𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓵 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷 『 𝚅𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛』

9. Distant

"I appreciate the concern big bro, but I'm fine."

"Good morning Speedy." Was the words that woke you up the next morning. Eugene stood in the opening of your tent with a half sandwich in his hand, looking worried. Normally you would have groaned loudly, trying to put your pillow over your head (Even though you didn't have one, because it was 'too much weight to carry') But now you just tiredly sat up, knowing there wasn't time for complaining on this mission, and also remembering all the events that had happened yesterday.

Your brother sat down beside you, looking at you with worry in his eyes, waiting. And that's when you realized that he didn't know a single thing about you sneaking out last night, and heard his and the other's conversation last night. From his perspective, you had been gone for hours, due to Varian's punch. 

And you knew exactly what you were going to do about that. 

"I- How... When did I get here? Where are we?" You 'stammered', trying your best to look as confused as possible. Pretending not to remember what had happened between you and Varian, and everything you heard last night, seemed like the best choice right now. It would avoid lots of drama, to say the least. 

"You... You don't remember what happened?" Eugene spoke softly, and just when he did that, Rapunzel's face peeked through the opening of the tent, looking at you - also waiting for a reaction. 

You rubbed your head, closing your eyes. "No, I- I just remember that Varian and I were playing 'hit the bark' and then... Nothing. What happened? How long time was it ago?" You asked confused, knowing perfectly what had happened, and that it had happened yesterday. 

Damn, it was a good thing that you were such a good actor. 

Eugene and Rapunzel, who both sat down beside you now, sighed in relief - and this told you that you had made the right decision. 

"Don't worry (Y/n), everything is fine now. Yesterday you forgot to see where you were going, and you walked right into a tree. It seemed to hit you pretty hard. And for a fact, Varian followed right in your footsteps and walked into the very same tree. You both didn't wake up, so Eugene and Andrew had to carry you." Rapunzel spoke softly, holding your cheek. 

This princess was pretty good at lying - but it was a pretty good lie that covered everything up - why you and Varian couldn't remember anything. Even though, in reality, it was still weird that Varian couldn't remember a single thing either - what had happened to him?

"Oh, I see. Silly me." You tried to laugh, which caused a slight headache.

Rapunzel smiled and stood up. "I'm gonna check on Varian, okay? We're leaving soon."

When she had left the tent, Eugene looked worried at you. "Are you sure you're alright? If you're not feeling well, we can go head back to Corona, we haven't gotten that far yet anyway-" Your brother began, but you cut him off. 

"I appreciate the Concern big bro, but I'm fine. We're going to find those ingredients, I'll be alright. Besides, I just walked into a tree, right?"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

After a while, you had all packed your things and were now ready to go. You all stood in a circle, planning where to go next. You and Varian had been given a Sandwich each, for breakfast.

"Okay If we head east, we'll reach the forest where we'll be able to find our first ingredient: Fluxweed. If everything goes as planned, we will be there before the sun goes down." Cassandra spoke, and everyone nodded.