Chapter 9
"Soo… who exactly is this friend of yours?" Eugene brushes a tree branch away from his face and ducks underneath it, struggling to keep up with Cassandra who is very fast despite her size.
"He's not a friend," she says while marching through the forest, not looking back at him. "Just… someone I've read about."
Eugene had met up with her early this morning, after Cassandra had told him at the tavern last night that she had to return to her post before the rest of the royal guard noticed she was missing. Now they have the entire day ahead of them to find… whoever it is they're setting out to find.
"So, you've never met him before. And you think he'll be feeling generous enough to help us figure out what happened to Rapunzel?"
"I don't know. Hopefully," says Cass, unconvincingly.
Eugene thinks about that for a moment, commenting sarcastically, "Sounds promising."
Cass rolls her eyes at his lack of faith in her, though he can't see it from where he is behind her. "His name is Varian. He's a wizard. His lab is just a few hours from here."
Eugene stops in his tracks. "Hold on… what did you just say? A wizard?" He laughs at the ridiculousness of it. That definitely hadn't been what he'd expected her to say. He continues following her, "You can't be serious. I mean, come on. You don't really believe in that—"
"Get down," whispers Cassandra.
Suddenly, Eugene feels her grab him by the collar of his shirt and yank him down to the ground. He lets out a short scream, nearly falling on his own face from her surprising strength.
Eugene writhes on the forest floor afterward, Cassandra kneeling down next to him from within the bushes. "Ow… Okay… Maybe a bit of a warning next time?" He groans.
She's staring intensely at something in the distance, and it isn't until Eugene pulls himself up to his knees that he realizes what she's looking at.
At the edge of the trees, marching along the dirt road, is a pair of royal guards holding halberds in their gloved hands. They're dressed in identical uniforms to Cassandra's, Corona's emblem printed on their helmets and armor.
They haven't yet noticed the pair hidden within the brush, instead staring ahead and conversing with one another about something Cassandra can't decipher from where they are.
"I don't suppose those are your friends, are they?" Eugene asks sarcastically. It couldn't be more obvious, though he hopes she'll tell him something different just to make him feel better.
Cassandra sighs exasperatedly, keeping her voice low. "That's one way of putting it."
"Oh. Great. Now I've got even more problems to worry about," Eugene groans, throwing his hands in the air.
"Yes. Now can you keep quiet before they kill me for not killing you?" she mutters, wondering if he's always this whiney.
Eugene whips his head toward her, whispering aggressively with his voice raising in pitch, "What? You were gonna kill me?!"
"Shh!" Cassandra doesn't look at him, her eyes too focused on the guards in the distance. Instead, she swats her hand in his face like he's a buzzing fly.
Eugene only pouts, crossing his arms and turning his head away in annoyance.
A few minutes later, when Cassandra is positive the guards are out of sight and there aren't any more, she cautiously steps out from behind the brush.
"Come on. Let's keep moving," she tells Eugene with determination, not looking back at him.
Eugene slowly rises to a stand as she walks away, taking a moment to brush the dirt off himself. She clearly has no consideration for the outfit.
He glares at Cassandra's backside, thinking about the fact that she'd just casually mentioned killing him. "Sheesh," Eugene mutters to himself, following her. "Now I know not to get on her bad side."
When they finally reach the lab, it looks more like a small, charming castle from the outside.
A small bridge arches over the flowing stream that surrounds the stone exterior of the lab. It has pointed roofs with tall rectangular windows, and two cylindrical towers connected to the main building. It's surrounded by trees and lush green farmland, with a wooden country fence encasing it. A dirt path leads up to the steep staircase in front of the large wooden door.
When Eugene and Cassandra cautiously peer inside, the vast stone room is encased in shadows, appearing entirely abandoned. They can't see much through the darkness, aside from the shadows of some old furniture and paintings along the walls.
Their footsteps echo as they slowly walk through. The rays of sunlight from outside disappear as the heavy door creaks closed behind them.
"Um… hello?" Cassandra calls out into the void, "Varian?"
Eugene peers around himself warily, wondering just how many spiders or rats are probably lurking around here. He'd only just stepped inside and he already wants to get out. "You sure this is the right place?"
"Yes. I know the map of this area like the back of my hand," assures Cass from next to him, sounding a lot more confident than him.
"Right. Because where else would a wizard be hiding if not in some mysterious, dark castle in the middle of no where? Let's just hope we don't get ourselves—ah!" Eugene jumps back in surprise when a figure suddenly pops down in front of his face, which he almost walks into.
"Alchemist, actually!" says the small, lanky boy that is now casually hanging upside down from the ceiling. His arms are crossed, wearing a confident smirk on his face, and appearing entirely comfortable in that position. "I mean, if you wanna get technical, I'd say I'm a man of science as opposed to magic. But I wouldn't worry myself over it. It's a common misconception."
The boy effortlessly swings down from the ceiling, plopping down on the ground in front of them. He brushes off the sleeves of his tunic.
Now that he's standing up straight, they can clearly see how small he is. The top of his head merely reaches Eugene's shoulders, though the amount of dark, messy hair on his head adds to the height.
He's wearing a brown apron over his patched blue tunic, with thick leather gloves and a greyish-blue streak running through the bangs of his hair. He has a pair of large goggles strapped to the top of his head.
"Wait… you're Varian?" Cassandra scoffs, sizing him up, "You're just a kid!"
"Correction!" The boy points a finger in the air. "I am a scientist… who's read and studied every book on alchemy there is known to man. My age has nothing to do with it. And you are?"
Cass stares at him for a moment with an unimpressed expression, her hand on her hip. "Cassandra."
Eugene scratches the back of his neck, "I'm—"
"Flynn Rider!" Varian gasps in recognition, startling them both. "No way! Wait… you're alive? I thought you were dead! Unless I'm dead…" He taps his chin in deep thought.
"Uh…" Eugene stutters.
"Oh man, I've been collecting your wanted posters since I was a kid," continues Varian enthusiastically.
"Aw, well, thanks…" Eugene smirks proudly, puffing out his chest. He's beginning to like this weird wizard kid.
Eugene almost stumbles forward when Varian grabs his palm with both hands and begins shaking it aggressively. "I gotta say, it truly is a pleasure to meet you, Flynn."
Cass steps in next to them, annoyed. "Okay, okay, we get it. He's famous. Now, can you help us or not?"
Varian finally releases Eugene's hand, stepping away. "That all depends. What exactly do you two need help with?"
Cass pulls out the nearly empty vile from the pouch on her hip, only a splash of golden liquid remaining inside. "Did you make this?"
"Why, yes. It has my initial right there," Varian points out cheerfully.
"It wouldn't happen to be able to erase someone's memories, would it?" Eugene asks accusingly.
"Well, that's what the symbol means, obviously. The diamond represents the mind, not necessarily it's memories… but it's likely the potion could affect them if used correctly," Varian walks toward a wide table in the center of the lab, pulling the string of the single lightbulb hanging above it.
It illuminates the surface, revealing a collection of vials connected by spiraling wires, all filled with different neon-colored liquids. Parchment of different sizes are pinned to the wall behind him, with drawings and formulas scribbled onto them.
Eugene and Cass share a nervous glance.
So, Rapunzel did lose her memories. Or… her mind was altered in some way? Either way, neither of them are sure if they feel better or not now that it's been confirmed. If anything, it makes them feel even more uneasy about the entire situation.
Well, it all makes sense now why Rapunzel was so afraid of Eugene in that cabin. She must have recognized him from his wanted poster and assumed him to just be some criminal coming after her.
Cassandra follows Varian toward the table. "You have any idea who used it?"
Varian flicks his goggles down over his eyes and examines one of the vials in front of him, before placing it on a weigh scale. "Sure, I do," he responds without looking up at her. "Some traveler came into my lab a few weeks back. I sold it to him for a hefty price. I don't get customers often, but he was pretty insistent on buying it off of me. Besides, I couldn't say no to sharing my creations with the world."
As he mixes a combination of glowing chemicals together, a sudden puff of smoke explodes in his face, causing him to jump back. Varian chuckles nervously, wincing. "Oops."
"Who? Did he say his name?" asks Eugene eagerly.
Varian removes his goggles and uses his apron to wipe the soot from the lenses. "No, sorry. No name."
"What did he look like?"
He places the goggles back on his head. "He just… looked like any ordinary guy. He was pretty young, red hair. Seemed kinda weird." He perks up as he remembers something. "Although… there was one thing I noticed about him now that I think about it."
Varian scurries through the scattered papers on the table in front of him, finding a blank piece of parchment and a quill.
Cassandra and Eugene gather on either side with intrigue as Varian hunches over the desk, quickly sketching something.
"He had this symbol on his jacket," Varian explains once he is done.
They squint down at the drawing of what appears to be a single teardrop-shaped flame, encased in a perfect circle.
Cassandra's eyes widen in recognition, her heart skipping a beat. "that's the crest of Ashford."
"Ashford? Like the kingdom?" Eugene asks.
She steps away from the desk, her voice confident and suddenly intense, "I know who did this to her."
"You do? Who was it?" Eugene turns to her, dying to know the answer.
"His name is Donovan. Rapunzel was arranged to marry him before she ran away with you."
"Whoa, whoa, wait… what?" Eugene exclaims, wondering if he'd heard correctly.
Like… the prince that Rapunzel said prevented her from leaving Corona two years ago? The guy she never met that her parents had arranged for her and she'd essentially ended up abandoning? That prince?
Eugene pinches the bridge of his nose stressfully. "You're telling me my girlfriend's ex-fiancée used some sort of magical potion on her to erase her memories?"
"I—I don't know for sure," Cass stares at the ground in thought, piecing it all together. "It has to be him. It's the only explanation I can think of."
What else would a citizen of Ashford be doing all the way out here, aiming to do whatever he aims to do with Rapunzel?
"Well… sounds like you've got yourself a handful there, Flynn," Varian observes as he continues to busy himself at his table, much less bothered than the other two.
"What does he want with her?" Eugene wonders, agitated and completely ignoring that comment. "I mean… what kind of messed up person would do something like that?"
"Maybe he… wants revenge or something?" suggests Cass, shrugging.
Eugene turns pointedly to Varian, beginning to panic. "You're an alchemist, right? Can't you just… mix some chemicals together and give us something that can fix this?"
Varian taps his chin in thought, speaking slowly, "I think I have just the thing."
They follow him through a wooden door nestled at the back of the lab that they hadn't noticed before.
Inside, they recognize it as one of the cylindrical towers of the castle. The enormously tall room is stocked from floor to ceiling with brightly colored potions, their bottles all different shapes and sizes. The various liquids sparkle from the sunlight peering through the small windows near the top of the tower.
There's a rickety wooden ladder propped against the rows of shelves along the stone wall, lengthening all the way to the top. Varian hums to himself as he effortlessly climbs it, scanning each shelf that he passes.
"Aha! Here we are." He stops suddenly, grabbing one off the wall. It's a tear-shaped bottle with a deep purple liquid inside, its contents somehow dancing slowly like smoke. "This mixture contains a neutralizing particle that should be able to reverse engineer the effects of the memory potion." He hops down the ladder, landing on his feet, then hands the bottle to Eugene.
"Great!" Eugene beams at it in his hand, convincing himself that everything is going to be okay despite his underlying panic, "Now all we have to do is get her to drink it. Easy peasy, right?"
"Correct. Though… there is one other thing you should know about the memory potion," continues Varian. "The creation I sold him was only a prototype. The good news is… since it hadn't been fully developed, it isn't guaranteed that the effects are absolute. The bad news is, if she takes enough of it, it could end up consuming her mind permanently. And a mere few drops are enough to cause an effect. At least… if my predictions are accurate."
The implication that Rapunzel's memories haven't yet been lost forever eases their minds somewhat, but she is still out there somewhere with no idea of what's going on. She is still in the hands of some madman who probably has nothing but bad intentions with her. There's no telling how much time they have left until her memories are gone for good.
With the amount of information running through his head right now, Eugene figures he can think about all of it later. Right now, he needs to focus on finding Rapunzel… again.
He turns to Varian, "Thank you. Really."
Varian waves his hand, shrugging him off, "Eh, don't worry about it. For Flynn Rider, it's on the house."
Cassandra turns to Eugene with determination, inhaling deeply, "Well… looks like I'm coming with you, pretty boy. Come on. We've got ourselves a princess to find."
A/N: I know Varian's lab is located in Corona, but I changed it for the sake of storytelling. Also, I've never written Varian before so I hope I did him justice!
