Richard rubbed his eyes as he went through the large stack of papers sitting on his desk. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, his mind racing after the interactions with Kahlan. He had been slacking on keeping up with the work since Kahlan had walked into this very room. He was now dealing with the consequences.

He sighed as he flipped through the papers, trying to find ones that were urgent. He planned on ignoring the majority of the writing, focusing on only the immediate things, hoping to later snag Kahlan and venture behind locked doors once again. Richard rubbed his temples.

"My boy, how are you this fine morning?" Richard glared up at his grandfather, showing disdain for the elder's chipper mood.

"Been up all night, Richard?" The bags under Richard's eyes were very apparent, his movements slower due to lack of sleep. He bit his tongue to suppress his retort. He still was bitter from Zedd stopping their wrestling match in the courtyard.

Even if he got to wrestle with her in his bed.

The memory brought a boyish grin to his face accompanied by a chuckle, and his grandfather looked down on him, eyebrows scrunching and nose wriggling.

"My boy, I fear all this paperwork has made you temporarily lose your mind. Perhaps you should take a break? Eat something?" Richard shook his head, burying his hands in his hair as his head slumped.

"There's so much, Zedd. I had no idea ruling D'Hara would require this much paperwork. The cooks asking what should be served at the dinners, the army asking whether they should stay put or advance. The list goes on and on. I was gravely mistaken. Taking over Darken Rahl's thrown and suppressing fighting to bring peace is not all that the Lord Rahl entails." Richard picked up a few more papers, scanning them and quickly getting frustrated, throwing them back onto the desk. All the ink seemed to be coming together. He couldn't focus his eyes, let alone read more than a word or two without his head pounding.

Zedd walked around the desk and set a hand on his back, "You need to relax, take a break before you lose your mind." His grandfather walked out of the door, closing it softly.

Richard could hear the clatter in the palace, and it was only making his head throb even more. He squeezed the bridge of his nose, eyes clamped shut, face scrunching. He wanted nothing more than to lay down in his bed and sleep. Possibly with Kahlan. He heard the door open and cringed, the sound of it scraping against the floor ringing in his ears. He didn't bother to look up. It was probably another maidservant coming in to ask him if he wanted anything. He didn't. All he wanted was peace and quiet. He jumped when he felt the slender arms wrap around his neck from behind.

Richard sighed as he felt Kahlan's hair tumble onto his face as she placed a light kiss on his neck. Her hands started to fumble with his pendent and he smiled as she pressed herself further against his back.

"Looks like fun." He heard the sarcasm in her voice - which, surprisingly enough, wasn't making his head pound. In fact, his headache seemed to disappear altogether. His smile grew. He picked up a few more papers, waving them around in a dramatic fashion.

"So very much, Amnell." He heard her chuckle, her head right by his ear. She peered over his shoulder and read some of the articles, sighing.

"You know," she started tracing her fingers along his shirt. He decided that he was going to wear his woods guide clothing more often after Kahlan's proclamation that she liked it better on him. His arm lifted as he started stroking her forearm with his hand. "I'm sure I can come up with something more fun to do." Richard chuckled. Oh, the truth in that statement. Before he could spill out an argument, defend his stance on actually getting work done instead of giving in to her womanly wiles, she was already pushing stacks of papers off the desk, making a terrible mess. He dropped his head back and sighed, looking back at her to see her getting situated on the desk in front of him. She sat, smirking, and beckoned him with a finger.

He was sure refusing the Mother Confessor was a crime. That was going to be his justification when someone asked him why the papers were disheveled, why nothing was done. He cocked his head as he pushed himself off the chair, suddenly very alert. He took a step forward and he was already in contact with her, legs pressing together. Richard stood there, unsure of exactly what to do. She was calling the shots - she always was. And Richard was more than happy to follow her lead. He clasped his hands behind his back and mirrored her smirk, waiting to see what she would do, what she wanted.

She was wearing her white Confessor's dress again, which made Richard oddly suspicious. Last time she wore that dress she announced she found a mate. Last time she wore that dress they came dangerously close to doing some very private things in a very public place.

She sighed and rolled her head up, seeming to be interested in the ceiling. She arched her back forward and parted her legs. She placed her hands on top of one another in the newly emptied space, rocking back and forth as she observed the room. Her eyes finally met his once again and she let out a sigh, pouting.

"I beckon. You come. That's how it works, Seeker."

"Oh really, Confessor?"

She opened her mouth in mock surprise, lifting one of her hands to her chest to make the movement more theatrical. She scoffed and moved her head to the right, mouth still agape. She started to push herself off the desk.

"The Lord Rahl himself, trying to deny-"

Richard cut her off with his lips, gently lifting her back to her previous position on the desk. He pulled back, looking into her blue orbs before smirking at her.

"Deny you what, Kahlan?" She pouted, lowering her eyebrows and glaring at him like a child throwing a tantrum.

"What I want." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"And what do you want, Mother Confessor?" He taunted, rubbing his nose against hers. She perked up, back erect, smile on her face.

"You." He laughed as he kissed her again, this time less innocently. His tongue begged her lips for entrance, teasing the corners of her mouth. She giggled while lifting her legs and positioning them on either side of Richard, her hands pulling at his necklace to get him to come closer. He obliged. She rested her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away. She pouted once again, brows furrowing together as she wiggled around on the desk.

"You," she jabbed her finger into his chest while pulling him closer with his pendent, making the contact sharper and more painful, "better not think of denying me anything again. Ever." Her last jab was more forceful, causing him to jump back a little only to be roped back in on her hold of his necklace. He coughed as his hand pulled on hers, bringing it away from poking him once again.

"Kahlan, you know I can't deny you anything." He was rubbing her small hand in his larger one, the pad of his thumb brushing over her soft skin. Her eyes sparkled, smile on her face.

"Promise?" She teased, pulling his nose to make contact with hers once again.

"Promise." He vowed, lifting his chin to place a kiss on the tip her nose. She smiled, biting her bottom lip. She tilted her head and placed a small kiss on his jawline. Richard brushed her hair off her neck, exposing the delicious flesh. He started laughing. Kahlan pulled her head back, mouth slightly parted as her eyes questioned him, brows furrowing together again. She then gasped and started playfully pushing him away. She pointed at him accusingly.

"You did this! You are lucky my hair is think and long, or else this," she pointed to the mark on her neck, the one he was so thrilled about leaving last night, "would be incredibly difficult to hide!" She punched his shoulder, scowl on her face. Richard threw his head back, laughing heartily. Her shock grew, her jaw dropping open as her face heated. She slid off the desk and pushed him into his chair, him still laughing. She leaned over him, grabbed his pendent, and drew his face up to hers.

"This is amusing to you." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Richard's laughing stopped quickly as he composed himself. She pursed her lips. He bit his tongue. She smiled a rather malevolent smile before bringing her face closer to his. "If you want to ever do that again," his eyes flickered to the mark on her neck, "make sure I can cover it with this dress." She let go of the pendent and crossed her arms, looking down at him. He started laughing again as she scowled and walked out of the room.

"Kahlan? Amnell!" He struggled to get her attention through his laughs and was relieved when she turned on the second calling. He drew in a few deep breaths, suppressing his laughter and looking at her from across the room.

"I can't deny you anything, remember?" She smiled as she turned to leave, facing him as she closed the door.

Richard slumped into his chair, mind suddenly clearer than a cloudless day. He looked at his desk, which was in shambles. Papers that were once neatly stacked were now scrambled everywhere, some littering the floor. He bent down to retrieve the ones that had fallen onto the marble when one particular paper caught his eye. It was from an army commander that was stationed to the west, right outside the D'Haran border.

'URGENT.' Through all the papers Richard sifted through, none had proclaimed such a statement. 'We believe a very dangerous man has gotten through the border. He claimed himself to be a general and was adorning the dress of one in his command. We have captured some Sisters of the Dark. After spending time with one of our Mord'Sith, they revealed they had sent someone into D'Hara to take down Lord Rahl. They say he has considerable magic. His name is believed to be Ryan Finn.'

Richard felt his blood boil.