His head hurt. A dull, throbbing pain was coursing through him. He tried to open his eyes but his lids were heavy. He finally managed to flicker them open, wincing at the light. Someone was gripping his hand. He rolled his head to the left and his eyes focused in on the figure.

Kahlan was sitting in a chair by the bed, her right hand gripping his as her head was resting on her left fist. She was breathing steadily, her eyes fluttering slightly in her sleep. He smiled to himself.

"My boy! Thank the spirits!" Zedd boomed, rushing over to Richard from his position across the room. Kahlan jumped, releasing Richard's hand as she took a few breaths. She looked over at him and tears swelled in her eyes.

"Richard!" She leaned over the bed, placing light kisses all over his face. Richard turned his lips in a small smile, completely taken aback with her obvious display of affection right in front of his grandfather. She grasped his face in her hands and leaned in so their foreheads were touching. "Cypher, don't you ever think of dying on me again." He chuckled, but the pain in his side was strong and he ended up coughing, holding his eyes shut. When he reopened them, he saw the guilt run past Kahlan's eyes as she resettled herself in the chair, tucking a leg under her while she wrapped her arms around the other, resting her head on her knee.

His grandfather was next with the greetings, flailing his arms around in usual fashion. "We thought you'd never wake up!"

Kahlan perked her head up and scolded at him. "You thought he'd never wake up." She shifted a little in her seat before resting her head on her knee again. Zedd shot her a cold look.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are alive, Richard! Thank the spirits Kahlan was there!" Richard blinked his eyes a bit more, adjusting to the light in the room. His hand reached down to his ribs. Before he blacked out, he was dimly aware of the blade that struck his side. His hand met smooth skin - no wounds.

"You healed me?" He managed to choke out before the pain overtook him again and he started coughing. He saw Kahlan twitch out of the corner of his eye. He wished she would look at him.

"Of course I did, my boy! Was I to let my grandson bleed to death in front of me?" Zedd crossed his arms and lifted his chin, acting insulted at the question.

"Then why do I feel so much," he coughed again, his body slight wracking and moving into a ball, "pain?"

Kahlan replaced her head with her chin and was now looking at Richard with glassy eyes.

"The healing took a lot of out you. Your body is still adjusting. You didn't look like you got much sleep earlier in the day either, that probably attributes to why your body is in so much pain."

Richard then remembered he'd gotten virtually no sleep the night before. Between Kahlan visiting his room, her visiting his office and then the situation with Ryan, he imagined his body was in a lot weaker condition then Zedd let on. Richard scrunched his eyebrows together.

"You've been asleep for two days." Kahlan's voice wasn't more than a whisper, her eyes diverting away from him and finding refuge in watching her hands tug at the hem of her dress.

Two days. He looked at his grandfather. Zedd appeared well rested. His clothing was clean, his hair washed - yet unruly. But no less was to be expected. His face bore no sign of exhaustion. He rolled his head to the left to look at Kahlan. Dark bags were under her eyes, which were rimmed with red. Her hair wasn't necessarily dirty, but it hadn't been washed and was adorned with frizz, her hair more tangled than curled. She hadn't changed out of her dress.

Two days. That's how long Kahlan sat by his side holding his hand. That's how long she didn't sleep. That's how long she was worried if he ever woke up. Richard reached out and tugged on the arm that was wrapped around her leg. She let her arm fall into his grasp, and he gently clutched at her hand, giving gentle squeezes. He wished he didn't wake up when he did - that was probably the only sleep she had gotten. He smiled at her and she nodded lightly, sniffling.

"Ryan admits to everything." Zedd started, pacing at the foot of Richard's bed. "You were right. The letter was authentic. I have no doubt Cara will come bursting through these doors any moment now. There are Sisters of the Dark. How did they become the way they are? How did they get out of the Old World?" Zedd was thinking out loud, his questions not directed to anyone. Richard turned his head towards him.

"Ryan?"

"He's being held in one of the rooms in the dungeon." Zedd flicked his hand, acting like the information was irrelevant.

"What happened?" Richard was glad he could talk without feeling like the air was being pushed out of his lungs. It was a relief.

Zedd spun his head towards Richard and stopped his pacing. "Oh, I'm sorry my boy. Like I said before, thank the spirits Kahlan was there. When she saw him draw out the knife and went running towards you, it was too late, the blade quickly claimed you."

Richard's eyebrows scrunched together. He looked over at Kahlan, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. "How is that .. good?" He was confused. His grandfather treated the subject lightly, and there was a part of the story he knew he wasn't healing.

"She confessed him before he could do further damage." Richard shot up in the bed, Kahlan starting to reach for him. He swatted her hands away as he grabbed at his side - the side the blade had slid into.

"She confessed him!" Richard's voice was louder than he expected, and he was surprised at the sheer velocity of it.

"She had to." Zedd looked confused. "If she hadn't, he would have surely killed you. She didn't have time to grab her daggers. Confession was the only option." Richard was fuming, his heart beating so hard he swore it would burst. He looked frantically between the two of him.

"She confessed him!" He yelled again. Kahlan lowered her head and he could see her body wrenching, trying to stifle back a sob. He sunk his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. He was starting to feel the effects of his outrage, his body getting weak on him. "She confessed him." He hoarsely whispered, defeat threatening to take over his whole body.

Zedd nodded as he continued pacing. Kahlan slumped over herself in the chair, seeming to want to hide away from everyone in the room. Richard stayed in his position.

"What now? What happens to Ryan?" He dared to ask. He saw panic in Kahlan's eyes when she looked over to him. Realization hit him. He now wish he would have succeeded in killing Ryan.

"He's already confessed - he will still make a good mate for Kahlan." Zedd said nonchalantly as he was routinely walking around the rug.

"No." Both turned to look at Richard's face, which was stern. He felt the rage boiling up inside him, this time directed at Zedd. He had to get a hold on it before he went overboard. "No." He repeated again.

Zedd shook his head, seeming to disbelieve what his grandson was saying. "He's confessed. No use in confessing another man."

Richard looked up at his grandfather. "No."

"Bags, Richard! This is not up to you!"

"Yes it is!" Richard yelled, throwing his arms on the bed, making fists. He pointed at finger at Zedd. "That man will not be Kahlan's mate. He is an imposter. An imposter who tried to kill me. He was sent by Sisters of the Dark. He is a criminal. You yourself agreed that Kahlan should be with a man of standing - he is of no standing. Kahlan fought with you the very first day she was here on this matter. I will not let you just hand her over to a man like that. If I hold no stock in the union, either will the Midlands. Either will D'Hara."

"Richard, this choice is not up to you."

Richard's gaze turned dark and intense. "If you try to make her go through with this - to take Ryan as a mate, I want you to be fully aware that I will send the entire D'Haran army into the Midlands to kill him."

Kahlan's eyes grew wide and Richard saw her stop breathing for a moment. Zedd's gaze matched his own as he leaned over and planted his fists on the bed.

"You will do no such thing."

"You don't have the authority to tell me what to do."

"I am your grandfather."

"You aren't acting like one." Richard snapped, venom lacing his words. Zedd's eyes hardened as he stood up, crossing his arms.

"Dear one," Zedd directed his words to Kahlan, who now seemed to be desperately searching for a way out of this situation. "you are going to take Ryan as a mate."

Kahlan clenched her eyes shut as Richard watched her. His eyes pleaded with hers as she opened them. "He's my Wizard .." she trailed off. Confessors were linked to Wizards. He was the only Wizard of the First Order left. She was the only Confessor. She was the Mother Confessor. The whole reason she came here was because of her duty, not how she felt. The same applied here. If Zedd told her she would take Ryan as a mate - she would. Richard decided that he was going to make a stand, a stand for her - a stand she refused to make because of her obligation to duty.

"No, she's not." Richard was going to fight this to the death if he had to. Preferably, Ryan's death. Zedd's eyes locked on him as he again leaned on the bed, fists supporting him.

"Richard Cypher, this is not your decision, no matter how badly you want it to be. Your feelings for this woman are irrelevant. You can't have her. You'll never have her. You will only hurt her by defending her and trying to convince her she can have a better life. This is as good as it gets. No one knows of Ryan's deceit. You can inform the army to the west that it was a mistake. No one outside of the three of us knows what happened. All will still think it's a legitimate bond. You will not send the army out to such a frivolous task. You are fighting for a lost cause. And her name is Kahlan Amnell."

Richard was infuriated. How dare Zedd inform him of what he can and cannot have. How dare he speak of Kahlan in that way. She wasn't a lost cause. She deserved a better life. When he glanced over at Kahlan, she was wearing her Confessor's face. It was failing slightly. He saw the tear trickle out of her right eye.

"I'm making it my decision. Kahlan is not a lost cause, and if she is, she is my lost cause. And I will send my army to the depths of the Underworld if I have to. I am going to keep her away from that man at all costs, don't let one of the costs be you, Zedd." Richard was not wavering. He never thought he'd be able to talk to his grandfather this way, never thought he'd want to talk to him this way. But this was different. He was waving away Kahlan's freedom, selling her off to a murderer like a common prostitute.

Zedd straightened, sighing in defeat. Richard knew that if he threatened their relationship, Zedd would succumb. He didn't like using it against him, but this was the only way.

"And who do you suppose she mates with, Richard? You?"

"A man can only dream." Zedd's face softened, the lightning flickering out of him. He offered a sad smile and a slight nod of the head before turning his back on the two. When he got to the door he turned around, glancing between them.

"Tomorrow, we shall look for a new mate." Kahlan nodded her head in agreement as Zedd walked out the door. She turned to face him, tears falling down her cheeks, leaving clean streaks on her mildly dirty face. He fell back on the bed, exhausted from the argument. She took his hand and sat next to him, clutching his hand to her chest. She kissed his knuckles before she leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Thank you." She whispered into his skin as she leaned her forehead into his, sniffling before she pulled away. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her down next to him, wrapping an arm around her as she settled her head on his chest. He could feel her tears soak through his shirt. He lightly started to run his hand along her back.

"Anything for you, Kahlan Amnell. Anything for you."