Faith of the Fallen

Kahlan folded the blanket under the foot of the straw-filled mattress as she watched Cara shut the door.

"What have you got there?"

"You won't believe it," Cara said with a grin. "Wide blue silk ribbon.

The Sisters have Verna tied to a chair while they're fussing over her, and Zedd has Warren off doing something, so I thought you and I could use the ribbon to decorate the place a little. Drape it around. Make it look pretty." She pointed. "Like up there-we could wind it around the balsam you hung to give it a fancy look."

Kahlan blinked in surprise. "What a good idea."

She didn't know what was more astonishing, actually seeing Cara with blue silk ribbon, or hearing her say «decorate» and «pretty» in the same breath. She smiled to herself, happy to have heard such a thing. Zedd was more of a wizard than he knew.

Kahlan and Cara each stood on a log round, working their way along the wall as they wove the ribbon through and around the swagged balsam boughs.

It was so beautiful seeing the first wall completed that Kahlan couldn't stop gazing and grinning. They started in on the second wall, opposite the door, using extra ribbon for best effect when Verna and Warren first entered and saw their new place.

"Where did you ever get all this ribbon, away?" Kahlan asked around a mouthful of pins.

"Benjamin got it for me." Cara chuckled as she threaded the ribbon around the cord. "Can you believe it? He made me promise not to ask him where he got it from."

Kahlan took the pins from her mouth. "Who?"

"Who what?" Cara mumbled before she stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth while wiggling a pin into a tight place.

"Who did you say got you the ribbon?"

Cara lifted another length of blue silk to the ceiling. "General Meiffert. I don't have a clue where he-"

"You said Benjamin."

Cara lowered the ribbon and stared at Kahlan. "No I didn't."

"Yes, you did. You said Benjamin."

"I said General Meiffert. You only thought-"

"I never knew that General Meiffert's first name was Benjamin."

"Well…"

"Is `Benjamin' General Meiffert's first name?"

Had Cara been wearing her red leather, her face would have matched it.

As it was, her dark scowl matched the brown leather she had on.

"You know it is."

A smile grew on Kahlan's lips. "I do now."

-]--

Kahlan wore her white Mother Confessor's dress. She was a bit surprised to notice that it fit a little loosely, but all things considered, she supposed it was to be expected. Because of the cold, she also wore the wolf fur mantle Richard had made for her, but draped it around her shoulders more like a stole. She stood with her back straight and chin held high, overseeing the ceremony and gazing out at the tens of thousands of quiet faces. Behind her was a rich verdant wall of woven boughs that enabled distant spectators to more easily pick out the six people up on the platform. An ethereal mist of silent breath lifted in the still, golden, lateafternoon air.

As he conducted the wedding ceremony, Zedd's back was to her. Kahlan was fascinated to see his wavy white hair, perpetually in disarray, now brushed and smoothed down. He wore his fine maroon robes with black sleeves and cowled shoulders. Silver brocade circled the cuffs, while gold brocade ran around the neck and down the front. A red satin belt set with a gold buckle gathered the outfit at his waist. Adie stood beside him, wearing her simple sorceress's robes with their yellow and red beads at the neckline.

Somehow, the contrast looked as grand.

Verna wore a rich violet dress done up with gold stitching at the square neckline.

The intricate gold needlework ran down the tight sleeves showing under slashed sham sleeves tied at the elbow with gold ribbon. The delicate smocking over the midriff extending in a funnel shape down into a gored skirt flaring nearly to the floor. Vema's wavy brown hair was festooned with blue, gold, and crimson flowers the sisters had made from little pieces of silk. With her serene smile, she made a beautiful sorceress bride standing beside the handsome blond groom in his violet wizard's robes.

Everyone seemed to lean in a little as the ceremony reached the climax.

"Do you, Vema, take this wizard to be your husband for life," Zedd went on in a clear tone that carried out over the crowd, "mindful of his gift and duty to it, and swear to both love and honor him without pause for as long as you live?"

"I do," Vema said in a silken voice.

"Do you, Warren," Adie said, her voice all the more raspy in contrast to Vema's, "take this sorceress to be your wife for life, mindful of her gift and duty to it, and swear to both love and honor her without pause for as long as you live?

"I do," Warren said in a confident tone.

"Then, it being of your free will, I accept you, sorceress, as being agreeable and give my joyful blessing to this union." Zedd raised outstretched arms up into the air. "I ask the good spirits to smile on this woman's oath."