A New Mistake

Nightmares Aren't Real

"Varian! You're cured, you're normal again!"The Princess smiled joyfully at him, Eugene by her side.
"We're so proud of you son!" His father stood behind him, next to the silently nodding king. "I knew you could do it."
He felt so happy. Things were normal, the armour had gone, his family loved him. This had to be a dream.

It's wasn't. It's was much worse than that.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!" His fathers screams gargled out as he suddenly became choked by the rocks, glowing red. Beside him, the king was trapped in some black ones.
Turning back to the Royal Couple, Eugene was wrapped in some light blue ones, but Rapunzel was trapped in black and yellow ones.
The armour reformed fully around him, and his hair burned white, when he himself was surrounded by the rocks, in so many colours; red, black, green, orange, purple, white, yellow, blue, grey. He didn't know what any of it meant. The clusters began dragging his loved ones into the ground, and they screamed, their voices becoming a demonic harmony. He tried to help, but couldn't move. He was being pulled down as well. Further and further, he couldn't breathe anymore, couldn't see anything but the colours of his failures, until he blacked out.

He snapped up, clutching his chest, heart racing, eyes teared up, breathing hitched. He hastily kicked the blankets off himself.
"It was just a dream Varian, nothing else. You're fine, you're fine, you are fine. Nothing to worry about."
He hunched over, pulling his knees to his chest, and hid his head in them, knee caps fitting perfectly into his eyes. The force against them helped to push the images out of his head; the people he loved suffocating, dying.
But it wouldn't leave. It stayed, right where he couldn't quiet get to it, but it to him. Their cries echoed in his own mind. Pulling his hands up to his ears, he pressed into them, hoping it would get rid of some of the noise. It didn't. Instead, it somehow amplified it, blocking out the world so it was just him and his thoughts.
Falling onto his side, he held his eyes tight as he tried to keep the tears in. He didn't want to hear their screams anymore, didn't want to see their deaths. It haunted him, like it had really happened. But no. It was just his head playing games... just like when his father-
He hopped out of bed, it's softness no longer providing comfort, and he paced back and forth.
"Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream."
He mumbled over and over, trying to convince himself he was fine.
"AAGH!" He caught sight of himself in the mirror and fell backwards. Standing back up again, he wasn't sure what to think.
His hair was white, red and green all at once. It looked horrible, but that wasn't important. It usually went a light yellow or green, but mainly white, or sometimes red. But the different colours definitely meant something, he just didn't know what.
Frustrated at everything, he flopped back down on his bed, to wander off to the place no one could see: his own mind.

Or he would have, if someone hadn't knocked on his door. They liked doing that at inconvenient times.
"Who is it?"
"Tis I, Eugene, baring food and a letter from Cass-"
He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as the door was flung open.
"Hey- Oooo, umm, you know your hair is different colours right now, right?"
"Uh, still? It usually goes away after a few minutes, just get in here." He pulled the man inside and slammed the door, before stomping back to the mirror, and shutting his eyes. Nothing happened.
"Arrg! Why won't it go back to normal?!"
"Hey, kid-"
"-Could you stop calling me that?"
"Oh, uh sure. Anyways, calm down, it's okay.."
"Okay? Okay!? No this isn't okay Eugene, my hair is now reacting to my emotions with colours the way the rocks do. I will not be able to feel anything without anyone knowing. That is, if I knew what the different colours meant!" He face-planted the bed in anger, groaning, defeated.
"I'm sure we'll figure it out. Anyways, want this letter?" He held up the envelope, and Varian lifted a hand to take it, propping himself in his elbows.