They followed her through the dark, damp hallways, dutifully. Ruth wondered how her aunt had ever managed to get such intimate knowledge of the prison layout. Then the reason occurred to her: Mir. He'd probably told them everything. Sure enough, it wasn't long before they came across the female prisoners. Some were chained to their walls or to their beds. Some called out to the visitors, others stared at them mournfully. Some were crying. Some laughed out loud. One sat in a tiny huddle on her bed, a small smile on her face as she watched them approach.

"Mother!" Ruth couldn't help but blurt out. She ran to the cell bars.

"Ruthie." her mother smiled and came forward, gently touching her hand. "My Ruthie..."

"I'm going to help them now, Mother!" Ruth promised. "And we're going to get you - "

Bella's hand clamped over Ruth's mouth. The older woman took over the questioning. "Doing all right?"

"As well as can be expected." Mother replied, nodding. "No one really bothers me here. Is Colin all right?"

"He misses you terribly. But he looks forward to the day when you'll see each other again." Bella smiled.

"Cinna is grateful to you as well." Valina added. "She didn't think she'd make it through that trial before you arrived."

"Tell her to lay low for a while. That Miss Lisette has it in for her." Mother cautioned.

"We'll be careful." Rachel promised.

"Don't you worry yourself about these things, Grace Ann." Bella said, gently. "Just relax and let us take care of things. Nothing could possibly go wrong."

That's when they heard the approaching footsteps.

And the voices.

The unmistakable voices.

"I want him dead." came the Lord's voice as he walked towards them. "I want him taken care of by tomorrow. Why should this be a problem?"

"Because, Your Excellency, Mir has support among the people." the Lord's companion explained.

"What support? I paraded him through the streets and no one rallied in his defense."

"It will be different if you try to chop his head off tomorrow." the companion insisted. "Look, just be patient. Keep him in jail and let the people forget about him. Once they've forgotten about him, you can kill him easily. But not yet. Don't kill Mir yet."

They rounded the corner then, coming face to face with Ruth and her gang. A smile crossed the Lord's face. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." he brandished a sword and plunged it easily into Bella's stomach. "These people I can kill."