The Curse of the Golden Griffin Glyphs

Chapter Four: Dream Catcher

The next morning, Rapunzel awoke to dark clouds covering the sky. She turned over and noticed the stallion and Pascal were still asleep. She woke the horse and attached a scroll to his saddle.

"Take this to the king and queen. I need them to know I'm alright." she told him. The steed galloped off in the direction of Corona.

The princess decided to try to find what was watching her the night before. She walked to the ruins and noticed something she hadn't before; a line was drawn in the soil around the outer perimeter. "Wonder why this is here?" Rapunzel voiced her thoughts.

That's when she saw a shadow slip back behind a broken stone wall. The same feeling she had the night prior resurfaced itself within her. Against her better judgment, she decided to follow the shadowy figure. "Wait," she shouted as it gave chase. "I'm looking for my friend." she ran after it as they went further and further into the ruins. "Please," she called to it. "he may be hurt and if that's the case, I need your help to find...him" She came upon a magnificent golden temple. It was almost blinding in the sunlight, so she turned her attention to the ground. But she did not like what she saw, for there in the dirt, were Varian's, gloves, vest, tunic, and boots; all ripped to shreds. Words could not express the sorrow and regret that Rapunzel felt in that moment. Tears formed in her eyes as she knelt down and picked up one of his torn gloves. She just stood there and sobbed holding it close. Then, she stopped crying for a second, realizing something odd about the glove. It had round puncture marks coming from the tips of the fingers. "What in Corona's name?"

Suddenly, the princess heard someone jump behind her. "EEEEKK!" she screamed. She felt hands press gently against her mouth. She waited to hear the voice of her captor speak. When they didn't, she opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on their fingers. They released their grip on her immediately and without so much as a grunt. Rapunzel ran back towards the campsite, the footsteps of the stranger following her through every twist and turn she took them through. Finally, she saw camp straight ahead. The pounding on the ground woke Pascal from his sleep and he jumped to his feet and saw the princess running from someone they both knew as a friend. The small reptile tried his best to get her attention, but it was no use. Rapunzel ran past him and dove into the sleeping bag she had borrowed from the cottage when they were in Old Corona. "I'm sorry!" she cried out "I was just looking for my friend. I didn't mean to trespass!" She began weeping. "And now it's too late for me to save him and Pascal and myself!" While she was crying however, she didn't notice that the footsteps hadn't followed her past the line in the dirt. Pascal crawled into the sleeping bag and she at last noticed him. He motioned for her to come out. "Are they gone, Buddy?" the princess asked pulling herself out of the sleeping bag. Slowly, she peeked over the fabric and looked in the direction of her chaser. Standing there, wearing ripped trousers and goggles, was a very tired, very dirty, very familiar looking teenager. Rapunzel let out a gasp which, in turn received a sad, half smile from the teen.

"VARIAN?!"

O_O

"I don't understand, what happened?" she asked him. He turned his head away, almost embarrassed of the question but he didn't say anything. "Um, Varian? Did you hear what I said?" A slow nod was his reply. "Then why aren't you talking?" Rapunzel pressed. He returned to face her and just stared sadly at the princess yet, not a single sound came from his mouth. "Varian, what's wrong? Why won't you tell me what happened?" she stepped out of the sleeping bag and stood up. Rapunzel reached out her hand, grasped his arm, and gently tried to pull him towards her into a hug. But his reaction surprised her, for he pulled away from her instantly, almost as if he were afraid of her. "Oh, no! Did I hurt you? Are you hurt?" she asked him. He shook his head and pointed to the line drawn in the earth. "Wait, you're the one who drew that? But why?" Again, no verbal response. The teen genius always had something to say, sometimes even sing. But now, he wasn't saying anything. Nothing at all. And it frightened Rapunzel. He wasn't even acting like himself. That excitable teen that was sometimes too smart for his own good was not here. Instead, it was as if he were replaced by a sad, dirty, mute stranger. Something had definitely happened to Varian that made him this way. Something had changed him; in ways she didn't even know. Yet.

O_O

Rapunzel was not going to give up. She knew she had to help her friend, somehow. So she came up with a plan; she would give him some parchment and quill so he could write his answers.

"Now, I know that for some reason, you can't talk to me." she concluded. "But, do you think you can use these to answer my questions?" She handed him the paper and ink filled feather. He immediately took them from her, almost showing excitement. "You can write your answers out or draw pictures, whatever you want. But, keep in mind; I can't help fix the problem if I don't know what it is." Varian nodded in reply, sat down in the dirt, and readied the pen.

"First question; Why don't you just tell me yourself what happened?" the young alchemist wrote his answer and held up the parchment for her to see.

I can't. My voice is gone.

"Okay, so what happened to it then? Where did it go."

They took it.

"Who? Who took your voice?"

I don't know.

"Then, why would they take it, if you don't know who they are?"

I upset them. They are mad at me for disrespecting their temple. So, they cursed me and it's only a matter of time before its too late. After the next New Moon, the curse becomes permanent and I won't be able to change back.

"What do you mean 'change back' you look fine to me. Well, besides the ripped clothes and the dirtiness." Varian noticed that he was almost out of paper. So instead of writing a direct answer, he got a sad, pained look on his face and wrote,

I'll show you.

He handed the page back to Rapunzel, stood up, then crossed the line dividing the two.

"Where are you going?" she asked. She got up from her sitting position, and turned to face him. But the dirty teenager was gone. In his place was a half eagle/half lion beast!