[A/N: I originally planned to do this story as a sequel, but I couldn't come up with a better title so I'm extending the one-shot into a multi-chapter fic. This chapter was really hard to write. I wasn't sure what Kahlan's reaction would be and I hope her response is believable. Cara also posed a problem because of the dark magic controlling her. But since love is the most powerful magic of all, I wrote her as being conflicted. The dark magic has yet to completely overcome her feelings for Kahlan.]

When Kahlan laid down to sleep, it felt strange not having the other woman laying next to her. She felt lonely. Kahlan drifted to the empty space where Cara should have been; sorrow clouded her beautiful, blue eyes. She shuddered to imagine the horrors Cara had faced; the awful pain that had transformed her once more into one of Darken Rahl's slaves.

Zedd had told her and Richard the story of Cara's capture and how she had tricked him into believing she was still loyal to the Seeker; he had trusted her and now Darken Rahl had the Stone of Tears. He had told them of the Powerful Magic used by the Sisters of the Dark to finally break her, magic which was almost irreversible. He had told them of how down in the dank dungeons he had been able to hear her horrific screams of pain and terror. He left out the part about Cara screaming Kahlan's name. Even if he had never completely trusted the blonde woman, he still held her in some respect. Her feelings were no else's business.

As Kahlan ruminated on all the First Wizard had said, she looked up at the night sky, blanketed by thousands of stars. Part of her hoped wherever she was Cara was staring up at the same vault of heaven. She knew she was being silly, but she hadn't been able to get Cara off her mind since the blonde woman had stolen the Stone of Tears for her despicable master . At first Kahlan had felt betrayed-as though Cara had been a spy all along. Then Zedd had told them the whole story and Kahlan felt sorrow weighing down her shoulders.

Cara was dead.

She had to accept the fact that the beautiful, snarky, feisty woman she had come to love was never coming back. The person she had known had been destroyed by Darken Rahl. And for that, she swore silently to herself, he would pay dearly.

Stop pretending like my life is more important than yours! Cara had shouted when they both

were trapped in the Tomb. As she thought about the event, she remembered Cara calling her "friend," albeit hesitantly. A small smile graced her lips for a brief second. Cara was always loath to admit her feelings for Kahlan, Richard, and Zedd. Rather than find it annoying, the Mother Confessor found it incredibly endearing.

Her chin trembled and she hastily wiped the tears away. Cara was never going to call her friend or anything remotely nice ever again. Most likely the next time she and Cara met face to face one of them would die. She imagined Cara's body still and lifeless; imagined those lips never speaking another sarcastic comment again; imagined those eyes never meeting hers again with a hint of challenge; imagined those hands never again pulling her close for warmth.

She didn't even realize she was sobbing until she felt warm arms wrap around her tightly. For a split second she thought it was Cara, but it was only Richard.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Cara," was all Kahlan could manage as sobs wracked her body.

He brushed her hair away from her tearstained face. "It'll be okay."

"Richard, she's gone."

"Zedd found a spell, Kahlan. It'll undo what Darken Rahl has done to her."

"You can't know for sure it'll work."

"I believe in Zedd."

Kahlan nodded numbly. She didn't truly believe it would fix everything. Magic had a strange ability to cause more problems than it solved.

That night, Richard slept alongside her, his arms wrapped around her. She loved Richard, but it wasn't the red-clad arms she was used to and nightmares haunted her dreams.

Cara looked up at the night sky, noticing how the stars seemed to sparkle like diamonds. She had gotten Darken Rahl the elusive Stone of Tears, regained the respect of her sisters, and had Dahlia by her side.

She should be happy.

She wasn't precisely certain what "happy" meant for a Mord Sith. She had status, she had pleased her master and reaped the rewards, and she had her childhood love next to her. Wasn't that the ideal scenario of happiness for a Mord Sith? She felt…restless. As if something important were missing or if she had an urgent matter to attend to.

If she was honest with herself she had felt this disquiet for a long time. Long before she had been lured into joining the Seeker. She felt disgusted with herself. How could she have let herself be so weak? Helping those less fortunate than herself, teaching idiots how fight in a battle, tending to wounded. This was not the Mord Sith way. What had come over her?

A pair of brilliant blue eyes suddenly flashed in her mind's eye.

She grabbed her agiels, hard, feeling the pain slice up her arm and fan out through her body.

Sometimes her time with the Seeker seemed like a dream. A mindless, stupid, impossible dream. Dahlia spoke about her exploits with the Seeker in a disgusted undertone. Then she would caress her face or meet her eyes and the feeling that something was horribly wrong would go away. But not for long.

"Cara," Dahlia said by way of greeting as she slunk up behind her. "Is anything wrong?"

"No. Go back to bed." Cara's voice was cold and hard. It was the voice of a Mord Sith.

Dahlia still lurked behind her. She ran her hands along her lover's shoulder blades. "You're tense, perhaps I could do something to release the tension?" she purred suggestively in her ear.

Cara whipped around so fast Dahlia didn't have time to blink. She slammed her against a tree, one hand wrapped around her throat. Their relationship had always been tinged with violence. Hatred and pain were part of being a Mord Sith.

"What can I do to please you, Mistress?" Dahlia's asked, the brief hurt in her eyes replaced with a smoldering desire.

Cara couldn't suppress a smirk from gracing her lips. She slammed an agiel hard against the other woman's thigh. The moan Dahlia let out caused waves of heat to travel down Cara's body. The blond woman stepped back and suddenly slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. She knew exactly how Dahlia liked it: she liked it to hurt.

"Hit me again," she whispered.

Cara struck her. "If I remember correctly I give the orders."

Dahlia stood up and kissed her roughly. With the other woman kissing her, Cara was usually able to forget the strange feeling of wrongness. But not tonight. When she crashed Dahlia's lips to hers, she imagined Kahlan's. When she let her hand roam over Dahlia's back she found the scars of a Mord Sith when she wanted flawless, porcelain skin. She moved her hand to her hair, but instead of dark, wild strands, she found a tightly coiled braid. As her hand traveled down to her thighs she didn't find the scar she was looking for. Cara pulled back and Dahlia's questioning eyes met hers. Cara looked away. These eyes were dull, they weren't the sapphire depths she longed to stare into.

She viciously shoved Dahlia away from her. It was wrong, all wrong.

"Does the sight of me displease you?" the other woman asked, her voice full of hurt.

Cara didn't answer; her hand went to her agiel. She hated Kahlan Amnell with her entire being. The Mother Confessor had made her into a weakling. For that she would pay. She turned back to her fellow sister.

"I don't want to do this in the goddamn forest," Cara said. "Leaves in my hair are not welcome." A memory flashed in her mind's eye: picking leaves out of Richard's hair after he and the Mother Confessor… "Let's go back inside," she said abruptly, zipping up her top. Dahlia followed obediently behind.

[A/N: Review and let me now if Kahlan's reaction and Cara's conflicting feelings (despite Powerful Magic) seem believable or not.]