Quirin was concerned about his son. It was clear that Varian was struggling. After the year he'd had, Quirin couldn't blame him one bit. He just wished that he knew how to help him. But how could he when he didn't even understand everything that Varian had been through?
He blamed the Coronan royals, but he couldn't get back at them. Varian had taken the path of revenge, and he hadn't been ready for it. He was drowning in guilt, and showing a lot more emotional maturity than Quirin thought he would have if their positions were reversed. Varian was owning up to his mistakes, and doing what he could to make things right, while still emotionally protecting himself from becoming vulnerable to their trickery again.
Varian wanted the king and queen to get their memories back. He wanted to make it up to Rapunzel. It was a little unclear if he wanted to go back to being friends afterwards, or if he wanted to run away and never look back. Either way, Quirin wouldn't blame him, and he would support him. This was Varian's choice, and all Quirin could do was stand by him.
Which meant he couldn't get rid of the monarchy, as much as he might want to. Varian would be devastated. He would blame himself, and nothing Quirin did would get him to stop. He knew, because it was already happening because of Andrew.
That moon-cursed Saporian. Quirin wished that he could kill him all over again. He'd seen very little of Andrew interacting with his son, but those short moments had been more than enough. Quirin had entered the castle, and the first thing he'd seen of his son was how thin he was. How his legs were shaking, and his eyes darted left and right. He looked scared for his life, and then there was Andrew behind him, a hand on his shoulder in a way that could be comforting, but was actually just possessive and controlling.
Varian had broken down when he'd seen Quirin, a year's worth of desperation and loneliness coming out at once. It was understandable behavior, but especially for one as young as Varian, who looked absolutely exhausted.
Quirin had been patient with Varian's breakdown. Andrew had not. The Saporian had glared at the back of Varian's head and said that Varian needed to grow up, and that it was pathetic for someone his age to cling to his parent like this. He'd said that this behavior was the exact reason why nobody wanted him around.
What really boiled Quirin's blood was when Andrew had said, with a cruel look in his eyes, that Quirin would get tired of Varian sooner or later, and that if he didn't get his act together than Andrew would change his mind and decide that Varian really wasn't worth all this effort after all.
In just a minute, Quirin knew enough about Andrew and his character. He was a manipulative monster, and he had Varian in his clutches. Quirin knew that if he didn't get Andrew out of the picture, then he would continue to control Varian, dragging him down with him, and cutting him loose when it became convenient.
Quirin couldn't allow that to happen. Not to his son. He'd failed his boy in so many ways, but not in this matter. He needed to get rid of Andrew, and just putting him in prison wouldn't be enough. He could tell that the man had influence and power. If there was even a chance that he could still reach Varian, no matter how small, then it was too much of a risk. The only way to protect his son was by silencing this monstrous man for good.
Quirin didn't regret what he had done, but he hated that he was too late. Andrew's hold was so strong that he still seemed to have a grip on Varian, and neither of them knew how to shake it. Varian was lost, and lonely, and while Quirin felt like his presence was helping, it just wasn't enough. Not for the first time in their lives, Quirin wasn't strong enough to be what his son needed, and it killed him inside.
He hoped this venture out of the castle would do his son some good. His spirits seemed a little cheered already. For the first time since they'd reunited, Quirin saw hope in his son's eyes. It was just a little spark, nowhere near as bright as the blazing fire they had once been, but it was still a sight for sore eyes. Quirin would take even this small glimmer over the desolation and grief that surrounded his son.
They were traveling for quite a bit of time before Quirin realized that they were walking right towards Old Corona. He hadn't been back home since leaving the amber, and Varian hadn't been there since he'd been arrested. Quirin didn't know if going to Old Corona would be helpful or harmful for them right now, and this wasn't the way he had wanted to find out.
If Varian was worried or excited, he didn't show it. They walked mostly in comfortable silence, but whenever Quirin saw Varian shudder he would tighten his grip around his son's shoulders and ask him a benign question. Varian would immediately perk up, eager to talk about what he had read in the royal library when he'd taken one of his few breaks, or how he'd babysat the younger siblings of some of the castle servants.
His good mood never lasted long, but at least it was easy to cheer him up, at least temporarily.
It took a few hours to walk to Old Corona, and there was a bad storm brewing. Quirin didn't like it. He knew that inclement weather was unavoidable, but the last time he'd experienced poor weather in Old Corona had been the blizzard, and that had not been a pleasant experience for either of them. He gave his son a concerned glance, worried that Varian might be experiencing flashbacks. He could be so easily triggered sometimes. Varian seemed just fine though. It seemed that as bad as the heavy winds, torrential downpour, and roaring thunder were, it wasn't anything like the cursed blizzard.
They could see their home right in front of them, looking worse for wear, but it was still home. They hurried inside, with the bearcats bounding upstairs. Quirin supposed he shouldn't be surprised that they had been led here. If Hector had come all the way to Corona, it made sense that he would come to his home. Although, Quirin didn't know how Hector knew where he lived. His brother just had a way of knowing things.
It was dry inside, but somehow it felt even windier in the house than outside. There must be a hole in a wall or something, and the breeze was being accentuated by the thin corridors.
Varian went to the fireplace and worked on getting some light and heat going. Quirin grabbed a blanket lingering around and draped it over his son's shoulders. "Dry off. Warm up. I'll go see how my brother's doing."
"I can meet him soon though, can't I?" Varian asked.
"Of course." Quirin said. If it weren't for how volatile and unpredictable Hector could be, Quirin would take his son with him. As it was, he thought it would be best to face his brother alone, at least at first.
Quirin went up the stairs, frowning when he felt the wind get even stronger. It was stronger and colder than was natural. Quirin was reminded distinctly of the Dark Kingdom, and it gave him a bad feeling. He continued forward cautiously. He saw the bearcats pacing outside his bedroom door.
He looked into his room, freezing at the sight before him. He hadn't expected to see Adira there, and it was shocking to see her with her arms enveloped around Hector, holding him close, like he was a precious and fragile thing that she needed to keep safe. Quirin didn't think he had ever seen her allow somebody to get so close to her, let alone to instigate the touch herself.
Somehow though the most surprising thing, what shook Quirin to the core, was the sight of Hector. Quirin didn't know just what was wrong, but it terrified him. Though Quirin could see Adira clear as day, Hector seemed…obscured, somehow, and it was hard to pinpoint why. Maybe he was more in the shadows. Maybe the wind around them was blowing Hector's clothes and hair just enough to make it look like his form was wavering somehow. Maybe his hunched form was making him look almost inhuman.
Whatever was going on, His brother was nearly unrecognizable as human, let alone as his brother, but Quirin knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was him.
"Hector." Quirin said quietly. He thought his voice would be covered by the storm, but Hector's head shot up. He looked so pale that his skin was almost gray. The only bright thing about him was his eyes, which seemed to almost be glowing through the darkness. Quirin could swear that even the white and black parts of Hector's eyes were that acidic yellow. It had to just be the lights playing tricks on him though.
"Brother." Hector's voice shook like the sound of thunder outside. The wind around them seemed to die down, holding completely still. Quirin didn't think he'd ever been unnerved by the lack of a breeze in his house, but this somehow didn't feel natural.
"What are you doing here?" Quirin asked. The shadows in the room seemed to darken as Hector stiffened and curled further in on himself, chuckling humorlessly.
"I told you." Hector muttered to himself. He pulled on his hair with one hand and harshly hit Adira's arm with the other. "I told you!" He screamed rawly. The thunder outside rumbled so loudly that it was deafening and Quirin instinctively drew in on himself. He had never been scared of the weather before, but he felt this fear in his soul.
The darkness around Hector grew thicker. It was like he was being shrouded in shadow that somehow left Adira unaffected.
"Hector, calm down." Adira said sternly as she tightened her grip on him. Hector was shaking now.
"I can't!" Hector said. He sounded broken and furious. "I-I can't. Adira, I can't…I can't do this anymore." Quirin had never heard him sound so defeated. That was the most frightening thing about all of this. "You said he wanted to see me."
Quirin felt something inside of him break. It was comparable to how he had felt when Varian broke down crying in his arms when they'd first been reunited. Someone he loved was falling apart in front of him, and Quirin felt like it was all his fault.
Adira scowled and glared at Quirin. She silently demanded that he make things right, but her warning wasn't necessary.
"Of course I've wanted to see you, Brother." Quirin eased towards the bed. "I-I was just surprised." He reached out towards Hector, who growled and stiffened away from him.
"Don't touch me." Hector sounded panicked, like Quirin's touch was his worst fear. "You can't…you can't." Even as he rejected Quirin, he leaned closer to Adira. Quirin could see the way she shuuddered, and the sight reminded him far too much of what Varian had been doing lately.
"But Adira can?" Quirin frowned. He didn't like seeing either of his siblings in pain, and he knew how much this had to be bothering their sister. "You know she hates being touched, and that's a lot of physical contact right now." He wasn't really trying to hurt his brother or make him feel guilty. He just wanted to save his siblings.
He had expected Hector to slowly shy away from Adira and ease towards Quirin. Maybe it would take him a few minutes to get used to it, but he'd quickly come to see that Quirin was safe. Hector didn't do that at all.
He shot away from Adira like he'd been burned. He crawled to the other side of the bed, cowering away from Adira, and shrinking from Quirin. The storm outside got worse, but he could just barely hear Hector mumble apologies.
"No, Hector, no." Adira reached for him, but he shied away from her. "I don't mind. I swear, it's okay." He just shook his head and refused to listen to a word that she said. If Quirin had thought that Hector's form had looked unnatural and shaky before, he looked like he was trying to melt into the shadows, and that the darkness was trying to swallow him whole.
If looks could kill, Adira's glare would have struck Quirin dead.
"Fix this." Adira hissed.
"I don't know how." Quirin said. He felt more lost than he did when he dealt with Varian, and he had no idea what he was doing when it came to his son.
"You can start by actually acting like you care." Adira said. Her words stung, and Quirin both thought that she had a point, and that she was being needlessly harsh.
"Of course I care." Quirin snapped. "You know I do."
"But Hector doesn't." Adira said. Quirin knew that she had a point, and it hurt. Hector stayed where he was curled up, growling and mumbling to himself, his words now complete nonsense. He seemed oblivious to Quirin and Adira's conversation.
Quirin tried once again to reach out to Hector and offer him at least some physical comfort, but his brother screamed and scrambled away from him. Quirin felt shattered. His brother wasn't just being prideful and stubborn. He genuinely didn't want to be touched. He was acting like the very threat of Quirin's touch would be agony for him. Why? What had happened to his brother, and how could Quirin begin to make things right when his brother was so scared of him?
Quirin's full attention was on Hector. He didn't notice it when Varian made his way into the room.
"Are you guys okay?" Varian asked. Quirin whipped around towards him. "Can I help?"
"Varian, go downstairs." Quirin said.
"V-Varian." Hector said. He looked up, still shaking. He looked towards the door. His gaze was desperate and searching for a long moment, but then he frowned and sat up, looking confused. Hector looked towards Varian for a long moment, and then clarity immediately returned to his eyes.
"Well, would you look at that." Hector pushed himself to the edge of the bed. Quirin pulled back, not wanting to even brush against Hector and startle him. He watched as his brother stalked right towards Varian.
Quirin wasn't worried for his son's safety. There were very few people he trusted with his son's safety right now, and right now his family was at the top of that list. The fact that Hector had just been freaking out didn't change that.
The turnaround for Hector was so dramatic that Quirin felt like he had gotten whiplash. He could tell that Hector was far from okay, but he wasn't falling to pieces the way he had just seconds ago. What had changed?
Hector approached Varian and then crouched down in front of him. "So you're my nephew, huh?"
"I guess so." Varian gave Hector a shaky smile. Quirin saw before him two broken individuals who were trying so hard to act like they were okay. "You're one of my uncles. Dad's told me a lot about you guys these past few months."
Hector let out a weak laugh. "I didn't even know you existed until I saw that painting over there." Quirin and Adira both grimaced, identical expressions of guilt on their faces.
"At least I'm getting to see you now." Hector said. He stood up, looking over Varian's shoulder. "So, kid, I have a few potentially weird questions for you. You think you're up to it?"
Varian blinked. "Uh…sure."
There was a darkness in Hector's eyes that Quirin didn't like. He still wasn't worried about his son's safety, but he wished he knew what was on his brother's mind.
"Okay, so, I'm thinking of someone about yay tall." Hector held his hand up, indicating a height that was shorter than him, but taller than Varian. It didn't exactly narrow things down too much. "Arrogant expression. A completely ridiculous looking bun." Varian's eyes widened, and Quirin was starting to feel a little ill. He didn't like this.
Hector continued. "A look in his eyes that makes it seem like he can't decide whether he wants to charm you, or devour you whole."
Varian shuddered violently, worse than Quirin had seen before. He looked scared out of his wits, and Quirin didn't blame him at all. He was feeling unnerved about all of this too, and he wasn't as involved in this situation as Varian had been.
"How…" Quirin stared at his brother numbly.
Varian swallowed thickly. "A-Andrew."
There was a pitying look in Hector's eyes. "Friend of yours?"
"I-I thought he was." Varian said.
"Is he someone you knew?" Hector asked. "Or, stick with me here, was he, like, a childhood imaginary friend or something?"
Quirin, Varian, and Adira all stared at Hector in shock, like he had just started speaking nonsense. Where had that even come from?
"He…he was real." Varian said slowly. "He's d-dead."
"I killed him myself." Quirin said.
"Was he a threat to Varian?" Hector asked. Quirin nodded, and though Varian hesitated, he nodded as well, only to grimace and shudder again. Hector scowled. "Oh, yeah, I see that now." He slowly circled around Varian, keeping his eyes glued to a spot just behind the boy. There was nothing there, but Hector looked like he was locking gaze with somebody.
"You know, it takes a special kind of despicable person to end up like this." Hector said. Quirin didn't actually know who he was talking to or about. "If you're the kind of person to use all your remaining energy to torture a child, well, I guess that qualifies."
"Hector, what are you-" Adira started, but Hector held a hand up, asking for silence.
"I don't know you." Hector said. "But I hate you with every fiber of my being. Varian doesn't deserve this. The thing is, I don't think you do either, so I'm going to show you a rare moment of my compassion."
Hector extended his arm, pointing at nothingness. The air grew colder and somehow more stiff. Quirin felt like he could hardly breathe, and it didn't look like his son was breathing at all. Only Hector looked completely relaxed.
"The moon's mercy and wrath are one and the same." Hector said. "Face it and embrace it now." He clenched his hand into a fist and suddenly a flash of lightning burst through the ceiling, striking the spot between Varian and Hector, right where he'd been pointing. Quirin felt his heart stop as he felt fear for his family.
The lightning cleared, and both Hector and Varian looked unharmed, though both looked more than just a little shaken.
Varian's knees shook and he fell to the ground, his eyes wide with terror. Quirin ran to him and gathered him in his arms. Ruddiger chirped from outside the room and ran in. He jumped into Varian's lap and nuzzled against him. Varian was stunned at first, but he held the racoon close and hugged him tight. Whatever caution Ruddiger had about being close to Varian, it was gone now.
"Brother," Adira slowly approached Hector. She held a hand out to him, and he slowly took it. She flinched at the contact, but didn't let go. "What was that?"
"I'd like to know that myself." Quirin didn't think he'd ever been so confused by his brother's actions.
Hector smirked, though there was an odd vulnerability in his eyes. They looked back to normal again, but the yellow was still more vibrant than usual.
"That, my dear family, was an angry spirit that was letting itself get out of control." Hector said. "I sent it on its way."
Adira summed up all of their thoughts.
"What?!"
