Varian x Reader Oneshots

Not That Dark

You were young when your mother died.

Panic induced weeping met with the sweet-sour taste of the medicine that floated aloft in the air; it was not a pleasant time, and one that you would rather forget.

The gods weren't that kind though.

At 16 years of age, you were no longer young but teetering on the edge of adulthood whilst still clinging to the cusp of innocence - something that for many was still there, but for you had fled long ago. Not that anyone would realise, looking at you. You were but a simple maid after all.

It was like clockwork every day. Mop the floors, dust the surfaces, clean the walls and sweep the stairs. Constantly, over and over and over until you could recite the patterns of dust as they sang through the air before you - clogging your lungs and choking you as you went. You knew every part of the castle.

Except for one. You only knew the noises there.

Noises that were quite horrific, actually, and brought back memories of a time long ago, a time that - as said before - you would rather forget. Quite hard to do that though, with the screams and the banging, screeching, crying that echoed throughout the lower floors of the castle.

And everyday, like clockwork, you went past that door, never entering and never wondering why.

Well, almost never wondering why.

Today however, on the darkest day of the year, there was silence in the castle.

Silence, that when brought unexpectedly and unexplainable, that was insistent on wreaking all kinds of havoc on innocent people; be it chaos or mischief or death, silence was there. It was always quiet before the storm, after all.

Silence, you knew, was bad. Especially with the king and his advisors and his blasted bird that never shut up, no matter how many times she politely curtseyed or bowed or...

There was a noise.

It was quiet, and small, and near enough nonexistent, but it was there. And it was unusual.

Like clockwork, every day, you cleaned the same route.

Today, you broke it.

Charging down the halls, the floor changing from a sparkling black into a dull grey as you ventured further and further from your path, you swept the doors in front of you for any sign of movement, noise, anything. Anything that would make sure that you got back to your route before the king and his knights realised. You had to stay secret, unnoticed.

The door loomed bigger than it ever had before, and the noise - although right in front of you - was even quieter than before. How peculiar.

You knocked.

The noise stopped.

"Hello?"

The voice startled you, not because you were unprepared of course, but due to the almost... childlike aspect that was wrought underneath. A boys voice, recently changed, that cracked slightly with the rise in tone and most certainly not the voice that you would expect to be behind that door-

"Uh, hi?" You responded, kicking yourself as the handle began to shake ever so slightly. There was a lock; he was unlocking the door. Why was it locked?

The door swung open, and you almost laughed.

There was no doubt that the boy in front of her was the owner of the voice. Although tall, he was not intimidating due to his slight frame. You supposed there were wiry muscles beneath the lean arms, as the boy was clad from head to toe in what one would expect an inventor to wear. A dirtied apron, tied around his waist and laying across his thighs, paired with a copper waistcoat that matched the shining hue of the goggles which sat upon his freckled nose.

Not intimidating in the slightest really.

"Can I help you?" The boy asked, leaning his hip against the side of the door frame, playing with his arms as he crossed them across his chest. He stood taller.

It was quite the amusing display. Cute too, if one liked that kind of thing.

"I was just wondering where the noise was?" You asked, before checking the sentence in your head; it didn't make too much sense, "I mean, it is unusually quiet down here."

The boy scratched his head - gloved hands raking through soft ebony waves - and clicked his tongue, looking behind him into the darkness of his room.

"Uh, yeah, I guess it is." He chuckled, his hand on his waist, "I thought something was up."

You blinked. Twice.

"Wouldn't you know?"

The boy shook his head vigorously, "the noises don't come from me miss, they carry from the dungeons down below. Usually I have machines whirring in my ear so I don't notice it, but today... well, I didn't notice until I turned the machines off. It is quite quiet isn't it?"

"Oh," you breathed, almost relieved that such noises hadn't come from this boy. At least she could retain some faith in humanity.

"Do you wanna come in?" He asked, smiling wide.

"Why not?" You laughed, posing a question to yourself in the process - questioning your legs as they followed the boy into his room.

The door swung shut behind you.

"I almost forgot to ask your name." The boy hit his head with the back of his hand; you noticed a small clock was imbedded in the glove.

"(Y/N)."

"Varian." The boy gave you a sort of wonky smile, pulling up his goggles to reveal shockingly blue eyes. The freckles carried up into his forehead.

You shook his hand, unable to stop yourself from smiling at the strong grip he had. Yep, there were definitely muscles there somewhere.

"Nice to meet you Varian," you said, and you were surprised to notice that you actually meant it as well.

His lips quirked even higher at that, and you felt yourself going slightly red. 'Control yourself (Y/N), it's just a boy! You don't even know him."

He brought his lips to the back of your hand and kissed it slightly, and you felt your face growing much hotter.

Well there went your self control.

"So what do you do down here?"

The boy clicked his fingers, suddenly back to being impossibly energetic, and pulled a long string that was hanging from the ceiling.

There was a lot of whirring in the darkness, and then the room was light.

Machines of all kinds and variations of finished sat in front of her amidst the glowing chemicals and shining metal that laid haphazardly on the floor.

"Everything's so... bright," you observed.

He nodded, "being the Dark Kingdom, I figured everyone could use a little light. I'm working on a project now that aims to make light travel with someone - a small lantern that they can fit in their pocket and without any chance of... uh... combustion. I'm planning to call it the... well I haven't come up with a name for it yet."

"So you're an alchemist of sorts then?"

The boy was smiling even wider, a Cheshire grin that caused the room to glow just a little bit more. He turned around to talk about his various machines and projects, and you could only wonder how you ever thought him dangerous. He nodded.

Varian the alchemist grabbed your hand and pulled you across his workshop, and in your distraction, you almost forgot about the noises.

Almost.