Chapter Text
Damn this storm, it came right the hell out of no where. He was supposed to be in Corona by now, and wasn’t Corona the ‘Sunshine Kingdom’? How very laughable the situation would be if Hugo wasn’t already extremely irritated.
The storm had pushed his trip back somewhat, what with the harsh winds and having to wind around fallen tree limbs, that along with the rain coming down in sheets and making seeing anything difficult... His trip wasn’t going so well.
He had to be close to a town if the lights in the distance was anything to go off of. The closer he got the sooner he realized the light was coming from a house, however outside the room with the light there was a sign.
'Alchemical Solutions' tacked on at the last minute ‘by Varian’. Hugo sighed, but if this was a shop and the lights were on he could at least get out of the rain.
Opening the door, he had to walk a little ways before finding another door. This must be where the actual ‘shop’ was. Walking through the threshold a small bell could be heard, well that and the sudden trap sprung on the blonde in the form of a sticky pink goo that held his feet in place.
“Oh, fantastic” he muttered.
“Huh?” It was just then Hugo noticed a boy, probably only a year or so younger than him sitting at a work bench. Apparently he’d been so wrapped up in his work he hadn’t heard the bell, but the pink puff of smoke seemed to catch his attention.
“Sorry” he said “I thought I dismantled that.” The boy looked Hugo over up and down before asking “Is it raining?”
“Yeah, that tends to happen when it storms. Can you get me out of this?” Hugo replied.
“Right, heh, sorry” the blue eyed boy gripped the side of his chair and wheeled himself over to Hugo, pouring a neutralizer over the goo, which disappeared immediately. “Sorry about that”.
Hugo blinked in curiosity. “What is this thing?” he questioned gesturing to the chair.
“Oh, this?” Varian smiled, looking down at his chair. “Well, I can’t walk. So I designed a chair that would allow me to maneuver around without assistance. It was either find a way to do it myself or have my dad carry me everywhere.” he explained as he returned to his work space. “Oh!” he looked up “Are you a customer? Did you need something?” he asked smiling.
“Uh, no... Sorry. I just needed to get out of the rain.” Hugo replied. Varian looked over towards the window only just now realizing how bad the weather actually was. “Oh, wow.”
He looked back towards the newcomer “Well, you’re welcome to stay if you’d like. My name is Varian by the way.”
“Hugo” he replied in kind.
So this kid was the one who owned this little ‘shop’? Well, it seemed more like a workspace than anything else. Hugo couldn’t say he wasn’t impressed though. Some of these inventions were pretty interesting. “So, what’s ‘Alchemical Solutions’ supposed to mean?” he quipped.
“Oh” Varian looked back smiling “I-It’s a way for me to help my dad. See I got this idea from when Princess Rapunzel came to see me a little while ago and wanted some help figuring out some things about her hair.” He continued to ramble “Uh, sadly though, the results were inconclusive.” he seemed a bit saddened, but perked right back up again “But then I got the idea! That if I could help the Princess of Corona, then I could help other people too!”
“But you said the results were inconclusive?” Hugo raised a brow.
“She was a special case.’ Varian dismissed “Right now-” he wheeled over to his workbench, “I’m working on a solution to help enrich the soil for the fields AND I’m trying to find a better way to preserve the crops during the winter months.”
Bright eyed and bushy tailed. This kid was the exact opposite of him.
“Varian?” a deep voice could be heard from behind the other door. Moments later a tall man, Varian’s father, Hugo guessed, was standing in the workspace. “The bath is ready.”
Varian looked over at the man, he smiled “Oh, hey Dad, just a few more minutes. I have a patron right now.” Something in his big blue eyes seemed to be begging his father. Quirin sighed “Alright, but just a few minutes.” He spoke as he turned and left the room.
“Isn’t it ‘tubby time’?” Hugo smirked. Varian rolled his eyes “Well, ya know. The water only stays warm for so long.”
“So, where are you from?” Varian jumped right back into his questions. “I’ve never seen you around before.”
“Traveling from Ingvarr” he replied before finding a spare work stool and making himself comfortable.
“Wow, Ingvarr is quite a ways away from here. Are you traveling all by yourself?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah” Hugo replied. So strange. He had never really ever encountered anyone who wanted to actually hear about him or his travels. “I’m a traveler of sorts. I’ve been all kinds of places.”
“Really?” Varian’s eyes widened. “That must be amazing. I’ve never had a chance to leave the kingdom, but I’ll get out there one day.” His smile was so full of optimism, and it made Hugo believe this kid really could do anything he put his mind to.
“So, you’re an alchemist?” Hugo questioned, already knowing the answer, but something about the way the other boy spoke about everything so excitedly made him feel warm, almost like he hadn’t been given a bad hand in life.
“Yes!” Varian exclaimed “It’s sort of a passion of mine. I’ve been doing it ever since I was just a little kid. It’s really interesting.”
“I dabble a bit myself” Hugo replied. “I’ll probably be in town for at least a few days.” He hadn’t planned on a delay, but the comradery of their shared interest made Hugo think that maybe he could have something he never had before... a friend.
“Really?” Varian questioned “Well, if you need supplies, I have plenty. I keep a few extra sets in case I ever do get someone looking for things like that, but the people of Old Corona don’t typically look for that kind of stuff. Really more solutions to problems and that’s where I-” he stopped, reaching up and holding his head. This didn’t go unnoticed. “Hey” Hugo started “Are you okay?”
“Huh?” Varian looked up “Oh, yeah. Heh, just a dizzy spell. I should really eat more.” While it was clear that the kid could stand to eat more, probably skipped meals on the regular, he was also incredibly pale.
“If you say so Stripes” Hugo replied “Anyway” he tried to pull away from the awkward atmosphere. “You wanna see one of my inventions?” His blue eyes lit up. “Yeah! Absolutely!”
Hugo reached into his bag and pulled something small and metallic out. Upon further inspection Varian realized it was a small mouse.
“Oh wow!” he gaped. “S-She’s amazing!” his smile widened, “You made her!?”
Hugo couldn’t help feeling an heir of pride “I did” he smiled “When I was about six.” he smirked. When he next looked over he noticed Varian had gotten the slightest bit paler, not only that, but he seemed, a bit out of it? Nothing like he had been moments ago. It seemed like he was developing some sort of rash on his neck but... rashes weren’t blue like that...
“Hey, are you feeling okay?”
Before he could reach out, Quirin was back at the door.
“Varian!” he called out. Varian looked up at his dad, giving him a weak smile. Quirin was at Varian’s side in seconds, checking him over before picking his son up.
“Come on” he sighed, “You’ve overworked yourself.”
“Wait, Dad” Quirin stopped. “Let Hugo stay. He needs to wait out the storm. He’s an alchemist too” he smiled. Quirin was about to protest before he looked back at the boy in question. He couldn’t have been much older than Varian, too young to be out on his own. He sighed turning his gaze back to the boy in his arms. “Alright, I’ll show him to a guest room. Let me get you situated first.”
Varian nodded without further protest. Hugo sat back and watched the two talk but was distracted by something. Did Varian always have those strange blue specks on his arms? Or were they just a trick of the light?