Author's Note: Greetings, readers! I finally got the chance to update! Yah! My last final for this semester is tomorrow, so I'll try to be more efficient in getting chapters up faster. I'll like to thank moanafan and another guest for their reviews since I posted the latest chapter. Though I have to ask this one guest regarding the review written by a guest: What does it mean! I don't speak text or whatever this message, 'Look,kolkka kook,ok,pl,' is trying to say. I'm not a texter or a user of much social media, so I don't know what this says. But, I still appreciate getting a review, since I don't have many. By the way, we are almost up to 4,000 views! Only need a 100 more views and then we're there! Back to other topics, I started a deviantart group for Varian. It's called, 'VarianFanClub' and anyone is welcome to join this group. I'm the founder, though my user name is different (DizziePie38, don't ask why, it was a teenage mistake). I also started a tumblr for this group under the same name, VarianFanClub. Look it up and you'll find it. The tumblr is mainly under my control currently, though other members might be placed in charge of it in the future. Check it out if your interested. Oh yeah, hope you notice the moon!Varian references in here. I'm not sure if I believe in the theory, though I thought it would be funny to include it in here for some laughes. Also, I can't wait for the next episode! That's all for now, so hope you like this chapter while I start the next! Disclaimer: I do not own Varian or Tangled: The Series in any way whats so ever.
Chapter 7
Varian knew their trip wouldn't be long, but it felt like it was taking forever on his sore bottom. It's only been an hour on the road so far and it would take at least another to reach the Capital. As he continued to squirm in his seat, Eugene felt bad for him. He was soundly spanked last night and was still expected to spend the next few hours sitting on a horse. This was a whole new level of being saddle sore.
'The Snuggly Duckling is not far from here, maybe Varian would be interested in visiting? He'll probably do anything to get out of this saddle,' Eugene considered as their journey continued.
"Hey, Varian! How would you like to meet some of my friends? They all hang out at a restaurant nearby?" he asked joyfully.
Varian was surprised that he had a choice in this matter. Before he was a outcast, the only choice he had with his so called 'friends' was the choice of being their friend. 'Though even that choice was forgone once I was pointed out as being just because I was smart,' he thought to himself. It would be exciting to meet Flynn Rider's friends. He felt a little nervous with the thought of meeting new people, but at least he would be out this horrid saddle for a while.
"That'll be so awesome! Did they work with you when you used to be a thief, Flynn Rider?" Varian responded, becoming more eager by the minute.
Eugene was trilled Varian was okay with the idea, until he was called Flynn Rider. 'I never got the chance to tell him who I really am,' the older man comprehended. In the events that happened yesterday, all thoughts of introductions were lost in the chaos and confusion.
"Um, no. I never worked with them before I met Rapunzel. They're not thugs and thieves any more. They still look like ruffians, but they not. By the way, Varian, I forget to introduce myself properly," the ex-thief started off as Maximus started to head towards the pub.
Varian was confused. There was no need to introduce Flynn since his face used to be posted all over the kingdom. He was like the coolest guy ever, even a loner like himself knew that.
"Well, duh! I'd be dumb not knowing who Flynn Rider was, especially after you brought the lost princess home! Besides, I read the books about you!" Varian explained.
"Well, you're correct about most of that. Except, Flynn Rider is not my real name and I am not the same person from the books. I just used the name from the books when I was around your age," Eugene replied.
Varian was so shocked by this revelation, he turned around in his seat to look up at him. He has a flabbergasted look on his face. It took him a few moments before he could make himself speak again.
"What! Really! Does that mean you never did any of the things from the books?" the young boy questioned, his mind still reeling after finding out his hero from his books was not the same as the one in reality.
"Oh, no! I really did do some of that stuff. Most of the adventures from the book were based on real situations and ideas. I used most of those ideas when I was first starting out as a dashing swashbuckler," Eugene answered with a smirk.
Varian giggled as they arrived at the time worn pub. Eugene got off first, before taking the young teen off as well. Varian was mortified at that, but Eugene wasn't going to risk his father's wrath by letting the kid get hurt while getting off of Max.
"Hey, kid! Why don't you leave your bag with old Max here?" Eugene asked the teen, who was looking at the twisty old building in wonder.
Varian was taken aback by the question and suddenly remember he was still wearing the satchel full of the Flynnoelum. He nervously laughed before answering back.
"No, thanks! I packed some of my research in here and it is too valuable to lose. I'd rather keep on me, so no one can take it, if that's okay?" he replied with an uneasy smile.
Eugene might have noticed the boy acting strange if he was paying attention. But, Maximus had just stepped on his foot for calling him old. So, he was in too much pain to note Varian's unusual behavior. Once he was sure his foot was no longer in pain, he finally responded to his question.
"Whatever floats your boat, kid! Now, let's go inside before Max here gets anymore smart ideas!" Eugene declared before getting away from the large stallion. Varian followed him, when he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait! If your real name is not Flynn Rider, what it!" he questioned one last time before they went in.
"It's Eugene Fitzherbert," Eugene responded nonchalantly, hoping his name doesn't change anything.
"Eugene, huh," Varian thought about the name for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, "Cool name."
"Wait! What! Aren't you going to laugh about how lame my real name is?" the older man asked, flabbergasted at the youth's reaction. When he was at the orphanage, everyone except Arwaldo made fun of his name. That's why rarely used his real name after he left the children's home.
"My great grandfather's name was Eugene. My dad used to tell me stories about him. Apparently, the name 'Eugene' is supposed to mean 'noble' or 'wellborn.' I wanted to be like him when I was younger," Varian explained, remembering the times when his father used to actually care for him, back when . . . mom was alive.
"Wow! So, I really do have a cool name. There must be only one reason I was named after something that means 'noble.' I must be . . . the lost prince of some far away kingdom," Eugene declared in a low voice.
Varian started at him in silence, until . . . he started cracking up. The older man started to chuckle as well. The youngster was laughing so hard, he almost fell to the ground. Luckily, Eugene caught him before he hit the ground. The boy didn't even care as he continued to laugh. Eventually his laughs became giggles and then chuckles. Once the two were calm enough, Eugene smiled at Varian before he pushed open the doors of the Snuggly Duckling.
Inside, all the dangerous looking men stopped to look at the two newcomers. They all stared at the two until a large man with a helmet covering his face approached them. Varian unconsciously cowered, making himself look smaller. Years of being bullied had left some habits to become instinctive reflexes.
The giant looking man stood in front of Eugene and . . . hugged him, lifting him up from the ground. Eugene started protesting while the other men in the pub started laughing. Varian looked on in shock at this new turn of events.
"Attila! Is there a reason your trying to suffocate me?!" Eugene questioned.
"Eugene, thank you for all you've done to help me!" the man named Attila thanked the ex-thief before letting him down.
"Help? What help? I didn't do anything to help you recently?"
"I know it was you who booked the newly vacant shop in town for me. I heard there was a vacancy and I went to check it out, when the previous owner told me someone already booked it for someone else. I was disappointed till I found out it was booked in my name," Attila explained.
"What makes you think it was me?"the younger man countered.
"Who else would be the princess's boyfriend if Corona only has one princess?" Attila responded, before he caught sight of Varian, who was trying to hide behind Eugene unsuccessfully.
"Hey, who the fella behind you?" the man asked, catching the attention of the other patriots of the Snuggly Duckling as well.
Eugene pushed Varian in front of him before introducing him.
"Might I introduce you all to my new pupil, Varian!" he exclaimed, waving his hands over Varian, like he casting a spell. The lad shrunk as all the men looked over him as if they were looking into his soul. The colossal man who was practically suffocation Eugene moments ago came to stand in front of him and . . . pulled him into a great bear hug.
The boy almost squeaked in fear when he lifted off the ground, but soon realized he was not in bodily pain. Though was feeling like all the air got knocked out of him.
"Any friend of Eugene's is a friend of mine!" the man declared wholeheartedly.
Varian was touched at the announcement, but that feeling was hard to keep as he felt lightheaded from the loss of oxygen.
"Woah! Attila, you should let the kid down! He's looking a bit blue there!" Eugene, distraught with worry, caught Varian when he was let down. The teen took some deep gulps of air, relieved to breath once more. Eugene rubbed his back, trying to console him.
"Oops! Sorry about that! Sometimes I forget my own strength," the tall man apologized guilty.
Varian was able to answer him back once he was able to breath properly. After a few minutes of silence, he was able to stand up on his own again. He looked at the man in front of him and felt bad for him. He was trying to make him feel more at home and accidentally hurt him without meaning to. Varian could understand the feeling, since he hurt others all time without even trying.
"It's okay! Everyone makes mistakes," he forgave the older man. Eugene smiled at the teen, proud of him being so understanding.
"Well, come on in and take a seat, you two!" a large man with a hook for his foot declared from where he was sitting at the counter.
Attila led the two over before getting behind the bar. He went to the back kitchen to get something while Eugene introduced Varian to everyone.
"This is Big Nose. He's a poet, so if you every need help wooing the girls with words, ask this guy for help!"
"Eugene!"
"This big guy is Vladimir! Don't be turned away by his looks, he a nice fella who likes to collect ceramic unicorns."
"Wow! That's interesting!"
"This is Ulf. He's doesn't talk much."
"Hmm. Is what is your face paint made of?"
"This is Hook Foot! He's Hook Hand's brother."
"The world famous pianist?!"
"This short guy right here is Shorty."
"Hey, are you related to the moon or something? 'Cause your aura is the opposite of Rapunzel's!"
Eventually, Varian met everyone in the pub one by one. He got along with almost everyone. He was able to talk about history with Big Nose. Vladimir was excited to show off his ceramic unicorn collection with him. He loved Ulf's pantomime show. Hook Foot told some funny tales of him and his brother. He humored Shorty, who believed he has some kind of moon powers and had magical hair as well. He even complimented Attila on his cupcakes.
When Varian started to tire, Attila offered to let him take a nap in the back room. The lad wanted to protest that he was too old for naps, but his fatigue got the better of him. So he accepted and left towards the room. Once he was out of the room, the other men started interrogating Eugene.
"Hey, what's a smart kid like that doing with you?" Attila questioned.
"Yeah, he seems too normal to be associated with you," commented Hook Foot.
"Did you kidnap him from his home?" Vladimir asked suspiciously.
"Are you and Rapunzel adopting kids, now?" Big Nose trying to get his question in.
"It's clear that the child of the moon is this man's son!" Shorty bluntly yelled out, swaying on his feet.
Eugene didn't get the chance to answer any question as he was bombarded with inquiries from every direction. He finally resorted to yelling out, "WAIT A MOMENT, GUYS!" to get everyone to let him have a chance to speak before they start spreading rumors through the kingdom. They whole room was silent, as they anxiously waited for the answers to their questions. Eugene took a deep breath before speaking.
"First of all, I can hang out with smart people, too you know. I'm not a genius, but I can appreciate an intelligent conversation every once in awhile," Eugene started off, before Hook Foot coughed something that strangely sounded like 'yeah right,' making the younger man glare at him.
"No, Big Nose. We are not adopting kids yet. We aren't even married yet! The King would have a heart attack if he heard about that!" he protested, holding his head at the thought. 'I wonder if I close my eyes, I might wake up and find this all to be one big dream,' he thought to himself, but when he opened his eyes, nothing changed. 'Darn it!.'
"Shorty, he is not my son and nor is he the child of the moon! Where in Corona did you get that idea!" he cried out as he recalled the drunk's announcement.
"I don't know. It's just came to me in a colorful and crazy dream. I don't know about you, but I never have crazy dreams," the man stage whispered, through his voice was the opposite of a mouse's squeak. The ex-thief just ignored the man as he started dance around the room.
"Next question," Eugene reminded himself before recalling the question. "Wait a moment! What you mean 'too normal to be associated with me'!" he yelled at Hook Foot.
The hook footed man just shrugged his shoulders before saying, "It's just what it is. You not exactly an average guy since you used be a thief and now you're the princess's boyfriend. Anyone next to you looks normal, even alchemy kid."
Eugene accepting his answer, knowing the other man was not trying to be insulting or anything, continued, "No, Vladimir. I did not kidnap from his home, though his father allowed me to take him. He got into some trouble back home, so he has to spend the summer with me being a 'good mentor' to him. I just don't know why anyone would choose me to be a 'mentor.' Just look at my past! It's a list of reason to not give me a student, but Rapunzel had this great idea so the villagers don't run him out of town or something."
All them men look bewildered at the thought of the nice kid they just met causing any kind of trouble, so of course, they had to ask.
"So, what did the boy do to make his town go against him?" Attila asked.
"Oh you know, the usual," Eugene nonchalantly answered, " He accidentally exploded some underground tankers full of hot water that almost destroyed the town."
All the men were shocked at this new revelation, so Eugene tried to quickly reassure them that everything worked out in the end.
"Luckily, no one was hurt. Only Varian's lab was destroyed and Rapunzel was able to smooth the townsfolk by having some soldiers come by to help clean up. Thank goodness, Rapunzel and I were able to survive the building collapsing on us," he told, hoping to convince the crew.
Sadly, they got even more worried. So, Eugene spent the next half hour explaining to the thugs why it wasn't a good idea for them to barge into the castle uninvited to make sure Rapunzel was okay. They had finally agreed on having her visit them soon, when Varian walked in.
He was yawning and rubbing his eyes, still waking up from his short nap. He sat down next to Eugene, quickly awakened when he felt the lingering sting i his backside. He let out a small yelp, before looking around to make sure no one noticed.
Unnoticed by him, most of the pub thugs observed that small action and discreetly flashed Eugene some dirty looks. The young man was wondering why the atmosphere suddenly turned dark with the constant frowns sent this way. Varian was starting to notice and the last Eugene needed was the kid to think his friends were glowering at him. So, he casually told Varian that he should go outside and feed Max a few apples from the surrounding trees. Once he was out of the building, the man bluntly openly asked the room, "Okay! What's going on? What did I do this time to get all those dark looks thrown my way?"
"Don't act like you don't know?" Vladimir retorted. "We all saw the way the kid jumped up in pain when he sat down!"
"Yeah! What did he ever do to you to get beat like that?" Hook Foot carried on.
Eugene all looked at them, puzzled about what they were all talking about, when it came to him. 'As much as I'm happy to see them be protective of Varian, I don't want to be known as the child abuser either!' he deliberated.
"Uh, guys . . . the kid wasn't beaten, he was just spanked by his dad," Eugene explained. "I mean, what't you expect? The kid basically blew up the building he was in and almost destroyed the town. He almost killed himself and many other people, me included. I didn't expect his dad to . . . spank him, but he did and that's that!"
The other men visibly relaxed once they were reassured the kid wasn't beaten blue and black.
"Sorry, for doubting you Eugene, but we couldn't take the chance of letting this issue go," Attila clarified.
"Yeah, we might have been thieves and thugs our whole lives, but even we don't like people who break the bones of younglings," Vladimir said.
"But, we understand spanking is okay as long the kid isn't bleeding or bruised," Big Nose commented.
"Even I was spanked by my brother growing up. Without him keeping me in line, I would have been robbing old ladies and pregnant women today if it weren't for him," Hook Foot remarked.
"Thanks for understanding, guys. But, can you please keep this topic private? I don't want Varian to find out you guys know about . . . his punishment. He'll be too embarrassed to want to come back the next time I'll be visiting."
He got various replies of yeses, before he turned his head towards the short bearded man lying on the ground.
"Um, Shorty. You know what not to say around the 'moon child'?" Eugene cautiously asked.
"Yup, you don't want moon!Varian to know we know he's magical!" he answered back with a loopy smile.
"Ahhaa, sure," the young man lied. 'As long as he doesn't say anything about him being spanked, we're good.'
When Varian came back inside, Eugene finally decided it was time for them to leave. After having a round of goodbyes, the who left. The young alchemist was excited to come back for another visit soon.
'Maybe, I'm not so different from those guys. If they were able to carry out their dreams despite their deadly looks, then maybe I can make my Dad proud of me despite my bad luck and clumsiness!' he thought to himself happily.
At the same time, Eugene was having a similar thought. 'Maybe this mentorship idea will work after all. He's a good kid who just needs some guidance. He's already gotten all the pub thugs under his spell. Now, I just hope the King's okay with this arrangement.'
The two continued to talk to each other as their journey continued. Their worries and pain, for one, were soon forgotten as they converse about everything in general. Before long, the two would be at the Castle, where another chapter of their lives will begin. Currently, both of them had high hopes for making this plan work. As the two advanced on the pathway before them, the sun continued to rise across the sky, casting it's rays on the duo. It was almost as if it was trying to protect them from a haunting truth that would be known one day.
