Varian and the Seven Kingdoms (Varian's Seven Trials)

Our Roots Remain As One

Everyone sat around the cramped table for lunch and Varian took the opportunity to take a better look at the house. It had very earthy tones, from the green and cream walls, to the cherry wood furniture. It felt like home, despite this being the first time Varian had set foot here.
When Varian had run out of things to look at in the room, he found himself wishing his cousins were more like Yong's family. At least his siblings had been welcoming, despite bombarding him with questions. This situation was much different. They all stared at him without asking a thing. Hugo was squeezed between Varian and Ingrid, and decided to break the deafening silence.
"Must be weird finding out you have a cousin, huh?" Hugo grinned charmingly, with the confidence he always carried himself with, "If you think he's being weird," Hugo brought his hand up to the side of his mouth as if he was about to whisper, but continued in his usual speaking voice, "it's cause he's an only child."
This made Ingrid snigger and Rolf smile.
Varian kicked Hugo under the table and the blonde's grin only grew,
"Ask him about the chemical bombs, he loves that."
Varian glared at Hugo.
"Where're you from?" Ingrid looked past Hugo, to meet Varian's gaze.
"Corona." Varian responded in relief, with a smile. When Ingrid raised an eyebrow and the silence returned, he cleared his throat, "It's a kingdom...pretty far from here. I live in one of the villages on the outskirts with my father..."
Varian watched Erik and Freya look to one another.
"Uh, I'm currently on my way to complete my mother's work- the Trials of the Seven Kingdoms."
As soon as the word 'trials' left his lips, everyone's expressions lightened, so he continued,
"They're kinda challenging, but we're making good progress." Varian looked to Nuru and Yong, then to Hugo.
"What are they all about?" Haley asked, curiously.
"Well...they sorta..." He went quiet, then looked to Hugo for help.
"I'm noticing a pattern of disorientation, an alchemical test of some description, a hint of magic, and some gosh-awful monster." Hugo said and Henrik's eyes widened.
"Cool!" The kid yelled, "You know alchemy?"
Hugo raised an eyebrow then nudged Varian, "You got this one, Freckles."
Varian smiled, "Yeah- I'm an alchemist." He replied, proudly.
"Like dad!" Haley smiled at Erik, who laughed modestly.
"It's nice to know you followed in your mother's footsteps." Erik smiled at Varian.
"Yeah..." The boy felt his own smile grow, "I'm still kinda surprised my dad never mentioned you...I- I didn't even know I had an uncle, let alone cousins..."
"In truth, Ulla never said much about your father. When she started her research, I never saw much of her...when I did she was always talking about work." Erik smiled fondly at the memory. After a moment, he remembered where he was and shook the thought from his head. Freya noticed a sad look in her husbands eyes and smiled at the rest of the table.
"Let's eat, shall we?"

After lunch, everyone left the table as they finished. The twins, Haley and Henrik were first to leave, and they ran off down the hallway. Greta and Ingrid followed in their own time, and Rolf stayed to help his mother and father clean up. Varian, Nuru and Yong offered their help too, Hugo reluctantly joining them.
"Rolf, is it?" Nuru asked the bespeckled boy with dark hair and he nodded, "Your father's an alchemist. Are any of you interested in alchemy too?"
"Uh, a little. When your father's an alchemist, you pick it up- and our mother is a welder, so we've picked up on that too...but we all have our own interests, I guess." He responded, kindly.
Nuru smiled, "What're you interested in?"
"Physics." He smiled nervously, "You know, the physical laws of the world and the timeless motions of the universe- that sorta thing." He laughed and Nuru smiled wider.
"I'd love to hear more about it."
"You would?" Rolf blushed, his eyes widening.
"Of course. It sounds really interesting. I usually study astronomy. I find it fascinating that there's so much out there that we don't understand."
Rolf watched Nuru speak then smiled,
"You should come and see what I'm working on in the field out back. Using astronomical studies, I hope to gain a better understanding of the position of the planets, and how they orbit the sun." Rolf explained and Nuru's eyes lit up.
Yong was talking to Freya, and she appeared to really enjoy his company.
Meanwhile, Erik and Varian cleaned plates and bowls at the sink together for several minutes before the boy spoke up,
"I know...it must be hard to talk about my mother...but, is there anything you can tell me about her? I...never got the chance to meet her before..." Varian trailed off as he watched Erik's sad eyes focused on the circular motion of his hand, cleaning a plate. Finally he placed the plate on the drying rack, buying himself time to think. He turned to look at Varian with a sincere smile,
"Let's talk privately."