Angie, you are so sweet ! Thank you for your kind words ! I'm glad that you are enjoying the story so much !

Excited one, welcome to the story and I hope you'll like it !

About Nigel, I see him a bit like Javert in Les Misérables. He is not mean for the sake of being mean, he's loyal to the crown to a fault, and truly believes that what he's doing is right. For him, people are either loyal to the King or against him, and these people are nothing but bad. It's not always white or black, Nigel…

WARNING !

A part of the chapter, between the ******************, is a bit more violent and graphic than the rest. So if you are don't like this kind of stuff, or are a younger reader, you can just skip that part.

Chapter 4

Arianna sighed heavily for the tenth time.

It was still broad daylight and she hadn't slept the night before (well, if she didn't take in to account the compound that made her sleep while being kidnapped), but she just couldn't bring herself to relax and rest.

She knew time was not her ally. She had to let her husband, the King, send Varian to the dungeon, for the lack of a better solution (they never had a teenager threatening the royal family and betraying a while kingdom before). When they all made it back to the castle, it was morning. So she had reluctantly agreed, knowing the dungeons wouldn't be as scary during the day. But how would the boy feel at nightfall, as the evening darkness closes in ?

She also knew her husband very well, and even though he never said it aloud, she understood that Fredric felt angry and probably resentful for having been fooled and captured by a sassy, fourteen-year-old boy, who almost managed to outsmart everyone, the King and his army that is. It was better for everyone to take a step back, deal with their own feelings and then, hopefully, find a solution.

Arianna herself was confused with mixed feelings. He did try to enclose her in amber and to crush her to… death ? Would he have gone so far ? And Cassandra, too… There was so much hatred in his eyes, so much anger… She had the sick feeling she would never forget those eyes.

But she also knew that there was more to him than this. Plus est en vous… Plus est en lui ! And she knew for sure, because although she hardly met him before, he was her daughter's friend. Rapunzel had explained to her, tears filling her eyes, how she had to break a promise to a friend for the first time ever, on that terrible day. Little did they know what the aftermath would hold.

Standing up, she let go of the wrinkled bedsheet she had been squeezing in her hand without her realizing. Something happened to the boy, and it was their duty, as adults, to listen to him now. Of course, Arianna had seen his father encased in amber like a transparent unbreakable tomb, but he obviously had come to believe that he had to use drastic measures to get people's help. How desperate had he been, during all those months between the storm day and Rapunzel's 19th birthday? Did he at least someone to talk to, someone to take care of him ?

She sighed again as she walks to the balcony, the answer much too clear to ignore. Deprived of his last and strongest moral support, and hurting with the possible loss of his father, Varian had drifted to a dark place that seemed out of their reach.

Stepping outside of the room, she remembered the night when her baby was taken away from her, from them, within a few seconds, the pictures in her mind still torturing her. Why did fate seem to keep taking children away from her ?

No. He couldn't become a lost boy too. So if the Varian they knew was still there somehow… then she had to try.

Varian shook his head as he lied on the floor after being tossed away like a mere puppet. His right cheek still red, he forced himself to open his eyes, although what he saw was the last thing he wanted to see. From where he was, the Stabbington brothers looked like giants, with huge boots that could crush him like a bug. And these boots were coming closer…

Varian's heart started to beat faster, like he was a rabbit in a death trap. He was now hyperventilating with fear.

"You have no idea how boring it gets in here. Nothing to do except thinking about what I will do to Rider when I get my hands on him, for having sent us here", said the one without a patch on his eye. "So I'll guess you'll have to do. So much for over-confident Mr Rider !"

Varian wanted to talk, explain, scream, shout, anything, but the sounds stayed caught up in his throat, though this time it wasn't because of Nigel's arm. Never had he felt such a feeling of utter panic. Even the most dangerous (and uncontrolled) explosions that often happened during his experiments with alchemy never made him fear for his very life like this.

The other man stayed quiet. Varian didn't know that he actually never talked (or maybe he let his brother do all the talking), and his silence made him somehow scarier. He was approaching with very slow steps. Unable to bear it any longer, Varian found in himself some last chance strength as his legs and hands tried to carry the boy's light weight away on all fours.

He hardly had moved an inch as a boot connected violently with his middle, his whole frame lifted up from the ground before falling back down in the dust. All air gone from his lungs, Varian could only think about pain as he curled himself into a ball.

"Leaving so soon ?" said the same snarling voice. Another kick from the talking one sent Varian rolling and landing on his back, stopped by a pair of legs.

The silent brother bent down and picked Varian up by his shirt. His face was so close to Varian's, he could feel his hot breath against his face. Not daring to open his eyes fully, he could hardly make out the rogue's face, and his gloved hands clutched automatically around the thick hairy wrist.

This only earned him to be tossed on the side, his back and head hitting the rough stone wall. Unable to steady himself, Varian let his body fall down miserably in a heap. Losing his balance, he fell on his side, his face feeling painful as his head hit the floor once again.

Completely lying on the ground, his eyes half closed, Varian's vision started to blur as he could see the four boots coming towards him again. All anger gone for a moment, Varian's mind went blank for a few seconds. Then, sadness filled him, tears starting to well at the corner of his eyes.

"Maybe… maybe after all… I deserve it", he thought to himself before he closed his eyes and let his world become black.

"I must speak to Varian first", the Queen thought as she walked down the hallway. She couldn't tell which one, from the boy or the King, was the most stubborn person, but they sure both were. She had to at least make sure that Varian would be ready to speak to them, unlike when he was getting on with his plans in the lab. Surely the young alchemist could use a little comfort, or at least know that someone was trying to help him.

As she reached the stairs leading to the main floor of the castle, which she had to take to find the ones for the dungeons, she was startled by a voice.

"Oh my dear, I was looking for you"

She froze. The King. Right behind her. Busted.

"Did you manage to get some rest ?" said the man with a smile.

Arianna wasn't sure what to reply. Should she tell him was she was up to ? She decided to play along and see where he would lead the conversation.

"A little bit, dear" she said, faking a smile, "but it's a bit bright in my room at the moment, and I can't really sleep."

"Oh, is that why you are trying to find another room on the main floor ? I understand. Why don't you try Eugene's room ? Now, it's not like he needs it at the moment ! I'll take you there. And there is something I would like to tell you."

"Er, yes. Of course. What did you want to tell me ?

"You know I have promised Rapunzel to get help for the boy. Well, I thought of two people who are just right for the job."

"Oh ? Really ? Who are they ?

"Ah ah, I would like to keep it a surprise, my dear. I already gave orders to have them ready. Why don't you get some proper rest, and when everything is settled, we will talk about it. Isn't that what you wanted ?" The King finished his sentence straightening his back. Although it made him slightly taller, Arianna couldn't help but think he had the eyes of a child who had just done a good deed and was hoping to see his parents happy and proud.

"Very well. Shall I come to the throne room later then ?" she replied, but her mind was only thinking of getting enough time to talk to Varian.

"Sounds perfect. There we are. I will see you later then. Please try to settle down and relax, dear. Let me take care of all this."

"…thank you, dear." The Queen simply said as she entered the room. All she had to do was stay in there for a little while so she was sure Fredric was away. She wasn't sure what this plan of his was, but it only made her think that she really had to try to talk to Varian so the interview with the King would go well.

Some time later, Nigel came back with the keys and opened the cell door, making sure the Stabbington brothers were away from it.

"You had your fun, time to put him back to his cell, where he belongs." And with that, he picked up a very unconscious, bruised and broken Varian with no gentleness, threw the slim form over his shoulder and turned to the brothers :

"No need to mention, if you tell anybody about this, don't expect other… treats like this. Understood ?"

Without waiting for an actual reply, he got out and locked the door. He walked down the corridor with his still burden and left it on the floor in the middle of the cell.

"Serves you right for betraying the crown, boy", he spat even though it was clear the young alchemist was out cold. Nigel had felt him breathing while he was carrying him, that's all he needed to know.

The advisor got out and locked Varian's cell as well. It was time for him to give the keys back to that gullible guard before anybody spotted him.

From under the stone bed in the cell, Rudiger slowly opened his eyes. He had been knocked out by Nigel's kick earlier, and it had taken the sound of the lock to wake him up.

As a scavenger, the raccoon immediately smelled something he knew very well – the scent of blood. He slowly got to his feet – paws – his body aching a bit after the incident. But he soon forgot about his own pains when he saw his human lying on the floor. There was the blood, running on his face. His cheek and maybe his mouth were bleeding.

Trembling, Rudiger ran to his friend's side, making cooing sounds in an attempt to wake him up. When that didn't work, he pushed his head again the boy's breast, trying to get him to stir, open his eyes, anything. But even his breathing sounded laboured and shallow. Worrying over the boy like never before, Rudiger curled himself up against Varian's side, trying to, at least, keep him warm.