A New Mistake

Locked Up

"Ta-Da!" Varian opened his hands to his desk, showing a small potted plant and a beaker of red-blue liquid.
"What is it?" Rapunzel asked.
"Oh, it's uh- it's a plant grow serum. Old Corona has suffered some bad crops the last few years, coz of those black rocks, so I decided to help! With this, any crops should grow faster and produce more in a shorter amount of time!" His smile was as large as his eyes, wide with delight.
"Wow, that's really considerate. I'm sure your father will be proud."
"I hope so. So, let's test it!"
"Uh, why are we testing it in here?" She glanced around the lab. It was still messy, with random rubble piles laying about.
"Oh, because I'm not quite sure what's going to happen when I use it, I know what I want to happen, but my work never goes to plan so... also the garden staff think I'm weird enough, I don't think they'd appreciate if I blew up their work."
"Ah, yes. That's fair. Let's go then"

Varian poured a small drop of the liquid into the plant, and a fizzing sound began. The duo stared, when Varian realised that the plant was starting to grow in and glow in a weird way. He shoved the princess to the side, and raised his arms to cover his face as it blew up.
When he raised his arms, he also raised two walls, both red with fear, protecting him and Rapunzel.

"Oh shoot. That's not good." He dropped the walls with a lowering of his hands. "I should have seen that the chemicals would react to the plant individually, which in turn caused them to react to each other. That's something to note though. Progress!" He busied about his desk searching for his new notebook.
"Uh, Varian. You made the rocks again..." Rapunzel stared at the unfazed kid.
"Uh yeah." He spoke over his shoulder. "I've gotten better at controlling them. Not like, amazing like Cass did, but uh, yeah, good enough that I can pull up walls like that when I need to. But, I can't do it if I'm not in immediate danger so."
"Does anyone else know about this?"
"Uh nope. No one comes to check on me besides you, so yeah."
"Okay, Varian, we're gonna have to tell my father about this. He needs to be kept up to date on your control over them."
"Right, yeah."

***

He opened the window of his room, and stepped out onto his little balcony. He lay down, legs crossed over one another, arms folded on his chest, and rested his head in the cushioned window seat just inside the window frame.

His door opened.
"Hey, Varian."
"Hello, Rapunzel."

"Listen, I tried to talk to my dad, but he says keeping you in here is for your own safety."
"Yeah, for my own safety, definitely not the safety of the kingdom because he's terrified of what might happen, sure, my safety is his priority." He didn't talk directly to her, just spoke to the wind, but the sarcasm was very really aimed at her.
"Oh- Listen Varian. I know it might be hard to open up, but you need to, it's not healthy to keep yourself locked away-"
"-That's ironic."
"Please. You can trust me, talk to me."

"I miss Cass. At least she treated me normally."
"Sorry, what?"
"Yeah. She treated me normally. That day we snuck out, she didn't try to make me talk or anything, we just had a fun day, climbing trees, racing through the woods, she taught me how to sword fight, and we talked about her adventure and what not. But you, you try to make me talk, saying I can trust you and whatever. I know that Rapunzel. You don't have to keep saying it. You don't have to keep treating me like that 14 year old kid. You know I can hear you, when you whisper outside my door to Eugene, or mumble to yourself about me. I've very good hearing, despite the constant explosions. Yet you act like I'm an oblivious kid! I'm 17 god dammit!"
She just stood awestruck at his words. He continued.
"You treated me like a kid, even though I committed a HUGE act of treason, and kidnapped the queen. Treated me like a kid even when I got sent to jail, then got in cohorts with some of the kingdoms worst villains, erased the memories of the king and queen, and tried to erase the memories of the ENTIRE kingdom. Treat me like a kid even though I have enough power in my left hand to RUIN this kingdom if I wanted to. But have you ever though for a second, Rapunzel, that everything that has happened to me, everything you want me to open up about is because of YOU!" He turned to face her as he yelled that last word.

"You messed with those rocks, and everything that has happened in the last three years is because of that! Me committing treason, me attacking the kingdom on two separate occasions, Cass turning on you, your parents losing their memories, Zhan Tiri escaping from Limbo, me finding the Moon Shard, all because YOU wanted out of a perfect life!
You of all people know what it's like, being locked up, feeling like your being used for your 'talents', nothing more. And yet here you are, doing the same thing to me! Keeping me in my room, to keep an eye on me. This entire butterfly effect, and yet this is somehow something I have to own up to!" He had raised his left hand and shook it at her.
"I've been alone my entire life, aside from my father, but you know what? I liked it. Then you show up, and hey presto! Life's turned upside down for me. Thanks a million Rapunzel."

She still hadn't said anything. He turned away from her to stare back off the balcony.
"So maybe, Princess, face your problems first, before you try to throw this one on me."

He said nothing more as she backed out of the room.
"Hey sunshine, how'd things go?"
"They went...." she put on a regretful face, unable to find the words.
"Oh. Is he okay?"
"He's... he's Varian. You know," She turned to the door, "I've realised we don't appreciate him enough."
A huge bout of laughter erupted from his room. "Don't try act like that Rapunzel, just because you know I can hear you. If you want to whisper about me, go literally anywhere other that outside my door. My hearing's not that good." Varian yelled out.
"What is that about?" Eugene asked cautiously.
"It's, it's nothing. Don't worry."
A ringing noise sounded out from Eugene's pocket, and he pulled out a little watch. "Oh hey look at this! Varian made it for me, it's an alarm watch, so I know when I have guard duty, which I actually completely forgot about. So I'm gonna run before I'm late. We'll talk later!" He ran off down the hall.

Oh hey look at this! Varian made it for me, it's an alarm watch, so I know when I have guard duty, which I actually completely forgot about.

Just those few words made his day, Eugene actually liked his invention, and more importantly, it actually worked. The armour that had been growing down his legs steadily for the last 15 minutes slowed, and stopped, just above the knee.

***

"Hey Blondie, sorry I've been busy, one of the guards was sick, so I took his post as well. How you feeling?" He joined her outside on the front steps.
Rapunzel just shrugged plainly.
"This about earlier with Varian?"
"He was angry. Really angry."
"To be honest, who can blame him? A week in his room, and he doesn't have any work, any books, nothing. He's probably bored out of his mind by now."
"Dad wants to keep him there for a month."
"WHAT? I know I can't argue with the King but you can't keep the kid locked up in there for a month! Without anything to do no less!"
"He's 17."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah. He's not a 'kid' anymore Eugene. Cass even taught him sword fighting."
"Oh. Wow. I'm almost ten years older than him, that is nuts!"
"Hm, yeah." She barely smiled.
"You wanna talk about it?" He took her hand in his.
"He said something, that I had never thought of." She took a breathe. "All of this is my fault."

"What?! Are you crazy? Blondie you do nothing but good, nothing is your fault!"
"But it is! Everything that has happened to him, it's all because I touched those rocks!"
"Yeah but, good things have happened too. He has a family now, outside of his father. And he's working under the Royal Family, that is a huge honour. Rapunzel I'm sure that he just said those things because he's angry, and alone, and you're the only person allowed to visit him. If I had visited him, he probably would have been angry at me too."
"I suppose. I don't know, it just, stuck with me I guess."
"Don't worry too much about it. Anything bad that might have happened was countered by something good at some point. Balance, you know?"
"Do you know the worst part?"
"What?"
"He didn't stutter once."
"Oh, wow. Okay that makes it slightly more serious sounding. But I still wouldn't worry."
"Yeah. Thanks." She kissed him, and headed inside. He, however, had something else on his mind.