A Game of Keep Away

Chapter Two - Varian

"Varian!" The princess threw her arms around the young boy, who immediately stiffened. Why was he here? Had they finally decided to kill him? Wouldn't they have taken him to the gallows or the execution room then?

Instead of a room meant for killing, it almost looked like they were in one of the palaces' sitting rooms.

There was a cheery brightness from the lamps and windows that filled the room. The faint smell of lemon? Orange? The faint smell of some sort of citrus floated around the room, nearly burning Varian's lungs with its fresh, crispness.

Underneath him was something soft? Maybe. He couldn't really tell. His butt was always so sore from years of sitting on cold stone. But it almost felt like there was a cushion under him.

And then there was his company. All of the people that he never wanted to see again were in the same room. The cruel and corrupt king who had sent him to prison. The captain of the guard who placed him there. And the three people who got him involved with the kingdom in the first place. The princess, her boyfriend, and her lady-in-waiting.

Fredric... the Captain... Rapunzel... Eugene... Cassandra... Why? Why are they all here? Not an apologetic look on their faces either. And why is she being friendly to me? She didn't seem to care about me when I was on my knees begging for her help again.

He tried to brush her arms away, but for some reason, he couldn't move his arms. They felt like jelly. Come to think of it... he was pretty sure the castle wasn't a merry-go-round. Yet the whole room was spinning.

"Hey kid," said Cassandra, her eyes soft, "Are you okay?"

No! I'm not okay! What about this makes you think that I am okay?!

He sat blankly. What could he say anyway? Hey there, old pals. Sorry, I kidnaped your mother, and also why did you pull me out of prison and sit me in a living room? No.

It'd be better to sit in silence. If anything, he was here to get one last taste of the nice things in life before they murdered him. That was probably it. Why else would they care how he was feeling?

Cassandra had never cared about his feelings before. So why was she asking whether he was okay? She only ever asked about people she cared about- or people she was planning on ruining. She lived by the old adage: keep your friend close and your enemies closer.

"Varian?" Rapunzel called softly, her voice sounding about a million miles away. In fact, she was talking, but he couldn't be sure she was actually saying anything. Maybe she was muttering things?

There was a change of weight on his shoulders. Did someone put their hand on his shoulder? Remove it? He didn't know. His ears were ringing. Or- maybe the room was? It was ringing loudly. Why? And his head... It hurt so badly. He blinked, surprised to feel a tear rolling down his face. Had his vision always been so blurry?

And then, without a moment's notice, it all stopped.

"-shouldn't have brought him out. He's just going to keep being trouble!"

Varian coughed, slowly blinking. Where was he again? Dreaming probably. Because the ever-so-caring royal family was standing over him. There was no way they had taken him out of prison for just a friendly chat.

Oh right...

He sat up, rubbing his eyes, his memory coming back to him. He had been sitting in his cell, then all of a sudden he was in a nice room- and then he had blacked out.

That's right... must be from shock... So then... Why am I here? Why not just kill me when I was out?

"Just take him back," said King Frederic, rolling his eyes. Had it not been his idea to bring Varian out? "He's obviously not going to be any help."