Faramir Fiction Archive

Love is... (NC-17)

Written by Sairalinde and Anorienbean

19 November 2009 | 145965 words

Chapter 23

Shaking his head, denying what was happening right before his eyes, Rahl held his lover closer and smiled. “I’m sorry I brought you into this hateful mess,” he whispered. “You should never have been caught between us.” Without the faintest hesitation, he let his fingertips ghost over Faramir’s dear face and down to his heart, just above the wound. “I love you so much,” he whispered before he uttered the spell that would heal his lover and take away every bit of magic he possessed for many days to come.

Faramir’s vision was fading and he knew the last thing he would see in this world would be his lover’s sad blue eyes, then he felt Rahl’s magic pour into him, the warmth of it, the healing power and he gasped. “No… oh gods, no… do not do this…” he struggled and then was stunned by three simple words. Rahl loved him. He blinked at his lover and gasped as he felt the injury seal and the blood stop running down his chest. “Your magic…” he whimpered sadly, tears springing to his eyes as he realized that he might just live long enough now to see Rahl killed and then his own life would be over anyway. He struggled to sit up, watching as the seeker did the same across the room. “Take the sword, don’t let him kill you,” he whispered, “I want to hear you say those words again… “

Never in his life had Rahl felt such profound relief. He had no magic whatsoever, no protection, little chance against a seeker who not only possessed wizard’s spells but the sword of truth… and he couldn’t have cared less. He smiled at his lover and pressed a kiss against his lips. “I will say it every day,” he promised, “at least a dozen times.” With that, he gently slipped his arm from beneath Faramir’s shoulders, took the sword and turned to face seeker. “You nearly killed him,” he said, in a voice that would have made every man in his army cower and pray for mercy. “I understand you wanting to kill me, but he is off limits to you and that damnable sword.”

Faramir returned teh quick kiss and smiled as he tried to get up, still stunned from what had happened and the wonderful words he’d heard from his lover’s lips for the first time. He was even more terrified now that Rahl had to face the seeker without his powers, knowing that he himself had put his lover in danger by trying to fight against a man protected with magic and a magical sword.

Richard stood across the room, finally getting his bearings and stared at the two men. Rahl… loved the man named Faramir… loved him enough to use his magic to heal him and the man loved him enough to risk his life for him. This was not what he’d been told Rahl was like at all. It was confusing and he stood for a moment just staring at the man as he spoke. He raised his own sword and shook his head. “I had no choice, he challenged me…” Richard said as he advanced on Rahl.

“He challenged you because he loves me,” Rahl hissed, moving in a half circle, never taking his eyes off the other man. “The same as you would do for your precious Confessor if someone was trying to murder her!” His anger was not so much that the seeker had gotten into the castle or was trying to kill him, but that he was trying to take the one person Rahl loved away from him, even though he’d only just recognized his feelings for what they were. “He is innocent! Not even from this world, and you nearly killed him!”
Richard for the first time felt a twinge of guilt. Kahlan meant everything to him… if he were in Rahl’s place, how would he feel? He knew exactly what it would be, what it had been when the woman he loved was threatened, complete rage. He moved, circling the other man, trying to decide what weakness he could find besides his lover. That… was not the kind of man he was, killing a man’s loved ones for revenge wasn’t what the seeker stood for. Doing what Rahl did to him… that was meaningless revenge wasn’t it? But Rahl killed innocents… many of them. He shook his head, trying to clear it. “My father was innocent so was my mother for that matter… I was a baby when you ordered my death… how is it different?” Richard advanced then and swung his sword high at Rahl, the sound of the two blades clashing, rang in the room.

Faramir kept watch from the edge of the room, trying to find a way he could help his lover without getting in the way. There had to be something he could do! He couldn’t stand here and watch this and do nothing at all.

“Everything I have done, I have done for the greater good,” Rahl growled when they each stepped back. He held his sword steady; no novice with it by any means, but unused to fighting without his spells. “Would you not order the death of someone whom you know will dedicate his life to killing you? Would you not wish for safety for yourself and the ones you love?” He stepped forward again, and nicked the seeker’s arm but was rewarded with a sharp jab of steel just above his hip for his efforts. It stung and began bleeding almost at once but he barely noticed, he was so intent on taking the other man down and keeping him away from Faramir. “And, you foolish, stupid boy. I did not kill your father! That ridiculous wizard you travel with killed him! I would know, – I was there!”

Richard stumbled back when Rahl said that Zedd killed his father. “What? You… you ordered Demmin Nass to kill my father!” He yelled as he moved to avoid another slashing blow from Rahl’s sword. They had both drawn blood but at this rate they would be there all day hacking at one another, Richard thought angrily. He needed to focus, but his mind was in a jumble now. Zedd didn’t kill his father!

Faramir gasped when he saw blood spill down his lover’s hip and thigh and moved quickly. He could not stand there and do nothing at all. When Rahl circled again, his lover was no longer standing on the rug at their feet but the seeker was. Faramir moved as quickly as he could and with all the strength he could muster he yanked on the corner of the large ornate rug, throwing the seeker off balance and sending the younger man stumbling backwards into one of the bookcases that rained down parchments and books around him.

The distraction was all it took for Rahl to gain the advantage. He might not have his magic, but he had years of experience and practice behind him, and had been skilled with a sword before Richard was even born.

His blade came down, pierced the seeker’s side and then rested against his neck. “I ordered Demmin Nass to kill the man who had the Book of Counted Shadows. That man was not your father. Your father died when I was but a child. I was standing at his side when the Old One cast wizard’s fire at him. I screamed in agony as I burned right along beside him and watched him die the most horrible death you could imagine.” The blade pressed deeper against Richard’s skin and Rahl reveled in being able to watch as he finally learned the truth. “Our father died cursing Zeddicus’ name, much as I did every time the healers tied my hands so I could not touch the burns he had left on my skin.”

Faramir’s mouth dropped open, he was in as much shock as the seeker seemed to be as he stared at the two men. They were… brothers? He looked from one to the other, seeing a mild resemblance but only a mild one. Why would two brothers be set on killing one another… why?

“You lie!” Richard screamed even as he felt the blade of the sword cutting into him. “We are not brothers, my father was George Cypher!” Even as he said the words though, bits and pieces of things he’d learned on his journey to D’Hara made more sense and he used his leg to kick at Rahl, and managed to move away fast enough that the other man couldn’t take his head off. He began moving faster, fighting both with Rahl and the need to deny his words. “Panis Rahl was not my father, you are just trying to deceive me, trick me into letting my guard down!” He began swinging wildly, forcing Rahl to block him but was unable to push away from the bookcases.

It felt like they fought for hours, but Rahl knew it was only a few minutes. Fighting against the lethal combination of the seeker’s self-righteous anger, the magic of the sword and the old wizard’s spells was exhausting him; however, and he knew he couldn’t keep this up for much longer. The blade sliced across his chest just as he jumped away and he vaguely thought that if he made it out of this alive, his poor lover would have even more scars to see every time they made love. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought, but kept his attention firmly on his nemesis. “Our father heard the prophecy – that one of his sons would kill his firstborn – namely me – and yet he still visited half the women in the village, not giving a damn about me, the son he was suppose to love and protect! You, Richard, had brothers and sisters scattered about over half of D’Hara!” He thrust forward, caught the other man’s tunic with his blade and shook it off. “Why do you think magic works so easily on and for you? Like me, you are our father’s son!”

Richard stumbled a little as he stared at Rahl. “It… it cannot be true,” he whispered. “The same blood that runs in me… no…” he shook his head and winced when something heavy hit him in the back distracting him. As the book fell near his boot, Richard glanced down and a symbol on the cover made him think of what Zedd had told him. How he should be a wizard, that he had more magic in him than he knew… Gods, could it possibly be true?

Faramir felt his heart break for his lover as he fought and told the story of his childhood. He shook his head, trying to find a way to help again. He looked at the books around them; books were something he’d always loved, found solace in as a child. He picked up a large tome and threw it at the seeker, hitting him squarely in the back. The man’s magic was protecting him still but Faramir continued to throw books at the man.

Richard tried to move away from where the man was throwing books at him, distracting him more than hurting him really. “It doesn’t matter, none of this matters… I was sent to kill you and I will and I will be forced to kill all those loyal to you as well… you know this to be true! You know the prophecy!”

Rahl’s eyes darkened and then he gave the seeker a cold smile. “I killed in the name of doing what I felt was right. And you are going to do the same thing – kill those who serve me and are loyal to me – because you think it is right. Tell me, brother,” Rahl pressed the blade even harder against flushed skin. The blood on his arm and chest was flowing freely now, and he’d managed to get it on his hands, making the sword slippery. But he was so very close, he couldn’t stop, could only grip it harder as he yearned to see what thoughts would go through the other man’s head just before he killed him. “How are we so different, you and I?”

Richard’s eyes widened as he looked into Rahl’s, seeing a reflection of himself in some ways. He could not seem to answer the man. Killing Rahl… what did it serve? Did he even know what he planned to do once the man was dead? Take his place? He wasn’t a ruler, never desired to be one. What did he truly want?

Faramir saw the blood on Rahl and almost whimpered. “Please… Richard… a prophecy is just a story… one version of the future that could happen but change one thing and another story is made… what do you desire most in the world? Killing Darken Rahl? Or is there something else you desire more? Forsaking what you want for the sake of some prophecy that was told before you were born… it is ridiculous. There were prophecies in my world… I was one who foresaw the future there and these things changed… with each decision made differently they changed. Change this one,” Faramir said staring at the man and praying he would understand.

Wishing this would just be over with so he could go back to his life with Faramir, Rahl chanced a glace of gratitude up at his lover. The momentary lapse was all the seeker needed to turn, and the sword fell from Rahl’s blood-soaked fingers. He lost precious moments by willing the sword back before he realized he no longer had his magic and then cursed under his breath as he lunged for it.

When Rahl dropped his sword, Faramir cried out and rushed forward toward the two men. “Please! Stop,” Faramir held up his hands beseechingly to the seeker. “Please, Richard. If you have any honor in you… end this, no one must die today, have enough people not died for this prophecy?” Faramir begged as he watched the two brothers stare at one another.

Richard hesitated when Rahl moved to get his sword, his attention on the other man, Faramir. He looked from him to the man who claimed to be his brother and was unsure what he wanted at that moment. Revenge would not bring his loved ones back.

Rahl slowly stood, surprised at Richard’s hesitation and warmed by Faramir’s endless efforts to save him. He stood staring at his half-brother and reached down to give Faramir’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “I have no desire to kill anyone else,” he said softly. “I don’t care about the boxes or the power anymore. My attention has been divided between what I wanted in my old life and what I want in my new one, and I can honestly say I only want to be with this man beside me. We can destroy the boxes, Richard, and you and Kahlan can live together back in the Midlands. I promise no harm will come to either of you.”

Richard wavered for a moment on his feet and shook his head. Could it be that simple? Or could this be a trick? “You have tried to deceive me before, Rahl,” he said warily.

Faramir’s fingers wrapped around Rahl’s feeling warmth flood through him at his lover’s words. When Richard responded, however, he sighed. “Is everyone of your bloodline so stubborn about the truth?” Faramir asked irritably. “Richard… peace… isn’t that what you both want for your world? Peace? Damn the prophecy… there is no reason for this to continue… we… we can leave this place if you want us to, all we want is to be together,” Faramir said looking at his lover for confirmation.

Rahl nodded at once. “He’s right. We can leave all this behind. I don’t care.” A spark of hope that he might survive this after all flared to life and wondered if he might just get that chance to know what it felt like to love someone long term. “Richard, I know I cannot defeat you without my magic and you know you don’t want to kill me without knowing the truth. You aren’t a murder at heart, and you don’t want to kill your own brother. You know you’ve been lied to by those you trusted, yet I can see it in your eyes. You don’t really want to do this until you’re sure… and by the time you’re sure, I’ll have my powers back and you won’t stand a chance.”

Richard considered Faramir’s words and found himself laughing at Rahl’s and shaking his head. He was the seeker of truth and yes, he did need to know the truth just as Rahl said. He sighed and lowered his sword. “All I have done these past years is try to defeat you. I only want people to be free and for there to be no more war, no more killing, no war, just… just life. If I kill you, I am no better than you or the men who made us who we became,” he said shaking his head. “If I do just walk away… who is to say that another won’t rise in your place? Who is to say that Zedd will not wish to finish you if I fail?

Faramir squeezed his lover’s hand worriedly. “Send us away then… send us to my world?”

Turning his attention away from Richard for the first time in nearly half an hour, Rahl looked at Faramir with wide eyes, then smiled and nodded. “His world. Yes.” He looked back at the seeker hopefully. “This is no trick, Richard. Faramir and I will leave you in peace – you can be with your confessor, and there will be no more death.” He released Faramir’s hand and slipped an arm around his waist. “For nearly all my life, I have feared being caught like this, with no powers when you finally came. I kept my magic honed and sharp, ready to use at a moment’s notice, yet when it came down to it, I found myself in the exact situation I’d always been terrified of, by my own choosing. Please, Richard, I’m not asking for myself… I’m asking for Faramir. He loves me, and I love him, and I need the chance to show him that.”
Faramir moved to put his arm around Rahl as well and looked hopefully at the seeker. “Please, Richard… let us go away where you can never hear from us again. None but the three of us need ever know.”

Richard scratched his chin for a moment and shook his head. “You do mean it, the man I was told you were would never have sacrificed his magic for someone else… but you have no magic now and I have no idea how to send you to his world or… how you brought him here in the first place,” Richard explained. “I do not think it is wise for me to let Zedd or even Kahlan know about this. They will believe it is another trick but… somehow I know you speak the truth.” Richard never thought in a hundred years he would be standing here, talking to Rahl and even considering letting the man go after all he’d done.

Rahl thought for a moment, then smiled. “Leave us here. Bring us food and water, enough for the week, a few things from our bedchambers, and the palantir, then leave us here in this room. No one ever comes up here, and my magic will return in a few day’s time. I will send us both back to his world the same way I pulled him into ours, and no one will ever know. You can take the castle, the servants, everything. Just leave us alone. I will even leave the palantir with you to do with as you wish, so you know I can never return.” He pulled Faramir closer and felt his heart jump in his chest. This was so… permanent, it should have been terrifying, but it was exhilarating instead. “There is a certain cat who might try and trip you to death, but other than that… with my spells lifted… there should be no problems. I can speak with my first in command he will have no trouble leading the servants and guards into your service.”

Faramir found himself smiling hopefully as his lover spoke. “And bring us bandages and healing salve so I can treat his wounds,” Faramir said looked over at Richard. “When you return at the end of the week we will be gone, you can bring an entire congingent of men and your wizard to check. Lock us here… just lock the door and leave us here… we… we will be gone as soon as Darken’s powers return,” Faramir added.

Richard stared at the two and finally sheathed his sword. “All right… I feel as if I have lost my mind but… but it makes sense. I know your magic is gone for now… and Gods, I am taking a leap of faith here believing you will hold to this plan,” he sighed and looked up at Rahl, really looked at him and nodded once he felt he saw what he needed to. “You are not lying… though I know it I scarcely believe it. Who can I trust to aid me in finding what you need?”

“Bergan is just outside the door. Revive him and let me give him his orders. He will do anything you ask him too.” It looked like it was really going to happen – he was getting a chance to have everything he had never known he wanted, and of all people, the seeker was giving it to him. He smiled at the younger man thoughtfully for a moment, deciding to do what he could to help him as well. It was the only way he could think of to thank him for this wonderful give. “You are afraid to be with your confessor, aren’t you? Intimately, I mean. You are afraid she will enslave you, whether she means to or not.”

Richard nodded and headed toward the door, still unsure what to make of this turn of events. He stopped and looked at Rahl for a moment, curious what he was driving at. “Yes, a confessor’s powers unfortunately keep them from truly being with the one they love and… I do not want to… to be the reason she loses such miraculous powers,” Richard admitted.

“There is one way.” Rahl shrugged, then winced when it pulled at the wound on his chest. “Since you are allowing me the privilege of being with the one I love, I think the honorable thing to do would be to allow you the same courtesy.”

Richard’s hand left the doorknob and he turned to look at Rahl fully. He was still suspicious of the man but wondered if it could be true. “How?”

“I had a potion made once,” Rahl explained, though he did leave out the part about why he’d had it made. “It makes one impervious to the confessor’s touch. But in the ancient scrolls that tell how and why the wizards created the confessors, there is one passage. If you truly love her, love what and who she is, with her terrible powers, her fear, her anger, her kindness – every single part of her…” He couldn’t help but look at Faramir as he spoke, “Like this man loves me, then you have nothing to fear. You can make love to her and her touch will have no affect… other than the obvious one.”

Richard stared at Rahl for a moment, completely dumbfounded. Wouldn’t Zedd tell him about this if it were true? “Why… if this is in the old scrolls then… then why hasn’t Zedd told me about this?” Richard asked, feeling as if Zedd may have betrayed him in more than one way.

Faramir felt for the man and wondered if perhaps the wizard Zedd wasn’t using Richard for his own gains or his own revenge of some sort.

“Yesterday, I would have spun you a tale about Zeddicus using you for his own agenda, but today… today I am too tired,” Rahl said softly, finally allowing himself to lean on his lover. “It may have been that he did not know, it may be that he truly is not the man you think him to be. Either way, if you come back with Bergan tonight with everything we ask for, I will show you the scroll. It is in this very room.”

Richard nodded, understanding Rahl’s exhaustion, he was exhausted as well from their fight, and bleeding from a few spots as well as Rahl was. “I will return soon then,” he said and unlocked the door to leave.

“Gods,” Faramir sighed after Richard left. He had no idea what else to say other than to wrap his arms around his lover and pull him over to a small couch to sit down. “Here, lets put your leg up where you are hurt,” Faramir said softly and before he could even begin to tend his lover’s wounds he stopped and looked into brillant blue eyes. “Gods, I love you,” he whispered and kissed Rahl firmly.

Rahl wrapped both arms around his lover, closed his eyes, and kissed the man he loved. He was happy, relieved, and on the verge of starting a brand new life where no one even knew of his father, let alone associated them with one another and feared him on principle alone. Exploring every inch of Faramir’s mouth, he moaned softly and pulled him closer when they had to stop for air. “And I, Faramir, love you just as much,” he smiled, trailing his tongue over kiss swollen lips. “Now that I finally figured out what this ‘love’ is, you are going to bask in it. I have a whole lifetime of it saved up, and it’s all for you.”

Faramir was smiling breathlessly as he looked into his lover’s eyes, his lips still tasting of Rahl’s kiss and he sighed happily. “Gods, I love hearing those words,” he whispered. “I never thought you would ever love me, I hoped but… I never really believed it would be possible. When Richard first came here today I was so afraid but now… Gods, I feel as if it was the best thing that ever happened aside from finding you in the first place of course,” he grinned.

“I have to agree,” Rahl said, abandoning his normally stiff demeanor in favor of actually snuggling close to his lover and relaxing against him. “It all made sense to me when I saw you. I’d dreamed for years of his sword going right through my heart.” He looked up, cupped the side of Faramir’s face in one hand and met his gaze squarely. “And it did. In killing you, he took my heart as well – I would have been as good as dead. So maybe the prophecy came true after all. Whoever made it just didn’t know that there was more.”

Faramir’s smile slipped away and he shook his head, even as he leaned into his lover’s touch. “Oh Gods,” he whispered. “I thought the last thing I would see in this world were your beautiful eyes filled with such sadness. Thank you for saving me but I could have killed you myself I was so angry that you risked your magic that way to save me,” Faramir teased though he was somewhat serious.

Rahl placed a finger over Faramir’s lips to shush him. “Faramir, if I hadn’t, and if you had died, Richard and I would have fought to the death. The prophecy would have come true in all likelihood just the way we always thought it would. My way…” He smiled, and let his finger drag down over his lover’s chin and neck. “… was much better don’t you think?”

Faramir kissed Rahl’s fingertip and sighed. “Yes, your way was better… but still, I thought for certain I’d sealed your fate and that it would be my fault if you died… I would not have been able to handle that,” he whispered, even as he shivered from his lover’s touch.

Rahl combed his fingers through Faramir’s hair and let his eyes travel over every part of his face. “For the first time in my life, I can understand how you feel,” he whispered. “How a life without love has no meaning, like mine had all this time. All the power and magic and gold in this world didn’t matter one bit to me when I saw you lying there.” He laughed softly, and rested his hand over Faramir’s heart, where the sword had pierced him. “And even then you argued when I tried to heal you.”

Faramir found himself smiling as he looked into his lover’s eyes. “Now you truly understand how I’ve felt all this time,” Faramir said softly. “How I would give up anything… even my life for yours because I love you.” He leaned down and kissed his lover gently. “I do not know how to explain where I have been when we return to my world you know… but the only thing that matters is that we will be together.”

Feeling boneless and relaxed unlike he’d ever felt before, Rahl’s smile grew brighter as he tried to envision their new lives together. He wondered where they would live, what they would do, whether Faramir’s family – especially his beloved brother – would accept him. He’d never really known what a family was like and was suddenly sure that he wouldn’t fit in. “Do you wish for me to leave my magic behind?” he asked softly. “There is a way, and if you ask it of me, I would do it. I don’t want to cause you trouble in your family… or your world like I have in this one.”

Faramir was taken aback by the question. Rahl was so deeply tied to his magic that Faramir just stared at him for a moment in shock. “I… I…” he shook his head, “I see no reason to do that… there are, after all, wizards in my world,” he laughed and shook his head, “My father may even find it fitting that I found love with a wizard the way he always called me a wizard’s pupil… though I must ask you not to use your powers to kill him even when he insults me. It is just what he is like.”

Rahl arched an eyebrow and his upper lip came up in a snarl. He sat up straight and there was no doubt about how he took that bit of information. “He insults you? I will bind his tongue to the roof of his mouth and put a spell on his nether regions that will feel like a hand squeezing his testicles until they burst each time he dares… “

When Rahl sat up, Faramir shook his head. “Love, he has done it my whole life, it does not bother me… any longer. You do not have to do that but… well… as long as it didn’t hurt him I suppose…” Faramir paused and shook his head laughing. “Gods, no… no… I shouldn’t even think that. You are a bad influence on me, love,” he teased and looked at Rahl seriously. “I fear if you use your magic he will have you taken to the dungeons… he is very suspicious of magic.”

The dark-haired wizard set his jaw and gave his lover a full pout. “Can’t I at least give him a cramp when he does it?” he asked sweetly. “Just a little one?”

Laughing at the look on his lover’s face, Faramir could not help but kiss his lover when he pouted so adorably. He’d never seen Rahl do that before but it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. “Maybe a little one, so he’d have no idea,” he laughed.

“Deal!” Rahl’s good humor returned and he marveled again at how free he felt. The thought of freedom led his mind to wander to just that subject in Faramir’s case. “You are the steward’s son in your world,” he said almost to himself. “My coming in from nowhere… I would be your… ?” His face paled and he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Slave? Servant? As I was your master here – at least in the beginning – you would be mine in Gondor?”
Faramir found himself laughing again and shook his head but his next words made Faramir’s smile slip away. “What? Oh Gods, no. No you will be my mate, my equal,” he said seriously. “And… well… if you chose you… well, if you would you could… could be my husband?” Faramir asked nervously. He knew Rahl loved him but he wasn’t sure how he would feel about no longer being his master really.

Had a stranger seen the look on Rahl’s face at that moment, they would have thought he was looking upon the gods themselves. His mouth dropped open, his eyes were wide and he was completely speechless. After a few moments of silence, he licked his lips, ran his fingers over his bottom one again and again, and willed his heart to slow down. “You would take me as your husband?” he said softly. “With no spells to bind you to me, you would show your entire world that we are mated? You would not be afraid or ashamed for anyone to know?”

The look on Rahl’s face was priceless and Faramir’s nervousness subsided seeing the absolutely joy in his lover’s eyes. He smiled happily. “I would take you as my husband and want all of Middle Earth to know you are mine and no one else’s. I have never been ashamed of you and you know that I have rarely been afraid of you either… perhaps when we first met months ago but you have proven to me that you despite all your claims of being a dark wizard have a good heart. I would want everyone to know the wonderful man that I love.”

Rahl’s arms wound around Faramir’s shoulders and he buried his face against the warmth of his lover’s neck. “Then, yes,” he whispered, pulled away again to look into sincere blue eyes, “my dear, sweet, perfect Ranger, it would be my honor to be your husband and have all the word know that I feel the same way about you.” He leaned forward, letting his hand slide down the side of Faramir’s neck and tilted his head, barely brushing their lips together. “I love you, Faramir. More than anything or anyone I have ever known, I love you with every last piece of my heart.”

Faramir returned the hug, holding his lover close, careful not to press too hard against his injuries. He was smiling happily as Rahl spoke and returned the sweet brush of lips. “And I love you just as much,” he whispered. “I cannot wait for you to meet my brother and Gandalf, I think you will like Gandalf a great deal. He was my teacher after all,” Faramir whispered. “Um, when Richard returns can we ask him to retrieve the box in the second dresser drawer? I am unsure where to find those things in my world… and I’d be too embarrassed to ask.”

Furrowing his brow, Rahl pictured their second dresser drawer and the box within it. If he remembered correctly, there was a small paddle on a golden chain, a cock ring that, when Rahl uttered a certain spell would turn into a silver gates of hell… and one of Faramir’s favorites – a pair of nipple clamps with rubber teeth and tiny screws on the sides used to tighten them. He laughed loudly, thrilled that Faramir wanted to keep at least that aspect of their relationship active. “I think that is a very good idea, love. A very good idea indeed.”

Faramir was blushing but grinning mischievously at his lover. He did enjoy that part of their relationship and somehow as strange as it seemed those things were special to him now. They were a part of what they shared together here in this world that they could take with them. “Good…” Faramir said softly and leaned in to brush his lips against his lover’s. Before he could say anything else he heard the door being unlocked. Richard entered, carrying a large basket and Bergan entered behind him with another.

“This should be enough for the week,” Richard said setting everything on a small table that had been shoved into a corner during their fight. “Bergan has the healing supplies and clothing for you both and a young man named Darian has requested to see you,” Richard said as he picked up an overturned chair and sat down. “Do you need anything else? I have to return soon to Kahlan and Zedd and tell them that I have succeeded,” he grinned and offered a wink at that.

Rahl stood up and looked at the man – his half brother – that he’d hated nearly all his life. He didn’t look like anyone special, and certainly not like the monster Rahl had picture him to be. Of course, being with Faramir had changed his outlook on a lot of things, not just the seeker. “There are a few things we would like from our rooms. I will tell Bergan, and we will happily see Darian. In the meantime, I have… I have no idea how to thank you. I will never forget that you nearly killed my lover… er… my soon to be husband, but at least he is alive and well now, so I can at least see past it to say thank you.”

Richard gaped a bit when Rahl said that they were to be married. “Husband… well… that was unexpected. I will go back now then and carry out my part of this plan. I find it strange to be saying this to you of all people… but good luck to you. And… thank you for telling me about Kahlan… I suppose perhaps we owe each other our thanks. I likely will not see you again after this… there are things I wish I could ask you but there is no time,” Richard stood and took a deep breath, not looking forward to facing the winding staircase again. “I still cannot believe this ended relatively peacefully.”

Faramir smiled. “I am grateful it did,” he said looking at his lover and then back to Richard. “We wish you and your lady well too.”

The smile Rahl offered Richard was sincere. He moved next to Faramir and wrapped an arm around his waist, for the first time in his life not afraid to show affection. “Goodbye, Richard. The scroll I promised you will be by the door when you return in a few days and we will be gone. Good luck to you both.”

Richard smiled and nodded. “Goodbye,” he said as he left the room and Bergan walked over behind him to lock the door behind him.

NB: Please do not distribute (by any means, including email) or repost this story (including translations) without the author's prior permission. [ more ]

Enjoyed this story? Then be sure to let the author know by posting a comment at https://www.faramirfiction.com/fiction/love-is. Positive feedback is what keeps authors writing more stories!