Aside from all the other stuff he had going on, Varian loved to help Rapunzel with her royal duties. He was more than happy to offer his assistance in her day-to-day tasks. And today was no exception.
"Alright, Eugene, agenda us." Rapunzel told her boyfriend.
"Okie dokie. We're gonna start off with promises to be tons of fun, the semi-annual wheat crop report." Eugene said, reading of the schedule.
"Already reviewed, and I know you were kidding, but, believe it or not, it was fun." the princess told him, handing back the formatted report who handed it to Lance.
"Next, you've gotta approve the design for the castle's new footbridge." the dark prince read the next thing on the list.
"Did it this morning." his girlfriend stated, passing him the approved designs and pulling out her own blueprints. "In fact, while we were at it, Varian and I designed a few more footbridges. Or would it be feetbridge?"
"Nah, the former was the correct term." Varian replied.
"Woof!" Eugene huffed breathlessly.
"What? I'm used to getting a lot done by 7:15." Rapunzel said confidently.
"Me too. That's what happens when you grow up in a farming village." the teen alchemist added.
"What about breakfast?" Lance asked as a handmaiden walked by with a plate of croissants.
"Breakfast? We eat motivation for breakfast." the princess answered with caliber as Pascal and Ruddiger each fetched their respective humans a croissant. "Well, and cherry croissants. Thanks, guys."
"Mmm." Varian indulged in his pastry.
"You know, I gotta say, Sunshine, even I-" Eugene chuckled before he saw something that made him jump back.
"Cass' sparing dummy?" Rapunzel spoke in surprise, recognizing her artistic creation.
"What's that doing out here?" Varian asked.
"Oh, that's rich. Cass isn't even here, and she still finds a way to annoy me." the dark prince rolled his eyes.
That was when the princess and alchemist noticed Old Lady Crowley wheeling cart loads of Cassandra's belongings out of her quarters. If Varian could take a guess, he'd have to say that the room was almost empty now.
"Mrs. Crowley, what are you doing with Cassandra's things?" Rapunzel asked the elderly woman as she and Varian approached her.
"Yeah. Why are you cleaning out her room?" the boy wanted to know.
"Meh. She's gone, so now it's junk." Crowley stated simply, taking Cassandra's royal guard helmet.
"Whoa! Junk is a bit of a strong word, don't you think?" Varian commented, being taken aback.
"Now, just a minute." the sundrop stepped in. "I have faith that Cass will return, so kindly put her things back where you found them."
"Besides, I'm sure Cassandra would be pretty upset to have her quarters cleaned out without her consent." her friend added.
"Sure. While I'm at it, are there any beds you would like make to unmake, or trash that needs to be brought back in?" Mrs. Crowley asked with condescension.
"No, no. I guess we'll just do it." Rapunzel offered, a frown creasing her features.
"Help yourself. I'm on my break." the old woman said, handing her Cass' helmet and walking off. "The rest of her stuff is in the storage vault."
"Uh, t-thank you." Varian called uncomfortably.
Varian didn't like being in the royal vault. It brought back a lot of unpleasant memories of him betraying Rapunzel and stealing the withered Sundrop Flower. He just wanted to find Cassandra's belongings and get out as soon as possible.
VOUS LISEZ
Escape the Dark, Hold the Light
Fanfiction(aka "Alone?") I adopted this fanfic from @CartoonsAreAmazing. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Varian has been groomed and abused by Saporian Andrew since their jailbreak. After Princess Rapunzel and company return from their journe...
