M:   A few hours later, a certain winged country suddenly bolted up in bed in a cold sweat, woken up from a nightmare. At first, he was panicking because he didn't recognize the room he was in, but after a moment the memory of yesterday returned and he settled down. Not wanting to go back to sleep and relive the horrors again, Mandoria lit one of the candles and went downstairs.

It was rather dark, the fire in the fireplace having been reduced to smoldering embers, so Mandoria took the liberty of throwing some more wood on it and relighting it. Once the fire was going he sat down and warmed himself up. At one point, he plucked one of his clipped feathers and stared at it, it had been so long ago that they were clipped, he had never been allowed to puck or groom his wings, so he had to live with the mark of captivity for years.

"But I'm not captive anymore," he said to himself, "I could finally get rid of these ... and yet ... I can't."

N:   Heinrich woke up from Mandoria's footsteps since his room was right next to the stairs. He was trained to be a light sleeper, and he instinctively thought that someone broke into his home. "We have guests," he mumbled as he remembered, so he stood up and left his room, Alcis right at his heels.

He crept down the stairs, and when he saw Mandoria, he stayed around the corner as he watched him look at his feather. After a while, he felt bad for lurking in the shadows, so he stepped into the light, clearing his throat to announce his presence, "Why can't you?"

M:   Mandoria jumped and jolted in Heinrich's direction, relaxing when he recognized him, he turned away and kept staring at his feather but answered, "I don't know, I just feel like I can't, I don't know if it's underlying fear or if I still subconsciously accept the role Prussia made me play. In China, slaves were branded, in Rome, they were made to wear collars, for winged countries, it is clipped wings that symbolize our captivity, our owners being the ones who clipped us, that's why it is so detrimental."

Mandoria tossed the clipped feather into the fire and just hugged himself, "I have been on this planet for over 300,000 years, I've seen magical creatures roam the earth and watched as man drove them to extinction. I was a king who put my subjects before me and a father that gave everything to his sons, even his life. Now look at me, a pathetic washed-up country on the run from the man who took it all away, and who he is so obedient to that he can't toss away the mark of captivity even though he is free."

N:    The Great Dane saw Mandoria's sadness, so he plodded up to the country and placed his head on the seat next to him, whining as he empathized with him.

Heinrich came too and sat in a separate armchair and faced the fire, "I doubt anyone who has lived for 300,000 years could ever be pathetic. The thing with King Prussia is that he aims to trap you both mentally and physically, you have broken out of the physical prison, but you are still in the mental one, that's why you still cannot shake him off. You need someone on the outside to help you out of the mental prison, and only then are you free."

After a moment, the knight spoke up, "Sir Mandoria, would you do something that would allow the safety of the person you love, even if it means that you hurt the people around you?"

M:   "Absolutely," Mandoria said without hesitation, "I may have put my people before me, but sometimes I've had to put my family before them. I had a wife once, a long time ago, her name was Zalia, and more often than not I put her before others, almost starting a war with Kingdom of Italy because he wanted to take her from me. If I remember correctly, that's why Saxon turned on his people, because Prussia threatened to kill his husband, Anglo, if he didn't."

Mandoria paused to cough, his throat was scratchy because the infection in his wings had started sinking in, causing an unnoticeable sickness, but he brushed it off and continued speaking, "That's what got me here in the first place when Prussia challenged me I knew he would kill me, and I knew he would go after my sons next, they weren't that old, probably around your age, I knew that if I died they wouldn't stand a chance against him. I fought not only for my crown, but for my family, but it wasn't enough, he defeated me and I should have died. I was impaled by his twin sabers, when I woke up, he said he killed them. I believed him for a very long time, and deep down I still kind of do, but what if he didn't, they could be out there all alone, surviving in the wild with no one to rely on but each other. I failed them whether they're dead or not, and now I'll never see them again to apologize for it."

N:   "I believe that one day you will," Heinrich spoke, "family have a way to stick together, pulled together by some unknown force. After all these years, Johann had come back to the place where he had run away, so I am sure one day you will meet your sons."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he let out a shaky sigh, "Sir Mandoria, I have another question, and I would like your wisdom on this matter as it has been bugging me for the past day now." His hand started to tremor and seeing this Alcis walked over and placed his head underneath his hand, allowing the human to pat him. "I have two choices: if I choose one, I risk losing my life and my Mutter's, if I choose the other, I only risk a lesser punishment but it means that my friend returns to the hell he escaped." He looked the country in the eye, his blue eyes right at the grey ones, "which one do I choose?"

M:   Mandoria stared at him, he knew what he was talking about, either betray Prussia and help them escape, or stay loyal and they all go back to the stronghold.

"Well, considering I was in that hell with him you should understand that I won't be very unbiased," he grumbled, his eyes narrowing, "you should already know what I would say, that I'm not going back to that prison, to that life that was worse than death."

He sighed deeply, "but, I think that this is the kind of choice that you have to make on your own, without advice. You need to look deep into your heart and decide what the right thing to do is, to serve a tyrant, or to free yourself as I am trying to do, but know that no matter what you choose, your life will never be the same, you'll either live in fear of being killed, or you'll live in guilt of knowing that you caused suffering to others, it's your choice to decide which one is easier to live with."

He turned away, the sliver of trust he built with Heinrich shattered, "Now that you've told me your dilemma, know that I can't in good consciousness trust you anymore, because it just shows that you could turn on us at any minute, but don't let that sway your mind, trust your heart to make the right decision. You can leave now; I think this conversation is over."

N:   Heinrich dipped his head and stood up, "you are also forgetting one point," he spoke as he made his way to the doorway, "I would have to also live in guilt that I knowingly killed my Mutter." When he reached the stairs, he stopped for a moment and turned around. "You know, I envy you. You only are missing a key to freeing yourself from your mental prison. I don't even have a door. Gute nacht, Sir Mandoria."

With that, he whistled for his dog and together they walked upstairs and to his room. The entire night he couldn't sleep as he weighed out the choices in his head, trying to find something that could tip the balance, anything at all.

M:   Mandoria didn't turn his head when Heinrich spoke, he just silently sat and stared at the fire. He stayed that way for about an hour until he decided that the conversation was not something to keep to himself, he needed to tell someone else about the Prussian's dilemma, but who?

The winged country stood up and headed to Maria's room, he figured that since she was the reason for the dilemma that she should be the one to tell. Once he located her door, he knocked on it.

"Mrs. Haas, can I talk to you for a minute, I need to tell you about your son and something he talked to me about."

N:   Mrs. Haas was only asleep for a while since she was planning out the size of the saddle needed for Edel, and how to explain it to the saddler, so she wasn't too far in her sleep to hear the knocking. Confused, she got up, wrapped herself in her robe, and opened the door, even more confused at the sight of the winged country at her door.

"Ja, sure, come in," she yawned, stepping aside to let the country in, leading him to a chair while she sat on the corner of her bed. Her room had the same warm atmosphere as the living room, small trinkets and paintings of family decorated the shelves which had a long shadow cast over them as she relit the candles around her. Once the room was bright enough, she gave Mandoria a sideways look, "Why are you awake this late at night? Could I provide you with anything?

She shook her head, "Actually, never mind, you said that my son told you something. The boy is carrying more secrets than he could bear, and he refuses me to help him carry them, so to hear that he had finally opened up to someone is a good sign. What did he say?"

M:   Mandoria's face turned down, "actually, this is something that isn't as good as you would hope." He sighed tiredly before explaining, "So, I awoke from a nightmare and came to the living room to calm down, then Heinrich woke up and we started talking, he wanted to ask my advice about a dilemma he had, whether he should help us escape and risk his and your lives or remain loyal to Prussia and send us back to that hell hole. Naturally, I wouldn't be the best person to ask since I don't want to go back, so I couldn't give him any advice on which to choose. I thought that since you and your safety are the reason he has this dilemma, that you should at least know about it. I could have told Saxon, but I felt that he would probably do something reckless if he knew."

N:   Maria blinked at the country as she took the information in, and it took her a long while until she spoke, "T-thank you for telling me."

She wrapped her robe tighter around her as she began to worry, "I-I don't know what Heinz would choose. I know the boy, he wouldn't want me to be hurt, but in the years after what happened here in Saxony, I could see in his face that he had a taste of Prussia's hell during the trials."

Looking up at Mandoria, she continued, "When he was a kid, he stood out from the rest of his friends. One of them would be confident, another proud, Johann was adventurous, but my boy was a survivor. He would use his survivor's instinct to find a way out of situations, and I hope that he wouldn't use it this time as I don't want my life to be the reason for his actions." After a pause, she added, "I will talk to him about this tomorrow."

M:   Mandoria nodded, then smiled when he heard Johann was adventurous, "yes he was, I remember the day he came to my kingdom like it was yesterday, Rowen offered to give him a tour of the castle and the kid gave him a run for his money, then after that, the three of us went for a horseback ride and he got us to race, the castle definitely became more lively when he joined our family, oh how I miss those days."

Before he could get too far into his reminiscing, Mandoria started coughing again, this time it even shook a few dead feathers loose.

"Sorry," he said when he recovered, "my throat's been a little irritated lately, I should probably go and get a glass of water."

He tried to stand up but he suddenly felt dizzy so he plopped back down and held his head, groaning from everything spinning.

N:   "You are not going anywhere," Maria ordered, putting on her motherly voice, "Let me get something for you." She rushed out of the room and soon returned with a large soft blanket, "Warm yourself up now. I am going to fix something up in the kitchen, and when I come back I better not see any part of you not under the blanket."

With that, she left. After a couple of minutes, she came back, and in her hands was a mug with steam barely coming off it. Helping so Mandoria could hold it, she spoke, "It's just warm water with lemon in it. I made it so it's not too hot to hold, but just be careful when drinking."

She looked down at the feathers on the floor and began to tidy them away, "I am no expert on winged countries, but I am just assuming that this shouldn't be happening."

M:   Mandoria looked at the feathers as Maria cleaned them up, "No, wings take a lot of effort and time to keep them healthy, being a prisoner for three years has taken its toll on them. It didn't help that Prussia ripped them off then somehow put them back on, and without proper food, the feathers aren't getting enough nutrients to stay attached, so they just fall off."

He took a moment to drink his warm beverage, his remaining feathers fluffing up in response, "I've been taught by Prussia to not tend to my wings, they were the largest of all wings so as long as I was alive I still was a threat to his rule since the one with the largest wings would become the King Wing, so he made sure that they became too weak to challenge him. I still feel that I can't take care of them, and I don't trust anyone else to either, not even my own family, that's how much I've been conditioned, I'm free but I still feel obligated to do what Prussia says, heck, I tried to go back to the stronghold because I was so obedient to that bastard."

N:   "Three years is a very long time, an amount of time no one deserves," Maria said, "and it will take a long time before you can free yourself." She held up one feather in the light, "maybe, I could suggest that you start helping your wings indirectly. Feed yourself until you are full, restore the nutrients you were starved of."

She glanced at the clipped feathers and grimaced, "But you will need to remove those feathers, don't you? For now, you will think that you cannot do anything, but you cannot stay on an island forever. One day you will let someone in, and they will help you, and although you may not return to your life before King Prussia, you will rediscover the trust that he took away." She flashed a smirk, "Hopefully, you allow Herr Rowen to tend to you, seeing you two earlier, I wonder if he is more than just the captain of your army."

M:   Mandoria's face took on a slightly redder hue when Rowen was mentioned, "Nothing gets by you does it, no, we're married, or at least unofficially, we just had a small ceremony with a few friends and family. It's unheard of for a country to bond with a human since you have such short lifespans in comparison to us, but I had been alone for a while then as my wife had passed, I didn't want to be alone anymore, and I wanted my sons to have another parent to take care of them."

He paused, looking deep in thought, "I know he would never hurt me, but I just can't bring myself to believe that anyone would treat my wings gently after years of them being abused."

Mandoria yawned and pulled the blanket closer, even with the lemon water he still felt a little cold, though he brushed it off as him not being able to regulate body heat properly.

N:   "Maybe now you won't believe so, but one day you will," Maria replied, sniffling a yawn as she went to grab another blanket and covered Mandoria, "sleep now and rest. I will be right here if you need anything." After she spoke, she got a spare pillow and placed it behind the country's head, got her own pillow and blanket, and sat in an old armchair on the opposite side of the room.

Once comfortable, she closed her eyes, tilted her head away from the country, and bid him goodnight. It didn't take long until she was sound asleep, the candles dimly lighting up the room as she slept.

M:   Mandoria didn't say anything, it felt strange to him that Maria was so caring to him after everything he's been through, it was a welcomed strange all the same.

The country quietly finished his drink and set it aside, closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep.

N:   It was soon going to be dawn, the birds are chirping outside; however, inside, every part of Johann was tense, his eyes squeezed shut. Memories, recent memories, were replaying again in his mind, and the young man tightly held onto Rowen's hand as he let it play out.

In the stronghold, while he wasn't in the cell, Prussia allowed him to go and hide somewhere in the building, but he knew that the moment he was caught that he would have his 'fun'. His dream self hugged his legs, hiding in the corner as he looked around in fear, shaking profusely from the lack of clothing when he noticed the sound of footsteps. He stood up and began to run, but was soon caught by the Prussian, the black and white face filling his vision as he kicked against the country to let him go.

The sleeping Johann soon became restless, his breathing heavy as he slept, then he suddenly kicked Rowen in the stomach as he tried to escape in his nightmare. "Go away," he yelled as his eyes snapped open, however, he was still not awake, and he began to crawl away from his father, causing him to fall off the bed and hit his head against the bedside table. Johann didn't register the pain as he curled up into a ball on the floor, shaking as he muttered words under his breath.

M:   Rowen jumped awake at the bang, he was reliving the nightmares and the sound made him think of a cell door slamming shut after a long session with the Prussian tyrant. He jolted, fully expecting to be back in his cell and in pain, but he wasn't, he was still in the guest room of Maria's house.

He relaxed as he realized it was just a dream, but the adrenaline returned when he saw Johann on the floor and frightened.

"Johann," he exclaimed, "Johann are you okay?" He got out of bed and turned his son over, he saw a small cut on his forehead from the corner of the table and began to panic.

"Johann wake up, come on wake up!" He fretted, trying to shake him awake.

N:   "Nein," Johann muttered, "nein, I won't listen to you," as Rowen's voice merged with Prussia's cynical tone in his head. After a while of his father shaking him awake, he seemed to have enough so got on his back and kicked Rowen square in the chest, sitting up, "ich sagte NEIN! (I said NO)"

Finally awake, the young man blinked a little when he saw Rowen halfway across the room, and when the dots finally connected, he felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Hezyka," he spoke, his voice slightly shaking, "I thought that- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He crawled over to his father, but midway his head began to throb, so he stopped and held onto his head, grumbling, "Why does my head hurt?"

M:   "Because you fell out of bed and hit your head on the table corner," Rowen wheezed, trying to catch his breath from it being knocked out of him. After a moment to recover, he crawled over to Johann and held his head to get a better look at his injury, tutting at the sight of it.

"Looks like you got hit pretty good," he sighed tiredly, "there's a small cut above your left eye, it's not bleeding terribly though so I think you'll be fine, we'll just wrap it up for safety," he then placed a hand under his son's chin to make him make eye contact, "you were talking in your sleep, you don't have to be afraid, Prussia won't hurt you anymore, I swear on my life that I will protect you better this time, I promise I won't fail you again."

N:   "I know, I know," Johann replied, "You have always protected me and I know you always will. I know Prussia won't hurt me, but I just," he embraced his father before continuing, "I can't shake him out. I want to but whenever I close my eyes, he's there."

The young man looked up when he saw the door to their room swing open, revealing a tired Heinrich, who clearly looked like he stumbled out of bed. "I heard yelling, is everything ok- oh," he spoke but soon fell quiet when he saw the pair hugging on the floor. "What happened?" Heinz asked warily.

"It is fine now," Johann answered, standing up although stumbling a bit when he did, "do you have anything for my head?"

"Umm," the knight hesitated, staring at the cut on his head, wondering how it happened, "Ja, there is a medical kit in the kitchen. I can bring it up here for you."

He was about to go when Johann called out, "And Heinrich, danke, for Hunderl." The other paused before nodding, walking away to get the kit.

M:   "Alright, let's get you back in bed," Rowen said, he helped Johann walk to the bed, letting him sit down. He sighed before saying, "I don't think any of us will be able to get rid of that cunt any time soon, I was having a nightmare before I heard you fall. Johann, you were the strongest and bravest kid I have ever met, and you still are, you need to show your demons that you will not give in to them, you show them that you are stronger than them and eventually they will go away. It will take time, years maybe, but you are stronger than them and you will win this battle in your head, I know it."

A smile crept across his face when he thought of something that could help, "You know what I do that helps me sleep, I picture Prussia wearing silly clothes and doing silly things, the other night I pictured him in a baby dragon costume getting a bath by Edel, he had the same face that England did when he got a bath."

N:   Johann nodded and laughed at the image of Prussia getting a bath by Edel, "Or maybe he could jump on a table and get scared by a snake like Saxon did." His face fell a bit at the mention of Saxon, but the idea of the Prussian shrieking at the sight of a reptile was enough for him to smile.

Soon after, Heinrich came in with the medical kit, as well as a glass of water for Johann, handing him the water and the kit to Rowen. Taking a step back, he noticed the corner of the table taking a redder hue, and he gave Johann a sideways look, "Do you want to talk abo-"

"Nein," the other said, taking a sip from the glass, so Heinrich nodded and stayed quiet.

M: "It was just a nightmare, Heinrich," Rowen dismissed as he grabbed some bandages, "it's gone now, nothing to worry about." He wiped away any blood that was exposed and patched up the cut, "there you go, all good now, do you want me to kiss it to make it feel better," without waiting for a response Rowen placed a small peck on Johann's forehead, laughing at the embarrassed look on his son's face.

"Thank you, Heinrich," he said as he gave the medkit back, "You remind me a little bit of Mandara, he was sweet and always looking out for people, even if he was a little shy around new faces. I think you two would have liked each other."

His smile turned down a little as he remembered Mandara and Derogan, seeing them crying over their father when they thought he was killed. "Listen, Heinrich, I know that you're still loyal to Prussia and you would probably go tell him we escaped if you got the chance, but I want to say thank you for being so patient with everything, you didn't have to be so cooperative and helpful but you are, and you're putting up with our stress and scars, so I thank you for that, I really do."

N:   Heinrich was about to speak but decided against it, nodding instead. He was about to walk outside when Johann spoke, after recovering from his embarrassment, "Hey, Heinrich, are you still afraid of heights?"

The knight stood up straight, his back facing them but a smile spreading on his face, "Are you, Johann, still afraid of chickens? Remember when you were chased by Mr. Weismann's hens?"

"Don't remind me of those little devils," Johann laughed, causing Heinrich to spin around on his heels and face him, "and I swear you screamed when you climbed up the Old Oak."

"You were going to push me off," he replied, getting another laugh from Johann.

M:   Rowen was also laughing, happy that the mood had been risen, "so that's why you were so scared of that chicken Mandara brought into the castle," he explained to Heinrich, "it was about a year after Johann started living with us, little Mandara as about nine and found a lost chicken roaming the woods next to the castle, so he brought it inside to ask for help taking care of it. Johann was just as avoidant of it as Saxon is of snakes, sometimes we couldn't even get him to come to the castle while Mandara had it, it was very funny."

Rowen chuckled and absentmindedly looked out the window to see the orange hue of the early morning sun, "huh, well it looks like we somehow managed to sleep through the night, that's a first, I wonder how Mandoria did by himself?"

N:   Heinrich shuffled his feet before answering, "I saw Sir Mandoria awake late last night, and he seemed to not be able to sleep. He was looking at his feathers when I was with him."

Johann looked up worryingly to Rowen, "he probably had a nightmare, and he was by himself. How was he going to sleep by himself after what happened?"

"Don't worry," Maria spoke up, poking her head in when she heard their conversation, "he is now resting on a chair in my room, so you could go and check on him now. He wasn't feeling well either, so he needs the rest." She turned to face her son, "Heinz, before I go, may I have a word with you?"

"Ok," he replied, and he turned to face Rowen and Johann, "I'll make breakfast before we go, just come downstairs when you're ready." Smiling one last time, he turned around and followed his mother.

M:   Rowen looked confused and worried, confused that Mandoria was in Maria's room and worried that he wasn't feeling ok.

"I bet it's his wings," he sighed, "they're the only parts that haven't been treated yet so infection must be setting in, if he won't let us help him it's just going to get worse." he turned to Johann, "I should go tell Saxon about this, if Mandoria's getting sick it will affect how we travel, I would really appreciate it if you could try talking some sense into him while I'm gone, he might listen to you, can you do that for me, please?"

N:   "I will try," Johann replied, and he watched as Rowen walked away and out of the room. After a moment, he got onto his feet, happy that the room stopped spinning, and made his way to Mandoria.

"Father?" He carefully walked into the room, calling for Mandoria, recognizing the small items in the room, and he smiled when he saw the country wrapped up in the blankets. "I see that Mrs. Haas gave you the motherly treatment," he chuckled, walking up to him and then gently shook him awake.

M:   Mandoria groaned a little and blinked his eyes open, smiling up at Johann when he saw him. The country wasn't feeling much better than last night, it was nothing serious yet, just his throat still hurt and a light headache, so when Johann woke him up he didn't feel very energetic but still put on a smile for his son.

"Good morning, Johann," he said tiredly, stretching a little, though his brow furrowed when he saw the bandages on his forehead, "is everything ok, what happened to your forehead?"

-----

Rowen was walking to the camp that the others were at, including Saxon and Wald, he felt a little bad that they all had to sleep outside while he, Johann, and Mandoria got to sleep in actual beds, for the most part, but he understood why so just brushed it off. When he approached the camp a few of the soldiers that were awake greeted him, he greeted back and asked where Saxon's tent was and said he needed to talk to him about Mandoria's state, one of the soldiers offered to go get the entity so he just waited for them to come back.

N:   The soldier took some time to find Saxon, as he wasn't in his tent, so they wandered around until they found him with an almost completely covered Wald. "Remember," the entity said, handing over a pair of gloves to the insurgent, "be as discrete as possible."

"Ja, Ja," the insurgent dismissed, putting on the gloves and pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, "don't leave a trail behind. I know, it's my job." Saxon patted his shoulder reassuringly before turning around to see the soldier. When the soldier relayed Rowen's message, he nodded, and he and Wald followed the soldier to Rowen.

Along the way, the entity handed an envelope to the insurgent, to which he tucked it into his pouch. When they arrived, they both greeted Rowen, "I hope you are well rested," Saxon said, "I was just going to send Wald to the village to send a message to BE. You called for me?"

-----

"Oh, my forehead," Johann said, brushing his hand over the bandages, "it's fine, I just fell out of bed. The more important question is how are you doing? You're not in your room, Heinrich said that you were awake in the middle of the night, and Mrs. Haas said you were ill."

He glanced over to Mandoria's wings and sighed, "Hezyka said that your wings might be the reason why you're not well, and I think so too. You haven't been able to tend to your wings for years now, but now Prussia is not here to hurt you, and we only want to help you get better."

M:   Mandoria gazed at his wings, at the ragged, dirty feathers, but shook his head, "I'm fine really, it's just a sore throat, nothing severe."

He slowly stood up, wobbling a bit from sleeping in a sitting-up position, and rubbed his neck, "though a cramped neck is a little worse than a tiny cough."

As if on cue he coughed, though it didn't knock off any feathers this time. "Pardon me," he excused himself, "I think I just need some water, how about we go get some breakfast, now that is a sentence I never thought I would say again."

-----

"I did," Rowen confirmed, "I came here because of Mandoria, Heinrich said that he was awake late last night, and Maria said that he was becoming ill. I don't know the details, but I believe that his wings are the cause, as he hasn't been allowed to take care of them in over three years and infection is starting to set in. Johann is with him trying to talk to him about this but if he can't get through to him I'm worried that it will get worse as we travel."

N:   "If so," Saxon spoke, he held out his hand for the letter, which Wald gave him, and quickly scanned over the contents before returning it back to the insurgent, "We may stay a bit longer for now, but we have to leave before nightfall. It is risky enough remaining in Saxony for this long, and still being in the Kingdom as well, and we don't know if Prussia is returning back to the stronghold or not." He turned to face the insurgent, "Go and find the place where they send messenger birds, and add onto the letter, telling BE that we may be running late."

"Ja, boss," Wald replied, pulling up his scarf to cover up his green flag, only revealing the star around his left eye, "I will be back as soon as you know it." Saxon watched as the insurgent jogged away, heading towards the village."

----

"A tiny cough," Johann repeated, steadying Mandoria on his feet, "it didn't sound like one. Father, a cough is a cough, and your wings are not helping it. Please, let us help you; we're worried about your health."

Helping his father down the stairs, he continued, "Allowing us to tend to your wings is not only beneficial but necessary. I don't want to bring this up but I must. The longer you are not treated, the worse your health. The worse your health, the longer it will take us to leave, so it will allow more time for Prussia to know that we are gone and to track us down. If that happens, then we are back to square one."

Waiting for them in the living room sat Heinrich, already dressed and donning his dark cloak again. He was quietly eating his breakfast when he looked up at the pair, although he looked visibly annoyed and shot an angered glance at Mandoria. On the table were two warm bowls of porridge, the steam still coming off them, "I made breakfast for you, now eat." Confused by this hostility, Johann brushed it aside as he led the country to the sofa and sat him down.

"I will get you a glass of water," the young man told his father, "just, think about it." With that, he quickly rushed into the kitchen.

M:   Mandoria merely nodded and went to sit down, he noticed Heinrich glaring at him and knew why.

"You couldn't have really expected me to keep quiet about our conversation," he growled, "you clearly don't understand the position that I am in and think that this dilemma only affects you and your mother."

Mandoria pulled up his shirt to show Heinrich the state of his body, the scars, his ribs showing through his skinny frame, and the eagle branded into his red skin.

"Do you honestly think I am letting one man send me back to this," he said, glowering at the Prussian, "do you honestly think I will let you play god and decide my fate, I don't think so."

He pulled down his shirt and turned his head away, not wanting to even look at Heinrich anymore.

-----

"I hope he makes it," Rowen said quietly, then to Saxon, "I don't think we really should stick around too long, I'm most worried about Edel, he's curious and loves people, he might do or go somewhere he should and could be seen."

Rowen looked around for the fiery reptile but couldn't see him, "where is he actually?"

N:   Saxon smiled, "Follow me," and he began to lead Rowen further into the camp until they were at the other side. There Edel was having his wounds redressed, along with a group of people petting and brushing his fur as he sat on what seemed like the remains of a tent. The medic who the dragon became friends with the day before waved at the approaching entity and human.

"As you can see, Edel is being cared for," the entity pointed out, "and it is definitely true that he is curious. He was following Wald to his tent, and the poor insurgent ran away, causing Edel to chase after him. Finally, when Wald entered his tent, Edel followed him in and knocked down his tent." There were a few laughters from the group, "then he used the tent as a bed, so Wald has to find a spare tent for the night."

-----

"And you don't seem to understand the position I am in too," Heinrich growled back, "every knight from Saxony swore to not tell our parents for the reason for our loyalty. None of us wanted to be knights, we had to go through the hell of a selection process, the trials, to get to where we are, and the unlucky few who survived were blackmailed to serve him. As long as we do everything he wants us to do, he promises the safety of our parents, but the moment we screw up, they are dead along with us."

He placed his bowl as calmly as possible on the table, looking down at his food, "There was one girl who survived and became a knight, and after we swore not to tell, I don't know what was going through her head but she told her father about the blackmail after we had to go and kill a bunch of people. King Prussia learned about this and brought her parents in, also calling us Saxon knights to watch."

Heinrich looked up with anger but also a hint of sadness, "he chopped her parent right in front of us, and then dragged her out of our group and beheaded her, later throwing them to the vultures. He did it so we never disobeyed him, knowing the consequence, and that is what you risked with my Mutter. I had to shut her up about it, making her promise never to talk about it, since I know that the same thing will happen."

"What will happen to who?" Johann asked, walking into the room with a warm cup of water.

"Nothing," the knight quickly dismissed, so the other shrugged and handed the water to Mandoria.

M:   Understanding finally dawned in Mandoria's eyes, as he took a sip of his water he thought about Heinrich's story and fears, feeling bad about telling Maria without knowing the consequences.

"Then come with us," he finally said, "you and your mother, you'll both be safe in the British Isles, and knowing BE, he would protect you with his entire army when he learns of the horrors you've been through. His grandmother Celtica knows what you've been through as she was forced to serve Roman Empire or die, so come with us, you'll both be safe, and you'll never have to live in fear again."

-----

Rowen laughed when he heard what Edel did, walking up to him and scratching his chin approvingly, "That's a good Edel, giving the insurgents what they deserve, you're such a good boy."

Edel purred and rolled over for belly rubs, which he accidentally ended up squishing a few people doing but they were pulled out quickly.

"Sorry about that," Rowen apologized, "I should probably get back now, Saxon are you coming?"

N:   Saxon laughed when he saw Rowen congratulating Edel, "If you are going to encourage him to go after insurgents, I better keep them away from Edel."

When he heard the question, the entity hesitated. "I will come later. I don't think Johann could stand ... me ... around him."

-----

Heinrich sighed before answering, "Do you think that I haven't thought that in the years I've served him? If my Mutter and I go, then the remaining Saxon knights will be killed, along with their parents, and it turns out that those knights are also my childhood friends. We could go all together, and we have planned it before, but now one of my friends actually serves King Prussia and wouldn't leave."

He paused a bit as he thought on the idea, "I could send a message to them, trying to convince my friend to convince his father to come, but it is going to be hard." The knight faced Mandoria, "and I have to make sure that I don't mention you either. If he knows that you're coming too, he will reject it immediately."

Johann looked at Heinrich with concern, "You are going to send a message to more Prussian knights?"

"You also know them," the knight replied, "remember Wolfgang and Erna," Johann nodded, "they are alive too." The other just blinked blankly as he took it in, not knowing how to respond.

"As I was saying," the Prussian continued, "Wolfgang would probably not leave as he now hates the Mandorians. You guys killed his uncle while he was in the camp with England all those years ago." He shrugged, "I will just beat some sense into him."

M:   Mandoria looked down in shame when he heard that, he never forgave himself for what happened on that day even though there was nothing he could have done to prevent it, after all, it was England's men that attacked his knights, not the other way around.

"Well, as far as I know; myself, Rowen, Johann, and at least seven of the soldiers in Saxon's group are the only Mandorians left. Sure, there may be a few left in what ruins my kingdom has been left in or the off chance that my sons are still alive, but if Wolfgang wanted retribution for his uncle's death he definitely got it; a kingdom 700,000 people strong, demolished in the span of three years, surely that is enough to satisfy him."

Mandoria coughed and paused to drink some more water, then added, "And if nothing else, he shouldn't be leaving for me, he should leave for the sake of his family. He may be loyal to Prussia, but he is still human, he still cares about his loved ones and would do anything to protect them, this is his chance to give them a better life, one without fear of premature death, and when he realizes that, he'll want to leave so they can live."

He sat back in his chair and sighed, "You all are like us, living in a prison and being forced to serve a master you all despise, with Saxon's help and insurgent knowledge you could finally break those chains of slavery and be free once again, all you need to do is take the leap."