Queen Arianna walked through the many corridors of the jail of Corona. She had received two letters that morning, one from her daughter, informing her that they were safe and recounting their last adventure, and the other which simply read on its envelope, from Cassie to Varian. She had insisted that she would deliver it to him personally for two reasons. First, she wanted to be sure he would get it, second, she wanted to see how he was doing. Committing treason didn't make him any less of a scared, lonely child. She arrived in front of his cell and beheld a pale boy with eye bags beneath his eyes. There wasn't anything to do in the cell other than eat, sleep, walk and think. It seemed to Arianna that he wasn't doing enough of the second and too much of the last. "What did an unimportant criminal like me do to deserve the attention of your highness?" his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"You know, you should sleep more. It's not healthy for a kid like you." Arianna mused.

"You know, you should mind your own business. It's not healthy for a queen like you. It's not like anybody cares what happens to me anyway." Varian shot back.

Arianna was quiet for a moment. Then she slipped the letter through the bars and said, "She might." With that, the queen of Corona left; she absolutely loved being dramatic.

Varian ignored the letter for hours, staring at the ceiling. Finally, when his curiosity got the best of him, he sneaked a peak at the envelope, it was from Cassie. He couldn't help himself, he carefully opened the envelope and set it aside. He stared at the letter, at the pretty cursive writing of the person he felt most guilty to, after his father. The letter smelled of hope to him, and this is what it read.

Dear Varian,
How are you doing? I'm sure it must be pretty boring in that jail cell so I thought to send you a letter. I want you to know that I don't agree with what you did, the law is there for a reason, and you have to pay for your actions, but I understand why you did it. I would do anything to save my dad and make him proud too. I believe there's still some good in you, even if you might not. Oh, and is Rudiger fine? I'm glad that he's always there for you. I'm not really good with these "inspirational letters" or whatever, but these are my thoughts, and I hope they make a difference. Goodbye for now, kid. I hope you know Raps and I are doing everything we can to free your father at the moment. You don't need to trust her, but trust me at least.
Sincerely,
Cassie