•Once A Handmaiden spoilers ahead!!
•Not my prompt; permission was given to use
~~~~~
•The end of the episode, looking out on a felled Corona
•Night falls
Varian watches out toward a felled Corona. He hated how the moonlight reflected off of those rocks. He hated that there could be beauty in destruction. That Cass could do this without hesitation, that even after everything they'd been through, nothing had been enough to change her mind.
A hand on the boys shoulder causes him to look up, seeing his father sitting beside him. "They look peaceful now, don't they?" Quirin asks. He sounded too calm about it all, Varian thought. As if he was used to this. His nose scrunches up.
"Nothing peaceful about a destroyed kingdom. Even if she comes back, nobody will forgive her for this."
Quirin looks down at him knowingly. He'd heard of what his son had done. He wasn't angry, rather, he wanted to show him that there would still be love waiting when anyone chose to accept it. "I would forgive her. Wouldn't you?"
"Well," he pauses, looking out again at the moonlight. He wished he could see Old Corona. He needed to know if it was safe. "...I guess it depends on if she made up for it."
"I bet she would if we gave her that chance," he pats his sons back and stands.
He hesitates, then looks up at his fathers outstretched hand. He takes it with a smile and rises to his feet. "You're right, I know you're right," he sighs and pulls at his sleeves. "I just..."
"She needs that chance, Varian," he insists. Varian felt the persistence was a little off. After considering the amber had altered his mind, he didn't want to think about it anymore.
"Then we should give it to her," he smiles, readily agreeing in an attempt to quiet his mind. "We should bring Eugene and Rapunzel, just in case. I'll get them."
Quirin watches as his son goes off to find them.
~Later, approaching the castle~
"She'll listen, Blondie, and if she doesn't then we'll just keep trying," Eugene says softly in an attempt to calm the princess. It worked, partially. She turns to face Quirin.
"Thank you for coming with us," she smiles. Though she trusted her boys, it was nice to have someone like Quirin around, and it also meant Varian would be a little less chaotic. She hoped.
He just waves her off. "I'm happy to help. I know she means a lot to you kids."
Eugene opens the castle doors as they reach them. "She must be in the throne room. Cassandra would only go there if given the chance." And miraculously, he was right. They heard her speaking as they approached. As if someone else were in there...
Quirin puts a hand on his sons shoulder, bringing him behind the taller man. He wouldn't let him get hurt. Varian takes out a few compounds for safety's sake. He didn't have many, but he'd was prepared to use them all. Eugene brought his hand to his waist where he had a dagger to protect himself. And, of course, Rapunzel had her hands on a trusty frying pan, the Sundrop painted elegantly in the center.
They bust the door open to reveal Cass lounging back on her throne. "Well, you finally showed up," she grins, her eyes unsettlingly calm.
"Cass," Rapunzel steps forward. "We have to talk- I know this isn't you. You know this isn't right. We can fix this, toy just have to come b-"
"Never!" She stands, bringing up a black rock between them. Just enough to threaten the group. "Not after what you did. You were going to trap me in that amber," she glares at both Varian and Rapunzel. "Unlucky for you, I can break through it."
"I didn't want to hurt you! We had to protect Corona, please just listen to me," she pleads. Eugene recognized that as a wrong move.
"Rapunzel!" He shouts, pulling her back just as a black rock rises where she had been a second before.
"I'm done listening. Corona is dead."
Cass brings up more rocks, prompting the team to charge. They knew she wouldn't let them leave peacefully. If either Raps could calm her or Varian could find a way to keep her down, they had another chance to talk it out. As it happens, Quirin is the first to reach her. He reaches out to grab her arm.
In an instant, the rocks stop coming. The three others stand nearly at the throne, while Quirin is frozen, inches from her armor.
"Ah ah ah," she speaks, voice ringing out against the acoustics of the room. "You don't want to do that, do you?"
Varian watches as his father brings his arm back to his side. "Dad, what are you doing? She's right there!" He shouts. His dad acts as if he hadn't heard. A cruel grin spreads on Cassandra's lips. She had orders from Zhan Tiri and she intended to follow through.
"Bring Demanitus to Zhan Tiri. She has some unfinished business with him."
The words pierce his ears. Demanitus?! No, no. Varian knew that he was smart, but this was crazy. Zhan Tiri?! Was that who had-
"Varian!"
He's snapped out of his daydream as golden hair wraps around his waist, pulling him away from where his father had tried to grasp him. Except, that wasn't his father. Quirin didn't have blue glowing eyes. "Dad, stop it!" He cries out.
Eugene understands quickly that the kid wouldn't fight his own blood. He rushes forward, ready to take him on, but is easily defeated and falls aside to the ground, struggling for consciousness.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel shouts before turning her attention to the man before her. Her gaze turns dark. "Varian, run."
"I don't think so, Rapunzel," Cass sends a blunt rock at her, sending the princess beside her lover, and leaving the young alchemist alone, his father towering over him.
"Dad, please! You have to snap out of it!" He backs up and shakily holds some compounds in his hand. Though they were harmless, he was terrified to use them. He was too afraid of hurting him again.
Quirin approaches. His body language seemed too perfect to be real, but the boy noticed small twitches. It was as if he were fighting back. "Varian," Quirin barely whispers. His voice was strained. He couldn't fight it for long. "You have to..." his eyes flicker back to their normal dark color for a split second. "Run!"
But how could Varian run from the two people who he loved the most?
