Chapter Text
Varian had been called to the throne room after getting too close to the wall, again. "Do you know why you're here?"
"Yes sir." Varian sombered.
"Do you know why you're not allowed outside the castle walls yet?" Quirin asked the pouting prince.
"Because the world is a dangerous place." Varian huffed.
"Do you know what happened to Princess Rapunzel?" Quirin leaned forward. "When she disappeared security in Corona tripled, and when she returned security doubled that!"
Varian sighed. "And we have quadrupled that... But king Fredric is afraid of his daughter getting taken again! What threat is being posed to Sevkin?" He begged.
"The guards reported you were going toward the wall." Quirin pressed.
"I was near it." Varian confirmed. "But what's wrong with that?"
"With a rope." Quirin added.
"In my defense!" Varian exclaimed. "At least I was going to go over and not through! I could have certainly blown the wall up and left!" He smirked.
"Do I need to take away your alchemy supplies?" Quirin asked.
"N-No!" Varian's smirk dropped. "Dad, I've read every book in the castle, I've been down every hall, I can name every flower in the garden! I need some freedom!" He argued.
"Varian." Quirin stopped his son. "We have more book shipments coming tomorrow." He suggested.
"I don't want more books! I want to explore the world!" Varian retaliated.
"Go to your room!" The king stood.
"Fine!" Varian yelled in response as tears welled in his eyes. He had to prove to his father that he could be king tomorrow if he needed. But how would he do that?
Varian went to the highest tower in the castle, passing the three guards at his door, and waving them goodnight. He went to his desk and sat down. Maybe he could be like Rapunzel. He had an idea.
Varian collected several very valuable items from his room, everything that would fit in a small bag. He decided essentials could be bought if needed. He brewed a chemical that would melt the substance that held his window shut, and opened it as quietly as he could.
Looking down, he could see several guards on the wall, he needed to distract them. He grabbed another one of his creations, when sitting in your room all day you have nothing better to do than create, and threw it just far enough that the guards would be off post for a good amount of time. The chemical blew up into a big green pile of goop that blocked the path, and the guards went to see what it was.
Varian carefully climbed out his window, being sure to leave it wide open, and made his way to and down the wall. He was out. His arms hurt like hell, due to no upper body strength, but he was out. "Is the prince's window open?" No time to breathe fresh air yet, gotta run.
Varian ran aimlessly into the woods, hoping his bag didn't make too much clanging. Did this look like a robbery? Would his father believe he was kidnapped? Would he be mad or relieved when Varian eventually returned home with real world experience?
Varian grew tired, breathless, and weak. He needed food. Wandering into a town he didn't recognize, his cloak covering his regal outfit, he looked for a merchant selling food.
"Diamonds!" "Live frogs!" "Dresses better than the princess's!" "Fresh cooked cod!" Cod! Thank goodness.
"Excuse me, good sir!" Varian asked.
"What can I do for ya, son?" The one eyed man leaned forward.
Varian shuffled through his bag, trying desperately to hide his hair stripe. "Did you say fresh cooked cod? How much?"
"What do ya have?" The man asked.
Varian couldn't help but smirk. "I have this." He pulled out a candle holder he never used anymore, but it was made partly of gold and had diamonds on it.
"Is that real?" The man asked, looking at it.
"Sure!" Varian placed it down. "Can I have two fish, please?" Varian asked.
"Course!" The man took two fish off the grill and bagged them up. "And come back anytime, son! This thing’ll get ya a lot more food if ya ever need it!" He smiled a toothy grin.
"Thank you, sir." Varian nodded. "Do you know the fastest way out of here?" Varian didn't want to go too far, he still wanted to go home at some point, but going to another kingdom for a bit couldn't hurt.
"Ya'r gonna go for the docks!" The man pointed down the road.
"Thank you kind sir." Varian smiled, making his way down. Varian walked on the docks until saw a quite interesting boat with a man walking off it. "Pardon me, is there any room on your boat?"
The blond smiled as his eyes fixated on Varian. "Hm, what's in the bag?" He asked curiously, approaching the prince.
Varian gave a smirk. "Valuables that belonged to the prince."
"Oh really?" The blond man got closer.
"Yeah!" Varian smiled, the man was getting quite close, and Varian's face was getting hot.
"Well, consider yourself welcome on my boat." The blond man muttered. Varian felt a hand graze his thigh before a painful pressure on his neck that caused him to black out.
Varian opened his eyes to a dark room. His cloak was gone and so was his bag. His wrists were held to the wall by chains. The door opened and Varian felt blinded by the sun for a moment. When did it become day?
"You're awake!" The blond man approached.
"I-I-I don't know who you are, what you want with me, but just know my father will have your head!" Varian exclaimed.
The blond kneeled in front of Varian. "Oh I'm sure he will." He caressed Varian's face almost mockingly. "And what a pretty thing you are."
"G-Get your hand off my face." Varian growled.
The man gave Varian a curious look. "Tsk, you're so cute." He chuckled. "I'm Hugo." He forcefully took Varian's hand and shook it. Varian's hand couldn't leave the wall too much, so it was very awkward. "Captain Hugo," Hugo stood up. "And to refer to me as anything else is against my rules. I'm in charge here, and you're daddy will probably pay big bucks for his precious boy." He smirked.
"He'll make you rot in jail for this!" Varian hissed.
"Mmm, last I recall, you weren't supposed to be outside the castle walls anyway, so who's fault is this really?" Hugo laughed. "I'll bring you some breakfast in ten. Don't try to escape when I come back in, it will end very badly for you." And with that Hugo turned on his heel and left Varian in the dark again.
Ten minutes later, as Hugo had said, the door opened and Hugo entered with a plate and sword. Placing the plate of eggs and fruit on the ground, and one handedly uncuffing Varian. Varian rubbed his wrist and looked at the food. "Is it not good enough?" Hugo asked jokingly, gripping his sword in case Varian decided to use his fork to attack. Varian didn't respond, only hugging his knees. "You need to eat." Hugo demanded.
"Why? I'm just your captive, why should you care?" Varian huffed. Hugo narrowed his eyes. He threw the sword so Varian couldn't take it, and took both of the prince's wrists. "What are you doing?" Varian panicked.
"Locking you back up." He quickly recuffed Varian. "Are you allergic to anything?" Hugo asked seriously.
"Not that I know of." Varian hesitated.
"Good." Hugo reached for the fork and picked up a strawberry, dipping it in yogurt. "Open up."
Varian shut his mouth. Hugo let out an exhausted sigh, and held Varian's nose until his mouth opened and she shoved the food in there. In Hugo's time as a captain he tended to plenty of sick crew mates, and had learned the handy skill to make a sleeping person chew and swallow. Doing it to an awake and very angry prince was much harder.
"You're gonna choke to death if you don't stop struggling." Hugo's eye twitched. He managed to get Varian to swallow the strawberry with a sigh. "You're gonna make this next bite easier for me, alright?" Hugo snapped.
"And if I don't?" Varian retorted.
"I forget about the ransom and throw you overboard." Hugo responded angrily.
"Fine! But only because I'm hungry." Varian groaned.
"And at lunch you can put the food in your mouth all on your own!" Hugo said in a childish voice, feeding Varian some eggs.
When Varian finished his food, Hugo picked up the plate, then his sword. "It'll be easier for both of us if you just let me take care of you." He said behind himself.
"Why?" Varian asked.
Hugo sighed. "Because, you may be an awful person, but you're still a person." He chuckled, it was almost absurd that he would take care of someone improperly. Hugo left and Varian sighed to himself, back alone, in the dark room.
Varian sat there, it was a bit chilly. The door opened again, stepping in came a very serious looking girl with a plate. She lacked a weapon Varian noticed, but he had no intent on hitting her, what was he gonna do if he left? Fight the entire crew? That'd be more trouble than it's worth. She bent down, gave him his food and unlocked his chains.
"Eat up." She stated plainly, backing away to give him space.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Varian asked.
"Co-captain Nuru." She answered. "But that won't mean much for you, I'm usually too busy to help tend to captives, often doing what Hugo refuses to."
"Sounds like a pain." The prince commented, picking up his fork.
"Wouldn't have anything to do if I didn't." Nuru chuckled.
Varian shrugged and took a bite of his lunch. "When am I leaving?" He asked after swallowing.
"When your father pays us." She responded.
Varian hesitated for another bite. "And if he doesn't?"
"You think he won't?" She raised an eyebrow.
"He probably will...." Varian muttered. "But if he doesn't?" He looked up.
The co-captain only managed eye contact for a moment. "I suppose we have a new crewmate then." She let out. "That is, if you're fit for the job." She chuckled. "What does a prince like you know how to do anyway? Can ya clean? Or are you just made to stand there and look pretty?"
Varian thought for a moment. "I remember reading a story..." He started, then put more food in his mouth. A long silence followed, and Nuru became uncomfortable. What was going to follow? He finally finished his bite. "A queen refusing to pay the ransom of her daughter."
Nuru marched forward and took his plate before he finished. "That's enough from you." She slid it away and locked him back up. "Hugo will be back to give you dinner." She said, leaving the room.
Varian felt tired. He wanted to do something about the situation, but fighting back seemed to become more and more useless. The door opened and Varian jumped. He saw the blond captain, now sporting a fancy hat and coat. "I heard you were giving my co-captain trouble earlier." He laughed, setting Varian's food down. He made eye contact before unlocking the prince. "If you bring anything like that up again, it'll be the plank for you, am I clear?"
Varian tensed. "Fine." He rubbed his wrists again, they were sore from pulling on the chains, and red from the rust rubbing on them. Hugo stood in the back of the room, clearly very pissed about the whole situation.
Varian ate in silence. After a couple minutes, Varian sighed. "What happens if my father doesn't pay you?"
"I throw you overboard." Hugo hissed.
"That's not what Nuru said." Varian commented.
"It's not what I would have said either before that." He growled.
After Varian finished, he reluctantly allowed Hugo to lock his wrists again. The prince felt a thumb lift his chin. "Hm, we're about the same size. I'm sure your crown will look much prettier on me."
Anger bubbled in Varian, he may have been cooped up before. But he had never felt so powerless. So, with wrists chain to the wall and legs under him, he lurched forward and tried to bite Hugo. The captain didn't even flinch. Varian couldn't bring himself to hurt someone. Instead of biting the captain, his teeth didn't even touch the sleeve of Hugo's coat, he broke into small sobs. He was so tired of fighting.
The word 'pathetic' crossed Hugo's mind before he flooded with an awful pity. Before his grin could fall Hugo turned around. "And with that, I say goodnight to you." He started toward the door, glancing back at his prisoner once more. Could it be that Varian's father also didn't treat him well? Not by not caring for him like Nuru's mother, but caring too much and keeping him locked away in a castle for 16 years. It didn't matter, Hugo had more important things to do.
It wasn't long before the door opened again, and a young boy came in. He looked scared, not as serious as Nuru or Hugo. "Captain Hugo asked me to give you a blanket." The young boy said.
Varian tensed as he was approached. He was shocked to hear the clicking of his chains being unlocked. "Wh-Why... I..." He looked at his hands.
"I dunno. I just do what Hugo and Nuru ask." The boy shrugged.
Varian took the boy's hand quickly. "Th-Thank you. Tell them… I said thank you."
The boy looked very uncomfortable, and pulled his hand away, tossing the blanket to him. "Will do." He stood there for a moment, giving Varian a sympathetic look.
"I-Is there anything else you need? Or..?" Varian backed away slightly.
"S-Sorry. I haven't been here too long, and I've never seen us capture anyone, much less be around royalty." He laughed lightly.
Varian tilted his head. "What about-"
"Nuru? She'd already been here for nearly a year when I showed up. So she doesn't really count." He shrugged.
"What's your name?" Varian laughed.
"Hugo asked that I don't tell you." The boy rubbed his neck.
Varian nodded. "I get that." He sighed. "Thank you, again."
The boy smiled slightly. "Goodnight, sleep well." He headed to the door.
"You too!" Varian called after the boy. With a sigh, he laid down, his eyelids were so heavy, sleeping wasn't going to be very hard.