Chapter summary: Rudiger couldn't be a secret forever.


The two months that Varian had to tell his parents went by much faster than he would have liked. The first month's end brought with it Mom's birthday (who, by the way, seemed to have really liked his gift) and also Rudiger's recovery. Rudiger's leg was miles away from the injured state it had been, and after four weeks of changing splinters and rags/bandages it seemed to have finally made its full recovery. His fur seemed shinier, his bones were no longer visible, and it was much more apparent how active the baby animal could be.

The second month was a series of fun things and days with his new raccoon friend. Varian was so glad to have someone to hang around now – he wasn't that incredibly popular among the states people for his age and there wasn't very many around his age that seemed to like talking about alchemy, and that's not even taking into account the kids who didn't talk to him because they were intimated by his title (which confused him, because he was like every other nine-year-old), so he was kind of stuck in an in-between.

Rudiger, however, didn't care at all about his title or the fact that he was a little eccentric. During experiments, reading, or acting out stories, Rudiger was always there for times when Varian normally would be alone. And it would have been perfect even, if it wasn't for the fact that he had to hide Rudiger's existence from his parents (or worse –Nigel).

Two days out from the big reveal, Varian was a bundle of nerves as he agonized over the decision on if he should go ahead and tell Mom and Dad about the raccoon or wait until the exact moment that Cassandra said his time was up. He was avoiding her because of the whole situation as well, so this whole thing really was noteworthy – he never missed out a chance to talk with Cassandra.

The beginnings of winter were no help at all in this situation, because that meant the chance to get outside with Rudiger – thus limiting the amount of chances for contact – was limited, because there was only so much time you could spend out in the cold before people started getting suspicious.

Still, it helped some. Corona pretty much only had two seasons – summer and winter and a few days of spring and fall thrown in for good measure, so Varian was well-equipped on how to stay warm in the cold.

Rudiger scurried across the castle ground as Varian rushed after with a smile.

"Rudiger! Slow down!" Varian said a bit breathlessly, red faced and panting. Rudiger tittered something that had an enthusiastic lilt to it and didn't stop. The raccoon jumped onto the banister of one of the stairs leading to the door and Varian ran upwards two-at-a-time to keep up with the lithe animal.

Varian tripped on the last step and fell down into the snow on the balcony, a thin blanket of the white substance creating a cushion that softened his blow. He spit out some of the powdery snow and saw Rudiger staring straight at him with a smile.

"I told you to slow down," Varian deadpanned, and Rudiger tilted his head to the side innocently. Varian – who wasn't all that upset or hurt – smiled and stood up, scooping up Rudiger into his arms.

"You're going to be the death of me," Varian said. In addition to the recent fall and the one when he first found Rudiger, Varian had ran into and fallen so many times when going after his pal that it was miraculous he had managed to make it the two months without giving himself away due to cuts and bruises – which, luckily, hadn't happened besides one or two minor ones that he had been able to discreetly hide under his clothing.

"Varian!"

Varian snapped up to see the frightened look of his mom at the front door, racing towards him in her winter clothes. His eyes widened and hugged Rudiger close to him in shock.

Well at least he won't have to tell Mom.

"Varian, put down that raccoon!" Mom said urgently. "It'll bite you!"

Varian smiled nervously and stepped back from her, but still not letting go of Rudiger. Mom frowned and reached down to take Rudiger from his arms.

"No, Mom!" Varian said, pulling Rudiger away so that she couldn't reach him. "He-he's friendly!"

"Varian, please," Mom said, crossing her arms. "It's a raccoon—"

"But he's really nice!" Varian insisted. "The past two months have been –"

"Two months?!" Mom said, her eyes widening. Varian's heart sank as he realized what he said and on instinct he looked down at Rudiger and away from his mom. "Varian, what do you mean by two months?"

"Uh, well, you see—" Varian shifted on his feet "– it's king of a long story, and I won't bore you with details –"

"VARIAN!" Mom was clearly aggravated at this point, and the gleam in her eyes seemed to be tittering right on the edge of angry. He needed to choose his next words very carefully.

He clutched Rudiger with one arm and rubbed the back of his neck with another. He opened his mouth to speak to calmly explain, but his nervousness overtook him and all his words came out as one giant rush.

"Wellyouseeit'skindofareallyfunnystoryIfoundhimafewmonthsagointhevilliageandhewashurtandneededmyhelpbuthe'sbetternowandhisnameisRudigerandnow'shekindofmybestfriendpleasedon'ttellDadorNigelbecauseI'mworkingupthenervetotellthemmyselfandIreallywasgoingtotellyoureallyIwas."

Varian gulped in as much air as he could after all the words busted out of him, his breath having been completely used to tell the story. Mom blinked in surprise and tilted her head to the side, the aggravated expression transformed into one of confusion.

"Varian," Mom said, "I'm pretty sure I only understood a little over half of what you said, but what I gathered was that you found a hurt raccoon, took care of him, named him Rudiger, and that you were going to tell us. Is that right?"

Varian nodded. "Yes Mom."

Mom sighed once and pointed to the door. "Let's finish this conversation inside."

Varian saw that this was a signal that this was going to be a very long conversation. He looked down at his feet guiltily but went inside without protest. Rudiger made a couple of sounds and wriggled out of Varian's grasp, falling down to walk beside Varian's boots.

He could feel Mom behind him and he didn't have to see it to know that Mom wasn't all that excited about this, which made his feelings of guilt rise in his stomach. He hated making Mom upset or angry. He could make everyone else that way at the drop of a hat, but Mom? Her anger was so rare that when it came, he felt like he was personally attacking her to get it.

The door shut behind them and he turned to face her, Rudiger resting still at his heels.

"Varian." She sighed. "You know you can't keep Rudiger, right?"

"But, Mom –"

"No, Varian, listen," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and came down to eye-level with him. "Rudiger is a scavenger and a wild animal, he doesn't belong inside stone walls."

Varian frowned and spared a quick glance to Rudiger, who was looking up at him hopelessly.

"Mom, he's-he's only a baby," Varian said quietly. "And-and when I found him he was alone!"

"I know, Varian," Mom said. "But he won't be a baby forever. Eventually he's going to grow up and adult animals are dangerous." She caressed his face in a soft, maternal way. "I just don't you to get hurt."

"But he's st-still little!" Varian protested. "Even if he's going to grow up one day, he's not right now! And-and he doesn't have anyone to take care of him! I couldn't just leave him!"

He frowned and picked up Rudiger again, stepping back from Mom with a furrowed brow and a determined downward arc to his lips.

"He was hurt!" Varian continued. "And hungry! He would have died!" His voice broke on the last word and he felt the beginning pinpricks of tears pop up in his eyes. His tone became much softer as he continued. "You and Dad always tell me part of being a prince is kindness! And, well, this is one of those times I need to be kind."

"Varian, you can't just –"

"You didn't see him Mom!" Varian insisted. "If he didn't come with me, then I-I don't know what would have happened to him! His parents and family weren't anywhere to be seen and he didn't have anyone else! What would you have done?"

Mom's entire demeanor changed. For a second, she didn't seem to be even in the room. Her eyes were glossy, and lips opened in a small, inaudible gasp. Something he had said had struck a chord deep in her, and he didn't know what it was, just that it seemed to work because her next actions were the complete reverse of what she had been saying.

Mom let out a deep breath and hugged her arms across her chest. "He can stay."

Her words were almost toneless, and they were very simple, so much so that at first, he didn't believe it.

"What?" Varian asked quietly.

She gave a small, half-smile. "H-he can stay."

He returned with his own bright smile, which Rudiger seemed to mimic and hugged his friend tightly. "Really?"

"If what you said was true, then he probably would've gotten hurt or worse," Mom said. "And it's easy to see you've bonded with him. It'd be cruel to tear you away from him or vice versa. So, he can stay."

Varian's cheeks were hurting from the smile he had at Mom's decision. He pushed Rudiger up to rest on his shoulders and hugged Mom, her purple dress crinkling under his touch.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Varian said in quick succession. Mom gave a softer embrace in return but pulled back, a somber expression in her blue eyes.

"But," she solemnly said, before a slightly devious smile danced across her lips, "you have to be the one to tell your father about him."

His excitement dampened a bit at that. Dad was going to be much harder to sell on this whole "let's-keep-a-raccoon" thing, that was not secret. What if Dad decided that they did need to get rid of Rudiger? Mom was this close to having Rudiger thrust out of the castle grounds before deciding to let Varian keep him that, whose to say that Dad wouldn't just simply kick him out?

But still, he couldn't completely keep the happiness from seeping out of his heart. He had two people on his side, which was a good thing!


Many people assumed that Varian would think of his father as two things – Dad and King, two separate halves of a whole. And sure, yeah, he could see that when his dad was working and when his dad was just Dad there were slight differences like the way he talked or his posture, but to Varian he had always just been Dad. Seeing Dad with a crown didn't make him anymore a King or any less his father than he was without it.

Varian waited off to the side of the throne room, peeking through one of the sets of doors with Rudiger at his heels, still unseen behind the wooden door. Someone was speaking with Dad from the center of the room, Dad had been taking audiences pretty much all day and Varian wasn't completely sure what it was the young woman was saying to Dad, the nerves in his stomach stealing away all his attention.

He gulped once and stepped back, looking down at Rudiger shyly.

"Okay, Rudiger," Varian whispered, picking up Rudiger to hold him. "We just have to get Dad on board and we're in the clear, okay?" Rudiger – who seemed to have rather selected understanding of what was going on – stared at Varian with a blank look, and he felt the sinking suspicion that he was close to alone on this one.

"Got any ideas?" Varian said anyway, and Rudiger continued his silent look. Varian sighed and slipped Rudiger onto his shoulders, so he could think more clearly.

He could wait here until the audiences ended and then tell Dad – which seemed like the most reasonable option – or he could try and get Mom and Cassandra to be his back-up, but Mom had been the one to tell him that he had to tell Dad and he didn't want Cassandra pulled into this if things with Dad went south.

And Dad was going to be a hard enough sell to begin with, the last thing the argument needed was the fact that a seventeen year old lady of the court already knew and didn't tell anyone. That was unlikely to warm Dad up to the prospect of keeping Rudiger.

Varian had all but decided he was going to wait when his plan was completely thrust out the window.

Their was a loud noise – one that years later Varian could only assume belonged to a slamming door – and all hell broke loose in the minutes after. Rudiger scampered off Varian's shoulder in fear, running straight into the throne room without a second thought.

"Rudiger!" Varian hissed under his breath. Rudiger scampered to the center of the room but stopped when a woman seemed to step in front of him. Varian bit his lip nervously as the room burst into action, the collective realization that there was baby raccoon in the throne room covering the room like a panicked blanket.

A high-pitched scream cut through the room like a sword and soon all anyone could hear was a large cacophony of shrill and frenzied sounds. Rudiger – afraid – weaved his way through the people, trying to find a quick exit out of the devolving crowd. Varian burst into the room on instinct, going after Rudiger to try and calm him down.

"Varian?!" he heard Dad say behind him, but Varian paid it no mind.

"Rudiger!" Varian called, slipping his way through the people that had quickly scattered to try and get away from Rudiger. Rudiger either ignored or didn't hear Varian, because he kept pushing forward and got lost in the crowd fairly quickly.

Varian hissed under his breath and kept making his way through the bodies with a nervous frown. Another squeal came, and Varian caught the sight of a tall man stepping backwards and away from Rudiger, pushing over a potted plant in his rush to get away which broke on the stone floor and spilled dirt and leaves.

Varian cringed at the sight but still made his way over to where Rudiger was. It didn't matter, however, because Rudiger was already on the move. He scampered off to the side and clutched onto the magenta curtain in fear, burrowing himself half-way up the fabric.

"What if going on here?" Dad demanded from where he was now standing.

Varian once again ignored his father and went over to Rudiger was. Just as Varian reached the curtain, the rings on the curtains broke from the weight of holding onto the baby animal. Rudiger and the curtain fell down to the ground in a wave, covering Varian and a few of the other townspeople.

He pulled the curtain off with a frown as he looked for Rudiger in the piled fabric. He reached down and thrust the fabric in many directions as he tried to pick it up to find Rudiger in the mess of it all. He eventually managed to find Rudiger in the center, looking very frightened from all the excitement.

Varian gently picked him up and hugged him softly. "It's okay, Rudiger. No one's going to hurt you."

The room was much quieter now, some of the people by the doors having left in the panic. But a few people were still in a panicked state as they were unaware of where the animal was currently residing in Varian's arms and not still scampering around.

"Quiet!" Dad yelled, and the people all came under a hush. All stared up at Dad with frightened looks, while Varian tried his hardest to advert his gaze, knowing full well that Dad was searching for him in the crowd of people.

Dad took a calming breath and turned away, while Nigel motioned to the door.

"If everyone would please leave while we clean this mess, we'll continue interviews in an hour," Nigel said, leading everyone away. Varian, knowing full well how angry Dad was likely to be, tried to slip out with the rest. It seemed Dad was onto him however.

"Varian," Dad said simply, which was all it took to stop Varian dead in his tracks. Nigel spared him a glance as he passed but said nothing to him.

Varian grit his teeth and turned around the second the door closed, still holding the much calmer Rudiger. Varian forced a smile and walked slowly towards where his father waited with an imposing frown and angry posture.

"Oh, uh, hi Dad," Varian said casually. Dad took a breath through his noise with a frown, and Varian's smile quickly disappeared.

"Varian," Dad said in that quiet, angry voice Varian hated to hear, "Would you care to explain what happened here?"

Varian bit his lip and placed Rudiger on his shoulders. "Well, uh, a little while ago I helped this baby raccoon and he's been staying here with me."

"Baby raccoon? Here? With you?" Dad said in a strained voice.

Varian nodded his head with an anxious bounce. "Yes-yes, sir-sir. His-his name is-is Rudiger."

Dad stepped towards him, walking down the three steps leading to the throne with a carefully guarded expression.

"So, you mean to tell me that you have been secretly harboring a scavenger, named him, and that this raccoon just frightened a section of the population after he accidently was let loose during interviews." Dad raised an eyebrow. "Have I missed anything?"

"Well, uh, when-when you say it like-like that, it's-it's, uh, actually kind of funny," Varian said, hoping to lighten the mood. Dad's expression didn't budge.

"Am I laughing Varian?" Dad said. Varian looked down at his feet. "Varian, why didn't you tell me or your mother?"

Varian ringed his hands nervously. "I was scared that you would make me send him away."

"It's a dangerous animal, of course we would make you give him up!" Dad said.

"But, Dad, he's so sweet and he's never hurt anyone!" Varian said. Dad huffed and raised an arm towards the downed curtain and broken potted plant.

"Really? Because from where I'm standing, he just disrupted royal duties and created a huge mess! You have no idea how lucky you are no one was injured today!" Dad said. "I want him out of this castle, now."

Varian's head snapped to full attention and he felt Rudiger curl around his neck, his tail tickling his shoulder.

"But Dad –"

"No buts Varian." Dad crossed his arms stiffly. "He's dangerous."

Varian frowned stubbornly. "He's my best friend! And Mom already said he could stay!"

Instead of bringing the argument to a close, his statement seemed to anger Dad more.

"You told your mother and yet hid this from me?" Dad said.

"Well, she's – uh – she's kind of only known for an hour or so," Varian said quietly. Dad pinched the bridge of his noise.

"Regardless – you should have told us sooner!" Dad said. Varian huffed and folded his arms across his chest, his eyes shooting daggers at his father.

"But you just would have sent him away!" Varian argued. Dad's eyes flashed with strong anger.

"I still can!" Dad thundered. Varian took a step back and he felt Rudiger shiver. He had never heard talk so harshly before, not even to some less than cooperative dignitaries that had visited before. Varian always knew that trying to convince Dad might make him a little upset, but why was he so angry with him? He knew he lied, but he didn't think Dad would get this angry.

Dad took another steadying breath and blinked a few times, a small amount of calmness seeming to flood his system.

"Seeing as your mother already said you could keep Rudiger, I won't force you to part with him," Dad said measuredly. Varian – even though he knew Dad was still upset with him – felt a smile tug at him. He got to keep Rudiger after all, that was a win no matter how he sliced it. "But as punishment for lying to me and your mother, you won't be allowed to attend the Winter Solstice Celebration next month."

Varian blinked rapidly. He had been looking forward to the Winter Solstice Celebration ever since the last one – it was the official kick-off of the holiday season in Corona. Landing just before Christmas every year, it was city-wide festival that lasted all the way past midnight. It was always marked with dancing and fun times for everyone – and he always felt so much energy around the Winter Solstice and it was the perfect outlet for all of it.

"But Dad, I love the Winter Solstice," Varian said.

"You should have thought about that before you hid a wild animal," Dad said. Varian felt anger bubble in him.

"But –"

"Not another word Varian!" Dad scolded. Angry tears filled the bottom of Varian's vision and made his sight fuzzy, the outline of his father becomes less defined.

"Fine! How about three?" Varian said. "I hate you!"

Dad's expression changed, but Varian had turned away before he saw it long enough to name it. He stormed his way out of the room, gripping the handle of the door as tightly as he could and slammed the door behind him.

If he had turned around, he would have seen the hurt in his father's eyes. But he didn't, so he just thought that his Dad was angrier than he was before. And he also didn't see the indent marks of his hand had gripped the door.

His father's pain and his own abilities remained unseen. And that's how it would be for a while longer.


*rolls into room wearing sunglasses and a family-sized bag of Peanut M&Ms* Sorry I'm late. Candy?

Stuff went down yesterday so I couldn't update, but here we are a day late. Please don't kill me.

And as promised, a longer chapter!

Also, a note on the indents and abilities part – I threw in that reference to his powers at like the last second because it had been while since I brought up his powers and didn't want them all to come out of nowhere. He has slight enhanced strength and stamina during the winter, as they get closer to the Winter Solstice, and Rapunzel obviously has the same during the Summer Solstice. More will be divulged later on as they mysteries come up and are resolved, just wanted to give a little background.

Disclosure: I haven't seen the premiere outside of a few clips, but from what I can tell some bombs got dropped that invalidated some of the backstory I've already showed for Quirin and Frederic in this story, as well as some of the magic with Varian. Instead of trying to rewrite to be complaint, I'm going to reveal in the AU-aspect of this story and just keep with The Protectors, Quirin's characterization, and the Moonmist instead because if I did plot holes galore would pop up. So, this is NOT CANON COMPLAINT in terms of Quirin's backstory and will follow it's own path in terms of what is canon in this AU. Everybody cool with that?

Review Replies:

Mitsuki81: This character isn't a OC, but I think she might throw some people for a loop. She does have some characteristics in common with Cassandra (strong-willed and brave), but she's got a distinct way of doing things different from Cass. I'm low-key VarianxCassandra, where after they grow up Cassandra's like "maybe it could work" but ultimately it amounts to "we almost dated once" kind of relationship, but that's just my personal opinion. You can ship away though! And cliffhangers are goanna be not common, but they'll be popping up in the future.

Fangirling Heart: I know it's too strong for me. Frederic was my favorite reaction to write, especially since it came from Varian's perspective to a lot of Frederic's reactions are coming from his point of view. So the emotions Frederic's communicating are just coming off as unfair to Varian while Frederic has a lot of things that he just can't communicate to a nine-year-old. Arianna seems to be the only one that reacted reasonably out of the two of them.