A/n: I know you guys are probably tired of varian pissing himself but if you take a look at my profile, you'll see that 70% of my books are pissfics and the one that aren't have at least one chapter where a character either pisses themselves or piss is mentioned so deal with it💀

Thank you, loyal readers and enjoy the chapter!

Varian began to slowly blink awake when light began to stream through the cracks in his window's curtain. He yawned, rolling over and closing his eyes again. He felt so peaceful.

His eyes shot open when he felt something warm and wet beneath him. He shifted a little, and his worries were confirmed.

He wet the bed.

  He wet the bed.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. Why was his vision getting so blurry?! He rubbed furiously at his eyes, no. No, don't cry. Rapunzel wouldn't yell at him for this. She wouldn't ridicule him or laugh at him, or force him to sit in it until he got cold, uncomfortable and itchy.

Eugene wouldn't do that either. Lance wouldn't, and Cassandra wouldn't. He would be okay. He rubbed his eyes again, blinking rapidly to force the tears away. Someone would be there any moment to feed him. He just had to simply tell them, and they would fix it. They wouldn't be annoyed or angry or anything!

  He heard a knock on the door, and the familiar sound of the door knob jiggling with the sound of keys being turned. And his anxiety grew.

  The door opened, and in walked Eugene, surprisingly, with a tray of fruit, Rapunzel following close behind. Cassandra and Lance also followed. Great. Why did everyone have to come in here the one day he wet the bed?!

"Good morning Varian" she said as she closed and locked the door behind her, "how are you feeling?"

"Um..i'm doing good" he shifted uncomfortably, cringing when his wet gown stuck to him.

"That's great! Any pain?" She questioned upon noticing the tears in his eyes.

"No, no pain" he said, swallowing.

  Rapunzel didn't quite believe him, but continued, "Oh, well we got you breakfast! And we brought Ruddiger a special treat—a fruit pie!" Rapunzel cried.

"Cassandra made it. It's delicious" Lance said.

"You made an apple pie in the middle of the night? For Ruddiger?" Varian asked, a shaky smirk on his face.

"Well—" Cassandra began, blushing, "shut up, he's a good raccoon!"

"He appreciates it" Varian chuckled, watching the raccoon chittered happily as he ate the pie. Varian went silent, trying to work up the courage to interrupt the nice conversation they were having and tell them that he wet the bed.

"Something wrong?" Cassandra asked, noticing his silence, "do you need to use the bottle?"

"Uhm..." he blushed, looking down, pushing himself up, with great effort, "no...but um, about that..." he whispered, slowly taking the surprisingly dry blanket off of him and revealing a large, dark puddle underneath him, and his soaking wet clothes, he took a deep breath, stay calm, "I uh, I wet the bed. Sometime in the middle of the night.."

"Again?!" Eugene exclaimed incredulously.

Varian bit his lip, trying to keep it from trembling. Don't cry don't cry don't cry, "i'm sorry..." his voice cracked, and he felt tears run down his cheeks, fuck, he was crying, "I didn't meant to" he sniffled, unable to stop his chin from wobbling, "I—I just woke up like this..."

"EUGENE!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"Way to go, Fitzherbert!" Cassandra cried.

Lance glared, looking seconds away from tackling his best friend.

"Wait—wait Varian, don't cry! Hairstripe" he exclaimed, "i'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. It's okay, really. Come on, i'll bring you to the bathroom, okay? We can get you all wiped up. And changed. How does that sound?"

Varian wiped his eyes and sniffled quietly, nodding. He knew his face was red, and he was biting his lip so hard that it hurt.

"Alright. Girls, turn around" he instructed.

When they did, he unstrung Varian's gown, leaving the soaking garment on the bed, and leaving the boy nude. He wrapped a towel that Lance had helpfully provided around the boy's waist, before picking him up and bringing him to the bathroom, Lance following to close the door behind him.

Cassandra opened her eyes and worked on grabbing a small laundry basket to gather up the wet clothes in as Rapunzel worked on stripping the bed.

They put the gown and sheets in the basket, and Cassandra cleaned the mattress protector, "let's bring this to the laundry area."

Rapunzel nodded, closing and locking the door behind her as they left, going down the castle's stairs with Cassandra to the basement.

"Rapunzel! What's..all this?" A voice called, catching up to her. Rapunzel froze.

"Oh! Uhm, mom!" She chuckled, "oh, this? This is nothing...nothing at all!"

Arianna caught sight of the wet hospital gown, "is it..."

"He had an accident" Rapunzel replied shortly, "he also has a bladder infection."

"Oh, poor thing" the queen frowned.

Cassandra nodded, "yeah. Eugene and Lance are getting him cleaned up. I'll deal with the laundry—Rapunzel, can you get him a new gown?"

Rapunzel nodded and hurried off, while Cassandra continued to fill in the queen.

————————————————

"I can do it myself" Varian said hastily, "it hurts but I can still do it!"

"Kid, I don't want you bending around. Your chest is in...horrible condition. And if you tear your stitches again Cassandra might throw all of us out the window" Eugene chuckled.

"Okay...okay. Fine. You're safe. I trust you..." he mumbled, though still closed his eyes, "you can do it."

Eugene's heart swelled, "i'm flattered" he said, keeping his tone light.

Varian was quickly wiped down and redressed when Rapunzel knocked and gave a gown to Lance. Once the bed was remade, Varian was brought back out to finally just sit down and eat his breakfast.

—————————————————

Rapunzel sighed. Breakfast had long been over, and noon was approaching. She had to talk to Varian, but really didn't want to upset him. But what she was going to do needed to be done. They couldn't just put it off forever.

"Okay, so this morning has been..quite the rollercoaster!" Rapunzel exclaimed, "but...I think that the rest of the day is promising! I mean, you're managing to keep the fruit down, isn't that something?" Rapunzel chuckled.

"I'm still scared it's going to come back up. My stomach hurts" Varian cringed.

"Oh. Well...I hope you don't, but if you do it's alright! I just wanted to tell you that i'm going to see my father" Rapunzel said casually, ripping it off like a bandaid.

"Oh...your father?" Varian mumbled.

Rapunzel nodded grimly, "I have to tell him, Varian. That we...have you here."

"Oh" Varian said quietly, "oh. Um, okay" his voice wavered and he blinked several times, becoming aware of Eugene's hand on his back, rubbing circles. He allowed his tears to run down his face as he closed his eyes, "s-sorry" he sniffled, "I just...he's going to send me back, isn't he?" His voice broke, "please, don't let me go back."

"Varian. I prom—I guarentee, that my father will not be putting you back in the dungeons. I won't let it happen. You have paid for your crimes in the worst way possible, and you deserve freedom after all you've been through. You've already proven that you're not dangerous anymore" she said.

"I've been taking notes" Cassandra chimed in, "on your attitude, your behaviors, what you do, what you talk about, interests, that kind of thing. I've made lists of your injuries and the extent of them, as well as how your mental state is. That's why i've been carrying this clipboard around. When Lance and Eugene are the only ones with you, they give me a little report. This is all for your case, to show the king just how horribly his system failed you. All the neglect you've been through."

Varian sat there, speechless, "I...wow."

Cassandra nodded, "yeah. There is a lot. And we are going to present to him today. Varian, you can't even walk right now. You look like a starved war survivor who just got out of a torture room. You can't even keep down hazelnut soup, or puke without tearing your stitches" she forced the emotion out of her voice, "and if the king still wants to send you back—after all he has already done to you, then we will figure something out."

Lance nodded, "we are not letting you go back. Not now, not ever."

Varian's bottom lip trembled, "Thank you guys. So much. I didn't—didn't think you cared this much about me. I just—I just don't know what to say about that. Just—thank you."

Eugene smiled gently, "he may want to have a trial."

"I'll do anything to prove to him that i've changed" Varian said seriously, "I mean him, his family and his kingdom no harm. If he doesn't forgive me, that's okay....maybe I don't deserve it."

"Varian. He is the one who doesn't deserve to be forgiven" Rapunzel said seriously, "after this, you may never be the same. Mentally, you may never recover. This kind of fear..this kind of trauma..it will stick with you, for the rest of your life" she said, looking him in the eyes, "he is the king. You were his responsibility, and he failed you. He allows these guards to do this to the prisoners, and just never checks on them. Leaves them rot. This mistreatment has to end."

Cassandra nodded, "who knows who else has been treated this way? How many other guards are so cruel?"

Varian nodded, "okay. okay, I understand. You're right. I wouldn't wish what happened to me upon my worst enemy. Go get em' princess."

————————————————

Rapunzel took Eugene and Cassandra's hands, taking a deep breath as she entered the throne room, Lance right behind them. She had been planning this meeting with her father for a while now, and specifically requested a formal setting.

Two guards, Stan and Pete, were stationed at the door, and the captain of the guard himself was stationed on the right side of the king, with his royal advisor, Nigel on the other.

"Rapunzel" her father greeted warmly, "whatever do you need, that's so serious it warrants such formal behavior? I half expected you to show up in shoes" he joked lightly.

Rapunzel didn't laugh. She didn't smile. Letting go of her friends hands, she stepped up. She needed to approach this calmly, but feircly. She wasn't going to show out and scream—not yet. That would make him not want to listen. She had to keep her voice steady, and show that she wasn't going down without a fight, "well, this is about Varian, actually. I'm sure you remember him?"

The queen tensed up, and so did Rapunzel, ever so slightly, when the king froze.

"Rapunzel" he said, recovering quickly, though anger was evident through his features, "I thought I told you to forget about that..that scum" he glared.

"Oh...like you did?" She spat with such venom that Cassandra herself was taken aback, "you never even checked up on him down there. Really? You just left him to rot?"

"My daughter—"

"No! if you don't hear me out you aren't going to have a daughter anymore" she said darkly.

"Oh no she didn't" Pete muttered.

She continued in the shocked silence, "Out of all the things you lied about, this is definitely among the worst!" She exclaimed, "that poor boy—"

"That dangerous boy!" Nigel interrupted,  narrowing his eyes, "princess, have you forgotten that day? In the blizzard, when he attacked you?"

"You mean when he shook me? Desperately begging for help?" Rapunzel asked, "from someone when he ran all the way here from old Corona in that horrible blizzard—and then you had him thrown out!"

"Nigel is my most trusted advisor. He's the one who suggested that I keep the boy in the lower dungeons and switch out Stan and Pete. I trust his word, and you should too. Back in that blizzard, I trust that he made the correct choice, throwing him out."

Rapunzel breathed in deeply, "you're wrong."

"Why do you suddenly care so much? Why have you been thinking of him? Rapunzel. He is dangerous!"

"Father. What I came here to tell you, is that last week, we broke Varian out of the dungeons" she confessed, ripping it off like a bandaid, "He has been living in a room in the castle for the past week."

"What?!" His father exclaimed, "Rapunzel! You broke a prisoner out of my dungeons?? He is dangerous! He can't just roam free!"

"Oh, I can assure you he isn't 'roaming free!'" Rapunzel cried with finger quotes, "he has been neglected and abused so harshly by your system, that he can't even walk right now! Though we can discuss his injuries later..."

"Surely, you're exaggerating! He's been out a whole week?! Is my system failing me, how did I not know about this? Captain, did you know about this?!" The king barked.

The Captain of the guard sighed thinking that he may as well tell the truth, "Yes, your majesty. I did. Though I can assure you, you will agree with us once you learn of all that he's been through."

"We compiled a list, my king" Cassandra interjected, "a list of some things that the boy went through during his time in prison. Most of this was gathered through vague comments, snippets in his words, and mostly nightmares. I've written down his attitudes, behaviors, injuries—everything. What happened to him is unacceptable. So let's start with the neglect."

The room fell silent as they awaited his response.

"Very well" King Frederic growled, "but my mind is not going to change. As soon as we're done here, the guards will tear apart the castle, brick by brick, until we find him and put him back in the dungeons."

————————————————————————-

Rapunzel was growing increasingly irritated with her father as time went on. It had been about thirty minutes since they got there, and now her father was screaming at the captain of the guard for allowing Varian's escape, having not given Cassandra a chance to read off her list before he got extremely offended at the term 'neglect.'

"Maybe he deserved this!" King Frederic exclaimed, "honestly, Rapunzel, how could you have done this, after all he's done? To you, to the kingdom—to your mother?"

"Dad! The kingdom faced zero casualties! Everybody was fine and all the damages were repaired! I'd say everyone in the kingdom has moved on from this! It's not a big deal, it's something the citizens look back on like—like a cool action book! It's the most exciting thing that's ever happened to them! It's like a horror story townsfolk tell to scare tourists! And people have conspiracy theories about what happened to Varian too, because you never told the public!" She cried.

King Frederick opened his mouth, but Rapunzel interrupted.

"You're the only one still holding a petty grudge against a kid who had no one who would help! How many weeks was he alone, with no adult while his father was right there, encased in the amber?"

"Rapunze—"

"How many weeks, did that boy spend, alone?" She repeated, "With no adult? In a cold, lonely home, sick and—and exhausted, and in pain? He had weeks for the wound to fester, for the betrayal to sink in. That I, someone who he actually thought of as a friend, would just allow my guards to throw him into the snow? He wasn't thinking clearly. He just wanted his dad. I know you hate him. But after what he's been through, your petty little grudge means nothing" she said as civilly as she could.

"Arianna. You hold no grudge?" The king asked, turning to his wife and raising his brow, "you've been awfully quiet."

"I knew" she spoke, clasping her hands in front of her, "And I saw him. Really, Frederic, you're being unreasonable. Listen to what Cassandra has to say, at least. He looks horrible. I could bearly even look at his face" she frowned. "Oh, and he was sincere in his apologies. Very genuine, I don't believe you can fake that kind of remorse."

"Arianna—have you forgotten what he's done to you? What you've been through?" Frederic asked, taking her hand.

"What i've been through?" She laughed, though there was no humor behind it as she pulled her hand away, "After what you see what you've put him through..." she sighed, blinking away tears, "it's hard to look at him. But it's so much harder to look at you. To look at you, knowing you allowed this to happen, and you show no remorse."

"Arianna—"

"Frederic," she sighed, "I haven't forgotten, no. But it's been nearly two years now, and it seems so long ago. It doesn't affect me much. But I can assure you, I am okay. But that boy...he will surely never forget. He may never be okay again. He won't come out of this without permanent damage, i'm sure. Both physical and mental. This boy...he deserves more than you've given him."

Frederic sighed.

"If I may, your majesty," Cassandra began, clearing her throat, and reading off her list, "let's start with his physical injuries first, shall we?"

————————————————————

Frederic was absolutely stunned.

The list of injuries had been read, every bit of it. And he couldn't believe that this had happened. How could he have let his happen? He thought they were exaggerating at first. He had expected Varian to be roughed up in prison, yes, but nothing so horrible! Surely, the boy's state couldn't have been that bad?

Though Rapunzel had showed him detailed, horrifying drawings of the boy and the extent of his injuries. And oh, if Quirin wasn't in that amber....well, the king knew for sure that he would follow in his son's footsteps and commit treason.

One look around the room, and he could tell that this was no exaggeration. This was the entire truth. At her father's silence, Rapunzel spoke up, "as you can see, these are serious injuries. Serious charges."

"Charges?" Frederic inquired, furrowing his brows.

"Oh, yes. Neglect, physical abuse, starvation, emotional abuse, dehydration....the list goes on and on. No king should ever let this happen, even to the worst prisoner. Execution is arguably more humane than this form of torture and suffering" Rapunzel said, "and yes, while these particular charges will be steered more towards the guards...you can't get out of this with no repercussions, dad."

"Your charges will likely be much, much less than these guards" Cassandra said, "this is directly their fault. You simply didn't check on him, which is honestly acceptable, since, y'know the reports were fake. You were given good reports so why would you have ever checked?" She questioned, "the dungeon really is no place for a king. It's direct responsibility goes to the captain of the guard to report back. The king usually only deals with the more legal side of things. Only coming down if something serious is happening."

"Exactly!" The king exclaimed, "see? This girl knows what she's talking about!"

She smirked, "The blame chain goes as so: The Guards, the Captain of the Guards, and you, your majesty. My father isn't exactly more so to blame than you, though, he's the one whose actual job it is to check, and then report back to you. But you had him switched, for no apparent reason. Plus, Over a year of not checking is excessive, especially for one so young, and one you deem so dangerous" Cassandra explained, "though upon more recent studies, we came to the conclusion, my king, that you ordered the captain to stay away from Varian. Be it from Nigel's suggestions or not, you still did."

"I—can she be my lawyer?" The king questioned.

"No, she's too good" Rapunzel said slyly.

"Well, let's go over all the charges" Cassandra began again, "these ones are for the guards, not necessarily you, though they could potentially tie in, "Neglect, emotional and physical child abuse, manipulation, starvation and malnourishment, torture, forced dehydration, and lack of cleanliness—the cell was never cleaned and he was forced to sit in messes from puke, blood and his own bodily functions, and he was never bathed."

"...Woah" the king sighed, sitting back, "that certainly...certainly, is a lot. Any more?"

"Well, there's a lot of different abuses that go under that category. The boy even tried to commit suicide within the cells multiple times. I'm sure there's much more—we're still gathering evidence."

"So the guards did all that?" The king asked quietly. His mind was racing, torn between feeling remorse and feeling like the child deserved to be hurt for what he'd done.

"This is preposterous! King Frederic, Varian deserved every little thing that happened to him in that cell! This is precisely why I advised you to switch him to Jefferey and Frank! To move him to the lower dungeons!" Nigel slapped a hand over his mouth, realizing what he'd just said.

Rapunzel turned her head over to Nigel, "you...you knew this would happen? And you don't care?" She asked quietly. Her eyes held a quiet flame behind them as she awaited a response.

Nigel looked guilty, before sighing, "yes. I knew Jefferey and Frank would be rough. I even...well, I told them to be rough. To give him everything and anything they thought that he deserved."

Rapunzel's eyes shined with tears, "after everything we told you. Do you have no regrets? Are you happy that this happened to a boy so sweet, filled with so much potential?"

"Of course i'm not proud of my actions. But I can not say that the boy didn't deserve it. Princess, he tricked you into committing treason!"

"Well, this is much deeper now that we know you caused this! That you wanted this to happen, that you told them to not hold back!" Rapunzel cried.

King Frederic looked between Nigel and the shocked faces of Rapunzel and her friends. He hadn't thought Nigel would do something like that, "Nigel. This is treason. To manipulate me like this."

"I had the best intentions for you!" Nigel argued.

"Well" Cassandra said, her voice angry, "there's a lot more that happened to him. A big one I hadn't mentioned yet, was that these guards were very perverted" Cassandra began, her eyes never leaving Nigel's. She kept her voice calm, "Child molestation took place within the cell. And based on Varian's behavior alone, it would be safe to assume that touching wasn't the only thing they did. Though he gave us a verbal confession that they did, in fact, rape him. Multiple times. He isn't very comfortable talking about it."

The king and queen both gasped at that.

She stared at Nigel, dead in the eyes, "So tell me, Nigel, oh, innocent saint," she spat, "who has only the best intentions—did Varian, a fourteen year old boy, deserve to be hurt in one of the most horrible ways possible? Did he deserve to be used, raped for the guards pleasure and then thrown aside when they were finished?"

Nigel stayed silent in his shock, and Cassandra only grew angrier, "well?! Did he?!"

"No!" Nigel yelled, "No..."

Rapunzel slowly walked up to Nigel, tears spilling down her cheeks. Her eyes were large and shining as she stared at him. Her breaths were short and shaking. She stopped walking when they were just a foot away from each other. Everybody stared, tense as they wondered what she was going to do.

Rapunzel drew a quick fist in the air, and shocked everyone by sucker punching Nigel in the face. Blood rushed from his nose as she brought her fist back in. He fell to his knees and bowed at the princesses feet, "i'm sorry. I'm sorry, i'm so, so sorry."

Rapunzel said nothing. Nigel hadn't cared. Not when he heard that Varian had been starved and beaten and tortured. She found it insane that he only cared now. Now that he knew he could get into serious trouble. Glaring at him, she spat on his trembling form, "you are pathetic. If it were up to me, you'd never see the light of day again. Let's hope my father is more merciful than I am. Though unluckily for you, he doesn't have a very good track record."

She walked away to go stand next to Eugene. Who was very shocked, and very proud.

Arianna hadn't even cared that Nigel had just gotten punched. She was still staring at Cassandra, "I—he was what?" The queen asked quietly, her shock evident on her face. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest. The boy, he'd—he'd been through so much..so much, that she could barely stand to hear of it, and now they drop this bombshell? She herself wanted to punch Nigel.

"We ourselves just figured it out" Cassandra said, trying to recover from watching Rapunzel do something so horrendously out of character, "he told us a little bit about it. He told us, that some nights were better than others. Sometimes they weren't so rough, and dirty. We were told that they'd lye on the floor with him, both guards naked, and him naked as well. They would cuddle him like that and touch him all over. After a while, they just kept him naked all the time. They never gave his clothes back."

"Oh my" Arianna whispered, covering her mouth, "this is worse than I ever could have imagined. I think I may be sick."

Pete and Stan, who were stationed at the door, tried to keep up the look of professionalism, but at that revelation, it was nearly impossible. They stared, wide eyed at Cassandra, and looked up to the captain, who had a similar expression on his face.

"Nigel played a direct part in the child abuse. I want him thrown into a cell right this very second so that I can question him personally" Rapunzel said. Stan nodded, going to pick Nigel pff the floor and drag him away, kicking and screaming. She got a sense of deja vu.

Frederic stared at his daughter, her face filled with determination, and he just sighed, "Rapunzel. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will admit, I should have done more. I should have done what I said I was going to. But I was just so angry, you have to understand."

Rapunzel's expression softened, "I know you want to do what's best for you family. For your kingdom. And I understand that making so many decisions all the time can be extremely stressful, but what you have to understand is that Varian is a kid. He's just a boy, he doesn't know how to properly regulate his emotions. And what I could gather from how his father acted—he wasn't a very touchy feely man."

"You're right" the king confirmed.

"To add to that, he grew up without his mother. Had to deal with grief and pain within his home. It probably was quiet, sad a lot of days. I'm sure there were times his father just couldn't make himself do anything. Not to mention, he never had proper friends. He has basically no social skills, he's an outcast. I'd say all these factors play into this somehow. You can't really blame him for how he grew up" she explained.

King Frederic nodded along with his daughter, "You're right. I think I understand now."

"You know, the kid probably doesn't want to press charges, knowing him" Eugene said, "maybe against the guards but especially not against the king."

"Then we'll make him" Rapunzel said simply.

"Rapunzel!" Frederic exclaimed.

"If you aren't going to own up and admit that you were wrong, someone has to show you!" She exclaimed, "Varian has already admitted to his wrongs, and apologized for them. You are being stubborn. Once his father gets out of the amber i'm sure he'll be ready to press all kinds of charges!"

"Fine! After hearing the extent of his problems, I admit...that the measures were extreme. I should have checked up on him, and the guards who did this to him will be punished accordingly. I wish to see him though" Frederic said, "to determine for myself weather or not he's going back to the dungeons."

"He isn't" Rapunzel said shortly, "I will find a way to take the throne for myself if you so much as even think about that."

"You don't mean that" Frederic said, his eyes wide as the room went silent.

Rapunzel frowned, "dad I am very serious about this. He was treated horribly. And I do think you should see him, but just...right now, you need time to think. I don't want you to get angry and yell at him or anything. He's safe, dad. He's not dangerous anymore, I promise."

"Right now he isn't" Frederic grumbled, but one look from his wife changed his attitude, "fine. He will not go back to the dungeons. On one condition: he is not to do any alchemy."

"Dad!" Rapunzel gasped, "alchemy is his entire life! It was his mother's legacy, it's a part of her that became a part of him, you can't take that away!"

"Are we going to keep on ignoring the elephant in the room, then?" Frederic asked impatiently.

"Dad, what do you mean—"

"I don't know, maybe the fact that he killed his father!" Frederic boomed.

The room fell silent. Arianna stared at him in complete and utter shock.

"Oh he did not go there" Stan whispered.

Cassandra's mouth was agape, and she placed a hand over it in surprise. She locked eyes with Eugene, who shared a similar look.

Rapunzel's eyes widened, before they set in a glare, "Dad. That is not—that is not fair. He only created the amber, because-because you lied to your kingdom!" She exclaimed, "you let it become such a huge problem, that I felt the need to go off and ask a kid for help! A kid! I brought him into this because you lied! And dad—while Varian's little attack had no casualties, the rocks have! The rocks have impaled innocent citizens!"

"Rapunzel—"

"Toddlers" she cut him off, before continuing, a cold, far off look in her eyes, "toddlers, who were playing with toys in the neighborhood. Shrieking with laughter, joy in every corner of the street as mothers and fathers watched, engaging in light conversation while their children played together. Toddlers, who just moments later dropped their toys in shock when they watched their parents get impaled by the rocks."

The mood in the room shifted, Frederic's eyes widening as he began to take his daughter much more seriously.

  Rapunzel continued, "Toddlers, who finally catch the ball they're throwing. They turn around to shout at their mothers, but instead of screaming with joy, they scream in horror when they see rocks impaling their parents through their chests"

"I—" He began.

She cut him off, "did you really think that everyone made it out okay?" her eyes filled with tears, "families—dozens and dozens of them—were torn out of their homes, everything they knew and loved being taken away from them in a desperate attempt to escape. But not everyone was so lucky."

"She's right" Lance said quietly, "The rocks would sprout out from nowhere. You never know when they're going to pop up. Dozens of people have been impaled. Shops, houses, neighborhoods, all destroyed. Varian was trying to help. He's always tried to help his village. And his father isn't dead—at least, we can't be sure of it yet. He needs his alchemy to help his father. Quirin still has hope."

Frederic sighed. "Quirin..was a dear friend of mine. I saw him often, as he was the village leader. He's been the leader ever since I can remember him being here...I even remember his wife a bit. It's..impossible to stay angry at such a dear friends child for so long. Especially if that child has the power to free him." Frederic sighed at his daughter's hopeful look, "there is much to discuss...though if he is to use alchemy, he is to be watched at all times. And he is free from the dungeons. He will not return. But I want there to be a watchful eye kept on him."

Rapunzel sighed in relief, running up to her father and hugging him, "oh, dad, thank you so much! You will not regret this! And don't worry—he won't be using any alchemy any time soon. He can't even walk right now, or feed himself really—he needs a steady hand for alchemy, he knows that!"

"I hope the dear boy is going to be okay" Arianna frowned, thougj she was relieved to see her husband finally give in, "is he recovering well?"

"Not really, though it's barely even been a week. As of right now, he can't really handle much other than broth, and his wounds are still persistent. He tears his stitches and opens his wounds frequently by just puking. Though he isn't getting necessarily worse, and his fever hasn't gotten back up to where it was a few days ago, so there's that" She smiled.

Arianna gave her a smile as well, "well. I think we're done here for now. I have to speak with your father and the captain, you guys should go check on him. Has he been alone this whole time?"

"Yes, but we gave him everything he needed for a few hours. Some snacks, some toys for Ruddiger, a quill and ink for his little diary I gave him....and a few other things" Rapunzel smiled, "he probably just slept though. He's been exhausted lately. Still fighting off some pretty bad sickness" she looked at her dad, "you know, a cold dirty dungeon that never gets cleaned leaves little room for optimal health conditions. Especially for a growing boy."

She bid them goodbye, and with that she left, not allowing her father to get another word in. The second the door closed behind her, she broke, "That was terrifying" she breathed as her friends followed her out and she closed the door, "I can't believe it worked!"

"Sunshine, you did wonderful in there" Eugene said sincerely, gingerly taking her hand and giving her a light kiss, "I think you really persuaded him."

"Yeah Raps, that was amazing" Cassandra smiled, "I could barely keep myself together when you punched Nigel! That was amazing!"

"Oh—yeah!" Eugene cried, "oh man, that was epic!"

"Is it bad that...that I don't feel guilty?" Rapunzel mumbled, "i've never felt good about hurting anyone before, but...but I want to hurt him again."

"It's not bad. Not at all. Look alive princess, this is just the beginning. Wait until you get a hold of the guards who did this" Lance said.

Rapunzel nodded, "yeah. Yeah, let's go tell Varian. He's going to be so happy!"