So no one saw Rachel and Ruth calmly stroll down the street and out of Trillagla.

They made it un-accosted and even unnoticed to the woods surrounding the city. About a mile inward, Rachel took a sudden turn, pushed aside some low hanging branches, and revealed her current home. "We're home!" she announced.

Ruth ducked through the brush and found herself in a pleasant little space. Lined by trees, it seemed cut off from the rest of the forest. Sunlight poured through from above and she could hear rushing water somewhere nearby. They were a short distance from a rocky overhang that probably protected them from inclement weather. It seemed to be a nice place to live - although it might have been more pleasant, she supposed, if they weren't hiding for their lives.

"You must be Grace Ann's little girl."

Two women sat nearby, on a simple blanket. They were working intently, doing something with sticks and twine. As she got closer, Ruth realized what they were creating: makeshift bows and arrows. "I... I'm not sure I want to be involved in anything violent..."

"Not to worry, dear." the older woman set down her tools and smiled. "You're just here for the jail visit tonight. I'd never put my niece in any real danger."

"But Mir got arrested storming the jail!" Ruth reminded them. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Your niece?"

"The Lord has been wanting a way to take Mir down a few pegs for a long time now. He hasn't much interest in you." Rachel explained. "And yes... this is Bella, your aunt on your mother's side."

"And I'm Valina," added the other woman. "I'm your aunt on your father's side."

"It's nice to meet you." Ruth felt strangely shy and a bit hurt. How sad that she'd been separated from her family members for so long.

"Mir has always been too loud." Bella continued. "He believed in the Lord for too long. He thought the Lord would find and punish his sister's attacker. When the Lord didn't, Mir got angry and kept pushing the issue. By the time he learned how it all works, he'd made himself a noticeable enemy for the Lord."

"I don't understand why the Lord didn't just punish Venessa's attacker." Ruth pointed out.

"Because the man who attacked Venessa is a high ranking official who has offered plenty to Trillagla under the Lord. It becomes a matter of priorities. Venessa is but one woman. The Lord decided his own needs outranked hers." Bella explained.

"That's a horrible way to run a country!" Ruth sputtered.

"Oh, everyone does things that way." her aunt waved one hand, carelessly. "Whoever makes the most noise gets the most attention."

"So." Valina held up a bow and arrow. "We're about to make some noise."

Confusion must have been mapped across Ruth's face, because the woman took pity on her. They invited her to sit, offered her some weak tea, and inquired after her family. Bella's question, though, returned them all to the serious matter at hand. "How's Colin handling Grace Ann's arrest?"

"He misses my mom." Ruth admitted.

"I'll bet." Bella smiled. "He's always been sweet."

"We'll be able to get my mother back, won't we?" Ruth tried to keep the little girl sound out of her voice. She wanted to be strong, like these women seemed to be. But she wanted her mother.

"We're going to do the best we can." Bella replied, calmly.

"Tonight, we'll mostly just be scouting the place out." Rachel spoke up. "The idea is not to call attention to ourselves until we're ready to act. But we want to make sure they're doing okay."

"What will we do? What will we say?" Ruth pressed.

"We'll say that we're grieving women, with beloved husbands and brothers in jail. The guards aren't really all that bright. They'll probably fall for it." Bella explained.

"And then what?"

"Then we make it up as we go along. We try to find a way to see your mother and Mir. It might be easier to see Grace Ann; Mir is probably holed away under strong security. But we'll tell your mother what we have to say and then we'll leave." Bella continued.

"Your mother knows that we're working to help her." Valina added. "We all made a pact when she first came here, that no matter what happens we'll all try to save each other."

"Wait... Mother has been here?" Ruth suddenly remembered all the days that her parents went out, secretly.

"Your mother has come here pretty much daily since her arrival in Trillagla." Rachel grinned. "While your father has worked with Gregor and Mir and the soldiers who are on our side."

"I had no idea..."

"That was kind of the point." Valina grinned. "We didn't want to risk you telling someone."

"I wouldn't have!" Ruth said, hotly.

Bella held up one hand, defusing the argument. "Ruth, you've been vital to the cause since you got here. No one suspected your family for the longest time, because you were a dutiful little schoolgirl with some of the biggest anti-revolutionaries in the land as teachers."

Ruth smiled her thanks at her maternal aunt. She was glad to think that she'd served a purpose, assisting her family at this difficult time. Now she was ready to serve another one. "So when do we storm the jail?"

"Patience is a virtue." Rachel laughed. "We'll go tonight, under the cover of darkness."