Neither Kahlan nor Cara was able to get much sleep that night, despite taking turns to alleviate the exhaustion each one felt. Each woman had her own battles to wage inside her mind, trying to keep afloat the whirlpool of thoughts and emotions haunting her, preventing the relief of a solid peaceful sleep. Zedd, on the other hand, woke up at dawn with fresh eyes and renewed energy, and was surprised when neither the Mother Confessor nor the Mord'Sith shared his enthusiasm for the new day, instead appearing almost worse for wear. Nonetheless, before the sun had fully emerged, the trio collected their belongings and resumed with their rescue mission, as pessimistic as it was, keeping an eye out for even the smallest of signs of other travellers having passed through such remote corners of the woods. So when, shortly that morning, they did come across some promising horse-tracks, (Perhaps a small party of people travelling on horseback?) they were equally as shocked as they were overjoyed by their improbable find.

Based on how deep the hoof-marks furrowed in the moist soil, the trio unanimously agreed that the horses had raced through the forest carrying two people each. However, the tracks also appeared to be at least a day old and there was no guarantee that these were the same horses that had rushed off with Darken Rahl and the Mord'Sith on their backs. Still, for the first time since Rahl's tracks had vanished the day before, leaving Kahlan, Cara and Zedd privately despondent, hope had collectively retaken root, propelling each one forward in the search, adding fresh swiftness to their step and renewed tenacity in their mind. The trio proceeded in the direction of the tracks with a restored sense of purpose and urgency - they will find their Seeker.

Alas, the tracks went on and on, and the trio spent yet another day walking, during which time neither Cara nor Kahlan spoke much, to each other or in general. Zedd found this a little strange, sensing unusual tension between the two women. He did not try to question it, however, not out loud at least, putting it down to, most likely, apprehension of their so-far futile search. Deep down though, he was becoming increasingly aware of another shadow growing to hound them all, one that made its presence known every time he looked at Kahlan, one that he would rather not put a name to, not just yet anyway. They had more urgent matters to attend to. And once they recovered Richard, everything else will be easier, Zedd reassured himself.

Cara, on the other hand, did her best to maintain an even composure and distance from Kahlan once again, trying hard to direct all of her energy and focus on the task at hand, as though nothing at all had happened the night before. This was the only way she could withstand being in close vicinity to the Confessor. Unfortunately, she found that her gaze naturally gravitated towards the woman and she hated such moments, where for an accidental second that lasted too long, their eyes locked together, sending thrilling, almost electric, though cold, shivers down her spine, before she'd reclaim enough strength to abruptly look away and carry on, appearing indifferent on the surface.

Kahlan, meanwhile, was under a similar resolve of not wanting to make it harder for Cara by keeping any closer to the girl than she had to. At the same time though, she was painfully aware of the rift such behaviour was beginning to create in their already-strained friendship. She did not want to lose Cara... But she did not want her to suffer either.

The discord of these two factors left its effect on the Confessor, where even the simplest or accidental interaction with the Mord'Sith was beginning to lack in ease, becoming forced, strained, leaving Kahlan all the more frustrated.

And then there were the moments when the memory of the kiss crept up on her unexpectedly and shocked her anew, as if it were happening all over again.

She kissed me...

While Kahlan had made up her mind and was prepared to do whatever it took to spare her friend from false hope, she was entirely unprepared for these moments, haunted by the ghost of Cara's kiss. Even as she rushed through the forest alongside her two companions, anxiously following the horse-tracks, desperate to find Richard to the point of nausea, the realisation that last night's revelation had taken place at all, that Cara had kissed her, burned through her mind like a comet, shocking her each time, causing her pale cheeks to burn as if on fire, leaving her utterly bewildered and unsettled.

Cara... Cara kissed me!

From experience, Kahlan knew that it was a rare thing seeing Cara any kind of sentimental, let alone like this, let alone towards her. She thought back on the time when they were trapped in the tomb together... The look in Cara's eyes, when she had admitted to the fact that she considers Kahlan to be her friend, was left imprinted on the Confessor. Those words had meant so much to her, despite Cara's attempt at retracting them later on. But even before Cara had said anything that day in the tomb, Kahlan had become aware of how drastically her own feelings towards the Mord'Sith had changed over the months they'd spent working and living side-by-side, of how much she had grown to care for the girl. This, however, Kahlan knew was different. This was not something she had ever expected. Although, if she thought about it carefully, she wasn't actually sure of the nature of Cara's feelings for her. With all of the other, more urgent, things they had going on at the moment though, Kahlan decided to leave the topic alone for the time being, even though she couldn't help but wonder whether the girl's feelings were the true, deep kind, or only a raw kind of attraction, not unlike that which the Mord'Sith were known to appease whenever there was a chance. Something told her, however, that in this case it was more than that. The tenderness, the desperation of the kiss... She could not shake it from her mind. And even now, as she followed behind the wizard and the kiss's culprit through the forest, looking up from the horse-shoe dents in the damp soil, the only hope she had of seeing her beloved Richard again, to the blond hair that decidedly marched ahead of her, the memory of it managed to come through once again, shocking her once again, where the sensation of her lips parting under the pressure of Cara's, at first coaxed, then left damp and cold, and stunned, when Cara had stepped away, felt a little too real, a little too charged. And once again, Kahlan's cheeks burned with the memory, and the woman herself driven to jilting hyper-awareness of her own lips, wanting to shy away from them as the dim forest's cold air left its own icy kiss on her. Unsettled, she hoped that her companions would not turn back to look at her while she trailed behind them, convinced that her thoughts were plastered across her face, available for everyone to read. But there was no time to think about what all of this meant, to consider the implications of why this kiss had made her feel so unsettled. Too many other, suffocating shadows enveloped her with every step she took in that wretched, endless forest. Shota's prophecy loomed in the back of her mind, frightening and now further fuelled by the persistent nausea that plagued her with no rest, while the sharpest, most urgent pain of all was her beloved Seeker, missing.

Is he still alive? Could he be... Dead? No... No. That can't be. I'm sure Rahl needs him alive, otherwise we would have found him by now. Or Rahl would have found us!

Such thoughts were sobering enough, grounding her into the harsh present moment of their search, which was uncertain at best. And so, Kahlan pushed herself on, through the forest, doing her best to leave behind all of her physical and emotional struggles, to march on towards Richard, desperate to get him back, desperate to have the Rada'Han removed from her neck, so that they could return to their more ordinary days, when things were at least somewhat simpler. Deep down though, she feared that some things will be forever changed.

~

It was while following an uphill route, after they had finally emerged from the forest and reached a lush, hilly area, that the tracks disappeared once again and that Kahlan's strength began to decline noticeably, despite all of her efforts. At first, she only lagged behind as she made her way up the hill, while Zedd and Cara had already reached the top and debated the possibilities behind the vanishing horse-tracks. But when Cara glanced back to check on the Confessor, she saw that Kahlan was ghostly pale and that by the manner of her walking, she was about to collapse at any moment. Abruptly darting from the spot, Cara rushed towards the woman and managed to catch her just in time, preventing the Confessor from dropping to the ground with all of her bodyweight. With Zedd's help, Cara settled her on the ground, cradling Kahlan's upper body in her arms, tapping on her face to help rouse her back to consciousness. When Kahlan finally opened her eyes, seeing Cara's familiar face tower above her, she gave the conspicuous smile of welcome recognition. Cara frowned, not knowing how else to respond.

With help from her companions, the Confessor sat upright. Assuring them that she was fine, that the fatigue was already passing her, she protested Zedd and Cara's insistence to remain seated on the ground. But the very next moment, their concerns proved to be within reason: despite her reassuring words, Kahlan doubled over and retched on the ground in front of her, this time only just missing Cara's leather.

Cara and Zedd averted their eyes at the sight of the Confessor's regurgitated meal. Cara stood up and gave the wizard a concerned, almost angered look, one that suggested that this was not the first time this had happened. Zedd took a moment to allow the implications of this to sink in, before crouching down next to Kahlan to make sure she was alright. Frowning with concern, he placed a hand on her belly, and for a moment remained perfectly still, expectant, as if waiting for a sign that only he would be able to observe. Kahlan also turned quiet and still under his hand, forced at last to consciously acknowledge the possibility of what the nausea could really mean. Fear spread within her belly where the wizard's hand rested, while he deliberated inwardly, his eyes closed.

When he next stood up, the grave look on his face confirmed what had been on everyone's minds but what nobody had dared to say out loud:

Kahlan was with child.

And what's worse, this meant that Shota's prophecy was coming true to some degree or another.

Cara retrieved her leather water-bag. Removing the lid first, she offered the water-bag to Kahlan. Distraught, Kahlan reluctantly accepted it, but after drinking some and realising that the water wouldn't stay down, quickly handed the water-bag back to Cara. The blonde commented that Kahlan had barely eaten anything in the past couple of days and offered to go hunting. They had just about finished their provisions anyway, she said, and she had spotted a few coneys at the foot of the hill. Zedd agreed, offering to stay on the hill-top with Kahlan to keep an eye on her, while Kahlan felt too weak and overwhelmed to protest.

Cara grabbed her bow and arrows, and swiftly backtracked downhill. She looked for the spot where she had seen the coneys but was surprised to find the patch of grass now entirely deserted. She walked farther, taking stealthy steps along the edge of the forest, eyes surveying for any hint of movement, an arrow drawn in the bow, ready to fly. But to her surprise once again, she saw nothing. Puzzled by this unexpected shift in a place that should be budding with wild-life, Cara stood perfectly still for a time, as if listening for something. The entire area was eerily quiet, she realised, as if all of the wild creatures had anticipated a hunter and so, ran for cover.

Strange, Cara thought, assuming an en-garde stance as urged by her instincts.

Suddenly, a sound of muffled cries resounded from the forest. As if on cue, Cara's eyes shot in the same direction. Among the trees in the distance she saw movement of what appeared to be a person, struggling. She crept up closer, staying low, hidden from sight, while trying to take a closer look, her arrow semi-drawn, ready enough. The farther she advanced, the more obvious the sounds of struggle became. Finally, though he was half-hidden by shrubbery, Cara saw a man's torso. His back was turned towards her and she couldn't quite see what was what but one thing was clear: He wasn't alone - he was wrestling with somebody. And when he had finally turned around, instant recognition chilled her to the bone. It was Richard. Or rather, it was Rahl. And the person he was wrestling with... It was a woman.

Cara craftily moved forward while remaining concealed by wide tree trunks. Only when she had crept up close enough to see beyond what the bush had obstructed, could she clearly see that, as the pair twisted and turned, it was the woman who struggled to break free from his grasp. With his one hand, he covered her mouth, stifling her cries of protest, while with the other, he pressed a peculiar-looking dagger, a dagger with a red hilt, against her throat. But the most unnerving thing by far, which Cara saw more and more clearly as she moved even closer, was the woman's familiarity, the familiarity of her dress, which was long, white, its hem stained with mud, entwining around their feet as the man forced the blood-red dagger against her throat and dragged her backwards, deeper into the woods...

A Confessor... Cara frowned, narrowing her eyes, trying to see better. How is this possible, she wondered, when the last living Confessor is...

"Kahlan."

At once, Cara darted from her hiding place and charged towards the pair. While struggling under Rahl's dagger, the Confessor spotted the woman running in the distance among the trees. Fighting Rahl all the harder, at long last she managed to peel off Rahl's hand from her mouth just long enough to cry out Cara's name in terror.