I'm back ! Sorry for the wait, I've been visiting the South of England, and although it was great, I was looking forward to getting more time for writing my ideas down. Thanks for your reviews :), it always makes my day to know how the story makes you feel ! And even if you just prefer to read, that's all right. Enjoy !
Chapter 14
Fredric was certainly one tired king.
He was sitting on his throne, rubbing his temples in an attempt to make the fatigue go away, but nothing helped.
Nothing helped at all.
It didn't help that the Captain, having heard of the recent events by a shameful Phil the guard, stood up, against Remyus' advice, to meet up with the King and try to figure out what happened.
It didn't help that every guard on or off duty had been interrogated to try and reconnect all the pieces of the puzzle.
It didn't help that they also asked all the prisoners if they heard something. But nobody heard anything, saw anything, and nobody spoke.
It didn't help that Nigel did everything he could in the shadows to prevent the King form finding the truth.
And it didn't help that Arianna hadn't talked to him ever since she stomped off him after they argued about Varian. When Fredric came to Remyus' chambers with two guards so the boy could be shackled to his bed, well if eyes could kill, Fredric would have been gone already.
Part of Arianna knew that as King, her husband had to take every safety measure. And that the boy was mentally unstable to say the least, and that his high intelligence could be a dangerous weapon if ill-used. But part of her only saw a young boy that has been physically abused. He was also a young boy who had gone through an immense stress, loss and solitude, more than any adult could bear.
Sometimes Arianna looked at Varian's bruised face, and wondered how hurt he was inside too. How bruised ? How broken after all this ? She knew there used to be kindness in him, Rapunzel told her so. He used to be helpful and eager to please others to a fault. Nothing like the boy who spoke bitterly of the rulers of Corona, who was ready to sacrifice Rapunzel to break the amber, who threatened to kill her twice. What happened in that young and brilliant mind ?
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Another full day passed until Varian moved again. Remyus was in and out of the room all the time, having other patients to attend or ingredients to collect for his remedies. Ethel would come over whenever possible for her. So most of the time, it was just Arianna and Ruddiger.
Arianna couldn't really brag about how comfortable she was talking to a raccoon, so she would keep herself busy with some cleaning and trying to get a response from Varian from time to time with a light touch. She would hold his hand and squeeze it gently, or brush off his unruly bangs and lay her hand upon his forehead. When nothing worked, she would let out a worried sigh and play a little bit of harp.
Fortunately, the music had the power to soften her nerves. And she hoped that Varian could somehow hear it.
Varian found himself in the darkness again. How long has he been there ? Where was he before ? He had no idea. He couldn't see anything this time, no colours, but he could hear something faintly in the distance. Like in a dream, he didn't have to walk or run. It seemed that his will to go closer to the sound was enough to do so. The soft sound guiding him, he became more aware of the melody, the different pitches, the rhythm or the beautiful harmony the notes made when played together. He didn't want it to stop.
With a barely audible moan, Varian's features across his face tightened. His eyes squeezed shut, before they opened slowly. Varian could hear his own, labored breathing. His eyelids seemed to weigh a ton, but the music and the soft light that appeared before him enticed him to continue.
Above him, he could make out an off-white ceiling he didn't know. He was lying on something soft, at least much softer than any bed he had before in his life. Shutting his eyes again, he swallowed hard before he tried to turn his head on the side.
He had guessed, from the dull pounding in his head, that it might be painful. He went for it slowly, carefully, but a sharp wave of pain ran across his head. Instinctively, he tries to take his hands to his head. But one arm hurt as he tried to move it, the other was restrained, although he couldn't see why or how.
A gasp of pain escaped his raw throat. It felt painful too from the lack of use. And as his body tensed, his ribs screamed in agony, leaving the boy unable to make another sound, as his teeth clenched in response.
Ruddiger, who was sleeping as usual by his friend's side, woke up at Varian's painful movements. Chittering excitedly, he hopped to get closer to his face, and patted him gently on the cheek. Overwhelmed by pain, Varian didn't seem to acknowledge his presence.
It was then that Arianna noticed the unusual rustling on the bed. Stopping immediately and almost dropping the harp in surprise, she stood up. He was awake at last.
She took a step forward, but she stopped in her tracks, frozen. Remyus was not there. Just him and her. Him, that helpless boy on the bed who was also the most dangerous criminal in Corona. Her, whom he had kidnapped, almost trapped in amber and crushed to death.
She had been genuinely scared, when she saw the rocks turn into yellow amber and grow their deadly spikes towards her. That amber, for which they didn't have a solution, even now. She remembered his cold, icy blue eyes, that shown no doubt or regret. He was so determined, so poised and so fearless that, at that very moment, the small, skinny boy was far scarier than any other criminals they had to face.
Arianna's legs started to shake beneath her. She failed to understand why she was thinking of all this, just now, when she had so much time while waiting for him to wake up. More than that, wishing for him to wake up. Suddenly, those mixed feelings made her almost wish he hadn't.
While the Queen was debating with herself, Varian slowly opened his eyes again. The first thing he could see, even if his vison was blurry, was the friendly face of his ever-faithful companion, Ruddiger. On the verge of falling asleep again, the boy managed a weak smile, that didn't reach his eyes and did little to ease the raccoon's concern.
Varian, unable to think much about where he was and why he was there, his eyelids half-closed, muttered :
"Did I sleep in, Ruddiger ?"
As he spoke, Arianna snapped out of her trance-like state and stepped forward. The motion in the background of Varian's line of vision made the boy aware of someone's presence. Tiredly, he looked up, shifting his gaze from Ruddiger to the person who was standing there. Blue eyes met green and it was like time had stopped.
For a few seconds, neither spoke or moved. Arianna, because she was still too confused, Varian, because he was trying to gather his thoughts, his vision getting back to normal. He knew that face, but his mind was a big mess, like his lab could be on his most intense days of experimenting, and it was like he had to open every drawer, check under every pile of books and search in every corner in order to find where the information related to that image was.
Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open and he was gaping in realization. Forgetting in a flash what happened before, he tried to sit up, but in his frantic moves, he only felt pain again, hissing and clenching his teeth like before, eyes closed.
"Shh, easy, Varian." Arianna's instincts took over. She could see him again as the injured, fourteen-year-old boy he was. "You are hurt. Just try to lie still and stay calm." Her tone was soft, yet she had the queen-like authority in her voice that made the boy comply, at least until the pain subsided. When Varian opened his eyes again, he saw the Queen leaning over him, her expression showing every sign of concern. Her hand was hovering in mid-air, unsure where to go, until it went to rest gently on his shoulder. Then she smiled at him.
"You'll be alright," she added in a whisper. "You must rest. I'll get you some water and something to eat."
"B-but", Varian started, confused.
"Hush, now. I won't be long. I will make sure the court physician will be here soon too."
"No !" the boy screamed on a way that startled her. "I – I can't stay here ! I can't be late, not today !"
"Late ? late for what ?" inquired Arianna, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"The science expo !... Has it started already ?"
