To Save A Lost Friend (Tangled Fanfiction)

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(I DO NOT OWN THE VIDEO, THE SONG, THE SHOW, OR THE CHARACTERS, THOUGH I DO RECOMMEND ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!)

Rapunzel sighed, her grip tightening on Eugene as they rode Max towards the castle in the distance. The battle with Varian was done, and they had won, though things were silent. They had almost lost Cassandra, and the Queen, in the hands of the revenge seeking alchemist.

The cart had unfortunately broke down, so Varian was forced to ride on a horse with a guard. It was easy to tell that he despised the idea, hence, the disapproving look and permanent scowl. Rapunzel's heart ached when she saw how mad he was.

Varian was only a kid after all, younger than them all. He had gone insane after Rapunzel refused to help him save his father from the black rocks that plagued Corona. The gut wrenching feeling of guilt had settled in once he had been dragged out. All the kid wanted was to save his dad, and all Rapunzel wanted to do, was fix the promise she broke.

She glanced over at the young boy, who's face was pointed towards the ground, his mass of raven colored hair hiding his face. His chains rattled, reminding everyone of their victory, and him, of his loss. Rapunzel felt tears prick her eyes as she watched him, miserable and helpless, and angry. At her. She buried her face into Eugene's shoulder as they rode along, fighting back the sensation to let out her emotions.

"Blondie?" Eugene's calm and soft tone calmed her nerves, "You doing alright back there?" 

Rapunzel lifted her head off his shoulder, their eyes meeting, "I don't know.." she muttered, glancing over sadly at the prisoner and the guard.

Eugene sighed and gave her a reassuring smile, "He's going to be fine, Blondie..." he said, barely above a whisper, "He's a tough kid..."

Rapunzel looked down at her hands with a frown, "I know, but I just can't stopped thinking about everything..." she mumbled softly, glancing back up at Eugene's brown eyes, "He only did this because of me..."

She looked back down at her hands, letting out a sigh, the tears that once pricked her eyes now escaping and slipping down her pale cheeks. She felt a rough, but gentle hand lift her chin up, Their eyes meeting yet again.

"It's not your fault, Rapunzel. It's never, ever been your fault. You did what you thought was right, right?"

Rapunzel nodded.

A smile played on the corner of Eugene's lips, his eyes shining in a soft and warm gaze, "Than that's what matters. You did the right thing, staying for your kingdom."

Rapunzel felt a smile grow on her face, and she leaned forward, capturing Eugene's lips in a quick kiss, "Thanks, Eugene." she said with a small smile.

He smiled warmly, then shrugged, turning back to the road, "Besides, the kid possibly had a few mental issues before all this."

Rapunzel drew back with a frown, glancing over at Varian, who had clearly heard him. His blue eyes were locked on Eugene, full of hatred. His features made Rapunzel shiver. He was already intimidating with his aggressive stare, but the sunken in cheeks and pale white skin was enough to send even the best guard screaming for his mother.

The guard who was riding with him gave Varian a quick whack across the back of the head with his hand, which made the kid yelp out in pain, quickly looking back down at the ground beneath them.

Rapunzel frowned a bit, watching the guard with a skeptical look. She then realized how new this guard seemed. She never saw him before today. She tapped Eugene's shoulder and pointed at the guard once she got his attention, 'Who's that?"

Eugene shrugged a bit, "I dunno, Captain must have hired him early this morning or something." 

This made Rapunzel feel worse. An unknown guard handling a child who almost killed the kingdom's monarch and royal guard captain's daughter, plus more? This didn't sit well with her. 'I'll have to ask Cassandra who this guy is...' she thought before facing forward once more and continuing the journey.

Varian sighed, the horse swaying underneath him. The blasted carriage had lost a wheel, so now, he had to ride with a pathetic guard. Could this day get any worse? Plus, this 'guard' was new or something, so he was hard to manipulate. Now, if it were Pete, or Stan, that would be a piece of cake, but not this buff looking guy.

His eyes prickled with tears as he thought about everything. The battle, was all for nothing. He hadn't gotten the revenge he was seeking, instead, he got a prison sentence. He was thankful that his hair covered most of his face now, since it had grown out of it's usual cut.

Varian could admit, he hadn't been taking as good care of himself as he should of, but how could he? He was preparing for war and revenge, planning to destroy the rocks that trapped his father in that amber prison. 'hey...' he thought, 'I guess we're both trapped now...'

He heard Eugene say something, which he knew was about him, since the two lovebirds had been talking about him for quite some time. He turned to look at his former idol with the best glare he could muster.

He caught the princess's eye and couldn't help but smirk a little. He could tell she shivered as she looked at him with wide, sorrowful eyes. It was amusing.

Then, the blasted guard smacked him across the back of the head, almost like his father used to when he did something bad, or made another one of his lame mistakes. It made him yelp in pain, and he quickly faced back towards the road ahead, tears stinging his eyes once more, some even trailing down his cheeks.

The way this guard treated him brought back painful memories. 

"Varian, what did I tell you!?" Quirin yelled, his fists clenched as he stood next to his son, who sobbed silently by his side, his head bowed in shame. Varian was only six, and he had managed to blow up half of their house with a single explosion from mixing too many things together. 

Varian heard Quirin sighed and soon was pulled into a warm embrace. He hugged his father tightly and sobbed into his shoulder, his father stroking his hair as a calming mechanism. Once Varian's sobs turned into quiet whimpers, Quirin pulled away and looked his son in the eyes, brown meeting blue. 

"You understand why I yell, correct?" Varian nodded, wiping away tears with a small hiccup. Quirin nods and hugs his son once more, "It's to protect you. The last promise I ever made to your mother. "

The two hugged for what felt like forever, the father and son bond unable to be broken by a single argument, even one as small as an alchemy explosion.

Everything was going to be okay. They would live together and be happy for ages to come. 

Or so they thought.

(I hope you enjoyed!~ I've fallen deep in love with this show and Varian, if you can't tell lol. He's very relatable, and my son just wants to make his father proud. GIVE THIS BOY A HAPPY ENDING!!! Anywho, be expecting kinda unscheduled updates, I'm going to be busy with some in real life things, sooooo yeah! )