When the last of the twilight light had faded and the night had descended throughout the forest, the main light illuminating the camp was the fire at its center, surrounded by three sleeping figures. Cara was the only one awake, at first standing a little way off from the camp, another shadow among the trees, looking out for traces of danger lurking in the bush, but when she felt herself falter under the fatigue all the more emphasised by the chill in the night air, she joined the others and sat down by the fire, staring at its flames. For the past few nights, she had always been the one volunteering to keep watch at night, unable to fall asleep, despite the weariness she felt.

The moon was high in the sky, its light mingling with that of the camp fire below, when Kahlan awoke to find the girl still wide awake.

"Hey," Kahlan greeted her, "How are you holding up? Want me to take over the watch so you can get some sleep?"

"No," Cara replied, barely glancing at Kahlan before returning to aimlessly stare into the fire again. "I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

But Kahlan was unconvinced.

"Cara, I'm worried about you," she finally admitted. "You've barely slept these past few days. Won't you please let me or Richard keep watch instead so that you can get some rest? Aydindril is still more than half a week's ride away."

Cara shook her head, dismissing the idea.

"Cara," Kahlan spoke more gently. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I am," Cara replied dryly. She didn't look away from the fire.

"Then why does it feel like something is wrong?"

Cara only blinked at the comment. Flickering orange hues of the flames reflected in her wide-open eyes.

"If something is bothering you, you know you can talk to me about it," Kahlan added just as gently.

Cara looked at her.

"Can you tell what I am thinking?" she finally said, struggle evident in her voice. "What I… feel?"

"Usually I am able to read people's emotions," Kahlan replied. "But as you know, with the Mord'Sith… With you... It's unclear."

Cara turned her head and stared at the fire again, silent.

"Cara, is something bothering you?" Kahlan asked in a more serious tone, growing genuinely concerned for the girl. "You know I'm always here for you."

Cara closed her eyes. Not for much longer, she thought without saying it out loud. She hated that the thought of leaving Kahlan in Aydindril, of parting ways with her, was affecting her like this. She couldn't understand why it did and she wondered what was happening to her. The only thing she did know was that underneath all of this she felt a new kind apprehension that gave her no peace and was probably affecting her senses as a warrior without her realising it. She hated it.

For a time, Kahlan waited for an answer but when she realised that Cara wasn't going to disclose anything, she exhaled her expectations.

"I won't press you about it," she said against the sounds of fire crackling, "But if you need a friend to talk to, all you have to do is say."

A friend, Cara thought and felt a sting in the depths of her stomach.

"Good night, Cara," Kahlan said and readjusted herself into a horizontal position.

"Good night," Cara replied, without looking away from the flames.

Another hour passed like this and finally, fatigue overwhelmed her. Unable to trust herself to stay sharp, Cara was forced to wake up Richard so that he could take over the watch, which he gladly did, grateful for the full-night's sleep he'd been having over the past few nights thanks to her. She laid down, as close to the fire as she dared and made herself as comfortable as she could on the ground. She looked over to her side, at Kahlan, sleeping soundly on her side too, looking peaceful and as beautiful as ever. Zedd lay on her other side. The old man's loud snores disrupted the peaceful nighttime atmosphere. If Darken Rahl or Nicci or some other maggot happened to be passing through the forest within a five mile radius of their camp, Cara thought irritably, they will be led straight here thanks to the old man's ringing snores.

She tried to settle herself. She looked at Kahlan again. Apart from the soft rising and sinking of her chest, under the moonlight the Confessor looked like a perfect statue coined out of moonlight itself. Cara found herself spellbound by a feeling of longing, of wanting to be close to the beauty she saw in front of her, to lie next to her, to feel her warmth. But as soon as she became aware of this feeling, she reproached herself for being so week and thinking such thoughts. She forced herself to turn around in the spot, to deliberately face away from Kahlan. She shut her eyes tightly, with a frown on her face, and once again, was unable to fall asleep.

~

It was a little time before dawn, when the fire had just about died out, that a violent flame erupted in its place, for no apparent reason and from no apparent source, as if brought on by magic. The three resting people sat up at once, instinctively backing away from the fire, violently snatched out of their dreams, with fear erupting in their bellies just as quickly as the emergence of these strange flames. Bewildered, with a hand raised to shield their eyes from the overpowering heat, they looked at the roaring fire and at each other. They had to shift away further in order to avoid getting burnt. Richard, who had been sitting against a tree nearby, keeping an eye out for any unexpected visitors, jumped to his feet at the sound of the unnatural roaring and the horses' sudden frightened cries, and rushed towards the camp to see what had happened. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough for the horses, who fought to break free from their bonds and ran off into the forest, terrified.

"What is happening?" Kahlan called out, her eyes wild with panic.

"I smell magic," Zedd replied.

And sure enough, among the tall flames appeared an ethereal body of a woman, whose face, though looking older and much more worn out, they recognised instantly.

"Shota," Zedd's voice was filled with scorn. "I should have known this is your doing. What do you want?"

"I have come with a message for the Mother Confessor, and a message for you all," her voice boomed and echoed as if coming from a great distance, fuelled by the same magic that fuelled the unnatural fire. "I have been given a vision," she said, "A vision granted to me in my own blood, for which I have sacrificed a portion of my everlasting youth, so that I may live, so that you may live, so that all may live, if you heed my warning."

"What are you talking about, Shota?" Zedd demanded angrily.

"The ultimate prophecy has been revealed to me," Shota continued. "The Mother Confessor will conceive a child, one single child in all of her life, who will shape the fate of all Confessors to come, all Seekers to come, and all of the world."

Kahlan and Richard exchanged alarmed looks.

"I've had enough of your prophecies and tricks," Zedd called out angrily at the woman in the flames.

"It is no trick, Zeddicus. If you could but see me now, you would see that I have paid a dear price for this vision, so that we all may survive what is to come. I would not squander my youth and beauty over anything less. Heed my words and live. Ignore me, and we all die," she added darkly. "The child of which I speak will be touched by the four forces and will be the master of all four. HE will be Seeker, Confessor, Wizard and Lord, and he will usher in a time of peace and prosperity across many lands."

"Zedd," Kahlan said with great fear in her eyes. "She is speaking about a boy… A male Confessor…"

"But only IF he remains with and is raised by the woman he is born to," Shota continued, her voice coming at them in waves, along with the heat of the fire. "For only SHE will be able to understand his darkness, and through it, reach his light. Only she will be able to save him, to teach him of love, if she, herself becomes open to love. Anything less than this, and he will sway towards the dark to obliterate the world!"

"It's too great a risk!" Kahlan protested. "If what you are saying is true and I give birth to a son… We cannot let him live! Throughout history, male Confessors have brought only destruction and death."

"Don't worry Kahlan," Richard said confidently. "You know I don't believe in prophecies. The fate of the world will be what we and the people make it."

"This is beyond you, Seeker," Shota reproached him before turning to Kahlan again. "And it is beyond you, Mother Confessor. It is beyond any of you. But I have come to tell you that SHE", Shota's pointed index finger menacingly drew attention towards Kahlan, "MUST conceive the child between the two blood moons. If she were to fail, no child will be born to her in her life and the line of Confessors will die with her and will die with her soon. No future Seeker will have a Confessor by his side and lacking this, each one will be doomed to a quick demise, bringing the world to its knees, sending it into peril, ushering in a new era of darkness ruled by a new evil that rises and grows stronger as we speak! This child is our only hope."

"How do we know that what you are saying is true and that this isn't some trick to sidetrack us?" Cara demanded, eyeing the apparition suspiciously.

"There will be three great signs that will precede the child's conception. The first will be a man who appears as a beast. The second will be the Confessor's loss of touch. The third, the Seeker will DIE. When these things happen you will know that I am telling the truth and that the fate of the world lies in your hands, along with all of our lives. The Mother Confessor MUST conceive the child before the second blood moon ascends or she dooms us all to death!"

With these ominous words, Shota disappeared and the fire expired just as suddenly as it appeared, leaving only dying embers behind. The four people stared at the empty space where the fire had seared in front of them only a moment ago, stunned.

Moments passed in silence.

Zedd was the first to speak. "As per usual, Shota is full of prophecies and visions," he said angrily. "Just because she says something will happen doesn't mean that it will or that it will be exactly as she makes it out to be. There are many twists and turns in the fate of the world and none are as given as she makes them sound."

"I agree with Zedd," Richard said. "We should decide for ourselves what route to take when the time comes. We have to trust in our own judgement more than in any prophecy."

But Kahlan remained silent. The witch has been known to be right at times too. What if this was one of those times? The risks were far too great, however, if she really were to give birth to a son. No male Confessor had ever lived to become anything but pure evil. Would she dare to let him live?

"The witch mentioned three signs," Cara interrupted Kahlan's train of thought. "Let's see whether they happen."

"Yes, let's do that…" Kahlan spoke lowly. "But if the first sign manifests, the beast-man or whatever, and if the second sign were to happen too, where I lose my touch…" she helplessly looked at her own hands, "We have to be prepared to do everything in our power to protect Richard. Maybe, if we can prevent at least one of the signs, the final one, the most important one, maybe we can alter the course of the prophecy too."

"From what I know of signs," Zedd added thoughtfully, "Trouble comes in threes. If the first two occur, the third one will likely too. But even so - you must not allow yourselves to despair. Despite what Shota says, the fate of the world is never set in stone."

"What about at the Palace of the Prophets, where they use stone to write the fate of the world?" Cara quizzed the wizard suspiciously.

"When it comes to actually writing down the fate of the world, my dear Cara," he replied, "The stone might as well be made of water - the words have been known to change. Just as people's actions mould their own future, the Seeker's actions can shape the world. And your part in this is just as important. The point is, Richard is right: When the time comes, and you are at a crossroads, have faith in your own judgement. It has not failed you yet."

"Mostly..." Cara pitched in with a raised eyebrow.

But Zedd's reassurance failed to make Kahlan feel much better.

"Zedd," she said quietly, "When is the first blood moon?"

Zedd inhaled then exhaled deeply.

"From my own judgement, looking at the moon at present, the first blood moon is due tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Kahlan stared at him wide-eyed. "So soon! And the second? Shota said I would have to conceive between the two blood moons."

"The second," Zedd continued in just as low a voice, "Will be in twenty-eight days from tomorrow".

Kahlan stared at him in horror. Panic and fear gripped her from within and she found she could barely breathe.