Varian curled over on his cot and placed the threadbare pillow he had been allotted over his head in a vain attempt to plot out the noise. The guards at the end of the hall were routinely talking about something, anything, and everything, which irritated the young alchemist to no end. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take the two of them going on and on about which candy at Monty's shop was the best.
He growled under his breath and bit his tongue to keep quiet. He knew better than to say anything, that would only irritate them and make them talk louder. He knew because he tried. Varian was sure that someone (Eugene most likely) had sure to place these two in front of his cell for that express purpose.
Six months of this and he hadn't yet been able to get one moment of decent rest. Dear God, it made him also sorry he gone after the royal family in the first place. Only almost, because he knew that Arianna and Fredrick and Cassandra and Eugene and Rapunzel and every person in this stinking kingdom deserved what he had done. Deserved more. Because while they were punishing him for his very justified crimes, they still ignored his dad's fate in Old Corona.
He bitterly turned over in his wooden bed and attempted to find a cool, comfortable spot to lay down, his friend Rudiger the Racoon curling up at the end of the bed and snoring gently. All too soon, his thick raven hair was sweaty again and he just wanted to crawl out of his skin out of discomfort and annoyance.
When was his sentence up again?
"Not soon enough," he thought to himself.
This cycle went on for many hours, as it was the routine for everyday of his life or at least it was shaping up that way. Varian was just about to start his daily begging for the sweet release of death when the two guards silenced. He looked up in surprise at the abrupt lack of sound; his pillow fell onto the dusty cobblestone floor beneath him. He knew that he would pay for that with sneezing and coughing later but he really didn't care.
They were quiet. He smiled to himself when he saw them exit the iron door at the end of the hall with a third guard and made motion to lie back down in earnest, hoping wishfully that he could hopefully get a peaceful moment's rest.
He snuggled deep into his recently retrieved pillow and tried to ignore the dust he was breathing in his noise and splinters poking at his sides. But it didn't matter – it was quiet and peaceful and for once he could get just one minute of rest.
"You have to believe me!"
"Oh, what now?" Varian thought to himself, bolting straight up in frustration. Just when he thought might be able to be left alone.
"I'm not lying!" The voice was louder now, this time easily identifiable as female and in distress. It was getting closer and he could hear the sounds of a slight struggle as well.
From the door came several guards holding tight onto a young girl roughly the same age as him, a distressed downturn to her lips.
"Rapunzel, please!" she called hopelessly to the open door, and Varian felt a seed of anger blossom at the idea that the princess was right behind that door. If she was, she didn't appear at the girl's words. "Rapunzel!"
The guards came over to Varian's cell even as the girl yelled bloody murder and unlocked the steel bar door, which he regarded with a raised eyebrow. Were they planning to throw her in here with him? Oh goodie, a cellmate! He just couldn't wait for another annoyance.
The door swung open and the girl was thrust inside once her handcuffs were removed, and she fell onto her knees and palms with a grunt. The door swung shut with a clang and she turned around to face the guards helplessly as they filed out of the room.
"Please, ask Rapunzel! I'm not lying!"
Varian was a bit intrigued by this girl's insistence for the princess and made a mental note of it. Perhaps he and this girl had something – or rather someone – in common.
No one paid any attention to her and the guards simply slipped out, save two (new, thank God) guards who resumed positions at the end of the hallway. He silently praised the Lord for the fact that mercy had been granted for the guard change before shifting his attention to the girl who was still kneeling hopelessly by the bars. Rudiger now too was awake and crawled to him, quickly clamoring onto his shoulders. It was obvious he too was curious about their new arrival.
Varian regarded her critically for a moment. She was the same age as him, with long brown hair and brown eyes, her feet bare and a flower stuck in her curly hair. Her dress fell only to her knees and appeared to be made very roughly by many fabrics.
Rudiger made curious sounds and the young girl laughed at them, to which Varian's eyebrows shot up.
"I would prefer not to be called 'young girlie'," she said, turning to face them. Varian, who hadn't said anything to her, looked between her and Rudiger for a moment.
"Y-you can understand him?" he asked, which was echoed by Rudiger's own clicks, which Varian took as his own questioning of the girl.
The girl laughed again, this time quieter, and made her way to the cot one the other side of the cell. "Yes, I can."
"H-how?!" he demanded to know. She shook her head and looked away from him, curling a stand of her hair around her finger.
"It's, uh, kind of a long story," she answered. The girl took a seat on the cot and shifted uncomfortably. She reached over and took the pillow in her hands, hugging it tightly to her chest. She looked across to him. "My name's Juliet. What's yours?"
Varian stopped for a moment. Everyone in the kingdom knew who he was – The Weak and Cowardly Varian, who had threatened the princess and nearly killed the queen. He may be in the dungeon, but he still heard the rumor-filled accounts of the events that had transpired. Was this girl pretending not to know him, to gain his trust? Was she from a foreign land?
Eventually, he decided to tell her anyway. "Varian." He motioned to the racoon on his shoulders. "This is Rudiger."
Juliet gave a single, nearly inaudible chuckle after he named himself. "So, you're the infamous Varian? I've heard so much about you from Rapunzel."
He raised an eyebrow. "You know Rapunzel?"
Her eyes darkened. "I thought I did."
Varian felt a sense of kinship with what she said. He too felt as though he once knew Rapunzel, only to learn her true colors far too late.
"Well, what did she tell you about me?" he asked. "I assume she mentioned her rather biased perception of what happened." Juliet shook her head and leaned back against the cold, stone wall.
"She said that you attacked her family and that she was sorry for something," Juliet said. "She never really told me why." Her eyes once again turned dark with anger. "She's never really been good at that, I suppose."
Varian's curiosity sparked as he stared at her. Was this girl like him? Had someone else finally woken up and saw the princess for what she was? Nothing more that a dirty no-good that abandons her friends at the first sniff of trouble?
She looked up at him from under her thick lashes. "What did happen to land you in the dungeon?"
It was now his turn to chuckle lightly. He looked down the hall towards the guards at the end and wondered if they were listening. The last set had only heard him when he practically screeched at them because of how far they were. He hoped these twos had that bad a sense of hearing.
"Me and my father needed Rapunzel's help, and as friends I thought she would help me," he started. "But she turned her back on me – even got me kicked out of the castle when I called her on it – and left my father to be – be –" he cut himself off, unable to say it. He cleared his throat. "Let's just say it, what happened wasn't pretty. Soon enough the whole kingdom turned against me, said I attacked her, and she did nothing to stop it. When all else failed, when I couldn't save my father, I tried to take her family. Let her know how it feels to suffer like I did, because she was the only one with the power to help me and she did nothing."
Juliet sat in silence for a moment and Varian could feel her judging him, but he couldn't bring himself to regret telling her. If someone – even this girl – finally knew the truth of what happened, then it was worth any shame.
"So.... why are you here?" he finally ventured. Juliet leaned forward, slipping the pillow onto the seat next to her. She smiled shyly.
"I'm .... not from around here," she answered. "I lived by myself for the longest time, with nothing but animals." She motioned to Rudiger, who was still lingering over by Varian. "That's how I learned to speak with them." She sighed and stood up, walking over to the bars. "Rapunzel and her friends found me and brought me back here to Corona, to be with people and not by myself anymore. Things were fine for a while, and then suddenly a lot of animals started disappearing." She turned back around to face him, her pale face lit up with the scarlet red of anger. "The King accused me of taking them, since I knew how to speak with them. I told him that it wasn't me, but he didn't believe me, especially since he kept me locked away for a night and that night nothing happened to the animals. I tried explaining to them that I didn't know – pleaded with my friends, with Rapunzel – to let me go, that I didn't do anything, but all she could muster was that she can't override her father."
"She turned her back on you too," Varian said after a moment. She nodded and leaned against the bars with a sad smile.
"I thought she was my friend," Juliet said quietly. "But when I needed her, she didn't do anything to help me."
Rudiger clicked several more times and scurried away from Varian and towards Juliet, and whatever he said only made Juliet appear angry. "It doesn't matter! She could have done something!"
"It's not my fault. It's – it's HERS!"
His angry words rang in his ears as if he just said them, and at last felt justified. This girl, this Juliet, wasn't making any excuses for Rapunzel – instead she was actively (and rightfully so) claiming that it was because of her that misfortune had fallen her.
"I wish I could do something, you know?" Juliet said. "Make them see me and know what they did was wrong."
"I'll make them hear me..."
Varian smiled deviously and stood up, crossing over to her. He leaned across the bars as well, crossing his arms over his chest. Juliet raised an eyebrow at him.
"What if their was a way we could both get what we want?" he asked her. Juliet appeared intrigued by this but whipped her head around to look at the two guards at the end of the hall. Varian laughed softly and took her arm to get her attention. She looked at him in surprise.
"Don't worry, they can't hear us from this far away," he dismissed easily.
"Really?"
"Only if we yell," he shrugged. "You want Rapunzel to see she was wrong, want her to see you and see what she did was wrong, right?" She nodded once. "Well, I want Rapunzel to pay for not helping me." His smile deepened. "If we worked together, we could both get what we want from her."
Juliet looked unsure for a moment, as if testing the idea out in her head. Rudiger said something to her – probably to convince her not to go through with it – but it didn't work, because immedailty after her expression turned furious.
"Sounds like a deal to me," she said, reaching out a hand to shake. Varian smirked and took her hand in his gloved one and gently shook it. He released it and looked at her with a devilish glint in his eye.
"Juliet, this looks like the start of a beautiful friendship," he said.