This was requested by VarianWolf . I hope you enjoy! I'm also going to start putting warning, genre, and spoiler boxes for all of my new one shots, just in case. I hope that it becomes helpful to you guys 😄

Warnings: PTSD, abuse, bullet wound, nightmares

Spoilers: minor; Season 3

Genre: Angst

Slowly, King Frederic and Queen Arianna's memories were coming back after being erased for quite some time. What the Queen didn't know was that Frederic had remembered everything that Varian had done to his family and the kingdom of Corona. Upon observation, Varian appeared to be the kind boy that he once was, but Frederic was sure that he needed to be punished...

Time Skip

Rapunzel, Eugene, and Y/n were searching for Varian throughout the castle. They had heard that he had been staying there in the abstance of Quirin, but had supposedly decided to stay there longer. They weren't sure why, since Quirin was no longer in the amber, but they decided not to question it.

When they arrived at Varian's new bedroom, Y/n couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, Varian had been her crush since they were little kids.

Rapunzel carefully pushed Varian's door open. "Varian? Are you in here?"

No response from Varian came. Instead, he sat on his bed, his knees being held by his arms, and his back was turned away from the three.

Eugene was the first to approach. "We just came to check on you, kiddo. We haven't heard from you in a while."

He placed his hand on Varian's shoulder and Varian turned his head and whispered, "H-hey, Eugene."

Varian's hair was a disheveled mess, along with dark bags under his eyes and his face looking pale.

"Varian, are you alright? You don't look so good," Y/n asked softly.

Varian shook his head. "No, not really."

He held his stomach, as if it were in pain. Rapunzel pressed her hand against Varian's forehead.

"You feel hot, Varian. Why don't you get some rest-"

"N-no! Y-you can't leave," Varian protested. He clung to Rapunzel's dress, leaving them all confused.

"What do you mean?" Eugene inquired.

"I just... I don't think I can do this alone," Varian replied. His hands were slightly trembling.

"I can get Lance and the girls to help you feel better if you'd like," Rapunzel smiled. "Does that sound good?"

Varian nodded.

"I'll go see what I can do. Eugene, can you assist me in finding them, please?" Rapunzel requested.

"What about me?" Y/n asked. "What can I do?"

"Can you stay with Varian please?" Rapunzel replied.

Y/n nodded, letting Rapunzel and Eugene know that they could leave the room to go find Lance.

"It's been a while since I've last talked to you," Varian began. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Y/n reassured. "As long as we're talking to each other now, I don't mind. I missed you."

"I did too," Varian agreed. "I've been so... scared lately and I don't know what to do."

"Scared of what?" Y/n pressed.

"I-I just-"

"Varian! I came as soon as I heard! Are you ok?!" Lance came bolting into the room and scooped up Varian into a possibly bone-crushing hug.

"Lance, you're going to hurt him!" Y/n pleaded.

"Oops! Sorry about that, bud," Lance apologized. He placed Varian back onto his bed and ruffled Varian's hair with his humongous hand.

Rapunzel and Eugene rushed in, panting heavily.

"Lance... you run... soooo fast..." Rapunzel breathed.

Time Skip

"Alright, Varian, let's see what the problem is," Lance began. Angry, Red, and Y/n were with Lance and were all going to help him take care of Varian. He started by lightly squishing Varian's face, which Y/n didn't find as useful.

"You look really pale. Have you been eating or drinking anything lately?" Lance questioned. Varian looked a bit panicked at the question.

"Um, I-I'm not really sure," he replied.

"You're sweating. A lot," Angry stated.

"She's right. Are you feeling hot?" Y/n asked.

"A little," Varian squeaked.

"Let's take off you're shirt then," Angry suggested. "That'll help a little."

Varian bolted upright from a slouched position. "Woah, woah, woah! You can't take off my shirt!"

"What, are you ashamed that you're not a ripped bodybuilder or something?" Angry sassed. "We all know that you're not muscly. Like, at all."

Varian's face flushed when he saw that Y/n was looking at him funny. "Y-you just can't remove my shirt."

"Why not?" Angry pressed. She reached for his shirt.

"I-I c-can't tell you. J-just cut it out!" Varian stammered.

Lance ended up slipping off Varian's shirt like it was nothing. "Easy peasy!"

What was revealed on Varian's back was not expected from all four. There were multiple whip marks slashed all across his back and shoulders, some deeper than others. There were also lots of dark bruises and deep knife cuts along other parts of his torso.

Lance, the girls, and Y/n were completely dumbstruck. They all glanced at Varian, unsure of what his reaction would be. Varian rubbed his arm up and down and didn't meet any of them in the eye. It was almost as if he were ashamed.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. It's-it's nothing you need to worry about. I'm fine," Varian croaked. Y/n could tell that he was definitely not fine, no matter how many times it would take to try and cover it up. He was stubborn like that, especially after his old rebellious actions. 

"D-did you do this to yourself?" Lance queried.

After a moment of hesitation, Varian replied with a nervous, "N-no, I didn't."

"Who did this?" Y/n pressed.

"I-I can't tell you."

"You have to tell us. We can help you."

"I can't tell you!" Varian snapped. "He'll punish me again if I tell!"

Instantly regretting what he had said, Varian covered his mouth before he could spill anything else. Then, at that moment, it had hit Y/n. She knew who had done this to Varian.

"It was Frederic, wasn't it?"

Time Skip

"Fred, how could you do this?!" Arianna accused. King Frederic was pacing in the Throne Room, along with Arianna, Rapunzel, Eugene, Varian, Y/n, Lance, and the girls. "He is just a child!"

"He is a dangerous child!" Frederic denounced. "You may not remember what he's done to us, but I do."

Arianna gave him a blank expression before asking, "What could he have possibly done to us? He's a sweet boy."

"He sent Rapunzel a dangerous automaton for her birthday that destroyed a major part of the castle, he sent his rabid raccoon loose, kidnapped you, trapped Rapunzel and I in his lab, and sent an army of automatons on our entire army before taking over the entire kingdom with the Saporians and erasing all of our memories. He must be punished for his actions of treason!" Frederic listed. 

Arianna covered her mouth in surprise, while the rest of the gang shifted uncomfortably. 

"He's changed, Dad!" Rapunzel defended. "We had a discussion together and he told me that he wanted to change."

"I don't trust him. Don't you remember how bloodthirsty his eyes were," Frederic continued.

"That was in the past, Dad. Can't you see that he's gotten better?" Rapunzel pleaded. "He's a good person and I trust him."

"Fine. Just keep him out of my sight for a while. You can help him feel better amd I'll leave him alone," Frederic sighed.

"Thank you, Dad! Thank you! You won't regret this, I swear!" Rapunzel beamed. She wrapped Frederic up into a bear hug before pulling away and taking Varian to her room.

When everyone had left, Frederic chuckled to himself, for he had a plan to get rid of Varian once and for all...

Time Skip

A week had passed since Lance, Angry and Red, and Y/n had started to nurse Varian back to health. What they had discovered was that Varian was being either starved there times a month or fed poisoned food for as long as Quirin was encased in the amber. Thankfully, Varian was starting to feel better, but Y/n and Lance remained worried about the state that he was in the week before, hoping that it didn't cause any long-term problems.

At night, Varian would toss and turn in his sleep, muttering scattered thoughts here and there. He would seem angry one minute, then sad and scared the next. He would also respond in scrambling awake and fearfully snapping at his caretakers when they tried to calm him down. It was mild at first until one particular night:

Varian was fast asleep, while it was Y/n's turn on night shift. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, but she knew that she had to stay awake. Protecting Varian was her top priority and she had to keep it up, no matter the cost. For a moment, she glanced at Varian, who looked so peaceful at the moment and it soothed her heart. His constant nightmares were starting to worry Y/n and everyone else, and she was hoping that they'd go away.

Alas, she spoke too soon.

Varian furrowed his eyebrows and parted his lips slightly. Y/n could practically smell the layer of fear that covered Varian because he started mumbling incoherent words, and he was trembling slightly.

Y/n was quick to rush to Varian's side and gently squeeze his hand. "Varian, are you ok? Varian..."

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry... I-- please don't hurt me..." were the words that escaped his lips. The trembling increased severely and he began to feel sweaty.

Before Y/n could do anything, Varian woke up, panting fearfully. He noticed that Y/n was there and pulled his hand away, leaning up against the wall.

"D-don't hurt me, Y-Y/n. I didn't do anything, I promise," Varian stuttered. His eyes filled up with tears. He tried to blink them back, but they only trailed down his cheek instead.

"Varian--"

"I'm not going to let you hurt me." Varian's voice was cracking. "I didn't do anything wrong on purpose. I-I don't know what I was doing. You can't hurt me! I won't let you!"

Y/n's heart tore into pieces. Hearing how broken he sounded made her cry too.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I never want to. Ever," Y/n sniffled. "You mean a lot to me. Please don't ever think that I'll hurt you."

Y/n tackle-hugged Varian as proof, sobbing into his shoulder while Varian hesitantly hugged her back.

Time Skip

Ever since that night, Rapunzel and Y/n made sure to keep an eye on Varian whenever he explored the castle grounds, just in case if anything happened. They noticed that Varian would flinch and start having panic attacks at the sight of the guards, King Frederic, or even Nigel. Y/n would always be the one to calm him down, which relieved everyone else. Rapunzel wasn't entirely sure of the situation, but she knew that she had to stay close to Varian at all times or her father would send him to a hidden prison that was located on an island far away from Corona.

"Eugene, I need you to find Quirin, Adira, and Hector," Rapunzel begged. "I'm scared that my dad will do something to Varian and I need them to talk to him."

"I will do anything for you and Varian, Blondie. You can count on me," Eugene promised. With that, he rode on Maximus down to Old Corona.

"I really hope that Quirin will talk some sense into Dad," Rapunzel sighed.

Time Skip

Later that night, Varian, Lance, Rapunzel, the girls, and Y/n were relaxing in Varian's castle bedroom. Varian was sitting on the window seat, gazing out the window deep in thought. Nobody spoke a word in fear that Varian would get upset.

Before anyone could brace themselves, a whole army of guards burst into the room!

"We've come for Varian! Don't try anything irrational," the Captain ordered. 

Varian was breathing heavily and his right hand trembled. After not very much thought, he decided to jump out of the window and book it across the roof. 

"V, where are you going?" Angry shouted over the angry guards. Angry and Red were following Varian.

"Away from here! Anywhere from here!" Varian emphasized. He was heading to the cliffs near the ocean.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE!" the Captain demanded.

"Guards, shoot him! You have to kill him!" Nigel ordered.

The guards nodded and pulled out their guns. (I'm not really sure what type of guns they would have-- mainly because I don't know anything about guns-- so use your imaginations 😅) 

"V, they have guns!" Angry warned. Varian picked up his pace, praying that him and the girls would make it out of this alive. He found a ladder that reached the ground, then caught sight of the cliffs. 

"We made it!" Varian gasped. 

BOOM!

Varian felt a burning sensation in his right arm. Dreading the see the cause of the sudden jolt of pain, he looked down at this arm and a squeak broke from his lips. One of the guards had shot him, and what appeared to be gallons (not actual gallons! Don't worry) of blood dripped down his arm and onto the ground.

The girls screamed. 

"V!! YOU'RE ARM!!" Angry wailed. Red was quietly sobbing while Varian began to feel lightheaded and queasy.

This must be the end... Varian wondered. 

"Varian! We're coming!" Rapunzel, Y/n, and Pascal were riding Fidella, Eugene, Lance, and Ruddiger were riding Maximus, and Quirin, Adira, and Hector were busy fighting off the Captain, Nigel, and Frederic. Varian was about to pass out, but Y/n held him upright.

"Stay away from my son!!" Quirin yelled. He held his sword against Frederic, his teeth grinding in fury.

Meanwhile, Rapunzel used her hair to shield herself, Y/n, and Varian.

"Varian, we'll get you out of here and-and you're gonna be ok," Y/n sobbed. "Y-you're gonna be ok."

"I'm sorry, Y/n," Varian said softly. "I didn't mean for you all to get involved in this. It's my fault anyw-"

He was cut off by Y/n smacking her lips into his, both of them extremely flustered by the sudden move. The kiss had to be cut off short, however, because the fight had ended.

"Let's get Varian somewhere safe," Rapunzel offered. Eugene lifted Varian off from the ground and carried him back to the castle, with Y/n gripping onto Varian's hand. Varian smiled at Y/n, knowing that he was going to be alright from now on.

Word Count: 2320