A/N: There's portrayal of animal abuse in this chapter, so be prepared for that.
Horace was terrified. He felt completely paranoid, absolutely desperate, and ready to do anything it took to save Varian, and that thought just scared him even more.
Ruddiger was possessed by Zhan Tiri. She was manipulating Varian through the raccoon. Varian's nightmares, the voices he was hearing in his head, everything that fed into his frustration and probably encouraged him to take things too far and kidnap the queen, it was all Zhan Tiri's fault, but would she have been able to do any of it if it weren't for Ruddiger?
Horace's instincts told him to protect Varian, no matter what. He wanted to reach for his black rock dagger and get rid of the problem, but he restrained himself. He had seen what Varian had done when he'd felt desperate, like he had no other choice, and Horace didn't want to follow down that same path unless it was absolutely necessary.
He needed another opinion.
Horace stayed out of sight and listened to Varian talk to Lance about his theory, and the evidence to support it. He made a mental note of everything he heard. It was only when Varian mentioned something that Horace had almost forgotten he'd said, about how he had real friends in Corona for the first time in his life, did he feel like he was overstepping his boundaries. Horace backed away and rejoined the others, even while his gut twisted up with guilt.
Did Varian think that Horace didn't consider him a friend?
Horace couldn't exactly blame him if that was the case. Varian had a tendency to come to emotional conclusions based on logical evidence. Of course he would take Horace on his word when he said that he hadn't had any true friends before coming to Corona.
Horace loved Varian. He was his first and only friend for the majority of his life. Varian, as weird as he was, had always been Horace's consistent amount of normalcy in the Dark Kingdom. Rapunzel and Cassandra though, their friendship was different. Horace wasn't obligated to take care of them, and they were a lot closer to Horace's age than Varian was. He could talk to them about things that he probably shouldn't talk to a child about.
And most of the time Horace didn't consciously think of Varian as a friend, because he saw him as a brother. How was he supposed to explain that to the kid though? The fact that Eugene saw Varian as a brother just made the fact that he'd left him in the Great Tree even worse. You don't treat family like that.
Horace knew that he needed to make things up to Varian, but he constantly seemed to be learning new ways that he ruined things with the kid, and it hurt.
As Horace rejoined the others he must have had a pained expression on his face, because both Adira and Rapunzel gave him looks of concern. Horace would love to curl up against Rapunzel and let her reassure him that everything was okay, but he couldn't do that yet. He had work to do.
"Adira, can I talk to you?" Horace asked tensely. "Alone?"
Adira raised an eyebrow at him. "Is this about Varian?"
Horace found himself clenching his fists. Just thinking about what was going on with Varian made him terrified and furious. How dare Zhan Tiri mess with the kid? He didn't deserve any of this. "It's important." Was all Horace said. He didn't want Rapunzel or the captain to get involved yet.
Adira narrowed her eyes. She stood up and followed Horace into the nearby trees. They went further than was maybe necessary, but Horace really didn't want to be overheard. When he was sure that they were far enough he turned to his aunt.
"I don't think Varian's the only one being manipulated by Zhan Tiri." Horace said. "Or, I guess Varian doesn't think that he's the only one."
Adira looked about as surprised as she could get. "You think that Earring…"
"Not Lance." Horace said. He liked to think he would have noticed that something was going on before now if Lance was being influenced by a demon. Then again, he really should have noticed that something was wrong with the raccoon that he had known for years now. "Ruddiger."
It took Adira a long moment to understand. "The raccoon?"
"He destroyed Varian's notes." Horace said. "You know as well as I do that Ruddiger would never do that. And Varian thinks that he might only get the nightmares from Zhan Tiri when he's sleeping with Ruddiger."
Adira sighed and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes and looked like she was meditating. Horace waited patiently. If Adira could come up with a plan better than the only solution Horace could think of he would love to hear it.
Adira was quiet for several minutes before she nodded to herself. "We don't want to do anything unnecessary because we're clouded by emotions. Here's what we're going to do. We'll keep an eye on Ruddiger and Varian. We'll look for any sign of demon possession. If Varian gets in any more trouble we'll be right there to help him."
"And what if things go bad?" Horace asked. "What if Ruddiger becomes a threat to Varian?"
Adira looked pained for a moment before she steeled her expression. "If things are as we fear then we'll do what is necessary."
Horace sighed. "I was afraid of that."
Adira's stony gaze softened. She lifted her hand awkwardly, hesitated for just a moment, and then put her hand on Horace's shoulder. He leaned into her gaze. He'd been taking charge for so long that he'd almost forgotten what it was like for somebody else to take care of him.
"If worse comes to worst, I'll do the deed." Adira said. Horace shook his head.
"No." Horace said sternly, even as his gut twisted at the thought. "This whole thing happened because of me. It's my responsibility to clean up this mess. I-if Ruddiger needs to be taken care of, I'll do it." It was about time he started taking responsibility for his actions.
Adira gave him a proud, pained look. She, at least, recognized what Horace was trying to do. Horace knew that Varian would never understand, and he would never expect him to. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that."
"Yeah, hopefully." Horace said, though he didn't feel certain. He would definitely be devoting a lot of his time and energy to keeping an eye on Ruddiger. He may prefer to spend relaxing time with Rapunzel or Varian, but he would do what he needed to, no matter how much he hated it.
Over the next week or so Horace spent every second he could to watch Ruddiger. He was far less subtle than he would want to be. Rapunzel was becoming concerned about him. She thought that Horace was completely obsessed, and maybe he was. He always tried to stay within arm's reach of Ruddiger, just so he could act should he see anything suspicious. Horace was jumpy, testy, and more than just a little bit paranoid.
Varian was completely oblivious to how Horace was feeling, because he too was spending all his energy keeping an eye on Ruddiger. So was Lance. Horace was glad that they were being careful. It helped his paranoia to ease up just a little bit.
Every night Varian would give Ruddiger a tight hug before ordering him to go somewhere else to sleep. Ruddiger seemed confused and conflicted. He didn't want to sleep alone, neither of them did, but Ruddiger was obedient. Horace watched both Varian and Ruddiger carefully at night, both to make sure that the raccoon kept his distance, and to see if Varian's nightmares really did get better.
To Horace's relief, Varian seemed to be getting better. He was upset that he had to keep his distance from Ruddiger, and it was sad to watch, but Varian's mental well-being was improving. As far as Horace could tell Varian's nightmares had stopped, and he started to become more confident in himself. Horace hoped this was a sign that he didn't have the demon whispering in his ear anymore.
Things had gotten better, but Horace didn't let himself relax. For all he knew Zhan Tiri was just waiting for them to let their guard down before she struck. The only times that he stopped watching Ruddiger was when he needed to sleep, which he did during the day when Adira could keep an eye on things.
After an exhausting week Horace was just a few days away from letting his vigilant watch slip into a more casual watch. He yawned and sat back as he watched Varian sleep. The boy had fallen asleep immediately after they had stopped for the evening, while the sun was still up. Now night had started to fall, and in the next hour or two Rapunzel, Lance, and the captain would go to bed, and a few hours after that Varian would wake up to enjoy the last hours of the night before they left again an hour or two before dawn.
Rapunzel sat next to Horace, leaning against him. "Hey, Eugene. How are you doing?"
"I've been better." Horace said. Rapunzel gave him a small smile.
"You're so tense." Rapunzel said. "It's a beautiful night. Do you want to go on a moonlight stroll? Maybe talk about what's been going on with you these past few days?"
"I'd love to, moye solnyshko," Horace said. "But I can't right now." He narrowed his eyes at Ruddiger, who was curled up at the top of the carriage. The raccoon wasn't asleep. Every few minutes he would peek an eye open to look at Horace before he closed both of his eyes again.
"Moye solnyshko?" Rapunzel smiled at him. "What does that mean?"
Horace blinked. The term had just slipped out. He hadn't even thought about it. "That's, uh, it's the old language from the Dark Kingdom. It means my sun, or my sunshine."
Rapunzel beamed at him. "Moye solnyshko. I like it."
Horace really wanted to spend some personal time with Rapunzel, and now while Varian was asleep and Adira was watching everything, it should be the perfect time. If it weren't for Ruddiger, Horace would love to go with Rapunzel. He was incredibly tempted, and Horace was almost tempted to give in for just a few minutes, but then he saw Ruddiger sit up and stretch.
Horace scowled and stood up, pushing Rapunzel to the back of his mind. Ruddiger got up and paced along the roof of the carriage before he turned to look at Horace, and the sight made his insides twist. Ruddiger's dark and kind eyes were an unnatural and unmistakable shade of green that almost seemed to glow. It was Zhan Tiri. She was in control.
"Eugene, what's going on with him?" Rapunzel asked quietly. Horace hushed her. He didn't want to be rude, but right now Ruddiger's possession was his biggest concern.
Ruddiger stared at Horace for a long moment before he almost seemed to smirk as much as was possible for a raccoon to do. Ruddiger jumped off the carriage and walked towards where Varian was sleeping.
Horace scowled and followed Ruddiger. The raccoon turned towards him, almost like he was making sure that Eugene was following him, before he continued.
"Adira," Horace said stiffly. He didn't turn to see if she noticed Ruddiger, or if she was responding to Horace's cry. He was entirely focused on following Ruddiger. The raccoon had reached Varian's side. Ruddiger turned to give one more smug look towards Horace before he cuddled up against Varian. Immediately the teenager stiffened and groaned in his sleep. He was slipping into another nightmare.
Horace saw red.
"Get away from him!" Horace shouted furiously. He stormed to Ruddiger and grabbed him just a bit too harshly. The raccoon hissed and squirmed in Horace's grip. He bit Horace so harshly that he could feel the bite through his thick gloves. This wasn't just a warning or playful nibble, Ruddiger was trying to do him harm.
Horace yelped and accidentally dropped Ruddiger. The raccoon landed on his feet and dashed towards Varian again. Horace growled.
"Back off!" Horace intercepted Ruddiger and did something that he thought he would never do. He let his frustrations come out in physical aggression.
Horace kicked Ruddiger away. The raccoon squealed in pain as it crashed against the ground. He turned to Horace and hissed at him. Horace wanted to hiss right back at him.
"That was your last chance, demon." Horace said lowly. He reached into his satchel and pulled out his bone and black rock dagger. He dove towards Ruddiger. The green glow of the raccoon's eyes faded, returning to the usual black, but Horace barely noticed. He was now a man on a mission.
Ruddiger tried to run away from him, but Horace was able to get a hold on him. He used one hand to hold the raccoon down while the other had a tight grip on his dagger. His hands were shaking, but he had to move past it.
"Horace?" Varian sounded half asleep behind him. "W-what…what's going on?" He sounded tired and confused, and hopefully didn't see what Horace was doing. Still, Horace wasn't going to take the chance.
"Adira!" Horace said loudly. "We're doing this now."
"Yes, your highness." Adira said coldly. She stepped past him and went to Varian. Horace looked over his shoulder just enough to see Adira grab Varian, holding him back. The kid wouldn't interfere. This was Horace's chance.
"I'm sorry." Horace said as he turned his attention back to Ruddiger squirming under his grip. The raccoon looked at him with wide, pleading eyes that seemed to dig into Horace's very soul, but he wasn't going to let himself be swayed. He had to keep Varian safe, no matter what.