Chapter Two

He found Cara's room easily enough; he remembered being there from when he had been Denna's pet. The Mord – Sith quarters were not far from where he had encountered Kahlan. Cara was not in her room, so he decided to wait.

He needed to form a plan. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that Shota was involved. The last thing he remembered was Shota glaring at him before eternity hit. He was also worried about what Cara would do, how she would see him. If Kahlan thought Richard was a monster, how would Cara think of him as Lord Rahl?

Think of the solution, not the problem. He told himself.

Richard had been sitting on Cara's bed when he heard the footsteps. It hadn't been that long of a wait. He idly wondered what Cara had been doing, but it didn't matter. She was a Mord – Sith in the People's Palace. She probably had patrolling or something.

Cara walked through the door and looked shocked for half of a second. It was a long enough pause for Richard to know that this was not a regular occurrence in Cara's life. She fell to her knees and tried to start the devotion, but Richard cut her off.

"Get up, Cara." He said it softly, but he could see the fear in her eyes. As she did he heard her brown leather creak.

"Is there something I can help you with, Lord Rahl?" Cara asked, her voice steady despite her fear.

"I was hoping you could tell me what is going on with Kahlan."

Richard saw her eyes widen, but didn't understand why. She didn't know what he was talking about either.

"Lord Rahl, I – " He stopped her with a raised hand.

"Never mind, I see now that you don't have any idea what I'm talking about." He said, "You must be under the same influence or something. This has something to do with magic." He muttered to himself, thinking out loud.

Cara looked confused by his words. "Lord Rahl, I don't understand. Is there something I can help you with?" He saw her pointedly look towards the bed.

"What? No, I don't need you to help me in that way. Cara why would I need that?" He said, hearing anger in his voice. He had forgotten that Cara was under some strange influence.

Cara's mouth opened into a small 'o', and the fear passed over her face. "I'm sorry, Lord Rahl. I didn't mean to imply that . . ." She trailed off when Richard collapsed on to her bed.

"Cara . . . please, just . . . just tell me why Kahlan hates me." He felt heart broken. His wife hated him, his friend feared him, who knew what else was wrong. He knew he was focusing on the problem, but he need a moment to be weak.

Cara didn't say anything for a long time. He knew that if he removed his hands from their place over his eyes and looked at her, she would look confused, in fact so confused that she would risk punishment to think of a way to answer him. Richard knew that the Lord Rahl she feared, the Lord Rahl who she thought was he, would punish her for hesitation.

"Lord Rahl, you conquered the Midlands, took her as a prisoner to be your queen, and have taken her power from her. You didn't seem to care this much at the time." Cara seemed to care a little too much for a normal Mord – Sith and Confessor relationship. It was nice to know that even in this messed up world they had each other.

He took his hands from his face and looked her in the eyes. "And what have I done to make you hate me?" He clearly saw the fear on her face, it stayed there for longer than she normally allowed. He had freighted her, Cara the Mord – Sith, into showing her fear. What was happening?

"I do not hate you, Lord Rahl." He would have believed her if he had not seen her physical reaction to his question. She was that convincing after regaining her composure.

"Cara," He sighed, "I know you are lying to me. Please, I just want to understand what's happening." He was so in the dark. It was killing him not knowing what was happening.

"I do not know what is happening, Lord Rahl. If I did, please believe I would tell you without a thought." Cara had totally regained her composure now. He had kept her off balance from the first time she walked into the room, and she had just now found that balance again.

Richard sighed once more. He knew that it was unfair to ask her why she hated him. He knew she did, but she would never admit it. She was lying to her self, using Wizard's First Rule.

"Okay, Cara. I need you to send someone to find a witch women, named Shota. She used to live in Agaden Reach. I just want to know if she still lives there. I don't want anyone to maim or kill her in any way. Send a scout or something. No quads." He ordered. She looked a little relieved to have an order and not a moping Richard on her hands.

"It will be done at once, Lord Rahl. Would you like me to return . . .later to comfort you?" He knew by the sound of her voice that she didn't want to. That it hurt her to have to ask.

"No, Cara. I don't want you to have to comfort me."

"Someone else then, the Mother Confes –"

"No!" He yelled cutting her off. He would not force Kahlan to do anything she didn't want to. He needed to control his anger though. "No, I don't want any comfort. Thank you, but no."

"As you wish, Lord Rahl." She said and turned towards the door.

"Cara," She stopped, "I'm sorry I yelled at you." He felt bad. She didn't move for a full minute though. Probably not knowing what to say to the Lord Rahl after he apologized.

Finally she answered, "It doesn't matter, Lord Rahl."

He wanted to respond, but she strutted away to quickly for him to say anything. He knew that he could have called out to make her stop, could have called guards to attack her if he wanted to, but he was to tired to try anything.

He needed things to be all right. He needed to hold Kahlan in his arms without having her flinch, needed Cara to look him directly in the eye and harass him with a joke and eye roll.

He needed to think of the solution, not the problem