I rushed forward and put a tentative hand on his arm.

“Tell Damien and his Brothers I Love them. Please tell them that I won't stop trying to be with them,” I begged.

Tyle didn't seem to mind the strange job and accepted it without argument. Rose asked for the same thing and the boys agreed to take our messages to the men.

The boys took their leave as Rose and I sat on the bed next to one another.

The strange paper like substance opened to reveal a long hand written note. Rose and I each had one. It appeared the Brothers must have each taken a turn writing.

They Loved me, the note said, and missed me terribly. Damien had talked to Hannah. He had told her she should have been honest. We would have still come, but we would have been prepared. My men knew I couldn't stay in the compound, the task Nu-reeh demanded was too much for all of us. He was sad we weren't together, but felt sure he could earn the right soon.

Evan was incredibly depressed about his son. Nothing else that had been done or said compared to the pain of having to leave Jonathan where he was. Evan wanted me to know that he felt our boy still. Even as far away as we probably were, our family was still connected.

Bane's part of the note was cheery. He and Aryn were finally able to be together. He mourned with Evan, but tried to use his own son to alleviate the pain. So far the young family had been invaluable. When no one else would speak to my men, Aryn and his Brothers stepped forward and helped them. It had been a stroke of good Luck that we had sent them ahead of us.

Kein missed me, but he was fascinated with this place. He had hidden his excitement when the other men told them not to come to the dining hall. If my family wanted to eat, they would have to catch it themselves. Going outside and tracking the animal they'd eaten last night had been wonderful. My men planned to spend as much time as they could exploring.

Christof apologized to me again. He Knew what they had done had hurt me. They had abused me even after they'd called me Sister. I'd forgiven them on many occasions, but it had not fully abated the guilt my best friend felt. Last night Kennedy had talked to them a Long time. The men had all struggled with the things she had told them. Some of it had seemed too impossible, but they would continue to try.

I sat for a long time staring at the paper. Rose was beside me doing the same thing.

"We should get ready," she finally said. "The boys were up and dressed, we probably should be also.”

I stood and sniffed myself. Rose raised an eyebrow and nodded at me.

“We both need a bath, but I don't know how long it would take to fill that pot in our main room," she said pulling on her skirt.

Taking a big breath, I made a decision.

“Let's try to find the bathing hall ourselves," I said firmly. "They keep telling us not to act like slaves. The free men use the hall, we can, too. I say we walk around until we find it."

Rose and I each took our towel from inside our bedrooms. We peeked out the drape and saw the hall was deserted. Since we wanted to explore, that was probably a good thing.

The central fire pits were all burning very low and casting almost no warmth. I shivered in the cool air in the massive cave.

“We should have brought our coats," Rose whispered to me and I agreed.

We'd have to think about these things now. No one was going to dress us or make sure we were prepared. These really were our own bodies again.

It was so easy to miss, we almost did. Right in the middle of all the little different shops was a tunnel. I touched the wall and it was damp.

“This way," I grinned at Rose.