The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 15: The Warden's Identity

Deviants actually fear us. Who would've thought?

Ever since Rufus revealed this dire secret to me, I've been brooding over it. The week has already passed. My confinement is over, and I'm going on my first hunt this evening. Yet, all I can think of is the day when Rufus visited me.

Why did he tell me all that? He even said that they, deviants, don't generally disclose that secret to us, infected humans. So why?

"Hey, ladies, it's dinner-time!"

Rufus has opened our cell. Yelen gets up and plunges into his arms with joy - right after dinner, they're going to have some alone time.

Annabelle stands up and heads towards the door. I do the same. We stand in the line of the vampire prisoners (excluding Yelen, who instead walks beside Rufus) and head towards the dining hall.

I gather it's the proper time to apologize to Shon - he too, must've been freed from his confinement today. 

Once we arrive in the hall, I get my food from the cooks and cast a glance around to locate Shon. I find him near Jared - that canine overseer of before - and some other newly-turned werewolves. I head towards them.

"Hey, Shon!"

"Oh, hey, Theo! Long time no see!" 

Shon turns to me with a smile. To be honest, I didn't expect him to meet me with such joy after all he's been through, because of me. 

"How are you doing?" he asks.

"I'm fine, Shon. Thank you. How about you?"

"I'm doing okay. Knut's medicine really does miracles. Thanks for sending him to help me. He's told me it was all because of you."

"Oh, really?" 

I didn't expect Knut to so blatantly say he's helped him because of me. 

"Well, I couldn't leave you in peril, especially when it all happened because of my recklessness. I... I'm really sorry, Shon."

"Hey, no sweat, it's alright!" He hits me on a shoulder in a brotherly manner. "Want to have dinner together?"

"Oh, sure!"

We take seats at a free table with three chairs. While we're eating, he asks:

"So, today should be your first hunt, I gather?"

"Yeah. Yours too?"

"Nah. I'm still undergoing my transformation. It's gotten better, to the point that I can control myself during the full moon when I turn, but I cannot transform by my will, for now. So, I'm not authorized to hunt yet."

"Oh, that's unfortunate... I hoped we'd hunt together. You really are a nice friend to hunt with."

"Haha, thank you!" He blushes. "But I don't think you'll feel lonely - you do have some vampire friends, don't you?"

"Meh, Yelen's going to hunt with Rufus - our headman and her boyfriend, while Annabelle's said she's going to hunt with her merpeople friends."

So much for a team hunt... They promised me they'd hunt with me on my first day, yet there they go, hanging out with their other friends instead.

"You too, can hunt with your merperson friend, you know?"

I flinch - Derek's come up to us. Shon too recognizes him - he was the one to save me from his jaws back on that merpeople party, after all. 

I don't really fancy Derek's presence. He nearly ate me back then. There's no way I'm hanging out with a guy like that.

"Thank you, I'd rather hunt alone."

"Come on! I'm sorry I couldn't control myself back then. Your blood was just too delicious to resist... even for you, wasn't it?" He grins with his fangs and pulls the empty chair, "May I sit?"

"No, that seat is occupied," I retort.

"I don't see anyone's occupying it."

"When a girl tells you that, it means you should beat it," Shon says.

"Shut it, you pup!" Derek glares at him. "Nobody's been asking you."

I should really follow Shon's example and tell him to beat it... But then, there's another thing I can do - I see Honorée's standing at the food counters with her tray full. She's apparently looking for a place to sit.

"Hey, Honorée, come here!"

I wave a hand at her. I guess she recognizes me from before because a timid smile runs through her lips. She approaches us.

"H-Hello," she mutters. "You were in Lord van Irbisen's room..."

"Lord van Irbisen? You mean Knut?" I've never known Knut's surname, so that must be it. "Anyway, yeah, we've seen each other before. I'm Theo, and this is Shon - my friend. Want to sit with us?"

"Oh, sure. It's a pleasure to meet you both!" She places her tray on our table and takes a seat right on the chair Derek's pulled. "Thanks."

"Now it's occupied!" I smirk at Derek.

He glares at me and clenches his fists. I can tell he's pissed, and it brings me satisfaction. He deserves what he's got.

"I'll remember this!"

He snarls and gets off us. 

"Finally... the grumpy shark has swum off."

I laugh at Shon's half-joke. Honorée chuckles too, but a little timidly. I can tell she's a shy type. It is fine, though - children of her age are usually shy, especially when they've undergone trauma such as being considered a monster by their family and sent to a prison to be locked up for the rest of their lives... It even made me depressed. I can only imagine what she felt. More so that she's actually seen that beast - the warden - up close, and was caught by him.

"You know, Shon, Honorée's actually the prisoner who managed to break out!" I try to praise her in front of Shon so that she will gain some confidence. "If not for the warden, she'd have escaped. She outran a whole battalion of canine administrators, including Terry and Clara."

"Lord Terry and Lady Clara?! That's some girl!" Shon smiles at Honorée, "Awesome job!"

I thought I'd uplift her spirits, but it has the opposite effect - Honorée begins to shiver. 

"I did wrong... I won't do it ever again."

"Huh? Come on! Escaping this prison is a dream of every one of us!" 

I motion Shon to stop, so he hushes. I put a hand on Honorée's shoulder:

"It is fine. You did nothing wrong. You wanted to see your family. It is only natural."

She smiles. I can tell she's really terrified by what she's seen back then.

"So, what does the warden look like, anyway?"

I glare at Shon in distress - how could he ask such a thing? Remembering that beast is what she needs the least right now!

Indeed, Honorée shivers more. Tears appear in her eyes.

"Honorée, dear, don't remember it, it is fine." I caress her. "You don't need to."

"It was a big scary snow leopard, with giant fangs and claws. It caught me, and..."

She sniffs. I hug her right away - this is getting out of hand.

"No worries, it's okay. Shh... It's in the past. It's fine."

"Goodness, I'm so sorry!" 

Shon feels bad. He's realized his mistake, but too late. Thankfully, I've managed to calm Honorée down. We all continue dining.

Still, a snow leopard? - It sounds strange. Yelen and Annabelle have told me once, that snow leopards are extinct. They can only appear when a human gets infected by their particles. Inborn deviants cannot be snow leopards. So, how come the warden is one? The only snow leopard I've seen in the inborn deviants' rows is Knut.

Wait a minute...

Is Knut actually the warden?!