Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“It’s breaking! It’s actually - Oh no, Rapunzel!” Eugene’s yelling broke off as she collapsed into his arms, ears ringing from the tumultuous sound of shattering glass, her mind blurred by the stinging pain. It felt like some part of her had been cut open, like a scratch that broke skin. 

“I’m okay.” She managed to say but she still needed to catch her breath, yes… that was what she convinced herself as Eugene instructed her to breathe in deeply and release it, to slow down her pulse. It was by that time a sharp gasp split through her thoughts.

“Blazing Pit! He’s alive!” Cassandra exclaimed incredulously and Rapunzel finally looked up, heart filling up with elation when she saw that Lord Quirin was indeed living and breathing, albeit on his hands and knees, desperately gulping for air as though he had been holding his breath for a very long time.

And perhaps he had been.

She had done it! He was free! Varian would have his father back! She had fulfilled her promise!

“What… what is-“ The older man’s voice was weak and shaky as Lance knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Take your time sir… I can imagine that you haven’t been able to speak or ya know, really do anything for a while.”

The man blinked at him in confusion before placing a hand on his head and wincing as he moved into a seated position with Lance’s assistance. Eugene helped Rapunzel up, gently warning her to be careful as the cracked ground was littered in sharp golden shards. 

“Lord Quirin.” She said, unable to keep her smile off her face as the man looked up in surprise. “Your highness?” He murmured in recognition, bowing his head quickly but she shook her head. Sweeping away some of the shards with her hair and settling upon her knees on the ground in front of him. “There really is no need for that sir, how are you feeling? Do you need first aid assistance? We’ve brought supplies and-”

“No I-” He interrupted, staring at her as though her skin had turned purple–not that she would mind, she loved all shades of purple. “Forgive me, Princess Rapunzel.” He said with a shake of his head. “But I do not understand… how did you get here so fast? My son he-” He slowly began to look around, likely taking in the state of the lab and those surrounding him or perhaps the absence of a certain someone as his gaze paused on the door, eyes widening in realization.

“Moon Craters! Where is my son? Where is Varian?” The man unexpectedly pushed himself to his feet, wobbling as he started towards the door and pushing aside both Eugene and Lance’s arms who had reached out in attempts to steady him. ”The blizzard! He went out to get you! But the blizzard! It’s not natural! I can sense it! He is in grave danger!”  When he lost his balance he grabbed onto the wall and winced, crushing the parchment that had never left his hands even after he had fallen to the ground when the crystal broke. “I told him not to run out there!”

“Quirin, wait!” Rapunzel said before remembering decorum as she went after him, “I mean Lord Quirin, the blizzard was over three months ago!”

The man stopped in his tracks and turned back around right away to face them all in shock. “What… but that means-”

“You were trapped in that crystal for three months.” Rapunzel finished ruefully, fiddling with a strand of her hair for a moment as she looked away apologetically. “I- I truly am sorry that I wasn’t able to free you sooner, Lord Quirin. I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.” She felt Eugene squeeze her shoulder.

Lord Quirin finally released a breath after having worked through his shock, managing a hesitant but reassuring smile that was edged with relief. “I have no qualms against you, your highness. You freed me in the end after all and I truly am grateful for your help.”

Rapunzel felt as though a heavy weight had lifted from her shoulders and that she could now stand a little taller. Now all they had to do was reunite Varian with his father and the world would set itself upright again!

“So where is my son?” Lord Quirin asked, looking down at the letter which had been frozen with him in his hands as if on cue and Rapunzel opened her mouth to respond before realizing she had no idea what to say. Where was she to even begin? 

Lord Quirin shook his head with a sigh, “He and I had gotten into a bit of an argument just before that alchemy accident happened. He sounded so scared and he must have been so upset while I was trapped. We have never been apart for more than a week, you know.” He looked away, “And perhaps that was something I took for granted before…” His voice was sad and laced with regrets. “I must speak to him as soon as possible, for if I’ve learned anything from what has just occurred, it is that later may never happen.”

Rapunzel bit the inside of her cheek at that, still uncertain and now beginning to feel a bit unsettled.

“Well,” Eugene said, stepping in for her. “We aren’t exactly sure about his whereabouts as of right now, sir. But with the entire royal guard here in Old Corona already searching for him, I’m sure you two’ll be reunited in no time.”

Lord Quirin blanched. “The entire royal guard is searching for him? Why? Is he missing?” He looked as though on the verge of panic as he repeated himself. “Is Varian missing?”

Rapunzel winced, “Not exactly, sir. He did come to the castle during the blizzard but we didn't actually see him until about a week again…” She paused and tapped her chin, “Of course, he was in New Corona a few hours ago. In fact, he said he would be waiting for us here.”

Lance coughed, “That’s not strictly what he said though, princess. He just uh- implied that you should be here before midnight, remember?”

Her eyebrows shot upwards. 

That was right! 

But what did that mean then? Why did Varian ask her to come help if he wasn’t planning to be here?

Lord Quirin looked between worry and suspicion flaring across his face. “What exactly has transpired while I’ve been… gone? Has my son gotten himself into some more trouble?”

Before Rapunzel could reply Cassandra sighed and stepped forward, “Yes, I do apologize but we haven’t gotten much time for this so I’ll just have to be blunt. Varian is currently the most wanted fugitive in Corona.”

“What?!” Lord Quirin yelped while at the same moment, Rapunzel and Eugene exclaimed in admonishment, “Cass!”

Cassandra ignored all three of them and continued on with her agenda. “He was initially falsely accused of attacking the princess during the blizzard.”

Lord Quirin’s eyes swivelled to Rapunzel sharply and she winced.

“In the following weeks, Rapunzel and I thought that she had been receiving regular correspondence from Varian that assured us that everything had been fine in Old Corona and that he had received aid. We began to suspect that this was not the case about two weeks ago when he sent word for us to retrieve an old parchment which he referred to as a graphtych from right in here which seems to relate to the Sundrop.” She gestured around the room and the man stiffened immediately. He knew something about that alright.

“That was when we first found out about your being trapped and discovered that Varian had been persecuted by my fa- by the captain of the royal guards and an undercover unit who were also after that graphtych as per the king’s orders.” Cassandra cringed, finally realizing how bad this was all sounding as Lord Quirin’s face suddenly reddened with anger.

“So then please correct me if I am mistaken,” He practically spat, “You are telling me that not only had they been chasing my son around on false charges like some sort animal for three months but that this was all per King Frederic’s orders?!” There was an air of disbelief mingled in his rage.

“We did not know what my father had been doing.” Rapunzel continued Cass’ retelling of the events quickly, “He had the actual letters Varian had been sending me replaced… I only found out about those a week ago, two days after I finally did see Varian again.”

“Oh so that’s how the king decided to repay every last ounce of my services to his kingdom. eh?!" Lord Quirin growled, "Putting Varian right at the center of a problem that has nothing to do with him to begin with?!” 

“Hey, easy. This isn’t Rapunzel’s fault, you know?” Eugene piped up defensively, sending a fierce glare the man’s way as he tried to instinctively pull Rapunzel back but she shook his hand off.

“Again, I am so, so sorry about all of this Lord Quirin but I swear that all we want to do now is help Varian. He needs you!” Rapunzel tried placatingly but the man just tilted his head at her in disgruntlement before sighing in resignation, seeming to remember whom he was speaking to and becoming apologetic. 

"No, no… he is right,” The man nodded at Eugene. “This is not your fault at all princess. I should not be raising my voice at you. You could not have known and you should not have to apologize for your father’s actions. This is and has always been just a matter between me and King Frederic.” His eyes softened sympathetically. “My son… nor you, should have ever gotten caught in between.” 

Rapunzel could not quite place it but despite the fact that it seemed that Lord Quirin had regained his composure and that there was deep solemnity to his tone, there was something extremely foreboding about how his hands were now tightly clenched into fists, hanging at both sides.

“I suppose I ought to join the search efforts for my boy then.” Lord Quirin said, already apparently moving ahead. “You said you saw him a few hours ago? Why did he choose to travel back here separately? No… but you said the royal guard is out here searching for him, unless…” His eyes widened. “That… what you told me, is all that has happened to Varian in the last three months, correct?”

“Oh, I’ve got this part guys.” Lance chimed in before anyone could stop him. “About nine days ago, Varian tricked Rapunzel into helping him find the remains of the Sundrop flower that the king has apparently secretly kept in the royal vault for years and as to ensure he would not get caught, he created a truth serum and gave it to a bunch of the castle staff as a distraction. Then, he stole the flower, thereby committing high treason, and outran all the Coronan guards. After that he basically went missing since we couldn’t find him here and we presumed he then left the kingdom but were proven just a couple of hours ago when he interrupted the king’s annual speech for Rapunzel’s birthday... which is today. Covered Grand Corona Plaza in some weird purplish smoke, insulted the king and threatened to do something inexplicably horrible to the kingdom by midnight tonight if Rapunzel didn’t show up in Old Corona, right before destroying King Frederic’s statue and then somehow managing to evade all the guards yet again. In fact, he even managed to trap what was basically Corona’s entire army in the tunnels just beneath us with some purple glowy potion thingy! It was just like magic! In fact, it’s almost like he really is the wizard that Eugene keeps telling me he isn’t! You should honestly be super impressed cause I know I am! Your kid’s got the guts and the brains! I absolutely cannot wait to actually meet him!”

Lance was grinning from ear to ear but Lord Quirin did not look impressed, he looked absolutely mortified, his jaw having been left hanging like a gaping fish.

“Wha- but how did he - Why, for all that is sacred and holy between the Sun, Earth, and Moon would Varian do all that?! Lord Quirin blurted out, gripping his head in aggravation.

Eugene suddenly scowled, “Well, I think out of every question to ask about this whole conspiracy shabang, which you still need to fill us in on since you clearly know something which we can clearly tell you are still not telling us, by the way…” He mockingly coughed, “The answer to that one is the most obvious?”

“Which is?” Lord Quirin asked disbelievingly, still apparently drawing up a blank at several moments and Eugene scoffed.

“For the sun’s sake! You can’t seriously be this dense, sir! He blazing did all of it for you!”

Lord Quirin was so taken aback that he could not respond as all anger and disbelief from his face fell away, being replaced with so much regret, pain, and strife that it had caused Eugene to grimace and look away, for he had not meant to sound so harsh.

“He’s been trying to free you on his own for months…” Eugene muttered apologetically, “It clearly should never have taken that long though and he should not have been alone for all that time either so I suppose we’ve all got a bit of making up to do, huh.”

The weathered lines of Lord Quirin’s face creased with determination as he nodded along in acceptance of this. “Yes,” His mouth had run dry and words gilded with guilt. “I suppose we do.”

Rapunzel let out a relieved smile, “And once we find him, if we all work together I am more than certain we’ll find a way to vanquish the black rocks from Corona for good!”

Lord Quirin’s face lost what little colour it had regained. “The rocks… how bad have they gotten in these last months, your highness?”

“Well…” She trailed off, biting her lip as she tried to frame this as lightly as she possibly could. A rock suddenly erupted through the floor of the lab, catching every single one of them off guard.

“Bad.” She finished once recovering from the fact that her heart had just tried to leap out of her chest, “Very, very bad.”

“Also… I know that it’s been a while since your last meal but you might want to hold off on eating just a little bit when we go out there.” Lance added on in a mumble, looking a little sick and Eugene patted him on the back sympathetically whilst Lord Quirin’s eyes became chockfull of apprehension and fear.

“I need to find my son, right now.”

Chapter Text

Lieutenant Regen was close enough to hear the infant's wails as they spread in the winds, he was close enough to see the miraculous golden, guiding glow that had only gotten brighter with the princess' screams as the silhouette of the cloaked kidnapper and their horse ducked into the darkened underbrush for cover.

"The princess!" He roared, slapping down the reins in desperation.

He leaned forward even further, urging his steed to surge even faster for the fruit of their efforts at this very moment would now be the sole determiner between the princess' life and death.

She had only felt the love of her mother, of her father, and of her entire kingdom, for less than two days.

And they could not lose her.

Not after all the loss their still young and beloved monarchs had suffered in the last year.

No, they could not lose her.

Not now, not to this monster.

Not ever, she was the future of Corona.

The child of a miracle!

And for the sake of the sun, she was only a babe!

He heard the rush of a river up ahead over the stampeding hooves that followed behind him. He could see the dark horse just as it disappeared around the bend and then… there were lights up ahead, a bridge, a cottage with a thatched roof all on its own except for the surrounding billowing leafy veins of dark-barked willows.

"There!" The lieutenant rode straight over the simple rope suspension bridge and leapt off his horse before it had even came close to stopping. In a single motion, without a single second's hesitation, he kicked in the door to the small cottage that was lantern lit from the inside with his search team storming in directly behind him.

"Where is she?! Where is the princess!" He immediately demanded, voice booming and dangerous with venom before he even began to process the inside of the room but it took him mere seconds to wish that he hadn't done so.

Two small children, about the same age of four or five, one boy and one girl, were both huddled together and shaking in the nook of a window both of their eyes widened with fright as they stared at him and his comrades.

The sounds of a baby crying from outside broke the lock of gazes between him and the clearly shocked pair.

"Mama!" The children cried out, running towards the door, with the girl dragging along the little red blanket that had gotten caught around her ankle. The brunette boy was tightly clinging onto a wooden play sword whilst the slightly darker haired girl's hands were occupied with a small music box that was still playing a tune.

Instinctively, the lieutenant knelt and barred both from leaving the cottage as his other comrades went storming back out and after the kidnapper who appeared to be a woman whose face was covered by her hood, still holding the bundled up princess in her arms.

"Mama! Come home! We missed you!" The little girl wailed as she failed to push past Lieutenant Regen's arm. "Take us with you!" The little boy yelled, uselessly smacking his sword against the lieutenant's armored back as he forced them to remain inside. "Mama! Please! Let us come!"

But when Regen looked back, it seemed that despite the children's pleas, right as the soldiers stepped onto the bridge again there was a swish loud and silver in the dim, flickering candlelight of all the lanterns as the faceless woman revealed a scythed dagger that had slashed the rope bridge down into the rapids in an instant, nearly taking down his fellow soldiers with it.

And then she mounted her horse and left.

Their mother, the princess' kidnapper, disappeared into the dead of night, abandoning them both for her newly won prize.

"Blazing stars and pits, find a way to circle back! Get back after her! Now!" The lieutenant ordered before realizing he had only scared the children he was still restraining even more. He released them and drew back immediately, expecting them to make some kind of break for the outside of the cottage but they didn't.

Instead, the music box fell to the ground as well, its tune stopping abruptly as it broke into a thousand pieces and the girl's large grey eyes swelled with tears that she did not release. The hazel-eyed boy who stopped hitting him the moment the bridge had broken, dropped his sword and fell to the floor, releasing a gut-wrenching torment of hiccuping sobs.

"I'm sorry." He spoke softly to the children, his own heart having broken as well when the even deeper implications of what had just occurred began sinking in."I'm so, so sorry, little ones. You did not deserve that." He said as he cautiously lifted the boy up and off the floor which was covered in gears and sharp objects, wrapping him into a single armed hug while using his other hand to remove his helmet as he tried to appear less menacing for the girl who had not moved. She was standing motionless, still staring in the direction their mother had gone and her pallid skin became all the more ghostly, her little hands that looked red with abrasions still positioned as if they held her now shattered music box.

Oh dear child…

He placed the helmet on the girl's head and she finally looked to him, petrified as the tears began to slide down her cheeks.

"No one is going to harm you, little one." He whispered as her knees finally gave way and he brought her into his arms protectively as well. There was no struggle. "You are going to be safe with me from now on. I promise."

Wordlessly, he balanced both children in his arms, who were far too light to be considered healthy for their apparent age, and carried them away. The little red blanket fell away onto the grass as the trembling girl suddenly began to cry out again, begging for something she truly could not have, with the cries eventually being joined in by her brother.

"Mama! I want my Mama!"

Chapter Text

Why would he… how could he do this?! Rapunzel’s mind was thundering furiously as she tried to figure out what to say next, Varian was glaring at her but hadn’t moved a muscle. He’s been using me… He’s blaming me for something I could not control… he’s…  being completely irrational…  

She suddenly saw the look of hurt in his eyes and a pang of pity hit her.

“Give me the flower, Varian.” She sighed, “We can fix all of this… the rocks… your dad, I…”

She stopped herself as he looked at his satchel again, seemingly uninterested in what she had to say. 

You promised him something that you could not deliver the first time… look where it’s brought you… The voice in her head said. 

You need to look at his perspective… he’s probably just desperate… he’s scared… he’s been all alone… and… oh my gosh - he’s - he’s just lost his father! 

Loneliness and grief.

She knew both far too well.

The anger and frustration within her immediately vanished and she was filled with guilt. “Oh my gosh… Varian.” She said softly and full of sympathy, and he suddenly looked up surprised. “I am so sorry, you must be in so much pain right now… the worst of all possible things happened to you and you must miss him so, so much, you have every right to be angry with me, and at the kingdom.” She reached towards him.

“Yeah I do! Wait… N- no… no,  I… I…” He tried to argue, but the anger that he had in his voice just a few moments suddenly wavering as he stepped away from her outstretched hand for a moment. She could tell that he wasn’t expecting that. He wanted to be angry with her, he wanted her to be sorry… and all of a sudden he realized that she really was sorry. That she understood his anger and that even though he was the one who tricked her… she was apologizing, even more genuinely this time. His eyes suddenly filled with tears, from guilt, regret and realization. 

“W- what…” He suddenly trembled as he looked away, crumbling to the ground and flinging his hands to his head. “What the heck am I doing…?” He suddenly couldn’t control his breathing. “No… I’m hurting people… again…”  

“Varian,” Rapunzel said kindly, quickly kneeling and placing a hand on his shoulder, “Just breathe and let it all out okay? You haven’t done anything wrong yet, you haven’t hurt anyone, please, I’ll help you fix this.” 

He struggled for a moment and then slowly moved his hands to his satchel. His shaking hands slowly brought out the flower which he held up to her, cupping it gently in his hands but avoiding eye contact. 

She gently took it, stood and put it back in its place. Then, she immediately returned all her attention to him, this time holding both his trembling shoulders, relieved that she could finally comfort him. “You’ve been holding all of this grief in all this time, trying to stay strong for him, but you need to let it out, it’s okay Varian.”

He suddenly let out a sob and she quickly pulled him into her arms, letting him bury his head into her shoulder as he finally let out his emotions.

Eugene and Cassandra suddenly burst through the doors. They were prepared for a fight but when they entered the chamber, they both immediately stopped in their tracks when they saw Rapunzel hugging a now fully sobbing Varian. Rapunzel looked up to both of them and met their eyes, still holding the boy who suddenly looked so small in her arms. Her eyes were filled with both a sense of helplessness and relief to see her friends.

They both realized what must’ve happened when they saw that the sundrop flower was safe, and their faces became full of sympathy.

“I… just want him back. I don’t know what to do. I’m - I’m terrified, that it might be too late.” Varian’s broken voice choked out.

The others joined them on the ground and Eugene, albeit hesitantly decided to place a hand upon Varian’s shoulder and the teenager practically shrank beneath his touch, pulling away from Rapunzel immediately and hugging his arms around himself, staring at the ground as the tears dripped off of his nose.

“I know… I know,” Rapunzel said sadly, moving her hands to his shoulders and trying to meet his eyes. “But, we will find a way to free him. I am truly sorry that I don’t know how… but there has to be one.”

He shook his head in an instant, “But… I’m so useless! Everything I do… it fails!  It always fails! He’s gone because of me! I’m just a screw up!  A mistake! He’s right about me! He always was and so is everyone else! I don’t even care if he hates me… I deserve it… ”

“Woah, there!” Eugene exclaimed so suddenly that it caused Varian to startle as he finally looked up. “None of that makes even a lick of sense, kid!” Eugene met Rapunzel’s eyes and she nodded at him with a half smile.

”You don’t deserve that and you’re not a screw up, you’re just going through a tough time, a really tough one. But honestly, I wish that I could’ve been as strong as you when I was younger, it was one choice that left me on the run for the next ten years and believe me, I’ve made years worth of mistakes but trust me, you - you have been so strong in the face of everything and I know for certain that you will get through this.”

“And you are doing the right thing now, Varian.” Cassandra added gently, “We’re here for you kid and we’re so sorry for what happened.” She paused as though coming to a realization. “And besides, how could your dad hate you for trying so hard to save his life?”

“It’s going to be alright, we’ll do what we can for you now but in the right way, we are here to fight for you Varian, it’ll be alright.” Rapunzel reassured as he looked at them all with a surprise plastered all over his tear stained and utterly defeated looking face.

“But… but why?” He whispered. “I betrayed your trust and I said awful things to you! All I do is get the people around me hurt and in trouble! I’m better off all alone! 

“That’s not true and no one is better off all alone, Varian.” Rapunzel said, forcing  back the endlessly resurfacing memories from her own bleak and empty childhood. “And I think… I think that I betrayed your trust first. I really could not help you during the blizzard, but I should have found a way to check in with you properly afterwards or even send someone that I trust to find you. I was the first person you turned to and I will do whatever I can to help fix this… but first let’s just get you out of here, okay?”

He nodded but was still avoiding her eye contact. Eugene helped Varian to his feet but he suddenly seemed to have lost all his gusto from earlier, perhaps finally feeling the effects from their very recent fight with Demanitus’ automaton. Rapunzel certainly knew that she was feeling them right about now. As they exited the chamber, they were met by the captain of the guard who had come down the hallway with five other soldiers. Eugene quickly placed his arm protectively around Varian when he realized that the boy was shaking with fear. I will not let another kid go down the same road I did. 

“That boy must be placed under arrest by the order of the king.” Captain Tregsburg said, but he had immediately looked uncomfortable by the situation, seeing how the princess had suddenly stepped in front of the group and how Eugene was now looking determinedly into his eyes with an arm around the pale and exhausted-looking, thin, and crying teenage boy. He suddenly felt awful but wasn’t exactly sure what to do.

“Dad!” Cass said angrily, stepping in front of the others as Eugene kept a hand on Varian’s trembling shoulder. “Are you seriously going to arrest a kid whose lost his only living family member?! He’s already been falsely accused of attacking the princess and is sorry despite the fact that he didn’t even steal anything because he made the right decision!”

“Cassandra.” The captain said with a sigh, as he placed a hand on his head. He knew he was probably going to get in trouble if news spread about what he might say against the king’s decisions but he was exasperated at this point. “I know that this whole situation is a bit unfair but the king ordered …”

“Look! You said you found me during a raid, right? Based on that information, I was probably abandoned by some criminal you were chasing and you knew that! I was an orphan of said criminal but you took me in anyways, because you believe in justice! Are you seriously suggesting that we throw an orphan into the dungeons for a crime that he didn’t commit? Yeah, he broke a few rules just now but you know as well as I do that he was driven to this point, especially when you willingly did whatever you could to stop him from finding a way to save his father the right way.”

Rapunzel used a hand to close Eugene’s gaping jaw, her eyes twinkling with pride at her best friend.

Varian, in the meanwhile, had flinched at the word ‘orphan’ but Eugene gave him a tight reassuring squeeze to hopefully send the message that Cassandra was just protecting him.

The captain’s eyes widened for a second as he regarded what Cassandra had just said. That was too close, daughter… too close to the truth…  

He looked at the princess for another moment and then looked at Varian again, he could see the guilt and sadness in his terrified eyes. He remembered a similar look, from when he had found Cassandra in that cottage, having been found abandoned and alone.

He looked towards his men for a moment and knew that he must do what was right. “No one is to touch the boy, stand down.” He finally said and the soldiers stood back. “Yes, Captain.” They said in unison. He and Cassandra locked eyes, but her gaze didn’t waver this time and her strength in herself made him finally smile. 

“You’ve always been a fighter you know? I just… did not expect you to pull the orphan card…?. His eyes swivelled accusingly to Eugene. “Although, I’d suppose hanging around with him would do that.”  

Cassandra scoffed as Eugene winked at the captain, who shook his head and rolled his eyes. 

“Oh please, I’ve used it plenty of times.” She said, 

“Didn’t know I’d raised an emotional blackmailer.” The captain sighed.

“And I didn’t know I’d get raised by a captain of the guard who thinks he’s such a big shot. Luckily… you still don’t compare to Fitzherbert over here.” Cassandra said and the captain and Eugene both glared at her for a moment.

Rapunzel let out a sigh of relief and looked back at Varian, trying to give him an encouraging smile, but he was avoiding eye contact with her.

“Thank you, Captain.” Rapunzel said, “Please don’t worry about the king, I will deal with my father. I assure you that you and your men will not get in trouble for any of this.”

Captain Tregsberg regarded the princess for a moment, “To be honest, I’m happy as long as I’m upholding justice but yes that would be quite helpful. Thank you, your majesty.”

She’ll handle this… probably, I mean she handled herself quite well during that ghost incident at the Snuggly Duckling. He thought with almost a shudder.

He looked towards Eugene, “I suppose you have another kid under your wings.” 

“Yeah, I suppose I do, they kind of just flock to me.” He smiled and playfully nudged Varian, who still didn’t quite give a reaction that gave any hint of his old self, the overly excitable boy he had been when they had first met him.

The captain looked like he wanted to just leave and call it a day but the fatherly instinct in him made him look back at Varian. He approached the teenager and knelt slightly to meet him at eye-level. He then placed a hand on his shoulder. “You made a good decision here today, but maybe try to avoid stirring up any more trouble alright? Or at least drawing up any more attention until we’ve dealt with the accusations. It was wrong of me to follow orders blindly without seeing to the protection of our people and I don’t want to see anymore youth thrown into a dungeon and have their lives completely uprooted. I am also sure that your father would not like to see that, do you understand?” He looked into the boy’s eyes and could see the understanding of the words being said.

“Y - yes sir.” Varian managed to stutter, looking away. 

“Good.” The captain said and gave Eugene an approving nod. 

“I suppose you’ll deal with the rest, your highness, I’ll spread the word for my men to not arrest him on sight.” He said, giving the princess a respectful bow and then gesturing to his men that it was time to lock the chamber back up and reinforce the security measures—which had clearly failed, but Rapunzel was a bit too tired from her excursion under castle to think about that now. 

The captain turned and made his leave, feeling slightly afraid for the future of his career but also relieved that he didn’t end up breaking his code. 

“Ha - Didn’t know you had that in you Cass.” Eugene said with a laugh but received an annoyed look from her. “Can it, Fitzherbert!” She snapped and then looked back sympathetically at Varian who had seemed to have regained just the slightest bit of colour.

“Thank you.” He said meekly but his voice seemed drained of all energy and then ashamed, “All of you…” 

He then turned to Rapunzel. “Rapunzel… about what I said to you back there and trying to trick you like that. I’m sorry. ”

She quickly took one of his gloved hands and squeezed it, “It’s okay and it’s going to be okay, Varian, you were upset, hurt and angry, but that’s completely understandable and I will not tolerate people who keep treating you like you’re some criminal because you’re not, you proved that you are a good person, you’ve always been and I already forgave you the moment you made the right decision. We are all so proud of you for that.” 

He looked her in the eyes with shock at the words and nearly started trembling again.

“And besides,” She said, looking away for a moment.

“This whole mess isn’t your fault, I should have stood up for you, the moment you asked me for help. I’m sorry too.”

“That wasn’t your fault, princess. I realize that now… I can’t blame you for the accident, when I was the one who held the beaker… ” His voice was nearly a whisper. “In the end I didn't help him… I made everything worse, like I always do… because I didn’t listen.”

An accident? That’s what had happened to Lord Quirin. Rapunzel saw the realization in the other’s eyes as well.

”Varian… I know that this must be a sensitive topic right now.” Eugene began with concern. “But what really happened to your father?”

And a story came rushing out of him as though he had been just desperate for someone to listen and that was what he been made to be. Desperate and alone.

 “I just wanted to help him. All the villagers were yelling at him, demanding that he did something about the rocks… so I- I disobeyed his orders. I began experimenting  on the rocks but then he burst in and I spilled the beaker. We started arguing and I didn’t see the reaction begin to transform the rocks before it was too late so he-“ A guttural half sob, likely from his attempts to suppress it, broke his words as his eyes glazed over with fear and pain. Eugene tightened his hold around the boy’s shoulders, worried that he may collapse but Varian had simply froze on the spot.

“You… you can tell us the rest when you’re ready. How does that sound?” Rapunzel murmured softly and Varian nodded timidly. Rapunzel deeply regretted the fact that she felt the slightest bit relieved that her magic had not directly caused Lord Quirin’s dilemma. Regardless of whether or not she was culpable to a lesser extent than which she had previously believed, Varian had also agreed to helping her investigate the black rocks and as such, he had initially been trying to perform a noble service for the kingdom as well.

“Come on.” Cassandra finally said to break their moment of rueful silence, “We cannot stay down here forever, we have to keep moving forwards…” She sighed, “It’s really the only thing we can do.”

“Yeah, why don’t we all just lighten up then… dark and broody dragon ladies included.” Eugene said a bit too enthusiastically as they started making their way to the throne room. “Everything will be fine, we’ll clear up the whole misunderstanding situation in no time and all we’ve only got is one more problem… to deal with.” Eugene looked guiltily at Rapunzel for a moment, but Rapunzel shook her head, reassuring him that it was okay. 

“Yeah… my dad.” Rapunzel finished. 

She wasn’t sure what she was feeling at that moment, but one thing was clear. She was not afraid of making him unhappy anymore, especially after the whole fiasco that got her down here. She knew she had defied a direct order but still… there was a feeling inside her that she never often had or at least outwardly denied that she didn’t feel. Defying his order had for some reason made her feel… strangely happy to spite him, despite the fact that somewhere in there, she knew he probably wanted to protect her. 

But still, he had lied… he had lied about such a big thing and was possibly endangering the whole kingdom in doing so. As they walked up the stairs and towards the throne room, Rapunzel kept her hand holding one of Varian’s as she began to pull him into a more brightly lit corridor. 

She had finally got her friend back for real this time and all she knew was that he was probably in a lot more pain than her at the moment in spite of the rush of emotions swelling within her. She looked at his saddened, downcast face and made a promise to herself that she’d never let a friend get hurt like that ever again. 

 —

“You defied my direct orders!” The king boomed loudly. The queen who was standing beside him looked between him and their daughter. Eugene still had Varian in his arms, and Cassandra stood looking uncharacteristically subdued to the side of them. “You almost committed treason against your own kingdom! I am trying to protect you and why isn’t the boy in handcuffs?” His stern gaze furiously landed on Varian. 

“Dad! He didn’t do anything wrong and the guards will not arrest him or drag him away, all he wanted was some help and because of your orders, he was driven out of his own home!“ Rapunzel exclaimed, trying to downplay her pleas on Varian’s behalf with assertiveness.

She regarded Varian for a moment. “I failed him first. You can’t just throw him into a cell when he didn’t do anything wrong. And while, yes… he made a misjudgment it is because  that’s because he became desperate and that’s all, he just wants to save his father, your old friend.”

The king finally looked at Varian, his face—if Rapunzel wasn’t imagining it and she sure hoped she was not imagining it—became slightly less stern before he looked away again.

“You still defied me Rapunzel, and it is because of him.” He stated vehemently. “There are reasons we cannot have information about the black rocks getting out and it is for the safety of this kingdom.”

So not alerting people to a growing hazard was keeping them safe?!

“That’s not an excuse -“ She began to argue but just then, Varian suddenly stepped forward causing Cass and Eugene’s eyes to widen, he suddenly bowed down low on his knee, his eyes fixed to the ground. 

“I’m - I’m so sorry your majesty, she just wanted to help me and I took advantage of her kindness. I will take all of the responsibility. Please don’t be angry with the princess. I… I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was being irrational. So please your highness, she stopped me from making a huge mistake.” Finally, the teenager looked up and directly into the king’s eyes as he spoke far too sincerely. “I know I broke the law … but I swear that I just wanted to find a way to free my father.” 

The king looked down at the trembling boy by his feet, suddenly realizing how terrified the boy was and yet… he’d just risked making the situation so much worse for himself by speaking up to defend the princess. The king sighed and looked away until the queen placed a hand on the king’s shoulder. 

“Frederic,” She said softly, “The boys suffered enough as it is, he’s lost his father and is clearly grieving. We cannot blame him for trying to find a way to save his family and despite the fact that he almost made a mistake, he didn’t. That should be all that matters. Besides, I don’t think we did him any justice either, we should have done more and those rumours about him attacking Rapunzel should not have been spread.” She smiled at her husband bittersweetly. “And we understand all too well what emotional turmoil such a loss can cause, if we hadn’t stayed strong, we could’ve lost the kingdom to our grief.” She looked at Rapunzel when she said this, with all her compassion and love for her daughter who always strived and fought to make things right. She then looked to Varian, who was still kneeling down before them.

“You showed great strength and courage, despite the pain and anguish you must be in. We are sorry that you were driven to this point and we understand your anger.” 

She looked at the king again whose gaze just slightly softened.

“I suppose that I cannot blame you for letting your emotions take the best of you or that you became angry, you are merely a child after all.” The king finally said with a regal wave of his hand.

“I know that you had initially been trying to address the issue of the black rocks and I do owe your father more than a few favors. You have my condolences and I am willing to allow you to continue working on a solution to this problem.”

The king didn’t notice that Varian had shuddered when he had said ‘condolences’ but Eugene did and stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the king’s carelessness. The kid really needed someone to cut him break … seriously, any moment now.

The king looked to his daughter and saw relief in her eyes.

“However,” his voice grew stern again, “I cannot allow any more information about the black rocks getting out, it is too dangerous and will cause a panic. If you wish, you may stay at the castle and have access to the library but you will only be allowed to go back to your village to conduct your research when accompanied by a trusted and approved member of the castle staff or guard. All new information must be brought straight back and only those in this room will be allowed to have access to this. Am I understood?”

Varian bowed his head again with widened as he responded very rapidly, in apparent disbelief of his luck as were all the others, besides the king and queen, in the room. “Y- Yes, of course, your majesty, thank you.” 

The king turned to Rapunzel, “As for you, you may only leave the castle with the guards who I will select, I will not tolerate hearing from them that you tried to run off again.” 

Ha - knew that was coming, although now he’s acting like he never did that to begin with. She thought spitefully but she held her tongue. She couldn’t risk their luck now, especially when he’d decided that he would let Varian off the hook. He still won’t acknowledge the fact that he lied… but I can’t confront him about that right now.

“Yes, father.” She said as respectfully as she could, despite being slightly annoyed.

“Good.” The king said as they locked eyes. The queen wanted to roll her eyes, knowing that the tension was still there between them. 

The king turned to Nigel who had been watching with great interest. “Nigel, have all charges against the boy dropped immediately, he is no longer under an arrest warrant. As well, I’d like to advise you to perhaps try not jumping to conclusions next time without gathering all the facts before you make a statement. This whole near disastrous situation could’ve been avoided.” 

The royal advisor looked stunned for a moment and then slightly embarrassed. “I do apologize and yes, right away your majesty.” He hurried away, lowering his head.

“I’ll think about arranging a meeting about the black rocks with the grand council.” Rapunzel’s father suddenly said, causing her to look surprised. “But until then, I will emphasize for the last time that I want complete secrecy of this matter. You’re all dismissed.” His eyes met Rapunzel’s with a ‘This discussion is not over’ look and she shot him one straight back but as he and the queen turned to leave, her mother linked arms with her father and she slightly turned her head so that Rapunzel could see her smile and a reassuring wink, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him.’ 

After they left, Varian stood up slowly. They were all silent for a moment.

Eugene broke it first. 

“Well, that was intense.  I swear... Did anyone else’s heart miss a beat?” He grinned. 

Varian opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, Rapunzel suddenly pulled him into another hug. “Thank you.” She said, squeezing him even more tightly than she had before.

“F- for what?” He asked in shock—and slightly out of breath so she let him go again.

“No one has ever stood up for me like this… not like you all have.”

She grinned at him. “Well, I’m pretty sure you just stood up for me just now, in front of my dad, ya know, just he ol’ King of Corona,.” Rapunzel teased.

“I - I am the one who got you into trouble though, I’m sorry…” He tried to say again.

“Oi!” Eugene clapped a hand on his shoulder, causing him to wince as he looked up at him. “No more apologies out of you kid and not to mention that your name is cleared from something you didn’t do.” Eugene was grinning from ear to ear as well. “That took guts, especially owning up like that, believe me I know.”

“And your dad would really be proud of you, you know that?” Cassandra .

“I wish I could believe that.” Varian said quietly, still sounding downtrodden as they all walked out of the throne room and into the hall which caused them all to exchange worried looks. Varian’s mental state was still as gloomy as that dead tree she had painted for Ms. Sugar— no Sugracha, that stupid evil demon servant to Zhan Tiri. 

“Well, since you’re going to be staying with us, we won’t take no for an answer,” Eugene said, bringing her out of her thoughts, “We should probably go find you a guest chamber, pretty sure there is an empty one just in front of mine if you want.” Varian hesitated before nodding a little, clearly withdrawn from reality at this point and too tired to argue.

“Say…” Eugene said, suddenly stopping to take a good look at Varian. “It’s pretty clear that you haven’t slept… in a while. And you’ll probably begin to feel a lot more like yourself after you eat something… when was the last time you ate a full meal if you don’t mind me asking?”

Varian paused and had to think for a moment. “Umm, maybe a few weeks ago… I think.” He mumbled. 

“Varian?!” Rapunzel gasped and covered her mouth. Cassandra’s eyes widened with concern and Eugene was silenced. Varian looked very uncomfortable as they all stared at him. “I just didn’t have the time!” He defended. “Besides, I’ve been drinking enough water so I won’t faint and I’ve also been making and eating trail mixes regularly.” He amended quickly. “Almonds, cashews, and walnuts are filled with protein and healthy fats that boost your energy.  I- I sometimes managed to get some raisins or dried up apples in them… just you know, to sweeten it up. And apples are a good source of vitamins as well so living right beside an apple orchard has its perks?” 

When he had stopped with his rambling, Eugene did the most unexpected thing. He burst into a hysterical fit of laughter so bad that tears came out of his eyes.

“What the blazes?” Cassandra admonished loudly, reacting first and punching him hard in the shoulder. “Read the room, you jerk! The kid just confesses that he’s literally been living on trail mix for weeks and you start laughing?” 

Varian simply looked stunned while Rapunzel was utterly confused.

The punch nearly knocked Eugene over as he tried to catch his breath. “Sorry… sorry…”  He wheezed as he struggled to contain his laughter. “It’s just that… it’s no wonder that someone… as smart as Hair Stripe here… thought that… attempting to commit treason was a good idea!  I mean seriously Cass… have you seen yourself when you're hungry?” He nearly earned himself another punch as Rapunzel quickly pulled Cassandra back.

Varian blushed and looked down in embarrassment, but as if in response to the situation, his stomach growled, causing his face to redden even more. 

Finally recovering, Eugene grabbed Varian again and beamed down at him, “Me and the kid here will catch up with you two later, unless of course you want to join us, the soup here is great you know?” Honestly, looking at his condition right now… I’m also definitely sneaking him a healthy sleeping draught afterwards,

“Also… when was the last time you properly washed that big fluff of a coiffeur of yours? It’s a greasy disaster!” Eugene added on to the insult, hitting Varian on the back.

“Shut up.” Varian mumbled embarrassedly, earning an approving look from Cassandra as Eugene let out another laugh. 

“Go get something to eat and then some rest, Varian,” Rapunzel said kindly. “I know you’ve had a hard day today but by morning, you’ll be feeling a lot better, okay? You have nothing to worry about, you’re safe here.” 

Varian finally managed a small smile at her, “Thank you, for everything.” 

“That’s what friends are for.” 

His eyes lit up for a moment and she could see a hint of the happiness and brightness that they had in them before the blizzard. 

Ah ha, there you are. She thought with a smile. The thought that she could help him heal gave her a sense of peace, despite the guilt she had carried since the storm. 

However, as Eugene led him away joking and chatting to cheer him up. Rapunzel’s smile slowly faded.

“Well, I for one am just a little worried about what those two could get up to as neighbors, not quite sure if I’d consider Eugene, responsible big brother material but we’ll see… I mean he’s surprisingly good with kids but I suppose that’s also because he acts like one himself.” Cassandra joked but she grew concerned when she saw Rapunzel’s face again. 

“Hey, we’ve got the kid back and safe, you’ve saved him from making a decision that he’d regret and now we can help him. Even your father’s had a change of heart.” She said, trying to reassure.

“Yeah, I know.” Rapunzel responded ruefully, “But I still feel horribly responsible for what could’ve gone wrong today and everything that Varian had to go through.”

“Look Raps, I know things seemed bleak there but everything worked out in the end. You can’t blame yourself for everything and you really should just let bygones be bygone… wait, since when do I have to give the princess of sunshines and rainbows cheesy pep talks?” 

Rapunzel laughed, “Fine, fine you may be onto something… Also,” She smiled mischievously at Cassandra, “It was kind of fun to stand up to our dads today, wasn't it?” 

“Ha, I never felt more alive.” Cass smirked right back.

—

Eugene had taken Varian to the kitchens first and requested two bowls of soup. The chef had looked surprised to see Varian, probably having heard the rumors, but Eugene waved off the old woman’s questioning look, “This amazing kid’s name has been cleared and as you can see… he deserves the best, warmest soup you can make… urgently.” 

The chef shrugged and then gave Varian a warm smile, “Yeah, I wasn't planning on saying anything but you look like you could definitely use some.” She said as she went to prepare the soup.

Eugene sat on one of the crates in the corner of the kitchen while they waited and gestured for Varian to take a seat beside him. Varian came over but had become a bit quiet and seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Varian had grown unaccustomed to the kindness he had suddenly been greeted with after weeks of isolation and attempting to avoid almost all human contact. It caused him to feel another twist of hatred for himself. I don’t deserve this… they should all hate me… so why? They should hate me after what I did to my father…

He felt a pang of pain in his head as the guilt came surfacing back up, causing him to groan as he quickly put his head in his hands. 

“You okay?” Eugene asked and Varian shook his head.

“Not… really.” He said quietly. 

“I… just don’t get it.“ He sighed as he dropped his hands and started fiddling with his gloves.

Eugene waited for him to elaborate but he didn’t. He realized that he’d probably have to pry out what was bothering the young alchemist.

“Get what? I can’t exactly read your mind or ya know… use truth serum on you to tell what you’re thinking if you know what I mean?” He tried to give him a teasing smile but Varian looked up at him in horror.

“But… it’s exactly that! How can… you… and everyone else… just… just… forgive me so easily for sneaking into the castle and trying to trick the princess?! Why are you all being so nice to me… and especially Rapunzel? What if someone had gotten hurt because I was being so careless and unreasonable?!”

His hands were shaking again as he nearly worked himself into another panic.

“Sheesh, you’ve got to learn to breathe kid,” Eugene said, placing a hand on Varian’s shoulder. “So, you made a mistake… everyone does, and no one can really be mad at you, considering what actually happened and how unfair things got. Not to mention the fact that you’ve already acknowledged it and pretty much made up for it back there. You deserve a break, seriously. And as for Rapunzel…” He started to laugh, “When we first met… I tried to take her to the Snuggly Duckling to scare her off, but it didn't work, obviously, and she definitely doesn’t hate me… I hope. Not to mention that she got those thugs in line with her kindness in no time… she’s scary like that sometimes, but of course… you’re no thug are you?”

He saw a faint smile appear on Varian’s face. “That… does make sense. I suppose.” 

“I mean… these are also the same people who forgave me, mind you. And I was probably one of the most wanted criminals in all the kingdoms, which doesn’t exactly give me bragging rights here… but you know what I mean, I’m also pretty sure that I finally got on the king’s good side… maybe… that man is kind of unreadable, but you’ve got to cut yourself at least a little more slack than me.”

Varian let out a small laugh but his smile faded again after a moment.

 “But… how exactly can I make up for accidentally getting my father encased in amber then?” The young boy asked as he looked away in shame. “How… am I supposed to cut myself some slack for doing something as horrible as that…?” His voice quivered.

Oh… kid, Eugene thought as he remembered the true extent of Varian’s guilt, There’s that too. 

He wasn’t exactly sure what to say at that moment but was relieved that the chef had come back at that moment with a tray of two bowls of soup and some bread, “Well, I hope you like it as Fitzherbert does here.” She said with a smile as Eugene stood up and took the tray.

“Congratulations, by the way.” She said to Varian, but when he gave her a questioning look, she clarified. “For not being a wanted criminal anymore.” The elderly woman laughed, “Not exactly sure how a small thing like you could’ve wound up in such a mess but I’m not here to judge, I myself may have run into quite a bit of a jam when I was younger but you didn’t hear that from me.” She winked and patted his head. “I gave you a few extra slices of buttered bread, by the way, you need it.”

Varian looked flabbergasted as she walked away and Eugene couldn’t help but snicker at his expression. 

“Eh, that’s Corona for you.” Eugene said as he started leading him out the door, “Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying and you can borrow some of my clothes until we can go get some of your things… they definitely are going to be big on you but you’re kind of a mess right now. We should hurry though, we don’t want to keep the soup waiting.”

“Thanks.” Varian said, trying to push away the sadness with his gratitude again. 

“No problem! Anyways, I think we’ll make a pretty awesome team don’t you? Ex-convicts who have never been convicted of anything before, am I right?”

Varian managed a smile, “Oh yes… I am the ingenious criminal mastermind who failed at stealing a single object despite actually getting into the high security vault.”

“Eh, it’s better that way, trust me.”

Varian liked the idea of being able to trust his friends again, despite feeling like he still didn’t deserve their kindness. The truth was, he never actually had any friends before the princess and hers came into his life. The people of Old Corona pretty much just ignored and avoided him, especially after the whole ‘Project Hot Water’ disaster, and he wasn’t even sure if any of them knew about his father’s predicament as everyone had completely evacuated, going who knows where as soon as the blizzard was over. He remembered that a lot of them had been fed up with his father as well, none had even come to check if either of them were okay, even after he had cried himself to sleep on the ground by his father’s prison. He couldn’t trust any of them, but it seemed that Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene did still care. He felt that maybe he would even eventually be able to trust them with his life after today, but if they abandoned him… 

Well, he cut off that thought determinedly, I just have to make sure that they won’t, that I’m someone who is worth standing up for… no matter what.

I promise.