Thank you all for reading! So happy there are still Seeker fans out there reading my stuff. Hope you enjoy the update! :)

Chapter 4

Darken Rahl stood staring out over the vast expanse of the Underworld, suffering and groaning and writhing as far as the eye could possibly see and far beyond even that. It both pleased and infuriated him at the same time.

He wanted out of this nightmare, wanted back into the world of the living where he belonged. He wanted his throne back no matter what it took to get it. He didn't deserve to be punished like this, forced to watch as his twin brother ruled his territory in his place.

He still had great plans that he wanted to accomplish – plans that included destroying Richard, taking over Westland and the Midlands, becoming the ultimate ruler where everyone would bow down at the name of Darken Rahl.

He clasped his hands behind his back, seething that down here in the Underworld he was the Keeper's minion, doing his bidding and yet he knew it was better than the alternative, to be cast down there with commoners enduring unbelievable pain and suffering for all eternity.

No matter, though. He had a plan to get himself out of here, one that he could afford to bide his time as it played itself out.

The key to his plans lay in the hands of Death's Mistress, Sister Nicci. If the Sisters of the Dark hadn't been able to capture her and perform the ritual that forced her back into the Keeper's service, he knew that his fate would've been sealed, his place in the Underworld permanent with no hope of escape.

Sister Nicci was one of the few magical beings powerful enough to perform the ritual that would save him from this horror. He needed her if he wanted to get back to his life. He didn't know how much longer he could stand watching Demos living the life that he should be living.

He was the one who had obtained all the power and wealth. He was the one who had held D'Hara in the palm of his hand, the one who had built the Mord'Sith into what they were today. He was the one who should be enjoying the fruits of his labors, not Demos.

The corners of his lips suddenly curled with the thought of taking care of both of his brothers once he escaped from this hell. His pleasurable thoughts were abruptly cut short by the deep rumbling summons of the Keeper's voice.

Darken turned, falling on bended knee as he bowed his head in forced reverence. "I am here, my lord," he replied.

A dark shadow fell across his prostrate form, hovering over him as the Keeper drew near. "Are you certain that your plan will work?"

Darken dared to glance up through his eyelashes as he responded, "It must, my lord. Sister Nicci will not fail us."

"She has broken free from my hold on her before," the Keeper reminded him. "I do not want to lose her again."

"The ritual should have taken care of that," Darken attempted to reassure him. "She should fully be yours to command again now."

"This plan of yours had better work," the Keeper growled. "I want Richard Rahl. Because of him, my hope of escaping this prison is forever gone now. I plan on making him pay dearly for all eternity."

"And you shall have him, my lord," he promised. "You will have Richard Rahl and I will have my brother."

"And what about Kahlan Amnell?" the Keeper demanded to know. "The Mother Confessor must not escape punishment for her involvement in this."

A dark smile spread across Darken Rahl's face as he thought about the beautiful Mother Confessor. "No need to worry, my lord," he told him. "She too will enjoy her own private hell…I assure you of that."

XXX

Richard entered the Spirit House, somewhat surprised to find Kahlan still asleep. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful as she slept...his Kahlan. Even if she never remembered her past or how they fell in love, she'd always be his Kahlan. Nothing could ever change that.

The crackling of the small fire in the middle of the large hut was the only sound as he watched her for a moment, the only source of light as the sun began to set. It cast a soft ethereal glow upon her perfect features, making his heart skip a beat.

He silently made his way to her, kneeling down beside her. His hand settled in her hair, his thumb gently caressing her cheek. "Kahlan," he softly called to her, hating to wake her up but he needed to talk to her, make sure she was alright. "Kahlan, it's time to wake up."

Her eyelids fluttered open to find her handsome Seeker beside her, his gentle brown eyes focused on her. "Richard?" she murmured, feeling a little confused as awareness began to replace unconsciousness.

Her mind felt so muddled, her head still pounding fiercely. Her forehead creased as she fought to clear the hazy fog that still clouded her thoughts, trying to remember what had happened and how she had gotten here. She looked around finding herself in the Spirit House, her gaze finally settling back again on her Seeker.

"What happened?" she asked him as she slowly sat up, the blanket he'd covered her with earlier slipping from her body.

Richard settled himself on the bedroll before her, his eyes swimming with renewed worry. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Kahlan rubbed her face with her hands in an effort to banish the lingering fatigue as well as the headache that refused to leave before finally responding. "I remember Zedd… he was using his magic to find my memories," she replied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she thought back over the afternoon. "My head started hurting so badly I could hardly stand it and then…I don't know after that. The next thing I knew, you were here waking me up. What happened to me?"

"I'm afraid you got really sick," he informed her. "I brought you back here to rest for a while. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she muttered, trying to remember what had happened before coming to the Spirit House. She remembered suddenly getting sick by that tree, the blinding pain in her head and then after that…nothing.

Richard studied her for a long moment, not convinced in the least by her response. "You do remember I told you before that you're a terrible liar, right?" he reminded her, a crooked smile on his face as he tried to ease her worry and lighten the mood a little. His own worry wouldn't settle, however, until she was Kahlan again and Demos was in the Underworld with their brother.

She forced a smile, one that never reached her sapphire eyes still filled with bewilderment. "It's just a headache. It's not that bad," she attempted to reassure him. Unfortunately, she didn't sound very convincing even to herself. "Was Zedd able to figure anything out?"

Richard took Kahlan's hand in his, trying to find the words to tell her what his grandfather had discovered. "It turns out its going to be harder to get your memories back than what we had originally thought."

"Why?" she asked, her voice rising with her growing panic. "What is it, Richard? What did Demos do to me?"

"The original spell to gain control of your mind contained counter spells within it," he explained. "There's another hidden spell that is keeping your memories locked inside of your mind. When Zedd tried to recover them, it caused you to get violently ill."

Her throat suddenly filled with a painful knot of angry tears, but she did her best to banish them as she braced herself for the worse. "This is going to happen every time he tries to retrieve them, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so, Kahlan," he admitted, his heart breaking even further with the anguish that permeated her eyes. "Tolla suggested that Odo give you something for the pain and nausea to see if it helps while Zedd tries to access your memories again, but you don't have to do it unless you really want to. You don't have to put yourself through that again, Kahlan. We can try to find another way to get them back for you.

"You were able to remember a few things on your own since you lost your memory. Maybe with time, things will continue to improve on their own."

Kahlan averted her eyes as she tried to deal with this new revelation. She felt her anger burning hotly inside of her, furious over Demos's incessant interference in their lives, his constant efforts to control her. All she wanted was to regain her memories and marry Richard, to build a life with him and to have his child.

Now, that was becoming more than just a wishful dream.

"No, I want to try again," she insisted with a determined shake of her head as she stood to her feet, wrapping her arms around herself as if physically trying to hold herself together. "I have to try again. I want to remember my life, Richard…I want to remember you. I know in my heart that I love you with everything that I am, but I want to remember why. I'll do whatever it takes to get that back."

"Kahlan," Richard whispered her name, overcome with love for her.

He closed the distance between them, his lips finding hers in a slow deep kiss. Her lips parted, allowing him to fully taste her as her hands found his hair. He always seemed to sooth her soul and calm her fears like nothing else could. He created a fierce fire deep within her core, awakening a primal need that only he could satisfy.

Breaking the kiss, she released a long slow breath, trying to rein in the flaming desire that he had ignited with that kiss. "What was that for?" she breathlessly murmured, pressing her forehead against his cheekbone and savoring his closeness.

Richard tilted his head, brushing his lips against her jaw. "Because I love you more than anything in this world," he softly told her as he nuzzled her face, his heart beating a little harder. Her nearness, her kisses were beyond intoxicating. He couldn't get enough of her. "And I want you so badly right now."

His special smile suddenly graced her face as she pulled back a little, her finger lightly tracing his lips that she loved to kiss. "Then why don't you do something about it, Seeker?" she seductively inquired.

The feel of her finger softly outlining his lips was making him tingle all over, his desire growing hotter as his self-control quickly began to fade away to nothing. He knew they should wait until later tonight especially since the Aku were planning a special feast for tonight because the Keeper had been defeated.

At the same time, he found it near impossible to pull himself away from her, to take his eyes off of her. Her scent was like sweet ambrosia to his soul making him lightheaded with a need so fierce it could not be denied no matter how hard he tried.

"They're preparing a feast in our honor tonight," he told her, his voice husky and rough with desire.

His lips softly caressed the tip of her finger before taking it inside of his mouth, his warm tongue swirling around the digit and sucking gently. He watched as her blue eyes widened, a soft gasp escaping as she watched him release her finger only to lightly blow across it.

"I'm sure they won't mind if we're a little late," she said, completely captivated by him.

"Kahlan, if I start this, I'm not going to be able to stop any time soon," he replied, doing his best to tamp down on the arousal pumping through his veins at that moment. "I can never get enough of you."

She smiled softly in response, her hand moving to cup his cheek. "I feel the same way."

"As soon as the feast is over, I will bring you back here and make love to you until neither one of us can move anymore," he promised her with a grin.

"I'd love that," she murmured, wanting more than anything to forget the heartache that was consuming her life right now if only for a little while.

She pressed her lips to his, kissing him deeply and desperately hoping to change his mind as her arms moved to circle around his neck. She pressed her body against him as well, feeling the evidence of his arousal against her belly. She smiled to herself, loving the affect that she had on him and knowing that he had just as powerful of an effect on her too.

Richard quickly lost himself to the building passion her kisses always provoked in him. He tilted his head, taking her bottom lip between his teeth and nipping lightly on it before sucking on it. She moaned with the pleasure that shot through her as he buried his hands in her hair, holding her right where he wanted her.

He finally retreated for much needed air, his forehead coming to rest against hers. "Kahlan…we can't," he weakly insisted, unconvincingly. "You still have a headache and they're expecting us to…"

Kahlan kissed him again, effectively silencing him as her tongue slid inside his mouth, tangling with his and battling him for control. Her hand went to work on his breeches, anxious to bring him pleasure and forget the painful ache that sat in her chest reminding her of what had been stolen from her.

"Kahlan…" he gasped as he broke the kiss, struggling to regain control as her hand slipped inside the top of his breeches. Her touch set him on fire, his arousal becoming even harder as she tenderly began to stroke him.

He reluctantly pulled her hand from her hold on him, taking it his and bringing it to his lips. He kissed her fingers before moving to the palm of her hand. "I would love nothing more than to let you continue, but if we don't leave soon, they're going to come after us and I definitely don't want to be interrupted once I have you to myself."

Kahlan sighed in disinclined acceptance. She wished more than anything she could stay here alone with him instead of being forced to socialize with a bunch of people she had no memory of. "Fine, but it's your loss."

A mischeivious grin spread across his handsome face as he lost himself in her impossibly blue eyes that he could easily drown himself in. "You can do whatever you want to do to me later tonight after the feast."

"Do you promise?" she asked.

"As long as I get to do whatever I want to do to you as well," he teased with a grin as he refastened his breeches before kissing her again.

A sudden knock at the door interrupted the intimate moment, Cara's voice cutting through the passionate haze that still permeated the Spirit House. "Alright you two," she called through the door. "If you can pull yourselves away from each other for a little while, the feast is about to begin."

"We'll be there in a minute, Cara," Richard called. He swore she had an internal monitor that told her whenever they were alone together.

"You better or I won't hesitate to come in there after you with my agiel," she threatened.

Richard just shook his head in amusement, kissing the tip of Kahlan's nose. "We better go or we'll never get rid of her."

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed as he began to lead her out.

XXX

Sitting next to Tolla, Richard could hardly believe the feast that they had prepared in their honor. He was overwhelmed by the amount of food they had made, the gratitude that they displayed. Every single Aku had come to them, wishing them well and thanking them for saving them from the Keeper.

Though they hadn't known the extent of what had been going on in the world outside of their hidden village, the numerous rifts that had erupted throughout the valley over the last year had told them that something terribly wrong was happening.

Glancing at his grandfather, Richard could barely contain the laughter that filled his throat as he watched him. Zedd couldn't eat fast enough, shoveling food in and filling his plate again before it was even empty as he talked to Tolla.

On the other side of him, Cara was reluctantly engaged in a conversation with Caref. Though she tried her best to hide it, it was obvious that Cara was actually enjoying herself. There was a measure of contentment in her green eyes that had been missing the last few months.

It made him happy to see her relaxing and letting go of the constant need to protect them or worry about them if only for a little while. She was always on guard, ready to defend them with her very life if necessary. Although he appreciated it more than she could possibly know, it made him feel good to see her enjoying life a little.

He turned his attention to the woman sitting next to him, the one who had stolen his heart. He was completely enthralled with how beautiful she looked, how graceful her every movement was. Even though she might not remember who she was, he could still see his Kahlan in everything she did; locked deep inside in a place that he hoped more than anything that he could touch for her.

He watched as her brow suddenly furrowed as she took a bite, her eyes growing distant as if she was being drawn away from him. "What is it, Kahlan?"

"I'm not sure," she murmured. "Those two children seem familiar to me for some reason, but I don't know why."

He followed her gaze, his eyes falling on Tolla and Caref's children who were sitting with their grandmother eating. He smile pulled at his lips as he watched them laugh at something Temin had done. It suddenly made him long to have a child of his own, one that he had made with Kahlan.

"That's Tolla and Caref's children," he told her. "You and I saved them when their hut caught on fire."

Kahlan thoughtfully watched them for a long moment, her lips curling slightly as her blue eyes danced with amusement. They were so adorable. She couldn't help but think of having a child with Richard someday, feeling the little life that they had created together as it grew inside of her.

Her eyes grew moist with unwanted tears again as she lost herself in her wishful thoughts that quickly turned to dread. A sudden hand on hers pulled her back away from them again. She turned to find herself looking into the concerned eyes of her Seeker.

"What's wrong?" he softly asked.

"Just thinking," she just as softly replied, afraid to test her voice.

"Kahlan, we will get married and we will have as many children as you want to have," he told her. "I promise you we will have the life that we want."

She pulled her hand free as she turned her attention back to the children. "How do we know that Demos won't just take it all away? He's tried to destroy everything else that we have including my mind."

"I won't let him," Richard firmly stated, the heat filling his voice capturing her attention again.

"I feel like I'm letting you down," she admitted, looking down at her plate.

"In what way?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I know how badly you want to get married right now and I want that too, but it's because of me that we can't. It's my fault, Richard."

"It is definitely not your fault," he insisted, shifting to face her. "And you are not letting me down in anyway, Kahlan."

"Confessor Kahlan!"

Kahlan and Richard turned to find Caref coming to stand before them, a mischeivious glint in her dark eyes. "What is it?" the Seeker inquired.

"Confessor Kahlan must come dance with us again!" she cried in delight, reaching out to take Kahlan's hand.

"Do what?" Kahlan exclaimed, more than a little confused as Caref pulled her up onto her feet. She quickly looked to Richard for help, desperation filling her eyes.

"I'm afraid she's not feeling well yet," Richard tried to save her, keeping a firm hold on her other hand.

"Nonsense," Caref countered with a determined shake of her head. "You look like you need to have some fun."

"But I…" Kahlan began, her hand slipping free from Richard's as Caref dragged her away.

Richard felt torn between letting her go and saving her from Caref. A sudden hand on his shoulder kept him where he was seated. "Let her go, Seeker Richard," Tolla encouraged him. "You worry far too much. A little dance won't hurt her. It might even help her remember."

"Do you think so?" he asked, hope lacing his voice.

"Maybe," Tolla told him, a knowing smile on his tanned face. "At least that's what we're hoping for."

"You and Caref planned all of this to try to trigger Kahlan's memories, didn't you?"

"You could say that if you want," Tolla said with a nod of his head, his attention now captured by his wife who was beginning to dance before him.

Richard began to relax a little as he too watched as the dance began, his awareness completely focused on the breathtaking Mother Confessor who was swaying her hips in front of him now. She appeared to be completely bewildered at the moment, but was beginning to relax a little the longer Caref helped position her arms and body to perform the graceful movements of the dance.

He studied her every move with utmost fascination, completely captivated by her. He wanted to go to her, to scoop her up in his arms and take her back to the Spirit House where he could touch her as he fantasized about right now, kissing every single inch of her.

He couldn't help but smile as she began to relax a little, allowing her body to feel the beat of the music coming from the tribal drums. A genuine smile slowly lit her face, making her eyes sparkle brightly in the firelight. Laughter that was like a song tuned to his heart escaped her lips as she nearly tripped, bumping into Caref who joined in her amusement.

He was stunned when Caref suddenly leaned forward and grabbed hold of Cara's hand, pulling her into the dance against her will. The Mord'Sith scowled as she was positioned on Caref's left with Kahlan still on the Aku woman's right so she could guide both women through the moves of the dance.

Zedd's laughter caught Richard's attention, forcing him to take his eyes off of Kahlan for a brief moment. His grandfather was very amused by the Mord'Sith's resistance and reluctant acceptance of her fate. "Come on, Cara!" Zedd yelled out. "Show us what you can do!"

Richard inwardly grimaced with his grandfather's taunting words. He had no idea that the dance was going to turn into an erotic dance of seduction soon. The reminder made his groin twitch in anxious anticipation of where the night would soon lead. He'd never seen anything so beautiful or sensual as Kahlan performing that dance for him.

He couldn't tear his eyes away as the dance gradually turned from fun and festive to slow and sensual. His heart began to race as his darkening gaze raked over her perfect form, the perfect curve of her hips. His lips parted slightly to allow deeper breaths as she dipped and turned, bending over and running her hands up the length of her leg before stopping along the hem of her blue dress.

His throat suddenly went dry as her fingers lightly stroked her thighs before moving up her body. It was as if everyone there at the feast had suddenly vanished around them leaving only her and him and the sexual tension that radiated between them electrifying the air.

He felt himself growing painfully harder, the provocative swing of her hips as well as the smile on her lips driving him completely wild. He was so focused on her, he completely missed Cara escaping the dance and returning to her seat with Zedd or the fact that Caref had already seduced her husband into returning to their hut.

Cara leaned over to Zedd who was more interested in filling his plate again than anything else going on around him at that moment. "I swear those two are about to burst into flames," she said with a scowl.

Zedd chuckled softly as he watched Richard stand to his feet, offering his hand to Kahlan. "I think it's lovely," he replied. "I've never seen two people more in love in all my years. I'm more than happy for them."

"I think they need to be thrown in a cold river," Cara huffed, folding her arms over her chest as Odo joined them.

"My friends!" Odo greeted them, setting his plate down in front of him. "I thought I'd entertain you since Tolla and Seeker Richard have left you all alone to see to their women."

"We'd welcome the company, Odo," Zedd happily told him.

"I'm going to check the perimeter before going to bed," Cara announced, getting to her feet and stalking off into the night.

"Does she always have such a happy outlook?" Odo asked, amused.

"Oh, she's fine," Zedd reassured him. "She's just getting restless. She doesn't like being stuck in one place for long when there's trouble still lurking about."

"She has no need to worry," Odo said. "We take good care of our friends."

"Yes, indeed you do," Zedd heartily agreed. "Now, let's talk about what we can do for our dear Kahlan's predicament."