The kid was a lot smaller than Hector had thought he would be. He knew that at least part of that was because of his mom. Varian was young, and there was a good chance that he still had a bit of growing to do, but not a lot. Hector doubted he would ever get as big as the people in the Dark Kingdom were prone to being.
At any other time Hector would be a bit annoyed about this. The Dark Kingdom was a dying culture, and Varian's small size felt like just another way that their people were getting lost. At the moment though Hector was far too concerned about the kid himself to be upset about their culture.
Varian was light and skinny, and Hector was sure that it was only partially because of his naturally small size. The kid was clearly sick, and looked like he had been for a while. Hector would be surprised to learn if he had eaten anything in the past several days. He needed help, and Hector didn't think he was the right person to do this.
He wasn't a nurturing guy. None of the Brotherhood were very good at it, which was why Hector had been surprised to learn that Quirin had a kid, and not at all surprised when the most recent letter said that he had a hard time connecting with Varian.
Quirin cared about people, but he didn't do soft and gentle. Quirin could solve all the problems in the world that didn't involve talking about feelings. As soon as emotions were brought in Quirin had a tendency to duck his head and wait for things to resolve themselves. Sometimes it worked, usually it didn't.
Despite this, Quirin was still Varian's dad, and Hector imagined that the kid would be more comforted by his dad's presence than a stranger's. So even though Hector knew that Varian needed food, medicine, comfort, and a dozen other things,he thought that the most important thing was to reunite him with Quirin. The man would be much more suited to taking care of Varian.
Hector showed a rare level of restraint when he'd freed the kid. He had gone out of his way to not kill anybody as he'd gone in and out of the dungeons. If it was a small town prison, he would annihilate all of them. This was the royal dungeon though, which meant that Varian's imprisonment was, somehow, a kingdom matter. Hector knew that if he killed all of the guards then it could be seen as an act of war, and he couldn't drag the Dark Kingdom into that kind of thing. It would be a little difficult to protect the moonstone if he led an entire kingdom straight to it.
Even though Hector was furious at the way that his nephew had been treated, and he knew that he would only become more angry as he came to learn the details, he let the Coronan guards live, though he made sure to knock out or harm any of them that he passed. The last thing he needed was for them to be followed and caught.
The trip to Old Corona was a short one. Hector held Varian close as they rode his rhino down the beaten paths. They followed the raccoon, which Varian had called Ruddiger. The small animal seemed to know exactly where they were going, and Hector had no reason not to trust him.
Varian wasn't unconscious, but Hector knew that he was completely unaware of what was happening. The kid, who Quirin went on and on about how curious he was, didn't say a word about the rhino. He didn't ask more about who Hector was. He just curled against him, occasionally coughing or groaning, but mostly he just sobbed silently.
When they finally got to Old Corona Ruddiger led them to a large house that almost looked like a castle. Hector was a little surprised to see it. He knew that Quirin liked his space, but did he really not think that this was a little bit excessive?
Ruddiger ran straight through a massive hole in the wall. The black rocks were everywhere, ripping through the building, but Hector got the feeling that this particular hold had been caused by something else.
It didn't really matter to Hector though. Whatever had caused the damage was obviously gone by now. This castle, and the entire town, were abandoned. They were the only ones there. Hector got off his rhino and walked into the building, only to freeze when he saw the giant amber mound in the middle of the room. More importantly though, he noticed Quirin's frozen form trapped within it.
"By the moon," Hector shuddered and tightened his grip on Varian. "Brother, you...you…"
"Daddy," Varian turned away from Hector to look towards the amber. He looked far too relieved for somebody who was looking at his imprisoned father. "Y-you're safe."
"I think the two of us have different definitions of safe." Hector said. Varian didn't seem to understand him. He just reached weakly for his dad. Hector would be content to keep his distance from the cursed amber, but he couldn't deny the kid when he was so desperate. He brought Varian closer. As soon as the kid's fingers touched the amber he broke into tears.
Hector grimaced and put the kid next to the base of the amber. He didn't do well with tears. It just made him feel awkward and out of his depth. What was he supposed to do, hug the kid? Reassure him with empty promises that he definitely wouldn't be able to keep? Ignore him until he calmed down on his own?
Hector knew that the last option was probably the worst, but it was the one he felt most comfortable with. He pushed down the feeling that he was messing everything up and took a few steps back. He would give Varian the chance to get all this crying out of his system, and in the meantime he would go looking for some food or water. The kid was half-starved and dehydrated, and unlike crying those were problems that Hector knew how to fix.
"Stay with him." Hector said to Ruddiger, who was watching him cautiously. "I'll be back soon." Hector quickly left through the hole in the wall. He stopped for just a minute in front of his rhino. "Keep an eye on the kid and don't let anything happen to him."
Once he knew that the kid would be as okay as he could be at that moment Hector ran away from the castle. He couldn't even tell himself that he was just looking for things to help the kid, because he knew that the best place to look was in the abandoned house itself. Hector just couldn't look at his brother's frozen body for one more second. He had to get away from there.
Hector went towards the trees and ran until he couldn't see any sign of the town behind him. Only then did he stop and scream out all of his fury and pain. His brother was trapped, possibly dead. His nephew was sick, possibly dying. How could this have happened? Didn't Quirin leave the Brotherhood because he wanted a safer life for his family? This couldn't be the 'safe' that he had in mind.
It wasn't fair, and Hector was not ready to be dealing with this stuff. He wanted to go back to his tree where everything was simple. He had one job there, protect the moonstone. None of this try to figure out what exactly the problem is and then stumble around to try to fix the problem, only to ultimately make it worse.
Hector would never understand why somebody would prefer this kind of complicated life. It just hurt so much, and he'd only been exposed to it for a short period of time.
Hector allowed himself to scream and rant for a few minutes before he decided to do something productive. He picked a few apples from the trees surrounding him. He didn't know whether Varian would be able to eat any of it, but he had to at least try to get the kid to eat some fresh fruit.
Hector slowly made his way back towards the town, passing by a stream on his way. He bent down and filled a canteen. The kid needed as much water as he could get. It would probably also be smart to give him a quick wash. Varian was sick enough as it was, he didn't need the muck and grime from the dungeons to make it worse.
Hector could just imagine Quirin's shock and Adira's smug expression if they knew that he was advocating for good hygiene. They would never let him live it down.
When he got back to the rundown small castle Hector didn't immediately return to the room with the amber. He wasn't ready for it yet. Instead he went into the main building and started to have a look around Quirin's new home. It looked lonely and unfamiliar, even considering the fact that it was the home of a man who didn't really believe in personal belongings.
Hector was easily able to identify the things that belonged to Varian. There were formulas, books, and a whole bunch of stray notes that Hector couldn't understand a word of. He walked over everything and wandered around until he found himself in the kitchen. There was some more water in here, but it looked stale and mossy. There was no way that Hector was going to be giving this to the kid.
Hector found a small pot that looked at least somewhat clean. He went to the fireplace and easily started a fire. It would take some time to really eat up, but that was okay. Hector had plenty of things to do to pass the time. First things first, Hector poured the canteen of water into the pot and placed it over the fire.
The river had looked fairly clean, and for someone who was healthy it would probably be just fine. Varian was really sick though, and he couldn't afford to be exposed to any more germs, so Hector was taking the time to purify the water.
After getting the water going Hector looked around the kitchen, hoping to find any food that had survived through however long their imprisonment had been. Unfortunately the kitchen was scarily bare. There wasn't even any rotting foot.
It looked like they were going to be having apples for dinner.
Hector was relieved when he was able to find some very familiar smelling mixtures. Quirin may have tried to leave his past behind him, but he hadn't completely forgotten about where he had come from. Hector would recognize Adira's healing remedies anywhere. At least some of these should help in lowering his fever and whatever else was bothering him.
Hector continued searching through the kitchen for a few more minutes. He told himself he was looking for something to help the kid, but really he was just stalling. He didn't want to go back to the amber room. He couldn't really avoid it though, and the kid was only going to get worse, so finally Hector worked up the nerve to swallow down his pain and check on the kid.
Hector hadn't been gone for too long, but he was still confused and concerned when he saw Varian right where he had left him. He was still curled up right at the base of the amber. He looked like he was sleeping, and Hector didn't want to wake him up, but he had to. Sleep was important for the kid, but so was food and warmth.
"Come on, kiddo." Hector picked up the boy, grimacing when the kid groaned and turned towards him. It was a sad day indeed when somebody turned towards Hector for comfort. He was sure he was going to let the kid, and Quirin, down, but he had to at least try.
Ruddiger glared at Hector with mistrust. He returned the glare easily. "Do you want the kid to get better or not? Because I'm tellin' ya, it's not going to happen down here." Ruddiger still didn't look happy, but he nodded and allowed Hector to carry Varian out of the amber room and back into the main area of the house.
Hector laid Varian on the ground right next to the fireplace. He unclasped his cloak and put it over Varian, shifting the fur around so the kid's head was resting on it. The fire was still warming up, but the water was starting to boil. Hector decided to give it a few more minutes.
"Hey, obnoxious thief," Hector tossed an apple towards Ruddiger, who was lying on Varian's chest. The raccoon caught it, but it didn't immediately start digging in. Instead Ruddiger pushed the apple towards Varian's mouth, nudging his face, trying to encourage the sleeping kid to eat.
"Knock it off," Hector said. "I haven't forgotten about the kid, but does he look like he can eat a tough apple right now? I'll do something else for him." The raccoon hissed at him before taking a bite out of the apple.
Hector got to work. The water was boiling now. He poured most of it back into the canteen and set it aside to cool. He wasn't about to force boiling water down the kid's throat. He kept the rest of the water in the pain and put it back over the fire. Hector grabbed a few more apples and started cutting and peeling them.
Hector tossed the apple pieces into the pot with the remaining water. He wasn't very good at cooking or mixing things together, he would much rather just eat things raw as he found them, but special circumstances deserved special work.
Hector let the apples cook and soften until he was able to mash them down and mix them with the water. He'd never been a big fan of applesauce himself, but he thought it would be a lot easier to get Varian to eat this than a whole apple. Hector put the mushy mixture into a bowl. Now he just had to get Varian to eat some of it.
"Hey, kid," Hector shook Varian's shoulders. The boy groaned and turned his head to the side. "I know you're tired, but ya gotta eat something, alright?" It took a long moment but Varian eventually squinted his eyes open. Just that small thing seemed to take a lot of effort.
"Wh-what?" Varian whined.
"Just hang on," Hector sat behind the kid and helped him to sit up. The only reason Varian didn't fall was because he was leaning on him, but it was still a step in the right direction. "There we go. You hungry?" Varian shook his head and Hector scoffed. "Well, that's too bad, because you're getting food anyway."
Varian groaned and tried to resist, but he was too weak to put up any real fight. Hector was easily able to coax the kid into eating the hot apple mixture. He wanted to get Varian to eat all of it, but he didn't know when the last time the kid ate anything was. He didn't want to give him too much at once and make him sick.
When Varian whined and tried to resist eating again, Hector stopped and left him alone. He'd let his stomach settle for a bit, and then give him some more food and some water.
"How're you feeling?" Hector asked.
"Like my body hates me." Varian mumbled. He buried his face in the fur of Hector's cloak. Ruddiger whined and crawled onto the boy's shoulder. The raccoon nudged Varian's face until the boy smiled weakly and pet it.
"Yeah, you may feel like that for a while." Hector scowled. He was not very happy with the mistreatment that the kid had gotten in the dungeons. Varian had seemed so scared of him when he'd first showed up, and yet he'd also been a lot quicker to trust him than was probably safe. This told Hector that Varian had been hurt, and he saw the smallest sign of kindness as a reason to trust somebody.
Not to mention the fact that the kid was incredibly sick and clearly malnourished, which should have never happened to somebody who was being constantly watched. Hector also hadn't missed how wet Varian had been when he'd pulled him out of the palace dungeons. Somebody had decided to waste precious water, and Hector wouldn't be surprised to learn that it had been done out of sheet pettiness.
He had half a mind to march right back to the castle and destroy anybody who had dared to lay a hand on Varian, but he held himself back. Losing control would just bring more heat on them, and it would mean leaving Varian unattended, and that wasn't something that Hector was willing to do.
Varian was quiet for a few minutes before he reached for the bowl of applesauce. Hector smirked and handed it to him. At least the kid had found at least a bit of his appetite. Varian only ate a few bites before he grimaced and pushed the bowl away. That was fine. A little bit of progress was better than nothing.
"W-water?" Varian asked. He immediately cringed and drew back, squeezing his eyes shut tight like he expected to be hit for such a simple request. Hector scowled. These Coronan guards had no honor, and he doubted their royalty was any better.
"Sure, kid." Hector grabbed the canteen. He could feel the heat through it. "It's hot, so don't go burning yourself. And take it slow." Hector would willingly give the kid water himself, but he wanted to encourage Varian to push himself and regain his strength and independence. If he couldn't do it then Hector would help, but he wanted the kid to at least try first.
"Doesn't matter." Varrian muttered. He took the canteen with shaking hands, holding it in his hands for a long moment as he relaxed and just enjoyed the warmth. Finally Varian brought it to his lips and, to Hector's relief, slowly began to sip. It was clear that Varian was showing restraint and was desperate to drink it all at once, but even while sick his smarts were stronger than his survival instinct.
Hector had remembered Quirin mentioning in one of his letters that Varian was too smart for his own good, and frequently disregarded the gut feelings that were the body's way of keeping someone safe from danger. Quirin had said it like it was a bad thing, but Hector thought that right now it was what would help Varian recover.
Varian sipped the water for a few minutes. He leaned slightly away from Hector and sat up on his own. He looked unsteady, but he didn't fall. If he did, Hector was still right there to catch him. Varian slowly turned and looked at Hector. His eyes were unfocused and he looked confused. He blinked several times, as though he didn't understand what he was looking at. Varian frowned at him.
"You...you're not Coronan." Varian commented, though it sounded like a question.
"Nope." Hector said, and he'd never been more proud of that fact. "Never even been here before."
"You know my dad," Varian looked down at the cloak still draped over him. He fingered at the clasp holding it together. "I've seen this before."
"That's 'cause your dad has it on his hand, same as I do." Hector pulled off his glove and showed Varian the back of his hand where the symbol had been branded into his skin. "It's the mark of the Brotherhood."
"Wh-what's the Brotherhood?" Varian shivered and tried to pull the cloak tighter around him. Hector slowly, so as to not scare the kid, leaned forward and pulled the fur up over Varian's head.
Hector frowned. Either Quirin hadn't said a word about the Brotherhood to his son, or Varian was so sick that he couldn't remember it. Hector didn't know which one would be worse.
"The Brotherhood are the knights who have dedicated their lives to the Dark Kingdom and the moonstone." Hector said.
"Moonstone?" Varian tilted his head curiously. Even sick he was incredibly curious.
"It's exactly what it sounds like. A stone that's said to come straight from the moon." Hector said. "It's where these black rocks came from."
Varian shuddered and a weird look came into his eyes. "Black rocks. Dad...dad knew about them? The whole time?"
Ruddiger chirped and looked at Varian in concern. The raccoon nuzzled against him, not stopping until Varian pet him. Something was really bothering Varian, though Hector didn't know what. He watched the kid for a minute before continuing.
"Considering he swore an oath to protect the moonstone and keep something like this from happening in the first place, yeah, he knew about them." Hector gestured to the black rocks that had broken through the nearby wall. Varian's face went blank. He tightened his grip on Ruddiger, who looked almost panicked.
"He-he knew how dangerous they were, and he just...he didn't…" Varian let out a pained growl that sounded equal parts pained and furious. The kid curled in on himself, almost like his stomach had started hurting.
Hector recognized the kid's fury. The raw, pained frustration that came with knowing you were right but constantly being told you were wrong was painful, and infuriating. Hector didn't know what had happened between Varian and Quirin, but there was clearly something there.
Hector knew that anger could be useful, but Varian clearly wasn't in any state to harness his feelings into something useful. He was just working himself up and making himself feel worse. Hector had to distract him from whatever was bothering him.
"You feel like eating more?" Hector asked. Varian quickly shook his head. "What about more water?" Varian made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a growl. He shook his head again. "That's fine." They could always come back to that. "Whether you like it or not though, you're taking some medicine. That's non-negotiable."
Varian grimaced as Hector stood up and went to the medicine cabinet. He grabbed a cup and poured some of the fever reducer and sleeping serum into it. He knew that the kid would probably fall asleep without medicinal help, but it would be a restless sleep , and he might wake up at any time. For what Hector had in mind, that wouldn't do. He needed the kid to sleep for at least a few hours. It would give them the chance to get the head start they needed.
"Here," Hector handed the cup to Varian. The kid accepted the cup and took a drink from it without question. Hector hoped that the blind trust was just because had used things from Varian's own home, and because the kid was too sick to properly consider how easily Hector might be taking advantage of him. If the boy was always this trusting then Hector would have to do something about it. Trust opened you up to vulnerability, and Varian was vulnerable enough as it was.
A few minutes later Varian nodded off and fell asleep. Hector adjusted the cloak around him and picked him up. Ruddiger chattered and hopped onto his shoulder. He watched Hector cautiously.
"Don't worry, I ain't gonna hurt him." Hector said. "But we both know the guards will if they get their hands on him, and this is gonna be the first place they'll look." Hector had come here with every intention of freeing Quirin, but he hadn't known the nature of his imprisonment. Hector had no idea how to get his brother out of there, and even just by glancing at Varian's scattered notes he knew that the boy hadn't been able to figure it out either, and they didn't have time to experiment. Not when the guards could be right on their tales.
As much as Hector wanted to save his brother he had to make sure that Varian was okay first. He could always come back when they had a proper plan and Varian's health wasn't as fragile.
Hector tossed Varian over his shoulder to free up his hands. He grabbed the bottle that still had a bit of fever reducer in it. He wasn't about to let the applesauce that he made go to waste, but he didn't have a way to carry it with them. This bottle could manage that, as well as making the fever reducer a little more palatable.
Hector poured the applesauce into the bottle and sealed it. He carried the bottle and his unconscious nephew outside. His rhino was waiting obediently for him. It lowered itself, allowing Hector to drape Varian across its back. Ruddiger joined his boy, sitting protectively on him. Hector put the bottle in the saddle bag before turning back towards the house.
He grabbed a bucket that was just lying around outside and filled it with dirt. He brought it into the kitchen and poured the dirt over the small fire, smothering the flames. Hector then grabbed his canteen of water and the remaining apples and some of the healing remedies. He had everything they needed to leave, but it didn't feel right.
Quirin and Adira had left him with barely a goodbye. They'd gone on their separate paths, and that was fine, but Hector had never appreciated how they had both left without a word to him beforehand. They knew that he was going to disagree and argue with them, so they'd taken the coward's way out and avoided it completely.
Hector wasn't like his siblings. He wasn't going to leave without a proper goodbye. Especially when he was taking Varian with him and depriving the kid of the chance to say goodbye to his father. The least that Hector could do was find a keepsake for him.
Hector did a quick search of the house. He found the room that obviously belonged to Varian. The kid would probably appreciate some personal belongings of his. Hector wasn't the type of person to encourage objects that were purely sentimental, so he grabbed the first things that looked like they might be useful: Some thick gloves, protective goggles, and a heavy leather apron. They weren't exactly fashionable, and were a far cry from armor, but they clearly belonged to Varian, and any amount of protection was better than none.
Hector left Varian's room and went to the next one over. The belongings and placement of things made it clear that it was Quirin's room. It was organized almost exactly like he had kept his room back in the Dark Kingdom.
"I guess some things never change, huh, brother?" Hector ran a hand over the open chest. Quirin's Brotherhood belongings were in there, collecting dust. Hector didn't know the full contents of the chest, as most of it was buried or covered up. That was fine. They could sort through the chest later. For now, Hector thought that it was exactly what he'd been looking for.
He tossed Varian's things in the chest and closed it. He put the apples and canteen in his pockets to free up his hands. He hefted the chest onto his shoulders and gave one more longing look to the empty, lonely looking room.
"I hope you were able to find peace with your choices, brother," Hector said. He looked at the painting of Quirin with the woman that must have been his wife and an infant Varian. They looked happy, and not at all like what Hector had seen had become of Quirin's family.
"I know you never approved of my decisions, and you'd probably throw a fit if you knew what I was doing," Hector glared at the painting like it had personally offended him. He tried to ignore the way that his eyes were burning. He hadn't cried over his brother for twenty five years, he wasn't about to do it now.
Hector took a deep breath and dragged his gaze away from the painting. "But I've done the best that I know how, and that's what I'm going to keep doing." Hector adjusted his grip on the chest and turned his back on the room. "Goodbye, brother."