29

Chapter 29

"He... He wants to release my family from the prison, doesn't he?", asked Yuuri, staring at the floor in disbelief. "And if I were to escape, then... then what? What will happen to my family if I'm not allowed out of the jail? Will they die? Will they starve and die of hunger?"

"I sincerely hope that you aren't going to attempt to run off. At least not without your father's permission", replied the officer. "In addition, we believe that if you were able to escape before he had decided to kill you or lock you up, there has to be a reason for it. So, if you are willing, and after taking his punishment from him, your father says that he won't hold you responsible for your actions. In other words, he'll allow you to leave the prison without any punishment whatsoever, provided that you remain quiet and don't cause problems and that you don't leave town, in which case your parents and brother will receive punishments in place of you."

"But how am I supposed to sneak out? My father always locks the window after he falls asleep. He doesn't sleep well enough to do so after dark, so he leaves the window open for whenever he sleeps. If I don't open the window to allow me out, he'll suspect something is wrong and he' s certain to wake up, so it isn't even worth trying to slip out of the window."

"We already thought of that", answered the officer in response. "There's another way, though. A way that your mother and brother can accompany you. Your father had planned on using them to lure the guards away from the prison, while you remained behind, in exchange for the money, but unfortunately for him, the soldiers took him instead. I assume that your sister must have accompanied him. However, in case she has followed him into the prison, they won't be able to follow her outside."

"How will they know that I have followed him?", asked Yuuri as he stared anxiously at the door, trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this situation.

"They shouldn't know. You should have told them that you were leaving the country with your fiancé. You should have asked for their permission, otherwise they might have questioned what you intended to do with your fiancee. They must have already guessed that you would be spending the night away from the house, in the company of someone else. They'll think that they were mistaken. They'll probably assume that you had simply gone out on a walk and that you were planning to come back before the sun came up. In case they realize that your wife knows what you're really doing, I suggest that you convince them that they're mistaken. Tell them that you went out early to meet your fiancee and that he insisted on accompanying you."

"I see...", responded Yuuri, unsure what to do, although he hoped that he would be able to persuade his family. He wasn't too fond of lying, though, so he knew that he couldn't lie to them. He just hoped that he didn't end up lying to them and making things even worse for them and for himself and Phichit as well. "Thank you", he added after a few seconds of thinking, knowing that he had been rendered completely speechless by what he'd just heard.

"You're welcome.", replied the officer in response before smiling and turning around. He gave Yuuri a quick wink before disappearing once more. Yuuri smiled as he watched the officer leave, allowing himself a moment to breathe out slowly. This was the first time that he had felt hopeful in what seemed like months. Although there was still no guarantee that everything would turn out the way that he wished, he'd take what happiness he could at this very moment in time. Everything would work itself out in the end. Nothing would change. Not even the fact that Yuri Plisetsky had been found and beaten badly by some guy who had no idea what had happened between them; Yuri had suffered greatly through all of this, he deserved some kind of reprieve. Yuuri wouldn't have to worry for him anymore. Not if he was free to roam around freely. As long as he never caused trouble for his family or others again, he would be fine.

For the next several minutes, Yuuri just sat there against the wall, listening to the sounds coming from outside and trying desperately to stay calm. Despite the fact that he didn't want to admit it, he knew that it was pointless for him to keep sitting there silently for long. It was far too late to be moving about or attempting to escape, anyway. So, after a few seconds, he started thinking about the plan that he had come up with in order to avoid being captured. After all, it was far from perfect, but since this plan had never gone so smoothly before, he was certain that he would be able to pull it off. And judging by the fact that his plans usually worked out perfectly when he was working under the same circumstances, he knew that he had a good chance of succeeding this time.

He didn't really know what had been happening during the past month and a half, nor how his life had changed in such a short amount of time, but right now, at least, there was no one else but himself.