Sight (Varian X OC)

The Alchemist Returns

Rose snuck after Varian as he headed for the Corona docks. Rapunzel was sitting in a boat by herself, talking to Pascal. Varian jumped in next to her, covering her mouth so that she wouldn't scream.

"Shh," Varian told her. Rose jumped in next to him.

"Oh, Varian! Rose! Where have you been? I-I-I've been so worried about you," Rapunzel said.

"Yeah, uh, I've had to lie low. A funny thing, the people of Corona aren't too keen on guys who attack their princess." Varian said. Rose raised an eyebrow in confusion. Attack? Varian never said anything about attacking Rapunzel when he had gone for help.

"Attack me?" Rapunzel seemed just as puzzled. "You mean during the storm? You came for help."

Varian looked down. "And you got to see why I needed your help." Rose was painfully reminded of Quirin stuck in the amber, completely helpless of getting out.

Rapunzel gasped. "Varian... I am so sorry! I had no id-"

"You had to save the kingdom, you did what you had to do, but you can help me now, Rapunzel." He looked hopefully at her. "Do you have the scroll?"

"The scroll!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "I-I-I got it, like you asked." She took it out, handing it to Varian. "I have no idea what it is, but my dad was desperate to keep it from me."

Varian sighed. "Now, it took me a while to translate this old language, but from what I can tell, those black rocks are actually some kind of-of ancient darkness," Varian explained while studying the scroll. Rose leaned over his shoulder to get a glimpse at it. She'd never seen it before. "Its destructive power can only be stopped by its counterpart, the sun-drop. Rapunzel! The-the flower!"

"You mean the flower? The one that healed my mom and gave me my hair?" Rapunzel asked. "But... my dad said it was long gone."

"Hmm. Would you say your dad has been really a reliable source of information?" Varian asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, um..."

"No, Rapunzel! No, it's still here. I'm sure of it. Your dad wouldn't just throw away something that could wield that kind of power. A single petal from that flower would solve all of our problems. That's all we need!"

"Yeah, but even if the flower is here, I don't think we can just ask my dad to hand it over," Rapunzel told him.

This time, it was Rose's turn to speak. "Oh, we know. Which is why we have to steal it."

Varian, Rose, and Rapunzel pushed their backs against a castle door, trying to avoid being seen by the castle guards.

"Ah! Princess, what are we doing here? The flower would most likely be in the royal vault, and that is on the other-"

"Other side of the castle, I know," Rapunzel finished for him. "But if we want to get past the vault security, our best bet is to use the underground tunnels, and Herz Der Sonne's journal has a complete map of them."

She looked around the corner, then motioned for them to follow her. They walked into a room, where a single book stood on a podium. Rapunzel reached forward and grabbed it. Then she sighed.

"What am I doing?"

"Rapunzel, you got what we came for. Come on, let's go!" Varian yelled in a whisper.

"Taking the journal, stealing the flower, Varian, these are all acts of treason."

Rose thought about it. "Varian, she's right..."

"This may be my dad's only hope." Helplessness was in his voice. "This... may be Corona's only hope. Rapunzel, Corona needs our help."

Rapunzel took a deep breath. "For Corona. Come on."