meridian_rose

Title: A True Rahl
Fandom: Legendend of the Seeker
Pairing/Characters: Richard Rahl, Walter, Cara, Zedd, female OC (Malandra); Walter/Malandra
Rating: R – contains a sexual scene
Word Count: 2545
Prompt/Summary: For the D'Hara fest prompt Walter/any Mord'Sith; Walter finds out that he is Darken's third cousin twice removed (or similar blood relationship). Richard is happy to abdicate in favor of such a good man, so now all Walter has to do is prove that he is a true Rahl.
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Also at AO3

"Third cousin?" Richard asked.

"Twice removed." Zedd pointed one long finger at the scroll. "Illegitimate, of course, but the Rahls aren't known for their sense of propriety. Blood is what counts, and the magic of their bloodline."

Well that certainly explained the physical similarities. After foiling Darken's plot to steal Walter's body, and trapping his half-brother in the Underworld, Richard had wondered about the resemblance. Now, with the Veil sealed, the thought of another potential Lord Rahl was something worth investigating. Zedd had found the scroll in the People's Palace library and had been studying it for days.

While he looked the part, Walter was, however, nothing like Darken. Which only added to his charm.

Walter scuffed his feet on the floor. "I'm…sorry?"

Richard clapped him on one shoulder so enthusiastically Walter nearly went flying. "Don't be sorry. Walter, don't you know what this means?"

He shook his head, eyes bright with terror.

"You're a Rahl. Not just a pretender, a decoy. An actual Rahl."

Walter frowned. "B-but I'm blonde. This," and he tugged at his sleek dark hair, "is a dye job. And I have no magic."

"I was fair haired when I was born," Richard said, determined not to let this opportunity slip away from him, "and Jennsen is a redhead. And she's Pristinely Ungifited, and Darken always needed a wizard to help him with complicated spells. It's not the spells you cast with your Rahl magic, it's about the bond you share with the Mord'Sith."

Walter's lip actually quivered as he looked at Cara, who was watching the proceedings with mild horror. She raised one eyebrow and Walter took a step back.

"You're a good man," Richard said. "Compassionate. Understanding. You've had training in acting like a leader, but you have the life experience of the common man. You could be a Lord Rahl that everyone would look up to."

A glint appeared in Walter's eye. "I…I could ban people from throwing fruit?"

"If you wanted," Richard said, barely listening in his fervour. Walter could take the throne of D'Hara, securing it out of Darken's grasp should he ever return from the Underworld, and freeing Richard to follow Kahlan to Aydindril. It was perfect. "I could abdicate."

Cara cleared her throat. "Lord Rahl?"

"Yes, Cara?"

"If he is a Rahl then he must prove it. I sense no Rahl magic in his blood."

Zedd and Richard exchanged worried glances. "It just needs awakening," Zedd said after some thought. "It's weak, being so distant a relation, but it's there, I'm sure of it."

"Then he must prove his Rahl birthright," Cara said.

Richard spread his hands, volunteering Walter without his consent. "Very well."

"I'm so sorry," Richard said as Walter wept into Richard's lap while the Seeker stroked his hair. "I had no idea she was going to do that. Cara! What were you thinking?"

Cara, her Agiel still humming in one gloved hand, contrived to look ashamed and failed utterly. "Lord Rahl should be able to withstand the touch of the Agiel. Not fall down weeping like a child."

Richard gave her a look that he thought was menacing but was in truth about as scary as being sent to bed without supper. "Cara, I had to be trained before I could withstand the Agiel, as I'm sure Darken had to be. You can't ram an Agiel into someone without preparation."

She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Lord Rahl."

"Apologise to Walter."

"I apologise, Walter."

Richard sighed. "Come on, Walter, you're okay." He lifted Walter's shirt to reveal the red and purple welt left by the Agiel. "Zedd, please?"

Cara watched as the wizard healed the damaged flesh, and rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure about this?" Walter eyed the rock suspiciously. They were standing in the palace gardens, in a rose encircled corner where a large lump of granite took pride of place. Sticking out from the rock was a sword.

"Only a Rahl can pull the sword from a stone," Zedd said. "It's a common way of proving your heritage. You used to find these all over the place."

Richard strolled over and pulled the sword easily from the stone with a metallic zing. "See?" He slid it back in.

"You're a real Rahl," Walter protested. "What if it hurts when I touch it! Or kills me, or –"

Zedd tugged on the sword hilt. "See? It doesn't come out and it doesn't hurt."

Walter took a hesitant step forward.

"There you are," Cara said, appearing through a gap in the roses. Startled, Walter bumped into Cara's elbow, which caused him to lose his nerve.

"You do it," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Cara and then ducking behind Richard in fear of retaliation. "Pull the sword."

"Only a Rahl can do it," Zedd shrieked.

"Cara," Richard began, as she easily grasped the hilt and tugged it free.

Cara hoisted the sword aloft, brow wrinkled as Richard and Zedd hung their heads in despair. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Trickery is not the way to prove he is Lord Rahl!"

They'd been arguing for what seemed like hours. Walter was sat on a cold stone step, hugging his knees.

"Trickery is very Rahl-like," Richard said, which Cara couldn't really refute but she pursed her lips and anger flashed in her eyes.

"There are very few ways to prove he is a Rahl. Perhaps I could kill you, and see if my Agiels still function?" Cara shook her head impatiently. The Agiels would only work while a Rahl drew breath due to their magical connection with his bloodline. It seemed like a dangerous and painful way to test out Walter's ancestry. "As you pointed out, the Rahl bond with his Mord'Sith is the most vital aspect of his ability to rule."

It's not the spells you cast with your Rahl magic, it's about the bond you share with the Mord'Sith

Richard was irritated at having his words thrown back at him. This wasn't fair. He'd never had to prove himself – he'd tried to distance himself from the title in fact. "Then how does a Rahl prove his bond with the Mord'Sith?"

"He imbues us with the Breath of Life. Our first death and rebirth is at his hands!"

This was the first time Richard had heard of such a thing, and he stared at her, open-mouthed.

"If you think for one moment I am going to let you kill a new Mord'Sith and have that idiot fail to revive her, you're wrong, Lord Rahl." Cara folded her arms.

"How can you imagine I'd murder anyone like that!" Richard raised his voice more than he meant to. He didn't need to be called Lord Rahl in some attempt to be respectful, and he'd killed enough Mord'Sith to make his moral high ground on this subject shaky. Mostly he was annoyed at her berating of Walter. He looked over, but Walter's shoulders were slumped in defeat and there was probably no way to bring him any lower. Cara followed his gaze and even her expression softened.

Richard crossed the room and sat down next to Walter, wondering if he should put one arm around him. "Walter?"

"The Mord'Sith always scared me," Walter said, barely above a whisper. "They're so powerful. Beautiful, too. But they could eat me alive. I always felt sorry for them though. Taken from their homes and their families. No wonder they're so cruel. If I were really Lord Rahl I'd take in orphans. Train them to be Mord'Sith and soldiers. I'd have given anything to be brought up with regular meals and decent clothes."

Cara rolled her eyes and moved to stand beside Richard. Hesitantly she said, "There is one more way."

Walter and Richard both looked up at her.

"He could prove his connection by seducing a Mord'Sith and giving her pleasure. That is one of Lord Rahl's duties and a way we honour our bond."

Richard looked at Zedd, who shrugged, and Walter who chewed at his lip for a moment.

"I'll try," Walter said.

Cara bowed her head. "Ready yourself. I will have the bedchamber prepared and a newly trained Mord'Sith brought to you."

Walter combed his hair and put on a clean robe with no smallclothes beneath it. He paced the room nervously. Richard gave him an encouraging smile.

"You'll do fine, Walter."

Cara came to the door. "Mistress Malandra," she announced and stood aside. Walter stopped breathing.

Malandra had olive skin and intelligent brown eyes. Her dark hair was braided as most Mord'Sith wore it, but she was not wearing leathers or wielding an Agiel. Barefooted, wearing just a white negligee, she looked very young and innocent. "My Lord," she said in a voice like warm honey.

Richard acknowledged her with a nod of the head and walked to the door. "I'll just be outside," he said in response to the panicked look on Walter's face.

Cara closed the door, leaving Walter and Malandra alone.

Walter swallowed a few times. "Um, would you like…" No, that was not the way Lord Rahl would approach a seduction. He cleared his throat. "Malandra."

"Yes, Lord Rahl?"

Walter clasped his hands behind his back and tried to imitate Darken's tone. "Disrobe."

"Yes, Lord Rahl." Malandra tugged at the laces of her gown and slid the material from her shoulders. It pooled around her feet, leaving her utterly naked. Walter choked back a cough. He looked her up and down and she stared at some distant point, letting him enjoy his fill with neither shame nor arousal.

Walter paced the room, finally circling around to stand at her shoulder. He reached out and touched her hair. "May I…I would like to unbraid your hair."

"As you wish, Lord Rahl."

Walter unwound the silky strands, enjoying the feel of them slipping through his fingers. When he'd finished, a cloud of ebony sat around Malandra's shoulders, covering her breasts at the front and almost reaching her firm buttocks at the rear.

"Beautiful," he said and Malandra inclined her head slightly.

"Thank you, Lord Rahl."

"You don't have to keep saying that. Lord Rahl."

She turned to meet his gaze. "How shall I address you?"

"Walter. My name is Walter." It wasn't a very heroic name. It didn't have the strength of "Richard", nor did it inspire fear the way "Darken" did, but it was his name and he wanted to hear it from her lips.

"Walter," Malandra breathed, making him weak at the knees. "May I touch your hair?"

Walter nodded and she took his hair in her hands, dragging her fingers along his scalp. She caressed the edges of his ears, making him shiver as she found sensitive spots he never knew he had. Her hands came to rest on the back of his neck. He saw excitement and playfulness in her eyes.

"We will move to the bed," Walter said. She didn't release him and they moved, she walking backwards with great skill, not stumbling once, he locked in her embrace. Malandra only let go of him when she came to the edge of the bed and sat down upon the velvet bedspread. She leaned back on her elbows and lifted her chin to expose her vulnerable neck and pert breasts.

Walter remembered that he was to seduce her. He knelt alongside her. He took one foot in his hand, a small delicate foot for such a strong and dangerous woman. His tongue darted out and licked at the back of her calf. Then he kissed her knee. He looked up and Malandra glanced down and gave him a nod which he took to mean that he should continue.

He let go of her foot and moved to kiss her thigh, planting kisses in a trail that led up and inwards. As her arousal grew, Malandra spread her legs, but Walter moved up further. He urged her to lie on her back and straddled her. His fingertips and his tongue wove and danced over her torso, stopping for a kiss here or a quick nip that startled his partner the first time. On subsequent occasions she actually laughed at his bites and grabbed at his hair. "Yes, yes, Lord Walter. Mark me!"

He teased each nipple in turn, and then fastened his teeth at her neck like the mystical demons he'd heard stories of. He bit down, not enough to draw blood, but hard enough to leave an imprint of his teeth.

"Please, Walter," Malandra begged. "Please, take me."

Walter sat back and slipped one hand between her thighs. She was slick and ready for him. He was not quite ready for her, however. He took one of her hands, guiding her to his cock.

"Pleasure your Lord Rahl," he said, drunk with power. Malandra obliged, working her hand rhythmically with a consummate skill until he was hard and eager.

There were a few moments pause as they both shifted into position and then Walter claimed Malandra. She let forth a moan of pleasure immediately and he swore he'd bring her to orgasm before or at the same time he found his climax. That would prove his worth once and for all.

Richard was staring at a landscape, trying to decide if it was a real place or a product of the artist's imagination. Cara and Zedd were arguing over suitable dishes for Lord Rahl's coronation feast, though Richard wasn't paying attention to the details.

A scream pierced the air and Richard grabbed for his sword. Cara moved swiftly to his side, one hand stilling his movement.

"Yes! My Lord! My Lord Walter!" Malandra's cries of joy could be clearly heard even through the heavy wooden doors of the bedchamber. Richard's mouth fell open. He glanced over at Zedd, who was similarly surprised, though he gave a smile of acknowledgment for Walter's skill.

"We have a new Lord Rahl," Cara said dryly. "So help us all."

Malandra was standing, leather clad, at Walter's side, as he bid them goodbye.

"Any problems at all, send a message," Richard said for the third time. "You don't have to rule alone. You have your family and friends to lean on."

Walter shook his hand. "I know." He glanced at Malandra. "I know."

Richard mounted his horse and Cara, impatient to get going, led the way out of the courtyard, Zedd following close behind.

"She'll take good care of him," Richard said. "Malandra."

"I'm sure she will." Cara stared straight ahead.

"She seemed very skilled for a new Mord'Sith."

"Do you think so?"

Richard sighed. "We tricked Walter into being Lord Rahl, didn't we?"

Cara shrugged. "I may have suggested to Malandra that she should exaggerate a little. It seems, however, little exaggeration was needed."

"But being Lord Rahl is about more than bedding Mord'Sith. I worry we've done the wrong thing."

"You were not so concerned when you first approached him," Cara pointed out. She sighed. "Richard, if I didn't think he would be a worthy successor I would not have helped you. He's inexperienced in many ways, but he has Rahl blood, and a strong heart, and Malandra will guide him."

Richard grinned. "Cara, if he has your blessing, then I believe Walter really is the true Lord Rahl."