Memories Etched in Stone

Chapter Two: The Questioning

The police arrived and had Varian sit down. They were big and much taller than Varian, but most people usually were, so Varian didn't have any problems with it. The woman smiled warmly at Varian, offering a doughnut for him to eat. He took it and broke it in half, offering one of the halves to Ruddiger. 

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

He hesitated then sat upright. "V," he decided to go with the nickname Kiera had given him just in case. He didn't know where or when he was, so he decided to keep himself as safe as he could while still having a name he recognized and responded to.

"Is that short for something?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell us what it is short for?"

"No."

The other officer, the man, glared at him. "Where is the statue?"

"I didn't take it, honest. Why would—"

"How do we know you're not lying to us to get out of things? You were the last person see with it."

Varian looked at him, visibly confused. "Uh, no. I was seen where the statue was, I wasn't seen with it. And as I was saying, why would I come back to the scene of the crime if I already have the statue? That seems very pointless. A sure way to get caught. What would be the point?"

"He has a point, Officer Ferguson." She looked at her partner. "There would be no point in returning to the scene of the crime and then so admittedly denying it."

Officer Ferguson looked at her then rolled his eyes. "Fine, then where is the statue, V?"

Varian looked between the two. "How much do you two believe in magic?"

"Magic?" Ferguson laughed. "What does magic have to do with this?"

Officer Wilson looked at Varian, thinking carefully. She took in the features on his face, on Ruddiger, and his clothing. It took a minute or two, but she was the next to speak up. "You're the statue, aren't you?"

He looked at her then nodded. "Yes, ma'am, I am. I don't fully know why or how, but Ruddiger and I were cursed to become stone. I don't know how we became flesh again, but we did just recently."

"Enough with this bullshit, tell us the truth."

"I just did."

Wilson sighed softly. "Ignore him. I'll find you a safe place for you to stay. Feel free to wander around, please don't take anything. Some of the things here are touchable, much like Rapunzel's last journal that she wrote before she passed away in her and Eugene's section. We'll be keeping an eye on you just in case, but enjoy yourself."

Varian smiled at her. "Thank you, miss. I'll just look around." He got up and left, going back to the Corona section. Varian went to the small section that was dedicated to Rapunzel and Eugene. He ignored the group and grabbed Rapunzel's last journal that was free to the public to look through and sat down on the floor, out of the way of people.

Carefully, Varian opened the book. He saw Rapunzel's handwriting, loopy and perfect cursive. The first page was a painting of River getting crowned, Rapunzel wrote about how she and Eugene knew that Varian was the only person from their past that wouldn't be there. 

River looked at his aging parents, both with grey hairs. Rapunzel was looking at him with pure adoration. Eugene's shoulders were a little slumped as they were with every big event in his children's lives. It wasn't that he wasn't proud, but he still wished that his non-blood brother was in their lives.

His hand was grabbed by his eldest child. Eugene looked at him and smiled softly. "Hey, son."

"You okay, dad?"

"I'm okay, I'm so proud of you. I know everyone is proud of you. You will be an amazing king, I know you will." Eugene kissed his forehead. "I know Varian would be proud too."

Varian looked at the paper and smiled sadly. It was nice to know that he hadn't been forgotten, even though he couldn't be in anyone's life anymore. 

"What are you reading?" an unfamiliar voice asked. 

He looked over at the person, who wore a pink vest with stripes and an off-white dress shirt with shorts. A backpack rested on his back and a smile danced his lips. Varian held up the journal. "Queen Rapunzel's last journal before she died."

The teen nodded and sat next to him. "I've read that, the ending is really sad."

"Might I ask how she died?"

"She got sick, it's theorized that it was cancer. King Eugene died of old age four years later."

Varian's eyes widened a little then he looked at the journal. He felt awful that he wasn't there to support her or Eugene. "Oh, I see. What's your name?"

"I'm Milo, what's your name?"

"Varian."