hrhrionastar | Fic: At the End of All Things

For

legendland; the challenge was write a song fic.

Title: At the End of All Things
Pairing/Characters: Rahl/Cara, Richard
Song/Artist: "Goodbye to You" by Michelle Branch
Word Count: 604, not counting song lyrics
Spoilers: Reckoning

At the End of All Things

The future is a bleak place indeed. I am lost, alone save for the Seeker—an enemy. This barren wasteland—is this what all my struggles have led to? How could you let this happen? You were the one I trusted—

tears form behind my eyes
but I do not cry
Counting the days that past me by

Weeks will turn to months, before long. The Seeker shares my sorrow, but I know he can have no idea of what I’ve lost.

Or did I ever even have your love at all? My son—our son—is nowhere in this nightmare. You must have won—the Seeker was ever your only obstacle. So how could you not protect my baby?

I've been searching deep down in my soul
Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old

My Sisters are gone, too—I know you can’t have intended that. The idea would be laughable, if tears didn’t sting my eyes. The Seeker can’t know—he’s lost his love, I my whole life. As I stare into what remains of Triana’s eyes, I know your betrayal is complete.

Did you ever listen to me? Ever realize that I—that you—

This isn’t real; but if it is, I just can’t—

Goodbye to you

I’m on my knees, my agiel to the Seeker’s neck—I make sure to get it right, disregarding the wounds that may well mean my death—the exact spot that brought us into this mess.

And then all is darkness, and I have nothing to hold on to—even the Seeker’s image blurs before my eyes, and I think I must be dying.

When we meet in the Underworld, you will suffer for what you’ve done to my world—to my son.

I still get lost in your eyes
And it seems like I can't live a day without you
Closing my eyes till you chase my thoughts away
To a place where I am blinded by the light but it's not right

And we’re back—my eyes open, I yank my arm backward, because I won’t interfere in the Seeker’s schemes anymore—I’ve seen what came of your choice to do so. Your pride, your folly—I won’t bring myself back to that horrible future, where the Mother Confessor’s son ruled.

I see my betrayal reflected in your eyes—your anguish makes me want to die.

Goodbye to everything that I knew

I shove my Sister aside, so the Seeker’s Wizard won’t doom himself by his own folly—it’s a common failing, I know now.

I won’t let myself look at you, lest you steal my resolve.

I want what’s yours and I want what’s mine
I want you but I'm not giving in this time

You stare at me, and all unwilling, I’m dragged back into your insanity. You will destroy everything I’ve ever loved—

I would have given you my life, my honor, my soul.

But you take more than that.

I love you—but I won’t let you destroy everything—

I won’t drown in your eyes; the Seeker has thrown me a rope.

You were the one I loved

Your reckless fury—you snatch the Sword of Truth from the ground—no! my heart cries, for I am no novice to the unpredictability of magic.

Fire consumes you, and I want to scream—

But I am Mord’Sith, and my face is blank.

The one thing that I tried to hold onto

My Sisters doubt me—not for long. What right have they to judge my decision? You would have led them to their deaths—dishonorable, alone, with no one to avenge them.

Once I believed that you were the only light in my darkness—but I have seen true Light, in the Seeker’s heart.

I hate it, it burns me—but he is like the sun to your candle.

And I’m not blind anymore.

When the stars fall and I lie awake
You’re my shooting star

That night, we camp; my Sisters watch me. Are they hoping I have the answers?

I have nothing—no joy, and no regrets.

I stare at the sky, wondering where you are now. The Underworld?

It must be—you took my heart with you, and now all that remains of me is a cold, empty shell.

Are you listening, Darken Rahl?

You destroyed me—but my revenge is ash in my veins.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I never understood why Cara had to betray Darken.
She could have helped him win and then told him about the future. He would have listened!

Nonetheless I like this story. It's almost unbearably emotional and very touching!

The only thing that's bothering me is the latest tendency for angst. First Becky's 12th chapter of Serpent's Tooth, then Pris' Sunset, now this...

I feel that I really need some fluff now.

Thank you!

She could have helped him win and then told him about the future. He would have listened! She could have...but I'm not sure he would've listened. Plus, what if the only way to stop going endlessly through alternate reality time loops with Richard was to step back and stop helping Darken? I mean, it turned out adding the agiel's magic to Confession and Orden was a Bad Idea, right?

The only thing that's bothering me is the latest tendency for angst. Yeah...and it's only going to get worse. At least, I have stuff for

dark_fest, which is also pretty intense...

Fluff. You know, I think I'm not very good at fluff. But maybe ;)

She could have...but I'm not sure he would've listened.
When we see Cara in the beginning of the episode she is quite confident enough to question Darken and he is just fine with it. I think he really respects her. Also Darken is generally careful and cautious. So if Cara told him his Confessor son would unleash hell I'm positive he would have listened.

what if the only way to stop going endlessly through alternate reality time loops with Richard was to step back and stop helping Darken?

How about stepping back, taking a nice swing and punching Richard in the face? No more time loops, that's for sure. O_o

At least, I have stuff for dark_fest, which is also pretty intense...
Well... I'm a masochist so I'm looking forward to this... o_O

Fluff. You know, I think I'm not very good at fluff. But maybe ;)
Okay, forget about fluff. Just anything with a happy ending will do! ^_^

Or maybe a little bit more Darken/Kahlan romance in Princess Rahl... ;))
*dreaming*

So if Cara told him his Confessor son would unleash hell I'm positive he would have listened. Maybe - it's hard to say what he would've done next.

But I think the reason she doesn't tell him is how angry she is about her son - she doesn't know Darken ordered him to be killed, but she does know he was nowhere to be found in the future. And she probably always figured someday he'd come into his own as Darken's heir, meaning Nicholas being Lord Rahl over her son would make her much angrier than Darken marrying Kahlan... at least, that's my theory ;)

Or maybe a little bit more Darken/Kahlan romance in Princess Rahl... ;)) One tries :D

it's hard to say what he would've done next.
With Darken isn't it always? :D

But I think the reason she doesn't tell him is how angry she is about her son
Yeah... Perhaps she cared about her son more than she let on in "Eternity"...

One tries :D
=))))))))))))))))))))

This was absolutely beautiful - and heartbreaking.

I've never read the events of Reckoning from Cara's POV before - at least not how she saw things as they were happening.

So many wonderful parts - the fact that she did love Darken but can't forgive him, the loss of her son, looking into Darken's eyes at the moment she betrays him and taking no joy in her betrayal.

The hope is that we know that Cara may feel like an empty shell now, but that will change. And, of course, it does.

The last line was perfect!

Thank you!!

I've never read the events of Reckoning from Cara's POV before - at least not how she saw things as they were happening. I love the Kahlan stuff, really, but if you think about it, Cara has an important decision to make, too.

The hope is that we know that Cara may feel like an empty shell now, but that will change. And, of course, it does. Yeah - the fact is, Reckoning is a really heart-breaking episode. From Darken's love for Nicholas proving his downfall, to Richard losing Kahlan and the world being an inch from destruction...but Cara survives, and really, gets stronger by being able to adapt to Richard and Kahlan's touchy-feely approach to life... ;)

This is lovely. Oh, Cara.

Thank you!!

The thing about casually throwing in the fact that Cara has a son [damn retcon] is that whenever we revisit the past, we have to wonder how much that impacted upon her. So her wondering why her son is nowhere to be found makes sense here. Perhaps it helps explain why she turns against Rahl so fully.

Rahl's folly, Zedd's folly; the more powerful the man, the more arrogant, over-confident and reckless they seem to become.

Once I believed that you were the only light in my darkness—but I have seen true Light, in the Seeker’s heart. This is a very lyrical statement for Cara; as if she has hidden depths of feeling and intellect and considers herself damaged by Rahl all along.

Thank you!

Perhaps it helps explain why she turns against Rahl so fully. I think so; no sane person would want the future to turn into that horrible mess, but on the other hand, she could've warned Darken if that was all she was worried about. The fact that her son isn't there must make her so angry - my theory, anyway ;)

the more powerful the man, the more arrogant, over-confident and reckless they seem to become. The greater the Han, the less the common sense ;)

as if she has hidden depths of feeling and intellect and considers herself damaged by Rahl all along. She tries to hide her feelings, but she knows how much her father's betrayal hurt her, even though it turned out to be fake. (In fact, in Denna, there's that man who talks to Richard about his daughter, who's been trained - I feel like the show suggests, in Broken, that because Cara's father wasn't broken, that meant he loved her more, so killing him was wrong - thus implying that man being killed by his daughter is okay? Iffy, really.) Anyway, Cara talks about how the Mord'Sith made her strong, but she still tried to prevent them from taking her sister...

Fic: At the End of All Things

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