Kahlan had not been happy about the D'Haran army residing in and around Aydindril, even if it was just a unit. She also made sure to let Richard know how displeased she was with the situation. However, she was very cordial to the soldiers she met, all eager to meet the Lord Rahl's love. Their previous thoughts of her being a monster that would turn him into her slave had subsided, now knowing that they could freely be together. Some soldiers were disgusted with the Lord Rahl being devoted to one woman, but they didn't voice their objections.

Kahlan intimidated the soldiers, even when she was being nice. Richard knew part of it was because of the power she held, but he didn't know what other reason there would be to be afraid of her. Cara had informed him that the soldiers were wary that a woman with such considerable strength had the Lord Rahl wrapped around her finger. Richard had laughed. Cara didn't share his amusement.

Richard was shocked when Kahlan took the initiative to become better acquainted with the generals and commanders. She now knew each by name. He wasn't sure if she called them by their names out of friendship or a lack of respect.

There was a slight wooded area around the Confessor's Palace, near the courtyard. Richard had taken to spending many hours in the tiny forest, clearing his mind and escaping from the duty he felt he had now that part of the army was near. Kahlan hadn't known he would wander out into the area, she was mostly too consumed in her own work to pay mind to where he was at all hours of the day. However, her accuracy of finding him astonished Richard.

Richard almost drew his sword when he heard twigs break behind him, followed by a voice he knew all too well.

"Your army is quite annoying." Kahlan was making her way through the brush, gathering her mass of hair in her hand, keeping it away from her perspiring neck. When she reached him she dropped the hair and exhaled deeply.

She had changed into her green traveler's outfit. Richard smiled as she fiddled with a tie, working her hair up into a messy bun. He was confused as to why she hadn't done that before she had come into the forest, but didn't ask. She saw the question in his eyes.

"The first tie broke." She simply stated, finishing her hair and huffing as she let her arms fall to her sides.

"And why are they annoying?" Richard asked, smiling and feeling more at home than he ever did before.

"Well, they seem to have this notion that the Lord Rahl is in love with me." She grinned mischievously as she took a few paces forward, her arms crossing below her breasts. "They won't stop pestering me about it."

Richard threw his head back and laughed, the thought of her dumbfounded by the soldiers onslaught of questions and statements filling his mind. When his laughter subsided she was still standing before him, arms crossed and foot tapping. "The point?" Roles reversed, he was now baiting her.

"Well, they also seem to have another notion." Her tone was no longer playful. Richard's eyebrows shot up in questioning. "They all seem to think I'm in love with you." Richard's heart dropped into his stomach as he sighed, looking down at his feet, which were now kicking around dirt.

"Do they, now?"

"Yes, they do. I wonder who put that idea into their heads." Richard looked up at her, his heart breaking and his voice lost. He wanted nothing more than for her to be in love with him, but he knew the cause was lost. She cared, that's all that mattered to him.

"I don't know, Kahlan. Maybe they assume that since I'm in love with you, you return the feelings. It is, after all, unheard of for a woman to not succumb and love the Lord Rahl." Richard bit his tongue after he said it, realizing his words seemed to criticize her for not feeling the same. When he looked at her, he realized that what he thought was true. Her jaw had fallen and her eyebrows were wrinkled together, her nose scrunched.

"You know I don't mean it like that, Kahlan." He began, apologizing. She flicked her hand at him and redirected her gaze, breathing heavily.

"Whatever they think, fix it." Her tone was sharp.

"I can't just fix that, Kahlan. It's their thoughts."

"Fix it." Her glare alone seemed to be able to kill him. "Somehow, word has gotten to the people of Aydindril that I am hopelessly in love with the Lord Rahl. That is a lie." Richard knew her words weren't meant to hurt him, just to shine light on the subject at hand. This was a lie, he knew it. He also knew she was the Mother Confessor, one bound to truth. Having a lie spread about her was blasphemy, and he was certain it was treasonous on some grounds. He nodded as he sighed, silently promising her that he would find a way to fix this. When she turned to leave, he became brave.

"Kahlan?" His voice was steady, more steady than he imagined it would have been. He watched her as she turned around, more tendrils of her hair falling around her face. "Maybe someday it won't be a lie." He said it with such conviction that it surprised him. He smiled at her sadly and turned away, more content to look at the trees than to hear her response.

"It will always be a lie, Richard." He clenched his eyes and placed his hands behind his back, still facing away from her.

"You never know, Amnell." He hoped the name would lighten the situation. "I've broken down quite a few walls already." He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. He saw pain flash through her features as she took a few steps forward and he moved to face her once again.

"You'll never break down that wall, Richard." She wasn't returning the playful use of names. Richard knew this conversation was heading downhill, fast. "There isn't a wall to break." He stared at her incredulously, his brows furrowing together.

"I don't understand." He managed to say, urging her for a further explanation that he was sure he was going to regret.

"I don't believe in love." Her voice held no emotion and Richard was sure that he would have fallen to his knees if it weren't for her gaze intently holding him where he was. She didn't believe in love? His mind was lost in a cloud of thoughts when he heard her voice again. "Richard?"

"How can you not believe in love?" His voice was rushed and panicked, as if she had just demolished his dreams. She offered him a thin lipped smile as she moved some stray strands of hair from her face.

"As a Confessor, we never learned about love. The only thing we knew is that we would never have it. Growing up, I realized that nothing good comes from this world. After meeting Darken Rahl, I was sure of it. My whole life I have been isolated, despised by men and women alike. A man who wished to touch me was viewed as foolish, a man not worth his life. Being with a Confessor was viewed as a death sentence, even though the man didn't died. After being told from childhood that I would never know love, never experience it, I just don't believe it exists. Why would something described as so wonderful be held back from a certain group of women? The concept baffles me." She was so sure in her words, as if it was just a common fact that love was a myth. Richard wouldn't believe it, he'd find a way to make her believe in love. He had to. He shook his head and laughed lightly.

"Amnell, you are rather dysfunctional." She scoffed and playfully hit his shoulder before turning to leave the forested area. When a tree limb caught her sleeve, she cursed. When Kahlan untangled herself, she looked over her shoulder to Richard.

"Why you find this place relaxing, I will never know." It was Richard's turn to scoff at Kahlan, soliciting a sarcastic eye rolling from her as she made her way out of the woods.

When he was certain she was out of sight, he slumped against a tree and slid down, his eyes becoming blurry.

The woman he was madly in love with didn't believe in love.