Micheline nodded at her aunt's question. Her teachers had emphasized again and again that the more confident you were that there was only one explanation, the more likely it was that you had missed several key pieces of information.
Only a fool made plans assuming they knew everything from the small pieces they could see, and while the first answer she'd given her aunt was optimistic, there was another answer that came to mind that was considerably less so.
"It's possible that Cousin Ashlynn's hold on the city is very tenuous," Micheline said. "She doesn't think she can keep the gates closed any longer and she'd rather see people go than face a rebellion in the streets," she said.
"It's even possible that she's encouraging people who are hostile or dissatisfied with her rule to leave, just to get rid of potential troublemakers before they can organize into a mob," Micheline added. "But I don't think that's likely."
