The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 43: The End of Theo's Adventure

I wake up. I am in a fluffy bed in a cosy wooden chamber. Outside, instead of prison walls, there is a thick rainforest. Birds are chirping. One would think I'm in some tropical getaway. It soothes my heart greatly, after all these hideous months of being locked up in a cage, like an animal.

My wounds are bandaged. At once, I recollect everything - how Dagur and I struggled against the pursuers and he and Knut killed all of them.

"Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Knut gets up from his silken armchair (I gather the silkworm fairies have helped make it) and puts his hand to my forehead, to measure my temperature. When he gets assured I'm fine, a bright smile forms on his face. He bends down and gives me a passionate kiss.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Theo!"

"I'm so happy to see you again, Knut..."

I hug him tightly. He embraces me in his sturdy arms. We cover each other in kisses. We've indeed longed for each other a lot while separated during that entire prison break.

I ask about Dagur's condition. Thankfully, he too is alright now and is resting in another tree-house Knut has built specifically for him on the top of the tallest tree since Dagur enjoys coldness and the night sky, and the top of the tallest tree has all of that.

Knut then tells me everything about their adventures while Dagur and I were still in the prison. It turns out that after my breaking into the fairy district and opening their cells, the fairies indeed managed to escape and catch up with Knut and his parties. The barrier was already broken by Knut, so the fairies didn't even need to use Honorée's powers. When they caught up with Knut and the others in the ocean, they reached the continental shores together and hid here - in the Sacred Grounds (Now that I look out the windows, some dragon bones can indeed be seen scattered here and there).

Knut and the plant elementals helped build these tree-houses, while the silkworm fairies (just as I had expected) helped sew the linen for beds, armchair covers, tablecloths, and other needful material. Water elementals helped with the water system, while fire elementals helped build stoves and other utilities, on their part. So, in a few days that Dagur and I were in the prison or the forest, our friends managed to build a little settlement all on their own. Knut has placed an impenetrable barrier with the help of Honorée (Knut's three elements are unrivalled in power, so their add-up to Honorée's fairy barrier has made it unbreakable, unlike Nanny's one in the prison). I am still surprised as to why Nanny hadn't used Knut's help with her barrier before. If she had, Honorée would've never escaped and I too would've never gotten my inspiration for the prison-break plan.

Knut has already told all the parties about how the deviants had been lying to us about the infected humans - that they do not emit the same particles as the inborn deviants do. It has made me so shocked even back when Dagur mentioned it, that now I can't help but ask Knut:

"But if we don't emit those particles, doesn't it mean we won't infect other humans? If that's so, then it means we all can return to our homes, right?"

"Yeah, Shon and the others asked me about that too..." Knut scratches the back of his head. "Unfortunately, it is not so simple, Theo. Even if all that's true and, technically, you can return to your homes, for now, it's still impossible. Human society believes we are monsters - a danger to them. Deviant society sees us as a potential danger that can overthrow them if our community grows in size. So, we're considered an enemy to both of them. We've made this place - the Sacred Grounds - our temporary refuge, but we cannot leave it yet. Even if you return to your families, they'll only send you to a new restricted area, either designed by deviants or humans, it doesn't matter. Our battle is far from over. In fact, it's just begun. Now, we must fight not against a physical enemy like we did back in the prison, but against false ideologies."