Varian pulled out three books and set them on the desk. He prepared a stack of paper and a pencil to write notes with. If only they had given him an ink pen, he could have used it to pick at the lock. Unfortunately his pencil lead was too soft and would snap off if he tried.

He had only been left alone in the tent for half an hour before he heard the tent flaps behind him. Varian twisted in his seat and looked back at the person who was newly within arm's reach of him. He tilted his head back to look at them.

It was another tall woman. She had dark curly hair held back in a messy, but firm bun. Her skin was almond brown and her brown eyes were cold and hard to read. Her mouth had formed a deep scowl, appearing to be her normal facial expression. The woman was still shorter than Andrew, but perhaps a little taller than Cassandra. She definitely had defined muscles and the multiple weapons strapped to her back and hip made it clear that she was definitely a warrior with years of battle practice.

When she said nothing, Varian could feel a chill run up his spine. He suppressed the shiver before turning back to his books. "I'm assuming you're here to make sure I don't leave?"

"More or less," she grumbled

"You don't sound very pleased about it, but don't worry. The feeling is mutual," Varian muttered.

The woman snorted and crossed her arms. She leaned her back against the tent pole. "It's just a little insulting to be reduced to watching a traitorous toothpick."

He turned the page to his book. "Or how I'm chained to a tent with only one guard. I find that a little insulting myself," he retorted sarcastically. Technically, he felt like he shouldn't feel offended, considering he had better things to worry about in his current situation. But that never stopped him from running his mouth, did it?

"I'm not a guard!" She hissed. "I am the top warrior of the Saporians!"

Varian turned to look back at her and gestured to himself. "And I'm the Royal Alchemist. I think we're both considerably above this in some public eyes, but here we are. So, are you going to tell me your name so I can properly ask you to shut up, or are you going to keep complaining and distract me from my work? I will not be the one explaining to Andrew why I haven't gotten far in my new research."

Frankly, Varian didn't care what Andrew wanted. He didn't want to research or do anything by the Saporian's request. But once he figured out what the Saporians were planning, he would find a way to escape and help Corona prepare to fight back. Until then, the last thing he wanted was to speak to anyone, let alone listen to someone complain twenty-four-seven about how she was too important to be watching him.

Perhaps this was a good thing. If she continued to underestimate him, then he could use that to his advantage. He needed to play his cards right.

Her eyes flickered as silence followed. For a moment, Varian feared that he had been too blunt. Finally, she only answered with another retort. "It's not Andrew who you'll answer to, but you'll wish it was."

Varian decided not to continue the conversation. He could only assume that she was referring to the Saporian Chief. She was rather intimidating, but there was no one else he hated more than Andrew. Anyone was better than him. He'd rather be tossed in a fire than see Andrew's scummy face again. Yet fate had to be laughing at him since it literally tossed his and Andrew's paths together once more. The universe would never let him have a break for peace, would it?

He flipped through the yellowed pages of the books, scanning the Old Saporian runes. It had been some time since he last practiced translating them. Back when he and Andrew had been in prison, Andrew had scratched out the entire Saporian alphabet. Both old and the few changes of the modern. Varian had spent days in his cell memorizing it and understanding the language that Andrew would speak. By the time they had their jailbreak and took over Corona, he had become basically fluent. That knowledge was applied very often until Rapunzel came back and saved both him and the kingdom from destruction. He no longer had the need to practice it, so he had set it aside, hoping to forget it. Apparently, knowledge did not leave him so easily.

Upon reaching a certain passage, he paused. There was a sketch on the left page. It was clearly a detailed drawing of the sun, moon, and a star. What caught his eyes were the three entities that appeared to be floating in front of either sources of light. The one in front of the moon was what caught his attention. The shape, the eyes, the creepy line of a smirk all resembled the celestial sister that haunted his dreams.

His eyes scanned the words of the right page. Her name was labeled Mena rather than Hilde. Was he going crazy or perhaps the picture had no relation to the voice that kept whispering in his ear? He wondered if he had imagined her, like he had seen the picture before and randomly popped back up in his dreams. It didn't explain the voice, but maybe he just had a vivid imagination.

Varian.

Jerking his head to the side, he only saw the bed and the wall of the tent. He definitely didn't hallucinate that. Nor was he imagining the snort from the woman behind him.

"See a ghost, twig?"

Varian sucked in a deep breath, shutting his eyes. Her smug remarks shouldn't be bothering him. He was used to being the victim of jeers and taunts. For some reason, he never managed to master the art of ignoring them. When he was younger, they made him cry. As he got older, he lashed out. Recently he felt guilty. He felt like he deserved them after all that he had done to Corona, but hers just made him frustrated. Annoyed at worst.

Varian.

The voice was louder, making his head throb. His body grew stiff as he held his head. Her voice called to him again, even louder than the last. The pain was sharp and  rushed through his skull. Nausea began to rise from the pits of his stomach as his world began to spin.

Varian.

It felt like he was being ripped from the world and glass shards were spinning in a whirlwind around him, slicing all over his body. His vision became black as he felt himself slipping from his chair. He didn't feel the impact of the ground. The pain suddenly stopped and he felt a wave of eerieness wash over him. He opened his eyes, finding himself in the room he had dreamed Hilde in.

Sitting up, Varian looked around, only stopping upon resting his eyes on the figure of the celestial sister. She had the unsettling grin on her face, but her wild eyes seemed to be harmless and soft. But her form was cold, yet she carried herself in a stiff manner. Almost like a soldier. He hadn't noticed it before because of the whispy smog that shaped her body.

"Are you going to make me call you again or do you plan to sit there and gawk the whole time?"

He shook his head before pulling himself to his feet. Her voice echoed, sounding almost what he imagined a siren would lure in sailors from the sea. Except he had no magical feeling of mesmerization. Not that he was certain he would be able to tell if a siren was placing a spell on him.

"You couldn't wait until I was already asleep so I didn't have to experience whatever that was?" He crossed his arms.

She shrugged. "Well, it hurts to rip your soul from your body in your sleep, you just don't remember it last time."

His eyes grew round. "You what?"

The entity hovered in a circle around him. "That's why we don't have a lot of time to speak. I have to reconnect you to your body before your body realizes it's gone and shuts down."

Varian wasn't sure what to make of the new piece of information. Why was she talking so nonchalant as if it was normal to rip someone's soul from their body just to chat? Surely she had something more to discuss with him besides having small talk.

"What do you want?" He spoke as clearly as possible, but he could hear the faintest quiver.

She smirked. "You doubted I was real. Well... I'm here. And I need you to know I am. Because I would like to be able to call you without being ignored."

"Is that why you keep calling my name?"

"Bullseye. I can't say anything more if you don't respond. You can ignore me, but I can always just bring your soul here." Her voice was soft, but she was clearly threatening him.

He cast her a dark glare. "What do you want from me?"

She set her misty finger on his lips. Varian felt a rush of electricity run through his body, but what bothered him most was his inability to speak. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his mouth or move any of his limbs.

"Too many questions at once, young one. You'll figure things out in time, but for time purposes, I'll tell you that I'm here to help you. Humanity as a whole, really."

Hilde-Mena?-began to vaporize and disappear into the abyss overhead. His vision grew dark and he felt a falling sensation once more. He was more confused than he had been before. Despite the fact that she promised him that everything was for his sake (and the entire human race), he still couldn't snuff out the doubts harboring in his mind. If she was there to help, why was she so cryptic?

Varian groaned before slowly opening his eyes. He was met with a familiar face peering over him. It felt as if the world froze around him. To say he was having a bad day would be the biggest downplay of the year. Looking up at his sworn enemy after having his soul torn from his body was not something he would wish on anyone. So why did it always have to be him with such terrible luck?

Andrew snorted and rolled his eyes before turning away. He waved a dismissive hand at the woman that had been guarding Varian. "Like I told you. He has a tendency to pass out. Stop bugging me," Andrew huffed before storming out of the tent.

The woman gave Varian a glare as if he had been the one to berate her. He wasn't having any of it. He rolled over to face the tent wall and his back faced her so he wouldn't have to see her scowl at him. He shut his eyes, begging for sleep. And, eventually, it came.