The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 34: Dagur's Idea and Theo's Resolve

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.