Forget-Me-Not (Varian x Reader)

Chapter 65- The Lost Realm

I clutch Varian's hand in my own as we creep through the palace walls, petrified by the unknown. After all, this place is no longer my home, but a shadow of what it once was. It was once filled with bright sunshine and palace staff and Coronians. But now, the castle is dark and cold, and as far as I can tell, devoid of life. It reminds me of Zhan Tiri.

"Where do you think everyone is?" Varian whispers, finally breaking into the silence.

"I don't know..." Worry fills my guts. "I was kinda expecting a raging battle or something...not this."

Varian's blue eyes dart around the room and he clutches an alchemy sphere in his free hand, ready for an ambush. Following my boyfriend's lead, I gently pull my hand from his and grab my bow along with an arrow. We slowly continue our pace, paranoia shaking our bones.

After several minutes, we reach the throne room. "Wasn't the machine to banish Zhan Tiri supposed to be built in there?" I ask as we walk by.

"Yes, it's one of the only spaces that's big enough to contain it." He confirms. We slowly enter the grand room and Varian gasps. Standing dozens of feet tall is a circular metal frame, covered in wires and slabs of wood. "I can't believe they managed to put this thing together."

"You and me both." I nod.

"But if the portal is here, where's-"

"VARIAN LOOK OUT!!" I scream, right as I see an armor-clad Quirin running toward the alchemist, fists in the air.

"You'll never free them from the Lost Realm." He mutters under his breath.

I feel a surge of energy course through my body as I run at him, and skid to a stop between the father and son. My hands glow a shade of gold as I use them to stop Quirin's punch, not feeling any pain. Quickly, I use a surge of power to blow him backward away from Varian and me.

As he slams into the wall, I look behind me at Varian, who's staring at Quirin in shock. His glowing eyes fill with tears as he realizes his dad is being mind-controlled by Cass, just like the other members of the brotherhood.

"D-Dad?"

"Varian, I need you to look at me." I firmly say, trying to keep Varian from spiraling. I ignore the throne room spinning around me and my lightheadedness as I know we have to act now before Quirin recovers from my blow. As his eyes meet mine, I breathe a small sigh of relief. "Look, I don't want to hurt your dad, so I need you to use your alchemy to trap him, okay?"

Varian quickly wipes the tears from his glowing teal eyes and grabs a magenta alchemy orb from his pocket. He begins sprinting across the room toward his father, and I can't help but notice how fast he's going. Even faster than he would've been going with the moonstone's power as if it's been amplified. I wonder if his powers have gotten even stronger due to the eclipse. "Sorry, Dad." Varian whispers, chucking the alchemy sphere at his father.

When it makes contact with Quirin's chest, the sphere explodes and releases magenta goo onto Quirin's body, trapping him. I breathe a sigh of relief when that problem is out of the way, and rush to Varian. "Are you okay?"

He wipes a couple more tears from his eyes. "Y-Yeah...it's just kinda crazy when your dad tries to attack you." He says with a shaky voice.

I quickly throw my arms around him and hold him tight. I don't say a thing, as I can't seem to find the words to comfort the boy, so I simply hold him close enough so he can feel my heartbeat. He returns the gesture and buries his face into the crook of my neck. I don't pull away from his arms as I don't want to risk ending the moment prematurely. I'm willing to wait as long as he needs.