Chapter 2

The ball whizzed past Kurt's ear. He dodged it, dropping into a crouch and sending his own ball flying back towards Tina's head. It struck her temple and she let out a small cry, the rest of the class giving smattered applause.

It had been two and a half weeks since the incident with the stew, and in that time, Karofsky had shoved him into walls and trees, pushed him into the moat twice, emptied his soup bowl over his head, knocked his porridge out of his hands several times, and 'accidentally' shoved his bag off his shoulder, spilling books, Alchemy powders and various magic objects all over the floor.

It had got to the point that Kurt couldn't walk around alone anymore. His magic class – especially the warriors among them – had taken to escorting him everywhere. Mrs Schuester-Pillsbury (Mr Schue's wife), in charge of the students' quarters, had even offered to install a lock on his door (a privilege only the best students earned), but he had declined, perfectly capable of securing his room with magic.

But at the moment he was in his last magic class of his studentship. When he had demonstrated his skills, and completed the task that Mr Schue was going to set him, he would move on to his apprenticeship – at the end of which he would finally qualify as a warlock.

He stood up and received a firm clap on the shoulder from his teacher. 'Well done, Kurt, Tina. That was great.' He directed them back to their seats and strode off to the front of the classroom.

'Ok, everyone, you all did great.' He paused in anticipation. 'And I'm gonna pass you all.'

The class cheered, but Mr Schue silenced them by holding up a finger.

'I'll pass you if you succeed as the task I give you.' Kurt glanced nervously across at Mercedes, eager to receive their task.

'To become an apprentice, you have to retrieve something for me.' He twisted his hand. A necklace appeared above his palm, emitting a strong, dark red glow. 'I've hidden fourteen of these around the province. To pass, you each have to find your one. You'll know it's yours because not only will it have your initials on it, it will also glow the Colour of your magic.'

Kurt smiled. If it was his Colour, then this would be simple retrieving magic an easy, Telepathic process. He should be excellent at it.

'I've made it a little harder for you, though,' warned Mr Schue. 'I've put a mask over the necklaces so that you can't use retrieving magic. You won't be able to sense your Colour from a distance.'

The class starting protesting at Mr Schue's antics and he smiled at their distress. 'I'll give you a few clues. Your first is your necklace's general area.'

He pulled out a list from his warlock's robe and read it out.

'Rachel, Santana, Mike and Lauren, yours are hidden on or near Ingen Mountain. Finn, Tina, Artie and Sam, yours are somewhere in Varrod City. Brittany, Quinn, Mercedes, Joe, yours are in the Western farmlands. And Puck and Kurt, yours are in Mothlem Forest. You'll receive your second clue when you get to your start point. You'll be using magic to track them and to survive. You have two weeks to find them, starting tomorrow at eight. Good luck!'

Kurt sighed. The Forest – just his luck. Not only was it cold and dirty and generally gross, it was also the largest area Mr Schue had just mentioned. And possibly the most dangerous.

He glanced across at Puck, whose face was stern. They both knew what they were in for.

As they were leaving the classroom, Puck sidled up to him. 'You nervous, dude?' he asked with a joking lilt to his voice.

Kurt rolled his eyes. 'No, Noah, I'm not nervous. This task is easily within my grasp.'

Puck laughed. 'Sure. Just as long as you help a bro out, ok?'

Kurt stopped walking and looked at him. 'Seriously? Seriously, Noah? You're asking me to help you?'

'Well… yeah. Bro to bro, you know.'

'Look. I understand if you feel that this task is difficult, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to help you. Mr Schue made it clear that this was individual. Besides, helping you would be cheating, and you need to be able to pass on your own.'

Puck's face dropped.

'Noah,' said Kurt, more gently, 'you're really good at magic. You'll be great at this. Don't worry.'

He patted his shoulder, straightened his bag strap and strode off in the direction of the stables.

The warm air inside the building greeted him as he stepped through the big wooden doors. The nickering of horses accompanied by the soft sound of chomping was soothing. The stables were one of his favourite places in the entire Academy. He could spend days in there, just sitting, watching and listening.

'Hey, Kurt,' greeted Rory, one of the stable boys, in his accented voice. 'Come to see Pippin?'

'Er, yeah. I have a two week long magic task in the forest, I'll need him for it.'

'Oh, brill. He's in the third row, fifth stall down.'

'Thanks.'

Kurt followed Rory's instructions, stopping outside Pippin's stall and gently calling out his horse's name. The beautiful, dapple-grey Akhal-Teke raised his head, peering at his owner with his blue eyes.

'Hey, beautiful,' said Kurt softly. He held out his hand. 'We're off on a big adventure tomorrow.'

Pippin stopped his eating and wandered over to Kurt. He nuzzled his hand affectionately and he stroked his nose.

'We're going into the forest,' continued Kurt. 'I have to find a necklace Mr Schue has hidden. We'll be riding there with Puck, ok? So you'll be seeing Mickey again too.' Puck had only had his horse for a few months now, and he had yet to make friends with the other magic class' horses.

Kurt patted Pippin's nose again. 'Well, I'd better go. I have to get ready for tomorrow. I'll be round at 7:30 to tack you up, ok?'

Pippin simply nuzzled his hand again.

'Ok, good boy,' said Kurt as he turned to leave.

He stopped beside the stall Rory was mucking out on his way back to his room. 'You know my entire magic class is going to want their horses tomorrow morning, right?' he asked.

Rory stood up, stretching his back, nodding.

'Ok, good. I'm gonna be down at 7:30 to tack up Pippin. If you want I can come down earlier and help you do the others?'

Rory smiled but shook his head. 'Nah, it's fine. I can cope. And I think more of you'll be doing their own tacking up, anyway. I shouldn't need to worry too much.' He paused, glancing around the nearly clean stall. 'Is Artie going to need Brom for the wagon?'

Kurt hesitated. 'I don't know. But he's travelling to the city with Finn, Tina and Sam, so they should be around to help.'

'Ok, great. See you tomorrow, Kurt.'

'See you.'

He left the stables and made his way back to his room, taking the long way round to avoid the warrior training grounds.

When he got back, he started sorting out everything he would need for the next two weeks. He put the necessities – his water bottle, a couple of blankets, his tinder box, his knife – in one pile, then made another pile for things he wanted to take but didn't absolutely need. He added another blanket, a foldable tent, and a couple of books.

When he had sorted his two piles, he opened his wardrobe, thinking about what clothing to take. What he wore was always important to him, so he couldn't be badly dressed, even for a two week trip into the Forest. He selected six tunics in green and brown colours (unfortunately, they were all fairly plain – he didn't want to ruin any of his beautiful embroidered tunics by snagging them on twigs) and several pairs of simple pants, along with some underwear. He added his leather leggings and two leather vests to the pile. Finally, he unhooked his dark green cloak from the wall and draping it on his bed beside the two piles.

He managed to condense most of it down into one and a half saddle bags, leaving room for whatever rations of food they would be given. His blankets and tent would have to be strapped to his saddle.

As prepared as he could be for the day ahead, he went down to dinner, stopping next door at Rachel and Mercedes' room to walk down with them.

The next morning, he woke up at precisely 6:34 am, with butterflies in his stomach.

He went about his morning routine of washing and dressing quickly, his nerves still fluttering as he headed down for breakfast at 7. The rest of his magic class were already there, eating quickly and fairly silently. He sat down between Mercedes and Tina.

When they had finished breakfast, he hurried back up to his room to grab his stuff and check he hadn't forgotten anything. Swinging the saddlebags over his shoulders and grabbing the tent and blankets, his eyes swept around the room. Everything was in order, and he had everything he needed. He didn't need to worry. This task was going to be over and done with in two weeks and he could start his apprenticeship. He was going to be fine. He was also going to be late if he didn't hurry up.

Locking his door behind him, he dashed down to the stables.

He dropped his stuff by Pippin's stall and briefly groomed him – a simple once-over with the body brush. He was delayed finding Pip's long-distance saddle by various other magic students also looking for tack and everyone getting very confused about whose reigns were whose. Eventually he found Pippin's things, but he had lost the girth, and had to borrow one of Quinn's – her mare was approximately the same size as Pippin. Finally, his horse was all tacked up and ready to go.

He led his fully-loaded horse out to the courtyard in front of the stables. Various students, parents and stable hands were milling around, preparing everything for their departure.

He saw his father and Carole over by the water barrels, chatting with Finn – who looked very impressive in his warrior's travel leather, clutching at Wilf's reigns, his sword strapped to his horse's saddle. Kurt hurried over to them, dragging Pippin along behind him.

'Hey Kiddo!' cried Burt, engulfing his son in a hug. 'Haven't seen you in three weeks! Why don't you come home more often?'

'You know why, Dad. I have tons of work, and it's easier to stay at school. But don't worry, I do miss you.'

Burt let out a gruff laugh. 'Sure. Next thing we know you'll be off, working for the King's court in Varrod, and I'll be seeing you twice a year.'

Kurt rolled his eyes and hugged Carole, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled sweetly at him. 'I hope you boys enjoy yourselves,' she said. 'It's a pretty hard task.'

Finn looked like he was about to confirm her, but Kurt shrugged. 'We'll be fine,' he said. 'Besides, Finn, you're in Varrod. There are loads of people – plenty of lovely, femalepeople – there who I'm sure will be dying to help you.'

Finn shot a scathing glance at his brother, who simply raised an eyebrow and turned back to his dad. 'I'm in the Forest,' he said on a more serious tone.

A shadow crossed Burt's face. The dangers of the Forest had impacted both of their lives in a tragic way when Kurt had been eight. He and his dad hadn't visited it since.

Behind them, Mr Schue had climbed onto a crate and was calling out for everyone to collect their food rations. Kurt handed Pippin to his father, who stood at a wary distance from the horse, and went to get a large packet of dried meat, fruit and two loaves of bread from Sugar, one of the kitchen maids.

He managed to fit it into his saddlebag and checked his timepiece. It was nearly eight – nearly time to go. He hugged Carole again and received a kiss, then hugged his dad.

'You be safe,' Burt whispered as they embraced. 'The Forest is a dangerous place.'

'Dad, I'm nearly eighteen.'

'I know, but just because you're almost a man doesn't mean that I'll be able to let go of the image of a scared, eight year old boy running from a pack of wolves.'

They were both silent, remembering that horrible day – the howls, the mad rush of terror, the screams as Elizabeth twisted her ankle and fell to the ground…

'I will be, Dad. I'll be safe.' They hugged again, then Burt was creating a step for Kurt to mount Pippin with his hands, and he was seated high on his stallion's back. Burt patted his knee again, then stood back as Puck approached on Mickey.

'You ready, bro?' he asked.

'As ready as I'll ever be.'

And casting one look back at Burt and Carole, he followed Mr Schue out of the gate.