Cara currently had a cave of the dry and cosy variety, warm blankets, and more importantly someone to share both of those things with.

But even more importantly than that, she currently didn't have a nearby wizard who was apparently incapable of finding an appropriate time for asking questions, so she was also unlikely to have any inconvenient interruptions.

So all in all, Cara was in an extremely good (if drowsy) mood.

[For the witchling.]

Apart from a few days spent in towns, they were mostly back in the wilderness again, and while they weren't making as much progress (or going in the right direction) as Cara would have liked... she didn't hate it, not least because it meant not having to deal with people who weren't Richard, Kahlan, or Zedd.

Though there was the downside of having to stand double (or triple) watches because certain people needed to go for 'walks' (and honestly, who did they think they were fooling at this point), and the chill beginning to creep into the air at night. Both of which were reasons why when she realised she was waking up curled around a soft warm body, which if it wasn't the right warm body still had a different kind of rightness to it, she'd just curled in tighter without opening her eyes.

( In which the form of Cara's soul is a terrible surprise to all )

For the first time since Cara had returned to the Midlands, they were spending the night in a village, and thus in real beds. Though Cara was finding it harder than usual to settle down comfortably enough to sleep. She must have gotten too soft used to the mattresses in Fandom and was having trouble adjusting, clearly that was the most obvious reason for it.

Luckily she was spared from thinking about other thing whose presence was far easier to get used to than their absence by Kahlan deciding to let herself into the room and tossing her bedroll on the other bed. "I thought you were sharing with Richard?" Not that Cara was complaining exactly, sharing with Kahlan (or Richard for that matter) being infinitely preferable to close quarters with Zedd, but if the pair of them had spent any longer in Fandom than they had, she'd have been smothered in glitter any time they were mentioned around the squirrels. So naturally she was suspicious of Kahlan's motives here.

"I just thought we could talk." Sure that sounded innocent enough, but Cara knew better. Kahlan never wanted to just talk. She always ended up wanting Cara to do something. "We haven't had a chance to in a while."

Some small petulant part of Cara wanted to point out that wasn't her fault, but instead she sighed and sat up, crossing her arms. "Fine, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, anything," Kahlan replied. Before Cara could steer the conversation in a nice, safe direction, like why Richard was still rescuing kittens instead of taking his throne, added "Fandom seemed like an interesting place, with interesting people."

"No." See? Cara was completely justified in suspecting Kahlan. "We're not discussing her...that."

"Why not?" Because they would be discussing it, in great detail, if Kahlan had her way. Which is was obvious she intended to.

"Are you this invested in Zedd's lovelife?" Cara instantly knew that was the wrong way to phrase it, given how Kahlan was now grinning like the cat with the cream.

Which would be why Cara decided to hit her with her pillow.

[Establishy.]

The ride out to the location indicated on Zedd's parchment had been marked by sullen, mulish silence on Cara's part and awkward silence on the others'. Finally, the wizard reigned his horse in.

"We're here."

Cara stared at the structure Zedd was pointing at. "That's not a school. That's a bridge." A rickety wooden one at that. Clearly, this was a sign the whole idea was flawed and Richard should listen to her when she said she didn't need to go back to school.

"That's because the school is in another world," Zedd explained. Again. "One where time will pass much faster for you than for us. You must cross the bridge and the school will be on the other side."

"I can see the other side from here. Nothing but empty fields." There wasn't even a fog.

"There is powerful magic on that bridge," was the only elaboration Zedd gave.

In the end, after no small amount of verbal prodding from Richard and Kahlan, Cara eventually stood on the riverbank, bow in one hand, pack on her shoulders. She turned back to the others. "When I get to the other side and there's no school, we'll stop with this idiocy, right? Go rescue something in distress? Probably Richard."

"We'll miss you too, Cara," Kahlan said, before shoving her onto the bridge with a firm push between the shoulder-blades.

After that first step, there was nothing for it but to keep walking, however reluctantly, one foot in front of the other. Halfway across, the air in front of her swam, and the sight of empty fields dissolved into that of a small city on an island, a castle dominating the skyline. Under her boots the creaking wooden boards were now solid black stone.

Cara spun in place, a much wider and longer bridge stretched out behind her, and she was alone.

[NFI as Cara's gone up to the school.]