Dear all,

I'm back and trying to keep up my updates on a regular schedule, but it's hard ! (or the pace I had at first was truly a crazy one !).

I was nicely surprised of the reactions about Varian being happy ! Looks like it was a long-awaited for moment, brief as it was. Thanks again for all your comments, I can't find enough words to say how important they are ! (if you haven't done it yet, feel free to leave your own comment !)

Some scores to settle in this chapter before the Epoisses festival...

Chapter 56

There was a collective gasp as the three young people realized who was behind them. Elora's cheeks went scarlet red and she got off the swing before she could think. She lowered her eyes and bowed while Phil was prompt to resume the position he was supposed to take in front of the highest authority.

Varian didn't move an inch. Mouth agape, his suddenly blank mind leaving him unable to make a decision whatsoever, he was standing, frozen, behind the swing. The lifeless piece of wood was the only thing still in motion which ironically made it look more alive than the people around it.

"At ease, soldier", the King commanded to Phil, firmly but not harshly. "Morning, young lady", he greeted Elora who was trembling slightly. Then he squared his shoulders as he spoke to them both. "I would like a word with the prisoner. Alone."

No matter how void of anger or even irritation the King's voice sounded, Varian inwardly cringed at the word that reminded him of his status in this castle. Worse even, his blood downright ran cold in his veins when he heard it would be a one-to-one interview. The teen found himself wishing he could turn himself into a rabbit and disappear into a hole in the ground. His scientific brain quickly dismissed the idea though, and as Varian came back to reality, he noticed how wobbly his legs were.

As in a daze, Varian heard Phil's voice sound out some words. He didn't know which ones, his mind too busy screaming internally for them not to leave him, but he knew their meaning : the guard was complying. Next to him, Elora managed to utter a polite "Yes, Your Majesty", and the boy's heart sank as his last flicker of hope vanished.

The King noticed the forlorn expression on Varian's face and how it had gone pale. Even the nice pink flush he had gotten on his cheeks seemed to have been drained away.

"Don't be afraid, Varian, I'm here to talk to you, that's all. Would you please sit down ?"

Not only Frederick wanted to make sure that the weary teen wouldn't faint, but he also knew that Varian's head would actually be slightly higher if he was sitting on the swing rather than standing, which could be (if possible) less intimidating for the boy.

Varian shuffled his feet and did as he was told. He hauled himself up using the sides of the swing, shaped like 2 "Rs" for Rapunzel. He kept his head bowed. He couldn't help but wonder what the King wanted with him. With a pang in his heart, he remembered that he never apologized for his attitude back in his lab… (and looking back, that was pretty much over the edge). Chances were, that was what the King was here for.

On defensive mode again, Varian crossed his arms and chose to give the King the silent treatment. An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

Once the chirping of the birds was the only thing to hear, so much that it started to become irritating, Frederick cleared his throat before speaking. Varian was sure he saw him look away for a second or two, as if searching for words. But kings always know what they have to say, don't they ?

"Varian, I know these past days in the castle haven't been easy for you. And I hope you are feeling better now."

The young alchemist couldn't believe his ears. Was the King actually concerned about his well-being ? Or was it a trick to make him lower his guard ?

Without realizing it, Varian's doubts started to show on his face, his features drawn in a tight frown.

Frederick sighed.

"Listen, my boy," he began, suddenly sounding more like a tired man than a king, "Quirin... your father… has been a friend of mine for years."

Somehow, a grudge he didn't know he was still holding against his own father, moreso than against the King, made its way back to the surface of Varian's mind. The teen downright rejected the older man's attempt to put him at ease and scoffed.

"A friend of yours ? Oh, please Your Majesty, you can't be so naive. Or does it have to be me who must tell you that your dear friend lied to you ?"

"Varian,' Frederic's tone went very sullen, "your father… never lied to me."

It took Varian a few seconds to let the words sink in. He looked up in disbelief.

"… what ?"

"He did mention a plentiful harvest when the rocks were actually plaguing his village. Your village," he specified. "As you recall, it all happened in the courtroom, in the presence of counsellors, advisors… and the Princess." Frederic carefully chose not to mention Nigel's or Rapunzel's names and moved on. "You see, instructions were to keep the black rocks a secret."

"YOUR instructions…", emphasized Varian under his breath.

"Yes… indeed," the King relented, his shoulders hunched as if he was bearing the weight of the world on them. "And that's why we had a sort of code between Quirin and me."

"The harvest…" Varian realized.

"Exactly. No one else was to know, not even the people closest to us. We both vowed to protect our loved ones and keep the truth to ourselves. That included my wife… my daughter… and you, Varian."

Varian looked blankly into space, opened and closed his mouth a few times, not knowing where to start. His head was spinning. All that time believing his father had lied to the King's face… Everything he thought he knew…

"W…wait, wait… what do you mean, protect us ?", Varian sputtered. "How was such a secret supposed to protect us ? The rocks had been spreading throughout the land for months before that. You knew about them, you always have !"

"Calm down, my boy…"

"NO ! No, I won't calm down !" yelled Varian as he jumped off the swing and came to stand right in front of the massive frame of the King. "You… You've always known, and you never did anything ?" The teen was starting to shake with rage. "How could you ? how could you deliberately choose to ignore something like that ? You're the KING !"

Tears welled up in Varian's eyes, and the boy hated himself for being such an emotional mess. How could he be so angry and on the brink of tears again after laughing with Elora only a few minutes ago ?

"Please, listen…" the King tried again.

But Varian couldn't hear.

"You let the rocks spread out ! They invaded us everywhere ! They destroyed our crops, our homes ! A bunch of them stood in the middle of my lab, and…. And I experimented on them ! Nobody was doing anything, neither you, nor my father…"

Varian paused to catch his breath, panting hard, but he never let his gaze down. His steely blue eyes were bright with tears and anger and they looked like they could send daggers. Frederic froze on his spot. He had the feeling he was standing next to a bomb ready to explode and his body would neither move to unarm it nor to run away.

The explosion came.

A bout of blind rage suddenly seized the teen's whole being as he lunged forward, hands into fists that starting to pound hard on the King's chest.

"I experimented….on the rocks… because of him…. Because of you…. Because of your secrets and your lies… I went against my father's orders and now, because of me, he… he is…."

Hesitantly, Frederic rose his arms, moving them to and fro, unsure of what to do with them. He couldn't find it in him to stop the punches. Even if hitting the King was, of course, strictly forbidden, the strikes weren't strong enough to actually hurt him and also, after witnessing the pottery moment, Frederic knew how much anger there was inside that skinny frame. He couldn't blame the boy.

So he laid his hands on the boy's shoulders and waited for the storm to subside.

Much to Varian's despair, his strength soon gave out, exhaustion of the past events taking their toll. He pressed his forehand against the King's chest, his fists too weak to strike anymore. Soon he went still, expect for the soft shaking of his shoulders as he let some tears fall.

His hands still on the teen's frail shoulders, Frederic put one knee down.

"Varian… I'm sorry… I never meant for this to happen. I know that's not an excuse, but… when my guards reported that black rocks had sprouted up when the sunflower once was, I… I panicked."

Varian choked back a sob as he wiped his eyes and running nose with his glove.

"Panicked ? You ?"

"I was terrified. The rocks existed because I took the magic flower to save my wife and unborn child. I knew because I had been warned."

"Warned ? by whom ?" Before the King could utter an answer (it was stuck in his throat anyway), Varian's eyes opened wide as it dawned on him.

"The scroll… my father…"

"Yes, Varian. Your father is the one who came to warn me. But I didn't listen. I couldn't. I had to try everything to save my dear Arianna and our child."

Varian went silent for a moment, confused. He closed his eyes, trying to sort out his feelings. When he looked at the King again, his eyes held a mixture of sadness, resignation and compassion.

"And I can see why you did," he whispered. "I would have done the same if it had saved my mother."

Frederic was speechless. He hadn't expected the sassy, angry boy to be so understanding and wise beyond his years.

"Thank you", the King breathed out, eyes watering and pulling Varian into a fatherly embrace. It felt good, and the boy wondered if he would ever feel his own father close to him this way one day. That thought made him shed a few more tears that fell on the King's sleeve.

When they looked at each other again, Varian, feeling a little awkward, chuckled through his last sobs.

"I guess alchemy and magic aren't that different, after all."

"What do you mean ?"

"In alchemy, you can't create something if you don't have the elements you need. It's the basics of alchemy. There is a price to pay, if you like."

"…as in magic," Frederic concluded thoughtfully. "Although in alchemy, you can predict what will be equivalent I suppose, whereas in magic… the consequences can get out of hand. As they do now."

"Thank you… for telling me all this, Your Majesty. I'm relieved to know that my father didn't lie to you."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry. It was long, long overdue, and you suffered because of that. I hope someday you can forgive me."

Varian ruffled the back of his head nervously.

"I… I don't know, to be honest, that's a lot to take in. But I'll… I'll think about it, Your Majesty."

"Good." Frederic gave Varian a proud smile and got to his feet to take leave.

"Aaand, maybe," Varian ventured nervously, "you can have a thought about… you know… a few things I did, and… well… I… I shouldn't have gone that far."

Frederic turned around and nodded.

"I will, Varian, and we will settle all this in court in a few days. You will have the chance to explain yourself in a fair trial."

Varian didn't know what to reply. A trial ? Was that good news ? He wasn't sure.

Once he was left alone (Phil was obviously still keeping an eye on him from a distance and giving the boy some space), Varian sat back on the swing, threw his legs over the sitting board this time so he could rest his arms on the backrest. He lowered his chin on his hands and looked at the sky for a long time, thinking about how much kings and princesses were, after all, not all-powerful as he always thought. Was this part of growing up ? To realize that those mighty people were just that ? People. With their fears and their flaws.

King Frederic was a ruler but also a husband and a father who wanted to save his family, and then paid a dear price for his own actions.

Rapunzel genuinely wanted to help, she only wished for things to be alright, but how could she know that a huge storm would make her break her promise ?

And that went for this father too. For the first time, Varian started to ponder how his Dad tried to do what he thought was best for his son but couldn't predict that maybe untold secrets would hurt more than the truth.

Torn, Varian let the swing rock him soothingly back and forth. His eyes were still wet, and he had come to accept it would take time for them to dry. But at least, by learning how very fallible grown-ups could be, he had ironically regained his ability to trust them again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the early afternoon, all the castle staff were gathered on the plaza in front of the castle gates as the King and Queen of Corona left to attend the Moon Festival in Epoisses. They were escorted by Pete, Stan, and the Captain who rode their horses on each side and at the back of the royal carriage.

Arianna was keeping casting glances back, long after the houses in the town hid the view.

A large, steady hand suddenly covered hers. She looked up and met her husband's eyes.

"He'll be fine, darling. He's more resilient than meets the eye. Besides," he added on a lighter tone, "we could use the break and we will be back by sunset tomorrow."

Arianna rolled her eyes as how well her husband could read her thoughts.

"You're right, I know. He's not a four-year old and he's made so much progress. Not to mention I trust the people who will be watching him while we're gone. We have our duties to attend, and we even might enjoy this one", she replied, more to reassure herself than her husband.

She looked out the window as the castle became smaller and smaller. She sighed and her lips drew into a half-hearted smile. After all, what could possibly go wrong ?