A Series of Traumatic Events

Chapter Nine

After Quirin had treated Varians injuries, he instructed him to rest in bed. He had gotten a concussion, like Varian had suspected, and the only treatment for that was rest.

Quirin still didn't know the whole story behind why Varian left; if it was the bandits who took him, or if he simply ran away.

Though he didn't understand why he would run away. They had made such good progress the night before, it was a nice moment. It just didn't make sense that he would leave so suddenly. So, he decided to ask him.

Quirin had made Varian soup, figuring some comfort food would make him feel a little better. Quirin had used his wife's recipe, the same one she always used when the toddler got sick. She had a knack for cooking, soups being one of her specialties.

Quirin softly knocked on Varian's door before letting himself in. Varian looked startled to see his dad, and he figured he must've woken him up.

"Hey, son. I uh, made you some lunch, if you're interested." He said as he set the bowl down on the small nightstand beside him.

"Oh, thanks Dad. Is it...?" He trailed off.

"One of mom's, yes. Chicken noodle, one of your old favorites." Quirin responded to the unasked question.

"Mm. Yeah, I think I remember that." Varian smiled, looking down at Ruddiger, who was still asleep at his feet.

Quirin sighed and asked his question. "Varian, last night..what caused you to leave? Did the bandits break in and take you, or...did you leave on your own?" The question was hard to ask, and no doubt hard to recieve.

Varian stiffened as the words left his dad's mouth. He knew he'd ask him at some point, but he hadn't necessarily expected it to be so soon. And he didn't really have an answer right now.

"Well, if I'm honest, I don't really know. I...had this dream last night. It wasn't like my last nightmare, where real events just sort of replayed in my head. You were there...and you were angry at me for something. You...you told me that..." Varian didn't think it'd be this hard to tell his dad what happened. He felt the all-to-familiar feeling of tears forming in his eyes. He continued.

"You told me that you could never be proud of a screw-up like me, and that this whole Demanitus Chamber explosion mess is my fault. That...that it wasn't surprising that someone had tried to kill me... and that it was only a m-matter of time before someone had enough of me. You asked me to leave. And that you never wanted to s-see me again. And when I woke up, I packed my things and left. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. It was like my mind was blank and my body was moving on it's own." Varian looked up at his dad and continued, "I'm really sorry, Dad. I messed up, big time, and you had to come and save me. Again. I'm a pathetic excuse for a son."

By the time he had finished, Varian had tears streaming down his face, and he was curled up, knees to his chest as his arms wrapped around his legs.

The longer Varian spoke, the more Quirins heart sank.
It was becoming clear how Varian viewed himself, and even more clear that it was self-destructive. He walked over and sat on the end of the bed.

"Varian, I'm so sorry. That dream sounds horrible. But you know I would never, ever say those things to you, right? You are my son, and you are not pathetic. I told you last night and I'll tell you again. I'm proud of you, Varian. You are compassionate, and smart beyond your years. How could I not be proud to have a son like you?"

Varian looked up at his dad and sniffled. "B-but I always mess things up. I-I've ruined our family name, everyone in the village thinks of me as a-an irritating ex-convict. I don't know if anyone can ever really forgive me for what I d-did. That's the one thing I kept thinking when I...when I left. I th-thought I'd just go to the next town and start o-over." He finished, and wiped his face with his sleeve.

Quirin was quiet for a moment. He knew his son had beaten himself up for his mistakes, but never like this. Varian had been ridiculed for years by the people in the village, and Quirin tried to shield his son from the worst of it.  But it was impossible to keep all of it from getting to Varian. And it had to have been damaging.

Quirin took Varian in his arms and held him. "Varian, everyone makes mistakes in life. Sure, yours may have been...a little extreme. But no one goes their whole life without any regrets. And yes, maybe there will be people who don't forgive you. But that doesn't mean that everyone hates you. You've got Rapunzel, and Eugene, Lance, Ruddiger...and me. You've got people who love you, Varian. Don't ever forget that."

Varian looked his dad in the eyes, red and puffy from crying. "I love you too, Dad. Thank you. For everything."

Quirin smiled down at his son. "Okay," he said after a minute, "now that we can cross 'fight off evil bandits' off our bucket list, let's find out who switched your chemicals, huh?"

Varian smiled his quirky buck-tooth grin, and Quirin knew he had his boy back.