Chapter 36
Learning

Varian's voice cracked; "Wh...What?"
"Are you the son of Quirin?" The lady asked again with concern.
Cassandra snarled, "Look. We're just here because we heard that alchemy was allowed here."
"Alchemy?" The lady looked up at Cassandra, then she slowly stood up.

"Yes, you'd heard correctly..." The lady nodded. "I am Adira, and this is Hector." The lady pointed at herself and then at Hector. "Hello." Hector rolled his eyes, he was kind of like Cassandra in a way, just more aggressive. (If that was possible.)

"Please, the King would like to speak to you and... your friend." Adira told Cassandra.

Cassandra looked at Varian, frowned and looked back at Adira and Hector. "I see. Take us there then." Cassandra couldn't say no. She had finally got to her and Varian's destination, and she wasn't going to back down now. The two followed Adira and Hector to the castle...

The King, who was a man with long brown hair and a brown beard, or a mustache and a thick goatee, to be exact; looked at Varian with shock in his eyes. "Is it?" The King looked up at Adira and Hector, his voice shaky. "I do believe so, our liege." Adira put her hand to her chest.

Varian was confused and didn't know any of these people, despite having a feeling that he did. Then it snapped, he realized who they were;

"Brother Hector and Sister Adira,

I'm so sorry for you have to found out this way, but me and my wife will not be coming home. They have found us and I'm afraid we have no way to escape it this time. Please, take good care of our son, wherever you end up next in your travels.

Your brother, Quirin."

Varian kept looking around and found a wall that had portraits of many people. The ones that stuck out to him the most was; a older man with long, brown hair and a brown beard, the same man from the portrait, just in different clothing, a silver-haired woman with a split-faced painting over her tan skin and the last one, a man with a black beard, black dreadlocks and yellow eyes.

The portraits were dirty, but he could make out their faces. It was something about the man from the other portrait that also appeared here... He couldn't pinpoint it, but... It just seemed to wash relief and comfort over him, his eyes... Did he know this man somehow?

Varian had a odd look mixed with surprise, confusion and fright. He had heard these names before, in the letter... Hector, Adira, Quirin... He had seen these faces on the portraits, the older man, the silver-haired woman, the man... "Wait, wait, wait." Varian shook his head.

"Are you... trying to tell me that you think I'm... Quirin's son, the man that sent you a letter?" Varian asked. Hector and Adira exchanged looks, "We received no letter. But we have known from a traveler that was with Quirin and Ulla, his wife, that there was a child born and was attempted to be sent back to us." Adira told him. Varian looked down at the floor, thinking... Cassandra looked at him and put her hand on his shoulder; "Hey, you okay kid?" She asked calmly. "I..." Varian's mind was getting scrambled.

"I don't know..." Varian held his own arms.

The King spoke loudly; "It has to be him! He has to be the child of Quirin and Ulla, just look at him, he looks so much like the two of them..." The King approached Varian, but Varian backed away, having a moment. The King frowned and thought it was probably best to calm down.

"Sorry, young man... I am King Edmund. King of the Dark Kingdom and Leader of the Brotherhood. I apologize if I have startled you." The King knelt down to him. "Show us a picture of Quirin and Ulla, would you? I don't believe it. Varian's been living in the streets of the Kingdom of Corona for... years, from my understanding." Cassandra quietly hissed.

King Edmund nodded, then looked at Adira, who went off to get a portrait... When she came back, she handed him the portrait and King Edmund proceeded to hand it to Cassandra. She looked at it closely, Varian... did favor the two... Then she froze upon seeing the baby they were holding, the baby boy looked exactly like Varian, except the stress-streak was a soft grey.

Cassandra showed Varian and he choked on his scream.
Varian panicked and dug around in his bag, pulling out the portrait from the building.

It was almost an exact replica of the picture, except dirt covered the baby in his.

Varian's eyes watered, he was so confused and afraid and... He didn't know what he was, he didn't know... He thought he knew everything up until this point. Everything he ever thought he knew, was blown away by this portrait, and these people, and this kingdom.

"This was the stuff that the traveler brought back for us. You see, according to them..." King Edmund unlocked and opened the chest. "Quirin and Ulla were being hunted by an evil organization, and to protect Quirin, Ulla, an alchemist just like you, actually, used a chemical compound of hers to encase Quirin in amber, so the evil organization couldn't get to them. She was killed by the evil organization, and Quirin was left stuck in the amber for years..."

He explained. "The traveler had found Ulla's almanac and learned about how they were being hunted, and Ulla's plans to protect Quirin, and assumed this was exactly what happened. The traveler went to us, informed us of everything and gave us the almanac." King Edmund told him.

"The almanac had been started shortly after Quirin and Ulla left to the Kingdom of Corona, along with Hector and Adira, and Ulla had wrote wonderful things about you, and was terribly upset to have to leave you behind."

"She tried to send you to Hector and Adira, it seems, but..." King Edmund looked at the two behind him, "They didn't receive you. We aren't sure what happened, if someone took you from us, or you were dropped off at the wrong place... If Hector and Adira had already left their place in Corona... We really don't know anything." King Edmund sighed.

Varian gently dug around in the chest, he saw a dark-blue blanket with the symbol that he had thought was so familiar, embroidered onto it. "That there, is the symbol of Brotherhood. Quirin, your father, was allies of the Brotherhood, therefore he was marked with the symbol on his hand. Just like all of us." King Edmund told him. The blanket was soft, and so... small...

It must have been his baby blanket.
Matching it to the portrait, it indeed was.

He dug around in the chest again, occasionally looking up at Cassandra, who was leaning against the wall, one foot put to the wall, her arms crossed, a soft, concerned, yet curious, look on her face, watching Varian dig around in all of the stuff in the chest.

Varian pulled out a flask, it was a small one with the words; "For Varian, when he's old enough" written on a note tied around it. Varian's eyes then teared up, this was for him... It was a gift...

"Mom...was an alchemist like me..." Varian couldn't believe it. He held the flask gently in his hands, tears falling onto the glass; he began sobbing, "Mommy..."

Cassandra frowned and headed over to comfort him. "It's okay, don't cry..." She tried to soothe Varian's nerves. Varian tried to stop crying, but tears fell down his cheeks even quicker.

Varian wiped his tears with his sleeve, his hands shaking. He put down the flask on the blanket and then caught a glimpse of some other stuff in the chest, a warrior's helmet with a brotherhood symbol melted into it (probably Quirin, his dad's.), his mother's almanac (which was filled with many notes, it was in-fact, overfilled and you could see them perking out of the pages) and picture that had a small portrait of Quirin and Ulla hugging each other.

Varian, the next day, had finally calmed down and wasn't a wreck, so he was able to talk with the other members of the brotherhood, and Cassandra, without his voice cracking or busting into tears. "So... My dad... He's alive? Just... encased in amber?" Varian asked, leaning on the table a bit. "From our understanding, yes." Adira nodded.

Varian looked at Cassandra, then at the three; "Do you think there's a way I can find him and free him from the amber?" He asked. Adira, Hector and Edmund all exchanged looks.

"I'm an alchemist! Like my mom! I could... I could try and find a chemical compound that can counter the alchemical makeup of the amber's solution." Varian explained. "We...don't know the exact location, but perhaps you could if you were brave enough to head that way." King Edmund said to him. "Me and Cassie, we've traveled here all the way from Corona, I think we can handle going where my dad is encased." Varian said.

"Shouldn't we be heading back to Corona though? It's been 3 months and a half, Varian... I'm sure Angry and Red are worried about you, and Raps is probably missing me." Cassandra interjected.

Varian wasn't sure how to take that.
Cassandra had a point; he and her had left so quickly...

"We'll go to Corona, stay for a while, then set off to free my dad. If you're up to it, I mean-" Varian stuttered, "I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do, Cassie."

Cassandra gave him a small smile, "I wouldn't mind that plan, sounds good." She replied.

Varian sighed in-relief that he didn't upset or anger Cassandra. "What do you think Ruddiger? Banana?" He looked at the raccoon and banana fruit-snail. They seemed interested.

"Then it's settled... We will head back to Corona after a while of staying here, check on things there, then set off to free my dad." Varian nodded. "Thank you, uh... Edmund... King! King Edmund, sir... Edmund..." Varian wasn't sure what to call him.

King Edmund laughed, "Just call me Uncle Edmund. You can called Hector and Adira, Uncle and Aunt, if you'd like." He told him. Hector was about to say; "No you can't." but Adira agreed with Edmund and elbowed Hector in the side to tell him to not say it.

"Thanks." Varian smiled...
He looked at Cassandra, "I just hope I'm not still wanted and that Rapunzel got those rules changed like you said she was trying to do." He whispered to her. "Yeah, me too; kid..." She said...