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Title: Dreams and Memories
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, Kahlan, Richard
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 255
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'dreams and memories' for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
legendland bingo card.
Summary: At night, Richard dreams of his father.
-o-
At night, Richard dreams of his father, of the warmth in his father's dark eyes and the steadiness of the hand he placed on Richard's shoulders. He hears the love in George's voice in his memories, the pride that George had in how he turned out, the man Richard became. It aches when he wakes, but it's a joyous kind of pain; he holds his father's memory close to his heart throughout the day, letting it warm him and lighten his steps.
Kahlan dreams of her mother, of the soft feel of her arms when she held Kahlan, of the scent, warm and welcoming, that rose from her mother's skin. Most of her other memories of her mother have long since fled, although she has more to keep her comfort than Dennee, who was still so young when her mother died.
She tries not to remember her father; instead, she tries to remember the cadence of her mother's voice, although the words have long since faded. But even though the memories are faint, like the scent of far off roses on a summer's day, the sense of duty her mother instilled in her, in those too few years that Kahlan had her to rely on, lingers still.
Cara doesn't dream. Not about her parents. She doesn't remember them, or chooses not to. Her dreams instead are of the mistresses who trained her, of the harsh sting of the agiels, the fear and the pain.
They made Cara who she is, parents in all but name.
The End
-o-
Title: Moonlight Serenade
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, Kahlan/Richard
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 318
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'sunsets and serenades' forlegendland bingo card.
Summary: The menfolk of Mordenstair sing to their one true loves.
-o-
The menfolk of Mordenstair apparently sang to their one true loves (or at least, their current true loves) in an attempt to win their sweethearts' favour.
Cara thought for a second that Richard's eyes would pop out of his head when he found that out. As for Cara herself, she was too busy trying hard not to laugh at Richard's discomfort to pay much attention to stupid traditions.
Still, Richard was not one to be thwarted for long. He might not be able, at Zedd colourfully put it, to carry a tune in a bucket, but he was a man of many, many resources, which was another Zedd-ism, a little less colourfully put.
He didn't sing his love to Kahlan - which was just as well. Cara had heard Richard sing and while she had no doubts that Kahlan loved him to distraction, she was pretty sure that even Kahlan's love for him had its limits. Instead, Richard waited until the sun was low in the sky and then took Kahlan for a walk on the cliffs that rose at the edge at the village's back, where the pair of them could watch the moonlight on the water and kiss.
Cara stayed safely in the village, away from the sickening sweetness and confident that tonight no one would have any designs on Richard's wellbeing. Just possibly his virtue, if the glint in Kahlan's eye meant anything.
But no sooner had Cara sought her own bed - alone - that she discovered the downside to country traditions.
The first wailing outside her window she mistook for an injured cat, and only realised otherwise when her hastily thrown chamber pot didn't elicit a yowl and a fleeing feline but a muffled curse and a wounded expression.
And of course, with Cara's luck, it would turn out that nights in Mordenstair were long and the men of the village had something for ladies in leather, the more dangerous and inclined to violence the better.
The End
-o-
Title: Twist
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Zedd, Shota
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 416
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'in your dreams' forlegendland bingo card.
Summary: The difficulty is in teasing the truth from the twisted thread.
-o-
"You must listen to me, Zeddicus."
Zedd doesn't roll his eyes, not quite. That would mean taking his gaze away from Shota, and he's long since learned not to take his eyes off the woman while he's within striking distance. She's as fast as a viper and twice as poisonous.
He conceals his impatience. Richard may not listen to prophecy, but Zedd is older - he's seen much and knows more. For all of Shota's arrogance, her overconfidence in her scrying ability, she does have talent and magic to spare. The difficulty is in teasing the truth from the twisted thread her own desires have spun it into.
"Tell me again," he says, not missing the flash of triumph in Shota's eyes. She puffs herself up, throwing her head back.
He thought her beautiful once. He let that beauty distract him from his path to First Wizard, but he's older and theoretically wiser now. It doesn't stop the brief pang that floods him. She is still magnificent, and her deadliness only makes her more so.
"The Seeker faces a new threat," she says. "From the East, and it will be even more deadly than the Keeper."
More deadly than the very being who brought Death itself to the World? Zedd doubts it - it's another example of Shota's hubris.
"And you know this because...?"
"I dreamed it, and you know as well as I, Zeddicus, that I dream true. You know that I would not lie to you about this, not when your own life is in danger. I care too much for you for that."
Her dreams are true, yes. Her motives, and her interpretation of them, are less clear cut, as are her true feelings for him, the ones that remain once lust - for him and for the power he could give to her - has burnt its way out.
But still... Zedd would be a fool not to at least consider Shota's words, look for the truth hidden in them, and he doesn't miss the satisfaction that blossoms across her face when she realises that listen to her is exactly what he will do.
"Zeddicus," she purrs, stepping closer, an unholy gleam in those dark eyes. "I know you will listen to me. What choice do you have, my love?"
He knows that he has very few, but he knows something else, as well.
The point where he has run out of options is when Shota might come closest to loving him for real.
The End
-o-
Title: Homecoming Queen
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Zedd/Salindra
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 269
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'take me home' forlegendland bingo card.
Summary: Zedd owes her little, but this is little enough.
-o-
There is a belief in the Midlands that with age comes wisdom. Zedd is not entirely convinced of the truth of that. There are days - many days - when he feels like an old fool, and there's no doubting that Salindra has made a fool of him thrice over.
But if she has, it is a foolishness that he's more than earned. And she has paid a heavy price, heavier than any he would have wanted.
Salindra's body is heavy in his arms, heavier still now that he's reverted to his true age. Wizards are longer lived than many others, age more slowly and with more grace, but he feels each and every one of those years tonight as he makes his way back to the castle that his magic built for the woman in his arms.
She barely lived long enough to enjoy it, and he suspects that she had little enough pleasure in her life. Strange thing to say about someone whose purpose was to give fleeting pleasure to others, but a whore's live is a hard one, in more ways than even Zedd, with all of his years, can imagine.
He paid for her services, whether he wanted to believe that or not. Paid with palaces and treasures and repaid in treachery, but he bears her no will. A whore's life is a hard one, and so was Salindra's death.
There's little he can do for her now, but he can do this. He carries her body, as heavy as it is, back to the castle she coveted and lived in so briefly.
He carries Salindra home.
The End
-o-
Title: Pretence
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Kahlan
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 214
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'long black hair' forlegendland bingo card.
Summary: Rahl wants a mocking echo of love.
-o-
Rahl's hair is dark against her skin, darker than Richard's ever was. It's longer than Richard's hair was, too, feeling utterly wrong when it slips through her fingertips.
But then she couldn't touch Richard like this, for all that she longed to. Her magic would have destroyed him, taken everything that made him who he was from him, the way that she longs to take everything from Rahl.
Bur Rahl is wily and he has magic all of his own. The rada'han he has locked around her neck has rendered her powerless, unable to subdue him, just like the hold he has around her heart leaves her powerless to fight back. If she tries, it will be the people of the Midlands who pay the price.
He wants a child with her, a Confessor he can control, and if that was all he wanted she could bear it for Richard's sake. But he also wants tenderness, a mocking echo of love, and that she cannot provide.
But he is not the only one who can play pretend. And so she sits, her belly swollen and his head in her lap, stroking her fingers through his hair in front of the fire.
She can play happy families, too, if only for her beloved Richard's sake.
The End
-o-
Title: Mistress
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Kahlan/Richard
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 244
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'love me this way' forlegendland bingo card.
Summary: Kahlan takes control.
-o-
Kahlan has never taken a mate, never known any touch but her own. She would have done her duty eventually, borne Confessors to continue the line after her, but the idea of taking one of the Confessed to bed, when their will is not their own...
Dennee was always stronger than her in ways that counted among her order.
When she and Richard finally consummate their love, when they're finally able to touch without fear, she is still inexperienced but she's not afraid. She could never be afraid of Richard, or of being with Richard, not when she longs for it with every fibre of her being. And Richard is as gentle with her as she expected, as she could ever have hoped - so tender that it makes her throat tighten and her heart ache just to think of it, even now. They learn the ways of love together, how to touch, how to taste, how to bask in the feel of their beloved.
Even so it surprises her when she finds herself taking control, telling him what to do, showing him where she likes him to put his hands, his mouth. What brings her the greatest pleasure, what makes her come apart, calling Richard's name.
And Richard doesn't object, but follows her instructions, laughing softly against her skin and calling her 'Mistress' when she becomes particularly demanding.
But then he always was a quick study, especially in the ways of Kahlan.
The end
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, Kahlan, Richard
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 255
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'dreams and memories' for
legendland bingo card.Summary: At night, Richard dreams of his father.
-o-
At night, Richard dreams of his father, of the warmth in his father's dark eyes and the steadiness of the hand he placed on Richard's shoulders. He hears the love in George's voice in his memories, the pride that George had in how he turned out, the man Richard became. It aches when he wakes, but it's a joyous kind of pain; he holds his father's memory close to his heart throughout the day, letting it warm him and lighten his steps.
Kahlan dreams of her mother, of the soft feel of her arms when she held Kahlan, of the scent, warm and welcoming, that rose from her mother's skin. Most of her other memories of her mother have long since fled, although she has more to keep her comfort than Dennee, who was still so young when her mother died.
She tries not to remember her father; instead, she tries to remember the cadence of her mother's voice, although the words have long since faded. But even though the memories are faint, like the scent of far off roses on a summer's day, the sense of duty her mother instilled in her, in those too few years that Kahlan had her to rely on, lingers still.
Cara doesn't dream. Not about her parents. She doesn't remember them, or chooses not to. Her dreams instead are of the mistresses who trained her, of the harsh sting of the agiels, the fear and the pain.
They made Cara who she is, parents in all but name.
The End
-o-
Title: Moonlight Serenade
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, Kahlan/Richard
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 318
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'sunsets and serenades' for
legendland bingo card.Summary: The menfolk of Mordenstair sing to their one true loves.
-o-
The menfolk of Mordenstair apparently sang to their one true loves (or at least, their current true loves) in an attempt to win their sweethearts' favour.
Cara thought for a second that Richard's eyes would pop out of his head when he found that out. As for Cara herself, she was too busy trying hard not to laugh at Richard's discomfort to pay much attention to stupid traditions.
Still, Richard was not one to be thwarted for long. He might not be able, at Zedd colourfully put it, to carry a tune in a bucket, but he was a man of many, many resources, which was another Zedd-ism, a little less colourfully put.
He didn't sing his love to Kahlan - which was just as well. Cara had heard Richard sing and while she had no doubts that Kahlan loved him to distraction, she was pretty sure that even Kahlan's love for him had its limits. Instead, Richard waited until the sun was low in the sky and then took Kahlan for a walk on the cliffs that rose at the edge at the village's back, where the pair of them could watch the moonlight on the water and kiss.
Cara stayed safely in the village, away from the sickening sweetness and confident that tonight no one would have any designs on Richard's wellbeing. Just possibly his virtue, if the glint in Kahlan's eye meant anything.
But no sooner had Cara sought her own bed - alone - that she discovered the downside to country traditions.
The first wailing outside her window she mistook for an injured cat, and only realised otherwise when her hastily thrown chamber pot didn't elicit a yowl and a fleeing feline but a muffled curse and a wounded expression.
And of course, with Cara's luck, it would turn out that nights in Mordenstair were long and the men of the village had something for ladies in leather, the more dangerous and inclined to violence the better.
The End
-o-
Title: Twist
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Zedd, Shota
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 416
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'in your dreams' for
legendland bingo card.Summary: The difficulty is in teasing the truth from the twisted thread.
-o-
"You must listen to me, Zeddicus."
Zedd doesn't roll his eyes, not quite. That would mean taking his gaze away from Shota, and he's long since learned not to take his eyes off the woman while he's within striking distance. She's as fast as a viper and twice as poisonous.
He conceals his impatience. Richard may not listen to prophecy, but Zedd is older - he's seen much and knows more. For all of Shota's arrogance, her overconfidence in her scrying ability, she does have talent and magic to spare. The difficulty is in teasing the truth from the twisted thread her own desires have spun it into.
"Tell me again," he says, not missing the flash of triumph in Shota's eyes. She puffs herself up, throwing her head back.
He thought her beautiful once. He let that beauty distract him from his path to First Wizard, but he's older and theoretically wiser now. It doesn't stop the brief pang that floods him. She is still magnificent, and her deadliness only makes her more so.
"The Seeker faces a new threat," she says. "From the East, and it will be even more deadly than the Keeper."
More deadly than the very being who brought Death itself to the World? Zedd doubts it - it's another example of Shota's hubris.
"And you know this because...?"
"I dreamed it, and you know as well as I, Zeddicus, that I dream true. You know that I would not lie to you about this, not when your own life is in danger. I care too much for you for that."
Her dreams are true, yes. Her motives, and her interpretation of them, are less clear cut, as are her true feelings for him, the ones that remain once lust - for him and for the power he could give to her - has burnt its way out.
But still... Zedd would be a fool not to at least consider Shota's words, look for the truth hidden in them, and he doesn't miss the satisfaction that blossoms across her face when she realises that listen to her is exactly what he will do.
"Zeddicus," she purrs, stepping closer, an unholy gleam in those dark eyes. "I know you will listen to me. What choice do you have, my love?"
He knows that he has very few, but he knows something else, as well.
The point where he has run out of options is when Shota might come closest to loving him for real.
The End
-o-
Title: Homecoming Queen
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Zedd/Salindra
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 269
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'take me home' for
legendland bingo card.Summary: Zedd owes her little, but this is little enough.
-o-
There is a belief in the Midlands that with age comes wisdom. Zedd is not entirely convinced of the truth of that. There are days - many days - when he feels like an old fool, and there's no doubting that Salindra has made a fool of him thrice over.
But if she has, it is a foolishness that he's more than earned. And she has paid a heavy price, heavier than any he would have wanted.
Salindra's body is heavy in his arms, heavier still now that he's reverted to his true age. Wizards are longer lived than many others, age more slowly and with more grace, but he feels each and every one of those years tonight as he makes his way back to the castle that his magic built for the woman in his arms.
She barely lived long enough to enjoy it, and he suspects that she had little enough pleasure in her life. Strange thing to say about someone whose purpose was to give fleeting pleasure to others, but a whore's live is a hard one, in more ways than even Zedd, with all of his years, can imagine.
He paid for her services, whether he wanted to believe that or not. Paid with palaces and treasures and repaid in treachery, but he bears her no will. A whore's life is a hard one, and so was Salindra's death.
There's little he can do for her now, but he can do this. He carries her body, as heavy as it is, back to the castle she coveted and lived in so briefly.
He carries Salindra home.
The End
-o-
Title: Pretence
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Kahlan
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 214
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'long black hair' for
legendland bingo card.Summary: Rahl wants a mocking echo of love.
-o-
Rahl's hair is dark against her skin, darker than Richard's ever was. It's longer than Richard's hair was, too, feeling utterly wrong when it slips through her fingertips.
But then she couldn't touch Richard like this, for all that she longed to. Her magic would have destroyed him, taken everything that made him who he was from him, the way that she longs to take everything from Rahl.
Bur Rahl is wily and he has magic all of his own. The rada'han he has locked around her neck has rendered her powerless, unable to subdue him, just like the hold he has around her heart leaves her powerless to fight back. If she tries, it will be the people of the Midlands who pay the price.
He wants a child with her, a Confessor he can control, and if that was all he wanted she could bear it for Richard's sake. But he also wants tenderness, a mocking echo of love, and that she cannot provide.
But he is not the only one who can play pretend. And so she sits, her belly swollen and his head in her lap, stroking her fingers through his hair in front of the fire.
She can play happy families, too, if only for her beloved Richard's sake.
The End
-o-
Title: Mistress
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Kahlan/Richard
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 244
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'love me this way' for
legendland bingo card.Summary: Kahlan takes control.
-o-
Kahlan has never taken a mate, never known any touch but her own. She would have done her duty eventually, borne Confessors to continue the line after her, but the idea of taking one of the Confessed to bed, when their will is not their own...
Dennee was always stronger than her in ways that counted among her order.
When she and Richard finally consummate their love, when they're finally able to touch without fear, she is still inexperienced but she's not afraid. She could never be afraid of Richard, or of being with Richard, not when she longs for it with every fibre of her being. And Richard is as gentle with her as she expected, as she could ever have hoped - so tender that it makes her throat tighten and her heart ache just to think of it, even now. They learn the ways of love together, how to touch, how to taste, how to bask in the feel of their beloved.
Even so it surprises her when she finds herself taking control, telling him what to do, showing him where she likes him to put his hands, his mouth. What brings her the greatest pleasure, what makes her come apart, calling Richard's name.
And Richard doesn't object, but follows her instructions, laughing softly against her skin and calling her 'Mistress' when she becomes particularly demanding.
But then he always was a quick study, especially in the ways of Kahlan.
The end