The Moon Calls

61

It felt like a bad dream.

The rocks rampaging, the Moon's threats and demands and commands, the voice in his head; it all felt like a bad dream.

But he knew it wasn't.

The past year had really happened just as he remembered it, and Cassandra was gone, took the Moonstone to save him, and he felt sick with worry over where they could be now.

He heard a knock at the door and slowly sat up. "Yes?"

"Varian, do you have a moment?"

He rubbed at his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, come on in."

The door opened and Lucas stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Have you heard anything yet?"

"Nothing." Varian shook his head. "My head's never been so quiet. All I hear are my own thoughts now, even when I try to reach out."

"That's a good thing." Lucas walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "That means that Cassandra is staying strong enough to keep control of her own body."

"Yeah." Varian nodded. "I should be relieved, but...it feels wrong."

"The longer she keeps her in check, the more time you have to improve your control over your powers without her whispering in your ear and, when you feel strong enough, you can take it from her." Lucas assured him. "She took it because you were uncertain on if you could win that battle of wills, remember?"

"Yeah." Varian nodded.

"So, focus on practicing. You can start by taking down that huge cluster over on the far side of the courtyard." Lucas nodded towards it. "And any others you may have summoned when you had no control."

Varian chuckled a bit. "You're right."

"You got this, kid." Lucas smiled and reached out to rub his head. "I'm gonna let you sleep now."

"Don't you sleep?" Varian asked.

"I slept for hundreds of years, kid." He got up and walked back to the door. "I don't need sleep." He opened the door, smiled back at him, then passed through and closed it behind him.

Varian sighed softly, smiling sadly. Here he was dwelling on his own problems and he'd almost forgotten that Lucas had turned against his own people, directly prevented the revival of his old leader, to save him and Rapunzel. It made own own problems seem small in comparison. If Zhan Tiri was ever successfully revived, she likely wouldn't take his betrayal lightly.

He laid back down, looking towards the moon shining outside the window. "...He's right. Until I feel one-hundred percent confident, Cassandra won't let me have the Moonstone Opal. I need to get stronger, so I can take the burden from her." He pulled the blanket over him more and closed his eyes. "Stay strong, Cassie."

--

The next morning, he came out of his room and headed down to breakfast, where he was surprised to find Andrew had joined them for breakfast.

"Ah, Varian!" Queen Arianna smiled. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I have in...a long time." He admitted. "no weird dreams, no voice whispering in my head..." He sat down next to Rapunzel. "I'll be going around the Kingdom cleaning up the rocks after breakfast."

"Oh, Varian, you don't need to rush off and do that, you just got back and you should take some time to rest." King Frederic said, his brow furrowed with worry.

"It's fine!" Varian assured him. "I need to practice my powers, anyway, increase my confidence and ability and control. I can't just sit around; the sooner I feel one-hundred percent confident in my ability to absorb the Moonstone Opal the sooner Cassandra can be free of it!"

"Varian," Andrew shook his head, "you need to rest. You've had a long journey, you're adjusting to not having her in your head, why don't you just take a little bit to be a kid? Juniper will take care of her, don't worry. We've been keeping in touch by mirror, she called me this morning."

"Does Cassandra know? Can...Can we talk to her?" Varian asked.

"Cassandra knows we've been in contact, but she thinks that if she talks to you that the Moon may...flare up and make things harder for her to control it." Andrew said gently. "But, she is okay, Juniper is with her. She's going to get in contact with the Brotherhood and tell them to call off the search, maybe come and visit Corona, and hopefully the stress on her will be reduced and she can focus on keeping her concentration on the Moon and not on keeping from being found."

"Yeah..." Varian nodded.

Rapunzel smiled and took his head. "It's going to be okay, Varian. Cass is strong, she'll be okay. She would want you to spend some time free from the Moon for a little while. So, let's just try to relax a little and you can practice naturally as you go through your day-to-day. After all, you have so much of your magic to practice! Wait until the people see your mer form!" She giggled.

Varian smiled. "Yeah...Yeah, you're right. I have a lot of magic to practice, and a lot of life to live! I mean, I have a boyfriend ow! I can't just devote my life to trying to get better for the sole purpose of absorbing the Moonstone Opal. Part of why I was so hesitant was because I...I felt like I hadn't really experienced enough of a free life, and I was...scared. So...you know, if I live my life, but practice as I go, then I'm sure, by the time I see Cassandra again, I'll feel confident enough!"

"That's the spirit!" King Frederic smiled brightly.

"And you can start by eating your breakfast." Queen Arianna gestured to his plate. "Before it gets cold."

Varian nodded and grabbed his fork. "Hey, where's dad?" He asked, starting to eat.

"He went out with Donella somewhere." King Frederic shrugged.

--

"So...that's what happened to her..." Quirin walked over to the wall near the Demanitus Machine, placing his hand on the cold stone. "I...understand why you hesitated to tell me before. I was in no state to be told anything so confusing at the time, and I admit that I did not...take it well after you left so suddenly."

"I wish I had stayed." Donella said, hanging her head. "I wish we had never left. If we had...he would not have been vulnerable. We could have all protected him."

"Well...dwelling on the what-ifs will not change anything." Quirin shook his head and moved his hand from the wall. "Is there any way to save her?"

"I have been searching for years for any kind of artifact that could save her." She said grimly. "The only thing that will work is for her to possess a pre-made host."

"Varian." Quirin nodded, his brow furrowed. "As long as the Moonstone Opal is incomplete, as long as he doesn't absorb him, he's still..."

"There's a vacancy." She nodded. "And until that's filled...well, Ulla may not be the only spirit intending to take control of his body. He must stay strong of will."

"He's strong." He smiled. "And, I'm sure your people will find a way to save her, without using Varian."

"We can only hope." She walked over to look up at the Demanitus Machine. "...Zhan Tiri's followers are free, trying to revive her. I fear that if she and the Moon join forces, it will be too much for him."

"Which is why we do everything in our power to prevent her return." Lucas walked over to them with Ruddiger around his shoulders. "We can keep an eye out for any sign of her followers and thwart any attempts to bring her back."

"'We'?" Quirin asked, confused.

Lucas looked at Ruddiger. "Long ago, we once worked for Zhan tiri. Be turned against her shortly before the battle that I was sealed in and was turned into an immortal raccoon as punishment." He explained.

"Wait, Ruddiger was a human?" Donella asked, surprised.

"Yes, but so far you are the only two to know." Lucas nodded. "But, rest assured, we can keep Zhan Tiri and her followers away from your son."

"I hope so." Quirin nodded. "Speaking of son," he looked at Donella, "where is yours?"

"I believe that Eugene and Lance wanted to show him the delights of a 'spa day'." Donella smirked. "They're bonding and enjoying being off the road after several months."

"Well, as long as he's having a good time." Quirin nodded. "How did you come to adopt him?"

Donella sighed. "He was a slave in the iron mines of Ingvarr." She revealed. "When I went in intending to get them shut down, and following the rumors of Saporian slaves being kept there, I found him orphaned and forced to do manual labor and three years shy of being sent to the harems for training. I...shut things down and took him in."

"Is he Saporian?" Quirin asked.

"No, his family were lower-class Ingvarrians that had failed to pay their taxes and were sent to the mines for punishment." Donella shook her head. "His parents tried to escape with him when he was younger and were killed in front of him to ensure he never attempted escape and remained fully obedient to them. He was...so young when I met him, Quirin. Only ten years old."

Quirin nodded grimly. "He's...lucky you were there that day."

"And I was fortunate to have met him. He made me value my own life again, to live for more than just...finding a way to save Ulla." Donella smiled sadly.

Quirin nodded, then looked at the wall. "We'll find a way to save her, together." He promised her. "I'm sorry that you had to endure this by yourself for so long."

"The guilt forced me to take on the task alone." She smiled a bit. "But...now, I can finally feel strong enough to share it."

He gently pulled her into a hug. "I'm here now." He said gently, stroking her hair. Then he looked towards Lucas and Ruddiger. "We're going to get a happy ending, for all of us. We'll protect Varian, stop Zhan Tiri's followers and save my wife."

Lucas grinned. "Well, we can certainly try."

Ruddiger nodded firmly.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Donella nudged him and then slipped out of his hold to head for the stairs.

They followed her up, Quirin looking over his shoulder at the wall before he continued on.

--