Varian's Tale: A Tangled Fan Fiction

Chapter 6

Chapter 6
The next day I woke up from a dream about Cassandra braiding my hair, very confused. Why had she been braiding my hair? Actually, better question, did I even have enough hair to braid? I rubbed my eyes and sat up, a weight fell off my chest. “Morning, Ruddiger,” I muttered.
“What? No good morning for me?” Thea’s voice came from by the door.
I rolled my eyes, a grin on my face. “Morning Thea,” I said.
“Morning, sleepy head,” Thea responded. I was just coming to wake you up.”
“Mhm,” I said, putting Ruddiger on my shoulder.
“Come on,” Thea said. “I have lunch ready.”
“Lunch?”
“Yeah, you've been asleep for a while. I didn't wake you cause you still need sleep.”
“So you let me sleep until lunch time?” I asked for clarification.
Thea nodded. “I made sandwiches,” she added.
“Are they ham sandwiches by any chance?” I asked. I hadn't had ham sandwiches for a while.
“Maybe.” A smirk played on her lips.
“I like ham sandwiches,” I said, stepping out of the room.
“Really?” Thea questioned, putting a sandwich in my hands and a few pieces of bread on the ground for Ruddiger. He climbed off my shoulder to inspect the bread.
I nodded in response to Thea’s question because I'd already taken a bit of the sandwich. It was ham!
“Well lucky you,” Thea said. “We're going out after lunch.”
I swallowed. “Where?” I asked hesitantly. Villages, towns, they were out of the question. I couldn't be seen.
“Getting sap from a tree,” Thea said. “It makes for a good adhesive.”
“Oh,” I nodded. “Okay.”
“Why?” she asked. “Somewhere you were hoping to go?”
“No,” I answered. “More like somewhere I don't want to go.”
“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow. I took another bite of my sandwich to keep from having to explain myself.
Thea rolled her eyes, and we finished our sandwiches in silence. I just then realized I hadn't read the note yet. I didn't want Thea to see it, so I had to wait. I should have read it last night!
“Ready?” Thea asked when I finished my sandwich.
“Yeah,” I told her. “Ready as I'll ever be.”
“Great. Grab that jar and let's go,” Thea grinned.
I grabbed the jar, told Ruddiger to be good, and followed Thea out the door. She had a small knife on her belt. “Lead the way, “ I told her.
She did just that. We started off into the woods. “So,” Thea said. “Varian, where are you from?”
“Old Corona,” I answered not really thinking about it.
“The village that one kid like, completely destroyed?” she asked.
“Um...” I started. That had been me who'd almost completely destroyed the village.
Thea looked over me. “It was you who did that, wasn't it?” she asked.
“I... uh... I had my reasons,” I started.
“So it was?” Thea asked, looking me in the eyes.
“I... I didn't have a choice!” I snapped.
Thea rolled her eyes. “Well, it explains the chains at least,” she sighed. “Come on. You can explain on the way.”
“You're not turning me in?” I asked, shocked.
“Not until I hear an explanation,” Thea said.
I let out a breath. “Thanks,” I said. “Thanks, Thea.”
“Don't thank me yet,” Thea replied. “Start explaining.”
I took a deep breath. “So,” I started, trying to figure out where to begin.
“Um... you know those black rocks? The ones that won't break?”
“Of course,” Thea said.
“Well, uh... basically, Rapunzel, the princess, she asked me to help her figure out her hair, like what it was made of and stuff. Then we came across the rocks, and she made me promise not to tell anyone about them, and she promised that we'd figure them out.
“Then the rocks started destroying my village. My dad told me to leave then alone, but I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Not when my home was being destroyed.
“So I experimented on them, secretly, and then my dad found out.” I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
“Sit,” Thea ordered. I sunk down on a log, trying to stay calm. “Keep going,” she prompted.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “I... I spilled something on the rocks,” I said slowly. “And we had an argument, my dad and me. And...” I was blinking back tears. “And he pushed me out if the way. He... he saved me. The thing I'd dropped on the rocks started growing an unbreakable amber, and my dad got stuck in it.
“I went to Rapunzel for help, “ I continued, wiping my eyes. “I didn't know where else to go. It was the day of that massive storm, and I came right in the middle of it. I went for help. I begged for help, but she turned me away. I was dragged away from the princess. Thrown out of the castle.” I swallowed. “She broke her promise. I just want to save my dad, but she refused to help. I did what I had to.”
I'd been talking to the ground this whole time. I glanced up at Thea. She had silent tears streaming down her face. She looked like she wanted to comfort me somehow, but was hesitant.
“So, yeah, I might have been a little extreme, but I did what I had to do,” I finished.
Thea pulled me into a hug. “I'm so sorry, Varian,” she whispered. “I'm so so sorry.”
I let her hug me for a moment, then pushed her off. “Aren't we supposed to be getting sap?” I said.
“R-right,” Thea said, standing up and wiping her eyes. “Let's go.”
I stood and followed her. We walked in silence for a few moments. “Are you going to turn me in?” I asked finally.
Thea stopped and turned to me. “No,” she said, staring straight into my eyes. “I'm going to help you.”