A lone wagon made its way down the forest path. Its occupants - a man and a woman - squinted into the early morning sun. Neither spoke much as they kept their eyes on both the road and the surrounding wilderness. Traveling in these days of want and need was a dangerous business. They kept a sword under their feet, in case danger arose.

In the back of the wagon, a young girl tried very hard not to move. She was curled up under the hay, stowing away just as she'd read in her books. Adventuresses were always hiding in the backs of wagons and getting rides to exotic places. Ruth didn't need to go anywhere fancy. She'd settle for ending up in Trillagla, where her parents were headed. But they didn't want to bring their three daughters along, which is why she ended up hiding in the back of their wagon.

She felt a small pang of regret, thinking of what she was leaving behind. The village of Gatsba might not be anything much, but it had been home for twenty wonderful years. All of her friends lived there and her little sisters too. Issie and Annaless would be staying with Mamsie, an elderly neighbor who loved minding them. Ruth should have stayed to help out, but she couldn't bring herself to give up this opportunity. So she'd left eight-year-old Issie, the imaginative one of the family, to make up an excuse to explain away her absence. And she'd gotten into the back of the wagon.

The whole affair was turning out to be much harder than she'd imagined. In her books, the young heroine never complained about the stifling smell of old hay, the uncomfortable jolts of the wagon, and the severe boredom of lying still for hours. And the heroine never sneezed suddenly, which is how Ruth got caught.

Her father reached into the back of the wagon and seized her, yanking her from the hay. "Ruth." he identified his wayward daughter, sounding none too pleased. He jerked her forward, till she sat in between her mother and father.

"Ruth, what are you doing here?" Mother sounded pained, as though she was developing a headache.

"I... I'm coming along." Ruth hadn't yet sorted out how she would explain her arrival to her parents. Perhaps she should have been thinking of that during those long hours under the hay.

"You were told to stay with your sisters." Father spoke darkly, with controlled anger.

"Mamsie is probably frightened out of her wits." Mother added, frowning.

"Issie is telling her that you decided to take me with you." Ruth said, hastily. She'd not have them think that she would terrify an old woman like that.

Father still looked displeased. "Issie is part of this?" he asked, incredulously. The tiny girl with her pretty blond braids had always been his favorite, rivaled only by three-year-old Annaless. He never blamed them for any trouble they caused.

"I thought it up. She just agreed to tell Mamsie." Ruth assured him.

"Teaching your sisters to lie..." Father frowned more, amending the situation to make it still Ruth's fault.

"Ruth, whatever would possess you to do something like this?" Mother chimed in.

"I wanted to come to Trillagla with you." Ruth tried to explain. "It's not fair... you get to go to the cool city and I'm stuck home in Gatsba!"

Her parents exchanged a look.

"Trillagla is..." Mother began, then let her voice trail off.

"Trillagla is nothing for you to concern yourself with." Father finished, firmly. "We're taking you straight home. I've half a mind to just leave you here, young lady, so you'd best not even start to complain!"

Ruth held her tongue, despite her desire to protest. Even though she doubted her father would make good on that threat, it probably wasn't a good idea to tempt him. But she really didn't want to go back. It just wasn't fair!

Unexpectedly and unwillingly, Mother offered assistance. "Colin... look at those storm clouds."

Father's eyes went to the sky and he cursed softly. Storms were approaching.

"If we bring her home, we might not beat the weather."

"Have her walk home alone, then!" Father said, sharply.

"Colin." Mother shook her head.

"Oh, very well." he sighed, knowing his wife was right. A lone young woman walking through the woods was an easy target.

"So I can stay?" Ruth asked, eagerly.

"Just until we find someone heading from Trillagla to Gatsba willing to take you with him." Father replied and turned back to the road, ending the conversation. "Until then, you might never leave your room."

Ruth pretended not to hear the last part of his statement and concentrated on the good news: she was going to Trillagla.