Blaine was wide awake the next morning so hewas waitingoutside of Lady Berry's chambers much earlier thannecessary. Tina hadn't joined him that morning as he was only showing Rachel and Kurt to the King's formal chambers for their meeting first thingthat morning.He wasn't sure if or when he would be needed for the rest of the day,butif he was,that was fine.He'd enjoyed their company yesterday just like he had hoped, and didn't feel the need forthesafetynet of an old friend nearby to help fillany awkward silences. He felt comfortable with theirvisitors andwith Rachel around there weren't many silences to fill.

He quietly paced the hallway. He didnot wantto disturb the guests too early,butstaying still never was easy for him. A few muffled noises came from inside the chambers before the clear singing voice of Lady Berry travelled through the walls,if they weren't already awake, they would be now. She really did have an enchanting voice, one of the mostexquisiteBlaine had ever heard. He couldn't deny her talent, not that he'd want to.Atalent like that should be shared and celebrated with the world, but therewere other talents just as worthy. Kurt's voice for instance, while not being as powerful as Rachel's,was more sincere,giving him the ability to touch your heart with asingle breath.And thetonewasso unique and pure that Blaine could listen to it all day long and never tire of it. Theirvoices complimented each other and Blaine would love to hear them perform a duet with their voicesworking in harmony instead of against each other in a Game. Maybe if the negotiations went well,the King would ask them to perform at the celebrations.He would have to mention it to Sebastian.

He was just imagining the high countertenor lilt of Kurt's voice blending with his own when the owner of said voice exited his chambers.

"You're early." Blaine commented before he could stop himself."I'm sorry.Good morning Kurt, did you sleep well?"

"Blaine," Kurt said with a smileas greeting."I did,thank you.The beds were just as comfortable as they look. And you get used to getting up early when you live withLady Berry.I need my morning moisturising rituals to be done before she starts her vocal exercises so that I can concentrate in peace."

"Every morning? I bet her servants love her." As much as Blaine loved music and singing, he couldn't imagine being forcibly woken by it every morning.It would grate on him eventually and he prided himself on not being easily annoyed,so God help other people.

"Oh, they don't butnot because of that.Her fathers'buy everyone ear plugs when they start to work for them, otherwise Finn would never get any sleep." Kurt explained flippantly.

Before Blaine could enquire what Kurt meant by that Puckcame into the hallway grumbling,"Forgot my earplugs. How could I forget my earplugs?They're essential packing. Hey, you love packing-you won't have forgottenthem.CanI borrow yours?" He asked Kurt.

"Puck, you know I don't put things in my ears."

"Fine!Leave me to suffer,but if any bodily harm comes to her it's your fault.It's too early for this!" Puck returned to his room.

"Isn't he supposed to be her guard?" Blaine asked Kurt.

Puckwas immediately replaced by Brittany. "Morning Blaine."

"Morning Britt, you look lovely today,"he complimented her.

"I look lovely every day." She tilted her head as though questioning why he would say such a thing.

"I am sure that is true, but that doesn't mean I can't tell you every day." Blaine quickly recovered and was rewarded by a knowing smirk from Kurt.

"You're right. I'm so glad you're a unicorntoo, Blaine." She kissed his cheek before turning to Kurt. "Kurt, I wanted to give this to you before you left,for luck." She held out a small object wrapped in tissues.

"I know rabbit's feet are good luck,but when I tried to cut offit'sfoot the rabbit looked so cute withit'sears flopping init'seyesthat I couldn't do it. So I chopped off the foot of a mouse that LordTubbingtonhad already killed.I figured the mouse had more magical powers anyway as it had been hiding from LordTubbingtonfor over a week and LordTubbingtonis the greatest mouserin the world, ever."

Kurt gulped when he accepted the outstretched dead mouse foot. "Thank you, Britt,"he said not quite hiding his disgust.

"You're welcome. I'll see you later, Kurt." She went back inside her chambers.

"Please?" Kurt needn't have asked as Blaine was already taking the foot from Kurt's hand.

Blaine quickly disposed of the foot in a waste shoot the next hall down.

When he returned,Kurtwas rubbing moisturiser into his hands andimmediately said. "Thank you, she means well. At least right now I'm too grossed out to be worried about meeting the King."

"You're worried?"

"Terrified." Kurt confirmed.

"You don't seem it, you're so calm."

"Ah, that's the actor in me,and the fact that I don't want to look like a snivelling wreck in front of you.It wouldn't do well for my self-esteem." Blaine could see the first signs of nerves in Kurt'sshakinghandsas he spoke. "And that I know if I panic and flee then we'll never get another opportunity to do this and everything will have been ruined because of me.I can't let that happen.There are too many people depending on this, depending on me-to do something that is totally out of my control,and that I'm not ready for,none of us are ready for.We're going to screw this up,and I can't believe I'm going to have to go home and tell my Dad that everything was for nothing,and..."

"Kurt!" Blaine broke through the rambling. "Ok, you've convinced me that you're worried. Now, I need you to calm down and getyou to collect yourself. You are not going to screw this up.Believein yourself,hold on to your courage,and you'll be fine.I know you will."

"I wishI could believe you." Kurt said with sadness.

"You can.You asked me yesterday to trust you and I did. It was good advice.Why don't you take it yourself and trust me now.You're a good person and you have good intentions for the people of this country.You can do this." Blaine insisted.

"I can do this." Kurt repeated not sounding as though he believed it.

"Try that again." Blaine encouraged.

"Icando this." Kurt attempted."No,Iwilldo this."

"That's more like it." Blaine squeezed Kurt's shoulder.

"I'm ready!" Rachel announced after entering the hallway. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Of course.This way." Blainegestured for them to follow. "How are you this morning, Rachel?"

"I am well, thank you Blaine, although, the acoustics in the chambers are not up to the standard of my chambers back home,and I really don't like not being able to warm up my voice in a suitable environment. But I suppose sacrifices must be made in the name of progress."

"How very selfless of you." Kurt said, with a roll of his eyes.

"It is." Rachel confirmed. "There are a lot of people who are relying on us today.I can take heartthatwhatwe'redoingisfor the greater good."

"You sound confident Rachel.That's good to hear." Blaine commented,nudgingKurt.

"I am.This is our opportunity,and we are not going to fail.Lady Berryneverchokes onbig occasions."

"There's always a first time." Kurt commented.

"Hey, positive thoughts, remember?" Blaine argued.

"You're right, both of you.No choking today. Maybe I should have put on a different outfit, or more studs on the jacket?"Kurt looked down at his outfit.

"No, no, you don't need more studs.You look great the way you are-perfect." Blaine quickly reassured."And you look amazing this morningtoo, Rachel."

"Thank you.This isthedress I mentionedthatKurt made for me." She twirled the soft skirt and Blaine really took in the garment.Itwas aperfect fit,andhadgentle lines that complemented Rachel's figure. The colours were bold but not outlandish, with a fine black detail accentuating the style.

"It'sexquisiteKurt, truly." Blaine said,admiring the quality workmanship that must have gone into it.

"Thank you. I like a man with good taste." Kurt said.

"Why did you like Finn then?" Rachel asked.

"I was clearly in a delusional phase! Moving on." Kurt said sternly.

"Will Prince Sebastian be joining your meeting today?" Blaine asked, wondering to himself why Sebastian had kept himself quiet so far.

"I do not believe so, but we should be meeting him at the dinner with the King later, if not." Rachel answered.

Speaking of Sebastianseemed to call him into existence.The tall Prince walked around the corner of the hall. "Blaine, there you are,"he said as he approached, barelysparinga lookforKurt and Rachel. "I missed you yesterday, but I guess you were busy with yourfriendshere." He waved a hand in their direction without looking at them.

"Sebastian, good morning." Blaine was just about to introduce theirguests when something in Sebastian's eye warned him not to.Clearly he wanted to take care of the introductions himself so Blaine held his tongue.

Sebastianslowly turned to them and took his time to take them in. "You must be theextraordinaryLady Rachel Berry.Not so impressive in person are you?"

"It's wonderful to meet you tooPrince Sebastian.Niceto know you liveup to your reputation."Rachel replied.

"Charmed I'm sure." He stared at Kurt with disdain. "And you are?"

"Kurt Hudson.Definitely not charmed to makeyour acquaintance." Kurt held his hand out but thought better of it and retracted the offer. This meeting couldn't be going any better, Blaine thought.

Sebastian smirked. "Feisty. Maybe you aren't as pathetic as you look. Does that jacket have enough studs?"

"More than enough." Blaine answered before Kurt could quip back. "Why don't we continue this meeting later?"

"Nonsense Blaine, we're having fun. I love meeting new people whopale in comparison to me, pale being the operative word." Sebastian stood his ground and Kurt made no move to follow Blaine's request.

"Sebastian, give it a rest." Blaine tried to intervene.

"No, if Prince Sebastian wants to prove himself incapable of respectable wit then that is fine with me. That hair belongs on a character from a fairy-tale anyway.I just can't decide if he's one ofDraygon'selves or a non-magical pixie." Kurt tilted his head to the right, eyes sharper than Blaine had seen them.

"Non-magical pixie for sure." Rachel agreed.

"Well at least I can see where I'm going around myownnose, Lady Berry.Doesn't that thing get heavy on your face?It must be difficult to maintain your posture. Andat leastmy hair won't kill a small village with the amount ofproduct in it, Kurt.Not everyone can look this good naturally or at all it seems." Sebastian glared back at Kurt.

"Don't..." Blaine tried again to no avail.

"No, that face could kill something much larger than a village, especially when it opens its mouth." Kurt spat out venomously.

"Kurt." Blainepleaded. "Don't talk to him like that.Sebastian,I'll speak to you later."

"Fine, but only because you're extra cute when you're angry." Sebastian backed away but not before flashing a smug smile.

"You toldmenot to talk to him like that! What about him, he's fine to talk to anybody how he wants because he's a Prince and thinks he's above everyone else, is he? I can't believe you told me off!"Kurt rounded on him.

"Kurt will you calm down. Ididn't tell you off, please don't take it that way?I tried to stop him too. But he is the Prince, heisabove everyone else if you hadn't noticed." Blaine tried to placate him but Kurt persisted.

"You're still defending him, after what he said to me, and Rachel? You're still defending that arrogantpri..."

"Hey, he is my friend! And if you had actually listened to what I said,I wasn't defending him.I wastrying to get you tounderstand that there's nothingyou can do abouthis attitude.Arguing with him willnot help. But you cannot talk about him like that.You don't know him, youdon't know what he's really like." Blaine felt his annoyance rise.He knew Sebastian wasn't perfect, he didn't like him all the time either but Kurt was judging him without knowing him at all and without even considering that Blainewouldn'tbefriends with someone not worth his respect.

"I don't want to knowhimandI can't believe you're friendswith him." Kurt folded his arms."I thought better of you." Kurt turned to Rachel. "This isn't going to work."

"You thought better of me..." Blainerepeatedquietly.He couldn't quite believe what Kurt had just said. Everything Blaine thought he knew about the new friends he'dmade was unravelling, and it hurt.It hurt that he'd let himself believe in these people and they couldn't give him the samecourtesy. "Sebastian has been my friend, my only friend for most of my life. You can't come here after knowing me for one day and tell me I'm wrongfor having a friend who stood by me and stood up for me when he never had to.He's done more for me than anyone, even my family.They couldn't be here with me but Sebastian was, he was always here and I know he always will be. You can't pretend to know him after meetinghim once.He is not hisfather and shouldn't be judgedbythat. And if you expect me to just listen to you bitch about him, about my friend, and not say anything then you're wrong."

Kurt'sarms dropped to his sides and his face looked ashen. "Blaine, I'm sorry,I...I didn't mean to upset you." He swept his hair nervously to the side."You have to understand that everything I know about theSmythesmakes my skin crawland I may," He took a deep breath, "I maynot know Sebastian personally but I know more about his family than you think.I'm never going to like him, it's just not going to happen and Iwon'tapologise for that." Kurt had regained his composure and looked Blaine assuredly in the eyes."But you're right, I don't know your history or your friendship and I shouldn't have dismissed it. I'm sorry. I'll try to refrain from saying anything about him, but if he provokes me, or my friends, I will bite back."

"Fine." Blaine said, though he was feeling anything but fine."I accept your apology." If Kurt had the graciousness to apologise then Blaine could accept it.He was still hurt and a little overwhelmed by how much he was feeling but the anger hadmostlydissipated. "We'll leave it at that."

"Ok, thank you." Kurt said with a tight smile and they continuedwalking.

The silence became uncomfortable and Blaine felt his jaw tense.He didn't know what to say,andhe wasn't ready to break the ice and move on,even though he knew he should be a gentleman.He'd only known Kurt and Rachel for such a short time but they already felt like part of his life.Sebastian, however, hadalwaysbeen a part of his life and he wouldn't turn his back on that to appease anyone. It only hurt so much because he liked them, he liked being a part of their group,likedbeing included,and he didn't want to lose that.

"Well this is awkward." Rachel cut through the silence. She looked sideways at Blaine and then at Kurt and sighed when neither took her prompt to speak."Look Blaine, I know you're aware that Sebastian is a douche but I get that he is your friend. Kurt and I argue all the time but if anyone else said a bad word about him I would defend him to the death. So,Kurt and I will be more thoughtful about our comments on Sebastian when you're around."

"I don't want that." Blaine surprised himself by the truth of his response. "I don't want you to censor yourself around me, that's not who you are. And I don't want thatdistancebetween us."

"What do you want then? Because as much as you are being your sweet and gentlemanly self, you're upset with us still.I don't like that we hurt you or that it could come between us, so we aren't going to just leave it.We're going to resolve it." Rachel said.

Blaine took a deep breath.Usually he avoided conflict at all costs, but this had already gone too far and if he didn't share how he really felt they'd never be able to move onandstill be friends."I want you to give Sebastian a chance.Not to suddenly be nice to him and be friends with him-I know that you're coming into this witha preconceived notion,but I want you to respect my opinionand be open to seeing that not everyone feels the way you do.Making an enemy of Sebastian will not do you any good.Maybe he could help you in the future if you don'truinthat chance." Blaine implored them to listen to him. He really did believe that Sebastian was a good person at heart and,if he wasrightthatKurt and Rachel were too,then why couldn't they work together to make the country a better place.

"We can do that, can't we Kurt?" Rachel asked.

"Idoubt itwillgo smoothly,butwe can try." Kurt said with a sigh. He looked at Blaine. "I promise I'll try."

"Thank you." Blaine said, satisfied that he'd made his point and Kurt would make a genuine effort to get along with Sebastian.

"Now that that is cleared up, we were talking about myfabulous Kurt Hudsondress. What are you going to make for Blaine, Kurt?" Rachel thread her arm through Blaine's so that she was now squeezed between the both of them.

"Oh, well I haven't really had time to make any specific plansand I don't know what he wants. Blaine?" Kurt asked, looking over Rachel's head at Blaine.

"You're really going to make something for me?" Blaine asked, his heart swelling to know their blooming friendship hadn't been lost in their argument.

"Yes, when I can. What style do you like?" Kurt asked.

Blaine thought for a moment but knew he would never come up with an answer."I don'tthink Ihave a style. I've never had much chance to think about it."

"You have a style,it's called CharmingGentleman. Maybe you could do with something quirky to it, though." Kurt assessed Blaine's outfit and Blaine wished he'd paid more attention when he'd dressed himself that morning.He didn't have much choice when it came to clothes so he usually just stuck with something simple and smart. It didn't take high fashion to pull that offand still look acceptable. Compared to Kurt though, he looked dull, Kurt seemed to make even the simplest garment look fabulous. Today he wore a plain cream shirt with a slim brown vest tied together by two delicate buttons connected through a fine threadand studded down the sides. His pants were slim fitting and hugged in all the right places.

"A little bit of colour willdo you good.Red!Never be afraid of the red, Blaine." Kurt advised.

"I'll keep that in mind," Blaine said as they reached the Kings formal chambers. "Here we are."

"Thank you, Blaine." Rachel said. "Could you find Finn, Puck and Britt, and make sure they don't cause any trouble?"

"Of course, that'll be no problem." Blaine said. He knocked on the large door. "Good luck with the meeting, I hope you get everything you want from it."

The doors opened and a guard gestured for them to enter.

"We'll see you later Blaine." Kurt said with a squeeze to Blaine's elbow, the touch reassuring him that they were fine.

The King stood from his chair. "Blaine, you will be dining with us for lunch.Meet us in the hall at midday,"he said without acknowledging his guests.

Blaine quicklybacked out of the room, making brief eye contact with Kurt,but he saw no answers there. The guard shut the doors behind him. Kurt and Rachel were on their own now, while he was left to wonder why the King wanted him to join them for lunch.He'd never so much as eaten in the same room as the King before, let alone been invited to his table. Maybe the King wanted more from him than just to show his guests around.Whatever it was,it wasn't going to be good. The King would only involve him if it wasanadvantageto him and he saw no other course of action. Blaine tried to put it out of his mind as he walked back to the guest chambers.He couldn't control what was happening and he had no way of find out right now, so he might as well wait until dinner and see where it went.

The hallways were quiet and Tina wasn't in her room when he passed by so he continued onhis own.

The looming figure ofFinn was already outside his chambers looking annoyed.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked when Finn realised he was there.

"Britt wants to go out,"he said.

"And that's a bad thing?" Blaine asked.

"It is when we don't know the place, I could get lost in my bedroom.I did once actually,mymom had moved the wardrobe and it, um, through me off. And Britt justgoes whichever way feels warmerin hopes of findingtheleprechaunat the end of the rainbow.It wouldn't end well if we tried to find our way around." Finn explained.

"I'm here now,andI can take you anywhereyou want." Blaine pointed out.

"You are!" Finn said, a smile spreading across his face as he took in Blaine's presence and what that meant. "Yeah, we won't get lost with you here. That's great. Britt, we can go,"he shouted.

She jumped out of the room. "We can?"

"Yeah, Blaine's here. We won't get lost with him." Finn pointed out his revelation.

"Yay!Thank you Blaine Warbler!" She hugged him.

"Warbler?" Blaine asked, confused by what she meant.

"Yeah, you're small but have a beautiful voice and you'reaunicorn so we know you can fly. You're a warbler," Brittany explained.

There were worse things he could be called or compared too, Blaine thought, so he wouldn't object to Britt's nickname for him."Ok. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes,"she said simply.

"Where do you want to go?" Blaine asked as they all stood still where they were.

"I don't know." Britt said and Finn shrugged his shoulders.

"We can go for a walk to the courtyard and see if Sam is there.Is that ok?" Blaine thought they might enjoy seeing Sam again.He certainly would,and he could check where Sebastian was to have that word with him.

"Yes, that sounds good.I like Sam,hehas nice hair." Britt took Blaine's hand while they set off walking.

"He does?" Finn asked.

"Yes."

"Oh.Do you think Rachel likes it?" Finn asked.

"I think she likes it on Sam,butit wouldn't look so good on you." Brittany advised as they followed Blaine down the hall.

As soon as they reached the open space of the empty courtyard Brittany turned to Blaine.

"Blaine Warbler, will you dance with me?" Sheheld out her hand.

"Dance? I don't...I haven't really dancedwith anyonebefore." Blaine wanted to do the right thing, the gracious thing, and accept, but he wasn't used to doing anything that might draw attention to himself. The fact that there wasn't anyone around didn't change the feeling that he was stepping outside of his comfort zone, outside of what was acceptable behaviour for him.

"My only other option isFinn,andasI'm sure you can dance better than a tree,you can dance better than him." Britt said matter-of-factly.Finn didn't seem to object so Blaine thought the description must be fairly accurate.

"What about Puck? Where is he?"

"Puck has movesfor sure, but he'sbusyexploring." Britt said.

"Exploring where?"

Brittany shrugged. "Don't know." Finn told him. "He knows not to get in any trouble, though.He's probably just chasing after some girl."

Brittany grabbed Blaine's hand and before he knew it he was twirling around in the middle of the courtyard. She spun him andjumped to catch his arm before guiding them into a classical hold and swaying to the music in her head.

"Sing for me?" She asked.

Blaine hesitated.

"You can sing quietly so that only I can hear,"she whispered.

He quietly sang a soft lullaby in her ear while they swayed, Brittany occasionally pausing to jump, spin or twirl. She was gentle yet energetic in her movements and Blaine found himself letting go and following her lead. He laughed at the faces she pulled and she laughed atthefact Blaine could jump higher than he was tall.

They got caught up in the movement and Blaine's mind drifted back to the meeting Kurt and Rachel were having with the King. He knew they wanted to make things better for the people,buthe didn't know whatthey actually wanted the King to agree to.

"Do you know what the meeting is about?" He asked. His gut told him something was wrong.

"No, I mean they told me, at some point, but it wasn't as interesting as Santana's boobs so I focused on staring rather than listening. Something about a marriage I think." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Marriage? They can't be intending for Rachel to marry Sebastian? They hate him already!Rachel would neveragree tothat." Blaine pulled back.Brittany must be mistaken.Therewas no way either Kurt orRachel would consider that,let alone think it was a good idea.

"I don't know. Your hair smells nice." Brittany had moved on but Blaine couldn't,he couldn't get hishead around Rachel marrying Sebastian.It didn't make senseanyway he looked at it. And from the sounds of it Sebastian would never agree to it.Sure the King could order him to,but Sebastian knew how to makeenoughtrouble that Rachel would never stand forit. And the King would not want the family of his former adversary to be joined with his own.Even if it werepolitically advantageous,the King would not put aside hisanimosity andgive them the supposed honour to be a part of the royal family.

"Let it go, Blaine. Sam is here!" Brittany let go of Blaine and ran over to Sam giving him a hug.

"Hey Sam,"she said.

"Hey Britt. Blaine,are you okay?" Sam asked when Blaine had failed to look upand acknowledge his presence.

No hewasn't okay.Nothing was making sense andhe didn't like being so unsure of people's motivations. "Yeah, I'm fine." He didn'tapprove of a lotof what theSmythesdid,but usually he could get his head around the reasons behindtheir actionsand that gave him comfort.He could read them,and because of that,he couldgenerallysee what was coming.

"Good." Sam said before greeting Finn who had walked over to join them.

"Where's Sebastian, Sam?" Blaine snapped his head up.

"He's gone to lunch with the King." Sam said, before remembering. "That I'm supposed to be collecting you for."

It was that time already?He wasn't prepared for this, his palms were sweaty and his head was all over the place.He couldn't focus.

"Blaine!" Sam shouted through Blaine's panic, "You need to go."

Blaine nodded.He took deep breaths to get himself backunder control even if his heart rate wasn't.

Blaine turned to go before pausing."Could you find Tina for me? I might need her after the dinner is over."

"Sure, I'll let her know." Sam reassured.

"Thanks Sam,"Blaine said as he set off running to the dining hall.He needed to get this over with,to find out what was going on once and for all.

TBC...