Hi all! ❤️

Before we begin, let me tell you a bit more about what you're about to read.

First of all, this fic is mostly canon-compliant with the biggest change being that Rapunzel doesn't leave Corona immediately after the events of SotS, but a week later. Besides that, the only canon divergences will be some very minor changes to dialogue.

Basically, this fic is my ideas about what could've been happening in Corona throughout the entirety of season 2. Though this story is primarily Varian-centric and the plot revolves around him, worry not — other characters won't be forgotten or underdeveloped!

You can expect lots of angst — anger, grief, betrayal — but also some fluff, like developing new friendships, forgiveness and slowly learning to trust again. Sometimes there will be very minor injuries and dealing with trauma; I'll always add a specific warning before a chapter if need be. ️

Timeline:

Chapters 1-3 — S01E21 "Secret of the Sundrop"

Chapters 4-15 — a week between season 1 and 2

Chapters 16-38 — season 2

Chapters 39-? — season 3

English is my second language and this is actually the first time I've ever tried writing in it, so please be patient with any grammar mistakes and feel free to point them out.

Comments and critique are very welcome; happy reading! ❤️

The world was spinning.

For a moment, Rapunzel floated, as if she was suspended above all this chaos—hot, dim, and dizzying. The first thing to resurface was the fading golden glow of her hair and a jumble of panicked words. A breaking voice, a cry, something crashing, awful hissing and then—

"Arianna!"

She wanted to look up and raise, to run to her mom and stand between her and Varian, block the evergrowing amber's way. Through the slits of her eyes, she saw a glimmer of the sword, thrown across the room.

Rapunzel heard someone exclaiming her name and kneeling beside her, so she weakly raised her head to see a beloved face of her mother. She felt a warm hand on her cheek as the concern in Queen Arianna's eyes faltered a bit, yielding to relief and love.

In seconds, her trembling figure was surrounded by her mom's gentle, caressing arms, followed by a stronger, protective hug of her dad.

Immediately sinking into her parents' embrace, Rapunzel closed her eyes and let herself melt into the Queen's shoulder, forget about everything around her and feel safe—just for a moment.

.

The world was spinning.

Varian distantly felt his knees hit the stone floor when his throat spasmed. He shivered at the coldness seeping through his gloves as he desperately placed his hands on the surface of the unforgiving amber, trying to somehow reach his dad.

He was right there—so close, so close that Varian could see his face, frozen in fear.

„No… No!"

Kneeling at the feet of the motionless figure, his nails vainly digging into the hard crystal, Varian was suddenly back to the day he had found it. He remembered the feeling of throwing pointless blows, the feeling of scrambling over the amber in search of something to hold onto, the tears. His throat tightened even more, and his chest threatened to explode all over again.

That dreadful day, he had slid down the amber's surface, not able to do anything but cry, and when he'd stood back up, he hadn't been the same.

By the time his hands had found their way back to where his dad's face should've been, he'd known that he would fight every so-called friend, break every law and go against everything he had ever believed in, just to get through the thick layer of resin enveloping his father.

Why didn't it work? It should've worked, everything about his plan made sense. Rapunzel could shatter the amber, she could, she should—she was the Sundrop itself! Why didn't the crystal give in? Did she... did she stop it somehow?

„I wasn't wrong!" He wiped his eyes, failing to stifle a whimper escaping his mouth. „It's not my fault! None of it is!"

He heard something rustle behind him and turned his head to see Rapunzel and her parents, insolently huddling together and smiling like everything was alright. Like they hadn't turned their backs on his father and him when they needed them most. Varian's torment blossomed and swelled in his chest, intertwining with the hot rage he had felt almost every minute of the past weeks.

She. She'd taken everything from him, destroyed him, ruined everything that had ever been good in the world. And now she lay there, hugging her sweet innocent little family, with the King that happily walked over them all, and a useless Queen—and they smiled, glad to have what they'd wanted while Varian was breaking in half.

The insufferable haze of rage felt like a poison lodged in his brain, ingrained in every inch of his body. It raced wildly through his veins, sending his hands shaking and engulfing his whole head. All he was was hatred and pain, everything else drained, and withered, and gone, and it was—All. Because. Of her.

The anger throbbed, and Varian felt something in him overflow, straining, blinding him and taking his breath away. „It's her fault!"

He'd drag her through hell and back.

.

As soon as Rapunzel opened her eyes, coming back to the dangerous reality they all found themselves in, she felt alarmed again. Her gaze returned to the threat.

Varian seemed to have abandoned his drill and was now sitting sunken at the feet of his father, still immersed in amber. His head was lowered beneath his trembling shoulders.

„Rapunzel, are you okay?" the King asked.

She sighed, „Yes, I will be." She stood up and took a step towards the boy, partly against herself and partly out of an illogical impulse to comfort him and talk some sense into him. „Varian—"

„Don't come near him, Rapunzel!"

She hesitated when her father's anxious voice reached her ears.

Varian finally reacted. He rose from his feet, and the way he looked at her stopped her in her tracks completely. His furious expression managed to make her feet stuck again, without the gooey purple substance he'd used before.

She'd never seen something like that—a person's face twisting so much, corrupted with something berserk. He was just standing there, and yet, she felt like she was witnessing a person biting and clawing against a ruthless tormentor. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears when she looked in that rage-filled, pain-stricken eyes and realized that all of it was focused on her.

He looked at her as though she had tortured and murdered.

He hated her.

Rapunzel couldn't stand this any longer. She wanted to say something, anything, to reach her friend somewhere in this cruel, shivering frame. They needed to stop whatever this was, make him calm down and explain how unfair it all is. Just as she took an unsure breath, he bolted away from her, disappearing behind the block of resin.

Her unease spiked when she couldn't see him anymore. As loud creaking sounded around them, she unconsciously moved closer to her parents.

„Oh, where did he go?" she groaned.

Suddenly, part of the floor collapsed with terrible rumbling. For a second, nothing could be seen but a ray of red light cutting through the clouds of smoke and dust. Rapunzel squeaked in horror when the biggest automaton she had seen so far emerged from it, Varian at the controls.

„Sorry, Princess!" he shouted vilely. „We were in this together! But if I can't have a happy ending, then neither can you!"

The royal family rushed to flee. Rapunzel took her mom's hand and pounded her bare feet on the harsh floor. She didn't know what Varian was capable of in this state, and she certainly didn't want to find out.

Cold air bit into her lungs when they reached the front door, and warm hope broke through to her as she heard her favorite sound in the world.

„Alright! Who's next?!"

Eugene.

Thank you for reading. A review would make my day!