Zedd made his way through the stands, eager to find himself a good seat for the games. He knew that he needed to get close enough to the edge that he would be able to throw the staff into the pit if Richard got close enough. He managed to secure himself a seat in the front row, next to a book keeper. He looked at the board, seeing the names on the board, with the odds next to them. So far, the favourite appeared to be a man by the name of Andreas. Looking down the board, he got a little smirk on his face as he saw the long odds levelled against Richard and Kahlan. Clearly the lord still had no idea as to their true identities; otherwise the odds would be a lot shorter.

"Would you care to place a wager?" The book keeper asked him. Zedd looked at him, considering the situation for a second. While he had no desire to gamble on whether or not his friends would survive the battle, he also didn't want to stand out. Reaching into his purse, he handed over a few gold pieces.

"Five on Richard, the other five on Kahlan." He told him.

"Are you sure you want to wager so much on untested gladiators?" The bookmaker asked him. Zedd just smiled.

"I have a good feeling about them." He replied. "I have a feeling this will be a very interesting match."

Down in the holding area, Richard was standing by the door, looking out over the pit, taking in every detail in the hope of finding a way to escape. Kahlan came over behind him, putting her arms around his neck.

"Have you thought of anything?" She asked him. Richard shook his head sadly.

"There are too many guards." He told her. "Even if we did get weapons, there's no way we'd overpower them all."

"I really wish Zedd was here." Kahlan replied. "With his magic, we might have had a fighting chance."

"You know a wizard?" The largest of the gladiators asked them. Richard looked over to him and nodded.

"Our friend Zedd is a wizard of the first order." He stated truthfully. "If he was here..."

"It can't be." He gasped as the pieces fell into place. "You travel with a wizard of the first order and a confessor."

He gestured wildly to the other slaves.

"This is the Seeker!" He told them. "My name is Andreas."

"Richard." He replied.

"I can't believe that the Seeker is here." He said in awe of Richard's presence. "How did you end up here? What happened?"

"We were ambushed by a slaver on the road a few miles from town." Richard told him. "When we woke up, we were in chains and being brought here. Our friend and the Sword of Truth were missing."

"We believe the slavers are ignorant of who we are." Kahlan added as she looked up to the stands. "If they knew, then we'd have been taken to Darken Rahl for sure."

"There he is." Richard stated, pointing up to the stands. Andreas looked through the bars to where the bald, one-eyed slaver was taking a seat next to Lord Helbrandt.

"Balthazar." He hissed in contempt. "That vile snake has put most of us in here."

"Alright you worthless scum, it's time for the games!" A guard announced as he unlocked the door, gesturing to the arena. Richard gave the guard a cold glare, before making his way into the arena. Andreas stopped Kahlan as she made her way to follow him, pulling a dagger out of his boot and handing it to her.

"Thank you." She whispered, accepting the weapon. "We may be able to get out of this if we work together."

"I wish I could believe that Mother Confessor." He said sadly. "I don't know if it's possible."

"Everything is possible with hope." She told him as they entered the arena. On the opposite side of the pit, another door opened, and a dozen gladiators carrying a variety of weapons came into the arena, and began circling them, preparing for battle.

Without warning, someone ran and leapt from the stands into the pit. Richard looked around to see the stranger shift form, turning once more back into his true form. Richard smiled as Zedd approached him.

"I believe you will need this Seeker." He told him, handing Richard the Sword of Truth. As soon as he felt the handle in his hand, the power of all the Seekers of the past coursed through him. Richard rounded on the other Gladiators as guards started to rush down from the stands.

"If you ever want to be free, this is your chance!" Richard yelled as the first of the guards arrived in the arena. "Fight with me!"

Zedd destroyed the first of the guards with a blast of wizard's fire. Kahlan watched as Lord Helbrandt and Balthazar went into retreat. She came over to Zedd, fury burning within her. She could not allow them to escape; her humiliation would not go unpunished.

"Zedd, I need you to get this collar off." She told him.

"Without the key..."

"Just do it Zedd!" She interrupted him aggressively. Zedd focused his mind, directing his power and blasting the locking pin. Kahlan was knocked off her feet with the force of the blow, and rubbed her neck gently as the collar fell from her neck into a number of pieces, completely destroyed. She looked at it regretfully; a part of her wishing that it could have been saved. Zedd helped her up; noticing the look she gave the collar and knew what was troubling her.

"Kahlan, we have a battle to contend with." Zedd reminded her as the guards arrived. "We need to get out of here."

"That's not an option Zedd." She told him as she cut down the first of her opponents. "Helbrandt and Balthazar must pay for what they've done!"

Richard swung the sword of Truth in wide arcs, smashing down guards left and right as the fighting intensified. He watched Kahlan fighting with an anger he had never seen in her before, brutally slaying anyone that came within reach. She gathered up another dagger as one of the soldiers fell, before grabbing one of them by the throat. The tell-tale dark cloud crossed her eyes as she confessed him, turning him into her willing slave.

"Where are they?" She asked him as she recovered from the exertion of the act. The guard merely looked at her and smiled.

"They have retreated to the throne room my mistress." He informed her. Andreas came across, grabbing the guard roughly.

"Where are the keys?" He demanded of him. "Open the gate!"

The guard did as he was told, unlocking the gate. Andreas led the way, escorting the slaves out of the fighting pits and into the castle. As they made their way through the corridors, they cut down every guard that got in their way.

"Andreas, give us the keys." Richard ordered him. "We must release the rest of the slaves."

He threw the keys to Richard, before heading off in the direction of the gate house. Richard couldn't really blame the slaves for taking the opportunity to flee when they had the chance, but as the Seeker, it was his duty to release everyone he could.

Kahlan led the way as they sprinted up the stairs towards the throne room, the confessed guard fought furiously, protecting his lady.

As they arrived in the throne room, he rushed in the door first, only to be cut down in a hail of crossbow bolts. Kahlan and Richard rushed into the room, throwing themselves at the guards before they could reload.

"You made a huge mistake angering a confessor Helbrandt." Kahlan roared as she cut down some of his guards. Helbrandt shoved Balthazar forward.

"You took her before." Helbrandt shrieked in a panic as he cowered behind the slaver. He could see that Kahlan had been released from the collar, and had no desire to be confessed. Balthazar pulled out a couple of darts, launching them in Kahlan's direction. They were knocked out of the air as Richard jumped between them, blocking them with the Sword of Truth. Kahlan ran forward and grabbed Balthazar, glaring into his eyes as she confessed him. Seeing that he was now hopelessly outnumbered, Helbrandt reached behind the throne and held up a bunch of keys.

"These keys will release everyone in the palace!" He shrieked as he looked between them in a panic. "Please, just take them and go! Please..."

"You revel in the suffering of others Helbrandt, but you don't even know what suffering is." Kahlan said in a low, deliberate voice. "You've tortured and enslaved others for long enough Helbrandt. But that wasn't your biggest mistake."

"Please, don't confess me! I'll release all the slaves; I'll give you money..."

"Money can't solve all your problems!" She snapped as she approached him. Tears were already running down her face as she looked into the face of the man who had torn her heart to shreds. He had delivered the cruellest of all tortures to her. He had given her the possibility of having the life with Richard she had always wanted, and then ripped it away from her. She felt nothing but hatred as she grabbed him, glaring into his eyes as she confessed him. Helbrandt looked at her with a blissful smile on his face, feeling a deep love for her in his heart.

"How may I serve you my mistress?" He asked her. Kahlan looked at him in disgust, before handing him the keys.

"You will release each and every slave from the palace, and apologise for every sin and degradation you have inflicted upon them. You are to split your treasury evenly among them as a way to repay them for your cruelty, after which you are to raze this place to the ground." She ordered him. "After that, both of you are to go to the nearest D'Haren fortress and tell them that you had the Seeker and the Mother Confessor in your grasp, and that you allowed them to escape. You are to tell them that you are the reason he has not been able to avert the prophesy."

"Yes my mistress." Helbrandt replied, handing her the key to her belt, before leaving with Balthazar to release the other slaves. Richard watched them go, his mouth hanging open in surprise. He knew she wanted to avenge their treatment of them, but he couldn't believe that she would be so cruel. Helbrandt and Balthazar would obey her without question, which meant that they would soon go to a D'Haren guard post and admit to having the Seeker and the Mother Confessor in their grasp, only to allow them to escape. They would surely be executed, but knowing Darken Rahl's capacity for cruelty, it was unlikely to be a swift or merciful death.

"Kahlan..."

"Please, just go." She whispered, looking away from him. Richard wanted to help her, but Zedd just put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. He could imagine the depths of her despair, and knew that right now, there was nothing he could do for her. She needed to grieve for the loss of her dream.

"She'll come to us when she's ready." He told his Seeker. "Come, let us find you both more suitable clothing and leave this accursed place."

Richard looked mournfully at the woman he loved, wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he trusted Zedd's counsel. He nodded and left with Zedd to find where Helbrandt had hidden their clothes.

"Zedd, what are we meant to do about this?" He asked him. "I mean, we've freed all these slaves and we defeated Lord Helbrandt, so why does it feel like we lost?"

"It is always hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes even victories come at a cost." He told him. "At times like that, all we can do is take our victories where we can find them."

"What victory?" Richard asked him. Zedd just smiled as he thought about Heather.

"You know, after a hard fought battle, there's nothing better than a tankard of ale." He replied warmly. "Once we find your clothes, there's a certain inn I'd like to visit."

It was late in the night by the time they had located their clothes and freed the last of the prisoners. Kahlan watched silently as Helbrandt set to work with a torch, setting light to all the tapestries and wall hangings. Richard put his arm around her, holding her warmly. All she could do was watch as the flames claimed the castle, ending generations of the rule of Helbrandt's family. He saw the tears in her eyes, and could only offer her the warmth of his touch, but in many ways, that just reminded her of the one thing they would never be able to have.

"When I defeat Darken Rahl, and the Midlands no longer needs my strength, then I would gladly allow you to confess me." He whispered in her ear. "I am already devoted to you, I couldn't imagine any reason that I..."

"I couldn't do that." Kahlan interrupted him in a barely audible whimper. "Even once Darken Rahl is defeated and the Midlands no longer needs the Seeker, I could never do that to you."

"But I want..."

"It would destroy your soul. It would look like you, but it would not be Richard Cypher." She told him, turning into him and holding him tightly. "It would not be the man I've fallen in love with."

"We will find a way Kahlan. I don't know how, but we will." He assured her as he looked into her eyes. "I'm willing to wait as long as it takes."

Meanwhile, Zedd came back into the tavern, finding Heather as usual serving the customers while the innkeeper sat in the corner, quietly drinking. He made his way to the bar and sat down with the innkeeper. The old innkeeper beheld him a little nervously and backed away as much as he could. The battle at the fortress was now the talk of the village, and since it had taken place just after this stranger had come into town and expressed an interest in Lord Helbrandt's fortress, it was not a great leap of faith to presume that he had something to do with it.

"The slaves will likely have been through here by now." Zedd told him. "You now know who is in town."

"They say the Seeker is here." The innkeeper replied. Zedd just nodded.

"I know him very well, and trust me, he would not be happy to know that anyone is keeping slaves." He told him, before raising his voice for the entire bar to hear. "Let it be known that all slaves are to be released, by order of the Seeker and his wizard."

"The law is on our side old man!" The innkeeper told him. "I bought the serving girl fair and square."

"No man has the right to claim ownership to another." Zedd snapped back in response. "You will release her, or face my wrath!"

The innkeeper snorted in disgust as he turned to Heather.

"Get over here girl!" He ordered her. Heather made her way over nervously, before looking up at Zedd.

"I said release her." Zedd yelled at him. The innkeeper looked at him sheepishly.

"I don't have a key to her chains." He replied. Zedd just smiled and waved his hand, at which her shackles sprang open.

"You are free to go little one." Zedd told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "My friends and I will take you as far as the next town, at which time we will find you somewhere to stay."

As Zedd got up and started to leave with her, the innkeeper stood up, yelling after him.

"What am I meant to do without my serving girl?" He asked him. "Who will do all the work now?"

"You know other people actually hire paid staff." Zedd informed him. "You may want to try that for a change. After all, if I come back through here and you have another slave, we will just have this talk again."

With that, they left. Heather smiled and held Zedd's hand as he led her back to the camp. She had been a slave for so long, she had almost given up hope of simple compassion. Now though, this stranger who had nothing to gain by helping her had given her the one thing she was sure she'd never know. He had given her back her freedom.

Fin.