Nomad

Ocean

The boat was done, and the caravans were pulled onto it and the animals were taken to a barn and stables they'd built on deck and they all gathered on the ship for a meeting before they left.

"Thank you, everyone, for all your work to build this transport together." Quirin said, facing the colony with Varian by his side. "From here, we are at the sea's mercy. I will pray to the Moon for a safe journey and, by Her grace, we will arrive at the Dark Kingdom within the month."

"Let's hope it goes that smoothly." Joseph nodded.

"We're going to have one last meal on land before we set off." Varian announced. "A little send-off party to celebrate the voyage! Let's all have fun!" He grinned.

They all cheered, built a bonfire and hung up festival lanterns and prepared food. Festivals were in their nature, ingrained in their DNA, a part of them that would never leave them and they were quick to prepare for it and start things off with music and dancing and festival food.

Rapunzel of course was quick to jump into the dancing and she giggled as she saw Varian dancing with his boyfriend and girlfriend. Wow, it was still so surprising that they were dating. Granted, she hadn't known them that long, but...was it really okay to date more than one person at once?

Well, no one else seemed to be wondering that, so it must be okay. And they seemed to be happy together.

"Hey, sunshine." Eugene greeted, hugging her around the waist and kissing her cheek before they started to dance together. "Having a good night?"

"Mmhm!" Rapunzel smiled. "Can you believe it? We're going to be on the ocean! I've never been on the actual ocean before!"

"Well, my advice? Stay by the railing so you can vomit if you have to." Eugene chuckled. "Seasickness is no joke."

Rapunzel nodded. "Okay!"

-

Varian was excited to be continuing their journey, but also...nervous. His father still hadn't told him what was going to happen when they got there, but he seemed very certain that everything would be okay. And he wanted to believe him, he wanted to believe that he knew what was best for their family, for the village, the people, but part of him couldn't help but think about how much they suffered before they finally decided to leave.

He finished dancing with Clyde and Soul and stumbled a bit as he went to go find his dad, leaving them to dance together. "I'll be back, I'm gonna go talk to my dad!" He called back to them, then headed off to where his father was sitting and drinking with some other adults. "Hey, dad?" He said, walking over to them. "Can we talk alone for a bit?"

"Of course." He got up and went to lead him to a quiet spot on the beach away from the revelry.

Varian looked at the party, then to the ocean and tugged at his glove a bit. "...Why did you take so long for us to leave? To...To do anything?"

"I was trying to do something." Quirin admitted. "I tried praying to the Moon for the rocks to go away, I tried talking to the King..." He sighed. "That day, when you watched me lie to the King...he already knew about them, so there was no point in telling him again, especially in such a public area. Nothing could actually be done about them by anyone in that Kingdom." He glanced at him. "But...I didn't want to do what I have to do yet."

"What do you have to do?" Varian asked.

He sighed and rubbed his head gently. "Don't worry about it right now. I'll tell you when we get there."

Varian tilted his head a bit. "Okay...Are you sure it's going to be alright with the King, though?"

"Well...I'll figure it out." He chuckled a bit. "Don't worry, Varian. Once we get there...I'll tell you everything. But not yet." He looked at him. "Go on back to the party."