No one had sent word about Ryan.

A few days after they had visited him, the cell had become empty. The guards didn't say anything about it to Richard or Kahlan, probably because of Kahlan's obvious disgust about the whole ordeal. Although Kahlan had basically sentenced the man to death, Richard still went down to the stone prison to check up on the him, see if he was still breathing. He felt a slight sympathy towards Ryan. Richard knew how it felt to be utterly devoted to this woman. He was sure that if she ever sent him away, he'd be just as heartbroken. Never the less, he wasn't surprised when the cell became vacant.

Richard was staring at the ceiling, his left arm draped around Kahlan as she slept peacefully against him. Since Ryan's death he hadn't been able to get much sleep. His mind kept racing around the fact that Ryan had died simply because Kahlan said she wasn't pleased with him. The whole idea was almost too much for him to fathom. The thought would keep him awake until his eyes finally gave out on him, closing and succumbing to the exhaustion. Kahlan had noticed he wasn't sleeping well, and some nights she would tire him out from love making, making his body too weak to function consciously. She would draw lazy patterns on his chest until his eyelids slid closed and she was convinced he was asleep.

Tonight had been one of those nights. He had fallen asleep for a short amount of time, the warm feel of Kahlan against his side being enough to lull him into a dreamy state. However, he had woken up in the dead of the night, unable to resume sleeping. Kahlan was tucked neatly against him, his left hand running it's way up and down her spine. He relished the moments when she would stir slightly in his arms, attempting to nuzzle closer into his skin.

When Richard noticed the faint light of dawn start coming into the room, he reluctantly pulled himself away from Kahlan, getting dressed as quietly as possible. There was paperwork that still needed to be done, a never ending process. He figured his insomnia could be beneficial to getting work finished. He stepped out of the room, slowly drawing the door closed. Before he took two steps down the hall, Zedd was already meeting him, Cara trailing on his heels.

Richard hadn't seen Cara since the day she demanded entrance into Kahlan's room. It was relieving to see the leather clad blonde, and despite himself, he was starting to miss her antics.

"Up quite early, my boy!" Zedd boomed, slapping a hand on Richard's back. Even though Richard was reasonably sure he was only barely functioning, he couldn't help but smile at his grandfather's demeanor.

"You look tired," the old man continued, "has Kahlan been keeping you up? I'm expecting some little grand children to be running these halls soon enough!" Zedd winked at Richard, nudging him on the shoulder. Richard laughed, throwing his head back. He heard Cara scoff. Zedd redirected his attentions to her, wagging his bony finger at the blonde before returning to the conversation.

"My boy, we do have some important matters to address."

"Such as?"

"The Sisters of the Dark that Ryan spoke of." Richard scratched the back of his neck, sighing. He had almost forgotten why Ryan had come to capture him. He looked up when he heard his grandfather speak again. "Perhaps you should wake Kahlan." Richard nodded his agreement as he reached for the door handle of their room. He took a breath as he pushed the door open.

"No need to rush in waking her, my boy. Cara and I will be down in the main hall in an hour, you have until then." Zedd winked again before nudging Cara with his hand to start walking down the hallway. Richard chuckled. Zedd really did want grandchildren soon.

The room was slightly lit, the sun appearing a little higher than when he had left only minutes ago. Kahlan was wrapped snugly in the bedding, laying on her side. Her left leg had managed to escape the covers, leaving it bare against the cool morning air. Richard smiled as he made his way to the bed, returning to his previous position as quietly as he could. Her eyes started fluttering open when he leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. She squirmed a little before drifting off again. For as alert as this woman was, it took a momentous force to make her wake unnaturally. His fingertips started playing along the flesh of her exposed leg, her body slightly shifting into his touch. She murmured some inaudible sound before rolling her head and prying her eyes open. His hand continued to run patterns along her skin.

"Morning." She drew out, her voice groggy and her movements unsure.

"Morning, beautiful." He smiled at her, her eyes continuing to stay shut more than open. She scrunched her eyebrows at the effort to keep her lids from falling back over her eyes. She snuggled closer against him, her body pressed against his, her face in the crook of his neck.

"You smell, Cypher." Her announcement made Richard laugh, and despite her proclamation, she didn't leave the comfort of his neck.

"I wonder why, Amnell." He heard her chuckle against his skin. She rolled over, the sheets becoming more of a jumbled mess. Her bare back pressed against his chest and he wrapped his arm around her stomach, pulling her closer. She was starting to drift back into sleep. He nipped at her neck with his teeth.

"Mother Confessor, it's time to wake." She squirmed in his arms, playfully batting at his hand, which was now tracing over her stomach. She shook her head in protest. He started to tickle her side and she started batting him away with more strength.

"Zedd needs to talk with us." She groaned and buried her head in the pillow.

"Why? Is the old man tired of us being in this room so much?" Richard laughed as he moved his hand to run down her arm.

"Quite the contrary," he moved his mouth closer to her ear, "he wants grand children as soon as possible."

Kahlan turned back on her right side, capturing his lips with hers. When she separated, Richard could tell she was fully awake.

"We can definitely make that happen." She purred, her left sided grin creeping onto her face. Richard shook his head, his nose rubbing against hers.

"Sadly, we need to speak to him about the Sisters of the Dark." Kahlan pouted, exhaling deeply. She started playing with the pendent hanging around his neck. Her mouth scrunched to the right, her nose making a similar action. She looked up at him.

"Fetch me my clothes?" He nodded as he got out of the bed, picking up the garments that were discarded on the floor the night before and lightly tossing them to her. He leaned against the bedpost as she fumbled with the clothing, pouting and scrunching her brows in frustration. He chuckled as he watched her get dressed in the bed. She would glance up at him occasionally and scowl, only to return to her task and smile. When she was fully dressed, she climbed off the bed, adjusting the clothing and brushing away invisible dirt. He reached his hand out to her and she took it, letting him lead her out of the room and down into the main hall.

Cara was sitting at the table, her legs propped up on the desk while Zedd was thumbing through a book. The blonde didn't acknowledge the two, but Zedd immediately popped out of his chair and greeted them.

"Sisters of the Dark?" Kahlan questioned, wanting to get the conversation over with as quickly as possible. Zedd nodded as he sat back down. Richard pulled out the chair beside Zedd for Kahlan and walked to the other side of the table to take a seat next to Cara, across from Kahlan. Cara sighed as she pulled her feet down from the desk. A hint of annoyance crossed Kahlan's features.

"So you think these Sisters are a real threat?" Richard questioned, his grandfather nodding and seemingly lost in thought.

"Ryan gave us very little information on the women, but I think I may know where they are hiding." Zedd rummaged through the pages of the book again, flipping back and forth. When he found a page that satisfied him, he turned the book and pushed it towards Richard.

"I don't know what I'm looking at, Zedd." Richard had a hard time reading the words on the page, the ink seemed to run together. He saw the drawings on the paper, but couldn't comprehend what they where. His head throbbed. He blinked a few times and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Cara was leaning to the side to see the image as well. Kahlan sat across from them, arms crossed.

Zedd leaned over the table to retrieve the book, huffing as he set it in front of himself. Kahlan glanced over at the pages.

"If you weren't so exhausted," he glanced over at Kahlan. She smiled at him. "You'd have read of a forest that lies near Aydindril that is said to be a hot bed for magical activity." Kahlan reached for the book, setting it in front of her as she started reading the pages.

"I've never heard of this forest."

"Child, do you see how old that book is? As far as I know, that is the last recorded mention of the forest."

"Are you saying that you only know of it because you are ancient?" Kahlan beamed at him, a large smile on her face. Zedd and Richard both laughed.

"Yes, dear one." She scrunched her nose as her eyes read along the text.

"The forest has a shield that protects and hides the gifted. The entrance is only visible to those that hold the spark of magic and can wield it, preventing ungifted men from entering. The forest amplifies the magic of those who are in it while shielding them from the outside world. In this forest, the magic holders are forever lost to the world until they wish to be seen." Kahlan stared at the words, her brows furrowing. She glanced over at Zedd.

"And?"

"And what, my dear? It's the most probable spot for the Sisters to be hiding."

"It also is invisible to the ungifted, the ones who can't wield their magic effectively." She gestured over to Richard and Cara. "Richard and Cara have the spark, but they aren't trained to handle magic. I'm a Confessor, so I can command my power, but I don't believe it has the same meaning as what this page indicates." She pressed her index finger down into the paper. "And, despite being First Wizard, it's too dangerous for you to go in there alone. So, what do you propose we do?" Zedd leaned back in his chair, his right hand going to his chin.

"My child, what kind of First Wizard would I be if I didn't have a few tricks up my sleeve?" Kahlan's eyebrow quirked up, her lips pursing to the left.

"And what would these tricks be, Wizard?"

Zedd smiled as he leaned forward, flipping the page over and pointing to another passage. Kahlan began reading it.

"Unless aided by a Wizard of the First Order, ungifted men can never find their way into the forest. A Wizard of the First Order can reveal the entrance to the ungifted and guide them through as they please. But as the forest amplifies the magic of the gifted, it also weakens the strength of the ungifted." Kahlan pushed the book forward and crossed her arms.

"This is all too convenient." She remarked. "And hardly a trick, seeing as it's written on the pages."

"I agree." It was the first time Richard had heard Cara speak in awhile. Kahlan turned to look at her, slightly nodding her head.

"It also doesn't make sense for us to go in if we are going to become weaker." Kahlan scoffed, fumbling around with the ends of her hair. Zedd leaned forward again.

"Oh, but my dear, I have a trick for that too." Kahlan looked up at him.

"Is it in this book too?" She lifted the book and dropped it to the table. Zedd chuckled and shook his head.

"Old man, this hardly seems like a plan worth going through with." Cara scoffed, leaning forward to spin the book towards her.

"Cara's right. This plan has too many holes. You want us to walk into a magical forest where women who are already deadly are deadlier and we are weaker and more vulnerable. We'd be giving them exactly what they wanted. Our deaths." Kahlan flicked her hand at Zedd. He turned his gaze towards Richard.

"My boy, what do you think?" Richard didn't know what he though about the situation.

"What's this trick?"