"Nice security here." she muttered, keeping her voice quiet. Soldiers watched the perimeter; they didn't appear to guard the door. No one came running to stop her. Well, if nearly two decades had passed without anyone trying to disturb her secret, she might get careless too.

The door squeaked slight. Valina slipped inside, not wanting to make any more noise than necessary. Then she walked carefully into Bella's prison.

Whatever she'd expected, it hadn't been this. The brick house was just that - a house. She stood in the kitchen, which consisted of a small wooden table, a fireplace, and assorted pots and pans. Through the doorway, Valina caught sight of a parlor. There, a fire blazed pleasantly and a rocking chair moved back and forth.

"Bella?" she approached the room, cautiously.

Bella turned to see who had entered her house. "Oh. Well. You're not a soldier."

"It's... it's me." Valina stammered. For all her planning, she'd never thought about what she would say when she faced this woman.

"I see that, child." Bella agreed, studying the intruder through a pair of spectacles. The passing years had, of course, made her grow older. She had gray hair, now, and a face covered in wrinkles.

"You got older." Valina blurted out.

"We all do, dear." Bella nodded. "Now... what did you say your name was?"

"I... well, I didn't." Valina gave an embarrassed shrug. "It's Valina."

"Nice to meet you, Valina."

"But it wasn't always Valina." Valina realized her mistake and tried to explain.

"It wasn't?" Bella waited.

"No. I used to be called Valerie, sister to - "

"Sister to Mridina." Bella nodded. "You have the same hair."

"Hers was always prettier." Valina remembered.

"Was?"

"Mridina... well... she died." Tears flooded Valina's eyes. "Yesterday."

"Oh." The old woman fell silent, thoughtfully.

"She... she stood up to the Lord. Told him she didn't want to marry him." Valina explained, managing somehow to talk about it calmly.

"I always knew it would come to this." Bella admitted, sadly. "I've spent my life waiting for the news."

"We've got to get you out of here." Valina insisted, remembering the threat outside. "Just I don't really know how yet."

"Nonsense." Bella shook her head. "If Mridina is dead, there is no more reason for me to exist. Let them come."

"There is reason for you to exist!" Valina felt herself growing impatient. "You're the heir to throne, remember?"

"That was a long time ago. We tried and failed."

"We're not done trying." Valina replied, grimly. "Now, how do we get out of here?"

"Child, there's no reason for me to go." Bella protested. "I'm old now. I can't wield a sword and I certainly can't lead the people."

"If you'd just lead me out of here, that'd be great."

A small smile crossed the old woman's lips. "You're so much like your sister."

"How do you know?" Valina wanted to know. She had thought the two were parted when Mridina was only five.

"I used to watch her." Bella explained. "When she was a child, growing up on that farm."

"You watched her?" Valina stared in confusion. "But how - ?"

"Come with me." Bella led the way, into the corridor and then through a door. Moments later, they stood in the basement. "They tried to hide it from me, but I found it quickly. I was very bored, you see."

"A secret doorway." Valina breathed.

"It leads to the underground tunnels - the sewage system and the like. They're dirty, but they're a safe mode of travel. The soldiers won't stop us there."

"Then let's go." said Valina and she pulled the older woman inside before Bella could protest.