JК
Faith of the Fallen :: Goodkind Terry
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"Richard," Kahlan whispered, "I won't have you begging on my account."
The corners of his mouth tightened with the hint of a smile. "If I want to beg, I shall do so." He pulled her blanket up a little, making sure she was snugly covered, even though she was sweating. "I didn't know you were awake."
"How long have I been asleep?"
"A while."
She figured it must have been quite a while. She didn't remember arriving at this place, or him building the house that now stood around her.
Kahlan felt more like a person in her eighties than one in her twenties. She had never been hurt before, not grievously hurt, anyway, not to the point of being on the cusp of death and utterly helpless for so long.
She hated it, and she hated that she couldn't do the simplest things for herself. Most of the time she detested that more than the pain.
She was stunned to understand so unexpectedly and so completely life's frailty, her own frailty, her own mortality. She had risked her life in the past and had been in danger many times, but looking back she didn't know if she had ever truly believed that something like this could happen to her.
Confronting the reality of it was crushing.
Something inside seemed to have broken that night-some idea of herself, some confidence. She could so easily have died. Their baby could have died before it even had a chance to live.
"You're getting better," Richard said, as if in answer to her thoughts.
"I'm not just saying that. I can see that you're healing."
She gazed into his eyes, summoning the courage to finally ask, "How do they know about the Order way up here?"
"People fleeing the fighting have been up this way. Men spreading the doctrine of the Imperial Order have been even here, to where I grew up. Their words can sound good-almost make sense-if you don't think, if you just feel.
Truth doesn't seem to count for much," He added in afterthought. He answered the unspoken question in her eyes. "The men from the Order are gone. The fools out there were just spouting things they've heard, that's all.
"Richard," Kahlan whispered, "I won't have you begging on my account."
The corners of his mouth tightened with the hint of a smile. "If I want to beg, I shall do so." He pulled her blanket up a little, making sure she was snugly covered, even though she was sweating. "I didn't know you were awake."
"How long have I been asleep?"
"A while."
She figured it must have been quite a while. She didn't remember arriving at this place, or him building the house that now stood around her.
Kahlan felt more like a person in her eighties than one in her twenties. She had never been hurt before, not grievously hurt, anyway, not to the point of being on the cusp of death and utterly helpless for so long.
She hated it, and she hated that she couldn't do the simplest things for herself. Most of the time she detested that more than the pain.
She was stunned to understand so unexpectedly and so completely life's frailty, her own frailty, her own mortality. She had risked her life in the past and had been in danger many times, but looking back she didn't know if she had ever truly believed that something like this could happen to her.
Confronting the reality of it was crushing.
Something inside seemed to have broken that night-some idea of herself, some confidence. She could so easily have died. Their baby could have died before it even had a chance to live.
"You're getting better," Richard said, as if in answer to her thoughts.
"I'm not just saying that. I can see that you're healing."
She gazed into his eyes, summoning the courage to finally ask, "How do they know about the Order way up here?"
"People fleeing the fighting have been up this way. Men spreading the doctrine of the Imperial Order have been even here, to where I grew up. Their words can sound good-almost make sense-if you don't think, if you just feel.
Truth doesn't seem to count for much," He added in afterthought. He answered the unspoken question in her eyes. "The men from the Order are gone. The fools out there were just spouting things they've heard, that's all.