Amber barely recognised the man who had once been the High Lord of her house. Tessolar was a broken man, shrunken and withered, with most of his hair fallen out and eyes sunken into his skull. The two legionnaires who brought him in had unceremoniously dumped him with the other prisoners and then left without a word.

Leopold had immediately gone to his uncle's side. Tessolar had some kind of strange disease; his eyes were yellowed and froth sputtered from his mouth. Amber had watched Leopold try to speak with his father, but Tessolar was past communication.

Now Amber looked on as Leopold sat disconsolately, his uncle's head in his lap. Tessolar moaned and writhed, but none of the prisoners paid any attention. They could hear, and they could see, but they had their own problems, and in any case, the two traitors deserved each other.

Amber looked down at her own cluster of prisoners and her eyes met Beatta's. The Halrana woman stared intently back, and Amber knew that here was a will that matched her own. Beatta's hair was darker than Amber's, brown to Amber's auburn, but like Amber she would do anything it took to escape.

The two had formed a bond one night when Amber had seen Beatta smile coyly at one of the prison guards, a nasty Tingaran named Hugo. Hugo was a bully, but Beatta was attractive, and he wasn't immune to her touch when she laid a hand on his bicep. Beatta ate well that night, and Amber's respect for her grew, if anything. This was a woman who had the strength to survive.

Amber resolved to try herself, and after discovering Amber's state, Beatta felt for the younger woman and gave her some tips. She first asked Amber if she was prepared to do whatever it took, if it came to it. Trepidation set like a stone in Amber's belly, but she assented, and Beatta told her what she needed to know.

Amber had lost some weight, but if anything her slim waist emphasised her curves, and with her soft brown eyes and full lips, she knew she was considered pretty. Her first time, she didn't even have to let herself be touched; she simply smiled at the guard, a young Tingaran growing his first stubble.

She received frowns from some of the other women, but that night, she ate better than she had in weeks. Amber didn't care. She wasn't doing it for herself. She was doing it for her child.

Beatta had her own reason to live. The Halrana woman had been separated from her husband and child at the battle at the Bridge of Sutanesta and was desperate to be reunited with them. She spoke constantly about her son, and Amber reassured Beatta that her family would be waiting when they both escaped to Altura. Amber didn't feel bad about potentially giving Beatta false hope — determination had to come from somewhere.