CHAPTER 4

Emy awoke, vaguely aware of someone close by to him. The soft pitter patter of bare feet was getting closer. Emy lay there silently ignoring them until there was a blast of cold air as someone lifted his blanket and climbed into his bed with him. The person mirrored his slightly bent legs and shuffled closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her naked breasts smiling to himself.

"I'm sorry about earlier," She whispered "I owe you an apology, but I promise that it was nothing against you, against us. As Emy remained silent she continued: "I see him regularly, he owns the airship junk yard, yesterday I stole some keys which I have already made copies of, and I shall then return them today. Soon we can leave, I promise" With this she rolled to face him.

She leant forward, her moist lips pressing into his, her breasts were now pressing into his chest and before he knew what was happening he felt a pair of warm hands slide into his trousers. He returned the favour feeling his way between her. Settling in this position they fell back to sleep.

When Emy awoke she was gone, but he knew that she loved him and she was just using this man he had seen her with today. Emy was happy. Emy wanted to work today but WakTu forbade it. Instead Emy was forced to stay in the medicine room. He decided to follow Anna again this time she knew he was following her and he sat in the bookshop reading. He had loved reading, although he found Anglish a bit hard to understand compared to the simpler Aramaic of his native town he began to understand the history of Arkangel.

When she returned she was smiling. She reached inside her red coat and produced a crumpled picture she had taken somehow.

"This is our escape!" She proclaimed vigorously.

"That, but it's a pile of junk!"

"Oi, that has taken me years to perfect, I started soliciting that stupid guy when I was just ten! Five years of hard work and you say she's junk. This junk baby is the Jenny Haniver and this is our ticket out of here!"

"What you made her!"

"Yeah, well I'm not just stealing some old thing someone else has used!"
"That's incredible, you made all that yourself! How, you must be a genius at old tech and stuff too."

"Old tech?"

"Yeah, you know stuff left over from the ancients. Stuff way more complicated than our own. In Timbuktu all the alchemists teach me how to interact with it. It's really cool."

"My airship has none of that. It's just a normal airship."

"Okay, but how do you fire the missiles and stuff?"

"Missiles, my airship doesn't have missiles silly it just has simple engines, it's only going to get us out of here then, with this" She gestured to a bag she produced from nowhere "We can buy a proper airship!"

"Wow, what are you calling your airship?"
"The Jenny Haniver."

"What a weird name, where's it come from?"

"My parents died when I was young, so I was adopted by my Aunt and Uncle, they used to fly the bird routes but then one day the airship crashed and we were captured by the northern people they sold us to Arkangel. They died a few years ago; my aunt was called Jenny Haniver."

"That's so sad and unfortunate." Emy said leaning over and hugging Anna. As they returned through the vent Emy and Anna could hear voices in the medicine room, it did not sound good.

"Where are they?"

"I dunno, what are we gonna do? Gregor will kill us if he knows that two slaves have escaped."

"We don't tell him, he don't count 'em does he?"

"It'll be fine we just say they died or summin', but if he finds out the truth we're screwed"

"Stop worryin' Igor I promise it'll be fine."

"Okay" The two men moved on, still talking about Anna and him. Emy turned round to look at Anna, who had a look of horror on her face.

"What are we going to do?"

"Simple we just return back and say that we were somewhere."

"That's never gonna work, they see through straight away, we'll be killed basically on the spot!"
"Don't be silly, those two are so stupid that they'd fall for anything we told them!"

"Nope, we go tonight."
"But I haven't told WakTu about any of this yet."

"He'll just have to deal with it, I'll get you tonight when I am ready, do not get noticed by any of the guards though, there not as dense as they look."

With that Anna turned around and disappeared, leaving Emy to crawl warily out into the medicine room. That night as soon as WakTu walked in Emy began to explain:

"WakTu, we are leaving tonight, I have made a plan with a friend, she has an airship, we are leaving tonight okay. She will come and get us."

"Wait, wait, wait. Slow down. You have made a plan to escape, definitely a dangerous plan, and not told me. This is ridiculous."
"Oh shut up, it's fine we are ready, we could do it all by ourselves without you, just I am not leaving you behind."

"hang who is this friend? Can she be trusted?"

"She's the girl from medicine room, the nurse, and of course she can be trusted."

"I don't like the sound of this, there is something too easy about it..."

"Fine don't come, be stuck here forever, I'll go home to my nice comfy bed without you." And with that Emy stormed off, upset and angry that WakTu was so distrustful and careful. Emy wandered around aimlessly for a couple of hours. He was as asked by Anna wary of the guards and just took one last look around at the slave bay he would be leaving soon.

He returned to his bed late to find WakTu sitting waiting for him.

"Night Night, WakTu, see you in the mornin'... later." All Emy got in reply was an affirmative grunt. Emy lay there trying to sleep and completely unable to. He lay there waiting and waiting for Anna to come. Eventually he drifted off into an uneasy nervous sleep. He dreamt of WakTu refusing to let him leave and of the airship not working.