"Artemis, please...you have to eat something." She hadn't come out of their now shared room in almost a week, he'd been trying non-stop to get her to come out, but the damage the rocks had done to her were far worse than what he was dealing with, his father was likely still alive inside the amber, her mother though...she wasn't coming back, not from this.
"Can I at least come in?" he'd been giving her space but sleeping on the seats in the living room was starting to get to him, he didn't get a reply and opened the door, a plate of food still in hand.
"Come on, Artemis. You'll get sick if you don't at least try." He set the sandwich down on the table next to the bed, "Please?" tugging the blankets back he sighed, she was still asleep, but she had paled considerably, and the worry was really setting in.
"Artemis." He kept his voice soft as he shook her awake, her slightly sunken face and darkened eyes broke his heart. He wondered if his Artemis was truly gone.
"Varian...?"
"Hey. I brought some food." The blonde looked at the sandwich, he could see the desperation and hunger, clear in her eyes. "No cheese?" he gave her a half-hearted smile, "No cheese." She took the plate and picked up half of the sandwich. He sighed in relief when she finally bit into it. At least something had been a success today.
"I'll be back"
--
She stared blankly at the wall, pushing the discarded sandwich over to the edge of the bedside table, he was trying to make this easier for her, and she knew that, but the pain was too much, she felt weak and to him, she probably looked it.
When the door opened again, she heard a defeated sigh, "Artemis."
"Just leave it alone, Varian. I'm not hungry." He narrowed his eyes, "No!" she jumped at the sudden rise in his voice.
"I won't 'leave it alone', I've lost my dad, I won't lose you too!" she was caught off guard as he continued to yell. Seeing the fear evident in her eyes he lowered his tone, "Right now, you're all I have." Blue and gold eyes glanced down at the heavy blanket.
"I know...I just..." she could feel the tears again, "There's still hope for your dad, he has you." Varian made it a point to place the plate of food back on her lap.
"You'll get him back, but as far as anyone in this village is concerned now, I'm just another begging child to deal with." His expression softened, "Hey, That's not true. And if my dad were here now, I know he'd have extended the offer to take you in." she smiled hesitantly, in turn getting the brainy teen to smile as well.
"There she is."
"Eat, then get dressed, I think it's time we go back to Corona." He left her alone again, and as she eyed the sandwich, she choked down half of it before getting dressed, leaving the other half on the plate.
--
He had told her to stay put behind the other set of crates at the docks while he ambushed Rapunzel, and sure, she had questioned his sanity at first but shrugged it off eventually.
"Rudiger, where did you come from?" that was Varian's signal to move, he hopped into the canoe, swiftly placing a hand over Rapunzel's mouth, effectively getting the young woman to turn around.
"Shh."
"Oh, Varian! Where have you been? I-I've been so worried about... Wait...where's Artemis?" both teens were surprised by how long it took to notice the absence of the familiar mop of blonde hair so she stepped out of hiding, plastering an attempt at a smile onto her face, but she just looked sick and exhausted.
YOU ARE READING
Sunlit Moon (Varian x OC. Complete! [sequel cancelled for now.])
FanfictionWhen a girl with strange, mis-matched eyes moves into Old Corona she becomes fast friends with a curious, yet incredibly brilliant boy named Varian. follow their adventures as a certain meddling princess tries to get the two to fall in love, despite...