Varian, Son of Quirin, Child of the Moon...

Chapter Two: WANTED ALIVE: Varian of Old Corona

A twisted mix of horror and rage curled inside of his heart as he looked at how much Old Corona had been take over in the span of only a few weeks. There were black rocks everywhere, a lot more than before. Houses were completely speared, some had even been knocked over. It was quiet, unusually quiet. The other villagers must have fled to somewhere else. Old Corona felt....dead. It made his bitterness towards the royal family increase, his upper lip curling into a sneer.

Ruddiger chittered into his ear, distracting him for a moment. He swallowed, one hand curling into a fist before loosening just as quickly. "Right. Priorities. Let's go home." They had limited time after all. It would be only a matter of time until the guards discovered his absence and began to search the kingdom and beyond for him. He was a wanted fugitive now, a threat to the kingdom and its people. He didn't want to hurt the damn people, not directly anyway. He just wanted to free the only family he had. He wanted to make his dad proud of him...

He walked down the hill, having to crawl through a wall of black rock just to get to what was left of his house. There was still a huge hole in the front from him smashing his giant automaton through the door and wall. Another thing to apologize to his father for. He'd been blinded by desperate rage at that point, not thinking clearly. He sighed, walking through the hole and gazing at the one that had been the door to his 'lab'. It had been their basement at one point. He tensed, remembering what and who was down there. "C'mon, Varian..", he grumbled to himself stubbornly, "You can do this. We can just...cover him with a tarp or something. Your extra clothes and your alchemy stuff is down there. You need them." He forced himself to walk as he gave himself a hesitant pep talk. "I mean you also need a bath. Your hair has never been this flat before, you know.." Was he crazy, talking to himself out loud like that..? Probably. He had been locked in the castle dungeons for a month with nothing to talk to but a raccoon and a stubborn Queen. He headed down the stairs....

~~~~~~~~~~~

Rapunzel was cleaning up their campsite when her father's bird landed on her head. Her, Eugene, and Cassandra had been on the move for almost a month now as they attempted to follow the black rocks. She was hopeful and also nervous about this. She really wanted to know more about them and possible find a way to get rid of them, which was the true goal of this. Of course..they weren't getting far without a way of knowing what the rocks were made of.. They could really use Var-

Nope. Stop that train of thought right now, young lady! You haven't thought about him in a month. Or at least, you've tried not to.

Anyway, she paused in putting out the fire and took the letter from the bird. "Guys...this is my father's personal messenger bird. Something must be wrong.", she spoke up. Cassandra looked over, her hand on her horse's saddle. "What could possibly be wrong?" Eugene rolled up his sleeping bag. "Maybe let her read the letter, Cass?", he smirked at the raven-haired girl. She narrowed her eyes at him. Rapunzel rolled her eyes before opening the letter. Her face paled and her eyes widened as she read it, her mouth falling open. Eugene was at her side in an instant. "What is it, Blondie..?", he asked quickly, concerned. Cassandra walked over as well. "Raps..?"

Rapunzel inhaled sharply. "A-According to my father, Varian escaped from his cell sometime last night. My dad's warning us.."

There was a double exclamation of, "WHAT???"

Rapunzel showed them the second piece of paper that was sent with the letter. It was a wanted poster. There was a sketch of Varian's head and shoulders without his goggles. He was glaring up from under his overgrown bangs, a scowl on his freckled face. "Wanted Alive, Varian of Old Corona..", Cass read outloud. "Wanted for treasonous crimes against Corona. Is extremely intelligent and is dangerously skilled in alchemy. Approach with caution.", Eugene finished in disbelief. "Well damn.."

Rapunzel swallowed. "This is bad. Really bad. He could be anywhere by now!" Though, if she had to guess, he had probably returned home. Who knew how long he would stay there, though!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite the water being freezing cold, he admittedly felt a lot better now that he was clean and wearing clean clothes. He'd covered his amber encased father with a few sewn together blankets and he was currently filling his satchel with vials and glass orbs. He tapped a now gloved finger, for a true alchemist never went without an extra set of leather gloves (or goggles), against his lips. What else did he need? Well, he needed a plan of course. That much was obvious. Hmm...

He headed back up the stairs and into the remains of his house. There had to be something around here that could help him. The only logical option he could see was to just search everywhere he could think of. It wasn't the best plan, but it was all he had at the moment. He had to think fast. His father was always very vague about Varian's younger days. Varian had always felt like his dad was hiding something from him. What was it? Perhaps some sort of letter from another land that Quirin had come from? Someplace he didn't want Varian to go to? That was the only assumption he could make. He started looking through drawers, in books, even under their furniture. Then he came across a locked drawer in his father's desk. Aware of his lack of time, he decided to simply pick the lock and force the drawer open.

There was a rolled up scroll inside the drawer. He furrowed his eyebrows as he unrolled it. "On the night the Sundrop fell, the moon released her own. It became a beautiful blue flower, known as the Moondrop. Much more powerful and more dangerous than its sister, it was kept in a hidden temple on the outskirts of the land.." His eyes were wide. This flower....this flower could save his dad! He had to find it!

He froze at the sound of approaching horses. He was out of time. "Shit!"

He darted back down to the basement, stuffing the scroll into the bag. He grabbed the bag and Ruddiger, then disappeared into the tunnel beneath his lab.

He had to find that temple.

He had to save his dad.

He had to make his dad proud.

Even if he died trying.

(End.)