Varian's Tale: A Tangled Fan Fiction

Chapter 10

Footsteps. There were always footsteps. Guards patrolling the dungeon in a routine. Thea heard footsteps, but there weren't any guards do for at least another ten minutes. Thea was still on the bed, where she'd been all night. The guards had brought her food, but she hadn't touched it. She hadn't been able to get to it, so a slice of bread, and a cup of water sat on the floor near the door.
The footsteps came closer and a faint glimmer of hope coursed through Thea's veins. Maybe Rapunzel had brought the medicine! The footsteps came closer, and that spark of hope faded. The princess hadn't been wearing shoes, and whoever this was, most certainly had boots on their feet. She sighed and closed her eyes again. This was hopeless. Hopeless! There was a jingle of keys outside her cell.
“Hey kid, mind if I come in?” a man asked.
Thea opened her eyes and glanced at her visitor. He was a man in, she guessed, about his mid twenties. He had brown eyes, brown hair, and a goatee. “Do I really have a choice?” she asked quietly.
“Well, you can always scream at me to go away,” he shrugged. “But if you want me to leave, I will.”
Thea bit her lip. She didn't know who this man was, or what he wanted, but she wouldn't make it stuck down here, alone in her panicking mind. “I... I'm not going to tell you anything about where Varian is,” she decided.
“Alright great,” he said. “That's not why I'm here. I just want to talk.”
Thea rolled her eyes and sighed. That's what Rapunzel and Cass had said too. “Yeah, sure, whatever,” she muttered.
“Great,” he said, unlocking the door and walking in. He glanced at the food on the floor as he sat down next to her. “Not hungry?” he asked.
“No, not really,” Thea shrugged. “And even if I was, it's not like I could get to the food anyways.”
“Why not?” the man asked, frowning.
“Because when I move around in here, I get dizzy, and feel like throwing up and passing out,” Thea said. “It's too small...” she added quietly.
“Oh,” he said. “Sorry about that. Hey, you know what?”
“What?” she asked.
“I never introduced myself,” the man said. “The name's Eugene Fitzherbert. You?”
“Thea,” she muttered.
“Well, Thea, it's nice to meet you,” Eugene said.
She shrugged. Nothing seemed particularly nice lately.
“Quick question. Do you think a bigger cell would help with the dizzy thing?” Eugene asked.
Thea shrugged again. “I dunno,” she said. “Maybe, maybe not. Why?”
“‍‍I could see if I can get you into a bigger cell,” he said. “That sound okay?”
Thea shrugged once more. “I don’t care,” she answered. “Odds are it won’t happen anyway.”
“Oh, come on kid,” Eugene said. “I know people.”
“Mhm?” she said, not particularly caring.
He sighed. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I'm fine,” Thea muttered.
“If you say so,” Eugene shrugged, frowning. “So how are you liking prison life so far?”
“I'm not,” Thea answered dryly.
“Yeah, I guess that's pretty normal,” he nodded.
“How would you know?” she snapped, looking him over.
“I've spent some time in prison myself, believe it or not,” he smirked.
“Oh,” she said, quietly. “Why are you down here?” she asked. “Are you being paid or something?”
“What? No,” he said quickly. “Of course not.”
Thea watched him for a moment. He'd shifted his sitting position, and was looking at the ceiling. “You're lying,” she muttered.
“I'm not,” Eugene said. “Well, not exactly. I was asked to come talk to you, but I'm not being paid, I swear.”
“Who asked you to talk to me?” Thea asked.
“Does it really matter?” he countered.
“If it didn't, do you think I'd be asking?” she shot back.
“Okay, good point,” Eugene nodded. “Fine. It was the princess.”
Thea frowned. Why hadn't the princess just come down to talk to Thea herself? It made no sense. It seemed counterproductive. “I'm not going to betray Varian,” she said. “I won't and you can't make me.”
Eugene sighed. “Look, kid,” he said. “I get it. You don't want to hurt your friend, I get it. In fact, I think it's pretty admirable, but we need to find him, okay? He's dangerous.”
“He's not!” Thea snapped. “He's not dangerous.”
“Look, kid, he is,” Eugene said. “You weren't there, but he kidnapped the queen, attacked the castle, using his closest friend to do it. He had an army of giant murderous automatons that he attacked us with, and he nearly killed the queen and the princess. If that's not dangerous, then I don't know what is.”
“But think about it from his point of view,” Thea argued. “He couldn't see another way. He didn't have a choice.”
“He could have asked for help,” Eugene said.
“He did,” Thea countered. “Look, I'm not going to tell you anything about Varian, so if that's why you're here, you can go.”
Eugene sighed. “You don't like hurting your friends, I get it, neither do I.” He got up. “I was supposed to ask about your parents,” he said. “So we can let them know where you are.”
“Don't bother,” Thea muttered, twirling one of her braids around her finger. “I don't remember my parents.”
“Heh, neither do I,” he said. “Looks like we have a few things in common.”
“I guess so,” Thea said quietly. The plate and water from last night clattered as it was sat on the bed.”
“Eat up, kid,” Eugene suggested. “I'll see you later.”