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Title: Thandor
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Rating: G
Characters: Kahlan
Word Count: 620
Disclaimer: Original source and characters belong to Terry Goodkind and Disney/ABC. This is a not for profit fanfiction, written for sheer love of the show.
Author's Notes: Written for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
legendland marathon challenge, using the prompt 'Kahlan and Dennee, childhood'
Summary: Dennee is so small and it's Kahlan's responsibility to look out for her. She can be brave if she needs to. For Dennee.
-o-
The entrance to the Valley of Thandor is finally before them, buried deep in a cliff face that rises so high that Kahlan thinks it must touch the very sky. She can't see the top of it, not even when she tilts her head as far back as she can.
She tilts her head too far back and stumbles, and the Confessor who has brought them to this place - Alaria - shoots her a disapproving look. It's the kind of look that has Kahlan hiding her face in shame, her small shoulders tensing under the Alaria's gaze.
Her mother was never as cold, as remote as Alaria and - not for the first time - Kahlan wonders if this is how Confessors should be. It's not a comforting thought and she reaches for Dennee's hand, squeezing it so tightly that Dennee lets out an indignant squawk.
It earns them both a disapproving look. Dennee scuttles sideways, hiding behind Kahlan, and this time it's Kahlan who has to hold back a sound as Dennee squeezes her hand so tightly that it hurts.
She doesn't blame her sister - Dennee is so small and it's Kahlan's responsibility to look out for her. She can be brave if she needs to. For Dennee.
But it's hard to be brave when the crack in the rock grates open, the stone in front of them parting like a normal door. Dennee reappears beside her, her mouth open in surprise and her eyes wide with it, but Kahlan can't appreciate the magic. Not when all of her thoughts are consumed by what lies on the other side.
Her heart is tripping hard and fast in her chest, but she stands her ground, lifting her chin and tugging Dennee back behind her again.
When the stone finally parts, there is a woman waiting for them, just beyond the cool weight of stone, back where the afternoon light can catch her hair. She's old - older than Kahlan's mother - but there is none of Alaria's tight control in her expression, none of the Confessor's cool reserve. Instead, there is a smile on her face, and she glows in the sunlight, warm and welcoming in a way that Kahlan can feel - deep in her soul - is true
"Oh, my dears," she ways, holding her arms open to them as though they already know her, or she knows them, but still Kahlan holds back, reluctant to take that first step forward. The woman's smile fades slightly, like the sun going behind a cloud, but she's not angry, that much Kahlan can tell. She's grown very used to signs of anger since her mother died. If anything, this woman seems a little sad as her hands drop again towards her sides, something like sympathy blossoming in her eyes. "I am Sister Vendra," she says, a little more formally, "and I'm going to take care of you."
The light beyond Vendra is bright, and the grass as green as Kahlan has ever seen it and she hasn't had a chance to play for so very long, but still she hesitates, searching Vendra's face for something behind that smile, behind that warmth.
Her father had smiled at them like that once, back before her mother died and he became so very angry.
After a long moment - a moment where Vendra lets her look her fill - she finds something of what she seeks, something understanding, something solid and real.
Dennee - impatient as always - tires of waiting and finally tugs her forward, towards Vendra, towards the meadows that they can both see, and Kahlan goes, all of her fears melting away in the warmth of Vendra's eyes.
For the first time since her mother's death, Kahlan feels safe.
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Rating: G
Characters: Kahlan
Word Count: 620
Disclaimer: Original source and characters belong to Terry Goodkind and Disney/ABC. This is a not for profit fanfiction, written for sheer love of the show.
Author's Notes: Written for the
legendland marathon challenge, using the prompt 'Kahlan and Dennee, childhood'Summary: Dennee is so small and it's Kahlan's responsibility to look out for her. She can be brave if she needs to. For Dennee.
-o-
The entrance to the Valley of Thandor is finally before them, buried deep in a cliff face that rises so high that Kahlan thinks it must touch the very sky. She can't see the top of it, not even when she tilts her head as far back as she can.
She tilts her head too far back and stumbles, and the Confessor who has brought them to this place - Alaria - shoots her a disapproving look. It's the kind of look that has Kahlan hiding her face in shame, her small shoulders tensing under the Alaria's gaze.
Her mother was never as cold, as remote as Alaria and - not for the first time - Kahlan wonders if this is how Confessors should be. It's not a comforting thought and she reaches for Dennee's hand, squeezing it so tightly that Dennee lets out an indignant squawk.
It earns them both a disapproving look. Dennee scuttles sideways, hiding behind Kahlan, and this time it's Kahlan who has to hold back a sound as Dennee squeezes her hand so tightly that it hurts.
She doesn't blame her sister - Dennee is so small and it's Kahlan's responsibility to look out for her. She can be brave if she needs to. For Dennee.
But it's hard to be brave when the crack in the rock grates open, the stone in front of them parting like a normal door. Dennee reappears beside her, her mouth open in surprise and her eyes wide with it, but Kahlan can't appreciate the magic. Not when all of her thoughts are consumed by what lies on the other side.
Her heart is tripping hard and fast in her chest, but she stands her ground, lifting her chin and tugging Dennee back behind her again.
When the stone finally parts, there is a woman waiting for them, just beyond the cool weight of stone, back where the afternoon light can catch her hair. She's old - older than Kahlan's mother - but there is none of Alaria's tight control in her expression, none of the Confessor's cool reserve. Instead, there is a smile on her face, and she glows in the sunlight, warm and welcoming in a way that Kahlan can feel - deep in her soul - is true
"Oh, my dears," she ways, holding her arms open to them as though they already know her, or she knows them, but still Kahlan holds back, reluctant to take that first step forward. The woman's smile fades slightly, like the sun going behind a cloud, but she's not angry, that much Kahlan can tell. She's grown very used to signs of anger since her mother died. If anything, this woman seems a little sad as her hands drop again towards her sides, something like sympathy blossoming in her eyes. "I am Sister Vendra," she says, a little more formally, "and I'm going to take care of you."
The light beyond Vendra is bright, and the grass as green as Kahlan has ever seen it and she hasn't had a chance to play for so very long, but still she hesitates, searching Vendra's face for something behind that smile, behind that warmth.
Her father had smiled at them like that once, back before her mother died and he became so very angry.
After a long moment - a moment where Vendra lets her look her fill - she finds something of what she seeks, something understanding, something solid and real.
Dennee - impatient as always - tires of waiting and finally tugs her forward, towards Vendra, towards the meadows that they can both see, and Kahlan goes, all of her fears melting away in the warmth of Vendra's eyes.
For the first time since her mother's death, Kahlan feels safe.