A/N: And here's the next one, let m know what you think :D

Chapter 11

After they had been walking for awhile, Zedd looked at Kahlan with a meaningful look. It was time they asked Alys the rest of their questions so that they could better understand what had happened to the young Confessor and her relationship to them.

"Alys," the wizard began, addressing the girl. "We discussed your situation among ourselves, and based on the information you gave us yesterday, I think I know what happened to you," he said, looking at Alys to make sure the girl was paying attention. "The wizard you saw probably opened a portal to travel back in time, using the amulet you told us about," Zedd explained.

"I figured," Alys stated matter-of-factly, making all of them chuckle, except Zedd, who furrowed his brow at Alys's statement. All of them could see that the blonde had no intention of mocking Zedd, but she ended up doing it unintentionally with her need to speed up the conversation to something she didn't already know.

"Yes, well," Zedd said, clearing his throat and looking sideways at the girl. "The only way to bring you back to your time is by using the same amulet. Normally, the one who casts the spell to open the portal keeps the amulet. So if this wizard only opened the portal to make you travel in time, the only way to send you back is go to Aydindril and recover our time's Triangle of Anuyr, which I'm sure is in the Wizard's Keep," Zedd explained the plan to Alys, seeing the girl nod as she accompanied his reasoning.

"For that to work you have to tell us the exact time you are from," the wizard added. "The amulet can only make you travel years at a time, so you have to tell us how many years separate our time from yours," he said, aware that this could be difficult for the girl to achieve.

"You need the exact number of years?" Alys asked, her eyes widening considerably.

"Yes, little one," Zedd confirmed. "I'm know this might be difficult, but we'll hel-"

"How old are you?" Alys asked Kahlan, cutting the wizard mid speech.

"Twenty-five," the brunette answered, a little surprised at the question and smiling amused as Alys frowned her eyebrows in concentration and started counting through her fingers.

"I don't think that will help you much Alys, mayb-"

"Shush," Alys snapped, rising a hand to silence Richard and furrowing her eyebrows deeper in concentration. The adults looked at her amused, but none of them interrupted the girl's efforts to find an answer. After a while Alys clapped her hands together once, an accomplished look on her face.

"My time is twenty years in the future," the blonde Confessor said with total certainty.

At this answer, all of them stopped walking in shock, realizing that Alys probably knew them a lot better than they initially thought.

The young Confessor took a couple of steps before she noticed that she wasn't being followed and turned around to see all four of them looking curiously at her. She grinned, amused at their shocked faces.

"I honestly thought you were from a far more distant future," Zedd said chuckling; he was the first one to recover. "The way you talked about how this was like being in a history book, I assumed," he trailed off, looking with new eyes at the girl in front of him.

"It is, I have to learn about this in class," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "The rift to the Underworld, the search for the Stone of Tears and whatnot," Alys explained vaguely, conveying her boredom with a one handed wagging motion in the air.

"So you can tell us what happens in the future," Richard said, becoming excited with the prospect of finding out where to find the Stone and what the future had in store for him.

"No, I can't tell any of you anything about the future," Alys said, shaking her head at Richard.

"Why not?" the Seeker asked confused.

"Zedd told me not to, he said it's dangerous," Alys said simply, before she could stop herself, realizing that she was already giving them information.

"It is dangerous to be aware of our own futures, we could be tempted to change things and that could lead to disastrous mistakes that would change the course of our lives," Zedd said nodding, agreeing with the small blonde's assessment. "But I don't remember telling you that, unless…" he trailed off, looking expectantly at Alys, waiting for the girl to confirm his suspicions.

"You're the one who gives me classes, so yes, you told me this already," Alys said huffing. "I mean in your future that is my past," she clarified, with a shake of her head.

"How old are you exactly?" Cara asked, her eyes going from Alys to the completely stunned Kahlan beside her.

"I'm ten," Alys answered, smiling and turning to look at Kahlan.

"Wait," Richard said, a wide grin appearing on his face while he looked between Alys and Kahlan. "Are you Kahlan's daughter?" he asked cautiously. "I thought," he waved a hand at Alys's blond hair. "Dennee maybe…" He trailed off, and his grin went surpernova. Looking at those bright blue eyes and at the girl's obvious regal posture, her heritage was obvious. She was Kahlan's child.

"Well, duh, it's not that difficult to figure it out," the girl said, her head tilting in a mocking gesture. "And no, aunt Dennee is not my mother," Alys said laughing, but the sounded quickly died on her lips when she looked at Kahlan shocked face.

The brunette couldn't say anything, when Alys said that she was from twenty years in the future her mind immediately reached the conclusion that the little girl was most certainly her daughter. Kahlan was so stunned that all she could do was stare at Alys. When they discovered that the young girl had come from the future she knew that they had to be related. If Alys was a Confessor she had to come from Kahlan's line, since the brunette and her sister were the only ones in the world who could give continuity to the line of Confessors. But it had never crossed her mind that they could be so close related. Like Zedd, she was under the impression that the girl had come from a far distant future.

"Oh Spirits," Kahlan said in awe, while she approached Alys. The Mother Confessor closed the space between herself and the young Confessor and knelt in front of the girl. Kahlan brought her hands up to cup Alys's cheeks and looked deeply into the girl's eyes. The blue of those irises were so similar to her own and at the same time so unique.

"Hi mommy," Alys said in a whisper, closing her small hands around Kahlan's wrists.

"Hi sweetie," Kahlan replied in a strangled whisper, the tears that had been forming in her eyes falling down her cheeks. The older Confessor kissed the blonde's forehead and enclosed Alys in her arms in a tight hug that was fiercely returned by the small girl. "I can't believe this," Kahlan whispered in awe, distancing herself a little to look at Alys. "Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure I know my own mother," Alys replied laughing at Kahlan's question.

"I'm sorry, that was not the brightest of questions," Kahlan said, shaking her head and laughing at herself along with Alys. The Mother Confessor turned around to look at her companions. Her eyes caught Richard in the front, his hands behind his head and an incredibly happy and dumbfounded expression on his face. Zedd stood next to his grandson, clapping him in the back with one hand while he smiled in Kahlan and Alys's direction. Behind the two men, slightly to the side, Kahlan spotted Cara.

The Mord'Sith also had a stunned look on her face, but Kahlan could see so much more than that in those green orbs. She watched as Cara's gaze went from Richard's exhilarated face, to Zedd's proud hand on the Seeker's shoulders, and to finally land on her. For a moment Cara looked like her world had come to an end, but this was just for a flicker of a second; the Mord'Sith quickly hardened her features into an expressionless mask, using her training to once again cover her emotions.

"This is too good to be true," they all heard Richard whisper in awe, his grin impossibly wide.

"Don't ask me anything else, though," Alys said, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "I only told you what was evident, but I can't tell you anything more about the future," she said, looking at Zedd for confirmation.

"That's right, little one," Zedd said nodding, admiring this girl's responsibility and knowledge at such a young age… which didn't really surprised him any longer; she was definitely her mother's daughter.

"Let's get going then," Kahlan said, looking back at her daughter smiling. My daughter, I can't believe it, the brunette thought to herself. She kissed Alys once again, making the girl giggle, and got up with the intention of walking towards Cara to make sure the blonde was okay. But when she turned around a pair of strong, but masculine, arms enclosed her in an embrace. Kahlan didn't even have time to react, the Seeker was beyond happy. It was only when she noticed Richard's happy expression that a thought came over her. Judging by his exhilarated reaction it was obvious that Richard was certain that he was the father and Kahlan couldn't rule that possibility out either. This made her seek Cara's eyes and what she saw broke her heart. The Mord'Sith was staring the ground, one hand tightly closed in a fist and the other one grabbing onto one of her agiels fiercely. Kahlan moved on instinct, freeing herself from Richard's arms without a though at what her actions looked like and walked the small distance towards Cara.

"Now I know who to blame for that girl's incessant babbling," Cara said before Kahlan could utter a word, offering a smirk that looked like a cover for something else. "I should have figured it out yesterday that she has your blood, when the girl tricked me into a kiss," Cara said calmly, but her eyes told another story as they bore intensely into Kahlan's.

Kahlan faintly heard the men behind her laughing at Cara's joke, but Kahlan knew with a dreaded certainty that Cara's words could not be further from joking. Those words cut Kahlan like no words before had and the fire she could clearly see in the blonde's eyes scared her; because Kahlan could see the pain mixed with confusion behind those eyes. Kahlan was painfully aware that the blonde meant her words literally, she wasn't even implying or hinting at it, she clearly meant to say that Kahlan had tricked her into a kiss, tricked her into a romantic relationship that had no future.

"You're being unfair to me, Cara," Kahlan whispered harshly, her eyes showing how upset she was. She could understand that Cara was scared and she knew that the Mord'Sith was not used to trust people with her feelings and making herself vulnerable. She realized that the blonde was lashing out at her because she was scared of loosing what they had being building, but that didn't give Cara the right to be unfair to her. And Kahlan wasn't going to let her get away with it as if she was right.

The Mord'Sith lowered her gaze to the ground without replying. She watched as the brunette's feet left her side, feeling a knot surge in her throat and an unsettling ache growing in her chest. The hurt look on Kahlan's face made the blonde regret what she had said and especially the hurtful way in which she looked at the brunette. But she couldn't shake the dread feeling she had about this situation. When she saw the joyous look that appeared in Kahlan's face at the news that Alys was in fact her daughter, Cara was thrilled for the brunette; she knew how that particular issue bothered Kahlan and apparently the Mother Confessor's worries were unfunded because she would, in fact, be able to continue the line of Confessors. But the moment her eyes caught Richard's happy expression while the Seeker watched Kahlan and Alys and the wizard's head nodding approvingly while he patted his grandson's shoulder in a congratulating manner, Cara felt like the ground had been swept from beneath her feet.

It was obvious to her that Richard immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was the little girl's father. And if Cara thought about it, what other option was there? Sure Kahlan could find a mate to do that, but the affectionate and clearly familiar way in which Alys interacted with Richard lead her to believe that it probably was true; the Seeker must be Alys's father. And even if he wasn't, one thing was for sure: Cara certainly wasn't the girl's father.

Kahlan tried to compose herself, avoiding at all costs, letting Richard and Zedd notice that something was upsetting her and it had to do with Cara. She forced a smile to her face, hoping that the tears that left her eyes could be misjudged by tears of joy.

"Why are you sad?" Alys asked, her eyes shifting from Kahlan to Cara.

"I'm not sad, sweetie," Kahlan said, smiling to the girl in what she hopped was a reassuring way. "These are happy tears," she said, combing her fingers through Alys's dirty blond tresses. The brunette furrowed her brow when her daughter motioned for her to come closer with a small finger, so she knelt down and looked expectantly to the child.

"You do know that you can't lie to a Confessor, don't you?" Alys whispered, raising one eyebrow. Kahlan had to chuckle at the blonde's statement.

"You're right," Kahlan admitted. "But don't worry about it, it's nothing that can't be fixed," the brunette reassured the girl.

"Hmm," Alys replied wordlessly, not sounding totally convinced. "Okay, but don't cry," the girl said, drying Kahlan's tears with her small hands. "I don't like it when you cry, it makes me feel sad," Alys said unhappily, a pout forming on her lips.

Those words transported Kahlan to the night before, when another blonde uttered similar ones to her with a look of devotion that she was sure she wouldn't find now if she looked behind her. Kahlan took a deep breath and tried to forget that for now. Instead she focused on the beautiful, smart girl in front of her; her daughter.

"I won't cry anymore then," Kahlan said with a wide smile. It did not quite reach her eyes, but it was a start.

"Let's go," Richard said happily, coming to stand beside Kahlan and loping one arm around her waist. "We have a lot of ground to cover before we stop for the night," he said, caressing Alys's cheek tenderly and turning his head to kiss Kahlan's cheek sweetly. He noticed Kahlan stiff at his touch, but figured it was due to nerves. He reasoned that Kahlan must still be surprised by the news; he, himself, was beyond stunned.

"Yes, let's keep going," Zedd said smiling. He turned around to look at Cara and a frown replaced his previous smile. "What's wrong Cara?" he asked, taking in the stance of the blonde. The Mord'Sith had stone look on her face and was clutching her unsheathed agiels in both hands; she looked like she was ready to attack someone.

Richard and Kahlan spun around to see what Zedd was referring to, both reaching for their weapons reflexively, while putting Alys protectively between them.

"Nothing is wrong," Cara said, looking like she was caught by surprise by Zedd's question. When she noticed that she had her agiels in her hands in a vice like grip she quickly explained. "I just thought I heard something, but it was just an animal." She walked towards them and put her agiels away, instantly missing the calming pain her weapons brought that helped her to clear her thoughts and bury her feelings. She stopped next to Zedd and glanced over at Kahlan, seeing the knowing look on the brunette's eyes. Leave it to Kahlan to notice when she was using her agiels for comfort instead of defense. Since there was no impending danger after all, they continue their march down the road.


They had been walking all day long, stopping more than usual because of Alys; a little girl couldn't keep up with their pace so it was unavoidable. Cara never said anything about this, surprising Richard and Zedd, who expected the blonde to complain about the various stops they made along the way, saying that it was a bad idea to bring a child with them to slow them down. Even Cara was surprised with herself, but seeing the girl happily chat with Kahlan and watching as the Mother Confessor laughed at the child, it made her hold her tongue. If Cara was being totally honest, she also found the girl entertaining and very smart for her age. She was particularly amused every time Richard tried to teach Alys something about the forest animals or plants and the young Confessor would already have the answer before the Seeker could finish explaining. Richard's impressed expression was hilarious; Cara almost thought that Alys could actually know more about the forests of the Midlands than the former wood's guide.

They stopped shortly before nightfall, taking advantage of the last of the sunlight to make camp and cook the evening meal. Zedd was already preparing the ingredients to make one of his stews. There were a vast number of rabbits in these woods, so Cara had taken a little deviation from the road to catch something for dinner before they stopped for the night. Richard made small talk with Zedd next to the fire, while Alys peeked over the wizard's shoulder, observing Zedd's culinary expertise. Cara sat across the fire from them, not really paying attention to what was going on around her. She was brought back to reality by a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"Can you help me fill the water skins?" Kahlan asked Cara quietly, resting one of her hands on Cara's shoulder and feeling the stiffness of the Mord'Sith's muscles, which only indicated that the blonde was far from being as calm as the façade she was showing. Cara looked up at her and gave her a curt nod that conveyed her understanding that Kahlan wanted more than her help to fill the water skins. Cara stood up and grabbed the water skins from their packs. "We'll be right back," Kahlan said simply to the others, although she offered a sweet smile to Alys before turning around and walking towards the nearby stream, confident that Cara was following just behind her.

Kahlan was thrilled to discover that she had a daughter, or that she would eventually have one in the future. She had no idea what that meant to her relationship with Cara, but she was adamant to not let her imagination run with the worst scenarios based on the little information they had. That was exactly what Zedd had meant when he said knowing the future could be dangerous, they shouldn't assume anything. Kahlan wasn't certain about what would happen in her future, but she was certain that what she felt for Cara was too strong already and she would fight against anything that could come between her and the blonde; and that meant that she would fight Cara too, if needed.

They walked in silence, the only sound being their soft footsteps on forest ground. After they arrived at the stream, Kahlan kneeled at the margin and started filing the first water skin. The Confessor didn't say a word to Cara, nor did she even acknowledge the blonde behind her. The silence treatment was starting to get on Cara's nerves, as Kahlan filled all of the water skins without looking once at Cara. The Mord'Sith had been expecting a lecture from Kahlan on how inappropriate her previous behavior had been, but instead the Confessor just ignored her. Unable to stand the tension anymore and feeling guilty for how she had treated Kahlan before, the blonde broke the silence.

"I guess I own you an apology," Cara said meekly, her eyes shifting from the ground to Kahlan's back and back to the ground again.

"You guess?" Kahlan asked with a hard voice, her eyebrows rising disbelievingly. The Confessor turned to stand and look at Cara, throwing the last filled water skin to the ground and planting her hands on her hips in irritation.

"Kahlan," Cara started heartfelt, but closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. The blonde was annoyed with herself; at her jealously and at her inability to deal with her own feelings and put them into words. The moment she had said those words to Kahlan she had regretted them. She had stuck with it because of pure pride, but deep down she had felt a pang as she had seen the hurt expression appear on Kahlan's face in response to her bitter words. "I'm sorry," she finally let out quickly, but meaningfully. "I don't know what came over me," Cara added, rubbing her forehead with the pads of her fingers and then looking towards Kahlan, to see the brunette's reaction.

"Are you sure you don't know what came over you?" Kahlan asked, her gaze intently fixed on Cara's. At the blonde's confused look the Confessor continued. "Are you sure you don't know, Cara? Because I think I do, but I need to hear you say it," Kahlan said, not backing down or letting the subject drop with Cara's apology. The Confessor was sure that the Mord'Sith was only protecting herself from heartbreak. Cara never gave herself, emotionally, to anyone in her life and the prospect of doing so must be the most terrifying thing the blonde could ever face. But Kahlan was adamant that Cara had to get past this difficulty, she had to trust Kahlan and trust that what Kahlan felt for her was real and the brunette would never intentionally hurt her. Kahlan believed that she had to confront Cara about this, the blonde had to let herself be more vulnerable in order for their relationship to grow stronger.

"What do you want me to say here, Kahlan?" Cara asked petulantly, stubbornly sticking to her pride. "That I'm jealous? Is that what you want to hear?" she spat defiantly at the brunette. She had inkling that this was part of what Kahlan was fishing for, but it was not all of it. Although the blonde was aware that her behavior might be a little over board, she would be damned if she caved easily; even if she, herself, was aware of her own overreaction.

"If that's what you're feeling," Kahlan said, her gaze never wavering from Cara's. "Then yes, I want to hear it," she finished. She could see by the tense muscles in Cara's body and her clenched jaw that she was getting to the Mord'Sith. She didn't enjoy provoking Cara like this, but the blonde had a particular way of dealing with emotional issues; since Cara wouldn't speak freely about her insecurities, letting them burst in bitter comments, Kahlan knew that pushing Cara was the only way the blonde was going to admit her insecurities without feeling weak. Hopefully, Kahlan thought, one day I won't need to push her into it.

"Then there you go, I said it," Cara said, shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't care about their argument, but the way in which she bitted her lower lip and her constantly shifty eyes betrayed her worry. It was as if she was watching herself sink lower and lower and she could do nothing to make it better, she just kept lashing out at Kahlan. She was sure that this time the Confessor would hit her or turn around and walk away without another word; but Kahlan surprised her by slowly approaching her.

"You are, without a doubt, the most stubborn person I've ever met in my entire life," Kahlan said firmly. She noticed Cara flinch at this and starting to turn away from her, but she prevented the blonde from doing so by catching her wrist and cupping her cheek to force Cara to look in her eyes. "And I love you with every thing that I am," she uttered intensely, looking deep into the startled green eyes locked with her own.

Those words rendered Cara speechless. The look in Kahlan's eyes filled the brunette's words with meaning, preventing Cara from doubting their truthfulness. All her life the Mord'Sith had run from words like those, which reflected deep feelings that she was sure she was incapable of feeling. And now she had Kahlan in front of her, even after Cara had hurt her, uttering them with so much devotion that it made Cara feel invincible.

The Confessor moved her hands to catch Cara's and brought the blonde's arms to encircle her waist. "This is were I want to be, Cara," Kahlan whispered, giving Cara a little more reassurance as she watched the turmoil going on in the blonde's eyes.

Cara wrapped her arms firmly around the brunette, closing the small gap between their bodies and fusing their lips together in a tender, but confident kiss. The blonde felt Kahlan's hands entangle in her hair, which only made her deepen the kiss and trying to convey in the caress of her lips her apology and the love she felt for Kahlan. When Cara separated herself from Kahlan, the blonde fixed the Confessor with a passionate gaze, staring into her eyes for a moment before she spoke.

"I love you too, Kahlan," Cara said tenderly, squeezing the brunette's waist and capturing Kahlan's lips in brief kiss, sealing her words. The bright smile that appeared on Kahlan's face, illuminating her blue eyes, made Cara's effort of putting her feelings into words was completely worth it. "And I am sorry for what I said earlier," the blonde said with a sigh, closing her eyes in a self deprecating manner. "When I looked at Richard's face jealously consumed me in a way that had never before."

"This is what Zedd was referring to when he said that knowing our future could be dangerous," Kahlan said. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions without knowing the truth. I don't know what will happen in the future Cara, all I know is that right now there's no one I see myself with but you," she reassured the Mord'Sith.

"You could change your mind," Cara said sadly. "You do have a daughter," Cara recalled, looking pointedly at Kahlan.

"I don't think that is going to happen," Kahlan said with a smile, shaking her head. "And as for Alys, you know that one of my duties as the Mother Confessor, and one of the only two Confessors alive, is to reestablish the line of Confessors," Kahlan said with a sigh, combing her fingers soothingly through Cara's tresses. She always wanted kids and after all, Confessor's were known for taking mates for that sole purpose only. The idea never appealed to her, but the truth was that Cara could give her everything, except a child. So resorting to find a mate that could provide her a child would probably be her only choice.

"Don't get me wrong, I am good," Cara said smirking. "But I'm not that good," she said with a small chuckle. "It's just that the idea of someone else touching you is enough to make me want to kill anyone in a five mile radius," she said, her eyebrows furrowing, showing her intense displeasure.

"Me included, if what you said to me in the morning is anything to go by," Kahlan said playfully, but the sad look on her face was evidence of the hurt that she felt at Cara's cutting words. But at the regretful look that once again returned to Cara's green eyes she quickly added. "I understand why you did it and I forgive you," Kahlan said, moving one hand to reassuringly cup Cara's cheek. "Just promise me that you'll trust me and trust that I love you," she asked Cara with pleading eyes.

"I do trust you Kahlan," Cara quickly said. "I'm not used to having someone love me the way you do," she said apprehensively. "These feelings are new to me and I'm still learning how to deal with them."

"I know," Kahlan reassured the blonde. "We'll learn together," she said, leaning in for a sweet kiss. She ended the kiss and smiled cheerfully at Cara. She was happy that she had cleared the air with the Mord'Sith; Kahlan was sure that the acid she had felt in her stomach since that morning would destroy her from the inside out if she had taken any longer to talk to Cara. Kahlan placed one more kiss on Cara's lips, tenderly brushing her hand against the back of Cara's neck as she disentangled herself from the blonde's arms in order to get back to camp.

"Kahlan," Cara said thoughtfully, bending down to pick up the full water skins. "She has your eyes, have you noticed that?" the blonde asked with a smile.

"She does, doesn't she?" Kahlan agreed, recalling Alys's clear blue eyes.

"And your tendency to enjoy talking," she added with a raised eyebrow. "I guess no one is perfect, right?" she said playfully, knowing that that would raise a laugh out of Kahlan.

Sure enough, the Confessor laughed and playfully slapped Cara's shoulder. "Not everybody is as silent as you." Kahlan said, starting to walk back towards camp with the Mord'Sith beside her.

"I only talk when I have something important to say," Cara said. "I never waste my words, Confessor," she said, looking sideways at Kahlan.

"Of course, because snarky remarks are always an important addition to any conversation," Kahlan said sarcastically, the playful smile never leaving her lips. She was so relieved to be once again indulging in this kind of banter with Cara; it assured her that they were past the fight.

Cara slid one arm around Kahlan's waist, bringing the Confessor back to her as she paused. "I love you," the blonde whispered in Kahlan's ear and captured the brunette's earlobe in her lips.

Hearing those three simple words from Cara's mouth again, made Kahlan shiver with happiness. "You don't play fair," Kahlan said chuckling, lifting one hand to cup the back of Cara's neck.

"I know," Cara stated with a smirk, letting go of Kahlan as they continued walking back to camp. "But you love it," she added, winking at a beaming Kahlan.


When Cara and Kahlan got back to camp they found Zedd still by the fire, hovering over the pot, with Richard sitting next to him, while Alys talked animatedly about something in front of them. The girl looked up at the women and beamed when she saw the smiles on both women's faces.

"Everything okay?" Richard asked absentmindedly, after turning around to look at Kahlan.

"Yes," the Mother Confessor answered with a pensive expression. "Actually, can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Kahlan asked the Seeker.

"Of course," Richard replied grinning, getting up and walking towards the brunette.

"We'll be back in a few," Kahlan said to Cara, passing the water skins she was also carrying to the blonde and squeezing her gloved hand in the process. Cara gave her an encouraging nod accompanied by small smile, indications that the blonde had a pretty good idea of what Kahlan wanted to say to the Seeker.

"Come sit with us," a voice said behind Cara. The Mord'Sith looked down to find Alys next to her with a hopeful smile on her face.

"You guys behave while we're gone," Richard said playfully, earning him a glare from Cara and a snort from the Zedd.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them both," Alys said decisively, grabbing Cara's hand and pulling the Mord'Sith towards the fire.

Cara rolled her eyes at the little girl, but let herself be dragged across the camp. She looked behind her to find Kahlan smiling gently at her, the Confessor's head tilting to the side in an endearing way that made Cara want to retrace her steps and kiss the brunette until they needed to stop for air. But she only sighed mock-annoyance and followed Alys towards the fire.

Kahlan lead Richard toward the stream, where she and Cara had been only moments before. She stopped in the middle of the path and turned towards the Seeker with a worried expression. This was it, she was going to tell Richard about how her feelings for him had changed and that she wasn't in love with him anymore. But before she could say something, Richard beat her to it.

"I'm the happiest man alive right now, Kahlan" he said, cupping her cheeks tenderly, a wide grin illuminating his face. "I can't believe that we got to meet our daughter," he beamed.

His words confirmed Kahlan's suspicion; he did believe that he was Alys's father. Although she couldn't deny this with certainty either, what she was about to tell him diminished those chances drastically.

"We don't know that for sure Richard," Kahlan said carefully, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but knowing that it was inevitable.

"What do you mean?" he said confused. "I always knew we were going to overcome our love's obstacles and you just have to look at her," he stated. At the confused expression on Kahlan's face he explained. "She has your eyes, but the color of her hair… My hair was that same color when I was a child," he recalled, his grin returning to his lips. "And back at the inn last night, Alys was going to call me something instead of my name, I'm sure she was going to say father," he said happily to Kahlan.

The brunette did remember how Alys seemed to stumble in her own words at that moment, but maybe Richard was seeing what he wanted to see. It was obvious that Alys knew all of them and it was pointless to jump to conclusions, as she had told Cara. She was going to say exactly that to Richard when a crackling noise behind her caught her attention. She quickly turned around when she saw Richard look intently over her shoulder.

"Who's there?" the Seeker demanded, unsheathing his sword, while Kahlan reached for her daggers as well.

"An old man in need of help, young man," a scratching voice sounded from a slumped form in between the bushes. It looked like a man, covered in a cloak, walking towards them.

"Show yourself," Kahlan demanded and watched as the men uncovered his head, moving one fragile hand to his chest in an attempt to stop a coughing fit. He looked like a wanderer, his robs were dirty and torn. The thin long air glued to his greasy skin, the wrinkles in his face bore witness to the man's old age.

Richard traded a worried look with Kahlan, but immediately moved to help the men. The Seeker guided him to sit on a rock and waited for him to stop coughing.

"What's your name?" Richard asked once the man's breath returned to normal.

"My name is Grestes," he answered tiredly. "I'm traveling to a town a day from here, but I'm not young anymore and the chill air of the night bothers me more than I anticipated," he explained slowly, clinging to Richard's arm for support when a new coughing fit overcame him.

"Could you give me some water?" Grestes asked Richard. "It always helps with the cough and my water skin is dry."

"I'll go to the camp and bring you some water," the Seeker said, looking at Kahlan and silently asking her if she minded. Kahlan gave him a nod, telling him to go and moved over to approach Grestes as the Seeker left.

Richard was only a few steps down the path, his back turned to them, when Grestes lifted his gaze to look Kahlan in the eyes. Something in the man's eyes made her uneasy and before she could figure out what it was, Grestes lifted his arm and fire shot out of his hand. Kahlan's eyes widened as she saw the flames coming in her direction. Before she could react, the flames ricocheted off of something and suddenly an agonizing scream pierced the air at the same time as the flames hit Grestes in the shoulder.

Richard immediately turned back around, sword in hand and advanced towards the cloak covered old man. Before he could reach him, though, Grestes clutched an amulet that was around his neck, previously covered by his clothes, and pronounced some words under his breath, making him vanish in the air. The Seeker didn't waste any more time and hurried towards Kahlan and what appeared to be an unconscious Alys in her arms.

"Kahlan, what happened?" Richard asked the brunette, while he looked down at the small girl.

"She appeared out of nowhere in front of me and somehow prevented the flames to get to me," Kahlan said, tears falling down her face while she cradled an unconscious Alys in her arms. The Mother Confessor lifted one of the girl's hands and saw that the palms were burnt. "Spirits, look at her hands," Kahlan whispered worriedly.

"What happened?" Cara said behind Kahlan, her breath heavy from the sprinting there from the camp.

"Cara," Kahlan uttered in a strangled sob and motioned helplessly to the child in her arms.

"Damn girl, I told her that playing hide and seek in the woods was dangerous, but that girl is better at talking than at listening," the Mord'Sith cursed more to herself than to her companions.

"I'll go get Zedd to help," Richard said and jumped to his feet, running back in the camp's direction without waiting for a reply from the women.

"Give her to me," Cara said after a few moments, already lifting Alys in her arms. "It'll be faster if we bring her to Zedd than the other way around," the blonde explained with a roll of her eyes. Why hadn't Richard though of that first?

"Let's go then," Kahlan said, sniffling discretely and drying her tears with one hand.

"Look at me, Kahlan," Cara said while she stood with Alys safely cradled in her arms. "Stop crying, you know I don't like it," she said half-jokingly, trying to calm the Confessor down. "Alys is going to be okay. The wizard will help her," she stated firmly, with a conviction that she hopped would put the brunette at ease. When Kahlan nodded her head, Cara leaned in to kiss her gently in the lips.

"Thank you," Kahlan said with a smile, inhaling deeply. "I need that. Now let's hurry and get back to Zedd," she said, eyes alert for any danger while jogging towards their camp with the Mord'Sith beside her carrying Alys.


"He was no old man in need of help, he was a wizard," Zedd growled, after hearing what happened in the woods. He was using magic to cure the burnt marks on Alys's palm as the girl lay, still unconscious, on a bedroll.

"The amulet he used to get away," Richard recalled. "I recognized it," he stated with a nod of his head. "It looked like the one that that wizard used before to find Kahlan and get her back to Aydindril."

"Oloron's amulet," Zedd said, recalling their last trip to Aydindril, which had split Kahlan in two. They had left the restored amulet in the Wizard's Keep; there always had to be a safeguard to find the Mother Confessor if she was needed. "Only a skilled wizard can use the amulet and find the Mother Confessor," the wizard mused out loud. "So this man, whoever he is, is a powerful wizard that is looking specifically for you, my dear," Zedd concluded, lifting his head to look worriedly at the Mother Confessor in front of him.

"I didn't recognize him," Kahlan said from the other side of Alys's prone body. The brunette was caressing her daughters cheek in a comforting gesture, even if the girl probably couldn't feel it.

"By your description I don't recognize him either, but he could also have been using a masking spell," Zedd said, his brown furrowed in effort because of the energy he was expending to help Alys. "I can't do anything more for her injuries, she was struck with wizards fire so I can't cure it totally," he said looking into Kahlan's concerned eyes. "But don't worry my child, she's just drained right now. She'll wake up and the burns will definitely heal in no time on their own," he reassured the Confessor.

"Thank the Creator," Kahlan whispered and sighed with relief.

"Is anyone else wondering how the girl could even have done what she did?" Cara said dryly, pointing out the strangeness of the situation.

"I think I know," Richard said, nodding his head in thought, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Is it possible for a Confessor to have magical powers, other than the Confessor's powers?" the Seeker asked Zedd.

"I never heard of such thing, but in theory it wouldn't be impossible," Zedd said pensively, watching as the smile on his grandson's face widened at his words of confirmation. "Are you suggesting that this girl, beyond being a Confessor is also a sorceress?" Zedd asked the Seeker, already following his grandson's train of thought.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," Richard confirmed with a full grin, walking towards Kahlan and kneeling beside the brunette. "I'm saying that this probably means that Alys has magical blood in her; my blood," he said, looking expectantly at Zedd to see if what made perfect sense to him also made sense to his wiser grandfather.

"You may be right, my boy," Zedd said grinning. "Otherwise it would be impossible for her to stop the wizard's fire and judging by the burnt marks in her hands she probably can't harness her powers completely yet," he said, analyzing again the small blonde's injuries.

"I told you Kahlan," Richard whispered to the silent Mother Confessor. "It couldn't be more obvious that she's our daughter," he said, his exhilarated mood preventing him to see that Kahlan wasn't exactly sharing his happiness.

"Richard stop," Kahlan snapped. "Alys is hurt, can we focus on the problem at hand, please?" the Mother Confessor said sternly, her voice louder than she intended.

"I'm sorry, Kahlan," Richard apologized, his eyes showing his surprise at Kahlan's outburst. "Zedd already said she was going to be fine, you don't have to be so upset," he said, believing anger stemmed from her worry over Alys.

"I heard Zedd," Kahlan replied, her voice lowering but remaining hard. "But I'll stop worrying when she opens her eyes and tells me she's okay," the brunette said harshly. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'll go pick a water skin for her to drink when she wakes up," Kahlan said more calmly, getting to her feet and walking towards their bags where Cara stood, agiels in hand and eyes roaming the area around them.

Zedd followed Kahlan with his eyes, noticing that there was more to her irritated outburst than the worry about Alys's condition. He had observed her reaction to Richard's deductions and it seemed to him that she was not as happy about them as his grandson was. A child would mean that Richard and Kahlan would have to be intimate with each other and that act would certainly leave Richard confessed. This had always worried Kahlan, but watching Kahlan and Cara's interactions lately, Zedd suspected that the Confessor's reluctance towards Richard had more to it than the usual obstacles. He had a feeling that his boy was going to have to deal with more pain in the future than he thought. The wizard patted the Seeker's shoulder comfortingly, giving him an encouraging look in hopes of cheering him up.

"Did your hear-" Kahlan started when she got near Cara, but was cut off by the blonde.

"Yes, I did," she said curtly. "I'm trying not to jump to conclusions as you asked, but you can see how difficult that is," she whispered, crouching down to retrieve a water skin from her pack.

"Cara, I know that what Richard is saying makes sense, but you promised me you would trust me," Kahlan said, kneeling besides Cara and resting one warm hand on Cara's forearm.

"And I do," Cara stated firmly. "Don't worry about that, just don't expect me to look happy with Richard's theory," the blonde said, lifting one eyebrow and giving Kahlan the water skin.

"Just remember that it's nothing but a theory," Kahlan said, squeezing Cara's arm and then using it for leverage to get up.

"A theory that makes perfect sense and is backed by a very wise wizard," Cara mumbled while she got to her feet. Kahlan sighed and looked at her with a tired and pleading look. "I'm not like you, I like to vent, that doesn't mean that I'm not here supporting you," Cara said. The Mother Confessor smiled and mouthed to the Mord'Sith 'I know.' Cara watched with a sad look as the brunette turned around to and returned to her place beside Alys.


The wizard was standing in the center of a room with stone walls and impeccable marble floors, glaring at the polished rock. His hands were clasped behind his back, holding himself tall as if he were a D'Haran general; his long dark hair was once again perfectly combed and he wore his usual dark blue robes as the illusion of the filthy rags he had disguised himself with moments prior fell away. A slave girl dressed in white toga stood close to the wall, holding a plate with various fruits and wine for him to use if he so wished. He heard firm steps echoing behind him and didn't even bother to turn around to see who it was before speaking.

"Everything ready, Mistress?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Yes," a tall dark haired Mord'Sith replied with certainty. "I have my squad ready to depart. It will be a good opportunity to test the new girl I finished re-breaking yesterday." A sneer crossed her face; it could have been for either the man or the girl.

"Mistress Garren, this is a mission of utmost importance," the Wizard said, turning around to meet the cold eyes of the red clad woman. "I don't think that it's the time to take a newbie for a stroll," he snapped at her.

"Watch your tone, wizard," Garren said menacingly. "Don't forget for a second that even a freshly broken Mord'Sith could kill you without any trouble." She watched in satisfaction as the man clenched his jaw and said nothing at the reminder of his helplessness. "My sisters and I only do what you ask because Lord Rahl told us too. No one in this temple answers to you and they never will," she said viciously.

"I'm perfectly aware of that Mistress Garren," he said with venom. "But I still tell you what to do and taking a new girl could be risky." He smiled coldly.

"Maybe you tell me what to do," she stated in a bored tone. "But not how I do it. You obviously know little about Mord'Sith. I chose the sisters who form the squad that I lead."

"Very well then," he relented, trusting that although the Mord'Sith were cocky and all together unbearable, they were also nothing short of efficient; that is why he had allied himself to them and their master. "I'm sure you know your sisters best. Just bring the little brat to me," he said with venom, his features contorting in a sneer while he absentmindedly lifted one hand to his sore shoulder. "And keep in mind that though she's just a child, she's still a Confessor. For all your abilities, her touch is still fatal to you and your sisters."

"We leave at dawn," Garren said and turned around to walk out of the room.

Neither party noticed a silhouette hiding in the shadows, spying the conversation.