The Alchemist's Redemption | Book 2

Chapter V

She looked at Elsa and sighed softly. "It's been over a year. She cries herself to sleep almost every night and it feels like it's getting worse."

"I'm not sure what we can do. She blames herself and it wears on her, that much is obvious," Elsa said quietly.

"Hopefully she'll start to feel better soon," Anna murmured before they left Aquaria and Ruddiger asleep.

🧪

Varian was walking through the halls of the palace when he came across Aquaria's room. He frowned and opened the door.

He closed the door behind him and walked over to her desk. He saw the picture she had drawn of him, Ruddiger, his father, and herself.

He pulled out the picture of just the two of them from his pocket and then sat on her bed as tears came to his eyes.

"What have I done?"

He had a moment of realization that he would never get Aquaria back by his side if she saw what he had done, what he was planning to do.

"She has to forget too... she'll hate me forever if she remembers... but then she'll forget everything we had together... she won't love me anymore... she'll never forgive me though..."

Varian cried as he thought about everything he had said to her. He didn't hate her and he really wanted to see her again. He needed her.

"We'll be able to start over. She'll love me again eventually," Varian said as he looked at the drawing in his hands.

He left her room to go back to his lab when he heard Eugene's voice. He smirked and walked through the side entrance of the throne room.

He grabbed a pink orb and threw it at Eugene's feet.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel ran over to her boyfriend who's feet were now stuck.

"What the- goop?" Eugene struggled to get out of the chemical compound.

Andrew chuckled lightly before say, "we didn't do this alone. You might recognize my former cellmate."

Varian walked through the pink smoke and smirked as he put his goggles on his head, letting his bandana fall from his face.

"Welcome home, Rapunzel," Varian said as he looked at the princess.

Rapunzel gasped, not having expected Varian to be there.

"Oh, I see you've already met my new friends," Varian said as he walked over to the Saporians, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ah! Varian! My most trusted advisor!" Frederic smiled from the throne.

"Varian?! Mom! Dad! Uh, don't you remember what he's done?!" Rapunzel was so worried and confused.

Varian laughed as he looked at Rapunzel before saying, "no, no. They don't."

"They don't remember?"

Clementine twirled her wand and Rapunzel gasped.

"That's a Saporian wand of oblivium! You have erased their memories!" Rapunzel realized.

"Oh me?" Varian pointed to himself dramatically and let out a laugh. "No, not really. Actually, as you know, I'm all about the science, but, Clementine here, she added a bit of uh..." Variansearched for the right word. "Texture!"

"Magic," Clementine rasped.

"Yes. Today the king and queen. Tomorrow, Corona. I'm synthesizing the wands power into a gas that will erase the memories of everyone in Corona! And, I named it Quirineon, so no will ever forget they turned their back on my father!"

"But once the people are affected by this gas, they will forget that they turned their back on your father," Eugene pointed out as he lowered his sword and thought about it.

"Yep, that's some flawed logic right there," Lance agreed.

"No, y- so? You know what I mean!" Varian shouted.

"I can't let you get away with this!" Rapunzel challenged with a glare. "Hey, guys! Let's send these Saporians back where they came from!" She let down her hair and got ready to attack.

"I thought you might say that. Saporians!" Andrew raised his sword and Rapunzel charged at him with a loud cry but Varian smirked, throwing down a smoke bomb.

"Oh! They got the alchemy!" Lance cried dramatically and Varian stood behind Kai.

Out of nowhere, Shorty flew over Kai, snatching his sword as he said, "thank you!"

Rapunzel lassoed her hair around Kai and threw him out of the way.

"Oh, I've got more tricks up my sleeves." Varian smirked at Rapunzel.

"Bring it," she dared as she grabbed her hair, thwipping it at Varian with Pascal riding on it.

Varian laughed three balls of his goo, getting Rapunzel's hair stuck. He didn't see Pascal jumping onto him but he was startled when the chameleon shot his tongue into his ear.

"Ah! Pascal! Get off me!" Varian tried to shake Pascal off but the lizard grabbed one of his orbs. "Hey! Get back here with that!" Varian through a blue orb at Pascal and watched as the chameleon slipped on the substance from the orb.

"Pascal!" Rapunzel watched in fear as Varian picked up the lizard.

Varian froze and thought of what Aquaria would think about this. He was torn from his thoughts when Maximus fell from above after his bubble was popped.

He dove to the side and then looked at his hand to see that Pascal was gone. "Huh?"

He got up quickly when Max ran after him.

He grabbed a green orb and threw it at Max's feet, disorientating the stallion.

Varian ran over and joined his 'friends' as they backed the group of Coronans against a wall.

"Varian! Tell them to stand down!" Rapunzel ordered.

"Never!" Varian shouted but Andrew put a hand in front of him.

"Why would we when we have the upper hand?" Andrew held up one of Varian's contraptions. He threw it at the princess and her friends, causing a huge explosion.

When everything cleared, Varian walked with Andrew up to the hole in the wall from the explosion. Varian was horrified by the sight but he tried to hide it.

"Powerful stuff, kid. This is gonna be fun. Come on," Andrew said with a grin as he walked away.

Varian took one last glance, imagining what Aquaria and his father's reaction would be to this.

"There's no going back now..."