A/n: I swear to everything earth and sky if one of you go in the comments like "☝️🤓Actually, Trials aren't held like this" I will find you. Let's play make believe because i'm not a lawyer, and everything I looked up on google was too complicated. This took a couple days to write because normal trials are boring and I like this better. i did not do any research because this is fan FICTION. Hope this helps. Enjoy, I LOVE you all!!!

Very long chapter sorry

Also!!! TRIGGER WARNING

Rape and talk about Varian's time in prison. Like not graphic I don't think but details happen

Another week passed relatively calmly. Rapunzel met with her parents for a while every day to report to her father about Varian's behavior, as he insisted she do. During that time, they also met to make arrangements for a trial. She insisted on getting an impartial judge, and the king reluctantly agreed.

Jefferey and Frank were questioned separately for evidence multiple times a day by the captain of the guard. He gathered enough evidence for the trial by the end of the week.

Varian was getting...well, he was getting a little better. He hadn't puked up his food in two whole days, so that was certainly good. Rapunzel wasn't sure if he was actually getting his fill though, his portions were still small, and while he was eating crackers and fruits, his diet still consisted mostly of soups.

Since the trial was quickly approaching, to say that Varian was nervous would be an understatement. He was practically passing out every two minutes, and having frequent panic attacks. The thought of having to be up in front of everybody in Corona was terrifying.

It was so close, and he was getting ready. He was asking constant questions and having a total mental breakdown. He did not like what he was hearing.

"You're meaning to tell me that I have to go in there in my hospital gown?" He seethed, "I—i'm the only one who's going to be underdressed! And severely underdressed! Attire for these kind of things are suits and ties—or or dresses!" Varian cried.

"Hey, the hospital gown is a gown, so it's like a dress!" Lance exclaimed.

Eugene set a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, smiling gently, "Varian" The boy's eyes shined with tears as he looked up at the older man, "your wounds would be severely irritated if we tried to get you into one of those fussy suits. You could break skin or wounds, trust me. You'll be better off like this."

The boy groaned, balling his hands into fists and putting them over his eyes, "how am I even going to get there?! I've already proven myself unable to walk!"

"You won't like the idea, but i'll be carrying you in" Eugene said, rolling his eyes at the face Varian pulled and putting a finger up as the boy opened his mouth, "you'll like it a lot better than a bunch of guards escorting you in, wouldn't you?"

Varian sighed and nodded, leaning back a little bit and pouting. He mentally prepared himself, knowing that this was going to be the most humiliating experience of his life.

"Hey, Varian I can't exactly make your hair look even somewhat presentable if you're going to lay on me like that" Cassandra smirked.

He shot up, "sorry!"

"You're good, kid" she chuckled, "now come on, how about we give you one of those man ponytails? They're so cute."

Varian nodded, "the trial is in four days, not today, why do you have to do my hair?"

"I have to try out some styles! Don't you want to look your best despite the clothing situation? Suits and dress pants are far too tight and uncomfortable for you right now, given all the injuries, so hair is the only fancy thing we can do" Cassandra explained.

"Okay. Where are Adira and Hector, by the way?" He questioned. Over the past week, they'd both kept him company when the others couldn't. Telling stories of their pasts and of his father.

"Well, we don't exactly know how they'll...react to everything. They don't even know half the stuff we know about what's happened to you. And even we don't know terribly too much" Rapunzel explained, "we can tell there's much more. So we are keeping Adira and Hector busy showing them their seats and explaining that they can't interrupt if they get upset."

"You know, I wouldn't be against it if they murdered the guards" Eugene shrugged.

"I would" Cassandra said, "I want their deaths to be slow, drawn out and painful. I want to make their lives living nightmares, I want to hire a torturer and I want to send them to hell where they belong."

Lance nodded darkly along.

"Well, you certainly could have worded it differently, but I feel the same" Rapunzel said, "Varian, they deserve what's going to happen to them. And they will receive consequences. Trust me."

"We even got an unbiased judge! Usually, the King would be the judge of these things, and he will have most of the say of course, but because of how complex the case is, we chose to hire an actual judge who specializes in these sort of cases" Lance told him.

"All that's left to do now is wait for the rest of the evidence to be given to the lawyers, and for the citizens to be informed of the trial, and the fact that you've been released from prison" Cassandra said.

"And hey—four days is a little bit of time away. Maybe we'll be able to dress you up? Just a little bit?" Eugene offered, people will only see your top half anyways. Maybe an oversized suit jacket will do."

Varian nodded, "Okay."

—————————————————

"We are gathered here today for the trial of Varian, son of Quirin, to explain the situation of his freedom and the trial against guards Jefferey and and Frank." The judge announced, "Varian and the guards will be joining us shortly."

All the townsfolk were there. People from Corona, people from Old corona, people from cities in the area, rural and urban. There were guards stationed everywhere, at every door and every post where a stand and a microphone was. Varian's little spot had Stan and Pete on either side of his little podium, which was most likely on purpose. Small comforts for the kid.

The crowd erupted into gossip and whispers as soon as the judge stopped talking.

  'There's no way he's back!'

'I thought the boy had died.'

'He's dangerous! Lock him up! Keep that filth in those dungeons!'

'I miss the boy. He was always such a sweet little thing. I think he was punished a bit harshly...'

'I wonder what happened to him! Oh, and what's up with the guards? I'm sure whatever they did was warranted! They must be over reacting.'

The room fell silent when the doors opened, and the guards, Jefferey and Frank walked in, shackled with chains. Perfect health, perfect condition. All that had happened to them was them being questioned.

The townsfolk were properly confused. What had happened?

The room held their breaths as Varian entered next, being carried in by Eugene. He looked like he was asleep. The boy was no longer in a hospital gown, but a loose fitted, handsome little outfit, Nothing fancy, though there was a bow tie around his neck and his hair was slicked back with gel, in a low ponytail.

And the crowd went absolutely silent, wide eyed, stunned. Their minds were running rampant though, because what?! What?! That little thing, that—that shell of a person, whose skin was practically purple from how many ugly, nasty bruises he had, who had scars—thick, huge, ugly scars and whip lashes, all over his arms, and legs, everywhere, with a crusted, busted up lip and a bruised face...

How was it the same boy?

Many knew Varian as that sweet little kid who always tried to help. Sure, he was misunderstood, and called a menace, but he was always kind and helpful.

They just couldn't believe it. The crowd erupted into chatter once more, many folks crying at how terribly ill he looked, how the boy lacked his rosy, lively cheeks, how he looked void of all life. Was he really just sleeping? Or was he dead?

The crowd quieted down as Eugene made his next move.

Eugene carried him up to his little pulpit and sat him down in a chair, before going up to the microphone and speaking into it, "sorry, yeah he kind of passed out. He got like, really nervous. Before he wakes up i'd just like to say that he can't walk right now...that's why I carried him in. Today's one of the bad days for the kiddo. Oh, and he also apologizes for being underdressed" he chuckled, "a real suit would have irritated his injuries. Kid insisted on wearing a bow tie though. Also the raccoon stays."

He turned away from the microphone, and without even touching the boy, simply whispered, "Varian, wake up."

His eyes shot open immediately and he stared in front of him for a few seconds, before blinking and rubbing the tiredness from his eyes, "what—oh" he said, clamping his mouth shut immediately when he realized his mouth was right in front of a microphone, and he was facing an uncomfortably large crowd.

He stared nervously out in front of him at the crowd. Was the entire kingdom there?! He blushed deeply and covered his mouth, earning a few chuckles.

His breath hitched, and Eugene noticed that his face was turning a concerning shade of purple, because apparently the kid forgot how to breathe. He made grabby hands at Eugene, and he went towards him some more and embraced the kid in a strong, firm hug.

"I c-can't do this" Varian whispered, breathing harshly, "they're all looking at me...they all hate me, they—they—"

"Shh" Eugene whispered sweetly, "Varian, you got this. You're going to do amazingly up here. See, you've got Rud, you've got Stan and Pete...they're nice, right?"

"Y-yeah" he sniffled, "I like them. They're funny."

The two guards smiled at each other and made various i'm better than you faces.

"Good, good. Now, this thing is getting ready to start, and I have to go and sit over there" he gestured, "they've asked me, Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Lance to all speak because we're the ones helping you recover."

Varian bit his lip and nodded, hugging into Eugene tighter, "okay..okay..."

And since they were so close to the microphone and the crowd could faintly hear, they erupted into awe's about seven times throughout the exchange.

The trial started a few minutes after Eugene went down to sit with everyone else, and Varian was looking at his little pulpit instead of at the crowd and picking at his nails.

"Hello, Varian" the judge said, and the boy snapped up to look at him. The kid just looked so small sitting there.

And Varian had absolutely no idea what to do. He froze. Was he supposed to say hi? Was he supposed to address him?! Nobody gave him a script!

He looked at Stan and Pete for help, because the room was growing uncomfortably silent, and Stan just whispered for him to say hello.

"Oh—uhm, Hi..." the microphone made a loud static sound and his heart had never dropped so fast, "oh! Sorry, sorry sorry.." he said, his breathing becoming heavier by the second. He was already messing it up.

Pete put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he flinched before looking up at him. He was given a comforting smile, and Varian gave him a watery one, before turning back to look at the judge, literal tears in his eyes as he clutched Ruddiger to his chest, who was chittering happily.

"It's quite alright, Varian" the judge chuckled.

It was so evident that the crowd felt bad for him—like, they were getting second hand anxiety from all of this.

"So, how was your morning? Anything out of the ordinary?" The judge asked, trying for small talk.

Varian just shook his head and stared in absolute terror.

"You're supposed to answer verbally" Stan mumbled.

"Oh uh sorry—no, no nothing unusual" he rambled, his voice cracking embarrassingly.

"Oh, really? How about you tell me a little bit about it?" He questioned.

"Uhhh okay. Um...I—wait what did I do?" He mumbled to himself.

The crowd erupted into giggles, and Varian almost jumped out of his seat because he had completely forgotten they were there.

"Oh! Something unusual did happen today! There wasn't blood in my puke" he said proudly, a smile appearing on his face.

The crowd went silent, because what the hell? He could hear the smack of Cassandra face palming and the sound of Eugene's sigh in the silent room.

"Oh, so you...throw up often?" The judge asked.

"Yeah..I can't keep much down anymore. The broth is becoming easier to stomach though, it's just that it's really hard to satisfy myself—too little I puke, too much I puke, it's really a guessing game" he shrugged.

"Oh my, well, let's hope that changes" he muttered, "I'm judge Paul, by the way."

"O-okay uh i'm Varian" he said awkwardly.

The judge smiled, "well I know that much."

Varian's cheeks turned dark as he put his arms on the pulpit and slammed his head into them, "oh my sun, of course you do" Varian mumbled into his arms, "i'm so stupid. You literally said it like five times."

The crowd started laughing, and Varian was sure it was out of pity, and somewhere he heard Cassandra's signature ice witch laugh and just wanted to throw himself into the sun.

"Come now, don't be embarrassed" Paul smiled, "I can tell you're very nervous today."

"Um..yeah" Varian squeaked, finally lifting his head up, his voice cracking severely. He crinkled his nose and furrowed his eyebrows before saying, "ew, puberty."

He clapped a hand over his mouth when everyone began giggling at him again, "sorry, sorry I-I didn't mean to say that."

"It's quite alright" the judge chuckled, "now how about we get into a quick recap, hm? We need to give some context about what's happened here..."

Varian nodded, "y-yeah...okay."

"You know, reading the crimes you've committed I can't believe you're the same boy. Treason, kidnapping, vandalism, theft, animal cruelty, mass brainwashing, and there was also a bunch of injuries of the royal guard, though...zero casualties so a big plus for you."

Varian frowned, looking anywhere except the now silent crowd of people that were staring at him.

"Varian, how do you plead to these charges?" The judge questioned, "we just need legal confirmation, don't worry. You won't face any repercussions."

"Oh, um...guilty" he chuckled nervously, "Everything you said was true."

"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?" The judge asked, "perhaps explaining your actions? Give me a run through. What was going through your mind?"

"Well, there was this...this outbreak of black rocks across Corona" he began, "...i'm sure everyone's familiar with it. The damage was so severe, i'm sure that repairs are still happening, but um, it was getting really bad and the princess asked me for my help..." he began, unsure of himself. He glanced over to Rapunzel, who gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up.

"How did you feel when she asked you to help?" Paul questioned.

"I was excited. You know, the princess of Corona asked me, a peasant farm boy, for help, I thought, woah! No way, she's seeking help from me? Nobody ever gives the dangerous alchemist a chance. Plus, I'm a teenager, so she must either be really desperate for answers, or she had faith in me or something which—well, that seemed a little unfathomable, but hey, I went with it" he shrugged.

"Yes, your little file says you enjoy helping the people of your little village in old corona with your alchemy" The judge said.

"Yes, but i'm described as a menace by most" he chuckled, "Alchemy is dangerous, and i'm very prone to explosions. Ask anyone in old corona, i've blown the entire village up a few times. I've had a couple of big projects, like systems to help the elderly out with farming. It's hard for them to lug those buckets of water around and walk all over the farm to water plants and feed animals. That one actually worked though."

"Well, you seemed like a very kind, good natured boy. People described you as bubbly, outgoing and always willing to lend a hand. Varian, what happened? Why did things change so drastically?" The judge questioned.

"Well, you know, teenagers. Always blow everything out of proportion" he said, earning himself a few more laughs, "wow, this is a really easy crowd, by the way they just can't stop it" he glanced at Eugene, who was beaming with pride, and he felt himself blush, "Anyway—there was a blizzard, like, a really bad blizzard that happened right as I was testing out some solution for the rocks. Me and my father had a little argument, and—"

"Oh, is that how you killed him?" The judge asked, looking at Varian's file.

The crowd went silent and still, it didn't even seem like anybody was breathing as the judge waited for a response.

"I—what?" Varian questioned, completely dumbfounded, "killed him? I didn't..." he mumbled.

"The king gave me a list of what you've done and it says right here that you murdered your father" he said.

Rapunzel has never glared so hard at her father, Varian decided.

Ooh, and the crowd of jurors and citizens knew how sore the subject was.

"I didn't—I didn't kill him" Varian said with a small voice, "he isn't—he's not...I encased him in amber by accident. The solution spilled all over the place while we were arguing, and he—he pushed me out of the way. It was supposed to be me. He saved me, but he was encased instead. It should've been me. He warned me not to mess with the rocks..I should have just listened to him. But I wanted to help."

He took in a shaky breath, "I don't know though. He's been in the amber for almost two years now. And while Amber is certainly known for its preserving elements, there is a possibility that he could be dead. We just won't know until we free him."

The judge frowned, "oh. Well, I apologize. What happened after you encased him?"

"Well, I ran from my house in old corona to the castle. I thought that Rapunzel would be able to help, but obviously, the blizzard was deadly, and she was acting as queen for the day so she couldn't just drop everything to come and see me. Thinking back, it was outrageous of me to even think that she could, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I was just...so scared" he explained.

"Hmm. Yes, so what happened after that?" The judge asked, taking notes.

"Well, the king's royal advisor, Nigel, kicked me out into the blizzard. But to be fair, I was out of my mind, panicking after she told me she couldn't leave with me, so I grabbed her. Oh, this wasn't the kidnapping by the way, I kinda just started shaking her? I have no idea what I was trying to do because I was the one who needed some sense shaken into me" Varian chuckled.

"He threw you into that blizzard? After you ran all the way there?" The judge questioned.

"Well, yeah. But it's understandable, he thought I was attacking the princess. Um, so I ran back to my house, but the blizzard was just...it was horrible by then. I couldn't breathe, there was so much wind and snow. But um, anyway. I felt betrayed because, you know, she promised to help me. So, I overreacted. Like, for real" he looked over to Rapunzel.

She was smiling sadly at him, and mouthed 'i'm sorry.'

Varian smiled, "she's been really genuine in her apologies though, and I suppose we both have been. I tricked her into committing treason and stealing the sundrop flower from her father after that, because I thought it would be able to free my father. But I figured out that Rapunzel was the sundrop after it didn't work, so I kidnapped the queen for bait" he looked over at the woman in question, "sorry again...by the way" he smiled sheepishly.

She returned the smile and gave him a polite wave.

"Yeah, I built automatons while I had her kidnapped because she was just a thing I was using to lure Rapunzel there. The automatons would attack her army while I grabbed her and took her inside. I tried to use Rapunzel's hair to break the amber but it didn't work and I'm pretty sure if I hadn't have stopped she would have died—oh wait, the animal cruelty!" He exclaimed, before covering his mouth, "sorry. That was loud."

"Go on" the judge said.

"Right, so before all this—right before I took the queen, I used alchemy to turn Ruddiger here into a huge monster. he caused some damages while I snuck in to kidnap the queen" Varian said.

"Uh huh..." Paul nodded along, "anything else?"

"Well, yes. There was a fight after that, and I didn't win. So, ultimately, I failed. I was sent to the dungeons and boom, that's basically where i've been the past year and a half or so" he said, "sorry, did any of that make sense, I don't think i'm the best at explaining. But uh, since everyone's here I just want to take the time.." he turned to the crowd, "to apologize."

He stared at the crowd, running over all the familiar faces, "I am so, so sorry, for attacking the castle, kidnapping your queen, terrorizing the villages—you guys were already seeing damages, casualties from the black rock, and I just—I just made it so much worse. I am so so sorry."

"Apologies are always a good start" Paul said, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah..sorry doesn't cut it sometimes though. And this definitely feels like one of those times..um, do you have anything else you'd like to know? Anything you think I left out?" He asked nervously.

"Oh. No, actually, I think i've got the full picture. Now as I said, this was just for context. You won't receive any actual consequences for this, because...well, you honestly don't need anymore repercussions..." he began, "now, you are guilty of the crimes, but you already did your time. So I declare you free. You will not be sent back to the dungeons. You are pardoned for your crimes" he banged his gavel, and the crowd began to cheer.

"Huh? Wait, they're for me? Well that is certainly a first" Varian chuckled.

"Funny, kid" the judge laughed, "now, onto the real trial...Varian, we will be talking about your prison sentence now. May the accused please come to their stands?"

Jefferey and Frank were pulled up harshly from where they sat, and brought up to their little place. They were below Varian, sitting a little ways away from him.

And he could see them. They looked him right in the eyes. Those eyes he hadn't thought he'd ever see again.

His breath hitched and he backed into his chair, burying his face into Ruddiger's fur.

"You little wretched thing" Jefferey growled, "if you had just obeyed!" He stood up and slammed a fist on the table, but was immediately detained, and cuffed to the table in front of him. Frank was too.

Varian jumped, "i-i'm sorry, sir" he whispered, immediately falling back into his old habits, staring at them as if they were the only other two people in the room. His voice was so small that nobody would have heard him if he wasn't talking into the microphone.

Adira was this close to slitting the guard's throats, though simply closed her eyes and took in a deep, drawn out breath, holding Hector back with an arm.

"Oh, you should be!" Jefferey growled, before smirking, "you know, down in the dungeons it was so dark...even with a lantern I could barely see your face..."

Varian's breath hitched as Jefferey smirked, before his eyes settled into something more controlling, "you're beautiful."

Varian's eyes widened. His skin began to crawl.

"You'd have been so much prettier if you would have kept your mouth shut!" Frank yelled, kicking the table, "Nigel said that we'd be protected! That we wouldn't have to worry about this!" He barked.

The judge banged his gavel harshly and boomed, "that is enough! Quite enough! Silence!"

Varian flinched so hard he swore he almost broke his neck, and stared in front of him, right at Jeffery and Frank. And they were glaring at him, like, just glaring.

He was so scared, he was shaking, he felt so cold inside, but he swore he could feel himself growing warmer—

He looked down in horror. Oh no.

He was wetting himself. Oh my sun! He was wetting himself! Right there, in front of the entirety of corona!

He looked around, panicked, not wanting anybody to notice. He looked down at his lap, where he was pissing full force into his pants and onto the chair, where it was dripping off the sides and making a puddle on the ground. But the pulpit was high, and nobody could see his lower half. It would—it would be fine.

And he was just sitting there silent, red faced as he finished. If he acted cool, nobody would notice. Maybe Stan and Pete would, but—but he'd be fine. They were nice. He could barely even care about the wetness, though. Jefferey and Frank were there. His abusers were sitting there, right before his eyes, speaking to him. In front of the entirety of Corona.

It was then that Jefferey and Frank had been fully binded down, and the judge began to speak, "This is the trial of Jefferey and Frank, whose charges go as follow: Manipulation, child abuse, both emotional and physical, forced starvation and dehydration, child molestation, prolonged torture, child molestation and rape, among many, many more."

The crowd was silent, serious as the charges were read, "and all of this is what you inflicted upon Varian, for nearly two years."

The crowd gasped in absolute shock.

"How do you two plead?" Paul questioned.

"Not guilty" both of them spat.

"Oh?" Paul raised a brow, "We have the evidence. Written down, compiled into a list—not to mention the child's current state! Look at him. If we were to roll up just his sleeves, i'm sure many people in here would have nightmares for the rest of their lives. Even with the clothes on, his bones are visible."

"We were simply doing our jobs. That boy is dangerous" Frank said, "Nigel told us to do with him as we please."

"Yeah! He deserved everything we did to him, the little scum!" Jeffery hissed.

Varian bit his lip and covered his eyes. He was not going to cry.

"That is quite enough from you!" The judge exclaimed, "now, i'm going to read these off here, accounts that Lady Cassandra has taken from Varian about you two. Things you did to him, all of that..."

Stan and Pete were listening intently, until Pete glanced over at Varian and literally dropped his jaw, before getting Stan's attention and pointing to the boy. Stan looked as well and rounded his eyes, because the boy had wet himself.

"What the hell do we do?" Stan whispered, leaning over to Pete.

"I don't know!" Pete whispered. They stopped talking as soon as they noticed the judge beginning to speak.

"You forced the boy to lay in his dirty cell, filled with puke and grime, a years worth of the boy's bodily functions...and it was never cleaned. He was never cleaned. He got ill—so ill, in fact, that he nearly died several times. It was cold, and dark down there. And it says here you liked to keep him naked" Paul accounted.

"Yes. We did" Frank confessed.

Jefferey's eyes widened. Frank was going to rat them out.

  Paul read off Cassandra's notes, her lists, everything she compiled in the short week Varian had been in his castle room, and wow, was it sure a mouthful. People in the crowd were gasping and putting hands over their mouths, tears running down their faces as they stared at the boy.

"We are going to let the caregivers explain now. Princess Rapunzel, will you come to your stand?" Paul questioned.

She walked up ready for her questions.

"Could you just..tell me something? Anything about him, something you've noticed or something that happened?" He questioned.

"Oh, yes. The first three days were..weird. He basically slept the entire time, though would wake up for a few minutes, completely delusional, screaming and writhing on the bed and begging for us to not hurt him" she frowned, "he tore a bunch of bandages, stitches, and reopened some wounds doing all that. It worried us to death" she accounted, "Cassandra was the one who tended to the injuries, since she has the most experience."

The judge nodded.

"Something that—that really sticks with me though—are those nightmares. Those terrors he has during the night, or—or one time, he just woke up, and started mumbling to himself, that it wasn't a dream. That he was really, truly out of jail. And he started screaming. He started slamming his head against the bed boards and just—asking us why we saved him, begging us to let him die" her voice broke, and she wiped her eyes.

"He was asking us—asking us why we saved him. He told us that he was so close, that the sickness, the injuries, the everything, were just about to take him. That he wanted his suffering to just end.." she whispered, "it was so horrible. And it still haunts me."

The judge nodded grimly, "thank you, princess."

She nodded, "when he told us about how..those guards...those filth, those monsters touched him—molested him, I nearly couldn't bare it. They grabbed him, they squeezed him hard enough to leave bruises. He is traumatized, we can't even bathe him without him having a panic attack, and he has just been in so much pain. He doesn't talk about the pain, but we can see it. The physical, outward pain, the mental anguish, the hunger pains."

She turned to the guards, and gave them the nastiest look she could muster, "if you two get out of this alive, i'm going to make sure the rest of your lives are lonely, sad, and miserable" she whispered, never once taking her eyes off of them as she was asked more questions.

When she finally finished, she was replaced with Eugene, who talked about how much of a change Varian's had. How sweet he is, how polite he is...he was basically just trying to smooth things over a bit, give the crying mothers in the audience a chance to catch their breath again and make Varian look better.

He did, of course, say some things to make Jefferey and Frank look bad. He went into more detail about the kid's sensitivity to food, and even water. How sick he was, his bladder infections, his accidents—which Varian was not happy about, especially considering the fact that he had literally wet himself during the trial. He was blushing nonstop the entire time.

"He said they'd play a little game with him where they..forced him to hold it. I'm not sure why. For pleasure? To watch him squirm? To torture him? I think it was another little perverted thing they did. To watch him wet himself naked and then shame him for it and force him to sit in it" Eugene said.

He looked around the room, at everyone's disgusted faces, "I think Lance can take it from here."

And boy, did Lance do that. He was protective protective, "when me and Eugene were alone with him the first few times, he seemed scared. Knowing what I do now, obviously he'd be scared. He didn't ask for anything he needed, he waited for you to decide he deserved something. He didn't speak unless spoken to, but we changed that quickly, with some light conversation and a hair wash" he chuckled.

  He become more serious, "there are things, though. Things that can set him off. Make him just—just pass out from fear, or—or, just start crying, screaming, begging, and it's heartbreaking. It's so, so heartbreaking."

Lance continued to ramble on, and while he was doing the usual, charming the crowd, stealing the show and somehow still being serious—Pete and Stan took the opportunity to continue to freak out, because they really did not want to scare the poor boy, because, y'know, they were guards and everything, and the boy didn't exactly have a good history with guards.

Stan moved to speak to Varian, whispering to him about his little accident, and Varian looked ready to start sobbing.

"No, no no" Pete whispered lowly, "it's okay, don't worry about it. We just need to figure out how to get you out when this is all over so no one will see..."

Varian nodded, swallowing thickly, "i'm really sorry" he murmured to them, "I—I didn't mean to. I was-was scared..."

"It's okay buddy" Stan said, offering a warm smile.

"Yeah, we'll get it all cleaned up, nobody needs to know" Pete reassured.

Varian nodded, watching as Lance was replaced with Cassandra.

"He wasn't doing well at all. We thought he wasn't going to pull through" she spoke, "and i'm sure all of you have heard enough to agree with me, when I say with complete and utter certainty, that this boy has changed. He is not the same misguided, dangerous kid who did all those horrible things to the kingdom. I know for a fact, that even though it's only been a couple weeks...but it's been a long couple of weeks. He was hurt. Hurt beyond comprehension. Hurt so badly, but hides it so well. We've had many pleasant, normal conversations, and it's just so easy to forget what's happened to him in those moments" she smiled, before her expression changed.

"But...in those moments you can see it. How he winces, because even laughing can grow too much for him. Moving around too much can cause severe pain, he could tear his stitches just by having a good laugh, he could pass out, faint, because he's scared out of his mind because someone said a trigger word" she looked over to the boy, "he isn't well. And the ones who did this to him deserve what's coming their ways."

"Thank you, Cassandra" the judge nodded, and she stepped down.

"Varian" the judge addressed.

The boy looked up, tears running down his face, "Y-yes, sir? I mean-I mean your honor?"

Paul smiled gently, "I know it's hard. I know it's painful to tap into these memories...but I need you to tell me some things. Do you think you can answer some questions?"

"Yes, your honor" Varian said.

"Alright then. I need you to tell me some things. First of all, are the accusations true, what they did you you?" He questioned.

Varian took in a shaky breath, "yes. Yes, every bit of it."

"Do you think you could tell us something you remember from your time in prison about them? Something they did?" He questioned.

"Yes. Of course" Varian said furrowing his brows as he began searching and scanning for memories, "I remember one day...this was months into it if I had to guess, when I was more familiar with their rules. I knew what they wanted. I knew to hold in my sneezes and coughs, I knew to swallow down my bile, to stay still, and silent as possible. Any attention from them was bad attention, because if they heard me, they got ideas..and if they got ideas..." he let out a shaky breath.

"Take your time, son. It's alright" the judge told him.

Varian nodded, "sorry. Sorry, okay, um, this day. This day was the first day that they started touching me. Sexually. Well, that may not be the truth. I was—delirious. Sick, out of it a lot of the time. I faintly remember beatings during those times, and who knows what else they did? Especially while I was asleep. So I suppose this just just the first time I remember."

Judge Paul nodded sadly. Varian almost didn't want to tell the story, because everyone in the jury looked sick. The crowd waited in stunned silence for him to continue. He closed his eyes. He was really about to confirm this? That he was dirty? That he was used? His cheeks heated. He was about to tell this to all of his friends, his neighbors, people that he grew up with, people who would babysit him. Teachers and people he knew—he was the village leader's son, everyone in old corona knew him personally!

He took in a deep breath, "they chained my hands above my head and forced me to stand all day. I—I was already weak. I was already beaten, already starved. I could barely even think anymore at this point, and I was becoming unresponsive. They'd taken my clothes away long, long ago. They thought it was—funny or something. To watch me just..shiver like that. So I stood there, all day, freezing, naked, unable to warm myself up." He swallowed thickly, "and at the end of the day, they said..." he stared at them, "they told me that they could help me warm up."

He could feel the disgust radiating off of everyone in the room, feel their eyes widening as they stared at him, holding their breaths as they waited for him to continue with the story. But it was completely silent. He could barely hear any breathing.

He closed his eyes to will the tears away, "and I was scared" his voice cracked, "I was so scared of what they'd do to me, but I was just so cold, and I couldn't fight it."

"What did they do, Varian?" Paul asked, his eyes wide.

"They...they didn't give me much of a choice. They chained my ankles down. And then they started touching me, and I—I don't know how long I stood there, just crying, just wanting to puke, while they ran their hands up and down my body. But their hands were warm. And I was cold—so cold" he began to cry, "I wanted it to end. But—but I didn't want the warmth to go away."

"Did they do anything else?" Paul asked.

"Yes. They took their clothes off. Their armor, their undergarments—everything. Then, then they just unchained me, and laid me down on the floor, and I collapsed in exhaustion. I didn't dare to move. Then they laid next to me on the floor, and we were all naked. And they touched me, and then..." tears began to run down his face, "they made me touch them."

An outrage began to happen. People began to yell, and gasp and talk amongst themselves.

"Order! Order in the court!" The judge banged his gavel, and the room silenced, before he turned to the boy, "what do you mean, Varian?"

"I mean, well, they made me copy what they did to me. They made me..they made me do it to them. And I resisted, I tried. But I was just so tired, and when I didn't do it, they started beating me, and I just—I caved. I felt gross, like it was my fault for agreeing. They taught me how to do everything just right" Varian said.

"What did they do?" Paul asked.

Varian closes his eyes, "over that year and a half, I learned how to give a proper....um. I think they called it a hand job?" The crowd gasped, "I had to do it the best I could. To make them happy. And I also learned how to...suck properly" he admitted, face burning with shame.

He could feel the eyes on him as he bowed his head in shame, "and they would do...do the same to me."

Stan and Pete looked at each other in horror.

"I don't know how long I stayed up that night, just coughing and heaving, throwing up and crying" he said, "but I don't think I slept, despite being so tired."

He dared to glance over to Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene and Lance, and they were just all a mess. It was clear that they'd never heard that particular story before.

"I—I liked when they beat me so hard I passed out. Because if I was asleep, that meant that I couldn't feel anything. If I was asleep, it wouldn't hurt so bad. I wouldn't feel so much pain, I wouldn't be so cold" Varian said, breaking down into tears, "and..and I wouldn't know what they did to me."

The judge nodded along sadly, "it's alright Varian...you're going to be okay. I just have a few more questions..."

————————————————————————-

When Varian finished accounting a few beatings, and how they never fed him, bathed him or gave him water unless he was about to like, actually die, he chanced a look over to the king and queen.

The queen was absolutely bawling, crying silently into a tissue, and the king himself had tears in his eyes. He looked so guilty, so remorseful.

"Jefferey" the judge said coldly, after thanking Varian for speaking, "how do you feel? Do you feel regret?"

Jefferey took a moment before he answered, "no. I don't. It was fun. It was twisted, and sick, I will admit. But he is a criminal. And I loved every second of what I did to him.

An uncomfortable knot twisted in Varian's stomach when Jefferey looked at him, before turning around and addressing the crowd, "whichever one of you ladies marries him, just know that he is a filthy whore. He may say he didn't enjoy it, but this slut would moan! He would get hard! He would come! Why would he do that if he didn't enjoy it?!"

Frank let out a dark laugh, "not just ladies! Gentlemen too! I think he enjoyed having another man inside of him—and being inside another man!"

The crowd shouted at what that implied, and Paul banged his gavel.

"That is enough!" The judge exclaimed, banging the gavel, "and i'll have you know that when the victim gets hard or moans, it's a natural response to feeling stimulated! It's the body's reaction, not his!"

"Oh, just bite his nipples or pull his hair, you'll see!" Jefferey yelled.

Varian's face twisted into one of utter mortification as his features scrunched up, his eyes glistened with tears and his chin began to wobble. His breathing sped up as he began to cry, he really couldn't believe that this was happening. It was humiliating!

"What?!" Eugene exclaimed, unable to keep quiet anymore, "you bit his what?!"

Rapunzel grabbed his arm and forced him to sit down. She whispered something into his ear that calmed him a little, and he let out an angry breath.

This only seemed to antagonize them more as Jefferey smirked, "you should have seen what we did to him in his sleep. I know he was wondering why he'd wake up so sore in those private areas every day. Another reason he wasn't able to walk!"

Well, Jefferey and Frank must have definitely known they were going to jail for the rest of their lives, because they were doing everything in their power to horrify everyone.

"Admit it!" Frank cried, "you loved it!"

"I did not!" Varian exclaimed, "I was so scared! Two grown men were—were holding me down and raping me, why would I like that?!"

"Oh, don't be that way!" Jefferey barked, "You were moaning like a bitch when we sucked you off!"

"I was not! I was whimpering because I was crying!" Varian yelled, "I was screaming because it hurt!"

"Please, you loved it when we'd put that pretty little mouth of yours to work—"

The gavel banged again, "ORDER! Order I say! Oh, this just just filthy! I sentence you two to life in prison! The king can decide how harsh your punishment is, if you are executed, but there is no way you will ever be allowed to roam free again!" He banged his gavel a few times to set it in stone, "I don't have the authority to put you to death. But I hope the king will."

With that, they were dragged out, screaming profanities towards Varian the entire time.

Varian let out a shaky breath, and just began to absolutely loose it, crying into his arms. He could feel all eyes on him. Everybody in the room was just devastated for him, looking at him, pitying him, and he didn't think he'd be able to take it.

  What was everybody going to think now? Now that they thought he enjoyed it?!

"Varian" the judge said, gentleness in his voice.

Varian's shoulders shook as he peeked out of his arms and stared.

"I'm so sorry this all happened to you" he said sadly, "no words can possibly express...none at all..." he sighed, "just know that you did not deserve this. None of it was your fault. King Frederick, and the Captain of the Guard, will you both come to your stands?"

They did so, and the questioning began.

"King Frederic, did you have any idea at all what was happening to Varian?" The judge questioned.

"No" Frederic said quietly, guilt stirring deep in his stomach, "no. I did not. I never checked...I never..." a knot twisted in his gut, "I never knew anything. And I—hearing these stories, and looking at how...how hurt he is.." he sighed, "I don't have any words. None at all."

"Is it true that Nigel, your royal advisor, confessed to having bad intentions with switching Varian's guards?" Paul questioned.

The King nodded, "yes, he did. He told the guards to do as they pleased. I imagine that he didn't expect this to happen. But he did want him to be hurt to an extent. Nigel is already be taken care of. We're trying to determine more about this whole thing

"Hm" Paul mumbled, "alright. Captain. What happened? Give me a run down. How could this have been allowed to happen?"

"Well, i'm busy a lot, and sometimes don't have the time to actually go down and check. Frank and Jefferey were trusted guards, I never would have expected this. Then again, we never have children in the dungeons. I didn't have a clue that they were such predators. They told me everything was fine. They gave me fake reports. I'm...well, like the king, i'm at a complete loss for words right now" he explained, "it...it all got so out of hand so quickly."

The judge turned to Varian, "how do you feel about this?"

Varian froze, still half crying, "well, not great?" He answered honestly, "I mean. All you had to do was smell the lower dungeons and you'd know something was up. I lived in that filth, in that—that torture room, for a long time. And I just..." He took in a breath, "I think...that I understand. It was a mistake. A—a big, freakish mistake, but if the reports looked good, from two trusted guard, then why would you be suspicious? I get where they're coming from, and since this has never happened before, I...well. I understand. I think that this experience will help prevent similar things from happening in the future, as well as help to develop stricter protocols."

"Is there anything you think should happen to them?" The judge questioned.

Varian raised an eyebrow. He didn't think he was in any place to be dishing out punishments or making legal decisions, "It's easier to forgive the king and the captain. I mean, I'm never going to be the same again. I...I just don't know. All I really want is for the king to understand that i'm sorry too."

"Varian.." Frederic began, "after all this...I don't think I can be angry with you anymore..."

The judge nodded, "It seems like you two have some things to discuss...though this case looks clear as day now. Varian, son of Quirin, is pardoned of all his crimes. Jeffery and Frank's punishments are still to be determined by the king, who will continue to serve as the king, and the captain of the guard, who will also continue his service. Though, they will face some reprimands.  Case closed." He banged his gavel, "Everybody is free to make their ways home now. Nobody is to crowd the boy" he said, before getting up and turning his mic off.

It made sense, his verdict. The king was already about to get hell from all the townspeople, and Varian honestly thought that him having to live through all the hate would be a lot more deserving than any other punishment.

Varian looked around the room, panicking as nobody made a move. They just stared at him. It was so clear that people just wanted to run up to him. The entirety of old corona looked ready to jump into action and start comforting him, but eventually, people began to stand up and make their way out of the room.

He looked over to the king and queen, who were speaking silently to each other. The queen was crying into her hands. His eyes gazed over to look at Rapunzel, Eugene, Lance and Cassandra.

Oh they were pissed at those guards. Varian had a feeling that he may have given a little bit too much detail. And speaking of piss...

Pete and Stan turned the microphone off and began to try and think up a plan. But they weren't exactly sure how to do that when they themselves were distracted, sure to have nightmares about all they'd heard that day.

Varian blushed when he shifted and more pee fell from his chair and onto the floor below into his puddle. It was cold and disgusting.

He waved his friends over, seriously just wanting to get this over with, and they rushed over.

"Oh, Varian!" Rapunzel cried, "I knew what they did to you was horrible...but..."

"You even had me tearing up over there, kid. I just want to give you the biggest hug ever" Eugene sighed, rubbing at his eyes, "this was just...so sad."

"Come on, kid" Cassandra said, voice wavering. "let's get you back to your room. You did amazing up there, I know that was really scary, and really hard for you."

"Yeah, you're a real crowd charmer though, kid. Or maybe you're just good at making jokes to deflect your trauma, but you had the crowd going wild for a minute there" Lance said, "you know, before all that..really bad stuff happened."

"Um.." Pete began, "I think you guys should come up here" he said, gesturing to the stairs.

"What?" Cassandra asked seriously, "is he okay?"

They rushed up, and gave him one good look and all immediately recognized the problem.

Varian's chin wobbled and his bottom lip jutted out into a pout, "I—I'm really sorry" he said with a voice crack, "I didn't mean to, I just—I got really scared when they brought Frank and Jeffery out and then the judge yelled and that scared me too and I couldn't hold it..."

"It's okay, Varian" Rapunzel said, her voice soft and reassuring, "you don't need to get so upset, i'm sure we've all had enough crying for the rest of our lives."

Varian nodded as she wiped his tears away with her thumb, "come on. Let's get you cleaned up, the room's almost cleared anyways. Me and Cass can grab you some comfy clothes, and how about Eugene and Lance clean you up? Then we can get you some lunch and you can rest up. How does that sound?"

Varian just simply nodded, burying his head into Eugene's chest and hugging Ruddiger close.

"Adira and Hector had to go collect themselves" Lance said. "I don't know if that means actually calm themselves or go kill the guards, but...they'll meet us later."

Queen Arianna made her way over after a bit, when she noticed that they weren't making any move to get him up, "is everything alright over here?" She asked pulled Rapunzel aside and asked quietly.

"Oh, yes mom everything's good. He just had a...um, an accident. We're trying to figure out how...to proceed" Rapunzel said, unsure.

"Oh" she frowned, "poor thing....of course, carry on then. Is there anything you need?"

"Oh, no we have a closet full of clothes and a little laundry shoot now, so it should all be okay" Rapunzel said.

Arianna nodded, before giving her daughter a hug, "i'm so proud of you, sweetie."

"Raps!" Cass called, "we're just going to have Lance pick him up and then carry him to the room. The kid's kind of freaking out about getting pee on him though."

Rapunzel nodded, "I feel bad. Everyone in the halls will know he wet himself..."

"I can clear the halls for a while" Arianna said, "The guards need to have a meeting anyways, and all of the maids need to be spoken to. I'll give you the all clear in a moment."

—————————————————

After the boy was cleaned and dressed, Adira and Hector were back. The room was silent, until Adira spoke.

"Quirin will not be happy. We've decided to give him the first strike. We won't touch the guards until he gets his chance" Adira said, "though i'm sure Everyone else is keeping them very busy right now."

"I—I don't think my father's a very violent person" Varian mumbled.

Hector began cackling, and Adira rolled her eyes, "Oh, you should have seen him. Before you were born, he was insane. Not so much as the rest of us, but more than anything, he was certainly very fatherly" she smirked, "he was always mother hening us around, and worked his hardest to become a very violent fighter so he could protect us."

"Oh, yes" Hector said, "I know once we free him, and tell him of all that happened, he'll be very ready to torture those two men."

Varian gulped a little, "you really think so? That he'd focus on that after all I did?"

"Varian" Rapunzel said, "i'm sure that he won't even care about what you did. It seems so...long ago. So insignificant now. Even though it was pretty bad—it really doesn't make any sense how much I don't care anymore."

Cassandra nodded, "He'll be shocked, but trust me. He'll get over it. By the way, I had scribes at the trial writing down everything that was spoken. Since he couldn't be there for the trial, he'll get to at least read it. Really see what they did."

"You just think of everything, don't you?" Varian sighed, "thanks."

"Don't mention it" she chuckled, "how are you feeling, bud?"

"I...think I feel...good" he said, his voice making it clear that he was conflicted, "i'm glad that they're never going to be able to hurt me again. Relieved that I have a second chance, that I can try to make amends, but I don't know. It was really scary. I felt like my heart was in my throat? It was weird."

"Oh, you did wonderfully out there" Rapunzel reassured, "i'm sure you've convinced a whole heck of a lot of people that you're not that same misguided kid anymore!"

"Yeah, champ" Eugene agreed, "you did amazing. And your stories were...." He trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"Absolutely horrifying" Lance finished.

"Bingo" Eugene said.

"I'm just really embarrassed" Varian murmured, looking down at his lap, "I uh, I made a lot of mistakes. I kept stuttering and—and tripping over my words."

"It's understandable to be extremely nervous when you're in front of a crowd of thousands of people who hate you, and the thing you're talking about is extremely personal. I'd say you did a great job" Adira said.

"Everybody knows" Varian whispered, "everybody knows that they—they'd touch me. And i'm just so mortified right now" his eyes began to glaze over with tears, "they—they started saying such horrible things, and I just feel...I don't even know what I feel!"

Rapunzel frowned, "Varian, nobody's going to blame you for what happened. There was no possible way for you to fight it, to even say no. You were forced into it, and you couldn't even reject their advances. You had to nod along so that you could survive."

Varian nodded a little, his face falling, "what does...the words they said mean?"

"Which ones?" Cassandra asked.

"Um. I don't—I don't think that they're very nice words. The words were—were slut and whore" he said, his voice getting progressively quieter as he spoke, "I mean, they call me those names all the time, I wasn't sure what they meant? B-but for them to say it in front of everyone? It felt so dirty. And wrong."

Everybody's face contorted into one of shock, Eugene having a physical reaction to hearing those words come out of his little innocent alchemist's mouth.

"Varian, y—you're right" Rapunzel said quickly, "those are bad—very, very bad words."

Cassandra nodded, "They're like.. extremely vulgar insults, usually aimed towards women who have multiple sexual partners."

"Oh" Varian said, "i'm sorry, I didn't know—"

"I never want to hear you say those words ever again" Eugene interrupted, "you are a precious child, and I can not even comprehend what you just said!"

Varian nodded, eyes wide as he stared up at Eugene, "Okay. I'm really sorry."

"Oh, Varian, you know Eugene! He's just very protective" Rapunzel said.

"Yeah" Eugene sighed, running a hand down his face, "I just...wow. Hearing you say that was crazy."

"He looks tired" Lance said, "how about after lunch you take a nap? I think you'll need one."

Varian nodded, "can you guys...stay? Maybe? I don't want to be alone...not now" he mumbled.

"Of course...just try to get some food in you, then try to get some rest" Rapunzel smiled. But the smile looked sad and broken. They were all going to be sad and broken for a while. But they would get through it.

Together.