Siblings of Corona B1:Life In the Tower

Chapter 14

Varian held his hands out to the fire.  Eugen and Lance were off gathering more wood.  It was getting extremely dark, but Varian felt safe.  Cassandra sat there looking at her scabbard, ready to protect her siblings from any unknown dangers that could be lurking about.

"Well, I thought they'd never leave."

Their hearts stopped.  "Mother?!"  they turned around in their seats to see Gothal standing there.

"Hello, dears."  She took the hood off her head, her hair was more gray than usual.

"How did you know?"  Rapunzel whispered.

"Oh, I just followed the sounds of complete and utter betrayal and followed that.  Come on, we're going home."

"Mother, wait,"  Varian pleaded.  "We've been on this incredible journey and I've seen and learned so much.  We even made friends with-"

"The wanted thieves.  I'm so proud."  She said sarcastically.

"I don't think it's like that…"  Varian argued weakly.  "They're not like what you said…"

"Oh, come on, Varian.  You don't really think I would lie to you?  They aren't what they seem!"  Gothal's face was right up to his.  He looked down.  He guessed he was touching the line between being in huge trouble to huge, huge trouble.  Since when did he argue with his mother's judgment, anyways?

"Mother, I think… I think one of them likes me…"  Rapunzel bit her lower lip with hope.

Gothal turned to her daughter.  "Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that's demented.  This is why you never should have left!  Dear, this whole romance that you've invented just proves you're too naive to be here.  Why would he like you? Come on now, really!  Look at you, you think that he's impressed?  Don't be a dummy, come with mummy.  Mother-"

"No!"  Cassandra stated firmly.

Varian winced at Cassandra's outburst.  The look on their mother's face told him they were in for it.  They had crossed the line.

G:No?! Oh, I see how it is.
Cassandra knows best
Cassandra's so mature now
Such a clever grown-up Miss!

Gothal ran her hand roughly by Cassandra's cheek.

Varian knows best!
Fine, if you're so sure now
Go ahead, them give him this!

Their mother held up the satchel.

"How did you-" Varian gasped.

G:This is why he's here!
Don't let them deceive you!

Gothal threw the crown at her son.  He caught it, shock still on his face from her finding it in the first place.

Give it to him, watch, you'll see!

Rapunzel stated this with confidence.  She put a hand on one of her brother's shoulders to show him that she was standing with him.  They were in this journey together. "We will."

Trust me, my dears
That's how fast they'll leave you

She snapped her fingers as she advanced towards them.  She wrapped the bag around Varian and spun him around.

I won't say I told you so!
No, Rapunzel knows best!
So if he's such a dreamboat
Go and put him to the test!
Mother, wait!

She was now walking away and Varian held his hand out to stop her.  This wasn't the note that he wanted their family relationship to be in.

If he's lying
Don't come crying!
Mother knows best!

With that, she spun in her cape and vanished from site.  Did all mothers do that?  Varian couldn't help but wonder.  He had never been able to disappear like that and neither had his sisters.  He clutched the satchel's strap tightly with his hands.  It had been one long day.

"How much trouble exactly would you say we're in when we do go home?" Cassandra rubbed the back of her neck.

"Definitely grounded for life,"  Rapunzel sighed.

Varian looked down at his feet.  He heard a sniff and was surprised to find himself crying.  "Varian?"  His sisters were by him in a flash.

He stared at the crown in his hands.  "You don't think she's right about them?  That they'd just leave us once they have this?"

"No, Varian…  Mother just doesn't understand…"  Rapunzel comforted him.

Cassandra said nothing.  Did she truly believe that they would just walk off?  She had been telling herself they would all along, but deep down, she didn't want them to.  She wanted to know that there was more than just her family in the world that were good people.  Varian needed this hope too, but if they were wrong?  That was a price they were going to have to pay.

"So, like, can that hair of yours give me like, super strength?"  Lance came out of the trees.  "Because that would be stupendous.  I'm already amazingly strong, but to be stronger..."  Varian quickly hid the satchel behind the stump.

"It doesn't work that way, loser,"  Cassandra crossed her arms.

"That's fine,"  Eugene shrugged.  "I keep telling him that my super good looks are better."  He set the wood down, but noticed Varian's red eyes.  "Hey, you okay?"

"Oh, yeah.  Just tired."  Varian put on a smile.  Eugene shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~

Varian laid on the grass, Rapunzel's hair covered him like a blanket.  He was laying in between his sisters.  His back was to Rapunzel's and he faced Cassandra.  She faced away from him, so he could only assume she was sleeping.  He sat up.

"Varian?"

He had assumed wrong.  He looked at Cassandra who had rollen over onto her back.  "Yeah?"

"Can't sleep?"

"No.  You?"

She shrugged.  "Strange place.  Never slept outside the tower before.  The stars are just as beautiful from down here…"

Varian looked up.  He grinned.  "They are," he whispered back.

"Know when you and Rapunzel learned about stars for a long time?  You read and read all you could about them and even studied them."

"Yeah, I remember.  Raps, brought it up earlier."

"Ever think about the sun being the star closest to us?  How it's so much brighter than the rest because the others are so far away that they look so much smaller?"

"Yeah, I know about that,"  Varian nodded.

"Well, the sun only shines brighter than all those stars because it's closer.  Any of those other stars could give us just the same light if they were closer.  They're just faded lights in the distance, but if you really think about it, they shine just as bright as the sun.  We just spend most of our days focusing on the sun and at night, we only acknowledge them as tiny specks in the sky when truly they are so much more."

"Wow…"  Varian blinked.  "Never really thought about it like that… ever think about writing a book, Cassie?"

She snorted.

"No, I mean it.  That sounds really deep.  I like it," Varian insisted.  "That's certainly something I want to wrap my brain around."  He laid back down.

"You know, I wasn't just talking about the stars."

"I know,"  Varian whispered.  "There's a lot more meaning to it than just the stars."

Cassandra grinned but rolled back over and closed her eyes.  She was glad to get that off her chest.