Varian...

The voice of the Celestial Sister echoed in his head.  Slowly, he blinked his eyes open in spite of his pounding headache.  It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but he was able to look at his surroundings.  He was in a bamboo cot with a blanket in a rather large tent.  There was a desk and a chair along with a huge trunk that was shut, but there wasn't a lock.

Confusion swept over him until what happened slowly came back to him.  Andrew had knocked him unconscious, and it was obvious that he was not in the castle anymore.  Which meant Andrew won.  So what did that make Rapunzel?

Varian sat up, using his arms to hold his weight.  The sound of metal clinking made him pull his feet out from underneath his quilt.  Sure enough, his left foot was shackled to one of the tent poles.  It certainly wasn't the most secure chains he'd been in, but they didn't feel any less heavy or suffocating.

He scanned the room for anything he could use to take the cuff off.  Or a way to take the chains off the pole.  But he didn't even have time to stand up before the tent flaps were pulled open.  A familiar figure stepped in and Varian could feel a cold chill run up his spine.

"Ah! You're awake," the man proclaimed.  His cold smirk plaid on his lips.  "Took you long enough."

Varian didn't move.  It took everything in him just to look at the man in front of him.  It wasn't like he had anything good to say either.  Nor did he want to know what was going to happen to him, because he knew that wasn't going to be pleasant.

"What, buddy?  Cat got your tongue?" The man crossed his arms as he towered over him.

"Andrew..." That was all Varian managed to get out of his mouth.  Everything else was caught in his throat.

Andrew snorted before he pulled the chair out from the desk and set it directly across from Varian.  The man sat down in the seat and crossed his legs.  "It's been awhile, hasn't it?  I mean, last time I saw you, you stabbed us all in the back.  Good times, am I right, buddy?"

"I..." The teen looked down at his hands that were resting on his knees.  His heart was pounding in his ears, making it harder for him to think.  "You stabbed first," he said at last.

Andrew leaned closer, his expression growing dark.  "You betrayed Saporia and traitors paid with their lives."

"Then why am I here?" Varian looked up at him, clenching his fists.  "Why am I here and not dead in some random bush?"

"Because you happen to be smart and valuable," Andrew retorted.  "So we're giving you a chance of redemption."

"My redemption was helping throw you off that ship," Varian growled.

"And the princess showered you with gifts and opportunities.  Also after you stabbed her in the back."

"Actually, she stabbed first, just unintentionally," Varian corrected.

The Saporian snorted back a chuckle as he shook his head.  "That's just like you.  You'd go through any length to justify all your actions."

Varian glanced at the ground.  "I'm not justifying all of my actions."  He looked back into the cold, brown eyes of his enemy.  "You don't think I lay awake at night wondering about everything I could have done differently?  You think I wanted everything to happen like this?"

Andrew's expression fell dark as he stood back up and walked up to the cot.  He looked down at him, making Varian crank his head back to see him.  "You're the princess's pet, living in the palace, given the high title as Royal Alchemist, and the entire kingdom has dubbed you no less than a hero.  What is there that you don't have that you wanted?  Tell me what you want to play differently?"

"I..." Varian searched for the right words, but Andrew was right.  He had everything he wanted since childhood and more.  Yet he was tormented with guilt from everything it took for him to get there.  But Andrew wouldn't understand that, would he?

"Tch." The man glared down at him.  "Don't whine to me about things that aren't going the way you wanted.  You only wish that I died in the process so you wouldn't be stuck here."

The teen stood up, but he was still a lot of inches shorter than him.  "Maybe you're right.  Maybe I do wish you fell to your death or blew up with that stupid airship.  Or maybe you're wrong.  Either way, you wouldn't believe me if I told you otherwise."

He shrugged.  "I won't argue with that." He patted the boy's cheek playfully.  "It was nice catching up with you, buddy.  Try not to cause any trouble, will you?" He turned to walk away.

When Andrew reached the tent flaps, Varian stopped.  "Wait.  Andrew... where is Rapunzel? And why am I here and not dead?"

The man turned and grinned at him.  "You'll never stop asking questions, will you?  Well, you'll find out soon enough."

Without another word, the man left and the flaps swayed from the movement.  Varian was left standing alone in the tent, his questions unanswered.  He scanned his surroundings knowing full well that he wasn't going to find a key.  But perhaps he could find something else or even get an idea what the Saporians wanted from him.

Sighing, he slumped back onto the cot and ran his gloves hands through his matted hair.  His body shook and he felt weak.  The growing urge to vomit wasn't the anxieties that plagued him.

He needed to escape.

Deciding to learn his surroundings, he stood back up and went to the desk.  There was a bottle of ink and a box of pens and pencils.  He opened the drawers to find stacks of different kinds of papers, rulers, and measurement tools.  Turning around, he walked to the chest at the other end of the tent.  He tried to ignore the clinking of the chains that crackled with every step he took.

Once Varian reached it, he opened the lid.  His jaw dropped as he suppressed a gasp.  It was filled with old books and scrolls.  Carefully, he opened the first book.  It wasn't written in Coronan, but in ancient Saporian.

"Already getting ready for work?"

Varian jerked his body around towards the tent opening.  It was a tall woman with gray hair held back in a wide braid that fell to her waist.  Her face was wrinkled and her eyes were so dark that they could be black.  She had broad shoulders and biceps that would put Eugene (and maybe Lance) to shame.  Her fur cape ended at the ankles of her brown boots.  But what caught Varian's attention was the crown on her head that almost looked as if it were made of thorns, but he could see it shimmering in the sunlight, indicating it was made from minerals.  The woman smirked at his lack of response.  She walked up to him and Varian stood up, but it only made him realize how much taller than him she really was.

"So you're the infamous Varian?" She grabbed his jaw with her rough hand and moved his head from side to side to study him.

Varian wanted nothing more than to push her away, but he resisted the urge.  "What do you want from me?" He said at last.

The woman chuckled and let go.  "Impatient, are we?  Straight to the questions."

"Who wouldn't?" He pointed out.

She shrugged.  "I'm aware that your circumstances are less than convenient, but you're lucky you're still breathing."

Clenching his fists, Varian clamped his mouth shut.

"I am Kali, Chief of the Saporians," she explained.  "I'm sure Andrew has mentioned me?"

This was news to him.  Varian shook his head.  "He said there were more Saporians than him and the others, but I guess I've always assumed that he was the leader."

"Figures," she muttered before pausing.  There was momentary silence as she stared at Varian, her eyes practically boring into his soul.  "You don't look like much of a threat.  It's hard to believe that you are the child prodigy who managed to put the Royal Family of Corona on their knees.  Twice."

"Numbers and strength mean nothing if you don't have the brains behind it," Varian retorted.

She nodded in agreement.  "And that's what makes you dangerous.  Having you on the Royal Family's side would make it far too difficult.  But with you on ours, Andrew succeeded."

"And what makes you think I would help the Saporians?"

"I don't think you will.  But Andrew believes you will.  So I will trust his judgment." She looked up at the tent ceiling.  "All your needs should be met.  As long as you do as you're told.  Every Saporian is given privileges if they follow the rules and will have them taken away if they don't." She looked back down at him pointing to his chains.  "Think of those as a privilege, child.  Had you been anyone else you would have been dead."

"I guess it depends on what you see is worse.  Death or a prisoner," Varian muttered.  He was beginning to wonder if death might have been a privilege. 

The woman fixed the bracelet on her wrist as she looked around the tent absently.  "You'll find what you need in those drawers and chest.  Andrew says you can already read ancient Saporian fluently.  Those books and scrolls will catch you up on our dilemma and our goals.  We'll meet up every night for dinner to discuss your progress."

He looked over at the chest, clenching his fists.  Internally, he was debating whether or not he should read them.  But what harm would reading do to Corona?  And what was worth daring to resist the Saporians over?  Did he even want to know what was in those books?

The chief smirked as she leaned down towards his face. "You'll read them.  I haven't the slightest doubt.  At this point, the knowledge in those books is more valuable to not just us, but all of Corona.  Perhaps the world.  And you?  You devour knowledge.  You are knowledge.  So I wouldn't even try to resist the undeniable urge you're feeling right now."

Varian frowned.  "I'll admit, I am curious.  But what makes you so sure that I will read them?"

"It's not in your blood, little one, to ignore the knowledge in front of you."

Confusion flooded through him.  "What is that supposed to mean?"

She shook her head.  "If you do not understand now, then you will in time."

He didn't appreciate her cryptic answer, but he clamped his mouth shut.  It was probably best to just play along with the flow.  He doubted that it would be an easy feat to escape, but if he cooperated, maybe they would start to let their guard down.  It might take months, or even years.  But maybe he could figure something out.  He wasn't given the title of Royal Alchemist for nothing.  He had to play the long game and act like a pon until he reached the other end of the board.

The woman began to leave the tent.  "I look forward to working with you, Varian." Without another word, she left him standing alone, the flap shutting, leaving him in darkness.  Light made it through the cracks and a little through the fabric of the tent.

He went to the desk where he lit the lantern that was sitting there and the one hanging on the middle pole.  Even if he wasn't certain what the Saporians had in mind for him or Corona, he decided he would have to figure it out.  What harm could reading do anyways?  If he could figure out their plans and escape, he could reveal everything to Rapunzel and they could counter the Saporians attack.  That was the right choice, wasn't it?