Varian's Tale: A Tangled Fan Fiction

Chapter 5

I spent most of the first day at Thea’s house sleeping. That soup had been the first decent food I'd had in weeks, and with a full stomach and the fact that I was a little tired, I slept. It wasn't the best sleep. I kept waking up from dreams about the amber, my dad, Rapunzel, and occasionally Ruddiger. I'm not sure which ones hurt the most.
Thea was nice enough. She gave me food (no ham sandwiches though), gave me her disgusting medicine, which I was still half convinced would kill me, and was a decent conversationalist. I could tell she was curious about me, but she didn't pry, which I was thankful for.
I'd been there for a few days when she asked me to help in the garden. I agreed, because she was kinda being nice and taking care of me. When we went outside, I saw a rock on the ground. A big rock. “Is that there for a reason?” I asked, gesturing at the rock.
“No,” Thea said. “Why..?”
“Mind if I borrow it?” I asked.
“For what?” Thea demanded, frowning.
I held up my hands, which were still chained together and shook them, rattling the chain.
“Yeah, sure,” Thea said. “Knock yourself out, just come find me when you're done.”
I have her a thumbs up and she walked away. I knelt next to the rock and picked it up. I took a deep breath and slammed the rock down on the chain, hard. I grimaced at the sound, but raised the rock and hit the chain again. Eventually, some time later, the chain broke and I took a deep breath. I still had the cuffs on, but I wasn't chained together anymore.
Wiping my sweaty bangs out of my face, I stood up to go find Thea. I wandered around the garden, which was huge, but couldn't find her. Maybe she'd gone inside. I decided to check. I started back to the house, and tripped on something.
“What the-” I started, glancing back. I stopped and blinked. Once. Twice. “R-Ruddiger?” I said.
The raccoon walked around me and sat in front of my face. He dropped something on the ground, then climbed onto my head. “Ruddiger, what are you doing here?”
Ruddiger didn't say anything, because he was a raccoon and raccoons can't talk. I stood up and grabbed the thing Ruddiger had dropped. It was a piece of paper, rolled up into a tight scroll, and tied with a small piece of twine.
“Varian, what are you doing?” Thea demanded, walking towards me. I shoved the scroll in my pocket and turned around.
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Just... got lost...”
“Got lost?” Thea repeated, raising an eyebrow. “What's with the raccoon hat?”
“The racc- Oh, right!” I pulled Ruddiger off my head. “This is Ruddiger. He's my... friend...”
“You're friends with a raccoon?” Thea asked.
“Long story,” I told her.
“Seems like it always is with you.”
I laughed. “Yeah, that's kinda true. Mind if he stays?”
She blinked. “I'm sorry?”
“Would that be a problem?” I asked, holding the raccoon in my arms.
“No, I guess not,” Thea sighed. “Just make sure he doesn't get into anything.”
“He won't,” I promised, grinning.
Thea rolled her eyes, but she was suppressing a grin. “Weird that he got in,” she stated. “I have raccoon traps set up.”
I felt myself pale slightly and hugged Ruddiger closer to me. “They wouldn't have hurt him, right?” I asked.
Thea took one look at me and started laughing. “Honestly, Varian, I'm not a monster. It's just a chemical compound that keeps them away from my plants.”
“Chemical compound?” I repeated, eyes widening, excitement rushing through me. “No way! What chemicals did you use?”
Thea grinned and named off a few of the chemicals she'd used. My grin widened. “I used a lot of those too!” I grinned, bouncing on the balls of my feet. “Are you an alchemist?”
“Sorta,” Thea shrugged. “Mostly I'm a medicine maker, but alchemy comes in handy sometimes. I take it you're an alchemist?”
“Indeed I am,” I said. “And, not to brag or anything, but I had the princess of Corona come to me for some alchemy stuff,” I decided to forget recent events for the moment and just revel in the bragging rights that the fact granted me.
“Impressive,” Thea noted. “Anyways, I still need your help. Come on, and try not to get lost this time,” she added with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes, still grinning. I'd investigate the note later. Right now, my mind was buzzing with the fact that I might just have made a friend.