Following Varian's careful instructions, Andrew helped to sit Hector up before he crouched in front of the older man with his back to him. Varian helped him to get Hector's arms up over Andrew's shoulders. Andrew crossed Hector's arms, gripped one of his wrists and used his other hand to hold Hector's arm, just to keep some balance.

Andrew grunted as he tried to lift Hector. He could feel the strain on his knees, and he almost fell over, but he eventually found his balance. Varian watched him anxiously.

"Don't drop him." Varian said.

"I'm doing my best, kid." Andrew grunted. He somehow managed to get to his feet. He had to bend forward slightly to make sure that Hector's feet were lifted off the ground as he dangled from Andrew's back. He was probably aggravating the wounds on Hector's chest, but they seemed like the smaller concern when compared to the man's legs.

Andrew staggered off the stage. It was probably fortunate that Hector was lighter than he looked. Andrew was strong enough to carry him, it was just a little difficult to carry somebody who was taller than him. Getting off the stage was slow work, but Andrew managed it, and by the time they were on solid ground he felt more confident and comfortable. Things got easier from there.

Andrew half carried and half dragged Hector past the cabins, cursing the fact that his cabin was towards the end. It wasn't very far, but when they were going so slow and had such a limited amount of time, Andrew was aware of every passing second.

Andrew was very aware of the close gazes of the guards. He just knew that they were counting down the minutes before they could start to punish people for being out past curfew. He wouldn't be surprised if they acted a minute or two before time was up.

"Hey, Varian, do me a favor." Andrew said. "Go ahead to the cabin and get my dad to find a bed for Hector." Varian nodded and did as he was told, and that was one less problem that Andrew had to worry about. If he didn't make it to the cabin before the guards lost their patience at least Varian wouldn't get punished too. The kid wasn't helping to carry Hector, so if he got punished it would be for absolutely no reason.

"I swear, if we get beat up for this I'm never going to let you live it down." Andrew grunted. The only reason he was continuing was because in Hector's current state he might not survive a beating, and Andrew wasn't interested in having that on his conscience right now. Besides, if Andrew just sat to the side and let something happen to Hector, Varian wouldn't forgive him.

Hector groaned and stiffened, which made it a little harder to hold him. "...Nev'r asked f'r your help." He said quietly, almost inaudibly.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Andrew said. "And even if you didn't ask, Varian did. I'm doing this for his sake."

Hector let out a pained groan that might pass for a laugh. "A Saporian willingly helping my people? That's something I never thought I'd see again."

Andrew frowned. He didn't appreciate the animosity in Hector's tone. Here Andrew was, helping him, essentially saving his life, and Hector was taking a dig at his people. His tone made it sound like he hated Saporians as much as his father was cautious about the Brotherhood.

"What's your issue with my people anyway?" Andrew asked.

"Hey, I'm not the one with the issue." Hector scoffed. He shifted just wrong, grunting in pain when he moved his chest or legs in the wrong way. "You Saporians are the ones that have an issue with me."

"Look, the only issue I have with you is that you're making my job harder." Andrew said He had to adjust his grip to get Hector better situated on his back. "If you don't hold still I swear I'm going to leave you right here and let you crawl inside."

"Do it." Hector growled. "I don't need your pity."

"Yeah, well, your shattered kneecaps would say otherwise." Andrew said.

"Hey!" A rough voice exclaimed. Andrew jolted and Hector stiffened even more. They looked up to see a guard standing in front of Andrew's cabin. It was the older guard that had escorted Andrew and Varian there just a short while ago. "Enough talking. It's curfew. Get inside."

The guard's tone was cold and harsh, giving the impression that if they didn't do as they were told then they would pay for it, but if it was actually curfew why was he giving them a warning? Andrew thought that he would start a beating, even if they were almost at the cabin.

The guard didn't even try to block their path. In fact, he stepped aside to give them room to enter. As soon as they were inside the guard stepped out and locked the door to the cabin. They were trapped in here until morning when they would be let out for the next day's work, whatever that ended up being.

"Andrew." Albrun greeted him. He sounded relieved, though there was almost a layer of scolding in his tone. Andrew could barely remember the last time he had been scolded by a parent. After he'd gotten out he'd been taken in by a Saporian community outside of Corona. They had raised him well, but they saw him as their prince so they didn't ever scold him.

"You are so lucky that Julien is guarding us today." Albrun looked towards the shut door. "He's as loyal to Corona as any other guard, but he respects Saporia as an independent kingdom, so he treats us decently."

"Decently?" Hector raised an eyebrow. "That man coddles you and your nobles."

Albrun narrowed his eyes at Hector. "Just because he doesn't beat us within an inch of our life doesn't mean that he coddles us." Albrun squared his shoulders, carrying himself with the authority of a king, even though he'd been enslaved his whole life. "You would be treated better if you accepted your place."

"As a slave?" Hector scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Like it or not, you are a slave." Albrun said. "You can't continue to act out like this. You're just going to get people hurt. I don't care if you throw yourself in harm's way, but your actions nearly got a child hurt and endangered Andrew, and that's not okay."

"You don't care what happens to me." Hector smirked. "So what else is new?"

"Alright, knock it off." Andrew said. They could argue all they wanted, but not while he was holding Hector, who was difficult enough to carry without the agitated squirming. "Is there an empty bed where he can lay tonight?"

Albrun glared at Hector for a long moment before he sighed and gestured to a small, scratchy bed. "He can take my bed for the night so long as he behaves himself."

"And what'll you do if I don't?" Hector asked. "Throw me out to see just how decently your guard will treat me?"

"Oh, not that again." Albrun sighed. "It's been more than fifteen years. I regret the pain that you went through, but-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Hector said. He had to pause for a moment as Andrew laid him down on the bed. He hissed in pain and seemed to hold his breath for several moments before he continued through clenched teeth. "Y-you say you regret my pain, but do you regret what you did?" Albrun was silent for a long moment. Hector grimaced and closed his eyes. "I thought so."

"Okay, what happened between you two?" Andrew crossed his arms. "You're acting like enemies, but the only enemies we should have are the Coronans."

"Don't look at me." Hector said stiffly. He sounded like he was trying to be casual, but Andrew could hear the pain in his voice, and he thought that at least part of that pain wasn't because of his injuries. "I'm not the one that stabbed him in the back, breaking our alliance."

"I didn't want to break our alliance." Albrun said stiffly. "But I had to put my people first."

"I'm not going to ask again." Andrew nearly growled. He didn't like being ignored. "What happened?"

"Andrew, you must understand," Albrun said. "The guards will look for any reason to punish us and make our lives even more difficult. The best way to keep safe is by doing as we're told. If we disobey or act out, well, you see what happens."

"I'm not gonna apologize for not wanting to roll over and play their game." Hector said.

"Yes, you've made that much clear." Albrun said. "Countless times." He looked at Andrew. "This wasn't Hector's first runaway attempt. He tried this very thing fifteen years ago. Some of our people caught wise to his plan, and they, well-"

"They sold me out!" Hector tried to sit up, only to gasp and fall back onto the bed. "B-been awhile since the guards have gone that hard."

"They were scared." Albrun said defensively. "The guards had realized that punishing you did little good, so they were starting to take their frustrations out on everybody else. My people had been punished for your poor behavior before, and I won't blame them for doing what they could to avoid punishment that they didn't deserve."

Andrew raised his eyebrow. "Let me get this straight. Some Saporians told the guards that Hector was trying to escape, he got caught, and our people have hated each other since?" Andrew couldn't entirely fault either side. If he was in his father's shoes, he wouldn't hesitate to put the safety of his people over the safety of somebody who seemed to go looking for trouble. On the other hand though, Andrew sympathized with Hector's continual resistance. Andrew was like that too. He refused to accept that Corona had won just because they held all the cards.

Varian shuddered and sat at the edge of Albrun's bed. He placed a hand lightly against Hector's knees. The man yelped in agony and arched his back. Varian bit his lip and whimpered.

"S-sorry." Varian said quietly. "I-I just wanted to check how bad it was."

Andrew expected Hector to shout and lash out. He seemed like a man with very little restraint. However, the man just shook his head and took several deep breaths until he began to relax.

"I-it's fine." Hector said. "It's bad. I-I don't think my knees'll get better any time soon."

Varian sniffled pathetically. "Honestly, I-I'm worried they won't get better at all." Varian's voice shook. He sounded like he was about to start crying. "Broken bones are pretty good at fixing themselves as long as the bones are aligned, b-but knees are complicated. They're fragile, and super important, and even if your kneecaps heal fine on their own your leg might not be okay if the other bones were knocked out of alignment." Varian felt along Hector's knee." And I think they were."

Hector should be horrified about this news, but he looked almost unbothered. Maybe he was in shock, or was just trying to act stronger than he was. "Yeah, this is probably a lot worse than what happened last time. All they did last time was break one of my ankles and then forced me to walk all the way back here from where they caught me." Hector grimaced at the memory. "Three miles. It took months for it to heal, and it still acts up."

Andrew crossed his arms. He didn't know whether to be impressed or concerned by Hector's nonchalant attitude. "Why are you acting so casual about this?"

Hector stared at Andrew, and those unnatural yellow eyes seemed to stare right into his soul. "I have to. If I don't, the warden will think they've broken me, and despite her little presentation I'm not giving up without a fight. I only played nice for the kid's sake."

Varian whimpered. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, kid," Hector said. He sounded almost gentle.

"You should have let them hurt me." Varian said quietly. "It wouldn't have been as bad as this."

"No, probably not." Hector agreed. "But any amount of pain is too much for you to go through. I'm not just gonna tell the guards to hurt my nephew to save my own skin."

"Nephew?" Varian sat up. He looked surprised. Hector gave him an odd look.

"You're Quirin's kid, aren't you?" Hector asked. Varian nodded. "Well, he's my brother in all but blood, which makes us family." Despite the circumstances Varian looked comforted. He gave Hector a small smile.

"At least I have family here." Varian said. His eyes widened. "Not that I'm glad you're here or anything, I just-"

"I know what you mean, kid." Hector chuckled. "I don't know if I'd be able to do this if I didn't have Adira and Edmund. They're your dad's siblings too."

"Wait a minute." Albrun stepped towards Varian, ignoring Hector's warning growl. "Quirin is your father?"

"Y-you know my dad?" Varian looked at Albrun in near awe. Albrun looked at Andrew.

"Not well." Albrun said. "But I'll never forget the man who put his own freedom at risk to sneak my son out of here."

"That was my dad?" Varian looked as stunned as Andrew felt.

"Yeah, that was Quirin." Hector glared at Albrun. "And what do you do to repay that favor? You encouraged your people to turn on us."

"I never encouraged it." Albrun said.

"But you didn't discourage it either." Hector said. "You and I both know that as far as your people are concerned that's as good as giving your seal of approval."

Albrun sighed and shook his head. "I'm not going to discuss this with you anymore. We'll just start fighting, and we don't want to draw attention from the guards. My son invited you in here, which makes you a guest in our home. At least for tonight, let's call it a truce."

"Bite me." Hector growled. Varian put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please, Uncle Hector." Varian said quietly. Hector was stunned into silence as he stared at Varian. "You're hurt and need to rest. He's letting you stay here. Can't you at least pretend to get along with him? Just for one night?"

Hector stared at Varian for a long moment before he sighed. "Whatever you say, kid." He turned his head to the side so he was looking at the wall. Hector's idea of getting along must be to avert his gaze, because just as long as he didn't see Albrun's face he wouldn't be tempted to punch him.

Albrun sighed and shook his head. He looked at the people that shared their cabin. They were all people that Andrew knew were descended from other Saporian nobility. Lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, and a few people who were descended from the same line as Albrun was.

"Friends, it's been a long and eventful day, but we know that the overseers and drivers won't be merciful in the morning. Get some sleep." Albrun said. He waved aside a few offers for him to take someone else's bed. "I will be fine for one night. If you're truly willing to offer your bed to someone in need, give it to the boy."

Albrun made himself as comfortable as he could on the ground. The night was a little chilly, but inside the stone cabin they had very little protection from the outside chill. He was already starting to shiver.

Hector didn't turn his head, but he struggled to sit up as much as he could without straining his injuries. "Kid, get this blanket out from under me." It took some maneuvering from both Varian and Hector, but the boy was eventually able to pull away the blanket. He held it out to Hector, but the man pushed it away.

"I'm used to the cold, and I have something else to keep me warm." Hector rubbed at the dark fur he wore on his shoulders. Andrew hadn't noticed the fur before, but now he couldn't help but wonder why he was allowed to have it. Fur seemed like a luxury that the Coronan's wouldn't allow people that they saw as their property to have.

Andrew hadn't seen anybody else wearing fur around here. Maybe that was just because Saporians were most of the slaves here, and they didn't like to wear clothing made from animal hide, but Andrew felt like there was something else.

"Give the blanket to his royal pain in the neck." Hector said. Varian frowned in confusion but did as he was told. Albrun nodded his appreciation at Varian, but didn't voice his gratitude. Andrew knew that his father wasn't so prideful that he would refuse to say thank you when a favor was done for him. Andrew suspected that his father didn't say anything because Hector was really proud and wouldn't like something like this to be acknowledged or called out.

Andrew settled on the ground next to his father. The blanket was far too small for them to share, but they tried to do so. A bed was reluctantly offered to Varian, but he didn't accept it. The kid preferred to curl up as close to Hector's bed as he could. He probably would have been content on the ground, but Hector scooted over as much as he could and gave just enough room for Varian to curl up next to him.

Almost everybody else fell asleep relatively quickly. Andrew couldn't bring himself to relax, and though his body was exhausted his mind was as active as ever. Far too much had happened in one day for him to bring himself to relax. Instead he listened to everybody else as they fell asleep. Soon almost everybody was completely silent, save for one other person.

Andrew listened to the shifting and restrained hisses of discomfort for about ten minutes before he sat up and looked towards the source of the noise.

"Everybody else is asleep." Andrew said quietly. "You don't have to pretend to be strong because you don't want to worry Varian or be judged by my father."

Hector let out a slow grunt of pain. "Not p-pretendin'."

"Sure." Andrew scoffed. "Who are you trying to prove yourself to right now? Me? Something tells me you couldn't care less about my opinion."

Hector didn't say anything for a long moment, but Andrew could hear him hissing and breathing harshly in pain. "I-is Albrun really your dad?"

"Afraid so." Andrew said. Hector groaned in annoyance.

"Quirin risked everything to get you out, and you ended up back here anyway." Hector let out a slow groan. "I didn't know that disrespecting the sacrifice of my people ran in the family."

"Funny." Andrew shifted his position, putting more of the blanket across his father's lap. "Hey, what's with the fur? I didn't think that the Coronans would allow something like that."

Hector grew completely still. Andrew couldn't even hear him shifting positions or breathing. He was quiet for a long moment before he spoke quietly.

"T-the fur is from my bearcats, my friends." Hector said. He almost sounded vulnerable. "When we were first enslaved me and my siblings were more resistant than the Coronans wanted us to be-"

"Because you're clearly so compliant now." Andrew commented.

"I guess you're just as funny as I am." Hector said dryly. "Anyway, I had these two bearcats who were my companions. The Coronans, to try to bring down our morale or something, captured them, slaughtered them right in front of me, and forced me to make a cloak out of their fur."

Andrew felt like he was going to be sick. He'd always hated the cruelty that Corona showed to animals, but this put things in an even worse light. It was one thing to be casual and uncaring about the treatment of animals, but yet another thing to be intentionally cruel towards them. The thought of the Coronans killing two animals for any reason was sickening, but the fact that they did so solely to torture a specific slave, it was beyond disgusting.

"I-I'm sorry." Andrew said.

"Save it." Hector said, not unkindly. "At least I can't lose them now."

Andrew didn't completely understand that, but he respected it. Hector was clearly fond of his bearcats, even after all these years. He wasn't just sad because he'd lost some pets. He'd lost some close friends who just happened to be animals. That was the kind of animal companionship that Andrew could get behind.

Hector took a deep, pained breath. "Try to get some sleep, kid. I'll probably get out of work tomorrow, but you won't be given that leniency."

Andrew recognized a dismissal when he heard one, but he knew that Hector was right. He needed to at least try to get some sleep. Andrew sighed and sat back, leaning against his father. Andrew closed his eyes and tried to ignore Hector's frequent sounds of pain. The man probably wouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight.

Andrew eventually began to doze off, and after what felt like an hour or two he finally slipped to sleep.