Forget-Me-Not (Varian x Reader)

Chapter 39- The Pink Shell

As the warm Corona sun bids farewell to the day, warm rays of light danced through the leaves of the trees, casting a golden glow onto our wagon. Creamy white clouds were smeared across the pink sky, creating a rosy atmosphere. A slight chill fills the air as the sun begins giving away to night. I shiver a bit as I breathe in humid but fresh-smelling air, evident after the rainstorm earlier in the day. The sounds of birds chirping slowly shift into a choir of frogs croaking and the occasional hoot of an owl.

Typically, we wouldn't be traveling outside of Corona so late in the day, but Rapunzel was insistent that we take this trip to Neserdnia so Catalina and Angry could return that last of the treasure they had stolen.

Varian and I had spent the whole day in his lab trying to come up with a cure for my parents, but after only reaching dead ends I decided that we needed a brain break. Varian had protested at first, as he was desperate to find a cure to fix his mistakes, but I managed to convince him when I told him he could get a copper-plated alembic (a crucial piece of equipment to save my parents) from the market.

As we rode along the bumpy dirt road, Hamuel and Pascal suddenly soared down from above, crashing into the back of the cart and dumping a bag of stolen items over. "Careful you two," Rapunzel warns, hopping to the back of the cart to aid the animals. "We don't want to break this stuff before we get to Neserdnia."

"That's right," Angry nods her head, causing her short black ponytail to bounce a bit. "'cause once me and Catalina return this last sack of stolen loot, we will have officially put our thieving days behind us!"

I smile at the girls. "I'm proud of you two. You've really turned your lives around."

Catalina beams. "Thanks, (yn)." She sweetly says, hardly an ounce of shyness in her voice. I was so happy to see how confident she had become.

"Oh, I can't wait to get my hands on a copper-plated alembic from the Neserdnian market!" Varian giddily exclaims. "Do you have any idea how many poly-alchemical substration tests I'll be able to run?" His blue eyes meet mine, the slightest hint of guilt flashing across them. I knew why he hadn't told Angry and Catalina the real reason he needed that alembic. The girls were some of the only residents of Corona who don't know about Varian's past, and the alchemist wanted to keep it that way. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone else holding his history against him.

Angry rolls her dark eyes. "Anyone wanna switch seats with me?"

"Hmm." My sister happily hops in between Varian and Angry. "We're happy to have you two along." She says, smiling at Varian and me. "Plus, I'm hoping once Max and Ruddiger have some bonding time together, they can finally become friends!" She whispers.

Max scoffs in reply. He suddenly spots a bright red apple dangling from the branch of a tree we're passing and stops in his tracks. He gazes at the apple longingly, and Ruddiger then notices it as well. The raccoon rubs his paws together as he licks his lips, all the while chittering happily. Dandelion notices this, and she quickly hops out of my lap and rushes to her friend. The orange-colored bunny grabs Ruddiger's striped tail, trying to hold him back, but to no avail. Ruddiger hops off the cart and scurries up the tree that the juicy red fruit was hanging from, and snatches the apple right before Max can. The raccoon then skitters in front of Max and holds up his apple while shaking his rump, taunting him. Dandelion and Pascal glance at each other and sigh.

Max angrily whinnies and stomps toward Ruddiger, trying to steal the apple back. The cart rattles as he does so, causing all of the stolen loot to spill out of the bags and all of us to bounce around. I fall over to my left and my torso lands directly in Varian's lap. Varian stares down at me, and I stare up at him, the two of us not even reacting for a couple of moments. Our faces flush red and I quickly sit back up. "S-Sorry." I stutter out.