The Princess and The Alchemist

Chapter 8: A Talk about Family

A while later Varian was sitting at the royal table with the royal family, with Ruddiger underneath his chair. Varian ate and ate everything at the table, since it's been a while since he last ate a meal like this. "So Victor," Estaban asked the boy, still curious about him, "why did you come to Avalor in the first place?" "Well you see my dad, back at home, is sick and the medicine he needs can be found here so I came here and got it and then I saw Isa about to fall from the tree and I saved her." Varian said to him, though Estaban still had a strange feeling about the boy.

Elena then asks Isabel if she is ready for tomorrow, which made Isa realize that she was having so much fun with Victor that she almost forgot that tomorrow was Dia De Los Muertos, the day where Elena can see their parents and not her. "Oh, I'm ready, ready for you to wait another two years until you can tell me what you and our parents talked about!" Isabel said, still angry at Elena.

"Isa, listen,"Elena said to her sister, "I already told you that I didn't mean to not tell you, I was just busy the past two years that I forgot to tell you." "Oh yeah, so busy," Isa said in anger, "it feels like you didn't tell me this is it because you think you're their favorite! Like how they gave you a magical amulet for your 16th birthday and didn't give me one, and how they spend so much time doing activities I can't like sports and fencing, and how you always were the first person to greet them when they come home and was they only person who saw them get killed!" "Well maybe the reason that they might think I'm their favorite is because I didn't have 10 years of experience with them!!" Elena shouted.

Everyone at the table was quiet. Elena, relieved by what she had just said, told her sister, "Isa, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry." But Isabel got up from her seat and ran out of the room crying.

Varian felt bad for Isa, even though he didn't quite understand what they were talking about. He then looked down at the table and saw that Ruddiger was gone. He looked around and saw the raccoon's tail leaving the room. Varian thanked the family for the meal and went to go after his little friend. Ruddiger kept scurrying away from him and went into Isabel's room. When Varian came up to the room, he heard crying from inside and opened the door to see a sobbing Isabel on her bed.

"Isabel," he said, "are you okay?" Isabel looked up at him and said, in tears "Of course I'm not Victor. It's all my sister's fault, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't be in this mess." Varian sat down beside her and asked, "What did she do that made you so sad and mad?" Isabel began to tell him about Elena's power and how she can see their parents. "And you're mad at her for that?" Varian asks. "Yes, it is all her fault," Isabel said "if she didn't tell me about her powers then I wouldn't be here." As she began to cry some more, Ruddiger got up on her knees and started to lay there. Isa started to strike his hair, making her feel comfortable.

"I don't think you should be mad at your sister." Varian said. "I think you should be mad at yourself." "What do you mean?" Isabel asks. "Sometimes when you're angry or sad at something, you blame someone else instead of yourself." Varian said. "It's just that I feel like my parents favored my sister more than me." Isabel said. "Well, I may not have any siblings," Varian said, "but I sometimes feel like my father perfors raising our village instead of raising me. But I always believe that  deep down in his heart, he perfors me."

"I think you're right." Isabel said "I just wish I can talk to them tomorrow. Dia De Los Muertos is  always a holiday about celebrating the memories of the people we lost, and it's hard to remember stuff about them when I know they will be literally right there and I can't see them." "Well," Varian said, "do you have anything they must've given you?" "Well, there is one thing I have that was a gift that my mother gave to me." Isabel said and pointed to her blue ribbon at the back of her hair.

"This ribbon was once my mother used to wear when she was my age. She gave me the ribbon for my third birthday and I have worn it ever since and it will always be special to me since she gave it to me. What about you Victor?" She asks "Do you have anything that belongs to your parents that is special to you?" "Well, my goggles here were once my mother's goggles." Varian said, pointing to his goggles, "I don't remember her that much since she died when I was very young, I don't remember what she sounded like or what she was like as a person, but the one of the things I do remember about her was when she gave me these goggles.

I will always treasure them, and I know it's sounds a bit silly, but every time when I put these goggles on I would always think about what she was like." He began to have tears in his eyes, thinking about his mother, while Isabel looked at him in shock. "You know, I've always wondered... Can you miss someone you never actually knew?" Varian said, and began to chuckle a little. "That's silly. I mean, of course you can't." Just then Isabel gave Varian a warm embrace which made him smile with a few tears coming down from his eyes.

He then got up and said that he and Ruddiger must head back to the place that they are staying at since it was getting late. But Isabel told him to wait and asked if he and Ruddiger would like to spend the night in the castle's guest room and Varian said yes. A while later Isabel showed the two th guest room and Varian said thanks to the princess for letting them stay the night. "No, I should be thanking you." Isabel said to him. Before she left, Isa asked "Victor," "Um Vic, I was wondering if you and Ruddiger can come with me to my parents grave tomorrow, I may need some help to get through the day." "Of course, Isa." Varian said and Isabel left, closing the door behind her.

After she left, Varian noticed Ruddiger giving him a smiling face. "What?" He said to the raccoon, "staying in the castle will be the only way to get the scepter. We have to try to get it tomorrow, when everyone is at the festival." Ruddiger then went to sleep, while Varian sat at a chair near a nightstand thinking about the princess. He thought about how smart and kind she was and how he never met anybody like that before.

He then thought about what she will do when she finds out he's been lying about who he is and what he is really doing here. Would she understand why he did that or would hate him for lying to her. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the Cassandruim he put in there earlier and started thinking about the necklace he made for Cassandra. He then started looking in the drawers of the night stand and found a yarn of string, and began to work.