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Between the four of them, Hugo was not overly keen on camping.

If you asked him 2 years ago, he would’ve said he hated it. Evidently, a lot can change in 2 years.

2 years ago, he was friendless, completely convinced that all he needed was a dagger, himself, and his little robot mouse. Today, he had 2 close friends (and one boyfriend), a family, and a life. A proper life. 

So maybe camping sucks. If Hugo wanted any of that “sleeping under the stars” crap, he’d go back to living out on the streets. Honestly, sleeping out in the fresh air really loses its charm when you’re 5 years old, begging random strangers for a blanket so you don’t freeze to death. Roofs, walls and fireplaces are underrated. 

Despite all of that, there was something special about traveling for weeks to find a nice forest between Bayangor, Koto and Corona, and pitching up tents with Nuru and Yong for the first time in months. Hugo wasn’t exactly one for admitting mushy feelings out loud, but he’d missed them a lot. 

He felt peaceful- it was almost nauseating. How he could have messed things up so badly, and still end up happy was anyone’s guess (It still remains to be seen how long that happiness is supposed to last- Hugo didn’t really have much prior experience to compare.) 

The peace he felt made him feel just that little bit uneasy- a small pit in his stomach was a permanent fixture, a reminder of who he had been.

It was great. Life was good. Perfect even. Miraculously, (and undeservedly,) his life was going pretty great. 

Even when Nuru and Yong were being so loud. 

Varian smiled sympathetically at Hugo who was staring angrily at a tree, listening to Nuru and Yong bicker. They couldn’t agree on who would be making dinner for tonight, and instead of finding a compromise, they decided they would rather argue until someone finally gave in. Despite all the growth the four had undergone, deep down they were still children. It was what made their friendship so special, in Hugo’s opinion. 

Nuru had just turned 18- she was responsible for bringing home the remedy to a meteor problem that had plagued her kingdom for decades. She was probably one of, if not the smartest person in her kingdom, responsible for both helping with her royal duties, and doing important work as a royal astronomer. Yong was 14 now- he had shot up in height, now standing an inch above Varian (Varian would deny that if you asked him.) His cheeks were still round, and he still saw the world with the same bright eyed wonder any kid would, but Hugo could see the man that Yong was growing into. 

And yet, when they were together, they would nag each other about being the one to make dinner. They would draw mustaches on Hugo when he was asleep. He would retaliate by planting glitter bombs in their sleeping bags. Varian would act put upon at their shenanigans, and yet Hugo watched him plant rubber snakes in Nuru’s pillowcase. (Hugo of course, got the blame.) 

Hugo smiled contentedly, resting his head on Varian’s shoulder. Varian snorted, leaning to place his head on Hugo’s. 

“Tired?” Varian asked. 

“Nah,” Hugo sighed. “Just comfy.”

“Nothing like Nuru and Yong arguing to lull you to sleep,” Varian chuckled quietly. Hugo huffed a small laugh. 

Eventually, Varian sighed, taking on the role of Adult. (Somebody had to- they switched constantly.) 

“Guys! Why don’t you just make something together?” he asked, lifting his head.

“That’s not the point! Yong made dinner last night, and I have a new recipe I want to try,” Nuru pouted. 

“But I already have the supplies to make chili!” Yong protested.

“We’re going to be out here for at least a few more nights. You can both make food,” Hugo sighed.

Yong, thankfully, relented first. 

“ Fine,” he sighed. “But don’t complain when my chili ingredients aren’t as fresh.” 

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Nuru squealed, rushing towards the pots and pans and gathering her ingredients. 

“Can I help at least?” Yong asked.

“Of course you can!” Nuru beamed. Yong lit up, rushing to her side to help prepare whatever it was Nuru was making.

Varian lowered his head again, and Hugo hummed, turning around to press his face into Varian’s neck. 

“You better not fall asleep on me,” Varian chastised. 

“Hm? I’d never do that,” Hugo mumbled, half asleep. 

Varian sighed, but still pulled Hugo closer towards him, running his hand up and down his spine. Hugo let out a small purr, before his eyes slipped closed.

Despite the squabbling, dinner was amazing. Yong could barely contain his excitement about how good it tasted, beaming with pride over how he had been the one to teach Nuru how to cook.

As they turned in for the night, curling up in their respective sleeping bags, Hugo couldn’t help but think about how nice his life had become.

Of course, the four of them couldn’t help but attract trouble. 

It was early morning- the sun had just barely begun to rise, when Hugo crawled out of bed, wiping his eyes as the dried tear tracks began to make his skin itch. Only he would have nightmares during the most peaceful time of his life. 

He pulled on his clothes as quietly as he could. He looked down at Varian, feeling something warm in his chest as he watched Varian's sleeping bag rise and fall. He let out an ugly snore into his pillow. Every other breath he took whistled through his buck teeth. It was disgustingly adorable. 

Ruddiger chittered by his feet as Hugo stepped out of the tent. 

“What is it, rat?” he asked. Ruddiger pawed at his foot, nudging his head towards Varian’s bag. 

“You want breakfast?” Ruddiger looked up longingly at him, nodding. Hugo sighed, grabbing Varian’s bag and leading Ruddiger out to the middle of the campsite. He pulled out a bowl, dumping some of the kibble that Varian had packed for Ruddiger into it. He set the bowl down, and Ruddiger purred happily, dunking his face into it. 

Hugo’s ears twitched as he heard something move. He looked down at Ruddiger who had also frozen. They looked at eachother, then in the direction they had heard the noise. Hugo held his hand up at Ruddiger. 

“Stay here,” he murmured. Ruddiger lifted his head from the bowl, and thankfully, followed Hugo’s instructions, sitting up and standing guard. 

Hugo tiptoed towards where the noise had come from, walking away from the safety of the small clearing they had found and into the depth of the trees. His head snapped towards a large bush that had begun to rustle in front of him. He frowned, sneaking towards it, when suddenly it stopped moving. 

Hugo continued forward, placing his hand on a branch sticking out from the bush, prepared to move it away and get a better look when- 

A large hare leaped out from the bush, racing away from Hugo. Hugo made no move to follow it, waiting for his heart to stop racing from the shock. 

With that mystery solved, Hugo made his way back to camp, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. 

As the day went on, that feeling never went away. 

They were out hiking when Hugo explained to the others what had happened that morning. 

“So you got jumpscared by a bunny?” Yong teased. 

“Ok, first of all, it was a hare. A really big one,” Hugo groaned. “But second, it’s not the hare that has me on edge. I feel like we’re being followed.” 

“What makes you think that?” Nuru asked, slowing down to match Hugo’s pace. 

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.” 

“What if we all take a look? We can split up into two groups and explore the area properly. If we find evidence we’re being followed, we find our way to the nearest town, and if we don’t, we settle Hugo’s nerves,” Nuru suggested. 

“That seems reasonable, what do you think Hugo?” Varian asked. 

Hugo chewed his lip. 

“Alright. Just like old times, right?”

Varian chuckled. 

“Heh. Yeah. But let’s try and stay out of trouble. I don’t know if I want to deal with a deadly trial today.” 

Hugo grinned. Nuru pulled out a map, resting it on a large boulder. The other 3 circled around her as she took out a pen.

“Varian, you and I can go West, and Hugo you and Yong can go-”

“I want to go with Varian,” Yong whined. “You and Hugo always get to go with him.” 

Nuru sighed, scribbling out the names she had written over her arrows.

“Alright. Varian, you and Yong go West, and Hugo and I can go East. Remember this waterfall here?” she circled a point on the map, and the others nodded. “That can be where we meet. That way we’ve gone in a big circle around camp, and if we’re being followed, hopefully we’ll find some kind of evidence.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Hugo smiled, readjusting his backpack. 

“Please stay out of trouble,” Varian pleaded. “I want to have a relaxing weekend for once.”

“I always stay out of trouble, Goggles. Never fear,” Hugo smirked. Varian raised his eyebrow, but pulled his backpack over his shoulder anyway, leading Yong the way that Nuru had directed them. Hugo watched them leave, before turning to Nuru who was putting her map back into her bag.

“Ready to go Princess?”

“Let’s do this,” she smiled. 

Varian walked in front, pushing branches away with a large stick he’d found as they walked. Every once in a while, Yong would have to remind him to make a turn, yet he was still comfortable walking behind him. 

Yong began to whistle a tune and Ruddiger, who had been trying to sleep on Varian’s shoulder, chittered in annoyance. 

“Sorry Ruddiger,” Yong said sheepishly. 

“Don’t be sorry, Ruds is being a brat,” Varian said chastisingly. Ruddiger puffed up at Varian, clambering off his shoulder and raising his head in offense. “Don’t give me that sass, you’re not even doing anything,” Varian said, rolling his eyes. Ruddiger huffed. Yong let out a small laugh. 

“What were you humming?” Varian asked. 

“It’s a lullaby. My mom always sings it to me and my siblings before we go to bed.”

Varian smiled. Before he could continue their conversation, a small noise made him take pause. Yong noticed Varian freezing, pursing his lips to silence himself, trying to hear what Varian had heard. 

The sound of faint voices in the distance made the two of them lock up. They hadn’t traveled far- they shouldn’t even be near the waterfall they were going to meet Nuru and Hugo at- and the voices sounded nothing like them. 

“What do we do?” Yong whispered. 

“I don’t know. I forgot to plan this far ahead,” Varian admitted.

“Should we investigate?” 

Varian shook his head. 

“We should find Hugo and Nuru and investigate as a group. We don’t know how many people are out there.” 

Yong nodded. They walked for a few more minutes, completely in silence. Now that they knew they weren’t alone, they wouldn’t be able to let their paranoia go. 

“This is a really nice forest, and we aren’t far from a small town. Maybe they’re just camping like we are?” Yong suggested. Varian frowned pensively. 

Suddenly, Ruddiger let out a piercing shriek.  

Varian whipped around, locking eyes with a large, unfamiliar man who was holding Ruddiger by his tail. His arm was extended, keeping Ruddiger as far away from his body as he could as Ruddiger clawed and bit, trying to get himself free. Yong pressed himself closer to Varian, as Varian’s hand settled on his alchemy belt. 

“Let him go,” Varian threatened. 

“Or what, kiddos? You don’t really have much room to bargain,” he smirked. 

“I wouldn’t underestimate us,” Yong smiled, wrapping his hand around a sparkler he had hidden in his coat. 

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not,” he said, grinning. “That’s why you’re surrounded.” 

Varian’s nerves turned to ice, as he turned his head, locking eyes with 2 other men who seemed to have crept out from the shadows. They both had swords drawn, pointed towards him and Yong. 

“What do you want from us?” Varian hissed. 

“Why were you following us?” Yong asked at the same time.

“I wonder if you know how valuable you are, kiddo?” the man responded, gesturing at Varian. Varian clenched his fist at the non answer. 

“I’ve been made aware a few times. You’re not getting anything from me.” 

The man shrugged. 

“I don’t really want anything from you. At first, I wanted your stuff, but when I realized who you are, I realized just how much easier you’re going to make things for me.” 

Yong pressed closer to Varian’s side, hardening his glare. 

“I wonder how much your princess would give me to send you back home alive?” 

Varian swallowed, tightening his grip on a goo ball. 

Before he could do anything, someone reached out and grabbed Yong by the arm. Yong thrashed, trying to light his sparkler, but the man reacted first, grabbing his hand and prying his fingers open, forcing him to open his hand and release his weapons. 

“I’d take your hand off that little bomb, alchemist. Unless you want to go home one raccoon, and one brat short,” the man in front of Varian smirked. 

Varian took a moment to think, before slowly he released his grip from his alchemy belt, raising both of his hands into the air. Another pair of hands grabbed his arms from behind, throwing his alchemy belt to the ground, and tugging his arms behind his back. Varian winced as their grip tightened, hard enough to bruise. 

“Excellent choice,” the man in front of Varian smiled. 

In a panic, Ruddiger began to swing, yelping at the way gravity pulled on his tail. As soon as he was high enough, he sank his teeth into the man’s arm, causing him to let out a strangled yell. He let go, waving his arm up and down to lessen the pain. Ruddiger took his chance, racing out into the forest. 

The man holding Yong moved to chase him, but the leader held up his hand. 

“Let the vermin go. The kids are more valuable anyway.” 

Varian glared as the men pulled out rope, binding both their hands behind their back. The leader held cloth up to Varian’s face, smirking as he tied it tightly around his mouth.

The leader walked ahead, and his henchmen yanked Varian and Yong by their arms to follow. 

Hugo flinched as a branch he had pushed back snapped backwards, hitting him square in the forehead. Nuru tried her best to repress a laugh, but as Hugo looked back at her, she noticed a leaf that had detached from the branch that had gotten trapped in his hair, and she couldn’t hold back her laughter. 

Hugo glared at her as she gripped her sides to compose herself.

“You done?” 

“Sorry, sorry, I’m done, I’m done,” she giggled, hiccupping as she finally calmed down. Hugo tried his best to repress a small smile. His smile fell as he scanned the forest, raising his guard after briefly letting it slip. 

“See anything?” Nuru asked. He shook his head. 

“Will you be OK if we don’t find anything?” Nuru asked.

“What do you mean?” 

“You’re not really good at letting things go. If we don’t find anything are you going to be OK staying here?”

“I’m perfectly good at letting things go, Nuru.” 

“OK, so what about that time with the innkeeper?” 

“She looked shady.” 

“She was just old Hugo. And you dumped water on her head.” 

“It’s not my fault it looked like she poisoned our drinks.” 

“OK, well she didn't, did she?” 

“Well that’s then and this is now.”

“By the sun, Hugo , I’m not trying to insult you. I get you’re just trying to keep us safe. I’m asking if you’ll be OK if we don’t find anything.” 

“I’ll be fine, Princess,”

“Alright,” Nuru said, raising her hands in defeat. Hugo grinned smugly, turning back towards the branch that hit him in the face. He pushed it away properly, stepping aside to let Nuru pass. 

“Ladies first,” he smiled.

Nuru eyed him suspiciously, stepping through the path Hugo made for her. She squawked in surprise as Hugo let go of the branch, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Hugo wiped tears from his eyes, holding out his hand to help her up. Nuru glared at him, but still took his hand, using his weight to pull herself off the ground. She huffed as she brushed leaves off of her skirt.

She stopped at the sound of leaves crunching. The sound was too loud to be something small like another hare. She turned to Hugo slowly, whose head had snapped to look in the direction the sound had come from, reaffirming that it wasn’t in her head. Hugo looked at her, pointing to his left, before he pointed at himself and gestured to his right. Nuru nodded, creeping in the direction he had pointed. 

Together, slowly they tried their best to surround whatever- or whoever had made the noise. The crunching of leaves had stopped as soon as they had begun to move, causing Hugo’s stomach to drop. His eyes flitted around the forest, looking for anything that didn’t belong. 

He drew closer to Nuru, and made eye contact with her, before she suddenly paled.

Hugo didn’t have time to react, when suddenly, someone dropped out of the trees in front of him, swiping his legs out from under him with their sword. Hugo fell backwards, his head slamming into the soft dirt, causing his jaw to clack shut. 

“Hugo!” Nuru exclaimed. Her voice distracted Hugo’s attacker, giving him the chance to roll onto his front, and leap back onto his feet. A shadow behind Nuru caused Hugo’s heart to race faster than it was already. 

“Nuru! Look out!” he cried out. Nuru whipped around, grabbing the figure's arm and pulling them forward, kneeing them in the stomach. Hugo smirked, pulling out his dagger and lunging at his own attacker. They jumped backwards, out of the way of his blade. They pulled out a sword, pointing it directly between Hugo’s eyes. Hugo raised his hands, letting his dagger rest between his fingertips. A mask covered their face, and a hood covered their head, making it impossible for Hugo to read them. 

“Ok, alright, yours is larger,” Hugo said placatingly, taking a step back. In response, they took a step forward. Hugo let one of his hands slide downwards as he looked his attacker in the eyes. 

“Who are you?” they asked. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Hugo smirked.

“Who are you,” they hissed, unamused.

The sound of the stranger's voice caused something to light up in Hugo’s head. He blinked, staring at them. He staggered back in surprise as something large flew overhead, landing on the stranger's shoulder, glaring at him with as much ferocity as the person he was perched on. 

He recognized the owl, and suddenly, cold realization washed over like a tidal wave. Hugo stared at the woman in front of him 

“Cassandra?!” Hugo hissed.

The stranger fumbled at that, lowering their sword in surprise. They stared at him a bit longer, letting the pieces fall into place.

“Son of a bitch,” she exclaimed, finally lowering her sword. Hugo released a breath he didn’t realize that he was holding. 

She pulled her hood down, revealing her familiar dark, curly hair, left completely unstyled. Taking a closer look, Hugo realized that her mask was shaped distinctly like an owl. 

She took off her mask, and suddenly all of Hugo’s complicated feelings about her came rushing forward. 

Despite only meeting her briefly during the trials, her face was familiar. Hugo was a lot more naive back then- he’d still been battling his decision to betray Varian when he’d met her, and he knew nothing about Varian’s past. 

He also knew nothing about what Cassandra had done to him back then. Even now, he didn't know everything. Varian had had skipped over details- Hugo knew him well enough to know when he wasn’t telling him something, but he knew enough to know that Cassandra was not someone he could trust- even if Varian insisted she was. 

A loud grunt broke Hugo’s train of thought, causing his and Casssandra’s heads to snap over to where it had come from. 

Nuru and the other stranger were still fighting. Despite not being armed, Nuru held her own. She gripped a sword that she had clearly stolen from their other attacker, stuck in a staring contest with them. She stood proud, feet apart, with her head raised. Even in an ambush, Nuru always insisted on having poise. 

Cassandra ran over to them, holding out her hand in front of the other stranger to keep them from swiping their sword in Nuru’s direction. 

“Wait!” she yelled, causing them to halt. “There’s been a misunderstanding.” 

“What?” Nuru asked, lowering her sword slightly. 

“What?” the stranger asked, just as perplexed. 

Hugo hurried to Nuru’s side, his hand still rested on his dagger as he stared at the two. Cassandra placed her hand on the stranger's arm, gently leading it downwards. 

“Lilly, they’re Varian’s friends,” she said firmly. The stranger paused, lowering her hood to reveal blonde curly hair that was wrapped in a tight bun with two braids running either side of her head. She blinked, removing her mask. She looked less like a murderer, and more like an actual human being. 

“So, kids, why the hell were you following us?” the woman (Lilly?) asked. 

“Following you ?! You were the weirdos following us,” Hugo guffawed. Lilly’s eyes widened in realization. 

“We’re not following you , we’re following a group of thieves,” Lilly explained.

“We’ve been chasing them for a while. They run a pretty successful crime ring between Corona and Koto, but they’ve been setting their sights higher and higher. We got wind that they were planning a heist on Rapunzel. We sent her a warning, but we have no idea if it will get to her in time, so we’re trying to intercept them before they make it there. When you started to circle us, we thought you were with them, but-”

“No grand heists here, unfortunately. Nuru here’s a princess,” Hugo smiled, gesturing at Nuru. Nuru looked at him, raising an eyebrow. 

“Also I’m a changed man and won’t ever steal ever again ever,” Hugo added on, sighing.

“What made you think they’re following you?” Cassandra asked. 

“A feeling,” Hugo said coldly. If Cassandra caught Hugo’s snappy tone, she didn’t comment on it, placing her sword back into its sheath at her hip. 

The owl that stood on Cassandra’s shoulder rotated his head, looking out into the distance. Hugo tried to hold his breath to see or hear whatever it was the bird seemed to, but he couldn’t hear anything. Suddenly, with a flap of his massive wings, the owl took off, flying into the distance. Hugo shrugged, returning his attention to the two women. 

White hot rage burned in Hugo’s chest as his gaze fell on Cassandra again. He snarled, but before he could say anything, Nuru interrupted him. 

“Wait,” she started. 3 heads snapped to meet hers. “They’re planning on robbing Rapunzel? Not the castle?” 

Cassandra nodded. 

“They mention Raps specifically in the letters we managed to intercept from them.”

Nuru’s face paled. She turned to look at Hugo. 

“Hugo, what if they weren’t following us?” she asked. Hugo’s stomach sank. Cassandra seemed to catch exactly what Nuru was implying, looking over at Lilly in panic. 

“They were following Varian,” Hugo choked out, before grasping Nuru’s hand and racing in the direction they knew Varian and Yong had gone. Cassandra and Lilly followed close behind.

Branches whipped Hugo’s face, leaving behind burning marks, but he didn’t let them slow him down. Nuru began to gain on him, taking the lead. Hugo let her, setting his ego aside knowing that she would be able to lead them towards Varian and Yong faster than he could. With his heart racing in his ears, he couldn’t quite hear Cassandra and Lilly behind him. If he was being honest, he didn’t care if they were. He felt a slight shock when he turned around to see them running, with a look of determination as fierce as his own etched across their faces. 

A shadow passed over Hugo’s head, too large and too dynamic to be a tree. He looked up, noticing Cassandra’s owl dip through the trees over his head. 

Nuru stopped suddenly, and Hugo had to dig his heels into the dirt to keep himself from slamming into her. He huffed for breath as he followed her eyes to see why they had stopped. 

A panicked Ruddiger dashed towards them, letting out high pitched screams to get their attention. 

“Ruddiger?!” Hugo yelled, running toward the raccoon. Ruddiger chittered, pawing at Hugo’s boot. 

“Where’s Varian?” he asked. Deep down, he knew the answer, but a piece of him wanted to hold onto hope that Varian had managed to avoid getting himself kidnapped again. Ruddiger hissed, gesturing in a specific direction. Hugo groaned, looking over to Nuru.

“Is Yong with him?” she asked. Ruddiger nodded. 

“How many?” Cassandra asked from behind Hugo. Hugo jumped in surprise at the sound of her voice. Ruddiger stared at her for a second, before purring in surprise. He looked down at the floor, tapping 3 times. 

“3 against 4. I like those odds,” Lilly smirked. 

“We need to make a plan,” Cassandra said, frowning. Hugo rolled his tongue behind his teeth angrily.

“With all due respect, Owl lady, me and Nuru have this covered. If you want to help, you follow our lead, got it?” 

“Hugo-” Nuru sighed, exasperated. Cassandra didn’t let her finish.

“Look, kid, Varian is my friend too. I get that your ego is too big to let strangers help you, but for Varian’s sake, could you drop the attitude?” she glared. 

Hugo pursed his lips, holding back the swears that he wanted to let tumble out of his mouth. 

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. He maintained his glare, and Cassandra met his stare, lowering her eyebrows at him. Nuru made eye contact with Lilly, who shrugged, walking forward to meet her, collectively deciding to let the two of them have a moment alone. 

The rage burning in Hugo’s chest erupted through his throat, making his fists tremble as he clenched them. Despite his best attempts, he couldn’t keep all of it contained. As Cassandra turned to walk away, he snapped.

“It’s not that you’re a stranger ,” he hissed. “I know exactly who you are, Cassandra.” 

Cassandra’s eyebrows raised slightly. She opened her mouth to respond, but Hugo cut her off.

“He forgives too easily,” he spat, turning away to catch up with Nuru and Lilly. 

Cassandra stood, staring into space for a moment before she returned to the group. 

Varian groaned as he tugged against his bindings. Him and Yong had been tied to trees that sat next to each other, far enough away they couldn’t help the other escape. They had been patted down, removing anything that could be used as a weapon or as an escape. 

These guys knew exactly what they were doing, and that filled Varian’s stomach with dread. He pushed his tongue against the cloth that was pressed against his mouth, but it didn’t budge. It pushed on his head tight enough he was starting to get a headache, worsening the aching feeling in his arms as they grew tired from being pinned behind his back the way that they were. 

Yong gave him a concerned look, fighting just as hard against his bindings. The ropes were expertly knotted, not even loosening after what had to have been an hour and a half of pulling. 

Their captors stood a short distance from them, close enough they were still in their line of sight, however far enough they couldn’t hear what they were muttering about. 

Varian grunted in annoyance, knocking his head against the tree. Yong slumped as well, equally as exhausted from riding an adrenaline high for the last 2 hours. 

One of the men stepped away from their camp, and towards the two of them. Varian sat up straight, glaring at him. 

“You give up yet?” he asked, chuckling. Varian wrinkled his nose angrily, huffing through his gag. 

“You’re both adorable,” he cooed, crouching in front of Yong. Varian realized with horror he was holding a sharpened knife in his left hand. He yelled through his gag, struggling against his rope. The man whistled. 

“Touch a nerve, did I?” 

Varian let out a string of muffled curses, thrashing angrily against the tree. The man sighed, shuffling over to Varian, and pulling the gag off of his mouth. 

“Yes?” he smirked. 

“Leave him alone,” Varian spat. 

“Or what?” the man retorted, looking back down at his blade and then over at Yong. Yong shrank backwards, pressing himself into the tree.

Varian saw white, kicking forward as hard as he could. His boot slammed into the man’s knee causing him to grunt in surprise, falling backwards onto his rear. Animalistic rage flashed across the man’s face, and suddenly he was back on his feet. 

He slammed the toe of his boot into Varian’s chest. Varian wheezed as the air was knocked out of him, coughing desperately as he tried to breathe through the pain. Yong cried out in alarm, but the man’s focus lay solely on Varian, calculated enjoyment had morphed into explosive rage. 

“You kick like a wuss,” Varian wheezed. The man glowered, crouching down to grab Varian’s face with his hand. He dug his knuckles into Varian’s skin.

“You don’t know when to shut up, do you kid?” he let Varian’s face go, raising his eyebrow to will him to give a retort. 

“I’ve been told,” he snarked, spitting out blood that had begun to pool in his mouth. He blinked back the dizziness at the sight of it. 

The man raised his hand, striking Varian in the cheek, sending his head slamming backwards into the tree. The man who Varian recognized as the leader from earlier walked up to investigate the commotion. 

“Whatcha doin, Craig?” he asked, towering over Varian. 

“Teaching the brat a lesson, boss. He’s got a filthy mouth, this one,” he glared at Varian, and Varian glared right back. 

“Is that so?” the man smiled. Varian’s breath hitched, pushing back as much as he could. Yong let out an alarmed, muffled cry. 

The man crouched down to meet his henchman, unsheathing a dagger from his side. Varian kept his head up, despite the mounting panic that caused his heart to force its way up into his throat. 

“Y’know, the deal we’re making with your princess is to get you back alive. There’s nothing about bringing you back unscathed.” 

Yong’s muffled panic got louder, causing the henchman’s gaze to turn towards him. Varian panicked, forcing his head forward, and slamming his own skull against his. The collision caused Varian to see stars, and the man let out a frustrated yell. He pressed the blade of his dagger sideways against Varian’s neck.

“You’re really getting on my last nerve, kid,” he spat. 

“Eat shit,” Varian hissed.

Something sadistic flashed in the man’s eyes. 

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. 

He removed the blade from Varian’s neck. Varian breathed a sigh of relief, slumping against the tree. He stood up, sauntering over to where the henchman had dropped the cloth that had gagged him. He picked it up, fiddling it with his hands as he crouched back down in front of Varian. Varian pushed his head away uselessly. The man grabbed Varian by the throat, wrenching his face towards him. He tied the gag around Varian’s mouth, tighter than he had before. Varian let out a muffled protest. 

He barely had time to react before the man raised his dagger, slamming it into Varian’s shoulder. Varian’s vision blanked for a moment as pain raced up and down his nerves. He let out a strangled noise that still echoed despite the gag. Distantly, he could hear Yong yelling, but it was impossible to register any one noise as the pain became overwhelming. 

The man twisted his knife, pressing it so it sat upright inside of Varian's shoulder. He flicked it a little, causing it to wobble in Varian’s skin. He let out a faint whimper as shockwaves traveled down his arm. 

The man raised his hand again, this time clenching it into a fist, and slamming it into Varian’s cheek, causing his head to whip to the side. The movement jostled his shoulder, causing him to scream. 

The man stood up, raising his foot, and stomping down on Varian’s thigh. The noise Varian let out was choked and pathetic, but the pain that traveled up and down his entire body made it impossible for him to hold back. He felt tears begin to slip down his cheeks, and he shook his head, trying to get them to stop. 

Despite his attempts, the man noticed, frowning with mock sympathy. 

“Have you had enough, kiddo?” he crooned. Varian let out an angry breath, he rolled his shoulder back with a wince, trying to look intimidating. The man snorted, ruffling Varian’s hair. Varian thrashed, pulling his head away. 

The man began to stroke Varian’s head. He tugged uselessly at the ropes. The man sighed, thinking for a moment before he lunged at Varian again, grabbing his throat tight enough that Varian began to cough weakly through his gag. Varian sputtered, trying to get air into his lungs. The man retaliated by gripping tighter, hard enough that he started seeing stars. 

His chest burned as he wheezed and thrashed against his grip. He began to choke, feeling the color leave his face as black spots started to form in his vision. He kicked uselessly, trying everything he could to get this man’s hands off of his throat. 

His eyes began to grow heavy. He blinked back the fatigue, thrashing against the man's grip again, admittedly weaker than before. The black spots grew larger. He whimpered as he felt his eyes begin to slip closed when-

“Stop it!” Varian recognized Yong’s voice. His voice was raw and panicked, sending a burst of adrenaline through Varian’s system. 

He gasped for breath as the man’s hand was released from his throat. He coughed against the gag, breathing in deeply through his nose. He winced at the overwhelming sensation the rushing of air was causing, pressing himself against the tree to regain his composure. 

Yong had managed to force his gag down under his mouth, but now both of the men’s eyes were fixed on him. Varian kicked out in panic. 

The henchman’s face lit up, and Varian had to resist the urge to be sick. He nudged the other man with his elbow. 

“Hey boss,” he said, gesturing at Varian and then back at Yong. 

The man smiled.

“I think I’ve got a better way to teach you a lesson, kiddo,” he grinned. Varian’s heart sank, pulling against his bonds, despite the fire each movement sent through his veins as he moved his shoulder. 

The two stood up, walking slowly over to Yong. Varian tried to swallow the bile that crawled up into his mouth. He thrashed about uselessly, pulling at the bonds again. Yong let out a panicked squeak, pressing away from the two men. The henchman raised his hand, prepared to strike when a loud thud caused him to stop. 

Varian’s relief made him feel dizzy, causing his head to loll against the tree as he took deep breaths. 

He looked towards the sound of the thud, and saw their third captor, groaning on the floor. Standing over him, holding a large rock, was Hugo, and the rage in his eyes mimicked their other two captors. He stood up straight, resting his hand over a smoke bomb. The leader smiled, only showing a flash of teeth. They both moved towards Hugo, closing in on him. 

“Hey, big guy, could I give you some advice, one thief to another?” Hugo asked, nodding at the leader. He smirked. 

“What’s that, pretty boy?” 

“Ok, well first of all, I’m not a pretty boy. I think I’d prefer the term dashing, or ruggedly handsome,” Hugo grinned. Despite the amount of pain he was in, Varian couldn’t help but snort. 

“I’m going to smack the sass right out of that pretty little face of yours,” the leader glowered, stepping closer towards Hugo. Hugo took a step back. 

“Ok, Ok , I’m getting to the advice. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” he said, raising his hands. Varian heard a small noise. He turned his head and locked eyes with Nuru, hidden behind Yong, working to cut his ropes. She smiled knowingly at Varian and Varian smiled right back at her. 

“Anyway, since I was so rudely interrupted before, all I wanted to tell you, was when you’re planning a heist, you might want to be a bit more vague in your letters. That’s all.” 

“Is that right?” the leader asked, unimpressed. He pulled a large sword from his sheath. 

“Yeah, that’s all,” Hugo said. “Just a good old fashioned tip from the greatest thief in all the 7 kingdoms.” 

Hugo beamed innocently at him, tightening his grip over his smoke bomb. Panic bloomed in Varian’s chest as the man stepped closer to Hugo. 

“What makes you think we need your advice, pretty boy?” the man asked, placing emphasis on the nickname to get a rise out of Hugo. 

Hugo looked up into the sky, and smiled when he found what he was looking for. Varian tried to look to see what it was, but it seemed to have already vanished. 

“Because you amateurs got yourselves caught,” he laughed, darting out of the way as something large flew over Hugo’s head and between the two men. They both dived out of the way in a blind panic. 

Varian blanched as the figure came into his line of sight. Owl’s familiar wings flapped over his head, turning around to dive back at the men. 

Nuru let out a small ha! as her knife finally cut all the way through Yong’s rope. Yong hopped onto his feet, racing to help Hugo before Nuru could even blink. She tried fruitlessly to get him to come back, and when she failed, turned her attention onto Varian, rushing to get his ropes undone. 

Varian let out a pained whimper as Nuru moved his shoulder a little too much. 

“Sorry,” Nuru whispered apologetically. 

Despite seeing Owl, Varian still couldn’t have prepared himself for the shock of seeing Cassandra jump out of a tree, and land in front of the men. She glared over at Hugo who rolled the rock in his hands between his fingers. 

“I thought we agreed we’d go together,” Cassandra snapped, grabbing the leaders arm as he tried to lunge at her with his dagger.

“Worked out, didn’t it?” Hugo retorted. 

With Hugo and Yong together, the men had a slim chance of winning, but with Cassandra and the woman standing with her that Varian didn’t recognize, it was practically impossible. Hugo slammed the rock in his hand into the leader’s head, kicking his boot down into the man’s face to knock him out. 

Cassandra raised her leg, kicking the henchman square in the chest, causing him to cough frantically. The blonde woman wrapped her sword around his neck. He moved his head around, trying to get her to release her grip, but she stood firm, pressing the sword harder into his neck. 

Hugo pulled out a small bag, throwing it at the man’s face. His eyes rolled behind his head, and he collapsed against the blonde woman. 

Dimly, Varian realized that Nuru had managed to get his hands free. Slowly, he moved his hands in front of him. It felt like they were floating through space. He stared down at them in confusion. Nuru crouched in front of him, pulling his gag off. 

“Varian, you need to stay awake, OK?” Nuru said, tapping his arm. Varian groaned, shaking his head. Nuru pressed her hands against his shoulder, waking him up immediately. He howled, trying to push away from her. 

“Sorry, I’m sorry, Varian I need you to sit still, OK? You’re bleeding really badly.” 

Varian hissed, tensing his muscles as he rested back against the tree.

“Oh sweetheart,” she muttered sympathetically, looking down at the mess that had become of Varian's chest.

“Varian!” Hugo called out, skidding to his knees in front of him, next to Nuru. He leaned over him, placing his hands on either side of Varian’s face. 

“Mgh, how bad s'it?” Varian murmured. 

“It’s barely a scratch, Goggles. You’ve had worse,” Hugo said, trying to keep his voice from trembling. 

“‘Yr a bad liar,” Varian slurred. 

“That’s rich coming from you,” Hugo laughed. 

“‘s that s’pposed to mean?”

“Goggles, you can’t lie to save your life,” Hugo snorted. 

“Th's not true,” Varian mumbled, offended. His eyelids began to droop as his head lolled against Hugo’s hand. Hugo slapped Varian’s cheek lightly, letting out a strangled noise. 

“Hey, you heard the princess. You can’t sleep right now, Stripes.” 

“Sorry,” Varian whispered. “Can’t.” 

Hugo’s stomach lurched as Varian’s head slumped. He gripped his head tighter, trying to hold it up. 

“Goggles?” he asked, stroking his hand across Varian’s forehead. “Varian?!” 

Varian didn’t respond, causing Hugo to let out a loud sob. He pressed his hand against Varian’s neck, almost collapsing in relief as he felt his heartbeat against his fingers. He looked down at Nuru who kept her hands pressed against the knife. 

“We need a doctor,” she said firmly. Hugo nodded, but didn’t move, afraid of the damage that trying to shift Varian could cause. 

“We can take my horse,” Cassandra’s voice piped in from behind. Hugo tensed in surprise, leaning protectively over Varian. Nuru readjusted, preparing to help lift Varian up. 

“How far away is your horse?” 

“Not far, Owl’s going to lead her here.” 

Hugo nodded, swallowing. He stroked his thumb across Varian’s cheek, wiping away tears that had collected there. His face was too pale. 

He was prepared to throw Varian over his shoulder and run to the nearest town, when finally, he heard the sound of hoofsteps. He looked over at Nuru, who nodded at him. He pushed himself onto his feet, placing his arms under Varian’s legs and back. He placed Varian’s head on his own shoulder. Nuru positioned herself over him so that when Hugo lifted Varian into a bridal carry, her hands stayed pressed against the wound on his shoulder. Together, they shuffled carefully towards the horse. Varian groaned slightly, his head pressing into Hugo’s neck. 

Hugo struggled to set Varian down, lying on his back on the horse. Immediately, he placed his feet in her stirrups, pulling Varian to lie across his lap, with his head back in the crook between Hugo’s neck and shoulder.

Cassandra moved like she wanted to climb onto the horse with them, but stopped, chewing her lip. 

“Do you know where the closest town is?” she asked Hugo. 

“I do,” Nuru said. 

Cassandra nodded. 

“You two, take Fidella to get him to a doctor. We’ll catch up with you.”

Hugo winced at the idea of leaving Yong behind with them. He looked over at him. Yong looked back at Hugo with pure terror, looking at Varian’s unconscious form. He looked like he was about to cry. Ruddiger stroked his leg comfortingly. 

“Take care of him,” Hugo said, nodding at Ruddiger. Ruddiger nodded, climbing onto Yong’s shoulder. 

“He’ll be fine, Sparkles. I can feel it,” Hugo said, grinning at Yong. Yong smiled halfheartedly. 

Hugo snapped the reins, leaning forward as Fidella immediately responded, practically leaping across the forest floor. 

Hugo almost felt apologetic as they burst through the door of the doctor’s office. He couldn’t find the heart to apologize as Varian groaned in pain.

The doctor raced forward, and before Hugo could protest, took Varian from him, setting him down in a spare room, and immediately got to work. Nuru and Hugo crowded over Varian, causing the doctor to kick them out. Nuru went without a problem, but Hugo tried to protest. The nurse placed her hand sympathetically on Hugo’s arm. We’ll take care of him, she said. You just need to let us do our jobs. 

So, they were here. Stuck waiting in the ugly armchairs the doctor had sat around his waiting room. A humble fireplace sat in the corner, keeping them warm, but Hugo’s teeth still chattered. 

He couldn’t tell how long had passed, but clearly it had been a while as he heard Yong’s desperate knocks at the door. Nuru got up, and as soon as the door creaked open, Yong burst in, eyes a bloodshot red with an equally frantic Ruddiger perched on his shoulders. Cassandra and Lilly stood behind him, both gasping for breath. 

“Any news?” Cassandra asked. 

Nuru shook her head.

“They’re still in there. We got kicked out.” 

Yong let out a small sob, wrapping his hands around Nuru’s waist. Nuru ran her fingers through his hair gently as Cassandra and Lilly pushed past gently, looking over at Hugo who was lounging across one of the armchairs, playing tic tac toe with a board he had carved into the armrest with his dagger. He didn’t acknowledge the two, keeping his eyes glued to his game.

Lilly looked at the two of them, then nodded knowingly at Cassandra. Cassandra didn’t have time to react before Lilly walked away, closing the door to the waiting room. 

Hugo glanced up at the sound of the door closing, furrowing his eyebrows. 

“I’m not sure the doctor’s going to appreciate you damaging his chair,” Cassandra sighed. 

“Don’t care,” Hugo snarled, looking back down at the armrest. 

“Can we talk?” Cassandra asked, crossing the room to sit in an armchair across from him.

“We are.”

“Properly.” 

“Nope,” Hugo replied, popping the p.

“For Demanitus sake, kid, Varian’s my friend too,” she exclaimed. “I understand. I’m scared as well but-” 

“You don’t get it,” Hugo snapped, sitting up properly to glare at her. Cassandra huffed, looking out the window. 

They sat in a painfully awkward silence, neither one wanting to move and risk breaking the delicate truce they seemed to have come to.

“I agree with you,” Cassandra said quietly, not making eye contact. 

“What?” Hugo asked. 

“I said I agree with you ,” Cassandra glowered. 

“I heard you, just- agree with what?” Hugo asked. 

“He forgives too easily.” 

Cassandra took a deep breath, turning her head slowly to make eye contact with Hugo. A hurricane of emotions flurried through her eyes. 

“What I did- what I did can’t and shouldn’t be forgiven. I don’t deserve that. I never deserved that. It’s nothing like what he-” Cassandra cut herself off as her voice wobbled. “He never should have forgiven me. Raps shouldn’t have either. He gets that from her. I agree with you, kid.” 

Hugo puzzled for a moment. He rolled his dagger around with his fingers, staring calculatingly at her.

“They might have forgiven me, but I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself, so at least someone doesn’t.”

“So then why-”

“Why am I still their friend?” Cassandra filled in for him. Hugo nodded silently.

“Because I don’t get to decide if I get forgiven. They do. If he wakes up in that bed and decides he never wants to see me again because of what I did to him, that’s his choice and I’ll respect it.” 

Hugo’s breath hitched. Cassandra sniffed, wrapping her arms comfortingly around herself.

“I wasn’t a good friend to him. I made a lot of bad choices. So I’ll be the friend now I should have been then because his friendship is worth it. ” 

Hugo’s mouth went dry as Cassandra’s words sank in. His chest ached as he pressed his back deeper into the chair. 

A soft rapping on the door caused the moment to break. Cassandra jumped up, hurrying to open it. 

The nurse stood at the door, beaming at the two of them. 

“He’s awake. The other 3 went in to see him. He’ll need a lot of bedrest, and he’ll need to take it easy for at least a month, but he should make a full recovery.” 

Hugo choked back a sob, bursting out the door and towards the room Varian was in. He threw the door open, his smile widening as he got a look inside. 

Yong was curled up next to Varian, fast asleep. Varian was running his hands through his hair. Nuru sat on the floor by the bed, resting her head on the wall, not completely asleep, although she wasn’t quite conscious, smiling contentedly. 

Hugo sighed, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. Varian looked up at him smiling, and offered his free hand to Hugo. Hugo took it, running his thumb softly across his knuckles. 

They all sat like that for several moments before Cassandra finally stepped into the room- he suspected she’d waited for a bit on purpose. Varian lit up as he turned to see her.

“Cassie!” he beamed. 

“Hey, kid,” Cassandra smiled. Hugo moved out of the way as Varian reached up to give her a hug. She leaned back, letting Hugo take Varian’s hand again. 

“It’s good to see you’re not getting into too much trouble,” she smirked.

Varian choked, offended. 

“In my defense, we didn’t go looking for trouble. It quite literally found us.” 

“You’re like a beacon for trouble,” Cass said, rolling her eyes. 

“I am not,” Varian cried out.

“You kind of are,” Hugo shrugged, snorting at the offended look that feel on his face.

“Traitors. You’re both traitors.” 

Hugo swallowed, forcing out a small laugh. 

“Are you coming back to Corona with us?” Varian asked quietly. Hugo looked towards the door, feeling slightly out of place, but Varian tightened his grip around his hand, keeping him firmly in place.

“I’m- I don’t know, kid.” 

“Someone’s got to bring those guys in, and it’s probably not smart for it to be us.”

“Yeah, I know , but-”

“Plus we miss you,” Varian admitted. “All of us, Raps, Eugene, not just me. Although I’m definitely included in the we,” he fumbled. 

Cassandra frowned as a vulnerable look fell across her face. She sighed, relenting. 

“I’ll come with you. Just- give me and Lilly a chance to sort things out here, OK?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Varian smiled. Cassandra chuckled.

“You’d better not.” 

Cassandra looked down at Hugo and Varian’s linked hands. She smirked. Varian turned bright red.

“Don’t-“ he floundered as Cassandra’s grin grew wider.

“Nice to see you have the same taste in men that Raps does.“ 

Varian choked, glaring at her. Hugo blinked in confusion.

Cassandra chuckled under her breath as she silently slipped out, careful not to wake Nuru or Yong, and shut the door softly behind her. Hugo breathed a gentle sigh, lowering his head to Varian’s shoulder. Varian hummed against him. They lay like that, content, in that magical space between awake and asleep. 

Cassandra’s words reverberated in Hugo’s skull. They felt louder as he pressed his face deeper into the crook between Varian’s shoulder and his neck.

They might have forgiven me, but I don’t think I will ever forgive myself so at least someone never did. 

I don’t get to decide if I get forgiven.

A knot formed in Hugo’s chest, as a familiar sense of guilt wormed its way in. 

“Varian?” Hugo muttered.

“Yeah?” Varian replied, half asleep. 

“I’m so glad I chose you.” 

Varian looked over at him, tears pricking his eyes as he smiled. 

“I am too.”

And for the first time, in what seemed like forever, the knot subsided, vanishing as quickly as it had come. Hugo pressed a kiss into Varian’s neck, before he let his eyes slip closed.