Chapter 37: Morning in the Castle

Now for more Varian adorkable time!

Karen smiled to herself when she saw the finish result on the plate on the little tray where a cup of fruit juice were already standing, along with an apple. She found a clean napkin that she wrapped into a little tent and put around the plate and the apple. She couldn't help but let out a little happy giggle.

She was just finished cleaning up after her little project and was about to carry it towards the door when she became aware of a strange sound near the servants door. She felt all color fade from her face when suddenly it was flung wide open and was horrified to see the royal chef enter, fearing she was caught red handed in something else than her duties.

But to her luck, the chef's first act was to give three loud sneezes into a huge handkerchief, preventing him from seeing her with the tray. Sighing of relief, she hid the tray behind a shelf near the wall that angled away from the view from in the room.

"Sir, what are you doing up? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Oh, Gaven. Id's jusd ou..." he said and gave his nose a blow that sounded like someone had played a bad tune on a trumpet.

Karen wrinkled her whole face in disgust from the sound and gave her ears a quick rub before she spoke. "You know, you don't look so well. Don't you think it would be better if you were fully recovered before you started working again?"

"Abter bhat I eard appened in here esterday?" the chef said with completely stuffed nose. "I gannod be gode bor one day bidoud... bidoud..." he covered his nose with the handkerchief again and hooted yet another loud sneeze. "By droat beels dike a oneycub. I do anydig bor domeding do id."

"Me too..." she rolled her eyes, but then suddenly she gave a light gasp and smiled. This incredibly stupid situation gave Karen a bright idea for an excuse to get out of there and to get to her destination after all, and took a step closer to him. "You know, the Royal Physician Phineas just came back yesterday. And I'm pretty sure he could brew you something that would make you feel better in no time."

"Oh?" the chef sniffed. "Gould he?"

"You know how good he is with his tonics." she smiled, hoping he would give in. "And like you said, we can't manage without you, so we need you fit as a fiddle."

The chef was about to answer when he got a violent coughing fit and was unable to answer for half a minute.

"Bell... gouldn'd urt to dry."

"Great! I'll... I'll go right up and find him." Karen said as she pushed the door open, and when he turned away to blow his nose again, she grabbed the tray while she held the door open with her foot, and slipped out as swiftly as Caterpillar would have done it. Satisfied with herself, she couldn't help but smile as she walked towards the medic's quarters.

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"You seriously had to change your name to blend in?" Varian asked when Phineas fastened the bandage. "Owtch, not so tight please!"

Ruddiger sat on his master's right side and held both paws on his arm for comfort while Phineas handled the bandage on his head, peeking up at the physician at times to figure out if this was any good for him.

The Physician put one last layer of bandage around the boy's head before he fastened it. "It was actually Xavier who came up with 'Phineas'. It means 'Oracle' of all things, and, well..." he smiled widely. "It wasn't the worst change I have made over the years. You... recall Xavier, right?"

"Eh... You mean the huge guy with the white hair and the leather apron? Sure, I... HEY! He took my goggles!" Varian suddenly cried out and straightened up as Phineas let go of his head, his eyes getting wide as eggs again. "How do I get them back?"

"They were broken, weren't they?" Phineas replied, trying to look at him to get his attention.

"Huh?" Varian met his look with flicking eyes, then he lowered his gaze as he slowly recalled. "Aww... Right."

Phineas gave him a pat on his lanky shoulders he said and carried away the old bandages. "I am sure he'll return with them as soon as he's fixed them."

Varian realized there were no point on sulking over his goggles as seeing the physician made him think back on the odd confession he had just given him. "What was it, you said your name was... Young... Young Wrong Way?" he failed to keep his chuckle behind his hand. "I'm sorry, no offence really, but..."

"None taken, my friend." Phineas smiled towards him and gave him a slight nod. "There was, in fact, a reason why I changed it. It was; Yong Wang Wei. But maybe we should keep my origin name for ourselves. I have a feeling that young Prince Daniel would find it rather amusing and will never take me seriously again." he smirked.

"Daniel?" Varian arched an eyebrow before widening his eyes and chuckled. "Ah yes! Him with all the uncles."

"So it's coming back to you now?" Phineas said smiling at him, doing his best to hide how curious he was about how much the young boy recalled.

"Ah... Yes." Varain replied, still giggling a bit, before he lost his smile. "I... I was in the kitchen..." He blinked. "Kitchen, here? At the Castle? For what?"

"Perhaps we need to take this step by step?" Phineas said and sat down on the bed beside him.

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Meanwhile, Karen were walking through the corridor with the tray in her hands. She was trained with carrying things carefully, and she had no trouble moving fast, but steady with the elegance of a lady. But she stopped when she spotted the two guards outside the doors to the sick room. The two guards looked rather tired and both of them were standing with half closed eyes and lowered heads.

"What's this?" she mumbled and arched an eyebrow. "I know His Majesty said to take care of him, but this is a little overrated." She got small eyes as she wondered whatever were going on. Then she spotted two other guards approaching, stopping in front of them.

"Morning, fellas. We have been sent to dissolve you. Has there been any trouble tonight? "

Both guards got startled by the sound of their voices as they were spoken awake, and almost lost their balance before replying.

"Not what we've heard." one of them said as he straightened on his helmet. "I say, I had the impression we were to be prepared all night, but it's been rather quiet in there if you ask me."

"I say, yesterday was rather odd, don't you think?" the other said.

"Yes, the Captain made it sound like it was such a big deal, but one could almost believe he weren't in there." then he chuckled. "Say, you heard about Pete and Stan? The Captain sure gave them a fit."

"Yes, poor fellas." one of the new guards shook his head. "I wonder if..."

As the guards were busy speaking to one other, Karen saw her chance and opened the door with her elbow, sliding inside and closed the door the same way. Once inside, she arched an eyebrow back at the door.

"I don't think I'll ever understand what it takes to be a guard. Can't get why Cassandra wants so badly to be one. Looks boring to me. " She shrugged and walked towards the door towards the sick rooms, when it opened, and the physician came through.

"Oh, good morning, Phineas."

"Good morning, dear." he nodded and spotted the tray. "Is that for me?"

"Eh..." she felt she got all mute at sudden, but the old man smirked.

"Cause I have already eaten. But I bet my young patient is rather hungry by now."

"Is he alright? I mean... feeling better? Eh..." she stumbled and looked down. For a moment she stood like frozen and felt her cheeks get all warm.

"He's fine, but I believe he'll feel even better when seeing you." he said as he walked past her.

Karen bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from stumbling anymore silly things. All of a sudden she felt rather nervous of going in there. She had been so confident before she entered, but now she felt all stiff. Swallowing hard, she had to force herself to take a step ahead.

Then suddenly she remembered her promise to the chef and turned back. "Oh, by the way..."

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Inside the sick room, Varian was looking at his surroundings, feeling rather sorry for himself where he sat sulking against the huge pillows with Ruddiger on his lap. He helf his arms around him and cuddled his fur.

"This is rather dull, Ruddiger." he said. "I'm stuck in bed in the Castle, of all places, and I made such a fool out of myself yesterday, in front of His Majesty and everything. And Phineas... Oh, he's alright, that not it, but he treats me like a baby." He let out a heavy sigh. "I know it's just morning, buddy... but it feels like the while day has been ruined already."

The door opened and expected to see Phineas again, but instead he spotted a completely different figure entering. He saw the door being closed behind a young girl, about his own age, carrying a tray in her hands. His blue eyes became huge as he had trouble believing what he saw.

"Uhm... G-god morning, Varian." she said with a nervous smile, approaching with careful steps.

"Eh... " Varian's mouth remained open, but now words came out other than a stumbling, giggling sound.

"I... I hope you feel better." she said as she approached him. "Do... do you by any chance remember me?"

"Do I..." he sqeaked, then hurried to clear his throat and started flicking with his eyes and laughing nervously. "Uhm... I... eh... I mean morning-eh... Good morning to you m-miss...eh... Miss-Miss Girl?"

Karen had trouble keeping her own giggles at leach as she approached. "Don't push yourself. Just tell me if you..."

"Cassandra?"

The mentioning of the older lady-in-waiting's name suddenly made Karen drop her smile. She put the tray on the bed left to Varian and place her hands on her hips as she gave him a frown. "Pardon me?"

"NO WAIT!" Varian immediately shrieked himself and raised his hands in defend mode. "No no, sorry. I'm sorry, Karen... Karen! Karen, of course..." he raised his shoulders, hoping to hide his head between them. "I-I-I remember now that we talked about some Cassandra, and then that's the name that... popped up..." His embarrassed babbling faded when he saw how insulted she was. "I'm so sorry. I... You see, I've been messing with names all morning. I didn't even remember Phineas."

"Well, as long as you remember me." Still feeling a slight sting in her chest, she drew her breath and picked up her tray again. But the enthusiasm was gone and she spoke rather neutrally when she put it in front of him. "Anyway... I brought you some breakfast."

"Wait, what?" he widened his eyes as the tray was put in front of him. "Oh, geez, I... I don't know what to say. You shouldn't have..."

"It... was the least I could do. Since it was... Well, you... I don't know if you remember, but..." she turned her gaze down and started messing with her apron. Suddenly she wondered if it was a good idea if she came at all. After yesterday's dramatic happenings she became a little concerned if she should revile too much, fearing it would cause another of those fits. At the same time she became a little disappointed that it wasn't her name that came to his memory first. But she thought perhaps he would figure it out sooner or later, so she looked up and faced him. "I don't know if you recall, but... in the kitchen..."

"You were the one striking me with a frying pan?" Varian laughed as she suddenly recalled, and gave her an excusing look. "I must have frightened you pretty bad. But then again, the way I looked..." he giggled. "Can't say I blame you."

"Well, you did actually. " she said and sat down on the edge of the bed, and were met by Ruddiger. The raccoon were rather glad to see her and immediately gave her a gentle nudge with his head. Karen too lightened up at the sight of him, and returned the greeting with a stroke on his back. "Why, good morning to you too." The raccoon crooned loudly as she begun scratching behind his ear.

Varian gave a small cough. "Do I recall correctly that you... eh... had a cat? Red, am I correct?"

"Yes, Caterpillar." she said and scratched Ruddiger under his chin, making him croon along wih the movements.

"And he's doing alright?"

"Same morning bird as always."

"Eh... Karen?"

"Yes?" she looked up, and lost her smile when he saw how insecure he became. She was afraid at sudden that he was about to get another fit, but when he looked at her again, he said:

"I... I hope you didn't get trouble with His Majesty yesterday." He didn't face her and started fiddling with his blanket. "I told him it wasn't your fault, and...

Sighing silently in relief, she shook her head and smiled. "Oh no, I didn't. His Majesty was very kind. And..."

"Karen?"

The young maid froze and her eyes went wide by the mentioning of her name. She quickly rose from the bed, causing Ruddiger, who was leaning on her hand, to fall forward with his chin right on the bed.

"Y-yes, Phineas?" she failed to stay serious and an embarrassed smile appeared on her face.

The elder Physician smiled in the door as he held up a bottle in his left hand. "The tonic for the chef is ready."

"Oh, eh... Right." she said and looked at him, but then turned back to Varian, and back to Phineas again. Then she had one last look at the boy in bed and cleared her throat. "Well, I... I kind of have to go."

Varian too lost his smile. "Aw, you have to?" then he suddenly realized what he said and couched embarrassed. "Why, of course you have to because you are a maid in the castle and probably have important castle things to do, which is more important than... Yes, of course you're important... Servants are incredibly important."

"Oh, we are?" she turned back and arched and eyebrow at him, half smiling. "They normally don't notice us."

"Of course! I mean, the Castle doesn't exactly run itself. A household like the Castle is like a... a great mechanic construction; every single part has its role to play, and if one is broken or missing, then it all falls apart!" Varian was plainly serious when he spoke, gesticulating wildly with his hands and raising his voice, and forgot a moment how embarrassed he had been. "So you guys are incredibly important. And I recall what you said yesterday. You were the first to get up in the morning ,which mean that without you to start things here, how will it get on? The King and the Queen are completely depending on you!"

A little overwhelmed by his sudden praise, Karen stood all numb a moment and just blinked. Then it was like his words sank in and she sneakered. "Hm, that's... That's the first time I've heard that." she said, giving him a smile with half closed eyes as she felt her own cheeks change color again. Suddenly she no longer regretted on coming.

Varian on his side were suddenly struggling to prevent his freckled cheeks from changing color and tried to hide his head between his shoulders again, hiding his nervous laughter behind a closed mouth that ended up as a chocked snort and some other odd sounds that he didn't really have control over.

"That is true, indeed. Like yesterday, when the chef was sick and nothing went right!" Phineas interfered with a smile before he turned towards Karen and handed her a small bottle. "Now, it's important that he takes it all at once, and I'll prepare another for later this afternoon." He put the bottle in her hands, and smiled. "It might burn a little, but I trust he'll be a different being already tomorrow."

"Eh... Right." she said and felt quite foolish where she stood and straightened up. "Well, I guess I should be going... " she stopped herself and cleared her throat. "That means I have to come back to... fetch it... right?"

The Physician smirked, but didn't comment her, only replied. "About two o'clock. Does that sound alright?"

"Ah...ha!" she nodded and kneeled down before she turned one last time to Varian. "I'll eh... come back for... the tray then... Bye." Then she disappeared out of the door quick as a blink.

"Eh-bye... then..." Varian waved after her, but she were gone before he had managed to raise his hand. Lowering it again, he sank down on the pillows and let out a slight moan as he covered his face with both hands. "Aaahh... dumbdumbdumbdumb..."

"What's the trouble, lad? A pretty young girl comes with breakfast for you, and you seem upset?"

"Yeah, and I manage to screw up by insulting her." Varian sulked as he rose again, not facing him.

"That didn't sound at all like an insult to me." Phineas smirked. "Now, how creative have we been?" He grabbed a hold on the napkin tent and removed it, reveling tree, more or less round pancakes that smelled of cinnamon and butter, on top of oneother. Varian's eyes widened and he found himself staring at the tray in front of him, blinking as his eyes suddenly became misty.

"No one has made breakfast for me before..."

"Then show her some gratitude, and don't let it go to waste!" Phineas said and left him alone to eat, closing the door behind him.

"Gratitude..." Varian mumbled and sighed. "Guess I've got something to learn there... Or what, Ruddiger?"

Said raccoon wasn't paying attention, as he had taken for granted that the apple on the tray was intended for him, and were already half way through it. Varian couldn't help but give him small eyes and a dry smile as he crossed his arms. "You're welcome!"

Just so people know, I made up Phineas' name based on a couple of Chinese names I found on the internet. I just needed a name. I don't mean to offend anyone with the way Varian pronounced it wrong, my apologizes if anyone gets insulted. And so people know, the name of Phineas does mean oracle, that was the reason I chose the name for him.

And notice, I don't know if he's just the royal baker, but I chose the chubby baker with the red beard and German accent for the Royal chef, as we have yet to be introduced to one. I just found it fitting.