Lance was doing his best to help the slaves, but he was feeling way out of his depth. He remembered the stories that his grandmother used to tell about the backbreaking work in the fields, and the heartbreaking and soul crushing 'work' she was forced to do under the sheets. When he was young he hadn't really understood what she meant, but he had never forgotten the haunted and pained look in her eyes.
When he'd first met Eugene the boy had that same look in his eyes, and he knew that he'd been hurt the same way as his grandmother had. He hadn't just lost his family, he'd lost himself, and everything he could ever have. Even before Lance had seen his slave mark he'd had a pretty good idea of what he'd been through, and it had been a relief when Eugene had started to subconsciously block his painful memories.
Lance knew people that had been slaves, and he could effortlessly care about and empathize with them, but he really had no idea the horrors they'd experienced. No matter how detailed the stories they told were, Lance would never know the raw horror that Varian felt when he first learned about his fate. He wouldn't ever truly understand the pain that Edmund felt to give up his son and just hope that he had a better life. He could only imagine the conflicted heartbreak that plagued Quirin to have to leave his family in slavery to try to protect his own son.
Lance felt for these people, but he didn't truly understand them, and he was grateful for that, but at the same time he was hurt. Seeing people in pain hurt him, and he didn't know how to properly help them.
He did his best to be supportive of Eugene, but there was so much that his friend was doing that he couldn't help with. Lance couldn't commune with the moon, or wield the moonstone, or even have a chance of leading the slaves or persuading the king.
Eugene had been spending more and more time at the capital, and Lance stayed at Old Corona, just in case he was needed there. The most he could do was keep an eye on Varian and make sure he didn't push himself to do more than he could handle.
Lance was a protector at heart. He had tried so hard to look out for just himself, because if he didn't then nobody else would, but he couldn't help but have a soft spot for kids. Varian may be on the older side of being a kid, but he was still just a child. He was young, and these past two years he'd been through horrors that nobody deserved.
A young teenager should only be worried about learning how to talk to girls, adjusting to the changes that his body was going through, and finding a balance between dipping a toe into independence and being lazy and not wanting to do anything.
Varian was acting like he was doing okay, but Lance knew that it was just that, an act. He was pretending that he was okay because he didn't want to think about all the hurt he'd been through. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest way to cope with things, but Lance wasn't about to call him out for it. After everything he'd been through, he deserved a little bit of denial
Lance had no idea what Varian was like before this mess happened, but he liked this enthusiastic and mischievous boy who was way too smart for his own good. Quirin tried hard to keep Varian uninvolved in this slavery business, but Varian wouldn't let himself be pushed to the side. He wanted to help, and he refused to take no for an answer. Lance could relate to that.
So though he probably shouldn't encourage it, when Varian insisted on staying up until his family went to bed, just in case, Lance stayed up at his side. They watched as Edmund, Adira, and Quirin waited anxiously for Hector and Eugene to return from the capital. They'd been going there a lot lately, but they usually weren't gone all day. Now it was almost dawn, nearly twenty four hours since they had left, and they still weren't back.
Varian had dozed off sometime around midnight, shortly after the sky had taken on a slightly red glow from the moon. It was a chilling omen that shook Lance to the core, but the Brotherhood just seemed to be reassured. They said it was a sign from their goddess, and if she was watching out for them then she would protect her prince and prophet.
Lance trusted that they knew what they were talking about, but he wasn't that comforted. All he knew about the goddess of the moon was that she was a deity of death. Any sign of death had to be a bad thing as far as he was concerned.
Lance was tired, but he'd told Varian he would stay up with him until his family got some rest. Just because the kid was getting some shut-eye didn't mean that he was going to break his promise. Lance was going to stay up until the Brotherhood got some sleep, which they wouldn't do until Hector and Eugene were back.
Eventually, just before sunrise, they saw a figure approaching. They looked too large to be either Eugene or Hector, but as they came closer Lance saw that it wasn't just one person. The figure approaching them was carrying two forms on their back.
Adira was the first to get over her caution and approach the figure. She went slowly, but eventually she moved faster. Lance sat up, worried for a moment that she was going in for an attack, that this was an intruder. When she was right next to the figure though she paused and they seemed to talk for a short moment before they both began to make their way back here. Lance thought it was safe to say they weren't a threat.
As they came closer Lance recognized Hector. He was relieved to see that Varian's uncle was back, but where was Eugene? Surely Hector wouldn't have left him behind, at least not without a really good reason.
Lance nudged Varian, waking him. "Kid, your uncle's back."
Varian blinked. His body seemed to wake up quicker than his mind did. Lance wondered if that was just something Varian always did, or if it was something he'd taught himself out of necessity as a slave.
"Hector?" Varian pushed himself up. "Is he okay?" He ran to catch up to his dad and Edmund, who had gone to meet with Adira and Hector. Lance briefly wondered if he should leave the family on their own, but he ultimately decided to follow them.
Hector looked exhausted, like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all, but there was an ease in his eyes that Lance had never seen from him before. It was concerning that Eugene wasn't here, but nothing terrible could have happened to him, because surely Hector wouldn't be so calm if it had.
"Where have you been?" Edmund asked. "Where's Horace?"
"He's fine." Hector said. He was carrying an unconscious or sleeping girl on his back, and Lance was alarmed to recognize Red. Angry was in Adira's arms. Lance wanted to know why Hector had these girls, but his curiosity about them wasn't nearly as strong as his concern about Eugene.
"He's going to be staying at the castle for a few days." Hector said. Lance's first thought was that he'd been arrested or trapped or something, and if the look of horror on Edmund's face was any indication he had the same concern. "He just needs to be with the princess right now."
"Are we sure it's safe though?" Lance asked.
"If the king cares at all about his daughter, and if he knows what's good for him, he won't try to keep the prince from him." Hector said. He was clearly not sharing everything with them, but he seemed to know what he was doing. Lance was going to trust him, both because being calm sounded much nicer than freaking out, and because if he didn't have to worry about Eugene then he could dedicate energy to worrying about the unconscious forms in front of him.
"What's with the girls?" Lance asked.
"This is kinda a last minute decision on my part." Hector said. "Me and Eugene had a vision. The moon has a plan. It's going to be a rough couple of days, but then everything will fall into place." Hector looked at Varian. He looked concerned, and like he was looking for something. "You feeling okay, kid?"
Varian blinked. "I'm fine."
"No chills or fever? Cough? Nausea?" Hector asked somewhat urgently. Lance and Varian were confused, but Edmund, Quirin, and Adira's expressions all grew grim. They now looked at Varian with the same concern that Hector was. They all knew something.
"I'm fine." Varian said. "I mean, there was a little bit where I felt really cold last night, but it went away."
Hector sighed in relief. "Good. That's good."
"What did you see?" Quirin asked tensely. He put a hand on Varian's shoulder and pulled him close, protectively.
"Sickness, all throughout the land of Corona." Hector said. "At least for a little bit, her children will suffer for the crimes of their parents and ancestors."
Varian paled, and Lance felt like he was going to be sick. It had nothing to do with the moon's curse. "T-that's not fair." Varian stammered.
Hector shook his head. "No, it's not, but the moon doesn't care about being fair. She cares about being treated with the respect she deserves." Hector shook his head. "I don't have to agree with her about everything, but I still trust her."
Lance looked at the girls. "Are they sick?"
Hector nodded. "It's just going to get worse. All the children in Corona are like this, and so is the princess. The thing is, my…friend let me know that all the others have someone around to keep an eye on them and take care of them. I don't think these girls have anybody, and that didn't sit right with me, so I found them and brought them here. I figured that someone here could take care of them."
"I will." Lance said quickly and loudly. He reached to take Red from Hector. He held the girl close, frowning at how warm her skin was to the touch. She whined in her sleep and curled close to him. Lance felt the familiar pressure of protectiveness. "I know these girls. T-they're street kids."
"I'm surprised they're the only ones." Hector said.
"I'm not." Lance said. "Eugene grew up thinking he didn't have a family, and Rapunzel was neglected and abused all while growing up. One of the first things they did when she was crowned as Corona's princess was make sure that all of the orphanages in the kingdom were well-funded, not too crowded, and every homeless child had a roof over their head and an honorary guardian."
Angry and Red were exceptions because they'd refused to take it. They liked their wanderer lifestyle, and Rapunzel felt that as long as they were happy, they weren't stealing anymore, and they took care of each other, then it was fine. Lance didn't agree, but it was hard to insist that they help people who wouldn't stay in one place for too long. Especially since he didn't have the power and influence that Rapunzel and Eugene did, and they had a lot more to worry about than two girls who seemed perfectly content right now.
Lance hadn't taken care of them before, but he was definitely going to take care of them now. He looked at Quirin. "I know your place is a little crowded right now, but is there somewhere I can put the girls?"
"They can be in my room." Varian said. Lance felt a little bad for taking the kid's space, but he knew that he'd been spending the nights with his dad, and his days in his lab. It wasn't too much of a sacrifice
"Thanks." Lance said. He and Adira began to take the girls into the house, but they stopped for a moment. Edmund and Quirin were both looking at Hector tensely, and Lance had the feeling that they were both going to be giving him a hard time. Edmund wouldn't be happy that he'd left Eugene behind, and Quirin definitely wouldn't be happy that there had been even a remote possibility that Varian might have gotten sick.
It didn't matter that Eugene was an adult who was going to be making his own decisions, or that Varian was clearly fine. They were parents, they were going to be protective. That was to be expected, but Lance didn't think it would be fair for Varian to witness the argument, let alone be dragged into the middle of it.
"Hey, kid, why don't you tag along?" Lance suggested. Varian looked confused, but Quirin gave him a grateful look.
"Go on." Quirin said. "It'll do you some good to be around kids your age." Varian gave him a suspicious look. He seemed to know that his dad had ulterior motives, but he still followed Lance and Adira inside.
Varian was cooperating, but he wasn't a fool. He slid close to Adira. "Is Uncle Hector in trouble?"
Adira sighed. "He shouldn't be, and hopefully Quirin and Edmund remember that soon. They know that he's just doing the moon's will, and if he doesn't then we'll continue to suffer, or she'll act without him, and we'll all be punished anyway."
Varian frowned uncomfortably. "That sounds like being a slave to me."
Lance hummed slightly. He'd seen how Hector saw slavery, and it was way different from how he felt about the moon. Having Red and Angry here though, knowing that he wished he had gone against their wishes of independence and made sure they were taken care of, he thought of another comparison that Varian might understand.
"I think it's more like a stern, but not unloving parent." Lance said. "Parents often ask kids to do things that they don't want to do, and maybe the kids don't understand it, but it's done for their own good."
Varian frowned and looked over his shoulder towards his dad. He'd been lied to because his dad had been trying to protect him. It had hurt at the time, but Varian understood now.
"But my dad doesn't punish me when I don't do what he says." Varian rubbed his arm. "He doesn't hurt me. He's just disappointed."
"Punishment, though perhaps we could call it discipline, does not have to be so hurtful and cruel." Adira said. "If a child doesn't do their chores because they want to play with their friends, then the next day the child may not be allowed to play with their friends at all, even after they've finished their work."
"Or maybe the kid gets hurt as a consequence of their own actions, because they didn't follow the rules." Lance said. "I'm not saying they deserve it, but if a kid is told to not go into the woods at night, but they do anyways and they're not careful they could trip and twist their ankle because they couldn't see where they were going."
Varian was still for a long moment. "Like, when the moon gave Hector a warning about Corona, but they didn't listen?"
"Something like that." Adira said. They entered Varian's room. She set Angry down on the bed and pulled the blanket around her. The poor girl was shaking. She had chills. Lance laid her sister next to her and did his best to make sure they were comfortable.
"The moon is not a perfect and infallible being. She reacts out of anger. She wants to hurt people who have wronged her, and she is happy to reward those that serve her." Adira said. She looked out the window with a furrowed brow. "I don't always agree with what the moon does, but I know how Hector feels about her, and I support him."
Lance brushed Red's hair out of her face and took Angry's hand. She moaned and squinted her eyes open. She stared at Lance for a long minute before recognition came to her eyes.
"It's you." Angry said quietly. "What're you doing here?" She glanced around the room. "Where is here?"
"It's my room." Varian said. Angry stared at him suspiciously. Varian shifted uncomfortably and took a step back, drawing closer to his aunt.
"A friend of mine found you two." Lance said. "He didn't want to leave you alone when you're sick, so he brought you here."
Angry turned her head and looked at her sister next to her. She took her hand. "Catalina?" A small piece of Lance was ecstatic to hear what he assumed was Red's real name. He knew how important chosen names were, and they should be respected, but there was also something really personal about knowing somebody's given name. It could be a huge signifier of trust.
Maybe the girls hadn't told them their names directly, but if Angry felt safe enough to say Catalina's name, then it meant that she had to trust them at least a little bit.
"I think your sister's going to be just fine." Lance said. "You both are."
Angry gave him a suspicious look. "How do you know?" She asked. She was trying to be strong, but he could see the way she shivered, and there was a barely concealed shaking in her voice. She may be conscious, but she was absolutely exhausted and needed her rest.
"I know because I'm not going to rest until both of you are better." Lance said gently. Angry looked at him with so much vulnerability that it hurt to see. "I know you're not used to having other people care about you, but I do. Do you think you can trust me to watch out for you and your sister?"
Angry was still for a long moment before she sighed and settled back against the bed, curling up close against her sister.
"I don't know how to trust people." Angry said. "It's hard, but I want to try. I-I'm tired of trying to be strong all the time. Maybe just a little bit I do want to be taken care of."
"Hey, I get it." Lance said. He could definitely relate to being afraid to open himself up to people, but at the same time being desperate to feel safe enough to just open up and let somebody else do the hard things. He was in a good place right now, and he wanted to help Angry and Red, or Catalina (he would need to ask her what she actually wanted to be called).
He didn't know if he could always be somebody that the girls could feel safe with, but right now he wanted to be that for them, and he would do his best.
"Get some sleep." Lance said. "I got you." Angry sighed and closed her eyes again. She burrowed beneath all of the blankets that Varian had. Within a few minutes she fell into an uneasy sleep.
Varian watched the girls, an uncomfortable look in his eyes. "Is it weird that I feel bad for not being sick? I mean, I feel fine, and they look like they're dying. It's not fair."
"No, it's not." Lance said. "It's not fair, and it's not weird. Don't feel bad though. You shouldn't feel bad for things that are completely out of your control." He smiled at Varian, who just looked so young right now. "And I know the girls don't know you, but trust me, they wouldn't want another kid to be sick just because it might be more fair."
Varian didn't look too reassured. Lance doubted the kid knew him well enough to take him at his word. He'd listen to his family, but the Brotherhood had their own issues going on. Quirin was so used to pushing his feelings to the side that he might not recognize when his son was doing the same. His siblings were even worse.
Lance hoped that this war for freedom was going to be over soon, but even if it was he knew that the fight wouldn't be finished. Varian's entire family would still not know how to do something as simple as talking to each other. Angry and Red would have still been dragged into a fight that had nothing to do with them. Eugene would still feel conflicted about his devotion to his family and his love for Rapunzel. Saporians would still have to figure out their cultural identity after being enslaved for generations.
Lance felt like they were just gathering countless pieces of a shattered and priceless treasure. That was just step one. After that came the important job of putting the pieces back together. Lance had never been very good at puzzles, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from trying to help.
Maybe he wasn't good at solving problems. He wasn't really resourceful or clever enough for that. However, he was stubborn and supportive. He was going to be there for his friends. As long as they were fighting, he was going to be right there to fight by their side.