Protector

long-awaited tears

A day or two later, Jaron received word that Vargan requested his presence. Somehow, Jaron was able to convince one of the guards to carry him to his meeting. He said that he was too tired and broken to make the walk. As they were on their way up, my well-trained eyes saw Jaron snag the guard's keys and slip them up his sleeve.

I wasn't sure how long Jaron was gone, but he returned with someone else, an older man whom I had never seen before. Jaron was chained back to his usual spot, and the man was bound, like me. The guard whose keys my brother had stolen, was patting his pockets, frustrated at not being able to locate them. After a good deal of huffing and puffing, he left, leaving us alone again.

Grinning, Jaron slid the keys out of his sleeve and freed himself. He stood shakily to his feet and moved, kneeling before me. his nimble fingers quickly untying the rope that held me. As soon as I was free, I threw my arms around his neck and he enveloped me in a hug, his strong arms holding me tight yet gently, careful not to jar any of my injuries. Inhaling deeply, I buried my face into his shoulder. I felt a tear fall from his face onto my neck and I knew there were tears on my face as well, but I didn't care who saw me cry. The heavens knew they were long-awaited tears. When we finally pulled apart after what could have been hours, he reached up and wiped a tear from my cheek.

"Let's go home," I whispered.

He moved to unchain Tobias while I slowly made me way over to untie the older man, whose name I learned was Harlow. Once we were all free, Jaron shared his plan with us. And boy, it sure was an original Jaron plan.

When the guards came back an hour later, we had returned to our chains and ropes but left them unlocked and loose. They entered the cell and Jaron provoked the guard whose keys he'd taken. Angrily, the man lunged at my brother, who ducked to the side at the last minute, causing the guard to hit his head on the wall. Creeping up behind him, Tobias swung his chains around the other guard, cutting off his air. After a long moment, he fell to the ground, out cold.
We made our way for the door, but froze when we heard footsteps rushing down toward us. I took in a deep breath and prepared for a fight that would likely end poorly for us, when from the top of the stairs there came a commotion. Vigils came tumbling down the stairs, attacked by yet another man I didn't think I would ever cross paths with again.

"Mott!" Jaron exclaimed, embracing him as though a father.

The man, Mott, nodded and motioned for us to hurry up. "We won't have long. Let's go."

After disguising ourselves as vigils and grabbing weapons from our fallen foes, we ran up the stairs and into the bright light of day. Blinded by the light I'd been so deprived of, I stumbled, my knees hitting the ground. But then I felt Jaron's hands lifting me up and steadying me.

"Hey, you're okay. I've got you."

I clutched the knife I'd taken tighter in my fist, nodding my response. Mott led us to a pair of horses he'd tethered outside the prison. He helped Jaron onto one, while Harlow and Tobias mounted the other one. The problem was, Mott had not been expecting me, and there was only room for four of us on the horses. Jaron noticed this and immediately started climbing down off the horse, but I stopped him.

"Stop. It's okay. I'm the one no one was expecting and am the least important out of this group, given that the entire rest of the world still thinks me dead. I know this camp well enough and I've planned many escapes over the years. I'm also the smallest and can hide the easiest." I straightened despite my back's protests, the truth to my statements ringing in the air.

Jaron was shaking his head vigorously. "No way. You're hurt."

"So are you." I retorted. "Don't worry, I'll see you in a minute."

Then I took off running before anyone could try to stop me. As I greatened the distance between us, I heard Jaron struggling to follow me, and Mott holding him back. Just before they were out of earshot, I heard Mott ask Jaron, "Who is she to you?"