Lord Oswin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. More and more reports seemed to confirm that Richard was coming to take the throne of D'hara. He couldn't let Richard take the throne. He may be the Seeker, but he is a Rahl. All Rahl men were tyrants. He needed to put a stop to the tyranny.

They were the ones who came to ask him to take the throne temporarily while Richard quested for the Stone of Tears. But Richard can't be the Seeker and a Rahl. He needs to choose one. Richard can continue being Seeker of Truth. Oswin didn't care. As the Seeker he would remain a benefactor to the people of the Midlands and an asset to D'hara. Besides, Richard forfeited his right to the throne when he called a meeting and declared Oswin the new leader for D'hara

Rahl: the supposed leader of D'hara. No, not men but evil tyrants who bed women, eat luxurious meals and sleep comfortably while the rest of D'hara falls victim to their deceit. Lord Oswin would lead the kingdom to greater heights than they ever have been.

But a pang of guilt hit his stomach. He was the one instigating riots against the Seeker's expected rise to rule, fanning flames already there. This was not very king like… No. This was necessary. By dividing the people against Richard, he could unite them and protect them from potential tyranny. That's what he promised the people when he was coroneted. No one challenged him or the Seeker at the time. This plan of his would work, to unite D'hara against any more tyranny from the Rahl family.

He felt a pain in his throat, and heat in his eyes. With a wave of his hand he dismissed his assistant. He stood up and walked silently to his chambers. The memories still hurt him. He was lucky he even had a wife after what happened.

Back when Darken Rahl was leading D'hara, Lord Oswin, an advancing politician at that time, tried to convince the court Darken Rahl was a corrupt man. His pleas fell on deaf ears and he was silenced. He was stripped of his rank as a politician.

Not long after that, a man snuck into his home, beat his wife and killed his daughter. She was four years old. Then the man stabbed Oswin in the gut. Upon leaving the man laughed heartily and said, "Long live Lord Rahl, the true heir of D'hara. If you survive, consider asking Lord Rahl for forgiveness." Miraculously, the man had survived.

But he lost the joy what made him live…

Upon arriving at his bed chambers he closed the door. His wife must not be in yet. Every day she would visit the local orphanage and help take care of the children, filling the hole that that vile man gave both of them. Lord Oswin opened up a drawer and removed the clothing of his late daughter. He hugged the green dress and cried into it. He sniffled, his heart sinking to his stomach. Even after two years his daughter's clothes still smelled like her.

He curled up on his bed, holding the clothes as tight to his body as he could. He sobbed, letting his feelings go and submitting himself to the sadness. His precious little girl was no more. He thought back to how she would steady herself on the porch's wooden hand rails. Her bare feet carefully treaded the thin structure.

She wanted to make people laugh. She wanted to become an acrobat-jester. She would flip over the railing landing on her feet with grace. She had a magnificent skill for such a young child, not afraid of any height or any jump. Suddenly, his sadness became anger. There was no way he would let the Seeker become the new Rahl. He refused to allow it.

He kissed the clothes of his daughter and folded them neatly and stuck them back in the drawer. He had gold to burn. He needed to pay more groups of people to continue the riots. They could be bought. Darken Rahl bought many of his victims, those that became "loyal" to the Lord Rahl. They didn't care who they were loyal to as long as they could hear the jingle of coins or the laughter of the women.

Lord Oswin was terrified. Terrified what the riots could lead to, the lives lost. In the end, he didn't even understand Richard's newfound desire to run the country anyways. A Seeker was better suited to saving the world, not listening to politicians play games of chance and intrigue.

He owed Richard for taking down Darken Rahl; that much he knew. However, his loyalty would extend no further if Richard's goals for kingship drove him too far. If another tyrant should rise, Oswin would lead the charge. Whether a Rahl could be trusted or not mattered little. What ultimately mattered was the safety of the citizens; he just hoped Richard could understand that.

If hearing the rioters express their disillusionment with him could work in his favor, all the better.

Sister Verna, Mariette and Victoria met at the town square, each one wearing their respectable dresses. Verna was the only one who wore a red dress; the other two wore their pink dresses. Each one had a small bag on their backs. With one last glimpse at the Palace of the Prophets, the three headed out of the city.

Sister Mariette couldn't control herself as she started gushing about what she knew about the outside world. Sister Mariette loved to read, her fascination with the outside world compelling her to pour hours into lengthy documents on the stories and information of such a foreign place. She especially wanted to try out the cuisine D'haran kingdom offered. Dishes of meats prepared with extravagant herbs and spices; their descriptions and paintings alone would make her mouth water.

"Doesn't that sound good?" Mariette started, "Mutton of the West, a dish prepared with potatoes, carrots, onions, and zucchini. The mutton is prepared with a special blend of herbs and spices known as the D'haran hot-winds. I have to try their dish and their beers and wines-"

"You are not drinking any alcohol!" Sister Victoria interrupted.

Sister Mariette pouted, "But why not!?"

"Need I remind you what happened last time?" Victoria walked ahead without looking back at Mariette.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mariette crossed her arms over her chest.

"I heard you caused quite a scene, young lady. You turned even the calmest gentleman into chasing you like a dog." Verna cracked a smile.

Mariette shrieked, "Sister Verna heard!?"

"I thought you didn't know what we were talking about?" Victoria smirked.

Mariette threw her hands up, "It was an over exaggeration!"

"You ran around naked in the streets looking for your long lost soul-mate, Alex Finn."

Mariette blushed and muttered something incoherent under her breath. When they were no longer within the limits of the city, Verna stopped.

"You girls have one last chance to turn back," Verna started, staring at a bug on a nearby tree, "The road outside is long and dangerous. On my first trip I lost two of the sisters travelling with me to the outside. You will no longer be protected by the magic of the city walls. You will begin aging like a normal person. If you wish to turn back, I will not hold it against you. I only want you both to understand what is going to happen now that we have left the safety of the palace."

"I'm still going to stick by you no matter what." Sister Mariette said it so surely that Verna had to look up. Mariette's eyes reflected how much she meant that and Verna couldn't help but to feel relieved.

"Count me in, too. I have to keep this troublemaker in line." Sister Victoria said.

"Who are you calling troublemaker?" Mariette shot back. Verna smiled warmly. She was glad for their companionship. The road to the outside world was one long and hard journey. Having companions that you care about made the journey that much more pleasant. With the three together, Verna hoped that nothing bad would happen to them. While the last time she journeyed they got to the Seeker, it wasn't without its dangers.

She would have to make sure all the wild beasts stayed away with her magics, lest they be assailed in the night by any manner of creature. And as she took the first step forward she knew there was no going back. She needed to warn the Seeker and he needed her help when the time would come. He may not believe in prophecies but she did and she was going to make sure the Seeker would continue to walk in the light of the Creator.

As promised, Richard and his group were given provisions to last the trip. If they could ride at an even pace they would make it to Brennidon. Then from there, the Palace of the Prophets was only a hundred leagues. They would be able to make it within a fortnight.

The three days were a peaceful ride for the group, giving Richard some time to think. The more he thought about it the more his thoughts hurt him. It hurt to know that the people he fought so hard to free, to protect from the Keeper's grasp, how they turned on him for his name. Two years ago, he was a woods' guide living in Hartland. He was so sure of himself back then, a woodsman guiding people through the woods, teaching them how to survive, taking groups of people on tours through the forest. Richard Cypher was his name. He hadn't known he was adopted at the time, but he loved George Cypher like a father and he loved Richard like his own son.

Richard laughed at the memory. He had known Zedd at the time, but back then he only knew him as the crazy old man who talked to his chickens. He was friends with Zedd as well. Zedd had taught him the value of plants; which to touch, which not to touch, which plants healed and which plants were poison. With his knowledge, Richard could place a bet that Zedd could have opened his own apothecary shop had he not the habit of talking to his chickens day in and out.

And then Kahlan came through the boundary… He still remembered the first time he saw her. She was surrounded by a Quad, a group of four elite assassins, hired by Darken Rahl to kill her. He stepped in front to try to help her. He ended up wrestling one of the members and another tried to kill her. Kahlan was faster.

Kahlan dodged the man's sword; her hand reached for his throat and released the magic she constantly kept at bay. The man gasped as her power touched him. She ordered him to attack the Quad. The man killed two and tackled the third off the cliff.

Shortly after, he was named Seeker of Truth for passing the test not many could pass, according to Zedd. His adventure took him places he never imagined existed, and he helped save so many people from tyranny, injustice, helplessness, those that were lost, and innocents who were sentenced to death.

During his travels he had found out more about himself, about how he was adopted, how he came to be in Hartland. Kahlan had found the truth out first when Zedd was put in a situation where he had to admit a deep secret. Richard was his grandson. Zedd was accused of impregnating a woman and was the father of a boy. Zedd argued with the woman that the boy couldn't be his son. Kahlan was the judge between the two.

She noticed Zedd's eyes, how the shadow of truth was in his eyes. When he refused to admit what he was hiding she took him to a separate room. Finally, he admitted that the boy wasn't his kin because Richard was his only kin. Kahlan found out he had lost his daughter to a Quad. Richard was his only grandson, the last of the Zorander blood line. The situation was cleared, but Zedd made Kahlan swear not to tell Richard for his fear that if Richard knows of his blood Relationship with Zedd, he could jeopardize his entire mission. Richard Zorander.

A year later, he had found out after killing Darken Rahl that he was in fact son of Panis Rahl. The very reason why the Mord'Sith's magic flowed through their Agiels. The Mord'Sith received their power from the blood of the Rahl family. Cara soon found out who the true Lord Rahl was after being beaten and abandoned by her other sisters of the Agiel. His new name became Richard Rahl.

When she joined, Zedd and Kahlan had negative feelings towards Cara. Zedd was afraid of her at the time, for Mord'Sith could deflect and repel magic. Zedd was powerless around her. Kahlan could confess her if she tried to attack them, killing her instantly. Kahlan protested the idea of Cara travelling with them. But Richard put his trust in her, since she helped him kill Darken Rahl. It took time for Zedd and Kahlan to trust Cara, but the more they travelled, the more they fought alongside each other and Cara became a trustworthy companion. Unbeknownst to the group, Cara admitted to a night wisp, a fragile creature of the Midlands that she thought of her companions as her friends and she loved them.

Now, they were fighting about his name. Richard felt it was too petty. It was almost unbelievable that they would fight about the name of the man that freed them twice. It made him livid. How could they fight over something so trivial, so unimportant?

Perhaps someone was starting something against him? That made sense. If they thought he was going to take over the throne then it was a natural reaction to fight against him. Now he had to find the person responsible for tarnishing his name, or trying to. He rolled his eyes. It could be anyone at this point. And that wasn't enough information to narrow down a suspect.

But it had to be someone with influential power within D'hara, someone with the potential to have a wide reach of power over the main influencers in the city. Now that he thought about it, it was too weird how every other town they stopped in were overrun with reports of riots due to political reasons. Perhaps there was a movement against having Richard be the Lord Rahl. There was a temporary leader and perhaps they wanted Lord Oswin to be on the throne.

Lord Oswin was a respected politician and natural born leader of the people. It almost felt cruel to take him away from the throne. Richard knew he had to keep the man on his side. He could make him an adviser; that way Lord Oswin didn't have to leave the People's Palace. He could stay and work for Richard. Their ambitions combined could unify a peaceful country.

That would be a true sight to see; three provinces united. Westland, the Midlands, and D'hara all under one rule. Richard knew that his homeland, Hartland, would want him to lead them. Kahlan and her Sister, Dennee, had strong influence in the Midlands. Working with Richard, they could bring peace to the Midlands and stop the fighting D'hara had started. With Richard on the throne of D'hara he could do so much good. There would be no more fighting, no more suffering, no more injustice, and any loyal to Darken Rahl would be subject to the laws of their unified rule.

He only needed to stop the riots over his name…

"Richard! Did you not hear me?" Cara brought him back to reality.

"What?"

"I said it will get dark out soon. We should set up camp at the foot of the mountain." She pointed northwest of their current direction, "We would be protected from the weather if we set up there."

Richard analyzed the foot of the mountain. If they were to stay there they would be safe from the winds that were picking up from the west. The watch-shifts would only have to worry about their front as their rears would be covered by the steep mountain side.

Richard nodded, "That's a good idea." He commented.

Cara shrugged and led the group towards the direction of the mountains. She noticed Richard drifting off away from the group, his eyes unfocused. His mind was somewhere else.

"Richard!" She called out. Richard's eyes met hers. She motioned the direction they were heading, "We're going this way."

"Of course." He guided his horse to the northwest and after a few leagues they began setting up camp.

They had luckily set up camp near a stream of fresh water. Richard led the horses to the small body of flowing water and tied them to a nearby tree. The horses' heads bobbed as their tongues lapped up the water. The horses snickered, almost as if saying 'thank you' for the water break.

Kahlan had begun clearing a space for a campfire and their camp. She picked up discarded brush and dumped the dry wood in a pile they would use for kindling. Any rocks or large objects were moved out of the way. Using one of her knives she cleared some thistle bush, careful not to touch the hundreds of small thorns on the green plant with long stem.

When she was finished she inspected her work; their sleeping spot was a space of about four paces wide and five paces long. Now they could place their blankets down without any worries of bugs or prickly plants.

Richard, after tying the horses to the trees, announced he would pick up firewood.

"Cara and I will go hunting." Zedd announced. Cara tested the strength of the bow string, and moved to Kahlan's horse to pick up the small quiver of arrows.

Richard silently began looking for scraps of branches and when he found nothing he inspected the campsite. A small distance away he found a long tree that had fallen down. He grabbed his axe from his horse and walked the distance to the tree. He noticed the soft earth surrounding the tree's stump and deduced that it must have fallen down due to old age. The tree was somewhat falling apart but not decaying. The bark of the tree was still strong and dry; it would make for good firewood. He chopped off a section of the stump, enough for one night's worth of firewood. Then he chopped that section into threes and then sixths.

He brought the firewood over to Kahlan who had already dug a small pit and surrounded the edge with rocks of different sizes. He set four pieces of wood in a cross formation. Then he grabbed the brush Kahlan had cleared and placed it in different spots on the wood. He grabbed his flint from his side pocket and took out a knife he used for carving wood. He struck the flint sending sparks to the brush.

He switched from blowing air into the brush and striking the flint stone. Once he saw smoke rise from one spot, he began fanning until embers began to form. After a few more blows a small fire began forming. He quickly moved to another side and began doing the same thing. Striking, blowing, striking, fanning, and back to blowing.

Eventually he had a small fire surrounding the cross of wood and beginning to burn brighter than before. He left the fire to burn by itself and returned his items to either his pocket or into his bag by the horses.

"You're awful quiet, Richard." Kahlan commented.

Richard turned to look at her, "I'm not quiet. Am I?"

"You have been since we left Valentine. What are you thinking about?"

"The same thing I've been thinking about since we talked with Ryan." Richard admitted.

Kahlan understood. "You're upset that the people still fight over loyalty to you."

"It just… hurts. We've risked all of our lives more than once to save these people from evil and the way they repay us is fighting over a name."

Kahlan embraced him with one arm, "Richard. We are thankful to have you as the Seeker. You have accomplished more than any Seeker has ever had to do. And you've also sacrificed many things to get to where we are now. Maybe the people would understand if they hear your side of the story instead of what other people tell them."

"Maybe. But I still don't like this. We'll need to talk to Lord Oswin. When he hands over the throne I'll tell them my story."

Kahlan nodded, "What about Lord Oswin? What are you going to do with him?" Kahlan sat next to him, turning her body slightly towards him.

"He's been a very good leader and a fair judge. I want to keep him in my court. We could do so much good if we work together."

"I thought so. I knew he was a good leader the moment I laid eyes on him."

Richard grinned, "I knew he was an effective leader by his actions." Richard leaned closer to her.

"Did you now?" She leaned in the rest of the way and gave him a chaste kiss.

"I can't wait until we get married!" Richard commented.

"Me neither. It will be a glorious moment for this entire country." Kahlan said.

They stared into each other's' eyes for a moment before they turned away at the sound of someone arguing.

"What is that?" Richard asked. As the argument got louder, it became clear Zedd and Cara were really getting into it.

"You know, old man, maybe if you used your magic to help me drag this damn carcass to the campsite, you could be eating right now. Instead I have to do all the work. Can you even call yourself a man by having a woman do the work for you?"

"You know exactly how I get when I'm hungry! For all you know, one slight push and this deer could fly back to the People's Palace."

"You're always hungry, Wizard. Maybe if you hadn't been born with a bottomless stomach you could focus more." Cara argued, pulling with all her strength as the deer was dragged to the campsite. Zedd's scrawny frame didn't seem to be helping even though he was pushing from behind.

"Why don't you get on the deer and I can send you to the People's Palace? It will be the ride of your life." Zedd sassed.

"That would be a good idea," Both groaned as the deer was caught on uneven ground. Cara used her legs to pull the deer towards her. Once the deer was free she continued walking towards the campsite, dragging the deer behind her with the rope over her shoulder. She could see Richard and Kahlan thirty paces from their current position. "Maybe at the People's Palace I wouldn't be stuck with an always hungry Wizard. I could be doing so much more than hunting deer."

"Yes, and I would enjoy peaceful nights." Zedd retorted.

"What is going on with those two?" Kahlan asked Richard.

"Zedd is hungry." Richard answered.

Cara arrived near the campsite and decided to drop the deer as it was. Now that the weight was off her shoulders, literally, she stomped to where Kahlan was.

"I caught the animal. You two deal with it!" She clapped her red leathered hands together, shaking off any dust from the trek.

"Zedd, gather some herbs for the deer. There was a patch of white mushrooms and some herbs growing about a league back. If you can gather those we could have a nice meal." Kahlan instructed.

"A Wizard of the First Order gathering herbs and spices?" Zedd lifted an eyebrow.

Richard clasped him on the shoulder, "Cara will make a delicious meal with them. And you know she can cook."

Zedd muttered something incoherent as he left in the direction of the spices. Richard and Kahlan all but laughed at how childish he was being. Zedd must've been really hungry if he had that attitude.

"Well, now that the three of us are together, I will take first watch." Cara declared with hands at her hips. The soft jingle of the chain of the Agiel was heard every time she moved.

"I'll take the second watch." Kahlan place a finger on Richard's lips to keep him from talking first.

"Then I will take the last shift." Richard declared.

"Maybe it will give the old man time to rest." Cara teased.

Kahlan and Richard started to work on the deer; Cara began to scout the area for potential threats and vulnerabilities. Working together, the duo had skinned, butchered, and cut slabs of meat for their meal. By the time they were finished, Zedd arrived with his hands full of mushrooms and herbs.

The smell of the spiced venison meat permeated the campsite. Cara paid close attention to the deer meat, careful to give slow even turns of the meat on the metal spit. Kahlan watched, impressed. It was the first time she had seen Cara so focused cooking. Maybe if she hadn't been Mord'Sith she would make a very fine cook. Kahlan gave a sad smile, thinking what it would be like for Cara to have had a normal life.

"What are you thinking of?" Richard inquired.

Kahlan gave Richard a sad look. "Just thinking about the kind of life Cara would have had she not become Mord'Sith." She muttered.

"Kahlan," She turned to him, "None of that. I know Cara is prideful of her life right now. She would rather be here with us than somewhere else. She is a tough woman. Just like you."

That made Kahlan smile. Richard patted her on the shoulder before sitting down to read their maps. Zedd sat down with Richard and both began to look through their maps and examine their surroundings and begin crafting their plan to quell the country's dissent.

Before Kahlan turned to do something else, she swore she saw Cara give off a satisfied smile at her task…