#tangled fandom

Before Eugene left dinner, he and Rapunzel had agreed that it would be best to try and keep Varian and Cassandra away from each other for a bit. So, having no reason to get up early, Raps and Cass slept in late the next morning, or what would've been considered late in Corona.

As they stepped out of their room, they expected the castle to already be buzzing with life, but it seemed that it was just starting to wake up for the day. The girls only saw a few Wolves as they wandered through the halls.

"It's so quiet," Raps softly stated after a moment.

"Yeah, it's kinda eerie," Cass replied.

"I was going to say its peaceful."

"Peaceful? In case you forgot, we are stranded here."

"And it's pretty peaceful and safe."

"Raps," the swordswoman groaned.

"You still don't think so?"

"We've been followed by two armed men, one of whom is a Brotherhood knight, since we got here," Cassandra stated. "So, no. This kingdom may seem safe, but it's not safe for us."

Rapunzel simply sighed in response. She then turned and began descending their second flight of stairs of the morning. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Raps stopped for a moment and looked around a bit, before deciding to turn left down a corridor.

"Where are we going?" Cass asked after a moment, keeping pace with her friend.

"Since we're a little too early for breakfast apparently, I was looking for the kitchen to see if any of the cooks are awake yet, or if there happens to be any fruit or bread we can have," the princess answered. "I think the kitchen's somewhere over here anyway."

They continued down the quiet corridor, the morning light casting long shadows on the floor as it leaked through the window at the end of the hallway.

They walked side by side, passing several closed, wooden doors, but after a moment, one of them caught Rapunzel's attention. She slowed to a stop to simply stare at the door. It was closed like the others, identical to the others in the corridor, but something about it spoke to her, told her to open it.

It was subtle, but it felt like whatever was behind it was something a part of her was looking for. She'd gotten the same feeling a few other times since she first stepped foot in this kingdom, so she just thought it was a different type of curiosity.

"What is it, Raps?" Cass's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I don't know," the princess answered. "I think this one might be the kitchen."

"Well, your guess is as good as mine."

Rapunzel went to take a step towards the door, but Cass stopped her.

"I'll look first, we don't know what's in there."

Cassandra then stepped in front of Raps, slowly cracked the door open, and peeked through. After waiting a moment, Raps went to her side and looked through the door too. She wasn't sure how, but she was right; it was the kitchen.

When Rapunzel reached out a hand to open the door wider, Cass silently stopped her. At the questioning look from her friend, the swordswoman shook her head then pointed towards the back of the kitchen. After taking a better look through the door, she saw the reason why Cassandra had stopped her.

Towards the back of the kitchen, in the walk-in pantry, were Varian and Eugene. Rapunzel was surprised she didn't see them right away, but now that she had, she couldn't look away. The two men were simply raiding the pantry, but the way they were doing it was amazing to watch. There was something mesmerizing about it.

Even though they stood back to back, they didn't say a word to each other, they didn't even glance at each other, yet they worked together in a perfect rhythm.

She watched as Eugene grabbed a jar from the top shelf and dropped it down to Varian. The archer sliced off a chunk of dried meat, passing it over his shoulder to Gene before effortlessly catching the jar. The prince took the dried meat from V's hand with his mouth as he reached into a basket, grabbed a roll leftover from last night's dinner, and tossed it over to his Pack, who caught it with one hand.

They did it all so smoothly, so easily, and all without communicating with each other. It was like they knew what the other was going to do before he did it.

'It's like they're one person.'

Rapunzel had never seen two people work together so effortlessly.

Cass hadn't either, but rather than seeing it as amazing, she saw it as dangerous. The way they worked together, how fast and smooth and quiet they were moving.

'If this is how they work together, what's it like when they're fighting together?'

Cass was pulled from her thoughts by Varian's voice.

"You know, the way I passed the test gave me an idea for a new kinda arrow," he said, turning towards Eugene. "It'd be more of a close quarters, easily concealed, back up kinda weapon."

"So, a knife?" The prince replied, turning and leaning back against the pantry shelves.

"Yeah, you'd hold it by the shaft and wield it like a knife in close quarters, but it'd be an arrow so I could fire it from my bow if I needed to."

"That's not a bad idea," Gene agreed after a moment. "You could call them stingers or something."

"Stingers?" Varian repeated as he and Eugene stepped out of the pantry with their food. "I kinda like that."

Cass then nudged Rapunzel. When the princess glanced up at her, Cass gave her a sharp, vindicated look. Raps simply rolled her eyes in response and Cassandra grabbed her hand. The swordswoman tugged her friend away from the door then the two of them scurried down the corridor.

After a moment, Varian looked towards the kitchen door.

"You saw them too, right?"

"Yeah," the prince answered, taking a bite of a roll. "How long were they watching us?"

"About five minutes." The archer turned back to his brother. "Did you not notice right away?"

"I was distracted and hungry, what do you want from me?" Gene responded playfully.

Varian then rolled his eyes and chuckled before going back to eating.

☀️

The girls wandered the corridor for a few more minutes, waiting for the boys to leave before circling back to the kitchen. They then grabbed some breakfast before continuing to explore the first floor of the castle.

As they walked the corridors, the castle slowly woke. More Wolves were moving through the halls, maids began to mill about, and the smell of freshly baked bread slowly started to float through the corridors. They even saw Ulla, who greeted them with a smile and a good morning before she went through one of the closed doors, the scents of ozone and amber slipping out of the room before she gently closed the door behind her.

The girls passed a few more doors before they came to a crossroads. To their right was another hallway and straight ahead of them the corridor continued for a few more doors before ending at a small sitting area. But to their left was a wide, empty corridor that led to large, rounded, solid, double doors.

They both simply stared at the doors for a moment, then Rapunzel felt it again. That intrigue, that subtle pull, that quiet hum that was less like a sound and more like a feeling.

'It's just curiosity, right?'

"Where do you think that goes?" Cass suddenly asked, breaking the silence. "Courtyard maybe?"

"Maybe," Raps agreed then looked over at Cass. "We could always look and find out."

Cass knew she probably should've said no, but she found herself following her friend towards the doors anyway. They each put a hand on one of the doors, slowly pushed them open just enough to peek through, and simply stared in shock at the sight before them.

These doors opened up to a wide flight of black stairs that led down to a large courtyard enclosed by tall, spiked walls of moonrock. Sparring dummies, archery ranges, and weapons racks filled the space, along with three, large, dueling circles. They'd stumbled upon the castle training grounds, but that wasn't what kept them from stepping through the doors.

It was the clashing of weapons and violent flashes of light that made them freeze in place.

There were only two men down on the training grounds, and they were going toe to toe in one of the circles.

One of them lunged forward, his black, pointed bo staff swinging fast and wide. His opponent held his ground, widening his stance and lifting his moonrock and amber sword to block the attack.

KLUSHZZ!

Their weapons met, and teal lightning sparked and snaked between them in a blinding flash. As the weapons parted between strikes, the teal electricity was absorbed by the amber breaking up the sword, while it just danced and buzzed around the fully moonrock bo staff.

After several more sparking clashes, the staff was nearly consumed by the volatile energy. Without missing a beat, its wielder seamlessly skimmed one pointed tip against the moonrock covered ground, the electricity instantly siphoning off into the rock with a sharp crackle and bright flash.

That was when the girls recognized the two fighters. It was Eugene and Varian!

"They're so close with each other," The princess whispered, eyes wide with shock as they clashed again and again. "Why are they fighting?"

They watched as the boys then took a quick step away from each other, circling like wolves for a moment before lunging forward again. Cass simply watched them for a moment, noticing their sharp steps and aggressive movements, before coming to a terrifying realization.

'They're not messing around.'

Cass put a hand on the hilt of her sword, stepping slightly in front of Raps.

"They're not just fighting, that's a duel."

Varian swung his staff high, bringing it down in a fast, strong arc, but Eugene held fast against the strike, lightning exploding as their weapons met.

CHAKOOM!

"What!" Rapunzel softly gasped. "What could make them want to duel each other?"

"Something must've come between them."

With the next attack, the prince didn't just block it, he lifted his blade and pushed against it, forcing Varian back a few feet. He had to stab his staff into the ground to keep from sliding out of the circle.

"Eugene's definitely gonna win," the swordswoman remarked then the princess looked to her in disbelief.

"Really, Cass!"

"He's the stronger fighter, just look at them," she defended as another snap of electricity echoed around the training grounds. "This is gonna get ugly."

"What? No, I don't think they'd ever hurt each other."

CHRAZT!

"It's a duel. They're gonna have to."

Previous

'They're Coronain.'

That was all Varian could think about at dinner that evening as he sat across from the girls, on Eugene's left.

Now that he'd had that thought, he couldn't help but notice all the little things about the girls that linked them to Corona.

It wasn't just the materials they wore, or their confusion about the ways of the Dark Kingdom. It was how they were acting, and even their height, or lack thereof.

'How did I not see it before?'

Their posture and manners as they ate with the royals. The way they both kept glancing at everyone who sat around the table.

Rapunzel was clearly still amazed and a little confused with how casual dinner always was here. That told him that, rather than casual and comfortable, her kingdom was more formal and poised. Like Corona was said to be.

Cass, on the other hand, looked as though she was trying to figure out who would attack them first, or who she'd attack first. She clearly had trouble trusting people, but she even looked at Ulla, the woman known for protecting people, like she was going to attack her and Rapunzel. Which made Varian think she had a deep distrust of not only the people of the Dark Kingdom, but of their morals and honor too. Almost like she was trained or taught not to trust them.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed Cass glaring at him, catching him staring. She was clearly challenging him, though he wasn't sure to what. She was always so hostile, so stubborn, so... Coronain.

Varian looked away from Cassandra's glare, turning his attention to the prince instead.

Gene was talking quietly with Punzel, a soft, genuine smile on his face, and a bright gleam in his eye. He was happy, really happy, a different kind of happy. Varian had never seen him like this before.

'Maybe I'm just being overprotective.'

Varian let his gaze shift from Gene back to the girls, only to see that Cass's glare had turned deadly.

'Or not.'

"I think I'm gonna turn in," he whispered to Gene, getting his attention right away.

"You okay?" The prince responded.

"Just tired," Varian lied.

He then excused himself and left the room.

For the entire walk up to his quarters, his mind was filled with thoughts of Corona and the war.

He had no doubt they were Coronain now. That meant they could be a danger to the kingdom. Could be. They hadn't really done anything yet, but that didn't mean they weren't going to.

His mind then drifted back to Gene and how happy he was. If he turned the girls in, he would be ruining that.

By the time he made it to his quarters, and against his better judgment, he decided that he'd keep the girls' secret, for Gene. But not from Gene. He needed to know.

Varian just wasn't sure how he'd take it.

🔷️

Varian had been pacing and overthinking in his room for about thirty minutes before there was a knock at the door. Gene then poked his head in and could tell immediately that something was bothering his brother.

"I knew it," the prince said, stepping into the room. "What's wrong?"

Varian stopped his pacing and simply looked at Eugene for a moment.

"You can tell me anything, you know that," Gene replied, seeing how hesitant his Pack was.

"Okay." Varian then took a deep breath. "So, you know how I've been pretty suspicious of Rapunzel and Cassandra?"

"And I'm guessing you still are?"

"Well, I finally figured out why," V continued. "They're Coronain, I'm certain of it!"

"I know."

"You know?"

"Dude, I've known this whole time," the prince told him. "I recognized the seal on Rapunzel's ring right away."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"I didn't think it mattered."

"We are at war with their kingdom, Gene!" The archer emphasized. "They could be spies!"

"V."

"They could be going after the moonstone! They could be trying to overthrow your family!"

"Rapunzel's not," Gene stated.

"How do you know? How do you know she's not playing you like a fiddle?"

"You really think I wouldn't notice if that was happening?" The prince responded sharply. "Have a little faith in me, V."

"I do. I trust you, you know I trust you-"

"You're not acting it!" Eugene interrupted.

"You have to realize how insane this looks to me," Varian said after a moment. "It's only been three days and you already fully trust her! You're already head over heels for her!"

"V."

"She could be trained how to do that, to gain trust fast-"

"V!"

"To get men to fall for her, to get you to fall for her so she can-"

"Varian!" Eugene snapped, shocking his Pack into silence. "I've told you, she's not a spy! So trust me, and drop it!"

The prince then stormed out of the room, leaving Varian alone and staring at the door.

"Sorry," he whispered into the silence.

💠

The moment he slammed Varian's door, Gene felt bad. He felt bad for yelling, for snapping at his Pack. Yes, they annoyed and made each other angry sometimes but they never snapped at each other.

Eugene wanted to turn around and apologize, but he was mad, and he was hurt. Mad at Varian's words and hurt that V wasn't trusting his. So, instead of opening the door, he turned away from it and went up to his chambers.

Gene peered out his window for a while, watching as the town below buzzed with more activity and music now that the sun had set. As he looked out over his kingdom, V's words and accusations kept repeating in his head.

The longer he thought about it, the more he understood where Varian was coming from. It was their duty, the Brotherhood's duty, the prince's duty, to find and neutralize threats to the kingdom. And that's exactly what Varian was trying to do.

'He's right. We already know Cass is dangerous, Rapunzel could be too.'

But even that thought felt wrong to him. Rapunzel was just so curious, so smart, so excited, so genuine. Gene had no doubt that she could be dangerous if she wanted to be, but she clearly didn't want to be. At least, he didn't think she did.

🔷

As the moon moved across the sky and his kingdom drifted off to sleep, Eugene sat awake, thinking. He was now confused and conflicted rather than angry or hurt, but he still felt guilty. That guilt only grew as Varian's words replayed in his head again, but this time, only one word stood out to him: 'you'.

Varian had said it again and again. 'Using you', 'playing you', 'trained to get you', 'to overthrow your family'. Then it clicked. Varian wasn't trying to protect the kingdom.

'He was trying to protect me.'

That realization just made him feel worse. He couldn't take it anymore, didn't care what time it was, he was going to make this right. He needed to.

Eugene stood from his bed. He only made it a few steps towards the door before there was a soft knock on it. He quickly opened it to see Varian standing there, looking just as tired and guilty as he felt.

"Gene, I-"

Eugene didn't let him finish that sentence, pulling his Pack into a tight hug, Varian hugging him back right away.

"I'm so sorry, V," The prince immediately said.

"You're not still mad?" Varian muttered into the hug, and Gene shook his head.

"I shouldn't have gotten mad, I shouldn't have snapped."

"And I shouldn't have just started doubting you and accusing Rapunzel of doing stuff like that. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Gene responded. "You were just looking out for me."

"Yeah, when you didn't need me to."

Eugene released the hug, put a hand on Varian's shoulder, and looked him right in the eye.

"I'll always need you to," he stated. "You're a lot smarter than me."

V just responded with a soft, tired chuckle. Gene then took a good look at him. He saw the dark circles under his eyes as soon as he opened the door, but now that he was really looking at him, Gene saw how messy his hair was and noticed that Varian was swaying a bit.

"You didn't have to come all the way up here, V," he said. "I was about to come down to you."

"Beat ya to it," the younger mumbled, making his brother chuckle.

"You look like you're about to fall over. I'm not letting you go back down those stairs like this. Come on."

Eugene then put an arm around Varian and steered him towards his bed.

"Gene," he grumbled, even as he leaned into his Pack's side.

"It'll be just like when we were kids."

Gene climbed into his bed, pulling Varian with him. He then put an arm around his brother, pulled him closer, and tugged the blanket over both of them.

"Was just trying to protect you," Varian murmured after a moment.

"I know," Eugene replied fondly. "I promise I'll try to be more careful around them."

"Promise I'll try not to be."

"Deal."

Upon hearing that, Varian let out a soft, content sigh as he leaned back against Eugene, the rise and fall of his chest quickly putting him to sleep.

"Love ya, V," the prince muttered as he, too, drifted off to sleep.

Thank you again to @margiecartoon ! You have no idea how much I love these sketches!! 🥰

Previous Next

Several minutes of silence passed as Varian inspected the damage done to the balloon. Feeling the hostility that still bounced between their two friends, Raps and Gene decided it would be better to return to the castle and come back once everyone had time to calm down. Varian and Cass eagerly agreed, wanting nothing more than to get away from each other, so after taking some measurements and making a few notes, the four of them headed back across the bridge.

The trip through town was filled with a tense silence; or it would've been if the two royals weren't quietly talking as they walked shoulder to shoulder, between their friends.

As soon as they entered the castle, Varian turned one way and Cass the other, leaving Raps and Gene to watch them part ways. After a moment, Gene realized the two of them were alone and turned towards the young woman.

"I'm sorry about Varian," he said with a sigh, causing Raps to look at him.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry about Cass, she probably started it," she replied. "But I had fun with you today."

"I did too."

"We should do it again sometime," Raps suggested, twirling her hair.

Gene then gently took hold of the hand twisting her hair.

"I'd like that," he stated before kissing the back of her hand.

"Nice ring by the way," Eugene continued, turning his gaze back to her face. "Family heirloom?"

He saw panic overtake her face as she pulled her hand out of his then took a step back.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna turn you in," the prince reassured her.

"You're not?"

"No, it could get you exiled, or worse, and I don't really want that." He paused for a second, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued. "I think I'm falling for you."

"Raps!" Cass beckoned from down the hall, drawing her attention away.

Rapunzel quickly turned towards the call, but Gene could see the smile on her face as she scurried after Cass. He gazed after her for a moment. Gene then turned around, saw that Varian was waiting for him, and went to his side.

Seeing the teasing smirk on his face, Gene playfully shoved him before continuing down the hall, causing his brother to chuckle.

As they walked though, Eugene noticed how quickly the playfulness drained from Varian's expression, replaced with something like concern.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, and was a little surprised when Varian hesitated before answering.

"I know you're smitten for her," V started. "But just be careful, she could be using you."

"She's not, I can see it in her eyes."

"Okay," Varian responded, seeing the resolute look in Gene's eyes.

He may not trust the girls, but he'd always trust Eugene. No matter what.

🔵

The two men continued walking the halls for a few more minutes until Gene was called away, having some duties to attend to. Varian then went up his lab, deciding to get to work rather than continue being annoyed or concerned.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by slightly stale air. He knew he needed to air out his lab, but he loved the smell that filled it. It was dusty, tangy, and resinous: the mixed scents of note paper, his alchemical solutions, and the eucalyptus oil that fuels his burners.

Pushing the door closed behind him, Varian reached into his bag of supplies, grabbed his notes on the balloon damages, and hung the bag on a hook by the door. He then went over to his desk and began making a list of materials he'd need in order to repair the balloon.

They were all materials that would be easy enough to find; heat resistant fabric, a little tubing for the fuel line, a more durable flask as a replacement fuel reservoir, the metal to make a new heating coil, and the oil that would fuel the balloon.

There was just one problem though, he still didn't know what oil the balloon's burner used. Depending on what oil it used and whether or not they had it in the kingdom, he might have to tweak the burner a little. That could lead him to needing to repair it a little differently, which could mean needing different materials.

'One step at a time. Figure out the oil first.'

The easiest way for him to do that would be to just ask the girls, but Gene was busy and he'd already had enough of Cass for today.

Leaving his notes on his desk, Varian went over to the back, right corner of his lab. He then pushed a button hidden behind his bookshelf, opening a secret passage that connected his lab to the castle library down the hall.

He doubted he'd find any more information on hot air balloons, given how little he found the last time he looked, but he figured he'd check anyway. Unfortunately, he was right. An hour of searching and he wasn't able to find anything on the inner workings of hot air balloons or the oils that the Saporians would've had access to.

After leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling for a moment, he had a realization.

'Ma might know.'

Given Ulla's past and her love of engineering and science, she might have some insight that could help him.

Varian then put away the books and started towards her first floor lab, where she usually was at this time of day. By the time he got there, his mind had already gone back to his lab.

"Hey, Ma?" He said distractedly as he slowly pushed open the door.

His confusion and frustration must've been visible on his face, cause as soon as Ulla turned towards him, she could tell what was wrong.

"Project got you stumped?" She asked.

Varian nodded in response. Ulla then went silent, letting him decide when to explain. After a moment of contemplation, he continued.

"You were an engineer even before you left Corona, right?"

"That's right."

"Did you ever work on hot air balloons?"

"A few," Ulla answered.

"What fuel did they usually take?"

"Fish oil, I think." At the confused look Varian replied with, Ulla went on. "I know, it's very inefficient fuel for a balloon, but we had a lot of it."

"Did you ever try to convert a balloon to using a more powerful oil? Something like eucalyptus maybe?"

"Yes, actually."

"You can do it by replacing the heating coil, right?" Varian inquired.

"You could, yes."

"How?"

"You tell me," Ulla responded then her son thought for a moment.

"By replacing it with one made from a different material?" He guessed.

"What material?"

"What are the ones for fish oil made from?"

"Usually iron or brass," Ulla answered.

"That thermal conductivity is good, but a lower thermal inertia would be a lot better. With a stronger oil you'd need more control over the temperature of the coil," Varian said to himself, then to Ulla, "so copper, maybe?"

"Mhm, and if you want more control over the copper's temperature?" She prompted with a smile.

"Make the coil thinner?"

"That's my boy," Ulla stated fondly, reaching up to ruffle his hair a bit.

"Thanks Ma," Varian responded, quickly turning to leave before his mom could ask another question, but he wasn't fast enough.

"Wait, wait, wait. Do I want to know where you got the balloon you're wanting to modify?"

"Probably not," he answered then Ulla looked at him for a moment.

"Do I need to?"

"Possibly," Varian stated then practically ran out the door.

"Spark!" He heard Ulla call his nickname after a moment.

He slowed to a walk and turned towards the call, a little surprised to see how far he'd run.

"I'm proud of you!" His mom shouted from the door to her lab.

Varian didn't try to hide the grin that spread across his face as he turned to continue down the hall. Why would he hide it? How could he? He loved both his parents, but especially his mom.

He loved that she knew when to help him and when to push him, never pushing him too far. He loved that she trusted him and didn't press for answers, that she trusted him to tell her when he was ready or when it was needed.

He especially loved it when she was proud of him. It wasn't hard to make her proud but it still felt earned. Varian knew that, win or lose, success or fail, as long as he tried, Ulla would be proud. That alone made him want try harder, get better, at everything he did.

Arriving back at his lab, he was determined to get the balloon working again, maybe even improve it a little, so he began refining the list of supplies.

'Fuel' became 'eucalyptus oil'. 'Metal' became 'copper'. 'Durable flask' became 'amber flask', for a practically indestructible fuel reservoir.

As Varian continued revising his list, he noticed that he kept doodling suns. He knew it was because of the sun he'd seen on Punzel's ring a few days ago. He couldn't remember exactly what it looked like, and there were a few kingdoms and nations whose symbols were suns, but he had a feeling he knew which one it was.

He wanted to give Punzel the benefit of the doubt though, for Gene's sake, so he decided to do more research, this time focusing on the kingdoms with the sun seals.

But the more he looked into it, the more everything about the girls, from the fabrics and metals they wore to their confusion about the Dark Kingdom, told him the same thing.

'They're Coronain.'

Previous Next

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46732432/chapters/117699025

"Cass, what are you doing?" The alchemist asked, suspiciously.

"None of your business," the woman snapped.

"It is my business if you make this take longer than it needs to!" He shot back.

Varian continued towards the envelope of the balloon, beginning to spread it out on the ground while Cass continued shoving things into bags.

"Would you stop that and come help me!" He snapped after a moment. "Why do you care if we see your supplies anyway?"

"Like I said, none of your business!" Cass retorted.

V glared at her for a moment. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a slow, frustrated breath before responding.

"Look, I don't care what you're trying to hide. Right now I don't even care about what kingdom you're from, I just want you out of this one. So can you just help me?"

"Fine!" the woman relented. "What do you need help with?"

"We need to spread out the balloon so we can find the holes," he answered, going back to pulling on the heavy fabric of the envelope.

"I know where the holes are," Cassandra told him.

"You could've said that sooner," Varian growled, letting go of the balloon.

He then closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"It's fine, that'll save time," he muttered, then in a neutral tone he asked Cass, "can you show me where the exit hole is? I can patch it if you can do the other one."

"Why the exit?" Cass asked.

"Cause usually it's more frayed and harder to fix than the entry," Varian answered.

"And you think I can't fix a frayed hole in fabric?"

"I didn't say that," he responded. "I was just trying to be nice but you can do whichever one you want. Just point me towards the other one."

Cass glared at him for a moment before pointing him towards the bottom left of the envelope. He quickly found the hole then they both fell quiet as they got to work on opposite sides of the balloon.

After several minutes of silence, Cass's irritation faded a bit and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Okay, I have to ask, what's with the hair stripe?" She inquired.

"Would you believe it's a fashion statement?"

"No."

"Okay, it's not," Varian began without looking away from the task at hand. "I was born with it. The doctors think it's Poliosis, when the cells don't produce melanin. Poliosis usually leaves the hair white or gray, but my mom ate large amounts of foods containing high levels of anthocyanins while she was pregnant with me, so it's teal instead."

He then glanced over at her and chuckled at her confused expression. "I'm kidding. You can't dye cells by eating too much blue corn. We don't know why it's teal."

"That's the last time I ask you a genuine question," Cass muttered, tying off her thread.

"I answered it, didn't I?" The young man responded. "Why so serious, Cass?"

"Did you really just ask me that?" She snapped.

"Why? Is that a loaded question?"

"No, just one with an obvious answer."

"Humor me."

"Are you done fixing your hole?"

"You're really not gonna answer my question?" Varian asked, "I answered yours."

"Are you done fixing your hole?" Cass repeated, climbing to her feet.

He sighed, tied off his thread, and looked over his work before responding, "yes."

Varian stood, picked up his bag of supplies, then started towards the basket, but Cass intercepted him before he got close to it.

"What do you think you're doing?" She snapped, blocking his path, then he sighed again.

"I'd like to light the burner and try to inflate the envelope to see if we've patched it well enough," Varian answered, then looked her right in the eye. "May I do that?"

Instead of responding, Cass just continued to glare up at him. After a moment, Varian let out an impatient sigh, rolled his eyes, and brushed past her. He left the faint scent of eucalyptus and smoke in his wake, like he always did.

It was really beginning to annoy her.

She turned around to see him climbing into the basket of the balloon.

"Did I say you could go in there?" The woman snapped, rushing over and into the basket.

"Cass, if you fight me every step of the way this is gonna take forever," the alchemist stated, "can you just let me work?"

He then opened the panel on the side of the copper cylinder connected to the bottom of the burner nozzles.

"When was the last time this was cleaned?" Varian muttered, putting down his bag.

Cass watched as he pulled out a cloth and began wiping down the cylinder and the coil that sat inside of it. Realizing this was probably going to take a while, she leaned back against the basket and continued watching him, still not trusting him.

From where she was watching, she had a perfect view of the mark on the back of Varian's left hand, a circle intersecting three short lines; the mark of the Brotherhood.

Even though he had the mark, Cass still doubted he was one of the Brotherhood. His mark was different from the others she'd seen. Eugene's mark was bold, with thick dark lines you could see from across the room, the rest of the Brotherhood's were the same. Varian's, however, was more subtle, with thinner, lighter lines.

After watching him in silence and thinking for a few more moments, she needed an answer.

"Why's your mark different?" She abruptly asked.

"I thought the hair stripe was the last genuine question you were gonna ask me," the alchemist replied.

He then glanced over and rolled his eyes at the glare she was giving him.

"It's cause I'm not sworn in yet," he answered.

"Right, cause at dinner the other night you said you'd just passed the test," Cass recalled. "What is this 'test' to join the Brotherhood?"

"It's technically years of training followed by five tests," Varian explained, wiping off his hands then tucking the dirty cloth into his back pocket. "It might be six for the next person, depending on if I decide to join in on that. You have to pass all of them to get in."

"What are the tests?" She asked again.

She watched as the alchemist pulled a thin, shiny stick out of his bag. He snapped about an inch off of it and the tip caught fire, which he used to light the pilot lights on the side of both the burn nozzles, then the one encircled by the coil. He then closed the panel and blew out the stick before returning it to his bag.

"You have to fight every Brotherhood member, one on one, and get past them to touch a special door," the young man responded. "You have to get past all of them."

He then noticed a flask fastened to the side of the copper cylinder, connected to a tube leading into it. The fuel reservoir, where you put the oil to power the burner, only it was empty.

Varian glanced around the bottom of the basket, quickly spotting a small hatch labeled 'payload bay'. He'd found the fuel storage, but when he opened it, all he saw was spilled oil and broken pieces of ceramic jugs.

"Of course," he muttered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"But you kept failing one," Cass stated sharply, then Varian glared at her.

"What oil does the burner take?" He pointedly asked.

"So you can keep redoing the tests till you pass?" She continued, ignoring his question.

"Sweet solstice, Cass!" The alchemist snapped. "No! Normally you can only fail twice between all the tests. I just passed four out of the five I had to do on the first try, including the one against the king which is the hardest. That's better than Gene did, so they knew I was more than qualified. You have to pass all of them though, so they just let me redo Hector's till I passed!"

"Perks of being the Protector's son, huh?" She remarked bitterly.

"If you think that having to repeatedly redo a test with the man who hates my family is a perk then you're very wrong!" Varian shot back.

Before Cass could question what he was doing, Varian snatched a vial of eucalyptus oil from his belt, went over to the fuel reservoir, and dumped it in. He then yanked a pair of thick, black alchemist gloves from his bag and vaulted over the side of the basket. Putting on the gloves, he went over to the envelope of the balloon, grabbed the top layer of fabric, held it open, and shot the woman a glare.

"Don't burn me on purpose," he growled at Cass.

Cassandra just stared at him for a moment before realizing what he meant. They'd have to start inflating it on the ground before it would stand on its own, meaning someone had to hold it open so the heat could go in. Whether it was because he was 'trying to be nice' or he just wanted some distance from her, Cass was a little relieved he was the one holding the envelope.

She swiveled the burner and aimed it down towards the opening.

"Ready?" The woman asked, glancing at Varian.

When he nodded, Cass grabbed the rope of the blast lever, barely pulling it, and-

THRAW!

Massive white flames erupted from the burner nozzles!

Varian yelped, dropping the envelope and jumping back before the flames could lick him.

"What are you doing!" He exclaimed, rushing back to the basket. "It's gonna melt the envelope! Turn it off!"

"I can't! What did you do!" The woman yelled, fumbling to try and get it to stop.

The alchemist jumped back into the basket, flipped the burner towards the sky, then yanked the tube out of the fuel reservoir. Eucalyptus oil spilled freely out onto the floor of the basket, but the fire stopped right away.

" 'What did I do?'! Wolf's teeth, Cass!" He snapped, climbing out of the basket. "If you'd just told me what fuel it took when I asked, or stopped talking and let me think, that wouldn't have happened!"

"Varian!" Eugene's worried call sliced through their yelling.

Varian turned his back on Cass and started towards the cry, seeing Gene and Raps sprinting out of the jungle. As soon as the prince saw Varian he ran straight to him.

"Are you okay, V?"

"That woman is infuriating!" The alchemist replied, pointing back towards Cass, his hand shaking with rage and adrenaline.

Gene reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him almost instantly. Varian then closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again, he immediately saw how concerned Eugene was.

"I'm fine, Gene," he said, putting a gloved hand over the bare one that sat on his shoulder.

Once the concern left Gene's face, Varian let his hand drop to his side, leaving behind a thin layer of eucalyptus oil on the prince's. They both stared at the oil for a moment then Gene looked at the smoking scene behind Varian.

"Do I wanna know?" He asked, returning his gaze to Varian.

"I'll tell you later," the alchemist replied. "But can this please be the last time you leave me alone with her?"

Once Gene nodded, they both went over to the balloon. Varian then began assessing the new damage done by the blast while the two royals acted as a buffer between him and a still fuming Cass.

The first thing he noticed was that the bottom of the envelope was now melted closed.

After letting out an annoyed sigh, Varian climbed into the basket. He expected to see the fuel line he'd pulled out and would have to replace. What he didn't expect to see though, was the flask fuel reservoir cracked and warped from the sudden and intense heat of the blast.

After double checking that he still had his gloves on, he opened the panel on the copper cylinder and looked inside. The coil was still red hot, but he could see that the blast had broken and bent it out of shape.

'This just got more complicated.'

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/46732432/chapters/117699025