Freedom. Thea had longed for it for so long, wished to feel a fresh breeze on her skin, the sun on her face, the grass between her toes. She knew the concepts, even if she could not remember if she had ever experienced them. Even with a fire raging through her and a haze clouding her vision, she knew she was so close, yet so far. Another surprise like that, and it would be over. No sun. No grass. Just stone and torture.
	She was only just aware of the guard setting her down, her back against the wall and the agony slowly fading. She heard his armor clunk against the cold stone beside her, but did not dare move. Her chest rose and fell with shuddering breaths. She closed her eyes, focusing on pushing away the lingering effects of the Sage Scientist’s ‘failsafe.’
	“You alive?” the guard grunted softly.
	The light of his lantern shone a bit brighter from behind Thea’s eyelids, but she did not have the energy to stir enough to answer.
	“You’re breathing. I’ll take it you’re alive.”
	“Is that what I am?”  she managed after a pause, her voice a weak whisper.
	“Pain’s always a good indicator of that. Since you can hear me…” She heard the scuffle of him standing, the light shifting with his movements. “There’s something I need to do. Do what you need to regain your strength, but [i]stay here[/i] and be ready to go the moment I get back. You should be safe here. As far as I know, I’m the only one in this forsaken place who knows these passages exist. Understood?”
	Thea opened her eyes at the gentle tap of the lantern being placed near her feet, the handle squealing lightly as it shifted without the guard holding it.
	The guard stood over her just to her left, his arms crossed. With the dim light beneath him, it cast a large, intimidating shadow of him on the wall and ceiling.
	The hall surrounding them was scarcely wide enough to accommodate for her stretched-out legs. A mix of mold and spider webs clung to the walls. Water stains dripped down the cracked stones as if the structure itself cried in secret from the evils preformed within it.
	“Oy!” The guard tapped his foot once in impatience. “Did you hear me or not, girl?”
	“Fine.” She took a slow, deep breath, gritting her teeth and wincing as it made her side move and sent yet another reminder that she was alive down the right half of her torso.
	The guard’s eyes narrowed. At least, Thea thought they did, but it could have been a trick of the light.
	After a moment of deliberation, he nodded. “Good. I won’t be long.” He stepped over Thea’s legs, leaving the lantern behind, and continued down the hall.
	Thea watched after him until the darkness consumed him. She took another slow breath, feeling the dampness of the stones soak through the back of her hair. The coldness of it sent a chill down her spine. Gritting her teeth, she forced her legs to bend toward her chest and leaned forward to avoid the unnecessary discomfort of the extra cold. 
	She gasped when the action irked her overused body, and quickly straightened her legs back out, leaning back against the wall.
	At least the effects of the failsafe had at last fully faded, leaving only her familiar aches. But she could not afford to stay still long enough to let the worst of them creep over her. She would have to move, or risk being incapable of following the guard’s escape plan. Or of running if he instead brought the Sages back with him. She knew even in optimal condition, she would not get far, but she had to at least [i]try.[/i]
	She sluggishly got to her feet, her teeth clenched against the sore stiffness accompanying each contracting muscle. Letting her left arm dangle at her side, she braced her right hand against the wall, ignoring the sliminess beneath her palm. 
	Her body was tired. Worn. She had done too much, too soon, but now it would have to do more. She would [i]make[/i] it do more. She glanced down at herself, the floor just as slimy beneath her feet as the walls. She slowly moved her hand to the freshest bloodstain on her worn gown, which had since dried. Beneath the thin fabric, she could feel the tapered edges of the newest plates that now wrapped half her upper torso from hip to ribcage. She hissed and drew away when her fingers brushed where skin met metal, the area still extra tender.
	Thankfully, the guard did not take long to return. Only a few minutes passed before she heard the heavy thuds of his footfalls echoing down the hall. Only one set of feet. He was alone.
	She turned carefully to face the direction he had left. A second later, the lamplight glinted over his armor as he stepped into its glow. He carried a bag slung over his shoulder, and his breaths came a bit quicker, as if he had been running.
	“Good. You’re still here. And up.” He heaved the pack to the floor and reached inside. He struggled for a moment, then pulled out a large pair of tall, fur-lined boots. “You’ll need these.” He tossed them to the floor near her, one of them toppling over. “There’s enough snow out there to drown a cow.”
	Snow. She had not considered that it could be winter. That would explain the extra chill that had been lingering in the dungeons lately.
	She stared at the boots for a long moment, as if unsure what they were or what to do with them, then to her feet. She could not remember the last time she wore shoes. She curled her toes at the thought.
	The guard paused as he reached inside the bag again, and looked to her. “Well? Put ‘em on. We don’t have all night.” He paused at her further hesitation. “You [i]do[/i] know what shoes are, don’t you?” Uncertainty mingled with his otherwise condescending tone.
	Thea nodded, then slowly pulled the hem of her nightdress up just enough to prevent it from getting in the way. The copper- and bronze-colored plates covering her left leg shone with an opalescent sheen in the lamplight as she carefully placed her full weight onto that leg. She used her foot to right the boot that had flipped over, then slipped it on. She tentatively repeated the process with the other, unsure if footwear would irritate the muscles beneath the organic metal.
	The boots were a few sizes too large, but they would do. The fur on the inside was worn down around the bottom, but still puffy enough further up to rub against the skin of the right. But to her left, she may as well have still been barefoot. Only her toes and soles felt the rough fur around them. With the rest covered in the armor, she could tell there was something there, a slight difference in pressure, but nothing beyond that.
	The guard whistled to get her attention, making her head snap up toward him. He held out a long, worn cloak. 
	She took it in one hand, the thick, course wool heavier than she expected.
	“Need help with that?” the guard asked as she debated on if she wanted to risk using her left arm to determine heads from tails on the garment.
	She did not answer immediately, trying it first on her own one-handed.
	He sighed impatiently. “Here.” He took the cloak from her, swiftly located its hood, and draped it around her thin shoulders. Made for a much taller, brawnier man, it hung awkwardly from her and pooled around her feet.
	Between the boots, cloak, and her dwindling strength, she envisioned herself doing a few faceplants before she made it even a couple steps away. 
	“Thanks,” she grumbled awkwardly as he tied the strips creating the cloak’s clasp.
	He bent to tighten the boots as well as he could. “Thank me when you’re out.”
	Once done, he straightened, then pulled the hood up. It slipped down over her eyes, obscuring her view as the guard took a step away and looked her over. 
	She reached up and pushed the hood from her eyes.
	“Listen closely, because I’m only going to tell you this once.” He rested a hand leisurely over his sword, making Thea take an instinctive step back.
	Her foot caught on the cloak and she nearly lost her balance, but the guard reached out and grabbed her shoulder, steadying her.
	“Go straight down this hall,” he jerked his head to indicate behind him, “then take a right when it forks. You’ll come out near the Sages’ lab. Go straight across, and you’ll find an opening. It won’t look like one, but it is. The wall’s designed to hide the exit. Get there, go up the ladder, and go north. There’s a village about thirty miles from here. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it to one of the farms on the outskirts by dawn. Lay low. Don’t draw any attention to yourself. They’ll start searching nearby settlements soon enough. If you get caught, I’ll deny I helped you. Am I clear?”
	Thea nodded, then paused. “Which way’s north?”
	“Figured you’d ask.” The guard picked up the sack once more, and pulled out a compass hanging on a leather strap, which he handed to her. “Line up the ‘N’ with—”
	“I know how a compass works.” Thea took it from him and examined the dented and scratched metal casing before hanging it around her neck.
	The guard snorted. “Well, you seemed befuddled by the shoes. Had to check. I’ll leave ahead of you to make sure it stays clear. Wait a couple minutes, then follow.” Without waiting for a response, he turned, leaving the bag behind, and headed down the hall. “Good luck, girl.”
	As soon as he was out of sight, Thea began to count the seconds. When she reached a minute, she took a deep breath, adjusted the cloak, then stepped toward the lantern. She fidgeted with the cloak, trying unsuccessfully to keep it from dragging so heavily on the floor. At two minutes, she gave up, grabbed the lantern, and headed down the hall.
	She took each step slowly, watching her feet. The size of the boots aside, having something on them after so long felt strange, and the warmth they brought stranger still. 
	The lamplight glistened on the walls as she held it out before her, following the mysterious guard’s directions. As he said, a fair distance down, she came to where it branched off in a T shape. She turned right, and spotted the glow of flickering torches further ahead. The light radiated through a translucent stone wall at the end of the hallway.
	At the wall, she stopped to watch and listen. She saw no movement besides the flicker of firelight. The echo of familiar voices floated to her from further off, guards complaining about having to search for her at this "unforsaken hour."
	After a short beat, even those echoes faded. Thea took a breath then rushed out into the all too familiar hall. The double doors of the Sages’ lab were further down to her right, while the dead end was closer to her left
	She glanced down the deserted hall. Both Gaillard and the body of the Sages' latest victim had been moved, leaving the area utterly vacant. Only the flicker of the torches created movement, casting their own shadows against the walls and turning the lab’s doors into an ominous display of dancing light and darkness.
	Setting her gaze on the far wall, she extended her left palm toward it and slowed her pace as she neared. It looked solid enough,  but, then again, so had the wall of the storage room.
	When she expected her fingers to press against the stone, instead, they kept going. She blinked in surprise, then took a single step forward.
	Unlike in the storage room or the secret exit behind her, the only magic of this illusion was in the architecture. Someone had built it so the opening resembled the rest of the wall from whatever angle you viewed it, the torches spaced just right so their light enhanced the effect. At least until you stepped through.
	Thea followed the narrow corridor beyond to the left, then sharply right. It ended in another dead end, but unlike all the others in the dungeon, this one had an iron ladder attached to the stone. A single torch at its side illuminated it, its top disappearing into the darkness above.
	Neck craned to look up at it, Thea swallowed hard. She would have to climb. She looked to her left hand and flexed her fingers, trying to prepare it for the stress to come. She glanced to her lantern, then to the dark above. The lantern would make climbing more difficult, and potentially make enough noise to arouse suspicion if it hit the ladder.
	With a heavy sigh, she doused the lantern then hung it on a hook opposite the torch. She pulled her hood down for better visibility as she stood in front of the ladder. Hoping for the best, she took a deep breath and gripped the chilled metal of a rung in her right hand.
	The climb was painfully slow. Though she felt a bit safer once covered by the cloak of the darkness, her eyes adjusting just enough to make out the ladder, her garments and aching muscles made the ascent that much more arduous. Her feet slipped a few times, and she nearly fell, but she just managed to hang on, her arms screaming in protest and heart pounding madly.
	When she at last reached the top, her head thunked against a wooden hatch door. Wrapping her right arm around a rung and making sure her feet were well-braced against another, she grit her teeth and reached up with her left. Trying to avoid any unnecessary noise, she pushed slowly, the use making prickles of pain spear down her arm.
	To her relief, the hatch pushed upward, despite its weight. Its hinges squealed slightly and the rumble of dirt rolling off it filled her ears. A spear of silvery moonlight shot through the opening, bringing with it the crisp chill of winter.
	Thea pushed it open as far as the chain connecting it to the wall allowed, then pulled herself up and out. Instead of the outdoors, she found herself in an old, abandoned shack that looked like it may fall down if she sneezed too hard. A wintery breeze blew through the broken windows and where it looked like something had taken a massive bite out of one of the shack’s corners. 
	Panting heavily, she let herself take a moment. She leaned her back against the earthen ground, her feet still dangling over the ladder. But she rested for only a moment.
	Forcing her legs from the tunnel, she knelt and closed the hatch. Covering it with the dirt of the floor so it blended in perfectly with its surroundings, she got to her feet and went to the missing corner. 
	A forest stretched around her, the trees bare. Snow glittered like diamonds in the light of the full moon, the powder showing no evidence of any guards’ comings and goings. A gentle breeze nipped at her face, but Thea did not care. 
	Thea scarcely dared believe it; at long last, she was [i]free.[/i] But she could not let that thought go to her head. Not yet. The snow would show where she had gone. She would have to find a way to cover her tracks. Stay away from main roads, but find a well-trodden animal path, somewhere the snow was already packed down.
	With that thought, she headed out into the snow, which had drifted nearly to the top of her tall, borrowed boots around the shack. Doing her best to sweep the snow back into her footprints and keep her premature elation in check, she checked the compass to make sure she headed north, and began her journey toward town, praying neither the Sages nor their guards would catch up to her first.