Title: Spindrift to the Sun
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Characters/Pairing: Kahlan/Richard
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Set post season 2
Word Count: ~1,150
Disclaimer: Legend of the Seeker (TV) belongs to ABC Studios/Disney. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fanfiction, written solely for love of the show.
Author's Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
redbrunja's prompt request of 'Richard/Kahlan, behind a waterfall' for my ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
kissbingo card square 'location: honeymoon'. Thanks go to ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aithine for the beta. Title and quote from 'Once' by Trumbull Stickney.
Summary: He tugs her under the waterfall, the water cascading around them and shielding them from the world.
-o-
That day her eyes were deep as night.
She had the motion of the rose,
The bird that veers across the light,
The waterfall that leaps and throws
Its irised spindrift to the sun
-o-
The Falls of Aldermont are everything that Kahlan told Richard they were, but this time she thinks that they may be even more beautiful than the first time she saw them, when Dennee and not Richard was by her side.
She hears them before she sees them, a low, dull crashing that still manages to sound like music, and when she and Richard finally break through the forest edge, heading towards the river that is tumbling fast over broken rocks, swirling giddily around as it rushes towards the sea, the sight of them takes her breath away, just as the first time.
They are breathtaking. Clear water cascades down over pale rose rocks of mingled ancient sandstone and limestone, and the spray falls gently on Kahlan's face even from this distance, soft and light like the summer rain. As she rides out of the forest's gloom, the sunlight catches and glitters in the air, sending out a hundred rainbows to dance around the clearing.
She pulls back on the reins, her eyes fixed on the sight in front of her, and reaches out for Richard.
He is right there, riding beside her, and his fingers tighten around hers, warm and firm. She doesn't need to look at him to know the expression on his face: the love that will be there, and the joy that he will be taking in her joy.
She should have trusted that Richard would remember her few words about the most romantic place in the Midlands. She should have known that Richard would bring her here, to celebrate the start of their lives together.
It's perfect.
When she finally tears her eyes away from the sight in front of her turns her head to look at him, his smile is as brilliant as the sunlight catching on the water. She tumbles towards him, falling helplessly, caught in the warmth of his eyes.
He laughs as he catches her, lifting her from the back of her horse and settling her before him on his. Her horse takes a few steps away from them, made jittery and nervous by the sudden change, and his steed shifts under their combined weight, but Kahlan doesn't mind them. All she cares about is the feel of Richard's arms around her, the pressure of his mouth against hers and the sunlit warmth of his hair beneath her fingers.
Richard is hers now. Her Seeker, her husband. She needs nothing more than this.
Richard urges his horse forward, following hers as it ambles down towards the riverbank, its temper eased by the water in front of it and the grass growing wild beneath its hooves. Kahlan slides her arms around Richard's waist, holding on as their mount rises and falls below them with a slow, rolling gait that feels like a ship on the sea. Every now and then Richard tugs gently on the reins, slowing his horse so that he can turn his head and kiss her, long, slow kisses that turn her bones molten. Sometimes she can't wait for him, and simply turns her head to press butterfly kisses against his neck, soft and fluttering against his skin.
They reach the Falls both far too quickly and far too slowly for Kahlan's peace of mind. Richard dismounts first, holding up his hands to catch her even though she has long since needed any man's help. But she laughs and leaps anyway, letting his strong arms steady her as she winds her fingers back into his hair, tugging his face down for another kiss.
They stand alone in the sunlight as Richard's horse finds better things to do, ambling off to join its companion in grazing, long teeth nipping at the fresh green grass. Richard's teeth nip lightly at her lip, his tongue darting out to soothe the small hurt, and she sighs and leans into his touch, melting into him like ice on a summer's day.
"Kahlan," Richard breathes, pulling back to stare into her eyes, and she cannot help but smile at him, giddy and helpless, floating on air. "Hello, wife." His eyes crinkle at the corners when he grins at her, and she is helpless in the face of it.
"Husband," she breathes back and leans in to steal another kiss, and then another, before finally pulling back to consider him for a moment, his chest rising and falling calmly underneath her outspread palms. "You smell like horse."
He laughs, long and loud, and tugs her down towards the river, his eyes sparkling and his teeth wide and white in his sun-browned face. His fingers are steady as he undresses her, sliding the laces of her corset through his hands one by one; his mouth brushes against her skin, lower and lower with each tie that comes undone, until her underskirt pools around her feet. She steps out of it as regal as any queen, her hands already moving to divest him of his clothes with a touch just as sure as his; she's no stranger to this now, but still she is in no hurry, not when they have the rest of their lives together and not when her fingers still itch to stroke slowly over each inch of his skin as it is revealed.
When they are both stripped bare, Richard pulls her into his arms. His kiss this time is gentle, and his fingers ghost over her skin, barely there touches that have her aching for him, made fierce and wild and hungry by his nearness. He swallows down her moan; when he pulls back, his eyes are dark with desire for her.
The water is cold when he pulls her into it, his fingers wrapped tightly around hers as she gasps with shock, half laughing and half sobbing with it. But his mouth is warm when it lands on hers again, matching her breath for breath as he tugs her under the waterfall, the water cascading around them and shielding them from the world. It's icy against her skin, but that does nothing to damp down the fire that his touch sets raging inside her.
She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until she can no longer tell where she ends and he begins.
Richard's hands slide slowly down her body; with each touch pleasure washes through her, and with each kiss her heart becomes more and more his. They have the rest of their lives together; she will live every single day to the full, and every single one of them will be full of her love for him and his for her.
Many a child, Zedd said, had been conceived beneath these cascading waters, and Kahlan can think of no better memento of this moment than that.
The End
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Characters/Pairing: Kahlan/Richard
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Set post season 2
Word Count: ~1,150
Disclaimer: Legend of the Seeker (TV) belongs to ABC Studios/Disney. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fanfiction, written solely for love of the show.
Author's Notes: Written for
redbrunja's prompt request of 'Richard/Kahlan, behind a waterfall' for my kissbingo card square 'location: honeymoon'. Thanks go to aithine for the beta. Title and quote from 'Once' by Trumbull Stickney.Summary: He tugs her under the waterfall, the water cascading around them and shielding them from the world.
-o-
That day her eyes were deep as night.
She had the motion of the rose,
The bird that veers across the light,
The waterfall that leaps and throws
Its irised spindrift to the sun
-o-
The Falls of Aldermont are everything that Kahlan told Richard they were, but this time she thinks that they may be even more beautiful than the first time she saw them, when Dennee and not Richard was by her side.
She hears them before she sees them, a low, dull crashing that still manages to sound like music, and when she and Richard finally break through the forest edge, heading towards the river that is tumbling fast over broken rocks, swirling giddily around as it rushes towards the sea, the sight of them takes her breath away, just as the first time.
They are breathtaking. Clear water cascades down over pale rose rocks of mingled ancient sandstone and limestone, and the spray falls gently on Kahlan's face even from this distance, soft and light like the summer rain. As she rides out of the forest's gloom, the sunlight catches and glitters in the air, sending out a hundred rainbows to dance around the clearing.
She pulls back on the reins, her eyes fixed on the sight in front of her, and reaches out for Richard.
He is right there, riding beside her, and his fingers tighten around hers, warm and firm. She doesn't need to look at him to know the expression on his face: the love that will be there, and the joy that he will be taking in her joy.
She should have trusted that Richard would remember her few words about the most romantic place in the Midlands. She should have known that Richard would bring her here, to celebrate the start of their lives together.
It's perfect.
When she finally tears her eyes away from the sight in front of her turns her head to look at him, his smile is as brilliant as the sunlight catching on the water. She tumbles towards him, falling helplessly, caught in the warmth of his eyes.
He laughs as he catches her, lifting her from the back of her horse and settling her before him on his. Her horse takes a few steps away from them, made jittery and nervous by the sudden change, and his steed shifts under their combined weight, but Kahlan doesn't mind them. All she cares about is the feel of Richard's arms around her, the pressure of his mouth against hers and the sunlit warmth of his hair beneath her fingers.
Richard is hers now. Her Seeker, her husband. She needs nothing more than this.
Richard urges his horse forward, following hers as it ambles down towards the riverbank, its temper eased by the water in front of it and the grass growing wild beneath its hooves. Kahlan slides her arms around Richard's waist, holding on as their mount rises and falls below them with a slow, rolling gait that feels like a ship on the sea. Every now and then Richard tugs gently on the reins, slowing his horse so that he can turn his head and kiss her, long, slow kisses that turn her bones molten. Sometimes she can't wait for him, and simply turns her head to press butterfly kisses against his neck, soft and fluttering against his skin.
They reach the Falls both far too quickly and far too slowly for Kahlan's peace of mind. Richard dismounts first, holding up his hands to catch her even though she has long since needed any man's help. But she laughs and leaps anyway, letting his strong arms steady her as she winds her fingers back into his hair, tugging his face down for another kiss.
They stand alone in the sunlight as Richard's horse finds better things to do, ambling off to join its companion in grazing, long teeth nipping at the fresh green grass. Richard's teeth nip lightly at her lip, his tongue darting out to soothe the small hurt, and she sighs and leans into his touch, melting into him like ice on a summer's day.
"Kahlan," Richard breathes, pulling back to stare into her eyes, and she cannot help but smile at him, giddy and helpless, floating on air. "Hello, wife." His eyes crinkle at the corners when he grins at her, and she is helpless in the face of it.
"Husband," she breathes back and leans in to steal another kiss, and then another, before finally pulling back to consider him for a moment, his chest rising and falling calmly underneath her outspread palms. "You smell like horse."
He laughs, long and loud, and tugs her down towards the river, his eyes sparkling and his teeth wide and white in his sun-browned face. His fingers are steady as he undresses her, sliding the laces of her corset through his hands one by one; his mouth brushes against her skin, lower and lower with each tie that comes undone, until her underskirt pools around her feet. She steps out of it as regal as any queen, her hands already moving to divest him of his clothes with a touch just as sure as his; she's no stranger to this now, but still she is in no hurry, not when they have the rest of their lives together and not when her fingers still itch to stroke slowly over each inch of his skin as it is revealed.
When they are both stripped bare, Richard pulls her into his arms. His kiss this time is gentle, and his fingers ghost over her skin, barely there touches that have her aching for him, made fierce and wild and hungry by his nearness. He swallows down her moan; when he pulls back, his eyes are dark with desire for her.
The water is cold when he pulls her into it, his fingers wrapped tightly around hers as she gasps with shock, half laughing and half sobbing with it. But his mouth is warm when it lands on hers again, matching her breath for breath as he tugs her under the waterfall, the water cascading around them and shielding them from the world. It's icy against her skin, but that does nothing to damp down the fire that his touch sets raging inside her.
She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until she can no longer tell where she ends and he begins.
Richard's hands slide slowly down her body; with each touch pleasure washes through her, and with each kiss her heart becomes more and more his. They have the rest of their lives together; she will live every single day to the full, and every single one of them will be full of her love for him and his for her.
Many a child, Zedd said, had been conceived beneath these cascading waters, and Kahlan can think of no better memento of this moment than that.
The End