The first thing that registers is sound. A low, humming that his muddled brain eventually places as music.
Someone is singing.
'Wither and decay'
The words are familiar but he can't place where he's heard them before. It's monotonous and thick, as if the person singing them is singing them without thought, without a voice of their own.
'End this destiny'
Then another voice breaks through the fog.
"Wake up!" It's young and panicked and painfully familiar. It almost makes him open his eyes which are far too heavy.
Quirin decides to focus on one thing at a time. Remembering where he is is his top priority.
The noises disappear as he mentally puts the scattered pieces back together.
Where is he?
It's hot. The air is thick. It's hard to breathe. He feels like he's floating- no -sinking. The singing has stopped.
An image suddenly flashes through his mind, orange flames encasing him, Varian running away, out into the cold- and it slowly starts to come back to him. Varian!
Quirin clutches his aching head. He looks up.
"Dad! Dad, you're alive!" Varian trips over himself and falls into Quirin's arms and the last piece slides into place.
The black rocks. The storm.
The amber.
Varian is crying now and asking about the note which has, fortunately, melted with the rest of the amber.
"All it said," He replies, "is that I'm so proud of you, Varian." It's not a lie, it's just not a total truth. He remembers every word- about his past, the brotherhood, everything- To him it's only been minutes since he'd written them. (He silently wonders how long it's been for Varian. Hours? Days?)
He's still getting used to being back. Legs are too weak and numb that Varian has to support him on their way to the kitchen. (He nearly falls over seeing that the princess has been here the whole time and presumably the cause of the singing he'd heard earlier.)
Varian is rambling and scrambling about the kitchen mumbling, "I'm sure there's still something edible in here," as he searches through the pantry. That's a little concerning since it was full last time he checked. (Just how long had Varian been alone?)
And the lack of edible food isn't the only thing that goes unnoticed, it's also the broken floorboards and missing bricks in the wall and coats of dust covering every surface. (Varian has to quickly wipe off a chair with an apron so that Quirin can sit down. He wipes off another one for Princess Rapunzel.)
"Uh.. Just hold on, give me just a sec…" Varian continues to scramble around and Ruddiger emerges from the shadows to join him. Quirin watches him quietly and that's when he notices it.
Varian has grown. He's still nervous and flustered (perhaps now more than usual) but he's taller, his hair is even longer. It's a huge shock to him since it seems like only an hour or two since he's seen him last and the changes that might have been subtle are now huge and blaring.
Quirin is hungry but seeing Varian becoming increasingly more upset makes him put his fruitless searching to an end.
"Varian." He says, trying to break the teenager out of his rambling.
"I didn't even think to clean or to get food or..." He glances at the hole in the floor. "I can run to the market real quick and get us something if you'll just wait a sec -oh! Ruddiger, watch out!" Varian stumbles around the small animal and makes his way to the door.
"Varian. Son." Quirin tries again.
"Oh, Rapunzel! I forgot you were here, do you want anything specific? I can make some ham sandwiches…"
The princess smiles warmly. "That sounds great but Varian I think you're dad is trying to-" Varian seems to be purposefully tuning him out for some reason and continues making his way to the door. His hands are shaking.
"Varian, Wait!." Varian freezes at the yell. Quirin hates yelling. But he needs to know.
"Y-yeah, Dad?" The room is tense. Quirin takes a breath.
"How long was I trapped in the amber?"
Varian's eyes are wide now and his whole body tense. He flashes a look at Rapunzel who gives him a nod. Varian scratches his arm, refusing to make eye contact.
"N-not long."
"Varian. " The princess coaxes, voice low but kind. Varian hesitates.
"A year." He mumbles. It takes a second for his words to register, and even then they seem unreal and frozen in time. Varian must see the stricken look on his face because he quickly tries to amend his statement. "But that's really not a long time if you think about it. I mean, aren't you always saying how fast the year flies? And we're all fine now so I really don't see any reason to dwell on the past." He gives an awkward chuckle. Quirin doesn't even have to see the look on Princess Rapunzel's face to know his son is keeping something from him.
"Have you been here all this time?" He asks, hoping he's wrong.
"Uh, no, actually, technically I've been in the castle." Another glance at Rapunzel, who remains silent.
That's at least a little better. If he's been at the castle then he's been eating, or at least, given food to eat, which makes Quirin feel slightly more at ease. Slightly.
He takes in the damage again, creating a mental list in his mind.
"Tell me what happened." He says, It's stern and there's no arguing with it and Varian knows this. He shifts from foot to foot, looking anywhere but Quirin's face.
Finally, after a soft "It's okay," from Rapunzel, Varian gives up. His voice goes low. It's full of shame and regret and he says the words with quiet acceptance.
"Dad, I...I messed up."