Wow, thank you so much for your comments ! Feedback is always appreciated ! I hope the story will help you during the nearly worldwide confinement... One could say it's a vent fic, with the pneumonia in the story, but I didn't know it would come to this, I swear !
Also, big thanks to PrettyPsychoQueen who, with a lot of enthusiasm (and courage !) decided to spread the story and translate it into Polish ! read it on Wattpad story/219213205-on-mnie-potrzebuje-zapl%C4%85tani-t%C5%82umaczenie-pl (and wow, 4 chapters already ! You're quick !)
Here's the new chapter for you ! Enjoy !
CHAPTER 85
The next couple of days passed quickly as Varian, Phil and Alden worked together. It was a very unusual way to keep watch on a prisoner, to say the least, but none of them would have wanted it otherwise. Varian never had other people to work with before – alchemy was an occupation he would always perform on his own, locked away in his lab with his only friend, Ruddiger, for company- but he soon discovered it could be quite nice. His brilliant mind structured his ideas and their execution to a T so he had a clear vision on how to split tasks according to the time they took and each one's individual skills.
Patiently, he showed them how to choose a piece of broken glass, wrap a piece of rough sandpaper around a small plank of wood and wet it slightly before rubbing the chip on it to shape it. Then, repeat, using a slightly softer paper. And again. And again, until the different facets are smooth and shiny.
The sick room was now turned into a workshop, sometimes filled with nothing but tinkering sounds, other times overflowing with light conversations, jokes and even laughter.
In the absence of Remyus and the Queen, Ethel was in charge of Varian's care. She knew better than to impose a strict, constricting schedule for the boy and had become unexpectedly flexible. Her only expectations were that Varian would get enough food and sleep as well as some time outdoors every day.
Remyus allowed Varian to come to Arianna's chambers once a day, officially because he was now immune to pneumonia and therefore the only person in the castle able to give him a hand, but the old physician wanted to make sure that he could regularly change the bandage on Varian's arm never said a thing but he was grateful not to have anyone else involved in the matter.
Every time, Varian would sit by the Queen for a while, as if watching her intensely would finally make her crack her eyes open. The fever was still running strongly in her system, and she was out of it all the time. Worry was inexorably growing inside Varian. Even though he truly enjoyed Phil and Alden's company, he had the unpleasant impression he was wearing a mask all the time, so he could bury his concern for her underneath. Every once in a while, he would release a breath he didn't know he was holding, blaming himself for not feeling light-hearted and happy to have caring people around him. That didn't help the old sense of guilt - guilt for making her sick, guilt for everything he did that took him here to this day - that was already tearing him from inside.
Elora too, would come and visit him often. Her smile would always bring some comfort him, and she would read for hours on end while he drilled tiny holes in the newly formed glass gems. But it had become so hard to focus on a simple story, no matter how much gusto she would put in her acting. Without realizing it, Varian started to feel more and more frustrated with the uncertainty of the situation and with himself. By the third day, he was so tense that a glass chip broke in two under the exaggerated pressure of his tendril.
"Argh ! What the-", he started, impatience bursting and making something hurt in his chest.
"Hey, easy, Varian", Phil promptly chimed, "these things can happen. Don't you remember I broke many of those before I could get it right ? And besides,", he strolled to Varian, pushing his goggles down in a brotherly gesture so they cover his eyes, "now would be a good time to use those, instead of having them sitting uselessly on the top of your head."
"They're not useless," Varian snapped, more abruptly than he intended, so he softened a bit. "I always feel better when I wear them anyway", he mumbled, memories of the pottery day flooding back. The Queen handed them back to him that day and had kindly let him keep them since then.
"Ok, ok", the young guard recoiled, his hands help up in front of him in a pacific motion, "no need to bite, kiddo. Are you sure you're ok, Varian ?"
"I'm fine," the alchemist lied, his tone not matching his words. The Queen hadn't awoken since that night he cuddled next to her and she was growing weaker by the hour, Varian knew it. He couldn't ignore the stomach-churning anxiety anymore as it turned his head into a dizzying void. He slammed the metal wheel he was working on against the table and turned on his heels.
"I must go to her", he stated under his breath.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Varian arrived at the Queen's door before Alden and Phil got the chance to catch up with him, all of them panting like parched dogs.
"Boy," Alden gasped as he was catching his breath, "am I out of shape !"
"Hey Varian, a quick heads-up would be nice before you run off like that." Phil tried to conceal the slight frustration in his voice (they were, after all, supposed to stay with Varian at all times, and the true reason was that the young man couldn't understand why Varian wouldn't talk to them – more precisely, talk to him, before darting away).
But his words seemed to fall into deaf ears, as the boy just stood there pensively, one hand resting on the immense, white door. His head was spinning with the extra effort. And for what ? Now there he was, torn between leaving that door closed or stepping inside. He hated to be like this, he hated how snappy he was to Phil earlier and how indecisive he was now. And most of all, he was scared to his bones. What if she never woke up ?
Picking up on the teen's trembling, Phil chilled and came closer so they could be face to face. Varian looked up and locked eyes with the guard, gazing at him intensely with contained fear.
"Well, you've come this far. Go on," he encouraged him.
Varian held the man's gaze for a little longer, as if seeking further validation. For some reasons, the words, although he could tell Phil meant them, were not enough.
Slowly, he turned his head to look at the door again and let out a deep sigh before pushing down the handle. He opened the door just enough for him to pass and stopped before stepping in, looking at Phil again.
"I'm sorry. About earlier. I shouldn't have talked to you that way, and… well…. thank you… for being here," he fumbled.
"Always", replied Phil, a compassionate smile on his face and in his eyes. He helped Varian in with a gentle push on his back, not another word needed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was way past lunchtime and Alden was reminded of it as his stomach rumbled loudly. The sheer silence in the hallway made it impossible to conceal, but he was growing so tired he couldn't bother to feel embarrassed.
"This is taking so long !", he complained out loud. "Can't Remyus even remember that we need to eat, sometime ? and I'm sure the boy won't say anything."
"We're not allowed to walk in because of contagion, but maybe we could knock and open the door ajar ?" Phil wondered, hunger clawing at his insides too.
Before Alden could reply, said door flung open and a small figure ran past them like lightning. It took them a couple of seconds to register that it was Varian.
"Not again ?!", Alden whined, too jaded to dart after the boy.
"Move it, Alden ! We're gonna lose him !", Phil shouted as he ran, worry finding its way in his voice. Whatever happened in the Queen's chambers, they couldn't afford to linger and find out.
Varian ran and ran, the rest of the world lost to him. He knew his way around well enough now, and he went straight for the throne room.
The doors were wide open, but there was no one there. Okay, fine. He knew what place would be his best bet.
Going back on his tracks a few strides away, he found himself in front of a purple door, the color of the Kingdom. It was as tall as the other doors on this floor, but the room behind it was smaller and more intimate, with a long, rectangle table in the middle where laid a detailed model of the Kingdom of Corona. This is where the King and his counselors would prepare and confront their strategies for the land.
Down the hallway, Phil and Alden were finally catching up. Before they had time to close in, Varian downright opened the door without bothering to knock whatsoever.
Inside were gathered a few people, including a few senior guards, the Captain and the King himself. The small group instantly froze as they took in the sudden intrusion, not sure what to think of it and too shocked to be upset by the blatant disrespect of the protocol.
Before them stood the "prisoner", or rather a mess of a boy, hair disheveled and face flushed with the running. He was out of breath, leaning his hands on his knees for support as he gasped for air. Although he was trying hard to make out words, only a few gasps and strangled cries made their way out of his throat.
"Hhhhh…. Een….she….", he wheezed, but then stopped when he saw the King's face go extremely pale as he came closer. Somehow the older man felt his legs wobbling as his mind reeled wildly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know why the boy was all over the place.
Phil and Alden arrived on Varian's heels, ready to apologize profusely, but they stopped dead in their tracks as well. The tension in the air was so thick they could almost see it like it was a wall of bricks.
Frederic forced himself to take a couple of steps forward, a lump stuck in his throat.
"Varian ?" he tried, addressing the boy by his name for the first time. "Come on, breathe, boy. What is it ?"
Varian could feel his heart thump in his chest, but he knew the recent physical strain and his still fragile condition were not the only ones to blame. There was something else rising in him, something threatening to burst if he didn't speak out now.
"The Queen… she's…. ", he panted, trying to pull himself up, "she's awake…she's saved….and… she asked for you, Your…"
Varian didn't finish his sentence as joy and relief washed over him all at once, taking over his exhausted body. His last bouts of strength gone, the teen's eyes rolled at the back of his head and all he could feel were strong arms catching up his limp frame just before he hit the floor.
