The two women walk through the long winding halls of the temple towards the exit. "Are you sure you are okay, Kahlan?" Cara asks as the brunette shiver in her arms.

"Yes, I think I am," Kahlan replies as she runs her hand over her now bare neck. After the Confessor had killed Richard, Cara retrieved the key to the Rada'Han and released the Confessor from its binding power. "I'm sorry I put you through all of this, Cara," she mutters softly as she wraps an arm around the blonde's waist.

Cara scoffs and rolls her eyes. "You did not put me through all of this," she replies as she tightens her grip around the Mother Confessor's waist. "He did this to us."

"I know," the brunette continues. "But, if things had been different in the beginning..."

"Don't wish things to be different, Kahlan," Cara says softly as they reach the door to the outside. Opening the door, they are greeted to the dawning of a new day. "Even if things had been different, who is to say that he wouldn't have reacted the same way to something else. There was no spell effecting him, nor was this blind rage..." The walk towards an outcropping of boulders and the blonde leans against one of the taller ones while Kahlan chooses to sit down beside it. "It was just him. Everyone has it in them to do harm, most people do not resort to violence though."

Kahlan smiles up at the Mord'Sith. "That's very insightful, Cara. What has made you so wise suddenly?" the brunette asks teasingly.

The blonde arches her eyebrow and stares down at the Confessor. "I don't know if you have noticed, Confessor, but I am an observant person; so therefore, it isn't sageness. It is the ability to read people." Kahlan chuckles softly at the Mord'Sith's answer causing the blonde to smirk as she slides down the boulder and sits beside the Confessor. "I love hearing you laugh," Cara states as she reaches for Kahlan's hand and entwines their fingers.

They sit in silence, watching the sun rise whilst waiting for the wizard to finish his grim task. It had been his idea after all to burn the body of his grandson so he would not turn into a baneling and follow after them.

Cara stares at the body on the cold hard granite. Her breathe finally returning to normal after Richard's final breath. The blonde's mind barely registering anything but the blood flowing freely from the stab wounds of her now deceased master. Suddenly, a hand softly touches her wrist. "It's okay, Cara," Kahlan says softly as she pushes the blonde's hand down. She snaps out of her reverie and realises that she is still holding her weapons tightly in her hands.

'There is no pain,' the Mord'Sith thinks numbly as she looks down at the agiels in her hands. 'He really is dead. There is no one to rule D'Hara now. No one to rule over me,' she reminds herself as she throws the weapons to the floor.

"Is there something wrong, my child?" Zed asks as he walks over to the two women.

"The pain... it's gone," she mutters as she furrows her eyebrows and stares down at the agiels.

"It's the first time in a long time since you have not felt their sting," the wizard states as he goes over to the body of his grandson. Taking a deep breath to hold back the tears that threaten to fall, Zed kneels down by the corpse and checks for any sign of life. "What did you do, you foolish foolish boy?" he asks though he knows no answer will ever come. "I'm sorry," he says aloud to the women in the room. "I wish that I didn't feel some sort of grief for him..." the tears escape and run down his cheeks. "But he was my grandson."

Kahlan kneels down beside him and gently touches his shoulder. "We understand, Zed. You were in his life since he was born. It is normal to feel that way."

He nods his head and sighs as he tries to pull himself together. "It is for the best, I think, though it pains me to say it. What he did to both of you was inexcusable." He turns to face the Mother Confessor as she stands up from her kneeling position. "Can you two give me a moment? I will take care of the body... Creator knows we do not need him coming back as a baneling."

The Mother Confessor nods her head in understanding as she turns towards the blonde. "We'll give you a few moments, Zed. We will be outside when you are finished."

"One minute," Cara states as she kneels down beside the corpse and rifles through Richard's clothing. The other two members of the group stare at the Mord'Sith, confusion marring their faces. After a few moments the blonde stands, but not before grabbing one of her agiels from the floor and placing it in the holster at her hip. "We nearly forgot something," She says as she dangles the key to the Rada'Han from her closed fist. Walking towards the brunette again, she reaches up towards her neck with the key and unlocks the constricting magical device from the Confessor's neck. She turns to throw the horrid device onto the table, but Kahlan stops her. "Let's bring it with us," the brunette mumbles out quickly. The Mord'Sith shrugs her shoulders and wraps her arm around Kahlan's waist. "Are you sure you are up to it wizard?" Cara asks as she glances down at the wizard.

"I think my power is back enough to cast a basic fire spell," he replies as he stands up.

"That's not what I am asking, though it is good to know that your power is back," she replies as she looks down at Richard's lifeless body and back to Zed.

He smiles sadly at her show of concern. "It will be hard, but I know it has to be done... no matter how he had died, or if any of us were to have the same fate, I would believe this is a necessity that we must live with in this world we inhabit."

The two women turn to leave, but the wizard clears his throat drawing their attention back to him. "We need to bring the sword with us. It wouldn't do any of us any good to leave it behind, plus there is still the task of renaming a Seeker," he states as he stares at the Sword of Truth. The weapon lying within its scabbard in the centre of the table. As Kahlan reaches for the sword she looks at Zed and allows a small smile to grace her lips before she and Cara turn to leave out of the dungeon.

"What are you thinking about?" Kahlan asks as she watches the blonde trace random patterns with her hand across the back of the Confessor's hand.

"Well, to be honest," the blonde pauses as she glances up into the brunette's blue eyes. "I'm wondering how I became so lucky."

Kahlan smiles at the comment, but wants to draw more out of the normally stoic blonde. "What makes you so lucky?" The Confessor asks lightly, hoping the blonde will rise to the bait.

Cara looks uncomfortable momentarily before she huffs and rolls her eyes. "What do you think makes me lucky?" she counters with a smirk on her face. The blonde knew perfectly well what the Mother Confessor was trying to do. "But if I have to spell it out for you, it is you that makes me lucky. Never before, in my entire life, have I met someone that I care for as much as I care for you; and you feel the same way, so I think this makes me pretty damn lucky."

Kahlan smiles as she leans against the blonde's shoulder. "I know what you mean," she replies as she watches a small blue bird flutter into view and alight onto the branch of a small, spindly spruce tree. "I never knew, until last night, when you kissed me."

The Mord'Sith smiles softly at the memory of the Mother Confessor's luscious lips. "You do know that there are many more where that came from, right?" the blonde murmurs into the dark brown waves of Kahlan's hair causing her to shudder.

"Is that right?" the Confessor remarks softly as she moves her head slightly off the blonde's shoulder to look into her eyes.

"Of course it is," the Mord'Sith murmurs lovingly as she lowers her face towards the brunette's and grazes her lips against Kahlan's. The brunette eagerly deepens the kiss as she opens her mouth and licks her tongue against the blonde's lips, begging for entry.

Cara smirks into the kiss at the feeling of the Mother Confessor's quest to deepen the kiss then allows her own mouth to open when she groans at the feeling of Kahlan moving from the ground to slip onto the blonde's lap. Wrapping her arms around the brunette waist, Cara moves her mouth away from Kahlan's to take a deep breath. "What is that for Mother Confessor?" she questions with a smile. "Not that I don't mind the gesture," she continues as she looks at the woman sitting in her lap. "But it was unexpected."

"I thought you might have expected it," Kahlan replies with a smile, running her hand over the blonde's cheek. "After all, you did save me."

Cara rolls her eyes at the response and sets about removing the scabbard that housed the Sword of Truth from the Confessor's shoulder. "And I would save you again and again if I have to," she whispers as she sets the sword to the side and stares into Kahlan's blue eyes reverently.

"Who would have thought that the big, bad Mord'Sith would confess such a thing to the Mother Confessor?" Kahlan verbalises mirthfully as she runs her hand over a rip in Cara's leathers. She frowns as she realises it came from when Richard had rammed the sword into the blonde's shoulder.

Sensing where the brunette's mind was going, Cara takes her hand into her own and brings it to her lips. Kissing each finger lightly the blonde takes a deep breath and stares into the sad blue orbs before her. "Don't allow yourself to think on it," she whispers as she lets go of the Confessor's hand and wraps her hands around Kahlan's waist again. "I would go through any torture to just see your smile," she continues as she feels the tension in the brunette ease slightly. "I don't even think of any of it any more. Today is a new day, and with it brings a new life. What does tend to stay in my mind, however, is one simple thing."

"What's that?"Kahlan asks as she places her hands on top of the blonde's and squeezes them slightly.

Cara smirks and moves her head closer to Kahlan's. "Well, I was wondering why in the Creator's name would you possibly want to keep a Rada'Han around? It is a very horrible magical device. It bound your power and kept you from saving yourself. If it was me, I would have thrown it away the second it was off of me, but you didn't... why is that?"

Kahlan blushes at the question and buries her face into the blonde's neck. She mumbles something against Cara's neck causing the Mord'Sith to smile. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

With a huff, the brunette takes her face away from the blonde's neck and whispers. "It binding my power gave me an idea."

"And what idea was that?"

The Mother Confessor blushes again as looks down at a lock of her hair and tugs on in it. "Well, you know what a Confessor can do to a Mord'Sith, right?"

Cara nods her head knowingly. "I happen to remember a certain someone reminding me what could happen several months back," she answers with a smirk causing the brunette to lower her head again. "That still doesn't answer my question."

Biting her lower lip, Kahlan tries to look around them to find something, anything, to take her mind off the conversation they were having. When nothing but the vast trees, boulders, and the front of the temple presents itself, she sighs. "Well, I want to be sure everything is taken care of in case we decide to take our relationship further."

The Mord'Sith's silence is deafening to the Confessor as she mentally berates herself for even thinking that they would further the relationship now. 'She almost died trying to protect me. We all almost died. What was I thinking,' she thinks to herself as she tries to stand, only to find the blonde had wrapped her arms tighter around her waist. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"No..." Cara starts as pulls the Confessor closer to her. "I am sorry. Your answer caught me off guard. I figured I knew the reason, and I did, but it was just a shock to hear you say it aloud. I had hoped nothing would have changed between us. I could have understood if it did, but I am pleasantly surprised that it didn't."

Kahlan lets out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. "Why would you think that," she whispers as she leans her head against Cara's and stares into the blonde's beautiful green eyes. "I am, after all, sitting very comfortably on your lap and we did just have a mind-blowing kiss before that."

The Mord'Sith laughs softly as she traces a finger down the brunette's back. "I was just worried that after all we had went through, that you would no longer wish to pursue this relationship."

"I would never do that," Kahlan whispers against the blonde's lips. "After all we have been through, I was hoping we would be together for a very, very long time."

Cara smiles as she hears the brunette's words. She leans forward and captures the Confessor's lips in a smouldering kiss. Tongues battle for dominance as both women moan into the kiss. The Mord'Sith's hand travels along the slit in Kahlan's leather dress causing the brunette to gasp and break the kiss. "Too much, Confessor?" the blonde asks cheekily causing Kahlan to blush.

"No," she replies softly as she runs a hand through Cara's short blonde hair. "You just surprised me. I have never had anyone touch me like you do."

"Well, there is more where that came from," the Mord'Sith states with a sly grin.

Before Kahlan could respond, the two women hear footsteps on nearing the entrance to the temple. Cara instinctively reaches for her agiel and sighs with relief when she doesn't feel the familiar pain that it would normally bring. "It's Zed," she whispers to the Mother Confessor. They both stand and walk towards the ruin, meeting the older man at the entrance.

"It's done," he utters solemnly. A hint of smoke wafting on the breeze from his clothing. "I am sorry that it took so long to finish, my dears, but I almost couldn't bring myself to do it." He sighs as he takes a deep breath and steps out into the warm sunlight. Breathing deeply, Zed stretches his neck and closes his eyes to allow the warmth of the day to alter his current emotions. He smiles slightly at the chirping of the birds in the distance as he breathes in the earthy woody scent of the forest.

"Are you okay, Zed," Kahlan asks after a few moments.

"Yes," he says slowly as he opens his eyes. "Yes I think I am. I did not think that I would have been, but now, standing here in the sunshine and seeing all of the loveliness that the Creator has given us. I do believe things will look up from here on out."