Wizard's First Rule

The horsemen had left them at the rampart, and as they were swallowed into the castle the foot soldiers, six abreast with room for another six to each side, marched through the enormous pair of brass-clad doors and fanned out to the sides, leaving the three to walk on-Kahlan in the lead.

The room was immense. A gleaming sea of black and white marble tiles swept away ahead of them. Polished stone columns, so large it would take ten people holding hands to reach around each, and fluted with spiraling, carved roping, rose in a line to both sides of the room, supporting row upon row of arches at the edge of the ribbed, vaulted center ceiling. Richard felt as little as a bug.

Huge tapestries depicting heroic scenes of vast battles hung on the side walls. He had seen tapestries before; his brother had two. Richard rather favored them, and had always thought they were a grand extravagance. But Michael's tapestries were to these as a stick drawing in the dirt was to a fine oil painting. Richard hadn't even known such majestic things as these existed.

Zedd leaned a little closer to him and whispered. "Put your eyes back in your head, and shut your mouth."

Chagrined, Richard snapped his mouth closed and put his eyes to the front. He leaned close to Zedd, and asked in a low whisper, "Is this the kind of place she is used to?"

"No. The Mother Confessor is used to much better than this."

Overwhelmed, Richard straightened himself.

Ahead lay a grand stairway. By Richard's estimation, his entire house would fit, with room to spare, on its central landing. Carved marble railings swooped down each side. Between themselves and the stairs waited a knot of people.

At their front stood Queen Milena, an amply fed woman in layered silks of garish colors. She wore a cape trimmed in rare spotted fox. Her hair was as long as Kahlan's. At first, Richard couldn't figure out what she was holding, but when he heard the yapping, he realized it was a small dog.

As they approached, everyone but the Queen dropped to a knee in a deep bow. When they stopped, Richard stared openly; he had never seen a queen before. Zedd gave him a sideways kick. He dropped to one knee and, following Zedd's example, bowed his head. The only two who did not kneel or bow were Kahlan and the Queen. No sooner was he down than everyone was back up, with him coming to his feet last. Richard guessed that the two women must not have to bow to each other

The Queen stared at Kahlan, who, with her head held high, didn't break her calm countenance and didn't even look at the Queen. No one spoke a word.

Kahlan lifted her hand a little, only about a foot away from her body, with her arm held unbending, her hand held limply in place. The Queen's expression turned darker. Kahlan's didn't change. Richard figured that if anyone had blinked, he would have heard it. The Queen turned slightly to the side and handed the little dog to a man in a bright green, sleeved doublet and black tights with red-and-yellow striped pantaloons. There was a whole gaggle of men behind the Queen dressed in similar fashion. The dog growled viciously and bit the man's hand; he did his best not to notice.

The Queen lowered herself to both knees in front of Kahlan. A young man in plain black clothes immediately came to the Queen's side, holding a tray out in front of himself. He bowed, head bent impossibly low, holding the tray out to the Queen. She took a small towel from the tray, dipped it in a silver bowl of water, and used it to wipe her lips. She returned the towel to the tray…

The Queen took the Mother Confessor's hand lightly in her own, and kissed it with her freshly cleaned lips.

"Fidelity sworn to the Confessors, on my crown, on my land, on my life."

Richard had heard few people lie as smoothly.

Kahlan at last moved her eyes. She looked down at the Queen's bowed head. "Rise, my child."

More than a queen, indeed, Richard thought. He remembered teaching Kahlan to make a snare, to read tracks, to dig roots, and felt himself turning crimson.

Queen Milena laboriously pushed herself to her feet. Her lips smiled. Her eyes didn't. "We have not requested a Confessor."

"Nonetheless, I am here." Kahlan's voice could have frozen water.