Behind His Eyes

Chapter 11: Stay Strong

I do not own Tangled the Series, the characters, (except for Apollo) or the picture. Thank you. 

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The sky was still dark when Andrew's eyes fluttered open. 

"Ha, told ya he'd make it. No one takes down this man!" One of the Saporians jeered his friend. 

Andrew groaned as he raised his head. His back and shoulder ached. Curse that weird man who threw the sword at him! "What's going on?"

"It's good to see you awake, Andrew." Clementine smirked. "They sure did a number on you in the prisons." 

"You have no idea." Instantly, Andrew felt an unexplained wanting to see Varian. It seemed the two had develop a unique relationship. No one would ever understand what they had been through. You had to be there and feel the pain that both endured to ever comprehend what they had experience. Andrew never expected prison to have such an impact on him. "Where's Varian?" The injured man asked. 

"The boy?" Clementine's forehead wrinkled as she scowled a bit confused. "Why do you care about him? You did such a fine job tricking him into helping you escape. He was actually convinced we were going to take him with us." 

"Wait, if he's not here, where is he?" Panic took over Andrew's body. 

"In Corona, where else would he be?" 

"We have to go back." 

"WHAT!?" Clementine wasn't the only Saporian who responded this way. 

"I'm not being mister goody-two-shoes; I owe him a debt!" Andrew quickly tried to save his reputation, "He saved my life twice down there, and if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to escape."

"I knew you'd be a different person after prison," Clementine looked disappointed, "But I didn't expect you to go soft. Since when do you care about fairness. Yeah it's not fair that that boy spent so much effort to help you and still got caught by the guards. So what? It's every man for himself in this world!"

"Wait. You're telling me the guards got to him?"

"Yeah. But don't worry. He probably won't make it back to the prison alive." 

Andrew clenched his fists, "What do you mean 'alive'?" 

"He wouldn't let go of the balloon, so I stabbed the thing in the chest. He fell about twelve feet to top it off. I don't think we'll be seeing any more of him." 

Releasing a breath that he didn't know he was holding, Andrew felt his heart sink. 

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Maximus was the fastest horse in all of Corona. It was only due to this fact that Varian had reached the castle in time. After seeing the boy's condition, Rapunzel wasn't in a good enough state of mind to ride back with him, and Eugene couldn't leave her, so Lance had volunteered to take the boy to the royal physician. When they reached the castle, Lance picked up Varian, holding him in front of his chest. The boy stirred a little in his sleep, but did not open his eyes. He was sweating and shivering - symptoms of a fever. Lance hoped he had made it in time. What was most concerning, was that underneath Varian's shirt, he could feel lumps and scars. Had something happened to the boy in prison? Had someone done this to him? Had he done it to himself? There was no doubt in Lance's mind that the boy was unstable, but he thought the alchemist was supposed to receive help. 

Bursting through the door, Lance looked about the physican's quarters. "Hey, Apollo, are you here?" 

An elderly, white haired individual with a snow-like beard looked up from an over-sized book he was reading. "Lance?" Immediately, the man's trained eyes noticed the young boy, limp in the burly man's arms. For being an older man, Apollo was quick on his feet. "Put him on the table over there." The man reached for his brightest lantern and placed it next to Varian. "What happened?"