Escape From Paris

By: Purple Violet aka Heather

The night was full of stars and the scattered snowflakes were more pale dots in the sky when the moonlight shone on them. The explosions had stopped and Felix sat panting in the trench while a medic wrapped his arm. There was a lot of blood....everywhere. He felt a stinging in the side of his head and the air nipped icily at his face, but most of his attention was focused on his right arm. God, please don't let them take it off he prayed. He was searching the confusion for Elbert and then he saw him, still breathing, about to be taken away on a stretcher. As soon as he was free, he grabbed his friend's knapsack and delivered it to him. A small rectangle fell from the bag and he picked it up. It was a picture of his younger sister, Cecily. He grinned wanly at Elbert and squeezed his hand. "We'll both be back in Avonlea before long," he told him for the second time that night...and for the hundredth time since they had come overseas.

He was suddenly seized by a choking fear and as they carried Elbert away, he could only think of one thing: escaping. He couldn't stay here any longer...he wasn't any use now and they would be taking him away to a hospital soon anyway. A hospital! They might cut his arm off! Everything was still in a disorganized jumble and it would be easy to slip away quietly. He flung his bag over his back and armed himself. It would be safest to take the south route to one of the small, local villages. He could hop a train there and take it to Paris. He would find Sara! It seemed so simple. He didn't even think of the fact that he would be listed as Missing in Action. He didn't think of being caught. His mind was consumed by a mad plan.

*                      *                     *                      *

The sun was just coming up when Felix reached the building. He checked the tattered paper in his hand again. Yes, this was the right address. He could see the buildings of "L'ecole" rising up nearby. With a shaking breath, he knocked at the door, hoping his cousin would be awake. He was about ready to collapse and his arm was throbbing quite painfully as he stood there in the frozen morning. He didn't hear anything, so he desperately rang the bell twice. "Je viens! Je viens!" a tired, female voice called from behind the door. Footsteps echoed in the entryway. "Qui est-ce que?" Sara asked, opening the door a crack. Her eyes grew as huge as dinner plates. "Felix!" she exclaimed breathlessly after a pause, flinging the door open. "What are you doing here? I hardly recognized you! Where did you come from? What happened to you?"

"May I come in?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, yes! I'm not thinking quite properly right now, as it is very early in the morning..." She ushered him distractedly into her apartment and helped him into a chair. "Would you like some tea? There's not much of anything these days, but I can put the kettle on for you."

"Don't trouble yourself. Just water's all right. In fact, I would like some water very much." Sara nodded and ran off to her tiny kitchen. As she handed him the water and sat down across from him, she saw him wince and shift uneasily.

"You were wounded?" she asked. He looked down at his arm pointedly. "Well...Good Lord, Felix, why did you come here? Were you in a hospital nearby?"

Felix shook his head. "No. I escaped." He glanced up at her quickly to see what her reaction would be.

"Really? From the Huns?"

"No, from my own regiment!"

"Are you saying I'm hiding an AWOL soldier and that...everyone thinks you're missing?"

"Sara," he began, ignoring her, "You've got to help me. If you telephone home, I'll leave and I don't know where I'll go. Not back to the army...you've got to promise me you won't call them! Everyone would think I'm a coward and I can't go back."

"Felix, this is ridiculous! I can't hide you here and you're going to have to go back sooner or later."

"Sara, please!" Another wave of pain passed over his face.

Sara sighed and sat staring at him for a few minutes. "Come with me. You need to get some rest before we make any further plans." She led him down the hall and into a bedroom.

"Isn't this your room?" Felix asked.

"Lie down," she directed him. "And just...hush for a minute." Felix looked annoyed. How could she speak so condescendingly to a member of the Royal Canadian Army, even if he was AWOL? Sara pulled a flask out of her lingerie drawer and handed it to him.

"Hey...thanks!" he said, gratefully. Sara rolled her eyes and left, shutting the door behind her. Several hours later, Felix awoke and lifted his head sleepily, wondering for a moment why he was bedded down so comfortably on pale pink sheets that smelled of roses. He sat up and almost yelled at the pain in his arm. As it was, he uttered a suppressed groan and Sara appeared in the doorway.

"You can stay," she announced. "But we're going to have to lay down some rules."

"Geez, you sound like Felicity," he laughed.

"Felix, this isn't one of your silly childhood schemes!"

"Felicity again! Oh, but..." he buried his face in the sheets. "I know. I know." He's lost it Sara thought. He lifted his head. "I'm all right. Just not so used to the brandy, I guess." She walked over and picked up the empty tin from the floor.

"Felix!" she screeched.

*                       *                      *                      *

"Now, here!" Sara directed at breakfast as she set a bowl of oatmeal in front of him, five days later. "Eat this up like a good boy," she said, knowing it would irritate him immensely.

"Sara, be quiet! You've been more patronizing than ever the last couple of days. Will you knock it off?"

"If you're going to act like a child, I'll treat you like one."

"I thought you'd understand...you of all people. I never imagined you'd become such a-"

"What? What were you going to say?" Sara interrupted. Felix shut his mouth, knowing that if the word "snob" escaped, he would be out on the street.

"Nothing."

"Now sit up straight. Perhaps this will give me a chance to teach you some manners. Your mother never did."

"For Pete's sake," he muttered, obeying her commands. "When did you change so much?"

"What do you mean? Oh, I suppose I do know...it's just that I never changed. I only discovered that I should act like myself--speak my mind. I got so sick of living up to everyone's expectations."

"Expectations?" Felix asked, suspiciously. Sara laughed.

"All those years I was forced to live with you rude country people, remaining ignorant of the outside world. I endured it politely, but you can't possibly imagine what it was like to leave a beautiful home in Montreal for a farmhouse...which was more like one of my dollhouses!"

"You think you've endured hardships, do you? Why don't you try wriggling in the mud...living in a filthy trench where the lice are as huge as horses. Try watching your friends get blown to bits by shells and waiting in terror to be struck yourself."

"Well, we don't have any butter!"

"What?? I hope you're being--"

"Facetious?"

"No, that's not the word a common farm boy like myself would use."

"Oh, right...I--I'm pulling your leg...for Pete's sake!" Sara giggled at her own joke.

Felix pushed his chair back from the table with a bang. "I'm leaving!" he shouted. "I can't take this anymore!"

"Oh? So, where are you going? Back to the army to be court-martialed?"

"I'll think of something. I didn't get out of all those scrapes as a boy by being stupid. At this point, it doesn't matter where I go. Living with the Huns would be more tolerable than living with you!" He limped quickly into the bedroom, picked up his knapsack, and went to the door. "Have a bon vie!" he shouted as he left. "Are you satisfied? At least you taught me some French!"

Sara put her fists down on the table and hung her head in between her arms. She wondered if he would come back after he had some time to think things over.

 *                       *                       *                      *

Felix felt a feeling of relief wash over him as he stared out at his beloved hometown. It was Christmas Eve and he was back in Avonlea. It was a miracle. He tried not to think about the harrowing two weeks he had just endured, making his way home. It didn't matter anymore. They could find him and arrest them if they wanted to. He patted his pocket with a smile and tipped his hat to Mrs. Potts who was standing on her porch with a shocked expression on her round face. When he reached King Farm, he noticed the family piling into the cutter to drive over to Hetty's, just like they did every year. He didn't see Janet anywhere and decided to sneak in the back way. He could surprise her.

At the sight of his mother, Felix felt a swirling mixture of emotions...joy, disbelief, guilt. She stared at him with her warm brown eyes as if she couldn't believe it herself. He took off his hat and approached her, stepping carefully into the sunken parlor where she had been looking at the tree one last time. "Mother..." he whispered as she touched his face and then embraced him with a cry of delight. "It's okay," he told her, as tears welled up in his eyes. Alec came in at that point and watched them with his mouth half-open.

An hour later at the King Family Christmas Dinner, Hetty raised her glass in a toast and Felix clinked his own, grinning faintly at the sight of the good brandy. He glanced about uneasily, wondering how long it would be before they discovered him. Daniel stared at him in awe across the table and Felix smiled back. "What are you lookin' at, kid?" he asked, jokingly.

"I'm just thinking about what a brave big brother I've got," Daniel said. Felix felt like sliding under the table. All right...he was wounded. He had given up something for his country...and he had the "information". He raised one eyebrow happily at the thought. Throughout dinner, he managed to dodge questions with a heart-wrenching "I'd rather not talk about it right now". Just as they were finishing up the ham, there was a loud knock at the door and Hetty looked up."

"Now who could that be, disturbing us during our holiday celebration? The nerve of some people--"

"Hetty, relax." Alec rose and went to answer it, shaking his head. The door opened and Felix closed his eyes when he heard who it was. Two very official-looking military men strode into the room. The taller of the two stared him straight in the eyes.

"Private Felix King? You are under arrest for desertion. You'll have to come with us now."

"Now, wait a minute!" Alec said, grabbing his arm. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Felix King, I'll believe anything if you can get yourself out of this mess!" Hetty declared. Felix stood up and saluted the men.

"There must have been some misunderstanding, sir! I have valuable information right here, gathered clandestinely from the Huns!" He pulled an oblong envelope from his pocket. The first man glanced at his companion and nodded to Felix.

"Please excuse us," he said, leading him into the other room and closing the door tightly.

Well, after that, things turned out pretty nicely for Felix. Practically overnight he went from being a cowardly AWOL peon to a hero of the Great War! The contents of the envelope turned out to be quite valuable and led to an important victory for the British the following month. Felix stayed at home until his arm healed and was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant and decorated for several feats of valor during the remainder of the war. He had learned his lesson and would never again lose his nerve in the line of duty. His awards were particularly useful in earning the respect of Clive Pettibone and later persuading him to offer his daughter's hand in marriage. Oh, and one more thing. Elbert returned to the front under Felix's flawless command and came home safe and sound in 1918 to propose to Cecily.

Note: I would like to give credit to Amber of the Smileys for Felix's line to Sara..."Living with the Huns would be more tolerable than living with you!" and for the idea to make Felix into a spy :-) I would also like to credit whoever was "Elbert_Werts" in the rtau chat room on Saturday, January 30 for "informing" me that Felix was AWOL.

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