Hello, everyone ! It's getting hard to publish as often as before, and I'm quite busy at the moment - we're getting a new place to live, which is exciting, but requires a lot of my time -

Again, I can't thank you enough for the kind words I get to read. Thank you for every note you leave, every gut reaction you write, every "hi "you send !

Guest, I don't know "Rise of the shield hero", but it sounds interesting ! Thanks for sharing ! looks like it's not on Netflix in my country, though… :(

Enjoy the return of the sun in the story (for now) !

Chapter 55

The morning sun brought the peace after the storm. There was a dampness lingering in the air, a reminder of the sky turmoil of the day before. Dew drops were shining on the leaves under the rising light like dozens of diamonds.

A short distance away from Varian, Ruddiger was lazily sprawled on the grass, obviously content with the breakfast he heartily took earlier. One knee on the ground, the boy was apparently busy picking up pieces of clay and yet he was very much lost in his thoughts.

In the past, cleaning up his mess whenever one of his experiments would have an unexpected outcome had always been self-evident. It hadn't been so true over the few past months, if Varian were to be honest. That mindset from his early years radically changed after the princess broke her promise, and tidying up had become a vague concept lost somewhere in the most remote parts of his brain, rather than a priority. Now he was almost ashamed to think about it. He even vehemently refused when Phil offered to help him. Not that the young guard heeded his words, though, as he went off to get the larger pieces which had miraculously been spared by Varian's angry blows. The teen merely shrugged and said nothing, grateful deep inside for the support. He sighed and got back to work, and to his thoughts.

Soon the time would come when he would have to answer for his actions, he knew that. Even if the people around him, especially the Queen, were doing their best to make him feel comfortable, he still had broken the law in many, many ways. The King wouldn't ignore that when he would be sent to court. Several of his actions could singlehandedly earn him to be either imprisoned for life or hanged.

But the worst part was that now the anger had been released, Varian felt utterly awful inside, remorse wrecking his gut every time he thought about it. The uncertainty of his future, the fear, the guilt consumed Varian's mind, forcing him to reel over and over about his fate.

I've done terrible things. I shall pay for them, even if it means my father will remain in that amber rock forever. It's for the best, I guess. He wouldn't like to see what I've become. I failed him. I'll never see the pride in his eyes.

"Is something wrong, Varian ?"

Varian jolted as if he had been struck by lightning. Phil was coming his way with a nearly whole clay pot, filled to the brim with broken pieces he picked up here and there.

Varian looked up.

"What ?"

"You're shaking", Phil added as he knelt down next to him.

Varian nervously clenched his hand on the piece of clay he was holding. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, no sound coming out, no word rolling off his tongue.

"I….I'm…."

Varian looked down, unable to stand Phil's gaze on him, feeling the older man was trying to read his face like an open book. He couldn't take another heart to heart talk, not when he was feeling like he was the most horrible person in the world and when his eyes were threatening to water already. He decided to push the feeling at the back of his mind and play dumb.

"Well, yeah, I mean, something is wrong indeed. Obviously, I am not going to live like this forever in this castle. And I certainly don't want to, with you shadowing me everywhere - I mean everywhere – I go."

Phil wasn't fooled by the teen's teasing tone, especially after witnessing the forlorn look in his eyes but he played along to give the kid a break.

"You've gotten used to it by now", Phil chuckled. "You would miss me."

"And you would get bored without me," replied Varian with a smirk.

Phil gave out a soft laugh but couldn't shake off the bittersweet feeling. He knew Varian was worrying about his future. His gaze softened and he rested a hand on Varian's shoulder, a comforting gesture he knew that worked well on the touch-starved kid.

"Hey, buddy. you're thinking too much, you know that ? You should have faith in Her Majesty. She won't let anything bad happen to you, you should know that by now. Hey, you have me too, and you can count on me to keep on following you everywhere !"

The young guard traced quote marks in the air with his fingers to emphasize the last word, hoping to lighten the mood. Varian gave a wan smile and Phil stood up to pick up more clay.

"Besides", he added casually, "no trial is coming anytime soon, since Their Majesties are leaving for Epoisses in the afternoon."

The words, meant to ease up the boy's worries, only made his already fragile heart sink. The Queen was leaving. Today. She was going away, and she was going to leave him behind. Varian painfully swallowed the lump in his throat.

He didn't have time to dwell on the nagging feeling though, as his eyes were suddenly covered by two small hands and a squeaky voice pierced his ears.

"Guess who it is !"

Varian's gut reaction was an uncontrollable urge to fight back, but something clicked in his brain just in time as his mind registered there was no danger. Ignoring the fast beatings of his heart, he replied:

"Oh, hmmm, I don't know, Friedborg ?"

"Friedb… What ?" the voice sounded outraged, but that didn't make the hands release their grip. "Varian, have you ever heard her speak ?"

"No, I haven't", he admitted, "which is the reason why, as far as I know, she may very well sound like this… Elora !" replied the scientific boy smugly.

"Oh you… you are so….", the young maid pulled out her hands to put them on her hips, half irritated, half amused.

With a chuckle that was pleasant to hear, coming from the much troubled boy, Varian spun around still in his crouched position to look at her. Phil had risen to bow respectfully as the Queen closed the distance between her and Elora. Varian couldn't help but shrink a bit thinking back how he left the bedroom while she was still asleep.

"You're up early, Varian. And at work already ?"

"Well, um, I couldn't sleep anymore, but I'm… I'm fine, really. I had plenty of rest, you know."

"Good. Because I was wondering if you would like take Elora for some play time this morning."

"Now ? Where ?" asked the confused teen. Elora seemed just as clueless as he was.

"You could go and enjoy the garden and this lovely morning. Besides, I'm pretty sure Elora has always dreamt of trying the swing."

The little girl's face went bright red.

"The royal swing ? The swing for the Princess ? But… no… I couldn't…. it's meant for the Princess."

Varian cringed as he was reminded of Rapunzel and hid his eyes under his bangs.

"Was meant", Arianna corrected with a twinge of sadness in her voice. "The Princess is a young lady now. And I'm sure she would love you to have fun with it."

Elora's eyes sparkled with joy and she covered her mouth with her hands, unable to contain her excitement anymore.

"Oh… Your Majesty…. Thank you ! Let's do it, Varian !" she squealed, hopping up and down and clapping her hands.

"But… the clay pots…" Varian began.

"That's all right, Varian. You've done enough, and I want to thank you for that", the Queen steadily replied. "You have another job to do, remember ? We discussed how it would be a good idea to go and help the guards on some of their daily tasks."

Varian looked down. He did remember, it was something he was willing to do to make amends for injuring so many members of the royal guard when he released Ruddiger in his monster's form on the castle. But he would have to face the Captain, who was badly hurt that night. He was also the father of Cassandra, no less. Again, a lump made its way up his throat, making it hard to speak. He blinked a few times quickly as tears welled up in his eyes.

Arianna noticed how the boy started fidgeting and spoke up :

"You don't have to do it today if you need rest, Varian. There is no rush about it. Now off you go ! Go have some fun !" she commanded with a beaming smile.

"Come on, Varian, let's go !" Elora giggled as she yanked his arm expectedly. Despite the pins and needles in his legs, Varian clumsily got to his feet and ran with her to the swing by the chestnut trees.

Forgetful of his duty for a moment, Phil watched them leave with a content sigh. Soft words barely above a whisper reached his ears :

"Please keep an eye on him."

He turned his head to make sure he heard right and his eyes met the Queen's intense gaze. Phil nodded and then bowed.

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

More than a year after Rapunzel's return, Arianna's heart was still hurting whenever she was reminded of the years she didn't get to spend with her daughter. Her childhood time had been denied to her as a mother, and there was no changing that.

Yet, for the first time, she was able to listen to the spontaneous laughter of a little girl having the time of her life without a pang in her heart. As Phil scurried away, she closed her eyes, trying to pretend for a few precious seconds that her baby girl was back and running to the swing her mother had designed for her, at last.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Phil had never seen Varian act as a child his age until he watched him untiringly swing Elora with gusto. Not that she would have let him stop. She encouraged him to push her higher and higher with her high-pitched voice and her enthusiasm was contagious. His mind focused on the young maid's happiness, Varian was wearing a smile that reached his eyes for once. His usually steely gaze was radiating with a warmth that wasn't there before. He looked much younger, almost like he was another person. Phil had to wonder, when was the last time he was this carefree ?

The sun was already high in the sky, and beads of sweat were pearling on Varian's forehead, but the teen wouldn't stop, even if his arms were sore and that his breath was hard to catch. He felt happy, and relaxed, and safe. It was a good feeling. He decided he would push that swing until nightfall he could.

None of them heard footsteps coming closer over the laughs, thick grass muffling the sounds coming from thick soles like they agreed upon it beforehand. It took a deep clearing of throat to make the three heads whip around.