"This isn't helping anyone," Rapunzel finally admitted to Cassandra after they returned to camp.
They, meaning primarily Rapunzel, had decided that the safest place to reconvene and decide on next steps would be where Adira had last left them, and had made their way back, much quieter than before. Upon arrival, Eugene had taken one look at the two women and their expressions and had noped out, choosing to go spend his time doing anything other than having this talk.
Each person in their small group was on edge for their own reasons after the short excursion to the Depths. Cassandra's outburst was the catalyst for them to fully realize their situation, and acknowledge in their own minds how little they actually trusted Varian. They couldn't continue like this. It wasn't like he had chosen to try and change, he'd simply forgotten he had ever been any other way.
"It's what I've been saying, Raps." Cass sighed. "We can't help him like this if we can't even trust him. This isn't permanent, and we have no plan for if he snaps one day." She was generously not saying 'when' instead.
Rapunzel frowned, wishing they could make it permanent. It'd be a lot easier to connect with Varian if they knew what to expect. Not that she'd necessarily want to give him blunt force trauma again, but if there were another way...
"Your heart's in the right place," Cass tried to comfort. "But even Varian has to have noticed by now that we can't trust him, and that's not fair to anybody."
Rapunzel knew better than anyone what the boy was capable of, both in acts of heroism and cruelty. It hadn't even been two months since the Incident, the nightmares still popping up at times when she thought she had finally moved past it. She had hoped that the amnesia would be a fresh start, but it was nothing more than a bandage over a festering wound. It was becoming increasingly obvious that he would remember, likely sooner than later, and all hell would break loose.
If only she could get a message to her mom without it getting intercepted. It gave her an idea.
"Where's Owl?" Rapunzel asked. "Do you think he could get a direct message through castle security?"
Cass shrugged. "He definitely could, but we'd need to get out of these caves to call him." The echoes would only confuse him, and his type of owl didn't do well underground.
"Great!" Rapunzel's relief flowed through her. "Mom will know what to do, or how to make it the least painful it can be, anyway."
"If you say so, Raps." Cassandra knew the Queen was wise, but this was a rather extreme situation. "Owl knows how to deliver messages in secret, but if the Queen chooses to share, or Owl gets caught, it could get messy."
Sighing, Rapunzel straightened her spine. "I'm prepared for that. We've done the best we can out here, we won't get into too much trouble."
Cassandra wasn't so sure Rapunzel understood what the details and consequences of harboring a fugitive entailed. They could only hope he didn't do any harm under their watch.
Varian wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. Humming didn't take the edge off of whatever this was, and he'd gotten an odd look from Eugene for trying. They were packing up, to head back to Corona, Rapunzel said.
He couldn't understand why that filled him with dread. For all he knew, he'd never even been there.
Maybe it had a bad reputation?
Or maybe, another part of him whispered, Corona was why no one here seemed to trust him. He couldn't remember doing anything wrong, but he saw how often his attempts to help backfired, and how easily it could have gotten out of hand.
He sighed, petting a concerned looking Ruddiger as everyone else finished up, him just staying out of their way. Varian wished he knew the truth and could just move on with it all. Whatever was going on was weighing down everyone, stifling any joy he had in his freedom.
...freedom?
Why... why wouldn't he be free?
A new fear gripped him when the thought passed through his head. The last time he'd had thoughts like this, with the plants, it had meant something. What could this mean?
Shuddering, he cuddled Ruddiger close, closing his eyes.
He definitely couldn't ask anyone. He knew, somehow, that it would be like kicking a hornet's nest, spilling everything that seemed to be barely contained as it was.
Varian supposed he would find out when they reached Corona.
"Knock, knock~" A singsong voice rang through the rocky clearing, barely familiar.
"How rude of us not to be able to welcome you to our home," The voice continued.
The others stood at alert, trying to pinpoint the voice's location. They all drew their weapons, while Varian froze in fear, huddled near the ground. He should have been preparing for this, he chastised himself internally. Of course the hooded figures were going to come back, and he was worse prepared for them than earlier. Most of his supplies had been used up trying to help the group already.
Maybe he could just stay out of the way...
In a blink, dozens of shrouded figures appeared from the shadows, standing there for the time being. How long had they been there?
"Now, again, come quietly, and no one will be hurt," the supposed leader promised, finally appearing at the entrance of the clearing. Cassandra lunged towards him and was easily dodged. "Well, that's not very nice."
The other figures drew their swords, switching to a ready stance.
Rapunzel, frying pan in hand and hair loose, looked around desperately.
A deep laugh echoed through the clearing. "There are no sacred rocks in here, Princess, not where you can reach."
Princess? Rapunzel was a princess?
It made sense, with how easily the others listened to her, how she held herself when making a decision, even her general grace when moving mirrored the expectations of royalty. Varian surprised himself at the anger that bloomed from her secrecy. It was her business if she wanted to tell people... right?
Telling himself this didn't help.
She tried to encourage them, "We just have to hold out guys, Adira has to be nearby-"
"Oh, your bothersome warrior is already busy." The figure grinned, jumping back a pace as Cassandra swung at him. "And we didn't even have to orchestrate it. Seems there is some fighting in the family."
Varian didn't know what that meant, exactly, only that there would be no help coming.
The others jumped into action, Eugene and Rapunzel teaming up to take on as much of the group as possible while Cassandra doggedly went after the leader, hoping to get in a hit. At this point she was more upset that nothing was landing than at the difficulty of the fight that stood before her.
Varian stood alone, swinging at the few shadows that approached him, not seeing him as a threat. Ruddiger hissed viciously from the ground at Varian's feet, but wasn't able to help much at all.
"Oh, poor little Shard." The voice was too close. Varian whipped around, staring up at a cloaked figure. The others were too far away and busy to notice that a small group had crept up on him. "Left standing all alone."
"Sleep." The one who had spoken reached out and tapped his forehead, and like a charm, Varian was out cold.