𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 {𝕍𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣}

-Chapter Nine- Remedy

/what's going on with me?/ what's my remedy?/ look what that magic did to me!/

-remedy, the electric swing circus

The sky was an angry gray, and torrents of water cascaded from thick clouds, obscuring all of Corona in heavy rain.

It seemed as if no one was insane enough to go out in weather like this- no one but Y/n, apparently, who was frantically wiping water from her eyes, she and (H/n) galloping to Old Corona as fast as the two of them could stand.

Flashes of lightning split the sky, and thunder roared in Y/n's ears as she blinked raindrops from her eyelashes. It had been just fine when she left the palace- a beautiful day, actually!- but this massive storm had come out of nowhere, and now she was soaked.

The houses of Old Corona came into focus as water splashed upwards from her horse's hooves. Y/n pulled the reins in the direction of Varian's house and skidded to a stop by a cover nearby, where she tied (H/n) as quickly as she could.

Y/n looked down at herself to assess the damage. She was absolutely drenched. She had dressed simple, in a long-sleeved (f/c) shirt with a warm black vest and brown trousers- and her (Y/n)rium necklace, of course- but every single part of her was dripping, and she hadn't even climbed the stairs to Varian's house yet.

Breaking into a run, Y/n sprinted up the stone steps and to Varian's door, knocking quickly. The rain was falling at an angle, so the cover did nothing to protect her as she knocked.

Varian opened the door this time, rather than Quirin. Ruddiger sat on his shoulders, and he looked surprised to see her. "Y/n?" he asked, confused. He looked past her to the sky. "It's raining! Wh- what are you doing here?" He jumped as a particularly large lightning bolt lit up the sky, followed by a thunderclap.

"Mother of- come inside!" he yelped nervously, and Y/n gratefully stepped through the doorframe as Varian closed the door behind her. She shook herself off, scattering water droplets on the stone floor.

"Why did you come here now?" asked Varian, tilting his head. "In... this?" Ruddiger chittered in agreement.

"It wasn't raining when I left!" protested Y/n with a humorous scoff.

"Well, I was just in my lab." said Varian, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Do you want to come? I could show you what I'm doing!" His face went from a grin to a somber expression. "And... there's something you need to see."

"Okay?" said Y/n curiously, wringing water from her hair. Varian grinned again, and took her hand, pulling her behind him down to his lab. Y/n turned pink as she followed him, her hand in his.

"Dad!" called Varian, shouting down one of the hallways. "Y/n's here!"

Y/n heard a faint "hello!" shouted back as she and Varian continued down the hallway, stopping at the door to his laboratory.

"Ready?" Varian asked, placing his free hand on the doorknob. "As I'll ever be." Y/n answered with a laugh. Varian gave a reassuring smile, but his face went more serious as he pulled the door open. Y/n gasped as she saw what lay beyond.

In the center of the lab, bathed in dim light from the windows, a massive cluster of black rocks had burst from the stone, pointing at the ceiling. The spikes stuck out in all directions, but the largest pointed up and diagonally, conquering the entire center of the lab. Smaller spikes scattered the rest of the room, lingering in corners and jutting out from the walls.

"Wow." murmured Y/n as she entered the room. As soon as she stepped across the threshold of the door, her hair streak lit up, casting a dim golden glow across the space.