Lance didn't consider himself a brave person, but he wasn't a coward. He would scream and run away if there was a creepy beast. However, he wouldn't hesitate to stand up for what he thought was right. His morals may be very gray, even a darker shade of gray, but they were still there, and he stood by them.

Being thrown in the dungeon was usually something that brought out Lance's courage. He was scared out of his guts of being locked up for the rest of his life, but he wouldn't show it while there were guards around. Dungeon and prison guards already thought so highly of themselves, he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of breaking his spirits.

But now it was more important than ever that he put on a brave face. He wasn't just trying to get under the guard's skin this time. He had someone much more important relying on him.

Varian was just a kid. Lance had been just about his age when he had been locked up for the first time, and it had been a terrifying experience. Nobody deserved that, but especially not this kid, who was far more kind and pure than he had any right to be. Varian had been pulled away from his home, kept away from his father, and abandoned by his so-called friend. He'd been through so much, and if Lance could do anything to lighten his load than he would, because Varian deserved better.

They were immediately brought to the palace dungeons. Varian was pushed rather unceremoniously into the first free cell they passed. Lance took this as a good sign at first. The more dangerous a criminal was, and the longer it was predicted they would be locked up for, the deeper into the dungeons they were taken. If Varian was up here, then there was a higher chance that he'd be able to find some of Corona's newly found mercy.

Varian had been unnervingly quiet and almost subdued during the trip to the dungeons. However, as soon as he shoved into a cell and Lance was pulled further along the kid started to panic. Varian started shouting and crying for them to not take Lance away from him. He didn't want to be alone again.

It had hurt to hear his pleas, but Lance had given the kid a reassuring smile and told him that everything would be fine. He knew there was no chance that the guards would let him join Varian in one of the cells up here, not with his record. Lance would be locked up in the next level down, and that was if he was lucky. He wouldn't be surprised if he was dragged all the way down to the lowest and darkest part of the dungeons. He was scared, yes, but he was more relieved that Varian wasn't down here.

Lance was being arrested for treason against Corona. He'd threatened the queen. Yes, kidnapping her hadn't been his idea, but Lance was sure that the guards didn't know that. They probably assumed that he was the criminal mastermind here, and that Varian was just a poor child who was in over his head. Lance was more than happy to let them continue thinking that. He would rather take the fall than let Varian face Corona's cruel justice in its fullness.

Lance was taken two levels down before he was harshly dragged into a cell. The cuffs were finally taken off, only another tight cuff to be latched around his ankle This particular cuff was attached to the wall with a short chain. Lance wouldn't even be able to walk around the entirety of the cell.

The guards left without a word, but Lance knew they would be back. He'd yet to be in a prison or dungeon where the guards didn't take their frustrations out on the prisoners and call it justice. He just hoped that they took it out on him instead of Varian. He didn't want the kid to get hurt, but more than that he didn't want the kid to get in trouble for defending himself and injuring the guards who dared to lay a finger on him.

The kid was tough, but in a dungeon, where some guards liked to beat defiance right out of you, being tough could be just as harmful as it could be helpful.

Lance hoped that Varian kept his head down. He'd heard that in Corona they don't send children to the dungeon. Varian was just old enough that the king could easily try him as an adult and none of the citizens would bat an eye about it. If he looked pitiable enough and behaved himself, maybe he'd just be let off with a warning. It was a long-shot, but Lance was hopeful anyway. Locked up like this, hope was just about the only tool that Lance had at his disposal.

The first few hours passed in tense silence before Lance heard the clanging of the guard's armor and the rattling of chains. They were bringing a prisoner down here. Lance sat up. While he didn't want the guards to think that they had gotten under their skin, he also didn't want to be caught off guard. A prisoner who was unaware of their surroundings was a dead man.

Soon Lance saw the guards, but what he cared much more about was the prisoner they were escorting. It was Varian. Lance hated to see him down here, but especially in the state he was in. Varian's broken wrist was still swollen, and his cuffs hadn't been taken off yet, which couldn't feel very good even on his uninjured hand. Varian was walking with a slight limp and he had a black eye and bloody nose that hadn't been there before.

One of the guards was favoring his right hand and he had a cut on his cheek. The guard's grip on Varian was visibly tight. The kid must have resisted against the guards and tried to defend himself, and none of them looked too pleased about it. This guard in particular looked like he was planning on visiting Varian in his cell to teach him a lesson.

Despite himself, Lance let a look of fear slip onto his face. He ran to the bars, clinging to them tightly. "Kid!" Varian didn't even glance his way. He looked dejected and defeated, and that was almost worse than anything else.

The captain of the guard, who was right behind the guards leading Varian, gave Lance a warning look. He would normally not dare to mess with the captain of the guard, as that man was capable of making his life absolute torture, but Lance's sense of self-preservation was his last priority right now.

"Captain," Lance said desperately. "Where are they taking the kid?"

The captain gave him an unreadable look. "That's none of your business, Strongbow." He started to follow the other guards. Lance, who really wasn't the best at thinking things through, reached out and grabbed the captain's arm.

"Please," Lance said quietly. "He's just a kid. He doesn't deserve to be here at all."

The captain's stern expression fell slightly. Lance had heard how harsh he was, but he knew that the man was also a father. He was part of the reason why Corona had always gone soft on kids.

The captain sighed. "Child or not, he kidnapped and threatened the queen. Treason is a very serious offense in Corona."

"He didn't commit treason." Lance said quickly. "He's not Coronan. This isn't his kingdom."

"Do you think the king cares about that detail?" The captain said. "Coronan or not, child or not, he still threatened the queen."

"So you're dragging him down into the pit?" Lance asked. He wasn't a fool. If Varian was being taken even deeper into the dungeons than Lance was, then he was either being taken to be interrogated or tortured, or he was going to be locked up in the smallest, most secluded cells of the dungeon.

"I don't like it." The captain admitted quietly, just loud enough for Lance to hear. "But the king feels that he's a threat. He was able to sneak into the castle and steal the queen. The king wants him kept in the highest security to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

"What if it was me?" Lance asked before he could convince himself to keep his mouth closed. "Do you really think a kid without a record would be able to do any of this?"

The captain gave him a sad look. "Trust me, Strongbow, I want nothing more than to believe that this is all your fault and that boy is just another one of your victims, but Cassandra told me that this boy was the mastermind, not you."

Lance's grip on the captain loosened enough for the man to pull away from him. Still, the captain stayed where he was. Lance had his full attention, and he was going to be taking advantage of that. If he couldn't take the fall completely, then at the very least he could try to get the punishment spread between the two of them.

"I knew what the kid was planning for weeks." Lance said. "I've been helping him from the start. I was the one that actually held the knife to the queen's neck. This is just as much on me as it is on Varian."

The captain gave him an odd look. "What is your goal here, Strongbow?"

"Lock me up with the kid." Lance said. "Even if it's just in a cell close to him."

The captain's shock broke through his stoic expression. "You want to be in high security?"

"I want to be near the kid." Lance said. "He was dragged away from his dad and hasn't seen him for more than a year. He doesn't have anybody else but me."

The captain eyed him for a long moment before he sighed and reached for the keys around his belt. "Step back, turn around, and put your hands against the wall."

Lance sighed and immediately did as he was told. He heard the cell unlock. His hands were grabbed and pulled behind his back as the cuffs were put back on. The cuff around his ankle was unlocked.

"You assaulted a guard, you threatened a queen, and you assisted a criminal." The captain said professionally. "In light of the new information, I think it might be best if we keep a closer eye on you."

Lance had never been so relieved to be in so much trouble. "Thank you."

"I'm just doing my job, Strongbow." The captain pulled him out of the cell and down the dark hallway. "You and the boy will be watched at all hours. If we're given any reason to believe that you're plotting something, or that you're hurting the boy, you will wish you had never set foot in Corona."

Lance not only expected the threat, but he appreciated it. Varian had done a lot against Corona, and yet the captain was still worried about his safety. It was nice to know that some people in Corona had standards.

Lance was escorted down the dungeon corridors to a set of steep stairs. He would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't a little nervous. He was used to being locked up, but he'd never been as deep as this. What he knew about this part of the dungeons was what he'd heard from rumors from other people who also hadn't been confined there.

They went down the stairs and it was immediately noticeably colder. Lance could practically smell the sickness in the air. Guards had never cared much about prisoners, but the deeper down in the dungeon they were the more animosity the guards had for them. If a prisoner got sick down here, there wasn't anybody there to care enough to treat them.

Well, that was what Lance was here for. If the guards wouldn't care for Varian, then Lance would do it.

These cells were further apart and smaller than the ones on the upper levels. They almost looked more like big cages than a cell. Lance was getting claustrophobic just looking at them. Still, he hoped that he ended up sharing a cell with Varian. It would be crowded, but at least the kid wouldn't be alone.

Lance was brought in front of Varian's cells. There were two guards in front of it, one of them being the one with the cut on his cheek. The guards had been saying something to Varian, possibly mocking or threatening him, but they immediately stopped and stood at attention when they saw the captain standing in front of them.

"Open the cell." The captain said.

The guards exchanged glances. "Sir?"

"Do not make me repeat myself." The captain narrowed his eyes at the guards. One of them unlocked the door and Lance was led inside. His cuffs were taken off, and when the captain saw that Varian's were still on him, he took those off as well.

"You have one chance, Strongbow." The captain said. As he locked a new cuff around Lance's ankle. He left the cell, nodded at his men as they locked the door behind him.

Lance turned to Varian, who was sitting on the metal slab that acted as his bed. He was curled up in the corner, as far away from the bars as he could get. Varian was cradling his hurt hand close to his chest.

Lance's new chain was shorter than the one in the previous cell. He could only move about halfway to the other side of the cell. If he wanted to reach Varian to comfort him or help set his wrist, then he would need the kid to meet him in the middle. Before that though, Lance would need Varian to even just look at him first.

"Kid." Lance said quietly. Varian stiffened and curled himself into a smaller ball. Lance sighed. "Varian, please, just look at me."

"You shouldn't be here." Varian said numbly. "I never should have dragged you into this."

"You didn't drag me into anything." Lance said. It had been his choice to come to Corona for Varian. Lance had chosen to help Varian with his scheme to kidnap the queen. He could have backed out at any time. Lance was here because of his own choices. He may have done it for Varian's sake, but that didn't make it his fault.

"I should have just gone home." Varian muttered. "Adira would have been able to convince Horace to go home, and Hector would have been strong enough to drag him all the way back to the Dark Kingdom." Varian whimpered, the first sign of emotion that he had shown since they'd been caught.

"You did the best you could." Lance said.

"But it wasn't enough." Varian whimpered. "It's never enough."

Lance grimaced. This was exactly why he had helped Varian try to convince Horace to go home. He didn't want to see the kid shut down like this and start blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault. Varian was a bright kid, and he deserved the chance to enjoy himself. He was too young to be dealing with this kind of responsibility, and too good to take on the blame when things went wrong.

"Varian, listen to me." Lance said. "You are more than enough. If Horace can't see that, that's on him." He reached a hand out to Varian. "Even if it was your fault, and it's not, you don't deserve to be hurting like this. Please, let me look at your hand."

Varian didn't move for a long moment, but finally he uncurled himself and scooted to the edge of the bed. He slid off the bed and sat down on the ground instead, just within Lance's reach. Varian reluctantly held his hurt hand out, and Lance carefully took it. He felt the swollen wrist. He tried to be gentle, but Varian was clearly pained with every little movement he made.

Lance soon found the point of the break. Varian whimpered as he touched it. Lance sighed and took off his two bracers. The leather of the bracers were not nearly as firm as Lance would like, but it would work better than fabric. Lance wrapped both of the bracers around Varian's hurt wrist, one right on top of the other. He then ripped off the hem of his shirt and wrapped it around the bracers, tying them in place.

It was a very rough splint, but Lance hoped that the several layers of stiff leather would be enough to hold Varian's wrist still enough for it to heal on its own. Lance desperately wanted to get Varian some proper medical attention, but he wasn't holding his breath about it. Prisoners didn't have a right to decent medical treatment, but especially not prisoners that were locked up this far down.

"How's that feel?" Lance asked.

Varian moved his hand around a bit, though he avoided moving his wrist. "...Still hurts." Varian said quietly. "But it's better." Varian pulled his hand back to himself and looked at the ground. "...thanks."

Lance gave him a broad smile, though Varian didn't see it. "No problem, kid. It's just a simple splint."

"Not just this." Varian said. "Everything. From the minute I met you you've done nothing but help me. I-I hadn't liked people before. I didn't understand them, and I was too wild to fit in with everybody else. But you...you've never asked me to be any more or less than what I am. You like me, and I...I like you too."

Varian took a deep breath and finally met Lance's gaze. "I never thought that I'd find a friend with somebody outside of the Dark Kingdom, and now I've found more than that. I found a brother."

Lance was shocked, and absolutely honored. He'd never taken it hard that Varian was reluctant to refer to him as a friend. He knew that the only person that Varian had seen as his friend was Horace, and the prince had hurt him pretty badly. Of course the kid would be reluctant to offer that title to anybody else. Lance had been fine with that. He didn't think that Varian needed to say the words to know that they were friends.

Lance gave Varian a soft smile. "Kid, I would be honored to be your brother." Varian gave him a small smile. That was enough for Lance to feel like this whole thing had been worth it. If he was able to bring a smile to that kid's face, no matter how small it was, or how short it was there, then Lance knew that he had to be doing something right.