The secret of the Moondrop

Chapter 15: Forgiveness

Rapunzel's POV;

Varian had just fallen asleep, leaving the princess enough time to observe the severity of his injuries.
Mother Gothel had said something about his lungs being hurt, that would certainly explain the trail of blood in his chin and right hand. But the exterior didn't look good either.
Between the black eye, the thin he had become and the ghostly paleness of his skin... he could have been death. And that scared her.
Rapunzel watched at the red marks in his wrists caused by the chains, she then looked at her own free hands.
The princess remembered something Lady Caine had said before throwing her in the cell:It's a shame Gothel wants you alive and unharmed. But Gothel didn't care about her... right?
She decided to stop thinking about that. It wouldn't help them escape if she spent all the time trying to figure out Gothel's psychopath mind.
They had taken away the satchel she had been carrying, which also contained her frying pan, so that left her with basically nothing.
Rapunzel sighed.
Those criminals had been careful not to put anything that could be used to escape in the room.
All she could do was wait.
Rapunzel watched Varian while sleeping, his face pacific and untroubled. The way it used to be before all that mess.
The mess she'd caused...
No.
Varian is the moondrop, he was in a mess the moment he obtained his powers.
And at least Quirin had been wise enough to cut his hair so that he could live a normal life, she hadn't been so lucky.
Stop it, she ordered herself. The best she could do in that moment was to sleep, to gain energy to heal Varian and defeat Mother Gothel. Once and for all.

At some point of the night Varian had started coughing, waking up Rapunzel immediately.
She watched with concern as he tried to breath while spitting blood. His eyes were watery and his face full of pain.
This time, at least she could help. Rapunzel knelt next to him and hold a cloth for him to cough in. It was the best she could do.
"Glad that you decided to come m'dear" said a voice from nowhere in particular.
The princess felt her blood boil with anger.
"YOU, STOP IT!" she yelled.
The voice chuckled.
"But I'm not doing anything" she answered back.
Varian looked at Rapunzel.
"You...can also... hear her?" he managed to say between wheezes.
"Don't speak, Varian" the princess responded while nodding.
Gothel laughed again.
"How nice of you, sooo sisterly, I wonder were were you while he was rotting in prison"
"Shut up!" Rapunzel screamed. "Just quit hurting him!"
The princess shivered as she felt something cold touching her shoulder.
"I told you, I'm not doing anything" she whispered in her ear "it seems like poor Lady Caine got a little carried away with the boy"
Rapunzel took his trembling arm in her hands, Varian's blue eyes searching fearfully the room.
"Don't worry, he'll make it to the full moon" the voice said dismissively. "But of course, I couldn't let Lady Caine get carried away with you too, now, could I?"
"You... what?"
"I mean, is not as if it would work if one of the two is death"
I should have imagined, Rapunzel thought sadly, she doesn't care about me.
What did she expect? She was a witch who had separated her from her parents as a baby and raised her in an isolated tower.
The princess shook her head, the coldness in her shoulder had disappeared, which meant Gothel had probably disappeared too.
"Varian?"
His breathing had stabilized, but there was still blood almost everywhere. Even in her dress.
"I...I'm okay"
He gave her a crooked smile, wincing after it.
Rapunzel held his hand, looking at the floor.
"Varian, I'm sorry for everything I ever did, I really am" she said, tears falling to the rock floor. "I should have helped you when I could, then we wouldn't be in this mess and..."
"No" she cut her off, shaking his head slightly.
"What do you mean? You don't forgive me?" Rapunzel asked, her heart aching.
"I don't forgive you because it wasn't your fault" he mumbled while the princesses eyes widened "the only mistake you committed was ever wanting to be my friend, I was stupid and irrational, I wish you could ever..."
Rapunzel hugged him as suddenly as the first time. Varian yelped. "The...the ribs"
She let go with worry. "Oh, right, sorry"
In that moment, Rapunzel made a promise to herself. A promise she wasn't going to break no matter what happened, this time it wouldn't be like the promises she'd made to Varian or Adira.
She promised herself, if they ever got out of there, she'd help and protect Varian the more she could.