Behind His Eyes

Chapter 33: Mercy

I do not own Tangled the Series, the characters, or the cover. Thank you. 

A massive "thank you" to 33 followers and 19.5k reads! I can't believe this! You all are incredible.

Shout out to @varianfan I am very undeserving of your comment, but thank you! That warmed my heart; I came very close to tears. I can't express how much that truly means to me. Thank you.

~SophieRose 

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Varian just stared at Xavier, hatred flooding his eyes like a kettle boiling. The black rock was glaring at the blacksmith's neck, but did not touch the skin. Now that the extreme intensity of the previous situation had dropped and his adrenaline had slowed, he was thinking clearer. His emotions craved to pierce the man's neck and decapitate him, but his mind was unsure if that was something he wanted to do. He stilled, unable to look into the elderly blacksmith's eyes. Suddenly finding the black rock spear intriguing, Varian looked down at it, wondering what to do. 

He needs guidance. The edges of Xavier's eyebrows lowered as he was overcome with concern for the young wizard. He needs help. 

Before the blacksmith could speak, the crimson witch sauntered up the steps, her confident tone echoing off the walls and circling around them. "Being good and giving someone a chance, never gets you anywhere in life." Gothel simply stated emotionless and stale. She made an expression as if she had tasted a lemon, "Dear, that's the thing about life, if someone ever sees a drop of light, they will destroy it. Just as you have said: your kindness was taken advantage of. How will you respond? You are a clever child; I trust you'll make the smart choice."

Throughout this little speech, the boy did not turn to look at the women. He stayed silent, the wheels in his mind obviously turning. Xavier held his breath in anticipation for what was to come. 

Astoundingly, Varian turned to face Gothel. "You're right about a lot of things but not about this." 

"What?" Gothel couldn't hide her shock. Xavier inwardly pumped a fist as aspiration returned. 

"Only those who have done wrong, deserve to be punished." The boy was still shaking, due to the aftermath of the concoction, but he was starting to regain his strength and balance. He was getting stronger. "Rapunzel and her friends did wrong." He spat the princess's name.

"So has the blacksmith." Gothel was quick to counter. "He allowed the other to escape."

"I was trying to save his life." Varian's head whipped back to the blacksmith who had defended himself. 

"That doesn't matter. You still turned on him." The witch fired back. 

Varian watched as the back-and-forth argument took place in front of him. Gothel continued to accuse, and Xavier fought to protect himself. Inside, Varian was angered by the fact that Gothel was fighting his battle. She didn't have the right. 

During the comments being thrown at each other, one of Gothel's stuck out to the boy. Her annoyed tone altered to one of authority and rage, and it was directed at Varian. "What are you waiting for? Listening to this trash! Kill him so you can catch the other one!" 

Xavier's kind eyes desperately searched for the Moondrop's, hoping that they would connect. "I refuse to believe that he is a murderer." The blacksmith had responded in a calm and controlled voice.

That did it. 

"STOP ACTING LIKE I'M NOT HERE!" The boy yelled as several black rocks vice gripped around the blacksmith and the witch. "Stop acting like you can't hear me." His shriveling voice trembled as he felt tears sting his eyes. He didn't understand why he was so upset. Nothing made sense anymore. He was tired. Oh, so tired. He just wanted rest. He wanted to forget all of this pain. Throw away all of decisions and just go back to his old world. He didn't want powers; he didn't want friends; he wanted his innocence and security of his lab. It was all too much, and he just wanted to go home.