Title: The Touch (Chp 1)

Summary: I am a HUGE fan of the show and have loved reading everyone's fanfics. I decided to try to write one myself so this is my very first fanfic. I am completely freaked out, but would love any comments. I am not very good at this and I'm sorry if I completely screw this up while trying to post it. This is just an idea that's been running around in head. If this goes well and everyone thinks I'm not too terribly bad at it, I'll try more as I have lots of ideas. So here it is…

Richard and Kahlan's romance grows as Kahlan suffers from an attempt to ruin the Seeker.

Chapter I

It had all happened so fast. One minute they were talking and gathering wood for a fire. The next thing they knew, they were surrounded by a dozen D'Harans. Where had they come from? He silently berated himself for not picking up on their presence sooner. He had allowed himself to drop his guard as he dreamed about the future after Darken Rahl was dead. Their future. Kahlan had paid the price for his failure. He would never be able to live with himself if she….he couldn't even bring himself to think of it.

The wound on her arm oozed bright red blood. He tried to put pressure on it to keep it from bleeding as he screamed for Zedd to come help her. Zedd was finishing off the last of the D'Haran soldiers with wizard's fire when Richard had frantically called his name. Zedd had turned to see Richard holding a limp Kahlan in his arms. No, he thought, dear spirits not Kahlan.

As he reached them, Zedd could hear Richard pleading with Kahlan to hold on. Zedd noticed the wound on her arm and the blood that ran down it. While it seemed to be a deep cut, it didn't appear to be enough to have caused Kahlan's current state. She was pale and fighting to maintain consciousness, but was losing the battle.

"Kahlan, I'm right here. Stay with me! Don't close your eyes. Stay focused on me!" Richard cried. Fear and helplessness griped his voice as he searched Zedd's face for answers. Something was definitely wrong. What had happened to her?

"Let's get her back to camp before more soldiers show up. I'll be better able to assess her wound then." Zedd said.

Richard gently gathered Kahlan up in his arms and started carrying her back to camp. Dear spirits, don't take her from me, he prayed. She's my life. He thought he had had the perfect life as a woods guide back in Westland. He thought he had been living his dream. Then he met Kahlan. She had touched him and turned his life upside down. It wasn't the physical touch of confession, but the touch of purpose, of understanding, of love. He thought he had been complete, a whole person. Then he met Kahlan. She touched his life, his soul and he would never be the same. He never wanted to return to the way his life had been before Kahlan. He was finally complete, but now he had an uneasy feeling like it was somehow going to slip away from him.

-----

Richard gently laid her down on the blankets she had previously spread out when they had set up camp. He looked down to see that she was no longer fighting to stay awake. In panic, he felt for her breath on his cheek. Feeling the faint brush of her breathing, he released his own breath he realized he had been holding. Zedd knelt down beside her and held his hands out over the wound on her arm. The bleeding had ceased as the wound began to heal. Once the wound was healed and he had cleaned her arm, he turned his attention to Richard as his hands hovered around her head.

"Tell me exactly what you saw. Every detail, no matter how irrelevant it may seem" Zedd told him.

"We were gathering wood for the fire when we were suddenly surrounded by D'Harans. We started fighting and I had just finished off a soldier when I noticed that Kahlan was in trouble. She had three soldiers attacking her. One of them came at her when she was distracted by the other two and cut her arm, causing her to drop her dagger. I started to run towards her, but I got cut off by more soldiers. I glanced over again and saw her try to confess one of the soldiers. She grabbed his throat. I saw her touch him with her power, except that nothing seemed to happen to him. He laughed at her and said that the Seeker was going to pay. Then it was like he sent something back to her through her touch. She was suddenly thrown backwards. I yelled her name and ran for her. Before I could get to her, he turned into a raven and flew away. That's when you came and took out the rest of the soldiers with your wizard's fire. Zedd, what did he do to her?"

"I'm not absolutely positive, my boy, but I have some ideas and definitely intend to find out. You didn't recognize the soldier did you?"

Frustrated, Richard ran a hand through his hair, trying to remember every detail. "No, but there was something familiar about him. I can't put my finger on it. It just all happened so fast and I was so focused on getting to Kahlan, to make sure she was safe. What do you think happened to her?"

"I vaguely remember something about a type of spell that can attach itself to a host's powers when their power is used. I believe it was called a Trojan spell or something like that. When Kahlan attempted to confess this man, he used her power against her in a way."

"How do you mean?"

"Whoever it was had magic and was able to attach a spell to Kahlan's power when she used it on him. The spell traveled back through her power, attaching itself to her magic. It appears Kahlan was the focus of the attack on the two of you."

Richard's thumb gently caressed the back of Kahlan's hand. "What kind of spell did he send back to her?"

"It's one that attacks the mind. There's a battle going on. I can feel a lot of pain and anguish, but she's trying to fight it."

"Can you do anything to help her, to bring her out of it?" Despair laced Richard's voice. Kahlan was in a fight possibly for her life and there was absolutely nothing he could do to help her.

The panic in Richard's voice cut at Zedd's heart. "I'm going to set up some walls in her mind to try to help her block out the spell. This could take some time to work. While she's resting, I'm going to go see my brother Thaddicus. We're not far from there, maybe a day's travel. I've hidden some of my books there that could help us figure out what's going on. I would take Kahlan there to recover, but I don't want to move her just yet."

"Maybe you shouldn't leave. What if the walls don't work?"

Zedd stood. "I hate to leave too, but we don't have a choice. We don't know the full extent of this spell and its affects. I must consult my books and bring back any herbs I might need. Richard, if this is what I think it could be Kahlan is in a great deal of trouble."

Richard jumped to his feet. "What do you mean? Zedd, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we need to be prepared for the worst, Richard. I think that soldier was Darken Rahl."

"Darken Rah!?!?"

"Yes. I think he was trying to get to you by hurting Kahlan. He knows he hasn't been able to kill you so far so he's doing the next best thing he can do – hurt Kahlan. Because he has both Additive and Subtractive magic, he is the only one that I can think of who has the power to perform this particular spell. He also can only travel when the stars are properly aligned – like they were at dusk tonight. Richard, if I'm right about the spell he used, it will slowly and painfully destroy her mind. It will painfully tear her apart piece by piece until she is no longer the Kahlan you know and love...and then it will kill her."

Richard's eyes betrayed his heart as shock and horror mirrored plainly in his stunned gaze as he starred at Zedd and then down at Kahlan. His mind was racing in a thousand directions. His worst nightmare was coming true. He was going to lose her and Darken Rahl will have won.

Reading the look on his grandson's face, Zedd continued. "Richard, listen to me. We can't give up hope. She needs you now more than ever. While I'm gone, talk to her. She may be able to hear you. You not only share a unique bond as Seeker and Confessor, but your love also binds you. She loves you Richard. Don't ever forget that."

Richard slowly nodded, all the while trying to fight tears back that threatened to overwhelm him. "Zedd, be careful. Hurry back."

"I promise I will come back as soon as I can."

As Zedd hurriedly departed over the hill, Richard sank to the ground next to Kahlan. Taking her hand in his, he finally released the tears that he had been holding back…