"I don't fancy repeating myself."

The warden's tone grows sterner. It is hopeless - he knows I'm here. The only thing left for me to do is to fulfill his order before he gets angry. I pull the curtains off and step out of the bed. The warden isn't even looking at me, while Knut watches me in a clear stupor:

"Theo? I've told you to wait for me in my room!"

Just as I suspected, he's upset. Maybe he even thinks I've started a romance with his brother too, the way I was in his bed? But no, that's unlikely. He's too trustful of his brother to think that, and the warden shows zero interest in me. I guess he only sees me as a child, or a bird, or even both.

"I'm sorr_"

"When your body already reeks of a raven, there's no way you can ever hide from a feline predator, hun."

The warden sips his tea. He's right - it was foolish of me to think I'd ever get away from him now when I'm close to being completely turned, and he's got the strong sense of smell like a true snow leopard.

"Please, take a seat with us."

I obey his order and sit in the third armchair at the dining table. Knut stares at me with a questioning gaze, so I begin to justify myself:

"I... I was just interested in the warden's room and_"

"Stop it!" Knut cuts my speech with a glare. His eyes glow yellow. He's in the fire mode only when he's too emotional, and now, it is exactly the case. "Just stop it, Theo! You're only adding to the problems! Clive Jonas has just spewed nonsense, and now you're breaking another strict law! One can't leave you alone for a single minute!"

He places his hand to his face. Just as I expected, he's on his nerves. He clenches his other hand in a fist. I guess he craves for some yarn to play with, to calm his mind. My heart sinks with guilt - all is my fault. He's only worried about me and wants to protect me, yet I've lowered his chances by my stupid action. How could I think I'd ever go unnoticed in the warden's chamber? I'm such a fool!

"Big brother, please, forgive her this once. I promise such a thing won't happen again."

Tiny tears twinkle in Knut's eyes as he watches the warden sip his tea. Damn... I guess Knut truly sees a parent in him, rather than a brother. There's no other way one would call their sibling "big brother" if they're not of Asian descent, and Knut definitely is not. Furthermore, I've never seen Knut shed tears, in all these months. Apparently, taking care of the conflict in the rodent district has irritated him enough, and now my falling in danger has only added to it. I feel terribly guilty.

"Knut, I told you I could handle the conflict in the rodent district. Why did you volunteer? I knew this was to happen... I shouldn't have let you go." The warden poses the cup on the table and leans back into his armchair. "As for Theo Sinclaire, I suppose we can keep Bob out of this, so I'll act more freely. You don't have to worry."

"I don't want you to get hurt." Knut has cast his eyes down. He stares at his cup on the table. "Every time you use fire, it injures you. I'm fitter to take care of conflicts."

"You get irritated every time you have to execute prisoners. Is that how you're going to take care of things? You'll only injure your nerves like that. I don't want that. I only want you to be happy."

The warden stands up and walks over to Knut's side. He hops onto the armrest of Knut's armchair and wraps his hand around him.

"If it takes ignoring some prisoners' rampage to make you happy, then I'd gladly do it."

"No, that's not what I_"

"That's what you meant," the warden cuts his speech. "You want to leave someone alive? - Alright. You want a prisoner chick by your side? - Alright. I'm not going to deny your wishes even if it takes betraying my role and beating Bob up. But seeing tears in your eyes, for whatever reason, is something I can't handle. Especially now when you're a grown-ass man. You've got that?"

At his last words that are meant as a joke, Knut laughs. He quickly wipes his tears off and glances up at the warden:

"I'm sorry, fluff."

"I'm the one who's sorry, kitty." The warden returns a smile, although bitter. "I couldn't ward you off this wretched life, being locked up in a prison building on a remote island... There's no way a person can be calm and collected when locked up in these damp grey walls. I'm so sorry, Knut."

He bites Knut's ear and pulls it, as feline siblings usually do when playing. Knut laughs and pulls his hair, on his part. I, meanwhile, am sitting in the armchair, watching them goof off with bitter smiles on their faces, and wondering what the hell I'm here for.

Finally, the warden returns to his armchair, and the two brothers retake the cups of tea. Their attention returns onto me.

"I forgot she was here..." the warden mutters as he sips his tea, "Thank my brother you're getting away with everything, Theo Sinclaire."

"I..."

"Your tea is getting cold."

"My tea?"

I still can't believe the warden's asking me to have tea with them. What the hell is going on? The queen's men are coming. I thought he'd order a lockdown to be activated and would send me back to my cell. Instead, I'm invited to have breakfast with him and his brother as if a member of their family!

"Yeah, that cup of tea is yours," Knut answers now, with a smile. "We'll discuss your behaviour in private, later."

"Oh, okay... Thanks."

I take the cup and sip the tea. It's beyond delicious.

"Tasty, isn't it?" The warden smiles. "Knut can make any drink you ask for. Truly so talented..."

"Ugh, cut it out!" Knut blushes. "I'm just as anomalous as you."

"Yet talented," the warden insists. "Miss Sinclaire, don't you agree?"

"Well... I do." I shrug. It's really weird that they've grown so familiar around me in a mere second, but I might as well partake of their family breakfast. "I've told him when I first found out about his triple abilities - he's amazing."

"Aww..." Knut goes red. "You're no less amazing, Theo."

"Thank you, but I'm really not." I sigh. "I'm a simple person who's been infected and locked up in here, with no hope of ever getting out."

Knut's hand clutches mine. He gives me a reassuring smile. I know he means we have a huge hope of getting out and we will, because he's into the game now, too, and will stand by my side until the end. I return a grateful beam - he truly is a treasure.

"Please perform the lovey-dovey in your room. I might've forgiven your sneaking in, but everything has its limits."

Knut lets out a laugh. The warden's stoic face while saying that makes me crack a smile too. I almost forget I'm in the presence of the two grandest administrators of the prison. Right now, I feel like it's just a friendly breakfast with my boyfriend and his big brother - a casual meeting when a boy should introduce his girlfriend to his family.

The muffins and the pains-au-chocolat are delicious. I have a lot of fun with Knut and his brother. I begin to believe the warden isn't that much of a monster as he seemed at first glance. He tells jokes which make both of us burst into laughter. For long enough, I forget I've ever been a prisoner.

However, everything has its limits, as the warden's mentioned. Soon, we finish breakfast and the hour of parting rings. The warden calls for Rufus, and he takes me to my district. The lockdown too gets activated.

On my way out, I wave a hand at Knut. He too returns the same hearty gesture of goodbye. The door closes between us.

Now I know one major weakness of the warden, apart from the water - it's his brotherly feelings. His biggest soft spot is Knut - the little brother he's raised. Since Knut and I are a couple, and Knut has taken my side, nothing can stand in my way now. The break-out will surely work out.

I will only need to meet up with Dagur after the lockdown and let him advise me on a new plan regarding the rodent holes. Now that Clive has betrayed us and he and his subordinates will all be executed (as I've heard from the warden), we must come up with a new plan on how to distract the chasing party. The holes were meant to be just a distraction - they'd lead to the north, while we'd escape from the south. The chasing party would spend a lot of time before getting us, and it'd be enough for us to get away.

As Dagur's told me, Nanny would sense only the barrier's breaking, not the place where it broke from. That's a big advantage and we should use it. However, rodent holes are out of the question now, since the administrators know about it. They'll put rodents under stricter surveillance. We need different tactics.

Meeting up with Dagur is an absolute must. Since Knut's with me now, he'll arrange it so that I meet the warden's favourite old-timer, somehow. After all, as the warden's said himself, he'll never deny his brother's requests.