Summary: To fear the anger of a gentle soul was a phrase Hugo never quite understood, now he is glad that he was on the other side of the bars.

Hugo passed another sleeping guard on his way to the dungeon his friends were in.

The moment Donella had cornered them he knew he'd made a horrible mistake. Nice work, she had praised, yet all he felt was the cold filling his heart at the shock and betrayal on his friends' faces. At least Yong's and Nuru's. He hadn't had the courage to look at Varian, could only imagine the anger and resentment.

He hates you and he will never forgive you. You lied to him, you betrayed him. The little voice in his brain that sounded like Donella just wouldn't shut up. What are you doing? You were never one of them. Turn around. Nobody has to know.

Hugo clenched his fist and focused on the stinging sensation of pain that washed over his palm. Ruddiger hadn't appreciated his treatment - the cage they put him in was tiny and far away from the rest of the group, and neither did he care for the hand that freed him. He took a long breath. He could never make it up to them, but at least he had to try.

Thief. Liar. Traitor. Deeper and deeper he went down the rabbit hole.

"Did you know?"

The voice echoing from the stone walls dripped with fury. Surprisingly it belonged to Nuru. He had never heard her sound like this.

"I didn't know the details."

Hugo stopped dead in his track. Varian. Calm, collected... guilty? His heart pounded faster. What was going on? He pressed his frame against the entrance of the hallway and carefully peeked around the corner. There they were. Safe and sound. He exhaled. Varian's back was turned towards him, Yong sitting on the ground, hugging his knees, and Nuru - Nuru was beyond good and evil.

"I asked: Did. You. Know?" She was tearing up in her frustration.

"Yes."

She took a step back, her gaze low, hushing from left to right and back again so fast he couldn't follow. Lifting her head, she'd reached her conclusion. She slapped Varian directly in the face.

Hugo's jaw dropped, but he didn't move out of the shadows.

"You knew! You selfish Asshole! You knew from the beginning!"

Her accusation filled the silence of their cell. A mask of pain replaced her usual docile features, taking over like a sickness spreading from within and Hugo was the poison responsible. He'd caused this.

"My kingdom, my people, they all depend on me! Why did you let him stay if you knew?" Nuru lashed out. The dam had been broken.

Varian, who so far hadn't responded - just staring at his feet, couldn't hold back either. His temper flared in the context of their surrounding.

"Because he did nothing wrong!" He yelled, close to losing it himself. "Not once."

She glared daggers at him. "You can't be serious."

But Varian was putting his foot down, taking a stance for... him? Honestly, Hugo didn't know what to do or think.

"He could have taken the freaking totems at any point. Heck, he could have just went straight for the stupid journal and be gone." He threw his arms in the air. "But he didn't. Yes, he is a liar and spouts empty threats wherever he goes, trying to sound tough. Yet all he ever did was help us!"

Hugo blinked.

"Don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you." Nuru hissed. "We are here because of him." She always gave as good as she got, if not better.

"We are here because of Donella," Varian argued.

"Oh please, he knew what he was doing," she cut right through his bullshit.

The alchemist laughed unamused. "What choice truly was there for him?" He snorted. "Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouth."

Ouch. Hugo had never seen Varian shoot that low. He didn't understand. He rarely felt so out of the loop. What was happening here?

Thank god, Nuru always found the right words.

"Why are you defending him?" In one smooth move, she hit the nail on the head.

That's what it was, right? Varian defending him. He'd known Varian to be fiercely protective of his friends but even against them? He wasn't worth it.

For a moment the boy kept quiet. In the dim moonlight, Hugo could see the tense lines of his back. Usually, he was not appreciative of being talked about. However, he bit his tongue because he'd like to know the answer, as well. If it was true, if Varian had known from the start, had known that he was a double agent the whole time, working for Donella, lying to them then... why? Why had he let Hugo be part of the team in the first place?

"Intend isn't action." Varian's voice was sharp as steel. "You can't condemn people just for having intrusive or negative thoughts, your highness. Especially, when you know what they are going through," he continued icy. "You can only condemn them for their actual actions. Hugo never hurt any of us." His answer was final. There was no anger left, just exhaustion clinging to every syllable.

"But he did, didn't he?" The princess's voice turned soft, almost kind. It wasn't fair.

Oh so gently she touched Varian's shoulder. When he failed to answer her question Hugo felt his bile rise in his throat. She was right.

Varian shoved her hand off of him and Hugo strangely relaxed. Suddenly he turned around, facing the bars while scrubbing over his burning eyes. Hugo desperately wanted to wrap his arms around him, apologize, make it up to him, swear that he'll be better.

"I," Varian sounded defeated and Hugo hated everything about it.

"Let's get out of here," the alchemist said, eyes back on the ground - after all, this wasn't his first rodeo.