Knut, Annabelle, and I are sitting on the sofa in Dagur's private hall, where I first visited him, all those weeks ago. Knut's brought the thin coat of an administrator, while Annabelle and I are shivering in our sleeveless prison shirts. As you might remember, Dagur loves cold just like the warden (well, he's a snow leopard, so that's no surprise), hence, the private hall where he generally hangs out, is freezing. Now, he's in the bathroom, taking "cold baths", as always.

"Sh-Shit, I hate when we prisoners have to f-freeze in winter!"

Annabelle's teeth chatter. She and I have wrapped our arms around ourselves, but it's still cold.

"Oh, here, take mine."

Knut takes his coat off and offers it to me. I wrap into it and cover Annabelle too, by snuggling up with her. It might not be too comfortable this way, but at least, it's warmer. Knut, on the other hand, is in his water elemental form, so he doesn't feel cold at all, even in his short-sleeved shirt. I wish I had that kind of a body.

"Where's this bastard we're waiting for?" Annabelle grunts. She's annoyed, just as I expected.

"I've informed him we were here. He'll come out soon. Relax!" Knut chuckles.

Indeed, just as he says that the door of the bathroom opens. Dagur, in the black bath-robe and black underwear as before, with his wet muscled body and burn-marks openly exposed, walks out, humming some song I can't discern. When he sees us, he stops and closes the door behind him. Thank goodness - it was getting even colder in the room.

"Heh, who do I see? A kitty, a birdie, and a bat."

He cackles in his annoying and prideful manner and walks to the fridge. I hear Annabelle whisper in my ear:

"You've never told me Dagur was such a handsome hunk! How come I've never known him?"

"He's an old-timer, and the warden's favourite," I whisper back. "No wonder you've never come across him in the feline district. He lives in better conditions than the other prisoners. As for your former question - which part of him is handsome? He rather resembles some charcoal, with all those hideous burns!"

"Heh, you've got zero sense of appreciation for cool guys, I see," Annabelle retorts. "I wonder how you fell for Knut, at that rate."

"Oh, get off my tail!"

Knut can obviously hear our girly chit-chat, which makes him chuckle. Dagur meanwhile gets a bottle of water out of the fridge and takes a seat in an armchair before us.

"Well, who's this new vampire I've never met? Annabelle Roux, I assume?"

"Huh? How do you know my name?"

I guess Annabelle's happy her new crush knows her name right away, no matter it sounds so surprising not only to her but even to me.

"I know a lot about this prison and its inhabitants." Dagur uncorks the bottle and takes a deep draught.

"Heh, now you're just bragging. Many deviants know my name throughout this prison because I'm quite popular. I guess you're just one of my silent fans who've never dared come up to me."

Yeah, kudos to Annabelle for being the toughest girl I've ever known. She's a mere prisoner and not even completely-turned, yet acts even cockier than many administrators.

Dagur lets out a deep laugh. He gives Annabelle the Gwynplaine smile that is so familiar to me. The way Annabelle and I are snuggled up together, I can sense goose-bumps run down her spine. I'm not surprised, though - the first time I saw that smile, I had the same reaction. At least, she won't think anymore that Dagur is handsome. That was truly nonsense on her part.

"Cheeky!" Dagur grins. "So, what has brought you all here? I've heard from Knut that you meant business."

"You must've heard about the rodent holes this morning," I begin.

"Yup. Lousy rats exterminated, queen's men bringing the new lot in... Meh, what a nuisance it was, this entire day!" he scratches the scar on his jaw. "From all the things I hate in this prison, visitors from the outside are the worst."

"Now you're talking!" Annabelle mutters, "I hate lockdown."

"Same." Dagur takes another draught of fresh water. "I guess, Theo, you want my help since our previous plan regarding the rodent holes has failed?"

"That's right, Dag." I sigh. I'm used to calling him 'Dag' after our many meetings and interactions. "I can't do this without you. I need your advice."

"Yeah, that's tough... Well, at least Knut is with us." Dagur smiles, "I think it can work out."

"Yes, he's been so supportive..." I grab Knut's hand and squeeze it. We exchange loving smiles. "You were right about everything, Dag."

"Yeah, I know. Now then, since Knut is with us, we will have to implement some modifications to our plan. I think it'd be better for Knut to go with Shon to deactivate the cameras and the computers, instead of you."

"What? Why? Shon and I would do it just fine. We're friends!"

"Knut knows the administrative offices, including his and the warden's chambers, like the back of his hand," Dagur argues. "His help would be crucial for Shon. Don't forget that we only have one minute to deactivate all the devices in the entire facility. Knut would guide Shon in those areas better than you, Theo."

"Okay..."

I'm still upset. I hoped Shon and I would do it together as a team. Knut's going with him is not the best idea. Canines and felines don't get along, and so Shon and Knut don't. Knut only helped Shon back then because of my request. He's said so himself.

"What about the diversion?" Annabelle cuts in. "Rodent holes won't work anymore, so what's the plan?"

"Rodents are the best at digging holes." Dagur shrugs. "Reptiles can do it too, but their holes are generally smaller, so they won't work. I guess the only possible diversion left is I."

"What?" Knut is in dismay, "What do you mean?"

"I'll hold the warden and the administrators off as I can. That'll give you enough time to escape."

"That's crazy! You'll be killed!" I almost spring from the sofa.

"Trust me, Theo. I can do it. I never break my promises."

"You sure do! You promised you'd take care of Derek, yet you didn't!"

"Why do you think the warden appeared when he did, back there?"

His eyes are piercing mine. So, he informed the warden about the commotion in the dining hall, back then? I never knew!

"Dagur, it's too risky..."

I am still unsure. Throughout all these weeks, we've become close. I don't want to lose him now when everything seems to work so perfectly.

"If anyone can do it, it's him."

"Huh?"

I can't believe my ears - Knut too, agrees on it, without any worries?

"Dag's the best to hold every administrator off," Knut explains. "He's the strongest in this prison."

"The warden shoots fire! I've seen his power! And Dagur's all covered in burns! I bet all of them - Dagur, Bob, and late Clive - had once been beaten up by him, so hard that those scars remained!"

"My brother punished Bob and Clive only because they deserved it!"

Knut frowns. Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have talked so freely about the warden with him.

"Chill, Theo. It's okay." Dagur bitterly smiles, "When I tell you I can hold them off, it means I can."

"Ugh, okay! But if you don't appear right after we dive into the ocean, I swear I'll come back for you!"

"No!" Dagur frowns. "You're needed to lead the team away into the Sacred Grounds, just as we've planned."

Sacred Grounds is the place where dragon bones lie. Deviants are forbidden to step in there, so we've chosen it as our future refuge. The deviant administrators who are with us have agreed to break that sacred law, because, once we escape the prison, all of us will be criminals. For our administrator friends, freedom values more than some ancient superstitions. For our pursuers, however, the place will be inaccessible. Later when we settle there, we'll set up a barrier so that even if they decide to break in, they won't manage.

After plenty of arguments, I finally agree to let Dagur be the decoy. However, I've only agreed out loud. If he doesn't show up when we dive into the ocean, I'll go back for him, and nobody will stop me. Without him, this plan would've never existed, in the first place. If we went with my initial plan, we'd fail and all of us would be punished, while I'd be killed.

The fact that the break-out promises to be a success is all because of Dagur. I'm not going to leave such a precious friend behind. Not when he's never been outside these prison walls. I'll make sure he gets his freedom too, as he deserves.