⇄Chapter Two⇄

Varian woke with a start, the late afternoon sun peeking through the window of his cell.

He must've slept through most of the day. Not surprisingly, his shackled wrists were so sore and red that he debated if he really wanted to get out of the disagreeable bed. But after a few moments, he heaved himself up, groaning softly as grogginess continued to envelop his senses.

Yawning, his gaze fell on the two guards standing in front of his cell. They didn't do that earlier when he was first thrown in prison so why now? Varian mulled over the subject for a second but shrugged. Whatever.

He quickly became aware that his raccoon wasn't in the cell.

"Ruddiger?" Varian worriedly called out in a hushed tone.

A chittering sound came from his right. Ruddiger! The raccoon was sitting outside on the grass that was level to the small barred window, looking casually over at Varian. He must've squeezed through the bars.

The young alchemist suddenly had an idea.

With his feet sore and his legs weak, Varian fervently moved towards the window to Ruddiger. On his tiptoes, he whispered to his loyal pet.

"Ruddiger, you clever raccoon! You can be my access to the outside world! Could you do me a favor, buddy?"

The raccoon's ears perked, and he nodded. Varian continued, his voice almost inaudible.

"Please go to my lab and grab some of my trapping chemical compound, y'know the purple goo? There should be some test tubes of it—"

"Quiet, prisoner!"

Varian tensed at the firm voice, turning his gaze to the front of his cell where the almost-oblivious guards stood facing away from him. He hurriedly finished, "And be careful!"

Ruddiger gave a salute to the boy before skittering off out of sight. Varian stood there looking out before sighing and sitting back onto his small, uncomfortable cot.

At that moment, Varian became very aware of how empty he felt. He should've asked Ruddiger to bring back an apple or two since he couldn't remember the last time he had a full meal, only having snacks here and there. Most of the time he would forget to eat while being fully immersed in his experiments or planning. The guards would probably give him something in a few hours. Briefly, his mind pondered to what foods they served in prison. Whatever they served, he was almost hungry enough to eat anything.

Shaking his head, he needed to focus on making a plan, not food that would be given to him in a few hours.

First things first, the guards. He needed to figure out their schedule; how long they stayed put in front of his cell, when they took breaks, when they patrolled, everything.

The basis of a plan quickly began to form, but with so many factors, he needed to write it down. Varian looked around his cell. There had to be a few rocks with which he could write on the walls or floor with. His eyes skimmed the old stone floor until he saw some rubble near one of the corners next to the bars.

Varian stood and traipsed towards the small pile of rocks. He grabbed one, but not without gaining some suspicious sidelong glances from the two guards.

He could feel their gazes burning into the back of his head as he turned. It made him feel uneasy for a moment, but he brushed it off as he sat back on his cot, testing out the rocks on the near wall.

As he expected, they produced faint white marks. He was about to mark on the wall again when one of the guards cleared his throat suggestively. The 14 year old tensed as he glanced back with slight worry.

The guard, Stan, waggled his finger at the young alchemist while the other, Pete, produced a scowl directed at him.

Varian held a glare at the guards while he slid away from the wall, still gripping the rock. They both promptly turned around not before Stan gave the 'I'm watching you' hand gesture.

He huffed. Maybe planning would be a bit harder than he thought. Oh well, so what if he couldn't write on the walls? He had his mind, after all. Even so, he could probably still write on the walls when the guards weren't around.

The rock was warm and sweaty in his palm now. He placed it under his pillow as he sat down, his cuffs brushing against the cot itself, making him wince.

He held his knees close to himself, his stomach void, making him weak. He scowled ahead, thinking and waiting, thinking and waiting.

The Captain of the guard marched through the prison carrying a scroll. Originally, Nigel was supposed to deliver the charges, but the Captain gladly took it upon himself. He wore a serious face as he neared a certain criminal's guarded abode.

Hearing heavy, calculated footsteps growing closer and closer, Varian opened his eyes to see Stan and Pete suddenly salute to someone walking towards his cell. He stood from his cot to get a better look and his heart dropped—it was the Captain of the guard.

Cassandra's father.

Varian was positive he looked petrified as the Captain approached, his wide eyes locking with the Captain's stern death glare.

Thankfully, the Captain stopped before the bars of the cell, towering at least a foot taller than the 14 year old. The last thing Varian wanted was to be anywhere near the father of someone he could've potentially crushed to death.

Unraveling the rather long scroll in his gloved hands, the Captain cleared his throat, all the while staring down the prisoner in front of him.

"Varian of Old Corona, as determined by Corona's Royal Court, you are hereby charged with attacking Corona's Princess, stealing the Sundrop Flower, endangering Corona's citizens, kidnapping Corona's Queen, four counts of attempted murder, one count of murder, and high treason. How do you plead?"

Varian took a shaky, foreboding breath.

"Innocent."

The Captain's eyes narrowed like pinpoints. Varian gulped.

"Unlock the door," he sternly commanded Pete, who had promptly unpocketed the prison keys, as he handed Stan the scroll of Varian's judgment. Both guards briefly shared a look of concern—whether it was for him, Varian didn't know. Either way, he felt suddenly claustrophobic with nowhere to run. His heart thudded against his ribs as the key turned and the door swung open. His breathing hitched, and for the first time since being imprisoned, Varian genuinely feared for what would happen to him.

He took tentative steps back as the Captain proceeded forward into the cell, farther and farther until his back thudded against the back wall. He gaped fearfully upwards as the authoritative man towered over him.

Before Varian could react, he was forcefully yanked off the ground by the collar of his shirt, jolting his senses as anxiety gripped him. The Captain promptly slammed him against the wall, sending him sputtering as the air was knocked out of his heaving lungs.

"Listen to me closely, scum."

Varian clamped his eyes shut, gripping the Captain's wrists, trying to lessen the hold. At this, the Captain scowled further and shook the young alchemist, his voice growing thunderous.

"ARE YOU LISTENING?"

Frantically, Varian nodded.

"Good. You can play the innocent game all you want, but we all know what happened. And I'm going to break you for what you have done, especially for almost killing my daughter."

With ease, the Captain dragged him up the wall a little higher, the 14 year old's feet hanging fully off the ground as he struggled.

"And understand this. You aren't going anywhere."

Without hesitation, the Captain nonchalantly dropped Varian onto the floor. His knees quickly gave out and he caught himself with his bound hands. In shock, Varian watched helplessly from the floor as the Captain walked out of his cell.

"He can have all the water he wants for all I care, but no food for three days."

Three days!?

The boy felt like he could pass out, his stomach in knots. Looking down, his eyes began to cloud over with tears.

He was shaking.

A/N:

Please leave a review to tell me what you think! Cassandra and Rapunzel are likely to appear in the next chapter so stay tuned! Anyways, thanks for reading!