Work Text:
The castle was quiet. That was to be expected, considering it was the middle of the night, but still. It was almost unsettling how quiet it was. As if the air was lying in wait for whatever horrible event would occur next.
Varian’s footsteps echoed down the hallway, his shadow stretched out onto the wall from the light of the moon. If he had any sense of self preservation, he’d be heading to bed. He couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he last slept. But there was work to be done. Work on the Quirineon until it’s functional. The sooner the better. We need it now, need it now, need it now. He wasn’t sure which thoughts were his own and which were Andrew’s. Maybe there wasn’t a difference anymore.
He did care about the reasoning behind this whole mission. The Quirineon was the solution to getting out of this hole he’d dug himself into. It was his only way out, his only way back to a normal life. This whole scheme almost seemed tame compared to everything else he’d done.
Varian pushed the door to his lab open, stepping into the dark space. He lit a candle, taking in the mess of beakers and test tubes strewn about the room. Books were thrown haphazardly on the tables and floor. Every surface was covered with pencils and papers and whatever else he’d gathered throughout this whole ordeal. He didn’t know what half of it was for, couldn’t remember. The piles grew daily.
Something that definitely wasn’t his, though, was the bag and coat resting on one of the chairs. Clementine. As the Saporian’s resident magic expert, she was sometimes sent to check up on Varian’s work. Really, it was stupid. It wasn’t like she knew any of the science behind what Varian was doing. She’d been a good consultant at the start of the project, and was now unable to contribute anything useful. And on top of that, she was always leaving her things in his space.
He picked the items up and dumped them in the hallway. She could find them when she inevitably came by again. He turned around, only to find the thing that had inspired Quirineon in the first place sitting on the floor.
The Wand of Oblivium. Varian picked it up, turning it over in his hands. Dark oak, with what looked like a ruby shining at its base. He knew what it could do, had seen it used on the king and queen and anyone who gave them too much trouble. It was dangerous. It was magic. It was something he’d never normally touch. And yet it was what had inspired what he was working on all day every day.
He pulled over a chair, sinking down into it. It was funny how such a little thing could inflict so much damage. He turned it over again and again, an idea forming in his brain. One he wasn’t sure he liked.
Forget. Making the kingdom forget what he’d done was the answer to all of his problems, but it was taking too long. Too long for Varian, too long for Andew. The kingdom should have been under their complete control months ago. They were doing well enough by being able to control the king and queen, but the citizens were causing trouble. There were fights, uprisings. Things would boil over if they didn’t do something. Everything was resting on Varian finishing the Quirneon.
From the mess around him, it was impossible to say when that would happen. Forget. Maybe the people of Corona didn’t have to forget the things Varian did. Maybe it would be enough if he was the one to forget. No more nights tossing and turning, thinking about what he’d done, what he could have done differently. No more terrible dreams or reminders of jail or those long months spent in his lab, trying everything to free his father and failing every time. He wouldn’t flinch when it snowed. He wouldn’t have to wake up and remember everything that had gone wrong and once again come to the realization that this was his life now, and it was all his fault, and there was nothing he could do about it except make things worse. Commit more crimes to fix his first ones. Hurt more people to save himself.
All of it could go away with a flick of this wand. He’d never liked magic, had never trusted it, but this…this was tempting. This was almost like alchemy. He had a problem, and here was the solution, sitting in his hands. He would simply wish to forget, and it would all be gone. He could move away from here, start again, never have to think about any of it. He could live the rest of his life in peace. He lifted the wand up, pointed it towards himself, was about to speak the words–
The door flew open, slamming into the wall. The wand dropped from Varian’s hands and clattered to the floor. Andrew stood in the doorway, face hard as stone. He looked at the wand on the ground.
“I wasn’t–” Varian started.
“Told you,” Andrew said, not seeming to hear him. “You have to start keeping track of your stuff, Clementine, you’ll lose it in a place like this.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Clementine said, shuffling into the room. Varian handed her the wand.
“I-I was just about to come find you,” Varian said. “To give it back.”
“Sure, kid.” Clementine inspected the wand, making sure it wasn’t damaged. Then she swept out of the room.
“How’s it coming?” Andrew asked, walking over to the table and looking over Varian’s work.
“Not…great,” Varian admitted. “I’m close, though. I just need more time.”
“Hm,” Andrew said. “You keep saying that, and yet you’ve made very little progress. The princess could be back any day. I need this thing working soon. Don’t tell me I made a mistake bringing you along on this.”
“No, no you didn’t. I just–I’ll have it ready. I didn’t think it would take this long, really.”
Andrew smiled. “Sure, sure. Don’t forget why we’re doing this. We all want our happy ending.” He patted Vairan on the shoulder. “You should probably clean up in here, too. Wouldn’t want the place blowing up.”
And with that, he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Right. The plan had been made long ago. Andrew knew what he was doing, Varian just had to trust him. He couldn’t take the easy way out. Couldn’t be selfish after all the Saporians had done for him.
He could wait. He could get the Quirineon working. He could see this through and put his life back together.
But the thought never left the back of his mind. Every late night spent in his lab, he found himself thinking about the wand. The power it wielded. The problems it could fix. He didn’t get another chance, though. Clementine kept a closer eye on her stuff from then on.
Maybe it was all for the best.