Four years later and I come back with a chapter and plot. Oops.
"Wha- You. You're Varian." Rapunzel, stumbling over her words, wavered in her threatening stance. What was he trying to pull?
Surely, he was faking. Yeah, he must be faking to throw her off. It had worked for a second there, but it was pointless in the end. Causing a moment's hesitation wouldn't help him this time, not with him bound and his tools confiscated. Rapunzel looked back towards their packs subconsciously, checking to make sure they hadn't magically started to come closer. They hadn't, of course. She sighed, shaking her head against her not entirely unfounded paranoia.
"Don't try any funny business," she warned, leveling her frying pan at him again, causing him to go slightly cross-eyed to keep it in sight. "I don't know why you ambushed us this time, but you will not be getting away with it."
Varian, for his part, looked at the frying pan with equal parts confusion and fear. "Um. Right, uh, ambushed? I don't think- Maybe there's been a misunderstanding?"
Rapunzel's arm twitched in exhaustion, the tension from waiting earlier having sapped her strength. With it, Varian flinched. A wave of regret washed over Rapunzel. She didn't want it to be this way. Why did violence have to be the solution?
"Everything alright, Raps?" Cassandra, one hand on the hilt of her blade, warily approached.
"Yeah." Rapunzel answered her with confidence she didn't feel. "He's just playing one of his games."
Cass glared at Varian, whose arm moved against its bindings, as if he'd already forgotten he couldn't wave.
"Ah, hello." Varian laughed nervously. "One of your, uh, friends?"
"Cut the crap, Varian," Cass scowled, before noticing a small shadow moving behind the tree. Darting forward, she scruffed a rather feisty Ruddiger, lifting him into the air as he squirmed viciously, trying to escape.
Rapunzel looked triumphantly at Varian, certain they had just foiled his plot, only to find him clearly relieved.
"Oh, thank you." Varian smiled up at Cass, not noticing her growing confusion. "It looks like it has canine madness. Best put it out of its misery before it bite- whatareyoudoing?!"
Cass unceremoniously dropped Ruddiger, watching him approach a clearly terrified Varian, trying to curl up around his neck in comfort. Ruddiger chirped sadly when Varian shook him off (or tried to) and curled up nearby, watching his master in confusion. He could tell his boy was in pain, but he wouldn't accept his help...
Varian groaned, head pounding from the exertion. In fact, his entire body ached, though he couldn't recall why. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, whatever you want, just..."
Rapunzel thought for a moment while Varian tapered off. "Just one more question and we will let you rest for a while, okay?"
Varian nodded carefully, wincing.
"Do you remember the night of the storm?" She watched his expression carefully for any micro expressions that might crop up. All she could see was confusion.
"Which storm?"
Cassandra and Rapunzel shared a look.
The man trapped in amber was a harrowing sight.
At this point, much of the makeshift lab had been safely cleared away, booby traps disarmed and alchemical... mixtures disposed of. What remained was what could not so easily be removed.
King Frederic sighed, remembering when he discarded the man's warnings, time and again. The light and the darkness had to remain in balance, but the consequences had taken so long to occur that he had hoped they never would. It had been easy to ignore and nearly forget the price paid for the birth of his daughter, the life of his beloved wife. In the end, it had nearly been at the cost of his kingdom.
If Rapunzel hadn't been able to turn the rocks away again...
The king shook his head. Things had been so idyllic ever since his precious daughter's return. Truthfully, even before her return, the kingdom had faced a time of peace like it had never known, only tainted by the overhanging gloom of the princess's absence.
It was as if something had been keeping the darkness at bay...
Looking closer at the gruesome amber statue, King Frederic noted a piece of paper in the man's outstretched hand. He had written it off as a last goodbye to his son, the only word clearly legible at this point, but what if it were more?
What would a man who had spent his life trying to protect a kingdom from the shadows write in his supposed last moments?
But alas, so long as the man remained trapped in amber, so too would the answers potentially written in ink.
"Prepare a funeral ceremony," the king commanded his guard waiting in the shadows. "We have put it off for long enough."
"Your Majesty!" A new voice rang out, as a man rushed in off his horse. "I was sent to warn you, Varian has escaped. He may be headed here."
Another failing, the king mused. He wasn't even able to help his old friend's son see and repent of his evil ways.
"And the Queen?" It occurred to him that Varian's actions always had some kind of fallout.
"Safe, Your Majesty, she sent me herself." The man hesitated. "Though I'm unaware of the situation with the guards."
"We must return to the castle," King Frederic commanded. "We can only meet him on equal footing, and we are unprepared and exposed here. For now, we must tend to our own."
I'll be back, old friend.
Eugene shook his head. "Just so I'm clear, what you're saying is that the tiny terror lost his memories?"
"It seems so. He didn't recognize Ruddiger, or even his own name. He had no reaction when I mentioned the worst night of his life." Rapunzel bit the side of her thumb in thought. "I did hit him pretty hard earlier..."
"Rightfully so," Cass pointed out. "At least it will be easier to get him back to Corona like this."
"But..." Rapunzel hesitated, looking over at where Varian was still tied to the tree, drooping in exhaustion against his binds. "Should we even take him back now?"
"I know that look," Eugene tilted his head. "What's on your mind, princess?"
"Well," Wrapping her hand in her long braid, Rapunzel sighed. "If he doesn't remember what he did, putting him back in prison wouldn't accomplish anything."
"It'd accomplish plenty," Cass pointed out. "It'd keep him from waking up one day and remembering he wants to destroy Corona, with nothing to stop him."
"He'd want to save his dad first..." Rapunzel frowned, gears in her head spinning. "What if we had him tag along? If we keep an eye on him, he can't get up to too much trouble. And... I am the one that took his memories in the first place."
"Are you sure?" Eugene nodded towards the tied up alchemist, who was nodding off with the raccoon a few paces away. "What if this is some elaborate scheme? Sure, he's injured, so maybe he wanted to earn some time to heal and try again."
"All the more reason to keep him in sight?" Rapunzel suggested. "Cass always has cuffs with her, we could keep him restrained at first?"
She could tell neither were buying it.
"Listen, this could be his only remaining chance," She pleaded, realizing it for herself as she said it. "If he could let go of his anger and do some good, maybe it would be the fresh start he needs. If we send him back, we'll just be imprisoning a confused teenager and giving him another reason to hate Corona."
Eugene grimaced, before awkwardly trying to turn it into a smile despite his sarcasm. "You know what? Sure. It'll be fun! Just like old times."
"When he blew up anything he touched?" Cass snarked, but there was no real bite to her words. If anything there was a sad nostalgia that she would vehemently deny to any who pointed it out.
"At least then it was for a good reason?" Rapunzel tried, before frowning, herself. "Just until his memories return and we can see what he does with them. And this way, we don't have to end our trip so soon."
"Right!" Eugene tried to brighten the mood, seeing the others' spirits dampened. "And hey, maybe it's for the best. If his memories never return, we could have the old Varian back, without having to look over our shoulders all the time."
Rapunzel smiled in return. "I'm all for second chances."
"More like fifth or sixth chances at this point," Cass grumbled, but nodded in agreement. "Fine. Just until his homicidal tendencies return."
Varian hurt everywhere.
The others had gone over to their little huddle, leaving him with the critter. After the initial scare, Varian realized it was far less vicious than he'd thought, and was actually kind of cute. It seemed to understand he wanted some space, which was interestingly intelligent for an animal.
But he could barely dwell on that over the pounding of his skull, the lancing ache that travelled his spine with every beat of his heart. His legs felt overworked and numb all the way down to his toes. His arms were stiff from where they were tied and likewise sang of soreness besides that.
What had happened?
'Raps' had called him Varian, and that felt right, though her name inexplicably didn't. But he didn't know these people. It must be something he had messed up. He was always messing up.
How did he know that?
The harder he thought, the more his head ached, and the more the general gist he had of things began to swim out of reach.
He sighed in frustration, letting his general exhaustion sweep over him. It wasn't very comfortable, what with not being able to lean backwards without pain. His binds held him up, but cut into his arms.
The group seemed to have come to a consensus, but Varian was humming to himself in self comfort, a melody he couldn't say where he'd heard before. Whatever it was, it soothed the pain to a manageable level before he finally fell asleep.
"Uh, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Eugene checked with the women who were likewise standing flabbergasted.
They had been just about to let Varian know of their decision when a faint blue glow had cut through the darkening night, contending only with the full moon overhead and the campfire that was slowly puttering out. Where Varian rested, a blue stripe of hair lit up, and his face relaxed.
After a moment, the glow faded.
"Well," Rapunzel commented, wringing her hands. "That's new."