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:-:Five Years Ago:-:
"(yn) (yn)!!"
I glance up from my book as Varian bursts through the doors of the study. I smile as I see my best friend. "Varian!" I happily exclaim. I quickly set my book down and run over to the village boy.
"You'll never believe what I was able to do!" Varian reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small bouquet of forget-me-nots. "Normally these flowers die at the start of fall, but I was able to bring them back in the middle of winter!" He proudly states.
I gaze at the tiny blue flowers in awe. "Woah...was it magic?"
Varian crosses his small arms over his chest. "Nu-uh! It was the power of alchemy!!"
"Really? How'd you do it? You have to teach me sometime."
Varian's blue eyes light up. "You want to know about alchemy?"
I tilt my head, confused. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"
"The other kids think science is weird. They don't talk to me because they think I'm a freak." The boy sadly admits.
I gaze at my friend sadly, feeling bad that nobody wanted to be his friend. What's not to love about a smart, freckled alchemist? I quickly hug Varian to try and cheer him up. "Don't listen to them, Var. They're probably just jealous of your natural genius." I smile at him. "Besides, I think alchemy is amazing! Just look at those flowers you brought to life! They're beautiful!"
Varian blushes and he smiles.
"Varian," Qurin says, poking his head through the door. "We have to go. A snowstorm is blowing in and we have to get home before it hits."
Varian nods. "Okay, dad!"
Once his father leaves Varian looks back at me. He holds the forget-me-nots. "Here."
I gasp. "You want me to have them?"
"Yeah, so you don't forget me." Varian giggles. "Pun not intended. One day you'll get to leave this castle, and when you do, I'll teach you alchemy and we'll go on amazing adventures together. You and me." He smiles.
I smile back and take the flowers. "I can't wait."
"Varian, come on!" Qurin calls from down the hall.
Varian clumsily bows to me. "Until we meet again, m'lady." He says before putting on his coat and dashing out the door.
A tiny bit of pink spreads across my cheeks as I watch him leave. I look down at the forget-me-nots in my hand and place them inside my book.
I gently close the cover.
:-:Present Day:-:
"IS IT WORKING?!?"
"WHAT?!?"
Varian turns off the drill we had built to free Quirin and pulls up his goggles. He rubs his eyes. "Is the drill working?" I could see the desperate look in his expression.
Since coming to Old Corona a week ago, I could tell Varian was slowly coming undone. He had become impatient, irritable, and exhausted. While Varian normally got excited over his alchemy and found joy in his hobby, now it was only a job. A job to fix his mistake. Varian was either going to get results or meet his breaking point. I was beginning to discover that there was no in-between.
I sigh. "No." I run my gloved hand along the unscathed amber. "It's like this amber is indestructible. Just like those rocks."
Varian steps over to the amber. "Why isn't it working?!" He huffs. The boy slams his fist against the amber and quickly recoils in pain. "Why did I do that?"
I put my hand on Varian's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. Let's just take a break."
Varian shakes his head. "No. I can't just sit back while my dad is stuck in that amber." He runs his gloved fingers through his tangled black hair.
"Varian, this isn't healthy. You'll work yourself to death." I turn the alchemist to face me, and I gently smile at him. "Do it for me? I'll make ham sandwiches~"
Varian looks at me, and then back at his father. He lets out a small sigh. "Okay."
:-:-:-:-:
I giggle as Varian hungrily munches down his third ham sandwich. "When was the last time you ate?" I ask, laying down on my stomach and resting my head on my hands.
Varian shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I just forgot over time, heh heh." he sheepishly admits.
I shake my head and sigh. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, Var. I know you want to free your dad, but you can't sacrifice your own mental and physical health in the process. I hate seeing you like this."
Varian doesn't even glance at me. "Why haven't you left yet?"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at me, (yn). Look at us. You're the princess of Corona. You're amazing, perfect even. What am I? I'm the hazard to Old Corona who finally screwed up and proved himself to be the danger everyone thought he was. My father was right to be ashamed of me. I try to make things better but I only change them for the worse."
I don't say anything and only look at Varian. I roll over onto my back and pull Varian down beside me. I gaze at the puffy white clouds that littered the bright blue sky. "Tell me what you see."
"...the sky?"
I softly smile. "When I was stuck in the palace, I would sit in my window and stare at the sky. I wondered how far it went, and what adventures waited for me beyond the horizon. I only thought of those feelings as silly little daydreams. Things that would never happen. But when you would come to the palace, you made me believe in a world where I could go anywhere, and see anything." I glanced over to Varian, who was staring at the sky with wide eyes. "I've done crazy things with you. Things I never would've done if I hadn't met you. I guess...I guess what I'm trying to say is that you've changed my life for the better."
The boy's cheeks turned bright pink and for the first time since the amber, I saw Varian smile.
:-:-:-:-:
"I've got it!!" Varian announces, barging into the room.
I jolt awake and groggily sit up on the couch I was sleeping on. "Var?" I rub my tired eyes. "It's still dark out."
"I was thinking, those rocks are unbreakable, right?" The alchemist paces back and forth.
"Right...?"
"Well, what other substance is unbreakable?"
"I don't have the mental capacity for this, Varian. I'm tired~" I whine.
Varian ignores me. "Rapunzel's hair!!"
That wakes me up. "Rapunzel? What are you saying?"
"Rapunzel got her hair from the sun drop flower that healed your mom. If I can get my hands on that flower, its power could free my dad!!" Varian beams. "It's genius!!"
I let out a sigh of relief. I was glad Varian wasn't going to get my sister involved. Of course he wouldn't. Varian would never hurt someone...intentionally. I quickly tell myself.
Varian looks at me. "What do you think?"
"One problem: my dad isn't just going to give us the flower."
"Oh, I know he won't. That's why we have to steal it."
I gasp. "Steal? Varian, we can't steal from the king!"
Varian shakes his head. "It's not stealing. It's...recycling! Nobody's using it anyway."
"I guess not..."
"And besides, it's for the good of Corona. Once we free my dad we can use the sundrops power to destroy the rocks that are decimating the kingdom!" Varian smiles. "It's a win-win!"
I hug my knees to my chest. "I don't know..."
Varian looks at me with pleading eyes. "Please? We'll take one petal. Nobody will be able to tell the difference."
I sigh. "How are we even going to sneak back in? If my parents see me I'll end up locked in my room for the rest of my life."
Varian holds up a small vial of purple liquid. "With this."
:-:-:-:
The sun had begun to rise into the cloudy sky by the time Varian and I had finished transferring the truth serum into cookies. After determining that the effects of the serum were pretty much harmless, I felt a bit less guilty about what Varian and I were going to do.
I knew this was wrong, but at this point, I wasn't sure what was even right. Dad had been lying to the kingdom, and clearly had no intention of stopping these rocks, so wasn't I helping Corona by stealing the flower? The morals behind it were getting more and more confusing. The clear black and white lines I had once known were beginning to fade.
I'm yanked from my thoughts as Varian dashes into the kitchen. "Are the cookies done?!" He quickly asks.
"The last batch just came out of the oven. Why?"
"Ruddiger spotted Rapunzel, Cass, and Eugene in the woods. They're on their way here." Varian quickly informs me.
"They are?"
"I think they're looking for you."
I quickly toss the cookies into a bag and stuff it inside my satchel. "We need to go. If they find me this plan will be ruined."
"But we aren't ready! I haven't mapped out a way to get into the castle yet!" Varian exclaims.
"There's no time!! We'll just have to figure it out on the way." I conclude.
Varian sighs and looks at me. I could tell he knew I was right. "Okay. Let's go."
We quietly sneak out the back door and dash into the woods.
While the bright and sunny woodlands of Corona usually brought me a sense of freedom and joy, now they only served as a reminder of just how dire the circumstances were. The dark clouds loomed over the trees, casting eerie shadows onto black rocks that had pierced through the forest floor. Shivers run up my spine from the sight. I wish I could look away, but the view was completely blocked by the harsh reality known as the black rocks.
"(Yn)? Are you okay?"
I'm snapped from my trance by Varian's gentle voice. My (ec) eyes meet his blue ones. "Y-Yeah...just..." I sigh. "This is really bad, Var. What if the flower doesn't fix all of this?"
"It'll work." Varian doesn't look at me. "It-it has to."
"I didn't realize just how bad things were out here. My dad...he said the rocks weren't a threat anymore." I swallow the lump that had formed in my throat.
"He lied to me."
Varian kicks a small stone across the dirt path. "That sounds familiar."
The tears I had been trying to hide well up in my eyes. "I'm so scared."
The boy to my side doesn't say anything. Varian only pulls me into a tight hug. I'm a bit surprised at first, but I quickly return the action. I nuzzle into Varian as he comfortingly rubs slow circles on my back. Something about being in Varian's arms like this made me truly believe that everything would work out.
As we part, he looks at his surroundings and notices something on the ground. Varian slowly kneels down to pick it up and turns to face me. "Close your eyes."
I giggle a little bit but obey.
Varian gently takes hold of my hand and raises it up. Butterflies begin to flutter around inside my stomach and I can feel my cheeks growing warm. The alchemist sets something in the palm of my hand. "You can open your eyes now."
I open my eyes and look at Varian. His freckled cheeks were bright red and he looked at me with the same adorkable grin that made me love him. I hadn't seen it in a while. My gaze slowly trails down to my hand. I smile at the sight.
Forget-me-nots.