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It was all over. Zhan Tiri was defeated. Cassandra was gone and going off to find her own destiny that didn’t involve destroying Rapunzel and her home. The kingdom of Corona was on its way to being rebuilt slowly but surely. Varian and Quirin had helped with initial clean up efforts, but now it was time to head back home. The journey back to Old Corona didn’t take any longer than normal, but it seemed to drag on with the heavy silence between father and son.
There wasn’t any animosity or hostility between them, it was just that with the weight of everything that had happened there wasn’t much room for small talk. Not that either one of them would have known what to say even if a war with a demon hadn’t just been fought and won. While they got along better than ever before after the whole amber incident, they still hadn’t figured out their new dynamic. Quirin tried as hard as he could to finally show his son how proud he was of him. Varian, on the other hand, was opening up and trying to let his father be a more active part of his life. It was still awkward, but at least they were trying.
Not much was said at dinner that night either. Both were completely exhausted from the past couple weeks. Quirin wanted to say something to Varian, strike up a conversation about his latest inventions, or his pet raccoon, or just anything, really. But every time his mouth opened, it just ended up closing without a sound. How could he attempt to relate to Varian at all? He had failed him so many ways as a father. He had failed to support him growing up. He failed at being a loving, nurturing parent. His son had been through more in his short 16 years of life than any person should have to deal with in a lifetime. And while Quirin had tried his best to prevent his son from ever having to deal with the magical threats of the world by keeping the history of the black rocks and the Brotherhood a secret, he even failed at that.
Now Varian was a full grown adult in a 16-year-old’s body, and Quirin didn’t know how to deal with that. He had missed an entire year of his son’s life while trapped in the amber, but it felt like he missed twenty years. They of course spoke about it all couple times, where Varian confessed to all the terrible things he had done out of grief, and then spoke of how Rapunzel helped him realize he could still be redeemed. Those conversations had always ended in tears, and it broke Quirin’s heart every time. Holding his crying son, Quirin would think about how many times Varian must have cried himself to sleep alone in a jail cell. While he had long since forgiven his son the crimes committed against the kingdom, he could not forgive himself for allowing his son to reach such a breaking point in the first place. Even now, months after being freed, the guilt ate away at Quirin.
“Well, I’m gonna head to sleep. Night, Dad,” Varian spoke up, interrupting his father’s musings. Quirin hadn’t even noticed that Varian had already finished his food and cleaned his plate. The boy turned and headed to his bedroom.
“Goodnight, son.” Quirin replied as he watched his son’s retreating form. The raccoon, Ruddiger, was wrapped around his shoulder. That was something else that Quirin couldn’t quite understand. He still didn’t know how his son had tamed a wild raccoon, but he was grateful for it. Who knew how many times that pet had come to comfort Varian in a time when no one else would?
Sighing, Quirin picked up his own finished plate of food and washed it in their dish bucket. He headed to his own room and got ready for bed. He sat on the edge of his mattress, placing his candle on the nightstand, and dropped his head in his hands. Oh, what was he going to do? How could they even try to return to a sense of normalcy now? They probably wouldn’t ever be able to. Forget everything that happened while he was in amber, in these past few months alone they had been through too much. Varian had been kidnapped, Quirin had been mind controlled, and they had faced a literal demon. If Quirin never had to head to battle again, it would be too soon. Lying down, the man closed his eyes and attempted to get some much needed rest.
***
When Quirin awoke, he was somehow back in the Dark Kingdom. It didn’t make sense, but he didn’t have much time to figure out how he got there before he heard his son scream from a nearby room. He pulled out his sword and ran to find Varian. A bright light flashed from the room that used to hold the Moonstone. Running in, Quirin’s eyes focused on a figure in the middle of the room. As the figure turned around, his sword dropped from his hand.
Varian stood there, clutching the Moonstone to his chest. His blue streak of hair was glowing, and his clothes were replaced with all black. And his blue eyes had a fury behind him that Quirin had never seen before. It was…terrifying.
“See what I’ve become, father?” Varian spat.
“Son, what happened?” Quirin’s voice came out as a whisper.
Varian laughed, though there was no humor behind it. “What happened? You happened, dear father. You lied to me my whole life, keeping this power away from me. And now I’ve finally come to claim my destiny. I will no longer let you push me around. This is who I am. Who I’ve always been. And it’s time to show the world.” His malicious grin grew.
“How? How did this happen?” Quirin fell to his knees, not believing what he was seeing.
Varian stepped closer. Quirin looked to the floor, but felt his son lift his chin to look him in the eyes, though he did not recognize them. These were not the eyes of his loving son, but the eyes of a tortured, hardened soul.
“You failed me as a father, it’s only fair that I show you how much of a failure of a son I can be.”
Quirin’s eyes opened to his dark room. He tried to catch his breath as he sat up and looked around. He was fine, Varian was fine, and they were both back home in Old Corona. Running a hand through his hair, he lied back down. As much as he felt the need to go check on Varian and make sure everything was alright, he knew his son was fine. Quirin was a strong man, he could handle a little nightmare.
Feeling something on his cheek, Quirin reached up to wipe it away. When his finger came away wet with a tear, he was a little surprised. He hadn’t allowed himself to cry in a long time. It felt somewhat relieving. He felt a few more drops fall down his face as he remembered his that awful dream. He had handled many failures throughout his life, but failing his son was something he could not bear. Now he sees it in his dreams almost every night.
A knock sounded at his bedroom door, and a face appeared in the doorway as it opened slightly. His son’s face seemed tired, and his eyes were red and puffy, not unlike Quirin’s.
“Hey, uh, Dad?” He spoke quietly.
“Yes, Varian?”
Varian opened the door a little wider, stepping fully into the room. He looked down at his feet. “I had, uh, a nightmare. And I know I’m 16 and probably too old to ask this…but could I maybe, uh, come sleep with you tonight?”
Quirin’s blinked a few times in confusion. Varian hadn’t asked to sleep with him after a bad nightmare since he was just a small child. It had been years.
Before Quirin could respond, Varian spoke again. “You know what? Sorry for bothering you. It’s stupid. I’m fine, I’ll just head out.” The boy turned to leave, his raccoon at his feet.
“Varian, wait!” Varian stopped and turned back around. “Of course you can, son.”
The teenager gave a small, grateful smile and moved over to the bed. He climbed onto it and grabbed his dad’s arm, hugging it tightly. “Thank you.”
“I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
A moment of silence passed between them as both father and son relaxed in the comfort of each other. No matter what nightmares plagued them, they would be in this together.
“Hey, Varian?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not sleeping with that raccoon on my bed.”
Varian laughed, and then coaxed Ruddiger up onto his stomach. “There, now he’s not touching the bed.”
Quirin let out a small laugh. Yeah, everything was going to be alright.