Passing through a series of small cabins filled with prisoner/slaves, Fiyero fought to control his anger. Nor had been used as a whore; Manek forced into hard labor. And both of them children. But he needed to keep a cool head.
He made his way to the boys cabin and snuck in. His heart pounded wildly, he seemed to be able to hear it. This was proving easier than he anticipated. Being around Elphaba so long had equiped him with paranoia: it was too easy.
But how could they know he was here?
He forced himself to focus and searched through the masses with just a candle. Curses and grumblings flew at him.
It seemed hours went by before he found his son, and even the slightest noises caused his heart to skip. He snatched the sleeping boy by the arm and hauled him to his feet. The boy swung at him with both fists. Some of the others were waking.
In an all or nothing gamble, Fiyero seized the boy by the back of the neck and forced him to walk. It had to look real. They made it as far as outside without altercation and Fiyero allowed himself to breath easier.
Dropping his guard was a mistake. Manek broke free and began to raise all sorts of hell. Fiyero caught up with him again and clamped his hand over the boy's mouth. "Idiot boy, can't you see I'm trying to rescue you?" But some guards were already taking notice of the commotion.
Fiyero swore loudly and pushed the boy down in the mud before dropping into it himself. Follow me, he whispered urgently and crawled underneath the cabin. Mercifully the boy obeyed. Fiyero started rubbing the mud all over him and Manek looked at him like he was crazy.
"What if they have dogs? We need to mask our scent," Fiyero explained. Manek still looked dubious but did the same anyway.
Fiyero's fears were not unfounded. He could hear the baying of hounds alarmingly close. He silently prayed to Lurline that Nor be safe and the focus be on them. Just as she was doing, they began their long wait. "If we manage to make it out of here alive", he said to Manek, "we'll meet your sister in the morning in the marshes. I sent her to a spot I know well. Lets hope and pray that she made it and stays safe."
Nor waited on pins and needles, in the gloom of the marshes.
"Wait until sunrise and if we don't meet you head straight West and don't stop until you reach the Cloister of Saint Glinda in the Shale Shallows. There you will be safe," her father told her. And then he kissed her forehead and went in search of Manek.
She fled into the marshes taking Amaris with her, moving quickly as possible. This was not an easy thing as her feet sank into the mud and greatly hindered her progress. More than once she had to pull herself out of the muck by way of a low tree branch. This was made all the harder by the baby she was stuck carrying. She ducked into the hollow of a large tree, which looked to be the designated spot he had described to her. There she reflected:
Her father was alive. After all this time. Where had he been? Her own experience had been bad enough.
But someone had carved up his face! Why and what for?
Nor didn't quite understand the many ways of breaking a spirit. She let out the breath she had been holding and began the long wait for them to join her.
There was a bag with small bits of fruit for the baby. Nor shook a handful out and let Amaris pick at them. That was another mystery. Where had the baby come from? She didn't know enough about babies to gage Amaris' age. Maybe Mama was hiding in the Cloister of Saint Glinda and Nor was to meet her there? And this was a new baby sister? But why had Daddy brought the baby along in the first place? Maybe Mama was sick somewhere and couldn't care for her? Or maybe those horrible soldiers had burnt her up the way they burnt poor Irji? Nor shivered despite the heat and steam and focused on tending the baby.
The sun began to peek around the horizon, Nor watched with growing dread. They hadn't been able to escape. She didn't know what to do. Sure, she had her instructions, but could she follow them? Could she really abandon Manek and Daddy? And would she be able to survive; keep Amaris alive until the Shale Shallows?
She lingered there long after she should have been gone, begging Lurline that they would somehow find her. She started to cry. The journey ahead seemed impossible and not only that: she couldn't bear to leave them behind.
"Oh thank Lurline, you're still here," she heard her father say. For a moment she thought it was imagined, but he came out of the fog, with Manek at his heels. Both of them were filthy, covered in mud and swamp offal. A little worse for the wear, but that hardly mattered. She let Amaris drop to the ground and the baby protested as vigorously as ever. Nor ran forward and hugged her father. He pulled Manek into it and held them both there for several beats.
"What a fool I've been," he said, sighing.
But the dogs were howling in the distance and time was still short. "Change of plans," he told them. "If the rumors are true, then Munchkinland is a free state now, under Nessarose Thropp. We make it over the border, we should be safe. She's an old college friend, at any rate, I can probably use that to be granted clemency."
