Kahlan sat across from Richard, eyeing him nervously as Zedd talked. Although she was skeptical, she wasn't confident enough to test the theory. The outburst from Zedd had been only an hour ago, and since then, Richard and Kahlan hadn't said a word to each other. The silence was threatening to tear her apart. Kahlan's fingers traced along the groove of the wood, her mind elsewhere.

"Kahlan?"

Her head jerked up, realizing Zedd was asking her something. He had been rambling for so long now that she didn't know if he was even trying to talk to either of them. He seemed to be talking to himself this whole time.

"I'm sorry, what?" Her voice was raspy, a combination of crying and shrieking.

"How are you not fully aware of your powers?" Kahlan sighed as she slid her eyes closed, resting her elbows on the table and burying her head in her hands. She let her limbs fall, looking up at the old man with sad eyes.

"I wasn't raised by wizards. I didn't have the benefit of someone guiding me by the hand the whole way." Her response held venom that Richard had never seen before. She looked as though she was ready to massacre a village.

"What happened to you, my dear?" Zedd's voice was sympathetic, no longer begrudging her for what had happened... or almost happened. Richard was surprised with how quickly the old man's attitude had changed. Kahlan looked up at him, her gaze heated.

"My mother died when I was young, too young to fully explain to me what my powers were. My father only mentioned my magic when he wanted me to confess men to do what he wished, to make him richer. When I was old enough, my fear for my father died and I left. However, everyone was so afraid of Confessors that no one would come near me, let alone talk to me. All I knew was that if I touched a man and let go of my control, I could make him do whatever I wished. That's it." Kahlan looked at the table, clenching her eyes shut as tears threatened to fall down her face. She was sick of crying. In fact, she was sick of being in this situation. She was sure Richard held no more interest in her.

"Why-"

"Darken Rahl began hunting me." Kahlan knew what he was going to ask - why she had left and found refuge in Hartland. This situation was gruesome, she almost wished she was still running from quads. "That, mixed with everyone's original fear of me, ended up in villagers running me out of every town I came across. The only area that didn't know of my magic was Westland, and Hartland was the first place I came across." She glanced at Richard, whose brown eyes held compassion for her. She sighed as she tucked hair behind her ear.

"So, other than the basics, you know nothing of what you are? What you do?"

"Other than confess and obtain the truth, no." Kahlan said bitterly, annoyed with the same question rephrased a million different ways. She didn't know much about being a Confessor, she thought she made that perfectly clear, especially with the spectacle of her and Richard in the bed earlier.

Richard observed the conversation, his heart aching for her. If Zedd wasn't there, he would already have her in his arms once again. This woman deserved so much more than what she had, which was nothing. Kahlan glared as Zedd sat between her and Richard, her face hard as stone.

"My dear," Kahlan was beginning to hate that term of endearment. She wasn't Zedd's dear, nor did she want to be. She no longer wanted to deal with the meddlesome old man, she just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. However, she held her tongue. "Richard is the Seeker of Truth." Kahlan looked at him questioningly, flickering her gaze between him and Richard. She shrugged, unaware of what that meant. Zedd sighed. "Confessors were created to obtain the truth, they protect the Seeker."

"I have to protect him," Kahlan said slowly, pointing at Richard. Zedd nodded and Kahlan felt like her head was going to explode. From Richard's look, he could tell she was about to lose her temper. Before anyone could make a move to calm her down, Kahlan was already enraged. "I can't even protect myself and now you are telling me I have to protect Richard!"

Kahlan pushed herself off of the table, now towering over both of the men. She was between screaming and crying, both seeming to happen at once. "How can you ask that of me? How can you put someone else's life in my hands?" She shook her head, bringing her hands to her face.

"Kahlan, many Confessors have done so before you, you can do so as well."

She looked at him as she let her hands slide down her face. "And you are going to trust me? To be his Confessor? Especially after what happened earlier?" Zedd nodded and Kahlan laughed. Richard didn't know what to do. This was as much of a shock for him as it was for her, and everything was seeming to spiral out of control. The woman he was falling for was unattainable and now she was supposed to protect him and keep him alive. This wasn't fair.

"This is ridiculous," Kahlan sighed, letting exhaustion and depression sink into her. She no longer had the will to fight with Zedd, to explain herself. "This is unbelievable," she worried her bottom lip, letting the tears flow freely.

Richard stood from his chair, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her, letting her fall to his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head, rubbing his hands along her back. Kahlan sobbed into his skin. This was only making the situation worse. She never wanted anything more in her life than she wanted him, and here he was comforting her when they could have nothing more than this. Simple touches. Nothing more.

"Darken Rahl has gotten ahold of two of the Boxes of Orden," Zedd began, Kahlan ignoring him and tightening her grip on Richard's shirt. Richard heard the words, but didn't really care for them. All that mattered was the woman weeping in his arms. Despite their unresponsive manner, Zedd continued. "If he gets the third, all of humanity will be his to manipulate. We need to get the third box, or kill Darken Rahl before he acquires it."

Kahlan pulled away from Richard, sniffling as she wiped her nose with her hand. She no longer cared what happened to her, but she needed to protect Richard. She was ready to protect him. Even though she wasn't necessarily trained as a Confessor, she had learned very quickly how to fight. With men and quads constantly coming after her, she had learned that her light weight was beneficial to her, her speed deadly to oncoming opponents.

"When do we leave?" Kahlan's voice was emotionless.

"As soon as possible," Zedd stated quietly, Kahlan nodding. She turned to Richard, looking around at the small little home she had become all too familiar with.

"I have nothing to bring," she stated, looking up at Richard. He nodded his head and grabbed a small pack, filling it as quickly as possible.

xx

"Hello, friend!" Chase bellowed, opening the door with a huge smile. Richard's forlorn attitude wasn't lost on him, and Chase quickly shut the door, looking to Kahlan and an old man who were in the distance behind Richard.

"I'm leaving, Chase."

"Where are you going?" Chase asked, his head cocking to the side as he took in Kahlan's appearance. She had been crying, that was all too evident. He couldn't judge the old man, but he knew that Richard and Kahlan had obviously gone through something earlier. "What's wrong?"

"There's not much I can tell you," Richard began, sighing as he scratched at his hairline. "What's relevant to what you know is that Kahlan and I can never be together."

"Nonsense," Chase's voice was so sure, so confident. For a moment, it gave Richard false hope. He gave a sad smile and shook his head, knowing that his burly friend wouldn't understand.

"It's true, Chase. There's no way we can be together," his voice trailed off, the pain becoming fresh in his heart. Chase smiled a brilliant smile before clasping Richard's shoulder with his large hands.

"There is always a way, Cypher. Yet another lesson you have yet to learn," he chuckled softly, giving Richard's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. When his eyes met Chase's again, his facial had become very serious. "You want her, Richard. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't have her. No matter how many obstacles stand in your way, you can always find a way. You are Richard Cypher, don't forget that."

With that, he gave Chase a large hug, telling him to tell Emma and the children that he would miss them and he planned on returning with many gifts to entertain the little ones. Chase laughed and told him he was going to hold him to it. Richard watched as Chase closed his door, going back into his home. He felt as though every aspect of his old life was now gone.

When he turned and saw Kahlan and Zedd standing there, he wet his lips, mentally preparing himself for the journey ahead.

One where Kahlan wouldn't be sharing his bed.