Horace sighed and stared up at the ceiling. He was bored out of his mind. He'd already completed his training for the day, as well as fit in several hours of studying. He'd even checked in on Nelovko and the other animals in the stable. He'd had a productive day, but night hadn't even fallen yet and he had nothing else to do with himself.
Horace really wanted to read the Tales of Flynnigan Rider, or even help Varian out in his lab with his latest experiment to try to get rid of the black rocks, but he couldn't even do that. Varian had been strangely absent all day. Even Ruddiger didn't know where he was.
Horace wasn't worried about him, as he knew just how capable Varian was at taking care of himself. He had only turned fourteen years old that day, but he was one of the most capable warriors that Horace had ever met. Granted, Horace had never met warriors outside of the Brotherhood, but he doubted that the average person could hold a candle to Varian's prowess. Especially when the kid utilized his alchemy or mechanical skills.
No, Varian was just fine. Horace doubted he was even missing, because when he'd asked Quirin and Adira of the kid's location they both just smirked knowingly and said he was busy. With what, they wouldn't say. They just told Horace that he would know soon enough, which infuriated him to no end. He was an adult. He would be turning twenty four in a few months. Was it really that much to ask that people just tell him what was going on?
Ruddiger chittered sadly and nudged Horace's face. The prince sighed and sat up. He was getting antsy just sitting in his room. He needed to do something. "Maybe we should check the moonstone chamber. Who knows, maybe the kid's investigating the moonstone to get more information about the black rocks."
He couldn't imagine that Quirin would be okay with his son going anywhere near the moonstone, and King Edmund would certainly never allow it, but Horace didn't know where else to look. He'd searched almost everywhere else in the castle, save for his father's bedroom, study, and throne room. Horace was starting to get desperate at this point.
Ruddiger perked up and nodded. The raccoon had never had any issue with bending the rules. It would gladly go to the forbidden areas of the castle if it meant finding his boy. Ruddiger clambered on Horace's shoulders and he gave the animal a small scratch behind the ears.
"Let's go," Horace said as he left his bedroom. He ran down the stairs with practiced ease. He was about to continue downward towards the moonstone chamber when Ruddiger sat up, his ears twitching. The raccoon chirped happily and jumped off of Horace's shoulders. It ran down the hallway towards the throne room.
"Ruddiger," Horace frowned as the raccoon ran off. He was not in the mood to go on a wild raccoon chase. Despite this he followed Ruddiger anyways. "Get back here." The raccoon ignored him and turned a corner. Horace was right behind the small creature. As soon as he turned the corner himself he stumbled to a stop when he saw the very boy that he'd been looking for, as well as the last person he had expected to see.
"F-father," Horace nodded his hair in a respectful bow. He couldn't hold back the awkwardness he felt around his father. He loved his dad, but he'd never had a close relationship with him. Edmund was always really busy with his duties as a king, and most of their meaningful conversations centered around ruling the kingdom.
As Horace got older interacting with his father became more difficult. Edmund hadn't been very good at parenting a child, but he knew even less about parenting an adult. It felt fine and natural when they talked about the well-being of the kingdom, but when Edmund tried to talk to him about Flynn Rider or one of Horace's other interests he talked to him like he was a kid.
Horace didn't blame his dad. It had taken Edmund a long time to get a basic idea of how to talk to Horace about his interests when he'd been a kid, and it would take him time to adapt. And Horace knew that his enthusiasm about Flynn Rider and adventures was childish when he was sharing them with Varian, but that was because the kid was, well, still a kid. It was okay for Horace to act immaturely around him. Around his dad though? No, it was too awkward.
"Horace," King Edmund greeted him. Horace relaxed a little bit. If his dad was referring to him as Horace then that meant that he wasn't speaking to him as a king, he was speaking to him as a father. It was a little bit easier to talk to talk to his dad when he wasn't the king.
Horace looked at Varian, who was kneeling on the ground and petting Ruddiger cheerfully. "Where have you been all day?" Varian liked his privacy, but Horace could count on one hand the number of days that the boy had hidden himself away. The kid was dedicated to his task of being Horace's bodyguard. For him to spend all day away from Horace there had to be an important reason behind it, especially if Edmund was involved.
"I've been arranging things with his majesty." Varian stood up, putting Ruddiger on his shoulders. He looked excited and his eyes glistened mischievously. Varian was up to something, which was either a really good sign or a really terrible one.
Horace eyed his father and Varian cautiously. "What are you up to?"
"Young Varian has pointed out to me that as a member of the Brotherhood he needs to be able to do the tasks that are expected of them." King Edmund said. "Including guarding the moonstone chamber and the Great Tree." Horace's father gave him a significant look. "Of course, first and foremost his task is to keep an eye on you, and he can't exactly do that if you're miles apart from each other."
Horace felt his breath get caught in his throat. He had an idea of where this was going, or perhaps it was more of a hope than anything. It felt too good to be true, but maybe… "What are you saying?"
King Edmund smiled at him, his eyes proud and hopeful. That should be a good sign, but Horace knew his dad well enough to know that if things that made his dad happy might not make Horace very happy at all.
"Varian has reached the age where most Brotherhood trainees are initiated into our ranks." King Edmund said. "However, considering Varian's unique circumstances we have to do something else for his coming of age, and after much discussion we have agreed that he, and thereby, you, will go to the Great Tree and protect the borders for two weeks."
"I...what?" Horace looked at his dad in disbelief, and then looked at Varian, who looked incredibly proud and smug. "You...I…" Horace took a grounding breath and gave his dad another nod for a bow. "This is an honor, father. We won't let you down."
"I know you won't." Edmund said. He put a hand on Horace's shoulder. "You'll do well." Edmund looked at the two of them. "You leave at midnight, when the moon is at its highest, so I suggest you pack and prepare yourselves for the trip."
"Yes, father." Horace said. Varian nodded. Edmund smiled at the two of them before turning and walking back down the hallway. Horace and Varian walked in silence back to their rooms. Horace felt like he was going to burst from excitement, but after being a prince his whole life he'd learned restraint. He kept his feelings locked up tight until they were in his room. The second the door was closed he let all control go."
"Kid!" Horace laughed and gathered Varian into his arms. He lifted the scrawny boy into the air and spun him around a little. Varian made an alarmed sound as he was caught off guard, but he soon started laughing along with him. "You're amazing. Absolutely incredible. Have I ever told you that? You know what, it doesn't matter. It's high time I tell you again. You're amazing!"
Varian giggled and finally pushed himself away from Horace once he had put him down. "It's nothing."
"No, kid, this is the opposite of nothing." Horace said. Varian had been missing all day, and now Horace knew that he had been talking to Edmund that whole time. It had to have taken a lot of planning things out beforehand so he could know what to say. The actual convincing could have taken several hours, as Horace knew how stubborn his dad was. For anybody to convince King Edmund of anything was an impressive feat, and Varian had done it for Horace's sake.
"Seriously, kid, thank you." Horace said. Varian beamed at him, looking like Horace had made his day just by showing his appreciation. "You've got to be some kind of wizard. I've been trying to convince my dad to let me out of the castle for two decades, and you manage it in a single afternoon.
Varian shrugged like it was no big deal, but Horace saw the pride in his eyes. "It's amazing the things you can do if you know how to tell people what they want to hear. They become putty in your hands without even realizing it."
"Now that's the kind of diplomacy that I can get behind." Horace grinned. "You've got to teach me your manipulative ways."
Varian chuckled. "Not sure how happy your dad would be with that."
"Hey, what my dad doesn't know can't hurt us." Horace said. "Let's get packing. We'll need to be ready for two weeks away from the Dark Kingdom."
"Three weeks." Varian corrected. "We're assigned to the Great Tree for two weeks, but it takes several days to travel there and then several days back." Varian smirked mischievously. "And you know, I haven't been to the Great Tree since I was a little kid, and you haven't been there too often either. I wouldn't be surprised if we, say, got lost and had to stop in a town or two to ask for directions. That could easily double the trip there and back if we're not careful."
Four weeks. One month away from the castle, away from the Dark Kingdom, with a few visits to towns where they could finally see and interact with people outside of the Brotherhood.
"Varian, you're a genius." Horace said. He didn't think he had ever been more impressed with the kid, not even when he'd poisoned that tiger as a little kid. "I love you so much right now, you know that?"
Varian looked at Horace like he had personally hung the moon. Horace knew that the kid really looked to him, always had, but as they got older he'd been looking for more and more recognition. Horace tried to give it to him, but Varian still seemed starved for attention and acknowledgement. At times like this Horace didn't know what he was supposed to do. Varian's extreme reactions to positive reinforcement just made him feel worried about the kid, though Horace didn't exactly know why.
Horace shook off his unease. He grabbed his satchel and started packing. "Why don't you go get your favorite books and weapons, and maybe some of your alchemy potions or whatever they are."
"Yeah, I can do that." Varian said. He left Horace's room and retreated into his own, though he kept both doors open, just so he could listen for Horace and quickly get back to his side if needed.
Horace had grown out of the habit of running away from the castle. Almost getting a six year old killed by a tiger was the kick in the butt that he'd needed to drop the habit. The thought was always lingering there in the back of his mind, but Horace hadn't run away in years. The closest he had come was the times when he had convinced Varian to sneak out with him, though they never wandered far from the castle.
Still, packing up a bag to last for several weeks felt completely natural to Horace. He could do it without a second thought. Because it came so easily to him Horace was able to let his mind wander a bit, and his thoughts went, as they often did, to Varian.
Horace loved the kid, really he did, but he'd be lying if he didn't say that Varian scared him sometimes. Once the kid had his mind made up about something he didn't easily give up, which was admirable, but also a little concerning.
Varian didn't always take safety into account, whether it be his own or that of others. Horace had lost track of the number of times that Varian's experiments had ended in some kind of explosion. He imagined that if the castle wasn't made up of black rocks Varian would have long since brought the castle down to ruins.
Varian meant well, and the vast majority of his alchemical and mechanical inventions were for the betterment of their kingdom as a whole, but the kid was so busy looking at the big picture that he sometimes overlooked the small details, or didn't care about them. Horace had long since realized that it was his job to keep Varian in line and make sure that things didn't get out of hand. He was more than happy to do it, but it sometimes got exhausting.
Hopefully this trip would be good to let Varian loosen up and find a slightly less destructive way of expressing himself and using his creative energy. He couldn't exactly start any new experiments while they were gone. And maybe Varian would find inspiration in the calm, peaceful nature for future experiments that weren't so dangerous.
Horace started by gathering things that he would be putting in Nelovko's saddlebags, like his clothes and a few books. Horace had just finished packing up his satchel with the items that he would need in immediate reach, such as his dagger, canteen, and medical supplies, when Ruddiger came running frantically into the room. Horace knew the raccoon well enough by now to know that it was either worried because Varian was in danger, or because the boy was about to start doing something stupid, or possibly both.
"Alright, little beast, I'm coming." Horace sighed and followed the animal. He felt his mood sour when Ruddiger led him right past Varian's room and towards his lab at the end of the hallway. Horace should have expected something like this and he was kicking himself for not setting up some ground rules first.
"Varian, what are you...whoa, whoa, stop!" The first thing that Horace noticed when he stepped into the lab was a sulfuric smell. That was never a good sign, but what really freaked him out was the vial of glowing yellowish green liquid in Varian's hands. It didn't look dangerous, but Horace had spent enough time in Varian's lab to recognize the smell and look of trouble.
Horace lunged forward and snatched the vial from Varian's hands, shaking the vial and causing a few drops to fall onto his gloved hand. It didn't burn straight through, but it sizzled and Horace took that as a good indication that this wasn't a harmless substance. Horace yelped and instinctively dropped the vial. The glass shattered on impact, making the liquid spread onto the floor where it began to sizzle.
Horace threw off the glove that had some drops of the liquid on it. He didn't want to take any chances with this stuff. He picked up Varian and dragged him away from the glowing liquid, which looked like it was starting to bubble, except as the bubbles grew bigger they didn't pop. Horace realized in growing horror that liquid was solidifying and expanding, and it was only getting bigger faster.
That definitely wasn't a good thing.
Horace held on tightly to Varian and booked it out of the lab as quickly as he could. He stumbled a few times and almost tripped, but he caught himself and kept going. He didn't stop until they were in his room. He kicked the door closed behind him and dove at the corner furthest away from the door. Horace curled around Varian, trying to cover as much of him as he possibly could, and waited tensely for the inevitable explosion.
Nothing happened.
Horace waited with bated breath for several minutes before he dared to slowly sit up, though he kept a protective grip around Varian. Horace glared at the boy, who looked as shocked as he was that nothing had exploded.
"What were you doing?" Horace asked tensely. "What was that stuff?"
"I-I was just trying to see if I could find a way to break down the black rocks." Varian said. "That solution was my latest, well, solution. I-I thought we could take it with us, in case we run into trouble with the black rocks."
Horace took a deep breath as he tried to calm his racing heart. He knew that Varian meant well, but Horace had a bad feeling about that glowing liquid. "Have you tested it yet?"
"N-no." Varian said quietly. He looked at Horace earnestly. "I was going to do it really quickly before we left."
Horace ran a hand down his face. He was quickly coming down from the adrenaline rush, and he felt exhausted. He tried to encourage Varian's alchemy experiments, especially when nobody else liked them very much. The Brotherhood thought that Varian's focus should be on protecting the kingdom and Horace. Quirin especially barely tolerated Varian's experiments.
Horace wanted to be supportive, but at times like these he almost wondered if doing regular Brotherhood stuff was safer. Then he would remember that regular Brotherhood stuff had involved a six year old Horace following Horace when he'd run off, and almost getting himself killed by a tiger.
Horace just wanted Varian to be a regular kid. It would be much safer for him if he was. He tried to keep his opinions to himself though, just because he knew how much Varian loved alchemy. It may be safer if Varian didn't mess around with it, but it would also devastate him, and Horace wanted to avoid hurting him like that if he could.
"Look, why don't we go check it out?" Horace suggested reluctantly. His gut was telling him to stay away from that glowing liquid, but he knew that Varian would want to investigate it himself. At least Horace would be able to keep an eye on Varian. "Just stay behind me, okay?"
Varian nodded. Horace took Ruddiger off his shoulders and handed him to Varian, who held on to him protectively. Horace took a deep breath and made his way to the door of his room. He opened it and froze when he saw some amber colored crystal creeping out from the lab door.
Horace slowly approached the lab door. It didn't look like the amber was growing anymore, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Horace kept a hand behind him to hold Varian back as they got closer. They kept to the wall across from the door in an attempt to stay as far away from the strange amber as they could while still checking what the damage was.
When Horace finally had a full view of the lab he felt like he was going to be sick. An amber pillar was taking up a good portion of the room, with the center of it being the spot where Horace had dropped the glass. He could see the broken glass and his glove floating about a foot off the ground within the amber. The liquid must have pushed them up as it had solidified and grown before encasing them completely.
Horace stared at the amber in horror. Varian had been standing right there just a minute ago. If Horace hadn't pulled him out of there, or if Varian had tested the solution when he wasn't around, the kid would have been...he could have…
"Horace?" Varian's quiet voice cut through Horace's silent panic. He looked down at the kid, who looked so young and scared. It was so unlike the confidence that Horace was used to seeing from him. The prince pushed down his own terror. Varian was already so freaked out, and Horace knew that if the kid knew how scared he was he would just get even more afraid. Horace needed to put on a brave face for him.
"It's okay, kid." Horace took Varian's hand, partially so he could keep the kid from getting any closer to the amber, but mostly to remind him himself that Varian was safe. "You're okay."
Varian's face scrunched up. Horace hoped that he didn't start crying. He never did well with seeing people, especially Varian, crying. Horace's dad said that he was naturally in tune with other people's emotions. He didn't always know what to do with the sympathy that he felt, and sometimes Horace used his awareness to turn someone's feelings against them, but no emotion was harder for him to deal with than someone being distressed to the point of tears.
"Whoa, hey, no, kiddo, don't do the tears." Horace said awkwardly. "You know I don't do well with the crying."
To Horace's horror Varian bit his lip and closed his eyes. Any sign of distress on his face slipped away, hidden behind a wall. Horace knew that Varian had been taught how to hide his emotions and lock them up tight, as he'd been taught the same thing, but it was just supposed to be used for official Brotherhood business. Seeing Varian hide his feelings just because Horace was feeling awkward made the young man feel extremely guilty. This wasn't what he wanted.
"Don't...kid, don't do that." Horace said. He gave Varian's hand a small squeeze. "Just...why don't you go downstairs and talk to your dad? I'll finish packing things up here." Horace would be able to have a few minutes to gather himself without having to worry about Varian throwing himself in danger again.
The boy shook his head. "I-I'm not supposed to leave you alone." Varian glanced anxiously towards his lab, looking scared of the room for the first time in his life, like he expected all his chemicals to explode at once and become a crystalline substance that would swallow them whole.
Horace sighed. This wasn't the way he had wanted things, but it wasn't unexpected. "Alright, fine, I'll help you finish packing really quick, and then we'll both take our things downstairs, okay?" Varian nodded. "And when I say quick, I mean quick." Horace glanced anxiously at the amber. It wasn't growing out anymore, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't snake its way towards them later. "I don't want to be up here any longer than necessary."
Varian seemed to agree with him. He pulled Horace to his room, only letting go of his hand so he could grab a cloak, an extra set of clothes, and a few glass balls that were filled with some colorful substances. Horace eyed the spheres carefully as Varian put them in his apron pockets.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Horace asked slowly. He'd had enough of colorful substances for one day.
"These are safe." Varian swore. He looked at Horace desperately, like he really needed him to trust him about this. "I promise."
Horace looked at Varian for a tense moment before he sighed and nodded. "Fine, but no other chemicals." Even as he was saying this Varian was picking up a staff that had glowing vials on the end of it. Varian froze and gave Horace a pleading look as he held his staff closely.
Horace rolled his eyes. "Okay, you can bring the staff, but nothing else." Horace was only allowing it because he'd seen Varian use this particular staff before. He used it as a weapon almost as much as he used it as a walking stick. Varian had reinforced the vials so much that they wouldn't even break when Hector's rhino stomped on them, which they had tested dozens of times. Horace also knew that the substances in the vials were fairly safe too. To his knowledge they didn't do anything but glow.
Varian looked relieved. He put his clothes into a pack, along with a few notebooks. Varian shouldered the pack and then reached for Horace's hand again, and the young man was all too happy to take it. The two of them went to Horace's room so he could grab his saddlebags and satchel. The second they had their things Horace pulled Varian towards the stairs as quickly as he could. He was ready to get away from the lab.
Horace thought that they should drop their things off in the stable, but he led the way downstairs to the Brotherhood's quarters. He thought that Varian needed to see his dad right now, and maybe Horace would be able to get in a sparring session before they left. It would be nice to work through his lingering unease.
When they got downstairs and saw Quirin, Varian's mask slipped. He dropped his pack and staff, let go of Horace's hand, and ran towards his dad. Quirin barely had time to brace himself before Varian basically launched himself at his dad and hugged him in a way that he rarely ever did anymore.
Quirin looked at Varian curiously before turning his questioning gaze to Horace. "What happened?"
"There was a bit of an incident in the lab." Horace said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nobody got hurt, but, well, it was pretty scary."
Quirin grimaced. He looked like he had a lecture on the tip of his tongue. Horace shook his head. Quirin sighed and held back his scolding. He just rubbed Varian's back as the boy whimpered and shook against him. They stayed like this for a moment before Quirin pulled away.
"I need to speak with the prince for a moment." Quirin said. "Why don't you go see if there's anything you might need in my room?"
Varian swallowed thickly. "O-okay, Dad." He looked back towards Horace before retreating into his dad's room. Once the door was closed Quirin turned his tired gaze to Horaze.
"What's the damage this time?" Quirin asked.
"Well, nothing blew up." Horace laughed nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck. "But there's a massive crystal cutting through the middle of the lab now. Obviously we're okay, but if I hadn't gotten Varian out of there, or hadn't come to check on him, he might have been…" Horace trailed off. He didn't even want to think about it.
Quirin sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I've talked to him about this. He's not supposed to be running any experiments unsupervised."
"Well, look at it this way." Horace tried to keep his unease out of his tone. "The kid won't really be able to mess around with those chemicals of his while we're on the road."
Most parents probably wouldn't be eager to let their child run off on a journey for a month, but Quirin wasn't a regular parent, and Varian was far from a normal kid. The teenager got himself into plenty of trouble at home.
"Perhaps some fresh air will do him some good." Quirin said.
"Don't worry. I'll be right there to keep him out of trouble." Horace said. Quirin didn't look completely convinced, and Horace couldn't blame him. The last time he and Varian had gone out on an adventure together they had been attacked by a tiger, but that had been almost eight years ago. Both Horace and Varian were a lot stronger now, and a lot smarter too. They could protect themselves, and if necessary they could get themselves out of there.
"So, I'm still a little on edge about everything that happened." Horace said. "Can we spar and get some energy out."
Quirin gave him an unimpressed look. "When are you leaving?"
"Midnight." Horace said.
"You really should be taking this time to get some sleep in before your journey." Quirin said. "But I know how hard it can be to sleep when you have adrenaline in your system." Quirin sighed. "Half an hour."
"I'll take it." Horace said quickly before Quirin could change his mind. Horace picked up Varian's staff and pack. He went to put them into Quirin's room. He saw Varian sitting on the bed looking anxious. The kid looked up at him nervously when he came in.
"Are you in trouble?" Varian asked. Horace shook his head. The teenager looked even more nervous. "Am I in trouble?"
"I don't think so." Horace said. He tossed the pack onto the floor and handed Varian his staff. "Your dad's just glad that you won't be able to cause trouble in the lab for a month."
Varian groaned and flopped back on the bed. "I didn't try to." He sounded like he was trying to be defensive, but Horace could hear the shaking in his voice. He was upset.
"I know." Horace sighed and sat on the bed next to Varian. "I know you mean well. But, you know, maybe a small break is just what you need."
"Yeah, maybe." Varian said, though he sounded unconvinced.
"Relax." Horace said. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? We've got a long trip ahead of us." Maybe he was hypocritical to be saying this when he was about to go sparring with Quirin, but he was worried about the kid.
Varian took a deep breath and rolled over so he was sprawled on his stomach on the bed. "Yeah, okay." Ruddiger chattered and nuzzled against Varian, curling up against him. The boy smiled and pet his companion.
Varian looked up at Horace. "Thanks for...well, you know."
"Don't worry about it. Just try not to make a habit out of it." Horace grinned and ruffled Varian's hair. "Get some rest, kid. We've got an adventure waiting for us." Varian nodded and closed his eyes. Horace set his bags on the floor and left the room to find Quirin and put his lingering anxious energy to use.
After the close call in the lab Horace imagined that the trip to the Great Tree would be a walk in the park.
A/N: I wasn't even planning on doing the amber thing, but as I was writing about Varian having a close call in his labs I figured why not?