Redemption Citadel

Time to Heal Part 1

"Some call ships, infantry or horsemen

The greatest beauty earth can offer;

I say it is whatever a person

Most lusts after."

Varian opened his eyes, the room in front of him swam for a moment, but then became clear. He was in one of the houses in town, he knew because they all had the same layout and timberwork. He groaned slightly as his body woke up enough to feel the pain, concentrating in his arm. He could remember most of the day before clearly, the fire, making his way through the lava tunnels and then things started to get confusing, because he had seen his mother, and Ruddiger, and Cassie.

Cassie... it was Cassie's voice speaking to him. He looked around and found her face, she was sat in front of a window, the warm orange glow of the setting sun behind her made her look like she was surrounded by a halo. She jumped up when she saw him awake, she dropped the book she was holding and rushed over. Her soft hand on his cheek as she looked down at him made him remember a half-awake moment on the gondola, when she had touched him like this, and bent over him, and told him that she loved him.

"If you do anything that stupid again I will kill you myself."

"You love me." He muttered. He had heard those words, hadn't he? It hadn't been a dream. He couldn't be sure, not when he knew his mind had started to play tricks on him.

Her cheeks reddened, and she glanced away.

"I... on the gondola..." He stuttered. "I heard you, no take backs."

"Yes. I love you."

He smiled, and then, the reality of the previous day crashed down upon him like a bucket of ice water. He sat up trying to get out of bed but finding his arm in a sling.

"Hey, hey calm down." Cassandra said trying to push him back down into the pillows.

"Who was hurt? Rapunzel, the babies, are they okay?"

"Shush, they're alright. Everybody is alright. You're the only one who was hurt."

"Everybody is alright?" He asked to make sure, a wave of relief rushing over him.

"Barely any injuries."

He sunk into the pillows listening to the heavy thud of his heart.

"It was my fault." He whispered.

"Vare?"

"All of it, all of it was my fault. If anybody had died I..." He gulped. "I couldn't have forgiven myself."

"What do you mean?"

"I left dangerous chemical out on the side; I think... I don't know how, but I know that I started the fire." He closed his eyes a wave of nausea over the thought of what could have happened spreading through him.

Her hands carded through his hair, as she gently shushed him again, trying to calm him down.

"It was an accident. Nobody is going to care about whose fault it was, everybody is just so relieved you're alive. Everybody thought you were dead Varian." There was a little hitch in her voice as she spoke, Varian opened his eyes to see tears running down her face.

"Hey." He said reaching up with his good arm to wipe the tears away. "Hey, I'm sorry."

The breath was knocked out of him as Cassandra flung herself at him. She buried her head into his stomach, her arms wrapped around him. As he took a deep breath, feeling the ache in his lungs. He burrowed his face in her hair, feeling the thick silken curls against his skin, it smelled of smoke, but he didn't care. He kissed the top of her head. He forgot his hand was bandaged and tried to reach for her, his breath catching at the sudden pain. She looked up at him, and his heart ached with just a single look at her. He kissed her closed eyes, tasting the salty tears, her warm cheeks, her soft lips. She was alive, his biggest fear when he had been pulling himself through the smoke-filled castle grounds had been that it would all be for nothing. That she hadn't made it out, that he would have to live a life never seeing her face again.