The next morning found Bethany waking early with nervous energy. After all, for the first time in a while she had a little control of her schedule. She would want to visit the prison at some point but given it didn't open to the public till the afternoon she had some time to burn. As such she decided no was the time to start with the best intentions and to finally attempt the same workout in full, she had done in her last half-staff Trial. She took herself out of the capital nodding to the guard as she passed and began to run.

Originally, she had set off with the intention of running around the circumference of the city to begin but after running for just over half an hour she realised how foolish of a decision that was. She hadn't made any real progress on getting around the city. As such she turned herself back around and followed the wall back towards the entrance. She stopped before getting too close though. She wanted to practise her steps and didn't want to be ridiculed for such an act. Having spent a couple of hours all in on working out Bethany headed back towards the entrance and, having been recognised by the guard who she nodded to when leaving, was waved in without having to wait in the queue.

Having gotten in a workout and gotten changed again, Bethany set out to find a method of employment, if she could find a place to sell butter that would be ideal. However, unlike Lexicoth, such a skill was neither a rarity nor a novelty. As such it would be much less profitable. Further it wasn't like she had a butter churn to call her own so that would be an upfront cost. She expected she would be more successful if she looked for a place that needed a woman to weave. While never particularly good at such a task she often had to do it back home as butter churning wasn’t a full-time skill. As such she had the skill required even if she didn't excel or have much natural talent.

Bethany spent the rest of the morning fruitlessly looking for employment. Feeling slightly dejected she returned to the inn for a quick lunch before working herself up to head to the prison. Hopefully she would be much more successful there.

Heading to the entrance Bethany was slightly taken aback to see there were knights in full armour on the door. She hadn't seen real knights in years and had to stop herself from gushing over them. After all, while she never personally wanted to be a knight that didn't mean she hadn't looked up to them. In another time and another place, she would have stopped and asked them 500 questions about their jobs and lives but currently she had a more important task ahead of her. As such she instead offered them a respectful nod and stepped between them into the building. There she was met by a receptionist who requested a full skill breakdown as well as several other life details about Bethany. Fortunately, they either didn't know or didn't bother with making them reveal their screens in the same way Pete had. Bethany assumed this was because people were naturally secretive and probably hadn't personally tried to share such details.

Having filled out the information Bethany was granted two meetings. One with the payment specialist to work out a payment plan to pay off the debt and get her mother freed. The other would be a meeting with her mother, something that was apparently allowed monthly if payments were being met. After waiting an hour stood around in a barren room Bethany was eventually summoned in to meet the payment specialist.

As she headed in Bethany ensured she was embodying all her mother's lessons. After all she wanted to present an aura of control to the specialist and to come across as much more refined than her age and upbringing would suggest. Stepping in and respectfully greeting the man Bethany took a quick glance to take in his level, [Addison Tottle, 3]. The man introduced himself as Addison and the two sat down as the man pulled out a roll of paper, signifying how seriously they took debt and payback schemes.

"Right Mrs Oakfenny from what we have gathered so far you are here about your mother correct, one Susanna Oakfenny?"

Bethany nodded, not wanting to interrupt the man who hadn't really waited for a response.

"Okay, she is here on account of assault of a government official and smuggling contraband into prison cell and had been originally given a life sentence for such events. However, on reviewing her case since her arrival and with your willingness to pay a debt to get her released this can be reduced to lasting until a payment of £30 plus daily costs is paid."

Bethany’s mind balked at the money, that was more than she had ever seen in her life and was equivalent to around 3 years skilled work. That wasn't including the daily cost she would have to pay for her mother, nor those required to keep herself alive. None the less Bethany knew she had to accept. A prison wasn't the place for her to flex her bartering muscles, especially as they had already gone from offering no chance of escape to at least the illusion her mother might get out someday. It would take years normally, but Bethany was willing to spend that time if needed. Plus, she had some tricks up her sleeve that she hoped would maximise the amount of money she would be making.

It took almost another full hour to work out and sign a payment plan and Bethany was feeling exhausted by the end. She'd had to agree to terms that were tighter than she would have liked but she knew that they had her right where they wanted her and could have asked for basically anything while dangling the idea of getting her mother out again someday. Despite finding herself waning she perked back up again when Addison rolled up the parchment he had used and standing up offered to go retrieve her mother so they could have their first monthly chat.

Bethany was left alone in the room for a while and soon found herself pacing unable to keep still as she waited to see her mother again for the first time in over two weeks. It was by far the longest they had gone without seeing each other. When Susanna walked in she looked in many ways like her old self. Sure, she was dirtier, and her clothes and hair weren't done to the same standard however it was clear she still put in a small amount of effort each morning to present herself well. She was also stood straight and poised; her eyes had changed though. They were a little wilder and somehow both a little harder and a little more fragile at the same time. She stepped slowly into the room and made her way over to the empty chair opposite Bethany.

Bethany had to fight to resist the urge to leap up and hug her mother and refuse to let go but it had been made clear such an action wasn't permissible. She did daringly reach out her hand across the table towards her mother who similarly took it. The physical contact felt electric to Bethany and for a moment the two just sat there hands together, relieved they were both relatively okay and were reunited one more.

Eventually Susanna broke the silence asking about Bethany's adventures so far. She told her mother a heavily abridged version of the story focusing on her time with Stilwart and Harri and how safe she had felt thanks to her mother's actions. She didn't tell her about the Trial Taking skill, not because she didn't want her to know but because they weren't exactly in a secure location. She tried to get her mother's story out of her in return however Susanna kept changing the topic focusing instead on her daughter's safety and wellbeing. She did convey that she was safe and was working in the prison kitchens.

Bethany was quite tearful when she had to explain how long it was expected for her to take to get Susanna out and tried to reassure her mother it would be much less time than that. Susanna for her part did her best to reassure her daughter on how little that mattered and how she would be okay. Bethany wasn't totally convinced by her mother but couldn't do anything about it so elected to take the news at face value, or at least to pretend to.

Towards the end of their visit Susanna asked Bethany for a highlight, something good that she could fixate on. Bethany pulled out her necklace and taking it off for the first time since Harri put it on showed it to her mother. Explaining how they had matching ones, her's said Harri and Harri's said Beth. They talked for a little while longer but soon it was made clear Susanna had to return and that Bethany needed to leave. Susanna had to be the one to break their hand contact and telling her daughter she loved her stepped out of the room. As she left Bethany couldn't help but reflect on how much older her mother had looked.

Leaving the prison Bethany swore to herself she wouldn't leave her mother locked up any longer than she possibly could. Returning to the inn Bethany found herself once again on the verge of tears. However, this time, she refused to let them overcome her and despite the late hour took herself out to run some more. She was out there running until her lungs were raw and the rest of her body was screaming at her. She didn’t, however, have the energy to cry anymore and as such it had been a success.