Instead of going to his room, Varian immediately went to the chamber where Herz De Sonne's journal kept. He needed to know who Rose was. To make sure he could help her. Atleast, that's what he kept telling himself.

When he reached the room, the door was locked. Typical. Thank god Eugene had been teaching him how to pick locks.

Within seconds Varian had the door unlocked. He slowly pushed it open and stepped inside.

He felt anxiety start creeping into the pit of his stomach. If Rapunzel knew what he was doing-

That's why she's not going to find out.

Still, he hated lying to his family. The last time he'd been in here he'd lied to Rapunzel and he was lying again.

"I have to do this." He took a deep breath and with a shaking hand, opened the journal.

He went through hundreds of names, battles, and wars until he finally found what he was looking for.

"Rose, age eighteen, murdered by a knight of Equis." He did a double take when he read that last part. How long ago was this? "Twenty years ago."

Rose Delacey, suspected of witchcraft. Murdered by the knight, Ian of Equis.

Family: Unknown

Acquaintances: Gothel

"Hold on, what?" Varian read the name again. Rose had known Gothel? The same woman who'd trapped Rapunzel in a tower for eighteen years. The same woman who'd abandoned Cassandra as a child?

Intrested in what you've found? Rose's hollow, echoey voice startled him out of his thoughts. If you're having second thoughts of helping me-

"No!" Varian was quick to answer. "I- I'm still going to help you. I was just surprised, that's all."

Rose's expression didn't change. Good. Was all she said.

"But I do have a question." He cleared his throat. "Who's your family? They aren't listed here."

My family was not known to the kingdom. They lived in a hidden place. Her form flickered and she frowned. I must return to my place of rest. I will see you tomorrow.

And with that she dissapeared.

Varian took in a shaky breath and closed the book. He silently left the chamber and closed the gated door behind him.

He got to his room without any problems and found Ruddiger sitting on his bed looking sad, but he immediately brightened when he saw Varian.

"Hey buddy." Varian smiled and cuddled the raccoon to his chest as he fell back onto his bed and sunk into the mattress. "I missed you."

Ruddiger chittered and stretched out in Varian's arms as the boy happily scratched his stomach.

Varian laughed at Ruddiger's cuteness. He curled up with the raccoon and soon fell asleep.

In his dreams he found himself in a large field, a pond sat in the middle and in the center of the pond was a willow tree, it's branches hanging low over the water.

Curious, he approached the pond and as he did, a thick fog settled over the field. As the fog curled around him he noticed other people begin to appear out of it. They all looked rather similar to eachother. Just wisps of forms, barely indistinguishable from others.

He surprisingly wasn't scared of them. He somehow knew they weren't going to hurt him.

That's when the tree started glowing. Blue droplets of light like honeydew glistened on it's branches.

He couldn't help but stare at it. It was beautiful.

Then he noticed the ghostly figures approaching the water's edge. Echoey whispers filled the air as they all crowded closer. The whispers got louder and louder until it was practically yelling.

Still, he wasn't afraid. As he looked around he noticed one ghost who stood out from the rest. She had sharp blue eyes and red hair that looked like fire. Other than that her features were distorted but Varian knew who she was. That was his mom.

He opened his mouth to call out to her but no sound came out. He tried to reach her but he suddenly couldn't move.

He sat up in bed suddenly with a gasp. Had that all been a dream? Something told him that had all been real.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly and found Ruddiger curled up next to him. He absentmindedly stroked the raccoon, digging his fingers into the soft, thick fur.

Ruddiger chittered in his sleep and rolled over, stretching out. Varian smiled and booped his nose.

Ruddiger woke up with a sneeze and stared at Varian curiously.

"Hi."

Ruddiger licked Varian's hand and climbed into his lap.

There was a knock on the door and Rapunzel poked her head in. When she saw he was awake she walked in and sat on his bed.

"Feeling better?"

He nodded, not really feeling like talking.

"Did... you uh... have any more, out of body experiences?"

He shook his head. "No. I had an interesting dream though."

She gave him a weird look. "Interesting how?"

Varian shrugged. "I don't know. The details are fuzzy but I wasn't scared. It was... peaceful actually."

Rapunzel looked like she was trying to understand but she obviously very confused by this. Finally she smiled. "Well, you look alot better. And definitely alot less dead."

Varian laughed. It felt good to do that. Things felt like they could finally get back to normal.

They went downstairs and when they got there Catalina and Angry immediately ran up and hugged him. They were never going to admit it but they were terrified of losing him again. Seeing his lifeless body not once but twice had scared them so badly it bordered on trauma.

"Dad said that we should stay here for awhile. To make sure nothing happens." Catalina explained when Varian asked why they were here so early. "You scared us pretty badly yesterday, V."

Varian hugged them tightly. "I know. I'm sorry."

Angry pulled him into a sitting position on the floor. "Do you know what happened? I mean, you weren't breathing. We thought you were dead."

"Call it a side affect of Rapunzel's magic." He didn't want them to know what was actually going on with him, lest he scare them further.

"But that hasn't happened to Eugene and Cass." Catalina pointed out.

Dang it. Sometimes they were too smart for their own good.

"Well... Eugene and Cass were only dead for a few minutes. I was dead for a whole day."

They nodded in understanding. That made sense to them.

"Who were you talking to before you passed out?"

"Uh..." Varian had forgotten that he'd seen Rose before she'd pulled him out of his body. "I don't know what you're talking about." He was a very bad liar. "It's all kind of fuzzy, to be honest."

The girls knew he was lying but he was obviously uncomfortable talking about it so they didn't press.

Quirin entered the room and smiled to find Varian looking alot better than he did yesterday.

"He looks better." He remarked to the princess.

She nodded with a smile. "I think he's going to be okay."

They both watched Kiera and Catalina mess with his hair. This was a usual thing between the three of them and it warmed Rapunzel's heart to know that they were so close.

"I want to make sure he stays safe." Quirin turned her. "Edmund asked me to join him, Hector, and Adira on their way to the Dark Kingdom. Can you... watch him for me? Make sure he stays safe."

Rapunzel nodded. "Of course. I would do anything for him, Quirin."

Quirin smiled at her. It was a sad and tired smile but it was also grateful. "Thank you."

A few hours later Varian was wandering the cemetery. He made sure he was alone before kneeling in front of Rose's grave. When he touched the headstone her entire life flashed before his eyes.