I am amazed that more and more readers are joining in. Thank you for reading this story and I'm doing my best to make it enjoyable and interesting all the way long. Thanks for your amazing reviews and suggestions ! Feel free to leave a comment !

Will you get the reference in today's chapter ? It's also a call out to one of the characters of the show !

Things are getting a little bit angsty - take it as starters !...

Chapter 21

The next days were more of a challenge than Arianna had assumed they would be.

As Varian got more and more strength back, his old sassy self began to show, laced with stubbornness. And having to convince a teenager to eat their vegetables was new to the Queen. It took her a while to realize that, before she became an adult for whom balanced meals were a natural habit, she too had been a young girl who was not so keen on carrots and broccoli.

But she couldn't say she hated the job, to be honest. She wasn't quite sure it was right to feel that way, but taking care of Varian was like having a child to care for again. If things had been different, he would never have needed, much less accepted, to be fed with mashed fruits or tucked in bed for the night. He was beyond that age. But his medical condition required all the nurturing and pampering he could get, so he could heal in the best way.

Varian himself did feel it awkward at first, but he had to give in to the obvious fact that he would need that help for some time. His mind, though, started to reel and seethe with ideas and projects and alchemy. He couldn't wait to be back on his feet.

He couldn't wait to see his Dad again too. It seemed ages since he was stuck there. Little did he know how much time had actually passed.

Arianna knew the three days they agreed upon would be done too soon.

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There was another consequence at Varian's better condition.

So far, his body had been in a great need of deep rest to rebuild what was broken. Now dreams were starting to creep up during his sleeping times. And "dreams" was a nice word to describe them.

On the third day, just before sunrise, Varian started to thrash in his sleep, moaning inaudible words or at other times merely whimpering, fingers curled up and tangled in the bedsheets. Words became screams, whimpers turned into sobs, until Remyus was awoken by his patient's cries.

The physician ran to his bedside and grabbed the teen by the shoulders, squeezing them gently to bring him out of his trance.

"Varian ! Varian, open your eyes. Look at me. It's only a dream."

"N-no… please no… Help me… please don't leave me… ". Varian's face and body were covered in sweat, his brows furrowed and all his features tense. Tears were starting to form under his closed eyelids.

"Watch out ! Dad….DAD !"

That last word was screamed in a high-pitched voice that didn't even sound like the boy's. His eyes suddenly opening wide, watery, wild and unfocused. Varian found himself lying on his bed, panting like crazy, his throat hoarse and now unable to produce another sound.

"Varian", came Remyus soft voice, trying to calm him down."Varian, it's all right. It was just a bad dream."

Varian's blue eyes hovered for a moment before landing on Remyus' wrinkled face.

"I –this… this was so scary, Remyus. I was scared. So scared", he blurted with a weak voice.

"Scared of what, Varian ? Tell me what you saw in your dream."

Tears were flowing down the sides of Varian's face, wetting his hair and pillow. The kid was still struggling for air. He gazed at the ceiling.

"I don't know. I - I don't remember. I just know I've never been so scared before."

Remyus gasped in shock. He had clearly heard Varian say – well shouted – his father's name. Could it be that he didn't remember his dream ? After all, it was possible. Everyone, he assumed, has experienced that at some point.

"Ruddiger ! Where's Ruddiger ?" Varian suddenly asked desperately.

Said raccoon appeared timidly from under the closet at the other end of the small room, a terrified look in his eyes. He had been awake with Varian's first jolts, but he couldn't really understand what was happening and got panicked when his human friend's screams filled his ears.

"Ruddiger is here, Varian. Give him some time, your pet looks a bit shaken."

Despite Remyus was never fond of the raccoon, he turned to the frightened animal, came slowly closer and squatted in front of him.

"Your little master is fine, buddy. He just had a nightmare. It's over now. I know you've been scared, but he could really use a cuddle presently", coaxed Remyus.

Ruddiger's eyes were set on Remyus' face as the old man spoke. With a sad croon, the raccoon finally left his shelter, unsure, ears and tail still low. But his paws moved at a steady pace, as the little animal decided that nothing was more important than the comfort Varian – his Varian - so desperately needed.

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Varian didn't manage to go back to sleep after that.

It was an odd feeling, knowing you should be afraid of something, but having no idea what it was.

Running his fingers through Ruddiger's fur did help the boy calm down, his breathing slowly coming back to normal. It took him a little longer for his tears to stop welling in his eyes though. His forehand was still sweating and he felt on fire, even though Remyus had given him some water and wiped his face with a wet rag. A churning feeling kept twitching his stomach. Worst of all, he couldn't put words on the anxiety that was taking hold of his body. All he could do was feel it and try to bear it.

Only when the sun came up, filling the sky and the room with light, did he start to drift off to sleep every now and then. But every time he would come back to reality as his fear seemed to strike him for the hundredth time.

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"Your thoughts, Remyus ?"Arianna inquired after the physician reported about Varian's hectic awakening. Not that he wanted to hide it from her, but the first thing the Queen saw upon seeing Varian was how awful he looked. His bags under his eyes were worse than ever, eyes still red from crying, hair dried into thick locks formed by sweat and stress plastered on his face.

He looked so miserable, she had to resist the urge to run to him and wrap her arms around his fragile frame, remembering just in time that he wasn't a toddler or a small child anymore. He was not even her own child. So instead she went for a hand on his upper arm while sitting next to him, and talking to him with the softest voice. From time to time, she would run her fingers in one of his stray locks to keep them from his eyes.

But the boy didn't have much to say about his dream, much less about these feelings he couldn't even start to understand. He just sat there, looking lost and shaken.

"I can't be sure, Your Majesty," he replied in a low voice so the teenager couldn't hear them, "but the fact that part of his brain remembers enough to dream about his father tends to prove that his memories are not physically destroyed. "

"So… his memory loss seems to have been caused by an emotional trauma, that was your hypothesis, right ?"

Remyus nodded.

"Then… What will happen when I tell him ? Will that trigger all his memories back ?"

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Later in the morning, Elora came in with yet another book under her arm. She was excited at the idea of sharing it with Varian, as always.

"Morning, Varian ! I have brought a book of ancient tales. I'm sure you will like it !"

"Um… I don't know, Elora", Varian mumbled. "I'm sorry, but I didn't sleep so well. I'm not sure I can be a good listener today."

"Aww…" the little girl pouted. "Just one story ? My favorite ?"

"Ah all right", Varian conceded, knowing how much it meant to his young friend. "So what is this story of yours ?"

"It's about the daughter of a King and Queen, and she was cursed. Wait, no, it was a gift, the gift of prophecy. She would fall asleep and snakes would whisper things about the future."

"Can come in handy", joked Varian, trying his best to be in a good mood. "Why did you first say it was a curse ?"

Elora flickered the pages hastily, searching for the good one.

"She was cursed by a god – he loved her, but she didn't keep her promise to be with him. So he decided…. Oh no, I am telling you the whole story instead of reading it !"

Varian couldn't stifle a laugh. Elora could be so excited over things, and then got carried away without realizing it. In a way, she was a lot like himself.

"That's all right", he apologized, "I'm just curious to know what the curse was about though."

"Well, if you have to know, Monsieur, she was still able to know the future, but nobody would ever believe her."

Varian pondered over this for a few seconds.

"Funny… She knows, she remembers, but she can't tell anyone. I can't see the future, but I wish I could remember what my nightmare was about", he whispered more to himself rather to Elora.

"You had a nightmare and you forgot ? I think you're lucky."

"Why are you saying that ?"

Elora's gaze suddenly became grave, and she looked older than usual.

"I keep having this nightmare. It's always the same. And I do remember it every time."

Varian's smile faded as compassion for the little girl invaded his body, from his head to his stomach. If only he could help…

"Why don't you tell me about your nightmare ? Maybe it will go away."

"I've already told it to Mommy and Grandma, and it's still coming back. But it's like the princess of the tale, they say it doesn't exist."

"What doesn't exist ?"

"Monsters" she said at last. "Big, hairy monsters with sharp teeth and long claws. I keep dreaming about it because I'm sure I saw it one day. For real ! It was in the castle courtyard, in the night and the fog !". She sighed. "But they say I dreamt that too", she added while closing the book and resting her hands on it.

Varian was listening to his friend, thinking hard. What could he say to comfort her ? Dreams and nightmares may not be real, but the feelings they induced were, he knew that.

Something else was tugging at his mind. He had a strange feeling, like this nightmare was familiar, but from a long time ago. Or like it was somebody else's dream. It was hazy and couldn't put his finger on it.

Trying to gather his thoughts, he shook his head and put his hand on Elora's.

"Elora, it doesn't matter if it's real or not. You are feeling bad about those dreams, and we should try to do something about it. Let's say this monster exist. What could you do to get rid of it ?"

Elora pondered for a while.

"Mmmm… I could scare him off by making a lot of noise. I could…. bang a metal spoon on a frying pan !"

"Now, that's the spirit ! What else ? How about we show it something uglier than it is ?"

"Varian, that's not possible !"

"Is too !"

"Is not !"

"Easy, now, you two", Arianna intervened as she came in. "Elora, we agreed that you could come and read to Varian, not tire him out."

"Oh, no, Your Majesty", Varian quickly replied, "please don't be mad at her, it's my fault."

Arianna looked at the two children with a barely concealed fondness. "All right, but take it easy, Varian, ok ?"

"I must go now", Elora said. "It's almost lunchtime and Grandma will scold me if I neglect my maid duties."

"See you soon, Elora", Varian replied.

When the little maid was gone, Arianna turned to Varian with a smile and said :

"Varian, get ready, will you ? I have a surprise for you."