Even though it was still late Eugene wanted to go to Old Corona right away. He really didn't want to wait, and Lance was all for it. They left the castle, after Eugene left a note for Rapunzel saying where he was going. Eugene really wanted to bring Rapunzel with them, because he felt like he needed her support, but Lance insisted that it wasn't a good idea.
The walk to Old Corona was a long one, but they had a way to pass the time. Lance finally agreed to tell him what he thought was going on, and he was right, Eugene wished that he didn't know.
Eugene rubbed the back of his gloved hand. "Are you sure this is a slave mark?"
"Like I said, I don't know for sure." Lance said. "But I'm afraid it is."
"How do you know? Eugene asked. Corona keeping slaves was a very well protected secret. Even Rapunzel didn't know about it, and she was the crown princess.
"My grandmother told me when I was little." Lance said. "The only memory I have of her is her telling me about slavery and slave marks. She warned me to be careful in Corona. She didn't want me to have the same life as she did."
Eugene felt like he was going to be sick. "Your grandma was a slave?"
"When she was young." Lance said. "She was a free woman for most of her life, but the mark seared on her skin wouldn't let her forget how she was treated."
"I can't believe I could have forgotten about this kind of thing." Eugene said. Lance shrugged.
"We've both met people who've been through so much trauma that they couldn't handle remembering it." Lance said. "I guess it happened to you too."
"But I was just a kid." Eugene said. He'd had this mark as long as he could remember. He didn't understand how somebody could force anybody to be a slave, but especially not a small child. "And Varian's just a kid." Eugene didn't want to think about how he was probably born into slavery, so his parents had probably been slaves themselves. Instead he pushed his thoughts to Varian. That kid really was in trouble. Criminal or not, he didn't deserve this.
Lance and Eugene walked in relative silence for the rest of the journey to Old Corona. The town looked even more rundown than it had been when Eugene had been here last, and it hadn't really been a pretty sight back then either. They made their way to Varian's home and down the stairs into the kid's old lab.
It was chilling to see Quirin frozen in amber. Eugene didn't know how they were going to get him out, but if there was one thing that he and Lance were good at it was stumbling through situations that they really didn't know anything about. They were good at thinking on their feet and somehow making things work out.
Eugene found Varian's alchemy notes and started looking them over while Lance got started by just grabbing random alchemical elements and dumping them together to see if anything came to fruition.
Looking through Varian's writing Eugene learned two things. First, Varian was really smart. Eugene had already known this, because a child would have to be smarter than average to make the machines that he did. These notes though went beyond that. It made it clear that the kid wasn't just coming up with big ideas that he couldn't really handle, endangering himself and everybody around him.
Varian actually understood the things he did. He thought it out, and did tests, and did his best to make things safe and efficient. Yes, it clearly wasn't perfect, as Eugene had seen for himself, but it wasn't because Varian was reckless and uncaring, it was because he was young and made mistakes.
The second thing that became clear the more that Eugene read it was that Varian was a lonely child, and that only got worse after his father was encased in amber. Varian dated his notes, and since the day of the blizzard the writings grew more and more frantic, desperate, and anxious. Eugene was literally reading Varian's pleas for help, and none of that help had come. All that had happened was that he had been stalked and attacked by the guards while the people of Old Corona turned a blind eye.
Eugene's stomach twisted in guilt. He had grown up in an orphanage and on the streets. He'd seen far too many people, kids, do absolutely terrible things because they'd hit rock bottom and had seen no other way. Eugene was guilty of doing that kind of thing more times than he could count himself. It was terrifying what people would resort to when they had nothing to lose.
Eugene hadn't stopped to think that Varian had been in that circumstance. He'd known that the kid was lashing out, but he refused to consider that there might be a reason. Varian had seemed like such a happy, somewhat reckless child that came from a loving, if strict, home. Eugene hadn't thought that a kid who had a dad to keep an eye on him would ever have a good reason for hurting anybody.
Eugene had made assumptions, and just look where that had landed them.
Eugene lost track of time as he read through Varian's journals. It felt like an intrusion of privacy, but he felt like he had to keep going. Eugene hadn't listened to Varian before. None of them had. He felt like the least he could do was listen to what Varian had to say now, even if it was too late.
Varian had taken all kinds of notes about how he had accidentally trapped his father in the amber, and his theories about how he could free him. All of the methods that Varian had written out had been crossed out, or had comments and corrections written next to them. Eugene only partially understood how any of this worked, but he had to at least try to work with it.
Eugene reluctantly set aside Varian's notebook and joined Lance in just throwing some stuff together and hoping that it worked. It was just as effective as Eugene thought it would be, so not at all.
They worked all morning and well into the afternoon before Lance suggested that they call it a day. Eugene said he wanted to go just a little bit more. Lance just gave him a sympathetic look.
"Do whatever you feel you need to." Lance said. "I'll figure out something to tell the princess."
Eugene felt a pant in his chest. He was sure that Rapunzel didn't know about this whole slavery business, but surely the king knew. It hurt to know that his girlfriend's family might be responsible for the imprisonment of his family.
Eugene ended up working for more than just a few more hours. He stayed up all night trying to break through the amber, and all he had to show for it was a headache and a few dozen burns and scrapes. Eugene didn't rest until Lance came back the next day and made him get some sleep while he picked up from there.
The next few weeks went on like this. Eugene rarely left Old Corona. Lance would regularly travel back to the capital to reassure Rapunzel. The story he'd told her was that Eugene felt a little stifled in the castle, so he was staying in Old Corona for a bit to begin repairs. Rapunzel missed him, but according to Lance she was nothing but supportive. She just wanted Eugene to be happy, and she was willing to give him all the space he needed to get that.
She was way too good for her. Eugene knew that she had to be suspicious and worried, but her understanding and compassion was winning out over that. Eugene didn't know if he'd be able to do the same if their positions were reversed.
A few weeks after coming to Old Corona Eugene was sitting on the front steps of the ruined castle. He was in a slump. He felt like he had made absolutely no progress. He could understand how Varian had become so rundown.
Eugene sighed as he flipped through the pages of Varian's last notebook, looking for something, anything, that he could use to free Quirin.
Eugene was exhausted. These past few weeks he worked and researched as much as he could handle before completely crashing. When he did sleep his dreams haunted him and left him feeling restless and uneasy when he woke up, even if he couldn't remember a thing that had happened.
Eugene yawned and closed the book. He needed to stretch his legs a little. He stood up, went back inside of the old castle, and just started walking around. It was far from the first time that Eugene had explored an abandoned house, but through these past few weeks he hadn't gone past the lab. He'd been far too busy to scope out the house, and it didn't feel right to scope out this place like he might any other.
Eugene walked up the stairs, down the hall, and eventually found himself in a bedroom. Considering the lack of science tools and books, this must be Quirin's room. Moonlight was shining brightly through the window, even though the sky had been basically overcast when Eugene had been out there.
The moonlight illuminated a chest with a very familiar symbol on it. Eugene felt both relief and despair when he saw the circle with the three strikes through it. He knelt next to the chest and ran his hand over the symbol.
"I knew there was a connection." Eugene said quietly. He opened the chest and the first thing he saw was a notebook, similar to Varian's. He really couldn't say why, but Eugene felt drawn to this notebook. He picked it up and, by the bright moonlight, tried to see if he could find any useful information. It was a long-shot, but it was better than nothing.
It was too dark to read everything, but two things stood out to him. Moon, and opal. Varian had mentioned the moon a few times in his notes, but in a vague way that implied that he felt like it meant something, even if he didn't know what. Varian's notes said that he had found mentions of the moon in the same place where he had found the research that encouraged him to try the experiment that trapped his father in the first place.
As for opal, Eugene knew that Varian had something called opal powder downstairs. Eugene hadn't touched the stuff, just because it didn't feel right to experiment with a gemstone. It didn't matter if the opal powder wasn't actually crushed opals, Eugene had stayed away from it.
Maybe…maybe.
"Oh, what the heck." Eugene grabbed the book, closed the chest, and made his way downstairs and back towards the lab. This wasn't a lot to work with, but at least it was something, so it was automatically more than he was used to working with.
"Lance." Eugene called out as he entered the lab. His friend jerked awake. "I need the opal powder."
"You find a lead?" Lance asked.
"Probably not." Eugene said. "But maybe."
"Hey, I could go with some maybe right now." Lance said. He looked for the opal powder while Eugene flipped through Varian's notes to find the instructions for what Varian had theorized to be his closest solution.
"This is insane." Eugene said to himself as he went through the now practiced motions to put together the alchemical solution, but this time at the end he sprinkled in some of the opal powder. There was an immediate reaction. The liquid in the vial changed from a murky green to a bright teal that Eugene had a really good feeling about.
"This had better work." Eugene said. He stepped towards the amber and slowly tipped the teal solution over it. For a moment nothing happened, but then Eugene saw the amber start to smoke and bubble. This was either really good, or really bad.
"Step back." Eugene grabbed Lance's arm and pulled him back. They both watched in shocked awe as the amber sizzled and slowly but surely began to melt away. "It's working. I-it's actually working."
Slowly but surely the amber fizzled back. It took several minutes, but Quirin was starting to be freed. Eugene might have been able to speed up the process if he had just poured more of the formula on it, but he didn't dare. He wanted to free Quirin, not melt him away too. He was patient, and within a few minutes the amber was gone enough for Quirin to collapse to the ground.
Eugene ran forward. Quirin was still, but Eugene desperately hoped that he was just unconscious and not dead. He didn't know what he would do from here if Quirin hadn't survived the amber.
"Quirin," Eugene nudged the man's shoulder. He grabbed Quirin's arm and tried to pull him up. "Come on, Quirin, wake up. Varian needs you."
To Eugene's relief Quirin groaned and shifted. He was able to support himself in a sitting position, even if he looked a little unsteady.
"Varian?" Quirin slurred. He rubbed his forehead and looked at Eugene with unfocused eyes. "E-Edmund?"
Eugene didn't know who that was, but he felt a little bad that he wasn't this Edmund person. Quirin sounded so hopeful.
"I'm afraid not." Eugene said. "My name's Eugene. I'm-"
"Prince consort." Quirin said. His tone was closed off and emotionless, just like Eugene was used to hearing from him. Quirin stood up. "What do you want?"
"I-I wanted to help you." Eugene said. He felt bad that he hadn't come to help Quirin sooner. No matter what Varian had done, Quirin didn't deserve to be imprisoned in amber for all time.
"Why?" Quirin asked. "What does the royal family want from me this time?" He sounded tired and resigned.
"I'm not here representing the royal family." Eugene said quickly. "They don't know why I'm here." Eugene liked to think that Rapunzel would be supportive of freeing Quirin, but he wasn't so sure about her father.
"So why are you here?" Quirin asked. He looked around the room. "Where's Varian?"
"He, uh, he's actually part of the reason why I'm here." Eugene said. He didn't know how to go about telling Quirin what had happened. His hesitation told Quirin more than he wanted. The man looked more alert. He looked frantic and panicked.
"Where is he?" Quirin asked. He sounded remarkably similar to the way that Varian had when he'd been at his most desperate, angry, and unstable. Eugene found himself getting more nervous. Quirin was an intimidating man. When Eugene didn't answer right away Quirin's eyes darkened. He took a threatening step towards him. "Where is my son?"
"I-I don't know." Eugene said honestly. Quirin didn't seem to believe him.
"I swear, if you Coronans have done anything to my son I will tear this kingdom apart brick by brick." Quirin growled, and Eugene believed it.
Lance came forward, putting himself between Quirin and Eugene. "Hey, I know you're worried, and I get it, but don't take it out on Eugene. We're here to help you."
"Why would Coronans do anything for me and my family?" Quirin snapped.
Lance looked at Eugene. "Take off your glove."
It wasn't a bad idea. The reason why Eugene thought that he could trust Quirin was because of this symbol and whatever that connection meant. Maybe Quirin would feel the same way.
Eugene took off his glove and showed off the symbol to Quirin, who froze.
"The symbol of the Brotherhood." Quirin said breathlessly. He stared at it cautiously before he slowly pulled off his own glove, presenting his own brand. "I only know a handful of people that have this mark, and you're not one of my siblings, but you can't be…Horace?"
"I don't know that name." Eugene said slowly. "I've been going by Eugene for as long as I can remember. I don't remember where I got this mark, or how long I've had it, and I've only recently realized what it meant. The only thing I remembered was a man telling me to keep this mark hidden before he dropped me off at the orphanage." Eugene looked at Quirin carefully. "Was that man you?"
Quirin took a deep breath. "Yes, I think it was." He eyed Eugene with a pained expression. "I couldn't afford to keep an eye on you. It would just put you in danger. You've grown up so much. You look so much like your father, and I can't believe I didn't see it before."
Eugene felt a shiver go down his spine. "You knew my father?"
"He's my brother in all but blood." Quirin said. "It killed me inside to leave them behind, but I was given the chance to preserve the future of the Dark Kingdom and Saporia, and I couldn't pass that up."
Eugene wanted to know about his father, but that kind of thing had to wait until a little bit later. They had more important things to worry about.
"Quirin, I think Varian's in trouble." Eugene said. "He kinda lost his way when he was by himself, and, well, he kinda committed treason and got himself arrested."
Quirin didn't look surprised, just concerned. "Please tell me that Varian's just in the dungeons."
Eugene grimaced. "I'm sorry, but he's not. I found transfer papers that had this mark drawn next to his name instead of a destination. I don't know where he is."
"I do." Quirin let out a deep, slow breath. There was fire burning in his eyes. "Corona has enslaved my son, just like they've enslaved the rest of my family. For years I sat back and let it happen because it was too risky to fight against an entire kingdom on my own, but Corona has crossed a line now."
"What are you going to do?" Eugene asked.
"I'm finally going to fight back." Quirin said. He nodded at Eugene. "I appreciate the help, Horace, and I'm happy to know that you've done decently for yourself." Quirin started to walk towards the door, away from them. Lance and Eugene stared at each other for a moment before Eugene grabbed Quirin's arm, stopping him.
"Hang on." Eugene said. "I want to help you."
Quirin raised an eyebrow. "I really don't think you do. Nobody knows who you are. You've made a life for yourself. You'll be throwing that all away if you come with me."
"I don't care." Eugene said, even though he did care a lot. He cared about Rapunzel. She was his life, and he loved her as much as he knew how, but Eugene now knew that his family might still be alive, and they were slaves. He couldn't just push that to the back of his mind and forget about it.
"I've wanted to know about my family all my life." Eugene said. "How am I supposed to go back to being pampered with the Coronan royal family when my family is suffering?"
Quirin gave him a small smile. "Honor and loyalty. You have Edmund's blood in you after all." He looked at Lance. "What about you?"
"Where Eugene goes, I go." Lance said. "Besides, my grandma was a woman of the fields. I know she wanted me to live my life as a free man, but I know that she would also be happy to see me fighting back against the people who think they can claim people as property."
"I'm not about to say no to help." Quirin said. "But I have one condition." He looked at Eugene. "You can't tell the princess about any of this. She can't know what we're doing."
Eugene knew that was fair enough, and he understood Quirin's reasoning, but he didn't want to keep a secret from Rapunzel. "She won't try to stop us. I know Rapunzel. If she knew that any of this was going on she wouldn't rest until she put an end to it."
"Maybe you're right, but I can't take that chance." Quirin said. "My son needs me."
Eugene sighed. "I understand. I'll think of something else to tell her." He didn't want to keep this a secret forever, but for now they needed to lay low. Someday he would tell Rapunzel everything, but it couldn't be today.
"Do we have a plan?" Lance asked.
"I have a few ideas." Quirin said. "First thing's first we need to visit an old friend. If we want to fight against Corona, we need some power behind us, and I think I know where we can get such power."
Quirin led the way outside. "Return to the castle, say goodbye to the princess, and if you're still determined to come with me, meet me at the main gate out of Corona tomorrow at midnight."
"I'll see you then." Eugene promised. He and Lance turned and started to make their way back to the capital while Quirin went inside. They all had a lot of preparations to make if they wanted to save their family. Eugene knew that he could technically turn back now, but he didn't think he would. It hurt, but he'd made his decision, and he was going to stand by it.
