It was two weeks after the snow storm before Lance finally let Varian leave the abandoned castle they'd taken up shelter in. Normally he wouldn't have a problem with staying in the chilly castle, but he had a plan in mind, and he wanted to put it into action. He could make all of his preparations in the castle itself, but the plan itself required him to leave the castle and go to the capital.
Varian thought that Lance was overreacting. Yes, he may have had some frostbite, and thinking clearly came really hard to him in the days following the storm, but Varian got better rather quickly. The only thing from the snowstorm that lingered with Varian was a pretty bad cough that made his chest hurt.
Lance was just protective of Varian, and wouldn't allow him to leave until his cough cleared up completely. It didn't matter how many times Varian pointed out that the weather had cleared up amazingly, and that Corona was back to its irritatingly sunny self, Lance still insisted that he was confined to the castle.
Varian was a bit irritated with Lance's protectiveness, but he actually kind of liked the attention. It reminded him of being back home. They took illness very seriously in the Dark Kingdom, no matter how small it was. Varian still remembered when he'd gotten sick when he was a little kid, barely six years old. His dad had never been more openly concerned and affectionate as he had been during those few tense weeks.
It was a long time ago, but Varian didn't think he'd ever forget it, mostly because the incident with the tiger had happened at the same time. His fur lined bracers and tasset reminded him of what had happened. His memories were a bit blurred and mixed up, but what he did remember was fairly vivid. He remembered being tired all the time, and his dad's constant companionship while he was sick. And Varian didn't think he would ever forget the fear and urgency he'd felt when he'd seen that Horace was missing.
Varian had been ill, but he'd gone after his prince anyway. Back then Horace's safety and presence had been far more important than Varian's, and that hadn't changed.
Though that didn't mean that Varian couldn't be a little selfish sometimes. Starting just a few days after the storm, Horace and Nelovko began to visit their castle hideaway. Arian really couldn't help the rush of anxiety and concern he felt when he first heard Horace enter and call out to him. The prince had sounded concerned about him, but Varian wasn't ready to see him.
Horace certainly sounded worried, but how did Varian know that he really was? What if Horace was just trying to get him to lower his guard again so that he could give yet another excuse to stay away from home? Varian didn't want to fall for that again. He was past the point of taking Horace at his word. Varian knew better by now. If he wanted Horace to come home, he had to make him come, and Varian thought he had a plan to do just that.
So Varian, with Lance's help, had ducked away into a hidden hallway to keep out of Horace's way. Nelovko was able to smell out their position, but Lance would move them at the last minute just before Horace could find them.
This went on for nearly an hour before a discouraged Horace had hesitantly left, only to return the next day, and again the day after that. He came by the castle every single day, and Varian didn't know how he felt about it. On the one hand, Horace's dedication could be a sign that he sincerely wanted to apologize and make things right, like he claimed he did. On the other hand, the more Varian heard from Horace the more tempted he was to give him another chance, even though he knew better by now.
Varian soon started to tune out everything that Horace said whenever he came by. He would read and work on the small details of his plan while Lance kept guard and moved their position if Nelovko started to get too close.
Varian was grateful for Lance's company. The man never said whether he disapproved of Varian hiding from Horace or not. He just helped him, because that was what Varian needed right then.
Sometimes, on nights when Varian was especially distressed and homesick, Lance would sit and talk to him about how he was feeling. Sometimes Lance suggested that he try to talk to Horace, that it might help him feel a little better, but when he insisted that he didn't want to, Lance would let the matter drop.
Varian didn't want to think about Horace. It hurt too much, and it just distracted him from his work. Sure, Varian's current work directly involved Horace, but thinking about how to bring him home was a lot easier than thinking about being his friend again.
Varian dedicated all his time to testing and experimenting. This was a risky plan, and he intended to do it right. If Varian messed up he knew that he wouldn't be the only one to pay for it. Ruddiger could get hurt. Lance could get in trouble. Their kingdom could never get their prince back. There was too much riding on Varian's risky plan for him to get it wrong.
It took some trial and error, as well as a lot of bribery for Ruddiger, but eventually Varian felt like he was prepared enough to finally begin. He had to wait a few more days before Lance said that he was healthy enough to go. Varian suspected that the man was trying to get Varian to second guess himself and come up with another plan, but he wasn't to be swayed. He'd made up his mind, and he'd already come this far. He was getting his prince back, no matter what the consequences were.
Once Lance had reluctantly okayed his health, Varian was ready to go.
"You don't have to come," Varian said to Lance, who was anxiously watching him gather the alchemical solutions he would need for that afternoon's journey. "I know you don't like this plan."
"If it weren't for the fact that I knew that you would follow through with this by yourself if I don't go with you, I might take you up on that." Lance said. "I'm not going to let you do this by yourself. So, yeah, you can't get rid of me that easily."
Varian gave Lance an appreciative smile as he handed him a few of his alchemy vials. He then turned his attention to Ruddiger, who looked almost as cautious about this whole thing as Lance was. Varian knelt in front of the raccoon and pet him. "Hey, buddy, I know you don't really want to do this, but I would really appreciate your help if you're willing." This wouldn't be impossible without Ruddiger, but the raccoon's help would definitely make it easier.
Ruddiger chirped and nuzzled against Varian. He was ready, and Varian had never loved the raccoon more. "You're amazing, little guy, you know that?" Ruddiger nodded in agreement. Varian handed him a tiny vial with a small amount of thick, gray liquid in it. "Be careful with this. We both know how volatile this makes you." Varian pet Ruddiger. "I know you don't have a lot of control with this, but if you can I want you to do your best to not hurt anybody." He may not like Corona very much, but Varian didn't want to hurt anybody. All he wanted was for Horace to come home.
Ruddiger nodded and sniffed at the vial in his paws.
Lance took a deep breath. "So, is this it? Are we going now?"
Varian nodded. "If the pattern follows, Horace will be coming by soon. If we leave now we can get to the capital and do what needs to be done before he gets back."
Lance frowned slightly. "Shy's it so important that Horace isn't there? I thought this whole thing was a message for him?"
"It is." Varian said. "But if he's there when we start then he might figure out what we're up to and stop us." Varian stroked the fur of his braces, frowning slightly as he tried to push down the twisting guilt in his gut. He knew that Horace wouldn't approve of this plan, but Varian didn't have a lot of options. Horace had forced his hand, so now Varian was going to return the favor.
"Besides," Varian said quietly. "I don't want anybody to get hurt, but especially not him. But he won't be in any danger if he's not there."
"Alright, fair enough," Lance said, though he didn't truly look convinced. "Just be careful out there, kid. I'm going to be keeping as close an eye on you as I can, but there's only so much I can do."
"I'll try." Varian said, and he meant it. He wasn't trying to go out of his way to get himself hurt. He just thought the risk was worth it. "Let's get going before I change my mind." Varian picked up Ruddiger, made sure he had the correct alchemical solutions that he needed, and grabbed the spear that Ruddiger had pulled from the Great Tree.
For better or for worse, Varian was ready to put an end to this trip to Corona.
Eugene was feeling exhausted and discouraged. He'd been trying to reach out to Varian for the past few weeks, and he hadn't seen any sign of him. If it weren't for the fact that Nelovko was absolutely convinced that Varian was in this odd, abandoned castle, and there were a few signs of somebody staying here, he would be panicking.
As it was, Eugene was just hurt. Varian was here, he knew he was, he was just avoiding him, as he had every right to. Varian was going out of his way to not listen to his apologies, and Eugene couldn't blame him. He'd been ignoring Varian's concerns and pushing him to the back of his mind for more than a year. It was understandable that the kid was finally standing up for himself.
Eugene wasn't going to give up on him though, not again. He was going to continue to come to this castle to look for Varian, no matter how many times the kid hid from him. Eugene would give him all the space and time he needed, but he would be right there, ready to talk to him, just as soon as Varian was ready to give him a chance.
Eugene had gotten fairly used to walking all around this old, abandoned castle, as he'd been doing it for nearly two weeks, but today seemed different. Usually as soon as they entered Nelovko would immediately wander down a secluded hallway to look for Varian. This time Nelovko looked around curiously before he huffed irritably and turned back around to leave the castle.
"Hey, hey, where are you going?" Eugene asked. He felt a rush of concern. "Did Varian leave?" He'd gotten used to Varian staying hidden in this castle, but he didn't want to take his presence for granted again. If Nelovko thought that he wasn't here, then he wasn't here.
Eugene sighed and followed Nelovko out before climbing onto his back. "Alright, let's go find the kid." Nelovko huffed and whipped his head back before striding very quickly away from the old castle. Eugene rode down the paths of Old Corona and out of the small town.
Rapunzel, sitting on Max's back, was waiting for him just outside the town. She gave him a concerned look.
"You're done really quick today." Rapunzel said with forced casualness. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know." Eugene said honestly. "Varian wasn't there."
"Well, maybe he went to the castle." Rapunzel suggested, trying to look on the bright side of things. Eugene shook his head.
"Varian hasn't come to seek me out for several months." Eugene said. If it wasn't for Nelovko being able to smell Varian's general location, Eugene would be absolutely terrified that the boy had run into some terrible trouble. It had been far too long since Eugene had even seen Varian. How could he not have realized just how long it had been? He should have done something about it as soon as Lance started to see him in Varian's place.
"It'll be okay, Eugene," Rapunzel said quietly.
"I really don't think it will be," Eugene said. He'd pushed Varian too far. He had known deep down that how he was treating Varian was unkind and even cruel, but he'd convinced himself that it was okay. Varian had forgiven him of a lot of terrible behavior in the past ten years, and Eugene had taken that as permission to continue his mistreatment.
Honestly, Eugene thought that Varian should have stopped giving him more chances years ago.
Eugene took a deep breath and pet Nelovko's fur. "See if you can find Varian." No matter how many times Eugene had run away from his responsibilities in the past ten years, Varian had come after him, just in case. The least that Eugene could do was return the favor.
Nelovko dashed off. Max neighed and dashed after him. Nelovko was faster, but Max wasn't bad at keeping up.
Eugene kept his gaze straight ahead, though out of the corner of his eye he saw Rapunzel give him concerned looks.
"I'm sure Varian's okay," Rapunzel said. Eugene had told her how capable and trained Varian was. He thought that Rapunzel was under the impression that Varian was like a younger version of Cassandra. In some ways, that was a fair enough assumption, but but there was something very important that Eugene was reminding himself of more and more every day.
"He's just a kid," Eugene said. "He's barely fifteen." In the Dark Kingdom children at that age were treated a bit like small adults, but they were still technically children. They needed to be taken care of, and their guardians were supposed to be taking responsibility for them.
Rapunzel had an odd look on her face. "That's not really a kid, is it? I mean, can't people take care of themselves at that age?"
Eugene finally turned away from the path to give Rapunzel a weird look. She seemed genuinely confused. It took Eugene a long moment to realize what was going on.
"Blondie, I know that Gothel left you alone a lot when you were growing up, so you had to become independent a lot sooner than you should have, but that's really not how it should be." Eugene said. "Children, teenagers, and sometimes even young adults, should be taken care of by the adults around them. Just because they're able to take care of themselves doesn't mean that they should."
Rapunzel just looked more confused. "What about the maids at the castle? A lot of them are younger than I am, and they seem just fine."
"But they're still older than Varian." Eugene said. There may be just a year or two difference, but that could make all the difference in the world. "And they're probably struggling a lot more than you think they are." That was one thing Eugene really missed about the Dark Kingdom. Nobody hid how they were feeling back there. If any of them were having a particularly bad day, they would let the others know so that they could better support and cover for each other.
Here in Corona though everybody felt the need to put on a happy face and shove their suffering deep down. They were taught that if others saw that they were struggling then they would become a burden on society. Especially if the person who saw them struggling was the princess of Corona herself.
Rapunzel still looked confused, but there was a thoughtful look on her face. She fell silent. Eugene knew that she was actually thinking about what he said. This was one thing he loved about her. There was a lot that Rapunzel didn't know, and sometimes she could be really self-centered, which made sense, considering her isolated upbringing. However, Rapunzel was also willing to learn. Most of the time when a problem was pointed out to her and properly explained she would at least try to consider it. Her way of thinking didn't always change, but she tried to not immediately dismiss it.
With Rapunzel thinking about what he had said, and Eugene's thoughts focused on Varian, they rode in silence all the way back to the bridge to the capital. Their silence was only broken when they saw a young, terrified, guard trainee running towards them.
"Your highness," The poor trainee looked terrified. "The castle is under attack."
"What?!" Rapunzel paled. Eugene stiffened and reached for his black rock dagger. "By who?"
"A monster," The guard said breathlessly. "It came out of nowhere, and it's on a rampage, attacking and destroying everything."
Rapunzel's expression hardened. She may be fairly new to this princess thing, but she was completely dedicated to her kingdom and her people. She never hesitated to put herself in danger if it meant saving the people of Corona.
Eugene felt a pit of guilt in his stomach as he finally realized that it was the opposite of what he did. He was so busy admiring Rapunzel and her dedication that he didn't take the time to actually follow her example.
"Let's go, Max," Rapunzel sternly. She flicked his reins and he dashed off. Nelovko and Eugene quickly followed. They didn't see anything wrong around town, except for a noticeable lack of guards. They must all be at the castle dealing with the monster attack. When they were close to the castle courtyard they heard a ferocious growl.
Rapunzel leapt off of Max and ran to join Cassandra, who was helping her injured father. Eugene rode Nelovko all the way to the beast, which really did look like some kind of monster. There was a strange scent around the creature though, a smell that Eugene was very familiar with. It may have been more than a year, but Eugene would never forget the burning feeling of alchemy in his nose.
Eugene had been riding in to attack the beast, but he paused. It smelled like Varian's lab, and even though he didn't claim to be familiar with every single animal in existence he still knew a fair number of them. Between Hector's animal knowledge and Varian's obsession with reading about anything he could get his hands on, Horace had learned about all kinds of animals, regular and monstrous alike, and this beast didn't even seem to even remotely resemble any of them. Something strange was going on.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Eugene said. Nelovko, who had been completely prepared to attack, paused and tilted his head curiously. He didn't seem on guard at all. The saiga just seemed to be confused. Nelovko tilted his head and took a step closer to the beast, which roared and reared back. The creature swung its massive claws towards them. Eugene cringed and closed his eyes, ready for an attack. However, no such attack came.
Eugene slowly opened his eyes to see the beast whining in a way that almost sounded sad or fearful. The creature's ears tilted back and it began to retreat backwards, almost looking afraid of them.
Nelovko made a distressed sound and stepped towards the creature. The antelope moved slowly and cautiously. It almost seemed to be trying to comfort the creature, which was unexpected. Nelovko could be really kind when he wanted to be, but he was also fiercely protective. The saiga wouldn't hesitate to kick someone's butt if he saw them as a threat, and this beast, which had almost knocked Eugene into next week, was definitely a threat.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel called out. She sounded panicked. "Get away from that thing!"
Eugene frowned at the creature, which was staring at him cautiously. It looked confused and conflicted. "I don't think he's going to hurt me."
"Are you insane?" Cassandra growled. "Have you seen what that thing did to my dad?"
"Eugene, it's attacking the castle," Rapunzel reminded him. The beast growled at her. Nelovko's ears perked up. The antelope fidgeted uneasily before it glanced towards the castle. Nelovko wasn't an anxious animal, but he looked worried now.
The saiga turned to look at Eugene, a desperate look in his eyes. Nelovko was trying to tell him something, but he didn't know what. At times like this Eugene wished that he had Hector's understanding of animals. He wanted to know what was wrong with Nelovko, and what the deal with this creature was.
The beast was starting to look agitated again. It roared angrily and started to move towards Rapunzel and Cassandra. Nelovko huffed and hurried to block the creature, which stopped. The creature growled at Nelovko, who stomped his hooves right back at it. They were both pretty worked up, but they still weren't attacking each other, and Eugene wanted to know why.
He remembered what Varian had always told him about testing a theory to get more information. Eugene wanted to know if the creature was just hesitant to attack a saiga, or if Eugene himself was also safe from it.
"Hey, hey, why don't we all just calm down," Eugene said. He used the same voice he would use when he tried to get Adira and Hector to stop fighting. "We can all be friends here," He slowly slid off of Nelovko's back and held his hands out to show that he wasn't holding any weapons.
The creature shrank away from him and ducked its head almost submisively. It whined in a way that sounded very familiar to Eugene. He slowly reached for the beast , which didn't shrink back from him, but also didn't lurch forward and bite his fingers. The creature closed its eyes and nudged its head against Eugene's hand, almost like it wanted to be pet.
Not knowing what was happening, but not daring to do anything to upset the creature, Eugene gently scratched behind the creature's ears. The beast was so massive that Eugene's arm was tickled by the fur, and he jolted. The soft but dense fur felt very familiar to him, and Eugene was terrified that he knew what was going on with this creature.
"Ruddiger?" Eugene stared at the beast in shock and more than a small amount of fear. The creature whined and nudged against him. Eugene could do nothing but look at the beast that had once been his raccoon friend. He wished he could wonder what had happened, but the alchemical smell made it all too obvious. This was the result of one of Varian's experiments, but why?
Ruddiger suddenly let out a growl of alarm and pain as he drew back. Eugene turned to see Cassandra standing there holding her father's sword, which was covered in blood.
Eugene's eyes widened. He grabbed his dagger and, without thinking about it, used it to knock the sword out of her hand. Even though he was out of practice disarming someone came second nature to him, especially when he was protecting someone that he cared about, and that included the stinky raccoon.
"Don't hurt him." Eugene growled. He stood protectively in front of Ruddiger, who was whimpering and licking at the cut on his leg. "He's my friend."
"He's a threat." Cassandra snapped. She lunged for her sword, but in one fluid movement Eugene kicked it out of the way and grabbed Cassandra's arm, wrenching it painfully, but ultimately harmlessly, behind her back.
"I said," Eugene hissed. "Don't you dare touch him, or I swear by the moon I will make you regret it."
Cassandra snarled and tried to yank herself out of his grip, but Eugene's hold was firm. Eventually she nodded and he let her go. Eugene turned his attention back to Ruddiger.
"Hey, buddy, it's okay." Eugene said quietly. He stepped towards Ruddiger, who growled and swiped at him. Eugene hissed when Ruddiger's claws struck his arm. It stung, but he'd dealt with worse. Eugene pushed past the pain and continued to Ruddiger's side. He stroked the overgrown raccoon.
"It's just a flesh wound. You'll be just fine," Eugene said. His cuts stung painfully and Eugene chuckled through the hurt. "See, we're matching."
Ruddiger continued to growl at him, but he didn't attack Eugene again. He just stood there and let himself be pet. Eugene blocked out the rest of the world around them. Ruddiger needed his full attention right now.
A very long and tense minute later Ruddiger's eyes started to shine so brightly that Eugene had to avert his gaze. He could feel Ruddiger shrinking in his grip, and a moment later he was back to a normal raccoon size.
"There you are," Eugene bent down and picked up the raccoon. Ruddiger whimpered and nuzzled close to him, favoring his leg, which was still bleeding.
"...Eugene?" Rapunzel said quietly as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?" Eugene turned towards her, though he kept a protective hold on Ruddiger. He knew that Rapunzel would never hurt an animal, but Ruddiger had already been hurt by one of Eugene's friends, and he wasn't going to chance that happening again.
"I think it was one of Varian's experiments." Eugene said quietly. Ruddiger nodded. Eugene had remembered Varian thinking about using his alchemy to make Ruddiger more of a fighter, but he hadn't thought that he'd actually go through with it. Varian had so many ideas going on in that head of his, and mutating Ruddiger had not exactly been at the top of his list.
"Varian?" Rapunzel frowned slightly. "Why would he do this kind of thing?"
"I don't know." Eugene said. He was a little worried to find out.
"Your highness!" A guard that Eugene couldn't really remember the name of came running towards them. He shot Ruddiger an alarmed look, but ultimately his attention was on Rapunzel. "We have a situation."
"Worse than an attack by a mutated raccoon?" Rapunzel tried to joke, but Eugene could hear the anxiety in her tone.
The guard flinched. He handed a note to Rapunzel. "The queen is missing."
Rapunzel looked like she'd been hit. "She's what?!" Rapunzel held the note with shaking hands and read it. She looked terrified, but also confused. "I-is this a ransom? I don't understand."
Eugene looked over Rapunzel's shoulder to read the note. It was short, just eleven words long, but after reading it he felt like he was going to be sick.
A royal for a royal. You know where to find me.
The note wasn't signed, but Eugene knew exactly who had sent it. He would recognize the handwriting anywhere, and it would explain Ruddiger's presence. This hadn't been an attack, it had been a distraction.
"Oh, Varian." Eugene said mournfully as he clutched Ruddiger tightly. "What have you done?"