Chapter 41: Varian and the Princes

Okay folks, here we're back to the Alchemist!

"Okay, let's see if I got this right now..." Varian said from where he sat leaning towards the back of the bed, supported by pillows, with his legs crossed underneath the blanket. "Your brothers... I mean uncles..." he giggled and started counting with his fingers. "From the top, it's Caleb, Fritz..."

"No, Franz!" Daniel corrected him from where he sat across him, ignoring the fact that he had his boots half up in the bed.

Varian held his hands up in defense. "Okay okay... Caleb, Franz, your dad Lars..." he had a short look at the red haired Prince, sitting on the bed to his left and gave him an encouraging smile back, looking allot more calm than at the breakfast table earlier.

While the boys were speaking, Lars would occasionally peek at his brother, who stood by the end of Varian's bed, resting on his arms at the bed frame. The boys didn't notice, but the grownups were observing them closely, not only Varian and his behavior like they had been told to do by Phineas while he was gone, but Daniel as well. Both of them seemed to relax and enjoy the sight of the young Prince socializing with another boy.

"And then Harold-No! Harald, with an A... and Júrgen, and... Storm?" Varian started giggling again behind a hand, not able to help himself. "Is that seriously his name?" he asked as he turned back to Lars.

"It is. Although,..." Lars smirked. "I gotta be honest, he doesn't live up to it."

"Let me guess; more like a breeze?" Varian tried.

Lars chuckled in reply. "My horse's name is actually Breeze."

"Really?" Varian giggled back. "Who knew?"

"And not at all how I would describe Storm." Jonas said chuckling and looked up in the roof with a mischievous expression. "He's more like a sour, sneaking..."

"Brother!" Lars interrupted him with frowning brows.

"Whiff!" Jonas replied before he covered his mouth to choke his laughter.

Lars' attempted try to remain serious failed instantly, and it didn't take long before the annoyed expression on his face broke up in a laughing smile. Varian too were smitten by the laughter and joined them.

"Dad, now you ruined it!" Daniel said frustrated with his hands planted on his hips while giving his father a frown.

Lars got his laughter under control, cleared his throat and gave him a excusing smile. "Sorry, son. Just go on."

Varian too had to draw his breath a couple of times to get his laughter at leach. But then he cleared his throat and went on. "Let me try... from top again. I'm sure I'll get it right this time." he said and begun counting on his fingers again. "Eh... Caleb, Franz... There, got that right! Lars, Har...Ald, Júrgen, Storm... And then it was Asger...? Did I pronounce that correct?" He turned to Jonas, who nodded short. "Asgeeer..." the black haired boy tasted the name on his tongue a moment over the name before he went on. "And then... Don't say it... Lance?"

"Lange!" Daniel corrected.

"Lange it was... Lange?" he arched an eyebrow before chuckling. " How peculiar names..." Then he cleared his throat again and continued. "Okay... Lange, and Franz... No no, that's where Fritz was! Now I got that right! Willard-No! That's my neighbor in Old Corona. No, it was William. William, and then... Runo and Rudi. That was all, was it?"

"Right. Except it's Rudi and Runo. And mercy on you if you are wrong of who came first." Lars said with a raised finger, but smiling.

Varian smiled. "You know, it's a little practical with the twins names at the bottom, since you can just remember you need to start all over again with the first hand to count them." he said as he held up all ten of his fingers before he closed his hands so he had only two up at his left.

"You're right about that." Lars said. "It's quite simple to remember Rudi and Runo at the bottom."

"Just don't tell them!" Jonas said, making both him and his elder brother, along with Varian, laugh again.

"No, there's one more." Daniel said. "You forgot about Uncle Hans!"

Both the grown men suddenly got awkwardly stiff. Lars completely froze and looked almost like he wanted to sink in the earth. Jonas too became rather uncomfortable, but after a look on his brother, he leaned forward and touched his nephew's shoulder, making him look up at him.

"Eh, yes Daniel, he is the last one. But he's the one who is dead, remember? He died right before your father and I came back from Southern Isles. And... Do you remember that we weren't supposed to talk about him? Your father becomes so upset." He tilted his head slightly towards his right to point to Lars.

"Oh..." Now it was Daniel's turn to change face expression. The satisfaction of remembering the last brother faded, and we went all moody as he looked down.

Varian, sensing the unpleasant direction this was about to take, cleared his throat. "Eh... I think maybe I forgot one more. I... I was so busy remembering all the weird names that... I think I lost you in the line." Varian started twirling with his hands and sent an extremely sorry and excusing look towards Jonas.

But Jonas raised his hands and smiled. "Glad to hear I don't go by one of the weird names. But it's no wonder you couldn't place me, cause I'm not in the royal line of..." he looked sideways and smirked. "...legal born heirs. But if it helps, I happen to be the youngest. That is of our generation. It's kind of funny, but Caleb's daughter happens to be just a year younger than me. Isn't that correct, Lars?"

"What? Oh... oh yes..." Lars cleared his throat again, seemed to be rather relieved of changing the subject. "Ten months to be exact."

"Almost a year then... Now Varian..." Jonas said, turning back to Varian." "You managed that task rather well... But just wait till we try to have you remember all of their offspring's!"

"Oh, for goodness sake..." Lars replied as he rose from the bead, heading over to his son. "Let him get over the concussion first. He doesn't need a new one."

Varian leaned back and gave a short whistle. "I... take your word for it. Do all of them have twelve each?"

"Franz is the one with the most, right?" Jonas chuckled. "But it's hard to imagine how many he's really got..."

Lars laughed at this. "Last I checked, it was five. But he only counts the girls to make it a bigger number."

"Huh? Yesterday you said he had three. Or was it four...?" Varian said.

"He has three sons, two daughters and one stepson." Lars corrected.

"So six." Varian said. "That's almost half the amount."

"Someone should tell Franz." Jonas said. "He's under the impression he's got an army."

"Oh, he still have time to get more." Lars smirked.

"Not if Caleb has more to say. Both Franz and Harald has been suffering for getting more sons than himself. He had them both degraded." Jonas laughed. "Oh boy, their faces..."

"Oh, Harald had it coming anyway." Lars rolled his eyes. "He wasn't doing his job well in the first place, with all that drinking of his. Franz on the other hand..."

"Oh, you know he and Caleb has always been at each other's throat." Jonas sneakered. This made Lars loosen up and he laughed wholeheartedly along with his brother.

Daniel managed to raise his head and suddenly felt confident enough to speak again. "But uncle Franz hasn't adopted Perceval! That means he's only got five!" he said determinately.

"Oh yeah, that's right, son. He hasn't." Lars smiled down at him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The young Prince smiled back at his father, glad that his little blooper earlier weren't given any consequences.

Varian looked at the two of them, and suddenly he felt a kind of a sting inside from seeing father and son smile at eachother. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason it made him feel rather scared. The picture of his father appeared in his head, and he could swear his heart started beating faster.

He looked around to find himself something else to think about, for some reason not wanting to think of his father. As he let his gaze flick, it landed on Lars' younger brother, who caught his look and stared back at him, locking Varian's blue eyes with his green. He wasn't really able to read the expression on his face, but he didn't get time before he spoke up.

"You, alright, Varian?"

"Eh... ." Varian said a little insecure. "Your name, Sir... eh..." he laughed nervously. "Ehm... Jonas, right?"

"Right!" the red haired man smiled. "That's me!"

"Phew, good. I got that right. Eh..." Varian cleared his throat. "If I don't remember wrong, weren't you the uncle who were getting married to... What was it again? Sister... Aunt... Cousin! That's what it was. Who was in... yours or who's family...?" He pointed at both Lars and Jonas, and then out in the air as he struggled to remember the line. Then he suddenly got it and looked up. "No, now I recall, she was adopted, right? And in bloodline... not in the family."

"Correct." Lars smiled. "Daniel's Cousin Annabelle is adopted by my brother-in-law and is getting married to my brother, Jonas."

Daniel made a pout when he heard her name being mentioned.

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"Are you certain of this, Phineas?"

"It is a rather obvious cure, isn't it, Your Majesty?" the physician said as he looked at the King. "There is only one way of removing a wart, and that is by giving it a good scrape."

"If only it was that simple, but the problem with Varian isn't that easy to deal with." Frederic sighed. The King and the Physichian were walking together through the hallways, heading towards the medic's quarters. Servants stopped and bowed and kneeled to His Majesty as they passed them, before they continued with their work. "Look, I see what you mean, but I fear it will take some time before she will be able to manage that. Especially after yesterday." Frederic looked ahead as he spoke.

"The boy from yesterday is different from the boy today." the physician relied. "But of course, I have never forced a patient to take my medicine. I only tell them what will happen if they don't."

"You have always been rather consequent, Phineas." Frederic remarked as they arrived the medic's quarters. The two guards outside the double doors stood still, but paid their respect to the King when they came. The physician opened the door for them to enter.

"The truth cannot be denied, Sire. But I see no other way for Her Majesty to get over this. For all we know, only one minute in the same room as him like he is now could be that one thing the Queen needs to end her traumas. But it must be out of free will, or else it will be force. And heaven knows what effect that will have on her."

"I understand, Phineas. I will think of it." the King replied before moving over to a new subject as he followed the physician into his lab. "But speaking of the boy, how did the night go?"

"Oh, that was easy. He slept rather hard, hanks to my tonic. But it took him a moment to remember where he was when he woke up. But besides from that he was rather normal this morning, merry and bright."

"So..." Frederic asked insecurely.

The physician shook his head slowly. "Nothing yet."

Frederic let out a sigh, but he realized at sudden that it wasn't because he was frustrated. He realized at sudden it was relief. Was this good?

Phineas stood and watched him, and as Frederic faced the old man's narrow eyes, he could tell that the physician had already understood. Therefore, he didn't mention the nightmares that must have tormented the young boy's sleeping mind. Instead, he changed the direction of the same subject.

"Would Your Majesty like to see him?"