Ticket to the Abyss and back

Change

He was helplessly falling downwards, or it was rather more like he was floating. Yes, he was floating in nothingness. It was relaxing, like as if he was floating in water. His arms and legs were weightless. And even if his eyes were closed he knew that it was completely dark all around him.
"Is this how it feels to die?"
He didn't know, maybe it was and if it were, he didn't mind.
He was so relaxed that he didn't care. There wouldn't be anyone that would miss him anyway...or was there? Something tugged at his memory. There was someone...something...what was it? He tried to grasp the faint memory that was just out of his reach.
"I miss...something fluffy....and also something else..."
His pulse started to race, he panicked, and as he did, he felt that his body got heavier and heaving, soon he was really falling. From his eyes fell tears, they fell upwards leaving him.
He started to fence with his arms in a desperate attempt to grab on to something, kicked with his legs as if it would slow him down from falling . He didn't want to fall and he didn't want to be here and he certainly DIDN'T want to die!
Somewhere far away, he heard a voice calling him.
He recognized it, but he couldn't place it. He tried to answer, but from his mouth came no sounds. As if he couldn't talk anymore. The voice continued to call him, it sounded more and more desperate, and sometimes it was as if was right beside him. Varian tried again to answer but he couldn't, he was totally mute. Just as he was going to give up, something came washing over him and he was back in his cell. His sight was blurry at first but soon he saw the figure of a tall person, the person who had called his name.
Rusty had an empty bucket in his hands and a worried look on his face.

- Varian! Kid! Are you alright? You didn't wake up. He said hastily all in one, not even giving Varian a chance to answer.
- Aaah man, you scared me kiddo, I thought you we're gone or something.

He sank down on the floor, his knees gave in from the after the rush of adrenaline, he was clearly very shaken.
"How in the world did this man become one of Coronas guard?" Varian thought once again while he looked at the upset guard that was in front of him.
-I'm...ok... but.. wet.... Varian responded, his voice, he could talk again, he should be ecstatic but  if he would to put a feeling on it, it was merely melancholic.
***************

Varian was confused and bit disoriented when he woke up, he was in a soft comfortable bed, the room was bright and warm. Yeasyerdays memory slowly came back to him.
He had been on the brink of giving up, to let the eternal sleep get a hold on him but Rusty, that odd guard, had called for him and Varian had chosen the living once again.
Then, Rusty had presented the shackles, the very sight of them had made Varian frightened.

-It'd just be for a little while... I promise.

Varian had believed him. He had learned that just because "someone" breaks a promise it doesn't mean that everyone does.
So the guard called Rusty had put the schackles around his thin wrists and a leash on Ruddiger, then he led them out of the cell. Varian still a bit suspicios. Sure he wanted to leave the claustrofibic dark and damp cell, but what would await him?

-Don't worry Kid, I told you, things will get better from here....

They went up the staircase and for each and every floor they pased it got a little less dark.

- Just... try and keep calm kid, I'm sure "they" will look down you and maybe even try to get to you. Some might try and get a reaction out of you to get n excuse to throw you down there again.
Varian didn't answer. He listened intensively at what Rusty said.
They continued walking mostly under silence, when they reached one of the castles corridors, Rusty stoped for a little while and took a deep breath.

-Okay, you're ready kid?
-Ready for what?  Varian responded with his dry voice.

-For being Varian the kid instead of Varian the Criminal?!

Rusty had kept leading him through the castles corridors, guards along the way looked at him with contempt and disgust. Varian hung with his head down, battling the feeling of wanting to scream and lash out. It was better to play along, he knew that, but still...
Eventually they had reached the room in the West tower, despite it almost being empty except for a bed, a desk and chair, a big bookshelf (with books to Varians delight) the room still reeked of royalty.
There was a big window  facing down the castles cortyard, though there was recently added bars to it.
Rusty kneeled down to Varians height., and removed the schackles.

-Like I said, it's still a containement..
-You mean prison. Varian bit him off.
-Uh... yeah.... but it's better than down there ain't it?"
-I suppose... Varian responded.
Rusty stood up,
-There are a few books you could  read...

He went off to the bookshelf and took out an old book, as if he wanted to make sure that Varian read just that book. Suddle was not Rustys strong side.

-Oh that's right. I forgot your treat!
Rusty had blasted out.
-Huh? That's not really...
-Nonsense, I promised right? Besides, I bet Ruddiger will be very upset without his treat too !

And so Rusty had left Varian and Ruddiger in the new room, but that hadn't been all that would happen  before the day was to end.
An hour later or so when Varian was writing in his log book he heard the heavy step from a guard, this was not Rusty, he could tell that much.
A faint knock on the door, something that felt extremely odd for Varian, he was still a prisoner, would he suddenly be able to decide if he wanted visitors?
-Yes?
The door opened and a sweet smell of spices and roses rushed in, he recognized this smell, it was something that reminded him of... home, but in a good way. Varian spun around and his face lit up when he saw that the person in the doorway was one of his very few friends, and one of them that he really still considered as a friend.

- Sinny?!

The girl in the red hood almost dropped her basket.

-Va- Varian?!

It was definately a surprise seeing his old friend again. They talked for a little while, the guard outside let them be. Sinny  told Varian that something had come up and Rusty would be late so he had sent her insead to deliver the treats.

Ruddiger who immediately recognized her aswell came prancing over, climbing up to her shoulders and happily took a bite from the sweets. They talked for a while before she had to leave again.

Yes, alot had happened the day prior to this morning, so it wasn't odd that he felt a little confused when he had woken up.

Varian walked up to the window, he gazed down at the courtyard.
He spotted Rusty, it was impossible to not recignize him, his hair stood out like an fire in the sunlight, and he was so tall and slim.
Varian saw him waving at a small wagon, as soon as it stopped three identical girls peeked out from a blanket at the back. They rushed to Rusty and practically overthrew him.
Varian smiled at the sight. A woman  seemed to scold the three girls and beside her was a shy small boy.
None of them looked much like Rusty, the girls had blonde hair, the boy seemed timid and somewhat fragile, he too was blonde, a darker shade then the girls but there was definately a resemblence between them.
Something tugged inside Varians mind as he watched the scene play out before his eyes.

"What did you think? That he cared about you? He has his family. Why would he care about you, a criminal? Did you think he would takenyounin as a brother? He's just doing his job, he doesn't care about you."

"Shut up. Shut up . Shut up"
Varian screamed to the voice inside him.
"You know it's true."
The voice inside him whispered.
Varian backed away from the window. He wanted to hide in a dark corner but the room was literally drowned in sunlight.
He closed the curtains at an attempt to block out the light.
He went over to the shelf  and picked up the book that Rusty had poked at.

" Historical Legends of Corona"

He carefully opened the very old book.
He gasped.

"A rare collection of all the old Legends from and around Corona Kingdom,, previously only passed down by mouth eventually turning to bestime stories, here is the firstly written ones of those legends, the originals as they were supposed to be told. "

- Now that might be worth looking into, Ruddiger.