Varian would hate to admit it, but he missed Camalia, the filthy manipulator. To be clear, he didn't missed the liar nor the traitor, he missed his friend, the one he knew. Well thought he knew.

After storming off the prison, the alchemist had time to think. His reasoning didn't make sense. He thought about it over and over again. She couldn't hope to get him to break her curse. It was obviously magic stuff and he does science. Plus, if that's what she wanted, why wait so long to use him ? And whenever they were hanging out, he knew she was genuinely happy to just be here him, she genuinely enjoyed the moment. He thought about it and came to the conclusion that she was truly his friend, no lies about that.

But none of that excused what she had done. And he couldn't bring himself to even remotely think about forgiving her. He was hurt, deeper than he thought he would be, wounded in his heart.

Ruddiger tried to be there as much as he could for his friend. But Varian was really upset. Within days, he hadn't smiled once. Sometimes, Ruddiger thought about how long it would have taken him to smile again without Camalia.

Unlike what the music mage thought, Varian was neither happy, safe nor far away from her. Actually, he was still around Corona. Even if he knew Rapunzel and her friends were far away, following the black rocks, he did not went after them.

He was just so confused. On so many levels. So the first thing he did, mechanically, without even thinking about it, was go home.

He was mad, angry and hurt. After he left the prison, he ran and ran to nowhere. And when he finally stopped, it was at the front door of his home.

He stood there for a while. Through a window, the soft glim of the amber could be seen. His heart was beating out of his chest. With a trembling hand, he opened the door to his dad, desperatly reaching out to give him that last piece of paper he had time to wrote. His dad was there, but he was so lifeless and still.

Varian took a few unsure steps in before collapsing on the ground, sobbing and crying his heart out. He felt so alone. Out of pure despair, the alchemist started talking.

-I did horrible things, Dad. I-I didn't know what to do, you were gone and... I just wanted to save you and to... I wanted to make you proud ! I-I never wanted any of this ! I am so sorry, Dad... I'm sorry...

He tried to wipe his tears without any success. Now that he had started to pour his heart out, he couldn't stop.

-A-And I am terrified that even if I did free you from the amber, you weren't even alive anymore. I want to believe it. I love you, Dad. Please, I... please, Dad... I can't do this... I am not the son you wanted, and I know I have made countless mistakes but I-I swear that I'll change, I'll be a better version of myself, just... Just please, please, come back Dad. Please... I-I tried everything... Please...

Maybe his father heard him. Maybe the amber will melt anytime now, and his dad would be set free and everything will be fine again. Maybe... Maybe it just needs a few more minutes. Varian kept staring at the crystal, hoping that his dad would hug him anytime now. But nothing happened.

Ruddiger nudged his friend's hand and Varian turned a desesperate look to him. His cheeks were like two rivers, unable to stop, and tears were dripping of his chin, over and over again. His legs were numb, and his hands trembling. The wind coming from the open door was gently stroking his dark hair and teal strip. His chest was rising in rythm with his uncontrolable sobs. He looked broken, more, if that's possible, than before. Ruddiger jumped on his lap and curled up, giving him warmth and support, and that hug he needed so much.

The next morning, after sleeping on the ground near his father, Varian left his home again, leaving Ruddiger there, to watch over his dad. He needed to think. To think about everything, to see things in a new angle, and to find a cure for his dad. He had to keep going. He couldn't just give up. That's what Quirin would do.

-Okay Varian, you can do this. You can get through this, and bring your dad back. It's fine. It's okay. No problem, I've got this.

He looked at the road up ahead and all that he had to explore when he didn't even know what he was looking for. But he knew the answer was in Corona. He was pratically sure the answer was in Corona. The answer may be in Corona ?

-Yeah, no problem.

He took a deep breath.

-I've got this.

For a week, Varian searched for even the slightest lead to free his dad, but he didn't find anything. He looked everywhere, but of course, Quirin's case was unique. And like all unique cases, there was no books to tell you what to do.

He was avoiding everyone the best he could, his knowledge of forests really helping him to survive. But did he miss his ridiculous jail mate. Oh boy, did he. From time to time, a memory of their time spent together was popping into his mind and he was angrily chasing it away.

He really missed her.

For the fifth time that day, Varian closed one of the book he borrowed and moved on to the next. It was been a week, and he still had no idea what to do. And like everytime he was taking another book to read, he sighed :

-No problem, I've got this.

Like some sort of spell to keep him motivated. It didn't work well, but it was all he had. The alchemist tired eyes fell on the title of the book and he froze.

"The History of Music Mages"

The cover was rusty and covered in dust, like it hadn't been looked at in centuries. With all the delicacy in the world, Varian carefully opened it and started to eagerly read it.

"Music Mages get their name from their way of using magic, wi-"

He flipped a couple pages.

"-he crystal tree, very important in their culture and heavily protected, and also the mel-"

The alchemist grunted in irritation as he turned more pages. His eyes finally catched something interesting.

"The music mages were chased by the seven kingdoms in ancient times due ro their terrifying and powerful magic. Rumors said that one music mage once took over an entire kingdom all alone. No one knows if that's true. They first appeared in XXXX, after the construction of what used to be the town of Corona, before becoming an actual kingdom. People said they came out of nowhere, and needed help to even the simplest things. Repelled by their strange way to talk and act, all kingdoms decided to reject them, forcing them to become nomads. When they started attacking villages with their magic to get revenge, the seven kingdoms got scared and started chasing and killing them. Today none remains."

Of course she lied about that too. Her magic wasn't "not so powerful". It was so strong that all the seven kingdoms feared her tribe. Although this time he could see why she didn't tell the whole truth. The fear of being hunted down again might have caused the mages to hide their magic away in order to survive. Varian had to admit that back when they were studying musical magic, he instantly saw it was much more than what she thought. But like many other things he decided to trust her like the idiot he was.

Come to think of it, she might be the answer. Maybe her mysterious magic could save his dad.

But in order to ask her, he had to come back to prison, and the least we could say is that he wasn't so thrilled about that... But if it could save his dad... If it could make everything okay...

That's why Varian didn't struggle too much when the royal guards ambushed him.