It took a while, but here is chapter four.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Tangled franchise. I only own this story idea and any characters I create.

A throbbing sensation, starting from his right leg and spreading throughout his whole body, pulled him from sleep with a gasp that morphed into a hiss.

What happened? Why did everything ache in general?

Bringing his arm up to cover his eyes, he tried to block out the light attempting to break through the curtains.

He briefly considered trying to sleep through the pain, but that quickly proved impossible. Letting out a soft whine, he moved his arm back down to his side, studying the ceiling as he tried to piece together what had happened.

He'd probably pushed himself too far in training, though he hasn't done that in years. Hopefully, he made it to his room and didn't pass out on the practice field again. Uncle would be worried, and Katrina would lecture him about–!

Ignoring the protests of his screaming muscles, Connor jolted up, tossing the blankets off him as he looked around in panic.

This isn't his room.

He's not home.

He was shocked again when a screech sounded behind him, causing the teen to scramble back in fear. It only took a moment for him to recognize Courage, perched on the bed's headboard, looking concerned.

"Courage?" He asked weakly.

The hawk responded with a trill, reassuring his human friend he was real.

Breathing shakily, Connor pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to remember what was happening.

Right, okay. He wasn't home. He wasn't even at the Valley since this looked like someone's house.

He and the rest of the guard had been on their way to Corona for a critical mission, despite knowing what would happen if the Coronans found them.

Speaking of, where were the others? He glares down at the floor, trying to wade through his foggy memories.

They had been about a few days out from their destination when they were attacked by rebels. Connor vaguely remembered the actual battle, but he knew he and the guard had won. He has that much confidence in them.

He chased down the rebels to ensure they were gone, then he ended up in the water when he turned back. He didn't know how long he got tossed around in the rapids, but it must have been a while if the pain he was in gave a hint.

Then, a boy, Varian, he reminded himself, found and took him home. When he woke up, Connor accidentally punched him in the face.

Then, Quirin showed up.

Connor grimaces as everything comes back to him in much clearer pictures. "Well, yesterday can qualify as one of the worst days of my life…."

Courage only trilled, bringing the teen back to the present.

Sighing, he drops his hand before getting a better look at the room.

It's utterly plain, almost painfully so. No pictures on the walls, no little decorations to liven it up, and the whiteness of the bedsheets really tied the boredom of the room together.

He figured it was a guest room, but putting in some color besides himself and the bird would do wonders.

His gaze drifts to the half-open door. The house was utterly silent. If he remembered correctly, he was on the first floor near the kitchen. Since he couldn't hear anyone moving around, he guessed they were still asleep.

At least he had some time to himself before dealing with… whatever was next.

Trying to gauge how badly he was hurt, Connor attempted to stand up. With a huff of exertion, he slowly managed to do it, having more energy than before.

Despite the general aching in every muscle, it didn't feel like anything was broken or dislocated; everything was just stiff. More than likely, this was from being in the water for hours without giving his body a break.

Even so, there was still a problem with his supplies.

His money, provisions, all of this was in his backpack with teammates who were who-knows-where. Not to mention his Communication Mirror, which could have been a way to contact them with his location.

To top that disastrous cake off with a cherry, he lost his sword and only had two alchemy bombs.

Then, there was the matter of his host.

Quirin was a confusing person. He appeared genuine in his concern, but there was something else. Something was off about him in general. Connor had used alchemy and an attack hawk, but Quirin hadn't faltered or even paused as he tried to register it.

Meaning that this wasn't the first time he had encountered alchemy or an armed fighter.

There's also his fighting skills.

He bounced back quickly after the first attack, then used the thrown furniture as a distraction so he could get in close. Had that furniture (what did he even throw, it hadn't been that big) been meant to hit him, or had Quirin expected him to flinch back?

Whatever the intention, he knew what he was doing.

All things that, honestly, didn't mean anything to Connor because he didn't know anything about Quirin. The guy could have been a retired knight or something who traveled with alchemists.

Yet, when Connor decided to push the topic to get a better idea of who he was staying with, Quirin had lied. At least, he's pretty sure he lied.

There had been something in how his mouth pulled a little thinner; his shoulders went a little straighter, and the clasped hands on the table became a little tighter. It was small, tiny ticks that he'd barely managed to catch.

They could have been tricks of the light; he was exhausted yesterday, but right now, he'd rather believe that he was lied to.

This may have been his first time seeing Corona, but that didn't mean he didn't know anything about it.

For one thing, the Light Kingdom didn't have a knighthood system, only a royal guard. So, if Quirin was a retired knight, he wasn't from this kingdom.

Also, despite the kingdom's reputation for being hospitable, they were notoriously wary of magic, alchemy, and anyone who practiced these arts. It had only gotten worse in recent years, even since the princess was kidnapped.

The point was this; alchemy was rare here, magic was non-existent except for the odd apothecary, and even they tended to avoid Corona unless necessary. Still, given this information, it didn't sit right with him that a "simple farmer" would have no reaction when attacked with alchemy.

He wished he'd brought that up last night. Though the fact he managed to hold a conversation at all with his head swimming had been a miracle.

Connor sighed loudly, trying to calm his scrambling thoughts. "I'm starting to think it would've been better to wake up alone in the woods…."

Running his fingers through his hair a couple times, he takes slow, deep breaths.

Right now, he didn't need to stress about whatever game Quirin was playing. It probably didn't matter anyway. He wasn't going to be sticking around to find out. He needed to focus on the mission.

So, he needed to figure out his next move.

On the one hand, despite it not being how he planned it, he had made it to their destination. His team had the map, so they wouldn't lose their way and would eventually find him when they made it. Plus, since he was already at Corona, he could gather some preliminary information for them to use.

On the other hand, the plan had been to go to the capital city. Stopping in the farming village on the mainland hadn't even crossed their minds. There was no guarantee they would stop and find him when they passed through. The plan was to lay low, and Connor suspected the whole town would know about him by the end of the day. That, and he just knew Quirin wouldn't let him anywhere out of his sight if he could help it.

"Guess the only option is to stay here…" Wandering off aimlessly had not been a part of the plan, and he wasn't about to start now, especially with how banged up he felt.

That meant he needed to worry about getting a message to his team as he waited for his body to heal. He hoped that wouldn't take too long; the possibility of living with Quirin, or anybody, for however long made him feel uneasy.

Maybe he should see how this first week goes. If it ends well and his team hasn't found him yet, he'll stick around until he's partially or even fully healed. They may even set up base camp in town, as far away from the King as possible.

If anybody starts to ask too many questions or causes trouble, he'll leave, healed or not, map or no map, team or no team. He'll send Courage with the message of where he is to the group and where they go from there.

Reckless, Quirin's voice echoes in the back of his mind, and he angrily shoves it away.

He wasn't being reckless! Reckless people didn't waste time making plans! Were those plans perfectly foolproof? No! What plans ever were?!

Taking a deep breath to reign in his aggravation, he turns to Courage. "Alright, boy. I'm going to need you to get back to the others and show them where to find me."

The hawk shifted slightly, eyes still trained on his human friend. While he wasn't Courage's partner, Connor had been around him and Nita long enough to learn how to tell what Courage was feeling through his body language.

He could see he was hesitant about the plan. While he knew Courage wanted to get back to Nita, he also didn't want to leave Connor in Corona alone with a bunch of strangers.

Frankly, he didn't want to be by himself either. That aside, he knew they had a job to do, and the others needed to be informed that he was at least okay.

Sighing, Connor sat back down and reached out to scratch the back of his head. Nita said the gesture always calmed him down when he was tense. "I know, Courage, I don't like the idea either, but I need you to find the guys and show them where I am. Okay?"

He still didn't like it, but he trilled and bobbed his head forward, saying he understood.

Connor smiled at him, thankful he was here.

He was about to get up when he froze, his ears picking up the sound of footsteps thanks to his training.

Gaze flitting up towards the ceiling, he waited. He couldn't tell where they were coming from, just that they were close.

Suddenly, they stopped.

Frowning, he turned towards the door, letting out a small breath of relief when he saw no one. At least Quirin hadn't been staring at him through the crack.

That didn't explain why the footsteps stopped, though. They clearly weren't in the kitchen; otherwise, Connor would hear them getting breakfast ready. They also hadn't been that far, so they might not be upstairs.

Wait, what if Quirin had stayed in the living room last night?

Connor straightened and narrowed his eyes, feeling annoyed.

He was so exhausted last night that he immediately passed out. He couldn't recall if he blew out the candle or if his body hitting the bed had snuffed it out. He hadn't even taken off his pendant.

It wouldn't surprise him if Quirin slept on the couch last night, with the way he watched Connor like he was going to attack him.

Seriously, did he think Connor was some sort of criminal that needed to be watched? That was just plain rude; Quirin was the one who attacked him first without asking for an explanation! Connor was the victim here; he was the one in an unknown location with strangers! No one could blame him for getting hostile! If this had happened back home–!

No, no, Connor took a deep breath.

He can't afford to let his anger get the better of him here. He'll have to take the diplomatic approach when dealing with Quirin. Despite first impressions, he needed to show that he was not here to fight.

Centering his patience and waiting for Courage to get on his shoulder, he quietly got up and made his way to the door. He fully intended to face this new problem head-on.

He opened the door fully…

And found a set of bright blue eyes staring directly down at him.

Frozen, hand still grasping the door, he can only watch as Varian jumps in surprise from his position leaning over the banister.

He didn't scream to his credit, but he almost tips over the edge. Through his flailing, he hooks his arm around the railing to pull himself back, then quickly hugs himself to it with a shaky sigh of relief.

Connor hadn't moved from his spot once, he and Courage blinking owlishly as he took in the scene.

Varian stared back, steadily turning red with embarrassment.

"What are you doing?" Connor finally managed.

"Stretching!" He blinked at the too-quick answer, while Varian laughed nervously as he straightened up. "Yeah, just getting in my daily workout!"

Grasping the railing, he leaned back as far as his arms would go, then pulled himself forward to lean dangerously over the edge. So far, he could touch Connor's head if he wanted.

The buck-toothed smile he wore was too broad, only adding to the steadily growing awkward air. "It gets the blood going, so I'm ready for the day, not to mention it helps build up those arm muscles!"

He repeated the action, Connor's muscles twitching when he leaned a little too far and, again, began to tip. He righted himself quickly with another forced laugh as he stretched back.

"You're a terrible liar," Connor noted when Varian was getting ready to lean over again.

He froze, the red in his cheeks spreading quickly to the rest of his face as he stopped his 'exercise' and looked down at his feet.

Connor cursed internally.

He wasn't trying to make the other feel bad, but he didn't know what to say. This was the first time they had the chance to talk one-on-one. There was no Quirin around to pin him to a wall or stare him down for daring to speak to his son.

Although given their first conversation ended with Varian passing out, this was already a significant improvement.

Wait a minute. "How's your nose?"

Varian looked up in confusion, prompting Connor to reach up and tap the side of his nose for emphasis.

"Oh!" A gloved hand flew to his face, hovering over the bruised area. He smiled reassuringly. "It's okay! Just some light bruising, nothing I can't handle."

Connor nodded and looked away, trying not to grimace as the silence settled around them.

He had already apologized; maybe he should do it again now that he was more awake? Guilt was still gnawing at his heels, made worse by how genuinely friendly Varian was.

"What about you?" Connor looked back up in surprise to find Varian tapping his raised arm. "How's your arm?"

Remembering what he was talking about caused a rush of pain to pass through him, a sharp hiss escaping him as he instinctively moved to lean on the door. He barely stops himself, almost stumbling in place.

"Could be better, could be worse," He said once the worst of the pain passed. "I think I'm just stiff more than anything else. It should go away as I move around. On that topic, do you have any parchment and writing utensils I can borrow?"

Having leaned over again with his hand raised in concern, Varian straightened up like a whip.

"Yeah!" He said, darting to the bottom of the stairs. Connor moved to join him, albeit much slower from pain and caution. "I always have some in my lab. I can bring some up along with your clothes. They should be dry by now. Also, breakfast; I hope you like pancakes!"

Varian paused when a question crossed his mind. "Wait, why do you need paper and a quill again?"

"I'm gonna send Courage out with a message to let my friends know I'm in one piece."

"Oh, okay," Varian nodded, understanding. "Do you think he'll be able to find them?"

"As long as they haven't strayed from the route we were using," Connor assured him, hoping he was right.

Courage was quiet throughout the conversation, tilting his head every so often to look at Varian curiously. Then, out of nowhere, he leaned forward and started nipping at Varian's bangs, taking both boys by surprise.

Varian stilled, blue eyes going wide with surprise. "O-oh, hi?"

Connor blinked in shock before speaking again. "You… you have to be special."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Courage trying to preen your hair is his way of saying that he likes you, he trusts you. I can count only two people he does that to; me and his partner, Nita!"

"So, he doesn't do this to just anyone?" Varian clarified, wondering if he should lean back or not.

"Definitely not to anyone he's barely known for twenty-four hours."

As if to confirm their suspicions, Courage fluttered off Connor's shoulder and onto Varian's, taking an interest in his goggles.

Varian laughed awkwardly again, Connor simply staring at the scene. After a moment, he smiled slightly at the other, who managed to return it. If Courage thought Varian was cool, then so did Connor.

A sharp "ahem" from above cut their conversation to a halt.

Looking up, Connor was almost stumped at the wave of annoyance that swept through him. Was it possible to feel this much negativity towards one person?

He couldn't stand people looking down on him; having someone do it from a literal height advantage was even more infuriating. Yet there Quirin was, standing at the top of the stairs like a dissatisfied king, looking between his two subjects with narrowed eyes.

Eventually, that gaze locked on Connor fully, who wasted no time glaring back. He was sure he saw the corner of Quirin's mouth twitching, threatening to break that stony calm mask as he made his way down the stairs, neither breaking eye contact.

Once at the bottom step, he turned to Varian.

Connor blinked in shock, huffing quietly when Quirin didn't even have the decency to look agitated at losing the contest. It's official. He hated this guy.

"You two are up early," He said, smile not unkind but strained.

Connor also turned to Varian, surprised to find an odd expression on his face.

Varian looked nervously between them, but each time he looked at Quirin, there was something like… sadness? Wait, was that guilt?

Connor frowned in confusion. Courage also noticed the change in Varian's mood, trilling as he did when either he or Nita was upset.

"Sorry," Varian said, rubbing his arm.

That confused Connor even more. What was there to be sorry about?

"I wanted to make breakfast, but I, uh," His gaze darted to Connor, then away. "Got distracted."

Quirin hummed, looking between them again. "Alright, what did you have in mind?"

"Uh, pancakes? I think we got some bacon, too," Varian said slowly. "So, how many did you want?"

"Just one should be good."

Varian nodded before turning to Connor with a hesitation that hadn't been there earlier.

Connor blinked back, still puzzled over the sudden change in demeanor. Sure, things had been a little awkward to start, but the conversation wasn't as difficult as it felt. Now, Varian wouldn't even look him in the eye, instead focusing somewhere over his shoulder. Add that to his nervousness; it was almost like he was scared.

But of what? Him? No, if that were the case, he'd be acting like this earlier, so–

Another cough breaks him from his thoughts, looking up in annoyance to find Quirin staring down at him with a raised eyebrow. Raising his own eyebrow in question, he turned to find Varian staring at him in confusion.

Why were they looking at him like that? Wait, what did they say earlier?

"Oh! Sorry, uh," Connor pinched the bridge of his nose, gathering himself. If he didn't resemble a tomato by now, he'd consider that a lucky break. "I'll take two."

Suddenly, he's thankful that Varian was trying to avoid eye contact. He felt like such an idiot.

Varian nodded, darting into the kitchen with a shout of, "Okay, coming right up!"

Courage had returned to his leader's shoulder before he left, giving the older man in the room a hawk-like glare. Quirin hadn't moved, though, and Connor felt trapped, unsure if he should follow Varian or wait until the adult took the initiative.

"How's your arm?" Quirin asked, breaking the tense silence.

Connor warily looked up at him.

Quirin did look concerned. A little. In general, he didn't emote strongly, or maybe he was intentionally holding back?

"Fine," Connor said, refusing to show any weakness. "Sore, but fine."

Quirin nodded and began to make his way to the kitchen.

Connor started to follow but stopped, staring at the broken wood in the hallway leading to the front door. It was small, with what looked like long legs from this distance, so it had probably been an end table.

Looking up, he found Quirin had also stopped to look at the mess with exasperation, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.

If he were back home, Connor knows he would have said something smart-alecky. However, he didn't want to start a fight, so he headed toward the kitchen.

Entering, he saw Varian quickly mixing up some pancake batter, his back to him. He noticed the other had set out some paper with a feather pen and inkwell for him. Taking a seat at the table, he took a piece of paper and grabbed the pen to write out his message.

He kept the note itself simple, that he was okay, his location, to stick with the plan, and keep their heads down. He thought briefly about asking them to send his Communication Mirror to him but then decided not to. While he didn't know what Quirin's game was, he knew he would be watching him like a hawk. The last thing he needed was Quirin overhearing him talking about sensitive information.

Once he was done, he blew on the note to get the ink to dry faster. Checking it over, he rolled it up and secured it before tying it to Courage's leg.

"Here," Varian said suddenly, getting their attention. He held out a piece of bacon towards them, looking nervous. "For Courage."

Connor stared at him for a moment before taking the meat. "Thank you…"

The other teen managed to smile slightly before turning back to his cooking.

Connor watched him a little longer before getting up. He walked outside, not caring he was in just his bare feet, waiting for the bird of prey to finish his breakfast before taking flight.

"Safe travels." He told him, smoothing his feathers.

Courage screeched one last time before flying off.

Connor smiled as his avian friend flew off before frowning as he looked back at the manor. If he had his clothes and weapon, he would just walk away and return to his team. However, he didn't have his things, so he walked back inside.

He went to the kitchen and saw that Quirin was waiting for him at the table. There was now a thick tension in the room that Connor could have sliced with his sword if he had it.

He hesitated, glancing towards the front door one last time before, reluctantly, sitting next to Quirin.

And that's the end of chapter four. Read, review, and stay tuned.

Also, Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!