A/n: Omg enjoy the chap!! I edited a lot but nothing REALLY changed, I just think this is more well written than the version i published on ao3, because for ao3 i published the first draft and now im like actuallly reading over it

"I can't believe this..." Rapunzel whispered as she and Cassandra made their way to the kitchen, "my father never even checked up on him. He just...put him in the dungeons and left him there to rot?" She was in disbelief. She hadn't known her father was capable of allowing something so horrible to happen.

Cassandra nodded, a grim look on her face, "he...doesn't know we have him, but i've got a feeling it won't stay that way for long. I hope my father intends to keep this secret. He doesn't even know the half of how harshly Varian has been treated. He gave me his word, though. He will keep this secret for as long as he can. All that matters is that we've got some time. Your father doesn't know."

"Well he's never going to!" Rapunzel snapped as they got to the kitchen. She grabbed a pot and began to fill it with water to boil, "we can't tell him! My father is so set in his ways, he—he'd never listen!"

Cassandra frowned, "Raps, when we get things in order a bit you know we're going to have to tell him. We don't even have to tell him where we have the kid, just that we have him and he's safe. But he needs to know how badly he messed up so that he can prevent this sort of thing from happening—child or not—to any other prisoners in the future" Cassandra said, "besides, we can't keep Varian locked up in that room forever."

Rapunzel bit her lip, sighing, "yeah. Yeah, you're right. Obviously, my dad will have to find out soon enough. We need to let him know just how badly Varian was hurt."

"Yes. I'm sure after a long conversation about everything the king will come around. There is no possible way we are letting that boy go back to the dungeons" Cassandra frowned, "he's payed for his crimes in the most horrible way. We have plenty of time to get together enough evidence for a case."

"No King should allow this to happen. I'm going to read up some more on Coronan law. Even the King can get in trouble for something like this, i'm sure. The least he can do is grant Varian freedom. I'd say he paid enough for his crimes, wouldn't you?" She asked.

  Cassandra bit her lip, reluctant to answer, "I...Rapunzel, this is complicated. We don't know if he's stable right now, or if he'a still angry. All we have is a delirious slur of 'i'm sorry's' from him. I'm sure he's still dead set on wanting to find a way to free his father."

Rapunzel gasped, her eyes going wide with realization, "Quirin! Oh, his father! My goodness, how could I have forgotten? I have to help Varian with that..I know it's a little late, but I made a promise..." She trailed off, frowning. She'd never broken a promise before, until it had come to Varian. She needed to rectify her mistake.

"It's never too late to make things right" Cassandra smiled at her, "i'm sure your efforts will be appreciated, and I know there's a way. Even the black rocks weren't unbreakable, this amber is a variation of them. I know there's something that could break, maybe even melt it."

Rapunzel nodded, "yeah. You're right..there has to be" she said, throwing a bunch of veggies into a pot of chicken stock, "This soup looks kinda boring. But I suppose this is his life now. Boring soup."

"Hey, once he gets a little better, and can handle something other than broth...maybe we can make him that Hazelnut soup you love so much? A nice little homey recipe to warm the heart. I know you've been wanting to teach it to me for a while" Cassandra smirked.

Rapunzel brightened a little, "oh, yeah! He's going to love that! It's literally the best!"

"Yep. But for now...chicken broth" Cassandra said.

"Yep" Rapunzel giggled, trying to keep her spirits up, though her smile was forced, "yay! Broth!"

All she could think about was how she couldn't wait to scream at her father for this. Couldn't wait to throw herself onto her bed and cry, because what had become of Varian was the most horrifying thing she'd ever seen in her life.

—————————————————————————

When they got back to the room, they were quickly and quietly ushered in, before the door was closed and locked again. They couldn't risk anyone knowing, but she still thought it would look suspicious how frantic they were. Rapunzel put the thermos of soup on the nightstand next to the bed along with the glass of water that Cassandra carried in.

Cautiously, she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. She gingerly felt his forehead with her hand, immediately retracting in concern. She expected a fever. But...he was ice cold. "That can't be good" she muttered.

"What is it?" Eugene asked, growing worried at his girlfriend's face.

"He has no fever. He feels like a bucket of ice" she said, before sighing, "i'm sure it'll hit him soon. Has he been okay?"

Eugene nodded, "he's been stirring for a while. On and off blinking awake."

"Okay..that's good. I think. Goodness, he really needs a bath, I imagine that it doesn't feel so good to be so dirty" she muttered.

"We did rag him off and everything, but I think a real bath would really get all of that muck off" Lance said quietly. His fists were clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms. It hurt him to see Varian like this.

She nodded, drawing her hand away as she felt him stir.

Varian's eyes blinked open, a far away look in them, "M-Mom...?"

They all froze. Rapunzel tensed up. They didn't know much about his mom, though imagined that it was a sensitive subject.

He shook his head and blinked again, squinting as everything came into focus, his shaky hands came up to brush his thick bangs away from his eyes, "oh..Rapunzel?"

"Yes..it's Rapunzel" she smiled warmly at him, "how are you feeling?"

He shrugged, "hurts..."

"What hurts?" She frowned.

He gestured to his body, "take your pick.."

  Rapunzel frowned, exchanging a worried look with Eugene. She grabbed the water from the night stand. Cassandra got the message and helped Varian to sit up. Rapunzel tried to gently place the glass into Varian's shaking hands, but he wasn't able to grip it for long. So, she just brought it to his lps, "you need to drink some of this...you're dehydrated."

Varian whimpered and shook his head, backing away from it.

"Varian, what's wrong?" Rapunzel questioned, frowning. The boy must've been severely dehydrated. He sure sounded like it. His whimper was dry and crackly, and his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Y-your gonna take it" he mumbled, his voice nothing more than a harsh wheeze, "it's a trick. It's always—always a trick..."

"Varian, no" Cassandra told him, "this isn't a trick. And it will never be a trick, not ever again. Okay?" He seemed to not fully understand what was happening or where he was.

Varian just nodded, clearly still a little apprehensive, and Rapunzel just helped him sit up and bring the glass to his lips. She tipped the glass forward. He took a small sip, before he began greedily gulping it down. He whined when Rapunzel took it away.

"Varian, slow down" she chuckled, "it's not going anywhere...earlier you puked after just a few tiny sips. We don't want you to cause any internal damage from so much puking."

He looked up at her with wide eyes, "i'm sorr-ry...did I make a mess? I don't 'member..." he slurred.

He was still very clearly out of it, and they were all kind of afraid that he'd pass out again.

"Oh, you didn't make a mess" she assured gently, "Eugene grabbed the bucket in lightning speed, so it's okay...and even if you hadn't have made it in the bucket that would've been okay too."

Varian nodded, clearly not registering anything being said. His eyes were blinking rapidly, and anytime he had them opened for more than a few seconds, they were glazed over, a far off look behind him. He probably hadn't even registered that this was real yet. He began biting his lip nervously and staring at the water.

Rapunzel smiled, "you can have some more, Varian."

"R-really? U-Usually..they take it away if i'm not quick enough" he mumbled, not able to raise his voice any higher. It was scratchy from disuse.

Cassandra frowned, "well that's never going to happen again. I can assure you."

He nodded, taking smaller sips when Rapunzel tipped the glass. It took a long time until he finished the whole thing, and his stomach wasn't even upset, "T-thank you, princess."

Eugene and Lance were watching in silent shock, because how could this traumatized, damaged kid be the same one from nearly two years ago?

She smiled, "you're welcome...so, are you feeling hungry?"

"I-oh, um, that was a lot of water, y'know?" He murmured nervously. He couldn't have food. He didn't deserve it. The guards had told him. If he ate without their permission, he would be punished. Surely, they were nearby, waiting for him to disobey.

"Water has zero calories" Eugene commented.

"It still fills a place in your stomach" Varian said, "and I haven't really had anything in there...for a while. The water is enough, for now I promise."

"He's right" Cassandra said, sighing, "he still needs to eat eventually, but if we put anything else into him he might throw up. You never did lose that brain of yours, huh?"

He smiled weakly, "Guess not..."

"Well, do you think you'll be able to try and eat soon?" Rapunzel asked, "I'm worried about you.."

Varian nodded, "yeah, once my stomach realizes it's just water, it'll probably want m-m-mor—ACHOO!" Varian sneezed, before going into a coughing fit, "ugh...sorry, sorry, i'm so—"

He paled a little, covering his mouth with his hand.

  "R-Rapunzel" Lance said, "Rapunzel grab the bucket!"

"O-okay!" She exclaimed, passing it to Varian, who immediatly began gagging into it. Water mixed with stomach acid came up.

"Yep. Overwhelmed his stomach. So much water wasn't such a good idea" Lance sighed, "sorry, buddy.."

"No, i'm sorry, I—i've been sick..been sick for a long time..they took away my blanket and my clothes, a long time ago, and um. Um. Stopped letting me bathe" he explained, "ugh, these are just excuses i'm sorry—I'm so disgusting...please don't hurt me—urk-"

Nobody knew what to say. They were shocked, still not processing that this was actually happening. Lance was the first to speak up in a soothing voice, "Varian, stop..hey, none of this should have happened, and it's only natural to be sick after living through such rough conditions. Hey, I know, once some of your wounds have healed up enough we can get you a bath, okay?" he asked.

"That—that would be nice" Varian said, wiping the bile from his mouth, and shakily laying back down. He closed his eyes. His entire form was trembling, and he was freezing cold.

"Maybe we could settle for just washing your hair for now though?" Rapunzel asked, chuckling, "I bet I wouldn't even be able to run my fingers through it without catching a disease" she joked, "it's really dirty and greasy."

"Yeah, kid. You're in dire need of a haircut too" Eugene commented, "it's basically matted to the back of your head."

"Yeah, I think the blood did that..they hit my head a couple...thousand times" he mumbled, his eyes fluttering shut. He snapped them open quickly and yawned, "I deserved it though. Guess it was ok.."

"Varian, you didn't deserve anything that happened" Eugene snapped, "do you hear me? You are worth so much more than whatever those guards told you!"

Varian flinched and bowed his head down, allowing his bangs to fall over his eyes, "y-yes, sir" he whispered, "i'm sorry, sir."

Eugene's eyes widened, "hey, kid, no I didn't—I—" he brushed the kids bangs away from his face, only to find his eyes closed and his breathing slowed. He had fallen asleep.

"Way to go Fitzherbert, you scared the kid to death!" Cassandra hissed.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, he's only sleeping!" Eugene exclaimed.

"He's going to need a lot of it" Lance commented.

"Yeah, I don't think he's fully realized what happened yet" Rapunzel said, "he's just kind of..calm? About it, i'd say.

"You never know what's going on in that big head of his" Cassandra sighed, "are you guys prepared for the mental breakdown?"

"No" the other three said in unison.

"You have to be gentle with him, Eugene" Rapunzel told him quietly, trying not to wake the boy, "he's fragile right now."

Eugene nodded, "i'm sorry—I just don't want him thinking like that" he frowned.

"Well, it's obviously been pounded into his brain over and over again, so it's understandable for him to be thinking like that. Habits and behaviors like these are hard to unlearn, especially if they were instilled by force and fear" Cassandra explained, "Rapunzel is right. We have to be caring. We have to be patient, and we have to try to understand him."

—————————————————————————

Varian was having a crisis.

He felt like he was going insane, because—

It couldn't be real. None of it could. It was obviously just—just fabrications from his mind, yes! He was making everything up—hallucinating—he just had to be. There was no way they would help him. Not after all he did to them. To the kingdom, the guards, to Rapunzel, to her family.

No. No no no no no. It couldn't be real.

He's just fantasizing about the life he wants to live. The one where they take him away from that horrible place in the dungeons and help him. The one where he can apologize for all he's done, the one where he can be free and find a way to also free his father.

What would he say? ...What could he say, after all Varian had done? There was no way he could possibly be proud, obviously, no way he could ever forgive Varian once he found out what he'd done. It would look so bad on him. Quirin was the village leader, and here Varian was, once again, screwing up and making him look bad. He hated being so dumb, but he just couldn't help it! All he did was attract trouble.

This would be the final straw for his father. He would be thrown out of the house for sure. Why would he want such a disappointment living under his roof?

And all of that just goes to show that the princess could never forgive what he'd done either.

There was absolutely no way.

—————————————————

Varian opened his eyes wordlessly, awake again. He heard hushed whispers next to his bed—no, the bed he was currently resting on..yeah..only a matter of time before they send him back to the dungeo—

He looked around in shock. He wasn't in the dungeons? Which meant...

"Oh...it wasn't a dream?" He asked aloud. Because he truly was going crazy. His eyes were wide and his shoulders were shaking as he pushed himself up with great effort, only to collapse again. The whispers in the room abruptly stopped, and four pairs of concerned eyes turned towards him as they realized he was awake, "it has..it has to be a dream" he continued, his voice shaking almost as horribly as his arms were trembling. He was still trying to hold himself up.

"What?" Eugene asked, the worry in his voice evident. Varian thought for a split second that maybe, just maybe, they cared. How could someone fake such genuine concern?

Well. Varian was no stranger to faking smiles. This surely had to be a trick.

"If it's not a dream, then why are you helping me? I—I was so close! I was so sick! The suffering was about to end, why did—why—" he choked on a sob, looking up at them through his bangs as tears rolled down his cheeks, "why did you save me?" He whispered, before his voice rose, "Why didn't you just let me die?!"

The room fell silent as he sobbed, placing two trembling fists over his eyes. "Varian" Rapunzel whispered, holding a hand up and inching forward, faltering as he flinched away.

"Let me die!" He screamed, looking at Rapunzel with tears in his eyes, before slamming his head against the back of the bed's headboard, "just let me die!" He repeated, his voice a shrill wail, becoming weaker and weaker as he begged over and over again.

Several shouts of protest came, and Cassandra rushed forward and put a hand between Varian's head and the wood, "Varian! Calm down, what do you mean?! Of course we would help you! We aren't cruel!"

Tears ran down his cheeks and dripped down his chin. If all of this was true, Cassandra was right. They weren't cruel. No, they were stupid, to trust someone like him again. He sat up and covered his face as he silently cried, "w-w-why?" He sputtered, his voice cracking just as Rapunzel's heart did, "after everything I did, it's inevitable that they send me back...why would you help me get better, just for the cycle to repeat? There's no way you could want me alive. I don't even want me alive!"

His voice broke again, and he fell down, his head hitting the pillow, eyes closing from the exhaustion of everything that had happened. He sighed, breathing shakily, in and out.

"Varian, nobody wants you dead" Rapunzel said, her voice quivering in shock and fear, "why would we help you if we wanted you dead?"

"Cruel torture" he mumbled.

"Nobody's letting you go back to the dungeons" Eugene assured, "and if the king has anything to say about it then we'll fight tooth and nail to make sure that you stay safe."

Varian sniffled. His head was spinning. It was clear that he was not registering anything that was happening, "my head hurts."

Cassandra let out a maniacal laugh, it was all she could do to keep from crying. She was this close to having a psychotic break, "What did you think was going to happen when you slammed your head against the wood?!"

"Wh-when I what?" Varian mumbled, "where am I..? I'm tired..." his eyes slipped closed and he was out again.

"That..can not be good" Lance said, unable to do or say anything else in his shock.

"No kidding!" Cassandra hissed, "he might have a concussion. Varian! Varian, open your eyes! Wake up!"

Rapunzel just stood there, unmoving as she heard Eugene comment something about replacing his bandages again—tears glistened in her eyes, staring through the watery gaze at the boy in front of her, who had so desperately begged to die.

How?

How?

How could this kid be the same one who just two years ago was geeking out over some science expo, who wanted to help his village by surprising them with hot, running water? Who named a whole new element after Cassandra, and a substance of his own design after Eugene? How could it be the same kid who was angry and hurt and alone. For so long.

Tears ran down her face, and she let out a broken sob, taking faint notice when Eugene's strong arms wrapped around her shoulders. She leaned further into him and sniffled. She had to find a way to make this up to Varian. She had to. She couldn't bare to hear him say anything like that again. To beg to just be dead.

—————————————————————————

The next time Varian woke up, Rapunzel uncomfortably realized that this whole thing was becoming a familiar process.

It took Varian a while to say something. The room was silent as they watched him stare at the ceiling in thought. Everyone waited patiently as he opened and closed his mouth multiple times. He was afraid. So afraid, because he usually wasn't allowed to speak. But he wasn't in the dungeons anymore. It all felt so surreal. Like some sick joke. But he had to seize this opportunity while he had it, even though it was hard to feel comfortable speaking after so long of being forced into silence, "I..I'm sorry" he finally began, "for my tantrum. It won't happen again."

Well. That wasn't exactly what they'd wanted to hear from him.

He continued, "I—I'm being an ungrateful brat. You guys saved me and I should be thanking you. This is better than anything I ever could have imagined...this is what I wanted, for so long. So thank you."

"Varian, we wouldn't leave you to just...die" Rapunzel whispered, sitting on the edge of his bed, "I know it'll be hard to trust after everything that's happened" she whispered, "but I need you to know, even if you don't quite believe it yet, that you can trust us."

"I guess you'd know that better than anyone—life really never goes your way, does it?" He sniffled.

She chuckled, "Oh, it's kind to me sometimes. But Varian, I need you to understand that we're never going to abandon you again."

Varian tensed up, "I-I know now that what happened—it's not your fault. It wasn't ever your fault. Nobody could have predicted that blizzard, everything was just supposed to be like—level one training for you at best, and then all of a sudden so much stuff was thrown at you, that nobody could have been prepared to do. You had a kingdom to save, parents to save—you couldn't just...leave all that for me."

She gave him a gentle smile. Clearly, he had been thinking about this just as much as her , "Yes, and i'm glad you see and understand my side of things, but I also shouldn't have just let the guards throw you out into the blizzard, which Nigel had already claimed would be a death sentence to go out into. And you had already ran the whole way here in it...I can't imagine how hard it was to run all the way back."

"Yeah. I was sick for a while after that" Varian said, "practically buried in snow."

At that admission, her heart felt heavy, but she continued, "I should have at least let you stay, helped you after—done something" she said sincerely, "i'm sorry."

"It's okay Rapunzel, really" he said, "I just..it doesn't matter right now. A lot of things happened, and—and so fast—I just, wasn't expecting this. I was expecting you to be angry, or upset, but i'm glad this was the outcome."

"We expected the same from you" Eugene said, chuckling, "we really thought you'd wake up and choose violence."

"Understandable" Varian said, "Maybe one day I will. Watch out" he joked.

He turned back to Rapunzel, "Princess, I can tell that you've felt guilty over this for a long time. And I don't know how to express this in a way that'll make you feel better...or if I even can, but Rapunzel, I acted rashly. I usually put so much thought into everything I do, but that day, I felt nothing but anger. I never want to feel like that again. It made me stupid. It made me not care about who I hurt. If anyone's to blame, it's me. Even if you would have came with me, it wouldn't have helped. You hair didn't work. So I don't blame you anymore, I forgive you. I completely forgive you."

Rapunzel's eyes watered, "Varian, I—"

"And you are allowed to be upset still" he rushed in before she could attempt an apology too, "I've had a lot a time to think, and I expected you to kill me yourself" he chuckled a little, "it's very understandable for you to be upset still. And I really don't expect forgiveness, but I just really want you to know how truly sorry I am for everything I did" he looked at her so honestly, and said it with such emotion, that everybody in the room believed his every word, "I don't want you to apologize just because I did. I know what you're like, you're just so kind."

"Varian, of course I forgive you" she said gently, "how could I not? nobody can stay mad at you forever, you're such a sweet young boy."

Varian had absolutely zero idea how she could call him a sweet young boy after everything he'd done to them. But he wasn't going to argue, at least not now. He was still in utter disbelief about the entire situation. He began another round of apologies making sure to put the same amount of care and thought into apologizing to the others.

Last week, if you would have asked either Eugene or Cassandra if they'd ever forgive Varian for what he had done, neither of them would have said yes. But standing there, looking at them now, they didn't even feel as if an apology was necessary. If anything, they felt guilty for leaving him there. Nobody could have predicted that any of this would have happened, but that didn't stop them from feeling like they could have done something.

After another round of tearful apologies, everybody let Varian know that they forgave him. He hadn't expected any of them to grant him any mercy, but they had, and he didn't know how he could ever repay him.

"Don't know how you managed forgiveness from Eugene of all people" Lance joked, "he's the most petty person I know."

"I'd fight for that title" Cassandra teased.

"It's the eyes" Eugene said, bringing some reheated broth over as Rapunzel helped the boy sit up, "those eyes can help him manipulate his way through anything" he joked, "Here, drink this. You need to eat something, kid."

Varian bit his lip, stomach churning uncomfortably. He backed away slightly, "um, no thank you..."

"Aren't you hungry?" Lance asked.

"Um..I don't.." he trailed off, wrapping an arm around his middle as it growled hungrily at the smell, "I don't want you to...waste...on someone like me."

"It's not wasting if it's keeping you alive" Eugene frowned.

"I don't deserve it" he whispered, as if the phrase had been drilled onto his mind over and over again. Talking was one thing—he'd done it in secret many times when he was alone. Talking to himself kept him sane. But eating? No. He couldn't. The guards decided when he ate and when he didn't. He couldn't accept anything, because they'd somehow know.

But Rapunzel was adamant that the guards weren't coming back for him. She had heard her tell Lance that they'd been taken care of, whatever that meant. So in a way—the four adults in the room were his new 'guards.' It was kind of similar to what they did anyways. A fitting title. They had to make sure he stayed in the room, anyway. Make sure nobody got in or out. So, if they were the new ones, he had to be obedient to them, unless of course, he wanted them to start hurting him too.

"Everyone deserves food" Lance piped up immediately.

"I don't want to be a pig" He whispered.

"Varian, at this point if you want to survive you need to be a pig" Cassandra said bluntly, "I can see every bone in your body poking out from your skin. You look like a skeleton. But, if it makes you feel any better, this is only broth. Nothing solid. I may not be a medical professional, but i'm not dumb enough to give you solid foods so early."

Varian sighed, "Ok-okay, okay. I'll eat it. But i'm going to warn you, when they did feed me, I was never really able to keep anything down...it was really rare, to get anything sustainable, and most of the time, it was just rotted. Y'know, scum like me—don't deserve food."

Eugene's eyes turned sad as he remembered that phrase from watching him in the cell. He must have been told that so many times that it was just practice at that point. Just a simple truth.

"Kid, the only scum in this situation are those guards. Now they are some people who deserve to rot" Cassandra said.

"I—I dunno, I think i'll puke" he mumbled.

"Don't worry kid, we won't do what we did with the water. We're going to start off small. And hey, maybe even after just a few hours your stomach will realize how hungry you are!" Eugene exclaimed.

Varian nodded, taking the hot bowl of soup into his hands and panting harshly as he tried to lift it up.

"Here, i'll help you out, kid" Eugene said sadly.

He nodded and began to take slow sips from the hot bowl, Eugene's hand underneath it to help. He closed his eyes and sighed into it, "mmmm..."

Lance snorted, "is it that good?"

Varian nodded, "it's hot..." he mumbled, "it was—was so cold down there...usually I just got cold stuff too..and this is good. I think this is the best thing i've ever had in my whole life."

"It's a simple soup recipe" Rapunzel chuckled, trying to choke down the absolute depressing sadness that she got from that, "I think you're just overreacting."

"I do that a lot" he mumbled as he finished the soup. It was heavenly. Rapunzel gently took the bowl from him, patting his head. He leaned into the touch for as long as he could before she pulled away.

"Thank you guys for the food" Varian said politely, clasping his hands together.

"You're such a sweetie" Rapunzel chuckled sadly, "we'll try to give you some more later if you're up to it, okay? For now let's stick to water."

Varian nodded. He blushed at the nickname. Sweetie. That was almost funny—how would the king react to Rapunzel calling Varian, a treasonous criminal, a sweetie? A giggled at the thought. Maybe things would be okay.

—————————————————————————

The next time Varian woke up, it was because the pressure in his bladder had become unbearable. He frantically searched around the room for someone, and when his eyes fell on Eugene he almost cried happy tears, because he was convinced his bladder was going to explode.

And the happy tears quickly turned into sad ones when he realized Eugene was asleep. Varian probably would have held off to the very last minute anyway, even if Eugene had been awake. He wasn't very good at expressing his needs, especially after being in prison for a year with two guards who teased, beat, and yelled at him over everything.

He almost wasn't sure what exactly to do about this. He couldn't just wake Eugene. But he couldn't pee on the bed, either, because that would cause a humiliating mess. He hadn't really used an actual bathroom in two years now. He usually used a bucket, but Jefferey and Frank liked to make him hold it. It was a part of their fun. He screwed his eyes shut tight and shook his head. He didn't like to think about that. He wished the memories would just go away.

Sometimes, he never even noticed he had to go. Sometimes he just wet himself. It was hard to control it, especially when he had been out of his mind, deliriously sick for a majority of each day. Sometimes he wet himself for the temporary warmth. It had been so cold down there.

He was still wary of Eugene, as well. He didn't like being alone with the man, because he knew how vulnerable he was. If Eugene wanted to hurt him, he very well could. And even if he didn't hurt him physically, there were other things that could happen.  Varian fiddled with his hands for a few minutes before giving up. He was not going to be able to hold it. Back in prison, sometimes he had to hold it until Frank and Jeffrey were satisfied. They liked to watch him fall apart, to lose control.

But most of the time he wouldn't even realize he was doing it. His body was so focused on the pain and trying to keep himself alive, that his bladder wasn't really a huge priority.

He squirmed a little before calling the man's name. Surely, Eugene would be more upset if he wet the bed rather than woke him. He was prepared for punishment either way, though, "Eugene!" He whisper-yelled, "Eugene! Wake up, please!"

When Eugene didn't budge, Varian groaned quietly. His bladder pulsed and he squeaked, blushing, "Eugene" he said, his voice a little harsher. And he felt horrible. If Mr. Eugene can't-sleep-in-a-bed-unless-it's-the-highest-quality-foam-mattress-Fitzherbert was falling asleep in a wooden chair of all things, then the man must have been exhausted. He felt bad asking this of him when he was already doing so much.

Varian whimpered, pulling his legs close together as he felt a few dribbles leak out, "Eugene!" He finally yelled, throwing a pillow at him. He flinched a little when Eugene moved. Oh sun he was about to get beat—

But Eugene barely even stirred. Varian sighed. "Wake up!" He cried, as loud as he could without the potential of anybody outside the room hearing him.

"Hm?" Eugene asked, snorting a little as he woke himself up, "what?" He whined a little, rubbing his eyes.

"I—I gotta use the bathroom" Varian admitted shyly, his voice quiet.

"And you had to wake me up why?" Eugene asked, his eyes barely open, "just—the bathroom is over there, just go" he yawned, his eyes fluttering back shut.

Wow. Cassandra was right, Eugene really was an idiot.

"Hey—don't fall back asleep! Eugene I haven't actually walked in forever, and in case you haven't noticed, I am covered head to toe in every injury known to man, my leg is in a brace, like, seven of my ribs are broken, and Cassandra said I'm on bed rest. I can't get up" he tried desperately, but the man didn't budge, "please!"

At that, Eugene's eyes snapped open, "Oh—oh, kid I'm so sorry, I thought you were Lance or something!" he shot out of his chair, obviously in a panic. They hadn't made a plan for this, "what do I do? I can't pick you up, I might break you!" Eugene began to pace around the floor, "We should have thought about this!"

"It's coming out" Varian whispered, his eyes wide and horrified as he writhed against the bed, doing everything he could to keep from wetting himself.

Eugene's eyes searched around the room and quickly fell on the empty glass of water Varian had before he fell asleep earlier, "kid, pee in this, quickly!"

"What?! No!" Varian cried, "what if Rapunzel finds out?!"

Eugene gave Varian a dry look amidst the panic. The kid had gone from fidgeting to thrashing like he was at a rock concert in a matter of ten seconds in an attempt not to wet himself but now, suddenly, he was worried about Rapunzel figuring out?

"Nobody has to know" Eugene said.

"B—but it's all icky and gross!" Varian cried.

"Icky?!" Eugene smirked, before growing more serious, "Varian nobody will care, here please just pee in it, I swear it's okay. See, look i'm going to hand you the glass and I am going to go this way" Eugene said, opening the door to the room's connected bathroom, "to give you some privacy. I will be in here."

Eugene ventured further into the bathroom and when Varian couldn't see him anymore, he sat up as quickly as he could, pulling up the hospital gown and yanking down the band of his boxers. He whimpered, going full force into the glass. That felt good, it felt so, so good.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the board of the bed, his stream never faltering. It only took thirty seconds before he shot his eyes open. The glass was overflowing.

"Oh, sun" he gasped, slamming the full glass onto his bedside desk. He was surprised he had even been able to pick it up, really. He cut his stream off and stuck his hand deep into his crotch. His eyes widened. He couldn't pee on the bed. He would get in trouble. He whimpered, throwing the covers off of him and leaping out of the bed.

He cried out in pain and crumpled onto the ground, unable to hold his urine back anymore. His stream came back full force, hissing into his hospital gown. He gasped and cut the stream off. His bladder felt like it was bursting. Desperately, he grabbed the pillow that had fallen onto the floor after he threw it at Eugene, and shoved it between his thighs, squeezing tightly around it to help him hold back his stream.

Varian's chin wobbled as Eugene crashed into the room upon hearing him fall out of bed, "Varian, what—" he stopped in his tracks when he assessed the room. The bed was completely messed up, Varian was on the floor and his gown was growing wet, slowly, and the large glass was completely overflowed with pee.

"I—i'm so sorry!" Varian blurted, his face a deep shade of red. His vision was blurred with tears, "I didn't mean to, I—I—I still gotta go! So bad!" He wailed.

"Oh—oh, kiddo!" Eugene rushed over, "can I touch you?" He wanted to offer him some physical comfort. He wasn't exactly sure how, since literally the only place he could touch Varian without causing him pain was probably the top of his head. He already knew not to go anywhere near his back—the whip lashes there were fresh.

  Varian shook his head rapidly. He was already panicking, he didn't need to be touched of all things. In fact, he didn't want to be touched by a man, ever again.

"Okay. Okay, that's fine, i'll use words instead" Eugene muttered to himself, "Kid. This isn't your fault. I am so sorry, we didn't think about the whole bathroom situation. We didn't prepare for this. It's on us, kid."

"I—it hurts so bad" Varian hiccuped, squeezing the pillow tighter.

"It's okay. Varian, just go. You can pee, kid, you don't have to hold it. Let go, it'll be okay" Eugene said carefully, not sure what the hell else to do. He was coaxing a fifteen year old boy into pissing himself, "you did good, bud."

Varian inhaled sharply, "really? You won't—won't be mad?"

"Of course not. Go ahead, it's perfectly fine" Eugene told him, "this one's on me, buddy."

And with that, Varian sagged against Eugene, relaxing his groin and thighs. He was slowly, steadily wetting himself before, unable to hold it back, but now that he relaxed, began to go full force again, spraying into his hospital gown and into the pillow.

Varian panted, "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm so so sorry" he said, his chest heaving. Eugene's eyes widened. Panic attack.

Varian began to breathe shallow, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out in Eugene's arms, still going full force, leaving the man dazed.

The door opened, suddenly, and quickly the other three adults came in, before closing the door again. Cassandra was so confused as she saw what was happening.

"Please help" Eugene said desperately after he'd made sure Varian was decent.

"What in the name of Corona happened?!" Lance cried.

"He had to pee. The glass wasn't enough" Eugene answered shortly.

"The glass—" Rapunzel looked at the water cup on the table, filled with urine, "oh."

"Wow, he really had to go! Is he still peeing?!" Cassandra hissed, "Eugene, what the hell is going on? Why did you let it get that bad?!"

"I was asleep and he tried to wake me up, but I was like—literally knocked out! And we didn't figure out a bathroom system before this, so I didn't know what to do! Now Lance, help me get him to the restroom please! We need to clean him up."

"Oh lord" Cassandra sighed, "I'll throw these in the laundry and get him a new pillow."

"....I'm going to need this story later" Rapunzel said.

"We can use it to embarrass him" Cassandra joked.

When everything was all cleaned up and Varian was washed off and changed, he woke up again. It was exhausting to keep passing out and waking up, but he supposed that was his life now.

"I'm really sorry" he mumbled, "f-for everything that just happened." He looked down at his lap, completely ashamed.

"Don't sweat it, Varian" Lance told him, "Eugene explained everything. Also, you took a hard crash when you jumped out of the bed."

Cassandra nodded, "if this is ever to happen again, just know that we'd rather have to clean the bed than risk another injury. You're too fragile right now, okay?"

Varian blushed. He didn't want to talk about his accident, so he just nodded and allowed his bangs to fall over his eyes.

Cassandra smirked, "Well, this is adorable and all, but me and Rapunzel have some stuff to attend to" she said, "we're going to speak with my father. And the guards who did this to you."

Varian gulped and nodded again, "what happened to them?"

Cassandra gave him a small smile, "they're in jail for now, don't worry. We're taking care of the problem. How about you just get some rest?" Cassandra asked, "you look like you're going to pass out any minute. You don't need to worry. They are not going to escape. Their hands and feet are chained against the wall, they're in separate cells, and they have double locks."

The boy simply nodded again. It brought him great comfort, knowing there were very slim chances of them escaping. As he sat there, he realized his throat hurt—like, really hurt. He could probably chalk that up to all the screaming, along with the fact that he hadn't used his voice this much in a long time.

"Lance, Eugene, do not do anything to irritate his wounds, and give him some of that medicine before he goes to sleep, alright?" Cassandra questioned.

"Yes ma'am!" Both of them said in unison, saluting to her.

She groaned, rubbing her temples, "i'm putting this kids life in the hands of idiots."

Rapunzel giggled, "have some faith, Cass!" And with that, they left Varian's fate in the hands of the two men. What a mistake.