Varian's Tale: A Tangled Fan Fiction

Chapter 7

I hadn't been expecting that answer. I really hadn't. I'd been expecting either a “Yep,” or a “No, but you need to leave.” Never in a million years would I have expected her to offer to help me. I wondered why she had.
“Where are you from?” I asked, realizing I knew almost nothing about this girl.
“I... I've lived there for as long as I can remember,” Thea said.
“What about your parents?” I inquired.
“I don't know,” she said quietly. “Never knew them.”
I frowned. As hard as my dad was on me, I couldn't imagine not known him. “Sorry,” I said.
Thea shook her head. “I was found by the former owner of that house when I was about two. Alone in the woods. I figure my parents couldn't have been that great if they left me alone out here,” she explained.
I nodded, still frowning. “What happened to the person who found you?”
“She died when I was ten,” Thea shrugged. “Mauled by a bear.”
“Oh,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said. “We're here by the way.”
“Great,” I said, looking around. We were in a clearing. Trees towered above us like towers from a castle. Thea walked over to a big thick tree. One that seemed a bit taller and wider than the others. She beckoned me over.
I walked over to her. “Jar?” she said. I held it out. Thea nodded and stabbed the tree. She waited for a moment, then put the jar under where she had stabbed and waited got some until some sort of sap started dripping in. “This'll take a while,” she said. “So we have time for a field trip.”
“A field trip?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
“Yep,” she said, a massive grin of excitement plaster onto her face. “Come on!” She started into the woods again without waiting for me.
“Wait!” I started running after her. “Where are we going?”
“You'll see,” Thea smirked.
I frowned. “Where?” I asked.
“Just follow me,” Thea said.
The frown didn't leave my face, but I didn't argue. We left the woods and came across a patch of farm land. I froze. This place seemed familiar. Too familiar.
“Thea...” I said.  “Where are we?” I needed confirmation. This couldn't be the place I thought it was.
“Old Corona,” Thea confirmed.
“No!” I snapped. “No! We shouldn't be here! This is a bad idea!”
“Why?” Thea asked, the look of pride and excitement falling from her face. “What's wrong?”
“I... I shouldn't be here,” I said, lowering my voice. “It's a bad idea.”
“Why?” Thea asked again.
“Because this is the place they'll think of checking,” I said. “It's my home.”
Thea took a deep breath. “Look, Varian, it's been a few days since I found you. I bet they've already looked here.”
I shook my head. I didn't want to be here. The rocks were everywhere, like dark unbreakable icicles sprouting from the ground. The bodies of discarded automatons were still littered around the paths. Most of the buildings were destroyed. My house stood ominously in the distance, the rocks stabbing through the roof like a crown. I swallowed. “Thea this is a bad idea,” I repeated. “A very bad, terrible, stupid idea.”
I saw a look of hurt flash across her face. “I'm sor-” I started.
“No, Varian, listen,” she said, cutting me off. “You said you did all this,” she gestured around, “because of a broken promise. Well I promise that I'm going to help you save your dad, and I will. I'm trying to help you you just need you to trust me.”
“Thea,” I said. “I do trust you, a lot more than I should, but I don't want you to get dragged into this.  Being a criminal isn't fun.”
Thea rolled her eyes and started through the maze of rocks and automaton parts, towards my house. “You're going the wrong way,” I tried, following her.
“No I'm not, you're lying,” Thea told me, plowing on.
I sighed. She was stubborn. Very stubborn. Too stubborn. This was a bad idea. It was stupid. Very very stupid. I followed after Thea, calling after her to stop and come back. She ignored me. She stopped at the door to my house.
“After you see him, can we leave?” I asked when I caught up to her.
Thea looked me in the eyes, frowning. “Fine,” she said. “Lead the way.”
I took a deep breath and said, “Follow me,” then opened the door and walked into my house.
My house was a mess. I walked fast, not wanting to see it. I went to my lab and held the door for Thea. I couldn't avoid seeing my dad, but I could delay it. Thea walked past me and gasped.
I took a deep breath, preparing myself. I turned and looked. It seemed worse than I had remembered. The amber that encased my father took up the center of the room. His arm stretched towards the ceiling. I blinked a few times before looking towards my work table. A smirked played at my lips. The table was still full of chemicals and potions.
Thea was frozen in place, staring at the amber, wide eyed, mouth open. I went to my table and looked through the vials. I found a vial of a slushy red potion that I was pretty sure would melt through my shackles. I still wanted to get those off. I let a few drops fall onto the shackles and smirked at the sizzling sound and the thunk when it fell off my wrist. I dropped a few drops into the other shackle and waited for it to fall off too.
Clang! I spun around. Thea was standing next to the amber, a shattered sword on the ground next to her. I was pretty sure the sword was from the the night of the battle. “That won't work,” I told her, dropping a few of my vials in my pockets. “And we should go.”
“Already?” Thea asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Like I said, this was a bad idea.”
She frowned at me then looked back at the amber. “Why won't it break?”
“It's like the rocks,” I explained. “Anyways, we should go. I'll explain more when we get back to your place.”
“Why are you so scared?” she asked. “No one's here.”
“Well maybe we're here the five minute no one is, we need to go. Now.”
Thea glanced at the amber again. “Okay, fine.”
“Good,” I said, walking to the door. Thea followed me, somewhat reluctant it seemed.
“I'm still going to get you out, Dad,” I promised before leaving.
“So will I,” I heard Thea whisper.
I walked out of my lab and froze. I heard noises. Voices, footsteps, horses. “Don't move,” I whispered.
Thea froze behind me and opened her mouth to say something, but I shushed her.
“The door’s open,” a voice said. “It's not supposed to be.”
“It's probably just an animal,” a second voice reasoned.
“We should still check,” the other voice said.
“Fine,” said the second.
Two sets of footsteps came towards the door. I grabbed Thea’s hand and pulled her into a closet. I held a finger to my lips, warning her to stay quiet. She nodded at me, silent. The door wasn't quite able to close completely. All they had to do was look our way and we'd be caught.
Two royal guards walked into sight. The golden sun crest of Corona glinting on their chests. They didn't look at the closet. They walked right past it.
When they left the room, I dragged Thea out the door, outside. “See?” I said. “We need to-”
“Run!” Thea shouted, taking off.
“Don't move!” came the shouts of guards behind me.
“Shoot!” I cursed, taking off after Thea.
Footsteps pounded after us, followed by orders to stop. Ha, yeah right! That wasn't going to happen. I passed Thea when we made it into the woods, and ran. I couldn't get caught.
I heard a yell and glanced over my shoulder. The guards were gaining, and Thea had tripped. I slowed, planning to go back. But the guards caught up to her. One bent down and grabbed her, the other kept running after me. I didn't have a choice. I ran.
“Varian!” Thea cried.
I kept running. I didn't look back.
“VARIAN!!!” she cried again.
As I ran, I knew that her voice would haunt me later. Desperate, fearful. I wasn't going to sleep well again. I pulled two vials out of my pocket, when mixed together they were explosive. I tossed them over my shoulder. An explosion, and I ran further, faster, losing the guards, and my friend behind me.