. I'm sure you can work out how to punish him most effectively."

"I like the way you think, Mother Confessor," Cara purred, and Zedd looked alarmed.

"Never anger a Mord'Sith," Richard mused. "You know, that's actually some pretty good advice..."

Zedd disdained to answer, but there was no denying he looked apprehensive. As he should. Cara was used to getting her way, and besides, she had a powerful ally to her cause in the Mother Confessor.

Tossing her loose hair over her shoulder, Cara let her fingertips brush her agiels. One way or another, it was going to be an interesting—and dry—journey through the Fyell Swamp.

  Inspiration: by agardenafter
Characters: Kahlan, Denna, referenced Cara and Richard
Length: 503

Not So Different

"You know, we're not so different, you and I," Denna said casually, from where she reclined at her ease on a blood-red couch.

Kahlan stared at her, wishing for the Con Dar, because she was a Confessor—she really could kill Denna with a mere look.

After all she and Richard had been through, that they should get so far...the Veil to the Underworld was sealed, peace was being restored, village by village, to the war-torn Midlands...and now, here they were, held captive once more by Denna, who by rights should be dead, in a D'Haran prison.

Kahlan couldn't see how so little could have changed. And her whole soul cried out for Richard.

"I am nothing like you," she said contemptuously, not caring that she was comparatively helpless, where she hung in her chains. Denna hadn't bound her with a Rada'Han (perhaps she didn't possess one?), but without the Con Dar, Kahlan was basically powerless.

"Both strong—too strong to accept another's rule over us," Denna went on, watching Kahlan intently. "I know you would do anything for Richard, and I assure you, you'll have to: the townspeople will hang him tomorrow for causing the plague of banelings that kept farmers from their crops during that horrible year...unless someone were to intercede for him."

Kahlan played for time, in spite of her horror that anyone could blame Richard for the banelings sent by the Keeper in His bid to claim the Land of the Living. "Why would you do that?"

Denna shrugged one elegant shoulder. "Richard is still Lord Rahl," she said carelessly, "even if he refuses to claim the title. And Lord Rahl needs a First Mistress."

Kahlan was aghast (and, she admitted secretly to herself, a little awed) at Denna's effrontery. "You think torturing me will make Richard trust you?" she asked, incredulously.

Before Denna could answer, Kahlan caught a flicker of movement behind Denna out of the corner of her eye. She knew that sardonic expression, eyebrows raised and eyes rolling upward, anywhere, and her heart lifted.

"Richard is already mine," Denna hissed. She sprang forward and grabbed Kahlan's hair in a punishing grip. "He always has been. Your image may be stamped on his heart, but even you can't erase my mark there. Someday Richard will lay waste to this world, with me by his side—and you will be my slave."

Kahlan tilted her head, to ease the strain of her pulled hair and to keep Denna's attention focused on her. There was a glimmer of blonde hair behind the ornate screen...

"There is one difference between us, Denna," she said sweetly. "You see—" a rush of movement and Cara kicked Denna's legs out from under her—

Denna yanked out several strands of Kahlan's hair, and Kahlan finished, looking into Cara's eyes now, "I have friends."

But as Cara unlocked Kahlan's chains, keeping a menacing foot at Denna's neck, Kahlan looked down into those proud eyes...

"You'll see," Denna said. "We're not so different, Kahlan Amnell..."

  Inspiration: "Our planes of existence merged at this point for a moment..." from a drabble by fox_in_time
Characters: Show!Richard, Show!Kahlan, Show!Zedd, Book!Kahlan
Length: 676
Warning: Not for book fans!

Other Worlds

"So then," the woman who looked like Kahlan sobbed, "I realized I'd Confessed Richard, not Darken Rahl, and the whole time he recited the Book of Counted Shadows I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd doomed him forever. But then somehow Darken Rahl picked the wrong Box of Orden to open, and he sort of shimmered and burned, but it took a long time so I went to find a nice quiet place to kill myself, so Richard would be free. And then I ended up here!"

Kahlan Amnell, Mother Confessor of the Midlands, stared down at her alternate self in some disbelief. If she and Richard had not just seen Darken Rahl burned by the fires of the Underworld before their very eyes when he unwisely interrupted the magical ritual that would leave Richard Confessed to Kahlan but Master of the Power of Orden, she would have believed this some trick of his for her discomfiture.

But Darken Rahl was dead, and the Boxes of Orden didn't open—Kahlan shuddered to think what they might contain, if they did.

"You Confessed Richard?" Kahlan demanded of the woman weeping on the ground. "How could you?"

Richard was all right—he had to be. This Alternate Kahlan must be talking about some Alternate Richard, who knew the Book of Counted Shadows by heart—Kahlan couldn't imagine her Richard memorizing the whole tedious thing. It had held crucial information, but, from what Richard had told her, it was hopelessly overwritten.

"It was a spell!" Alternate Kahlan wailed. "And if I don't kill myself, he'll be my slave forever! I have to get back to him!"

Kahlan felt exasperated. Didn't her alternate self ever do anything except cry?

"What's the matter?" Thank the Creator—Richard and Zedd came up behind Kahlan, and stared at Alternate Kahlan with her.

"Kahlan?" Richard said, confused.

"Richard!" Alternate Kahlan leapt to her feet and embraced Richard, while Kahlan frowned.

Alternate Kahlan pulled back and said in puzzlement, "But where's Denna's agiel? You carry it around with you everywhere."

Richard recoiled. "Why would I do that?" he demanded, shocked. "And who are you?"

"I'm Kahlan, the love of your life," Alternate Kahlan explained. "And I Confessed you, so now our lives are ruined and I have to kill myself, even though I'm the last Confessor and my line will die with me!"

"She just appeared out of nowhere, and—" Kahlan said. Then she frowned. "Wait—last Confessor? I'm not the last Confessor! And if I was, it would be my duty to take a mate and continue our line, not kill myself!"

"Ah," Zedd said, in a tone of satisfied understanding. "Clearly, this Kahlan is from another world. Our planes of existence merged at this point for a moment, and she appeared here."

"Send her back!" Kahlan demanded at once. "That is not me, Zedd. All she does is cry and talk about killing herself! And she Confessed Richard!"

At that, Richard stepped away from Alternate Kahlan and closer to his own Kahlan, frowning. "Who are you, really?" he asked suspiciously.

"My Richard will kill you for kidnapping me!" Alternate Kahlan cried. "You'll see—he always defends me from insult! Even against ten-year-old girls! He'll make Princess Violet's fate look merciful!"

As Richard, Kahlan and Zedd exchanged looks, suddenly wondering just what, exactly, Princess Violet's fate had been, Alternate Kahlan glowered at Richard. "And you're nothing like my Richard!" she yelled. "You never would've let all those Mud People die just to protect me from Darken Rahl!"

With an angry flounce, Alternate Kahlan sank down on the grass again, and Zedd waved his hands, quickly, sending her back to whatever strange world she belonged in.

"Let's get out of here," Richard said fervently. "If that was you from another universe, I don't think we want to meet me."

Kahlan gave the now-bare patch of grass one last look, and shuddered. She took Richard's hand in hers, and said dryly, "When you said I loved you across time...I hope this isn't what you meant."

 
Inspiration: by shan_3414
Characters/Pairing: Richard/Cara, implied Richard/Kahlan
Length: ~450


Lost in Time

"I'm in love with someone else," he says, as if that can keep him safe. Richard won't look at Cara—she wants something from him, they all do. She's just like Denna, a Mord'Sith who will take his very soul if she can.

"I'm not talking about love," she whispers. Her skin is warm next to his. "I'm talking about pleasure."

Richard turns resolutely away, telling himself he's going to get Kahlan back, he has to...

In the morning, he wakes with Cara curled in his arms, her hair tickling his nose, and for a moment, he's so comfortable he doesn't ever want to get up.

They go on, of course; days turn to weeks, searching for the last vestiges of civilization, to tell them what happened to this dead world.

Part of Richard, a secret part that he keeps locked away in his heart, is furious with Kahlan for leaving him this mess. Is this the best legacy she could give to the world? Even if she was lost, Rahl's prisoner, alone...how could she destroy everything she and Richard and Zedd had ever worked for? How could anyone let this desolation happen?

Only Cara is immune to this fury, because she is as lost in time as Richard is.

She doesn't offer Richard the comfort of more than shared blankets again, but sometimes he catches her watching him...

Kahlan is dead.

And one night, when they are very near to the abandoned ruin that was once the People's Palace, where the last bits of the whole sordid story of Kahlan's marriage to Rahl will doubtless fall into place...

Richard kisses Cara.

"I thought you were in love with someone else," she purrs, rolling him over so she is on top of him. Her gold hair makes a cocoon for their faces.

Richard doesn't really compare Cara to Denna anymore—there's no point comparing her with anyone. The two of them might as well be the last people in the world.

Besides, Cara has stayed by his side, fighting when they have to, letting him teach her to forage for food, never tiring...

He's always admired a strong woman.

But bitterness makes his voice harsh when he replies, "Do you see her anywhere?"

And then Cara tosses her hair and pulls Richard to her, a tangle of lips and blankets and sensation...

Later, when the world is right again (for all they hover on the brink of total annihilation at the hands of the Keeper), and Kahlan lives, laughs and kisses Richard, and Cara watches, eyes unfathomable, mischievous, and deep...

Richard looks away, and they never speak of it.

It was another life. An eternal moment, lost in time.

Comments

[meridian_rose]

Wow, that's a lot of fic! I'm glad you got so inspired. Slaughter is just so Lots cracky and funny. Interesting Denna fic, though my favourite of the two Denna pieces is the second one where Denna points out the parallels between the two women.
I love the swamp debate where it's never wise to anger a Mord'Sith and Kahlan's hair and dress wouldn't do well in the swamp.
Other Worlds; is this a bit bookverse inspired? Or partly emo!Kahlan, partly your own invention? Kahlan certainly had no patience with her - and Richard is probably right when he says if that's Kahlan, they probably don't want to meet the other world's Richard!

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! Yeah, it's a lot ;) And I started by writing only short things, too, and then they got longer and longer...;)

Other Worlds; is this a bit bookverse inspired? Or partly emo!Kahlan, partly your own invention? Mostly sugared-down bookverse, I think. I read the first one, and after that I couldn't go on--although I did run across a hilarious evil!chicken quote somewhere, which apparently is not crack but actually completely serious in bookverse...

Also--they definitely don't want to meet book!Richard. I mean, really they don't.