"You?!"

So, that is why Dagur and the warden looked so similar - they were the same person! How could I not guess everything up until now? All matched - the snow leopard fur, the black hair and blue eyes, the shabby white t-shirt, the mannerisms, the smile! Even the scars I saw on the warden in those photos before were the same as those of Dagur! Ugh, how stupid I've been! He fooled me, and I fell for it!

"How could you?!" I snarl, "You lied to us - to all of us! Wait, did Knut know about this? Don't tell me he was with you too?! You both deceived me, together?"

I can't describe how furious I am - Knut too, took part in this? Had they actually devised the entire plan together even before Knut would declare his love to me?!

"Just what game are you playing at?" I yell now, "You trampled on my fellow prisoners' and my feelings! Ugh, I made a mistake - I should've warned everyone about you, and they'd tell me you were not to be trusted! We yearned for freedom, yet you've deceived us! Is the plan even fulfilling, or is it all a scam to later catch us, torture us for escaping, and laugh into our faces as you have fun watching our misery?!"

"Keep your voice down! The others might hear us..." Dagur frowns, "I never lied to you. It was all your assumptions, and I played along. The plan is real, and your friends are safe."

"You did lie! You never told me you were the warden!"

"As Dagur, you never asked me what my occupation was, and as the warden, you never asked my name." he smiles. "You assumed I was different people, just as I wanted you to. Think of it - if I told you I was the warden, would you ever listen to my advice? But this way, you did. So, the plan is going to succeed."

"What a humbug! You're the warden - the monster everyone spoke of! Why would you be helping us out of your free will? It makes no sense!"

Now, Dagur's frown deepens, and his feline eyes sparkle with incense. I'm not going to apologize, though. He's got what he deserves. I'll never forgive him for deceiving me in such a shameless manner! Oh, and while I'm at it - I'm going to break up with Knut, who's been on his side all along!

"Unlike you whiny humans who've got infected and gained superior genes, were shoved in here but permitted to hunt and mate, had all the powers of your respective deviant blood, yet still continued to complain because you lost your human families and habitats you had always counted as miserly while you still lived there, I've indeed lived like a monster locked in a cage, for my entire damned life! Born a weakling - a snow leopard with a plant organism and firepower, hence to be burnt every time I utilized my element! Considered a monster by my mother, doomed to be slain by my father! I killed him in time, or else he'd raise Knut in his bastardly image... Charged with upholding order in this prison, I was to use my powers over every petty matter, and be burnt while doing so! My only consolation, the only light in my life, was Knut - that kind little kitten who saw me as I truly was... And now, you - a prisoner - have stolen his heart, to such an extent that he begged me to look after you when he was to leave to gather food from the deviant kingdoms! You thought I wouldn't be interested in that maiden he had thus fallen for? When I met you, though, I realised Knut was right - you weren't like everyone else. Only that vampire - Annabelle Roux - could be compared to you. You both are fearless and self-confident, but you are even more so - you are daring and a little careless, too, which is rather beneficial for the leader of a mutiny.

"When I heard of your escape plan you talked with your friends about, my lust for freedom rekindled. The will to give freedom to Knut - my beloved cub, who never deserved to live confined to these decayed walls... So, I figured I too, would lend you a hand - the girl who had made my brother so happy and uplifted. I introduced myself to you as I truly was - Dagur, the guy who hates this prison and its stupid rules, loves chilling in cold baths, enjoys Michael Jackson's songs, and loves his little brother deeply. Dagur van Irbisen is who I am, not the bloodthirsty 'Lord Warden' who's keen on torturing prisoners and upholding the order! I don't give a damn about this prison, its rules, its administrators, or the prisoners. I only want a peaceful life...

"Yet you, after all my help and devotion, and my hearty approval of your and Knut's relationship, still dare accuse me of treachery?! How heartless can you be? I wonder who the true monster is between us, Theo Sinclaire!"

He almost seems to blow fire out of his nostrils, so infuriated he is. Yet, he doesn't raise his voice too much, and the silent wrath of the warden comes to my mind. So, this is what it feels like, to receive the warden's fury... But no, this is not like a heartless butcherer or a leopard ready to devour me, but a parent disappointed in his in-law, or a kitten sulking in silence, glaring at its human with sparkling eyes. He's not angry with me, rather upset, as an elderly person would be with a child. He seems to be reprimanding and lecturing me.

After all these years, in this strange circumstance when the evilest administrator of the prison turns out to be my ally, my father's image pops up in my mind, as vivid as back in those days - the man younger than all other fathers and even our mother, yet devoted to his family and always up for challenges... Back then, he was still only thirty-six, like Dagur now, while I was fourteen and Ethan - nine. He never aged since - there was a car accident, and it took his life. He was always so sweet, so wise... He always advised me well and was there when I needed support. Mom was never like him - she was rather keen on Ethan, while dad loved us equally. I bet if my dad were still there, he'd have found a solution and not sent me away as mom did.

Why have I remembered him now? - Well, probably because whenever he got angry, he wouldn't raise his voice but only point out my mistakes and ask me with a stern tone: "do you still think I'm in the wrong, Theo?" So much in Dagur's manner...

I cast my eyes down. This is too much. I can't take it.

"I'm sorry, Dag."

Few times in my life have I ever felt truly guilty. Dagur and Knut have managed to play on my heartstrings just as well as my dad used to. It makes it all the more painful.

"I'm sorry too, Theo. But, unfortunately, there was no other way for us."

Dagur's burnt hands unlock my handcuffs and unchain me. He helps me up. He cuts his hand with his claw and pours some of his blood onto the wound on my eye.

"W... What are you doing?"

I get the answer to my question even before Dagur speaks - once his blood drops onto my wound it heals up immediately.

"Wait, you're a healer too?!" I am shocked.

"Who do you think taught Knut about medicine? My organism is that of a plant elemental. It's only natural I'd have regenerative abilities."

"But then, why didn't you heal your wounds before they'd turn into scars?"

"Well, a plant can never truly recover from consequent burns, can it?"

His bitter smile explains it all to me - using fire every single minute when the prison administering required it, has put great toil on his body. That is why he never healed from the burns, and now it's too late - they've already turned into scars.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dag..."

"Nah, no issue. Let's go now before Bob and his men have come back."

A loud explosion sounds from the upper part of the prison building. An alarm rings. While it causes my fear, Dagur only cracks a smile:

"Perfect. I guess my diversion is already working. Let's go."

"What diversion?"

Dagur doesn't reply. He touches a certain wall of the cell, releases fire and melts the steel to give place to a hole, big enough for both of us to fit through. From that hole, I can see the night sky covered in black clouds portending heavy rain, and some fumes that come right out of the prison building. I begin to realise - the part where the explosion sounded from was the second floor of the feline district. Dagur has apparently caused an explosion in his own quarters. That would give way to a massive fire, which would burn his and Knut's computers and, consequently, erase all the prison data in them. I guess Dagur is truly serious about helping us and getting away from here. Now I'm regaining my courage - if he, the gruesome warden, known for his bloodthirstiness, is on my side, I might as well survive.

"Jump on!"

Dagur morphs into a snow leopard full of scars that render him uglier than a yeti of the Himalayas. I gather why Honorée got terrified of him. Nevertheless, now I know for sure that he's my ally, so I jump onto his back.

"But won't you have problems in the water?" I ask.

"That too, was simply your assumption, hun," he purrs in response, "I am a snow leopard with a plant organism. I am the weakest against fire," he shows me his white paw that is bleeding from utilizing the fire some minutes ago. "As for the water, it is actually my favourite element, and helps speed up my regeneration."

Yet again, I thank God Dagur's decided to help me out because if he truly were my enemy, with that initial plan of mine and even the latest one, I'd definitely be screwed.

I clutch Dagur's fur tightly, and we jump off the building into the blackened abyss, towards our freedom.

I only hope it will work out. The angels and the fairies are already flying in the sky, monitoring the areas. Escaping will be difficult, even with the explosive diversion Dagur's created.

But, having the prison warden and Knut's big brother by my side, I am somehow reassured. I begin to believe we can truly pull it off.

We have to.