The Raccoon and His Boy - A Varian x Reader story

XXV

You stared at the woman, practically unable to move from shock. After the long process of just getting this far, traveling from inn to inn and city to city, seeing your thief parading around with the compass in plain sight boiled my blood. You wanted to reach out and yank the artifact off her stubby neck, but at that very moment Star wriggled in your pouch and distracted you.

The woman used the moment of weakness to her advantage, turning on her heel and continuing a little faster down the busy market road. You whirled around and grabbed Eugene's hand, tugging down on it to get his attention.

He was clearly frustrated with the intensity of the gesture, but his face shifted to understanding when you told him, "The thief! I just saw the thief!"

"What?!" Eugene yelled, getting everyone else's attention for you. "When? Where?"

"That woman there!" you said, pointing down the street as she continued further out of sight.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Rapunzel's hand and the two took off running down the street, leaving you and Claude to catch up. The woman caught onto you, though, and increased her pace to a sprint. For someone so short, she was extremely fast, and you were actually beginning to worry you wouldn't catch her before Rapunzel pulled a long rope from the side of her belt and swung it in the air, sending it out and trapping the thief's leg in a loop.

The woman grunted and struggled with the makeshift trap, but you were circling her by the time she started escaping. Rapunzel and Eugene were staring down at her, a particularly venomous look in the princess' eyes as she said, "Hello, Clementine."

You glanced between Rapunzel and the woman, a little confused. You knew Rapunzel probably met many criminals during her royal duties, but she seemed to have an especially harsh history with this one, Clementine.

"What do you want, your majesty?" she shot back, her voice dripping with cynicism and hate as she spoke the title. "Are you on your way to invade Saporia this time?"

"You know full well what we're here for, Clementine," Eugene said, his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest. "So give us the compass. Unless you want to know what Corona can really do to your country, that is."

"Oh, I would love to find out," Clementine said, an evil grin spreading across her face as she spoke. "If Corona is still standing when I'm done with it, that is."

You noticed her hand inching toward her pocket too late, and as you were about to cry out to Eugene Clementine pulled out a short wand, trapping you all in chains with a simple flick of her wrist. The hoarse cackling filled your ears as Clementine stepped over you, securing the compass even tighter around her neck.

"This isn't finished," Rapunzel yelled, lifting her head from the ground to watch the short witch walk away.

Clementine smirked at her. "But when it is finished, you will be, too."

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You winced in pain, sucking in a sharp breath through your teeth as Claude examined the large cut on my shoulder. While Clementine didn't seem very strong, her magic had insane power, and somehow you'd managed to hurt yourself in several places while falling to the ground, bound by her chains. It had taken several hours to find shelter in the criminal-filled town, and you'd had to wait up through the night until you were able to tend to your wounds in the daylight.

"We need to clean the wound so it won't get infected," the royal advisor informed you, placing a hand on yours and turning to Rapunzel. "Princess, do you have the health kit?"

Rapunzel nodded, pulling a small sack out of her backpack and settling down beside you on the ground in the dark alleyway. She then handed a bottle of clear liquid and a small cloth to Claude, saying, "Be careful with her. These things hurt like hell."