Archive of Our Own

Corona was no stranger to rain.

The kingdom’s nickname of the Kingdom of Light could be misleading. Although most days saw the sky devoid of clouds, with the bright sun beaming overhead, when storm clouds rolled in, dark and jagged like knives, the townsfolk knew to bring their belongings inside, and prepare for a long, windy night. 

Streets were flooded, creating small rivers down the pavement, dragging pieces of dirt and debris. The wind almost seemed to scream, outdone only by the loud cracking of raindrops. Massive booms and bright flashes of light interspersed the sound of pouring rain, becoming less interspaced the more time went on.

Through the rain, a carriage appeared in the distance, lit only by the pale light of the full moon, peaking through the darkened storm clouds. The carriage stopped suddenly in front of the castle, wheels squeaking as the driver pulled on the horse's reins to stop them. The horses whinnied in annoyance, but obeyed, standing tall at the walls of the castle. From the carriage stepped several dark figures, covered by raincoats and umbrellas, hurriedly rushing in from the rain.

The rain had picked up, making it nearly impossible to make out faces, but that didn’t stop Hugo from cracking the window open to listen. The sounds of their footsteps created a mental image as clear as if they had been illuminated by the moon. One, a large man walked on his heels, creating a loud clack as his shoes met the wet pavement. He carried with him an air of control, commanding an audience that wasn’t yet there. He was the only of the three to carry anything- a large briefcase that made his silhouette seem even larger. A young woman walked out next, her short pink heels were much sharper than his, cutting through the noisy storm. She was closely followed by a much taller woman, wrapped in a dark raincoat. Through the rain and the wind, he couldn’t hear her footsteps at all. Either her shoes or the wind was absorbing the sound before they could reach Hugo’s ears.

Perhaps a combination of both.

From the carriage behind them stood-” 

“Hugo? What are you doing?” Varian asked. 

Hugo, who hadn’t heard Varian come in, jumped away from the window at the sound of his voice. He coughed to cover up the words that had been sitting on the tip of his tongue before Varian had walked in.

“It was- ah. Nothing. I was doing nothing,” Hugo said, flailing to find a more natural position. Varian gave him a knowing look but mercifully didn’t comment.

“Ok, well Rapunzel wants us to come downstairs. The guests are here.”

Hugo coughed, straightening his suit jacket.

“One second. I’ll be right down.”

“Alright, but hurry up,” Varian admonished.

“I will, I will,” Hugo said, rolling his eyes as Varian shut the door.

Hugo licked his fingers, using them to brush his eyebrows back. He took one look at himself in the mirror before looking back at the carriage. It was still sitting at the castle gates. Rain had blown into the window, making the sleeve of Hugo’s jacket damp. The driver snapped the reins once again, leading the horses towards the stable. 

He looked at the door, making sure Varian wasn’t going to come back before deepening his voice again.

“It was a dark and stormy night-“

The common room was already bustling with activity by the time Hugo stepped in. The electrical lights he and Varian had finally installed hummed over their heads, lighting up the extravagantly decorated room. He pulled awkwardly at the neck of his shirt, trying to get it to loosen. Varian lit up as soon as he stepped in, eagerly dismissing himself from the conversation he was wrapped up in.

“Nice suit,” Hugo smirked, looking at Varian’s suit which looked remarkably like his own. They weren’t exact duplicates- while his had green trims around the waist, coupled with a green vest lined with a little bit of beadwork, Varian’s was a bit darker, fitted with a blue, much plainer vest. From the neck down, however, their silhouettes were identical. It wasn’t on purpose, and he would never admit it out loud but it was a little bit cute. 

“I told you to hurry up,” Varian chastised. 

“I did.” 

“You took 10 minutes.” 

“That’s my version of hurrying, Sweetcheeks.”

Varian rolled his eyes, leaning against Hugo, both content to watch the commotion in the room. He nudged Hugo with his elbow, pointing out each noble he’d met while Hugo had been occupied.

Frederic and Arianna stood in a corner of the room, wrapped in a polite conversation with the Duke of Neserdnia. Hugo recognized his towering figure from the carriage. From inside, his size seemed even more imposing- he stood a good few inches over Frederic, shaped just as wide as he was tall. His hair was more white than it was brown, grey hairs creating an ombre that travelled down to his shoulders. It was thinner on top, creating what would soon become a bald spot on the top of his head. Even in conversation, his face didn’t move much- his mouth only quirked a few inches as Frederic cracked a joke that made Arianna laugh out loud. 

At his shoulder stood his wife, the Duchess, silently listening to their conversation. She stood just slightly over her husband, her updo making her seem even taller. Her dark brown hair was twisted into braids, trailing up towards a massive bun that sat perfectly centered on her head. Her neck was covered in jewellery that sparkled, reflecting the bright electric lights, causing small dots of color to litter the walls around her. She had one of those faces- the perfect balance between distinct and generic that made Hugo feel like he’d seen her face before. 

In the center of the room stood Rapunzel. She wore a beautiful purple dress, stitched with floral patterns that must have taken days of work to create. Her short brown hair was pinned back with hair pins shaped like butterflies. She was absorbed in a conversation with the Duke’s daughter, Lady Agnes. Her face had just barely begun to shed its baby fat, her eyes still filled with that bright-eyed wonder that seemed to follow kids around everywhere. Without Varian telling him she was his daughter, he never would have figured it out himself. Her face was almost a carbon copy of her mother’s, with the same deep-set, rounded eyes, and thin pointed nose, making her appear almost like a stranger when compared to her father. She wore a dress that was equally as pink as Rapunzel’s purple, with heels to match. A sheer, sparkly overskirt covered the long silk skirt, making her glow. Her curly blonde hair was pulled back gently into a loose ponytail, held together with a large clip, shaped like a bird and adorned with small crystals. 

Although he wasn’t involved in their conversation, Eugene was not far from her, talking to a large man and two slightly smaller boys. Varian identified the large man as a Count, though he couldn’t recall what kingdom he was from. He was not nearly as tall as the Duke- his heeled boots didn’t even get close to the man’s stature. His heels however gave him a few inches over Eugene, which he seemed to take great pride in, leaning forward every once in a while to reemphasize his height. His face was pinched and narrow, covered with a large, well-groomed handlebar mustache. Eugene didn’t seem as interested in talking to him as he did the man’s adolescent twins. They were skinny little boys, dressed in the same dark red suit with long black pants. Despite their young age, they stood with poise- they looked a lot less like fish out of water than Hugo knew he did. 

The room hummed from the soft chatter, an indiscernible blur of sound that almost lulled Hugo to sleep. He leaned against the wall as Varian pressed closer to him, resting his head against his shoulder. No one else had realized Hugo had come in, and he was pretty comfortable leaving it that way. 

“Do you want to steal some food from the kitchen while everyone’s distracted?” Varian finally mumbled. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Hugo smiled, pushing off the wall to drag him down the hall. 

The kitchen was much more frantic than the common room. The stress was thick in the air as chefs hurried around the room. A plate of brownies stood on a table off to the side, arranged in a clean pyramid. Varian and Hugo looked at each other before looking back around the kitchen. They had gone unnoticed by the room full of chefs, causing them to smile deviously at each other, sneaking towards the plate.

“Hey little man!” Lance called out. Varian cringed, whipping the hand that hovered over the plate of brownies back behind his back. 

“Hey Lance!” Varian replied, as unsuspiciously as possible. Hugo hung silently behind him, hand creeping towards the brownies, using Varian as a cover. 

“Oh look at you two!” he cooed. “You’re dressed up all fancy! You look like little twins!” he said, gushing at their almost matching suits.

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Varian mumbled sheepishly.

“Aw, it’s still adorable. Anyway, what are you doing back here? Shouldn’t you be mingling?” he smirked.

“What? And miss a chance to hang out with you? No way!” Varian smiled. 

Lance quirked an eyebrow knowingly, looking back at Hugo who had both his hands behind his back. 

“You know if you wanted a brownie you could just ask,” he said, holding out his hand expectantly.

Hugo sighed guiltily, bringing his hands to the front of his body to reveal the two brownies he had slid off of the plate. Dejectedly, he placed them in Lance’s hand. 

“There’s no fun in that, Strongbow.” 

“Then maybe next time you won’t do such a bad job.”

Hugo’s mouth dropped in offense, but before he could reply, Varian shut him up, gripping his arm.

“Are there any snacks we can have, Lance?” Varian asked sweetly. 

Lance gave the two of them a calculated look, before he hurriedly shoved the two brownies into Varian’s hands, directing them out of the kitchen as quickly as he could. 

“Not a word,” he glared at the two of them, before shutting the door behind them. 

Hugo snorted, grabbing one of the brownies from Varian’s hand and shoving it into his mouth. He mumbled something completely unintelligible, muffled by the pastry and Varian rolled his eyes, pinching his arm.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Hugo chuckled, shoving his head lightly with his hand. Varian frowned, reaching up to push his head back. Hugo laughed watching Varian stand on his tippy toes as his head was shoved to the side. 

“What’s so funny?” he grumped. 

“You’re short,” Hugo shrugged. Varian’s glare darkened, pushing Hugo’s shoulders a little harder. Hugo relented, holding up his hands in defeat.

“Alright, alright. Truce.”

Varian smiled triumphantly, shoving his brownie into his mouth before he placed his hand in Hugo's, entangling their fingers together as they walked back to the common room.

Despite the absolute frenzy in the kitchen, it didn’t take much longer for dinner to begin. Hugo and Varian had just managed to sneak their way back into the common room before Nigel had gathered everyone, leading them all towards the dining table, where small metal nameplates designated each chair to a person. 

Blessedly, Hugo and Varian's nameplates sat next to each other, with Rapunzel and Eugene across from them, a likely result of Rapunzel’s meddling. Or Eugene’s. It was anybody’s guess with these two. 

After several hours of mingling in the common room, the conversations had grown stale, causing eyes to fall on Hugo as they all took their seats at the table. Hugo could feel their eyes and fiddled with the table cloth, sitting still like he was surrounded by a pack of wild animals, keeping their attention off of him.

“So my dear boy, who exactly are you?” the Duchess asked finally, settling her hands down on the table as he sat. Her eyes bore holes into the back of his head, locked onto him.

“Hugo,” he responded curtly, picking up his fork and spinning it around as he stared at the table. Varian’s hand found his under the table, and he grasped onto it, smiling just a little as Varian squeezed it reassuringly. 

Unperturbed by Hugo’s short response, the Duchess's stare somehow became even more intense. Her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, making Hugo want to crawl under the table.

“You’re the other Royal Engineer?”

“Yes.” 

“What do you do?”

“I build things. Royally.” 

The Duchess raised an eyebrow. Frederic gave him a hard look from across the table, causing him to shrink.

“At the moment we’re working on improving the electrical light system we installed,” Varian cut in. “We’ve only had them in a few months and there’s definitely room for improvement.” 

“I think they’re wonderful,” the Duchess smiled, her stare relinquishing at Varian’s interruption, making Hugo feel like he could breathe again. “I like them a lot better than candles, that’s for certain.” 

“What’s wrong with candles?” the Duke huffed.

“Fire for one,” Lady Agnes smirked.

“Fire is reliable. It’s been used for centuries for a reason,” the Duke shrugged. 

“Electricity is unreliable right now, but that’s why we’re working on making it reliable. We’re hoping that after a while we can have working blueprints that can be sent out to the rest of the 7 Kingdoms,” Varian smiled diplomatically. 

“You won’t catch me bringing that nonsense into my home,” the Duke said dismissively. 

“Dad -” Agnes tried. 

“No, I’m serious, Agnes. I don’t want my castle lit with that stuff. It’s lunacy,” he said, putting a swift end to their conversation. 

Varian coughed awkwardly, joining Hugo in staring at the table. He almost gasped in relief as one of the castle staff, a waiter he didn’t recognize, hurried out with a large trolley filled with hors d'oeuvres. Everyone looked hungrily at the trays as the waiter silently set the plates down in the middle of the table.

Hugo reached out to grab a roll, retracting his hand and silently settling back down into his chair as the Duke looked disapprovingly at him. He could feel Frederic’s glare even with his head turned away from him. Lady Agnes smiled sympathetically, picking up the plate of rolls from in front of her, and handing it down to Varian who handed the plate to Hugo. Hugo’s face lit up, snatching one and putting it on his plate. 

The dining room was eerily silent as everyone dug in- the sounds of silverware scraping plates cut through the silence, making Hugo’s ears ring. It seemed like Hugo wasn’t the only one irked by the noise- although Varian was good about keeping a careful, professional mask, he could see the way his eye twitched in irritation, flinching ever so slightly as knives carved across the porcelain plates. He could feel eyes on him as he ate, but he kept his eyes fixed to his dinner, determined not to accidentally invite a conversation. 

The wind began to pick up then, rattling on the windows and causing high-pitched howling to reverberate around the room. Hugo almost jumped 3 feet out of his chair at a loud clap of thunder that seemed to cause the wall to rattle. He looked at Varian who smiled at him knowingly, rubbing small circles into his knuckles, causing his heart to settle. 

His heart rate immediately spiked again as the lights flickered briefly before the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. With the thick clouds outside and the sudden loss of overhead lights, it was impossible to see. Hugo ripped his hand away from Varian, pressing his hands into his legs as the room descended into chaos. 

“You see? I told you,” the Duke yelled.

“It’s alright, we have candelabras for this very reason,” Frederic soothed.

“This is absolutely ridiculous.” 

Hugo winced as he heard one of the Count’s two boys sniffle, blindly moving towards the noise. He stopped when he heard what he recognized as Eugene’s voice comforting him. 

The Duke’s continued shouting caused Hugo to press his hands to his ears. He felt Varian’s tensed hand touch his shoulder before he quickly pulled away, scraping his chair against the floor as he ran out of the room to escape the noise. Hugo was one more second away from joining him when suddenly, the striking of a match caused the Duke to cut off his rant.

Rapunzel stood at the table, a lit torch in hand, with her other hand up placatingly. Pascal stood on her shoulder, his little lizard hands held up as well.

“Everyone, calm down,” she said firmly. “We already knew these lights were unstable. The storm must have caused a fuse to blow. I’m sure Varian and Hugo can work out something but for now, candles will work fine.”

Eugene stood up, his arm still wrapped around one of the Count’s boys whose face was pressed into his chest. 

“Rapunzel’s right. Hugo, do you know where Varian went?” Eugene asked, noticing the empty space beside him. 

Hugo shook his head. “He can’t have gone far,” he shrugged.

“OK, well. Hugo, you find Varian, everyone else, we can gather back in the common room,” Rapunzel said.

The Duke harrumphed, storming out of the room. His wife trailed closely behind him. 

Hugo sighed, walking out of the room as Rapunzel helped the guests gather their things to move back into the common room.

You’d be amazed at what you can hear in the dark.

Without your other senses, there’s nothing to focus on but the noise - it’s almost like a magnifying glass. You hear things you never would normally.

Hugo’s footsteps echoed down the hall as he walked. The sound of his footsteps rattled in his skull. He heard the slight scratching of paint as his hands dragged across the wall. His hair rustled as it moved. 

“Varian?” he called out into the inky black. “Goggles?”

He kept walking forward, keeping his ears open for any sign of Varian- or frankly another human walking around. The castle seemed to be dead, a haunting silence that was broken only by the vibrating glass as the wind shook the walls.

Without light, time seemed to blur into the shadows. He didn’t know how long he had been walking- he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming. He couldn’t really tell if he was real . That thought drove him to walk faster, circling back around to the common room. He felt his mouth go dry with each crack of thunder, the noise rattling his skull and making his teeth shake. 

He froze. Underneath the sounds of the storm, he heard a delicate tapping noise. He held his breath as it continued, sounding gently through the hall. They didn’t sound like footsteps, but still, Hugo followed the noise, stepping as lightly as he could to keep from drowning it out. 

He frowned as he approached a window facing out towards the gardens, noticing a thin branch rapping against it. He let his shoulders drop.

The branch kept scratching against the window, mixing with the sounds in the room. It was a sea of noise, sending his eyes in every direction, trying to place something physical to the sound. He was going crazy- some parts of the hallway seemed darker than others, causing him to spin around on his heels, squinting at silhouetted figures in corners he could swear were people. The branch seemed to keep on scratching, louder and sharper this time, almost making it sound like footsteps. He pressed his hand against the wall, trying to keep calm. 

Suddenly, a loud noise overtook every other noise, freeing him from his trance. He blinked, trying to process what he was hearing before his nerves turned to ice. 

It was a scream. 

Not taking one more moment to think, he dashed in the direction of the sound, slamming into the wall as he turned a corner. He began to recognize the walls leading up to the kitchen. The few candles that had been lit began to illuminate his way, causing him to blink from the sudden rush of light.

The kitchen door was ajar, held open by someone’s back. Muffled, frantic voices sounded from the kitchen, causing his skin to crawl. He ran forward, holding the door open with his hand and pushing past the figure. The panicked voices suddenly cut off as Hugo pressed himself forward. The telltale, metallic smell of blood permeated the kitchen, lighting his nerves on fire. He locked eyes with Eugene, rushing over to him. He slipped, catching himself with a table.

“Eugene? What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, slowly letting go of the table to stand up properly. Eugene’s eyes flitted over to the left, causing Hugo’s brows to furrow.

“Ah. Kid, you might want to-” Eugene’s voice trailed off as Hugo followed where his eyes were moving. They landed on a limp figure sprawled on the floor. Only a few lamps in the kitchen had been lit, making the room incredibly dim, but didn’t need light to know what the large wet spot was. He looked down at his shoes, cringing as he noticed the blood he had skidded on the floor.

His heart stopped as he looked closer at the body. He noticed Varian’s distinct rubber gloves covering the body’s hands. The gloves Varian had absolutely refused to take off for tonight. The gloves that were now completely soaked with blood.

Hugo collapsed against the wall, dry heaving as he slumped to the floor.

Eugene crouched down to Hugo’s level. He was saying something but Hugo wasn’t all the way there, eyes still zeroed in on the lifeless figure that was his boyfriend. 

This wasn’t the first time he’d seen his body, and knowing Varian, it wasn’t going to be the last but his chest ached, his eyes burned and his fingers tingled the exact same way they had every other time.

Eugene’s voice became a little clearer now- he could tell he was speaking, but still, Hugo was too dissociated to hear it. He felt like he was floating as he crawled across the floor, tugging Varian’s body to lie on its side, placing his hand on his still warm cheek. 

He felt Eugene’s hand rest on his shoulder, causing him to flinch violently before he settled, letting his hand rest there. For the first time, Hugo turned to get a proper look at him. Even without much light, he could see the redness around his eyes that showed they’d been rubbed raw, he heard the way his breath hitched and felt the way his hand clenched against his shoulder and he knew Eugene was just barely holding it together better than Hugo was - it seemed neither of them could really adjust to seeing his body though, really who could blame them?

The hand on his shoulder grounded him, bringing him hurtling back into reality. Slowly he could piece together the words Eugene was trying to say. 

“Can you take him upstairs? I’ll try to sort things out down here before he, you know,” he whispered.

Hugo nodded numbly, scooping Varian up and standing up with help from Eugene. He felt the blood from Varian’s back trickle down his arm making his skin prickle. His fingers twitched as he stepped silently out of the kitchen, keeping his eyes forward and away from the people he knew were staring at them. 

Eugene massaged his temples as he watched Hugo carry Varian’s body out of the kitchen. He turned to face one of the cleaning staff who had run in with the crowd to see where the screams had come from and smiled apologetically, looking at the state of the kitchen. 

Without Varian’s body covering it, the massive pool of blood looked even larger, staining the floors- Hugo had tracked blood around the kitchen and was almost certainly tracking more up the hallway- if either of them had had half a mind he would have had Hugo clean his foot with a napkin. 

He was going to write the custodial staff a very lovely thank you card on top of the several weeks of vacation they were absolutely going to get. How so much could go wrong in just about an hour was anybody’s guess.

The kitchen wasn’t as crowded as Eugene had feared when he barreled down the hallway- people luckily seemed to understand that when the Captain of the Guard is running in one direction, you get out of the way. Rapunzel had stayed behind in the common room to keep the guests in one place, which also made his life 10x easier.

By the sun, the guests. 

One problem at a time.

Eugene looked at the terrified maid who had walked in on the gruesome scene- she was sitting in a corner in a cold metal chair that had been pulled up for her. She didn’t look familiar, which wasn’t strange considering the size of the castle and its staff but did complicate things since Eugene didn’t even know her name. Her face was still looking straight ahead, but her eyes were unfocused as Lance tried to get her to take deep calming breaths.

He walked over to Lance and the maid, making sure his footsteps were loud enough that she could hear him approach before he crouched down to her eye level. Lance’s hand never left her shoulder.

“What’s your name?” he asked. She swallowed, mouth still forced shut as she stared at Eugene. 

“I’m Eugene Fitzherbert,” he prompted. “I’m Princess Rapunzel’s husband,” he continued when she looked at him blankly.

“I know who you are,” she said quietly. 

“Well that simplifies things a bit, I don’t have to walk you through my incredibly exciting backstory,” he said softly. She cracked a small smile. 

“My name’s Amelie,” she said finally.

“Alright, Amelie. Do you want to tell me what you saw? Once I get that from you, you can go home. I’ll have Blondie sort out whatever needs to be sorted out so you can get time off.”

Amelie swallowed, looking over at Lance who nodded at her. She took another deep breath. 

“I was just trying to help Lance light the torches in the kitchen. I was walking back with the torch, and I ran into Lance. When we went in- well-” 

“Was he- you know, when you found him?”

Amelie choked, sputtering as she tried her best to talk. 

“He was,” Lance cut in, his voice shaking just a little. He cleared his throat to get it to settle.

“Did either of you see or hear anything when you walked in?” Eugene asked. They both shook their heads. 

Eugene turned his head to one of the other chefs who had gathered in the kitchen.

“Could you help her get a cup of tea and get settled somewhere away from here?” 

The chef nodded, taking Lance’s place by Amelie’s shoulder, guiding her gently out of the kitchen.

“How are you holding up?” Eugene muttered to Lance who had stood up with him.

“It’ll be fine, Eugene, I mean you and I both know the little buddy-” he cut himself off, eyeing the other people who weren’t out of hearing range. 

“I know, but that’s not what I asked,” Eugene said firmly. 

Lance took a shaky breath.

“I’ll be OK I just- I’m stumped, Eugene.”

“How so?”

“The little dude was still warm. There’s no way he was- uh, like that for long.”

“And you didn’t hear anything?”

“Not a thing. And no one sneaks past Old Strongbow, let me tell you that.” 

Eugene raised an eyebrow. 

“OK, maybe a few people have snuck past me. But I swear, Eugene, Amelie didn’t hear anything either and I made sure to listen closely before she started screaming.” 

“I believe you,” Eugene muttered. 

They stood silently for a moment before Eugene placed his hand on his chin.

“That leaves one big question. Who-” 

“Right!” Lance interjected. “I mean who would want- ”

“Lance, I was having a moment and you cut me off,” Eugene huffed.

“Come on Eugene, you get your moment plenty of times. Why can’t I have it this time?” 

Eugene stared at Lance briefly before caving.

“Alright, fine. Compromise. We can both do it. Ready?” Eugene said. Lance nodded excitedly. He counted down on his fingers, and they both took a deep breath.

“Who would want to do this ?” they hissed dramatically at each other. The staff on the other side of the room gave them both a pointed look before looking back at each other and shrugging.

A small rap on the door caused the two of them to startle. The staff in the kitchen who had remained had parted, revealing an exhausted-looking Rapunzel. 

“Eugene? The guests are getting really antsy.” 

“Would it kill them to wait until I know what happened?” Eugene groaned. 

“I’m sorry, Eugene. I stalled as long as I could. They’re demanding answers.” 

Eugene put his head into his hands, resisting the urge to scream. Rapunzel frowned sympathetically. 

“Alright. Alright. Since they think they’re so important, let's go fill in some castle guests on an incident most of the staff don’t know about, yet.” 

Rapunzel tried to walk over to squeeze his hand, stopping suddenly as Eugene held out his hand.

“Blondie, wait- ” 

Rapunzel’s eyes widened as she took in the state of the room. Her foot just barely hovered over a bloody footprint.

“Woah-” 

Eugene hurried forward, taking her hand and pulling her out of the kitchen with Lance close behind them. He pulled her close, using her warmth to try and keep himself together. It took him a few shaky breaths before he was finally able to get any words out at all.

“Murder?!” the Duchess exclaimed, grasping her husband’s hand. Eugene stood at the fireplace, with Rapunzel on his left, and Lance slightly behind him to his right. In front of him stood the guests, along with Frederic and Arianna, who all sat comfortably on the couches and loveseats that littered the common room. 

“Do you know who it was?!” the Count cried out. 

“Not yet. That’s what I was trying -” Eugene cut himself off as his tone became more snippy. He took a deep breath. “I’m trying to figure it out, now. I don’t have much information, so if any of you have anything that would be greatly appreciated.”

“It was the lights. I knew it -” 

“Not this again,” Lady Agnes sighed. 

“No, I’m serious, Agnes. We barely found our way to the common room without any light, I mean Sun knows what you can get away with in the dark,” he snarled. “I bet this was planned. Someone must have cut the lights and used the chaos to stab the poor boy.” 

“Do you think the engineers were behind this?” the Duchess pondered. 

The Duchesses accusation made Lance cough in surprise, catching the attention of the Duke and the Count. While the Count turned back to Eugene immediately, the Duke’s stare hardened, causing Lance to wince, pressing himself behind Eugene.

“That would be pretty hard considering one of the royal engineers was the murder victim,” Eugene glared. 

“Eugene?” Lance said quietly from behind his shoulder. Eugene didn’t notice, too focused on the Duchess. 

“That leaves one other suspect, does it not?” the Count interjected.

“Who was it who died?” the Duchess asked.

“Varian,” Rapunzel cut in, her grip on Eugene’s hand growing tighter as she felt his composure slip. At the sound of his name, the Duchess clenched the fabric of the loveseat, digging her long, sharp nails into the arm of the chair. The Count’s eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“So that leaves the street child -” he began. 

“Don’t call him that,” Eugene snapped. 

“Eugene?” Lance tried again.

“I’m just saying that boy has both the opportunity and the past to show for it,” the Count snarled.

“OK, and I’m saying that Hugo wouldn’t do that and going around pointing our fingers isn’t going to get us anywhere so would you just stop-” 

“Eugene!” Lance called out loudly. 

At the same time, the Duke stood up sharply from his chair, pointing a finger at Lance, crying out “You!” 

Eugene blinked, looking at the two of them- from the way sweat had begun to bead on Lance’s brow, and the way the Duke’s face seemed to have turned bright red, they had been in a staring contest for a good while.

“What?” Eugene started. Before he could finish, the Duke began yelling again. 

“I knew I recognized you, you foul-” 

“Hey now,” Lance said defensively.

“Thief! You’re a thief! ” 

“OK yes technically, but not anymore-” Lance started, holding his hands up. 

Rapunzel turned, raising an eyebrow at Eugene, who only shrugged.

“You stole my bracelet,” he howled. 

“Well what’s a man like you doing with that bracelet anyway?!” Lance said anxiously.

“That was my grandmother’s bracelet, you cretin! Why I ought to have you string you up and-”

“Alright,” Arianna cut in. “We know about Strongbow’s less than stellar past. He has been pardoned for his crimes. If you want to discuss compensation for the theft, Duke, I’m sure my husband and I would be more than happy to oblige. This, however, is not the time nor the place.” 

The Duke huffed, collapsing into his chair, causing a hush to fall on the room.

“Anyway-” Eugene said, trying to move the conversation along.

“Wait,” the Duchess said quietly, eyes widening, making Eugene pause.

“What is it, darling?” her husband replied.

“Strongbow, he was the first one to find the body, yes?” she asked Eugene. 

Eugene immediately caught what she was implying, adjusting his footing so he stood defensively in front of Lance. The Duke’s own eyes widened in horror.

“OK, yes but hang on-” 

“That maid bumped into him outside of the kitchen?” the Duke said, sitting up. 

“Now wait just a second-” Eugene tried again. 

“He recognized you!” the Duchess exclaimed, looking at her husband. 

Lance felt his face grow hot.

“I didn’t know who you were until right now! ”

The Duke ignored him, directing his attention to Eugene. 

“Captain, this man is a criminal. He was alone and was one of the first to find the body. Me and my wife weren’t far from the kitchen at the time of the young alchemist’s unfortunate demise. Do you not think it a stretch for him to have recognized me and made an attempt on my life to cover up for his crime, killing the boy by mistake?”

“By the sun, yes that’s a stretch!” Eugene snapped. 

“Captain, see reason. You had no motive or opportunity. Your chef did,” the Duchess pleaded.

“No he didn’t!” Eugene yelled.

“Am I to trust this matter will be investigated properly when your Captain is so clearly biased?” the Duchess snarled, turning towards Frederic and Arianna. 

“I’m not biased, I’m just not throwing around baseless accusations whenever I feel like it-”

The banging of a spoon on a wine glass caused everyone to hush. Rapunzel stood angrily with a wine glass in her hand, with a miffed-looking Pascal on her shoulder, holding a small spoon.

“Everyone calm down!” she yelled. “A lot has happened and we’re all very stressed. Eugene is good at what he does and will get to the bottom of it, alright? We’ll make sure there are guards posted in here so you are all kept safe. Yelling at each other isn’t going to help.” 

“I’m not charging Lance for something he didn’t do,” Eugene growled at the Duke and Duchess. The Duke, realizing he was fighting a losing battle, turned his attention away from Eugene and towards the King and Queen.

“Let it be known, Frederic, my own guards are not as cowardly as yours and they take my safety very seriously. If I cannot trust your guards to find the man responsible,” the Duke stared pointedly at Lance who shrunk behind Eugene. “I will ensure they punish the man who is.” 

Hugo stared at the clock on the wall, entranced by the pendulum as it swung back and forth. The rhythmic clicks were a welcome distraction from the loud thunder, and the heavy weight on top of him. He sighed, looking down at Varian’s head, placed gently in his lap. The muscles in his face were completely soft- he looked peaceful. Hugo was almost jealous. He pushed a few stray hairs away from his forehead, frowning as his fingers grazed the cold skin. 

He’d calmed down- he’d seen Varian’s body enough times to be sort of adjusted to it, but his chest was still twisted into knots. 

He tensed as footsteps loudly approached the door. The door swung open, hitting the wall with a loud bang, revealing an extremely dishevelled Eugene. 

“Is he awake yet?” Eugene asked. 

“No,” Hugo shrugged. 

Eugene deflated, shutting the door silently and collapsing onto the floor by the bed. He put his face in his hands, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Everything alright, Fitzherbert?” 

“If you don’t count the fact my baby brother just got murdered and now I have to control a room full of stuck up assholes who want to charge my best friend for it then yeah, Glasses, everything is peachy.” 

“What?!” Hugo choked.

“Yeah.” Eugene lamented. 

“Why the hell would they think Lance is capable of murder?!” 

“Because he stole the Duke’s stupid bracelet and he’s holding a grudge.” Eugene lifted his head from his hands, resting it against the bed as he stared at the wall. 

“Sun above . Can’t you do anything? You’re the Captain of the Guard.” 

“Of Corona, yes.” 

“But you’re in charge of this whole thing aren’t you?”

“Kid, Frederic is going to want to appease them any way he can. If they get their own guards involved there’s nothing I can do, legally.” 

“Legally?” Hugo asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Eugene’s glare hardened as he turned to face Hugo. 

“They might have made me a guard but there is nothing in the 7 kingdoms that will make me square enough to let some nobles persecute my best friend for something he didn’t do.” 

“Fair enough,” Hugo smirked. “So how long do we have?” 

“Tonight. Tomorrow the nobles go home.” 

“Alright, so we have a couple hours to solve a murder. Sounds easy enough,” Hugo shrugged.

“It would be easier if someone would wake up ,” Eugene groaned.

“He likes making a dramatic entrance,” Hugo snickered. “So what do we have so far? Hit me.” 

Eugene pursed his lips as he thought. “We don’t have much. The lights went out, and Varian ran off first. You went to go look for him, and everyone descended into complete pandemonium. Rapunzel and me tried to herd everyone into the common room-” 

“And I,” Hugo corrected. 

“What?”

“Rapunzel and I,” Hugo grinned as Eugene glared. 

“Rapunzel and me tried to herd everyone into the common room. It took a while and we had to go hunt people down, but eventually we did it. Then, Lance and the maid found Varian’s body.” 

Hugo chewed on his bottom lip.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Eugene asked. 

“We need someone who has motive, and opportunity, right?” 

“Right.”

“So it couldn’t be any of the staff.” 

“What makes you think that? Kid I don’t like those rich douchebags any more than you do but if we accuse any nobility and we’re wrong-” 

“No, I swear I’m being rational, Fitzherbert, think about it. Why would any castle staff pick tonight, when everyone’s on high alert with a whole bunch of nobles visiting to commit a murder? That seems pretty stupid.” 

“What if they were trying to kill one of the nobles and got Varian by accident? That’s what the Duke is accusing Lance of doing.” 

“But the staff knows who Varian is, so that makes even less sense. It only makes sense for it to have been one of the nobles.” 

Eugene’s eyes widened.

“By the sun, Hugo you’re a genius!”  

“I know,” Hugo grinned. 

“OK, so we just need to draw up a list of the nobles and figure out who had motive and opportunity,” Eugene said.

Hugo felt a slight twitch. He smiled.

“Or we can just ask Varian.”

“Well yeah, but we have no clue when he’ll-”

Eugene was cut off by a loud gasp. He whipped his head as Varian flew up out of Hugo’s lap, grasping at his chest as air flooded his lungs. Hugo scooted back to give him room. 

“What the -” Varian wheezed. 

“Morning, Sweetcheeks,” Hugo smiled. Varian gave him a puzzled look, looking over at the bedside table where the knife Hugo had discarded sat, still covered with blood. 

“What -” 

“You got murdered, Goggles,” Eugene said from the floor. “It would really help us out if you could tell us who did it.” 

Varian furrowed his eyebrows. He looked down at the bed, still trying to catch his breath.

“I don’t know,” he said, finally.

“What do you mean you don’t know, Sweetcheeks? You didn’t notice you got stabbed?” 

“They must have come from behind,” Varian frowned. “I didn’t hear or see anything. One second I was in the kitchen, and now I’m here.” 

“Well that doesn’t help us at all,” Eugene groaned.

“Sorry,” Varian said sheepishly, leaning back into Hugo’s chest. Hugo wrapped his arms around his waist. 

“Don’t be sorry, wasn’t your fault,” Hugo said quietly, resting his head on top of Varian’s. “‘Sides, we don’t have that long a list of suspects do we?” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Eugene muttered, rising to his feet. “It probably won’t even take me 2 hours to question them all.” 

“Who are they?” Varian asked.

“Well,” Eugene began,

“First, there’s the Count. He mostly stayed with the group when the power went out, but he didn’t do anything to make sure his boys were OK.” 

“As soon as the power went out, I made sure to stay near the King and Queen,” the Count explained. “I have been in my fair share of disasters, and I know that the guards always keep their attention on their royalty. Your King and Queen can both vouch for me, I was by them the entire trek to the common room, and that was where I stayed until you came in to announce the young alchemist’s untimely demise.” 

“Did you see or hear anything?”

“Lady Agnes was incredibly calm, even when the power first went out. It was almost like she knew it was coming. I’d keep a close eye on her, captain.” 

“Then there’s Lady Agnes. She's only 15, but I think we all know better than to underestimate a 15 year old. I saw her for a little bit during the chaos but I didn't see her again until we gathered in the common room post scream."

“Of course I knew the power was going to go out! Any fool with working eyes could have worked that out. My mom has friends over in Ingvarr and they always have to make preparations for storms since they always seem to knock the lights out.” 

“Where did you go when the power went out?” 

“After Princess Rapunzel told us we needed to go to the common room, I went to find my parents.”

“Did you find them?”

“I found my mother. My father had already found the common room by the time we got there.” 

“Where’d you find your mother?” 

“I found her near the balcony, the one on the upper west wing. She’s easy to find since she looks for fresh air when she gets stressed. After we both heard the scream, we immediately found our way to the common room to make sure my father was there and safe.” 

“The Duchess well, I don't know what to say about her. Her and her daughter seem to be attached at the hip compared to her husband. I can't say much past that. I don't think she said one proper word to me this entire evening." 

“My daughter is a treasure, Captain, really. I don’t know where I would be without her. So much was happening and her first thought was to find me and my husband and make sure we were safe. She has always made us her priority and for that I will forever be in her debt.” 

“Do you have an idea of how long it took your daughter to find you?” 

“Not long, Captain. My husband and I weren’t separated for long before she found me by the balcony.”

“Which balcony was that again? Sorry this castle is a little bit kooky, it's a bit hard to keep track of where people were.” 

“The one in the upper west wing. Does that help at all, Captain?” 

“It does, indeed.” 

Varian picked at his nail beds as he pondered what Eugene had told him. In the time it had taken Eugene to question the nobles, it seemed like he and Hugo had barely moved from the bed. He had moved back slightly so their shoulders were touching, with his head resting on Hugo’s chest. Varian had changed shirts, dressed in a more casual undershirt and vest, instead of his blood-stained suit jacket. Hugo had also abandoned his professional wear. 

“So everyone has someone to vouch for their alibi except for the Duke?” Hugo asked.

“That about sums it up, yeah,” Eugene shrugged.

“What did the Duke say?” Varian asked.

“Well, Captain, I was understandably frantic. The lights had gone out in suspicious circumstances, and with hindsight I now know I was being hunted like some kind of dog,”

“Duke-”

“Do not interrupt me. I was separated from my wife, and feeling myself to be in danger, I located the common room. My daughter and my wife followed soon after.” 

“So, nothing,” Hugo scoffed. 

“Nothing,” Eugene agreed. 

“So he did it, then.” 

Varian pursed his lips. Eugene tapped the wall, trying his best to think. 

“Oh, come on, you two. It’s obvious. The jackass couldn’t even be bothered to give a proper alibi and he was jumping to pin the blame on someone else.” 

“Even if it was him, we have to prove it, Glasses.”

“I just did.” 

“Look, I agree with you, Hugo but all that evidence is circumsitial.” 

Hugo gave Eugene a puzzled look. He looked back at Varian who seemed just as confused as he was. Suddenly, Varian lit up.

“Circumstantial?” Varian asked.

“That’s what I said, Goggles.” 

“It wasn’t,” Hugo frowned.

“It was,” Eugene replied.

“It wasn’t,”

“It was,”

“It wasn’t,”

“It-”

“So! The Duke! How do we prove it was him?” Varian interjected loudly.

“His room isn’t far from here. If I keep everyone distracted, can you two see if you can find anything in there?” Eugene suggested. 

Hugo lit up. 

“Please for the love of Demanitus, don’t let him steal anything, kid,” Eugene pleaded, looking at Varian.

“What makes you think I was going to steal,” Hugo huffed.

“Because that’s exactly what I would have done and you’re like a worse, blonder version of me,” Eugene smirked.

“That hurts, Fitzherbert. That hurts,” Hugo sighed dramatically.

Eugene shook his head.

“I can probably get you two an hour at most. Please stay safe. And please don’t get stabbed again.”

“We’ll be careful, Eugene,” Varian said, reassuringly, stepping off of the bed. 

“You’d better,” Eugene said, grabbing Varian’s arm and pulling him into a quick hug. He looked over at Hugo. 

“No way. I’m not hugging,” he glared. Eugene relented, but Varian rolled his eyes, pushing away from Eugene long enough to pull Hugo off of the bed. Hugo stumbled off, struggling to keep his balance but before he could reorient himself, Varian had tugged him towards himself, pulling Eugene back into a hug. Hugo sighed, melting into Varian’s chest. 

Varian kept himself pressed close to Hugo’s back as the two snuck through the corridor. Their way had finally been lit, but the hallway remained empty which was convenient enough for them, but still made the trek eerie. 

“Is this it?” Hugo asked as they stopped in front of a wooden door, a carbon copy of the others to its right and its left. 

“It’s the one Eugene said it was,” Varian affirmed, twisting the door knob. He frowned as the knob wouldn’t turn, rattling it a couple times.

“Locked?” Hugo asked. Varian nodded. Hugo pulled a small case out of his pocket.

“Just had that on you?” Varian snorted, watching Hugo pull out a lockpick.

“I always come prepared, Goggles,” Hugo smiled as the lock clicked almost immediately. 

“Wow,” Varian chuckled, trying his best not to sound impressed. Because Hugo was Hugo, he caught it, letting out a small grin, 

“Please, this lock was pathetic. If you want to see impressive you should have seen some of the jobs Don had me working before I met you.” 

“Oh?” Varian smirked, following Hugo into the room. 

“Oh yeah, you know this one time she got hired to steal this stupid artifact for some random rich asshole and she just dropped me in there at like 1 in the morning. Got it out in 15. Don just ended up pawning it off to a higher bidder though. It was hilarious.” 

“Wow , and you were how old?” Varian asked, trying his best to suppress a grin as he pulled out one of the Duke’s suitcases.

“Are you trying to one up me?” he said, raising an eyebrow knowingly.

Varian raised his hands innocently. Hugo glared halfheartedly. 

“Yeah yeah not all of us committed treason when we were 14. Let me have this.” 

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Varian smiled.

“You’re a terrible liar, Sweetcheeks.” 

“I resent that.”

Hugo rolled his eyes as he dug through the pockets of each coat, neatly hung up in the closet. He frowned as his fingers touched something cold and metal.

“He has like 500 gold pieces just sitting in his coat pocket, I mean seriously. He’s asking to get robbed,” Hugo said, letting the coins make a loud noise as they fell back into his pocket. Varian gave him a hard look. Hugo pouted, pulling the coin he’d kept in his hand out and dropping it back into the pocket. 

“Well it looks like he brought every single coat he owns for one evening, but nothing interesting,“ Hugo frowned.

“There’s nothing in here either,” Varian lamented, digging through the suitcase- it was filled with several small pockets, with soft velvety interiors, protecting necklaces, bracelets, and rings that were all probably worth a fortune. He closed the suitcase, pulling out another one from under the bed. 

After digging through all of the coat pockets, Hugo’s eyes scanned the closet, looking for anything out of place. It was incredibly well organized, everything arranged in color order creating a lovely ombre when he stepped back. A few shirts were folded nicely on the floor of the wardrobe.

He pulled open one of the drawers. Silk underwear sat folded just as neatly in rows down the drawer. Of course, even his underwear was color coordinated. What an asshole. He followed the rows with his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows as he noticed a couple rows sat just a little bit higher than the others. He pressed his hands gently over them, making sure not to disturb them too much. As he pushed down, one of his hands gave way more than the other.

“Oh, hello ,” he chuckled. 

“What did you find?” Varian asked, looking over at Hugo. Hugo pushed his hands underneath the underwear, beaming as he felt his fingers brush something leather. He wrapped both his hands around it, pulling it out from the bottom of the drawer. 

Both Varian and Hugo’s eyes widened as the large briefcase came into the light. 

“Jackpot,” Hugo smiled, moving to open the case. The lock jiggled as he pushed at it, refusing to give way. He brushed his fingers over the rolling combination, thinking. Varian crawled over to watch. 

“Can you open it?” 

“I can, but I’ll need a minute.” 

“Can’t you just pick the lock?” 

“I can, but unless you want me to break it it’s easier if I just go through all the combinations.” 

“Fair enough,” Varian shrugged. 

Hugo bit his tongue as he pressed on the latch, rolling the numbers down to 0. He began to quickly roll the combination, keeping his finger pressed on the latch in case one of the combinations was the one they needed. Varian stared silently, transfixed. 

The two froze as the sound of footsteps began to echo down the hall. A voice that Hugo immediately placed as the Duke’s rang out through the room

“I understand your concerns, Captain, however I will not be made to wait in that room like some kind of criminal. My wife just wants her bag. It is a simple errand and I intend to run it.” 

“I understand, sir, but if you could just give us a few more hours-”

“I will be hearing none of it. You have already proven yourself to be incompetent.” 

Varian felt the room spin as Eugene and the Duke’s voices drew closer.

“Hide,” Hugo hissed, shoving Varian towards the bed before hurriedly shoving underwear back into the drawer. Varian scrambled to crawl under the bed, making sure the bed skirt kept him completely out of view. Hugo shoved the drawer shut unceremoniously, before racing to hide under the bed, pulling the briefcase with him.

“Captain you are being ridiculous-” 

“At least let me come with you since you were so worried about your safety before.” 

Hugo let out a small puff of air at Eugene’s comment. He could practically hear the sarcasm. The door creaked open, and light footsteps moved about the room before much heavier ones quickly followed. Even with the carpet absorbing the sound, the weight of the Duke’s footsteps made the top of the bed vibrate ever so slightly. The shadows of their boots ghosted underneath the bed sheets, right by their faces.

Hugo’s focus waned as he stared at the briefcase again. He narrowed his eyes as he pushed on the latch again, as silently as he could. 

Varian looked at him with raised eyebrows. What the fuck are you doing? 

Hugo shrugged, rolling the dials as quickly as he could. He was zeroed in on the briefcase- whatever secrets this man seemed to have, they had to be stored in here. His nerves were on fire as he ran through number after number. He could feel his face burn as his heart leapt out of his chest, into his throat.

“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find it,” he heard Eugene suggest. 

“It’s a small red handbag,” the Duke replied. 

He heard the footsteps separate, moving around the room like hawks circling their prey.

Varian grabbed Hugo’s hand, blocking his view of the combination. Hugo looked puzzled at Varian but froze when he followed Varian’s eyes, staring at the small red handbag that sat inconspicuously beside the trunks Varian had searched through under the bed. Hugo cursed under his breath, grabbing the bag and pushing it towards the bed skirt.

He froze as the skirt was pulled away, causing light to flood under the bed. Varian and Hugo winced, locking eyes with an incredibly frantic-looking Eugene. Eugene blanched, grabbing the bag and quickly shoving the sheets down. 

“Is this it?” he asked quickly.

“Yes! Captain, thank you!” 

Hugo almost let out a small sigh of relief. Hugo could practically feel the air around Varian relax. He turned his attention back to getting the briefcase open. Varian looked at him completely dumbfounded but didn’t try to stop him.

“You know, Captain, my wife carries this with her everywhere, and she’s never told me what’s inside.” 

“Have you asked her?”

“Of course I have. Even married couples have their secrets.” 

“Is there anything you don’t tell her?”

“Is there? Of course there is, Captain! Isn’t there anything you keep from your own wife?” 

“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.” 

Hugo held back a grunt as his fingers lost their grip, causing him to lose his place. He put pressure on the latch, rolling through the second row of numbers again.

“Oh that’s a load of codswallop. Tell you what, Captain, can you keep a secret?”

“I’m famously good at keeping secrets.” 

Hugo could feel Varian’s eyes roll. He bit his tongue as he ran out of combinations between the first two rows of numbers, moving on to the third.

The shadow of Eugene’s boots stood fixed by the bed. Footsteps, heavy ones began to move closer towards him.

“Well, Captain, there are many things that I do and many things that I buy that most wouldn’t expect from a man of my status.” 

“Like?” 

Eugene’s heels pressed closer to the bed as he pressed himself against it. Varian’s breath hitched next to him, causing Hugo to turn around for one second to see him wrapping his hands around a smoke bomb. Hugo bit his tongue hard enough to bleed as he ran through combinations in the hundreds, 345. 346. 347. 

“You have to promise you won’t tell a soul, Captain. I don’t know what I would do if this secret was to get out.” Hugo swore he could hear a faint smile. 348. 349. 

“On my honor.” 

“Well, Captain,” 

350. 351. 352. 

“For years now,”

353. 354. 355

“I’ve been collecting,”

Click!

“Clowns.” 

“Clowns?” Hugo hissed. 

“Clowns?” Eugene gaped at the same time, unwittingly covering up Hugo’s voice. 

Hugo stared bewildered at the opened briefcase. It was lined with the ugliest, creepiest clown dolls he had ever seen. They were carved with grotesque detail- small wrinkles by the face, veins drawn on the sclera of their eyes- it was like they were all staring at him. 

It was taking all the self-control in the world not to vomit right there on the carpet. Varian looked at him puzzled, holding up one of the dolls. Hugo shoved his arm down, covering the doll’s head with his hand. If he had to stare at those tiny lifelike eyes anymore, he was certain he was going to have an aneurysm.

“Now, Captain, I know what you’re thinking,”

“Oh believe me, you don’t.” 

“I know, it sounds ridiculous. I began collecting them when I was a little boy. I carry them around with me as a small reminder of my childhood. My wife doesn’t have the foggiest clue what’s in that briefcase, and I intend to keep it that way.” 

“So. Let me make sure I’m understanding this correctly. Clowns. You just carry around clowns because they remind you of your childhood,” Eugene said, trying his best not to sound confused.

“Indeed, Captain, I do.” 

Hugo closed the briefcase, pushing it away from himself. Varian stifled a laugh.

They kept still as possible as the footsteps moved away from the bed. The door creaked open, and both Eugene and the Duke’s footsteps sounded out of the room as they carried on their conversation down the hall.

Varian and Hugo let out a breath at the same time. 

“What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck,” Hugo hissed, crawling out from under the bed. 

Varian barked out a laugh, pushing the doll in his hand out in front of him before he followed Hugo out from under the bed. 

“You put that thing back right now,” Hugo exclaimed, looking down to see the doll on the floor.

“What? Not getting any childhood nostalgia just looking at it?” Varian snickered.

“What the fuck,” Hugo muttered to himself kicking the doll onto its side. It fell to the floor slowly- almost unnaturally slow, creaking as its limbs extended. Varian took pity on Hugo, opening the briefcase with the newly learnt combination, and shoving the doll inside. The shock began to fizzle out as the reality of their situation dawned on them again.

“So,” Hugo started.

“So,” Varian continued. 

“Not our murderer then?” 

“Doesn’t look like it,” Varian sighed, collapsing onto the bed. Hugo followed him.

“I don’t understand, every sign was pointing to him. Who the hell else could it be?” Varian bemoaned, placing his head in his hands. Hugo placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s alright, Goggles, we’ll figure it out,” Hugo said comfortingly. 

“How could I miss someone stabbing me, Hugo?!” 

“Goggles, no one blames you for not seeing who stabbed you,” he said softly. 

“ I do,” Varian hissed. “Lance could get arrested and someone else could get hurt because I was too stupid to see whoever attacked me!”

“It’s not your fault, V.”

Varian didn’t answer, shrugging Hugo’s hand off and pushing off of the bed. 

“Goggles-” 

“We should go, in case they come back,” Varian grumbled. 

“Varian-” Hugo tried again. Varian didn’t acknowledge him, shoving his way out of the room. He didn’t check to see if Hugo was following him as he moved into the hallway. Hugo groaned, grabbing the briefcase and shoving it back into the drawer. 

He chased Varian down the hallway, careful to keep to the carpet, making as little noise as possible. Although some candles had been lit, some hadn’t, keeping the hallway shrouded in darkness as Hugo caught up to Varian. He skidded, wincing at the loud noise his heels made as they dragged into the carpet- things always seemed to be louder in the dark.

Hugo paused. Realization hit him like a tidal wave. He swallowed, trying to keep his breathing steady as he grabbed Varian’s hand, pulling him into his room before Varian had a chance to react. 

“Wha -” Varian choked, as soon as Hugo had shut the door, careful to make sure the door rested silently on the frame before he removed his hand from the doorknob. 

“Varian,” Hugo panted, wide-eyed. Varian furrowed his eyebrows, shaking his head.

“Hugo? What-” 

“You didn’t hear anything.” 

“Yes , thank you Hugo, we’ve been over this, I get it,” he snarled. 

“Varian,” Hugo gasped, trying to get Varian to understand through his eyebrows alone. Varian only seemed to look more confused, making him swallow, trying to figure out how to put his racing thoughts into words. “Think about it, you didn’t hear anything. No breathing, no doors opening or closing, nothing ? ” 

Varian stared at Hugo, calculating. 

“No-” 

“So it was pitch black? And you didn’t even hear footsteps?” 

Varian’s eyes widened finally. 

“By the sun,” he mumbled. “I’m so stupid! How could I miss that that was a clue?!” Varian cried out, smacking himself in the forehead. “It never could have been the Duke! He walks like a goddamn rhinoceros! I would have heard him!” 

“It had to be someone light on their feet,” Hugo said quietly. Varian’s face brightened. 

Hugo thought back to the dining room. He thought back to each noble walking past him, disguising their scowls with polite looks. He thought about the sound their heels made as they each stepped past. He thought even further back, to the beginning of the evening, as the Duke and Duchess stepped out of the carriage.

Clarity came crashing down onto him, freezing his nerves and making it hard to breathe. He thought about the Duchess's impossibly silent footsteps. How she seemed to glide through the room like she hovered, despite her gigantic size. 

Focusing on her made something in Hugo’s brain click- it was like a puzzle had been laid out for him, and he didn’t realize he was holding the final few pieces in his hand. This evening had been spent averting his gaze from the guests, protecting himself from their judgmental stares, but now, he was focusing on the image of the Duchesses face he had captured in his mind. He thought about her features- how she managed to look both mundane and unique in a way that made her feel sickeningly familiar. 

His stomach dropped. 

“You’re kidding me? You’re trusting a 13 year old kid to do this job?!” 

“If you have a problem with how I run things, you know where the door is, Cyrus.” 

Cyrus huffed, glaring at the teenager who grinned smugly at him.

“Don’t worry, Don. I won’t let you down.”

“You better not, kid. So do you remember what I told you to grab?” 

“That weird ass spiral necklace with the little ruby in the middle, right?” 

“Atta boy. You better bring it back in one piece, that old lady is paying big bucks for us to steal it for her.” 

“You can count on me.” 

The woman at their doorstep howled, eyes alight with a fury Hugo wasn’t sure he’d seen from anyone. On instinct, he took a step back.

“I paid you good money-” 

“And the other guy paid us more. Sorry, love, that’s business,” Donella shrugged. 

“You don’t know what kind of enemy you’ve just made, Hag!” 

“I’m shaking in my boots. Really, I’m terrified,” she whimpered sarcastically. “Here’s your money back, have a nice day!” 

“I’ll make sure you regret this, Donella. You and your little rat-”

Donella’s glare turned to ice.

“You lay one hand on him, I’ll make you regret ever being born,” she snarled, slamming the door in the woman’s face. 

“Jeeze, what was her problem?” 

“Entitled ass nobles.” 

“So, what’s my pay for tonight looking like?” 

From the other side of the door, the Duchess of Neserdnia howled, grasping her neck and sobbing. Her nails dug holes into her palms, drawing blood. She glared at the door as she wiped her tears. 

Hugo grabbed Varian’s arm. 

“The Duchess,” he mumbled. 

“What?” Varian asked. 

“It was the Duchess,” Hugo choked out, louder this time. “Holy shit, I can’t believe I didn’t notice,”

“Hugo what are you talking about?” Varian asked. 

“Var, I told you about how Don dropped me off to steal some noble’s artifact when I was 13?

“Maybe? If you did I don’t know if I remember, but Hugo how is this-”

“Look, when I was 13, some old lady hired Donella to steal a necklace back for her. Donella had me do it. I stole it, then Donella butchered the deal so she could sell it to some collector who was going to pay her like 5 times more. Goggles, she was pissed, ” 

“Hugo I don’t-” 

“Varian it was the Duchess,” Hugo exclaimed. “It was the Duchess who hired us, the Duchess who Donella betrayed, and son of a bitch, it has to have been the Duchess who stabbed you!” 

Varian stared at Hugo for a second, taking everything in for a second before determination set in. His mouth dropped slightly. 

“Hugo she- the others! ” he cried. 

Hugo grabbed Varian’s hand and threw the door open, abandoning their attempts at staying silent. 

Varian trailed behind Hugo as he ran, pumping his legs as hard as he could to catch up. They were both gasping for breath, unwilling to stop for air. 

They flew down the hall, ignoring the surprised noises staff made as they slammed into them. 

As they ran through the west wing, Hugo lurched as Varian’s hand was suddenly ripped from his. He followed Varian’s eyes, looking towards the glass doors that led out to a large, covered balcony. 

Standing at its edge, looking out towards the garden was a hauntingly familiar silhouette. 

Hugo looked at Varian, raising his eyebrows. Varian nodded towards the balcony, then down at his belt where his hand hovered over a goo bomb. Hugo nodded, letting his own hand rest on his dagger. 

Hugo placed his hand over the doorknob, twisting it open as silently as he could, using the sound of the storm to muffle the creak of the door. He stepped quietly onto the stone balcony, looking back at Varian who followed behind him. Varian stepped to the side, moving towards a large pillar on the left corner by the railing. He crouched down, looking up at Hugo who stared at the Duchesses back. 

He raised his foot to take another step, but before he could, she readjusted her position on the balcony, moving her arms to uncross and recross them as she leaned. 

“You run like a herd of elephants,” she said. Hugo could hear the grin on her face. He froze, keeping his eyes locked on her as she twisted around to face him. Her mouth was curved into a twisted smile, a flash of teeth that seemed less like a smile and more like an ape showing its fangs before it attacked. 

Hugo wrapped his hand around the handle of his dagger, hardening his glare. 

“Finally recognized me, did you?” 

“You’re not that memorable. Sue me,” Hugo shrugged. 

The careful mask she wore slipped at Hugo’s comment, as her eyes flashed red. Hugo took an instinctive step back. She recovered quickly, letting a careful look fall back onto her face. 

“I know you’re back there, dear. There’s no point in hiding,” she said towards the pillar, her words dripping with twisted confidence.

Hugo cringed, gripping his dagger even tighter. He couldn’t help but let out the ghost of a smirk as he watched her confidence falter as Varian stepped out into the light. 

The Duchess rolled her shoulders back, standing up tall. Her shadow was tall enough to creep under Hugo’s feet. 

“I’m sorry to have caught you up in this mess, darling,” she directed at Varian unapologetically, recovering from her shock.

“What mess? I mean really lady, a temper tantrum because you didn’t get a necklace you wanted like 7 years ago is probably the lamest motive for murder I’ve ever heard,” Hugo snarked.

“You think this is a temper tantrum?!” she snapped. In a blink, the mask had dissolved away. She didn’t let it fall back, her nose curled as a crazed look flashed in her eyes. “I told Donella I would make her regret what she did to me and when I learnt who Corona had brought on as a Royal Engineer, I saw my opportunity to keep my promise.” 

Hugo’s brows furrowed. He heard Varian’s breath hitch. 

“You weren’t trying to kill me,” Varian murmured. 

The Duchess sighed, leaning back against the railing. 

“Unfortunately, being as tall as I am, you all look the same height to me. In the dark you two look identical,” she lamented. “When I realized my mistake I tried to rectify it, but your little chef found you before I could.”

Hugo swallowed, taking another step back towards Varian. 

“So what’s your plan? Stabbing me won’t get your stupid necklace back.”

“You don’t think I know that?! ” she exclaimed. “Your mentor ruined me. Neither of you can comprehend what it meant to me and you just tossed me to the side for a higher bidder. She took everything from me, so now I’ll take everything from her.” 

“It’s a fucking necklace -” 

“It’s not just a necklace,” another voice cut in. Hugo lurched, whipping around to follow where it had come from. 

His stomach plummeted down into his abdomen as he met Varian’s eyes. A sword rested on his throat, and at the other end stood Lady Agnes.  

Hugo chewed his lip as he stared at her- she didn’t hold the posture of someone comfortable with the weapon she held in her hand. Her stance was uncertain, and her hand was trembling, but with it so close to Varian’s throat, Hugo didn’t want to risk startling her. His eyes flitted to the side as he noticed the Duchess move past him out of the corner of his eye. She settled herself beside her daughter

“My father used that necklace to propose,” Lady Agnes explained. 

“Your father’s a Duke, I’m sure he could buy another one,” Hugo said, rolling his eyes. 

“The Duke is not her father,” the Duchess sighed.

Hugo’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly. 

“Unfortunately, I was a lot younger and a lot stupider back then. When a dashing young street urchin stole my heart, I let myself get swept up in the excitement despite my engagement to the Duke. He stole me a lovely little necklace and asked me to run away with him to raise our coming baby,” the Duchess smiled. She rested her arm on Varian’s shoulder, who tried uselessly to push her off. “You know, I almost said yes too.”

“Well why didn’t you? Clearly you liked him enough to commit murder.” 

“Doing so would mean abandoning my status. I know someone with your past wouldn’t understand, but that kind of lifestyle is no way to raise a baby. I gave him the necklace back and I never saw him again.”

“So where the hell does Don get mixed up in all this?” 

“Well, Sweetheart, you know well how thieves are treated. Of course he was caught. They confiscated the necklace and he was swiftly hung for his crimes,” she said quietly. “It took me years to find it again. I thought when I did, that I’d finally have a piece of him I was able to keep.” 

“Listen,” Hugo said earnestly. “I understand you’re hurting. I really do. Don should never have sold the necklace, and I really am sorry for the part I played in that. But this? This won’t bring him back, OK? I mean, Varian had nothing to do with any of this, and I was a kid -”

“I don’t care!” she yelled. “I know he won’t come back. I’ve made my peace with that. But you? You’re a child. A filthy little child. You have no idea the hell your boss put me through.” 

A foreboding smile stretched across the Duchess's face. Hugo swallowed. 

“Would you like to learn?” 

Hugo cried out as the Duchess brandished a knife that had been hidden underneath her large belt. He ran forward to stop her, but before she could, she drove the blade into Varian’s chest with a sickening crack. Agnes jumped back with a horrified cry, desperately shaking off the blood that had landed on her hand. 

Varian gurgled, coughing up blood as the Duchess withdrew her knife, driving it into his chest again, sending him staggering to the floor. Hugo ran forward, catching him as he fell. The sudden weight took him by surprise, causing him to fall to his knees with Varian still in his arms. Varian slumped lifelessly against him. He didn’t need to check his pulse to know he was already gone. 

He felt something cold touch the bottom of his chin and looked up to see the Duchess crouched in front of him, holding the blade of her knife under his head. He held her stare, determined to keep any sign of emotion off of his face. 

“Do you understand now? That aching in your chest? That crippling loneliness? That’s how I’ve spent my life for the last fifteen years. I’m showing you mercy by freeing you from it.” 

“I’m not sure that’s how I see it,” he glared. The Duchess shrugged. She removed the knife from Hugo’s chin, raising her arm. Hugo reacted quickly, grabbing her arm. He leaned his head back as the blade touched his nose. Varian’s body slid down to the floor. Hugo tried his best to ignore the sensation. Hugo twisted his hand around, forcing the Duchess to follow. She cried out, struggling against Hugo’s grip.

Hugo used this to his advantage, pushing her back, causing her to fall onto her backside. He pushed himself off the ground, drawing his dagger. The Duchess made an inhuman noise, following him to her feet. Before she could lunge, Hugo lunged first, slicing her arm. She hissed, grabbing the collar of Hugo’s shirt and holding him up above the ground. Hugo kicked aimlessly as she stomped forward, shoving him against the railing. He made the mistake of looking down as she forced him to lean back over the railing. He lurched as he was hit with vertigo, looking down at the ground. 

She laughed smugly at him, causing him to glower. He drove his knife upwards, jamming it into her arm. She let him go, letting him push away from her and the railing as she grabbed her arm and screamed. She tried to pull the knife out, but that caused her to hiss in pain. Hugo raised his foot, kicking her in the stomach, causing her to double over. He grabbed the handle of his knife, ripping it from her arm. 

She scowled, grabbing Hugo’s head and digging her nails into his skin. He let out a faint whimper as his face began to burn. She used her weight to throw Hugo to the ground. His head cracked against the stone, causing him to see colors for a moment. He groaned, pushing himself off the ground as the Duchess loomed over him. He looked over to her heels, putting as much force into his kick as possible as he kicked her shins. She yelped, falling down on top of him. He threw her to the side, jumping up onto his feet, blinking through the dizziness as it passed. 

He held up his knife, prepared to drive it down again, but before he could, something heavy hit his head, causing him to collapse to the ground again. The second blow to the head was enough to cause the world to spin violently. Hugo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get it to stop, but doing that disoriented him even more. He tried to lift his head but it was like it was fastened to the stone. He trembled for a second, before he gave up, crumpling to the floor. 

He looked up to see the blade of Lady Agnes’ sword held in front of his face. He met her eyes. The blade shook, and Hugo swore he could see tears on her cheeks, but her form seemed to wobble as his vision blinked in and out, making it impossible for him to know for sure. She looked more like her age- less like an imposing noblewoman, and more like the 15-year-old girl that she was.

“Please,” Hugo mumbled. She choked back a sob. 

“Do it, Agnes,” the Duchess hissed. Agnes’ eyes flitted between Hugo and her mother’s. 

“You useless child, do it!” the Duchess snarled.

“I’m sorry,” Agnes whispered, raising her sword. Hugo closed his eyes and pressed his face against the stone. 

Suddenly, Agnes let out a blood-curdling scream, making Hugo’s ears ring. He opened his eyes, and almost collapsed with relief as he met Varian’s eyes.

Agnes had dropped her sword in her shock and stood frozen staring at Varian who had pulled out a goo bomb. 

“You were dead!” she screamed.

“Yeah, he does that,“ Hugo shrugged. “You sure took your time,” he said, looking over at Varian.

“That was my version of hurrying,” Varian smirked. Hugo snorted. 

The Duchess yelled, pushing herself off of the ground. Before she could, Varian had thrown his goo bomb down, creating a familiar pink substance that trapped her on the ground. She pushed against it fruitlessly, screaming. Varian tossed powder onto the floor by her face. It flew up into the Duchesses face as it slammed into the stone, causing her to sneeze. As soon as she breathed it in, she passed out, her head lolling onto the floor. 

Hugo looked over at Agnes who was still staring at Varian. She took a tentative step back, before she hurried to the door, throwing it open and racing down the hall. Varian almost looked like he wanted to follow her, but before he could, Hugo started coughing, causing him to whip around, falling onto his knees next to Hugo. He cupped Hugo’s head under his hand, placing a hand gently on his chest. 

“Are you OK?” Varian asked softly. 

“Mmgh, my head hurts,” Hugo grumbled. Varian frowned, moving his hand to cup Hugo’s cheek, running his hand gently across it. He leaned forward, placing his lips gently on Hugo’s forehead. Hugo smiled dumbly. 

“You know, my lips really hurt as well,” he pouted. Varian breathed a slight laugh. 

“You’re ridiculous.” 

“Cut me some slack, Goggles, I’m injured,” he bemoaned. “I probably won’t be able to do chores for at least a month.” 

Varian raised an eyebrow as Hugo grinned. Varian sighed, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Hugo’s. Hugo immediately leaned up into the kiss, humming happily. He reached up, grasping Varian’s collar and pulling him closer. He could stay like this forever. Warmth blossomed in his chest and travelled up his neck. Blood rushed to his face making him feel dizzy.

Hugo groaned as the dizziness didn’t relent. Varian pulled back suddenly.

“Shit , sorry, sorry sorry,” Varian whispered frantically. 

“It’s alright, it’s alright, Goggles,” Hugo said, keeping his eyes shut as he slumped back onto the floor. 

Varian shifted to his feet, crouching over Hugo. 

“I’m going to take you to the infirmary, alright?”

“Works for me, Sweetcheeks,” Hugo murmured. He swallowed back nausea as Varian lifted him off the ground, wrapping his arms around his neck to keep himself stable. 

“Does this mean I don’t have to come to the next dinner party?” Hugo grumbled against Varian’s chest. Varian barked a laugh. 

In the scale of things, Hugo was pretty lucky to just walk away with a concussion and some bruising. 

Varian wasn’t quite so lucky, but he had a pretty neat habit of walking off stab wounds, so even though Rapunzel insisted he at least let the doctors look him over, he didn’t need anything more than a change of clothes and a quick shower. 

Eugene insisted they play cards while Varian was being looked over and getting changed. Eugene would tell you it was because he wanted to have an excuse not to talk to any of the nobles after the absolute clusterfuck that had been the evening. Both he and Hugo knew that was a lie. 

Eugene and Varian found every excuse they could to stay close to Hugo’s bed. Rapunzel had brought in about 3 mugs of tea now. The third time she’d looked at the bedside table, and faked surprise, smacking herself on the forehead for being so forgetful. 

They were all really bad at hiding their concern. It was honestly kind of adorable. 

The Duchesses' arrest came as a massive surprise to her husband. Before guards could report to him what had happened, Agnes had found him, crashing into him as she threw her arms around him so hard he nearly fell to the floor. When guards came to give him the news, she was still sobbing into his shoulder, telling him everything her mother had insisted she keep from him. 

When Varian was pulled to the side by a guard and asked what had happened, he thought back to the terrified look on Agnes’ face. The way she had buckled under her mother’s glare, and the way she’d whispered an apology. It was a little bit too familiar. 

He felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever leaving her out of his story entirely. 

Later that night, Agnes had come to find him, sitting in the bed next to Hugo who was fast asleep. She frowned at the two of them. 

“Why didn’t you tell them what I did?” she asked, hovering by the door. Varian looked over at her, a soft look fell on his face, just barely illuminated by the twilight.

“You were doing what your mother pressured you to do.” 

“So? That doesn’t make it OK,” she insisted. 

“You’re right, but she’s gone, and you know what you did was wrong. You’re a kid, Agnes. You don’t deserve to go to jail for that.” 

She swallowed, looking at him, trying to read the expression on his face, but found it to be unreadable. 

“Thank you,”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t,” she smiled. “I promise.” 

The Duchess's punishment was a source of heated debate. (It was especially complicated when the murder victim in a murder trial can give a statement). In the end, it was settled that she would spend life in a Neserdnian prison. Frankly, the prison cell she was given was nicer than how some of her own citizens lived. 

It was a little bit ironic- that status she’d let love go to maintain was gone. Her choice never really counted in the end. That thought would tear her to shreds.

The next morning, Varian blinked awake, curled up to Hugo’s chest on the tiny hospital bed. His neck cracked as he moved his head, and he rolled his shoulder, trying to work out the knot he could tell was going to make a home there. He looked to his left, smiling fondly at Eugene who was snoring loudly, resting his head on Rapunzels. Rapunzel wasn’t snoring nearly as loudly, but she was drooling- they were a perfectly disgusting sight. Next to them was Lance, fast asleep in the other hospital bed. (Eugene had protested, but Lance leveraged the fact he’d been framed for murder against him, and he relented pretty quickly. Lance was going to be using that for years ).

He settled back against Hugo’s chest, sighing contentedly at the sound of Hugo’s heartbeat against his ear. He looked out the window, watching as the last few storm clouds dissipated in the morning air. The light from the morning sun crept through the window, warming his face. He smiled, turning and drifting back to sleep.