Damp grass brushed against Morna's stockings above her boots, and she looked down to see that she stood in a section of the lawn that wasn't tended to regularly. The grass grew high and wild, and creepers wound up the side of the building. Esmond picked his way through with relative ease, though, and she wondered if he'd walked the escape path sometime before. It seemed such an excessive thing for him to do for a girl he hardly knew, but he grabbed her hand and walked with such purpose that he had to have known where he was going beforehand.

Esmond pulled her toward the empty field that led toward the river. She stiffened at the thought, but before they could get close enough for the sound of water to grow to a roar, Esmond cut to their left and into the woods that flanked the asylum. Morna was thankful for the boots as they passed over roots and broken branches, losing the sight of the looming asylum fairly quick. While Morna knew it was still all too close, she breathed easier knowing that it was out of sight.

A few minutes later, Esmond slowed to a walk. Afton appeared a second later, stepping out from behind a tree. He was soaked with sweat and caked in mud and dirt. But she still ran to him, covering him in kisses and thanking the heavens that he was real and alive.

Esmond waited for them to finish before stepping forward. "Did you get the gates open?" he asked.

Afton nodded, his hand still around Morna's waist. "It took some time, but they're open. Make sure they know that there's water and mud down there. They might get frightened by its depth."

"What are you talking about?" Morna asked, eyes bouncing between Esmond and Afton.

"Esmond asked me to open a sewer gate for him, so he can get the patients out of the hospital without the doctor seeing."

"Once I get everyone out, I'm going to burn it down," Esmond said, face set.

"Good," Morna replied.

"You should get moving." Esmond took her hands, holding them between them. "I'm so sorry for any part I played in what happened to you. I won't let it happen to anyone anymore."

Morna leaned forward, kissing his cheek lightly. "Thank you for saving me."

Esmond looked to Afton, and they traded nods. Then, with a final squeeze of her hands, he turned and headed back for the hospital, to save the souls that most needed saving. She called after him her gratitude, for all he'd done, but he merely nodded and then disappeared from sight.

"We shouldn't linger," Afton said, taking her hand. "We can't waste time."

They walked in silence for the first few minutes, just holding onto each other and unbelieving that they were free and safe, for the moment. Morna stared at Afton like he might evaporate, and he finally glanced at her and laughed.

"You're making me uncomfortable," he said.

"You were dead."

"Not quite. Nearly, very nearly. But not quite."

"I saw you get shot. I saw you fall."

"By some miracle, I didn't lose consciousness when I hit the water," he said. "I got to the surface and floated there, trying not to drown, until a boat came by. They pulled me out and took me to shore. I was so badly injured that it took me weeks before I even remembered my name. Then I had to figure out how to get back without alerting whoever tried to kill me."

"I'm so sorry," Morna said, tears pricking her eyes. "I wouldn't have let them send me off if I knew you were alive."

"No, I should be the one to apologize," he said, stopping. "I couldn't protect you. I couldn't stop what happened to you. When I heard the rumors in the village, that you had been shipped off and that you were insane... I was so filled with anger. I tracked you down, and I wanted more than anything to just charge in there and stop it all."

"I'm out now," she said, pressing to his side. "That's all that matters."

"And the baby," Afton whispered. It was so full of hope, but also a question. As if he was asking her if he could speak of it.

"I found out after you had died," she said, laughing a bit at how silly it sounded now to say such a thing.

He ran his hand across her stomach, smiling at her as he did. He kissed her. "We'll make it through all this and become a proper family," he said. "No more thrones, no more power."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm dead," Afton said, shrugging and smiling. "And once the asylum burns down, you'll be dead too. Esmond will make sure that everyone knows you were trapped in the flames."

Morna glanced at the ground. "Then what?"

"We won't be a king or a queen anymore. There will be no reason for anyone to want t hurt us. We'll simply be a father and mother."

Soon, they pressed on, walking for hours until the sun peeked over the horizon and filled the sky with gray light. Morna never let go of Afton's hand, just happy to be with him. Whatever happened, she knew it would never compared to what she had already gone through.

And then Morna heard the river. She faltered, but Afton pulled her onward, perhaps not yet seeing the wide river cutting across their path. When he finally saw it, he stopped, and Morna could see that there was no circumventing it unless they wanted to walk miles out of the way.

"It's calling me."

Afton looked back at her. He said nothing, just rubbed his eyes and then looked up at the tree branches above.

"If we go back until you can't hear it, we can try and find a way around."

"It'll take too long," she said. "We don't have any supplies to support that long in the woods."

A long silence held as Afton paced the edge of the river. He held a hand to his mouth while he tried to fix this puzzle, and Morna fought against the pull that already hooked her behind the ribs. She sat by a tree to try and anchor herself, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she ran to the water. She buried her head in her arms, fighting against nausea.

"All right," Afton said, his voice moving closer. "What if we just walk through it?"

Morna laughed. "Really? You think I can just walk through the water? Have you been paying attention at all?"

"Yes, I've been paying attention. You've never wanted to go through the water before now, Morna. You've always wanted to stay away from it. We can treat it like an old friend, yeah? Like, it's an old friend that you don't particularly like, but you need to pass by in order to get where you're going. So you say hello, but tell her that you can't stay long."

"It isn't going to work like that," she moaned.

Afton's lips pressed together and he looked down at her. "No, we're going to try it."

He splashed into the middle, turning to face her.

"Just think of it how I told you," he said, his arms out.

Swallowing, she stared at the water. It wasn't moving fast, and in fact it looked almost stationary. It wouldn't go above her waist, but she knew that was enough for it to claim her. She balked, thinking that even the shocks were better than giving into the call of the water. But as she took a step back, Afton's voice arrested her flight.

"Morna. Please."

She looked up, seeing the fear behind his eyes. He wasn't scared for himself, he was scared for her. Her hand stirred toward the mound of her stomach, knowing that she now had to take responsibility for the life inside her. She had to save her baby, like Afton was attempting to save her.

The water was cold against her legs, spilling into her boots and soaking her stockings. The bottom of the coat pulled down on her, and she almost gave into the suddenly overwhelming need to submerge. But then Afton's hand was on her arm and he smiled at her.

"How are you, but I can't stay long," he prompted.

"How are you, but I can't stay long," Morna muttered, trying to imagine the water as some silly old woman in a feathered bonnet. She nodded at it, but then turned her eyes toward the other bank, her destination. Just a quick word and then she would move on. Just like Afton said. She could do it.

It was painfully slow, and she could feel the water yanking back at her, trying to make her stop. It wouldn't give her up without a fight, and she nearly let it pull her under more than once. But Afton always gently pressed her arm when he felt her falter, and she remembered to fix her sights on the shore beyond.

Then....

She was out.

The water cascaded from her clothes, but she was on dry land. Afton laughed, placing his hands on her cheeks and smiling triumphantly. Morna smiled back with what energy she had, but already felt her strength sapping from her. Her knees buckled and Afton darted forward to catch her.

"I can't walk," she stammered, feeling her warmth seep out with the water that dripped from her. The water may have lost its chance to claim her, but it wasn't the complete loser. It took what energy and strength she had, whirling it away downstream. She felt the old sickness in her bones, knowing she'd be unable to go on with it wracking her body with fever and nausea.

"It's all right. I can carry you," he said.

And she let him. Her head knocked against his chest and she was jolted up and down on the uneven terrain, but she couldn't think of a time since she'd arrived at the asylum when she felt freer to finally sleep without the fear of the water or treatments hanging over her. Her eyelids drooped, and she curled her hands in between their two chests. Two heartbeats. She fell asleep to their matching rhythms.