I haven't done it for a while, so please allow me to thank you again for all your enthusiastic reviews *hugs*. I'm writing this from my heart, but the story wouldn't truly live without you amazing readers !
So some of you picture Nigel's punishment in a unique way : being turned into a donkey ! This is so much fun ! Yet, *scary Varian's voice behind the wielding mask* I. DO. NOT. WORK. WITH. MAGIC !
I prefer to shatter the characters' feelings instead, bwahaha !
OK, so this is definitely a fluffy chapter laced with angst. Hope you'll like it ! Please review !
Chapter 27
Arianna couldn't find the words to express how much it meant to her to reconcile with her husband. Her heart told her she was right to tend to Varian, but she also knew how her actions affected Fredric, and she felt guilty for it. There would still be some issues to deal with, but at least, they had come to agreement for now, and it was like a huge weight left her shoulders and flew away.
This peaceful feeling couldn't last though.
As they approached Remyus' chambers, they could hear the voice of the old physician.
There was a sense of urge in his voice – not panic, but not too far from it either. It was intermittently covered by the kid's sobs.
"Varian ! Varian !" and his calls were louder with every try. "Varian, wake up. Open your eyes, boy."
Fredric froze in front of the main door, but Arianna literally leapt from the wheeling chair, legs wobbly, struggling to find her balance. Heart beating wildly, she ran to the back room where Varian was.
Said boy was lying on his back, tears pouring from under his closed eyelids and face red from crying. His skinny frame was shaking with every sob, and it sounded like Varian's feeble voice was trying to repeat the same few words over and over again, although they were impossible to catch. Remyus was bending over him, one wrinkled hand squeezing the youngster's fingers, the other patting his damp cheek. As no response came from his patient, the pats quickly became increasingly strong slaps. Ruddiger clearly showed that he did not like this at all, snarling at the old man and putting himself between him and his boy.
"Remyus, what is going on ?" asked the Queen, panic rising in her chest.
"Oh, Your Majesty !" Remyus flustered, surprised as he was since he didn't hear the royal couple come in. "I… I'm not sure, Your Highness. He has been like this for almost the whole past hour."
"Is the poison doing this ?"
"It shouldn't be. There are many symptoms to this poison, but the mind remains clear. It could be a psychological shock. It's like he's not conscious. I've tried everything to make him open his eyes and talk to me, but it's like he's deaf." he replied, head low and eyes closed, a clear indication that he was out of solutions. And that scared the Queen to her bones. She felt Fredric large hands rest supportively on her shoulders, but it did little to ease her concern.
"But – but I don't understand. How can he be crying and unconscious at the same time ?"
"It's a rare response to an anxiety attack. The body is taking over to release the stress. It can last from a few minutes to a few hours. So it's helpful in a way. But in Varian's case… well, at least the body is still active, which means its defences are still working against the poison to their full potential. But on the other hand, the kid is exhausting himself out."
Remyus paused, looking for the best way to put it.
"Regarding the poison, he's not out of the woods yet, Your Majesty. And, despite all our efforts, he was too weak from the start. I'm afraid the boy will have to give in before the poison does."
"No", uttered the Queen under her breath as she covered her mouth with her hands.
Remyus was an old, experimented physician, who was always able to come up with a remedy, no matter what the problem was. It was the first time that Arianna saw him shake his head and slump his shoulders in defeat. Except when there was nothing he could do.
Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Arianna…" Fredric ventured.
"No !" she shouted. "No, there has to be something we can do." She whipped around to face the two men, a silent plea in her eyes. This was just so unfair. Varian didn't deserve to die like this.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But we must prepare for the worst" added Remyus. He knew better than keep people's hopes high when it was a lost cause.
Arianna let out a shuddered breath, turned around and knelt down next to Varian's bed. She began to stroke his mop of hair. She was letting her tears fall freely now. After a while, she couldn't take it anymore and buried her head on the crook of her arm, sobbing openly on the bedsheets.
Remyus motioned the King to leave the Queen for a moment with a tilt of his head. Fredric took a last look at her and followed Remyus. They shuffled their feet to the main room and the physician closed the door behind them. It had never felt so heavy. Fredric clenched his hands into fists, arms shaking with rage and helplessness.
"Nigel… that traitor… if the son of Quirin dies, I swear I will hang him myself within the hour !" he growled under his breath.
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Over Varian's sobs, Arianna could hear the door closing as if it was in the distance. She raised her head, her face tear-stained just like his. His young life was slipping away like sand through her fingers, and it was too much to bear.
"Varian," she whispered softly as she combed her fingers through his hair again. "Please don't give up. You are stronger than you think, and you… you have so much to do. Your father needs you. I – I need you. Please don't leave me."
Old memories came back to her in a flash. She was just a little girl when her younger sister fell very ill. Willow had yet to celebrate her second birthday. Arianna didn't remember what it was, but she clearly remembered the worry in her parents' eyes, and how they would never smile anymore. The sun itself seemed to be less bright during the day, and the nights were even darker. As the toddler became weaker and weaker, her mother decided to keep her close to her. She draped a piece of fabric around her, settling the child inside, Willow's head resting on her chest and giving her warmth and comfort with her whole body.
"Please don't leave me", Arianna remembered her Mom saying these words over and over again.
Arianna never knew if her mother's actions and words helped Willow, and to which extent if they did, but the baby girl pulled through.
She was no doctor. But right there and then, she knew what she had to do.
So she took off her shoes, leaving them on the floor next to the bed, lifted the blankets and laid down next to the sobbing boy. Her arm made its way under his neck as she pulled him close to her, his head resting against her heart. He was sweating all over but she didn't care. His skin was cold, his pulse irregular. He showed no response and kept on crying uncontrollably, his limbs slacked. Chin resting on the top of his head, Arianna embraced him with both arms and held him tight, one hand stroking his hair, the other rubbing soothing circles in his back. Should he stop breathing in the next minutes or hours, at least, he wouldn't be alone.
Without realizing it, she slowed down her own breaths, coaxing him to slow down his own breathing rate. She went on whispering to his ear, soft words that were meant for him alone. She didn't know if he could hear her, but she did it anyway, wishing with all her might that she was able to reach his shattered soul somehow.
How much time passed ? Had she started to sleep or was she in a sort of daze ? She only knew she gave a start when Varian was able to mutter his first audible word.
"Mom…"
She froze, barely daring to believe that he had spoken. She also realized that his sobs had quieted down, reduced to soft whimpers and shuddered breaths. She hugged him tighter, like he would fall apart if she didn't and resisted the urge to sob herself. Was he talking to her or was he about to die and talking to his deceased mother ?
"Come on, Varian. You must fight it. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Don't let this cursed poison win the battle. Time to show me your obstinate, stubborn self."
So, Varian's state might seemed a little far-fetched, but it did happen to my cousin in her late teenage years a few years back after she had a psychological shock. I also read about it recently. Let's face it, even if some of his choices were wrong, the boy has been psychologically abused since he was a kid ! and he has bottled up so many feelings that now they are coming out, one way or another !
This remind me of "Tommy", a musical and movie by the Who. If you want to dive into what the 4-year-old and the 14-year old Varian could be pleading for, you can listen on to the first minute here :
watch?v=Ju7Y4X6tf0M
I don't own Tommy or Tangled.
