A/N: Trigger Warning: Animal injury and death in this chapter. I know that kind of thing can really bother people, especially considering the kind of animal this happens to (don't worry, it's not one of Hector's. It is an endangered species though).
Horace felt more and more confident with every step he took. Even without plans of leaving the Dark Kingdom itself he still felt extremely free to get out of the castle. He always forgot just how stuffy the castle was. He would have to look into convincing his dad into letting him just get out and see the kingdom more. Maybe he could help patrol the borders. Anything to get out of the cold walls of the castle.
Horace had no plans of where he was going, he just wanted to have a little fresh air. The Dark Kingdom was still incredibly dreary and desolate, with no foliage in sight. Horace had heard that the kingdom used to be fairly fertile, but he'd never seen any evidence of it himself. There weren't even any weeds or stumps that would show that the land had once had plants
The only plants Horace had seen for himself were herbs, flowers, and occasional fruit that the others brought back from the Great Tree. Horace didn't think he had too much of an interest in plants, but it would be nice to just once be able to see something that was supposed to be so commonplace in the lives of normal people.
He would also love to see Varian's face if the boy ever saw wildlife. Varian seemed fairly content in the isolated castle, but Horace knew how curious he could be. He was sure that the kid would jump at the chance to explore the Great Tree and try to figure out all of its mysteries and dangers. Horace could easily imagine Varian setting his own safety to the side to satisfy his curiosity.
Perhaps when they were older Horace and Varian would be allowed to take a turn patrolling the Great Tree. They would still be able to keep the moonstone safe, and maybe Horace could convince his dad that he would make a better king if he knew just what the Brotherhood's struggles were. It was a decent enough argument.
Although, if Horace was caught in this latest runaway attempt of his it would take him a long time to regain his dad's trust enough to even be able to ask about it.
Horace's dad wasn't going to be taking his eyes off of him for the next year or so. He was going to be in so much trouble. He might as well enjoy his freedom while he had it, because it definitely wasn't going to last.
Horace half jobbed and half climbed over the rocky terrain. He was well aware of just how dangerous the black rocks could be. However, he had also lived among them his whole life. In some ways the rocks were a lot like the Brotherhood. Dangerous and unpredictable when they struck, but for the most part if they were treated with cautious respect there was no reason to be afraid.
Maybe he was too old for games of make-believe, but up until a few months ago Horace's only companion was himself, and his only consistent method of entertaining himself was by retreating into his mind. This wasn't the first time that Horace had pretended to be Flynn Rider, and he doubted it would be the last.
In Horace's mind he wasn't leaving behind his home and the only family he'd ever known, he was escaping from imprisonment from an evil baron who was trying to spread darkness and isolation in the world. Horace hadn't figured out what the make-believe baron's motivation was, or even what Flynn Rider would be doing in this situation. Would he go be a hero and warn others of the imminent danger? Would he just take care of himself and save the day by complete accident? Depending on the story Flynn Rider was just as likely to do both.
Horace would have to ask Varian about what he thought. The kid's imagination was a lot more raw and unrestrained than Horace's was. The kid was pretty good at coming up with stories, even if he sometimes distracted himself and lost focus on just where he was going with it.
Everywhere in the Dark Kingdom looked remarkably similar, so Horace was careful to use the sun to track just where he was going. He would need to find his way back to the castle eventually, and he couldn't do that if he went and got himself lost, so he tried to stay in as straight a line as he could. This plan worked fairly well for the first few hours, but right around when the sun was starting to set and he was thinking about setting up camp for the night Horace stumbled across some animal tracks.
Horace froze and held his breath as he stared at the tracks in awe and just a bit of fear. Animals weren't commonly found in the Dark Kingdom. Because of the lack of plants, herbivores never lingered around, and without proper prey most carnivores kept their distance as well. Other than his dad's and Hectors' animals, Horace could count on one hand the number of animals he had seen in his life, and none of them left tracks this big.
Horace knelt on the ground to get a closer look. He didn't care about the mud getting all over his legs. He was much more concerned about the massive claws on the ground. Horace put his hand next to the animal track and shuddered when he saw that it was larger than his hand was.
Whatever this animal was, it wasn't small. If the tracks were enough to go by, Horace thought it was safe to say that the animal was bigger than Hector's bearcats. Horace wasn't as good at tracking as Hector or Adira were, but he'd learned a thing or two from them. He knew enough to know that this animal had claws, and if he was reading these tracks right they had been recently made too.
"That can't be good." Horace muttered to himself. He slowly stood up and backed up. The animal was making its way east, right where Horace had been heading. He knew he couldn't continue that way, but it didn't feel safe to camp out in the middle of nowhere either, out in the open and vulnerable. He wanted to put some space between him and the animal.
The smartest thing to do was to turn around and head right back to the west, towards the castle, but Horace wasn't known for his smarts. His desire to get away from the castle warred with his need to get away from the animal, and before Horace even recognized what he was doing he had turned left and started running that way.
Horace knew he wasn't being chased by a predator, but he was still afraid. When he thought that he wanted to see more of what the world had to offer, having a close call with a wild animal wasn't exactly what he had in mind.
Horace ran as much as he could. Being careful was the last thing on his mind, so Horace didn't notice the way that the rocs around him were glowing. If he had been paying attention he would have known to tread more carefully. If the black rocks were glowing it usually meant that more rocks were about to pierce out of the ground.
This area wasn't safe, and Horace didn't register it until a rock shot out, nearly piercing through his foot. Horace yelped and twisted his body out of the way just before he could be stabbed by the black rock. Horace wasn't hurt by the rock, but he didn't walk away from the close encounter unharmed. Horace hadn't moved out of the way as carefully as he could have. His body went one way while his foot tried to go another, and he ended up twisting his ankle and spraining it.
Horace flinched and felt his legs buckle as he put pressure on his foot. The only thing that kept him from crashing to the ground was that he had grabbed onto the rock that had nearly pierced right through him. Horace slowly lowered himself to the ground and adjusted his ankle's position to put a little less pressure on it.
Horace sighed as he pulled his boot off so he could get a better look at his ankle. It was already starting to swell. He could already imagine the way that Hector was going to laugh at him. He had avoided a close call with a wild animal and a black rock, and the thing that brought him down was a sloppy placement of his foot. It was embarrassing.
Fortunately, Horace knew how to treat this kind of injury. He grabbed his satchel and pulled out the bandages. He also took out some of the willow bark that he'd gotten from Adira. He hated this stuff, but he knew it helped. It could keep his sprained ankle from getting too bad. The sooner it healed, the sooner he could get back on his feet.
Horace chewed on the willow bark as he took his bandage and began to wrap it firmly around his ankle, being careful to not make it too loose or too tight. At times like this he was glad that Adira and Hector had seemed to have a competition over who could teach him the most useful survival skills. He rarely got to use them, but it was reassuring to know exactly what he needed to do when he found himself in a rare situation.
After wrapping up his ankle and chewing on the willow bark there wasn't much else that Horace could do except lay back and rest his ankle against the rock to elevate it. This wasn't exactly the first place he would have thought of to camp for the night, but the rocks had stopped glowing and his ankle wouldn't let him go very far right now, so Horace figured this was as good a place as any.
Horace grabbed his canteen and took a drink. He nibbled on some of the nuts and dried meat that he had brought. It was a poor excuse for dinner, especially after walking for several hours, but it was fine. He'd find some more food when he looked for more water in the morning. His ankle should feel better after resting it for several hours.
Horace relaxed and closed his eyes. He wasn't truly meaning to sleep, as doing so without any cover was just asking for trouble, even if there wasn't a wild animal wandering around. Horace just wanted to rest his eyes and take in the fresh air for a few minutes before maybe climbing on top of the tallest of the black rocks and looking for a cave or something.
Horace had only rested for a few minutes when he heard a low growl. His eyes snapped wide open and he jerked to awareness. Horace leapt to his feet, using the rock to support him and find balance. It wasn't quite dark yet so he immediately saw the source of the noise, and it terrified him.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Horace muttered. He felt like his veins turned to ice. He had never seen this animal in person before, but he'd heard of it. Hector used to tell him horror stories about this animal sometimes prowling around the east borders of the Dark Kingdom, but Horace hadn't thought that there was any truth in those stories. And yet here he was, staring down an amur tiger.
Horace slowly reached for his satchel, trying not to draw too much attention to himself as he reached for the bone and black rock dagger. He had thought he would bring it just in case, but now he felt like it was practically useless. A dagger would be of little good against a tiger that was bigger than he was.
Horace had learned from Hector, and the man was like a wild animal in his own right, but that did little to boost his confidence. One-on-one he couldn't beat Hector, the most he could do was delay the inevitable loss, and he was sure that going up against a tiger would have remarkably similar results.
The only times that Horace had successfully beaten any of the Brotherhood in a fight was when Varian jumped in to either distract them or catch them off guard. He and Varian made a good team, but that wouldn't do him any good now. The kid was safe at home, and Horace was all alone.
"Your highness!" Horace had thought that no sound would scare him more than hearing the amur tiger growl, but that fear was nothing compared to the absolute terror that he felt when he heard Varian's voice. He was sick. He was six. Running right towards a tense tiger was the last thing the kid was supposed to be doing right now.
Against his better judgement Horace turned away from the tiger to glance behind him. He saw one of Hector's bearcats running towards them, growling threateningly at the tiger. Riding on top of the bearcat, looking as much like a warrior going into battle as a little kid possibly could, was Varian. While the bearcat had its eyes on the tiger Varian's full attention was on Horace.
The bearcat was running straight towards the tiger, which had started growling itself. They were going to start fighting, and Varian, who was still riding on the back of the bearcat, was about to find himself in the middle of it. Horace couldn't let that happen. Acting completely instinctively Horace grabbed Varian's arm once the bearcat was in reach and pulled him back just as the animals started to fight.
Horace held tightly to Varian. He knew that he wouldn't really be able to protect the kid from harm if the tiger turned its attention to them, but he had to at least try. Despite his hurt ankle Horace did his best to hobble away from the squabble behind them. In one hand he held the dagger and in the other he held onto Varian.
Horace wondered what Varian was doing all the way out here, but he didn't ask. All he was focused on was getting out of there in one piece. After they were safe he would take a page out of his dad's book and lecture Varian until his ears bled, but that could wait until he knew that they would both survive the night.
Fortunately Varian didn't try to pull out of Horace's grip. Unfortunately, however, he was watching the bearcat and tiger fight behind them. Horace tried to turn Varian's head away from the violence, as it wasn't something that the kid should have to see. Varian fainted when he had a bloody nose. Horace had no idea why he would want to watch a potentially deadly battle.
Although, if Varian fainted while Horace was carrying him maybe it wouldn't be too bad. At least there wouldn't be a chance of Varian freaking out and doing something crazy that put himself in danger.
Horace knew he wouldn't be able to outrun a tiger, especially with his sprained ankle, so he tried to be smart about it instead. He ducked and weaved between the rocks. He didn't know if they were tight enough to stop the large tiger, but he was willing to try anything.
Horace shuddered when he heard the pained whimper of the bearcat and the furious growl of the tiger. They were out of time. Horace caught sight of a small crevice in the rocks a few yards away. It was too small for him, but Varian would probably fit in there. Horace just had to get the kid there before the tiger reached them.
"Look out!" Varian screamed. He squirmed out of Horace's grip, climbed onto his shoulders, and pounced off of him in a move that he had definitely learned from Hector. Horace's breath got caught in his throat as he turned back just in time to see the tiger pounce at Varian.
"No!" Horace felt like his heart just about stopped. He stood frozen as the animal swiped at Varian, only for the boy to roll under the tiger and thrust something, possibly a dagger, into its chest.
Varian only carried small weapons with him, nothing that should be enough to take down a fully grown tiger, and yet the animal let out a low, pained growl and immediately collapsed, crushing the kid under it.
Everything had happened so quickly, Horace didn't completely understand it. He still stood frozen for several long minutes before he was able to push past his shock.
"Varian!" Horace ran towards the tiger, not caring at all about the danger that he was putting himself in. He tried to lift the tiger off of Varian, but when he touched it the animal growled quietly and tensed. Horace stopped in his tracks. The tiger was obviously hurt, but a wounded animal could be even more dangerous than a completely fit one. The threat wasn't over yet.
Horace felt a pang in his chest as he tightened his grip on the dagger. He was scared. He knew what he had to do, and he knew that it was the only way to keep Varian safe and put the tiger out of its misery, but that didn't make it any easier. Horace had never killed anything before, even a mercy killing.
He couldn't back away just because something was hard though. He couldn't afford to duck his head and look away. The tiger was still a threat, and Varian was still in danger. It was Horace's responsibility to deal with the problem.
"I'm sorry." Horatio swallowed thickly. He squeezed the dagger to try to keep his hand from shaking. Before he could change his mind he took the dagger and stabbed it into the tiger's neck. The animal growled lowly and Horace had to fight back tears. He kept his hold on the dagger for a long minute until the tiger went silent and still. It was dead.
Horace gasped and released the dagger like it was doing to burn him. He felt like he was going to be sick. He just wanted to cover his eyes, duck his head, and pretend that this was all just a bad dream, but he couldn't. He had to take care of Varian first.
The tiger was heavy and Horace struggled to lift it up off the kid. Fortunately Hector's bearcat came limping over. When Horace lifted the front of the tiger the bearcat grabbed Varian by the cloak and pulled him out from beneath it.
"Kid!" Horace was horrified to see that Varian was unconscious and had blood all over his face, which was flushed and pulled into a pained grimace. Horace dropped the tiger, unable to hold it up anymore. He stumbled to Varian's side and held the kid close, protectively, swearing to never let go.
"H-hang on," Horace muttered. "It's okay, you're going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine." How could this have happened? How could he have let this happen? Varian wasn't even supposed to be out of the castle, let alone when he was sick, and yet here he was. Horace just knew that it was his fault. The kid had noticed he was missing and he'd come after him, because of course he did. And now Varian could be hurt, or maybe even...no. He was fine, he had to be.
Horace took in a shuddered breath and took his cloak off of Varian. He used it to gently wipe away the blood on the boy's face. He was relieved when he couldn't see any obvious injuries on his head. In fact, when Horace carefully looked Varian over for injury the only thing he found was some long but really shallow cuts on his back. They probably hurt a lot, but Horace suspected they wouldn't even scar.
After making sure that Varian wasn't hurt Horace had a decent guess about why he was unconscious. The blood looked like it had come from the tiger from when Varian had stabbed it with his small dagger. Seeing the blood and getting it all over him must have scared Varian and made him faint, and because he was still sick his body wasn't quite ready to wake up so soon.
"Kid, you're going to be the death of me." Horace sighed. He laid Varian on the ground, letting the boy use his lap as a kind of pillow. He carefully pulled Varian's shirt onto his shoulders, exposing his back and the scratches on it. They weren't bleeding a lot, but they still needed to be taken care of.
Horace took his canteen of water and poured some of it on the cleanest part of his cloak. He dabbed carefully at the cuts, grimacing with every wince and flinch that Varian gave. "I know, I know it hurts." Horace said quietly He stroked Varian's hair in what he hoped was a comforting way. "I'm almost done."
Varian groaned and nuzzled closer to him. "H-Horace?"
"Hey, kid." Horace said. "How're you feeling?"
"Hurt," Varian muttered. "Cold. Tired."
"You can sleep in a minute," Horace said. He grabbed the canteen, which just had a few swallows of water left. "Can you drink something for me first?"
Varian closed his eyes and nodded. The boy let Horace sit him up. He brought the canteen to Varian's mouth and slowly tipped it to let the kid sip at it. Horace would gladly give Varian all the water right now, but he made himself pull the canteen away while there were still a few sips left. He was sure Varian would appreciate it in a minute.
"Just one more thing, and then you can go back to sleep." Horace said. He reached into his satchel and pulled out some more of the willow bark. He nudged it against Varian's mouth. "I need you to chew on this."
Varian grimaced and shook his head. Even with his eyes still closed he knew that Horace was talking about willow bark, and the kid didn't like it any more than he did. Horace chuckled. "I know, it sucks, but you can have the rest of the water when you're done, and get some sleep. I promise."
Varian whined, but he opened his mouth anyways and let Horace slip the bark in. The boy slowly started chewing on the bark. When he was done Horace rewarded him by giving him the rest of the water.
"Good boy," Horace smiled gently. "You did so good. Now get some rest. I'll take care of everything."
Varian nodded and leaned back against Horace. He almost immediately fell asleep. Horace sighed, feeling drained. It had been a long day and he just wanted to get to sleep himself, but he couldn't afford to do that. They'd had far too many close calls for Horace to feel safe. He knew it was unlikely that there were any other wild animals out there, but he didn't know for sure, and he refused to take that risk. He needed to keep Varian safe.
Hector's bearcat came over and leaned against Varian, curling protectively against him. It whined and started licking Varian's forehead. Horace wanted to ask the bearcat to go back to the castle and get help, because he didn't think he could make it back on his own, let alone with a sick child. He couldn't bring himself to mention it though.
The bearcat was hurt and obviously tired. It wouldn't be fair to ask it to make its way all the way back to the castle by itself.
Besides, Horace didn't really want to be alone right now.
A/N: So, I have the headcanon that the Dark Kingdom is basically in the Tangled universe's version of Russia. It just feels right. When I was trying to figure out which wild animal to have Horace and Varian run into a googled 'most dangerous animals in Russia', and wouldn't you know it, the amur, or Siberian, tiger showed up, and it immediately stood out.
I considered doing a lynx instead, but ultimately decided on the amur tiger for reasons that I'll get into later.