Chapter Text
Hugo chuckled dryly, a humorless sound that echoed through the small, dark cell. It quickly degraded into a coughing fit. His throat ached. He huddled further into a corner, shivering, the stone digging into his bare back. He smiled grimly. It only made sense that after being stripped of his title, he would be stripped of his clothes as well. His hand brushed against his pants absently. At least they had let him keep those, torn and dirty as they were. But it was something, and definitely better than nothing. He tried to ignore the steady dripping coming from the opposite corner. It was the only consistent noise aside from his ragged breathing. He tried to think back to when he was taken. Had it been raining? He couldn’t remember. He’d been here for…..what? Hours? Days? He had lost track between fits of sleep. He tuned back in to the dripping again. He hoped it was water. But he doubted it. Whatever it was, there must have been a lot of it for it to still be dripping. He squinted at the direction of the noise. Too dark to see. His gaze drifted to the fuzzy outline of the bars. They had taken his glasses. Not before punching him unconscious, though. His nose throbbed, along with the skin around the glass shards embedded in his cheek. He wondered when they would send someone with food. Or even if they would. He tucked his knees to his chest. Surely they weren’t going to leave him here…….
Hugo jerked awake at the harsh sound of metal on metal. He lifted his head stiffly, neck sore from the awkward way he had been sleeping. He raised a hand---which was wet, a small part of his mind noted---to shield his eyes against the bright torchlight held by a guard. There were three people sneering at him now, which was more company than he had had in a long time. One was holding the torch. The other was sheathing his sword, done clanging it against the bars now that Hugo was awake. And the third…..his heart skipped a beat. If that was him, that meant that Hugo was here—oh no….no no no, this couldn’t be right. He had been kingdoms away! He had lost them, they thought he was dead! How—Hugo groaned. Leaning his head gingerly against the stone again, he let his eyes adjust to the light and smirked at his captors.
“Fancy seeing you here, Varian.” Varian raised his chin slightly, quirking an eyebrow at the sorry sight of the broken man before him.
“I’m impressed, Becker. I wasn’t expecting you to be able to talk.” He glanced down and brushed some imaginary dust from his coat. Hugo scowled, ignoring a twinge of pain. It was bad enough he was in this cage. The last thing he needed was some pompous kid acting all high and mighty. Then again, he supposed Varian deserved a bit of pride, considering the lengths he had gone to in order to get into his position of power. Not to mention he definitely didn’t look much like a boy anymore. He had a grey shirt and tan pants under a fancy black overcoat with red trim. A belt with some vials was around his waist. So high status, judging by the coat fabric, and of power, since he was carrying some…unpredictable weapons. No one else would be able to do that in the Sapporian’s rule. If he was being honest, he was impressed. But Hugo was never honest. He stood up unsteadily and walked towards the bars, staying out of range of the guard’s hands and keeping an eye on the sheathed swords. Leaning against the wall for support, he glanced down at his wet hand. Red--like he thought. The things they were doing here….were horrible. He needed to get out, and soon. Tucking his hand behind his back, he looked at Varian again. The shorter male seemed to be studying him, but he couldn’t be sure. He paused, then reached up and pulled out one of the larger shards of glass. He wiped it off on his pants and squinted through it.
“Well! That’s better. Now at least I can see my attackers coming.” It didn’t help much, really, but it was nice to pretend. “Or, do you plan to attack? Maybe you’ve brought me some water. It’s high time I got some.” He was glad he hadn’t tried drinking the dripping liquid. Thinking about it made his stomach churn, so he moved on, allowing his gaze to sweep over the guards before coming to rest on the ceiling.
Pretending to be bored was the easiest thing of all. Mostly because it was somewhat true. He wasn’t eager for entertainment with Varian in charge, though. He straightened, wincing, as Varian took out a key and unlocked the cell door. “What? No response?” His palms were wet with nervous sweat, now. The silence was worse than the taunts, so much worse…. He backed away as the guards advanced on him. They grabbed his arms and twisted them painfully behind his back, forcing him to hunch over; they were shorter than he was. He gasped, stumbling. Not struggling, though. It was far too late to escape. Varian stepped back as they steered him out of his cell, a cold gleam in his eye. They led him up a flight of stairs at a brisk pace, almost faster than what his scraped feet could keep up with. He tripped multiple times, earning cruel laughs from his escorts. He couldn’t fully tell where they were taking him, not without his glasses. Besides, the torchlight didn’t reach far. They hadn’t gone a great distance, but Hugo was panting by the time they made it to the end of a corridor on the next floor. They steered him into a room, and he stopped cold. They couldn’t—they weren’t—this was bad. For the first time since being brought to the castle, he felt panic pool in his chest. He struggled against the guards, uncaring of the fact that he was far too weak to get away. He could tell that this was the room above his cell, though it was far larger. He kept his eyes away from the tarp covered lump in the back corner. He knew what was under it. It didn’t take an expert to recognize the metallic scent in the air. He knew he was next. He--
He screamed as he felt his arm snap, the guards finally tiring of his struggle. His knees buckled, tears blurring his eyes. He wasn’t going to survive this. Varian smirked, gesturing for the guards to bring him further into the room. The walls were lined with various objects; there was a weapons rack along one wall, a formidable looking wooden slab with iron cuffs in a corner, and a few sets of chains set into the stone of the furthest wall. There were no windows. The room itself seemed more like an arena. Hugo knew exactly what was going to happen; he had been on the delivering end of this situation before. He watched, pale, as Varian hung up his coat and belt on one of the empty pegs, carefully selecting a long sword from the rack. He hardly noticed the guards closing and locking the door. Hugo swayed slightly, dizzy. He would be forced to choose a weapon, forced to earn his freedom in a fight. But he wouldn’t win. He walked up to the wall, dazed, and grabbed a familiar dagger. Varian stood in the middle of the room, poised to attack, still smirking.
Hugo tried to ignore the throbbing in his arm, facing Varian with his dagger raised in defense. He could practically see what was going to happen. Varian would charge, he would dodge. Go under Varian’s arm, stab him in the back. He had seen Varian’s fighting style. Surely he could win. He blinked more tears out of his eyes. Yeah, right. Varian would wait for him to make the first move, like he always did. Hugo would swing, miss, and—he stopped himself. No point in thinking. Varian was still facing him. All that was next was to let it play out. He ran at Varian.
Or at least, he tried to. It was more of a pathetic stumble; he couldn’t move very fast without the room swirling with black. Varian brought his sword out of its attack position and sidestepped Hugo, kicking him in the back almost lazily. Hugo fell, landing on his bad arm. He screamed again.
Varian clicked his tongue in disdain. “You’ve lost your touch, Becker.”
Hugo got up unsteadily, his breathing ragged. At least he hadn’t fallen on his dagger—though that would have ended this torture sooner, he thought bitterly. He faced Varian’s still blurry figure. It was cruel to make him fight when he couldn’t see. But nothing about this situation was fair. His eyesight was the least of his worries. He raised his dagger and charged again. Varian raised an eyebrow as Hugo came at him again. He shook his head, raising his sword right as Hugo got into range. Hugo choked, the dagger clattering to the ground. He looked down in horror. He…he knew this would happen. Varian pulled on the sword and Hugo collapsed, clutching his abdomen. He sobbed as the guards yanked him up. They dragged him away from Varian, who was just…..standing there, sword drooping. It was hard to tell through the sweat, the tears, and the pain, but Hugo thought he looked….defeated? That couldn’t be right. Varian had won. It was a fleeting thought. They dragged him back down the stairs, tossing him in his cell. He wondered vaguely which poor servant would have to clean up the trail of blood he left behind. They threw him into his cell and he passed out, still bleeding, the blurry image of Varian the last thing in his mind.
Hugo awoke hazily, head pounding. Everything was fuzzy, and it felt like his mouth and brain were filled with cotton. He was still in a cell, but it was different. There was moonlight shining in from a barred window. His last cell didn’t have that. And he seemed to be…in a bed? When….could that……have happened……..? He drifted off again.
The next time he woke up, Hugo was able to better process his surroundings. The sun was shining this time. He glanced at his arm. It was wrapped tightly in a splint. There was a thin, torn sheet covering him, and an uncomfortable pillow under his head—filled with hay, probably. The bed was just wood, attached to the wall with chains. But it was an improvement from the stone he had been on before. He groaned, trying to look around a bit. There was a chair next to his bed, a single cup of water sitting on it. He reached over, pain shooting down his spine and through his abdomen. He paused. The stab wound was bandaged. Eyebrows furrowed, he dismissed his curiosity for the time being and returned his focus to the water, gulping it down desperately. His head spun and his vision swam. But at least he had water. He fell unconscious yet again. This time, he dreamed.
Varian’s face, clear now, smiling at him.
They were young, happy.
Varian scowling, clutching the hem of his shirt to steady his shaking hands.
Looking up at a throne.
Varian screaming, the amber filling the lab.
Running. Crying. Begging for help.
Hugo ran with him.
Varian being dragged off to jail, Ruddiger following him.
Hugo followed too.
He wondered if anyone noticed.
Hugo watched as Varian was convicted.
He admitted to helping build the automatons.
They were both convicted.
He watched as the foolish guards put a child in a cell with a manipulative adult.
He was unable to do anything about it.
The three plotted their escape.
He watched as Varian gleefully erased the memories of the king and queen.
As he defeated Rapunzel.
As he secured his place in power.
He remembered the horrible things he did to people who dared try overthrow Varian.
It was wrong, he hated it.
But there was no choice.
Varian valued him, trusted him.
He remembered trying to help Rapunzel, eventually.
He remembered falling.
He remembered Varian’s horrified scream as he watched Hugo fall, reaching a hand out.
Unable to save him.
Not understanding that Hugo was a traitor.
Rocks trapped him for days.
He managed to crawl away and run.
Run as far away from that godforsaken kingdom as he could.
No one came looking for him.
He lived safely for years.
He remembered getting in a fight over a stolen item.
Remembered how he had accidentally stolen from someone who thought him long since dead.
Remembered being captured.
Beaten.
His treachery discovered.
Hugo blinked awake, hopefully for good this time. He lay there for a moment, trying to remember. He didn’t understand how Varian, his closest friend, had been so cruel. He almost felt pity. Whatever happened to change him so severely must have been horrible. Though the fight—he scoffed. It wasn’t much of a fight. Whatever the case, it was familiar. He had sparred with Varian plenty of times. But he never expected actually being hurt by him. Not to that level. Not with such hatred. He must have been there for a few days, at least. Maybe a week or two. His arm felt marginally better. It seemed like a miracle. He truly thought he was going to die. He let his head roll to the side. It took him a second, but he realized that—oh shit—there was someone sitting in the chair, watching him. Hugo yelped, nearly jumping out of his skin. He groaned at the sudden movement, gingerly laying his head back onto the pillow. He stared at the ceiling, refusing to acknowledge the person beside him. There was tense silence for a while. Varian cleared his throat. Hugo watched him out of his peripherals. Varian was shifting in his seat, very different from the man that had fucking stabbed him. What was he even doing here? Was he going to taunt him for having to rely on his captors for care? For getting caught, getting hurt? Hugo folded his arms as best as he could over his chest, pointedly turning to face the wall. Varian knew better than to expect him to talk. Varian seemed to come to a similar conclusion.
He cleared his throat again. “So, Becker—“ his voice cracked a bit. It sounded like he had been crying. But that couldn’t be right. Varian hadn’t cried since Rapunzel had broken her promise.
Hugo reluctantly turned to look at him. “What do you want, Varian?” He asked with a sigh. “You know I won’t tell you how I got away.”
Varian looked slightly offended. “Is that why you think I’m here?” Hugo raised an eyebrow, and Varian scoffed. “I guess that’s fair.” He pulled something out of the inside pocket of his vest and handed it to Hugo. A pair of glasses. “I thought, since your last pair…..broke……you might want some new ones.”
“You mean since your minions shattered them.”
“Something like that. Do you want them or not? I can help you put them on.”
Hugo scowled, but nodded. He wanted to be able to see properly when Varian inevitably attacked him again. He flinched as Varian carefully put the glasses on. Varian withdrew quickly, hands fidgeting. Hugo took a better look at him. There were red splotches under Varian’s eyes, and it looked like he hadn’t been sleeping well. His hair was messy, and there were faint shadows under his cheekbones. Hugo frowned. For a monarch, he looked like….a complete wreck. What was going on? Hugo tried to sit up. Something wasn’t right.
“Varian, what….happened here? Are you okay?” As much as Varian had done to him, he couldn’t repress the twinge of concern as Varian hunched over, not meeting his eyes.
“I…yeah. I’m fine.”
Hugo frowned, remembering the cold looks Varian had given him. The ease in which he had fought. There was no way that was fake. Varian glanced at him.
“Hugo, listen….I’m…..I’m sorry. Okay? I can’t explain now. But the fact that you’re alive is my way of apologizing.”
“Sorry. You think that fixes it. You’re the reason I almost died. This isn’t an apology. This is fixing your mistake.”
Varian looked stricken. “Hugo, I—I didn’t have a choice. They would’ve—“ his expression darkened. “Let’s just say that your life wasn’t the only one at stake.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Hugo swung his legs over the side of the bed, fighting off the wave of black that tried to overtake his vision and ignoring the burning pain in his abdomen. He wheezed, waving away Varian’s outstretched hand. He wasn’t about to accept help. Catching his breath, he met Varian’s eyes.
Varian glared halfheartedly. “I already said I couldn’t tell you.”
Hugo didn’t answer. Varian’s stare melted and he sighed, glancing at the cell door. There were no guards. Varian had convinced them that Hugo was too weak to fight, and could be subdued easily if he tried to attack. They were alone. Varian took a sudden interest in the floor. Hugo waited. He had nowhere else to be. If Varian wouldn’t talk, he was content to sit there till the end of time.
“Rapunzel….is still alive. Captive. Deeper in the dungeon than you were.”
Hugo sat up a bit straighter, regretting it immediately but pushing through. “You kept her here all this time? How—is she okay?! How’s she been holding up? Is Eugene okay too?”
Varian looked at the door again, paranoid. “She’s….well, like I said, she’s alive. I haven’t been checking on her much. She wouldn’t want to see me. Eugene is with her. They’re both fine. Mostly. I can’t speak for their treatment. I’m not in control of that. I’m not in control of much, actually….”
Hugo frowned again. He did that a lot lately. “Wait. I thought you were in charge? You managed to take over.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I didn’t have a choice. Think about it. How could Rapunzel have survived? I’ve been doing what I can to help them. But it’s not easy. Andrew…he threatens her life—and Eugene’s—when I hesitate to make a decision. I…I see now how what we’re doing is wrong. I’ve known since you fell. But by then it was too late.”
Hugo shook his head. None of this made sense. Varian was the most powerful alchemist in the country. He could destroy Andrew in 50 different ways without having to lay a hand on him.
“So…what was with...” he waved a hand vaguely “…all of that? What do I have to do with Rapunzel?”
Varian laughed slightly. “You stole from us. When they realized who you were, and what you had done, they were furious. They wanted to torture you. I had to do that; you remember. To prove my loyalty. You or her. Then they wanted to let you die. I….convinced them that you were more useful alive. They let me patch you up. You’ll be forced to help them when you recover. I’m just glad I got away with stabbing you in a way that wouldn’t kill you immediately”
Hugo noted the change from “us” to “they”. Maybe there was some good part of Varian left. He thought back to when Varian opened the cell. He hadn’t been able to see much, but maybe there was a lingering look of panic in his eyes. Maybe he was covering up his true feelings so as not to give himself away. Hugo’s face hardened. Varian had still hurt him. He wasn’t ready to up and forgive that. Varian looked at the cell door again. This time, he had reason to be paranoid. There was a guard rounding the corner. Varian stood up abruptly, thrusting a cup of water at Hugo. He let his expression glaze over into his cool stare from before. Hugo definitely recognized the hidden turmoil this time, though only because he had seen the change. He wondered how long Varian had had to keep up this cruel facade. How long he had been alone.
“You’ll stay here until you recover. The moment you’re able to move, you’ll prove your worth. If not, we’ll get rid of you” Varian snapped. He unlocked the door with a key from his vest pocket—why did he have so many pockets?— and slammed the cell door shut behind him. “Keep an eye on him until I return. Send someone for me immediately if he tries anything. And do NOT listen to anything he says.” Varian stalked away, tossing a desperate, pleading glance back at Hugo. Begging him to stay quiet about their exchange. Hugo understood what a huge gesture of trust it was for Varian to confide in him. He leaned back and smirked at the guard, sipping his water.
“Just you and me, hm?” He might as well have fun with his company.
Varian closed his eyes in exasperation as one of the Sapporians ran up to him, saying that he was needed immediately in the dungeons. ‘The guard probably got fed up with him’ he thought. As he made his way down, going through his mental checklist of duties Andrew still required of him, he heard faint shouting. Varian started to run, his mind whirling. He skidded to a stop. There were a few people around Hugo’s cell. Three were guards. They seemed to be halfheartedly trying to stop the group of people that had made it into Hugo’s cell. The door was open. Varian thrust past the guards, frantically trying to figure out what was going on. There was a large man and two teens in the cell. The teens had Hugo pinned to the ground by his arms. His cast was across the cell, next to his glasses. The man had his foot poised above Hugo’s face. There was a pool of blood on the floor. Hugo’s eye was swollen shut, and he had various new wounds. His arm was purple and once again twisted at an unnatural angle. Varian shouldered the man out of the way, drawing his sword. He swung around and leveled it at his chest.
He glared at the guards. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
The girls released Hugo, who immediately rolled onto his side, good arm around his abdomen. They left the cell quickly. The guards shackled the man. Varian crouched next to Hugo, hands hovering. “What did they do to you….? How did this happen?”
The guard who had been with Hugo smirked. “If he hadn’t been such a smart ass, those guys probably wouldn’t have gone after him. I really tried to stop them, too. A shame.”
Varian convincingly hid his worry behind a mask of fury. “Do you have any idea what this means? You just prolonged Andrew’s wait for a new slave. Now we have to wait for him to recover.” He grabbed Hugo’s glasses to hide the tremble in his hands. “You know what happens to people who work against the greater good of Sapporia.” He waved a hand and the guard was dragged away, eyes wide, shouting.
Varian hated to send anyone to that room, but his guilt faded quickly as he glanced down at Hugo. The two guards dismissed, Varian turned his attention to Lance and the remaining guard.
He finds out that they were summoned and let into the cell. Ordered to “teach him a lesson” and kill him if possible. Varian was furious. He patched up Hugo again with the help of a nurse who had heard the commotion. But his arm….there was no fixing it. It was broken beyond repair, and leaving it would only lead to infection and further pain. They’re forced to amputate it. Hugo’s back in bed worse off than before, and it takes him another nine months to recover completely. Varian took it upon himself to watch Hugo, no longer trusting anyone else. They get pretty close during that time, though they continue to pretend whenever someone comes around. Nine months was a long time even for someone who wanted to stay as far away as possible from the Sapporians.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, as the case may be—Hugo had plenty to keep himself occupied. He spent most of his time brainstorming designs for a new arm. Varian helps him work out the mechanics. In the hours alone with Varian, Hugo learns that Varian had been feeding Rapunzel (or more accurately, Eugene) info about weak points in the new kingdom system. There were also people willing to rally against Andrew and his cohorts, because it had only been 9 years and the ones who had their memories remembered how much better things had been under Frederick’s rule. He kinda sucked but at least he wasn’t particularly evil. The black rocks were still a problem. So Hugo tweaked the blueprint of his arm to add a button in a small chamber in the palm. He was glad he had Varian to verify the plans and make the device. Hugo undergoes the surgery to implant the new arm. It worked, thank god. The last two months of his recovery is spent with his new arm in a sling, giving tips of advice to Andrew, who tests his worth, making sure he hasn’t wasted resources on Hugo. Finally, Hugo is able to start to act as a sort of advisor to Varian & Andrew. He’s surprisingly good at his job, helping make decisions that sound good to Andrew, but also kinda work against him. Like break times for all the servants so they can return to their work with vigor, but which also allows them to plan. Things like that. Maintaining an illusion of compliance was key. Hugo’s been there for a while, and since starting his new job, has gained a crazy amount of trust. He’s as good at pretending as Varian. And since he used to be on their side, Andrew assumes that Hugo agrees with them despite his betrayal, even guessing that he’s more desperate to prove himself because he saw how “wrong” he was to work with Rapunzel.
Speaking of Rapunzel….. Poor girl has been locked away for years. Fortunately she’s had plenty of practice only seeing one person at a time, but it’s still taking a huge toll on her. Eugene fought tooth and nail to be locked up near to her instead of being brainwashed by the wand like Lance and the girls. They’re the only things keeping each other going, but even that will only last for so long. So Hugo, brilliant bastard, convinces Andrew to allow him to do a weekly check on the prisoners. After all, he had been one of them. He would be able to tell who would still fight back, and who had given up. He could stop a revolt before it happened. So Hugo made his way down to the cells.
It was weird being back there….dark. Creepy. Unpleasant. Lonely. He shivered. As bad as he felt for the prisoners and as much as he hated helping the Sapporians, he was grateful to be outside the bars this time. He was nearing the section that Varian had said Rapunzel was in. Turning the corner, he slowed. There, at the end of the hall…..oh god…..there she was. There was no security to the cell. They must have figured she was too weak to escape. They would have been right. Sitting in the middle of the cell, staring blankly at the ground, was Rapunzel. Or at least, someone who looked like her. Rapunzel’s eyes had never been so lifeless. This person had chains around her wrists. Long hair that was once golden blonde (but was now dull) was strewn about the room, sections hung up on hooks in the wall to keep it out of the way. Her dress was in tatters. A half-eaten plate of food was by the door. She didn’t look up when he approached. Hugo crouched by the door carefully.
“Hey…..Rapunzel….?” He tried to speak softly.
She flinched, finally raising her blank stare to see who Andrew had sent for her this time. Not that she cared. There wasn’t much more they could do to her. But this person….she was sure she hadn’t seen him before, but he seemed strangely familiar. She watched as he hesitantly reached a hand through the bars, palm up.
“What did they do to you, Raps?” He felt like he was treating her like a scared animal, but he couldn’t think of another way to approach it. Not that she would answer. She hadn’t spoken in years. There was no point. “Probably too long of a story anyways…Rapunzel, I am so sorry. But, listen….we’re gonna get you out of here, okay? Going to fix all of this. Just hang in there. I’m working with Varian now—“
She jerked her head up when she heard Varian’s name. The little alchemist who had been putting notes in her food, who didn’t trust anyone, who had been hiding this whole time…trusted someone? She hardly remembered what he looked like. But if he trusted this man, then….maybe she could too. He must have known Varian for a while to have been able to get close to him. She studied him more closely. The glasses on a long nose, blond hair, green eyes….reminded her of a boy who had tried to help her many years ago. Did she dare hope……?
Rapunzel hung her head again. Even if this was the person who had tried to help her, he was out there and she was still trapped. He was working with the Sapporians. If he was lying to her, she’d be right not to trust him. If he was being honest, that meant he was lying to everyone else, and that made him untrustworthy. Hugo slumped a bit. He had been hoping to see a flash of recognition in her eyes. Or a flash of hope. Something past her glazed stare. But there was nothing. He didn’t let himself imagine what had been done to her to get her to this point.
He stood slowly. “I’m sorry you’re in this mess. I wish I could help sooner. But we’re working on it. Hang in there. I’ll be back for you.”
Hugo turned to a cell a short distance away. As he thought, Eugene was in there. He looked significantly better than Rapunzel, but that really wasn’t saying much, given her state. But at least Eugene met his eyes. Ooh, and with a scowl! That was promising. He hadn’t completely given up. Hugo couldn’t imagine how strong his willpower must’ve been to keep fighting, even while watching Rapunzel fade.
Eugene stood up shakily. “What the hell are you doing here? We haven’t had company in months. I didn’t think it would start now.”
Hugo smiled slightly but dropped it quickly when Eugene’s eyes darkened. “Don’t you remember me? Hugo? I tried to help you when everything went to shit. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come back earlier.”
“If you failed to help us then, what makes you think you can do anything now?”
Hugo avoided the question. “How have you managed to stay sane?”
Eugene’s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Rapunzel. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been stuck in a cell, wanting to save her,” he said softly. “If she wasn’t here……”
Hugo nodded, understanding. He thought of Varian helping him drink water, joking with him, keeping him company. Thought of Eugene and Rapunzel’s love, how they kept each other going despite bad circumstances. His face flushed. Maybe he should wait to think about that until it was safe. Eugene raised an eyebrow, watching Hugo’s expression change slightly as he went over that thought process. ‘So that’s why he’s so willing to be a double agent’ he thought.
Out loud, he said “what are you doing here, then? I heard what you said to her. What’s your plan, past trying to give us unfounded hope?”
Hugo shook himself mentally. “I put myself in a position where I can, if I’m lucky, overthrow Andrew. Varian has a lot of power, but even he can only do so much. We need your help. Is there any chance you could get Rapunzel back in action? Doesn’t have to be perfect, but she has a role to play. We can’t do it without her, and she can’t do anything without you.”
“Well….I guess there’s nothing better to do. Count me in.”
With that worked out, Hugo went around to the rest of the prisoners, making sure to be seen by guards so he had an alibi. He would have to say that one of the prisoners gave him trouble. He made his way back to Varian, who smiled upon seeing him approach. He shoved down the flutter in his stomach and smiled back. Over the next few weeks, Hugo continued to check on Rapunzel’s progress. There wasn’t much obvious change. Not enough for anyone but him and Varian to notice. But there were little things. She was finishing her food. Her hair was tucked behind her ears. And there was a small spark, not quite a flame, of life in her eyes again. It was almost time. Varian had rounded up a few people they could trust. The night they planned to act, one of their trusted servants slipped Eugene a key and unlocked Rapunzel’s shackles. Hugo and Varian tasked a few guards to mess up the nightly rounds, leaving certain corridors unsupervised for minutes at a time. And so, Rapunzel and Eugene made their escape. Fortunately, Andrew still hadn’t placed guards near their cells, so there was no one to notice their absence. They stayed in hiding for a few days. The servant that had been slipping notes made sure to cover up the fact that their food wasn’t being eaten. Hugo and Varian met up with them to discuss their plan to retake the kingdom.
“They’re keeping the memory wand where the flower used to be, in the vault. Raps, I know we’ve been there before, but I don’t remember exactly how to get to the main chamber, which is why I need your help. Your hair, too. There are places I can’t reach.” Rapunzel nodded. Varian continued. “Eugene, I’ll need you to go with Hugo. You guys need to find Lance. Bring him to the courtyard. We’ll meet you there; he can help us.”
Fortunately, the plan went smoothly. Rapunzel had been spending time getting her strength back up a bit, and Varian was no longer a 14-year-old boy with a stick. They were able to pull off the theft. A few close calls, but Varian had enough practice taking lives that he had no issue doing so to defend himself and Rapunzel. They restored Lance’s memory, and Eugene filled him in. The three then went and systematically returned all of the other memories that had been stolen. All that was left were Frederick and Arianna. Varian wasn’t exactly thrilled to save them, but he knew it had to be done. Maybe then he would let Rapunzel free his father….assuming he was still alive. They confronted Andrew.
Hugo went in alone to begin with. Unarmed, pretending to be on their side. “The kingdom is revolting against you! I-I don’t know what happened! It looks like there was an escape. But I checked on the prisoners yesterday, and they were all there!” He let his eyes look frantic.
Andrew scowled. “Bar the doors,” he snapped. Glaring at Hugo, he said “and here I thought you were competent.”
Hugo shrunk back, trying to look ashamed. He reached into his pocket, flicking open the chamber in his hand and subtly disabling their weapons. He closed it, the deed done, and raised his hands in surrender.
“I’m truly sorry to have let you down.”
He eyed the soldiers on Hugo’s side. They were advancing on him, circling around, meaning to grab him from behind. His fingers twitched. Hugo waited until they were in range, snapping his foot out to the side and catching one in the stomach, making him double over. He brought his metal elbow back into the second soldier’s face, making her stumble back, clutching her nose. The rest moved to surround him.
He looked around, weighing his odds against so many. Not terrible if it was weapons only, but he couldn’t best them in hand-to-hand combat. He reached into another pocket a flicked a switch. His project came whirring to life. He set her gently on the ground, and Olivia sped towards to door.
Andrew cackled. “Please don’t tell me that was your defense! You’re stupider than I thought!” His snide grin faded as the door exploded, Olivia having ignited small bombs around the doorframe.
Through the smoke, Varian charged in, leading the prisoners. Hugo retreated to the back wall, his part done for the time being. Varian took down one of the Sapporians and ran over to him. His face was creased with worry.
“Are you okay, did they hurt you?” Hugo smiled slightly. A sword skidded to his feet as yet another enemy fell. Varian picked it up, avoiding Hugo’s eyes. He took Hugo’s hand and pressed the hilt of the sword into it. “You need to be able to defend yourself…..please. I…..couldn’t stand it if you got stabbed again, heh.”
Hugo felt his face go red. The sounds of fighting seemed to fade into the background. He tilted Varian’s chin up with his fingertips, unsure of exactly what he was doing. There was a light blush on Varian’s freckled cheeks. Their eyes met. Hugo leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Varian’s lips. As he went to pull away, Varian wrapped his arms around Hugo’s neck, pulling him back in. They stayed there for a few moments, pent up feelings of worry and stress and love being expressed in a way words wouldn’t have been able to .
The moment was shattered when an alchemy bomb slid between them. Varian jumped back, pulling Hugo along.
“I disabled everything, Var. Relax.”
Varian frowned at the bomb. “Right. Well….” he looked back at the battle. “I should probably I help. Get Olivia and get out of here. Alert the citizens to what’s happening. Bring the king and queen. I’ll meet you….by your old cell? We can put Andrew there and restore their memories.”
Varian quickly kissed Hugo again, then drew his sword and ran into the fray. Hugo watched him for a second, his face burning. Something whizzed past his head, snapping him out of his daze. He had work to do.
The fight was over quickly, at least by most battle standards. But that was only the very beginning of restoring the kingdom. Hugo led the Frederick and Arianna down the dungeon corridors. They were far too trusting. If there was another person in line for the throne, he would take Fred out then and there. Unfortunately, Rapunzel was still in no condition to run a kingdom.
Ah, there was Varian; he was leaning against the wall, examining the memory wand. Hugo walked up to him quickly and pulled him into a hug. He hadn’t realized how worried he was until he saw Varian safe.
Varian kissed him, then pulled away. “We can get back to that later,” he said quietly, winking. Hugo’s response was cut off by Eugene and Lance dragging a struggling Andrew down the hall. They threw him into the cell, startling Frederick and Arianna.
“But that’s—what’s going on?” Arianna was frowning. As far as she was concerned, these people were attacking her trusted companion.
Hugo snorted. “You’re about to find out.”
He nodded at Var, who activated the wand. The king and queen’s expressions went from confused to horrified to furious. Eugene grabbed Arianna’s arm as she started towards Andrew, looking livid.
She rounded on him, tearing her arm from his grip. “He took everything from us, the LEAST he deserves is a punch from me—“
“Listen, your highness-“ Varian couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm out of his voice “-We took care of it. Eugene, Lance, and a few others put the rest of the Sapporians and their supporters in the other cells. Believe me, after everything, Andrew isn’t going to go unpunished.”
Hugo grabbed Varian’s hand nervously as they stood before the throne, uncannily similar to the day they were convicted and their lives ended. He glanced at Varian, who shot him a soft smile. Some of the tension in Hugo’s shoulders eased, and he smiled back. Their lives may have ended that day, but they got to start over. With each other this time, doing things right. No matter their past mistakes, they would fix what they needed to, accepting whatever sentence the reinstated king and queen decided. Hugo turned his attention back to the stern glare of Frederick. Varian squeezed his hand reassuringly as Arianna unwound a scroll.
“After much deliberation, taking into account your crimes, the king and I have decided……” Hugo closed his eyes. “….that the offenders, Hugo Becker and Varian Quirinson, will resume their posts as royal advisors, engineers, and weapons overseers.” Hugo’s eyes flew open. What?! Arianna continued, a slight smile gracing her face. “While Quirinson may have been working with the enemy, we have to consider the fact that we were not harmed under his care. The fact that we are alive is one that we are grateful for. And with his work in running ‘New Sapporia”, as it was formerly called, alone with his role in retaking the kingdom, we have decided that he is far too valuable to be in the dungeons, and we are confident in his loyalty.
“As for Becker…he had no part in allowing Andrew to continue his reign of terror. My daughter told us of his attempt to stop the takeover, and while he did return against his will, he also helped recover the kingdom at great risk to himself. That more than proves his bravery. And with his genius work in sabotaging the weapons, he has also proved his competence.”
Hugo nearly fell over. Varian laughed, wrapping an arm around his waist as support. Hugo looked down at the younger man, dazed…then kissed him solidly on the mouth, earning a surprised squeak. They stayed like that for a long moment, until Fred cleared his throat awkwardly. The two turned back to the rulers.
“Thank you,” Hugo said earnestly, “For giving us another chance. We won’t fail you.”
The next year was mostly spent fixing up the messes the Sapporians had made. Changing flags, repainting rooms, scrubbing the floors and walls. The torture room was cleared out and barred off. No one needed to go through that…..save Andrew, who had the honor of experiencing the same treatment as his victims. To say Varian didn’t enjoy it would have been a lie. The room was officially off limits after that, much to the relief of the kingdom.
Hugo and Varian went around apologizing to each citizen individually for their role in bringing around the horrors that had come to pass and promising to fix it. The two mostly kept to themselves when they weren’t accepting assignments from the king and queen.
Hugo hugged Varian tightly, trying to offer some moral support. Varian shook slightly. He was about to talk with Rapunzel to try to come to terms with what they had been through. He was scared. Her all-forgiving attitude had all but vanished. But it was an important next step to restoring things. Eugene would be sitting in as a mediator, thankfully. Hugo wasn’t going to be part of it. Instead, he made his way back to Varian’s room, ready to support him with whatever emotions he had to deal with next. Varian came into the room about an hour later and sat on the edge of the bed dejectedly. Hugo waited, knowing that Varian would tell him what he wanted to share. If that was nothing, then so be it. Varian slumped against Hugo.
“She said she wasn’t going to free my dad.”
Hugo frowned, saying nothing.
“She doesn’t know if her powers will work, since the black rocks stopped coming towards her the longer she was in jail and the weaker she got. She….wants to get the kingdom stable first, then maybe retake the Dark Kingdom from Cassandra.”
Hugo understood most of that, but he hadn’t heard what had happened to Cass. He mentioned that to Varian.
“Well, not long after you disappeared, Cass pledged allegiance to Andrew and I, becoming our spymaster and enforcer of Sapporian laws. A few years in, we sent her to hunt down a renegade. Then she ended up becoming a renegade herself. Decided she wanted to rule a kingdom instead of running Andrew’s errands. I’m not entirely sure how, but apparently she ended up with reverse sun powers? Anyways, the Dark Kingdom seems to be faring better than Sapporia did. At the very least, she stabs her victims straight through with black rocks instead of bothering with torture. Other than that, the people seem to be doing alright. Trading with other kingdoms and such. Rapunzel thinks that Cassandra could get rid of the existing black rocks if we could get her on our side.”
Hugo wrapped an arm around Varian, placing a kiss to the top of his head. “You’ve got a lot on your plate, Goggles. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t manage.”
Varian looked up at Hugo sadly. “We’re going to see my dad next month. See if there’s any of my old journals that could help with Rapunzel’s journey, since I had been studying the sundrop’s powers.”
“Do you think you should just go with them?”
“I thought about it, but I would hate to go anywhere without you.”
“Oh……well, in that case…do you think we should just go with them?”
Varian and Hugo spent a bit more time talking about their future endeavors, right up until Varian started nodding off against Hugo’s shoulder. Hugo gently helped him lay down, placing a blanket over him. They would figure things out…eventually.
The next month went by quickly. Hugo went with Varian and Rapunzel to Old Corona. They shuffled through various drawers. All of Varian’s notebooks were intact, though there wasn’t much on the sundrop. There was one thing that Hugo thought Varian might find interesting.
“Hey, Var? This book doesn’t look like your dad’s handwriting. Who….who’s Ulla?”
Varian rushed over. “That was my mother’s name. You found one of her journals? My dad said they had been lost years ago.”
“Looks like he wasn’t honest. This has a ton of things I’ve never heard of before. And—did she like to travel? I’ve only been to half these places.”
Varian took the journal and started flipping through it with an air of reverence. He looked up at Hugo, clutching the book tightly to his chest, tears in his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Hugo was pleasantly surprised; Varian had been hiding his true emotions for so long, it was a big step for him to show tears openly. They collected the rest of the journals and returned to the castle. Varian locked himself away to read through his mother’s journal, only accepting the occasional visit from Hugo. He convinced the older man to request a grant from the king and queen to leave their duties for a while and travel. Rapunzel added to their request, wanting to go to the Dark Kingdom and appeal to Cassandra. And though she didn’t say it, she was desperate to get away from the kingdom she had been trapped in for so long. Eugene, Lance, Keira, and Catalina were also to go with them.
The royals approved their appeal, and the group made plans to travel to the Dark Kingdom and split up from there, Rapunzel uniting the kingdoms and Varian following his mother’s path. It took a while to get there (with a fair amount of tension) but eventually they reached a small town on the outskirts of the Dark Kingdom, which they soon discovered had been renamed Tourmaline. Hugo wandered around wide-eyed, examining the black rock formations. He didn’t think houses like that would be comfortable, but the citizens didn’t seem to mind.
The biggest surprise for him came when they were at the market, restoking on food to continue their journey. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of long grey hair. Turning quickly, his heartrate quickened. He knew exactly who that was, and he hoped to high heaven she wouldn’t murder him for disappearing like that.
He grabbed Varian’s arm and shook him gently. “That’s my mentor, the one I had been staying with while you were stuck in Corona.”
Varian looked over. “What’s she doing here? Weren’t you living kingdoms away?”
“I have no idea.”
“Why don’t you go find out, then?”
Hugo looked at Donella again, fidgeting with his hands. He took a deep breath and strode over to her, feigning confidence that faded with each step. Donella was examining a stack of apples. She didn’t glance at Hugo as he approached and cleared his throat nervously. She simply picked up an apple and looked at it closely. Hugo started to speak. He was cut off as the apple thunked against his forehead. His expression went from confusion to anger to bemusement.
“Nice to see you too, Donnie.” He flinched as she pulled him into a fierce hug. “H—” his voice cracked. He had missed her. “How did you find me?”
Donella pulled back, a rare smile on her scarred face. “You didn’t really think you could up and disappear without me noticing, did you? Your kidnapping caused quite the riot. I’ve been trailing you this whole time, dumbass.”
Hugo introduced Donella to the group. Naturally, they (Varian specifically) had a few questions for his mentor.
V: “If you knew Hugo had been captured and knew where he was, why didn’t you come save him?”
D: “I obviously didn’t have the manpower. He’s…..well, at least competent enough to get himself out of trouble, if not to keep himself out of it in the first place.”
H: “You know they caught me off guard. I wouldn’t have stolen from them if I had actually known it was them.”
D: “Exactly my point. You don’t pay enough attention.”
V: “So—did you know about Sapporia’s way of dealing with traitors?”
D: “Yes.”
“Weren’t you worried?"
Donella’s eyes flashed. She directed a burning glare at the asker of the most recent question. Calm until that point, Rapunzel happened to be the unlucky recipient of Donella’s wrath.
“Was I worried? Was I worried? Of COURSE I was worried. They nearly killed him! I know exactly how they deal with traitors. Lucky for my idiot son here, I also knew who would be administering the punishment. Yes, I was worried. But not for his life; for his sanity.”
Both Varian and Hugo shifted uncomfortably at the exchange. Rapunzel had leveled a cool stare at the older woman. Hugo cleared his throat. As annoyed as he was at the insults, he still cared for his mother figure, and didn’t much feel like watching her lose her cool. Especially not at Rapunzel. God knew she didn’t need any more hardships after her recent ordeal.
Rapunzel got up and walked a short distance away, leaving Eugene to follow her awkwardly. Varian, Hugo, and Donella sat in silence for a moment, before Hugo broke the tension.
“How did you know to come here?”
Donella took a deep breath to calm herself. It wasn’t smart to lose her temper like that. She had been under a lot of stress, especially since hearing Hugo had been hurt.
“Word got out Rapunzel was leaving the kingdom. I knew as soon as you set out with an extra caravan. Trailed you up until three days ago. I was running low on supplies, so I stopped here, figuring you would do the same.”
Hugo fidgeted with his sleeve. “I’m glad you’re okay, m—Don. It’s good to see you again. I’m….sorry I got caught. I didn’t mean for you to have to go through all the trouble of following me.”
Donella sighed, leaning back. “I’m just happy to see you all in one piece, kid.” Her eyes drifted to his hands. Hugo was wearing his usual fingerless gloves. He tucked his hand behind him when he heard the tension in her voice. She seemed slightly paler than normal.
“Don, I’m okay. Really.”
“It’s fine, Hugo. You’re alive, and that’s what counts. Just keep the rest of your limbs in the future.”
“You know Varian didn’t do this, right?”
“I didn’t think so, but I also wouldn’t put it past him.”
“He helped me get out of there, actually.”
Donella didn’t answer. She reached out and pulled his metal hand into hers, taking off the glove. Hugo twitched but didn’t protest. She traced the lines where the metal overlapped. Her expression remained unreadable. “Whoever put this arm together did a damn good job.”
The rest of the day continued much like that, with Hugo filling in Donella about his time in the dungeons and manipulating Andrew. She told her story of the difficulties traveling without being detected, and how hard it was for her not to go in there and just kill Andrew herself. She reacted oddly upon hearing about their plans to follow Ulla’s journal, insisting on going with them. She claimed it was because she didn’t trust Hugo (the dumbass) to keep himself out of trouble. But they all knew there was a deeper reason. And so eventually, the time came for them to continue their adventure.
Rapunzel had laid out a proposal to present to Cassandra, and they left her, Eugene, Lance, Kiera, and Catalina at the Tourmaline palace gates with promises to meet up again in Corona. They wished each other luck, bid farewell, and went their separate ways.
Hugo, Varian, and Donella met a determined young queen at the arrival to one of the kingdoms in their path. Her mother had died in an asteroid downpour, thrusting the young woman into a position of power. As such, she felt obligated to discover a way to save her kingdom, refusing to allow any more tragedies like that to happen again under her reign.
They made their way to the next kingdom, where they met a 21-year-old man looking for a purpose in life. He was a prince, but as the youngest of 7 had very little chance of proving himself as a worthy monarch. Knowing that there were others to lead, he decided to try and find his way in life while traveling. The group of five made their way through the trials. It was strange, though. Something seemed to go wrong in each kingdom. Hugo and Donella were acting shiftier the further along they got. Finally, after a long (but not entirely unpleasant) year, they made their way back to Corona.
Rapunzel had secured a tense agreement with Cassandra. Varian was distracted from the last trial by this news. He begged, and Rapunzel agreed to work with Cass to free his father. Fortunately it worked. Their quest was out off another few months as Varian explained and helped Quirin grasp the events of the past decade. Quirin definitely wasn’t pleased to see Donella, so they agreed to figure life out a bit more once the trials were complete. Donella would return home and Quirin would return to whatever sense of normalcy he could.
Hugo finally mustered up the courage to explain the trial mishaps to Varian, who was furious when he realized he knew about Donella’s plot. Blinded by anger, he ignored Don’s warnings and went into the Library, where he had to be saved from possession by Hugo.
Recognizing his anger and tamping it down, he forgave Donella and apologized. He admitted that meeting his mother wasn’t as wonderful as he had imagined, and that it was probably for the best that she was gone. The Library gave Nuru the solution to the meteor issue, and she returned home victorious. Yong found his passion in helping guard the Library entrance with clever explosives, and helped entertain the village kids with fireworks. Varian and Hugo settled down together, completely done with adventures. Quirin reluctantly agreed to putting up with Donella getting a house in Old Corona. It was a hard earned happily ever after for them all.