Forgotten Magic

Chapter 33

Varian lines up the amber and his drill, now with Rapunzel's golden hair as the point.

"Varian, if this doesn't work and something happens to me, please, please, let my mom go,' the princess begs.

The alchemist glares at her and slides on his goggles. "I can't make any promises, princess." And then he starts the drill.

Rapunzel gasps in pain.  Varian bares his teeth, trying to dig the drill further into the amber. King Fredrick looks between them. And then suddenly, the princess's hair begins to glow. It's light seems to course through her locks and then the amber.

"What!"  Varian pauses. "Why?!" He tries again.

"Stop it!" King Fredrick pleads. "She can't take anymore!"

"Rapunzel!" Arianna calls.

"I d-I-I don't understand! Who won't it-" He runs up to the amber. "Her hair. It-it should've cut through it. Why didn't it work?!"

Suddenly my feet are free and Rapunzel's parents are running up to her. I stand there for a moment before approaching the now broken alchemist.

"Varian?" I ask quietly.

"No...no." I didn't think he was talking to me. "I wasn't wrong. No-it's not my fault!" He turns to the princess, seemingly unaware of my existence. "None of it is. It's her fault!" He runs off, and I feel the urge to follow him. Instead, I approach the royals.

"Varian," I whisper. "He-He-"

Suddenly, the floor starts shaking. And something crashes through the floor. When the dust settles, I see Varian behind a red-stained-glass window of a giant automaton.

"Sorry princess," he spits. "We were in this together. But if I can't have a happy ending then neither can you!" He cries out in rage and we run out the door.

I'm shocked at the sight outside. Coronans are fighting automatons. There's fire, swords, and explosions. I didn't get much time to process before Varian came smashing out the front of his house and I had to duck out of the way.

Cassandra lept at the automaton, sword raised, and was caught.

"Hello Cassandra," Varian greets. "I always knew I could sweep you off your feet."

And now I know he'a gone plain crazy. He has no feelings for Cass. Especially not since the...incident under the Empyrean shower.

He then reaches over and grabs Arianna as well.  A frying pan hits the glass between him and the world. And all this time I'm kneeling in the bushes, watching as chaos ensues, feeling utterly useless.

Something came over me. Similar to the fire that filled me when we were trapped in his lab. Something made me get up and run up to the automaton.

He stopped.

The world seemed to stop too.

"Don't do it."

Radio silence.

"Please. Just let them go."

Nothing.

I took a step forward and stretched out a pleading hand to him.

"We can fix things."

Everyone else seemed to have stopped to watch too.

"Varian, you gave something to me that changed my life. You offered me help that I needed. Let me do the same for you. Let me repay the favor."

"What makes you think I need it?"

The world crumbles. Varian moves forward, and Rapunzel pulled me out of the way. I just stood there in shock...