CHAPTER 3:

The walk to the Witch Quinn's house was short. Out of the dell, it was warmer and Blaine felt the sun on his face where it shone down between the trees. He clung to Kurt's shoulder as they wandered down a path broken by tree roots. Kurt was doing a good job of warning him of obstacles but Blaine just wanted to sit down in one place so he didn't have to worry anymore.

“How much further?” Kurt asked.

“Not far but we may have trouble getting into my home,” the Witch Quinn said. “Are you able to climb, Blaine?”

“I used to climb the trees at home when I was younger. But I knew those trees.”

“These ones aren't very tall and there are steps in them. Ah, here they are.”

Blaine stood where he was and waited for one of them to tell him what to do.

“The steps are steep,” Kurt said. “Like a ladder. But they're uneven. Would you be able to climb them?”

Blaine bit his lip before he nodded. “If one of you guided me.”

“I'll go up first,” the Witch Quinn said. “Then you, Blaine. And Kurt can follow you.”

Blaine nodded again and listened as the witch began to climb the tree. While he waited, a wind blew around them and a branch slipped over his shoulders. He could feel small soft petals against his face.

“Smell the flowers,” Kurt said before he inhaled loudly. “They're little and pink.”

Blaine held the branch with tentative fingers, finding the flowers and holding them up to his nose. They smelled sweet but the fragrance was hard to detect. They weren't like lavender that always gave off a strong smell no matter how small the flowers were.

“You can come up now, Blaine,” the Witch Quinn called from above.

Kurt led Blaine forward before he took one of the prince's hands and laid it on a piece of wood. “That's the ladder there,” Kurt said. “There's another handhold in line with your eyes. If you kick your right foot forward, you'll find the first step.”

“How many are there?” He inhaled the smell of the wood when he spoke and the bark was soft beneath his fingers. He wanted to know what kind of tree it was.

“There are about ten from what I can see. Just slide your hands up until you find each rung. There's no hurry.”

Blaine nodded and took a deep breath. He found the first step with his foot and pushed himself up. He dragged his other foot over the trunk of the tree until it found another rung. He was off the ground. Branches brushed against his arms and face and it felt like the tree coaxing him on. Slowly, he began to climb the tree. He couldn't hear anything over the sound of his heaving breaths as he clung to the steps. He reached for the next rung but the bark fell away in his hand. He yelped and grappled for the handhold again.

“You're alright,” Kurt called. “We won't let you fall.”

“Try again, Blaine,” the Witch Quinn said from above. “Only two more steps.”

Blaine swallowed before he slid his hand up the trunk again. He grabbed the next step and pulled himself up, his boots scraping as he moved his feet. Only a moment passed before he went to the next step and before he could think about it, he was crawling onto a flat platform at the top. He felt a hand on his back as he laid down, the wood cool against his face.

“You did it,” the Witch Quinn said, a smile in her voice. “Just rest. Kurt and I will help you inside when he comes up.” She called down to Kurt that it was clear for him to climb up while Blaine lay on the platform.

“Just a little while longer,” he whispered to himself. “It won't be so bad going down.”

He didn't move until he heard Kurt say his name. Sitting up, Kurt took his hands and pulled him to his feet.

“Are you alright?” Kurt asked.          

“I'm fine,” Blaine said with a nod. “It sort of felt good.”

“I'm glad.”

Blaine heard creaking hinges before something like a door slammed, shaking the platform. Kurt held onto him before leading him forward.

“It's dark inside,” Kurt said. “So just be careful. I can't see anything either.”

When Blaine took another step, he felt a shift in the temperature. It was warm and stuffy now and a strong herbal smell filled his nose. He heard the fizzle of a match being struck.

“I'll light some candles,” the Witch Quinn said. “Then I'll find us something to eat. Are either of you injured?”

“I have a few burns from fighting with Sebastian,” Kurt said as he helped Blaine to a chair. “Blaine has a few scrapes on his hands.”

Blaine flexed his fingers, realising that his hands were indeed hurting. How had he managed to climb the ladder like this?

“Just take a seat while I gather some things. There are some peaches in the bowl on the table.”

“Do you want one?” Kurt asked.

“Yes please.”

Kurt handed him one of the peaches before the room fell quiet. Blaine could hear the Witch Quinn looking for something but she must have been in another room.

“Kurt, can you describe where we are?”

“Um, sure,” he said with a mouthful of food. There was a pause before he started talking. “It's a little treehouse. It's dark except for the candles – she has no windows. We're sitting at a table, I'm just to your right and Quinn will be sitting across from you when she comes back. There's a little fireplace on your left but it's not going. She has a lot of shelves and cupboards, all filled with jars and pots and terrariums.”

“What are terrariums?”

“Glass containers used to hold small plants. Quinn's are quite good. There's another room that she's gone into, I suppose it's her chambers. That's all I can really see.”

“And what does she look like?”

“I don't understand. Why are you asking?”

“I may not know the actual visible difference between red and green but I can still imagine them. Please, just tell me.”

Kurt sighed but he kept talking. “She's about the same height as you. She has short blonde hair and large brown eyes. She's wearing a white dress – cotton perhaps – with feathers stitched into the skirt. And she has a wooden staff. I think it's what she uses to cast her spells.” He was silent for a moment before he asked, “What are red and green like to you?”

“Red, red is the pain in my hands from the scrapes and it's the heat from fire. And strawberries. But green is fresh grass underfoot and swimming in the sea.”

“The sea's blue. Or so I've been told.”

“You've never seen it?”

“No.”

Blaine smiled and shook his head. “It's beautiful.”

“You haven't seen it either.”

“But it feels beautiful. It feels warm and it tastes salty and the sound of waves against the beach is so soothing. Beauty isn't just what you can see, Kurt. Beauty is all five of our senses; not just sight.” He could sense that Kurt wanted to respond but Quinn returned then, dropping things onto the table before she sighed. Blaine could smell a perfume of lilies that he supposed belonged to the witch.

“Alright. Kurt, that's a salve for your burns. I'm sure you can apply that yourself. Blaine, can I see your hands?”

Blaine held them out and Quinn turned them over to inspect the scrapes. “How do they look?” he asked.

“Shallow but they got quite dirty. I'll clean them up and they should be fine.” There was a knock on the door before it opened and two pairs of feet stepped inside. “Ah, Sebastian and Adam. I trust you found all of their belongings.”

“Yes, milady,” Adam said. “We tied the horse up at the bottom of the tree and gave it some oats and water. We have their pack here.”

“And the cane?”

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “I tied it to the pack.”

“Very good. And what do you have to say to Kurt and Blaine?”

“We're very sorry. We should have found out if you were lost before we tried to kidnap you.”

“Very good,” Quinn said. “Now how about you go and make us some lunch.”

They said “Yes milady” in unison before they shuffled away.

“What do they look like?” Blaine asked as Quinn dabbed at his hands with a wet cloth. It strung for a moment before the pain dissipated and a strange lightness came over him.

“They're both tall and slim,” Kurt said. “Adam's pale – well, so is the other one. Adam has blond hair, short like yours but without the curls, and blue eyes. He wears a green tunic and leggings – has a higher sense of decorum than the other one.”

“Why do you say that?”

“All that Sebastian wears is a loincloth and a crown of maple leaves. Didn't you hear me yell at him back in the dell? Anyway, Sebastian's got green eyes – his one redeeming feature, I'm sure – and brown hair. Not a nice brown – it kind of reminds me of decaying leaves and the trunks of dead trees.”

“I find it interesting,” Quinn said, “how much you hate a man you met a mere hour ago.”

“I'm allowed to have adverse feelings about someone who tried to kill me.”

“I didn't say you weren't. I just said it was interesting.”

Blaine heard the scraping of items over a wooden surface before Quinn's perfume evaporated and footsteps echoed across the floor. He flexed his fingers again but the pain from the scrapes was no longer there. He wondered if the wounds were there at all – he couldn't feel them when he touched his fingers to his palms.

“Now I imagine that the two of you have something you want to ask me,” Quinn said when she returned. “Is it a joint request?”

“No, we have separate requests,” Kurt said. “I um, I would like some help with my hallucinations.”

“Hmm, I haven't had someone with that problem in a long time. What caused them?”

Kurt lowered his voice and spoke more slowly than Blaine had heard yet. “I was ridiculed in my village, for my appearance and behaviour. My life was threatened in one instance. I became anxious and then a few months ago I started seeing things that weren't there.” He cleared his throat before he continued. “The hallucinations caused me to kill my mother by accident. And I can't cope with the ever-present sense of fear I'm feeling. Everywhere I turn I see shadows and hear whispers of things trying to kill me. Snakes and spiders and the tormentors from my village. I don't want to live like this anymore.”

Quinn hummed before she addressed Blaine. “What about you? What do you want help with?”

“I want to be able to see. I would like you to give me my sight back.”

The witch didn't say anything and they lapsed into a silence. Blaine could hear something sizzling in the next room and the smell of bacon began to waft in before Kurt spoke.

“Can you help us?” he asked.

“Let me think about it awhile,” Quinn said. “For now, we shall eat. I imagine you two are quite hungry.”

Blaine nodded. “Very.”

“Sebastian and Adam will bring you some food. I'll come back when you're finished and we shall discuss your requests further.”

Blaine wanted to beg, to get down on his knees like he had seen so many peasants do before his father and now his brother. He would sell everything he had and anything he could get his hands on to be able to see. He would give the witch his very soul if he could only see the light of day.

The fae came in with their food and one of them pressed a fork into Blaine's hand.

“It's just in front of you,” Sebastian whispered in his ear. “And I'll be right behind you.”

Blaine flinched when Sebastian touched his shoulder before he shuffled forward and began to eat. The bacon was crisp and salty and the scrambled eggs had cheese melted into it. The more he ate, the hungrier he got but when he finished, the more glad he was for the hot meal.

“Good, huh?” Kurt asked.

“Very.”

“Do you suppose she'll grant our requests?”

“I hope so.”

“She looked quite surprised when you said you wanted her to cure your sight.”

“Everyone I've told has been surprised. I don't understand why. Is it really that surprising that someone different wouldn't want to be so anymore?”

Sebastian answered. “You handle yourself very well for someone who's blind. I didn't realise you couldn't see me until you tried to run away. And you managed to climb up here. There'd be no limit to your abilities if you tried.”

“I'm sick of trying.”

“How do you find your way around unfamiliar places?” Adam asked. A chair scraped across the floor and Blaine felt warmth to his right. Adam must have sat down between him and Kurt.

“I use my cane,” Blaine said. “Or I read the echoes.”

“What does that mean?”

Blaine hummed before he held up a hand. “Is my hand in mid-air?”

“Yes.”

He clicked his fingers a few times. “See how that echoes? It isn't much but it's still quite loud.” With his other hand, Blaine reached for the table before he lowered his hand and clicked next to the wood. “See? There it's quieter. Because there's not enough room for the sound to echo. The quieter a click is, the closer I am to something.”

“You learned that off the bats,” Sebastian said. “How?”

“One of the scholars taught me. He'd studied them.”

“That's amazing,” Adam murmured.

“It's a compensation,” Blaine said with a shake of his head. “And I'm sick of compensations.”

There were more footsteps before the Witch Quinn cleared her throat. “I have thought about your requests and have come to a solution. I cannot heal your ills on my own. While I am powerful, I am not capable of healing afflictions that have plagued you for so long and have been caused by powers outside my control. But with your help, I may be able to alleviate them somewhat.”

“What do we have to do?” Blaine asked.

“Help each other. Already you seem to be quite good at it but it will take an act of great selflessness to cast the spell to heal you both.”

“How will we know we've committed an act of great selflessness?” Kurt asked.

“I will cast the spell here and then when the act is carried out, the healing will commence. It may take some time.”

Blaine nodded. “Alright. Alright, we can do that. We'll make it happen.”

“These sorts of things happen on their own. You don't need to go looking for it.”

Blaine felt a hand on his shoulder before someone kissed the top of his head. “What was that for?”

“That is my contribution to the spell,” Quinn said. “The both of you will carry my blessing until the spell is complete.”

“And if we fail to complete the spell?” Kurt asked.

“Then you shall carry my blessing forever.” She crossed the room then and Blaine heard a cupboard open before metal clattered together. “I will give you these as well. A sword for Kurt to defend and a shield for Blaine to protect.”

Blaine frowned. “Doesn't that mean the same thing?”

Quinn laughed. “You will have the answer to that question by the end of your journey. I would suggest the two of you head back to Anders before the winter starts to set in. You may run into obstacles on the way.”

“What kind of obstacles?” Kurt asked, his voice wobbling.

“You will know them when they arise. Just stick together and all will come to a happy end.”

With that, a silver horse was found for Kurt and a stock of food was jammed into their pack. Kurt was also given new clothes and a new pair of boots. Blaine climbed down the ladder first, slipping only once. On horseback, they waved farewell to the Witch Quinn and her companions. There was no road for them to follow now but Blaine was sure they would find their way home. He just hoped he would be able to see it when they got there.