The secret of the Moondrop

Chapter 10: A deal

Rapunzel's POV:

Rapunzel didn't sleep well the day after arriving at the castle.
Eugene had passed by her bedroom some hours ago, leaving her a delicious cupcake and trying to convince her that everything was going to be okay. But Rapunzel knew that wasn't true.
Loads of words swirled in her head: massive jail break, higher crime rate...
But above all, she couldn't help but think of Varian.
She pictured what he could be enduring at the same time she was lying on her comfortable bed, eating chocolate desserts.
If she had figured it out earlier.
If she hadn't turn her back on a desperate friend who needed help...
Then maybe, none of this would have happened.
Rapunzel buried her head on a pillow, feeling horrible.
Even if he hadn't been kidnapped and just escaped with the other prisoners, Mother Gothel may still be able to find him, and then... she shook her head at the thought.
Where could that kid possibly be?
"You really want to know, don't you?"
Rapunzel jumped at the echoey voice.
The voice that haunted her in her nightmares, the woman that had made her childhood a complete lie. Mother Gothel.
The princess gritted her teeth, pulling her frying pan from behind the bed.
"What do you want?" She demanded. "Show yourself!"
Mother Gothel laughed bitterly.
"I can't show myself, because I don't HAVE a body, you brat!" she hissed.
Rapunzel flinched at the comment.
"But I'm not here to talk about myself" the voice in her head said more softly, with a menacing tone "I think you want to know where your little moondrop is, am I right?"
The princess lowered her weapon, nodding eagerly despite the situation.
"Well, I could tell you" she cackled coldly "But where would be the fun in that?"
Rapunzel's face fell. As much as she hated to admit it, Gothel was probably her only chance of finding Varian.
"You're right about that" her former adoptive mother interrupted.
Agh, she despised when she did that mind-reading trick.
She could almost hear Gothel rolling her eyes.
"What I meant... is that I could show you were he is..."
Rapunzel's vision blurred as a cold feeling made her dizzy. Not again, she thought desperately. But that time, she didn't travel back to that black void in her mind where she had talked to Mother Gothel's ghost. That time... it felt as if her own soul went on a trip by her own.
She felt herself being pulled, pushed and squeezed through different landscapes and places. All of that happening in a blink of an eye.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
She must have reached her destination.
Rapunzel was taken aback by the smell of moist and blood, her bare feet against the cold rock. It took her eyes some minutes to adjust to the darkness of the place, but when they did, the princess gasped.
"Varian!"
She quickly run to the boy, watching horrified the condition in which he was.
Varian had the right side of his face all bruised and swollen, as if someone had given him a punch. He was evidently dehydrated and hungry, with his wrists red and irritated because of the chains he was wearing. But what worried her the most, was the thin line of blood streaming from his mouth, one of Varian's hands pressing against his ribs.
Rapunzel's lip trembled.
She extended her transparent arm, brushing Varian's cheek gently.
The alchemist shifted in his sleep.
What have they done to you?, Rapunzel thought sadly.
"Don't...don't worry Varian, we are going to get you out of here" she said with a shaky voice.
Mother Gothel chuckled, making Rapunzel's fear turn immediately into anger.
"He can't hear you, sweetie" the old woman said crisply.
"Where is he?" the princess replied, clenching her fists.
She searched the circled stone cell, noticing a small hole in the middle of the ceiling.
"Now, now, don't be so impatient, my child" Gothel said "if I've brought you here is for you to see what's at stake"
Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"I want to make a deal with you, Rapunzel"
At those words, the princess scoffed, raising her chin and trying to look as confident as she could.
"Why would I want to make a deal with you?" She asked.
Mother Gothel grunted with annoyance. "Fine"
Varian shivered before starting to cough blood, holding with both chained hands his chest and wincing with pain. Rapunzel panicked. "No!"
She reached for his arm, but widened her eyes when her transparent hands passed through him.
"Stop it! Please!" Rapunzel yelled desperately at the ceiling. "You're going to kill him!"
Gothel remained in silence.
"I'll hear you out, but please, leave him alone!"
Varian's breath normalized.
He sleepily wiped some blood from his chin, wheezing hardly and with watery eyes.
"I am glad you've finally decided to cooperate"
Rapunzel's knees buckled, she laid in the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"This is the deal: First, I'll tell you the exact location where Varian is, of course, I'll expect you to come here completely ALONE. Then, if everything goes right, we'll all wait until the full moon so you can properly heal and restore Varian's powers. And finally, when both the moondrop and the sundrop convine their powers, I'll be able to come back from death!" Gothel exclaimed with delight.
Rapunzel shuddered, thinking about the promise she'd made with Adira: You must promise me that under any circumstance you'll restore Varian's powers...
"By the way" Mother Gothel added "Judging by the severe puncture in his lung, I don't think the kid will last much longer, so you'd better come before the next full moon"
Rapunzel took a glance at Varian, his forehead covered in sweat and having trouble to breath. The next full moon would happen in two days, she just had to go there and save him (did Mother Gothel know that her hair could no longer heal?)
She would worry about how to escape later, in that moment, Varian's life was a priority.
But, should she tell the others about what she was going to do?
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." she warned.
Rapunzel nodded with fear.
"Deal?" Mother Gothel asked.
The princess took a shaky breath, looking one last time at Varian. The boy that had tried to help her and then tried to destroy her family. A boy who had lost his father and was dying because of her.
"Deal"

Chapter end.
Sorry for not updating in two days.😅😅